#prof. calamity

[steelheartthecoinshot]

Chapter 1 of Ferrous is up!!! I’m legit so excited for this fic, there is SO much lore and worldbuilding and it’s my boyfriend’s second favorite after Nebula. Btw if you wanna know about my Reckoners fics feel free to always ask me!!!!

[1introvertedsage]

The sword of justice hangs over our heads, for no nation can escape the calamities that follow universal selfishness, and as the second corresponding period of calamity is not far off all prophetic minds are looking forward with fear.

[mariacallous]

Britain was hit far harder by the Covid-19 pandemic than other developed countries because the NHS had been “seriously weakened” by disastrous government policies over the preceding decade, a wide-ranging report will conclude this week.

An assessment of the NHS by the world-renowned surgeon Prof Ara Darzi, commissioned in July by the health secretary, Wes Streeting, will find that the health service reduced its “routine healthcare activity by a far greater percentage than other health systems” in many key areas during the Covid crisis.

Hip and knee replacements, for instance, fell by 46% and 68% respectively. Hospital discharges as a whole dropped by 18% between 2019 and 2020 in the UK compared with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 10%, Lord Darzi will say.

In a key section of his report, the crossbench peer will also conclude that the NHS is still suffering the aftereffects of its inability to respond adequately to the Covid shock at the time.

“The state of the NHS today cannot be understood without recognising quite how much care was cancelled, discontinued, or postponed during the pandemic … The pandemic’s impact was magnified because the NHS had been seriously weakened in the decade preceding its onset.”

Darzi will be particularly critical of former Tory health secretary Andrew Lansley’s top-down reorganisation of the NHS under David Cameron’s prime ministership, which he will say “scorched the earth for health reform”.

“The Health and Social Care Act of 2012 was a calamity without international precedent – it proved disastrous,” Darzi will say, adding: “The result of the disruption was a permanent loss of capability from the NHS … This is an important part of the explanation for the deterioration in performance of the NHS as a whole.

“Rather than liberating the NHS, as it had promised, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 imprisoned more than a million NHS staff in a broken system for the best part of a decade.”

Lord Lansley defended his reforms, saying Darzi should be focusing on the “here and now” rather than reaching back over a decade for a “blame the Tories” narrative.

“The 2012 act created NHS England. It empowered the NHS. It reduced administration costs by £1.5bn. Waiting times fell to their lowest level. The longest waits were virtually eliminated,” said Lansley. He added that if his plans had been fully implemented, they would have made the NHS more internationally competitive.

The Tories are preparing to criticise the Darzi report as politically driven because its author was a minister under the previous Labour government and was a member of the Labour party until he resigned in 2019.

Labour will, however, point to his impressive CV and the fact that he held prominent positions while the Tories were in power, including sitting as the UK global ambassador for health and life sciences from 2009 until March 2013. Also, in 2015, Darzi was appointed as nonexecutive director of the NHS regulatory body Monitor, which oversaw the quality and performance management of healthcare in England.

The Darzi report – which will also find that more than 100,000 infants (0 to two-year-olds) were left waiting for more than six hours in A&E departments in England last year – is being seen as a watershed moment by senior NHS figures.

Streeting is expected to use the report as the foundation for his own blue-sky thinking on reform. The current NHS England long-term plan introduced in 2019 was drawn up before the pandemic, which has caused waiting lists to lengthen to a point where 6.39 million people are waiting for 7.62m treatments.

Streeting said last year that he believed the NHS required three big shifts, from sickness to prevention, from hospitals to GPs and community services, and from an “analogue service to one that embraces the technological revolution”.

Two other key reports to be published this week also paint a bleak picture of the health service’s prospects under current spending constraints.

A survey of trust chief executives and finance directors by NHS Providers, the membership organisation for hospital, mental health, community and ambulance service users, has found more than half (51%) to be “extremely concerned” about their ability to deliver on their priorities within the tight financial limits for 2024-5.

Nine out of 10 thought the financial situation more challenging than last year. Among the measures they were having to consider were “extending vacancy freezes”, “reducing substantive staffing numbers” and “scaling back services”.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said that with funding so tight the message was that ways had to be found to secure multi-year investment in reforms that would increase productivity “instead of this stop-start approach to NHS funding which leaves them constantly worrying about budget cuts followed by quick fix, short- term funding announcements”.

In addition, a report from the NHS Confederation and healthcare consultancy CF (Carnall Farrar) has found that Labour’s pledge to create an extra 40,000 appointments a week in England would not stop waiting lists from rising.

It would only deliver 15% of what was needed to ensure 92% of patients start routine hospital treatment within 18 weeks – a key target that has not been hit for nearly a decade.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said it was unlikely that there would be any significant reduction in waiting lists until spring or summer next year.

He added: “We need to be realistic about the fact that unless we do some pretty transformative stuff, demand is going to grow substantially. Almost everyone agrees we need to transform the NHS by investing in prevention. To do that, you have to double run [opening new services before old ones close].

“None of those things can be achieved for free. What we need from Rachel Reeves is a recognition that the long-term sustainability of the health service, the public sector and the economy as a whole, rests on shifting the health demand curve.”

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday morning, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, will echo Darzi’s assessment, saying the Tories “broke” the NHS in ways that were “unforgivable”.

He will add: “Our job now, through Lord Darzi, is properly to understand how that came about and bring about the reforms, starting with the first steps, the 40,000 extra appointments.”

[risingoflights]

for what its worth (which, i understand, feels like less and less with remake/rebirth drawing all the attention away from og, often to its own detriment tbh), the... tired, perpetually-grieving, quietly obsessive and generally listless man you (and calamity) depict hojo as being is far more fascinating than the trope he seems to embody in remake/rebirth.

despite what cloud and sephiroth said, hojo IS a brilliant scientist; i wish we could've seen some of that intimidating competence in 7R.

oh you're sweet <3

calamity is a true standout, and the thing is... whether intentional or not, og ALLOWED SPACE for both broader and deeper interpretation. by all of us. which, at the end of the day, is the thing i feel like remake lacks. not just for prof, but for everyone.

and like. talking about canon, hojo IS competent at science, yes. but speaking to the more nuanced presentation in og allowing extrapolation again, the thing i enjoyed most about him was that he was other things - like a horrible professional! in the sense that he took concepts invented by other scientists, pushed the concepts beyond their original limits, then claimed those entire concepts as his own! he frequently badmouthed his peers! and- and! i've spoken about cc hojo being a slightly different version of og's but still GOOD as well, because he was such a prankster, and his staff were frequently frustrated with him not for being mean/awful, but just for having annoying quirks! like laughing too much and too loudly!

(i may have a hojo's greatest hits list somewhere for both og and cc..........if anybody wants it...!)

all i'm saying is... i'm just waiting for something. something more. remake's just gotta give me something to show they've thought about him beyond 'mad scientist'. some little thread fans can tug at to flesh him out more in their own ways.

in chapter 7 now and i'm still waiting!

[shuuenka]

haino steampunk au notes

ex kingsguard, now bounty hunter Cyno x librarian Alhaitham Cyno who became a vessel for ancient god when he was still a kingsguard. Alhaitham, a ticking bomb that tries to uncover the secrets of the gem embedded in his chest. They meet at cementary and team up to uncover secret government project that they both have ties to.

Cyno's backstory:

*warning: character death, kinda

He was a captain of kingsguard, very thorough and capable. But due to that, he also got many enemies on his back - even in those who worked closest to him.

He started getting suspicious of one of the King's consultant's - Azar, doings and started in secret investigating the man. It seems that Azar was informed about it.

Once his team was investigating ancient ruins as they got a tip that something illegal and of high risk was happening in there.

Upon investigation, nothing turned up. It was a trap. Trap for Cyno alone, as he ended up in the middle of conspiracy against him. Afterall, he was too through, too much for certain parties to stomach. And on that moonless night he died, a blade to his throat, bullet to his gut and a bullet through his heart.

He died, bleeding out in the middle of ruins. But something happened, and he opened his eyes again. After a while he would recall the dream state he found himself just few moments before. He, small against glowing jackal golden eyes.

He was offered a deal by the guide of the dead himself. To stop brewing calamity and he will be offered life back again. And Cyno agreed, if he could enact justice again, live again he would do it.

Hermanubis showed him one hint of the god's true intention for Cyno - to follow the thread he started plucking when he was still the captian. The one that got him murdered in the middle of the night.

Cyno obviously couldn't go back to the Kingsguard. His death was announced as a sacrifice for the country, his funeral most grand. He became a bounty hunter - he needed new life, new resources, new network to start working again.

And oh how terrifying hunter he became. With Hermanubis blessings he was quicker, swifter, stronger. His senses sharper, his movement more agile and precise. As he was proclaimed dead and his physical appearance changed a bit - previously he sported dark hair and equally dark eyes, now his hair turned white and his eyes red.

In just but a few years he became urban legend.

Alhaitham's backstory:

He was just a gifted kid, attended prestigious school, then stopped and was homeschooled. The he came back to study ancient languages at university. During that time he got asked if he could help with translating some ancient texts for some sort of academic research one of proffesors was involved with. With a promise of this allowing him to pass classess fot the year he took on the challenge. Especially since this would allow him access to many interesting for him writings.

He didn't know what the research was about tough, the text were concering stuff like alchemy, philiosophers stone and things like that. But he delivered on the promise of translating the text to his professors - prof. Azar.

Once when he was staying in the university's library for research purposes, deep into the night, he got little too curious.

He overheard a conversation about the philosophers stone - the very essence of the study he was translating for; and followed the voices into underground laboratory, nobody knew about before.

Very unfortunately for everyone involved there was accident in the said laboratory. Azar was very sure he was on a breakthrough with the philosophers stone, but he only caused big explosion underground the university.

There were some casualities in the close knit research group.

As for Alhaitham a shard of the stone got stuck into his chest. Deep. He shouldn't be alive - yet he was.

Breathing heavily, bleeding, he escaped the underground before anyone could find him.

The incident got covered up by the University - a pipeline gone wrong in the underground causing the explosion.

He recovered on his own. Suprisingly, unless he intentionally tried to remove the shard, he didn't feel any discomfort. As if the shard got safely tucked in his chest, as if it was supposed to be there.

Alhaitham did graduate - with honors no less. He didn't hear anything else about the project, his professor only wrapped things up neatly at the end and thanked for his contributions.

He inherited a library from his Grandmother, a library he now keeps open and maintains. In meatime he keeps researching the gem and tries to put clues togheter.

[aimeelouart]

in the prof strife au, its kinda funny to imagine that jeremy somehow manages to somehow single handedly cause the calamity while trying to perfect the catgirl creation process. just imagine a catgirl trying to bring down meteor

Anon you are KILLING me

You know, like nya

[referencing Professor Strife’s Two Rules of Science]

[lhostgil]

Further continuation to the link below - Re. Classical Greek/other relevant literature + Themes in Kurt’s Story Arc in the Krakoa era of X-Books

Link to previous set:

https://www.tumblr.com/lhostgil/720380405409251328/continuation-of-the-link-belowre-prometheus?source=share

Prometheus’ Fate in Mythology

The final mention of Prometheus in mythology, is when Heracles (the Demigod son of Zeus) seeks the Golden Apples as one of his Twelve Labours. In the process of completing that task, Heracles slaughters the eagle tormenting Prometheus and frees him from his chains. During this time, Prometheus provides Heracles with valuable insight and knowledge to complete his task of obtaining the Golden Apples. After the end of that journey, Prometheus is pardoned and allowed his freedom on a condition;  he is to forever wear a shackle as a reminder of his past transgressions against the gods (siding with humanity over his god-kin). Given the absence of further appearances in subsequent myths, it is generally taken that he distanced himself from the affairs of the gods...as well as that of humans. 

(He disappeared into the world, never going back to be with the god-kin or providing them advice when calamity or fate finds itself on their doorstep; and is never mentioned rendering further assistance or taking any action to provide for or shelter humanity from Fate or the whims of the gods.)

As mentioned before: the original punishment was having his liver (where the seat of emotion was believed to be) pecked out daily. It essentially, is a curse of eternal hopelessness; without emotion--without the ability to have desire or motivation-- the belief of Hope (Elpis) and its power to grant respite from suffering will not present itself. [This more or less parallels with the post Judgment Day Legion of X development arc + Sins of Sinister Nightcrawlers + Sons of X] 

But in all fairness, from what can be inferred of Prometheus--perhaps the greater punishment for him, is obtaining freedom only to see the humans and the world he loved + sacrificed so much for be nothing more than slaves to Fate...and the gods. 

He had taken steps to prevent slavish devotion at the expense of human life from happening; but it happened all the same, with humans thinking that if they offered more than they should--they would then win the favour of the gods, and have an easy life. Forgetting that the gods did not care about their existence beyond the sustained cycle of belief, control and power that came with mindless worship. [Just look at Exodus, Mother Righteous, and even Prof X; the final one being literally described by Storm in X-Men Red #11 to act like a God-King who treats everyone like courtiers to be called on as he likes.]

He had given to them knowledge that could and would have allowed humanity to surpass the gods; the means to defy fate and create their own destiny (a future they may call their own)...something he suffered punishment for and is not shown as regretful for doing so. But humanity indulged in fate and prophecy; eschewing the light of creativity and critical thought for “glimpses of deceitful futures” when they should have pursued knowledge and attained their own form of wisdom that would allow them to be free from the “truth” that the gods told them--that fate cannot be defied, and that they should act in accordance to it; being champions of the gods for their petty little squabbles.

[The progress and prosperity shown during the Destiny of X arc is implied to be the result of Kurt’s actions--by means of his philosophy as well as his dedication to encouraging progress amongst the people. Heck, Kurt’s attitude and behaviour towards Destiny (the precog); especially when people just take her word for it without questioning further. In Immortal X-Men 7, it’s even more obvious when he’s the only one who noticed that she had been lying the whole time for her own selfish reasons...and takes it upon himself to force her to tell him a truthful vision.] 

Again, all of the above is pretty self-explanatory; and honestly, when Kurt got angry in Immortal X-Men 7...it’s not Nightcrawler that’s angry. It’s the person that is Kurt who is mad that things even had to go this far; that so much death and sacrifice had to happen...not just for him but for every single person blessed with life and must choose to die, so that a handful might be saved.

Truthfully, he should have been angry a long time ago. 

But the hero that is Nightcrawler cannot be angry...can he? 

He is supposed to be the optimist; the happy-go-lucky one in the midst of a dangerous battle for his life, the hopeful one who shines brightly amongst the rest. He is supposed to willingly die for a world and its people who fear and hate him...and not take it personally or think: why can I not choose to live? Why must I be the one who dies for the world, killed by my own sword of hope that is made from the myriad of dreams, wishes and hopes entrusted to me by others?

[simmingonthelow]

Bold the facts

with Macha!!!!!😁

Thanks to @void-imp for the tag! 💖🥺😖

the rules are simple! tag people and name a character you want to know more about! if you want to let the person you tagged decide who to showcase, then don’t name a character and they can pick somebody. easy! the person who is tagged will then bold the remarks below which apply to their character &, if they want to, include a picture with their reply!

[ PERSONAL]

$ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty

✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable

✪ Class or Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other

✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other

✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children

◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) /has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased

◔ Affiliation: orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parent / not applicable

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES]

♦ extroverted / introverted / in between

♦ disorganized / organized / in between

♦ close minded / open-minded / in between

♦ calm / anxious / in between

♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between

♦ cautious / reckless / in between

♦ patient / impatient / in between

♦ outspoken / reserved / in between

♦ leader / follower / in between

♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in between

♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between

♦ traditional / modern / in between

♦ hard-working / lazy / in between

♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown

♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown

♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown (never been in a relationship atp)

[ BELIEFS]

★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic / spiritual

☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

❀ Philosophical: yes / no

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

❥ Sex: sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless / romance suspicious

❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious

⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / alcoholic

☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain-smoker

✿ Recreational Drugs: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess

☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater

$ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gambler

I wanna tag @moonfromearth, @prof-sullivan, @moonries-corner, @ottititties, @eldrichthingy, @fayethegray, @neriney (Calamity) and anyone else who see this (If you'd like to!)

[thewapolls]

I think that's really the most prominent dads of Wild Arms. If there had been room I might added Joseph, the father of Greg's wife, Mary. But he's even more of a featureless NPC than Berlitz was.

[olivethetreebitch]

Aight

LU fic

I’ve told a few peps about this but I’ll be going over very few details

Baseline:

Wild centric fic (I know so original)

The Chain did the whole quest thing, the bbeg was using a magical time artifact to drag them places yadayada-

Each member of the chain has a peice of this artifact and can use it at will. IM NOT SEPARATING THEM

At least not fully. They go back to their respective times, but you can find at least one person who doesn’t belong at LonLon.

Anyways

Wild goes back to BOTW, establishes a sibling relationship with Zelda, they talk, Zelda tells them to at least try to fix the whole… Calamity thing. It’s up to Link, he does it. It works, they go back to when Link was a baby. (Still has the memories, but actually grows up)

Link is half Gerudo being born to a traveling Gerudo mom. Yes they have red hair, yes he’s cute.

Link + Mom end up staying in the Kokri (it’s 2am and I don’t remember how it’s spelled) forest, (well outside of it) and guess who gets adopted by the sentient poo giving twigs? Yeah. Wild. We love the gremlin.

King has vision of the hero pulling the master sword in the forest and tells his Royal Guard captain to go get the kid for training

Captain guy kills Links mother in front of him, causing Link to pull the master sword, but he’s like 5 so the sword is like “Dude you’re not ready” and Link ignores it like a dumbass and gets knocked the fuck out. Gets kidnapped. Publicly adopted (kidnapped noncondenually) by the Captain, forced to dye their hair (Hair is very important to Gerudo is a headcanon of mine, so having that taken away is terrible) and is being trained to be the princesses guard. Which, in all of this they go mute.

I think Wild has magic, and bonds with Hyrule over this, so Link is absolutely aware that the path the king is making Zelda go through is not only toxic but harmful (also talking with 100 y/o Zelda is prof) and is understandably pissed at the king (he may be a good ruler, but that man is a shity father and I do not take criticism on this)

Boom. This. It exists now.

Also Time has adopted all the Chain as family before everything so….. he really is Father Time.

@hermitdrabbles56 @whatcouldpossiblyg0wr0ng

[liesonthefloordramatically]

A wild 2022 recap post appears!

Stuff I made this year:

Fiction: The only fic I wrote this year was the surprisingly underrated put a blue ribbon on my brain.  Not sure why more folks weren’t into it other than all the obvious reasons www.

Playlists: Apparently the only two playlists I remembered to share this year were Camp Fireside Lagoon (a soundtrack for our Sleepaway game) and ExU: Calamity (what is says on the tin).  I wish I could say that I have a bunch of secret playlists that I didn’t share but I mostly don’t.  Creativity really flagged this year, partially because of exhaustion.

RPGs: Wrote two Sleepaway supplements: The Emissary and The Phoenix.  Got to see The Emissary played live, which was cool!

Knitting: Finished baby’s first sweater and knit two shawls and three hats???  Maybe someday I will remember to upload pictures of stuff I knit.

Other stuff: Look, I was complaining about how little I wrote this year and then I remembered that I also finished my dissertation which was like 115k, so.  Yeah.  That was a thing.  Also defended my dissertation, so I’m now Dr. Queenie!  Went to Europe for the first time???  Moved across the country!  Started a new job, so now I’m Prof. Queenie!  Got diagnosed with new, exciting medical conditions!  Somehow made it through year three of the pandemic!  Have been mildly depressed since July and exhausted basically non-stop since September which might explain why my creative output has been miserable. 

Media I enjoyed this year:

Books: I read...A LOT this year (like 40 books, which is not a lot for me pre-grad school but is a lot post-quals).  Have really been taking advantage of the library’s ebook lending program.  Some favorites: The Murderbot Diaries (genuinely shocked it took me so long to read this because it’s painfully up my alley), The Stormlight Archive (absolutely understand how it took me so long to read this; you could kill a man with the length of these books), Dead Collections (meditations on memory and archives and gender, heck yeah), Several People Are Typing (the howling!!! the howling!!!), Spear (this book was written for Queenie age roughly eight), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (highly recommend reading this one without knowing anything about it; it’s a delight, especially if you know anything about Hollywood history).

TTRPG: Winner for new TTRPG I played this year was The Price of Coal!  Also finished a campaign of Sleepaway and am currently running an extremely fun campaign of Blades in the Dark, but those are both in the Ol’ Faithful pile of TTRPGs. 

Video games: Top game was Disco Elysium!  Honorable mentions to Scarlet Nexus (deeply underrated--the monster design and soundtrack are both out of control and the characters are SO fun) and Fire Emblem: Three Houses.  Baffling honorable mention to Stranger of Paradise, which I honestly expected to hate and then wound up weirdly emotional about?

Manga/comics: Finally finished reading The Wicked + The Divine which was extremely good and made me feel emotions.  My inability to read things in hardcopy for fun is really cramping my style, though.

Fanfic: I actually didn’t read a whole lot this year--partially because I read a lot more published novels, which means that I have had a bunch of fics languishing on my Kindle for uhhhhh months.  Some fics I liked this year include (in no particular order) a man by any other face (CR C2--this might be my favorite fic I read this year), path of the traveled sun (CR C2), displacement (CR C2), Familiar (CR C2), you’ve haunted me all my life (Tales of Berseria), at the violet hour (CR C2), From the Mixed-Up Files of The J. Lavorre Catalogue Raisonné (CR C2), a sort of beacon where there used to be a dull roar (CR C2), separating salt from water (Our Flag Means Death), dreamers to come (ExU: Calamity), Man of Nothing (JJBA: JJL), and after the scripture (your mother beside me) (CR C2).  Special category for this year is “AU concepts that verge on crack but 100% work”: More Things in Heaven and Earth (CR C2) and the fire kept closest (burns most of all) (CR C2). Extra special nod to and from our own/live to ourselves (MDZS), a fanfic with a plot and setting so simultaneously unique, unhinged, and well-executed that it seized me by the throat for like a month.

Films: Everything Everywhere All At Once!  Which I watched...3 1/2 times this year.  Honorable mentions to Cyrano and Encanto.  Wow, I watched a film this year???  Shocking.

TV: Our Flag Means Death and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean.  Although we’re not done with the latter yet because we’ve been watching an episode a week (we are like...16 episodes from the end, I think? It’s been slow going).  I really need to figure out how to get myself to watch things on my own because there are things I want to watch.

Podcasts:  Continuing to listen to a lot, especially since I have an hour commute each way, plus I live alone so...need to hear human voices sometimes.  Top picks: Trice Forgotten, Second Star to the Left, The Silt Verses, and Exandria Unlimited: Calamity.  “Isn’t that just Critical Role?” Arguably, yes, but specifically naming that mini-campaign because it destroyed me (straight up made me cry on a plane in Sweden).  Honorable mentions to Enthusigasm, Keep It Steady, Within the Wires, Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion, and The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality.  I think Within the Wires has made it onto my podcasts list almost every year that I’ve done this which is really a testament to how consistently good it has been across 7 (!!!!) years.  If this seems like a lot of podcasts, please know that this is only a fraction of what I listened to this year--to give you a sense, I tore through the entirety of Meiji at 150 (which is 150 episodes) in like...the first three weeks of term...while listening to all my other podcasts...

Music: Another weird year--Spotify refuses to give me Wrapped because I won’t download their wretched app, but apparently “Pepper” by Death Cab for Cutie was my top track for this year?  What happened here?  All I can really think is that I probably put it on loop for the 2-3 weeks of midterm grading when I was in a fugue state.  My other top tracks--literally my top 11--are similarly songs I listened to on loop while in a fugue state.  What does that say about my taste in music this year?  Unclear!  What does that say about my mental health?  Nothing good!  Anyway, you should listen to “We Have It All” which was #6 on my top tracks but does genuinely slap.  Also did a bunch of grading while listening to Foley Artist which was A Choice (it’s a great album, but there are sections that are stressful to grade to).

Anyway, あけおめ！！！ 良いお年をお迎えください (this is a threat)！！！

[ghostsandtoasts]

Gordor and Prof. Hastings

Major Spoilers for Pokémon Ranger ahead

All images and quotes were taken from this let’s play :)

Hastings: “I'm utterly mystified. What drove you to do such a thing? When we were young, we worked side by side on our studies, you and I. We were comrades in arms!”

*Gordor laughs*

Gordor: “Comrades in arms? Keep your sappy sentimentality out of this. Because of you, my research was always considered second rate. In time, you became the chief of technology for the Ranger Union... Even while the results of my studies went without ever seeing the light of day. I prepared... I prepared over many long years in hopes of one day proving to the world that I was the better of us. But my dream was just that--a dream... A dream broken by your cherished Rangers. Hastings... Laugh if you want. Laugh all you want at me--always the pathetic loser to you...”

Hastings: “Gordor... Why don't you just fold up the Go-Rock Squad and shoo your followers away? Then, come join me at our lab. Your gifted abilities are sure to be of benefit to people. Well, Gordor, will you join us?”

Gordor: “Hastings... Do you seriously think I could do that? You haven't changed much at all...” *He walks off screen*

Hastings: “Gordor! Where do you intend to go? There will always be a place for you in our lab!”

Gordor was literally just saved from getting himself mauled by Entei, and Hastings is immediately there to be like “I think we should work together again 🥺”

Professor, he tried to control the legendary beasts to bring about a calamity to Fiore we would be powerless to stop not even five minutes ago!

Professor “I can fix him” Hastings. They really did walk so Augustine and Lysandre could run.

Gordor: “It's been a while, [Player]. The Manaphy Egg isn't just something that anyone can hold thoughtlessly. It isn't something that is simply beautiful. It contains a life. At the very least, the one who should be looking after this Egg isn't this fool!”

Grunt: “Owowowowow... Please, stop twisting my arm like that, Gordor... You abandoned the Go-Rock Squad! What made you come back like you own the place...? Owowow! OK, OK! I got it! You can have your Egg!”

*The grunt hands the egg over and flees*

Lunick/Solana: “This is... The Manaphy Egg... Gordor... What did you do after disbanding the Go-Rock Squad?”

Gordor: “I've done nothing in particular since then... I've thought a lot. I've thought about how you saved me at the very end... I felt small and ashamed of my own petty pride that was nothing next to the glare of your nobility... It was pathetic, but it was all I could do to flee in shame. But I've awakened from the nightmare. I've finally realized that what I should be doing is making amends for my crimes. I ask myself every day what I can do to make things better for people. I don't think that I can ever atone for all my misdeeds, but I must try. You are the ones who awakened me to become what I am today. And for that, I owe you a thanks. Thank you... And please, give my regards to Prof. Hastings.”

I am so normal about these old men.

Bonus Go-Rock Quads

[1introvertedsage]

Many calamities in human history would have been prevented if spirit friends or guardian angels had been regularly consulted, for they have a clearer and more dispassionate view of all things.

~Prof. J.R. Buchanan M.D.

[israelseen1]

Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig: How to Deal With the Simchat Torah “Problem”

Photo by: Timon Studler Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig: How to Deal With the Simchat Torah “Problem” Shavuot is now behind us. Given the Gaza War that Israelis have taken to call the “Simkhat Torah War,” it’s time to start thinking ahead about what to “do” about Simkhat Torah in another four months. Clearly, unlike all other years this time, the holiday involves a major dilemma, given the calamity of…

[voiceofbangus]

Earth Day-2023 celebrated at Faculty of Agriculture Wadura SKUAST-Kashmir

Shakir bhat

Sopore 06 May 2023:The Earth Day was organized by Division of Agronomy in collaboration with Ministry of Earth Science, Govt. of India on May 06, 2023 at Conference Hall of Faculty of Agriculture Wadura Campus, SKUAST-K. The Earth Day-2023 theme is ‘Invest in Our Planet’, calling for people and businesses to work together towards building a healthy economy for the planet. The objective of the event was to highlight the importance of Earth and its natural resources in human life, create awareness about the role of scientists in environmental protection, and discuss the global climate crisis. The programme started with a welcome address by Prof. Raihana H. Kanth, Dean Faculty of Agriculture. She highlighted the theme of the programme and reminded us of the role of the Earth in its resources and in our lives. She also precisely describes major initiatives undertaken by the SKUAST-K towards a greener & cleaner nation. Prof. Haroon Rashid Naik, Director Planning & Monitoring, SKUAST-K , who was the Guest of Honour, said that nature has bestowed Kashmir with rich beautiful resources which make it binding on every citizen to contribute their part towards preservation and conservation of natural resources. The Chief Guest of this programme was Mr. Showkat Husain Mir, Executive Director JKIDC & Director Finance, J&K Govt., in his address said that it took millions of years to formulate natural resources on earth, but their overutilization in the name of development will put our future generations at a high risk of natural calamities. He also emphasized that our traditional knowledge system and wisdom about nature have always guided us to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. Therefore, each one of us should understand our duty to devote our time to the conservation of the environment. The event was celebrated by organizing a plantation drive, elocution, painting and photography competition. The winners of the competitions conducted during the event were felicitated by the Dean with certificates and prizes. The programme was attended by heads of various divisions, scientists and more than 150 UG/PG students of the faculty & students of nearby schools.

[eaglesnick]

101 Things You Should Know About The UK Tory Government

Thing 101

The last 100 of the 101 Things You Should Know About The UK Tory Government has covered a variety of topics highlighting what I consider to be government failures, duplicity, lies and corruption. Whether you agree or disagree with what I have written is your decision. I have my biases and no doubt you have yours. But what is uncontroversial is this statement by Lord Hope of Craig, a crossbench member of the House of Lords.

 “It is the first responsibility of government in a democratic society to protect and safeguard the lives of its citizens. That is where the public interest lies. It is essential to the preservation of democracy…”  (www.parliament.uk: 16/12/2004)

Using that single criteria “to protect and safeguard its citizens”, successive Tory governments must be deemed to have failed. Above all, it is the increases in poverty in this, the 5th richest country in the world, that truly lays bare the catastrophic failure of Tory governments to protect and safeguard the British people.

In 2019 The British Academy published an article titled "How poverty in modern Britain echoes the past" (Professor P Thane,11/01/19, The British Academy)

The article pointed out the continual rise in poverty under Conservative governments, including the increase in rough sleeping, and the growing use of food banks, where the introduction of Universal Credits saw a 10% fall in benefits and tax credits to working families compared to 2010.

How bad the situation had become by 2018 is clearly illustrated by what United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights had to say:

“14 million people, a fifth of the population, live in poverty. Four million of these are more than 50% below the poverty line, and 1.5 million are destitute, unable to afford basic essentials. The widely respected Institute for Fiscal Studies predicts a 7% rise in child poverty between 2015 and 2022, and various sources predict child poverty rates of as high as 40%.  For almost one in every two children to be poor in twenty-first century Britain is not just a disgrace, but a social calamity and an economic disaster, all rolled into one." (Prof. Philip Alston, 16/11/18 Statement on a Visit to the United Kingdom, United Nations Human Rights)

The fact that our Tory government has done NOTHING to improve this situation really is a “social calamity and economic disaster” for millions of people. Sunak may tell us “your priorities are my priorities” but actions speak louder than words and so far we have been plagued with inaction.

Only two days ago (19/02/23) the Guardian was reporting a record number of households depending on food banks.

“Almost 90% of food banks see increased demand, as organisers fear having to cut support or turn people away. More people are depending on food banks than ever before in Britain, new figures show, as “ever-increasing” numbers of households – including pensioners, NHS staff and teachers – seek help amid the cost of living crisis.” (Guardian 19/02/23)

When Professor Alston wrote his report in 2018 he approached the Tory government of the day but found them “determinedly in a state of denial", ministers telling him “all is well and running according to plan”.

This latter statement may well be true from a Tory perspective. Wasn’t it Tory MP's, including our Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Rabb, who called British workers "among worst idlers” in the world, preferring a “lie in too hard work"? Liz Truss, PM, also branded British workers as lazy, saying they lack the “skill and application” of foreign workers. And more recently, NHS staff were told to work harder by Steve Barkley if they wanted a pay rise.

From a Tory point of view the 14 million working poor identified by the UN are poor because they do not work hard enough. They only have themselves to blame for the position they find themselves in.

Lord Craig said that protecting and safeguarding the lives of its citizens by government was essential to democracy. Someone else one said, “The trouble with democracy is you get what you voted for". 

Lets hope people vote differently next time round.