#seeing that I sent them an extension request at 4:30 in the morning

[smaeemo]

Starting all my emails with “so unfortunately,” because its an unfortunate day and an unfortunate time to send emails

[nordleuchten]

do we have any records on how lafayette reacted to the treason of benedic arnold?? I've read a while ago saying that he and bemedict arnold did not like each other very much while he was on the american army but i couldn't find anything else.

and also, how much acurate are those scenes of laf conforting georfe washington after he learns of the treason??

I know is a long ask, srry, but thank you so much <3

Hello Anon,

thank you for your question and don’t you worry about the length.

Yes, we have plenty of record about La Fayette’s reaction to Arnold’s treason … and the best thing is, La Fayette’s reaction alone even brought Arnold in a pretty awkward and embarrassing situation at one point in time.

From the get-go La Fayette was very involved in the whole Arnold-affair. He was with Washington and a group of other officers in West Point when Arnold’s treason was discovered on September 25, 1780 and he also sat on the court-martial for Major John André on September 29 and September 30, 1780. He later went on to say that he pitied André.

On September 26 (a day after Arnold’s betrayal and flight) La Fayette wrote the first lengthy account of the events from his point of view. He wrote the Chevalier de La Luzerne:

Robinson's house, across from West Point

September 26, 1780

When I left you yesterday morning, Monsieur le Chevalier, to come here to breakfast with General Arnold, we were far from imagining the event that I am going to relate to you. You will shudder at the danger we have run. You will wonder at the miraculous chain of accidents and unforeseen events that has saved us; but you will be even more astonished to know the instruments through which this conspiracy has been carried out.

West Point has been betrayed, and by Arnold. The same man who had covered himself with glory in rendering conspicuous service to his country had lately formed an appalling pact with the enemy. Were it not for the chance that brought us here at a certain hour and the chance that, through a combination of mishaps, caused the adjutant general [Major André] of the British army to fall into the hands of a few pejlsants outside all our posts, West Point and the North River would now perhaps be in the possession of the enemy. When we left Fishkill yesterday we were preceded by one of my aides-de-camp and the aide of General Knox, who found General and Mrs. Arnold at table and joined them for breakfast. While they were there, two letters were brought to General Arnold informing him of the capture of a spy. He ordered a horse to be saddled, then went upstairs to his wife to tell her he was ruined, and commanded his aide-de-camp to tell General Washington that he was going to West Point and would return within an hour. On our arrival here we crossed the river and went to inspect the defenses. You can imagine our astonishment when upon our return we learned that the arrested spy was Major Andre, adjutant general of the British army, and when, among documents found on him, we recognized a transcript of a very important council of war, a description of the garrison and fortifications, and remarks about methods of attack and defense, all of which were written in General Arnold's hand. The British adjutant general also wrote to the general disclosing his name and situation. We sent a person in pursuit of Arnold; but he had escaped by boat to board the English frigate Vulture, and since no one suspected his flight, no one from the posts could have thought to arrest him. Colonel Hamilton, who had pursued him, shortly thereafter received a flag of truce with a letter from Arnold for the general, in 180 Light Camp Commander which he gives no details to justify his treason, and a letter from the British commander Robinson, who, in an extremely insolent manner, demanded the release of the adjutant general, on the grounds that he had acted entirely under General Arnold's permission. The general's first concern has been to reassemble at West Point the troops Arnold had dispersed under various pretexts. We have remained here to look after the security of a post that the British will fear the less for being more familiar with it. We are bringing in Continental troops, and since Arnold's advice may determine Clinton to move suddenly, the army has orders to be ready to march at any moment.

He wrote several of these letters where he described what had happened. I am not going to quote any more letters because they are quite repetitive. There is however one passage in a letter to the Vicomte de Noailles that stands out. La Fayette wrote on October 3, 1780:

Arnold's baseness and villainy surpass in their details all that I have ever read about that sort of thing. The anger I felt over it did not extend to his wife, with whom formerly I had been somewhat taken. But what has truly afflicted me is the necessity of hanging the adjutant general of the British army, a charming man who conducted himself throughout, and died, like a hero. This severity was necessary; the enemy acted very stupidly on this occasion, and since they lost that unfortunate man, the soul of their army, they have not written one letter that had common sense. Andre was executed yesterday. General Clinton's anger does not frighten us, but this man's death, although inevitable in my opinion, left me with a feeling of sadness and respect for his character. I truly suffered in condemning him; but he was an officer under disguised clothing and name, passing within our posts with papers full of intelligence for the enemy, and he himself did not hesitate to recognize himself as a spy. The knave who hid him is, I hope, going to be hanged too.

We see in this excerpt very clearly what he fought about Arnold, but also what his thoughts were concerning Mrs Arnold (better known perhaps as Peggy Shippen) and Major André. The mentioned “knave” was a certain Joshua H. Smith who assisted Arnold and André in their affairs but who was ultimately acquitted and fled the country.

La Fayette furthermore wrote to the Comte de Vergennes (probably in an attempt to play the whole business down for the French court) on October 4, 1780:

This whole affair proves only the greed of Arnold and has no other consequences than the abhorrence inspired by his sordid conduct.

The tone is the same in all of La Fayette’s letters, whether they were written directly after everything went down or many months, years or even decades later. At first though, there was not much that La Fayette could do, because the army went into the winter encampment. On February 20, 1781 however, La Fayette was named commander of an expedition against Arnold in Virginia (where the latter had just received a command of his own) and left the next day for Maryland. La Fayette was hell bend on capturing Arnold and even received pretty clear instructions from Washington on what to do with Arnold. Washington wrote in his instructions for the Marquis on February 20, 1780:

You are to do no act whatever with Arnold that directly or by implication may skreen him from the punishment due to his treason and desertion, which if he should fall into your hands, you will execute in the most summary way.

Despite all of his efforts, La Fayette could not apprehend Arnold. There was a new development with the British ranks though, that afforded La Fayette a little bit of pay back. The British send reinforcement down to Virginia to aide Arnold. A Major-General William Phillips commanded these troops. I have written about Phillips before, he was the man who commanded the artillery battery that fired the shot that killed La Fayette’s father in the battle of Minden in the Seven Years’ War - and La Fayette was very well aware of the fact. Phillips was now in command and Arnold second in command. So far, so good. The war and the campaign in Virginia continued like before. It was commonplace for two opposing Generals to have rather extensive correspondence. They spoke about war crimes committed by one of the two sides, about a potential exchange of prisoner of war, about a temporary truce, surrender - all the military and civil matters that needed to be discussed. These correspondences were most of the time rather civil. The two Generals understood each other as “Officers and Gentleman” and were fully aware that each man had their orders to follow. Phillips and La Fayette started a correspondence as well. La Fayette complained about the tone in Phillips letters and the demands he made (I have read Phillips letters; they are indeed a bit odd) but their correspondece was soon cut short when Phillips contracted a fever and died within a few days. Now Arnold was again first in command and it would have been his place to pick up Phillips correspondece with La Fayette. La Fayette wrote to Washington on May 17, 1781:

Genl. Phillips being dead of a fever, an Officer was sent with a passport & letters from Genl. Arnold. I requested the Gentleman to come to my Qrs. and having asked if Genl. Phillips was dead to which He answered in the negative, I made it a pretence not to receive a letter from Gl. Arnold, which being dated Head Quarters, and directed to the Commanding Officer of the American troops, ought to come from the British General Chief in Command. I did however observe that shou'd any other officer have written to me I wou'd have been happy to receive their Letters.

La Fayette made it clear to the British flag officer that he had no problem with corresponding with the British army in general, but that he would not cooperate with Arnold, a man that he did not perceive to be a gentleman and man of honour. La Fayette later wrote in his memoirs:

After the death of General Phillips, who died that same day, Arnold wrote, by a flag of truce, to Lafayette, who refused to receive his letter. He sent for the English officer, and, with many expressions of respect for the British army, told him that he could not consent to hold any correspondence with its present general. This refusal gave great pleasure to General Washington and the public, and placed Arnold in an awkward situation with his own army.

It may not sound like much for us today, but La Fayette reaction was a massive slap for Arnold. He was now in a position where he either had to correspond with an American officer that was junior in rank or he had to order a British officer who was junior in rank to himself to continue the correspondence with La Fayette. Arnold was so angry indeed that he wanted to retaliate by sending the American prisoner of war to prisoner colonies in the West Indies if La Fayette would not correspond with him.

As to the second question - I think you are playing at this lovely (and deleted, if I am not mistaken) scene from the TV series TURN: Washington’s Spies were La Fayette comforts Washington after Arnolds betrayal. There is no direct evidence that such a scene took place. We have now written account à la “today I comforted Washington because Arnold betrayed us.” Several sources however state, that Washington indeed uttered “Whom can we trust now?”, just like in the scene and just as I stated earlier, La Fayette was with Washington when all of this took place. I think it is therefore very likely that something similar as depicted in TURN may have taken place. Washington and La Fayette were incredibly close and they trusted each other. Washington could open up toward La Fayette because La Fayette was person who, unlike some other officers and generals at the time, had no ambition to usurp his position as Commander in Chief. La Fayette, due to his French background, would not be able to do so anyway, even if he would had such ambition. This was one of the many reasons why Washington could let his guard down in front of La Fayette without having to fear that he would be seen as weak.

I hope you have/had a fantastic day!

[miaouerie]

whumptober 2020 ------ day 31. left for dead

@whumptober2020​  Rebelcaptain Hunger Games AU: Cassian is Jyn’s mentor in the 70th Hunger Games. After being crowned victor at fifteen years old, Cassian is all-too-familiar with what it takes to bring a tribute home, and what becoming a victor really means.

content warnings: implied/referenced torture, mentions of attempted suicide, referenced brainwashing/conditioning, nonconsensual body modification, references to forced prostitution, references to forced drug use, unhappy/ambiguous ending

A/N: if downer endings aren’t quite your thing, I’ve written an alternate ending here, as well as additional author’s notes in a coda here. this is my first completed multichapter and thank you to everyone who has kept up with this story! any additional fics in this verse will be posted to my ao3.

previous: day 1 / 2  / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15  / 16  / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / → read on AO3

When Draven gets the call to escort Cassian from the Remake Center back to their district floor in the Tributes’ Tower and stand by for a forthcoming itinerary, he doesn’t need to see his charge to know that something fundamentally wrong has happened.

The last time his schedule began with picking up Cassian from the Remake Center was that period of time after his father died, which Draven now knows the truth about. But at the time he had been told that after Jeron Andor and Irga Torres were killed in a power plant explosion that a seditioner was blamed for, Cassian tried to kill himself out of grief. After two weeks in the Capitol of being monitored in extensive in-patient therapy, he was turned over to Draven to be ushered through the media press tour for his father’s death.

How Cassian behaved back then is eerily similar to how he presently is in Draven’s custody. He’s sitting in the backseat and relaxed against the headrest, but Draven has known Cassian long enough that the lines of stress pinning him in place are plain to see. His hands folded, in his lap. Facing forward, staring ahead at nothing. A tic in his jaw, barely perceptible but one that Draven catches all the same.

But what disturbs Draven are his eyes. Unlike that first time Draven picked him up from the Remake Center, they aren’t pained or filled with misery. They’re empty, in an unrecognizable way that Draven has never seen in him before.

After furtively investigating the intendance records kept of his charge for the past four years, Draven knows what really happens when Cassian is brought to the Capitol for ‘extensive in-patient therapy’. But for a brief moment he feels something revoltingly similar to gratitude that Cassian’s conditioning is strict about needless eye contact.

-

Next morning’s briefing packet sent to his datapad has a subfolder tagged with “SENSITIVE INFORMATION: DO NOT DISCLOSE,” to be unlocked with a retinal scan. It’s a copy of Jyn Erso’s medical record and an image of a bedside chart; last night she was transported from District 5 to an elite hospital in the Capitol for treatment of a stubborn respiratory illness.

Draven knew better than to ask questions—those who did had their tongues cut out and turned into Avoxes—but he quietly looks into the matter himself while performing his job’s duties for Cassian, whose schedule is booking up like it did during the Games. Taking every precaution available to avoid detection prolongs the search, but eventually he is able to determine that Jyn’s condition is a lie. That there is no proof that Jyn is even in the Capitol.

And then, he realizes, they must not know where she is at all.

-

Cassian’s body language used to telegraph his condition after an appointment but he doesn’t seem capable of it anymore. Nowadays, no matter how badly he’s been abused by a client, the posture he affects in the car is always the same: his hands folded, in his lap. Facing forward, staring ahead at nothing. A tic in his jaw, barely perceptible.

Whatever they had Cassian relearn in therapy included perfecting his talents as an obedient whore, so he’s not often returned in a state of intoxication as he once had to be. But it’s during those increasingly rare times—and only those times—that his tongue is loosened enough to let slip some of the perpetual torment he has to live with as punishment, because of Jyn Erso’s disappearance.

It’s one such night that Draven picks up Cassian at 03:01. After the car pulls away from the curb Cassian is still for a moment, before he heaves out a shuddery breath and his arms slump to his sides.

“Did you know they made it so I can’t say her name anymore?”

The words and their meaning take a moment to register with Draven. Then he says, “What?”

“No… I don’t think they would have told you. But I mean, her. My tribute. The one I saved.”

He can only be talking about Jyn Erso. Draven doesn’t say anything but he doesn’t have to; tonight, Cassian is giving voice to another painful truth.

“They asked me questions about her, had me read sentences aloud… made me give responses with her name in it. And they would hurt me, every single time I said it, so I can’t say it. Not without pain. Not anymore.”

His raspy confession is made to the silence. “Her name was like a prayer to me. Snow must have noticed, so he took it away.” A broken chuckle. “I didn’t think something like that was possible. But, they made me learn.”

Draven doesn’t know if he should be hearing this. But when he turns to give his full attention to his charge it’s like a switch is flipped. When their eyes meet Cassian’s eyes widen before he bolts himself back into place—hands back in his lap and looking straight forward.

The only thing betraying his vulnerability are the tears in his eyes.

-

It should not surprise Draven that Cassian tries to kill himself not long after that lapse in conduct, but it still does. At least, it’s a surprise in the sense that finding out a peer of two decades attempted suicide will always come as a surprise.

The Peacekeepers come when Draven is in the sitting room, waiting for Cassian to finish showering before Kay and his prep team arrive. One moment there’s the ding of the elevator arriving on their floor and in the next, six Peacekeepers are storming in.

Draven knows better than to demand answers in the heat of the moment so he stays out of their way, listens to the sound of the bathroom door breaking and boots stomping over shattered glass, listens to the sound of Cassian’s—frankly animalistic—screams as he’s subdued, and stays out of the way once again when they drag him out naked and wet and dripping blood from his arms and neck. They stand him there until a Peacekeeper returns from the bathroom with a dark fluffy green bathrobe for his modesty, and then he’s taken away.

When they make fleeting eye contact Draven is struck by the scathing accusation in his charge’s eyes. He wasn’t the one who called for the Peacekeepers but Cassian doesn’t know that, and Draven knows what it looks like. But there’s nothing he can say to Cassian in any case, nothing that can change the outcome of whatever has been decided to change next about him.  

-

Draven is scheduled to pick up Cassian from the Remake Center two weeks later. He has to walk into the lobby because the lead cognitive remake specialist has requested to talk to him, to show and demonstrate Cassian’s new implant.

It’s a very thin line of a scar on the back of Cassian’s neck, invisible to the naked eye but Draven can feel it when he brushes his fingers over the skin; beneath is a subdermal neuro-electrical node, grafted onto the nerves there. The specialist explains that when activated, it prevents Cassian from making sudden or any ‘suspiciously motivated’ movements. The remote that they give to Draven is for disabling it. Later on, Draven is assigned the responsibility of disabling its function for Cassian’s appointments as well as reenabling it after each one in turn.

Neither says a word as they get into the waiting car. They don’t speak for the whole car ride back, either. But more than once Draven sees Cassian’s hand creep to the back of his neck; his fingers slowly brush the scar tissue, before his hand is carefully guided back to his lap.

-

It proves very challenging to track where Cassian had been taken after his suicide attempt; Draven is always diligent about maintaining stealth when conducting these probes, but the seriousness of the situation called for significant preventive precautions to be taken. But once he succeeded…

…Then what?

He was able to determine that Cassian was taken to the same complex—in truth, one of several privately held black site facilities—for another two weeks of ‘in-patient therapy’ before he was transferred to the Remake Center. His process uncovered an entire network of similar private corporations and entities that operated under the purview of the government, all funded by the Hunger Games division for one apparent purpose: the victors’ covert diversion program.

But this devastative information only came about as a consequence from his attempts to satisfy an aberrant concern for Cassian’s whereabouts; Draven wasn’t planning on actively doing anything with it. Even the thought alone is treasonous: believing that victors deserved anything less than the hell that came pursuant on winning the Games was just a step below believing that the districts of Panem deserved anything more than the destitution and squalor left to them after the Dark Days. The victors’ diversion program was devised and implemented to prevent victors from believing that winning the Games meant anything other than being punished for it. Repeatedly. Because even if a new victor is crowned every year, the real winner of the Hunger Games will always remain the Capitol.

This is what Draven has always known. But then… there was Cassian.

He had come to know the boy at six years old, the first year Draven received the assignment to escort not only Irga and Jeron to the town plaza for District 5′s reaping, but the latter’s wife and son as well. Only one of the two living District 5 victors had a family, and now that Cassian was old enough to understand how to behave the Games producers wanted reaction shots of Jeron’s wife and child.

Their acquaintance proceeded as such—twice a year Draven saw the Andor boy, first at the reaping and again when escorting Jeron and Irga home after the closing ceremonies. Though he chose not to indulge in the sentiment, seeing Cassian grow up through the years in such a manner often left Draven with a feeling similar to how he felt after visiting with once-a-year relatives during Wintermas.

After Cassian was reaped and won his Games, Draven’s duties as District 5’s escort were officially recategorized with Cassian as his primary charge, relegating Jeron and Irga to second priority; if they needed to be chaperoned somewhere while he was with Cassian, there was express authorization to send a number of Peacekeepers to complete the task. But for the purpose that President Snow intended to use Cassian for, only a Games escort with discretionary expertise could do.

Draven’s choice of career tended to attract a lot of airheads and grifters, those who relished in schmoozing up sponsors or otherwise gunning for a glimpse of the glory and glamor awarded to a winning victor’s support team. But Draven derived his dedication to the job solely from esteem in his own competence; perhaps that was why the president believed his silence on Cassian being groomed and Jeron remaining unaware of it was guaranteed.

Did the president, in all of his scheming, ever consider the possibility of Draven going rogue? But even if he did tell Jeron of what President Snow was doing to his son it wouldn’t have changed the outcome; Cassian’s placement into a mentoring position could only be accomplished by leaving District 5’s mentorship short of a victor. Plus, he would have had his tongue cut out and turned into an Avox if Snow found out; if Peacekeepers were dispatched to interrupt Cassian’s suicide attempt quickly enough to thwart it, his treachery would have inevitably been discovered.

And where would that leave Cassian?

Another escort would be assigned, one who didn’t mind enabling Cassian after an assignment when he comes back horny and drunk or high, or in the mood for taking out his self-loathing on the only person available. Those moments of weakness never failed to stun Draven with their impact—they were cruel reminders of the fact that he is the only person in the Capitol who sees what became of a tormented boy, now constrained to his life as a tormented prisoner.

But Cassian’s new conditioning doesn’t seem to allow for any moments of weakness. Or rather, the implant doesn’t. His movements are mechanized and deliberate, calculated to avoid triggering the parameters for a shock, yet fluid enough that evidently he was put through his paces by his captors. Until he was well-trained, and conditioned, and became devoid of any expression at all.

Suffice to say, they don’t talk anymore. What is there left to say? Nothing, not until Draven receives an update on Jyn Erso’s health status. Then a personal summons to President Snow’s office.

-

The president and a trio of his advisors are waiting for Draven. The situation with District 5’s new victor has turned  critical; even with the Capitol’s elite medical advancements, Jyn is not responding well to treatment.

Draven knows it’s all lies but he agrees along with their assessment. Jyn’s untimely death before the Victory Tour may be unavoidable, and the Capitol needs to control the story behind the cause to control the public’s reaction to her death. Her condition has been kept secret in anticipation of this very situation; several contingency plans to stage been drawn up, each optimized to account for potential blowback between the Capitol and the districts.

While each plan is pitched to weather Snow’s criticism, Draven doesn’t let any confusion or concern cross his face. Not when the president’s snakelike eyes are on his every time Draven chances a glance. He knows Snow is observing his reaction to this authoritarian show of might—whatever choice is made here will have a ripple effect throughout all of Panem, going much further than the conflict between President Snow and the victors of District 5. Expectably, Draven isn’t asked for any input, but he knows that’s not what he’s been called here for.

After the advisors are dismissed Draven stands alone, a respectable distance away in front of Snow sitting at his desk; the president watches him awhile before he speaks. “So, Davits. You understand how imperative it is that we control the narrative, not just here within the Capitol but in the rest of Panem.”

“Of course, Mister President.”

“I’m sure, then, you understand the necessity of what was done to Cassian.” Snow gets up from behind his desk, circling around to lean against the dark mahogany facade with his arms crossed. His stance is still threatening despite its casual assertion; Draven almost takes a step back but he remains standing where he is.

“Jeron Andor mistakenly believed that he had enough power to take matters into his own hands; it can be only him who passed along the concept to young Cassian. One would think that his father’s fate taught him that attempting to do so can only end in tragedy. And yes,” he says in answer to the sudden clench of fear in Draven’s chest, “I’ve been made aware of your interloping efforts regarding Jeron and Miss Torres’ deaths. I concede that it was not a deception that accounted for close scrutiny. Rest assured that when your inquests were discovered, the advisor and those responsible for implementing the proposal were swiftly executed.”  

The president continues, “I will not question your motives for investigating the matter. I am not commending your capabilities in doing so, either. But understand this: there is nothing for you to do here except your assigned function as District 5’s escort. Nothing less, and nothing more. An unfathomably simple request, yet if only Cassian had performed his role in the same capacity his implant would not have been deemed necessary. Undoubtedly you agree that rebellious actions such as his merit consequences tailored to their severity.”

Draven’s throat is dry but his voice remains steady. “Indeed, sir.”

Snow straightens himself upright. They’re both tall people but he does have an inch on Draven in height, and his next words are spoken in a voice both paternalistic and contemptuous. “No further harm has to befall the boy, but it will be your future discretion which will determine that. Now, have I made your situation clear?”

-

Snow doesn’t know the entirety of what Draven knows about the victor diversion program then. Yet. It may only be a matter of time before Peacekeepers are at his door. They wouldn’t kidnap him for ‘extensive in-patient therapy’, not when a bullet to the head would be quicker, cleaner, and most effectively ensure his silence.

There’s only one road for him to take now; he can no longer abide by what the Capitol is allowed to demand from Cassian, not when they claw for everything within reach to cement his enslavement.

Where will his charge be a year from now, or three? What else can they take from him?

How did Jeron live through nineteen years of this feeling?

It should feel daunting; the thought only registers later that night after Cassian is dropped off at the Tower and Draven is heading home. That finding a way to save Cassian will take everything he’s got, in order to go against everything he’s ever known. But Draven did not get this far in his life by second-guessing his choices, and he has never been so sure of one thing.

The next certainty is this: he’s got to find Jyn Erso.

[timehasbeenbusy]

17 & 18 November 1828

Monday 17 November 1828

5¾

11 25/60

From 6 40/60 to 8 read from page 30 – 42 of the Brief History of Christ Hospital and wrote the whole of the above today – Breakfast at 8 20/60 – off to Halifax at 8 50/60 down the old bank to Mr Briggs – said I had seen Holt, and what I had said to him – Mr Briggs thought I had better give away the coals - getting them would be expensive – must have an engine – did not think they would pay – giving them away would not, said it was my present mind to get them at all rates – Mr Briggs said he would see Holt, and go with him to plan the ground, Mr Briggs shewed me an oak-root round table made at Brighhouse priced £20 – one not so handsome sold to Mr Stead for £25 - About 20 minutes there – then sat 25 minutes with Mrs Veitch (poorly in a bad cold), then at 9 ¾ got to Savile hill –the breakfast things not removed Mrs and 2 Miss Wilcocks – Miss Pickford much better for the baths of St Gervais, to spend the winter at Roma – to write there poste restante – Mrs Wilcocks going to write to her today – begged a little of her paper and wrote ⅓ of the first page small and close, hoping my letter to Genoa was received, giving my address in Paris – observing she could be complacent in writing full letters, all crossed, as I had just seen, to Mrs Wilcocks - to write to me before expecting to hear of or from me again – uncertain as to my stay here, but would not exceed 10 days or a fortnight – asked what beauties she most admired and what thought of this place and that – should not at this moment say of what use her information might be to me – thought that by hook and by crook, I should see her before the twelvemonth’s end –

 ½ hour at Savile hill –then went to Throps – not at home – could learn nothing – my job was but a small one – would think about it – Throp most likely to be at home between 12 and 2 – returned along the canal – the new lodge to Stonyroyde, nearly roofed gable-end, labells windows, little building expensively hewed – got home up the old bank at 12 – Letter from Mariana Scarbro’on my desk – 3 hurried pages 2½ pm yesterday, ‘great change – cannot last much longer – ‘the struggles are dreadfully severe, and it is indeed a trying scene to us all’ – Mariana sat up on Friday night, but says she bore it well – ‘as to myself, have no fears on my account – I am honestly and in truth the best of the set’ would ‘like me to write something more than a mere statement that life was no more ….to appear in the York paper ……..’some little tribute to his merits would be gratifying to us all’ will write tomorrow (ie today) if any thing happens – if not on Tuesday (ie tomorrow) – offers to bring my father cod, sounds as she passes through – Had just begun to write when (at 12 20/60) Miss Hudson of Hipperholme called for ½ an hour – going to send off a parcel from Whitleys tomorrow by the van in 3 or 4 days to Miss MacLean if I had any letter to send Whitley would enclose it in time tomorrow afternoon – said I was much obliged etc etc but a very bad correspondent abomined letter-writing only said what I had to say – did not believe I could make up my mind to write – thought I, no, I wont send in her parcel, I do not understand all this, they shall have it to themselves  Miss Hudson Miss Maclean had asked many questions about the place – it was not very beautiful country and she had said so – I abused the house – said much wanted doing at it – it was a doghole of a place as I always told people – I certainly never said much in its favour  -

Came upstairs again at 12 50/60 – from 1 to 3, wrote 3 pages to Mariana including the following ‘as to the request that I should write something more than a common obituary notice, be it remembered Mary, that I am not an advocate  for long paragraphs of this kind in newspapers, and, above all, that it is Steph, not I who can do this best – when I am serious, you know my repugnance to speak or write strongly in praise or dispraise – all that I need add is, that, were my own father in the circumstances of yours, and I heard I persuaded myself to write any thing more than a mere ‘announcement of the death, it would probably be something like the following’ –

‘Died on ------- at his house in Scarborough, in the ----- year of his age, after a long and ‘severe illness, William Belcombe Esquire, ---- years a resident physician in this city ‘where his talent soon established him at the head of his profession, where by his mild ‘and gentlemany manners, and active and useful benevolence, he was soon and lastingly endeared to all who knew him well – He was eminently successful in his practice which ‘was very extensive  ‘to the last of his professional career, he devoted a considerable ‘portion of every day to his numerous poor and‘gratis patients; and it does not fall to the ‘lot of every one to be more sincerely lamented, or to leave behind him a good name ‘better deserved – But Mary, do you not think, it would be best for Steph to draw up a ‘proper memoir to be inserted in the Genteman’s Magazine?  To do this, no-one is better fitted than your brother – As a professional man, he might give a brief and comprehensive sketch which, in doing credit to his father, might reflect some credit upon himself – your father’s practice which laid the foundation-stone ‘of his reputation in York, was, at that time new in England?  His services in the navy, experience in the ‘West Indies, studies and intimacies with the man of letters on the continent, mild treatment of insanity cases,‘not to forget (if thought proper) descent from an old and respectable Lancashire family, and his marriage with‘whom, - might, if well handled by his son, do some dutiful honour, and some practical good – give‘my best regards to Steph, and tell him so – Then write the following to Mr Birmingham ‘Shibden hall Monday 17 November‘1828 – Sir – Being domiciliated in Paris, I wish to take over with me, on my return, a small box of plate viz ‘1 tea-pot, a couple of dozen folks, dozen spoons, cream jug and sugar, - basin, snuffers and tray, and a couple of ‘waiters – I know, some particular permit is required for this from the French chef de douanes – I shall be much obliged to‘you to take the earliest opportunity of giving me all necessary information on this subject, direct to Mrs Lister,‘Shibden hall, Halifax, Yorkshire – on my arrival at Dover, I will pay you any expense that may have been ‘incurred on my account – I am, Sir etc etc A Lister’ – all which took me till 5 – then skimming over again Cronhelms Book-keeping – dressed – dined at 6 25/60 – at 7 sent off to the post by John, my letter to Mariana ‘Doctor Belcombe’s Scarborough’ and to Mr John Birmingham, Commissioner, Old Ship Hotel, Dover, Post paid’  then Sat talking till after 9 – wrote the last 3 lines – went up to bed ay 10 5/60 – very fine day not so damp and thick as these last few days – rather inclined to be a little frosty – reading the rules in Hutton’s Book-keeping, till 10 ¾

Tuesday 18 November 1828

5 50/60

11 10/60

Read the 1st 45 lines Saturday 2  I went out at 7½ - went to Cowgate wood – took the wallers from walling and stayed there to right the set started against the wood in Pearson’s great brow – stayed with them and did not get home till 10¼ - sent John to make holes for planting in Pump Lane – find on my desk letter from Mariana Scarbro’, 11 hurried lines dated yesterday 17th instant ‘at 5 minutes before 1 today my precious father breathed his last without a groan, tho’ from 11 yesterday to the same hour at night his sufferings were very severe, after that he became calm and composed until 5 this morning, when difficulty of breathing returned and continued till within a few minutes of his death - Steph was with us - my mother at this minute bears ‘up tolerably, and we all do our best – I will write again in a day or 2 – God bless you – always yours Mariana’ –Will she get my letter of yesterday today? What will she think of what I wrote to announce Dr Belcombe’s death? It will seem cold, praiseless, spiritless, heartless – how different our feelings!  Her expression precious father –shocks me – dear father – or simply father - It smites me best to think of those I love when gone as if they were still here – I never yet could say my poor uncle and Mr Sunderland’s exclamation on first seeing him a corpse ‘poor thing!’ shocked me more than I could describe -  Letter also from Isabella Norcliffe, Langton, they had heard a bad account of Dr Belcombe’ think it will be a happy release but I dread the effect it will produce upon Mariana, whose nerves are little able to bear such a shock – I fear there is no chance of our meeting at Lawton, as of course she will not leave Scarbro’ just at present’ – they leave Langton for Bath on the 2nd of December -

[eponymous-rose]

Weird question, but you seem really productive despite seeming to have a constantly fluctuating routine, with both your work and your hobbies. Most people think having a solid routine is the only way to increase your productivity but I've pretty much given up on having a routine since my life seems similar to yours--a lot of travel, weird and always changing work hours. Do you have any advice on how you deal with routine and productivity in spite of that?

Oh gosh, this is definitely something I struggle with a LOT, and I’m not sure I’ve found a coping strategy that works for me yet. But the small things that have been helping have been (1) keeping a routine in my planning even if the stuff I do changes dramatically (even if I’m traveling, I have a notebook where, every Sunday, I list all the stuff that has specific dates/times for the following week, I list the stuff where I still have to come up with a date/time, and I list the stuff I’ve gotta do that week for sure), and (2) finding multiple ways to approach the same goals that I can tailor to my level of energy/spare time on any given week (so this week I’m just not in a super exercisey mindset and can’t rely on having the motivation to run every day, but instead I’m making an extra effort not to eat out this week—lower-effort for my current state of mind, but all toward the same goal of feeling a bit healthier overall).

I’m also very cognizant of how little time at work is actually spent working, so I try not to feel guilty if the total number of hours worked is low as long as the work’s getting done. I’m an incredibly routine-oriented person, but it’s been a bit freeing to slowly and steadily teach myself that stuff just has to get finished one way or another, and the easiest way to do that is to just focus on specific goals and let the rest be flexible.

Anyway, yesterday I was thinking of this ask and was like, “You know, I’ll just write up what I do on Monday as an example, and I bet things will go hilariously awry.” And so they did.

So here’s what my weekly planning list looked like last night:

Dated Events:

Call with paper coauthor at 9AM Monday

Call with leadership academy planning committee at 10AM Monday

Call with peer mentoring group at 9AM Tuesday

Sit in on class at 11:30AM Tuesday and Thursday

Seminars Wednesday at 3PM, Thursday at 4PM, and Friday at 3PM

D&D Saturday at 6PM

Undated Events:

Coordinating abstract submission for an upcoming conference (early week)

Setting up Skype calls with a couple friends I haven’t talked to in a while (late week)

Assorted Priorities:

Book hotel for work travel in July

Accept journal article review request and scope out how long that’ll take

Review some materials sent out for my peer mentoring call

Revise my paper and submit the revisions before the Monday deadline

Get my driver’s license renewed (the joys of yearly visa renewal… your license has to be renewed yearly as well)

Put together a schedule for a biweekly Twitter feature highlighting new publications for the account I run for a subcommittee in my field

Respond to an e-mail about a conference in January about some weird deadline that popped up for next week

Come up with conference abstract ideas before the as-yet-unscheduled meeting

Fill out some action items in advance of my 10AM Monday call

And some more specific checklists for four research projects I’m focusing on this week

I purposely try to group conference calls together, because I currently share my office and feel weird doing video calls when she’s stuck in frame five feet away from me while she tries to work. So Monday seems like a good day to work from home, and I can squeeze in Tuesday’s call before heading to the office that morning. I’ll be in the office Tuesday-Friday, which means I’ll be able to attend those seminars and classes with no problem. I have most of my D&D prep done already because we ended early last game, so I can leave that until Saturday. The only thing I might have to shuffle to next week is the driver’s license thing, because it’ll take three hours and I have to account for finding a Lyft there and back. Okay. Aces.

Wake up this morning to find my internet’s out, and I also somehow left the hard drive with all my research on it at work. Hoo boy. But staring over my to-do list, I think I can set today up as a “big picture” day and not have to do any actual coding, so I’m still okay to work from home. I can also phone in to the conference calls instead of using the video call software. All good.

Luckily, the internet comes back right before my first call of the day. Said call is with someone who also happens to be a dean, so she has a tendency to get held up at meetings, so I take that delay to look at the action items for my second call (I mean… if you send me action items at 8PM on a Sunday I am not gonna touch them until Monday morning).

When she did make it online, we chatted about the new paper, and she strongly encouraged me to send it to our other coauthors in case they have suggestions. We’re submitting on Monday, which is way too short-notice to read a 20-page research paper, but they already read the pre-revision version in great detail, so I shot them an e-mail that included a summary of the substantial changes and a note to the effect that if any of them want more time to look at this stuff, I can beg the editor for an extension on their behalf. Minor crisis averted.

Second meeting is very intense and structured. Everyone has to volunteer to organize and lead two webinars in the next three months, so I go ahead and volunteer for the two April ones so I’ll get it out of the way early. Aaand the first webinar is at 1PM this Friday. Okay. I’ll work from home that morning so I can do last-minute prep, then head into the office in time for the 3PM seminar. No biggie. One organizer puts together a draft schedule, and I send a quick e-mail suggesting a different use of one of the ten-minute time slots. One of the other organizers requests another conference call tomorrow instead of e-mails. I tell them I can only do after 4PM, if I leave work early. Eh. We’ll see how that works out.

After the call, I get through a bunch of small tasks in maybe 20 minutes: hotel booked, Twitter posts prepped, review request accepted (not due until May 20, so plenty of time on that), conference deadline e-mail chain started. I spend the rest of the time before noon getting sucked into an article someone sent me about the myths surrounding undergraduate grade inflation and then reading up on the peer mentoring materials for our call tomorrow. A couple other minor e-mails pop up (scheduling the precise date of a conference mixer in January, that kind of thing) and I manage to deal with them right away.

Lunch! Clearly working from home means I should take the opportunity to indulge in some fine cuisine, some leisurely cooking that highlights—

I heat up a microwave meal (chicken couscous) and watch YouTube videos for an hour.

Back in it! I write up some abstract submission ideas and make a valiant attempt at setting up a time to talk about them, but it looks like that might have to wait until next week. We’re still a ways before the deadline, so that’s okay.

Mmmmmmm someone on Twitter mentions a conference in Germany in September and a workshop in Colorado in July that both look like a good fit for my research. I’m in a situation where I have a big chunk of travel funding that’s going to disappear unless it gets spent in the next year. Oh no. But also oh yes.

Just in case, I put together a couple point-form ideas for stuff to propose that I can bring to the people holding the purse strings.

The rest of the afternoon is spent putting together weekly goals for four of my research projects: each one involves a collaboration with a different person, so I’d like to be able to send each of them an e-mail with at least one new thing to share about that project this week. Just in case that doesn’t happen, though, I rank them from most to least important. Worst-case scenario, I don’t have to send any of them this week, but it’ll make next week tougher if I don’t.

It’s only about 3:30 at this point, but honestly, I’m feeling a bit exhausted and overwhelmed (some of the e-mail chains have gone through five or six replies at this point and keeping it all straight is giving me a headache), so I opt to get some groceries and call it a day.

I may have added some stuff, but I got a lot crossed off today! Here’s how that last checklist looks at the end of the day:

Assorted Priorities:

Revise my paper and submit the revisions before the Monday deadline

Project #1: come up with a new exploratory figure and send to Person A.

Project #2: summarize the early results I started last week and send to Person B, along with an ask to see whether he’d be up for me presenting this stuff in Europe in November.

Project #3: improve on figures I showed last month and send to Person C.

Project #4: prepare a rough outline of the next paper to send to Person D.

Not having my work hard drive means I was able to just focus on the stuff that wasn’t specific to research today. In all the chaos of today, I’ve set myself up well for a research-heavy rest of the week where I (hopefully) won’t have to worry about non-research stuff or big changes to the schedule and can just burrow into research, emerging for occasional seminar/webinar breaks. A good Monday, all around.

[2indecisive4this-blog]

Kaitlyn x MC HCs (as per anon request)

1. Who is the early bird/ Who is the night owl?

Kaitlyn’s a major night owl. MC tries to keep up, but tends to pass out...often flopping right onto her. It can be inconvenient.

2. Who is the big spoon/ Who is the little spoon?

They switch, but generally Kaitlyn’s the big spoon. MC revels in the feeling of being totally enveloped in Kaitlyn’s embrace. When MC can’t sleep, she’ll grab Kaitlyn’s arms and pull them around herself. Though this wakes her up, she never minds and gives MC a loving squeeze and soft kiss on the back of her neck before falling back asleep.

3. Who hogs the cover/ Who loves to cuddle?

They battle for covers-custody constantly. MC usually wins, but relinquish the blankets because Kaitlyn’s “just too cute to say no to”.

4. Who wakes the other one up with kisses?

On the rare occasion Kaitlyn wakes up before MC, she'll pepper her with kisses until she wakes up (usually groggily groaning one of her celebrity crushes’ names “Oh Jen..” to get Kaitlyn feisty. It doesn't usually work “Aniston or Lawrence?”)

5. Who usually has nightmares?

Kaitlyn has frequent nightmares with monsters from her favorite horror movies, though she claims that she actually likes them. MC sees through her bluff though when she snuggles extra close and squeezes her a little tighter afterwards.

6. Who would have really deep emotional thoughts at the middle of the night/ Who would have them in the middle of the day?

They're both known to wake the other up to ask deep philosophical questions

“If you can sunbathe, does that mean you can moonbathe?”

“OMFG I WAS WONDERING THE SAME THING”

7. Who sweats the small stuff?

Kaitlyn. She's still fairly insecure about their relationship, often being worked up when her plans don't go exactly according to, well, plan. When she starts stressing, MC will take her face in her hands and kiss her nose, assuring her that “everything is perfect”

8. Who sleeps in their underwear (or naked)/ Who sleeps in their pajamas?

MC used to sleep in her pajamas but Kaitlyn's incessant whining that “pj are just extra distance between [them]”, they now both sleep “O’ Natural”. It's gotten to the point MC often forgets to get dressed when leaving their room in the morning. Needless to say, her friendship with Zack and Chris with never be the same again.

9. Who makes the coffee (or tea)?

MC makes it, though admits she probably doesn't need it with her “natural high on life”. Kaitlyn knows she needs it, and demands it “by the friggin gallon”.

10. Who likes sweet/ Who likes sour?

They both love the combination, often opting to buy both a pack of Swedish fish, and one of Sour Patch Watermelon. when it comes down to it though, the Swedish fish always gravitate toward MC and the Sour Patch Watermelon to Kaitlyn.

11. Who likes horror movies/ Who likes romance movies?

Kaitlyn LOVES horror movies. To death. Quite literally. MC doesn't like them but tolerates them for Kaitlyn's sake. Usually Kaitlyn tells her to “watch [her]” during the scary parts, and takes the opportunity to steal a kiss or two.

MC is a sucker for cheesy romance, romcoms in particular. Kaitlyn insists that “true love happens over time and can't be represented in an hour and a half” She will admit though, that “Drew Barrymore is smokin’”, and she'd “watch anything to see her in it”.

12. Who is smol/ Who is tol?

MC is tol, though just barely taller than Kaitlyn. Personality wise, MC is smol.

13. Who is considered the scaredy cat?

MC. She jumps at every little thing. Kaitlyn used to like scaring her, but at this point it’s too easy and she doesn’t even bother trying.

14. Who kills the spiders?

Kaitlyn, though MC always whines and asks her not to kill them. Once, Kaitlyn tried sparing a spider and instead dumping it outside (as requested) but a paranoid MC changed her mind and sent her back out into the wilderness to ensure it wouldn't return. It took hours.

15. Who is scared of the dark?

MC. She's “not scared, just apprehensive of what might be hiding in it”.

16. Who is scared of thunderstorms?

MC. She startles with each thunder clap and and shivers at the thought of lightning. Occasionally though, Kaitlyn can convince her to stand outside in it, and they kiss beneath the torrent.

17. Who works/ Who stays at home?

They both work, though MC tends to work from home (writing). Kaitlyn has spare time between gigs, and so they hang together a lot while they’re at home.

18. Who is a cat person/ Who is a dog person?

They’re both dog people, although MC also loves cats. Kaitlyn loves MC’s dog (MC sometimes gets a lil jelly over how much Bastien (“don’t judge”) loves Kaitlyn)

19. Who loves to call the other one cute names?

It’s been a sickening and undying competition between them for ever. It started with Kaitlyn calling MC “bunny” (after an embarrassing The Christmas Story -esque fiasco), to which MC countered “snugglebunny”. The most recent installment is “Snuffleupagus-bunny-pooh-bear I” (Kaitlyn’s creation) but with no end in sight, and with Webster’s Dictionary being the colossal reference that it is, the possibilities are endless.

20. Who is dominant/ Who is submissive?

Kaitlyn tends to be dominant, but they switch it up frequently (MC loves topping Kait mid “session”--Kaitlyn loves it too).

21. Who has an obsession (over anything)?

Kaitlyn’s ongoing horror movie obsession has grown tiresome for MC. If she has to sit through another Skin Goblins marathon, let alone being Kaitlyn’s Skin Goblin cosplay partner (it’s a two person costume), MC’s head might implode.

22. Who goes all out for Valentine’s Day?

MC openly obsesses over Valentine’s Day, whereas Kaitlyn tries to act cavalier (while planning an extensive surprise in secret).

23. Who asks who out on the first date?

MC asked Kaitlyn bc Kaitlyn still couldn’t fathom that MC was into her as well (old gay insecurities).

24. Who is the talker/ Who is the listener?

They take turns. It’s slightly ridiculous. Kaitlyn fished a clock out of an ancient chess set from her (limited) time in chess club in highschool. They take turns chattering for 45 seconds at a time before switching again.

25. Who wears the other ones clothes?

Kaitlyn.

Never.

Does.

Laundry.

Ever.

Hope that’s enough information to answer the question :)

26. Who likes to eat healthy/ Who loves junk food?

They both live on crap food (past the point of junk food). They’re working on it though, no more Cheetos with Cheez Doodle on top, only one or the other.

27. Who takes a long shower/ Who sings in the shower?

They both sing in the shower, although Kaitlyn’s singing is far less embarrassing (and yet she somehow remains more embarrassed while doing so? Again, old gay insecurities die hard).

28. Who is the book worm?

MC loves reading (mostly graphic novels at this point), whereas Kaitlyn’s Netflix addiction grows with each season of American Horror Story.

Even the bad ones.

29. Who is the better cook?

Neither of them can make a half decent meal alone without making an offensive mess. As near as they can figure though, two heads are actually worse than one, as when they work together nothing gets made except for a mess.

30. Who likes long walks on the beach?

MC and Kaitlyn like to ironically frolic along the shores, hand in hand. MC actually loves building sandcastles, while Kaitlyn actually loves stomping them afterwards.

31. Who is more affectionate?

MC is more innocently affectionate; opting to hold hands in public, sneak quick kisses, and give long tender hugs. Kaitlyn, although now confidently out, is still occasionally nervous (old gay habits) of PDA, but more than compensates in private.

32. Who likes to have really long (deep) conversation?

They both do, but MC’s subject matter tends to be lighter whereas Kaitlyn’s discussion topics usually derive from real-life examples she’s feeling guilty or regretful of.

33. Who would wear “not guilty” t-shirt/ Who would wear “sin” t-shirt?

Kaitlyn wanted to wear the “not guilty” shirt, but MC called her out.

34. Who would wear “if lost return to…” t-shirt/ Who would wear “I am…” t-shirt?

Kaitlyn's the lost puppy. They wear them so often that they've accumulated 3 pairs. Kaitlyn thinks it's funny to also wear the “I am MC” shirt without MC noticing. MC does not share the sentiment.

35. Who goes overboard on the holidays?

MC is obsessed. Kaitlyn tends to forget they're even coming up, tending to opt for belated holiday gifts (so she has the timeto buy them last minute). One year she got MC a single disposable razor left over from her 5 pack (“get it? Because you raze the roof?”)

MC did get it.

MC was not amused.

36. Who is the social media addict?

Kaitlyn's developed a bit of an obsession since becoming her band’s social (media) butterfly.

37. Height difference or age difference?

A tiny height difference, MC is a hair taller.

38. Who likes to star gaze?

They both LOVE it, often waking up on their front lawn after an especially starry night.

39. Who buys cereal for the prize inside?

They both will, but won't admit it; often racing the other to finish the box solely for the prize at the bottom. MC calculated the number of times it takes to reach the bottom and so feels confident she's getting the mood ring (little does she know, Kaitlyn already opened the bottom of the box, took the ring, and taped it back up).

40. Who is the fun parent/ Who is the responsible parent?

They don't have kids, but they have a dog! His name is Wilbur, and they're convinced he's actually a pig in disguise. They're both honestly abysmal dog/pig parents, but together they manage to walk him, feed him, and get him to the vet on time (usually).

41. Who cries during sad movies?

MC. Kaitlyn rolls her eyes, hugs her close, and hands her a tissue (though they have to share whenever a dog dies).

42. Who is the neat freak?

MC wouldn't call herself a neat freak, but Kaitlyn’s messiness pains her soul. She often reminisces to the brief period of time she lived with Rachel, musing that she “didn't yet know what a trash goblin truly was”.

43. Who wins the stuffed animals at the carnival for the other one?

They both try very hard and fail even harder, but have a great time and opt for cotton candy and caramel apples instead.”Food is the best prize anyway”

44. Who is active/ Who is lazy?

They're both pretty lazy, although MC tends to be pretty restless and hard to pin down. She spends a lot of their “Netflix and Chill” sessions pacing more than chilling.

45. Who is more likely to get drunk?

Kaitlyn doesn't drink anymore, though she has a growing suspicion that her “shirley temples really do [her] in”

46. Who has the longer food order?

Kaitlyn. MC tries to keep up, but Kaitlyn could eat everything on the menu and still have seconds. It's no competition.

47. Who has the more complex coffee order?

MC. Not that her order is overly complicated, but Kaitlyn drinks black coffee. 

“I like my coffee how I like my women, bitter”

“Hey!”

*winks *

48. Who loses stuff?

They both lose everything. Kaitlyn at least knows she left her things amidst her other piles of crap, whereas MC loses things everywhere she goes and has no chance of tracking them down.

49. Who is the driver/ Who is the passenger?

They tend to go by bus, but when it comes to it MC usually drives.

50. Who is the hopeless romantic?

Day by day, MC is, but Kaitlyn is excellent at creating massive gestures. MC loves them (and her) dearly.

Give me a fictional couple :D

[thesevenseraphs]

Bungie Weekly Update - 8/31/17

This week at Bungie, we’re about to launch!

Destiny 2 is almost here. This will be our last weekly transmission before you get to play the full game in all its glory. There has been so much said about this new adventure on the road to launch, but we’ve still seen many of you asking if there would be a live action trailer. Today, it arrived. 

We have a lot of information for you today. Tomorrow, we head off to PAX for a full weekend of Destiny 2 awesomeness. Next week is the main event.

If you are at PAX, you can play Destiny 2, you can sit in for any of our panels, or you can score a ton of loot at the Bungie store. If you can’t make it out to PAX, don’t fret, all of these items will also be available online in the Bungie Store. We’ll let you know via the official Bungie Twitter account when the new inventory is available for purchase.

The Beta and the Omega This morning, the Destiny 2 PC Beta closed up shop. As far as tests go, it feels like a huge success. We learned a lot from watching you play and reading your feedback online. Thanks go out to everyone who joined us from whatever PC you were able to use to run the Beta. We’ve gotten a lot of great insights from the PC community and we’ll continue fine-tuning the game before the final release on October 24. We can’t wait to see you back again for the full Destiny 2 experience. Thank you so much for playing!

End Game

After launch, there will be a few rituals and firsts that you might want to plan for as you ascend to orbit around the Destiny Endgame. Some of these activities will be ready and waiting as soon as you play your way through to them. Others will go live shortly thereafter, giving you and your teammates time to prepare to get geared up and ready to go.

Here are a few of the dates you should mark in your calendar.

Nightfall: Ready when you are

Raid: 10 AM PT, September 13

Trials: 10 AM PT, September 15

If you have witnessed the race to become the first to topple the final boss, you know we keep Raid info well under wraps. These are your moments to discover – your mysteries to solve. We’ve given you the when. You will soon discover the who, the what, and the where. Together, as a team, you might even discover the how.

We’ll be watching!

Guided Games

Guided Games is a new feature coming to Destiny 2 that will help solo players link up with Clans to tackle the most profound challenges in the game as a Fireteam.

For Guided Games to have a successful launch, we need time for enough players to form into real Clans and be ready to guide other Guardians. If there are too many solo Seekers and not enough Clan Guides, the queues for matching will be quite long. Therefore, we’re going to roll out Guided Games as a limited-access ‘soft beta’, where only a select number of solo players will be able to use Guided Games for the Nightfall on 9/12. This will allow us to slowly ramp up players over the course of September (and allow Clan populations to grow) so that everyone has a great experience.

During the Guided Games Beta period, we need your Clans to fully test the system at scale. All Clans will be able to guide solo players, so once you’ve mastered the Nightfall, Fireteam up and guide solo players to the highest heights.  You may meet some new friends along the way.

30-50% of players will be given seeker access, depending on clan participation in Destiny 2 during the first week.

Target: 100% of players will be given seeker access.

Go Grab Some Big Guns

If you are veteran of Destiny 1, you’re probably familiar with the pre-decryption shuffle. This is where you equipped all of your highest Light gear before you brought your Engrams to the Cryptarch so you would maximize your gains.

In the past, this was a little cumbersome at times, and a huge bummer if you forgot a piece. In Destiny 2, you will suffer those woes no longer.

Now the game will automatically determine your power potential and give you the reward you deserve without making you dig through all of your Armor and Weapons to equip your best stuff. We recently cornered Investment Designer Daniel Auchenpaugh and compelled him to make some rare promises about character progression.

Tell us about this new system. When do rewards determine their power, and how is it determined?

Daniel: Rewards determine their power at the time they're earned. This means that, when an engram drops in Destiny 2, it decides its power at the time it drops. Also, when we roll rewards, we look at your character's level and your best possible gear to determine the power of the reward. This is true for Crucible end-of-match rewards, Engram drops, Strike rewards, etc. Note that some sources can still produce better gear than others; once you're exploring endgame content look for the "Powerful Gear" rewards in tooltips if you're hunting the best drops.

What gear do you use to determine a players best equipment?

Daniel: When we say "best possible gear," we look at what the best scenario is for your character across your account. This means that, if you are playing on your Hunter (like you should), we might use the Helmet you accidentally left in the vault, the Boots you just picked up but haven't equipped, and the Auto Rifle that you forgot to transfer from your Warlock. Gear on other characters, in the vault, in your inventory, or currently equipped are all compared to find the best loadout you could have.

That’s convenient! What if I have a level 20 Hunter and make a new Hunter so I can have 3 Hunters? Will all my drops be level 20 gear on the new Hunter? What if I've got a ton of Exotics?

Daniel: Nope! The system is smart enough to look at level requirements and make sure it ignores anything that is too high for the current character to equip. It also obeys equipping restrictions, so it understands that you can only equip one Exotic weapon and one piece of exotic armor and figures that in.

Okay, what about the contents of Engrams we haven’t decrypted yet? Are they included when you calculate my best possible equipment?

Daniel: While Engrams do set their power at the time they drop, they don't roll what they contain until the moment you decrypt them. As a result, best possible equipment can't use their contents in its calculations.

If Engrams set their power at the moment they drop, how am I supposed to know which ones have the best gear?

Daniel: Destiny 2's Engrams are pretty cool, because they'll tell you right on the tooltip what the power they dropped at is. This is the minimum power that will come out of the engram.

You’ll understand more about how a new legend will rise in the form of your first Destiny 2 character when you play. Before that journey begins, we wanted to share just one of the quality of life improvements that we’re excited about. We hope you find that Destiny 2 is a far more rewarding game than its predecessor

The Rolling Red Carpet Very Frequently Asked Question: “What is the exact time I can dive into Destiny 2?” The answer is dependent on where you live. Destiny 2 will have a rolling midnight release across the globe. You will be able to play the game as soon as it is 12 AM, September 6, anywhere in your country or in some cases region. In the US, for example, that means the entire country is live when the clock strikes midnight Eastern. It’s going to be a busy night. If you plan to go hard right out of the gate, get some sleep, remember to stretch, and be wary of spoilers if you’re looking to go in blind. Stay close to @BungieHelp for updates as the night unfolds. We’ll be staying up with you to make sure you’re kept informed of any important information you may need.

Preparing to Launch

The Destiny Operation Center provides 24 hour coverage 365 days a year. They are constantly monitoring the live game and the Destiny Player Support team will also be supporting the launch of Destiny 2 with 24 hour coverage for the first week. Before liftoff, they have some vital information to help you reach Orbit. This is their report:

Destiny 2 Digital Pre-Load: PlayStation 4 Starting August 31, players who have digitally pre-ordered Destiny 2 may begin pre-loading. For steps on how to install Destiny 2 to a PlayStation 4 console, please see this Help Article.Downloads will first become available in the US. European, Asian, and Japanese regions should become available soon. Stay tuned to @BungieHelp for announcements of availability.

Account Security: How to keep your personal information and Destiny Account Safe Account security and best-practices are the most effective ways to ensure the protection of personal information, your Guardians, and their items. Below are some helpful hints to reduce any risk of them falling into the wrong hands:

Real Name Security: If a player wishes to prohibit others from seeing real names within Destiny 2, there are specific settings that must be checked:

PlayStation: If a player has accepted or sent a real-name friend request, this will grant permissions for real names to appear within Destiny 2. It is possible for Close Friends to record and share gameplay containing your information. If a player wishes to share a real-name but prohibit it from appearing within Destiny 2, they must follow these steps: 

Navigate to Settings

Select “PlayStation Network/Account Management”

Select “Privacy Settings”

Select “Protecting your Information”

Select “Games

”Select “No One”

Xbox: If a player wishes to hide their real name, they may do so by following steps here: Real name sharing on Xbox One.

Blizzard: If a player wishes to hide their Real ID, they may do so by following the steps listed within this Battle.net RealID FAQ. Some features in D2 use Real Names differently than D1. Please consider your Real Name settings on your platform of choice, especially if you have extensive friends lists or play with players who stream publicly. 

Destiny Account Security: Bungie.net accounts rely on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live and Battle.net credentials. To ensure account security, we advise the following best practices:

Do not share account details with anyone. Bungie employees will NEVER ask for this information.

Use a different password, and account security questions, for each credential.

Ensure that any E-mail account tied to these credentials uses an alternate password as well.

Update passwords frequently.

For steps on updating credential passwords or increasing security, follow these links:

PlayStation Network

Xbox Live (Microsoft) Account

Blizzard Account Security

If a console is shared with multiple family members or friends, players may want to consider 2-step authentication or passkeys for access to an account.

2-Step Verification for PlayStation

Setting up a PassKey for Xbox One

Blizzard Authenticator

Destiny Companion Update and Known Issues Last week, Bungie.net and the Destiny Companion App received updates in preparation for Destiny 2. Players may now join or create Destiny 2 Clans, edit Clan Banners, create Clan text chat channels, and more. The Destiny 2 Clans Guide will be updated alongside the release of Destiny 2 to include information concerning in-game Clan features.The following is a list of known issues impacting Bungie.net and the Destiny Companion App after the most recent updates:

Clans:

Clan Membership is not currently displaying on public profiles.

During Clan creation, it is not properly defined to players why failures may occur. Ex: If Illegal Characters are present within culture fields, this is not explained to the player.

Some admins cannot see their Clan settings page.

Groups:

Players are unable to interact with the “Request Join” button on Group pages.

Group admins cannot currently kick, demote, or promote players properly.

Misc:

Sorting by “Upvoted” is not functioning properly. Alternate forum sort settings are available at this time.

Players are receiving false notification alerts when no new messages or notifications have been received.

Group wall messages will present a notification on the Clan Chat icon.

When leaving a conversation, it is not properly removed from the conversation list.

Opening a video on iOS does not function properly.

Destiny 2 Launch: Avenues for Support

If players experience any issues within Destiny 2 at launch, support will be available through the following means:

Help.Bungie.net: All Bungie published Help Articles, Contact Forms, and Support Documentation.

@BungieHelp: Broad communications from the Destiny Operations Center and Destiny Player Support teams concerning service stability and known issues.

#Help Forum: Where players may go to report issues impacting gameplay, progression, or general features.

Destiny Support teams and Community Mentors are at the ready to assist. We’ll see you at launch.

[mylatesttrending-blog]

Convincing Alien Abduction Stories – The 10 Most Well Documented Cases

Stories of UFO sightings and alien encounters have been around since the ancient times. These cases became so phenomenal that they led to the creation of a pseudoscientific field of study known as Ufology. Although there are many skeptics who think that these encounters are just made up by people who are desperate for attention, it can’t be denied that some of these cases are well-documented and detailed. Listed below are ten of the most convincing alien abduction stories. The 10 Most Well Documented Alien Abduction Stories: 10. The Allagash Abductions (1976)

Retired medical artist Charles Foltz painted this depiction of the famed Allagash Abductions, which he claims took place in 1976 on Big Eagle Lake on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. (Image courtesy of Charles Foltz for SJVT / FhF). In August 1976, four artists were on a camping trip near Allagash, Maine when they suddenly spotted a glowing orb hovering over the trees. Jim Weiner, Jack Weiner, Charles Foltz, and Charles Rak were night fishing in a canoe when they spotted the orb. As it slowly moved towards them, the four men panicked and paddled towards the bank as fast as they could. A blinding light suddenly beamed at them, and the next thing they knew, they were already standing in the bank, with no memories or whatsoever of what happened. They began to have nightmares afterwards, which they believed to be recollections of their abduction. They dreamt of being examined by beings with long necks and large heads. The four of them went through regressive hypnosis and lie detector tests, which they all passed. Rak would later on retract his recollections during the hypnosis saying, “The reason I supported the story at first was because I wanted to make money.” He claimed, however, that they really did see strange lights during their camping trip. 9. Jesse Long (1957) Jesse Long claims that he was first abducted by aliens in 1957, when he was just five years old. The aliens conducted experiments on him, which became more painful and traumatic as time passed by. He claimed that they placed a foreign object on his leg that remained with him for 34 years. It was eventually removed and sent for further research at the Southwest Research Institute in Texas. The laboratory report stated that the object had unique characteristics which cannot be explained. According to Long, he was abducted multiple times over the years and was even forced to crossbreed with a female alien. He was driving to New Orleans in 1990 when a light appeared to bring him inside an alien craft. He was presented with a baby and was told “This is your child.” Nine other children stood along the hallway and he knew right away that they were his children. 8. Frederick Valentich (1978) Frederick Valentich was an aspiring pilot who was on a training flight off the south-east coast of Australia when he mysteriously disappeared. During his flight, Valentich radioed Melbourne’s Air Traffic Control to report that he’s being approached from the east by an unidentified craft which was emitting a bright light. The transmission was suddenly interrupted by strange, metallic sounds. An intensive search was carried out which encompassed over 1,000 square miles, but no trace of Valentich was ever found. The young pilot was described as a ‘flying saucer enthusiast’, which led investigators to believe that his disappearance was probably staged. However, numerous reports have stated that there have been UFO sightings in Australia on the night of Valentich’s disappearance. 7. Whitley Strieber (1985)

Whitley Strieber is a well-known horror author who claimed that one of his books, Communion: A True Story, was actually based on an actual alien encounter. It began in December 1985 when he was awakened by a strange noise, after which an inhuman creature came rushing towards his bed. He woke up in the morning feeling disoriented, without knowing why. He recalled memories of his encounter months later through regressive hypnosis, claiming that he was abducted and assaulted by the creatures. Strieber went on to write four additional autobiographies detailing his encounters with these creatures which he referred to as ‘Visitors’. He theorized that these ‘Visitors’ might have more physical substance than what we normally assume, and that they’re not even a little human, but they’re clearly intelligent. At his own request, Strieber went through extensive tests for temporal lobe epilepsy and other brain abnormalities, only to find that his brain was functioning normally. 6. John Salter Jr. (1988) On March 20, 1988, John Salter Jr. and his son were driving on Central Wisconsin’s Highway 14 when, for some unknown reason, their truck started driving off of the scheduled route. They’ve been traveling in the opposite direction for an hour, but neither of them could account for the lost time. They eventually decided to take a rest for the night and continue their journey in the morning. During their drive the next morning, they saw a bright saucer-like form which immediately disappeared in an incredible speed. They began to feel some sort of familiarity upon seeing the mysterious saucer, but they would only start having detailed flashbacks months later. They recall getting forced off the highway by unknown creatures who communicated with them through telepathy. The creatures led them to a spacecraft, where they received injections in various parts of their bodies. After that, they were guided back to their truck, and Salter claimed that they parted with the creatures in a friendly manner. These events take a bizarre turn when upon returning home, Salter noticed an improvement in his health. His immunity was heightened, cuts and scratches healed rapidly, age spots and wrinkles have faded, among others. Salter’s son did not experience the same physical changes, but claimed that the encounter was the most extraordinary event in his life. 5. Pascagoula Abduction (1973) On the night of October 11, 1973, Charles Hickson and his friend, Calvin Parker Jr., were fishing from an old pier in the Pascagoula River when they heard a zipping sound and spotted a glowing, elongated object hovering above the ground. Three humanoid creatures emerged and took Hickson and Parker aboard the spacecraft, where they were examined. They were returned to the fishing site after the examination, after which they immediately reported the encounter to the sheriff. After 30 minutes of questioning, Jackson Country Sheriff, Fred Diamond, left the two men alone in a room rigged with a hidden microphone to further attest the validity of their claims. The audio recording of Hickson and Parker’s private conversation showed how distressed they were about what they’ve just experienced. Ufologist Philip Mantle later republished a book on this case and calls it one of the “most unique close encounters on record”. 4. Travis Walton (1975)

On November 5, 1975, Travis Walton and six of his coworkers were riding a truck when they suddenly encountered a saucer-shaped object hovering 110 feet away from the ground. Walton approached the mysterious object and was struck by a beam of light. His coworkers drove away from the scene due to fright. Walton woke up in what he thought was a hospital emergency room, but upon focusing his line of sight, he found himself surrounded by three bald creatures. Walton later turned up in Snowflake, Arizona after disappearing for nearly a week. He and the six coworkers who allegedly witnessed his abduction voluntary submitted to a series of tests, which they all passed, except for one whose results were inconclusive. Walton continued to tell his story throughout the years without any discrepancies in details. His coworkers also stood by their side of the story, even refusing bribes to contradict their narratives. Walton eventually wrote a book detailing his claims, and it became the basis for the 1993 film Fire in the Sky. 3. Antonio Vilas Boas (1957) Then 23-year-old Antonio Vilas Boas was working at the fields on the evening of October 16, 1957 when he saw a bright red star in the sky which turned out to be an egg-shaped spaceship. Boas attempted to flee but was captured by a five-foot tall humanoid who dragged him inside the craft where he was stripped off his clothes and covered with a strange gel. He was later joined by an attractive, female humanoid. The two had sexual intercourse, after which the female rubbed her belly and pointed towards the sky, gesturing that she will raise their child in space. Boas was taken on a tour around the ship, where he attempted to create a clock-like device to prove his encounter, but was immediately stopped by the humanoids. He was escorted off the ship and found out that the abduction lasted for four hours. Dr. Olavo Fontes of the National School of Medicine of Brazil examined Boas and concluded that he had been exposed to a large dose of radiation from an unknown source. Boas went on to recall details of his experience without hypnotic regression and he stuck to his claims throughout his life. 2. Betty Andreasson (1967) It was on the evening of Janury 25, 1967 when a reddish, orange light suddenly shined in the kitchen window of Betty Andreasson’s home. Andreasson rushed to the living room to comfort her frightened children while her father looked out the window. That’s when he saw five, odd creatures hopping towards their house. Before anyone could react, the creatures made their way inside and placed the whole family in a state of suspended animation. Andreasson was brought inside a craft where she underwent a physical examination and was given a bizarre test, which she described as a painful yet religious experience. When her captors brought her back home, they placed her family under some kind of mind control to put them to bed, then they left. An investigative team was assigned to Andreasson’s case, which included an electronics engineer, an aerospace engineer, a telecommunications specialist, a solar physicist, and a UFO investigator. The case was studied for twelve months, and the results were presented in a 528-page review. The review stated that Andreasson was sane and her claims were believable. Ray Fowler, founder of Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), concluded that Andreasson was “either the most accomplished liar and actress the world had ever seen, or else she had really gone through this ordeal.” 1. Barney and Betty Hill (1961)

The alien abduction case of Barney and Betty Hill is probably the most famous and well-documented one of its kind. The couple were driving home from a vacation when they noticed a bright light that began to grow bigger and take the form of an “odd-shaped” aircraft as it moved around the sky. It eventually descended in front of their car, hovering around 80-100 feet from them. Barney Hill stepped out of the car and, using his binoculars, was able to spot humanoid figures looking at him through the craft’s windows. He immediately ran back to the car and asked his wife, Betty Hill, to keep an eye on the craft. They heard a series of beeping sounds. The sounds followed by a tingling sensation passing through their bodies. They were only able to regain consciousness at the second series of buzzing sounds, at which they realized that they were already driving 35 miles south of the sighting location. They couldn’t recall what happened during the missing time. And, they both felt strange and anxious when they got home. They decided to seek for answers regarding the events of that night through a psychiatrist. They went through separate hypnosis sessions. But both described nearly identical experiences of being abducted by creatures with huge, black eyes and gray skin. Betty and Barney Hill’s case became so widespread that it introduced the alien abduction phenomenon into popular culture. Moreover, Betty’s hand-drawn Star Map, deciphered by experts as the alien’s home, has continued to amaze astrologers until today due to its astonishingly accurate astronomical details. Read the full article

[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 4/5/2020

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! HAPPY MAY DAY! Here is your daily news cap Monday 4th May, 2020. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

MASCOLL: NO NEED TO PRINT MONEY – Government’s ambitious push for a six per cent surplus under the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme, sanctioned by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been readjusted to one per cent. This revelation was made by Government’s Chief Economic Advisor, Ambassador Dr Clyde Mascoll, who contended that since the Mia Amor Mottley administration was still aiming at a net positive in the face of a $2 billion stimulus package to combat the economic effects of COVID-19, recent fears about the printing of money (financing of Government by the Central Bank) had been misplaced. “In these circumstances, we have to relook the capacity of the Government to run a surplus and therefore there has been a reversal to the extent that we will now relax the target of six per cent primary surplus and bring it down closer to one per cent. What is happening in that environment is that once again, Government is going to extract less than when it was having a six per cent surplus.  “So, the fiscal room that you are hearing about is that Government no longer has to have a surplus of $600 million. It would instead be around just about $100 million,” said Mascoll, who was a guest today on Starcom Network’s Sunday Brass Tacks radio call-in programme. (DN)

GOVT, NUPW STATEMENT ON NATIONAL ASSISTANCE BOARD – Government and the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) issued a joint statement today after discussions relating to staff of the National Assistance Board (NAB). NUPW President Akanni McDowall said on May 2 that there had been “conflicting information coming from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Elder Affairs” concerning the quarantining of NAB workers. This is after six employees of the state entity tested positive for the coronavirus a week ago. Please see the statement below: Government and the leadership of the National Union of Public Workers met today under the chairmanship of Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw, to discuss a number of matters related to the cluster of positive cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) diagnosed among the staff of the National Assistance Board (NAB) and the associated implications for the staff, the clients of the NAB and the broader public health management of COVID-19 in Barbados. This meeting was constructive and productive with discussions being guided by three main principles and priorities:

• Protecting the health and wellbeing of the entire staff of the NAB and their families who have been impacted either directly or indirectly by these events

• Ensuring there is no compromise of the health and wellbeing or quality of service delivered to the more than 1 000 clients of the NAB

• Maintaining the principles of sound public health management in the management of this NAB cluster that have guided the implementation of the National Pandemic Plan for COVID-19 in Barbados.

The meeting agreed as follows:

• All members of the staff of the NAB on active duty since the diagnosis of the first case linked to the NAB cluster will be tested for COVID-19

• All members of staff of the NAB testing positive for COVID-19 will go into isolation for treatment at the Harrison’s Point Isolation Centre.

• The entire staff of the Country Road Office of the NAB, which is the main location of the cluster of cases, along with members of their households will undergo a period of 14 days quarantine dating from last exposure to a confirmed case, at facilities designated by the Ministry of Health & Wellness.

• The Government of Barbados through the Ministry of Health & Wellness and the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs will take every reasonable measure to protect and promote the welfare of those in quarantine or isolation including the quality of accommodation, nutrition and access to appropriate pyscho-social support.

• All additional staff of the NAB who may have come into contact with an infected member of staff would have done so outside of the contagious period and therefore there is absolutely no COVID-19 public health risk associated with engagement with the staff of the NAB and therefore no need for the public to be concerned.

• The Home Help Workers and other field staff of the NAB who have been tested for COVID-19 and are negative and who have been assessed and cleared by the Ministry of Health & Wellness will continue their duties in support of the elderly in care or shut-in as of Monday May 4, 2020.

• All Home Help Workers and other field staff of the NAB will continue to be provided with full personal protective equipment (PPE) as per the protocols of the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

• All outstanding payments of wages and salaries to NAB staff which may have been delayed by the requirement of quarantine of the office staff will be paid no later than Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

• The Government of Barbados in consultation with the National Union of Public Workers will develop a channel for communication with the staff of the NAB to keep them abreast of all relevant developments and to assure them of the continuing support of both entities as this situation is managed.(DN)

SHOP OWNER’S PLAN UP IN SMOKE – Wayne “Jingles” Carrington was looking forward to restocking his shop with alcohol and foodstuff with some of the COVID-19 restrictions being lifted from May 4. But he will have to rethink that plan as his uninsured home and shop in Golden Rock, The Pine, St Michael, went up in smoke on Friday night after the gas stove exploded. “I lost all my money. I put the money on the bar with the intentions whenever I get things, I would go out and buy a small portion. When things happen tomorrow, [May 4], I did really plan to restock my place. I tell myself this opening ain’t going be for long, so I will get heavy stock so I would be okay for when that time comes,” he said from his brother’s Wildey, St Michael home today, where he is now staying. The 62-year-old said he had just finished cooking and was about to make some gravy when the incident occurred. (DN)

FOUR HOUSES DAMAGED IN FIRE AT BANK HALL – Four houses were damaged in a fire at Bank Hall, St Michael this morning. Barbados Fire Service Divisional Officer Ernie Fields said firefighters were called to the area at 11:45 for reports of buildings on fire. He said the four houses were occupied by six people but there were no reports of injuries. Three fire engines and 13 firefighters responded to the blaze. Fields said one of the houses was extensively damaged while the others suffered minor damage. The fire was subsequently extinguished. (BT)

UPDATE BODY OF TEEN MISSING AT SEA FOUND – The body of 16-year-old Amalee Mayers of Beach Mount, Bathsheba, St. Joseph who was missing at sea was discovered this morning about 6 a.m. by a resident from the area. Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector (ag) Rodney Inniss said, the body washed up on the beach near the area where he had gone missing near Tent Bay. Police are on the scene conducting the usual protocols of forensic examination. (DN)

IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT NOTICES – The Barbados Immigration Department will reopen on May 4, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. with new guidelines, in an effort to limit the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). A press release from Government said physical interaction with the public will therefore be restricted to people paying outstanding fees, until May 18. All other clients are asked to call 535-4100, or email immigration.department@barbados.gov.bb. Clients visiting the department are required to wear masks, whether disposable or cloth, and the physical distancing requirement of remaining at least six feet apart must be observed. Additionally, all applications for the renewal and or grant of any permit or form of status, which expired during the period March 28 to May 4, are now extended until May 30, 2020. New applications will not be accepted until May 30, and applications that have already been submitted will be evaluated and clients ontacted by the relevant personnel. (BGIS)

BARJAM PRESSING ON - A proposal to allow journalists to record court hearings is under consideration following a submission from Barbados Association of Journalists and Media Workers (BARJAM) to Attorney General Dale Marshall. That was one of the initiatives the group announced on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. It said following the request for reporters to do audio recordings of proceedings in court, it was informed that the matter was forwarded to the Registrar of the Supreme Court for discussion with the judiciary.   “We look forward to a favourable outcome,” said president Emmanuel Joseph. His comments were contained in a press release to mark World Press Freedom Day in which he also saluted the “hard-working and productive members of the reputable media fraternity in Barbados”. “I say to all media personnel, especially the front-line reporters and photographers and their media houses, stand up and take a bow for weathering the COVID-19 storm which is still raging, to keep this country abreast of developments surrounding this devastating virus. Your day will come for reward in this generally thankless profession,” Joseph said. He stated that while the COVID-19 virus has blocked a number of plans and programmes by BARJAM, including this month’s media awards, there was progress on others. The association made successful representation to the leadership of a key organisation which had on two occasions in February and March, turned away media workers after notices had been sent to the media houses. “Based on the proposals outlined in the entity’s response letter to us, following what they described as a series of miscommunications, and once they act on their measures, the conflict between media professionals and the organisation is unlikely to happen again. “I can also state that a window of hope has been opened for the news media and the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) to work more closely together in a mutual and respectful partnership of information flow. I cannot say anything more specific at this time, except that I represented BARJAM earlier this year where I was invited to address an interactive session for security operations personnel of the BDF during a one-week training workshop in which media relations was a key component,” Joseph stated. Still at the top of BARJAM’s agenda is the establishment of a Benevolent Fund to assist members who fall on hard times and the need for Government to introduce that long-mooted Freedom of Information Bill into Parliament. The media body was recently admitted to sit on the UNDP’s Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme National Steering Committee for Barbados. The programme offers financial and technical support to civil society organisations for community-driven projects that contribute to conserving global biodiversity, adapting and mitigating global climate change, protecting international waters and preventing land degradation. (DN)

BACK IN COURT TWO WEEKS LATER – Two weeks after fisherman Anthyne Douglas Jones said he was sorry for having drugs and it would not recur, he was back in court on similar charges. And on May 2, despite the pleas of his attorney Queen’s Counsel Michael Lashley, the 59-year-old, of Colleton, St John, was remanded by Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes. Jones appeared in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court Criminal Court No. 2 charged with possession of cannabis, trafficking and supplying on May Day, in relation to $2 900 in drugs. He pleaded not guilty and prosecutor, Sergeant Theodore McClean, objected to bail, stating that Jones had several convictions for drugs and was before the court only a few weeks ago.(DN)

CONSIGNEES WITH PERSONAL EFFECTS URGED NOT TO COME TO PORT – Consignees with personal effects at the Port of Bridgetown are required to utilize the new Home Delivery System and will not be allowed entry into the Port for collection of shipments. Barbados Port Inc. in collaboration with the Customs & Excise Department, authorized local freight forwarders (consolidators) and truckers, will be offering a full home delivery service for all personal effects, effective Monday May 4.  Consignees should not come to the Port. These arrangements will remain in place for the next two weeks to allow for the safe clearance of cargo backlog, without large numbers in Port. The protocol will then be reviewed to gradually allow limited self-service clearance by appointment only. Consignees have the option of working with an: Authorized freight forwarder, Authorized trucker. If you elect to work with a trucker when contacted by your freight forwarder about your cargo, you will be required to contact the trucker of your choice. How it Works - The Freight Forwarder or Trucker will: Manage all relevant documents, Arrange for signature of customs declaration by you, Facilitate processing of the documents through ASYCUDA World, Make arrangements for the processing of all monies (electronic or cash payments) due by you, Confirm with you payments due either on delivery or through pre-payment, Pay all associated fees and duties owed to Customs and the Port on your behalf, Collect your cargo from Shed 2, Deliver your cargo to you, Where cargo has been flagged for inspection by Customs, the shipment may be examined on your behalf by the freight forwarder or trucker, or you may be required to be present in person at the Bridgetown Port for interview. You will be advised by the freight forwarder or trucker. Unless requested to be present at an inspection, you will not be allowed to enter the Port. All persons presenting at the Port of Bridgetown to conduct business are reminded that strict health and safety and social distancing protocols must be observed. All visitors are required to wear face masks, utilize sanitization stations and follow the directives of security personnel. Should you require any assistance, please call 434-6101.   (BT)

COVID-19 CASES REACH 82 - A 55-year-old Barbadian male has tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the national count to 82. A statement from The Ministry of Health said the latest case, an employee of the National Assistance Board, came into contact with two known cases. He brings the number in isolation to 31. No one was released from isolation today, so the number of recovered people remains at 44. Seven people have died. Fifty-one tests were done by the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory yesterday, and results were returned for 46. The total number of tests done by the laboratory now stands at 2 420. (BGIS)

CHANGES IN PETROLEUM PRICES FROM MIDNIGHT - The retail prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene will decrease, effective midnight Sunday, May 3. Gasoline will be adjusted from $3.57 per litre to $3.09 per litre, which represents a decrease of 48 cents; the price of diesel will drop by 37 cents, from $2.89 per litre to $2.52 per litre, and kerosene will go from $1.01 per litre to 73 cents per litre, a reduction of 28 cents.These price adjustments are in keeping with Government’s policy of allowing retail prices to be reflective of those on the international market.  (BGIS)

The world is facing the rapid spread of the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic. As we continue to do our part in Barbados please remember to stay home but on the days you have to go out wear your masks, practice social distancing (stand 6-10 feet away from each other), practice good daily hygiene, eat healthy, exercise and keep your mind active. There are 242 days left in the year Shalom!  Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps #bajannewscaps #newsinanutshell #coronavirusinbarbados #nationalresponse #dailynews #thechasefilesblog

[dorothydelgadillo]

5 Networking Tips for Introverts Moving to a New Industry

Ten months ago, I started a new job in a new industry — a job that required me to build relationships with people I’d never met, people who possibly knew about my company, but probably didn’t. It was the perfect role for an extroverted networking aficionado like me.

Except I’m an introvert—not one of those extroverts. And I say things like, “You too!” when the concession stand cashier tells me to enjoy my movie. Networking is totally out of my comfort zone.

But this was a fantastic opportunity to get back into an industry I loved and work with a flexible, growing company I admired. I pulled up my go-get-em pants and got to work. But when I’m launching myself into a new industry, how do I actually build my network without creeping people out?

Five Contacts A Day

My introverted tendencies raised their quiet and unassuming heads within weeks of starting. Wouldn’t it be easier if I just sent them pleasant thoughts and used ESP to get these incredibly busy and important people to contact me for a get-to-know-you conversation?

After coming to terms with the fact that the Force is, unfortunately, not with me, I made a list of about two dozen people in my industry who I would love to build a relationship with. This included people I could help directly as well as people who were leading the conversation that made me love this industry. I found these people by following industry big-names and seeing who they mention, as well as asking co-workers who they thought were asking the good questions in the industry. Then I made a goal of contacting five of these people each day.

Each point of contact I made needed to be purpose-driven and genuine. It needed to be about them, such as helping them, giving their words a boost through my social media network, thanking them for doing amazing work or introducing them to an idea or person they would like.

I made a list of things that counted as a contact. I could email them. Connect with them on LinkedIn. Tweet out something they wrote (and tag them). Suggest an article for them to read. Send them a hand-written note. Get on a call with them or even meet with them in person. I wanted to try anything to get my name in front of them, while still being genuine, helpful, and starting a real conversation.

I told my boss about this goal. I told my team about this goal. I added a spot for these five contacts on my to-do list, so my day cannot be complete without this final checkmark. I also tracked these contacts in Excel (and later HubSpot) so I could make sure I didn’t contact the same people over and over.

Even with a solid plan and the line-item on my to-do list, I still struggled to overpower my introverted tendencies and fear of bothering people. Here are a few hacks and mantras I’ve used to keep me actually reaching out to five people each day.

1. Your calendar is your accountability buddy.

A few years ago, I realized I was becoming a bit of a hermit, so I put reminders on my calendar to check in with friends, mentors, and other connections for lunch dates and happy hours. Then I read Molly Beck’s REACH OUT, and saw that she applied this tactic to her connecting strategy.

In her book, Molly suggests scheduling time each morning to knock out the REACH OUT you plan to do that day. My contacts were often more serendipitous and directly related to projects I worked on throughout the day. But an “Oh, Crap” reminder about 3:30pm was a good way to see how many of my five I’d completed and how much Twitter stalking needed to happen before the end of the day.

2. Email as you would want to be emailed.

If you have ever filled out an online form, you’ve probably ended up in Dante’s fifth circle of bad email marketing hell. I knew I didn’t want to be that person. Landing in someone’s spam folder was not part of the plan.

In every email I sent, I tried to provide something that would help or entertain the person on the receiving side (Molly calls them “gifts” with every email). It was also important to keep the email short. If I had to explain something, I left that for a follow-up email or I linked to something that could explain it for me.

3. Embrace the social media stalking.

Twitter and LinkedIn have been my best friends during this transition. I can get a little background on the person I want to contact without creepy deep-Google searches, and possibly even interact with them organically through the social media platforms.

And don’t fear the “Who’s Viewed My Profile” notification when you check out someone else’s profile. If the other person actually logs into their LinkedIn account regularly enough to see it, it proves that you are doing your homework and not just spamming a mailing list.

4. Mix it up.

Email is easy to ignore. Every few months when I find the bottom of my inbox, I remember that request I was going to get back to or the interesting thread I was going to chime in on. To help stay out of the inbox oubliette, I found success by using another platform, such as Twitter or LinkedIn, to respond to or share an article by the person a few days before I sent an email. This way, the person already knows you are aware of their work and your name sounds familiar when they see it in their inbox.

5. When in doubt, use an email delay.

It’s amazing how much anxiety a little blue button can cause. It seemed as though I only noticed the obvious typo (or the completely blank subject line) after I hit send. To calm that mild panic prior to each email send, I started using the Send Later function in a Gmail extension called MixMax. By giving myself a 30-minute window to review the email, I can return to it, check for typos (again, for the third time) and make the emailing process a little less stressful.

My five-contacts-a-day is a work in progress. While I’ve made some great connections by forcing myself to interact with other people in my industry, I’ve definitely gotten my fair share of crickets and the occasional “I don’t know you, go away.” But the goal is to build relationships and be genuine, and the good outcomes far outweigh the grouchy ones. I’m not an extroverted networking aficionado yet, but sometimes I look like one on Twitter.

—

This post originally appeared on Ellevate Network.

Carrie Watkins is the Editorial Relations Director at Influence & Co. A writer by education, a marketer by experience, and a trainer by learning from some extremely talented people, she finds being at the intersection of business and technology truly thought-provoking, and is inspired by learning from the information providers and creators transforming their industries.

from Web Developers World https://skillcrush.com/2018/05/09/networking-tips-for-extroverts-in-a-new-industry/

[thewordlikeisalanguagecondom]

Last Update on BVI-Hurricane Irma

"Update as of 1:30 pm Sept 8: Little or no cell, power or wifi coverage in VG, but some calls are getting through. Satellite phone are being distributed to strategic places on VG. FLOW, LIME, CCT, and Digicel partially up on Tortola, but little or no coverage on the West End. AT&T is allowing free calls to the islands. Road Town is flooded with many roofs ripped off. Moorings and Paraquita Bay are badly damaged. Village Cay is pretty bad, too. Even Scotia Bank and Pusser's in RT are destroyed. The police station is destroyed and the fire station is badly damaged. The Navy is off of the coast of Tortola, and establishing base at Nanny Cay since the new marina appears intact. They have sent at least one helicopter from the ship to Peebles Hospital. Beef Island was cleared for landing early this morning, and reports are that one plane recently landed. The government is working on a plan to evacuate people, but it is highly unlikely that any commercial flights will resume in the next days. Branson is ok on Necker, but lots of damage to the island. Ivan's on JVD is destroyed, as are adjacent buildings, it appears. Trellis Bay is damaged but people are safe. Cindy and Paul Mason of Marina Cay are well, but not able to be evacuated. Sugar Mill beach bar is gone, and the hotel roof is off, but thankfully, staff are safe. Tamarind Club people are safe at Josiah's Bay. Half of Maria by the Sea is destroyed. Sea Cows Bay hit hard, with most of the homes in rubbles. VG has no power, wifi, or cell, but Oil Nut Bay has a bunker of people that are safe, but have heard nothing from them since 10 am this morning. Reports that there have been no loss of life on VG, but Island is a wreck. All telephone poles are down. Fisher's Cove lost the roof. Tree House and Dockside is destroyed. There is a FB check-in for those who can access it. Peter Island peeps are ok, but island is wrecked. Were trying to evacuate a few people off the island this morning. All at Scrub Island are safe. Ivan's at JVD is destroyed, as it appears all adjacent buildings. Cane Garden Bay is 80% destroyed- all of the bars and the fuel station. Roads are bad but an excavator is working now. Everyone evacuated to the police station during the Eye. Roof is off of Myett's and Quito's is gone. Carrot Bay is flooded and the roads are destroyed and not passable. Many graves have come out of the ground and some are open. There was a house fire. No reports of any deaths in Carrot Bay. Cappoons and Little Apple roads are impassable. Nanny Cay hotel and condos are intact and roof is on, but there is flooding. Hotel is not in condition to be used. Boats in Nanny Cay are upside down and all bunched up. Cannot get to boats at the moment as the docks and boats are a mess. The hill that overlooks the marina is stripped of everything, like a Hiroshima Bomb dropped. The hotel is trashed, and no plumbing, or electricity of any kind. Nanny has boats piled atop each other. Leverick Bay dock in VG is gone. Eustacia peeps ok but Island is a wreck. Frenchman's Bridge is now gone (though with a couple of conflicting reports.) Soper's Hole docks are badly damaged. Harbor Market is damaged and was looted. West End was badly hit, and very few reports from Long Bay- a few staff stayed and are ok. Reports are that most of the hotel is damaged. Homes in Belmont seem mostly ok, and homes with generators have lights on. Home near Smuggler's is reported ok, but no mention of the Cove condition. People at Frenchman's, Soper's Hole and Zoo Hill appear to all be safe. There is fresh water at Big Ben's. Cellphones and landlines are down in the West End and road are impassable. Heather Cuff and Gary and being looked after by the Morleys in Belmont. Sandy Spit is gone. Navy ship, RFA Mount's Bay is reported to be diverted to St. Maarten area prior to BVI. Most of Anegada was evacuated before the storm, and the 100 that stayed are ok but requesting assistance. Most of the homes were destroyed. Cooper staff on island are all safe, quite a lot of damage but buildings still standing. Cooten's Bay people are reported as safe. New update from JVD and WEST END SOPERS FRENCHMANS: All boats have sunk (nicole, branson, pajamas, music, kendall) people are looting Harbor Market and marine store. Pussers is GONE. Indigo house looks ok. Inspirado house GONE. Blades house roof gone. Sharns travel lift down. All boats on the hard have been damaged knocked over or on top of buildings. Ottertude catamaran is on top of Betito's building. Conflicting reports on whether the bridge to Frenchman's is intact or not. There are boats in the road in front of the West End Ferry building. There is nothing left on JVD. A badly injured lady named Gertrude medivac'ed out to PR. Peter Sean and Kendall are in a tender heading to JVD to rescue. They spent hours just trying to get to the tender moving telephone poles and cars and trees. Update for VG: For everyone in Virgin Gorda waiting on news: There is a team equipped with sat-phones, some relief supplies including solar chargers arriving on VG tomorrow with the NAVY, their MO is to give sat-phones to community leaders, light triage, and direct information on Jose and approaching weather on Saturday. More communication with the team around noon tomorrow. Reportedly, the prison in Road Town was destroyed and the prisoners escaped. There are four confirmed deaths in the BVI, but I do not have names. I believe they are all from Tortola, but that is not confirmed. Hospital is overflowing. Infrastructure Update- - Hospital- the hospital has remained open throughout. Staff have been working tirelessly (because they are heroes), but they are tired, hugely stretched and in desperate need of resupply. Does anyone know any way of helping them with this? - Ports/Docks- Nanny Cay new marina dock is being used by the Navy. The cruise ship docks have damage, but appears that at least one can be fixed fairly soon. - Airport- Extensive damage reported, but the airport has been cleared to receive relief flights.The bridge to Beef Island is intact. - External Support- The Navy is near Nanny Cay and clearing a road to get from the new marina to the main road. They sent a helicopter to Peebles earlier. State of emergency declared. Puerto Rico is sending water and supplies. US, England, and Dutch are sending vessels with supplies. Sopers Hole, Frenchman's Cay Update We have a group of 4 that hiked down from Belmont to Frenchman's today. I have waited to verify this information before posting as there is a chance of misinterpretation. Even so there is a possibility that the accuracy of this information is not 100%.. but it should be close. This report only covers the stretch from the bridge to the shipyard, not to the resort on the east and not up the hill or farther to the west past the shipyard. Here is the report. Everyone that we saw, including Bob Hodge, Eleanor Smith and Alfredo say that they know of no injuries or fatalities. That said the community is as messy as you would expect, perhaps more so as they spent a long time in the southern eye wall with westerly breeze. Sandspit and bridge are in place and passable. Sandspit has been "cleaned", but I cannot define that term. Road from the bridge to Sopers is full of debris, which is being cleared by a back how. Lighthouse marina office and bar is gone. Dock exists. Shepheard's dock and heads exists. Sink or Sail and Gelato exisits, upper office is blown through. Harbour Market exists, as does the new dock there, but the glass and door is blown through and the property looted. Harbour Market to Pusser's is impassable on the water side as the boardwalk is destroyed. Dive shop and Arawak destroyed, D'Best Cup is now water front. No specific intel on Pussers or latitude 18 so I am unsure whether that means that the boardwalk is damaged or that I just didn't get the information . Apartments to the rear of Pussers we assume to be OK as we have a small storeroom on the ground floor. Voyage office building is OK, but their dock (probably the oldest on Frenchmans) is destroyed. Moving down towards the the shipyard I have no intel on Shawn Smith's new build on the hill but there is a catamaran on the road down by Egbert's house. The finger docks down by the Frett's old Ample Hamper Too are OK, but there is a big voyage cat up against the roof of that building having flipped over from the yard. Yard is in shambles but I do not have any specifics. We were looking for a Cat Skid Steer that we own that was stored down there. We think that it is salvageable, but I believe that it is trapped or pinned by parts from the shipyard's newer travel lift that has collapsed. We also ran into Kimmo (who is fine) but did not see any of the Downings (Rob, Rain, Alice, Sharn etc). No cell phones that we own work in Soper's currently so Travis offered sat phone to anyone that wanted to make a call. If you have friends or loved ones in this community, this is possibly why you have not heard from them. Regarding infrastructure... It was stated that road to road town may be open as early as tomorrow but this has not been substantiated. We know nothing about the ferries but do know that the West End Ferry Dock customs and immigration side of the building looked pretty damaged. Fish n'lime was reported to be a dock, wall and bar top, notihng more. Again, the important part here is no reports of serious injury in this area of the BVI. New Peter Island update:-- this is from a post from Scott's Mom -- Scott managed to make a call last night (for about 1 minute before phones cut out) from Peter Island; He and his group of 33 have managed to cross over Peter Island to Stony Harbour - this is a long hike, and it must have been a difficult one with the two little ones, and the condition that the island is in. As hoped, here there was a generator and water. The many provisions they had painstakingly putter together before Irma,were sucked out of the building they had been in..He has a crew working on restoring a roof to a building so they can have shelter for the evening. I cannot imagine their struggle right now.....sounds a bit like "Lord of the Flies" or an episode in "Survival". Even though he sounded exhausted, listening to his voice and hearing how he was taking charge and caring for all these people made me weep with pride. Maria from Caribbean Buss is reported to take videos of the islands from a helicopter soon. ***Please note that Hurricane Jose is a category 3 storm and is expected on Saturday around 8 pm. Current path will pass north of BVI. — feeling concerned." Haven't heard from my parents but heard through others they are okay. Royal Navy is headed there now. And supplies are coming from Puerto Rico. Irma is now projected to hit my hometown in Florida and I can't board the houses there. Neighbors said they would check on the houses there and update me. The office is closed and in an evacuation zone. Trying to figure out how to forward calls from the office, waiting on FedEx to sign checks and documents but have no idea how to run the business from Denver or how or for how long or how to get my parents out of BVI or even get in the airports are gone.

[andreanafatta]

Press Release and Reserving Projectors

Friday 10th February 2017

Me and Natasha went to Luke early today to reserve equipment we need for the show that is going to take place this coming Monday. I went through the artists interviews where I had written the requirements and we reserved the following: 2 sets of speakers, 2 projectors, 2 media players, an audio player and a TV. Cable protectors and extension cords will be provided for us on the day if needed. Luke also told us that at 9:30 on Monday we could pick up the equipment and that also he would come and help us organise the spotlights and other lighting for the show.

With the reserved items out the way, I had to find out how to reserve plinths and ladders for Monday morning. Talking to the building maintenance team, the ladders can be taken upon request at the time needed and plinths need to be found from studios that don’t use them anymore. I knew also drills and nails or screws can be found in the basement workshops on the day also.

As no one was here to help, Natasha and myself agreed to get the press release done and set ourselves the task of doing 4 artists each based on the notes we made and also on the artists statements they had very kindly sent me on their work. In doing half the artists each, we could sufficiently finish the press release today and have it ready for Monday to print off.

 My half of the press release which included the following layout I had set up:

The Faculties of Perception

13th – 14th February

IPS, the School of Art Birmingham

Private Viewing: 13th February 4pm-7pm

Claire Vorstman

Adam Steven Neal

Thanya Mavish

Leah Rebecca Hickey

Phoebe Jackson

Chloe Harberfield

Laura Riordan

Remi Andrews

Group 3 is pleased to present  an exhibition that will enhance your sense; The Faculties of Perception. Taste is, feel it, hear it, smell is and see it. This exhibition focuses on the five senses through artwork by eight different artists with different styles. From the obvious senses to the less noticeable ones. Literal senses and thought provoking ones. Each artwork driven and inspired by different topics and thoughts but come together in harmony through our senses. Visually stimulating our minds and each having a meaningful story behind each piece.

Claire Vorstmans’ scribbly wires takes us back to a nostalgic time. Focusing her work on art therapy and bringing scribbles and mark making to a third dimension out of the papers realm. Inspired by artists such as Rod McLaren and Jack Hogan, Claire brings a playful flair to the exhibition space with her work.

‘Traces of Old’ by Adam Neal comments on issues of a class disparity, post-industrialisation and gentrification with the United Kingdom, using Longbridge, Birmingham as a case study. Since the closure of the MG Rover factory in 2005 a regeneration scheme has been in operation attempting to revitalize and gentrify the area, somewhat unsuccessfully. He has seen the local occupational landscape shift from production to consumption; through the retailers on site mirroring this. With influences from artists’ such as  Stuart Whips, Mark Leckey Adam has produces a piece through the use of video and sound issues of class disparity, mutating class-systems and Britain’s complex industrial history is put under the microscope.

“I am a woman, I am a woman of colour and I am a Muslim woman.” The complex notion of identity has always been explored in Thanya Mavishs’ work, especially in regards to her own identity. Knowing that being a Muslim woman and wearing the hijab, many people change their interaction and effects how people perceive her. This has raised questions to the artist on how a piece of fabric that is so political, that gets people so riled up? Is it the history it carries with it or the way it is perceived in the 21st century?  As a symbol of both oppression and resistance, a symbol of religion and a symbol of modesty, to name a few. This particular piece explores the various opinions surrounding the hijab, both positive and negative. Its aim is not to sway you, not to make you believe in it. But to remind you, remind you that “it’s their choice in the end”.

Initially exploring the tactile and often visceral aspects of food Leah Hickey has developed a series of photos with the idea of 'food as fetish’ and the intersections between fetishism and consumer culture. Through steadily developing this body of work, Leah found that the initial themes she had set out to explore were rapidly changing into a celebration of kitsch and superficiality. The artist is heavily influenced by ideas revolving around surface and aesthetics, as well as the dialogue concerning high art versus low art.

[mylatesttrending-blog]

Convincing Alien Abduction Stories – The 10 Most Well Documented Cases

Stories of UFO sightings and alien encounters have been around since the ancient times. These cases became so phenomenal that they led to the creation of a pseudoscientific field of study known as Ufology. Although there are many skeptics who think that these encounters are just made up by people who are desperate for attention, it can’t be denied that some of these cases are well-documented and detailed. Listed below are ten of the most convincing alien abduction stories. The 10 Most Well Documented Alien Abduction Stories: 10. The Allagash Abductions (1976)

Retired medical artist Charles Foltz painted this depiction of the famed Allagash Abductions, which he claims took place in 1976 on Big Eagle Lake on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. (Image courtesy of Charles Foltz for SJVT / FhF). In August 1976, four artists were on a camping trip near Allagash, Maine when they suddenly spotted a glowing orb hovering over the trees. Jim Weiner, Jack Weiner, Charles Foltz, and Charles Rak were night fishing in a canoe when they spotted the orb. As it slowly moved towards them, the four men panicked and paddled towards the bank as fast as they could. A blinding light suddenly beamed at them, and the next thing they knew, they were already standing in the bank, with no memories or whatsoever of what happened. They began to have nightmares afterwards, which they believed to be recollections of their abduction. They dreamt of being examined by beings with long necks and large heads. The four of them went through regressive hypnosis and lie detector tests, which they all passed. Rak would later on retract his recollections during the hypnosis saying, “The reason I supported the story at first was because I wanted to make money.” He claimed, however, that they really did see strange lights during their camping trip. 9. Jesse Long (1957) Jesse Long claims that he was first abducted by aliens in 1957, when he was just five years old. The aliens conducted experiments on him, which became more painful and traumatic as time passed by. He claimed that they placed a foreign object on his leg that remained with him for 34 years. It was eventually removed and sent for further research at the Southwest Research Institute in Texas. The laboratory report stated that the object had unique characteristics which cannot be explained. According to Long, he was abducted multiple times over the years and was even forced to crossbreed with a female alien. He was driving to New Orleans in 1990 when a light appeared to bring him inside an alien craft. He was presented with a baby and was told “This is your child.” Nine other children stood along the hallway and he knew right away that they were his children. 8. Frederick Valentich (1978) Frederick Valentich was an aspiring pilot who was on a training flight off the south-east coast of Australia when he mysteriously disappeared. During his flight, Valentich radioed Melbourne’s Air Traffic Control to report that he’s being approached from the east by an unidentified craft which was emitting a bright light. The transmission was suddenly interrupted by strange, metallic sounds. An intensive search was carried out which encompassed over 1,000 square miles, but no trace of Valentich was ever found. The young pilot was described as a ‘flying saucer enthusiast’, which led investigators to believe that his disappearance was probably staged. However, numerous reports have stated that there have been UFO sightings in Australia on the night of Valentich’s disappearance. 7. Whitley Strieber (1985)

Whitley Strieber is a well-known horror author who claimed that one of his books, Communion: A True Story, was actually based on an actual alien encounter. It began in December 1985 when he was awakened by a strange noise, after which an inhuman creature came rushing towards his bed. He woke up in the morning feeling disoriented, without knowing why. He recalled memories of his encounter months later through regressive hypnosis, claiming that he was abducted and assaulted by the creatures. Strieber went on to write four additional autobiographies detailing his encounters with these creatures which he referred to as ‘Visitors’. He theorized that these ‘Visitors’ might have more physical substance than what we normally assume, and that they’re not even a little human, but they’re clearly intelligent. At his own request, Strieber went through extensive tests for temporal lobe epilepsy and other brain abnormalities, only to find that his brain was functioning normally. 6. John Salter Jr. (1988) On March 20, 1988, John Salter Jr. and his son were driving on Central Wisconsin’s Highway 14 when, for some unknown reason, their truck started driving off of the scheduled route. They’ve been traveling in the opposite direction for an hour, but neither of them could account for the lost time. They eventually decided to take a rest for the night and continue their journey in the morning. During their drive the next morning, they saw a bright saucer-like form which immediately disappeared in an incredible speed. They began to feel some sort of familiarity upon seeing the mysterious saucer, but they would only start having detailed flashbacks months later. They recall getting forced off the highway by unknown creatures who communicated with them through telepathy. The creatures led them to a spacecraft, where they received injections in various parts of their bodies. After that, they were guided back to their truck, and Salter claimed that they parted with the creatures in a friendly manner. These events take a bizarre turn when upon returning home, Salter noticed an improvement in his health. His immunity was heightened, cuts and scratches healed rapidly, age spots and wrinkles have faded, among others. Salter’s son did not experience the same physical changes, but claimed that the encounter was the most extraordinary event in his life. 5. Pascagoula Abduction (1973) On the night of October 11, 1973, Charles Hickson and his friend, Calvin Parker Jr., were fishing from an old pier in the Pascagoula River when they heard a zipping sound and spotted a glowing, elongated object hovering above the ground. Three humanoid creatures emerged and took Hickson and Parker aboard the spacecraft, where they were examined. They were returned to the fishing site after the examination, after which they immediately reported the encounter to the sheriff. After 30 minutes of questioning, Jackson Country Sheriff, Fred Diamond, left the two men alone in a room rigged with a hidden microphone to further attest the validity of their claims. The audio recording of Hickson and Parker’s private conversation showed how distressed they were about what they’ve just experienced. Ufologist Philip Mantle later republished a book on this case and calls it one of the “most unique close encounters on record”. 4. Travis Walton (1975)

On November 5, 1975, Travis Walton and six of his coworkers were riding a truck when they suddenly encountered a saucer-shaped object hovering 110 feet away from the ground. Walton approached the mysterious object and was struck by a beam of light. His coworkers drove away from the scene due to fright. Walton woke up in what he thought was a hospital emergency room, but upon focusing his line of sight, he found himself surrounded by three bald creatures. Walton later turned up in Snowflake, Arizona after disappearing for nearly a week. He and the six coworkers who allegedly witnessed his abduction voluntary submitted to a series of tests, which they all passed, except for one whose results were inconclusive. Walton continued to tell his story throughout the years without any discrepancies in details. His coworkers also stood by their side of the story, even refusing bribes to contradict their narratives. Walton eventually wrote a book detailing his claims, and it became the basis for the 1993 film Fire in the Sky. 3. Antonio Vilas Boas (1957) Then 23-year-old Antonio Vilas Boas was working at the fields on the evening of October 16, 1957 when he saw a bright red star in the sky which turned out to be an egg-shaped spaceship. Boas attempted to flee but was captured by a five-foot tall humanoid who dragged him inside the craft where he was stripped off his clothes and covered with a strange gel. He was later joined by an attractive, female humanoid. The two had sexual intercourse, after which the female rubbed her belly and pointed towards the sky, gesturing that she will raise their child in space. Boas was taken on a tour around the ship, where he attempted to create a clock-like device to prove his encounter, but was immediately stopped by the humanoids. He was escorted off the ship and found out that the abduction lasted for four hours. Dr. Olavo Fontes of the National School of Medicine of Brazil examined Boas and concluded that he had been exposed to a large dose of radiation from an unknown source. Boas went on to recall details of his experience without hypnotic regression and he stuck to his claims throughout his life. 2. Betty Andreasson (1967) It was on the evening of Janury 25, 1967 when a reddish, orange light suddenly shined in the kitchen window of Betty Andreasson’s home. Andreasson rushed to the living room to comfort her frightened children while her father looked out the window. That’s when he saw five, odd creatures hopping towards their house. Before anyone could react, the creatures made their way inside and placed the whole family in a state of suspended animation. Andreasson was brought inside a craft where she underwent a physical examination and was given a bizarre test, which she described as a painful yet religious experience. When her captors brought her back home, they placed her family under some kind of mind control to put them to bed, then they left. An investigative team was assigned to Andreasson’s case, which included an electronics engineer, an aerospace engineer, a telecommunications specialist, a solar physicist, and a UFO investigator. The case was studied for twelve months, and the results were presented in a 528-page review. The review stated that Andreasson was sane and her claims were believable. Ray Fowler, founder of Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), concluded that Andreasson was “either the most accomplished liar and actress the world had ever seen, or else she had really gone through this ordeal.” 1. Barney and Betty Hill (1961)

The alien abduction case of Barney and Betty Hill is probably the most famous and well-documented one of its kind. The couple were driving home from a vacation when they noticed a bright light that began to grow bigger and take the form of an “odd-shaped” aircraft as it moved around the sky. It eventually descended in front of their car, hovering around 80-100 feet from them. Barney Hill stepped out of the car and, using his binoculars, was able to spot humanoid figures looking at him through the craft’s windows. He immediately ran back to the car and asked his wife, Betty Hill, to keep an eye on the craft. They heard a series of beeping sounds. The sounds followed by a tingling sensation passing through their bodies. They were only able to regain consciousness at the second series of buzzing sounds, at which they realized that they were already driving 35 miles south of the sighting location. They couldn’t recall what happened during the missing time. And, they both felt strange and anxious when they got home. They decided to seek for answers regarding the events of that night through a psychiatrist. They went through separate hypnosis sessions. But both described nearly identical experiences of being abducted by creatures with huge, black eyes and gray skin. Betty and Barney Hill’s case became so widespread that it introduced the alien abduction phenomenon into popular culture. Moreover, Betty’s hand-drawn Star Map, deciphered by experts as the alien’s home, has continued to amaze astrologers until today due to its astonishingly accurate astronomical details. Read the full article