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astrology-with-charu · 4 years ago

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𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 : 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 & 𝐔𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

While the Scorpio full moon we just experienced along with Pluto retrograde would continue to bring things up from below the surface that need to be handled, faced and healed, we would start now working on the future. May would have not just a new moon in Taurus, giving us a fresh boost of self worth and net worth so we can start building our new life on firm grounds, we would also have three fated encounters on 10th, 17th and 31st May which will bring more clarity to our life path which would unfold further with the eclipses we are about to experience end May and June. We will dig deeper into all of this today and then in part 2 delve deeper into May themes by sign.

𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤

𝟚𝟟 𝔸𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕝 𝕥𝕠 𝟙𝟙 𝕄𝕒𝕪 : 𝔽𝕦𝕝𝕝 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕊𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕡𝕚𝕠 𝟟º𝟘𝟞’

𝟚𝟟 𝔸𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕝 : ℙ𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝟚𝟞º𝟜𝟠’ ℂ𝕒𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕟

𝟛𝟘 𝔸𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕝 : 𝕊𝕦𝕟 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕛𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥 𝕌𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕦𝕤 𝟙𝟘º𝟜𝟙’ 𝕋𝕒𝕦𝕣𝕦𝕤

𝟙𝟙 𝕄𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝟚𝟞 𝕄𝕒𝕪 : ℕ𝕖𝕨 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕋𝕒𝕦𝕣𝕦𝕤 𝟚𝟙º𝟙𝟠’

𝟙𝟛 𝕄𝕒𝕪 : 𝕁𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 ℙ𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕖𝕤

𝟙𝟘,𝟙𝟟,𝟛𝟙 𝕄𝕒𝕪 : ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙 ℕ𝕠𝕕𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕛𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥 𝕄𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕪, 𝕍𝕖𝕟𝕦𝕤, 𝕊𝕦𝕟 𝕒𝕥 𝟙𝟘º𝟜𝟝’ 𝔾𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕚

𝟚𝟡 𝕄𝕒𝕪 : 𝕄𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕪 𝕘𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝟚𝟜º𝟜𝟛’ 𝔾𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕚

𝟚𝟛 𝕄𝕒𝕪 : 𝕊𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝟙𝟛º𝟛𝟙’

Read it on the Medium

Listen to the podcast

Watch it on YT

𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭 & 𝗧𝗮𝘂𝗿𝘂𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻

Right at the onset of May on May Day we have Sun and Uranus making a surprising contact at the very degree we would have solar eclipse - fated new start in April of 2022. The shifts we are bringing this month especially in first half of the month have structural implications on what we are going to grow in 2022 financially and physically. We are taking those first steps of making a change in our life which underlines financial independence, shift in our values and shift in how we create value. Even shift in what we perceive to be stable and what we perceive to be gainful and beautiful. The definition of abundance is being changed and as our values shift so does our external reality. In the same vein definition of love and creativity is being progressively changed as the way we choose changes. The things we did before which seemed to form the structural part of our world, now do not seem to be inline with our new values. Uranus is a trigger which would show us a stale situation which needs changing and its been trying to do so since 2019. Now its entered its second decan, the Virgo dominant decan where we now do something useful and practical to make those changes. It also comes with more flexibility versus the initial rigidity to change we might have experienced.

There is an inner separation from our own old inauthentic identity or even father figure as a new discovery of our unique identity begins.

At 10º41 Taurus we create a new ego, its almost the old identity has been eliminated, weeds are being eliminated one by one and a new self is being born. “As the roots, so the flowers” said Rudhyar of this degree. We are ready for a new bloom and we would become ego attached to a new identity, such is human nature. We would nurture it, water it, love it and expect the world from it. This is the period of “Cultivation”. We must use May for nurturing and cultivation of our new roots. Which would culminate in the full flower supermoon on 26th May which is a lunar eclipse this month - closest full moon of this year.

Remember this is part of our chart where once we make home, we tend to live longer.

So whatever new source of income or new assets or personal resources or investments or heart choices you are cultivating remember you are laying down grounds for the long haul. It would feel that its not going at the speed you want, especially financial aspect of it. Words would be flowing fast, ideas and even documents may be going but that solid growth and ground might look slow. That’s a topic of 2022 when North node comes in Taurus and accelerates that element.

Do not forget Mother’s Day on 9th May ! Venus would be square Jupiter day before at last degree of Taurus, some people are about to go overboard in their purchases.

𝗝𝘂𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗲𝘀!

Jupiter the planet of expansion moves into its own sign and in its full strength briefly from 13 May to 28 July before it settles down fully in Pisces for 2022 starting 28th December 2021. This is a preview period and we will see growth in faith, spirituality, compassion and idealism. We last had this transit in 2010. So you can review what shifted for you in Jan 2010 when Jupiter last just entered Pisces. This preview would also show us the growth we would fully experience in 2022, as well as some over the board optimism or even misleading or inflated expectations. I have put the brief of my previous note on the 2022 Jupiter Neptune cycle at the bottom of this note for your reference. We are more open to choices but all choices aren’t lucrative, this might be a good season to lay some good ground rules. But overall this is a very expansionary transit and Jupiter works very well in Pisces so expansion and growth is greatly supported. This transit especially sprouts creative geniuses.

Covered by zodiac sign earlier this year

𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲

Contracts, agreements, discussions agreed past 14th May might need some revision as Mercury would go retrograde after 29th May. Fated encounter need a bit more time to be fully understood and messaging of them may not be clear at the onset. We might in early June take a bit of step back to make sense of it all. This would also be supported by Saturn going retrograde, there might be structural changes required in our plans, getting some boundaries and rules right to make what we are initiating is more abundant. After 23rd May till 10 Oct there might be structural reworks which would be needed in our vision and plans to make them more resilient. It will also be the time to evaluate where healthy boundaries need to be built with friend, our network and sibling.

𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗮𝗵𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀

Each of the fated encounters of 10th May, 17th May and 31st May come with the Saturn trine giving us discipline to make the structural changes I just spoke of. It’s the pie in the sky thoughts, ideas and discussions we had in March and April are now being given substance. These dates and a day before / after give great opportunities to have a productive talk with authorities, progress on approvals and guidance from an elder or experienced person. These are the “rising to the occasion” contacts - these are unexperienced grounds of potential. After 10th of May and especially 17th of May you would truly feel yourself free from the past and moving into this unchartered territory we are about to chart together. Stay flexible, open and present as it would require us to leave our old life belief system behind as south node asks us to release our beliefs and replace them with new information.

All of these fated encounter come in close contact with one of the great stars in the sky, one of the four Royal stars of Persia, the Archangel star (Michael), the Watcher in the East, called Aldebaran. Contact with this star has promise of success or happiness but it comes with a test of integrity. We would be faced with an issue of integrity and would have to rise to the occasion. A very famous example is of Edward VIII who fell in love with a divorce and even though the most logical & traditional choice would have been to compromise his integrity he abdicated the throne to marry the woman he loved. We would have to live by the morals even though the temptation to not follow them would be high. Galileo Galilei rebelled against the church announcing that Earth was the one that orbited around the Sun at the risk of being arrested & imprisoned. We would have to rise up for our truth as we encounter some moral dilemma.

Mars met this start on 26th March with influence across end of March - did you had to take a high road on a subject which was tempting ? Were you prompted in some way to change your course to take the road less travelled yet the one thats morally and spiritually more in line with you ? Well I have my natal Venus on Aldebaran so I was. If it was the case for you, you would see more progress, more information on that choice you are making.

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘀

As we go towards the month end, I do believe activation of this star which has Mars like equalities, we could see our world leaders encounter this very moral dilemma. When Mars met north node in Gemini last in March Biden had called Putin the “murderer” and ofcourse Ever Given went on giving stuck in the Suez Canal. It was also the deadliest days in Myanmar protests. This all coupled with the eclipses, Saturn standing still and Saturn square Uranus becoming exact in June, makes for an intense month end and summer.

Communication would be charged up, transportation a bit haywire as people try to speed and we would want to go hundred miles a minute in our mind, hands and voice. Use your words wisely and its a great opportunity to make once in 19 years progress on our written, creative, verbal, communication, commercial projects and skills.

Due to the eclipse of the month end on 26th May with south node and its history, I do not recommend to travel or be engaged in religious group activities which can lead to crowds. You always have to use your own judgement in whats best for you but astrologically this eclipse comes with a travel or religious incident.

As Saturn would go retrograde on 23rd of May and square Uranus for a second time on 14th June, the Saturn in Aquarius and Saturn square Uranus themes of breakthrough, rebellion, regulations on innovation especially tech become stronger as we approach June. More regulations would be drafted over this period of Saturn strength especially covering innovations in financial system such as digital currency, stock market, investments, land use and at some point food innovation.

Covered in the past in details as below :

Saturn Square Uranus : Overview

Saturn Square Uranus : By Zodiac Sign

More on eclipses soon!

Have a great month ahead.

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𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗮��𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮

“Jupiter the planet of expansion is moving into Pisces fully after 28th Dec and it will meet Neptune at yes at this spot on 12th April 2022 which would be a outer planet meet colouring global events of 2022. This is a once in 166 years of divine cycle when optimism hits up our dreams and inflated expectations are very much at root of this cycle. We are seeding that cycle right now with this new moon so a bit of inflated expectations are in. But so are prospects for creative genius, compassion, inspiration, positive thinking, divinity. In 1856 when this cycle was last seen in Pisces - Sigmund Freud was born; Frank Baum the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was born ...Robert Peary who claimed discovery of North Pole was born... I can go on... Nikolas Tesla was born - creative genius underlines this cycle which is about to begin in 2022.

But there would also be delusional leaders, bad intention false hopes and inflation which would come with this. Seeds of that also is being planted now in inflated expectations and idealism. This cycle has deep implications for change in religion and spirituality. Also on weather patterns especially linked to floods, hurricanes - the Last Island Hurricane in US which destroyed Last Island was part of last cycle as was a massive church explosion. This was also first year when the Third Party in US called “Know nothing American Party” fought elections. Seeds of American civil war were grown in this cycle as well back in 1856. “

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kaylorevidence · 6 years ago

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Media References

This masterpost is going to contain a collection of articles that reference Karlie and Taylor and/or suspicions that Taylor might not be straight - starting in April of 2019. Also here’s the link to the website version. Enjoy!

APRIL 2019:

VULTURE:

What the Hell Do All These Taylor Swift Clues Mean? An Investigation

“My personal favorite theory hails from the Kaylor shippers, the faction of Swifties that believes that Taylor Swift and her former BFF Karlie Kloss were romantically involved. The theory is that Swift has been dropping hints about her love for Karlie Kloss since the Reputation era. On Tuesday night, Kaylor shippers picked up on something crucial: During Taylor’s performance of “New Years Day” at the TIME 100 Gala, Swift seemingly changed the lyrics from “I want your midnights” to “I want her midnights” not once, but twice. “New Years Day” is the final track on Reputation, which, in theory, could segue into the “next chapter…”

Also, the Reputation CD skin pictures a collaged photo of the pop star — but Kaylors think it’s actually a dual image of Swift and Kloss, which sends the incognito message that they are one. That collage-image theme is bleeding into this new album cycle, too — we’ve seen it used again in photos from her Elle U.K. photo shoot. In the Reputation song “So It Goes,” Swift sings, “Cut me into pieces, gold cage hostage to my feelings, and our pieces fall right into place.” Swift loves a puzzle, and these images actually look like puzzle pieces. Plus, some Swifties hilariously posit that her Instagram of chickens wearing sunglasses was a reference to Taylor and Karlie in sunglasses — the “chicks,” if you will. She wants us to solve the Kaylor puzzle, you guys.”

Okay, So Now What Is Taylor Swift’s Giant Butterfly Mural Supposed to Mean?

“It would be nothing short of irresponsible if I didn’t begin with the Kaylor drama. Swift has a faction of superfans called the Kaylors, which is also the “ship name” or portmanteau of her and Karlie Kloss’s names; the Kaylor shippers believe the two were romantically involved in secret. There are many theories swirling that whatever Swift has been teasing for a big 4/26 reveal will heavily allude to her relationship with Kloss. Just look at the mural.

Painted by Kelsey Montague (you’ve seen her other wing murals in every IG influencer’s photos, surely), the butterfly mural is bleeding bisexual lighting and brimming with rainbows — the official sigil of the Queers — and cats — the mascots of Lesbianism. As one Twitter user pointed out, the mural also looks impossibly similar to a giant set of rainbow butterfly wings that Karlie Kloss rocked at the 2013 Victoria’s Secret fashion show — you know, that same year she and Taylor walked the runway together. The mural also contains two ladybugs in the top-left corner — ladies, noted. *loosens tie*”

NYLON:

Is Taylor Swift Trying To Tell Us That Kaylor Was Real?

“When Twitter user @mckinneykelsey said "it has never been a better time to be a long-time Kaylor conspiracy theorist," she wasn't wrong. The larger-than-life wings look oddly similar to a pair that Kloss wore on the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show runway. Additionally, their matching tie-dye shirts in IG pics? Super-gay, and I'm super into it.

Mckinney also pointed out that Swift's potential single dropping at midnight shares the same date as Lesbian Visibility Day, and this sounds exactly like the kind of dramatic plan Swift would concoct if she were to ever plan a public coming out.”

BUZZFEED NEWS:

Taylor Swift Unveiled A New Song And Music Video After Teasing Fans For Weeks

“There’s also the long-standing conspiracy theory about Swift’s relationship with model Karlie Kloss that suggests the two were more than just best friends. Fans speculated based on a series of photos, song lyrics, and tabloid-recorded moments that Swift and Kloss were romantically entwined, shipping the two on the internet as “Kaylor.”

Then when Swift performed at this year’s Time 100 Gala, she apparently switched the lyrics in her song “New Year’s Day” from “I want your midnights to “I want her midnights.”

In addition to her colorful aesthetic on Instagram, Swift also unveiled a butterfly mural in Nashville on Thursday, painted by street artist Kelsey Montague. Inside the butterfly are rainbows, hearts, and other colorful symbols. Some fans thought it could also be a metaphor for Swift’s sexuality. One journalist even pointed out the similarity between Swift’s butterfly mural and a butterfly costume Kloss wore in a 2013 Victoria’s Secret runway show, further alluding to the “Kaylor” conspiracy theory.

Fans also pointed out that April 26, the date that Swift had been counting down to for her big reveal, is Lesbian Visibility Day.”

Why So Many Of Us Believed Taylor Swift Was Coming Out

“For years — years! — we’d gathered every clue.

Kissgate. All those rainbows! Swapped lyrics featuring female pronouns. Lyrics that just seem really gay. The cats. The donations to LGBT causes. That performance with Hayley Kiyoko. Today, April 26th, the day of Taylor Swift’s long-awaited announcement, is literally lesbian visibility day.

I can’t claim to be nearly as much of a #Gaylor diehard as the true champions who’ve dedicated themselves to combing every last social media post, every public appearance, every exchange — however brief or seemingly insignificant — for evidence of Taylor’s queerness (and/or evidence of a romantic relationship with her sometimes-bff Karlie Kloss). But there’s always been a deep, deep part of me that suspected one of the century’s biggest pop stars, as maniacally loved as she is deeply loathed the world over, plays (at least some of the time) for the girl’s team.

But particularly in the last few days, I’ve lost my head completely. I wouldn’t even call myself a Taylor fan, but I became a full-on #Gaylor truther, yelling at all of my colleagues that, surely, this famous lady was going to come out — as bi, as gay, as something. Jill Gutowitz’s investigations at Vulture had me hooked. The mural Taylor commissioned, revealed in Nashville yesterday, could not look more like the wings Karlie wore at the Victoria Secret show in 2013 — the year both she and Taylor walked in the show. Why would Taylor change some lyrics to “her” this week, of all weeks? Why???”

AUTOSTRADDLE:

Taylor Swift Didn’t Come Out But She Sure Did Make a Gay Music Video

“Taylor Swift sure did whip up our frenzied speculation that she was going to come out tonight with the release of her new music video. First of all, she showed up at the NFL draft in Nashville wearing a pansexual pride flag as a dress to talk to lesbian icon Robin Roberts who was wearing pantsuit, okay? And then she announced the new single was going to be called “ME!” and there’s a butterfly on the album cover and also the song is a collab with Panic! At The Disco pansexual heartthrob Brendon Urie. Gay, gay, gay, gay!

Alas! She did not come out!

But the music video is gay as all hell. Rainbows, a thousand women in suits and ties, unicorns, cats on cats on cats.

Anyway, that song “Dress” from Reputation is still gay and you won’t convince me otherwise.”

#kaylor masterpost #taylor swift masterpost #taylor swift #karlie kloss #ts7 press #kaylor

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blackkudos · 5 years ago

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Chance the Rapper

Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and activist.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Chance the Rapper released his debut mixtape 10 Day in 2012. He began to gain mainstream recognition in 2013 after releasing his second mixtape, Acid Rap, which gained critical praise. He then released his third mixtape, Coloring Book, in 2016, which garnered further critical acclaim and attention. It earned him three Grammy Awards, including the award for Best Rap Album; upon winning, it became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award, and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200. His debut studio album The Big Day was released on July 26, 2019.

Alongside his solo career, Chance the Rapper is a member of the Chicago collective Savemoney, and is the vocalist for the band the Social Experiment; they released the album Surf in May 2015, led by trumpeter Nico Segal. He is also involved in social activism in the Chicago community where he resides.

Early life

Chancelor Johnathan Bennett was born in Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ken Williams-Bennett, was an aide to the late Chicago mayor Harold Washington and then-Senator Barack Obama. His mother, Lisa Bennett, worked for the Illinois Attorney General. Bennett grew up in the middle-class neighborhood of West Chatham on Chicago's South Side. When Bennett was sixteen, his father began to work in the Department of Labor during President Barack Obama's first term. Bennett personally met President Obama in his youth and discussed his aspirations to be a rapper, to which Obama responded with "word". Bennett was originally going to move to Washington, D.C. following Obama's win in the 2008 presidential election, though those plans eventually fell through. Bennett attended Jones College Prep High School where he was a member of the Jewish Student Union.

Bennett's interest in music began with Michael Jackson, who he exclusively listened to on cassettes until the fifth grade. Growing up, Bennett's parents were constantly playing music, including Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke and other artists in the jazz and gospel genres. Bennett began listening to hip-hop after hearing "Through the Wire" by Kanye West on the radio while walking through Hyde Park, Chicago. After finding out the song was on West's debut album The College Dropout, Bennett purchased the album, making it the first hip-hop album that Bennett listened to. Bennett considers West a huge influence on him and has said that he was inspired to begin rapping by West. Bennett and West met each other in August 2014 at Bonnaroo Music Festival.

Bennett began rapping in the sixth grade when his cousin let him start using his studio. In his freshman year at Jones College Prep High School, Bennett formed the hip-hop duo Instrumentality alongside a friend. Many of Chance's earliest performances took place at the YOUmedia Lyricist Loft at Harold Washington Library in Chicago. After placing second in a local songwriting contest, Bennett met then-Chicago Mayor, Richard M. Daley who enjoyed his music. Bennett spent most of his junior year and a small amount of his senior year writing a draft for his debut project, 10 Day, which was later released after Bennett was suspended for ten days after being caught smoking cannabis.

Music career

2011–2012: Career beginnings and

10 Day

At Jones College Prep High School, some of his teachers ridiculed his aspirations to become a musician. In early 2011 during his senior year, following a 10-day suspension for marijuana possession on campus, Bennett recorded his first full-length project, a mixtape entitled 10 Day (also known as #10Day). In December 2011, he released a song titled "Windows", and publicly announced his 10 Day project. In February 2012, Bennett was highlighted as one of Complex magazine's "10 New Chicago Rappers to Watch Out For". Bennett says he spent "about eight months recording, writing, and making connections off of the hunger to put out something". Bennett released the mixtape on April 3, 2012, and it has since been downloaded over 500,000 times via mixtape-sharing site DatPiff. The mixtape was well-received locally and helped Bennett make connections with producers such as Chuck Inglish, Kenny Jame$ and Blended Babies. The mixtape also grabbed the attention of Forbes magazine, which featured it in the publication's Cheap Tunes column.

2012–2015: Acid Rap and The Social Experiment

In July 2012, Bennett appeared on American rapper Childish Gambino's sixth mixtape, Royalty, on the track "They Don't Like Me". Gambino would go on to ask Bennett to join on his first concert tour of North America as his opening act.

On April 30, 2013, Bennett released his second mixtape, Acid Rap, on DatPiff. The record has been downloaded over 1.5 million times. Bennett enlisted guest appearances from Twista, Vic Mensa, Saba, BJ the Chicago Kid, Action Bronson, Childish Gambino and Ab-Soul. Acid Rap was well-received by critics. At Metacritic, the mixtape received an average score of 86, based on 21 critics, which indicates "universal acclaim". It was nominated for Best Mixtape at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards. On May 6, 2013, the song "Paranoia" (produced by Nosaj Thing), after initially being featured as a hidden track on Acid Rap, was released as a contribution to Yours Truly and Adidas originals' "Songs from Scratch" series.

In June 2013, Bennett was featured in a commercial for MySpace as part of their relaunch, alongside fellow American rappers Mac Miller, Pharrell Williams and Schoolboy Q, among others. In July 2013, Acid Rap debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, due to downloads on iTunes and Amazon. In August 2013, Bennett performed at the Chicago music festival Lollapalooza. Acid Rap was listed on multiple 50 best albums of 2013 lists, including 26th for Rolling Stone, 12th on Pitchfork's list, and ranked 4th by Complex. It was also listed as one of NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums of 2013. Bennett began his Social Experiment Tour in Champaign, Illinois, on October 25, 2013, lasting until December 19, 2013.

In March 2014, Bennett appeared in a shoppable online video for Dockers, promoting the brand's spring line, in which Bennett talks his style, love for creating music, and how it feels to live in Los Angeles. On May 5, 2014, XXL revealed Bennett was included in their annual freshman class, alongside fellow up-and-comers Isaiah Rashad, Ty Dolla $ign, Rich Homie Quan, Vic Mensa, August Alsina, Troy Ave, Kevin Gates, Lil Bibby, Jon Connor, Lil Durk and Jarren Benton. During Fall 2014, Bennett and other artists participated in Verge Campus tour. In November 2014, Bennett was presented Chicago's "Outstanding Youth of the Year Award" by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

In January 2015, Bennett was listed number 7 on the "Forbes 30 Under 30" 2015 music list. In March 2015, Bennett released a short film called Mr. Happy, which was directed by Colin Tilley. Mr. Happy centers around the main character, named Victor, who is struggling from depression and was attempting to commit suicide. After many failed attempts to kill himself, he discovers Mr. Happy. On April 30, 2015, Bennett gave a lecture at Harvard University's Hiphop Archive & Research Institute. Just before midnight on May 28, 2015, Surf was released for free on the American iTunes store as an iTunes Exclusive. The album received high acclaim from music critics, receiving an aggregate score of 86 on review site Metacritic, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 17 reviews. In June 2015, Bennett performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in the superjam concert collection. He also made a guest performance with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, on stage with Earth, Wind & Fire. On July 19, 2015, Bennett and Lil B announced that they recorded a collaborative mixtape. The two rappers released it on August 5, titled Free (Based Freestyles Mixtape).

On October 13, 2015, Bennett released a video for a new song, titled "Family Matters", on his website. The song, which shares the same name as his fall 2015 tour with D.R.A.M., Metro Boomin, Towkio (and Hiatus Kaiyote on select dates), is a rework of the Kanye West song "Family Business" from his 2004 album The College Dropout. A few days before this, a video surfaced online of Bennett performing a new song live, ending the song by saying the words "third mixtape", leading many to believe the wait might be coming to a close for his next release. On October 27, 2015, Bennett premiered a new song, titled "Angels" featuring Saba, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. On December 12, 2015, Bennett performed on Saturday Night Live, on a new song, titled "Somewhere in Paradise".

2016–present: Coloring Book and The Big Day

In 2016, Bennett was a prominent figure on Kanye West's album The Life of Pablo, co-writing and appearing on several tracks, including "Ultralight Beam", "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1", "Famous", "Feedback", and "Waves". According to West, the album's release was delayed due to Bennett's desire for "Waves" to make the album's final cut. Bennett was also featured on a track titled "Need To Know" on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's album This Unruly Mess I've Made. The following March, Bennett was featured on Skrillex's remix of Hundred Waters' "Show Me Love". On April 16, 2016, Chance and other musicians, including Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes, Janelle Monáe, and J. Cole, met with President Obama at the White House to discuss the My Brother's Keeper Challenge initiative.

On May 12, 2016, Chance's third mixtape, Coloring Book (promoted as Chance 3), was released, streaming exclusively on Apple Music. In the first week, the mixtape was streamed over 57.3 million times, which was equivalent to 38,000 units sold, debuting at number eight on the US Billboard 200 chart. It became the first release to chart solely on streams. The mixtape was met with widespread acclaim from music critics, and on review aggregator site Metacritic, received an average score of 89, based on 21 critics, which indicates "universal acclaim". On July 13, at the 2016 ESPY Awards show, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he performed a tribute song titled "I Was A Rock" for the late Muhammad Ali. On August 16, 2016, Chance wrote the single "We the People" paired in a Nike commercial titled "Unlimited Together", a film directed by Hiro Murai. A second commercial was released on October 4, by Nestlé, to promote the Kit Kat bar, with Chance starring in costume remixing their jingle. On September 15, 2016, Chance began his Magnificent Coloring World Tour in San Diego.

Bennett announced the Magnificent Coloring Tour with an event called Magnificent Coloring Day Festival at Chicago's Guaranteed Rate Field, with a line up including Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Skrillex, Tyler, the Creator and Lil Uzi Vert, taking place on September 24, 2016, being the first-ever music festival at U.S. Cellular Field. This one day festival event also featured a surprise appearance by Kanye West. Bennett launched a campaign in conjunction with rapperradio.com to get his music on the radio on August 17, 2016.

In September 2016, H&M solicited Bennett to headline their new campaign. In November 2016, he continued on the Magnificent Coloring World Tour, but cancelled the rest of his shows on the European leg due to personal reasons. In November 2016, Bennett announced during an interview with DJ Semtex that he was working on his debut album. Bennett was offered a chance to sign with Kanye West's GOOD Music in December 2016, though he refused due to his popularity as an independent artist and the freedom of not being attached to a label. In an August interview about his debut album, Bennett said he may sell the album, a departure from his previous projects' free distribution format. After a report was leaked claiming that audio distribution platform SoundCloud was close to bankruptcy and had laid off most of its workers, Bennett had a phone call with SoundCloud CEO Alex Ljung. Following the phone call, Bennett went onto Twitter, posting that SoundCloud is "here to stay". It was later reported that Bennett was just reflecting on what Ljung had previously published in a press release following the leak. Soon after, Bennett released a SoundCloud exclusive track with Young Thug called "Big B's" to benefit the platform, a surprise move that was planned in response to the SoundCloud bankruptcy leak.

In February 2017, Bennett performed at the 59th annual Grammy Awards, receiving 7 nominations and winning 3 Grammys. His performance featured Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann, along with a gospel choir and orchestra conducted by Tom Brooks. On July 13, Bennett performed a NPR Tiny Desk Concert where he recited an original poem. The poem, entitled "The Other Side", was crafted on his ride from his hotel, in Washington D.C., to the NPR music offices and was written with black marker on typing paper. Chance also performed, "Juke Jam", a song off of his album Coloring Book, and a cover to Stevie Wonder's song "They Won't Go When I Go" released in 1974.

In July 2017, Bennett was nominated for an Emmy Award for his song "Last Christmas" that was performed on Saturday Night Live. He shares the nomination with Kenan Thompson, Eli Brueggemann, and Will Stephen in the category for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. In August 2017, Bennett headlined day three of Lollapalooza at Grant Park in his hometown of Chicago. His performance drew record crowds with some estimates making it the largest attended performance in the event's history. In November 2017, Bennett curated and headlined the Obama Foundation community event at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The event capstoned the inaugural Obama Summit event which featured special guests including former President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Andra Day, Gloria Estefan, Aziz Ansari, Lena Waithe, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and more.

In 2018, he featured on "Logout", a song from Saba's album Care for Me and "Best Life" from Cardi B's debut album Invasion of Privacy, and released 4 new songs in July. Bennett performed at Mac Miller: A Celebration of Life on October 31, 2018, a tribute concert celebrating the recently passed rapper Mac Miller. On November 29, 2018, Bennett released 2 new songs, "My Own Thing" and "The Man Who Has Everything", and announced on February 11, 2019, that his debut album would be released sometime in July of that same year. During Super Bowl LII Bennett appeared alongside The Backstreet Boys in a commercial for Doritos with the two artist performing a remix of "I Want it That Way" In May of that year Bennett was featured in Ed Sheeran's song "Cross Me" On July 26, 2019, Bennett released his debut studio album The Big Day.

In 2019, he wrote the song "True Kinda Love" for Steven Universe: The Movie alongside Rebecca Sugar, James Fauntleroy, Macie Stewart, and Julian Sanchez, with vocals being performed by Estelle and Zach Callison. In December 2019, Bennett cancelled his "The Big World Tour" for the second time in order to spend time with his newborn daughter.

In January 2020, it was announced that Bennett will be the host of the reboot of Punk'd that will air on the streaming service Quibi.

Artistry

Musical style

Bennett has stated in interviews with XXL and Complex that Kanye West, James Brown, MC Hammer, Prince, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Young Thug, Lil Wayne, Esham, Eminem, Souls of Mischief and Freestyle Fellowship have influenced him. When asked about the gospel influences in his music, he also has stated that Kirk Franklin is one of his favorite artists, and his favorite composer.

Bennett's music has been described as versatile and uplifting. His music generally contains jazz-inspired melodies and gospel influences. Bennett's lyrics usually have references to Christian theology, his struggles with his faith and his upbringing. Chance incorporates choirs into his music to attempt to maximize the gospel undertones. Sharde' Chapman at HuffPost has described Bennett's lyrics as "creative" and "colorful".

Bennett often does traditional singing songs, and possesses a light-lyric tenor voice with an expansive vocal range that spans three octaves. Bennett's vocal range reaches its extreme low at the bass F♯ (F♯2), and rises to its peak high at the tenor high F (F5).

Fashion

Bennett's fashion style is a large part of his public image, and he has taken interest in the industry. Bennett has designed hats for the Chicago White Sox. The Hollywood Reporter has said that Bennett is "redefining fashion" with his style of generally wearing overalls and contesting traditional hip-hop fashion norms. Bennett wore a suit that was meant to imitate Michael Jackson at the 2017 BET Awards. Bennett was seen wearing Thom Browne clothing at the 2017 Grammys. Bennett has been known to wear a signature hat with the number three on it. “I’ve rationalized it to myself that it stands for the third mixtape, the Holy Trinity, and the three-pronged family of myself, my daughter, and my girl.” Bennett said in an interview in regards to the meaning of the number three.

Activism and politics

Bennett's father, Ken Bennett, has been involved in Democratic Party politics on the local and national level. Ken Bennett worked for Barack Obama as a presidential appointee and as an aide. Ken Bennett also worked on Obama's presidential campaign in 2008, and has worked as an aide to Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel and as 2019 Chicago mayoral campaign co-chair for Toni Preckwinkle. Despite his family's ties to the Democratic Party, Bennett has called himself an independent voter, though he has a history of supporting Democrats. Bennett volunteered with Barack Obama's reelection campaign by phonebanking in Hyde Park, Chicago and has given speeches at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.

In November 2014, Emanuel named Bennett as Chicago's Outstanding Youth of the Year for his activism. Bennett's work to support Chicago youth includes hosting Open Mike nights for Chicago-area high school students in collaboration with Chicago Public Library, which drew the attendance of fellow Chicago natives and celebrities like Hannibal Buress and Kanye West. In December 2015, Bennett joined with Detroit-based nonprofit group Empowerment Plan to start an initiative called Warmest Winter 2016. The initiative raised money to give 1,000 specially manufactured coats, which doubled as sleeping bags and shoulder bags, and were manufactured by homeless citizens of Detroit, to homeless citizens of Chicago. In June 2016, he hosted the Teens in the Park event, a free youth festival on Chicago's Northerly Island that drew an attendance of 3,300.

Bennett co-created a new nonprofit called SocialWorks in September 2016, an extension of his Open Mike program which aimed to create youth programs for residents of Chicago, among other goals. Open Mike nights and the Warmest Winter initiative later became part of SocialWorks.

Bennett has actively fought to combat gun violence in his hometown of Chicago and in 2014, along with his father, promoted the "#SaveChicago" campaign. The campaign sought to stop gun violence over Memorial Day Weekend. During 2014's Memorial Day weekend, Chicago went 42 straight hours without a shooting. Bennett met with President Obama at the White House on April 16, 2016, to discuss My Brother's Keeper Challenge, an initiative of the United States Federal Government to promote intervention by civic leaders in the lives of young men of color to address their unique challenges and to promote racial justice, with other musicians, including Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes, Janelle Monáe, J. Cole, and others. Bennett started a Twitter campaign for May 23, 2016 using #May23 to stop gun violence for 42 hours.

On March 6, 2017, after a meeting with Governor Bruce Rauner that did not go well only days before, Bennett announced his intention to donate $1,000,000 to Chicago Public Schools in order to help offset the lack of government funding provided. Following this, a movement arose to try and inspire Bennett to run for mayor of Chicago. This was backed by fellow media personalities including musician Drake.

Bennett is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, having criticized him numerous times and drawn comparisons to former President Barack Obama. During the 2016 Presidential election, Bennett said he was not scared of a Trump presidency. When asked why by GQ, Bennett said "You gotta just understand, like, shit has been fucked-up, right? Like, 'Make America Great Again', that's not a real thing because shit ain't really switched up for [white middle class]". Bennett endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton on October 6, 2016, expressing concerns about the way she was treated in the media and also expressing that she could "fix Chicago" and led a "march" to numerous polling stations with thousands of Chicagoans. Following the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, Bennett said "Trump was going to win, anybody in the world who's surprised by the election of Donald Trump has been ignorant of racism, and the tides and patterns of American history and world history." In February 2017, Bennett posted publicly on Twitter that he was worried President Trump was going to change constitutional term limits. Bennett has compared Trump's fascination with Chicago to "going to war". In August 2017, Bennett claimed to have a "bigger voice than Donald Trump". Bennett also became an outspoken critic of Chicago Mayor Emanuel later in his term, though his father had worked for Emanuel and he himself had earlier accepted Emanuel's support.

Bennett has been an active Twitter user, with several of his tweets on social issues going viral. For example, Bennett garnered attention from Time magazine when he tweeted criticism of an article titled "In Wake of Weinstein, Men Wonder If Hugging Women Still OK". Following Kanye West's Tweets announcing his support of Donald Trump in April 2018, Bennett tweeted in support of West's freedom to choose to be Republican, sparking controversy among his fanbase. Trump later tweeted thanking Bennett for his support of West, though Bennett disavowed Trump's praise.

In July 2018, Bennett purchased the Chicago journalism website Chicagoist from WNYC. The website had been inactive since it was abruptly shut down by former owner Joe Ricketts in November 2017, and Bennett planned to relaunch the website later in 2018. Chicagoist did not relaunch in 2018, and it is currently planning a 2019 reopening, according to its website.

In the 2019 Chicago mayoral election, Bennett was an active supporter of Amara Enyia. Bennett initially endorsed Enyia at a press conference in October 2018. Bennett campaigned with Enyia and made major donations to her mayoral bid. Fellow rapper and Chicago native Kanye West also donated to Enyia's campaign. In the February 2019 election, Enyia finished fifth out of fourteen candidates, and did not advance to the mayoral runoff. Lori Lightfoot and Preckwinkle, who had hired Chance's father as campaign co-chair, instead advanced to the runoff. In the runoff, Bennett endorsed Preckwinkle, criticizing Lightfoot as having worked against the interests of Chicago's black community.

In 2020, Bennett will be honored by Unicef at their annual gala in Chicago with the UNICEF Chicago Humanitarian Award.

Personal life

Bennett lives in his hometown, Chicago. Bennett once shared a house in North Hollywood with James Blake. Describing his time in North Hollywood, Bennett called it "ungodly". After graduating from high school, Bennett attended a community college for a week before dropping out. Bennett has taken numerous recreational drugs during his lifetime, including LSD and Xanax, but has since stepped away from them.

Family

His younger brother, Taylor Bennett, is also a rapper. Both brothers began rapping at the same time and have a similar style. Both the rappers also draw inspiration from Chicago native Kanye West.

In July 2015, Bennett announced that he was expecting his first child with his girlfriend Kirsten Corley, whom he began to date in 2013. In September 2015, Corley gave birth to their daughter, Kensli. Kensli was kept out of social media until December 31, 2016, when Bennett posted a picture of her on Instagram. In May 2016, after they had stopped living together, Corley wanted the courts to declare Bennett as the father of their daughter, requiring him to pay child support.

In February 2017, Bennett's child support case reopened in an attempt to work out child support terms and a parenting schedule as Bennett and Corley moved to separate residences. The Chicago Sun-Times published an article about a dispute between the two in March 2017. Bennett replied to the article saying "Y'all better do y'all jobs and stop worrying about how good my family is. Just a friendly reminder. Don't let anybody get between you and your family." On March 21, 2017, the dispute was settled out of court. Corley and Bennett reconciled, and on July 4, 2018, they became engaged after 5 years together. The two married on March 9, 2019 at the Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, California with guests including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

Bennett spends much of his free time with his daughter, and frequently takes her on outings. These have included a Chicago Bulls basketball game, meeting the Obamas and working out.

In September 2019, Chance's wife Kirsten announced they had their second daughter named Marli.

Christianity

Bennett is a Christian and refers to Jesus Christ in many of his songs. Bennett was raised as a Christian by his grandmother but later fell out of the faith. He rediscovered his faith when his daughter was born with atrial flutter. Speaking about the situation, Bennett said "[I just] pray a whole lot, you know, and need a lot of angels and just see shit in a very, like, direct way. And…you know, God bless everything, it worked out well." Bennett wrote on Twitter following the situation on January 31, 2016, "Today's the last day my old life, last day smoking cigs. Headed to church for help. All things are possible thru Christ who strengthens me."

Bennett has labelled himself as a Christian rapper following the release of his mixtape Coloring Book. Bennett believes that God is to thank for his blessings and his success. He has attended multiple dates for Kanye West's Sunday Service, most notably performing his verse on "Ultralight Beam" at Coachella 2019 and in his hometown at Chicago's Huntington Bank Pavilion.

Discography

10 Day (2012)

Acid Rap (2013)

Coloring Book (2016)

The Big Day (2019)

#04/16

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dumbhypmicheadcanons · 6 years ago

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the truth of when hypmic takes place: part two

Now that I have argued my point, it is time to actually use this information. Let’s start with birth years for everyone. This is, of course, assuming that the HypMic universe is currently at the date of 7/7/27, because this theory (and everything else tbh) revolves around Dice and Dice’s birthday. So, without further ado…

Jakurai: January 9th, 1992

Doppo: May 15th, 1998

Jyuto: May 30th, 1998

Hifumi: June 22nd,1998

Rio: June 21st, 1999

Samatoki: November 11th, 2001

Ramuda: February 14th, 2003

Gentaro: April 1st, 2003

Dice: July 7th, 2007

Ichiro: July 26th, 2007

Jiro: February 6th, 2010

Saburo: December 16th, 2012

These dates could easily be moved around if you change up which day we’re going by, for example, if we changed it to be December 31st, many of these characters would have been born a year later. These are simply estimates, but they are close enough for them to be useful.

So, with this information, let me tell tell you a thing. Jakurai? A millennial, through and through. He’s also a real 90’s kid. Jyuto, Doppo, Hifumi, and Rio are all fake 90’s kids that no one respects because they can’t remember shit about the 90’s. They, and potentially Samatoki, Ramuda, and Gentaro, all grew up thinking they were millennials but then people started calling them Gen Z and no one is quite sure which they are because they’re in that middle ground. The rest? Gen Z. They’re all constantly joking about how they want to die and playing Fortnite. Also, Saburo was born only days before everyone thought the world was going to end. This means there is a possibility that the bros are orphans because their parents drank like it was the end of the world because they thought it genuinely was and then they died.

I am aware that Japan almost definitely doesn’t have the same generational structure as the west, and I have been told that all of the characters were born in the Heisei era, but I have no clue what that means and I’m pretty sure Japanese people don’t stereotype people based on which emperor was ruling when they were born??? Eh maybe they do. I’m not an expert. However, we’re not here today to learn the good info and make accurate posts, we’re here for me to project myself onto these characters. So now, using these dates, lets analyze the childhoods of everything… through my American eyes.

Jakurai is a 90′s kid, which means he grew up in the prime era of moon shoes, tamagotchi, furbies, and of course, the gameboy. Jakurai played the original Pokemon games because he was Cultured like that.

Doppo, having no friends, absolutely started playing Pokemon when he was old enough to know how to press buttons. He probably really wanted to play Gold and Silver, but they came out before he knew how to read and his parents didn’t want to buy him some random video game. As soon as Ruby and Sapphire were released, however, he cried for days until his parents finally gave up and got him a copy of Sapphire. He played the fucking shit out of it, his first starter was a Mudkip and he adored it. When he and Hifumi met, he was appalled that Hifumi had never played Pokemon before and practically forced Hifumi to get a copy of Ruby so they could trade and battle each other. Doppo was such a hardo, he had a perfectly balanced team that could overcome pretty much any type weakness and he leveled up all of his Pokemon and tried to teach them really good moves. Hifumi literally just caught any cute looking Pokemon and didn’t train them at all. He never beat the Elite Four. His starter was a Torchic but as soon as it evolved into a Combusken he started crying because his adorable fire-chicken turned into a weird fighting penis-chicken but he still loved it and tried his best. Hifumi’s favorite part of the game was contests. They continued playing Pokemon for years and they still play it even in 2027, they will always buy the latest game no matter how old they get. Hifumi still sucks at it but Doppo doesn’t mind. They bought the game for Jakurai and got him to play it and he is so confused because like??? Horde battles? Mega-evolution?? What the fuck is this new shit he hasn’t picked up a game since Platinum??? And yet even without knowing what the fuck he’s doing, Jakurai is still better at the game than both of his other teammates and they don’t understand how he’s managed to perfectly EV train his team when he has never heard of EVs before.

Gentaro and Ramuda were around 7 when Silly Bandz got big. We all know that Ramuda fuckin loved those things. He was the kid who made his parents buy all of the newest designs, he would always make unfair trades with other kids like “I’ll give you my tiger if you give me your penguin, dolphin, and princess.” Ramuda was also the kid who had so, so many of them and he would wear all of them at the same time so he always had to be sent to the nurse for potentially cutting off circulation to his hands because he had Silly Bandz, in rainbow order because he was good at art class, from his wrists up to his shoulders. Ramuda got them banned from his school and every one in a 20-mile radius.

Now, let’s look at how old these characters all are today, this very day, April 22nd, 2019 (in my timezone). This is accounting for birthdays that have already happened, but if you are seeing this post at a much later date it will probably be wrong. It also will need to be adjusted if you don’t believe the Hypmic universe revolves around Dice like I do. However, the ages are close enough for shitposting purposes.

Jakurai: 27

Doppo, Jyuto, Hifumi: 20

Rio: 19

Samatoki: 17

Ramuda, Gentaro: 16

Dice, Ichiro: 11

Jiro: 9

Saburo: 6

What does this mean? Well, it means a lot of things.

Jiro is playing Fortnite at this very moment, yelling Russian slurs at random-ass people. Several other characters could also be playing Fortnite, like Dice, but Jiro is that fuckin kid that keeps beating the shit out of you and spending all of his brother’s money on v-bucks. Saburo is just a little boy, probably dealing with Jiro playing Fortnite at every opportunity. I don’t know what six-year-olds do with their time in this day and age but if I had to guess from the ones who constantly yell at each other in my vicinity, it would probably be roasting each other and playing Fortnite so… I guess Saburo is roasting Jiro over Fortnite?

The 29-year-olds are currently 20 which means they are adults in Japan and can get drunk off their asses legally! It also means they’re probably in college and their bloodstreams have been replaced with vodka and ecstasy. Jyuto does not have ecstasy in his system because he wants people to stop being drug addicts but he does keep going to parties and offering to be a stripper as long as he gets paid.

Samatoki is running a hardcore feminist Tumblr blog right now. Some people think it’s creepy that a 17 year old boy is reblogging posts that say something along the lines of “All men should fucking die they’re all scum” but he’s just being respectful.

Gentaro? He’s writing fanfiction now. That really nicely written rarepair slowburn with a bunch of poetic smut in the later chapters? Gentaro wrote that. He’s got some drafts for an original story he wants to write but he keeps putting it off and writing fanfiction instead.

There’s definitely other shit that I’m forgetting but these are my interpretations of Hypmic life that I can remember. Feel free to fight me or add your own interpretations, whichever makes you happier.

#hypmic #hypnosis mic #theory #shitpost #dumb headcanons #long post #fling posse #buster bros #matenrou #mad trigger crew #2027 theory

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prettywordsyouleft · 6 years ago

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Requests are opening 27th-30th April! GUIDELINES

Hey everyone! Just giving you all a heads up on my upcoming available request slots! Every second month currently I will be aiming to open my requests in the last 4 days of the month and completing them within the following month!

So we are setting up for May! Here are some guidelines for you all!

I will only be accepting requests between the 27th - 30th April NZST (so for most people outside of my timezone that is 26th - 29th). Any that come in before or after will not be accepted to keep this fair.

I am only accepting up to eight requests so I can complete them all in the month of May.

Once I have received all eight requests, I will close the requests. If I don’t receive eight by the 30th, I will go with whatever number I end up with.

I will not be accepting Different Kisses, Domestic or Boyfriend! scenarios at this time sorry. I have some sitting in my inbox that I’d like to slowly make my way through since I agreed to doing them.

Fiction scenarios/ oneshots / AU / tropes are welcome!

Please don’t send in super specific ideas. It defeats the purpose of me being able to write something for you when you have already got the entire story drafted out! I will politely decline ideas that I feel I cannot do/are too specific.

Please only one idea per person. I’m trying to be fair since the slots are limited, so I won’t be able to write more than one piece per person.

If you request on anon, please check my PENDING REQUESTS list within 24hrs for update of your request being listed. If you send it through with your username, I will message you privately to let you know I have received your request!

As per my GUIDELINES, I don’t accept some genres so please check them out before requesting if you have any queries about your ideas.

Drabble Game requests are not affected by this. They remain open at all times and I simply fit them into my schedule where I can.

For the month of May, I will only be accepting up to three GOT7 requests. April has been very GOT7 based, and whilst I love writing for them, this blog is multi-fandom and I’d like to get a little more variety back into my posting. There will already be 2 posts a week that are GOT7 related with my ongoing series for those who love my content about the boys.

Any questions, feel free to message my inbox/me privately. I’m so excited to finally be able to offer you all the opportunity to request ideas again.

#pwyl; requests

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your-dietician · 3 years ago

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2021 NHL Draft Profile: Ville Koivunen

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/nhl/2021-nhl-draft-profile-ville-koivunen/

2021 NHL Draft Profile: Ville Koivunen

Since I started becoming an amateur (but enthusiastic) prospect writer, I’ve noticed that European prospects seem to be underrated in Bob McKenzie’s rankings and actual draft position. And by European, I don’t just mean that they played in European leagues like Liiga, SHL, KHL, and all their junior leagues. I also include prospects who are European and playing in North American junior leagues.

Last year, when Bob McKenzie released his final rankings for the 2020 draft, I compared his rankings against the consolidated ‘consensus’ rankings from all the major public scouting sources. I never wound up publishing it, but here were the top 10 prospects who had the biggest drop in their rankings from the public scouts vs McKenzie’s list:

Zion Nybeck: -43

Kasper Simontaival: -36

Emil Andrae: -36

Alexander Pashin: -35

Martin Chromiak: -29

Carter Savoie: -28

Sean Farrell: -27

Roni Hirvonen: -21

Tyler Tullio: -18

Jan Mysak: -15

Five of the top 10, including the top four in that list, played in European leagues the whole season. Two others were European, and split their season with half the games in a European league and half played in the CHL. Another thing that is common to all of these prospects is that they are almost all 6’0” or shorter. Small and European? Yuck! The last observation I can make is that these are all guys who are typically not ranked in the first round, even by the public scouting people. And if they are, it’s just inside the top 30, so they’re not considered truly elite, top 10 prospects.

I will add a caveat to not take the specific numbers that seriously. My general point is that Bob McKenzie’s rankings have been shown to be the most accurate ranking in terms of predicting the actual draft results, but even he is not perfect — especially in later rounds. What the above is meant to show is that many NHL teams seem to undervalue European players.

Now, we know Dubas hunts for “value” in his draft strategy. That’s why he has typically taken smaller players, and overagers who have shown signs of being late bloomers and worth a later pick. So I think it is worth recognizing that last year with 12 picks, he took Europeans with seven of his top eight picks. I’m feeling a bit proud that I had spotted the big discrepancy between how public scouts ranked Europeans, and how Bob McKenzie/the NHL did before Dubas made all those choices.

Which brings me to Ville Koivunen. He is not an elite prospect, and he doesn’t necessarily have any elite skills. But he is a very good and interesting prospect, and, if Bob McKenzie’s mid-season rankings are any indication, he’s being very undervalued.

THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT

Ville Koivunen is listed as 6’0” winger, and also pretty slight at 165 lbs. He played his full season in Finland’s U20 junior league. Between being an average-height but pencil-thin forward, and playing in a European junior league, he meets the two requirements to go undervalued at the NHL draft mentioned above.

But he has some solid numbers at every level in which he has played this year.

He played for Kärpät’s U20 junior team. He finished 3rd in the league in points with 49 in 38 games, which also led the league among other draft eligible players by eight points. As a result, he was also named the Rookie of the Year for the league. The previous season, Koivunen played in the U18 level and led the league with 71 points in 37 games. It was a six point cushion over second place, who also played in nine more games than Koivunen.

But Finnish junior league is not the strongest competition, so it’s also good to know how he played against tougher competition that is also his age. This year, he played for Finland at the U18 World Junior Championship, where he finished tied for 5th in points with 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 7 games. Last year, he finished third on Finland’s U17 team with 11 points in 16 games. Quite simply, Koivunen has produced everywhere and every level he’s played.

Here are his draft rankings, as of writing this:

Bob McKenzie: 91st

Will Scouch: 26th

Scott Wheeler: 43rd

Elite Prospects: 34th

Dobber Prospects: 61st

Smaht Scouting: 30th

THE GOOD: COMPLETE OFFENSIVE PACKAGE

In an earlier profile, I wrote that Logan Stankoven was so interesting as a prospect because he had no big weakness offensively while he has elite skills almost across the board. If you take that same sentiment, but replace “elite” with “very good”, you describe Koivunen.

His greatest strength is as a playmaker. He has good vision and accurate passing, and he doesn’t just make easy, safe passes to wide open teammates. His passing helps with zone exits and zone entries, and setting up dangerous scoring chances in the offensive zone. But it goes beyond that, to the point that I’m almost willing to call him an elite playmaker, but I’d want to see how his playmaking holds up in the Liiga against professional competition. Here’s what Josh Tessler from Smaht Scouting says:

Koivunen is a crafty passer. As shown above, he can generate great accuracy on his backhand attempts. But, he has also proven that he can complete crisp diagonal feeds and smooth tape-to-tape feeds with a light gentle release. You can also expect Koivunen to place deceptive drop passes. He will skate with the puck in one direction, a teammate will follow, grab possession of the puck off of the drop pass and go in the opposite direction.

Here’s a great example of Koivunen’s puck handling, skating, and playmaking setting up a goal. He is #14 in white, and the one carrying the puck for the whole start of the clip.

Lukko and Kärpät are tied at 1-1 after 20 minutes of play. Aleksi Antti-Roiko opened the scoring for Kärpät after a nice setup by #2021NHLDraft prospect Ville Koivunen. Jeremi Tammela would tie the game late in the period. SOG 13-9 for Kärpät. #U20SM #Game2 pic.twitter.com/hmQfFetSzf

— Finnish Jr Hockey (@FINjrhockey) April 7, 2021

The other standout skill, which I have trouble separating from his playmaking because that’s where it shows up the strongest, is how smart and clever Koivunen is with and without the pick. He can anticipate play well and use several tricks to create more dangerous scoring chances, for himself and his teammates. But he also anticipates plays defensively, to get the puck back and go the other way. That has helped him create very strong possession numbers wherever he has played. Here’s what Marco Bambino from McKeen’s Hockey says:

Koivunen is a highly intelligent player and his hockey sense has stood out in my viewings, from the U16’s up to the U20 league. He has patience, puck poise and he consistently chooses the best option while pressured. He has superb offensive vision: when he sees an opportunity, he will take an advantage of it. He is alert in his own end and his stick placement enables him to intercept passes and strip players off the puck, making it difficult for opposing teams to establish offensive zone pressure. He plays smart both offensively and defensively.

Lastly, we come to Koivunen’s skating. While he is not the fastest skater you will see, he is very agile and maneuverable, and his speed is good to very good. This is something that helps him with his playmaking, because he is very adept at using quick cuts and sudden changes in direction to elude defenders and open up better passing or shooting lanes in the slot. From Curtis Schwartzkopf at Future Considerations:

Koivunen has great balance on his feet and has surprising strength in front of the net when battling for position for someone weighing 161 pounds. He has good awareness about when to start breaking out of the zone to make himself open for a pass and does this by keeping his feet moving up ice. One thing that stuck out was how Koivunen would come to a complete stop to change direction instead of a long sweeping turn which gave him an edge in chasing down the play. Koivunen seems to always keep his body square to the puck which makes him always open for a pass. Finding open ice seems to come easy to Koivunen as he scored his goal by discretely sliding into a wide open area in the slot for a point blank chance he buried.

This is a good example of how Koivunen uses his skating to set up a good shooting chance for himself:

Going back and watching a bunch of Ville Koivunen as a I prepare for my report on him.

Koivunen LOVES to play the puck up the boards, cut in as soon as he has cleared the perimeter, goes to the slot and fires a wrist shot. It’s like clockwork and he thrives at it.#2021NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/w9BxDE4skb

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) May 4, 2021

The overall profile for Ville Koivunen is as a jack of all trades, but a master of one (maybe one). He is an extremely solid all-round player everywhere on the ice. He is one of the better defensive wingers in this draft, but doesn’t lack for offensive talent either. I may have some questions on how much both his offense and defense would play up at higher levels, but he has time to develop and get stronger as he plays up in the Liiga, AHL, and NHL. What you cannot deny is that his skills and his statistical profile are extremely impressive, even for the level he played.

Here are some good clips of his two-way play without the puck:

Ville Koivunen was named the rookie of the year in FIN U20 league. A smart, skilled and unselfish winger who creates lots of offense. But his ability to win possession also makes him tough to play against. Here are some takeaways and pass interceptions from No. 14. #2021NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/6yFdR2URD4

— Marco Bombino (@marco_bombino) April 8, 2021

If you look at the manual tracking data from either Lassi Alanen (free) or Will Scouch (paywall), you will see that he leads or is among the leaders in just about every category. He drives possession, he drives dangerous scoring chances while suppressing them by the other team, and he drives zone exits and entries on transition.

THE FLAWS: NO ELITE SKILLS

This is my only question about Koivunen. He has a solid all-round skillset, with no big weaknesses. But there are some skills that are only good or okay, and may hold him back in the future, unless he improves on them. The two things that come through from the games I had seen, and what I’ve seen other scouts say, are his skating and his shot.

I feel like the issues with his skating is a bit nitpicky, but it does exist. While he is quick and agile, his top speed could wind up be lacking at higher levels. Because of how effective he can be in terms of quick changes of direction and sharp cuts, I don’t think he’s lacking for athleticism. It sounds like something that may be more an issue of strength and mechanics, both of which are things that can be worked on. From Marco Bambino, at the same link as above:

If there is one particular area which requires improvement, it would be his skating. He often takes wide turns and glides on the ice a bit too much for my liking, instead of using his edges more consistently. Additionally, his knee bend and ankle flexion are not optimal. His acceleration does not give him a considerable advantage either. Although his skating is not high end right now, I think it is largely caused by his raw physique. I firmly believe that Koivunen will improve his speed, acceleration and edge work as he gets stronger.

The other nitpicky thing is that Koivunen doesn’t really have a great shot. Again, this seems to be something due to strength and mechanics. From Josh Tessler at Smaht Scouting:

While Koivunen has proven to be an effective goal scorer at the U20 level, there is work to be done on his shot. Right off the bat, he will generate good height when scoring goals, but it is far from consistent. One of the things that I noticed about his shot is that his stick blade will occasionally be closed and not open. You need your stick blade to be more open (raised) in order to generate height. In addition to generating height, I’ve also noticed that Koivunen will struggle with shooting accuracy and shot selection in well-defended situations.

When it comes to his shot, it’s not something that has prevented Koivunen from scoring a good amount of goals at any level he’s played… so far. He’s gotten by to date by taking shots from dangerous locations. You don’t need an elite shot to be a good goal scorer, after all. But as he plays against better defenses who are able to block him off or push him out of those dangerous areas, he’s not likely to be a 30+ goal scorer in the NHL. But he could be a 15-20 goal guy that drives good results and gets to 50-60 points based on his playmaking.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Bob McKenzie has said ahead of his final rankings that there will be some dramatic changes compared to his mid-season rankings. He tied that the U18 tournament, where some prospects got a lot more attention or even got to play at all. Ville Koivunen was fantastic in the tournament, as an example, so even if he was originally ranked at the end of the third round before, he may shoot up into the second round now.

My original hope was that he would stay somewhere in the third round, so the Leafs could trade down and get him AND another good prospect for the range. That may or not be realistic now, depending on how the final rankings change to give us an indication of what NHL teams are thinking.

The other thing is that, by all accounts, Koivunen got must stronger down the stretch. Some public scouting reports I read on Koivunen weren’t too high on him on early-season viewings, but those same people started to rave about him more leading into, during, and after the U18s. I think he is someone a lot of teams like and are hoping to get later, but that also may mean some team may take him earlier.

I don’t know why but I tend to like jack of all trades prospects, even if they don’t have a high end elite skill to carry him. Not that Koivunen is perfect, but he is just solid in so many important areas, and his flaws are things that can be fixed. He has the foundation of being a very useful two-way winger who can influence both sides of the ice, more than you’d expect of an average winger prospect.

If neither Stankoven or Morrow fall that far, Koivunen is one of my first choices for the Leafs to take with their second round pick — whether they trade down once or not.

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thebookrat · 7 years ago

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A quick note: joining us today is Margaret Peterson Haddix, one of the few (there were a grand total of 2) authors my non-reading sister has ever enthusiastically read and pushed on me. In addition to this guest post and giveaway, Margaret will be hosting a Twitter Takeover on @YoungEntMag on April 23rd, from 7-9pm ET. Margaret will be discussing some of her “firsts” and answering reader questions about her books, so make sure to stop by and check it out!

Welcome to Day #2 of The Summer of Broken Things Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of The Summer of Broken Things on April 10th, blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Margaret Peterson Haddix and 10 chances to win a copy of the book!

Atocha Memorial

My daughter and I were lost.

We were holding a map of Madrid in our hands, and we knew both the name of the street we were on and the nearest intersection. So our problem wasn’t exactly that we were geographically lost, but that the landmark we expected to see before us—a memorial to the victims of train bombings in 2004—was nowhere in sight.

So maybe the problem was that the memorial was lost?

It was the hottest day of our August 2015 trip to Spain for me to do research for my book, THE SUMMER OF BROKEN THINGS. The two of us were already sweaty and thirsty and exhausted from hours of walking around looking at other sites I intended to use in the book.

“Maybe the map’s just a little off, and it’s actually in the next block,” I suggested.

“If we ever find this place and then your editor makes you cut that scene from your book, I’m going to be so mad,” my daughter groused.

And… that made me give up. Because I didn’t know for sure if I was going to mention the Atocha train station memorial (also known as the 11-M Memorial) in my book. I wasn’t entirely certain which of the sites we’d visited would find their way into the first draft of the book, let alone stay around for the final version. That’s the nature of research trips, at least the way I do them—I never entirely know what’s going to be important, so I try to see and do as much as I can.

But that afternoon I decided it was time to be kind to my daughter and go get something cold to drink instead of continuing our search. She was along as my combination tour guide and translator, since her Spanish skills are far superior to mine and she’d actually spent a semester studying in Spain only a year and a half before. And amazingly--given the pace of our trip and our jet lag and all the other things that can go wrong during travel--we really only had that one moment of grouchiness with each other.

That evening back in our (air-conditioned) Airbnb apartment, I doubled down on my internet research, and re-convinced myself that the Atocha memorial could end up playing a vital role in my book. And the next morning, better rested and less grumpy, we walked right to it.

The secret was that it was mostly underground, which I saw as a perfect metaphor for both grief and the underlying problems my main characters, Avery and Kayla, have in THE SUMMER OF BROKEN THINGS. The only way to get into the memorial is to first walk through the train station. And I really do not blame the people who run the train station for not having a lot of signs directing visitors to the memorial—I took several trains in and out of Atocha station myself that week, and I didn’t want to be reminded every time that it had been the site of a terrorist bombing killing 191 people not that long ago.

But I found myself in awe of the memorial itself. In one sense, it is only a dark, empty room, sealed off from the rest of the train station by thick, mostly soundproof glass that makes the ordinary scene outside seem surreal. Isolated in that room, I wondered if that’s what it might feel like to be a ghost, to hover near the living but not be able to reach or speak to them.

The main light in that memorial comes from above, from a funnel of words on translucent plastic. The words are the expressions of grief in multiple languages that flowed into Madrid after the bombing. They make a twisting spiral of sorrow and condolences, woe and comfort.

The morning we were there, my daughter and I had the memorial to ourselves; nobody else visited. I wondered if that was a sign that, after more than a decade, the grieving survivors of those who died in the 11-M bombing have less of a need for the memorial.

But the room’s stillness and condolences might still serve as a beacon for others who are lost or in pain.

And s of course I ended up placing the Atocha memorial in my book. It becomes an important place for Kayla at a time when she’s also lost and struggling and in need of comfort. And then eventually Avery finds solace there, too.

Some lost places are worth searching for.

*****

Blog Tour Schedule:

April 16th — BookhoundsYA April 17th — The Book Rat April 18th — Book Briefs April 19th — Parajunkee April 20th — A Dream Within a Dream April 23rd — Crossroad Reviews April 24th — I Am a Reader April 25th — Page Turners April 26th — Once Upon a Twilight April 27th — Tales of the Ravenous Reader

Buy: Amazon | Indiebound

Add on Goodreads

Follow Margaret: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

From New York Times bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix comes a haunting novel about friendship and what it really means to be a family in the face of lies and betrayal. Fourteen-year-old Avery Armisted is athletic, rich, and pretty. Sixteen-year-old Kayla Butts is known as “butt-girl” at school. The two girls were friends as little kids, but that’s ancient history now. So it’s a huge surprise when Avery’s father offers to bring Kayla along on a summer trip to Spain. Avery is horrified that her father thinks he can choose her friends—and make her miss soccer camp. Kayla struggles just to imagine leaving the confines of her small town. But in Spain, the two uncover a secret their families had hidden from both of them their entire lives. Maybe the girls can put aside their differences and work through it together. Or maybe the lies and betrayal will only push them—and their families—farther apart. Margaret Peterson Haddix weaves together two completely separate lives in this engaging novel that explores what it really means to be a family—and what to do when it’s all falling apart.

About the Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix is the author of many critically and popularly acclaimed YA and middle grade novels, including the Children of Exile series, The Missing series, the Under Their Skin series, and the Shadow Children series. A graduate of Miami University (of Ohio), she worked for several years as a reporter for The Indianapolis News. She also taught at the Danville (Illinois) Area Community College. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio.

GIVEAWAY

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Please do not leave any sensitive info (addresses, emails, etc) in the comments!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway via The Book Rat

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firefliesinthenightsky · 5 years ago

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Chapter 1.

30th June, 2020

06:51 PM

Delhi

So I ditched. I thought I’d do this everyday. Vent out what I carried in my heart, for the world to hear. I almost wrote my second draft, too. But so much happened in life simultaneously, that I found myself battling the dilemma whether I should not think about the ugly memories, and let positivity wash my conscience, or to vent out everything I had bottled inside me. As I sat to do the latter, I found myself thinking hard, precisely of every memory that I had so deeply etched in my mind, that life became unmanageable to live!

So, I cut off. I didn't write. Instead, I bought a lot of books that I would read (another habit that had gotten washed away with time). One of the books that a friend suggested was, “The Power of your Subconscious Mind”. It gave me so much peace as I read it. It became my Bible. Few things among the many that I carry from this book are -

All religions of the world represent forms of belief, and these beliefs are explained in many ways. The law of life is belief. What do you feel about yourself, life, and the universe? It’s done unto you as you believe.

This book had a huge impact on my life, or at least I believe so. Whenever I feel depressed, anxious, have panic attacks, or something bad happens in my life, (all of which is happening currently), I open any page, literally any page of this book, and start reading anything that appears in front of my eyes. This book gives me enormous positivity.

If you ever feel lack of motivation, blindly go through this book and try to understand each word that has been mentioned. For if you believe, you’ll conquer your mind.

I try my level best to follow every and each word written in there. Though I admit, it is beyond difficult for me currently.

Another thing I realised from the time that I went through in the past month was - NOTHING IS PERMANENT.

This was the first love of my life. I had spoken to this person for the first time on 25th November, 2012. I was in 11th grade. Three months down, he proposed. Another one month, I said yes. And thus followed the pangs of the “first love”. Those sleepless nights after a tiring day, spent talking to him. The butterflies in your tummy when you hear their voice after a long day. “We were just kids when we fell in love, not knowing what it was...” Ed Sheeran definitely wrote this one for us. Haha. Oh wait, actually he didn't. He also said, “I will not give you up, this time!” An utter joke, in our case.

I learnt, on 8th June, 2020, that the man I loved deeply, and with all my being, for 7 years of my life, never actually loved me. Or even if he did, he “un-loved” long back. “Un-Loving” - a concept I was still to learn. Love, had always been a one-way road to me so far. The truths I grew up believing went for a toss in a jiffy. I will dedicate an entire chapter to this person. Hopefully.

Then comes the second love of my life. Somebody whom I had fallen in love with on October, 2018. Or so I like to believe. Along with the supreme love he gave me, he had done some really horrific things, too. With him, I, for the first time in my life, got to know what love tastes like. I had never been cared for, loved and been cherished anytime, prior to him coming in my life. But, as I said, he was a man of extremes. If I saw the highest intensity of love on one side, I also saw the utmost intensity of possessiveness, distrust and disloyalty on the other. He obsessively compulsively lied. And so, after putting up with it for approximately a year, on April, 2020. I gave up.

I miss him. I hate to say I do. And all my friends tell me I'm a girl with such low self esteem to say that I do. ...But I do. I don't blame them for thinking what they do, because, nobody was “me” while growing up. Losing my Dad at 12, never having been close to family, not choosing to have many real true friends, having lost at love with the man I gave my entire being to, being with this person was “solace” for me. The few good times we spent together, those hugs, felt heavenly. I became that little girl around him again, who had a place to rest her head, like I did on Dad’s chest and feel like maybe for that minute, the entire pain evaporated. For those 3 minutes of the day, I found peace.

But then the distrust and the disloyalties would kick in again. I was so constantly lied to, that there came a point where everything that came out of that man’s mouth seemed to be a lie. I was in a constant state of tension and unhappiness all the time. So much so that, maybe that became the new normal for me. I didn’t remember the last time I was internally happy. Or had my heartiest laugh. I don't know if he was actually lying half times, but my intuition, my gut told me he is an obsessive compulsive liar. 26th April, 2020, I was left with no choice, than to leave. I will dedicate an entire chapter to this person in my blogs to come, too. Hopefully.

The third thing I realised was, not everybody is your “friend”. It’s a heavy word, you know, being a “friend”. So for me, being the girl who had grown up in a boarding school since she was 7, the word held a much more greater significance than most people I had been calling “friends” for most of my life. I, being the person who would cross boundaries for being there for my friends, I realised, that the ones I expected to do the same for me when I was at my lowest, did not! But again, our pain and our suffering is very subjective to us, and of course, maybe I was wrong to expect another human being to share it with me. Another concept which went for a toss in the past month. We’ll talk about it too, sometime. Our suffering, is our own.

The last thought, before I wrote this blog today was, “...maybe that's why they say, after the darkest hour of the night, shines the first ray of sunlight?” Isn't it? I’m sure in this process of “moving on”, that all of us would so well be acquainted with by now, I would have some better and some crazy bad days as well. But, maybe that's how it is, right? The darkest hour of my night might be going on, but trust me, as Joseph Murphy recently taught me, that if I constantly kept imagining about the first ray of sunshine, that when it touches me, would eventually melt down the ice that's been frozen on my conscious and subconscious self over all this time, the supreme intelligence or the supreme power that exists, that most of us call “God”, would eventually make that happen. It will come to pass.

He says, “We are, what we think.” And even though right now it takes every ounce of energy in me to think what he expects me to, since the dark seems prolonging and never ending at the moment, I know there's always light at the end of the tunnel. And so, I want to believe him when he says that.

So yeah, there's a lot to share. Grab your popcorn and hot chocolate, because they say my life has been nothing less than a hell of a roller coaster, more like a super dramatic movie. I’ve come to believe the same.

See you guys, soon.

P.S. - Happy birthday, Papa.

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junker-town · 5 years ago

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7 winners and 5 losers from Day 1 of the NFL Draft

Isaiah Simmons, Jeff Okudah, and Jedrick Wills Jr. heard their names during Round 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Things went great for the Dolphins, Tom Brady, and Ohio State. Not everyone was so lucky, though

The first round of the first-ever teleconferenced NFL Draft is over. Tragically, it was short on unmuted phone lines, random dog interruptions, and pick-disrupting technical difficulties. In fact, it was pretty much just a normal draft, only without Roger Goodell getting pummeled by 300-pound defensive tackles and their excessive hugs.

While the true results of this year’s opening day at the draft won’t be understood for more than a decade, the first 32 picks were able to earn knee-jerk reactions. The Dolphins got to see their rebuild take root with a QB-OT combination that will hopefully carry them into the future. Across the division, Bill Belichick played his cards so close to his vest he opted out of Thursday entirely.

The Packers got a new quarterback to play behind one they still owe more than $120 million. The Jaguars killed the trade leverage of one of their few remaining stars. The city of Columbus, Ohio, got to see a whole bunch of former residents make the leap to football’s biggest stage.

Who were Thursday night’s biggest winners and losers? We’ve got a few ideas, some of which won’t be completely proven wrong over the next five years.

Winner: Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins

Tua Tagovailoa was the smart choice. Though it looked like the Dolphins may trade up for an offensive lineman or opt for Justin Herbert, those pre-draft rumors turned out to be a smokescreen. Miami has its franchise quarterback, and it’s the guy who lit up the SEC over three sometimes-healthy years.

The same guy who looks good in a suit, even in his family’s swank-ass living room:

Tua's suit pic.twitter.com/cJspF4DxGY

— SB Nation (@SBNation) April 24, 2020

The Dolphins were able to get their cornerstone tackle 13 picks later. Austin Jackson isn’t just a great pass blocker, he’s a tremendous human being who put off his dreams in order to save his sister’s life. He’s a raw talent, but he’s got the potential to be an All-Pro with the right development.

That wasn’t all! They turned the 26th pick — one acquired from the Texans in exchange for Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills — into the 30th pick and a fourth-rounder through a deal with the Packers. That pick turned out to be speedster corner Noah Igbinoghene, who will team up with Byron Jones and Xavien Howard in one of the NFL’s most terrifying secondaries.

The Dolphins needed A LOT of talent to speed up their turnaround. They got three possible future stars and the chance to add more all in the course of a few hours Thursday.

Loser: Patriots fans

New England was set to make only its second draft pick inside the top 23 since 2012 after flopping out of the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. But instead of selecting a potential quarterback of the future, Bill Belichick decided to defer to Friday. He shipped the Patriots’ first-round pick to the Chargers for their 37th and 71st overall selections.

The move recharges the team’s Day 2 draft pool and gives the Patriots more low-cost ammunition to refill a roster that’s been picked apart in free agency. Per Adam Schefter, Belichick is confident the player he wanted at No. 23 will be available at No. 37, which would effectively give the club a free third-rounder.

That’s good! But if you’re a Pats fan who came into Thursday night waiting for some semblance of local sports news or a glimpse into the team’s future, well ... at least you got to see Belichick’s wicker collection:

Bill Belichick’s draft room, via ABC pic.twitter.com/Sw0FKOJqkS

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) April 24, 2020

Winner: Ohio State

Joe Burrow. Chase Young. Jeff Okudah. What do the top three picks in this year’s draft have in common? They all, at one point, played for Ohio State.

Consider for a second the Buckeyes’ 2017 roster. It not only had Burrow, Young, and Okudah, but also another first-round pick in this class, Damon Arnette, and several first-round picks from other years, including Nick Bosa, Dwayne Haskins, Billy Price, and Denzel Ward. And probable future first-round picks like Shaun Wade and Wyatt Davis. And way more NFL players (Jerome Baker, Sam Hubbard, Terry McLaurin, etc) than that.

It’s no wonder OSU alums are already coming up with a new nickname for the program, when DBU no longer does it justice:

Nah we might as well just say NFL U ! I’m sayin that from now on Sunday Night Intros ! Lol https://t.co/fcqxFZM8OE

— Bradley Roby (@BradRoby_1) April 24, 2020

Round 1 ended up being a pretty good recruiting tool for Ohio State head coach Ryan Day:

If either one of my Kids decide to chose Football for their Career I’m definitely sending them to OHIO STATE!!!

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 24, 2020

Not that he needs much help these days.

Loser: Yannick Ngakoue

The Jaguars pass rusher is very publicly angling to get out of Jacksonville. While he was given the franchise tag by the team back in March, Ngakoue has taken to Twitter to express his desire for a trade. He’s even got into public spats with Jaguars executive Tony Khan about it.

Just trade me . I don’t need the speech

— Yannick Ngakoue (@YannickNgakoue) April 20, 2020

However, the first round of the draft was nothing but bad news for Ngakoue. It showed there continues to be no worthwhile trade market for his services — something Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell confirmed later in the night — and the team added another pass rusher to the mix by picking K’Lavon Chaisson.

Ngakoue is backed into a corner now. He can follow the Le’Veon Bell path and sit out the entire 2020 season, but that’d cost him the $17.8 million he’d make from the franchise tag. The Jaguars could trade Ngakoue, but they certainly don’t have to either. With Chaisson and Josh Allen on the roster, Jacksonville can feel OK with whatever route it chooses.

Even though the Jaguars already had most of the leverage, picking Chaisson gave them just a little bit more. Ngakoue’s chances at getting out of Duval any time soon looker slimmer than ever.

Winner: Kliff Kingsbury

The Arizona Cardinals needed a little bit of help all over their defense. So they got a player who can do a little bit of everything. Isaiah Simmons was projected to go as high as the No. 3 pick, but his brief slide down the draft board paired him up with an innovative head coach who’ll be receptive to his freewheeling, play-almost-anywhere skills.

And we do mean play almost anywhere:

good god pic.twitter.com/tD1OkganXw

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) April 24, 2020

Even better news for Kingsbury is that he can scheme up plays for Simmons, all from the comfort of his Parasite home:

what does Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury look like he does for a living pic.twitter.com/ODEl8ic3dX

— SB Nation (@SBNation) April 24, 2020

Loser: The Panthers’ draft reasoning

Simmons, the Clemson linebacker/safety/corner/etc, was still on the board when the defense-needy Panthers made their selection at No. 7 overall. The fact they chose Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown over him wasn’t especially eye-opening on its own, considering what a talent Brown is.

Carolina’s reported reasoning behind the pick, however, was:

The Panthers liked Clemson LB Isaiah Simmons a lot at No. 7 and he was the best pure athlete on the board, but they felt he was a better fit for a veteran team because of his ability to play so many positions. So they went with Auburn DT Derrick Brown,... https://t.co/Wfu6yhMSgv

— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) April 24, 2020

Ah. So Simmons was too athletic and versatile for the Panthers. Got it.

Winner: Tom Brady

Brady’s week started with the addition of a recently un-retired Rob Gronkowski. Then the Buccaneers reiterated their commitment to keeping their new QB happy by trading up one spot to pick up a tackle who could be the best blocker to emerge from this year’s rookie crop.

Tampa Bay gave up a fourth-round pick to move from No. 14 to No. 13 and select Iowa hoss Tristan Wirfs, the reigning Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year. Wirfs was widely regarded as a top-10 pick this spring, but his slight fall made him too tempting for the Bucs to pass up. Now he’ll go from protecting Nate Stanley to keeping a six-time Super Bowl winner upright.

Loser: Aaron Rodgers

Coming into the 2020 draft, Rodgers was eager to point out how cool it would be for his Packers to add some receiving help in a draft loaded with wideout talent.

Aaron Rodgers on @PatMcAfeeShow: "We haven't picked a skill player in the first round in 15 years, so that would be kind of cool." Rodgers says whoever the pick is, he'll track down his phone number and welcome him to the team tonight — if the Packers don't trade out.

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) April 24, 2020

It looked like Green Bay was going to fulfill those expectations when it traded up to No. 26. Then the franchise selected ... Utah State quarterback Jordan Love. Instead of getting a first-round wide receiver or tight end to lighten Davante Adams’ load, Rodgers got the player who the Packers will groom to be his successor.

We’re sure he’s fine with that.

Winner (mostly): Javon Kinlaw

Kinlaw has big shoes to fill. His landing spot at No. 14 was made possible by the Niners’ willingness to ship DeForest Buckner — another first-round pass-rushing interior lineman, who has 19.5 sacks in just the past two years — to the Colts.

But Kinlaw is also capable of becoming an All-Pro for the 49ers. He was a wrecking ball in the middle of the field for South Carolina and should start immediately in the NFL. The presence of pass rushers like Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, and Dee Ford should limit the number of double teams he sees as a rookie.

On that note, here’s Kinlaw’s dad impersonating every QB who has to face the 49ers’ defensive line this coming season:

Javon Kinlaw's dad's reaction to his son getting drafted pic.twitter.com/f6amsidFbj

— ESPN (@espn) April 24, 2020

Loser: The trade market

There was a lot of handwringing about the effect a fully virtual NFL Draft could have on teams’ ability to trade. The league even considered adding an extra time option if GMs were working on finalizing a trade. Maybe that’s why John Lynch of the 49ers had three phones at his draft day set up.

Teams worked ahead of time to make sure that they could get trades done.

More than ever, teams will try to work out trades before the NFL Draft begins just in case. To that point: The #Lions have been engaged with multiple teams on potentially trading out of the No. 3 spot, sources say. Things have heated up over the last 24 hours.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 23, 2020

So why was there just one trade in the first 20 picks and none in the top 10? There weren’t any technical difficulties that kept deals from happening. It seems like teams were content to patiently wait for the prospects they coveted to slide their way — which is fine, but kinda boring.

Winner: Mock drafts

Well, it wasn’t the most wronger year after all. Despite warnings that mock drafters were way off this year, they weren’t at all. It was actually one of the most accurate first rounds for mocks in a while.

Five of the first six selections were the most popular choice in mock drafts. The only exception was the Giants taking Andrew Thomas instead of a different offensive tackle. While there were a few relative surprises — like cornerback Damon Arnette to the Raiders with the 19th pick and linebacker Jordyn Brooks sneaking into the first round to the Seahawks at 27th overall — no pick came completely out of left field.

Even those two picks by the Raiders and Seahawks addressed needs that were expected to be priorities. It’s time to give the draft prognosticators a round of applause for their 2020 performance.

Winner: The Browns’ Super Bowl chances

There was little doubt the Browns would draft a tackle in the first round. It was just a matter of which one. Still, it was a little surprising they took Jedrick Wills, who’s only played right tackle, when they just signed Jack Conklin in free agency.

Wherever he lines up, though, Wills is ready to play right away, which is what Cleveland (and Baker Mayfield) needs most of all. And that has former Browns stalwart Joe Thomas pumped as hell:

@JWills73 @Browns #NFLDraft2020 #NFLDraft #Super Bowl https://t.co/EOhgAkO4pJ pic.twitter.com/FbJe1HELRe

— Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) April 24, 2020

That’s it, we’re ready to believe this is the Browns’ year.

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justsomeantifas · 8 years ago

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Here’s your dose of “What the Fuck Is Going On” news (April 26th 2017 - April 27th 2017)

It's been shown through documents that Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn was warned by the Pentagon in 2014 against accepting foreign payments. Since, he obviously did take foreign payments, Flynn in now under investigation by the Defense Department’s inspector. (source) Naturally, the White House blamed Obama. (source)

The White House drafted an executive order to withdraw the United States from NAFTA. However, after discussing the issue with Canada and Mexico Trump has backed away from the plan for now. Instead he says they are renegotiating but "if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA." (source)

Trump’s healthcare bill is seeing the possibility of revival, however it's also seeing some problems. The previous holdouts, the Freedom Caucus, has endorsed this new plan but now moderate conservatives are now holding out. There were plans on voting tomorrow (Friday, April 28th) but it doesn't look likely anymore. If they vote on this bill soon it will not have time to go through analysis from the Congressional Budget Office and it will be unknown how many will be affected and what changes will happen under this bill. (source)

Trump issues a one-page outline for planned changes to the tax code. Here’s what is does and doesn’t show:

Trump's plan will cut the number of income tax brackets from seven to three, with a top rate of 35 percent and lower rates of 25 percent and 10 percent. It is not clear what income ranges will fall under those brackets. It would also double the standard deduction.

The proposal will chop the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent.

It would eliminate tax deductions, with only a few exceptions, including the mortgage interest and charitable contribution deductions.

The White House said there will be a "one-time tax" on the trillions of dollars held by corporations overseas. However, Mnuchin said the rate for that tax has yet to be determined.

The plan would get rid of the estate tax. Analysis of the estate tax reveals that it affects only a very small portion of Americans.

The U.S. would go to a "territorial" tax system. Though further details were not forthcoming, such systems typically exclude most or all of the income that businesses earn overseas.

Trump's plan would also repeal the alternative minimum tax and 3.8 percent Obamacare taxes.

After releasing this tax plan, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin could not guarantee middle class wouldn't pay more under tax plan. In the same interview he also told the press that Trump has no plans on releasing his tax returns because the public already knows enough about him. (source)

And here’s how Trump would personally benefit from this tax plan.

The Trump administration unveiled a new office set up to support the victims of crimes committed solely by undocumented immigrants. The intention, according to the White House, is to “acknowledge the exceptional damage caused by criminal illegal aliens." The plan has been controversial and labeled as a device for scapegoating immigrants and agenda-driven since they are significantly less likely to commit crime. They are also going to be producing a quarterly report detailing all crimes in America committed by immigrants. (source)

Trump told the press that the problems with North Korea might lead to "major, major conflict." He stated that he would "love to solve things diplomatically but it's very difficult." (source)

Rod Rosenstein was confirmed as deputy attorney general and the new head of the Department of Justice investigation into ties between Trump's campaign and Russia. This comes after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the probe. Rosenstein was confirmed in a 94-6 vote. (source)

Chief Justice John Roberts spoke out against the administration's stance on an immigration case saying that it could make it too easy for the government to strip people of citizenship for lying about minor infractions. Other Supreme Court justices also expressed concern that the government was asserting it could revoke citizenship through criminal prosecution for trivial lies or omissions. (source)

Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore announced his plans to run for Senate to replace Jeff Sessions' seat. Moore told reporters that he would "stand for the rights and liberties of the people," but funnily enough, he is currently suspended after encouraging lower-court judges to ignore the Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. (source)

Trump announced that he is considering breaking up the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals where judges have blocked two of his executive actions. "There are many people that want to break up the 9th Circuit. It's outrageous," Trump said. (source)

If you would like to support “What the Fuck Is Going On” news and it’s almost-daily posts you can support my Patreon, donate, or follow on Twitter.

#Donald Trump #trump administration #politics #healthcare #immigration #taxes #classism #homophobia #political corruption #discrimination #Mod H #What the Fuck is Going On News

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dressbank75-blog · 5 years ago

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The Linc - Eagles’ pass rush ranks first in NFL

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Ranking all 32 NFL teams’ pass-rush units after Week 6 - PFF Team Pass-Rush Grade: 85.9. Team Pressure Percentage: 42% (1st). Team Pressure Percentage when Blitzing: 50.0% (25th). Top Pass-Rusher (Pass-Rush Grade): DI Fletcher Cox (91.1).

Jim Schwartz’s plan for Cam Newton - BGN How do you plan to deploy a pass rush against a mobile quarterback? Do you contain on both sides? Do you add a spy to keep tabs for the entire game or in key situations? What if your data presents a different picture? What if it says you don’t need to do any of that? For Super Bowl Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, devising his rush plan starts with the quarterback, not the offensive line. He detailed this philosophy in a 2015 C.O.O.L. (Coaches of Offensive Linemen) Clinic.

A look ahead to the Eagles’ 2019 salary cap - PhillyVoice If the Eagles opted not to pick up Nick Foles’ option in 2019, or if they traded him, that would get them back under the cap immediately. That decision will seemingly be a no-brainer, particularly if the team views Nate Sudfeld as a legitimate No. 2 quarterback behind Carson Wentz. I believe they already do, and will even more so by 2019. Foles leaving would net almost $19 million in savings.

Still Shuffling - Iggles Blitz Does Darren Sproles have the worst hamstring injury in history? Yikes. You wonder if the Eagles should just sit him until after the bye week. If he’s not healthy by then, do you just give him the Old Yeller treatment? Sproles has been a terrific player for a long time and I hate that his final season has gone like this. It would be great if he could get healthy and help the team with some big plays down the stretch.

How Jordan Mailata has already inspired the next crop of NFL hopefuls Down Under - ESPN As Australia’s Jordan Mailata awaits a maiden NFL start, his amazing story has already inspired the next crop of athletes Down Under to pursue a career in American football. Mailata is reportedly edging closer to a first regular season game for Philadelphia Eagles, after first heading to Los Angeles for a workout last November. From there, the Aussie was invited to train at the IMG Academy in Florida, before the Eagles came calling with their final pick of the 2018 NFL Draft back in April.

NFL Forecast - Rotogrinders CAR @ PHI - 15mph sustained winds with stronger gusts, impact to deeper throws and kicks.

Torrey Smith’s homecoming game couldn’t come at a better time - Cat Scratch Reader He’s been a great addition to the Panthers, indeed. His leadership ability has shown with the younger receivers. Although it’s been a quiet season for the 29-year old, that’s not entirely his fault. Smith’s longest catch of the season was a 26-yarder against Atlanta in Week 2. The Panthers only have two completions for 20+ yards so far, which puts them last in the league. Adjusting to first year Norv Turner’s offense, Carolina simply hasn’t had many opportunities. But as the season progresses, Turner says they’re working on having a complete passing game and creating explosive plays.

Off The Beat: Jerseys? Sure! - PE.com Upon researching the Eagles’ uniform trends, I was surprised to find that the Eagles have worn their standard road uniforms (white jerseys, green pants) just once since January 1, 2017. White-on-green was the uniform combo for Nick Foles’ first start of 2017, when the Eagles defeated the Giants 34-29.

Get ready to see Eagles’ little-known DT Treyvon Hester take a bigger role - NBCSP Doug Pederson said Friday defensive tackle Treyvon Hester is “definitely going to be asked to do a little bit more this week” against the Panthers. Based on Hester’s performance last week, that’s a good thing. The Eagles added the 26-year-old defensive tackle to their practice squad in early September and promoted him to the active roster less than a month later. With Haloti Ngata’s lingering calf injury and Tim Jernigan’s return in question, the Eagles are probably going to ask more of Hester going forward. “Treyvon is an explosive player,” defensive line coach Chris Wilson said. “He has some similarities to Tim Jernigan in regards to how twitchy he is on the backside. A lot of times, Fletcher Cox gets a lot of attention and [Hester] has the ability to win some 1-on-1s. We need that.”

Who are the best Eagles players of the last 25 years? - Press of AC I’ve seen a few things in the last 25 years of covering the Eagles. There were good teams (2017, 2004) and bad (1998, 2012). The same holds true for coaches. Andy Reid was good. Rich Kotite and Chip Kelly were bad. Ray Rhodes was a mixture of both, but also my favorite Eagles coach because of his honesty and colorful way of explaining situations, even if that color was blue. Reid had the most sustained success, reaching five NFC championship games and a Super Bowl during his 14-year tenure. But Doug Pederson’s the only one to win a championship, so he goes to the top of the list. Here’s my choices for the top players at each position over the last 25 years. I’m sure you’ll disagree on a few, but there really aren’t any wrong answers.

FANPULSE - Redskin & Cowboy fans both predicting victory; somebody has to be wrong - Hogs Haven The Cowboys have lost to 3 teams this season - the Panthers, Seahawks and Texans. All three teams are ranked in the top-11 in the NFL in Points Allowed per game. The Redskins rank 8th, ahead of both the Panthers and Texans. The Redskins have beaten 3 teams this season — the Cardinals, Panthers and Packers. All three teams are in the bottom half of the league in Points Scored per game. The Cowboys rank 26th, below both the Panthers and Packers.

The Four Must-See Matchups for NFL Week 7 - The Ringer A matchup between the NFL’s no. 1 scoring offense and no. 1 scoring defense pits Drew Brees’s enduring excellence against the Ravens’ miserly defense. What else will we learn this weekend?

Geoff Schwartz’s 6 best and 5 worst NFL offensive lines heading into Week 7 - SB Nation Welcome back to the new, weekly offensive line column where I discuss the top five and bottom five offensive lines. The top five and bottom five aren’t likely to change much week to week, so I’ll give you the changes and highlight the units that are pointing up and pointing down. Let’s begin. The top offensive lines in the NFL, in no order: Packers, Eagles, Saints, Patriots, Steelers, Rams.

...

Social Media Information:

BGN Facebook Page: Click here to like our page

BGN Twitter: Follow @BleedingGreen

BGN Manager: Brandon Lee Gowton: Follow @BrandonGowton

BGN Radio Twitter: Follow @BGN_Radio

Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2018/10/21/18004014/eagles-news-philadelphia-pass-rush-ranks-first-nfl-league-sacks-pressure-stats-fletcher-cox-graham

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coilwind7-blog · 6 years ago

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The Linc - Eagles’ pass rush ranks first in NFL

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

NFL Forecast - Rotogrinders CAR @ PHI - 15mph sustained winds with stronger gusts, impact to deeper throws and kicks.

...

Social Media Information:

BGN Facebook Page: Click here to like our page

BGN Twitter: Follow @BleedingGreen

BGN Manager: Brandon Lee Gowton: Follow @BrandonGowton

BGN Radio Twitter: Follow @BGN_Radio

Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2018/10/21/18004014/eagles-news-philadelphia-pass-rush-ranks-first-nfl-league-sacks-pressure-stats-fletcher-cox-graham

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bumbleflyyouknow · 8 years ago

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A letter from the Mun

What follows is an explanation of why I’ve basically been a ghost lately. If you don’t care; or can’t deal with IRL drama I understand. For those of you who have noted and been concerned by my absence, this continues under the read more.

On May 10th, my Grandmother had surgery to put in a Pace-Maker. She has severe A-Fib made worse by her anxiety, other mental health, and health issues. She is 89 yrs old; and while I’d like her to live forever cause she’s my Grandma (and I love her in-spite of how manipulative and abusive she can be) I get that she’s had a full life and the end might be coming soon. In fact it’s been a topic of conversation and she’s at the point where she’s giving a lot of stuff away.

Her surgery was very successful. Instead of beating on average at about 160 bpm her heart rate at rest is now a cool collected controlled 80 bpm. The first few days after surgery she was doing great! We were all breathing a small sigh of relief. That Saturday, the 13th of May, she even had 10 friends come over for what was supposed to be lunch and a few hours playing cards.

What was originally supposed to be just a few people for a couple of hours to visit with her turned into this whole sit down lunch production Italian meal and marathon pinochle playing session. There was a huge overblown lunch, then snacks, and dessert; merely three days after her heart surgery. She sat up past 10 pm playing cards with her friends. Which would have been fine had she truly been up to it.

She was not. The next day, Sunday, she was exhausted, having issues getting enough oxygen, and generally feeling lousy. Couple this with her full-blown anxiety, and her refusal to take the medications for it; and Sunday was not fun for anyone involved.

From May 14th to May 26th, we visited the ER at least 3 times with her. The local hospital was less the useful on her two there. They basically sent her home without determining why she was so short of breath the first time. And made her wait 12 hours before admitting her for observation the second time with out giving her anything to eat. This in spite of the facts that she is a Diabetic, her sugar was like 50 when we got there; her doctor had sent her to the ER because she has a history of Blood Clots, Stroke, Congestive Heart Failure, and Pulmonary Embolisms and the doctor suspected something was going on like that; repeated requests from me that they feed her; and us telling them that she just had a pace-maker put in and could not have a stress test - so contact her heart doctor. It was only on the third trip by ambulance to a different hospital because she feel off her walker on the way to see a doctor; that they found the congestive heart failure (most likely due to a kidney issue) and it was able to be treated.

While all this was going on, my parents took off with my brother for a weekend camping trip to celebrate a successful course completion. So they were all gone, at least they took the dog with them for that, from the 19th to the 21st of May. Yay, to three days alone with my anxiety ridden self sabotaging Grandma .. let’s just say that was a very exhausting weekend.

On the Tuesday after this camping trip, the 23rd, my Mom finally decided to come clean and honestly tell me what’s been going on with her. IDK why but apparently bad things are big secrets in my family; I’ve officially been pissed off/tired of this shit since my Grandpa died 17 years ago.

Anyway, back in April my Mom had told me that her doctor was sending her for some tests. That she had some cysts in her liver that the doctor just wanted to keep an eye on; and that basically this was nothing to worry about. I took her at her word. Of course, this was all just some kind of fabrication and not the complete truth.

She has Uterine (aka Endometrial) Cancer. There was some question as to the severity and concern that the cancer had spread; that her liver and ovaries could possibly be involved; and that it could possible be Ovarian Cancer as well. Last Thursday, June 15th, she had a complete hysterectomy. Doctor says everything went very well, and looked good. He only had to take the sentinel Lymph Nodes (4 Nodes). But we won’t know anything for definite until the pathology report comes back on Monday. So fingers still crossed, and breath still kind of held; but it looks like she will be okay.

Since she told me, I’ve been a bit of an emotional mess. I’m not myself, and I know it. Plus, my Grandma is just this week getting back to managing herself a bit more; I’ve been getting up early and going to bed late to make sure Grandma has all her medications and eats and dresses and stuff. It’s all been very wearing. And I feel like I’m walking around in a fog. Nothing freaking feels right; my own anxiety is through the roof; and if I wasn’t taking care of both my Mom and Grandma I’m not sure I would be getting out of bed.

On top of that, with everything going on I did not work quite as much as I hoped to have been able to at the end of the school year; and haven’t been driving much the last week or so either. So my finances have me super nervous. And not getting out and doing anything, is basically wrecking further havoc on my psyche. There have been days where I have legit just starred at my drafts because I can’t figure out how to function, let alone word; and other days where I’ve basically only been able to do crack/smut. I’m afraid I’m failing all my RP partners; freaking out / failing my friends; and basically just failing at life in general.

TL;DR: I’ve basically gotten no alone/down time in over a month due to family health crisis's. And I’m falling apart because of it all.

#outofthunder #ooc #mun talks #mun life #tw: cancer #tw: mental illness #tw: depression #tw: anxiety #tw: parent illness #tw: family problems #tw: family abuse #long post

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orangelilies13 · 5 years ago

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I’ve always been a planner. Your typical “Type A.” I could never pretend that i don’t have all these little lists of things that I need to get done – ranging from simple grocery store lists, to future home project, and more serious lists like life goals. I’ve learned how to navigate the twists and turns of my plans going awry and needing to adapt and remake my list.

The thing about me is that while I have things planned out, I’m also ready to adapt and be a little spontaneous. Plans are just outlines. A rough draft. Something that can always be manipulated to get back on track.

But none of us were ready for 2020.

How could we learn to deal with a pandemic? None of us have lived through anything like this. How is it possible to adapt when there are so many unknowns? Spontaneity got dumped right out the window when our safer-at-home orders came through.

It will come as no surprise, but our first few months of this hit hardest for me. For most of us, really. We couldn’t see family or friends. Restaurants closed. Wisconsin bars closed! (Yes this is serious!) We couldn’t travel. All our plans got cancelled. All of them. It felt like there was no end in sight.

But one thing remained a constant in my life.

Running.

I started my ultra-marathon training in January. For a race in September. Official training started in April, but I needed to “pre-train” to get to the level I needed to be to just start training. Training for an ultra-marathon was something I never thought I would do. Even though I did a lot of running by myself in those first few months, it was that ONE thing in my life that didn’t change. Running was one thing I wasn’t afraid to do. For the first time in my life, I was afraid to see family and friends. I didn’t want to get gas in my car. I didn’t want to go grocery shopping. I even had a quarantine birthday. But running kept me sane. As best it could anyway.

That’s the thing about plans though. They always change. No matter what you think that constant is. Something is going to sweep you off your feet and force you to change. Even if you think you are standing on solid ground. You’re not.

May 9th. This was the last time I really ran through trails. I pulled my groin muscle. I can only assume it was from the constant dodging back and forth over rocks and leaping over tree branches. At first, it was what felt like a little pull. It didn’t hurt during my run. I described it as, “It feels like my quads after I run. They are sore after a run like the usual expected fatigue. No shooting pain during or after a run.” I decided to stop trail running, but continue my training on pavement for now. I could handle that. A small change which kept me away from some of my running partners, but a necessary change as to not aggravate muscles any more than I needed to.

May 23rd. My 18 mile run went so smoothly. I had continued my training on pavement. I needed to keep some sort of normalcy in my day to day life. I made sure to ice and stretch and really stay in tune to how my body was feeling. There wasn’t anything more than a little soreness which would last for not even a day, and then I felt as good as new.

May 26th. Plans. Out. The. Window. My 6 mile run ended abruptly 3 miles in. I tripped over an uneven sidewalk, and as I stumbled forward, catching myself from falling on the pavement, I jammed my leg into the ground, sending a shooting pain down my leg and my groin that had me stop running and walk the 3 miles home. This wasn’t the rough draft of an outline that I thought I’d ever have to rework. I didn’t want to not be able to run. I walked a mile, and tried to jog a little bit. Nope. It hurt. I wished in that moment that I would have just let myself fall. A bunch of scrapes on my arm would have been better than a jammed leg, right? This bump in the road wasn’t a contingency I planned for.

I stopped running for a few days. I felt a little lost without that one thing in my life that I could always count on being there. It forced me to learn even more about adapting to change, even if I didn’t want to. I attempted to run June 3rd, but that was a mistake. After talking with a few friends who had groin injuries before, I decided that I needed to just take the time off. Pounding the pavement wasn’t what I needed. I tried a test run with my bike to see how I would feel. I figured that there wasn’t as much impact on my legs with bike riding than there was with running.

To my surprise, I felt great. I went into the bike ride thinking that I would need to walk it home. I wanted to have low expectations in order to not be disappointed. I think the hardest thing about training for anything is when it gets derailed. To know the limits between pushing yourself hard and pushing yourself to prolong an injury is a hard line to find. But I took a step back from running and hopped on my bike.

It was such a pleasant surprise how much I enjoyed biking. I used it as a second form of transportation, but really, it was my source of cardio. Between June 1st and June 17th, I put in 150 miles on my bike.

I never once experienced any pain. Soreness, yes, but that’s expected. And it was mostly in my quads and calves. Not anywhere else. I was learning more limits for myself and taking steps out of my own comfort zone:

– My first 30 mile bike ride – Riding down busy roads isn’t as scary as I thought it would be – Riding at night is way more fun than nerve-wracking – Being more comfortable alone – Finding out that a 13-20 mile bike ride day didn’t knock me out – Not caring about random ass sweat marks in public 🙂 – Embracing some serious tan lines

I found a love for biking that I never thought I’d have. To be fair, the bikes I have been on before were not my own and not as nice, so the seat hurt. A lot. It turned me off to biking. No one wants to go on a bike ride and not be able to sit later. But that didn’t happen.

Between Jun 17th and the 25th, I did some yoga and a handful of runs: a few 2 milers to start, then two 6 milers, a couple 5Ks and a 4 mile. I never once felt any pain. It was such a relief. I was starting to second guess how long I would be out.

My running buddy and I have both been out on injuries, but doing so well. We have a planned marathon on July 4th. Both of us really wanted to get on track with training for our ultra again and decided to take a shot and see how a 20 miler would do. We got up early Friday morning (Jun 26) and ran 20 miles, and both felt great during the entire run! It’s such an accomplishment to run 20 miles in the first place, but we’ve dealt with some serious wrenches in the training plan. I’m really proud of both of us.

I’m pretty sure I stretched for the entirety of Friday and Saturday. And iced more times than I could count. Was I a little afraid I took it too far? Yeah. Kind of. At this point I started planning for the worst case scenario. How could we not after the year we’ve been having? After all, my last long run was a month prior. I kept telling Melissa that we would be alright. That muscle memory would just kick in. And we would just stop if either one of us felt like we were pushing too much. We dialed down the pace and talked the entire time.

And just like that, the bump in the road that I thought would end up derailing my entire training, ended up not being so bad after all. To be able to pick yourself up from whatever situation you are in and rework that life list and get back on track… it’s such a proud and happy moment. Especially when there are so many unknowns.

I should have ran 150 miles in June. RAN. 150 miles. I ended June with 50 running miles, and 160 biking miles (which is about the cardio equivalent of roughly 54 running miles) To me, that’s a big deal. It feels so far off my training plan. I’m sure by now, there have been a few thoughts from readers (if they even got this far) of, “Really? But it was an injury that barely took you out from training. It could have been so much worse!”

Of course it could have been worse. No matter what situation you’re in, something is always worse. But what does comparing do? Honestly. Think about that. What purpose does comparing have? Our ups and downs in life shouldn’t be measured against someone else’s ups and downs. Who is to say what is worse and what isn’t worse? Feelings are feelings and those are valid. That constant need to one up each other is the reason I haven’t really talked about this… until now.

Since March and the start of coronavirus, I started to surround myself with a true tribe of badass women, and yes, men too. While my change in plans may have seemed small, it had a huge impact on me.

I’ve learned that it’s okay to have to rework your plans as many times as you need to. It’s okay to not even know what your plan is going to be. It’s okay to change your mind about how you feel about a certain topic after learning new developments. I learned a little bit of confidence in some of my decisions. I’ve spoken out a little more about what I want, which has probably turned some people off to me, but I’ve gotten closer to some of my friends because of it. It’s okay to want to be alone. And there’s no reason to make up an excuse to not hang out or go to an event. “I don’t want to” is an acceptable reason. It’s ok to talk about failures. It isn’t always meant to be taken as “please pity me,” but instead, “hey, you’re not alone.” You never know who is going through things.

2020 is not over. And from what we’ve seen so far, I’m not sure what Jumanji level we will end up at in December.

I know I’ll be challenged again and again when it comes to life, and training, and work, an anything else that life decides to throw at me (but like, please murder hornets, stay away).

One thing I know is for sure: The only actual constant in my life… is change.

Bump In The Road I've always been a planner. Your typical "Type A." I could never pretend that i don't have all these little lists of things that I need to get done - ranging from simple grocery store lists, to future home project, and more serious lists like life goals.

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