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honkytonk-hangman · 2 years ago

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In Sickness...

Jake Seresin x Aviator!Reader

Summary: Jake feels his pulse jump and his stomach fly when he talks to or about you. Obviously, this must mean he's gravely ill.

Notes: mentions of a cheating boyfriend, jake convinced he's sick when really he is in loooveeee

Masterlist

“Hey, Hangman, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Jake, despite his usual goal of doing everything in his power to get on Phoenix’s nerves, finds himself ignoring the need to be quite annoying. His antics aside, he knew his fellow aviator well enough by now to recognise when she was up for his shit, and when she absolutely wasn’t.

That doesn’t mean he’s not going to be a little bit of a douchebag, though.

“Give me a second, Trace, I’ll need to start my timer.” he makes a show of observing his watch and starting a countdown from sixty seconds. Phoenix ignores him, and in place of possibly giving him a dead arm, she instead comes to a stop in front of him, her arms crossing over her chest in a way that was just a Natasha Thing, and not actually a sign of closed body language-thing

“You’re going to be at Mav and Penny’s later, right?” she asks, even though he knows he’s never given the impression of having any other plans, and she knows it. Jake simply nods, still pretending to count down.

“Right. Well… maybe take it easy on Cricket tonight, okay?” Phoenix asks him, her voice soft and quiet in a manner that makes Jake mess up his countdown, and subsequently drop his wrist and the bit entirely.

“I’m under the impression that I always take it easy on my favourite member of the orthopteran insect family,” he poses, and it's not untrue. He didn’t snipe with Cricket like he did with the others, mostly because she never sniped back, so trying to maintain a faux adversarial relationship would just be boring. No, Cricket was far sweeter and more wholesome than literally anyone he’d ever met, like Elle Woods had a lovechild with Barbie, and instead of banter, he’d found it irresistible and perpetually rewarding to tease her about her Certified Disney Princess status.

(Jake will never let her forget the time a small child at the beach approached her to ask if she was a mermaid, and that wasn’t even the only instance he’d witnessed something like that happening.)

Phoenix shifts uncomfortably in front of him and purses her lips.

“Look, just… give her a break tonight,” she pushes. Jake frowns even deeper, his own mood becoming solemn now.

“What's wrong? Is she alright?” the questions leave his mouth before he can really consider perhaps only asking one, to keep some semblance of cool. Phoenix dances from foot to foot again and nods, but then quickly makes the universal noise, gesture and expression of ‘well, no, actually’.

“She, uh, broke up with her boyfriend a few days ago.” Nat reveals, and oddly, it's the last thing Jake was expecting to hear, and the last thing he’d expect her to divulge to him.

“Oh.” he says, a little unsure of what else to say. Blinking rapidly, Phoenix starts nodding again, this time in a sort of commiserating manner, as if they often gossiped.

“Yeah, she came home to find the prick was fucking one of his colleagues…” She all but spits the words. Her hands form fists where they’re still tucking into her folded arms.

“She's actually really torn up about it, but you know Cricket. She’s not very good at not being positive, you know? So she’s just bottling it up, and I figured, maybe your usual game with her might not be so lighthearted right now. You know she would never tell you if you actually hurt her feelings, so…” Phoenix manages to catch herself before she descends into a full on ramble.

In all the years he’d known her, Jake had only ever witnessed Phoenix fully ramble once, several years ago back in Lemoore, when she and Halo had downed eight shots in ten minutes, and she then proceeded to give him a thirty minute TEDTalk about how cockroaches were basically just incredibly simple AI machines, interrupted every so often when she dozed off against his shoulder, only to pick right back up like nothing had happened.

Pushing the memory aside, Jake takes in her words slowly before at last he releases a deep breath.

He actually finds himself a little taken aback by the sheer depth of anger that lances through him at the thought of Cricket being treated like that. Nobody deserves to be cheated on, but Cricket was simply someone that Jake doesn’t believe anything bad should ever happen to. Around the same time he comes to this conclusion, Jake also becomes aware that as his anger simmers down, he’s struck with the need to seek out his squadmate, and comfort her, something which, if Jake is honest with himself, is not something he has much experience with. He was much more likely to offer space to someone in need, so this sudden urge causes his brow to furrow.

Jake chooses to compartmentalise this oddness for now, but makes a mental note for later to figure out when exactly he’d developed such a strong fondness for Cricket, and more importantly, how exactly that had happened without him knowing.

For now, Jake just gives Pheonix a level nod, and what he hopes is an expression she takes to mean he understands. He then tries to get a hold of his rogue fondness and leashes it with what he thinks is a brotherly, friendly reaction, a more normal reaction for him to have towards his squadmate.

“Does she want him punched or something?” he asks, feeling as though anything more would reveal too much of his scattered, fond thoughts. Jake purses his lips when he realises that ‘fondness’ was quickly becoming an understatement he’ll have to address at some point.

Phoenix's lips curve into a genuine smile, and she chortles softly, shaking her head.

“Well, you’ll have to get in line if she does. I’ve got first dibs.” she states, cracking her knuckles and then her neck, making Jake snort, and shrug, glad to know that perhaps he wasn't the only one suddenly feeling protective.

“I’m sure we could come up with a wrestlemania-worthy finishing move, a la The Hardy Boys to sort him out.” Jake chortles, imagining he and Nat in matching championship belts, and ignoring her raised eyebrow. He knows from that one movement alone that she is filing this information about him away to whip out like a trap card, but compared to the other information she might have gleaned from his reaction to the situation, he doesn’t care so much.

(Besides, Jake felt no shame about his love for Attitude-Era WWE, and if he ever gets the chance to repay her for the thirty minutes of cockroach facts he could have lived his whole life without needing to know, well, now he knew exactly what his topic of choice would be.)

Four hours later, Jake, for some reason, cannot stop thinking about his conversation with Phoenix. He tried chalking it up to the fact that it was an unusual request she’d made of him, but he knows that is bull. Jake is far too invested all of a sudden in your personal life, in your feelings, in a way that honestly, he never has been before. Or at least, has never realised before, because the more Jake lingers on the idea that you were cheated on, he has to confront the fact that these feelings might just have been there all along, and that actually, your happiness and wellbeing are extremely important to him.

He keeps his distance when you arrive with Halo at Penny and Mav’s, but he eyes you hawkishly anyway, uncaring if he’s obvious about it or not. He wants to believe that if he hadn’t known, he’d have spotted your much more reserved demeanour immediately, but honestly, he's not really sure of anything now when it comes to you. Jake isn’t sure if Phoenix spoke to the others, if he was just the last to know, but there is an air of tenderness in the way the others greet you, which wasn't entirely unusual in itself, yet the softness is palpable even from where he sits on the other side of the yard.

He watches you put on a good show, smiling sweetly at Penny as she rushes over to say hello, but the moment you dont think others are paying attention, your features fall and Jake decides that it is basically unacceptable for you to look that sad ever again.

When you disappear through the backdoor, to put the share platter you’ve bought into the fridge he assumes, Jake doesn’t even excuse himself from the conversation he’s supposedly in before he’s beelining for the house. Behind him, he can vaguely hear Javy and Payback protest, but he doesn’t pay them any mind.

Jake steps through the sliding back doors quietly, closing the door behind him and shutting out the rest of the barbeque, if only for a few minutes. He moves softly through the small back room and towards the kitchen, once more surprised to find out just how pleased he is when you turn to look at him right away. That was new… or was it? Jake thinks perhaps he should stop trying to figure things out.

“Hey! Jake!” you greet cheerfully, and he’s comforted a little that your smile reaches your eyes.

“I didn’t catch you this afternoon, so I didn't get to find out your fruit platter preference, but Javy told me anything but pineapple–” you launch right away into friendly conversation, and oddly, this small normality brings him comfort too, after his afternoon of quiet worry. Jake nods at your words as you continue explaining your fruit platter, and if he hadn't other things on his mind, he would have voiced his amusement at the fact you’d somehow managed to cut or arrange all the fruits into the shape of jets.

Anger bubbles in him once again, at the idea that anybody would do anything to cause you to be upset. You, who cuts fruit into themed shapes, and who makes sure to ask every member of the team their food preferences, and who, he’s almost certain, has made the yoghurt dip you're currently unwrapping completely from scratch just for this casual get together.

How could any sane person know you, know how sweet and caring and fundamentally, altogether good you are, and still choose to do something that would hurt you?

More importantly, how could a man be with you and want anyone else?

Jake takes a step forward and fixes you with what he hopes is not an expression that reflects his inner anger, but gives off something more like softness. He’s not sure he’s ever really had a serious conversation with you before, especially not one that wasn't about work, so he’s surprised how natural it feels to show you something more genuine than his usual playful amusement.

“Are you alright?” he hears himself ask you, almost regretting it when your expression drops immediately, and you look away from him, back to your fruit platter which you now seem to be pointless rearranging just so you don't have to look at him. You attempt to wave him off after a few moments, plastering a smile on and scrunching your nose as you continue to not look at him.

“I’m okay. Really. Things weren’t right for a while, so it’s sort of a relief, really.”

Jake thinks that maybe in a few months time, those words might actually be believable, but Phoenix was right. You were such a naturally happy and uplifting person, it’s clear to Jake that you were struggling to let yourself be sad or angry about it all.

You seem to be expecting him to speak, because you glance back at him several times before you seem to really get a look at his face, at which point you stop messing with your platter and turn to face him properly.

“Thank you for asking, though, I… I really appreciate that,” you murmur, wringing your hands together, before realising what you’re doing and smoothing them out over your sundress instead. Jake feels his pulse speed up. Or maybe it slows, he’s not sure, he just knows that his heart beat becomes irregular, and before he knows what he's doing, he’s stepping even closer towards you.

“Cricket,” he begins, a frown beginning to crease his brow, which your eyes flicker to consciously, as if you were concerned about his feelings. “Just say the word, and his nose will be irreparably broken. For the rest of his life he’ll be telling people it's an old football injury. Maybe he’ll even need surgery to fix it enough that it’s even remotely normal again,” Jake watches your eyes widen and blink as he speaks, but he makes sure to keep any trace of humour from his voice, so you properly understand just how serious he’s being. “Hell, it doesn't even need to be his nose. I’ll break his collarbone, I've heard that's the most painful in the long run…”

When you let out a soft sound halfway between a laugh and a sigh, Jake almost thinks he needs to rephrase his offer, but your soft smile and the almost shy look you shoot at him before you drop your gaze for a moment assures him you understood that he wasn’t joking, even a little.

“Sometimes…” you purse your lips and frown, struggling to find the right words, but you begin wringing your hands slowly again and the movement seems to lend you some confidence. “Sometimes I really wish I could be more like Phoenix… or, more like anybody else, really–” Jake has to physically clamp his mouth shut to stop himself protesting that point and let you talk.

“Sometimes, I wish I was someone who would take you up on that offer. I… I feel like I should want to want that… but I don’t…” you trail off and sigh again, but this time, the exhale seems to take a weight off your chest, like simply admitting these feelings out loud was what you really needed.

You look back up at him properly, and smile again. Jake thinks his pulse has stopped altogether now, and begins to seriously consider reporting to medical first thing Monday morning.

“But, I promise that if I ever change my mind about the severe breaking of certain bones, I’ll know exactly who to talk to.” Your smile widens just slightly, a little mischievous almost, like even just joking about it was very cheeky of you. Jake on the other hand, just believes it to be the only correct course of action.

He opens his mouth to respond, but you begin talking again, dropping your fidgeting hands to hang more relaxed at your sides.

“A lot of my life I haven’t really been surrounded by people who’ve looked out for me, or folks who I can really trust… and I know we’re not really friends, more like work friends, but–” you suddenly cut yourself off and shake your head with a little chortle.

“It doesn’t matter, ignore me–”

“–We’re friends.” Jake can’t stop himself from protesting this time. You blink at him like this is surprising to you. “We are friends, Cricket… I know I–” Jake cuts himself off like you had just done and grinds his teeth a little. This was not a conversation he went around having very often, if ever, at all. “You know I wouldn’t poke fun at you if I didn’t care. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think we were friends,” he says, hoping his words didn’t give away exactly how much he cared. You seem to search his face, but you’re nodding, as if he was the one who needed assuring in this situation.

Jake starts to wonder then if he was actually becoming seriously ill, and all of his reaction to this afternoon has just been one big fugue episode. That idea is genuinely more believable to him at this moment, that Jake is really, actually currently unconscious in the on base hospital, with a skyrocketing fever and some other terrible things, than all of this sudden personal change and inner realisation happening so naturally and smoothly and without him having a say in it.

But then you’re smiling at him again, bright and genuine and all thoughts of climbing fevers and sudden illness evaporate. As sad as it sounds, Jake would never dream of you smiling at him like that, the sight so affecting and sweet that he could never come up with on his own. However, he does conclude he’ll probably be seeing it a lot in his dreams from now on. He thinks this should cause panic in him, he should not be planning to dream about one of his squad mates smiling at him, but unsurprisingly to him now, panic is the furthest thing he feels about it.

“Well, I just know that I’m not always good at asserting myself, but I know that you guys… you guys will do it for me.” You give a little shrug. Jake feels a little shame then, that he’s worked with you for several months now and has not once picked up on the fact that you were completely aware of your own tendency to be a bit of a pushover.

It dawns on him that every time he teased you for being ‘too nice’, and every time you laughed or shook your head in amusement, the real joke was on him. It’s a joke that Jake doesn't find particularly funny right now. He’s not sure he ever will.

“Sorry, I’m being so dramatic and grim!” you say suddenly, and this time your mood change isn’t fake or put on. Jake shakes his head at you, and at last feels some of his regular programming begin to seep back in. He chooses to make a show of leaning back against the counter and carefully crosses his arms over his broad chest in a way that he knows looks incredibly sexy (Javy has assured him), a small smirk slowly spreading over his features.

“Cricket,” he drawls out slowly, somewhat relieved that he feels more himself again. You double take as you look back up at him from where you’ve started fiddling with your fruit platter again, your eyes blinking rapidly as you now quickly try to avoid his whole side of the room. Jake’s grin grows ever so slightly when he has your attention, even if you seem too nervous to look at him now.

Unlike most of the women Jake had worked with, you didn't seem to try to, or perhaps you simply were unable to, hide the effect Jake had on you, how he could so easily make you flustered. It's not something he’s totally unfamiliar with, after all, plenty of women around the Hard Deck were the exact same, but the fact that you aren't some civilian looking to get laid, and are in fact one of the best aviators he knows, makes it all the sweeter.

(Jake had once tried to reconcile the way you handled yourself in the air, with the way you were at all other times, but he could never quite do the maths on it, so it was better for his brain if he didn't think about it at all.)

Honestly, Jake knows his getting a reaction out of you is an act of self ego-stroking, but he loved making a spectacle of himself, just to watch how you would sputter and go all mushy, and if he’s even more honest, a big part of his enjoyment lay in the thought that perhaps, he was doing you a favour, giving you something to think about, boyfriend be damned. He supposes he doesn’t need to worry about that being a problem anymore.

Jake then pauses then, and wonders when exactly you having a boyfriend had become a ‘problem’, a threat to him specifically, because the more he thinks about the idea now (hypothetical as it is), the more his skin starts to itch under his shirt.

Perhaps he was getting sick after all.

“Yes, Jake?” you ask, still avoiding looking his way, and trying to use a tone of voice that was either exasperated or ignorant, but your slightly higher pitch gives you away.

“You didn’t say that I was your friend, too,” he faux complains, watches you shake your head a little, but fail completely at keeping the smile off of your face.

With your platter now deemed ready, you pick it up and turn toward him, holding it out for him to take. Jake, without thought, does so.

“You are my friend, too, Jake,” you tell him, far more sincerely this time, and Jake feels his pulse do that odd thing again. He swallows thickly, and nods, before you direct him out the back door.

For the rest of the afternoon, Jake can’t help but hover, never moving too far away from where you are, and when he doesn’t have an excuse to linger close to you, he always keeps one eye directed your way.

#jake 'hangman' seresin x reader #jake seresin x reader #jake 'hangman' seresin #jake seresin #hangman #hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin

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brookstonalmanac · 4 years ago

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Events 3.1

509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. 293 – Emperor Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesars. This is considered the beginning of the Tetrarchy, known as the Quattuor Principes Mundi ("Four Rulers of the World"). 350 – Vetranio proclaims himself Caesar after being encouraged to do so by Constantina, sister of Constantius II. 834 – Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. 1476 – Forces of the Catholic Monarchs engage the combined Portuguese-Castilian armies of Afonso V and Prince John at the Battle of Toro. 1562 – Sixty-three Huguenots are massacred in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion. 1628 – Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. 1633 – Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu. 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials. 1781 – The Articles of Confederation goes into effect in the United States. 1790 – The first United States census is authorized. 1796 – The Dutch East India Company is nationalized by the Batavian Republic. 1805 – Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate. 1811 – Leaders of the Mamluk dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali. 1815 – Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba. 1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico. 1845 – United States President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. 1867 – Nebraska is admitted as the 37th U.S. state. 1870 – Marshal F. S. López dies during the Battle of Cerro Corá thus marking the end of the Paraguayan War. 1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park. 1893 – Electrical engineer Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri. 1896 – Battle of Adwa: An Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War. 1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactive decay. 1901 – The Australian Army is formed. 1910 – The deadliest avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people. 1914 – China joins the Universal Postal Union. 1917 – The Zimmermann Telegram is reprinted in newspapers across the United States after the U.S. government releases its unencrypted text. 1919 – March 1st Movement begins in Korea under Japanese rule. 1921 – The Australian cricket team captained by Warwick Armstrong becomes the first team to complete a whitewash of The Ashes, something that would not be repeated for 86 years. 1921 – Following mass protests in Petrograd demanding greater freedom in the RSFSR, the Kronstadt rebellion begins, with sailors and citizens taking up arms against the Bolsheviks. 1939 – An Imperial Japanese Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94. 1941 – World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with the Axis powers. 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces land on Java, the main island of the Dutch East Indies, at Merak and Banten Bay (Banten), Eretan Wetan (Indramayu) and Kragan (Rembang). 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalised. 1947 – The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations. 1950 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data. 1953 – Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later. 1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States. 1954 – Armed Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives. 1956 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization. 1956 – Formation of the East German Nationale Volksarmee. 1958 – Samuel Alphonsus Stritch is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first U.S. member of the Roman Curia. 1961 – Uganda becomes self-governing and holds its first elections. 1964 – Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe. 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface. 1966 – The Ba'ath Party takes power in Syria. 1971 – President of Pakistan Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan. 1973 – Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages. 1974 – Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. 1981 – Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike in HM Prison Maze. 1990 – Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. 1991 – Uprisings against Saddam Hussein begin in Iraq, leading to the death of more than 25,000 people mostly civilian. 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. 1998 – Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide. 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan. 2002 – The Envisat environmental satellite successfully launches aboard an Ariane 5 rocket to reach an orbit of 800 km (500 mi) above the Earth, which was the then-largest payload at 10.5 m long and with a diameter of 4.57 m.[10] 2003 – Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security. 2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague. 2005 – In Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the execution of juveniles found guilty of murder is unconstitutional. 2006 – English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station. 2006 – A shocking child rape and murder of 2-year-old Nurasyura Binte Mohamed Fauzi, better known as Nonoi, first made headlines for her initially-presumed disappearance, which would later on be exposed as a case of rape and murder. Her stepfather Mohammed Ali bin Johari was found to be responsible for the little girl’s death, and he was sentenced to death a year later. 2007 – Tornadoes break out across the southern United States, killing at least 20 people, including eight at Enterprise High School. 2008 – The Armenian police clash with peaceful opposition rally protesting against allegedly fraudulent presidential elections, as a result ten people are killed. 2014 – Thirty-five people are killed and 143 injured in a mass stabbing at Kunming Railway Station in China.

#Events

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powerfultulips · 5 years ago

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hej!! for the calm asks- all.

i- okay

1: Golden mornings or peachy sunsets?

both is good! i love sunsets though. plus mornings are early

2: Sugar cones or waffle cones?

both is good! i prefer waffle cones though!

3: Do you wear scarves often? do you have a favorite?

i don’t actually own any scarves but they’re cool

4: How long do you lay in bed before you finally get up?

my personal record is six hours

5: Is there a food you’ve never had but always wanted to try?

uhhhhh probably but i do be kinda samefooding tho 😳

6: What does your umbrella look like?

I Do Not Own An Umbrella

7: Do you listen to ASMR?

yeah i love ajr /j

no i do not i simply do not Vibe with it

8: Rain storms or a light drizzle?

both is good! i think i prefer drizzly rain though

9: What’s a little thing in life that you love?

the smiles and laughs and voices of people you love

10: Favorite color aesthetic?

trans pride flag. or just black bc i’m edgy okay

11: Wobbly lines or using a ruler?

🎵 i’ve been feelin’ wobbly 🎵

12: Bright colorful living room or neutral cozy living room?

neutral and cosy i think. i like the spaces around me to feel comfy. plus bright colours make my eyes hurt sometimes

13: Do you have any candles? what scents are they?

i do not but i enjoy smelling the candles at like.... walmart and cracker barrel lmao. i used to drag my parents into yankee candle when i was like seven and i had a whole collection of em but idk what happened they probably got thrown out or hopefully donated or something

14: Have you ever rode a horse?

yes and the best horse i ever rode was named rusty. he was a good boy

15: Do you have glasses?

yes and amazingly i haven’t broken them yet. they’re soooo flexible

16: What’s a language you’d like to speak?

i just wanna be better at spanish and swedish lmao. i also wanna learn japanese and maybe finnish?

17: What’s your favorite season and favorite month in that season?

spring, march

18: Do you have a favorite pair of socks?

yes my diamond socks that my dad gave me. they’re so comfy

19: Favorite Ghibli and/or disney movie

fuck disney. all my homies hate disney. howl’s moving castle tho

20: Disney, Dreamworks, or Pixar?

fuck disney. all my homies hate disney.

21: What snacks do you usually get at the theater?

i haven’t gone to see a movie in a theatre in like 2 years please

22: What’s an underrated video game/ movie/ show you love and think it needs more recognition?

i already answered this but i’ll give a different answer. the game oxenfree is so fucking good please play it

23: Would you fill your house with plants if you had a green thumb?

yes.

24: All plants are great but do you have a favorite?

dusty miller used to be my fav but now it’s like,,, cacti or succulents of any kind are my shit

25: Do you have a favorite type of art style? (eg: soft looking, no to little color, sketches, crisp and clean, minimalist, pixel art etc.)

i really love soft, sketchy, doodly art

26: What would you do if someone gave you flowers?

melt

27: Do you like nicknames?

yes but also,,,, i will just hoard names

28: Do you still watch shows you watched when you were a kid? even from time to time?

i don’t watch anything please i’m begging you

29: Do you still like old memes? (tell the truth)

memes for the meme god

30: Favorite Halloween costume you dressed up as? (if you don’t celebrate halloween have you ever cosplayed or would you like to? who did you cosplay as?)

i went as phineas one year. that was fun. and i wanna get into cosplay but i’m too broke and scared i’m too old to actually start doing it

31: Are you a fashionable person?

when i’m manic

32: Do you like watching holiday movies?

fuck holidays, all my homies hate holidays. groundhog day good tho

33: Cookies or brownies?

both is good, cookies best tho

34: Do you blow in the cold air just to see your breath?

if you don’t you’re a cop

35: Do you find the crickets chirping outside your window relaxing?

no unless they’re kricketots in pokémon go

36: Do you like cobblestone streets?

hell yeah that’s aesthetic

37: How often do you doodle?

all the time if i’m in class, but since i dropped out, not often enough lmao

38: When was the last time you blew bubbles?

when i was in the hospital LMAO we love getting trauma flashbacks

39: What’s your favorite random piece of decor in your house and room?

my trans flag which i STILL haven’t hung up. or the giant fucking butterfly painting on my wall

40: Do you bite your fingernails off or clip them more often?

clip them

41: Any birthmarks?

probably, not that i like. can name though

42: Thoughts on freckles?

hell yeah

43: First video game you ever played?

mlb power pros. actually it was like, super mario or something but power pros was the first one i ever owned

44: what type of bird do you hear most often outside your door?

i don’t know shit about birds @literally-an-envelope this is your job

45: Do you use gifs/ memes a lot when replying to people?

no but i use emoji a lot

46: Thoughts on spring?

as mentioned before it is my favourite season. and it’s also the one where baseball starts so hell fucking yes

47: Ideal temperature outside?

sixty-two degrees fahrenheit (or like, 12-22 celsius for the educated folks)

48: Cloudy, partly cloudy, or clear skies?

partly cloudy gang

49: How often do you hear airplanes outside?

not often enough

50: Do you enjoy windy days?

not when i’m trying to walk or smoke lmfao

#asks #about me #olives.txt #smonk....

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madebyleftovermuses · 5 years ago

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The one with Grandpa’s writing

Chapter Sixty-Three: Hereditary

* So vigilante!Archie ties these kids up and then as Archie finds them and brings them to pop’s to sort them out 👌🏻

* Aw, Betty ordered Jughead food

* Jug ignoring Betty’s advice of taking a walk, looking at art and kissing his girlfriend

* She had to tell him twice to kiss her

* One of us! One of us! One of us!

* Cheryl should know she was dreaming since Toni wasn’t in bed with her

* Why the hell does she have that creepy ass doll in her bedroom? And why the hell does Toni allow it?

* Dodger trashed the gym

* Archie just straight up telling FP where Dodger is operating out of like he didn’t beat him up out there

* Have we actually ruled that Charles is gay

* I don’t like Hermosa

* Veronica asking if she has any other siblings

* Hiram returning to his passion

* extortion and murder👌🏻

* His passion is rum of course

* Veronica not wanting her sister to help in her speakeasy that should be totally illegal for a high school student to be operating

* Veronica kicking out her father and sister

* Jug thinking Grandpa Jones wrote the first book

* Jughead is really hung up in his grandfather despite everything his father has told him which honestly is very contradicting

* Betty visiting Chic because why the fuck not

* Yes lets go to Chic for information on Charles because we totally can trust whatever comes out of his mouth

* So, I cannot picture Cheryl missing school. She bragged about her GPA but she’s the queen bee of the school so she wouldn’t miss school

* Cheryl pour salt around the doll probably should put some iron around it too

* Charles upset that Betty went to Chic but like same

* Betty outright telling him she doesn’t trust him

* So, how long has Jingle Jangle been around and did the Ghoulies actually create it or just found the recipe and made their own?

* Archie looking for arcade games for the kids

* Veronica is like whats this about arcade games?

* Cheryl in trouble oooooh

* Nope just an accident

* I’m sorry but how the fuck did Dagwood choke on a ping pong ball? They aren’t that small or am I confused

* Veronica laying out the sitting arrangements for the club

* Just googled if you can choke on a ping pong ball and the answer is fucking no so what the fuck Riverdale?!

* Booth 11 is for enemies

* Cheryl calling the doll a demon doll 👌🏻

* And finding him with Jason

* Surprise family back in town

* Of course Cheryl faints its just family

* Nobody fucking cares what you did in Miami

* Sitting Hiram and Hermosa at booth 11 is a power move

* Charles hooked up to a lie detector

* Sounds familiar like when someone killed shady man and Betty walked in

* He’s a recovering addict at least there’s meetings for his addiction unlike my Funko Pop figure addiction

* I feel like there is more than just the narcotic addition

* This fucker in Archie’s gym that he came him

* Damn right Fred was a good man!

* Archie being nice to the man who tried killing him and tried sending him to jail

* Hiram wanting to donate to Archie’s cause of saving the at risk youth

* Fuck you aunt Cricket

* So, Clifford had a twin brother both are dead and then Penelope who was adopted is in the wind but how in the world are those people aunt and uncle at most they’re cousins to her parents

* Also, is Cricket a blossom like Polly and married into the family to keep the bloodline pure? SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BLOSSOM FAMILY!!

* Wanting to sell the maple farm

* Cheryl needs to get away from thistle house

* And Cheryl thinking it makes sense

* Wow Cheryl going crazy over the chapel....here’s an idea Cheryl BURY YOUR BROTHER AND REGULARLY VISIT HIS GRAVE LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!

* Hiram just showing up, taking his clothes off and Hermione not really stoping him

* Yes, because who doesn’t want a husband who orders a hit out on you

* “I already regret this” as you should

* Jughead following the Forsythe the First breadcrumbs

* Again very confused about why they decided to have two high schools both Jones’s went to Riverdale High yet they built Southside High after the parents graduated

* So, there is a train from wherever Stonewall Prep is and Riverdale

* Archie got arcade games

* Pizza isn’t life apparently, burgers and fries draws in a crowd

* Cheryl trying to drown this doll

* Should we be concerned that there are bubbles coming from the doll

* “Mom I have a surprise for you” she does too

* Hiram is back because why the fuck not

* Hiram thinking Veronica is jealous of Hermosa

* Frosty Pajamas of course that would be his grandfather’s pen name and Riverdale High

* Jughead finding GPJ’s writing

* How could Chic know the location? FP handled it the second time and it was i think after Chic was gone from the house

* What evidence? You dissolved the body with Lye which pretty sure there isn’t a body anymore unless I’m wrong

* The car was taken care of and the blood was cleaned up and pretty sure burned

* So again i ask WHAT THE FUCK RIVERDALE?!

* Burgers brought in a crowd...kind of surprise Jug isn’t there for the free burgers because he would

* If Jordan Conner was still on the show he would have shown up just for the arcade games...i really hope we get our Sweet Pea back

* “You’re costing me my work force” that’s the idea asshole

* Dodger thinking Archie is the masked man...i mean he’s right

* They waited up after FP said not to wait up

* One thing that bothers me about the whole Charles thing is THEY DIDNT GET A DNA TEST!! After Chic you’d think they would to actually make sure it is their child and not trust the word of mouth

* Still don’t know how I feel about Charles

* Jug talking to Mr. DuPont about the first book

* DuPont not liking the idea of Jug calling him out about the first book

* DuPont getting pissy that Jug just called him out as a plagerist

* How dare you call GPJ a bottom-feeding dropout in a third rate school

* Don’t being FP into this you stuck up asshole

* Mr. DuPont your privilege is showing

* I know who you are, you are a privileged old white dude who looks down on the working class

* I’m sorry did this asshole threaten to kick out Jug for confronting him about stealing someone’s work? I’m pretty sure that’s not grounds of expulsion

* DuPont got really hostile so yeah he stole GPJ’s work

* Hermosa telling Veronica about the relationship between her mother and their father

* Hiram really gave both daughters pearl necklaces like he cant come up with an original gift

* The father you know didn’t try sending the love of your high school life to prison or try killing him

* Cheryl really blocking anyone from entering that chapel

* Can they declare her unfit? But i mean yeah she is mentally unwell

* WHAT IS YOUR COUSIN’S NAME CHERYL? HE’S KINDA CUTE

* Going to Chipping with the fact that DuPont didnt write the first book

* Archie you idiot you put your mother in danger!!!

* Do you wanna be an orphan or have your mother bury her child after she buried her ex-husband (were they divorced?)

* Another daughter portrait

* FYI you’re only the apple of his eye because Veronica disowned him

* Veronica skipping the sham of a vow renewal

* Really idiot!!! You go to Hiram to get rid of Dodger!!

* Jughead you ruined your teacher by telling him DuPont is a thief!!

* And out the window Chipping goes

* Zero fucks were giving by the other four students the Chipping dove out the window

* Finally someone telling Cheryl she’s problematic with her obsession with Jason

* She’ll end up in a mental institution, true

* But not for a long time (well, maybe)

* But you just committed B&E, and assault two counts

* The only thing the authorities will do is put her into a hospital

* And you just threaten murder so, you’ll go to jail

* Toni for the save and it was self-defense

* The fuck Charles and Chic!!

* Dodger got beat up!

* Bret is happy that the seminar is cancelled and that they all get 4.0s because that’s totally how that works

* Bret taking pleasure in Chipplings demise

* Nope you guys get DuPont for the seminar

* Also FUCK YOU BRET!! NO ONE LIKES YOU

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crcket-blog · 6 years ago

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hello hello! I just realized I hadn’t moved this over here. So it’s kinda a repost, kinda not.

[EMILY RUDD, CIS-FEMALE, SHE/HER] IT’S BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE CRICKETJOINED VELIA FROM CHESTER, ENGLAND. APPARENTLY THEIR NAME IS SAWYER RONAN AND THEY’RE A MAGE. THEY HAVE BEEN FIGHTING AS A UNITY MEMBER FOR A WHILE NOW. DIDN’T PEOPLE SAY THEY WERE NOT A BETA TESTER? I HEARD THEY TURNED TWENTY-THREE THIS YEAR. LET’S HOPE THEY MAKE IT OUT ALIVE.

B A S I C S

NAME; sawyer rae ronan USERNAME; cricket USERNAME ORIGIN; It’s been her nickname since forever. It only made sense to use it. DOES SHE LIKE THE NICKNAME? she adores it SEX; cis-female AGE; twenty-four BIRTH DATE; april 2nd SEXUALITY; pansexual RELATIONSHIP STATUS; single GUILD; catalyst (former unity) CLASS; mystic LVL; sixty-five

B E F O R E V E L I A

Like a lot of people, Cricket doesn’t talk a lot about life pre-Velia. Yes, there are parts she loved about it. Parts she misses. But there’s a good chunk she doesn’t. Here’s a quick run down.

As far as she’s concerned, her parents are dead. Her mother walked out when she was nine. From the moment her brother, Leo, told her, the woman she knew as her mother died. She mourned for her. Sometimes she still does, but it’s more so out of anger than sadness now.

Leo raised her and she’s forever grateful for it. She knows it would’ve been better for him if she weren’t around and there were a few times growing up she debated leaving too, if only to give him some semblance of a normal life. Once she even made a plan, packed a bag and got half way down the street. The fact that she couldn’t remember if he’d set his alarm or if she’d stocked the pantry with that disgusting chip flavor he liked or if he’d finally told his boss to shove it made her turn around. She crept into his room that night, set his alarm, and crawled back into her bed, leaving him none the wiser.

School was rough for her. She found it hard to keep focus, but she excelled in anything remotely creative or athletic. Track. Softball. Volleyball. Cheerleading. She tried them all, but she never stayed on a team long. Mainly for financial reasons. Not that Leo ever knew that. As far as he was concerned, she got bored. Nothing ever really kept her attention. Well– aside from music.

Ever since she was little, there was always a tune stuck in her head. She’d sing. Hum. Whistle. Drum. It didn’t matter as long as she found a way to get it out of her head and into the air. It wasn’t surprising when she joined the orchestra or that she often spent time after school hunkered in the band room or on their fire escape with whatever her teacher loaned her.

The only thing that came close to her love of music was her love of video games, which again, were expensive. But she loved their stories and characters and most importantly their soundtracks. So she’d burrow them from friends or rent them. There weren’t many she finished, especially once she hit 16 and could finally get a job to help out. But she enjoyed them all the same.

Life went on. She decided she’d major in audio engineering with a minor in music, her goal being to break into the video game industry. It took a ton of work (and a lot of applications, community service, and general will power) but she scored a scholarship and some decent financial assistance.

So when Velia came out, she had to try it. She’d been saving up for the rig and game since before the beta released. It was the first major game she talked herself into buying and from the moment she stepped into the world– she knew all the scraping was worth it.

D U R I N G V E L I A

The first day was incredible. She’d never felt so immersed…so free. Even though it wasn’t her usual build, she couldn’t resist trying out a mage. Magic had always fascinated her (she knows an embarrassing amount of magic tricks irl) so she couldn’t pass up seeing it like this.

It wasn’t until she realized Leo would be home soon and she hadn’t made dinner (it was her turn) that she attempted to log out. She tried. Over and over. And it wasn’t until the sixth time that panic began to set in. The idea of not going back to the real world wasn’t as terrifying as the thought of never seeing Leo again. And for the first few days, she was a wreck. She stayed on floor 1, hiding like a coward before she ventured to the next town.

It took a few days. She hated the feeling. She hadn’t felt that bad in what– 12 years? She hated it. And she hated the game. That is until Leo showed up. And seeing him– god, it felt like she were whole again. And stuck or not, with him, she felt like herself again. Which was on of the biggest reasons she resisted when he told her it’d be best to split up…to pretend that they weren’t related and were just as good as strangers.

It was infuriating. But she agreed. He joined catalyst. She unity. And life went on. And life? It’s good. Despite her brother’s views and the obvious threats, she’s determined to make the best of it all. In a way…she still likes it better than irl. Sometimes she’s ok with the idea of never getting out. Of course, she’d knows if she had the choice, she’d go…if only for Leo’s sake.

N O W

COMING SOON

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Overall, Cricket’s a lot like her username. She’s always humming or singing a tune, she’s constantly leaping without looking and considering she’s lasted this long, she considers herself pretty lucky. Unlike her brother, she’s very in touch with her emotions. Some would say too much, but she accepts it. She can be as feisty as she is goofy. Fierce as she is cute. Kindness and laughter go a long way with her and yeah, she can be spacey…and even irresponsible, but she’s not naive. She knows how dangerous this world can be and she’s protective of the friends and family she’s made. And she’s a pretty decent mystic, so careful, she might not bite, but she’ll certainly light a fire under your ass.

#cricket::| headcanon

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crcket-archive · 6 years ago

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hello hello! it’s ace again and this is Sawyer, or rather CRICKET. She’s a work in progress, but at least she’s cute, so bear with me!

[EMILY RUDD, CIS-FEMALE, SHE/HER] IT’S BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE CRICKET JOINED VELIA FROM CHESTER, ENGLAND. APPARENTLY THEIR NAME IS SAWYER RONAN AND THEY’RE A MAGE. THEY HAVE BEEN FIGHTING AS A UNITY MEMBER FOR A WHILE NOW. DIDN’T PEOPLE SAY THEY WERE NOT A BETA TESTER? I HEARD THEY TURNED TWENTY-THREE THIS YEAR. LET’S HOPE THEY MAKE IT OUT ALIVE.

B A S I C S

NAME; sawyer rae ronan USERNAME; cricket USERNAME ORIGIN; It’s been her nickname since forever. It only made sense to use it. DOES SHE LIKE THE NICKNAME? she adores it SEX; cis-female AGE; twenty-three BIRTH DATE; april 2nd SEXUALITY; pansexual RELATIONSHIP STATUS; single GUILD; unity CLASS; mage LVL; sixty-three

B E F O R E V E L I A

D U R I N G V E L I A

The first day was incredible. She’d never felt so immersed...so free. Even though it wasn’t her usual build, she couldn’t resist trying out a mage. Magic had always fascinated her (she knows an embarrassing amount of magic tricks irl) so she couldn’t pass up seeing it like this.

It took a few days. She hated the feeling. She hadn’t felt that bad in what-- 12 years? She hated it. And she hated the game. That is until Leo showed up. And seeing him-- god, it felt like she were whole again. And stuck or not, with him, she felt like herself again. Which was on of the biggest reasons she resisted when he told her it’d be best to split up...to pretend that they weren’t related and were just as good as strangers.

It was infuriating. But she agreed. He joined catalyst. She unity. And life went on. And life? It’s good. Despite her brother’s views and the obvious threats, she’s determined to make the best of it all. In a way...she still likes it better than irl. Sometimes she’s ok with the idea of never getting out. Of course, she’d knows if she had the choice, she’d go...if only for Leo’s sake.

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Overall, Cricket’s a lot like her username. She’s always humming or singing a tune, she’s constantly leaping without looking and considering she’s lasted this long, she considers herself pretty lucky. Unlike her brother, she’s very in touch with her emotions. Some would say too much, but she accepts it. She can be as feisty as she is goofy. Fierce as she is cute. Kindness and laughter go a long way with her and yeah, she can be spacey...and even irresponsible, but she’s not naive. She knows how dangerous this world can be and she’s protective of the friends and family she’s made. And she’s a pretty decent mage, so careful, she might not bite, but she’ll certainly light a fire under your ass.

#veliaintro #cricket::| intro #cricket::| headcanon

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sophieakatz · 6 years ago

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Thursday Thoughts: Disney Emoji Blitz – Emoji Power Guide

I love cute things. I love puzzles. I love Disney characters. So it’s no surprise that the Disney Emoji Blitz mobile app is currently one of my favorite games. With its adorable Disney imagery and its constant stream of new “missions,” I can’t see myself getting bored of this app any time soon!

The more you play, the more character emojis you unlock. Each emoji has a special power that gives you an extra boost as you play. I’ve unlocked enough emojis to notice that their powers fall into different categories, allowing you to strategize. Allow me to go over these power types so that you can pick the best emoji to beat your current mission!

Clear Emojis

The most common emoji power is one that clears a certain number of emojis from the board. The higher level your emoji character is, the more emojis it will clear! Some of these powers clear the emojis at random – like Sulley, who roars to scare them away, and Bambi, who sends butterflies (Birds? Flowers?) to land on them. Others clear emojis that are near the emoji whose power you are using – Barbossa turns into a skeleton pirate to scare away nearby emojis, and Disgust grosses out nearby emojis with broccoli. Most emojis clear a specific pattern on the board. For example, WALL-E and EVE always fly across the board in the same direction, Stitch and Fear remove a swirling pattern, and Anna and Simba always clear emojis near the bottom of the board.

Some emojis allow you some control over where or how many emojis are cleared. Jack Skellington and Perdita will clear emojis around an emoji that you tap. Elsa and The Bride (from the Haunted Mansion!) will clear a specific row of emojis of your choice. Other emojis require you to play a very quick mini-game to dictate the extent of their power, such as hitting a moving target with Merida, tapping red memory spheres with Anger, and guiding 8-Bit Mickey through a Mario-like jumping game. The better you perform in the mini-game, the more emojis you clear!

If you’re facing a mission that requires you to clear a lot of emojis, or to clear emojis from a specific part of the board, be sure to choose one of these.

Summon Power-Ups

Many missions require you to use a lot of Lightning Cloud, Sunshine, or Rainbow Star power-ups, or to combine these power-ups with each other. Certain emojis bring these valuable items to the board! Mickey Mouse, the first emoji you unlock in the game, summons Lightning Clouds. Lightning McQueen, fittingly, does the same! Cinderella, Snow White, and Olaf summon Sunshines. Joy also creates a Sunshine – and best of all, you get to tap the board to decide exactly where it should go! Jiminy Cricket and Darth Vader create Rainbow Stars, which can help you with some of the trickiest missions.

Summon Items

Collecting items can be a frustrating part of playing Disney Emoji Blitz, because you have no control over when one will appear on the board, even if you use a More Items Bonus. Fortunately, Chip and Holiday Mickey are two emojis with the rare power of summoning items to the board! Chip also summons a power-up, helping you bring that item to the bottom of the board for quick collection.

Coin Bonus

Trying to collect a lot of coins, so you can build up your emoji collection? Be sure to use an emoji with a coin bonus power! Minnie Mouse gives a bunch of emojis on the board heart-eyes; when you clear them, they give you three times as much coins as they would otherwise! Captain Jack Sparrow drops treasure chests onto the board, which give you an extra bunch of coins if you break them open with a power-up. Scrooge McDuck, naturally, dives right onto the center of the board, clearing a large square of emojis and giving you an equally large coin bonus. His enemy, the villainous Magica de Spell, deals in coins, too – summoning special power-ups that not only clear the board, but provide extra coins for every emoji they clear!

Score Bonus

If you end the week at the top of the leaderboards, you can get a HUGE amount of coins as a reward! The way to get up there is to earn a high score – and while every emoji increases in score value the more you level them up, there are specific emojis that can help you rack up an even higher score! Marie, Mrs. Potts, and Lady give their emojis heart-eyes; when you clear them, they will give you three times as many points as they would normally. And whenever you use Sebastian’s power, for the next few seconds, every emoji match you make gives three times as many points. Use any of these powers during Blitz Mode to multiply your scores even more!

Time Bonus

Sometimes sixty seconds just plain isn’t enough – like when your mission is to go Blitz Mode a certain number of times in a game. In that case, put these emojis with a time-related power to use! Spin Cogsworth’s clock hands quickly for a bigger time boost. Celia creates heart-eye emojis which give you an extra second for every one you clear. And the White Rabbit, late as always, creates a special time-bonus mode in which every emoji match you make adds seconds to your gameplay!

Mix Up the Board

Finally, let’s talk about the emojis who just plain mix things up on the board – often giving you the change that you need to make a great match! Goofy is the most literal mixer-upper, randomizing the board whenever you use his power. Rafiki shifts all the Rafiki emojis on the board a few spots higher on the board, usually putting together combos to make a Sunshine or Rainbow Star as a result. Flounder, Randall, Genie, and Nemo transform a bunch of emojis on the board into their own character. On the other hand, Fozzie Bear, Flynn Rider, and The Beast remove all emojis that look like them from the board! All of these emojis are great for missions that require you to remove a specific kind of emoji, or to make a lot of power-ups.

There are so many ways to play Disney Emoji Blitz, and so many ways that your favorite characters can help you out, and I haven’t even mentioned them all here. Suffice to say that it’s a blast!

(Note: This article is not sponsored by Disney or Jam City. I’m just a fan!)

#disney emoji blitz #disney #emojis #disney characters #disney emojis #thursday thoughts #listicles #nonfiction

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classyfoxdestiny · 3 years ago

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Vijay Merchant on Bishan Singh Bedi vis-à-vis Vinoo Mankad

Editor’s note: This is an archival article written by Vijay Merchant, one of India’s greatest batsmen (1933-’51), published in Cricket Quarterly, Vol IV (1978): No. 1. Merchant dissects the spin bowling skills of two India legends Vinoo Mankad and Bishan Singh Bedi.

‘From behind the nets, Bedi looked an altogether different bowler than from the commentator’s box. He never bowled two balls in the same over which were exactly similar, and there was extreme variation in spin, flight, direction and even in the speed of the ball.’

It seems that my article ‘How Gavaskar Compares with Vijay Merchant’ was very much welcomed by the readers, and so the editors have invited me to write another on Bishan Singh Bedi and Vinoo Mankad. I hope I am able to do justice to these two great cricketers.

No, I am not going to make a comparison. Comparisons are always odious, and, in any case, they are unfair and misleading when made of cricketers playing in different eras. Everything is so very different from one generation to another: the outlook, the wicket conditions, the technique of batting, the arrangement of field-placing, the reaction of the public, the personal outlook of the cricketers, etc., that such a comparison can never be made, though there is always a very great temptation to do so. I have no desire whatsoever to fall into this trap. Mine will be just an effort to tell you how I look upon their bowling. Yes, only their bowling – pure and simple. I will not touch upon their batting or their fielding or their talents for captaincy. And, as in the case of Gavaskar and Merchant, the senior man will be mentioned first and the junior personality next.

Both these cricketers have been absolute tops in their respective generations, and the men next to them in the same category of bowling have been far, far behind.

Mankad had next to him Hiralal Gekwad of Holkar while Bedi had Rajinder Goel of Delhi. Both just did not get a look in while their seniors were fit and available to play. That proves that they were in a class of their own and did not brook any comparison. It would be no exaggeration to say that they have somewhat become legends in their own lifetime.

On a perfect batting surface, Mankad seemed to be the better and the more effective bowler.

Of course, he was collared many a time. But then, the wickets in his time were all in favour of the batsmen. Even in our country, only on rare occasions could he get a wicket to render him much help, and that too, on the fourth and fifth days of a Test match. In his time, the wickets were not ‘doctored’ to suit the local bowlers. Mankad, therefore, had to attack the batsmen most of the time; and hence, gave away many, many runs in his attempt to ‘purchase’ his wickets. Bedi, on the other hand, bowled mostly in India on wickets ‘prepared’ for him – I mean, prepared for spin bowling. On a wicket which did not render any help to him, he was not so effective from the point of view of getting wickets. When he realized that he could not get any response from the surface, he switched on to defensive bowling. He lowered the trajectory and directed the ball between leg-and-middle most of the time. He then rarely flighted the ball under such circumstances and placed his field so very well, and with such judgement, that the batsmen could not pierce through without taking a risk and hitting the ball high in the air over the heads of the in-fielders. More often than not, his wickets were obtained in these circumstances, when the batsman lost his patience.

Mankad flighted the ball much more than Bedi ever did, both on ‘good’ wickets and ‘bad’.

Mankad had to use the strategy of flight in order to tempt the batsman to make a big hit. He knew he could not get much spin on the ball, and so, tried to beat the batsman in flight to draw him outside his crease, and either make him miss it while executing a stroke or make him miss the ball to get him stumped. Rarely had I seen him bowl better than he did on a perfect wicket in Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in 1950–51, when after a few balls, he drew out of the crease Frank Worrell, who actually went out to play to a ball defensively, and three yards outside the crease, found that he was completely beaten in flight and his last-minute stab at the ball failed to get a connection. The result was that he was left stranded outside the crease and the wicketkeeper, Nana Joshi, stumped him very easily. That was indeed a masterpiece in flight, and from the cover point I admired this immensely. What is more, this move received Worrell’s appreciation, who tilted his head in acknowledgement and then proceeded towards the pavilion. Worrell scored only 2 out of a total of 272, and Mankad’s figures were 38-14-66-4.

Bedi on a good wicket rarely flighted the ball. On a wicket which rendered him help, Bedi did not have to flight the ball because he could get all the spin that he wanted out of his delivery, and so, he harassed the batsmen to no end merely by lowering his trajectory and directing the ball on the right spot on the middle or middle-and-leg stump. Rarely have I seen him flight the ball in the same measure as Mankad did. I am told that he had to resort to flight in England in 1974, when the wickets were prepared all in favour of England’s pace bowlers and were very much against India’s spin bowling. There, for once, Bedi was completely collared and had to give away many, many more runs than he was wont to do in first-class and Test cricket. Only for the sake of information and interest, may I state that in the three Test matches in England in 1974, Bedi bowled 172.2 overs, out of which, only 28 were maidens and he captured 10 wickets at the very high rate of 52.30 runs per wicket. No one in his imagination would think that these were Bedi’s figures.

Both have been great masters of variation. Mankad varied in flight, direction, and sometimes length, while Bedi varies his bowling in every possible manner in the six balls that he delivers per over.

A slow bowler must have complete control over these three attributes, otherwise he would never be a great success. Why, even Chandrasekhar is a great master of variation but, in his case, the variations are of an entirely different nature.

Personally, I always found Mankad easier to play. No, not because Bedi was the greater bowler but because I was good at going out of my crease to play spin bowling and had lighter feet, quick enough to get to the pitch of the ball when flighted. Secondly, I could never make out the one that came to me from the one that turned away. Hence, in order to be on the safe side, I always went out of my crease to the flighted ball, more out of a sense of self-preservation than in order to attack the bowling. Finally, I played Mankad regularly in the nets, and hence, was more used to his bowling than that of Bedi, whom I never played either in the nets or in any matches. We belong to different generations and this can be easily gauged from the fact that while I am sixty-six, Bedi is thirty-two. Hence I am more than twice his age.

In my initial years as a commentator, I always felt from the commentators’ box that Bedi would be an easier bowler to play than Mankad, and asked myself the question why more batsmen did not go out of their crease to smother the spin of Bedi. In order to ascertain for myself how good Bedi was from a close look-in, I deliberately went to the nets during a cricket game at the Brabourne Stadium, and had a good look at him from just behind the nets – after, of course, obtaining the permission of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, his captain. The permission was readily given and I was completely aghast at what I saw. Bedi seemed to be a different bowler altogether from that close a distance than he looked from the commentator’s box. He never bowled two balls in an over which were exactly similar, and there was extreme variation in spin, in flight, in direction and even in the speed of the ball. And then I realized why batsmen hesitated getting to the pitch of the ball. The trajectory rarely seemed to be high enough for even a quick-footed batsman like me to go out of the crease and play him. Why, I even asked myself whether I would have been able to play him as comfortably as Viswanath and Gavaskar did. Bedi’s bowling on that memorable day from behind the stumps was indeed a revelation to me.

Both had a positive approach to the game because their job was to get the batsmen out as quickly as possible. Mankad ‘purchased’ his wickets while Bedi attacked them on a surface which was amenable to spin and bowled defensively when conditions were against him.

At no time did either bowl negatively as such, but quite rightly, as with all great bowlers, conditions dictated their strategy. On a wicket which helped the bowlers, I suppose Bedi had the more attacking approach than even Mankad, who rarely had the same aggressive close-in fielding as did Bedi. Maybe, this was partly because in Mankad’s time, such aggressive close-in fielding was not usual but exceptional.

Both planned their method of attack right at the start. Their planning may have taken different forms but there was never a doubt in my mind that both knew exactly what they were doing and how they wanted to obtain their wickets. They both studied the weaknesses of every batsman who came in, and, at all times, implemented their strategy to the best of their own ability. They enjoyed the great attribute of observation, study and absorption, and hence, were able to attack the batsmen in a manner least expected.

Both Mankad and Bedi have been great fielders to their own bowling. They have brought off some remarkable catches and, in spite of the fact that they have never shirked from putting their hands to the hardest hit, they have been rarely injured.

This shows not only the power of endurance but timing and the ability to get the ball in the right part of the hand, irrespective of whether they are able to hold on to the catch or not.

Mankad was quite often neglected as a bowler merely because he proved to be a very fine batsman at the same time. Time and again, I found that he was utilized much less than he should have been as a bowler because his reputation as a batsman was so great that a few captains used him much less, fearing that the strain on his bowling hand would show in his batting later. This was a mistake of which I was myself once guilty. In the Pentangular finals of 1945–46, when the Muslims won that most memorable match by just 1 wicket and K.C. Ibrahim played a memorable innings of 137 not out, in the 103 overs bowled in the second innings, and when the Hindus wanted to win outright, I put on Mankad for only two overs while Chandu Sarvate and C.S. Nayudu bowled as many as 74 overs. I realized later that had I put on Mankad to bowl more in those innings, the Hindus would have certainly won the match. The realization, unfortunately, came too late.

Mankad never got the same support from the fielders as Bedi did in his time. That was simply because fielding in my time was not half as good as it was when Pataudi took charge of the Indian team. By his own outstanding example, he inspired fielders in a manner no other captain has done – not even Lala Amarnath.

Had half the catches which off by Mankad been taken, I am sure wickets Mankad’s would have been nearer 225 than merely 162. Bedi, on the other hand, has been blessed with outstanding fielding, and particularly the ability of Eknath Solkar. This does not mean that Solkar took many catches, but that Solkar’s outstanding work in the short leg inspired others to put in their best foot forward and raise the entire tone of fielding in the Indian team. Both the bowlers had always bowled with a very short start. As a matter of fact, it may be a conjecture who bowled with a shorter start. This meant that they were able to conserve their energies a great deal and bowl for longer periods. Mankad had to take care of his energy reserve because he had to bat as well, and Bedi had to conserve his in order to do more running about in the field. Mankad, being a close-in fielder either in slips or in the short leg area, never ran much when his team fielded. Bedi, on the other hand, was never a close-in fielder and had to run much more than Mankad ever did. Bedi, because of his yogic exercises, was always a better athlete than Mankad, and always more agile in the field. Mankad’s reflexes were very quick even when he became a little slower on his feet. Bedi’s reflexes were equally good in spite of the fact that he had put on some weight – weight which is so unnecessary – in his later playing years. He was not very quick at bending for a possible catch in the same manner as Mankad was right until the end of his career. Yogic exercises normally make you very fit physically, but do not always help you to take off weight.

Mankad used to turn the ball more on a turning wicket than Bedi did. Mankad was used to spinning the ball more because he had to bowl on firmer surfaces than Bedi. Bedi had always had wickets to suit him, and hence, a little turn on the ball was enough for him to miss the middle of the blade and take the edge. And really, that is all that is necessary in the case of a spin bowler. It is no use if a bowler turns the ball so much that it misses the blade completely and the wicket as well. But then, their attitude towards spin was dictated by the conditions prevalent during their playing days.

Both bowled the ‘armer’ very effectively, and both disguised it so very well that it was impossible to make out. Perhaps, that of Mankad was more deceptive because, even with the same flight, sometimes, the ball would suddenly come in to the batsman, taking him completely unawares. In the case of Bedi, there was always that little difference which indicated that it was either the faster ball or the one that might come in. Even so, both were masters of this great art.

Neither bowler spun the other way, that is, even when the ball came in to the batsman, it came in the shape of an armer, never in the shape of a spinning ball. Why neither bowled it nor made an attempt to bowl it, I was never able to understand.

And finally, their faster ball was always effective, either in obtaining a wicket or harassing the batsmen. The faster ball from Mankad was certainly much faster than that of Bedi. This, again, because the faster ball from a left-hand spinner does not have to be really fast but just fast enough to beat the batsman or to put him in two minds. In that respect, Bedi has been perhaps a greater strategist than Mankad, although it does not mean that Mankad bowled his faster ball less effectively. This was all a matter of difference in the outlook of these two bowlers whose ultimate object was to deceive the batsmen.

Mankad’s tally in 44 Test matches was 162 wickets, bowling 14,686 balls. That of Bedi in 58 Test matches, 246 wickets, bowling 19,135 balls. If he goes on playing for another three years, Bedi will be the third bowler in Test cricket to reach the figure of 300.

But do not ever make the mistake of judging these two bowlers from merely the number of wickets taken or the runs given away. That would be as great a tragedy as comparing Colin Cowdrey with his 7,865 runs in Test cricket as against Victor Trumper with 3,163 runs in 48 Test matches. Cowdrey can never be compared to Victor Trumper.

It is sufficient for us to know that Mankad and Bedi were exceptionally great bowlers of their respective generations.

Excerpted with permission from The Sardar of Spin, published by Roli Books to mark the 75th birthday of Bishan Singh Bedi.

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xtruss · 5 years ago

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Before Slim Malik Turned Shady

He could bat a bit too, you know?

— Osman Samiuddin Senior editor | ESPNcricinfo | April 2, 2020

In our series Come to Think of It, we bring new perspectives to bear on received cricket wisdom. In this instalment, a reassessment of Saleem Malik, who might be remembered as a fixer but was so much more

You're not going to like this, not one bit. To many of you it won't matter because what you're about to read happened too long ago. But the world is in a rare pose of reflection - really its first ever. If not now then when to think deeper about, and beyond, accepted wisdoms and established truths: that is the central thrust of this series.

Which is how comes the opportunity to remember that before Saleem Malik the fixer there was Saleem Malik the batsman; and that he wasn't any batsman, he was one, more emphatically than is now recalled, capable of genius.

See, you don't like it. Why remember Malik as anything other than a fixer? Australian players called him the Rat and no one ever outraged much. Such is the stain he left that remembering him as we do is the perfect punishment, more robust than Justice Qayyum's life ban.

And sure. That will stick forever, unlike the ban, now overturned.

But forever needs stories to fill it, so here we are telling the one about when Malik first came to notice, way back when the '80s began, as the next big thing in Pakistani batting. These days, when we can finally say that fast bowlers come and go but a Babar Azam is forever, we can truly appreciate and understand how big a deal Malik's arrival must have been.

It happened just as one of Pakistan's most celebrated batting orders was breaking up. Sadiq and Mushtaq Mohammad and Asif Iqbal had gone, Majid Khan was done, and Zaheer Abbas hadn't long left. Javed Miandad, flourishing, needed company.

So landed Malik, a prodigy, with a first-class hundred in his second game, and a star and captain of Pakistan's Under-19 set-up. A hundred on Test debut - in a makeshift side ripped apart by a rebellion against Miandad's captaincy - set the seal on this potential.

England was a happy hunting ground for Malik. He made close to 1000 Test runs there at over 20 points higher than his overall career batting average.

Looking back now he was very much a sportsman of his era. He cut a shapeless figure, ungainly in a very middle-aged, subcontinental-male way. Not avuncular, exactly, but we all know an uncle like him: a little paunchy, a little curvy, a little bottom-heavy.

That doesn't mean he was a liability. On the contrary, he was an outstanding boundary fielder - not in the same way Jonny Bairstow is, but his throws were the work of a sniper, sleek, efficient and lethal. What, after all, do we remember of his contribution to the entire 1992 World Cup other than the throw from deep midwicket to run out Phil DeFreitas? Closer in, check out this catch - it's 1984; it could be 2024.

Bat in hand, waiting for action, the uncle didn't vanish. But once in play, here was a handsome batsman. The easy drives, the light feet, the rubbery whip of the blade whenever he went square either side, even as small an action as the shuffle to the off when he set up to drive had a pleasurable quality to it.

In toto, it could culminate in a range that matched Miandad's, only it played out on vastly different pitches. Miandad had Sharjah but Malik had Eden Gardens. Imran Khan promoted Abdul Qadir and Manzoor Elahi above Malik in the chase, so frustration and a teensy bit of anger, maybe, drove Malik. Rage could have helped a chase of 78 at over ten an over. But Malik was ice-cold, which, as a response, was much more calculating and complex and compelling than dumb old anger. He went hard at an injured Maninder Singh's SLA and dealt with the very mediumy pace of Madan Lal and Kapil Dev with the abruptness and lack of decorum that only a 23-year-old can conjure. Plus, a late chop through point off a Kapil yorker wide of off stump, having moved outside of leg stump to create the room, was the future.

Once he got ahead of the rate, he made sure to retain strike over the last couple of overs, picking up doubles and singles. He wasn't going to waste this. Here was Miandad's nous in killing the chase, but something altogether more formidable in setting it up.

Just as good was another, lesser-recalled gem, the 41-ball 66 in the Nehru Cup semi-final against England. Not just by numbers, in nature both innings were more aughts than '80s.

At another end stand three of the finest, most underappreciated Pakistani Test innings of the era: 99, 82 not out, 84 not out. All three came at Headingley across two Tests when swinging Headingley was a mean little hell for batting. The three innings showcased patience and technique, of course, but also sharp judgement and game awareness, especially the first of them: ground out over a day, alternating between steadying the batting and forging ahead, eventually setting up a famous innings win.

In that time only Queen's Park Oval was tougher to bat at. And Malik's only Test there? Sixty-six and 30, and the half-century was the only one from either team in the first innings. Khan once implied that Malik was a flat-track bully but Khan was sometimes off on his player assessments, just that we only remember the ones he got right. Malik was anything but.

The sweet smell of Sharjah success: Saleem Malik, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Javed Miandad celebrate with the Austral-Asia Cup trophy in 1990.

Khan's ambivalence towards him was curious. Khan loved good body language, that most deceitful quality, which explains a little: Malik was no lion in the field. But Khan also loved men who stood up in crisis, and enough of Malik's best innings came in those moments, right under Khan's nose.

And somehow Khan rarely factored for one of Malik's most remarkable innings, when he batted one-handed, his left arm in plaster, against the toughest opponents of them all, West Indies. Forty-one minutes, 32 team runs, and enabling Wasim Akram's first Test fifty. A reminder not only for Imran but for us that humans are not binary creatures: one can be corruptible but also brave, selfless and committed when situations demand.

What Malik did seem to lack was the raw hunger of more driven, consistent players. He could and did go missing, as during the 1992 World Cup, or for the two and a half years and 19 Tests with just three fifties in the mid-'80s. He also ended with a single fifty in his last 13 Test innings.

The mood had to strike him, that much is true, and only he controlled when it did. When he became captain, for instance, and was afforded the respect he felt he deserved, he couldn't stop scoring. Early in his leadership he reaffirmed the depth of his quality, swatting away early-peak Shane Warne (Warne would dismiss him just once in five Tests, across which Malik averaged 71). Less remembered but a true-blue classic was his other 99, as captain, at the Wanderers - another tough venue, against a spiteful pace attack.

Captaincy suited him to the extent that it forms one of Pakistan's great what-ifs - how good might he have been? He took over a team, remember, much like the one he had debuted in, torn apart by factions and rebellions. He inherited one of the game's spikiest ego clashes, between the two Ws, and massaged it to a degree that both took nearabouts six wickets per Test each under him. Akram - who gravitated to Malik's charisma, not Miandad, after Khan's exit - had a better average under no other captain; Waqar Younis averaged better only under Miandad (among captains who led him in more than two Tests). And to think that initially not only were they not talking to each other, they weren't talking to Malik either because he had assumed the post they most wanted.

Captaincy, sadly, was the undoing; all that power and success merely grease for the ride down. And it's entirely plausible that even if Malik hadn't succumbed as he did, he might have ended up squeezed out between the two great pairings that overlapped and overshadowed his career: Khan-Miandad and Akram-Younis.

That he ensured he'll never be forgotten is, let's wager, no consolation.

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brookstonalmanac · 5 years ago

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Events 3.1

509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. 86 BC – Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, removing the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus ending the Siege of Athens and Piraeus. 293 – Emperor Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesars. This is considered the beginning of the Tetrarchy, known as the Quattuor Principes Mundi ("Four Rulers of the World"). 317 – Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, are made Caesares. 350 – Vetranio is asked by Constantina, sister of Constantius II, to proclaim himself Caesar. 834 – Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. After his re-accession to the throne, his eldest son Lothair I flees to Burgundy. 1457 – The Unitas Fratrum is established in the village of Kunvald, on the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. It is to date the second oldest Protestant denomination. 1476 – Forces of the Catholic Monarchs engage the combined Portuguese-Castilian armies of Afonso V and Prince John at the Battle of Toro. 1562 – Sixty-three Huguenots are massacred in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion. 1565 – The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded. 1628 – Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. 1633 – Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu. 1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), becomes the first incorporated city in the United States. 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials. 1700 – Sweden introduces its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to gradually merge into the Gregorian calendar, reverts to the Julian calendar on this date in 1712, and introduces the Gregorian calendar on this date in 1753. 1713 – The siege and destruction of Fort Neoheroka begins during the Tuscarora War in North Carolina, effectively opening up the colony's interior to European colonization. 1781 – The Articles of Confederation goes into effect in the United States.[1][2] 1790 – The first United States census is authorized. 1793 – French Revolutionary War: Battle of Aldenhoven during the Flanders Campaign. 1796 – The Dutch East India Company is nationalized by the Batavian Republic. 1805 – Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate. 1811 – Leaders of the Mamluk dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali. 1815 – Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba. 1815 – Georgetown University's congressional charter is signed into law by President James Madison. 1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico. 1845 – United States President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. 1852 – Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 1854 – German psychologist Friedrich Eduard Beneke disappears; two years later his remains are found in a canal near Charlottenburg. 1867 – Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital. 1868 – The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity is founded at the University of Virginia. 1870 – Marshal F. S. López dies during the Battle of Cerro Corá thus marking the end of the Paraguayan War. 1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park. 1873 – E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter. 1881 – The first Minnesota State Capitol burns down due to a fire. 1886 – The Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore is founded by Bishop William Oldham. 1893 – Electrical engineer Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri. 1896 – Battle of Adwa: An Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War. 1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactive decay. 1901 – The Australian Army is formed. 1910 – The deadliest avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people. 1914 – The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union. 1917 – The Zimmermann Telegram is reprinted in newspapers across the United States after the U.S. government releases its unencrypted text. 1919 – March 1st Movement begins in Korea under Japanese rule. 1921 – The Australian cricket team captained by Warwick Armstrong becomes the first team to complete a whitewash of The Ashes, something that would not be repeated for 86 years. 1932 – Charles Lindbergh's son is kidnapped. 1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed. 1939 – An Imperial Japanese Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94. 1941 – World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with the Axis powers. 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces land on Java, the main island of the Dutch East Indies, at Merak and Banten Bay (Banten), Eretan Wetan (Indramayu) and Kragan (Rembang). 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalised. 1947 – The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations. 1949 – Indonesian Army recaptures and occupies for six hours its capital city Yogyakarta from the Dutch. 1950 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data. 1953 – Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later. 1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States. 1954 – Armed Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives. 1956 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization. 1956 – Formation of the East German Nationale Volksarmee. 1958 – Samuel Alphonsus Stritch is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first U.S. member of the Roman Curia. 1961 – United States President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps. 1961 – Uganda becomes self-governing and holds its first elections. 1964 – Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe. 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface. 1966 – The Ba'ath Party takes power in Syria. 1971 – President of Pakistan Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan. 1972 – The Thai province of Yasothon is created after being split off from the Ubon Ratchathani Province. 1973 – Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages. 1974 – Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. 1981 – Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike in HM Prison Maze. 1983 – First collection of twelve Swatch models was introduced in Zürich, Switzerland. 1990 – Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. 1991 – Uprisings against Saddam Hussein begin in Iraq, leading to the death of more than 25,000 people mostly civilian. 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. 1998 – Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide. 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan. 2002 – The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 kilometers (500 mi) above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kilograms (8.5 tons). 2003 – Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security. 2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague. 2005 – In Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the execution of juveniles found guilty of murder is unconstitutional. 2006 – English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station. 2007 – Tornadoes break out across the southern United States, killing at least 20 people, including eight at Enterprise High School. 2008 – The Armenian police clash with peaceful opposition rally protesting against allegedly fraudulent presidential elections, as a result ten people are killed. 2014 – 35 people are killed and 143 injured in a mass stabbing at Kunming Railway Station in China.

#Events

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torentialtribute · 5 years ago

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Jason Gillespie’s 10 stars to light up the Cricket World Cup

The wait is almost over – the Cricket World Cup finally gets going on Thursday. for the 10 best teams in the world, they fight to win the prestigious trophy.

But which players are ready to illuminate the competition? JOHN ARCHER (ENGLAND) Anyone who can throw more than 90 mph with the accuracy that Jofra has, along with a very good bouncer , yorker, pace change and slower ball with hand in hand, has a lot to offer.

People have not seen much of him with the club, but he can hit a long ball, and with his athletic fieldwork, he has given an extremely good English side that adds X factor.

And wait for England to realize that its best format is actually the longest form of the game. He is a shoo-in for the Ashes. Jofra Archer carries a moody expression as he poses for his pre-tournament portrait "

<img id =" i-17130e17c5e02222 "src =" https: //i.dailymail. co.uk/1s/2019/05/29/10/14091976-7081747-image-a-47_1559122242351.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" Jofra Archer wears a moody expression while posing for his pre-tournament portrait <img id = "i-17130e17c5e02222" src = "https://dailym.ai/2Ki9JjQ "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-17130e17c5e02222" src = "https://dailym.ai/2JKGqqG 7081747-image-a-47_1559122242351.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" Jofra Archer carries a moody expression while posing for his pre

Very much a leader from the front and his record in chasing 50-over cricket is incredible.

VIRAT KOHLI (INDIA) He has averages of nearly a hundred in successful Indian pursuits.

When India is hunting in this tournament, A character driven and a true superstar.

Most impressive, he will never leave it to another guy to get the job done. His attitude is: & # 39; No, it's my job to see the team at home and I'm going to do it. & # 39;

<img id = "i-530640cc15e83773" src = "https://dailym.ai/2Ki9HZg -48_1559122305191.jpg "height =" 462 "width =" 634 "alt =" India captain Virat Kohli always makes a point of leading the front during a chase "

<img id =" i-530640cc15e83773 "src =" https://dailym.ai/2JKGruK "height =" 462 "width =" 634 "alt = "India Captain Virat Kohli always makes a point of leading the front during a chase" class = "blkBorder img MITCHELL STARC (AUSTRALIA)

India Captain Virat Kohli always makes a point of leading the front during a chase

]

In 75 ODI's I have taken 145 wickets and to claim almost two per game is pretty incredible. a very good reputation in World Cups.

He has a good pace, more than 90 mph, can conventionally swing the new ball and also the old ball backwards.

As well as having a brutal yorker from over and around the wicket.

If they use him as an attacking bowler in short spells, he can open the innings. If he goes for seven there is a pile higher than wickets Australia will take that.

Mitchell Starc's bowling regularly accounts for 90 mph and his record in one-day competitions is fantastic. "

Mitchell Starc's bowling regularly drove over 90 km / h and his record in one-90 mph and his record in one-day games is fantastic"

Mitchell Starc's bowling regularly rode over 90 km / h and his record in one-day races is great

[SomeonewhoisgoodfromSussexandAdelaideStrikersandagreatyoungman'snamemadeinT20

His skills are certainly transferable to the 50-over game and he is the choice of the spinach attack that will be the strength of Afghanistan.

Rashid has a very accurate leg spinner and a number of variations, and he is different from most because he uses all five fingers to use leg spin as opposed to the wrist and that makes it so difficult to choose

If circumstances match Afghanistan, Khan can certainly surprise a number of teams

<img id = "i-ad6b4e164a870b1e" src = "https: / /i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/29/10/14091970-7081747-image-a-50_1559122390166.jpg "height =" 448 "width =" 634 "alt =" Rashid Khan from Afghanistan really has name made in the Twenty20 game "Rashid Khan from Afghanistan really made a name in the Twenty20 game" Rashid Khan from Afghanistan really made a name for himself in the Twenty20 game

JOS BUTTLER (ENGLAND)

What more can we say about h Jos Buttler changes the 50-over game.

It is not that he is satisfied with everything he has achieved, because he clearly continues to challenge himself to set ever higher standards. I have never seen anyone find a way to consistently hit six or four perfectly good balls like Jos does.

He has just been immense. Bowlers during this World Cup will try to invent plans against him, but good luck with them.

He is a craftsman who finds a way to influence heavily. Even as an Aussie that is exciting!

<img id = "i-c69f94cd331d2262" src = "https://dailym.ai/2KddQha -51_1559122423139.jpg "height =" 424 "width =" 634 "alt =" Jos Buttler continues to raise his mighty game to a new level for England "

Jos Buttler continues to take his powerful game to a higher level for England"

Jos Buttler continues to raise his power-

The fact that he has six hundred and another sixty-five in his first 28

IMAM-UL-HAQ (PAKISTAN) ODI & # 39; s is quite remarkable. I like how he deals with his work because he is really clear about his role at the top of the order.

For a 23-year-old Imam understands his game and his strengths, the left-handed man who knows where his scoring areas are and who really plans his innings.

Pakistan can take turns build because they have many aggressive stroke makers. We saw in Bristol against England how well

<img id = "i-b60196a0ab33415f" src = "https://dailym.ai/2KaCBdP /14091966-7081747-image-a-52_1559122446077.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" Imam-ul-Haq in Pakistan has an excellent score among the top orders in ODI & # 39; s – Haq has an excellent score at the top of orders in ODI & s "

Imam-ul-Haq in Pakistan has an excellent score at the top of orders in ODI & # 39; s

KAGISO RABADA (SOUTH AFRICA)

At the basis of a very successful IPL with Delhi Capitals, Rabada has all the attributes. Pace, aggression, a blistering yorker and a good change of pace.

He uses the fold well, has a very repeatable action and there is just a lot to see.

Having him and Dale Steyn available is a big boost for South Africa. Rabada can light up this World Cup, that's for sure.

<img id = "i-d9ce977bdc45b2c2" src = "https://dailym.ai/2JKSuZ5 -7081747-image-a-53_1559122478612.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-d9ce977bdc45b2c2" src = "https://dailym.ai/2CYdfvj 2019/05/29/10 / 14091964-7081747-image-a-53_1559122478612.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" Kagiso Rabada has the potential to illuminate this South Africa World Cup with its bowling alley

Kagiso Rabada has the potential to illuminate this World Cup for South Africa with his bowling alley TRENT BOULT (NEW ZEALAND)

. They are very well led by Kane Williamson and Trent Boult is his greatest weapon.

He can play bowling at the back of an inning, has a good yorker and changes pace, but where he can cause the most damage is at the front when the ball swings.

The old fast bowler in me likes to see bowling and swinging the ball super fast and Trent is one of the best in the industry. I look forward to seeing him.

<img id = "i-1fc90c60d46bb182" src = "https://dailym.ai/2Ki9N34 -1_1559152001111.jpg "height =" 565 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-1fc90c60d46bb182" src = "https://dailym.ai/2wpn5CP 18 / 14091962-7081747-With_Trent_Boult_in_their_bowling_attack_New_Zealand_are_much_mo-m-1_1559152001111.jpg "height =" 565 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-1fc90c60d46bb182ps sicail" http://bit.ly/2JMNSBG /1s/2019/05/29/18/14091962-7081747-With_Trent_Boult_in_their_bowling_attack_New_Zealand_are_much_mo-m-1_1559152001111.jpg "height =" 565 "width =" 634 "alt =" With Trent Boult in New York are much more than just dark horses. their bowling attack, New Zealand is much more than just dark horses "

With Trent Boult in their bowling attack, New Zealand is much more than just dark horses CHRIS GAYLE (WEST INDIES)

How can we compile the list of players to watch without taking the Universe Boss with you?

Still box office late in his career. He can destroy any attack when the power is with him. Best known for T20 now, but earlier this year he showed England that he can also do it over the longer distance.

He has dominated time and again on the big stage and the reality is that all eyes are on him when the West Indies play. Hits sixes for fun. It will be fascinating to see if teams start spinning.

Chris Gayle, the self-proclaimed Universe Boss, has the potential to destroy any bowling attack.

<img id = "i-4245d4cd6f26b864" src = "https://dailym.ai/2Ki9NA6 -56_1559122551270.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" Chris Gayle, the self-proclaimed Universe Boss, has the potential to destroy any bowling attack "

Chris Gayle, the self-proclaimed Universe Boss, has the potential to destroy

I'm going to be biased and go for a second Aussie. Everyone will watch every David Warner move.

He has returned to the game with a very good IPL and it comes down to how I handle myself with all the attention. The Barmy Army won't let him or Steve Smith forget the mess, but Davey has pretty thick skin and I think he'll be fine.

The original heavy hitter who made his international T20 debut before playing a first-class game.

<img id = "i-fdf0d5161f2be24f" src = "https://dailym.ai/2JKdoaP image-a-57_1559122573270.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" <img id = "i-fdf0d5161f2be24f" src = "https://dailym.ai/2J2OwKp /29/10/14091958-7081747-image-a-57_1559122573270.jpg "height =" 423 "width =" 634 "alt =" There will be a ruthless reception There will be a ruthless reception for David Warner but the Australian has a thick skin

David Warner will have a ruthless reception, but the Australian has thick skin

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#Jason Gillespie’s 10 stars to light up the Cricket World Cup "

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austenmarriage · 5 years ago

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New Post has been published on Austen Marriage

New Post has been published on http://austenmarriage.com/1430-2/

Pop Quiz for All You Students Suffering Spring Fever

Today brings a little fun and games in celebration of spring. (It comes late to the high desert in Oregon. Our trees are just now in bloom. See the dogwood by the headline.) Today’s blog features a quiz on a variety of Jane Austen topics. There’s no rhyme or reason to topics or order. The quiz has thirty questions. It’s so long I’m putting the answers just below each one. Otherwise, you’d spend all morning scrolling back and forth. It’s an honor system, but keep your score.

Let’s compare scores! Challenges to answers also welcome.

Ratings/Austen Equivalent:

0-12: Mr. Collins, who knows not what he does not know.

13-20: Edward Ferrars/Edmund Bertram, solid but not setting the world on fire.

21-25: Henry Tilney, learned on topics from muslin to crown lands to Udolpho.

26-30: Liz Bennet, fiercely demolishing all comers.

What American game does Jane Austen mention several decades before it was supposedly invented?

In listing the games that Catherine Morland likes to play as a 14-year-old, Austen mentions cricket, running around, riding on horseback, and—baseball.

What was Jane Austen’s pen name during her life?

“A lady.” She never published under her own name during her life.

What American rock star tried to buy Jane Austen’s ring in 2013, but was thwarted by English Janeites who raised £152,450 ($232,836) to keep the ring home?

Kelly Clarkson.

When did readers learn that Jane Austen was the author of “Sense and Sensibility” and “Pride and Prejudice”?

December 1817 or January 1818. Her brother Henry provided her name in a short biographical essay when he published “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion” after her death. The books became available in December 1817 but the official publication date was 1818.

How did Jane Austen’s sailor brothers make much of their money while in the service?

Through the sale of captured ships. Captains received one-fourth of the total prize money (reduced in 1806). Charles might have made £5,000. Frank might have made £10,000, which also included bonuses for escorting merchant ships home from India. Neither approached Captain Wentworth’s £25,000.

What item did her brother Charles buy Jane that is mirrored in “Mansfield Park”?

A cross and gold chain to be worn around the neck. Charles bought Jane a topaz cross, and another for his sister Cassandra. William Price buys his sister Fanny an amber cross.

John Murray published Scott, Goethe, Melville, Darwin, and Austen. But who was his most popular author?

Byron.

What Austen family members are known to have denounced slavery?

Jane’s oldest brother, James Austen, criticized slavery in a college periodical he produced, the Loiterer. Another brother, Frank, in a letter home while stationed on the island of St Helena in 1808, criticized slavery in any form.

Where does the Regency era get its name?

King George III of England, in his second madness, gave way to his son, who was named Prince Regent in 1811. The Regent had most of the powers of the king. Parliament wrestled with the legality of a regency because the King, now mad, would have had to sign off on the transition in power. The son became George IV on the death of his father in 1820.

Why do we know so little of the period between 1802 and 1809 in Jane Austen’s life (which is the time of my trilogy “The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen”)?

Jane’s sister Cassandra burned the vast majority of Jane’s letters and any diaries or journals she may have kept. No one knows why. Frank’s daughter, also named Cassandra, burned his large correspondence with Jane.

How many known proposals did Jane Austen receive during her life?

Only one, from a young, callow Harris Bigg-Wither, in December 1802. She was courted by several other men, including a mysterious clergyman in 1801, who died before he could propose. Though the Bigg-Wither proposal shows up in every biography, its provenance is sketchy. It was not reported until sixty-seven years after the fact, by a niece who was not alive when it allegedly occurred.

What is the most surprising thing about the last few years of the life of the great abolitionist William Wilberforce?

After giving away hundreds of thousands of pounds to charitable causes, Wilberforce died in poverty after an investment with one of his sons collapsed.

How could black slaves in English possessions in the New World earn their freedom?

By joining the British army, either to fight the American revolutionists in the 1770s on the mainland or later to fight the French in the West Indies.

What critical domestic device did Jane Austen have control of?

She had responsibility for the keys to the expensive luxuries: sugar, tea, and wine.

Once she settled in the village of Chawton, how did Austen keep her writing private?

A squeaky door would alert her to anyone coming her way; when it squeaked, she would put her writing aside.

In round numbers, how much money did Austen earn from her writing in her life?

£640. Her work earned another £700 or so after her death, all of which went to her heir, Cassandra.

After his high life as a banker came crashing down in bankruptcy in 1816, what career did Jane’s brother Henry pursue?

He became a clergyman like his father and oldest brother.

What is the most commonly cited reason for Jane Austen’s death in 1817 at age 41?

Addison’s disease, a disorder of the adrenal glands, though no one really can say for sure. This modern diagnosis is based on her complaints of skin discoloration, which could have been caused by a variety of illnesses.

Why were the officials at Winchester cathedral baffled by an increasing number of visitors to Jane Austen’s crypt over the years?

They knew her only as a clergyman’s daughter.

What was the sad truth about the lives of women in Austen’s time, as exemplified by her sisters-in-law?

Five of Austen’s six sisters-in-law died young, three of complications from childbirth.

Beyond showing that she had a tall, spare figure, what does a detailed examination of Jane Austen’s clothing tell us about her physique?

The shape of her torso indicates that the wearing of constrictive clothing when she was a young woman caused her ribs to flatten.

France’s power on land and England’s on the sea caused Napoleon to compare the two nations to which imposing animals?

Buonaparte said the long stalemate was a battle between an elephant (France, unbeaten on the continent) and a whale (England, unbeaten on the sea), because neither had a way to defeat the other.

Who is the only man in Austen’s novels to marry a woman older than he?

Mr. Collins is twenty-five when he marries Charlotte Lucas, twenty-seven, in P&P.

Who is the only female protagonist in Austen’s novels to marry “beyond her bloom”?

Anne Elliot in Persuasion, who is in her late twenties. Except for Emma, who had just turned twenty-one when she married, Austen’s other heroines were in their teens.

During the Regency era, what was the only way by which a husband and wife could divorce?

Through an act of Parliament. Only the wealthy and connected could afford divorce. Only two or three women obtained a divorce on their initiative.

In Austen’s six major novels, how many described kisses are there?

In all six novels, there are only five described kisses; one almost kiss; and one likely sneaked kiss, according to Austen scholar John Mullan.

What major character has the shortest time before becoming engaged in an Austen novel?

Catherine Morland becomes engaged to Henry Tilney in eleven weeks in Northanger Abbey. They married “within a twelvemonth.”

What secondary character has the shortest time before becoming engaged in a Jane Austen novel?

Charlotte Lucas becomes engaged to Mr. Collins after one day of courtship in Pride and Prejudice.

Who coined the term “Janeite”?

George Saintsbury coined the term Janeite in his 1894 introduction to a new edition of Pride and Prejudice.

Who popularized the term “Janeite”?

Rudyard Kipling popularized the phrase in his short story, “The Janeites,” about a soldier in World War I who believes there is a secret society of people, the Janeites, who read the author’s work.

—

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen, which traces love from a charming courtship through the richness and complexity of marriage and concludes with a test of the heroine’s courage and moral convictions, is now complete and available from Amazon and Jane Austen Books.

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maaaher · 6 years ago

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A Short Outline On The Significance Of Compression Clothing

By Richard Taylor

Both use dampness wicking materials, for example, nylon and spandex keep them lightweight, though cotton would hold dampness and overload them in real life. Moreover, speed skaters exploit the streamlined favorable position they can get after wearing a skintight outfit, while a shoreline volleyball player had the additional advantage of SPF fifty plus pieces of compression clothing Tulsa to keep them secured on hot day. The competitors imagined demonstrate the assorted scope of advantages that make pressure bits for clothing so mainstream in a wide scope of games and structures. Other implied advantages of pressure sportswear are keeping muscles warm to counteract muscle strain. Wicking sweat far from the body towards anticipate scraping and rashes. Soothing agony from muscle solidness and soreness. Out of pressure best in expertly advertised battles for the cutting edge man. The proof may not be altogether indisputable with respect to the study of how everything really functions, however contemplates do exist inside which an expansion in oxygen take up to the waged muscles, a decrease in blood lactate heights and enhanced warm ups have altogether been seen once pressure wear was worn post work out. Pressure garments is not only an instance of tight textures. It is reviewed in its snugness to ease blood stream, it highlights wicking properties to lessen sweat pooling then keep the competitor warm, while as yet permitting opportunity of development. The advantages of pressure garments, regardless of how fortuitous, are not just displayed, they are generally acknowledged by practically everybody in the game. Their interest was high to the point that four million sets sold in the initial four days. Nylons effect on design was prompt, however the innovation started an unrest. Nylons unique name was fiber sixty six. Tights turned out to be so critical to a ladies picture that, amid World War Two, when leggings are not being sold in light of the fact that all nylon was occupied to military use, ladies started painting their legs using cosmetics. Inside this circumstance, shorts are informally recognized as spandex shorts. Ladies likewise wear pressure shorts in tennis, anywhere, most as of late, shorts have been created with ball pouches for comfort. Pressure fragments of have been seemed to help competitors amid the dynamic recuperation process. Research demonstrates that follows a high force treadmill exercise. What is pressure apparel? Pressure sections of clothing diminished the pulse and lactic corrosive development in athletes. As indicated by an investigation by Duffield R what is more, M Portis, in spite of fact that there were few watched changes amid their occasion, cricket players wearing quantities of clothing indicated less blood markers muscle harm and announced less soreness amid the twenty four hour support exercise period. Different examinations have upheld the possibility that compression shards of clothing are powerful in lessening post exercise decreases in hop tallness, limiting quality misfortune, diminishing swelling, and facilitating muscle soreness afterwards the competition. The Compensations of Attire. Nowadays of wellness and exercise we center such a great amount around what they put into the body and give a once over of some extraordinary bits of apparel. This is between two forty kilometers time preliminaries recouped quicker and has a far more prominent power yield than those utilizing a fake treatment. Abdominal area attire is most ordinarily worn by footballers they rec center goers wishing in order to keep warm amid those initial morning sessions. Once more, proof for its utilization amid exercise is blended however one thing is without a doubt, wearing a shirt while exposed to the harsh.

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A Short Outline On The Significance Of Compression Clothing via Mesothelioma http://bit.ly/2RQwBw0

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allofbeercom · 7 years ago

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Bobby Morrow, the greatest Olympic sprinter you’ve never heard of

David Lengel: American Bobby Morrow won three medals on the track at the 1956 Olympic Games before rapidly falling out of the limelight

Former high school classmates have attempted to visit him at his San Benito, Texas farm. Old friends have tried again and again to call and catch up. It seems that at least for now, 80-year-old Bobby Morrow, an all-time great Olympic sprinter who for decades has struggled to deal with the notoriety surrounding his achievements, has chosen to live out his years in isolation.

Sixty years ago, in 1956, it was a different story altogether. Morrow was an invincible 21-year old who had rocketed to fame after putting together the most dominant athletics performance since Jesse Owens. The highly criticized new cinder track at the Melbourne Cricket Ground couldnt stop Morrow, nor could a virus that knocked 10lbs off his 6ft frame just days before the Games. Only a powerful headwind prevented Morrow from setting a world record 100m run, storming past The Queensland Hurricane Hector Hogan halfway through his race for gold.

In the 200m, Morrow, known as the most relaxed sprinter of all-time had his cheeks flapping about as he powered past the field in 20.6 seconds, breaking Owens 20-year-old record. I wanted to emulate the great Owens, said Morrow after his run. Another Owens record would fall next: the 4x100m world mark that had previously been set with the icon as anchor.

Bobby Morrow wins the 100m in Melbourne 1956.

Fifteen years ago, I met with a reflective Morrow, who in one of his more upbeat moments said: I was born and raised right here on this farm and its amazing that a kid you know a little town like San Benito could be able to go to the Olympic Games and you know you have to pinch yourself every once and a while, even now.

For Morrow, it all began in those sprawling cotton fields where the competition was his cousins. He dominated at San Benito High School where he played sports against Bert Keys.

Nobody ever did it like he did it, said Keys. When the gun went off he was off and running. He was unbelievable. And the thing about it was, for the first 20 or 30 yards, people could keep up with him, but by the last 20 or 30 yards he was all alone.

By 1953, college scouts from the Southern California track powerhouses gathered in southeastern Texas to watch the San Benito Bullet run in the high school state championships. But Morrow, then described as an ultraconservative Christian declined a scholarship with the established track schools, got married and stayed in the state, attending Abilene Christian College, where he would help form a Texas sports dynasty.

I saw him run several times, said his coach Oliver Jackson, who died in 2007. And I knew right then that he was a pure thoroughbred.

Jackson, who would go on to coach four Olympic champions, told Sports Illustrated that Bobby had a fluidity of motion like nothing Id ever seen. He could run a 220 with a root beer float on his head and never spill a drop. I made an adjustment to his start when Bobby was a freshman. After that, my only advice to him was to change his major from agricultural sciences to speech, because hed be destined to make a bunch of them.

Despite the fact that Morrow ran a then-unthinkable 9.3 seconds in the 100-yard dash, the same Southern California track experts that sought his signature for college were wary of Morrows talents heading into the 1956 Olympic trials.

Morrow winning in the 100m heats at the 1956 Olympics. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

They were always skeptical of people from Texas anyway because you know theyd say, well you had a big wind behind you [a reference to the belief that Texan track meets often had big tail winds doe to the flat terrain], Morrow said. How much wind did you have? They always brought up that angle of it. How much wind did you have? So we always had to do a little better so we could say that didnt make any difference.

Morrows dominated the trials at the Los Angeles Coliseum, qualifying easily with wins in the 100m and 200m, dismissing any doubts about being pushed ahead by Texas winds. In Melbourne, Morrow, who benefited by the absence of his chief rival, the injured Dave Sime, cruised to multiple victories.

Morrows fame exploded: he made the cover of Time, Sport and Sports Illustrated, and beat out Mickey Mantle, Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung for SIs Sportsman of the Year Award. The Texan also appeared on several television programs, including the larger than life Ed Sullivan Show. While such popularity would be a dream scenario for many, for Morrow, it was the start of decades of disillusionment.

He was the finest sprinter of his era, said Olympic historian David Wallechinksy. But it was a short era.

The souring surrounding his new post-Olympic success actually began in Melbourne, where Morrow was quick to catch on to the injustices of amateurism. In the time before Olympic sprinting medals translated into wealth, shoe companies interaction with athletes was limited to if youre going to go to the bathroom you may want to use the third stall on the right [to pick up your money] according to Wallechinsky.

Morrow was particularly stung by what he saw as hypocrisy surrounding the controversial Avery Brundage, who headed up the US Olympic Committee from 1930 through 1953. Morrow told Sports Illustrated that there were plenty of food and accommodation perks for …a bunch of guys whose job was to hand out soap and towels, because they had to find something for them to do.

Morrow would later attempt to right what he believed were the wrongs of the era, and despite having to hand over television quiz show winnings to his university – he could donate money linked to athletics but not profit from it and cash in plane tickets for food and drive to meets instead, Morrow set himself on qualifying for Rome in 1960.

Morrow performed well back at Abiline Christian College, but when the Rome 1960 Olympic trials came around, Morrow was suffering a groin injury sustained during a warm up meet and couldnt run in the trials. Still, there was a spot available as a reserve, and Morrow was invited to train in California with the squad. He arrived healthy in Los Angeles, and promptly began to beat athletes who had made the team.

When its time to go to the Olympics, I kept calling the night before, and they said no we havent made up our minds, we havent decided yet, you know, we dont know yet, were still meeting, Morrow recalled. They said you just meet us at the airplane at LAX, and we will tell you if youre going or not. So I met them out there and they said no. Youre not going. I dont know why they didnt take me in 60.

Morrow may have been left on the runway because the US had a healthy Sime on their roster. The Duke star had beaten Morrow before and held world records. They also had Ray Norton, who was favored to duplicate Morrows feat of winning three gold medals.

Then again, Morrow, still very much in his prime with three Olympic gold medals in his pocket, had testified at a US Senate hearing that there were too many freeloaders at the 1956 Olympic Games, statements that did not sit well with the all-powerful Brundage.

In Rome, Sime finished second in the 100m to West German Armin Harry, before the 4x100m team flopped after being disqualified after Frank Budd handed off to Norton out of his zone. Back home, Morrow felt humiliated by the way he was treated and that, added to his anger with the way amateur athletes were treated, fueled his decision to retire from the track.

In 1961, Morrow began a campaign to reverse the paltry stipend US athletes were forced to live on while higher ups enjoyed all the trimmings of high profile sports executives. He appealed for, and received an audience with Bobby Kennedy where he was able to air his gripes. Then he was invited to speak at a US Senate hearing for a second time, one that yielded little to no change.

A bitter Morrow felt his being shunned by the US track and field community came as a result of his attempts to bring change. He further retreated from public life, leaving Houston where he was training to be a stock broker before returning to the San Benito Valley where hes spent most of his time since.

Despite his achievements on the track and his campaigns for better treatment off it, Morrow remains a champion lost to history.

I dont get mentioned, said Morrow. I get left out a lot. And I think thats because I was fighting them so much … that may be a part of it. I dont know.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/bobby-morrow-the-greatest-olympic-sprinter-youve-never-heard-of/

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cricketmanniyot-blog · 7 years ago

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Marching efficaciously into his twenty first year of international cricket, the man who holds the document for maximum runs in test and ODI is likewise nearing the a hundred a hundred's with most effective four to head. he's none aside from the God of Cricket to his fans, the greatest ambassador for cricketer and a proud son of India, SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR.

Why Sachin is best whilst there is man known as Bradman who scored one hundred almost each time he went out to bat? Bradman played against handiest four nations, played for the duration of the time of conflict and he performed only on 2 styles of floor whereas Sachin performed towards greater than 10 extraordinary countries, gambling in his twenty first yr of global cricket, played on all form of floor from bouncy to flat to dry pitches.

Even the remarkable Bradman as soon as quoted saying "most effective Sachin's style resembles me". Bradman averaged almost one hundred(99.ninety four) in test suits and Sachin averages 57. additionally to the truth that Bradman by no means played ODI while Sachin performed both ODI and test proves his versatility.

the quantity of fits played and quantity of runs scored by way of Sachin, additionally the form of batting he showed in opposition to extraordinary bowling assaults on type of pitches and situation makes him better than Bradman to price Sachin because the best Batsmen ever.

The latest poll for "The greatest Batsmen Ever" conducted by means of The Australian newspaper famous Sachin is higher than Bradman with sixty seven% votes in Sachin's favour wherein 20768 lovers forged their vote.

SIR GARFIELD SOBERS, been seemed because the finest all-rounder until now and ICC awards the Cricketer of the 12 months award in his name tells how top notch he is. His capacity to bat and bowl makes him greatest due to the fact that when he bats, he bats like batsmen and whilst he bowls, he bowls like a bowler. He can bowl medium pace, left arm off-wreck and leg-damage (Chinaman) too.

Then there's Malcolm Marshall, the person who destroyed the opponents along with his velocity and accuracy in bowling. Then comes names which include Wasim Akram (Sultan of Swing), Shane Warne (the greatest leg spinner), Mcgrath (Bowling gadget), Muralitharan, (Spin Wizard), Ricky Pointing (the man who's chasing Sachin but just fading away now), Rahul Dravid (The Wall), Ambrose (little fowl, who sends bouncers thundering into combatants face), brain Charles Lara (the most fashionable participant who changes the sport unmarried handily), Sunil Gavaskar (Little grasp, the person who played in opposition to large bowlers in bouncy tracks without wearing helmet and nevertheless went on to attain over 10000 runs with 34 centuries) and Sehwag (Redefining the artwork of batting).

All this above names can be categorized as 1-dimensional due to the fact they carried out high-quality matters both in batting or bowling no longer like sobers who performed brilliant things in both batting and bowling which is a superb contribution for any team from a player. this is why Sobers is front-runner for the greatest cricketer ever name. but there's some other guy known as JACQUES HENRY KALLIS who is emerging to task the Sobers for greatest all-rounder title and in-flip preventing for the greatest cricketer ever.

Like Sobers, Kallis too executed a amazing job for his u . s . a . South Africa together with his contribution from each bat and ball. Kallis performed each check and ODI formats whereas Sobers performed best one ODI. Kallis surprised over 10000 runs and over 500 wickets in each take a look at and ODI codecs.

Sachin, Sobers and Kallis bring onething in commonplace, they're "irreplaceable for all time". both Sobers and Kallis contributed to the group better than Sachin with their ability to bowl and bowl well also. even though Sachin can also bowl as his record advocate with his 200 wickets in each codecs of the game. however Sachin is never a ordinary bowler like Sobers or Kallis.

Sachin is by no means a perfectionist like Rahul Dravid or out and out attacking batsmen like Sehwag or his function model Richards. If we remember the ability that the ones three offered to the cricket discipline, all of them may be matched up one manner or different. Then what makes Sachin better than other or higher than all? what's that?

Sachin is the maximum worshiped cricketer that all people can ever recognize. The time he went on to score a massive document 600 runs partnership with his mate Kambli in college days and the century in his debut Ranji healthy at 14yrs made every cricket head in the state to appearance after him. Sunil Gavaskar, who's legend in Indian cricket after seeing Sachin bat once said to his spouse, "i've visible something awesome these days".

Sachin went on to make his debut at the age of 16yrs towards Pakistan, the arch competitors of India in 1989. the moment he scored brisk 50 after being hit by a bouncer from Waqar Younis which damaged his nostril, he became a hero in a nation which has over a hundred million human beings. From that day onwards, he carried the complete country in his shoulder. the burden of expectation is implausible for everybody to have but still he went on from energy to power together with his achievements.

No other cricketer ever had such strain when he walks out into the sphere. yet he came out and excelled in each manner in cricket. not simplest in India, all around the global Sachin gets standing ovations when he walks out to bat tells how unique he is to cricket and his lovers. Sachin is being appeared like God no longer best for his batting but his behavior on and stale the sphere earning him the name anywhere within the world. he's so humble, well mannered and decent for a person of his fame and achievements.

Sachin once said "i have acquired many letters written in blood" tells how much he is within the coronary heart of the kids. he is an concept to many others not handiest in India. Sachin is blessed with the keenest of cricket minds. Sachin is easy in his ebook without any controversy against him. It tells how well he manages himself on and rancid the sector.

SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR IS THE GRESTEST CRICKET EVER

"Tendulkar's significant achievements appear more nevertheless whilst checked out inside the light of the weight of expectancies he has needed to undergo from his adoring but relatively unreasonable followers, who've been prone to regard something less than 100 in each innings as a failure. The aura may additionally have dimmed, if simplest slightly, because the years at the worldwide circuit have taken their toll on the body, however Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the maximum worshipped cricketer within the global" with the aid of Sambit Bal, writer in ESPNCRICINFO

I don't know how to complete off however with my all desires, hoping his dream of winning a global Cup will become proper this coming 12 months in his personal land. The passion Sachin sold to the cricket is just unmeasurable. handiest God is aware of what occurs whilst Sachin retires from the sport. As of now, all of us hope and want Sachin will carry on gambling so long as viable.

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