#they were tourists at NASA

[sunshineandlyrics]

Dan Ely went to visit NASA too

jdelf Great day @nasajohnson Space Centre. Thank you so much for your hospitality. #rockets #moonrock

[Instagram 9.7.2023]

Louis’ team visited the NASA Space Center yesterday [8.7.2023]. A special greeting:

Louis had filmed the Drag Me Down music video with One Direction in 2015.

This is the reason the crew were dressed as astronauts!

The outro song at WOODLANDS was Walking On The Moon, by The Police.

[darlingdaisyfarm]

texting Stan and Ford headcanons

smut version

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ Stan Pines

✧ Stan is the kinda guy who thinks emojis are a scam, but somehow, he figured out how to use the "thumbs up" and "money bag" emoji. so, expect a lot of those in your chats.

✧ his text tone is rough, a little misspelled, typed like he's yelling even when he isn’t. Half of his texts are in all caps, and he absolutely does not care about grammar. but he gets the point across, always.

✧ you’re getting messages at 3 am about some ‘brilliant’ scheme to make a quick buck. he’ll send, “LISTEN, doll, what if we made... GIANT… glitter-filled eggs for easter? Tourists'll go NUTS." you reply, half-asleep, with “Stan, ily but go to bed." and all you get back is a “🤬 YOU GOTTA THINK BIGGER!”

✧ Stan sends those weird chain messages he swears are from some “hotshot businessman” that’ll make you rich in a week. and when you don’t respond immediately, you get a: “Fine, Miss Doubtful, see you when I’m rolling in gold.”

✧ there are whole days where he just floods your phone with random, blurry photos of some new Mystery Shack "artifact" he found. It’s usually junk he picked up at a garage sale, like a “haunted” ashtray or some knock-off painting that’s “probably ancient.”

✧ If he’s feeling sappy (and tipsy): you might get a rare “thinking bout you, sweet thing” at 2 am. but if you try to call him on it the next day, he’ll just be like “Didn’t say that. You’re makin’ stuff up.”

✧ when he’s really riled up about something, though? then his messages are just. . . a stream of caps-lock curses, mixed with misspelled attempts to describe whatever nonsense he just got himself into. you just sit back and let him rant; he’ll cool off eventually.

✧ and the voice messages are something else. they sound like he’s talking through a fan half the time. one minute, he’s rambling about how tourists are “the dumbest suckers on the planet” and the next, he’s ranting about how “bigfoot definitely broke into the shack last night!"

types of messages Stan texts: 

"So… whatcha wearin’? 😏"

“Hey doll, I just found a penny on the ground! Maybe today’s my lucky day… hint hint ;)"

"I’d say somethin’ romantic, but I think my brain just shorted out. You’re a little too cute for a guy like me."

"Just tried that new café downtown. Ordered coffee… tastes like they filtered it through someone’s laundry. You’d hate it. Wanna come mock it with me?"

"Not gonna lie, I miss that face of yours. So what’re we doin’ about it, huh?"

“Again missin’ that cute little smile of yours… maybe you could send me a pic to remind me?”

"Wanna help me scam the tourists today? I’ll split the loot with ya… maybe ;)”

"You wouldn’t believe what I caught Ford muttering in his sleep. Man’s like a walking encyclopedia, even when he’s unconscious."

“Got any plans later? Thought maybe we could… y’know… not have plans together."

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ Ford Pines 

✧ hehehehe he’s like an old-school emailer who’s just now getting the hang of messaging apps. texts in complete sentences, full punctuation, like he’s drafting a dissertation.

✧ He sends you whole paragraphs at random hours, talking about some discovery he’s made, like he’s reporting directly to NASA. you’re like, “Ford, it's just a weird-looking squirrel." and he's already typing another essay about its "possible interdimensional origins."

✧ once in a while, he’ll send you a message that says, “Are you awake?” at, like 3 am followed by a string of thoughtful yet completely bonkers hypotheses. you find it cute, though, his mind never stops, not even for a second.

✧ If he’s feeling bold, you might even get a “hypothetical” confession out of him: “Hypothetically, if one were to develop... strong emotional attachment to a certain person... how would one proceed?" You tease him about it the next day, and he gets flustered, “It was purely scientific curiosity."

✧ Ford isn’t big on emojis, but he likes the brain and alien ones, using them poetically. he’ll sign off texts with a single brain emoji, like it’s his version of a little goodbye wave.

✧ on really rare occasions, he’ll send a voice message. they’re always way too long, and it’s usually him whispering so he doesn’t wake Stan up. he goes on about cosmic rays or “gravity anomalies,” his voice dropping lower when he gets excited. you live for those moments

✧ and if he ever texts you a “good night,” you just know he’s been up thinking about it for hours, trying to figure out if it’s “appropriate.”

types of messages Ford texts: 

“It’s been approximately 3 hours, 12 minutes, and 23 seconds since our last conversation… not that I’m counting or anything. Just… miss you."

sends a meme about science nerds “Us. But mostly me.”

“My hands ache from writing… though perhaps if it were writing about you, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Do you think about me too, or am I the only one utterly ruined by this… whatever this is?”

“I’ve been thinking about that book you lent me... 🤔 It’s honestly so much more interesting than I expected, thank you for recommending it."

"I don’t know how to work this... But I managed to send a meme! It’s not the worst thing I’ve done, I suppose? 

“I did it. I fixed the telescope. Finally. Now we can actually look at the stars like we’ve talked about. :)"

"I hope you’re feeling okay today. I noticed you seemed a little stressed the other day. Don’t forget to take care of yourself. :) It’s important."

"If I could rearrange the periodic table, I’d put U and I together. :( Sorry, nerdy joke... :’D)”

ps - I CANT THEYRE SO CUTE BOTH I WANT TO SMASH THEM AGAINST THE WALL

lmao if someone wants, i can write some spicy types of chatting with them :)))

[lambentplume]

Maui Fires & How to Support Relief Efforts

(Posted on 8/10/23) Hi, I'm Jae and my family is from Lāhainā. I watched my hometown burn down this week. The fires caused immeasurable loss in my community so I'd like to spread awareness of the situation as well as provide links to support local organizations directly assisting survivors. I'm pretty sure most of my following is Not local so I'm writing with intent to inform people outside the situation, but if you're reading this and happen to have family in the affected area that isn't accounted for, message me and I can send you the links to the missing persons tracking docs + more localized info!! If you'd like to skip down to how to help and follow community organizations, scroll to the bottom of the post after the image.

Earlier this week, Hurricane Dora passed south of the Hawaiian Islands, bringing strong wind gusts that caused property damage across the islands. On Tuesday August 8, high winds caused sparks to fly in the middle of Lāhainā town, knocking out power lines and immediately igniting drought-ridden grasses. The fire spread quickly and destroyed the entire center of town, the harbor, and multiple neighborhoods including Hawaiian Homes (housing specifically for Native Hawaiians), parts of Lahainaluna, basically all of Front Street, and low-income housing units. There is only one public road in and out of town, and after a very hectic evacuation period that road has been mostly closed off except to emergency responders, thus it is extremely difficult for anyone to leave town to get help. The nearest hospital is 20 miles away in Wailuku, and most grocery stores in town have burnt down.

As of Thursday, August 10, over 1,000 acres have been burned and 271 structures (including homes, schools, and other community gathering places) have been destroyed. Cell service is still extremely spotty, many of the surrounding neighborhoods deemed safe for evacuees are still without utilities. There are currently confirmed 53 deaths but that number is expected to increase as search-and-rescue efforts continue. Countless families have been displaced and many have lost the homes they lived in for generations. Places of deep historical significance have been reduced to ash, including the gravesites of Hawaiian royalty, the old Lāhainā courthouse where items of cultural significance were stored, and Na ‘Aikane o Maui Cultural Center. To add further context: Lāhainā has a population of about 13,000 residents. EVERYONE I know has been impacted in some way--at best forced to evacuate, at worst their house was burnt to the foundation, they cannot find a loved one, etc. I'm still trying to track down family members and it's been over two days. My neighbors down the street had homes last week and now many don't have ANYTHING. The hotels are taking in residents (tourists are also being STRONGLY urged to leave so that locals can recover). Without open access to the rest of the island, Lāhainā residents are now dependent on whatever people had in their homes already as well as disaster relief efforts coming in, but it's been difficult to organize and mobilize due to the location + conditions. People who have made it out are in shelters where no blankets or medicine were provided. Friends and acquaintances from neighbor islands are preparing aid to send over. Community response has been incredible, but the toll on the town has been immeasurable. My parents were desperately walking through town yesterday, my mom sounded absolutely hollow talking about it on the phone with me. It's horrifying. Below is a satellite map with data from the NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System showing the impacted areas from the past week; all of the red blotches were on fire at some point in the last three days.

Here are ways you can help:

If you have the means to donate:

Here are three donation sites verified by Maui Rapid Response, which also lists FAQs for people who are wondering about next steps.

Hawaiʻi Community Foundation - Maui Strong Fund accepts international credit cards. Maui United Way

Maui Mutual Aid Non-monetary ways to support:

If you know anyone who is planning to travel to ANY Hawaiian island, not just Maui, tell them to cancel their trip. Resources are extremely limited as is. Advocate for climate change mitigation efforts locally, wherever that is for you. The fire was exacerbated by drought conditions that have worsened due to climate change.

Lastly, remember that these are people's HOMES that burned, and Native Hawaiian cultural artifacts that have been lost. Stop thinking of Hawaiʻi (or any "tourist destination" location, really) as an "escape" or a "paradise." If that's the only way you recognized my home... I'm glad I got your attention somehow, but I would ask that you challenge that perspective and prioritize local and native voices. For transparency, I don't currently live in Lāhainā, I've been following efforts from Honolulu. My parents and brother have been updating me and I've been following friends and family who are doing immediate response work. I'm doing my best to find reliable and current sources, but if I need to update something, please let me know. If you're going to try to convince me that tourism is necessary for our recovery, news flash ***IT'S NOT***!

Thanks for reading.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Christopher McCandless, The Man who Hiked to Death

Born February 12th 1968, in Inglewood, California, Christopher McCandless was immediately plunged into a chaotic family. His sister, Carine McCandless, documented in her book ‘The Wild Truth’ that they shared their home with six half-siblings. Carine also alleged that her parents were abusive, both physically and verbally, toward the McCandless children. She documented how her father was an alcoholic, and their mother often fed off his evil energy, inflicting her own abuse upon them.

The McCandless never stayed in one place for long as Walt McCandless worked for NASA as a rocket scientist, taking him across the U.S. Eventually, the family settled in Virginia long enough for Christopher and Carine to graduate.

Following his graduation from university, Christopher knew he needed to travel. He had spent much of his childhood moving from town to town, state to state, and this had a profound impact on his outlook on life.

He only stayed in one place for a short time, seeing the beauty in exploring the world. In mid-1990, Christopher left Virginia for new pastures and began driving West. He stopped in towns and cities along the way, picking up odd jobs to make ends meet.  By April of 1992, Christopher was itching for another adventure, and that is when he decided to make his way to Alaska, the final frontier of the U.S. 

Incredibly, Christopher managed to hitchhike from Carthage, South Dakota, to Fairbanks, Alaska, a whopping 3,000+ miles through Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon, Canada. Eventually, he arrived, and he began planning his largest expedition yet. He wanted to hike through the Denali National Park. The park covers over 6,000,000 acres in the middle of Alaska. Communities are few and far between, with many Alaskans congregating near large towns and cities.

Despite the harsh weather conditions of Alaska, Christopher McCandless seemed ill-prepared. Fellow hikers and locals recalled seeing Christopher arrive in Fairbanks carrying only a backpack. He also stood out for his ‘Hippie-like’ appearance, choosing to remain unkempt and dirty. April 28th 1992, would mark the last day that Christopher McCandless would ever see the seeds of civilisation. 

That day, Jim Gallien was flagged down by Christopher, who was looking for a ride to the Stampede Trail in the Denali National Park. Gallien later told author Jon Krakauer that he had doubts about the 24-year-old’s survival from the start. When he got into his car, Christopher had minimal clothing and a backpack. Christopher explained that he was carrying a 10 lb bag of rice, a Remmington semi-automatic rifle and a pair of Wellington boots inside his bag.  Gallien was, in fact, so concerned that he offered to drive Christopher to Anchorage so that he could purchase the necessary equipment for him. He knew how harsh and unforgiving the Alaskan landscape could be, and per population, it has an alarmingly high missing persons rate. Throughout their drive, Christopher assured Gallien that he would be fine and had hiked many times before. 

It wasn’t until months later that Gallien learned Christopher’s real name, as when he had picked him up, he had simply given the name ‘Alexander Supertramp’. The only item that Christopher accepted from Gallien was a map. Before leaving, Christopher asked Gallien to snap a picture of him at the Stampede Trail, making this one of the last photographs ever taken of Christopher McCandless.

For two days, Christopher hiked the Alaskan wilderness, soaking in the beauty of the Denali National Park. After a gruelling march, Christopher made it to an abandoned blue and white bus. Whilst the exterior was rusted and hadn’t been loved for some time, Christopher recognised it was the perfect shelter and base camp. He wasted no time setting up his gear and prepping his new home.

The blue and white bus that would become a notorious tourist hotspot was not Christopher’s intended finish line. According to his diary, which was later discovered with his body, Christopher had planned to hike through the park and to the Bering Sea. Christopher remained at the blue and white bus for two months, eagerly journaling every step. Christopher wrote in his diary that he had begun consuming the roots of the Hedysarum Alpinum plant.  Christopher also detailed in his diary how he had trapped and hunted small game and wildlife. He had successfully hunted a moose/caribou with his rifle. However, the meat was rotten by the time he came to consume it. With just 10 lbs of rice and foraged plants, Christopher rapidly began losing weight. 

The lack of food and people was beginning to get to Christopher, who heavily documented his trip via his journal and camera. On July 3rd 1992, Christopher packed up his things, leaving the blue and white bus behind.

With a map in hand, Christopher hoped to reach civilisation once more, but the landscape had changed and he became distressed and returned to the blue and white bus to wait out the days until the river froze over once more. 

On July 14th, he also began to incorporate the seeds of the Hedysarum Alpinum plant into his diet, as was documented in his diary. The meagre diet of plant material and small animals was nowhere near enough to sustain Christopher, who continued to waste away. As he continued to weaken, he lost his energy and ability to forage further afield for plants and fruits. 

Christopher McCandless made his final diary entry on what he noted as ‘Day 107’. The entry simply reads, “Beautiful blue berries.” Author Krakauer noted that days 108 through 112 had / (slashes) but no words, and after Day 113, no more entries were made. Sometime around these final diary entries, Christopher wrote, “I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye, and may God bless all.” It is clear Christopher knew his end was coming, and he had made his final preparations and peace with his fate. 

 It wasn’t until September 6th 1992 that the grizzly truth would be revealed.

That day, hikers in the Denali National Park came across the blue and white rusted van that Christopher had once called home. 

These hikers had the same idea as Christopher and were eager to use the bus as shelter.

When they approached the bus, they found a note taped to the door which read “Attention possible visitors. S.O.S. I need your help; I am injured, near death and too weak to hike out. I am all alone; this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless, August.” 

As they moved through the bus, they saw the familiar outline of a human in a sleeping bag. After reading the note, they hoped that Chris had managed to survive, but all hopes were dashed when the stench of decay overcame them. The hikers took a closer look, and their worst suspicions were confirmed. Christopher McCandless was deceased, his body decaying in a sleeping bag in the back of a rusted-out bus. 

Alaska State Troopers and Denali Park staff were summoned to the bus where Christopher’s body was recovered. His family were notified of the terrible news, and preparations for his body to be returned to Virginia were made.

Christopher’s passing marked a turning point in the culture surrounding hiking and travelling. He had wilted away in the wilderness when a bridge and cabin were within a few miles of his location. 

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

NASA honors Algerian parks with Martian namesakes

NASA's mapping of Mars now bears the names of three iconic Algerian national parks, Algerian physicist Noureddine Melikechi, a member of the US space agency's largest Mars probe mission, has told AFP.

The Tassili n'Ajjer, Ghoufi and Djurdjura national parks have found their Martian namesakes after a proposition by Melikechi, which he sought as both a tribute to his native Algeria and a call to protect Earth.

"Our planet is fragile, and it's a signal to the world that we really need to take care of our national parks, whether they are in Algeria or elsewhere," the US-based scientist told AFP in a recent interview.

He said the visual resemblance between some of the Martian landscapes and the ones after which they were labeled was also a key reason for the naming.

"The first one that came to my mind was the Tassili n'Ajjer," he said of the UNESCO-listed vast plateau in the Sahara Desert with prehistoric art dating back at least 12,000 years.

"Every time I see pictures of Mars, they remind me of Tassili n'Ajjer, and now every time I see Tassili n'Ajjer, it reminds me of Mars," added Melikechi, who left Algeria in 1990 for the United States, where he now teaches at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

The ancient art found in Tassili n'Ajjer depicts figures that can seem otherworldly, he said.

Some of the paintings show single-eyed and horned giants, among others which French archaeologist Henri Lhote dubbed as "great Martian" deities in his 1958 book, "The Search for the Tassili Frescoes".

"Those paintings are a signature... a book of how people used to live," said Melikechi.

"You see animals, but also figures that look like they came from somewhere else."

'Historic'

Melikechi's second pick was the Ghoufi canyon in eastern Algeria, whose rocky desert landscape was the site of an ancient settlement off the Aures Mountains.

Now a UNESCO-listed site and a tourist attraction, it has cliffside dwellings carved in the mountain, a testament to human resilience in a place where survival can be adverse.

"Ghoufi gives you a sense that life can be hard, but you can manage to keep at it as you go," Melikechi said.

"You can see that through those homes."

The third site, Djurdjura, is a snowy mountain range some 140 kilometers (about 90 miles) east of the capital Algiers.

Comapred to Tassili or Ghoufi, it bears the least resemblance to Mars.

Melikechi said its pick stemmed of Djurdjura's "reminder of the richness of natural habitats".

He said the naming process came after Perseverence, NASA's Mars rover exploring the Red Planet, made it into uncharted territory.

That area was then split into small quadrants, each needing a name.

"We were asked to propose names for specific quadrants," he said.

"I suggested these three national parks, while others proposed names from parks worldwide. A team then reviewed and selected the final names."

The announcement, made by NASA earlier this month, sparked celebrations among Algerians.

Algerian Culture Minister Zouhir Ballalou hailed it as a "historic and global recognition" of the North African country's landscapes.

Melikechi said he hopes that it will attract more visitors as Algeria has been striving to promote tourism, especially in the Sahara region, with authorities promising to facilitate tourist visas.

Official figures said some 2.5 million tourists visited the country last year—its highest number of visitors in two decades.

"These places are a treasure that we as humans have inherited," Melikechi said.

"We need to make sure they are preserved."

[clonerightsagenda]

hi, you know a lot of space facts and i thought if anyone knew this it might be you: do you know if anyone has kissed in space before?

This one gets a possibly/likely from me!

The most likely candidates would be Mark Lee and Jan Davis, astronauts who got married in secret before going up on the same space shuttle mission. They didn't tell NASA until right before the flight that they'd gotten married, and NASA was not happy - there was already an unofficial policy against couples on the same flight, which became official after this incident. However, it was too late to train new astronauts, so they got to go.

A quick spin around the web did not turn up any official kiss pics, as that would likely tweak NASA's tail more. It's possible they did, though - although the space shuttle is not huge, and I'm not sure whether they were still keeping it a secret from the rest of the crew. Between discretion, professionalism (astronauts work very hard to get where they are, and they're often scheduled down to the minute! You would not want to hurt your chances of a future mission by annoying your crew and NASA. Plus, women in particular have had a long fight to prove themselves equal to male astronauts and overcome jokes that they've just been shipped up to space as comfort objects, so they wouldn't want to lean into it) and finally that everyone in space is super gross, I doubt any clandestine pecks would go very far. That being said, I am not the best person to ask whether the average human would decide "eh, worth it".

I know less about cosmonatus and taikonauts so IDK if there are any likely candidates there. Also if any couples have gone up on space tourism flights, that's possible. But do tourists even count

[rosethornewrites]

Mom and I were talking about the missing submersible last night, and she said “I’m sure there’s maritime laws associated with it.”

And I laughed. Because laws and regulations that involve safety only get made when people are injured or die.

Fact is, the technology for deep sea exploration is incredibly new, as in when I was in elementary school they had just found the Titanic in 1985 (within my lifetime) and Dr Robert Ballard visited my elementary school with a full-size mock-up of Alvin (3-seater submersible used to explore Titanic) and gave a lecture on it.

To this day I have no idea how my school scored a visit like that, but for a long time I wanted to do something associated with ocean exploration because of it.

Alvin was in existence since the 1960s. This is extremely new tech that was developed alongside space exploration technology at NASA. I say it’s extremely new because if something goes wrong it’s almost inevitably got a body count involved.

As we can recall, there have been many tragedies involving space missions, and the space shuttles are retired, in no small part because they were degrading to the point of being unsafe regardless of maintenance. Rules existed, but we don’t know if private companies are following those rules.

And they didn’t build the Titan—they just helped a private company do so, and private companies tend to cut corners to save money when there aren’t regulations to stop them.

For the Titan, which is a baby in comparison, a whistleblower was fired in 2018 for writing a quality control report stating it was unsafe. Other sources state it’s hull rating was downgraded and it was no longer safe to reach the depth of the Titanic, where water has about the density of lead due to the insane pressure.

With the space and deep sea tourist industries in their infancy, it’s unlikely there are currently many safety regulations in place, and so this was inevitable. There’s a reason many people assumed Shatner and Musk would die in their space tourism experience.

And so now we’re going to see how this disaster impacts these industries, particularly after five big names are likely dead, and multiple countries scramble on taxpayer funds (not OceanGate’s) to try to save them when, if the hull failed, they likely died before it could register there was a problem.

Even before we know exactly what happened, this needs to mark an era of change, particularly as these companies continue to exist and put people at risk.

[oliverreedmasterass]

Synopsis: Greta Van Fleet stumble across a demonic possession and, of course, end up making things like 20x worse

Words: 5.2k

Warnings: I mean, this is based on the Exorcist, so demons and v*mit and really, really coarse language

Notes: This one goes out to @jmkho for her birthday!!! I hope you're having a great day, hun!

The members of Greta Van Fleet were in Washington DC for a few days before their Starcatcher concert at the Capital One Arena. Since they had some time to kill, they were given the green light to explore around the area, take in the sights, and, most importantly, stay out of trouble. That last point was drilled into their heads by their manager but, with wide smiles, they assured him that they were going to spend time checking out the Smithsonian, seeing all the monuments, and, of course, finding a good brewery to relax at. And they stuck to their promise. Well, at least for the first two hours of their day off. 

Sam was adamant that they go to the Air and Space museum since Jake got to do his not-so-innocent photoshoot with the Washington Monument. Josh promised Sam they would go soon, but first he wanted to check out their AirBnB. 

“Josh,” Danny stared at his bandmate. “Why the hell did you book an AirBnB? We’re already staying at a hotel.” 

“It was a dream of mine to attend Georgetown,” Josh eagerly explained. 

“It literally wasn’t,” Jake retorted. Josh shushed him. 

“I wanted to get a place for us to enjoy, living the life I never got to have. It’s a nice and quaint spot on the edge of campus, surrounded by students and professors. It’s gonna be great, trust me.” 

“It’s a waste of money, is what it is,” Danny huffed, but that was the extent of the fuss he would make over what Josh chose to do with his income. 

“I’m setting a timer on my phone,” Sam announced. “If this takes us more than an hour, you owe me something from the Air and Space museum gift shop.” 

“Fine,” Josh shrugged. He knew Sam would want one of the NASA space shuttle models, which was like $30 tops. Hell, he’d get Sam some space food too if the kid really wanted it. 

They weren’t too far away from the place, so they quickly made their way out of the touristy area to the Georgetown campus, which was overrun with people around their age, hustling to class with their oversized backpacks and tall travel mugs of coffee. 

Josh stopped them in front of a two story brick house with white trim that extended impressively high. Jake took in the sight and let out a whistle. 

“The big bad wolf isn’t bringing this house down, that’s for sure.” 

“It’s a brick…house,” Danny jokingly sang. 

Josh rolled his eyes and led the way up to the front porch. 

“I read on the website that this house has been haunted in the past. I figured we could hang around ghosts again to get some good songwriting sessions in.” 

“That’s why you got this place?” Jake frowned. He was kind of fed up with ghosts after they had messed with his equipment at their previous cabin outing. 

“We literally just released a new album, Josh,” Sam pitched his voice up into an annoying whine that only younger siblings can perfect. “Can’t we just enjoy some time off doing normal tourist stuff like, I don’t know, going to the Air and Space museum?” 

“I’m a little bit worried about spending so much time in these haunted places,” Danny chipped in his two cents. “I feel like one of these days it’s not gonna end well for us.” 

“And see?” Josh had his arms crossed. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you guys why I rented this place. I knew you were all gonna be party poopers over it.” Jake opened his mouth to protest, but Josh continued to talk. “I’m doing this for us to grow as a band, to really expand our horizons. Sure, we already have a double album nearly done, but what are we gonna do after that? You said it yourself, Jake, we need to be at the top.” 

“You’re taking that quote out of context,” Jake frowned. “I told you that at the movie theater. I wanted to be in the back row to see Barbie.” 

“Just accept that I’m right,” Josh looked at his band members. He turned to face the front door and his face brightened in excitement. “See?” he whirled back around to face them, jutting a thumb over his shoulder. “The door is wide open. The ghosts are welcoming us in. I feel really good about this.” 

“Why in the everloving hell would you feel good about that?” Sam sputtered out. “Oh, he’s already inside,” Sam grumbled, watching as Josh jumped inside the house. “How are we related to that guy?” Sam turned back to ask. 

“Don’t look at me,” Danny held up his hands. 

“We have to go in after him, don’t we?” Jake checked in, standing on his toes to try and peek inside the house. For what it was worth, it did look relatively normal inside. Sam checked the timer on his phone and tsked. 

“Only seven minutes away from me getting my Air and Space on.” 

“I’m literally gonna whoop your ass the next time you bring up the Air and Space museum,” Jake grumbled under his breath. Danny put his hands on the backs of Sam and Jake and gave them a guiding push in through the open door. 

“Let’s grab Josh and get the hell out of here,” he instructed. 

They quickly found Josh standing at the foot of the staircase in the main landing. His hands were on his hips and he beamed at the space around him while Danny, Sam, and Jake scrunched their noses. The place looked tacky as hell, like it hadn’t been updated since the 1970s. Everything had a mustard-colored theme to it. 

“Isn’t this place great?” Josh greeted them, wiggling his eyebrows to encourage them to shower him in praise. Sam opened his mouth to tell Josh that he was six minutes away from owing him something from the gift shop when a low, guttural moan sounded from upstairs. “The ghosts are here!” Josh clapped in glee. Jake, Sam, and Danny were all pale. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Jake said, tugging on Josh’s arm, trying with all his might to communicate to his twin telepathically that he had nearly pissed himself. 

“Please, Josh,” Danny tried, “I don’t think the ghosts here are nice.” 

“YOUR MOTHER SUCKS COCK IN HELL,” a muffled demonic voice hollered above them. The four men looked around at each other, their faces white. A few beats of silence hung in the air and then they broke down into fits of laughter. 

“Maybe I do want to stick around,” Sam gasped for air, wiping tears from his eyes. 

“I could take some notes from this guy on profanity,” Jake agreed, nodding emphatically. Even Danny seemed to be growing more fond of the idea of sticking around. 

“The timing of that was perfect,” he marveled. 

Josh was radiating with delight. He knew his bandmates would warm up to his exceptional idea. He could feel a really productive writing session coming on - it was practically inevitable. 

“What do you say we go upstairs and meet this goofy ghost then, huh?” he asked around. Everyone was on board, so they booked it up the grand stairwell. Sam pushed ahead of Josh to be the first to the top, and skidded to a halt so his band members ran into his back. 

“If I had to guess,” Sam started, grasping onto the wall to keep upright, “I would say the ghost is in there.” 

He pointed at the door in front of them, which was rattling and knocking around with smoke pouring from the bottom. They all stared at the supernatural sight and then shrugged. The ghost at the cabin where they wrote Anthem of the Peaceful Army enjoyed chucking Jake’s guitars around - they had seen a lot worse. 

“I read a book about interacting with ghosts recently,” Josh shared with his band. “It’s vital to state your name and intent. Open communication is the key to building an amicable relationship with a spirit.” 

He put his hand on the doorknob and started to turn it. 

“Oh wow,” he stopped for a moment to comment. “This is cold as hell.” 

Without giving it even a second of thought, Jake leaned forward and licked the doorknob. 

“Now why the fuck did you do that?” Danny scolded him. 

“A fu,” Jake called out. “Mah tun ih uck.” 

It was awkward as anything, but Josh managed to turn the doorknob while Jake’s tongue was still attached to it. Jake led the way into the room, waddling in on his knees, and they were greeted by two priests and a ghastly looking young girl. Her face looked like she had shoved it in a blender. 

“Oh,” Josh broke the stunned silence. “I didn’t realize this was a hostel. I thought this was a private booking.” 

“Hi, I’m Sam,” Sam lifted a casual hand, remembering Josh’s advice. “I am here to say hi to a goofy ghost.” 

“I am Pazuzu, king of the demons of the wind and son of the mighty and powerful god, Hanbi. I will fuck your shit up,” the young girl boomed in a startlingly deep voice.  

“I on’t ike is, guys,” Jake sputtered out from his spot glued to the door. The demon studied Jake and let a sly grin curl across the girl’s lips. 

“Well look at this fucking idiot,” the demon howled with laughter. 

“I m’naw uhn idiot,” Jake attempted to protest. 

“You need to get out of here,” the younger priest looked at the men in worry. “It isn’t safe for you.” 

“No shit, Sherlock,” Sam stated. “Your demon is levitating.” 

They spun around to find the girl lifting from her covers and shakily ascending towards the ceiling. While this was happening, Danny sprung to action and grabbed Jake’s torso, desperately pulling at him to detach his tongue from the door knob. Jake hollered out in pain. 

“I ‘an ‘eel eye aste uds eeling off!” 

“Jake, shut up,” Danny grunted out. He looked up for a second and cursed to himself when he saw the demon staring at them in interest. Whatever was going to happen next, he knew it was going to be bad. Danny was totally right. The demon came limply hurtling across the room and knocked into him and Jake, causing the three to tumble out the room and down the staircase. 

“I’M FREEEEEEEE!” Jake called as he tossed and tumbled down the carpeted staircase, even doing a flip midair about halfway down. Danny landed first with a soft “ow,” and Jake and the demon conveniently landed on top of him. “Thanks for breaking my fall, bud,” Jake patted him on the head. 

“Please get off of me,” Danny wheezed. Jake hurried to his feet and then clutched at his head. 

“Agh,” he groaned out. 

“Are you guys okay?” Sam called from the top of the staircase. He wanted to make sure it was an emergency first if he had to exert himself and go down the stairs. 

“My head hurts like a bitch,” Jake complained. 

“You must have gotten a concussion,” Danny tried to be the voice of reason. As he was falling down the stairs, he had caught Jake’s head knocking around like a crash test dummy a few times. It would be a miracle if the guy remembered his own name. Danny gazed to his left and then jumped with a scream when he realized that the demon was standing with them, as if they were just hanging out. 

“That was fun, let’s do it again,” the demon conversed in its deep voice. 

“We need to get her back upstairs to her bed!” one of the priests called down to them. Like Sam, he was in no rush to make the trek down to the first floor before he had to. 

“What are we supposed to do about that?” Danny yelled back up. He was getting really fed up with the situation Josh had put them in. Where had that fucker gone anyways? 

A loud crash came from the girl’s bedroom, and Sam and the priests ran back to address it. The demon started to sprint upstairs as well, and Danny instinctually ran after it, leaving Jake standing on his own in a daze. 

When Danny made it back to the bedroom, he gaped at the scene in front of him. Like the demon had done minutes earlier, Josh was now levitating in the middle of the room, his eyes gently shut and his arms spread out in the Jesus position. 

“Oh gosh!” the older priest exclaimed. “Pazuzu got him too!” 

Josh opened one of his eyes and peeked down at his audience, who were all gawking at him. He flashed his pearly whites and gave a small wave with a chuckle, causing the older priest to faint. 

“Turns out if I meditate hard enough, I can levitate too!” Josh caught everyone up to speed. “I think I might have reached nirvana.” 

“What the fuck?” Danny and Pazuzu both murmured. Then, they turned to each other. 

“He’s not a demon?” Pazuzu checked with Danny. 

“Not that I’m aware of,” Danny responded. “Though it wouldn’t surprise me,” he added as an afterthought. “You’re not doing this?” 

“What would I get out of doing this?” Pazuzu arched an eyebrow. 

“Yah!” The younger priest called out as he snuck up behind Pazuzu and threw some holy water.  The demon arched its back and let out a rumbling howl, causing Josh to snap out of his nirvana and drop back down to the bed with a hard thump. Danny and Sam groaned in disgust as the demon unleashed a cannon of vomit onto the priest, staining his entire front green. The priest looked down, choked on a sob of horror, and tore for the window, where he proceeded to fall down an impressive flight of stairs. Josh sat up from his spot on the bed and grimaced. 

“Do you think he’s okay?” 

Sam gave Josh a blank stare. 

“What do you think, genius?” 

“Yes?” Josh sounded hopeful. 

Suddenly, Jake stomped into the room. 

“WHICH ONE O’ YE FUCKERS PUSHED ME OLD ASS DOWN THEM STAIRS?” he bellowed. Everyone did a double take. 

“Is that Oliver Reed?” Sam whispered to Danny in confusion. Danny pursed his lips and nodded his head. Oliver Reed always knew to come out at the worst time possible. 

“I don’t believe it,” Pazuzu breathed out. “The spirit of Oliver Reed possessed that fleshly form? This house ain’t big enough for two demons.” 

“Kiss me ass, yew fuckface!” Oliver Reed snarled at the demon. 

For some reason, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly theme started to play, and Oliver Reed and Pazuzu got into dueling position, curling their hands and staring each other down. Danny, Sam, and Josh stood in a line off to the side, watching in horror. Oliver Reed was a terror to behold, but it was iffy if he could really stand a chance against a demon as powerful as Pazuzu. 

“Fuck yourself with a knife, you pathetic virgin,” Pazuzu got the first blow in. 

“Virgin? VIRGIN? HA! I fucked yer mom and yer dad last night,” Oliver Reed cackled. “I put my cigar out on yer dad’s forehead and he loved it.” 

That seemed to slow Pazuzu down, but after they collected themself, they took a step closer to Oliver Reed. 

“You prideful bastard, you son of a whore, your cock is the size of a maggot.” 

“My lovers tell me they eat fresh because, like Subway, me cock’s a footlong,” Oliver Reed retorted. That one earned a snort from Danny, but Pazuzu and Oliver Reed were too in the zone to notice. 

“I’ll shove my foot up your ass to hear you squeal like a pig,” Pazuzu countered. 

“That’s what I told yer mom last night,” Oliver Reed lowered his sunglasses to give Pazuzu an icy stare. 

“I think Oliver Reed is winning,” Josh whispered to Danny and Sam. They both absently nodded. 

“My mother is dead,” Pazuzu sounded more defensive than heated. 

“I don’t discriminate,” Oliver Reed shrugged. 

“Jesus Christ,” Pazuzu breathed out in horror, and then clutched their chest in pain from uttering the holy name. Oliver Reed barked out in laughter and grabbed a bottle of beer from out of nowhere. Pazuzu watched as Oliver Reed removed the bottle cap with his teeth and then spit it out the window. Off in the distance, the younger priest called out in pain from the bottom of the staircase, where a bottle cap had mysteriously appeared and hit him square in the forehead. 

“Yew want to keep going? I could do this all day,” Oliver Reed asked Pazuzu. While Pazuzu considered the offer, Oliver Reed proceeded to down his entire 40oz beer. 

“Chug! Chug! Chug!” Sam, Danny, and Josh chanted in the background, out of habit. 

“The pen is mightier than the sword, I’ll give you that,” Pazuzu replied. 

“I thought it was ‘the penis mightier than the sword,’” Oliver Reed sounded confused. “Doesn’t ‘at make more sense?” 

“What I’m trying to say is we had our fun talking,” Pazuzu ignored Oliver Reed. “But I need to get back to business.” 

Oliver Reed hollered in shock when an invisible force sent him flying across the room, hitting the wall and dropping to the floor. Pazuzu curled their blue and scabby hands into tight fists and hovered over to Oliver Reed, who was gathering himself 

“Yew asshat,” Oliver Reed fumed at the demon. “Yew made me drop me beer.” 

“The bottle was empty,” Pazuzu sounded confused. 

“It’s the principle, mate! The principle!” Oliver Reed protested. With a rage-filled cry, Oliver Reed lurched forward and tackled Pazuzu to the ground, pinning them to the floor with a tremendous amount of strength. From the floor, Pazuzu’s head started to turn in a complete 360, which made Oliver Reed scream out, “BLEGH! OWL DEMON! I HATE BIRDS!” and gave Pazuzu the opportunity to break free from his grasp. Oliver Reed attempted to regain control of the situation and pin Pazuzu back down, but they were already back to their feet, sending the bed frame at Oliver Reed with their mind. Oliver Reed drunkenly stumbled out of the way, just barely missing being squashed by the wooden structure, and hurled his empty bottle at Pazuzu, hitting them square in the forehead. In retaliation, Pazuzu sent a dresser in Oliver Reed’s direction, forcing him up against the wall. 

Across the room, chimes started to ring from Sam’s phone. 

“Would you look at that?” Sam said over the commotion. “The hour is up. Josh, you owe me something from the gift shop. Can we go now?”

“Sam, I think Jake is in the middle of something right now,” Danny spoke up. “Oh,”  Danny said in surprise. “He’s already gone.” 

Sam made his way down the stairs and let himself out the opened front door, walking with a pep in his step in the direction of the Air and Space museum. He was going to learn about the Wright Brothers and NASA and go inside a real cockpit. And then Josh was going to buy him a model space shuttle from the gift shop. It was going to be absolutely awesome. 

Back in the bedroom, Oliver Reed was threatening Pazuzu with a sword that he had managed to find somewhere. Danny and Josh cowered in fear, hiding behind a rocking chair as Oliver Reed swung the sword around his head like a helicopter blade, tearing and slashing through the air while hollering at Pazuzu that he was going to “shove this pointy thing where the sun don’t shine.” 

“We have to do something before Jake accidentally shanks himself,” Danny whispered to Josh. Josh nodded. Jake’s wrists were too flimsy to be handling that sword in the way he was. 

“We need to do an exorcism,” he told Danny under his breath. “On both of them.” 

“I don’t know how to do an exorcism, Josh,” Danny replied in a panic. 

“You just throw water at them and yell stuff in latin,” Josh said, like it was nothing. He grabbed a bottle of holy water left discarded on the floor in front of them and tucked it into Danny’s trembling hands. “Go and get ‘em, tiger.” 

“I don’t want to,” Danny’s voice cracked, but Josh pushed him out in front of Oliver Reed and Pazuzu. Oliver Reed stopped swinging his sword around and Pazuzu, likewise, turned to face Danny. Danny looked white as a sheet and he made a few choking noises, but then snapped into action. “CARPE DIEM!” Danny’s voice rose. Pazuzu and Oliver Reed exchanged a confused glance. “E PLURIBUS UNUM!” Danny continued as he forced the lid off the bottle of holy water and tossed it in the demons’ direction, missing them both entirely. 

“What the fuck is happening?” Pazuzu asked the room. 

“Hell if I should know,” Oliver Reed shrugged. 

“ET CETERA!” Danny tried again. 

From behind the rocking chair, Josh’s face lit up. 

“Oh wait,” he said to himself. “I do know how to do an exorcism. I made a movie about it in high school.” 

With a newfound confidence, Josh sprung to his feet, hurried to Danny’s side, and grabbed the bottle of holy water from him. 

“I’ll take it from here,” Josh assured Danny. 

“I fucking hate you, you know that?” Danny hissed back. 

Josh squared up to face the demons and cleared his throat. “My name is Josh Kiszka and I am here to send your asses back downstairs.” 

“Like your UPS delivery lookin 'ass could do that,” Pazuzu chirped. 

“Oh, you got roasted,” Jake broke free from Oliver Reed’s control for a second to cackle. 

Josh got into an exorcist stance and began to chant lines of latin that obviously had an effect on Pazuzu and Oliver Reed. 

“What the fuck?” Danny called out in shock. Josh being fluent in latin was definitely not on his bingo card. Then, he got angry. “Why the hell did you make me go out there first?” 

“Yew wanker!” Oliver Reed howled in pain as Josh continued the exorcism. “Aye don’t want to go back down there, Margaret Thatcher is mean to me!” 

Across town, Sam was at the Air and Space museum, but he was bummed out. It wasn’t the same without his bandmates. In fact, it was boring walking around and looking at the displays without Jake and Josh fighting in the background while Danny tried to break them up. Sam let out a sigh of defeat and headed for the front entrance. 

“I guess I’ll go back to the haunted house.” 

Back at the house, Pazuzu and Oliver Reed were both curled up on the floor, moaning and writhing as Josh recited his lines with a firm and powerful voice, the latin echoing around the room. Danny was standing beside Josh now, feeling safe enough to come out from his hiding spot, and watched as the two demons pleaded for Josh to stop.  

“I think it’s going well,” Josh took a break to tell Danny. At that moment, Sam plodded back into the room, his shoes mysteriously gone, and opened his arms up to everyone. 

“Did you miss me?” He greeted his friends and the demons. 

In Josh’s moment of distraction, Pazuzu ejected themself from the girl’s body and zipped across the room, slamming straight into Sam’s body. Oliver Reed sprung to action as well and hopped from Jake over to Danny. 

“Wait, what?” Josh asked in confusion as Sam and Danny shook their heads and then turned to face him with demonic grins. From the floor, Jake let out an exasperated grunt. 

“Did Oliver Reed get me again?” he groaned. 

“Aye like this body a lot better!” Danny exclaimed in a British accent as he checked out his biceps and gave them a firm squeeze. “This mate lifts!” 

“I’ve got gains too,” Jake sounded hurt from the floor. 

“Eh,” the girl begged to differ beside him. Jake took one look at her and jumped with a scream. 

“This is one hairy motherfucker,” Pazuzu commented as he played with Sam’s long locks. 

“Shit,” Josh cursed himself. Things weren’t going as well as he thought they would. Leave it to Sam to come back and screw everything up. 

“Wanna give that exorcism another try, big boy?” Pazuzu asked. It was strange to hear those words coming from Sam’s mouth but, to be fair, Pazuzu had distorted Sam’s voice beyond recognition. When he talked, it sounded like he was gargling mouthwash. 

“Wait, you’re doing an exorcism?” Jake asked as he slowly returned back to his feet. Josh gave him a quick nod. “I can help out,” Jake offered. “I still remember how to do one from that film you made in high school, I think.” 

“Give it yer all, yew short boys,” Oliver Reed cackled. Jake scrunched up his nose at the words that had just come from Danny. 

“That’s really weird,” he commented. “I don’t think I like that.” 

“Guys,” Danny’s normal voice broke through, “please get Oliver out of me. He smells bad and I feel like my blood alcohol content is flying off the charts.” 

“It is a bad feeling,” Jake confirmed, then turned to Josh. “Let’s do this.” 

“You cowardly, ass eating, Led Zeppelin wannabes!” Pazuzu shouted. 

“Sorry,” Sam cut in. “That was out of line.” 

“Just ignore them, Jake,” Josh advised his twin. “They’re gonna try to get into your head.” 

Pazuzu and Oliver Reed were definitely doing everything they could to distract Jake and Josh, since they had their arms wrapped around each other and were rocking drunkenly back and forth, belting out a sea shanty at the top of their lungs. 

“What will we do with a drunken sailor? What will we do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning!” 

“Fuck,” Jake said through grit teeth, his hands balled up into tight fists. “I love that sea shanty.” 

“Selective hearing, Jake,” Josh reminded him. “Pull it together.” 

Jake sucked in a deep inhale and then, together, he and Josh began reciting their latin, circling around the demons and taking turns dousing them in holy water. In return, Pazuzu and Oliver Reed tried to sing louder. With all the commotion they were making, it was a miracle that the neighbors hadn’t filed a noise complaint. Feeling left out, the girl made herself useful by taking turns kicking Sam and Danny in the shins to handicap the demons. 

“Can you please stop that?” Danny begged the girl in his normal voice, taking a break from Oliver Reed’s barking yells. The girl looked him in the eyes, smiled, and sent her foot flying into his shin again, sending Danny toppling to the floor. That seemed to be the nail in the coffin for Oliver Reed, because Danny let out one last agonizing yell and then a rush of blue, white, and red shot out from his body and dove through the house, back down to hell. 

Pazuzu watched Oliver Reed’s dramatic exit and beamed. 

“I knew I was the better demon,” they proudly declared. Then, they turned to Jake and Josh. “Okay, I’m done with my games. I don’t really like this host anyways. He keeps telling me that my music taste is trash, and it’s making me feel bad.” 

Josh and Jake stared in awe as Pazuzu extracted themself from Sam’s body, flashed one last terrifying grin at them, and then dove down after Oliver Reed. The temperature in the room immediately returned back to normal, and the eerie blue lighting was replaced with the warm sunshine coming from the broken window. Without a second’s hesitation, Jake and Josh rushed to Sam and Danny’s sides to make sure they were alright. 

“I think I need to go on a juice cleanse,” Danny shuddered. “That was disgusting.” 

“Pazuzu thinks Shawn Mendes is talented, can you believe that shit?” Sam sputtered out, evidently not feeling any of the after-effects of being possessed. “Like, if that demon is gonna be in my body, I have a right to set them straight.” 

“I’m sorry,” Josh grimaced at Danny. “You were totally right. I was playing with fire when I rented out this AirBnB.” 

“AirBnB?” the girl asked behind them. They turned to face her and winced at her chalky, bruised, and cut skin. 

“Yeah?” Josh cautiously asked back. 

“I live here,” the girl stated. “With my mom. This isn’t an AirBnB.” 

“But isn’t this 3602 Prospect St?” Josh asked. The girl frowned at him. 

“It’s 3600 Prospect St,” she answered. 

“Jesus Christ, Josh,” Danny groaned. 

“Huh,” Josh muttered. “Well. That’s embarrassing.” 

“I mean, you guys did help me out, so I guess I have to thank you for breaking in.” 

“Yeah, anytime,” Jake flashed her a smile, and then reconsidered his words. “Uh, I mean, we won’t break in anytime. That’s not what I meant.” 

“You’re all good,” the girl assured him. “I hate to kick you out, but I need to get to work on my skincare routine stat.” 

“That’s a good call,” Sam agreed. Danny elbowed him hard in the ribs, which made him keel over for a second. “I mean, what? Girl, your skin is flawless,” Sam tried to rebound. 

“Get out,” the girl stared at them. 

“Fair enough,” Josh nodded. “Good luck to you!” 

They hurried out of the brick house and, on the porch, Josh double checked the address with his confirmation email. 

“Wow,” he said to himself. “I don’t know how I mixed that up.” 

“It was a tiny hiccup,” Danny said. “You know, we only got possessed over all of this.” 

“I’m sensing that you’re feeling upset,” Josh tried to do damage control. “But let’s practice some gratitude. I, for one, am grateful that the old priest passed out pretty early on because that guy smelled like moth balls and it was starting to give me a migraine.” 

Josh looked around at his friends, expecting them to take part in the gratitude circle, but all of them stared darkly back at him. Josh panicked, trying to think of a way to get them to forgive him fast. 

“Should we go to the Air and Space museum?” he tried. 

Danny and Jake looked at each other and shrugged. 

“YES!” Sam exclaimed, like he had been eagerly waiting for Josh to suggest that his whole life. He took off sprinting down the sidewalk, his bare feet slapping against the hot pavement. “SPACE SHUTTLE, HERE I COME!” Sam whooped in the distance. 

“Let’s stick to rural ghosts instead of city demons, okay?” Jake said to Josh as they watched Danny chase after Sam with a pair of shoes, shouting that he was burning his feet. 

“Agreed,” Josh nodded. “They’re a bit more our speed, I think.” Josh thought hard. “You really need to find a way to ward off Oliver Reed.” 

“I’ve given it a lot of thought,” Jake declared. “Non-alcoholic beer. That should do the trick.” 

“I think that should,” Josh let out a laugh, giving Jake a loving pat on the back as they walked down the Washington D.C. sidewalk into the glowing sun. 

[eopederson]

Fresh Flows Across Iceland

"Lava poured from a volcanic fissure near the town of Grindavík, Iceland, in spring 2024. The eruption, which began on March 16 and remained active over two weeks later, was the largest in a string of four volcanic events on the Reykjanes peninsula starting in December 2023. 

The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 captured this image of the ongoing eruption on March 30, 2024. The natural color scene is overlaid with an infrared signal to help distinguish the lava’s heat signature. The active part of the fissure and the origin of a volcanic plume are apparent. While the eruption was still active at this time, additional satellite and ground observations indicated it was likely waning. 

The eruption began at 8:23 p.m. local time on March 16, the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) reported. A fissure nearly 3 kilometers (2 miles) long quickly opened in a similar location to the February 2024 eruption. Hundreds of people at the Blue Lagoon, as well as a small number in Grindavík, were evacuated within about 30 minutes of the eruption starting. 

In the days that followed, lava flowed toward infrastructure such as water pipes and roads, the town of Grindavík, and the ocean. Human-constructed barriers of earth and rock diverted lava away from town, although a flow extended across one road. Officials were initially concerned that lava would reach the coast and cool rapidly upon contacting water. This could have posed additional hazards such as the production of hydrogen chloride gas, but the flow stopped short.

This Landsat image comparison shows the recent changes on the Reykjanes peninsula. In September 2023 (left), the area was quiet volcanically. By February 10, 2024 (center), three separate fissure eruptions had occurred. The footprint of new basaltic rock grew in March 2024 (right) as new lava spanned nearly 6 square kilometers (2.3 square miles), according to the IMO. 

Like the eruptions that preceded it, the spring 2024 event was effusive, not explosive. Effusive eruptions tend to emit minimal ash, and their plumes typically contain water vapor, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other volcanic gases. 

This eruption did not disrupt air travel, but sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions were hazardous locally at times. Workers evacuated the power plant north of Grindavík on March 18 due to gas pollution, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reported. The SO2 emissions from this eruption were forecast to drift across the United Kingdom and northern Europe, according to models based on satellite observations, but at an altitude too high to affect surface air quality. 

Unlike the other recent eruptions in this region, the springtime event stretched out over weeks rather than a couple of days. The reason for the relatively prolonged eruption may be that magma now has an easier path to the surface, experts suggested in news reports. Others think that magma is no longer accumulating in the shallow magma chamber beneath the area and that this eruption could be the last in the longer cycle. 

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Lindsey Doermann."

And to think we were there in September about the time the first photo was made! The main road connecting Grindavik to the remainder of Iceland has been cut in two places. According to their website, the popular tourist attraction Blue Lagoon is closed due to "unfavourable air quality" but is scheduled to reopen tomorrow 11 April.

Wish I could hop on a plane to see this in person, but other obligations preclude such a trip anytime soon.

[mariacallous]

Kate Middleton and the Baltimore Bridge collapse were just warm-ups. For conspiracists in 2024, the total solar eclipse taking place on April 8 is their Super Bowl.

Over the past few weeks, social media channels, Telegram groups, and conspiracy-focused message boards have been flooded with every conceivable wild allegation about what will happen when the moon blocks out the sun.

The rare astronomical event has proved incredibly fertile ground for conspiracists to express their wildest fantasies, and they have theorized about everything from the end of the world, to the secret deployment of balloons to poison the population, to occult rituals and even the imposition of martial law to usher in a “new world order.”

Far-right trolls and extremists in particular have been using the total solar eclipse to push their belief that a group of “elites” is using the event as cover to impose new controls on the population. The theory has been promoted by figures including disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Sandy Hook shooting conspiracist Alex Jones, who in recent weeks has posted numerous videos and comments about it on his X account, racking up millions of views.

“Major Events Surrounding The April 8th Solar Eclipse,” Jones wrote. “Masonic rituals planned worldwide to usher in New World Order.”

Authorities along the path of the eclipse in the US have issued warnings about loss of cell coverage and electrical outages. Additionally, some towns have already declared an emergency, and National Guard troops have been put on standby. This has made the conspiracists only more convinced, even though the preparations in these towns have often been centered around the huge influx of tourists expected to congregate on April 8. For those deep in conspiracy land, the context doesn’t matter.

“I think [it’s] another test,” one user of the far-right message board known as The Donald wrote this week. “See how many follow orders and how close they are to declare martial law without a fight.”

On Telegram, one well-known conspiracy influencer known as the Health Ranger, who has 75,000 subscribers, wrote that the eclipse “sure would be the perfect cover story if our terrorist government wanted to take down the power grid and cause mass chaos while blocking all citizen communications. Kinda convenient if you want to declare martial law and unleash a dictatorship before Trump can win in November.”

Many conspiracists have also focused on other coincidental events happening on April 8, all of which add to the supposedly portentous nature of the day.

There are dozens of examples being shared online, but among the most quoted involve the fact that the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will be firing up the Large Hadron Collider on that day for the first time in two years. Many online are linking the celestial event to the restart of the device that, more than a decade ago, found the Higgs boson, which many misleadingly label the “God particle.”

If that wasn’t enough, NASA is launching three satellites as part of its Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path (APEP) mission. Unfortunately for NASA, Apep is also the name of an ancient Egyptian snake god associated with darkness and destruction—a coincidence that conspiracists have decided is relevant. A celestial body known as the devil’s comet will also be visible to the naked eye during the eclipse.

Finally, many have linked the eclipse with the imminent sacrifice of red heifers in Israel, a practice that some Jews and evangelicals believe will variously herald the construction of a Third Temple in Jerusalem, the return of the messiah, or the end of the world.

“Red Heifers from Texas have arrived in Israel where they will be sacrificed during the Solar Eclipse,” the operator of a prominent conspiracy channel on Telegram wrote this week in a post viewed more than 120,000 times. “At the same time, CERN will be opening up demonic portals.”

Videos citing all of these coincidences have been posted by conspiracists—as well as many Christian evangelical pastors and churches—and have amassed millions of views on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok in recent weeks.

“There are many indications that the total eclipse in America on Monday is the start of something big,” a renowned UK-based QAnon promoter told his Substack subscribers in an email on Thursday. “Whether the day itself is obviously epic—Nibiru? ETs? DNA activation?” (Nibiru is a conspiracy-laden reference to a predicted cataclysmic encounter between Earth and a large planetary object.)

Sovereign-citizen guru David Straight has also posited a wild conspiracy called Operation Balloon, claiming that the government, using the eclipse blackout as cover, will deploy balloons filled with poisonous gas. Straight didn’t, however, explain why the government wouldn’t just do this at night, when it’s also dark and people are typically not staring at the sky.

One image showing the path of the eclipse passing over more than a dozen significant landmarks has also been shared widely online. Among the landmarks are the birthplaces of former president Bill Clinton and former vice president Mike Pence; the site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio; the site of the 1993 massacre in Waco, Texas; and the location of former president John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

As one UK-based dyed-in-the-wool conspiracist wrote on X last weekend, in a post that has been viewed 7.7 million times: “That’s a hell of a lot of coincidences right there.”

There is, of course, absolutely no evidence to back up any of the conspiracies being outlined by these individuals and groups. But if they are unable, or unwilling, to marvel at a celestial phenomenon that has been enjoyed by humans for centuries, that probably warrants at least some introspection.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Life Is Short So Make It Sweet Preview

“Easy shot.” You challenged with a glance over your shoulder. Curtis smirked back at you, leaning against his putt while watching you. The hat he was wearing to help with the sun was now slipped backward, letting you see his eyes assessing every move you made. 

You stalled a second, the fuzziness that the margarita made you feel overpowered by the idea that maybe he didn’t like you teasing like this, that you looked ridiculous shaking your hips the way you were with the way he had his slight scowl. But his gaze went up your body and he gave a deep sigh like he was refocusing himself. “That might be an easy shot but fuck, Honey.” His eyes glanced around the small park warily before settling back on you. “I don’t know if I can keep my hands to myself till we get back to the hotel. Do it again.” 

That negative worry from earlier dissipated, it was game on at that moment. “Guess you are gonna have to really focus on the game.” You let your hips shift again and an audible groan came from him. 

“Yeah, focusin’ on somethin’.” 

You took your shot and the ball whizzed wildly down the green grass path to putter into the hole, making Curtis give a clap of his hands in congratulations while he dropped his ball in place. “Easy shot for you too.” You assured him, making sure to step away to watch him. Curtis, as always, fell all into the moment. His legs shifted his weight back and forth to center himself, all while taking easy measured strokes trying to gauge where to hit the ball. In those moments, you let yourself appreciate how he looked with taunt muscles in his back flexing beneath his shirt, pulling at the corner of your lip while your eyes mapped the way his tee tightened in his shoulders and down his muscled back. 

Sure he was every bit of a relaxed looking tourist with the backward NASA baseball cap, some tee shirt Jade bought him with a ridiculous saying about how he got his crabs at Dirty Dicks, a popular restaurant in the area, to khaki cargo shorts that almost looked dark against his very pale legs that were hidden for months by long pants in Minnesota. To you though, he looked sexy and that little tingle of anticipation built in your belly. A clenching need that you knew Curtis would much appreciate. 

Of course his ball whizzed right in, making him pump his fist in victory, a grin on his face as he looked over his shoulder at you. 

The competitive side flared in your belly, making you sidle up to him. “Wanna make it interesting Curtis?” 

His arm slung back comfortably around you as you two made your way to collect the balls and go to the next hole. “I’m listening.” 

You strolled onto the next spot, unweaving from his hold to face him. “You win… you can do whatever you want to me tonight.” His brows shot up in interest. “I win, the same goes for me.”

“I’m winning, Honey.” He assured you after hearing the prize and you wiggled your brows at him while dropping your ball at the next hole. 

“I’m gonna make you work for it.” You aimed your shot, now focusing more than ever on the next obstacle. This one proved to be harder but you took a couple shots and finally got it in. Curtis, having taken this bet pretty personal, managed another hole in one. 

Not caught up? Find the series here

This series is labeled as mature content and might not always pop up on your timeline.

[theburgessobserver]

Burgess Observer(Aka Frosts town newspaper)FINAL ISSUE!

News!

MAIN HEADLINE:

Hathway wins election by a landslide!

Yes,it's true he won the Presidential elections by a landslide because a landslide blocked his opponents road out of his house and caused him to miss most of the last campaigns which were decisive as he had a lead.But without appearing to address several key states he had a decisive defeat and lost by a mere 0,1 percent of voters!Hathway is a relatively unknown candidate and was at a disadvantage to win,then again he was not known for anything bad either….

Pages 1-6

Local News!

GIANT MIRACLE!

Last night somebody(or somebodies)built an intricate 18 foot snowman of Paul Bunyan.As part of the Burgess snowman competition it won first place by a landslide!But no one has come forth as to who have built it,whoever did it must have done quite some work on this Ice giant as it is very detailed and looks life-like and is well…gigantic with the ice being practically melded together as if by magic.Whoever you are we all would like to thank you(and your team)for this not only is it the biggest snowman made in the county,but it also caused a rapid increase in tourist and sight-seekers visiting.

Pages 7-8

Other headlines

Meteor Mystery

Last night Mt.Palomar picked up an asteroid the size of a small town it was heading towards the western seaboard,Scientist reported i could destroy a large part of the western seaboard and while the ICMs were being ready to knock it off course(or destroy it if neccesary)it dispersed under unknown conditions seemingly by itself and NASA is completely puzzled,to add to it somehow it wasn't seen until it was very close to Earth,and it being unknown why it wasnt picked up until then. According to experts its calculated impact point was Arcadia Oaks Ca.

Pages 9-11

Rescue,Repair and Renovate

After years of neglect ,thanks to a public fund and renewed interest the Local Drive-in theater called Forbidden Theater:The Terror from beyond fear!Is reopening,after being built in the late 40s and thriving for a long time till lower attendance due to the opening of the town cinema,it made a comeback thanks to support and new interest for movie nights in the cold night and fresh air and many daters chosing to go there.They always say theres a nice chill there at night…after some unexplained mysterious occurrences in and around town in recent years the sci-fi,mystery,monster movie craze came back with it.

Pages 12-15

Interview with Professor Bomba

He is a scientist and artist from Danbury, Connecticut he has done quite extensive research on forests and has come up through his years of research of a theory of little people living in the forest.

Alleged Dragon sightings in Canada near Kullersen Fissures-Theories and Explantions

The pride of the W.S.P. Fireball XL5 returns to Space City base in South Pacific after interplanetary exploration mission

Genetically engineered tomato with chemically altered ranch salad dressing experiment damadges 6 city blocks!

And more!

Eyes on the sky!

Weather:Fairly frosty with a chance of snow.

Today the Forbinned Theater presents:

-The BLOB

-Forbidened Planet

-Earth vs the flying saucers

-Destination:MOON!

-Mothra vs Goodzilla

Well this is it!

MARCH 27TH!!!ALERT!!!THE GUARDIANS COME TOGETHER TO FIGHT THERE BIGGEST THREAT!!!(MORE DANGEROUS AND POWERFULL THAN PITCH!!!!)

AND THEY WONT BE ALONE!!!!

ON MARCH 27TH!!!

This is the last thing i will publish till the story arc with a prologue on 26th and the story starting on 27th this will be an event you wont want to miss with several ties to the past.(And lets be real he would win any snowman competition by a long-shot!)

It seems as though Jack will be off the naughty list for that.

And I see he likes to watch movies and have some fun while watching them.(And if it werent for him it might not even have been reopened)

Always helping his town directly or indirectly.

Who built the Giant Statue?The same who did the snowflake Formation(Wrong answears only please.)

[tinycoded360]

Above and Beyond Chapter 1

Author Note: Giving some love to the other fandom I love. I'm posting the first chapter here; if you like, you can read the rest on ao3 😍

Danny Fenton's alarm clock blared, jolting him out of his dream. Danny rubbed his eyes and groaned, staring at the ceiling plastered with glow-in-the-dark stars and constellations. The room around him was a shrine to his passion for space: posters of astronauts and far-off galaxies adorned every wall, and stacks of NASA magazines sat dog-eared on his desk—a recent poster of the Ares III. Watching the launch on TV had been a fun time. His only regret was he was too busy to fly out and watch it in person.

"Five more minutes," he mumbled, reaching for the snooze button, but accidentally phased his hand through the clock instead. He sighed.

"Rise and shine, Danny boy!" his dad called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Danny yelled back, attempting to sound more cheerful than he felt. As he swung his legs out of bed, he couldn't help but glance at the newspaper article he had pinned to his corkboard: A detailed interview with the Ares III crew, all about the launch and their mission. One day, he dreamed of going to space, just like them.

Balancing high school and teenage life was already a challenge for Danny, but ever since he gained ghost powers from an accident in his parents' lab, his whole world had been turned upside down.

He could barely keep his eyes open in class. Not that math was ever intriguing.

It wasn't easy being a teenager with ghost powers, especially when there were organizations like the GIW who would do anything to get their hands on him. Things had gotten harder with the GIW; they had been cracking down on ghost activity and trying to capture his ghost half. It didn’t help that the GIW had labeled all ghosts as a threat that needed to be neutralized, and since they were labeled as dead, in the GIW's eyes and the government's eyes, they were doing nothing wrong. It was all fine since the dead could not be hurt.

Tucker had discovered that the GIW had also been blocking any social media posts and news from Amity regarding ghosts. So, to the outside world, they were just a backwater town with a fun tourist trap attraction. It didn’t help that Vlad was backing the GIW and encouraging them to censor Amity Park.

"Earth to Danny!" his sister Jazz teased as she poked her head into his room. "Seriously, what's with you lately?"

"Nothing," he lied, forcing a smile. "Just tired."

"Alright," she replied skeptically. "Just remember, I'm here if you need to talk."

"Thanks, Jazz." He appreciated her concern.

Danny reluctantly got ready for the day; he looked at his bed with longing. He barely got any sleep last night. Skulker was giving him problems most of the night.

With a sigh, Danny leaves for school. He hopes that Dash will take it easy on him. If he gets shoved into one more locker today, he might just snap.

******

Danny's eyes snapped open as a bright light flooded the small room. He squinted against the harsh glare, trying to determine where he was. The last thing he remembered was flying home from school when everything went black. Now he found himself strapped to a cold metal table, his arms and legs bound by thick leather anit-ghost straps.

Danny struggled against the glowing green restraints binding him to the cold metal table, but it was no use. The anti-ghost cuffs sapped his strength, leaving him weak and helpless.

"Subject is regaining consciousness," a voice droned from somewhere in the shadows.

Danny's heart pounded in his chest. The Guys in White had captured him. He struggled against the restraints, but he was still too groggy from whatever drug they had used to knock him out.

A man in a pristine white suit loomed over Danny, peering down at him through dark sunglasses. "Let's see what makes this ghost boy tick," he sneered.

Danny screamed in agony as the ecto-shocker sent searing pain through his body. The green electricity crackled over his skin, burning into his flesh. He could smell the sickly stench of his own ectoplasm as it bubbled from the wounds.

"Please, stop!" Danny begged, thrashing against the restraints that held him to the cold metal table. But the white-clad GIW agent standing over him just laughed cruelly and turned up the dial, increasing the voltage.

"Subject is displaying enhanced strength," one of the expressionless agents in white hazmat suits muttered into a recorder. "Increasing power output."

Pain erupted through Danny's body as the restraints glowed brighter, crackling with electricity. He cried out, thrashing against them.

"Please, stop!" Danny begged.

Danny's screams turned to whimpers as the agent finally powered down the ecto-shocker. His small body trembled uncontrollably, his jumpsuit charred and smoking.

He had no idea how long he had been imprisoned here. The agents kept him drugged and disoriented. Time blurred between sessions on the table as they poked, prodded, cut, and shocked him. They were obsessed with learning his secrets, tearing him apart molecule by molecule.

Just as the agent prepared to make another incision, a glowing green vortex suddenly erupted in the room. It swirled violently, like a miniature tornado, and its eerie light cast flickering shadows across the walls.

The agent stumbled back in surprise, the scalpel falling from his hand. Danny watched with wide eyes as the portal stabilized into an oval shape, its center shimmering with supernatural energy. The portal crackled with unstable energy, starting to swirl and pulling things from the room into it, including the table Danny was strapped to.

The moment he passed through its threshold, gravity disappeared. Danny floated weightlessly in a haze of green, the light searing his eyes. This portal was more violent than the one he was used to. It tossed him around, tearing him from his restraints.

Exhaustion crept over him. The torture, the portal - it was too much. Danny's eyes fluttered closed as he lost consciousness, tumbling through the green void. He was unaware as the portal spit him back out.

When he came to, the first thing he noticed was the quiet. Gone were the harsh lights and sounds of the lab. He lay sprawled on rough, red soil, a faint breeze stirring his white hair. This didn’t feel like earth, it was too cold, and he felt how hard it was to breath here, he was better off not breathing and letting his core do the work. Even though his core burned with pain from the torture he undertook. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the unfamiliar night sky.

Danny’s core sang with happiness. He could feel the difference in gravity. *Am I on Mars? * He thought to himself.

Groaning, Danny pushed himself up on his hands and knees, wincing as pain lanced through him. His hazmat suit was tattered and burnt, green-red ectoplasm staining the fabric. The GWI had done a number on him.

Shielding his eyes from the harsh sunlight, Danny scanned his new surroundings. The dusty Martian landscape stretched as far as he could see. In the distance, a cluster of habitats and rovers marked what had to be the Ares III site.

Danny had avidly followed the mission back on Earth. He knew the crew: Commander Lewis, Pilot Martinez, Dr. Beck, Johanssen, Vogel, and the botanist Mark Watney.  

Danny shivered; they were his only chance of survival, stranded and injured as he was.

Holding his side, Danny began stumbling toward the habitats, his jumpsuit boots leaving prints in the rust-colored soil. He had to make it there before his strength gave out completely. Just a little farther...

Suddenly, his legs buckled, sending him sprawling face-first onto the hard ground. The last of his energy spent, Danny's glowing green eyes slid closed. He lay motionless as his blood pooled beneath him, staining the Martian soil a vivid emerald.

*This is it. At least I got to go to another planet...*

Chapter 2

[rotm-channel]

Burgess Observer Issue 5

News!

MAIN HEADLINE:

Hathway wins election by a landslide!

Yes,it's true he won the Presidential elections by a landslide because a landslide blocked his opponents road out of his house and caused him to miss most of the last campaigns which were decisive as he had a lead.But without appearing to address several key states he had a decisive defeat and lost by a mere 0,1 percent of voters!Hathway is a relatively unknown candidate and was at a disadvantage to win,then again he was not known for anything bad either….

Pages 1-6

Local News!

GIANT MIRACLE!

Last night somebody(or somebodies)built an intricate 18 foot snowman of Paul Bunyan.As part of the Burgess snowman competition it won first place by a landslide!But no one has come forth as to who have built it,whoever did it must have done quite some work on this Ice giant as it is very detailed and looks life-like and is well…gigantic with the ice being practically melded together as if by magic.Whoever you are we all would like to thank you(and your team)for this not only is it the biggest snowman made in the county,but it also caused a rapid increase in tourist and sight-seekers visiting.

Pages 7-8

Other headlines

Meteor Mystery

Last night Mt.Palomar picked up an asteroid the size of a small town it was heading towards the western seaboard,Scientist reported i could destroy a large part of the western seaboard and while the ICMs were being ready to knock it off course(or destroy it if neccesary)it dispersed under unknown conditions seemingly by itself and NASA is completely puzzled,to add to it somehow it wasn't seen until it was very close to Earth,and it being unknown why it wasnt picked up until then. According to experts its calculated impact point was Arcadia Oaks Ca.

Pages 9-11

Rescue,Repair and Renovate

After years of neglect ,thanks to a public fund and renewed interest the Local Drive-in theater called Forbidden Theater:The Terror from beyond fear!Is reopening,after being built in the late 40s and thriving for a long time till lower attendance due to the opening of the town cinema,it made a comeback thanks to support and new interest for movie nights in the cold night and fresh air and many daters chosing to go there.They always say theres a nice chill there at night…after some unexplained mysterious occurrences in and around town in recent years the sci-fi,mystery,monster movie craze came back with it.

Pages 12-15

Interview with Professor Bomba

He is a scientist and artist from Danbury, Connecticut he has done quite extensive research on forests and has come up through his years of research of a theory of little people living in the forest.

Alleged Dragon sightings in Canada near Kullersen Fissures-Theories and Explantions

The pride of the W.S.P. Fireball XL5 returns to Space City base in South Pacific after interplanetary exploration mission

Genetically engineered tomato with chemically altered ranch salad dressing experiment damadges 6 city blocks!

And more!

Eyes on the sky!

Weather:Fairly frosty with a chance of snow.

Today the Forbinned Theater presents:

-The BLOB

-Forbidened Planet

-Earth vs the flying saucers

-Destination:MOON!

-Mothra vs Goodzilla

Well this is it!

MARCH 27TH!!!ALERT!!!THE GUARDIANS COME TOGETHER TO FIGHT THERE BIGGEST THREAT!!!(MORE DANGEROUS AND POWERFULL THAN PITCH!!!!)

AND THEY WONT BE ALONE!!!!

ON MARCH 27TH!!!

This is the last thing i will publish till the story arc with a prologue on 26th and the story starting on 27th this will be an event you wont want to miss with several ties to the past.(And lets be real he would win any snowman competition by a long-shot!)

It seems as though Jack will be off the naughty list for that.

And I see he likes to watch movies and have some fun while watching them.(And if it werent for him it might not even have been reopened)

Always helping his town directly or indirectly.

Who built the Giant Statue?The same who did the snowflake Formation(Wrong answears only please.)

[markwateneymemorialcrater]

So Blue Origin just launched another space tourist rocket.

But watching the stream (the whole trip is only like 10 minutes) the blue origin commentators repeatedly refer to the passengers as astronauts. This is incorrect. NASA even changed the definition of “Astronaut” because the understand that going on a 10 minute rocket ride and spending 4 minutes of that in zero G does not make you an astronaut.

One of the three parachutes also didn’t fully inflate for the landing capsule. Now luckily this is part of the redundant systems for the capsule and they still landed presumably “safely” but still would mean a harder landing than planned. However, the commentators were trying so hard to gloss over the issue trying to say it is by design and everything is still nominal. It may nothing safety tolerances. But it is not nominal. It went off plan. Luckily there is redundancy and the passengers still survived. But it seems a bit insincere to not knowledge 1/3rd of your decent operation failing.

[robbiemd]

Log #395

I’m writing this while in a Grab on the way home from the airport.

I took the midday PR flight to MNL today. I usually arrive at PPS ~30mins before check-in counters close because queueing usually is inexistent. In most days, 5-10 mins lang and you’ll be at the pre-departure terminal. But today, because of the putanginang city-wide blackout in PPS, it took me about an hour. To the point that PA is already announcing boarding. Yes. Boarding na, nasa check-in counter pa rin ako together with like ~25 more travelers, mostly Chinese and European tourists. In the end, they were able to accommodate and check everybody in.

It all winds up with one cause and it’s corruption. If the PH properly liquidates our taxes and puts ‘em to good use, say additional power plants or alternative sources of power enough to sustain our cities, e ‘di sana walang problema. But that’s not the case. Our government is too busy spending millions for an inauguration or renaming a street or a government building or probably redesigning a departmental logo/crest. Or too busy organizing a local Ms. Gay or Ms. (insert town or province here) for everyone’s entertainment. ‘Yan ang priority for them.

Minsan gusto ko na lang din talaga umalis.

EDSA-Makati City, PH 29 May 2023 4:06 PM