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thewritingstar · 5 years ago

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Ah well were all at home better ask all 200 questions g, don't really know much about u

200 QUESTIONS???? ALRIGHT HERE YA GO.

hope you enjoy me spending an hour answering all of these :)

200: My crush’s name is: N/A 199: I was born in: 2000 198: I am really: nice 197: My cellphone company is: idk 196: My eye color is: Hazel, can turn dark brown or light green sometimes 195: My shoe size is: 8 194: My ring size is: 7 I think 193: My height is: 5′3 192: I am allergic to: penicillin 191: My 1st car was: Toyota 190: My 1st job was: Baskin Robbins 189: Last book you read: Suicide Notes (highly recommend) 188: My bed is: galaxy bedding and is currently on the floor in my bed fram cause my friends broke it... 187: My pet: Black cockapoo and a white cockapoo named Abby and Molly 186: My best friend: is a hoe 185: My favorite shampoo is: herbal essence color me happy 184: Xbox or ps3: I perfer Wii, Wii U or Nintendo switch 183: Piggy banks are: cute, Mine is a ducktales cup 182: In my pockets: nothing rn 181: On my calendar: nothing rn 180: Marriage is: a good thing but not a necessity for a happy life 179: Spongebob can: get it 178: My mom: is a queen 177: The last three songs I bought were? i only buy cds for my car so: Lover, Hozier, Blink 182 176: Last YouTube video watched: The Office deleted scenes 175: How many cousins do you have? 8 but I only see four of them and two of them are adults with kids so i consider them more of aunt and uncle figures 174: Do you have any siblings? One older sister 173: Are your parents divorced? Nope 172: Are you taller than your mom? Nope 171: Do you play an instrument? Nope 170: What did you do yesterday? Sat on ass and watched youtube

[ I Believe In ] 169: Love at first sight: ye why not 168: Luck: yes 167: Fate: yes 166: Yourself: kinda 165: Aliens: yes 164: Heaven: mmmm yes i guess 163: Hell: yes 162: God: uhhhhh yes and no, kinda indifferent 161: Horoscopes: yep 160: Soul mates: yesss 159: Ghosts: ye 158: Gay Marriage: WHO THE FUCK DOESNT BELIEVE IN THISS?? ITS REAL 157: War: think it does more harm than good 156: Orbs: ye 155: Magic: ye i wanna be a wizard

[ This or That ] 154: Hugs or Kisses: hugs 153: Drunk or High: drunk, i dont do drugs and i dont drink yet but ill prob get drunk 152: Phone or Online: oo i use both but Online i guess 151: Red heads or Black haired: Black hair 150: Blondes or Brunettes: Brunettes 149: Hot or cold: HOT 148: Summer or winter: Summer 147: Autumn or Spring: Both 146: Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla 145: Night or Day: Day 144: Oranges or Apples: Oranges 143: Curly or Straight hair: I have straight hair but curly hair is also beautiful 142: McDonalds or Burger King: BURGER KING..I HATE MCDONALDS 141: White Chocolate or Milk Chocolate: MILK 140: Mac or PC: Pc 139: Flip flops or high heals:...High heels prob 138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor: SWEET AND POOR, IM ALREADY UGLY 137: Coke or Pepsi: NEITHER 136: Hillary or Obama: obama 135: Burried or cremated: cremated 134: Singing or Dancing: love both but maybe dancing rn 133: Coach or Chanel: Coach 132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks: idk who they are 131: Small town or Big city: Big city, i grew up in a small town 130: Wal-Mart or Target: TARGET 129: Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler: Adam 128: Manicure or Pedicure: Mani 127: East Coast or West Coast: West Coast 126: Your Birthday or Christmas: Christmas 125: Chocolate or Flowers: Chocolate 124: Disney or Six Flags: DISNEY 123: Yankees or Red Sox: eww sports

[ Here’s What I Think About ] 122: War:....does more harm than good 121: George Bush:....dont know enough to say but im pretty sure he was an awful human 120: Gay Marriage: It should just be called marriage, just because you’re gay doesnt make it any less or any more, its equal to other marriages 119: The presidential election: 118: Abortion: Pro Choice, no one has the right to tell someone what to do with their body 117: MySpace: i never used it cause i was too young but i bet it was lit 116: Reality TV: its funny af 115: Parents: are nice if they care about their child but if they are abusive or horrible then they dont deserve respect 114: Back stabbers: should be stabbed 113: Ebay: its nice 112: Facebook: full of idiots and boomers 111: Work: a scam 110: My Neighbors: they fine 109: Gas Prices: A SCAM 108: Designer Clothes: a nice but really $200 for socks, no mama 107: College: SHOULD BE FREE 106: Sports: fun but no one needs to make that much money for throwing a ball 105: My family: i like them 104: The future: is wild and idk at this point

[ Last time I ] 103: Hugged someone: my mom like a few days ago 102: Last time you ate: at 11 today! 101: Saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile: 100: Cried in front of someone: my mom after i yelled at her 99: Went to a movie theater: i saw Onward when we were allowed outside 98: Took a vacation: went to disneyland last October 97: Swam in a pool: like almost two years sadly 96: Changed a diaper: when i was like 8 95: Got my nails done: never got them done because my mom wouldnt take me cause i was a ‘tom boy’ 94: Went to a wedding: never 93: Broke a bone: when i was three, my big toe 92: Got a piercing: my nose in January 91: Broke the law: i guess i sped the other day 90: Texted: literally as im doing this

[ MISC ] 89: Who makes you laugh the most: my friend 88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is: the silence of being alone 87: The last movie I saw: Princess and the Frog 86: The thing that I’m looking forward to the most: Moving for college 85: The thing im not looking forward to: 84: People call me: Deanna (real name), Dean, Star (what yall call me) ton of others 83: The most difficult thing to do is: idk 82: I have gotten a speeding ticket: never 81: My zodiac sign is: Aries 80: The first person i talked to today was: 79: First time you had a crush: Ive had 78: The one person who i can’t hide things from: my best friends 77: Last time someone said something you were thinking: my friends over ft 76: Right now I am talking to: no one 75: What are you going to do when you grow up: hopefully being an animator 74: I have/will get a job: at disney 73: Tomorrow: doing nothing 72: Today: doing nothing 71: Next Summer: hopefully not on quarantine 70: Next Weekend: nothing special 69: I have these pets: 2 doggos 68: The worst sound in the world: ICE SCRAPING OR MOUTH BREATHING 67: The person that makes me cry the most is: 66: People that make you happy: my friends 65: Last time I cried: few days ago 64: My friends are: my world 63: My computer is: a Dell 62: My School: is a community college 61: My Car: it goes 60: I lose all respect for people who: are bigots, dehumanize people, republicans 59: The movie I cried at was: Onward had me sobbing 58: Your hair color is: Brown rn 57: TV shows you watch: theres too many 56: Favorite web site: tumblr or youtube 55: Your dream vacation: every disney park 54: The worst pain I was ever in was: i think when i cut my finger or when i went to the hospital for my chest 53: How do you like your steak cooked: Medium rare 52: My room is: disney themed and my safe zone 51: My favorite celebrity is: Tara Strong 50: Where would you like to be: Disneyland 49: Do you want children: ehh maybe 48: Ever been in love: nope 47: Who’s your best friend: my neighbor that ive known since i was 4 46: More guy friends or girl friends: more girl 45: One thing that makes you feel great is: making cake 44: One person that you wish you could see right now: my cousin 43: Do you have a 5 year plan: not really 42: Have you made a list of things to do before you die: ye 41: Have you pre-named your children: kinda 40: Last person I got mad at: my mom 39: I would like to move to: La 38: I wish I was a professional: animator

[ My Favorites ] 37: Candy: Kitkat 36: Vehicle: Cars 35: President: 34: State visited: California, Nevada, Texas, Hawaii, 33: Cellphone provider: 32: Athlete: n/a 31: Actor: Colin O'Donoghue 30: Actress: Lana Parrilla 29: Singer: Joe Jonas, Taylor Swift 28: Band: Big Time Rush 27: Clothing store: Hot topic, Ross, 26: Grocery store: Safeway 25: TV show: Once Upon A Time or PPG 24: Movie: Princess and the Frog and Ratatouille 23: Website: tumblr 22: Animal: elephant 21: Theme park: disneyland 20: Holiday: Halloween 19: Sport to watch: hockey 18: Sport to play:..i do not play 17: Magazine: i dont read mags 16: Book: Kingdom Keepers 15: Day of the week: Friday 14: Beach: one i went to in Hawaii 13: Concert attended: Jonas Brothers 12: Thing to cook: chowmein and strawberry shortcake 11: Food: Chowmein 10: Restaurant: my fav Chinese restaurant 9: Radio station: I don’t listen to the radio 8: Yankee candle scent: Vanilla 7: Perfume: Vanilla 6: Flower: Rose or Larkspur 5: Color: Black or blue 4: Talk show host: umm i dont watch many but i guess Jimmy Fallon 3: Comedian: Jaboukie Young-White or John Mulaney 2: Dog breed: Pomeranian 1: Did you answer all these truthfully? ye

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nmhforever · 5 years ago

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INTERVIEW THE MUSE

“Let’s just get this over with...”

► ARE YOU SINGLE? ➭ Yes. And? ► ARE YOU HAPPY? ➭ It’s called depression. But I mean, I guess I am more often these days? When I’m not being forced into anything like an apocalypse scenario. ► ARE YOU ANGRY? ➭ Maybe. Maybe not. Why is that important? Can’t a girl be a little angry? ► ARE YOUR PARENTS STILL MARRIED? ➭ They never were in the first place. Small miracles, I guess.

NINE FACTS.

► BIRTH PLACE ➭ Santa Destroy, California. ► HAIR COLOR ➭ Platinum blonde? White? Blonde? I like the first two better, personally. ► EYE COLOR ➭ Red. ► BIRTHDAY ➭ January 18th. ► MOOD ➭ Tired, but mostly down. Calm? ► GENDER ➭ I’m... Sometimes a girl? Sometimes not? I’ll get back to you when this isn’t just a meme. ► SUMMER OR WINTER ➭ Summer. The sunsets are the best during that time, and it feels like the days last forever. The beach is always open and there’s way more to do at night. Even if the days are hot, at least there’s a ton more sunglasses options. ► MORNING OR AFTERNOON ➭ Mornings. Early mornings are valuable training time, duh.

EIGHT QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE.

► ARE YOU IN LOVE? ➭ Ha. ► DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? ➭ That doesn’t exist. What are you, a child? ► WHO ENDED YOUR LAST RELATIONSHIP? ➭ She did? She did. Yeah. If you can call it that. ► HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART? ➭ Do you mean literally or figuratively? I’ve probably done the most obvious one. ► ARE YOU AFRAID OF COMMITMENTS? ➭ I mean, I don’t think I am. I just haven’t thought about it in a while. ► HAVE YOU HUGGED SOMEONE WITHIN THE LAST WEEK? ➭ Sure. Not in a romantic way, though. ► HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SECRET ADMIRER? ➭ You mean people who break into the place where you’re couch surfing and monologue about how they’re going to kill you so they can take your rank? And it’s like, romantic to them because they’re a deranged man and you’re a woman, even though you’re gay? Yeah, sure. ► HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN YOUR OWN HEART? ➭ It’s too big to break.

SIX CHOICES.

► LOVE OR LUST ➭ I don’t mind either. I don’t think one is better than the other or anything like that, but they’re pretty equal depending on the situation and person. ► LEMONADE OR ICED TEA ➭ Both. The ones infused with other fruit, or even like, tea lemonade? That’s what’s up. ► CATS OR DOGS ➭ I do like dogs, but I haven’t really had the chance to pet a cat or be around one before. They look cute, though. ► A FEW BEST FRIENDS OR MANY REGULAR FRIENDS ➭ It’s a little tiring keeping up with so many people, but I probably gravitate towards the few best friends. ► WILD NIGHT OUT OR ROMANTIC NIGHT IN ➭ A wild night out. If I really wanted to, I could do both, but I’m not a boomer or whatever so why waste time just staying in all the time? ► DAY OR NIGHT ➭ Both, but you can’t get sunburned at night. And night is when all the fun fights happen. There’s no daytime fight club unless you’re into masked wrestling.

FOUR HAVE YOU EVERS.

► BEEN CAUGHT SNEAKING OUT ➭ A few times, unfortunately. I made sure I wasn’t caught ever again. ► FALLEN DOWN/UP THE STAIRS ➭ Tripping up them when I was in a hurry, sure. That or I stepped too hard and my foot went through the steps, so I fell. ► WANTED SOMETHING/SOMEONE SO BADLY IT HURT? ➭ Wanting someone to suffer so badly it hurt? Sure. ► WANTED TO DISAPPEAR ➭ Plenty of times. But sometimes, your programming and piss poor plot has other ideas.

FOUR PREFERENCES.

► SMILE OR EYES ➭ Eyes. They’re generally more truthful than smiles. Smiles you can practice to make mean whatever you want, but it takes a special talent to do that with your eyes constantly. ► SHORTER OR TALLER ➭ Taller. Short girls are cute, though. ► INTELLIGENCE OR ATTRACTION ➭ Both? Why is it one or the other? ► HOOK-UP OR RELATIONSHIP ➭ I don’t really mind either one currently, as long as it’s stable.

FAMILY.

► DO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GET ALONG ➭ Henry and I did, or do?, plenty. I wouldn’t mind seeing him again and catching up. He’s pretty level-headed. With Travis, it’s different. I’m not sure. There’s too many variables and too much up in the air. My mom’s dead, so I guess it makes that easy. ► WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE A “MESSED UP LIFE” ➭ If you call a life that was basically made for a shock value plot twist that wasn’t dwelt upon eleven years later even “messed up,” then yes. But I feel, it’s disturbingly and sadly pretty normal. These things happen more often than people want to admit without throwing assassins or superpowers into the mix. ► HAVE YOU EVER RAN AWAY FROM HOME ➭ During the period I was... “taken in” by my sperm donor, I didn’t really have a home. I ran away from a place that was anything but that and I didn’t look back. ► HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN KICKED OUT ➭ The closest was being asked not to come back by people I was couch surfing with, but I understand them being weirded out by all the people trying to break in to get at me during the time.

FRIENDS.

► DO YOU SECRETLY HATE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS ➭ Oh, that’s funny. Also pretty passive aggressive wouldn’t you say? Personally, if I was just using someone to get something or using their status I suppose, I wouldn't consider them a friend. ► DO YOU CONSIDER ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS GOOD FRIENDS ➭ I’d like to think so, though I can’t speak for them about me. ► WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND ➭ I don’t really think I have one right now. And if I did consider a certain person to be, I wouldn’t want to pressure them into being friends with someone older than them. ► WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU ➭ Absolutely no one. Not my creator, not my writer. There’s so much not talked about and unexplored even after I’m not broken down to an “evil bitch” anymore. But isn’t that exciting? Just existing now gives me so many possibilities, and so many ways to change what’s already known.

tagged by: no one tagging: whoever wants to

#abuse tw #child abuse mention tw #rocket surgery | (musings)#( okay last one )

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sending-the-message · 7 years ago

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Intercepted Radio Transmissions [Part 2] by grigorianeye

Part 1

King: Radio check, you guys got all your shit together? (Indistinct voices) Good. Command, you are now designated call sign “Kasparov”, confirm.

Kasparov: King, this is Kasparov, I confirm call sign designation. Are your men in position?

King: We are. Team, call signs as follows. Team leader designated “King”. Lieutenant, your call sign is “Queen”.

Queen: Of course I am. MVP role for me.

King: Fuck off. In sequence, “Rook”, “Bishop”, “White Knight”, “Black Knight”.

White Knight: Should I be insulted or honored?

King: And you, EOD, your call sign is designated “Boomer”.

Unknown Sender: (indistinct)

King: Your radio giving you trouble Boomer? Bishop, make sure all his connections are good, I don’t want him giving us the silent treatment.

Boomer: Testing, testing, can you hear me now? Ah, the joys of the lowest bidder.

King: Yeah, we got you. You ready to move in? Are we driving in your piece, or are we going to have to carry it?

Boomer: Negative, Talon can drive in, but we might need to give it a hand on the stairs.

King: Good deal. Kasparov, we are now entering the NALHC facility.

Kasparov: Confirmed, King. QRF is on standby inside the building. Aries Team is monitoring the facility cameras. Be advised, there are multiple blind spots inside due to damage to the camera security systems.

King: Very good. What kind of cameras are we talking?

Kasparov: Regular light. There are no low light or IR cameras online.

King: Well, that’s too bad. Rook, Bishop, take lead, secure the stairwell, Black Knight, White Knight, see if you can get the bot downstairs without dropping it. Bottom sub-basement. Hey you, you the Aries commander?

Aries 2-1: Second platoon, I’m commanding. We’ll be watching the cameras for you. We’ve had some unexplained movement on sub-basement 1, but… we’re having a difficult time identifying the source.

Queen: What do you mean?

Aries 2-1: Honestly, we aren’t sure. We’ve swept that floor three times. There’s no place to hide, but we keep getting flashes of movement on multiple camera angles.

King: Do you have any still images of it?

Aries 2-1: Wait one. (indistinct voices) Here’s four frames. It’s nothing but blur, we can’t make heads or tails of it.

King: The fuck? Only four frames? Where is that?

Aries 2-1: Only four. I don’t get it either, the cameras are running at thirty frames per, but it only shows up in flashes. It’s down in some of the equipment monitoring stations. Big open floor, a few support columns, but even those aren’t going to be any kind of cover. From the perspective, we think they’re about five feet, give or take. Whoever they are, they must be sticking close to the walls. Most of the cameras in that floor are still up.

Queen: When was the last time you had movement?

Aries 2-1: About 45 minutes ago. Just those four frames worth. Nearly twenty minutes before that. Six frames, even blurrier. It seems to be getting longer and longer between instances, and the amount of screentime is dropping, too. I think whoever it is, is trying to hide from the camera pos

Unknown sender: Goddamn it, slower!

King: Last calling, what’s up?

Rook: Rook here, sir. Tweedledee nearly pushed me down a flight.

White Knight: Maybe you should give me some warning before you stop dead in your tracks. I can’t exactly see behind me.

Queen: I’ll head down and deal with the children.

King: Anything on the cameras at the bottom?

Aries 2-1: Nothing. Cameras at the bottom are all blown out or otherwise unresponsive. We have full coverage of the surface level, partial of sub-basement one, and the stairwells and elevators are all online.

White Knight: Elevators? Are you shitting me, guy?

Black Knight: Quit crying and go to the gym more.

White Knight: Says the guy walking forward, and can see what he’s doing.

Black Knight: All I see is your ugly face, my feet are as blind as you are, asshole.

Queen: Would both of you just shut up and walk?

Aries 2-1: Wouldn’t matter, the elevators are locked down, only the cameras in them work. We still can’t get the override to let us into them. Where are you guys from, anyway?

King: We’re special delivery from Fort Carson, sorry it took so long for us to get here.

Queen: Sir, we’re in position. Boomer is setting up the Talon now.

King: Okay, let me know when he’s done. So explain to me what exactly is sitting in the basement.

Aries 2-1: You’d have to talk to Charon lead to get an accurate description. Don’t expect much though, they got pulled within a few minutes of contact. All I know, big silver ball right where the reaction or collision, or whatever it was happened. Weird things though, is they heard singing. One guy swore it was Italian, but someone else on the team was sure it wasn’t. Weirdest thing though, the thing was basically a mirror, but no one could see their reflection in it.

King: What do you mean?

Aries 2-1: Whole room was reflected in the thing, but none of our team was showing up. One of the survivors from the top floor was trying to suggest that was some of the liquid helium coolant, but he couldn’t explain that bit.

White Knight: Couldn’t we have just called in an old priest and a young priest?

Queen: I swear to God, I will have you dusting the dirt when we get back up topside if you don’t shut up.

White Knight: Sorry, sir. Should we pray to Heinlein instead?

Queen: King, Boomer has the bot set up and ready to roll in. We’re ready to crack the doors whenever you say go. White Knight has lead.

White Knight: Oh, come on LT.

King: On the way down. Hold for me.

Queen: Got it sir. Rook, Bishop, stack up. Tweedledee and Tweedledum, take a knee behind the bot, get ready to cover.

Black Knight: Serious, boss? You’re gonna lump me in with him?

Queen: I didn’t pick the call signs, but they’re fitting nicely so far.

King: Says the Queen.

Queen: Goddamn it, Captain. You here yet? I want to get this over with. I’m not hearing any singing, but I’m properly creeped.

Rook: You don’t?

Queen: Do you?

Rook: I’m not hearing singing, but there’s some real faint musical something coming through. You really don’t hear it?

Queen: Nothing. Anyone else hearing it?

Black Knight: I hear something, but it’s not singing, and I really wouldn’t call it music.

King: Okay, here. Boomer, you ready to roll?

Boomer: Ready.

King: Rook, Bishop, pull the doors, let’s get this show moving. Kasparov, we are moving in on the epicenter.

Kasparov: King, you are a go.

King: Boomer, the floor is yours. Let’s see what’s in the box.

Boomer: Moving the Talon in. Kasparov, are you seeing the visual feed from the bot?

Kasparov: We see it. Video shows the orb, but there seems to be some rather serious distortion around it. Is that just the video feed or are you seeing the same distortion in person?

Boomer: I see something, but damned if I can define it. Looks kinda like a heat wave off a hot road. Okay, Talon is now four meters from the orb. Readings are normal, but it looks like there a sharp temperature drop the closer it gets.

King: Drop? It’s getting colder?

Boomer: Here, look at the feed. It’s dropping a degree or two every foot.

Queen: Does that mean it really is just the helium coolant? What’s making it go all “Sphere” on us? And where are the reflections?

King: How cold is the surrounding area right there? Can we move in closer?

Boomer: Don’t see why not. It’s cooler than here, but we’re not talking Arctic storm.

King: Rook, Bishop, move around, see if you can get behind the orb, see what you can see.

Rook: Moving.

Boomer: Contact. Okay, so the surface of that thing is sitting at a brisk 55 Fahrenheit, 11.1 Celsius. Doesn’t seem to be any sort of skin on the thing, seems liquid all right. No sign of what’s suspending it, or what’s causing it to hold its shape.

King: Gotta be something at the center holding it like that. Maybe the collider created something, I heard some old conspiracy theories before that they were worried CERN might make a black hole. Rook, Bishop, what you got for me?

Bishop: Nothing back here sir, except some busted equipment. One weird thing though, I think the orb might have been a bit bigger when it first formed. There are some pretty clear indications that something scooped out anything that was near it. I think it might have eaten it when it popped into existence.

King: Good to know. Get back over here, I don’t want you near that thing when we send in the Talon.

Rook: Moving back to you

W Knight: Uh… sir? Look at where the Talon is making contact. It looks like veins or something.

Boomer: Pretty sure that’s just temperature flux from the Talon. Looks pretty though. Sorta like a Christmas tree ball or something. Silver with blue whorls.

King: Kasparov, permission to proceed?

Kasparov: Confirmed, you have authorization to see what Talon can find inside the center of that orb.

W Knight: How many licks do you think it’ll take?

King: Boomer, the floor is yours. Let’s see what we can see.

Boomer: Breaching surface. Video feed is good, manipulation arms in place. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of resistance to it.

Aries 2-1: Kasparov, be advised, we have movement on Sub-basement 1 again. Charon Team is requesting permission to take up positions in the main room on that floor.

Kasparov: Acknowledged, Aries 2-1, tell Charon they have permission to take positions. Tell them to make sure they’re carrying lethal arms this time.

King: Knight, set up and watch our back until Charon is in place. I don’t want any surprises, and I don’t like this timing.

W Knight: Me or him?

King: Both.

Boomer: Uh, something’s wrong. Talon has advanced 20 feet, but there’s no sign of the center. I think I might have driven it all the way through the orb. I’m just a few feet away from the wall now.

King: What? Queen, take Rook and circle around, we’ll try to guide it back in and find out what’s holding this thing together.

Queen: Gotcha, moving.

Aries 2-1: Kasparov, King, be advised, Charon teams have taken up position, your back is secure.

King: Appreciate it Aries. They see anything?

Charon 1-1: See, no. But it looks like a tornado went through here. Papers all over the place and chairs and desks have been pushed back. No footprints in the ash though, so I have no idea how.

Queen: Sir, uh, Talon hasn’t made it through this side.

Boomer: What? It must have, I’ve given it 25 feet of cord, it should be right up against the far wall.

Queen: Afraid not. It’s not through.

Boomer: Fuck’s sake. I can see it on the feed. It’s moved out of the orb. I can move it a little more and wave to mys-

(Brief silence)

Boomer: Something’s wrong. I can’t see any of us on the video feed.

King: I’m sorry, what?

Boomer: Look. There’s the desk, there’s the doors, there’s the racks, but no us.

B Knight: The hell?

W Knight: So we in the Twilight Zone or something?

King: Kasparov, this is King. I’m moving up to the orb.

Kasparov: That is strongly disadvised, King.

King: Noted. Queen, you’re in charge if something goes wrong.

Queen: Sir, I’m pretty sure we should hold off on that, we don’t know what the orb did to Talon.

King: At the surface of the orb now. It’s kinda chilly. Uh, doesn’t feel wet. Actually, doesn’t feel like anything, it’s like an air bubble. I’m inside now

Kasparov: King, be advised, we have lost your visual feed, I say again, we have no access to your visual feed.

Queen: We’re still seeing Talon video, what’s up with his?

Boomer: Talon has a cable, doesn’t rely on wireless transmission.

King: Okay, I’m fully through and out, walking around. (brief silence noted here) That’s really unsettling. I can see the Talon, but I don’t have eyes on my team. Moving forward to the door.

Boomer: Okay, we have King on the visual feed from Talon.

Queen: Jesus. He should be right next to us. What the fuck is this shit?

King: Holy mother of God. This isn’t right. Guys, look at this shit.

Queen: Sir, we’re coming in there to join you. Boomer, hold this position. Kasparov, come in.

Kasparov: Queen, this is Kasparov, send it.

Queen: We’re moving into the orb and going to support King. You’ll lose our video feed shortly.

Kasparov: What did King find, we’re blind here.

Queen: He found a flag.

King: Not just any flag. It’s a Kriegsmarine flag, but it’s in red, white and blue. Old Glory is sitting top left quadrant, but there’s an iron cross in the circle. The other quadrants are red, white and blue.

W Knight: You found what? That’s not possible.

King: There’s something else. There’s a plaque on the wall. Reads “For the advancement of the great Holy American Empire”. Something is very off here. It looks like this place hasn’t been touched in years. It’s filthy, much worse than just the ash in, uh, “our” facility.

Charon 1-1: Break, break, something is happening on sub-basement 1. Something in the far corner of the cubicle farm just turned on a light. Negative movement.

King: Hold up. There’s some footprints here in the dirt in the stairwell. I can’t identify them, one set, looks like it’s from something heavy. Shit. Oh, shit, this looks recent.

Queen: Knights, you’re with me, Bishop, Rook, hold positions until we give you the go ahead. King: do not move, we’re coming to you.

King: I’m moving up the stairwell. Tracks are going down, but I don’t see any going up.

W Knight: Can the fucker hear us? Captain, hold up, we’re moving in to support.

Queen: I don’t think comms are making it. Alright, double time this, no one goes anywhere alone, we gotta meet up with him.

King: At sub basement one. This place looks like it’s been deserted for decades. Some foot marks in the dirt. Can’t say what they belong to though. Some sort of biped though, from what I can see. Oh shit. I found a calendar. The last page torn off says July 11th. From 1999.

Queen: We’ve passed through the fracture, I have eyes on Talon. Captain, can you hear me now?

King: Queen? Yeah, I read you. Get up here, you have to see this to believe it.

Rook: Queen, this is Rook. Charon team is here with Boomer, we’re moving on your position now, stand by.

(brief silence, static)

Queen: Oh yeah, this isn’t creepy at all. There any notes? Anything written on any of the calendars? Spread out, see if you can find anything to paint us a picture.

Unconfirmed Sender (believed to be Black Knight): Did you hear that? Shit, something’s above us.

King: Positions, we’re pushing up to the ground floor, Knights, you’re on me. Queen, hold back with Rook and Bishop until we breach the top door, then follow us up. Safeties off, gentlemen.

(approximately 30 seconds of silence, followed by a loud bang)

King: Sweep forward, check your corners. Queen, move up.

Queen: Moving.

Rook: Jesus, what is this, the American Pripyat? Every pane of glass is busted out, looks like a mob came through here. Front door is wide open.

King: Cover me, Black Knight, left side, White Knight, stay on my ass. I’m moving to the door.

W Knight: Gotcha boss.

(brief silence)

King: The fuck? Okay, yeah this place has officially moved into permanent residence in the Twilight Zone. Kasparov, we are not in Kansas, I say again, we are not in Kansas.

Unknown Sender: Fucking Christ! Man down!

(Automatic gunfire is heard through radio)

Unknown Sender: Kill it! Stagger fire, move back to the door! No, fucking drag him back, Collins, go cyclic, I don’t give a shit if you melt the barrel, don’t let it move!

Kasparov: Last calling station, report.

Charon 1-1: This is Charon, we have two… No, three men down! Something is in here, Sub-basement 1, I can’t say what, I don’t have eyes on it!

Aries 2-1: There’s nothing on the feed, I don’t see jack shit!

Charon 1-1: We’re pulling out, I can’t even say for sure that we hit it! Everyone take positions on the door, do not let it through, we’re gonna seal the door shut until we-

(Screams, further gunfire)

Kasparov: All callsigns this net, instructions to follow. Chessboard, hold position, Aries, move a secondary team into position to support callsign Boomer. All Bia callsigns, move to sub-basement 1, your orders are to shoot on sight. More to follow.

#reddit #nosleep #scary #story

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bethestaryouareradio · 4 years ago

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Sirius is Serious

Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian

Sirius is Serious By Cynthia Brian

“When the ancients first observed Sirius emerging as it were from the sun…they believed its power of heat to have been so excessive that…the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid.” John Brady, 1813, a Compendious Analysis of the Calendar.

Forever the optimist, when I penned my last column, The Dog Days of Summer, http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1413/Digging-Deep-with-Cynthia-Brian-the-Goddess-Gardener-for-August-The-Dog-Days-of-Summer.html

, I intentionally left out the part of the Old Farmer’s Almanac, 1817 that indicates, “Make both hay and haste while the Sun shines, for when old Sirius takes command of the weather, he is such an unsteady, crazy dog, there is no dependence upon him.”

In the last few weeks, we have witnessed the ravages of Sirius with thousands of lightning strikes causing more than six hundred wildfires, millions of acres burned, gusty erratic winds, radically unhealthy air quality, and ash blanketing the state. More land has burned in the last few weeks than burned in all of 2019. Death and destruction are the horrific aftermaths.

Our Napa County farm was amongst the blazing landscapes. Everyone living in the valley where our vineyards and ranch reside was evacuated, yet, with firefighters engaged elsewhere battling numerous other infernos, my brother stayed behind on his tractor to cut roads, create safety zones, and clear debris. The hills and pastures burned. He saved the vineyards, barns, and our family home.

Between the brutal pandemic, perverse politics, sizzling heat, and suffocating smoke, we all have a reason to despair. To thwart a fire on my hillside, I have cut my dried perennials and annuals to ground level. The only beauty is offered by my faithful blushing naked ladies, lavender society garlic plants, and the passionflower vine that twines up my peach tree. The ground is parched.

As I was repairing a broken water pipe so that I could irrigate this arid field, my optimism suddenly resurged. Swallowtails flitted through the smoke-filled air searching for a colorful landing place. A hummingbird settled on my string of patio lights before nuzzling my pink jacobinia growing in a cement urn. A five-lined skink, also known as a blue-tailed lizard, perched on a nearby boulder completely uninterested in my cutting and gluing efforts. I completed my project, picked a ripe tangerine from the tree, headed for the hammock, and savored the juice as it dripped down my chin. Swinging, I contemplated my future gardening desires.

This is the season to start making a list of what you want to grow for the forthcoming months. My succulent garden doesn’t need precipitation to thrive. Adding succulents to your want list is a smart idea. Bulbs are easy to grow and most offer yearly returns. Favorites to plant in late autumn for a spring showing include daffodils, tulips, freesia, ranunculus, hyacinth, Dutch iris, anemone, and crocus. Freesias are one of nature’s greatest gifts with splendid scents, a cornucopia of colors, and the ability to naturalize. Daffodils are probably the most popular and least expensive of all the bulbs. Deer, rabbits, and other critters won’t eat them, allowing their happy flowers to bloom for long stretches. When winter is nearing its finale, crocus will make you smile as they push through the soil to reveal their rich colors of blue, violet, yellow, and white. Treat yourself to a garden filled with tulips. You’ll want to buy your bulbs soon as they need to be refrigerated for at least six weeks before planting. For more impact, group colors, shapes, and sizes together in a swath. They are wonderfully interplanted with delphiniums, pansies, and other annuals or perennials for a very merry greeting.

After a traumatic summer filled with climatic extremes, sowing seeds for a bountiful harvest of late fall to early winter salad greens and vegetables is a welcome endeavor.

What seeds do you want? Try any of these for rapid results. Make sure to water regularly. Lettuce Spinach Arugula Swiss Chard Kale Beets Fennel Turnips Broccoli Carrot Kohlrabi Shallots Garlic Radish

With the seriousness of the sizzling Sirius and the dangerous air quality outside, stay indoors and peruse catalogs and gardening books to get ideas for fall planting. On Thursday, September 17th, I’ll be doing a ZOOM presentation, “Tips, Tricks, and Tonics in the Garden” for the Moraga Garden Club celebrating its 50th anniversary. For information on this ZOOM meeting, call Membership Chair Jane Magnani at 925-451-7031 for times to join in the conversation and presentation. We’ll keep it light, fun, and informative.

Summer will soon be ending. This is an opportune time to check for sale and clearance items that you may want for your outdoor landscaping for next year. I have found great deals at https://bit.ly/3aG6qOI including winter covers for patio furniture. As much as I love the heat, the chance of wildfires is omnipresent. Make sure to read my article on how to be prepared in the event of any emergency. This article could save your life.

https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1414/Are-you-ready-to-evacuate.html

The Roman poet, Virgil described Sirius as “bringer of drought and plague to frail mortals, rises and saddens the sky with sinister light.” The veracity of his narrative has been realized in 2020. The sea has not yet boiled and let’s hope the wine doesn’t spoil. I’m grateful to my brother for saving our ranch and thankful to the first responders and firefighters on the front lines of the flames.

Now more than ever, we need large doses of humor, hope, and healing. Let’s employ kindness and empathy for one another as we prepare for planting autumn bulbs and seeds. A bright and beautiful spring display is only two seasons away. Embrace optimism and gratitude.

Photos: http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1414/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Sirius-is-serious.html

Happy gardening. Happy growing.

Cynthia Brian, The Goddess Gardener, is available for hire to help you prepare for your spring garden. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach, as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com.

Buy copies of her best-selling books and receive extra freebies, Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, and Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store.

Cynthia is available for virtual writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures. [email protected]

www.GoddessGardener.com

#garden,, #dogs, #dogdays,#pandemic,#bulbs,#seeds,,#outdoors,#plants,#patio,#furniture, septembergardening, #hot, gardening, #cynthiabrian, #starstyle, #goddessGardener, #growingwiththegoddessgardener, #lamorindaweekly

#garden dogs dogdayspandemicbulbsseedsoutdoorsplantspatiofurniture septembergardening hot gardening cynthiabrian starstyle goddessGardener gr

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goddessgardener · 4 years ago

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Sirius is Serious

Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian

Sirius is Serious By Cynthia Brian

After a traumatic summer filled with climatic extremes, sowing seeds for a bountiful harvest of late fall to early winter salad greens and vegetables is a welcome endeavor.

What seeds do you want? Try any of these for rapid results. Make sure to water regularly. Lettuce Spinach Arugula Swiss Chard Kale Beets Fennel Turnips Broccoli Carrot Kohlrabi Shallots Garlic Radish

https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1414/Are-you-ready-to-evacuate.html

Photos: http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1414/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Sirius-is-serious.html

Happy gardening. Happy growing.

Cynthia is available for virtual writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures. [email protected]

www.GoddessGardener.com

#garden dogs dogdayspandemicbulbsseedsoutdoorsplantspatiofurniture septembergardening hot gardening cynthiabrian starstyle goddessGardener gr

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andrewuttaro · 5 years ago

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New Look Sabres: GM 27 - TOR

2-1 OT Loss

This was 95% of a perfect Buffalo Sports holiday weekend. We got the big, National TV Josh Allen coming out party against Dallas on Thanksgiving followed by a win over the Maple Leafs in Buffalo and an OT loss up in Toronto the following night. Barring Eichel ripping home the OT winner this was almost the best we could’ve asked for. Walking out of the Calgary game in the pouring rain Wednesday I just felt lost with this team. Sure, the last five or so games have looked better than the prior ten in several metrics, but the actual W’s were still few and far between. Friday afternoon in Buffalo we got the win. Saturday evening in Toronto we got damn close to another. Three out of four points in this home-and-home series is awfully nice. I’ve been very forward saying there cannot be anymore moral victories with this team: not in year five of Eichel and year two of Dahlin. This club has underachieved for too long. But in instances like this you got to acknowledge the significance of how a two-game series can make a difference. It’s not just the eye test effects; take a look at the heat maps getting thrown around after these two game and you can see shots coming from the right places. The expected goals, the advanced stat I proclaimed was the harbinger of doom as the hot start faded, its picking up again. Corsi, yeah it’s picking up too! The thing you can take from each game from this one back to the Florida Panthers game, other than five points, is that the Sabres maybe bouncing back from an absolutely ghastly stretch. They maybe bouncing back like they never managed to last season after resurrecting the love of hockey in this City like Easter morning during the ten-game winning streak. If they can’t be consistently good right now, the next best thing is the ability to bounce back. What’s that motivational buzzword: perseverance?

Master motivator Ralph Krueger better be yelling that one in the locker room if we’re getting our bang for the buck out of him. We can ride him all we want about roster optimization but that’s what fans do good or bad and frankly; I don’t think he’s going to mess up the deployment WHEN his boss makes the trade we’ve been waiting for. They’re two points out of second in the Atlantic Division. If you want to get a GM’s attention for the necessity of a single trade, show them how it can make a difference in the standings right now. A top six forward makes a difference in the standings right now. Something about playing the Leafs makes me very long-winded on the prefaces. This game proved what a boon another top six winger would be for this club. Three players scored this game: William Nylander, Rasmus Ristolainen, and John Tavares. You might notice only one of those guys is a Sabre. The next thing you may notice is that Sabre is a guy most would consider not a part of the future of this team anymore. We can point at all the opportunities in this game that didn’t come to fruition while on the other hand also saying, yeah: another real goal scorer in the top six would be nice. Hate them or hate them (those are your only two options) the Leafs know who their guys are. They’ve committed tens of millions of dollars to four or five guys who are therefore paid to score goals or in Andersen’s case prevent them. When they don’t score or block enough the team is screwed. However you may feel about that model it’s gotten them three straight playoff appearances and that’s more than we can say about Buffalo. I’d sell an internal organ for a first-round sweep at this point. They could lose each game by six goals and most of South Buffalo would still be dangerously hammered climbing light poles. Make a trade, Jason. We get it, you find this defensive depth intoxicating but if you listen to what you Head Coach is telling you he certainly isn’t. He wants to optimize the roster and he certainly doesn’t want to get called Housley 2.0. The Bills don’t play for a week, buddy; do you think YOUR boss doesn’t have the time to notice something like that? Get the smart-ass bloggers like me off your back before that pesky fracking baron who pays you realizes how friggin close we are and forces you into another Ryan O’Reilly trade! Where was I going with this?

Oh yeah, another goal scorer taking pot shots at Fredrik Andersen and maybe you seal up the full four points out of this weekend against the Leafs. The Jack Eichel Sabres will respond to that kind of morale bump. Marcus Johansson got called for slashing Cody Ceci and before you know it William Nylander is deking an Auston Matthews assisted shot over Carter Hutton’s shoulder like he was doing a magic trick. We could have a whole separate talk about how special teams is a crapshoot on this team but I’m kinda proud of myself for getting through two Leafs games without putting on the EXPLCIT tag and I don’t want to mess it up now. About seven minutes into the third period Rasmus Ristolainen took a puck in from the boards slowly but surely and this putrid Leafs defense let him all the way to Andersen where he deked in the equalizer. We got the absolute sexiest version of Rasmus Ristolainen this game and not anyone else really. Not even two minutes into the overtime period John Tavares and his unit were just buzzing around with the puck in the Sabres zone. He was covered by Victor Olofsson when we ripped a shot that appeared to not even be on target. However, the hockey gods get the most LOLs out of things going wrong for the Sabres, so Carter Hutton reached his glove out and the puck deflected in off of that. 2-1 OT loss done deal. Okay, to be fair a lot more happened in this game than the score will tell you. Ilya Mikheyev showed us how it’s done in Mother Russia and speared Sam Reinhart right in the nuts without getting called. Jeff Skinner got pissed. Conor Sheary scored a goal that didn’t count because when it crossed the line it was in Andersen’s glove and remember those heat maps I mentioned earlier? Well the Sabres let precisely zero shots from what one might consider the “net front” area while taking a high number of shots from those spots in their own right. Say what you will about the Leafs this season, the Sabres played good offensively and pretty good defensively to get this result.

So you probably don’t want Carter Hutton letting in that OT goal. I don’t see why he wouldn’t put out his glove there though. It probably looked like it could’ve gone in from his angle. Nonetheless it’s an excuse for me to proclaim that the tide has turned: Linus Ullmark is now the starter and Hutton is the backup. We were predicting this would happen last season but here we are with King Ullmark just in time for Christmas. Each time Hutton gets called new Lehner my Ullmark jersey gets a little bit prettier. Enough piling on, I think we can all agree this home-and-home series would’ve been bulletproof had it been four points. Since its three, also more than we probably expected, we probably need a dominating performance tomorrow night against a struggling Devils team to really make it seem like we’re back on track. The very vocal pessimist party on Sabres twitter will probably second guess it until there is an x next to the team in the standings but the resurgence is on. Go beat up the Devils Monday night and fly to Western Canada with the confidence it takes to win in this league. If you have trouble finding that confidence just ask Jimmy Vesey: he went from zero to hero in one week. Confidence is one hell of a drug. Like, comment and reply to this blog to help out. Happy Holidays.

But wait, I’d be a coward to not talk about it. The scandals unfolding right now that originated with Bill Peters and Akim Alui are not a witch hunt. Don’t be a dumbass. Hockey as a sport is not growing. The way the league points to it growing is farcical at best. The sport is shrinking because it’s a rich white kid sport with an ugly culture to match. As North America gets more diverse hockey is not keeping up. Not only is it not keeping up its proving at every turn that it prefers the racist failings of a generation of boomer coaches who get recycled over and over again to any real movement toward inclusivity. Bill Peters thought it was okay to yell the N word about one of his non-white player’s music in a packed locker room. The Ontario Hockey League, twenty something clubs across the most populace province in Canada, thought it was okay to blacklist a kid in his NHL Draft Year as a troublemaker because he got in a fight AFTER one of the most notorious instigators in this sport called him a racial slur. Alui was essentially booed out of Windsor for standing up for himself. Top to bottom this sport is not for everyone and if we have any hopes of saving it for coming generations we have to listen to guys like Akim Alui without feeling like the whole sport is under attack. It’s called learning and growing. It’s something this sport has trouble with far less important issues. The Steve Dangle Podcast is one of my go-to’s on a regular basis. You should listen to it. It’s a lot of Leafs talk but the way they discussed this reckoning here was brilliant. It’s not about what kinda guy Peters or Babcock are. Peters turns out to be a real bad guy. It’s about the fact that hockey allows the culture for people to feel comfortable talking like that. This state of affairs isn’t okay and frankly painting it in your quasi-political culture wars colors is not helpful. That’s harmful. Those last two sentences were me. I felt the need to say this after what’s been going around this week. Please, don’t be a dumbass. I’m looser with the mute button on twitter these days. Don’t be a dumbass, listen. Please just listen. It’s what we need more of these days. That’s it for me. I’m just some blogger. Go listen to someone’s story who’s actually effected by it. Let’s be better people to each other. Let’s Go Buffalo.

Thanks for Reading.

P.S. I feel like close second in Greatest Game Against the Leafs in Sabres history is Punch Imlach’s return to Toronto in 1970. The newspaper clippings are great. Not only did the expansion Sabres beat their Coach’s former team, there was a Sabres fan who gave Imlach a sabre which he had with him for postgame. That’s how you fire the first shot in a rivalry.

#buffalo sabres #hockey #blog #NHL #Toronto Maple Leafs

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officialclaricestarling · 7 years ago

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fallout: new vegas oc sheet for my beloved ex-ranger novak & her ghoul wife below, y’all are free to ignore or read these as you please, i’m just posting for tagging reference

Full Name: Novak Thaxton Nicknames: Courier, Courier Six Age: 55 Birthday: December 11th, 2222 Height: 5’11” Eyes: Blue (hazy with cataracs now) Hair: Salt and pepper, public defender Complexion: Sunburnt (no matter how much sunscreen she wears) Ethnicity: White Body Type: Soft S.P.E.C.I.A.L: S 8 / P 6 / E 6 / C 5 / I 3 / A 6 / L 6 Alignment: Neutral good

Pre-Game Status: Courier for the Mojave Express, former Desert Ranger, former NCR Veteran Ranger Post-Game Status: NCR Veteran Ranger (honorary reinstatement)

Relationship Status: Married (34 years) Spouse: Ida Thaxton (70, ghoul, they run a small homestead together out near Zion, Ida’s a baker and an adept gardener while Novak tends to the brahmin and makes some extra caps as pest control/mail delivery) Sexuality: Lesbian Gender: Female

Languages: English, middling Spanish

Religion: None

Family:

Ida Thaxton (spouse, ghoul, age 70)

Bill Thaxton (father, deceased when Novak was 12)

Florinda Thaxton (mother, deceased when Novak was 32)

Norma (adopted daughter, age 25)

Flora (adopted daughter, age 19)

Mac (adopted son, age 17)

Jack (adopted son, ghoul, age 45/technically 9)

Monroe (granddaughter, Norma’s baby, age 2)

Pets: ED-E, Rex

Injuries/Addictions: General age. Scars: Right forehead temple (Benny’s headshot), on back and minor on face (Old World Blues), left arm slash from a nasty encounter with a Deathclaw at 29 Make-Up: Unless homemade sunscreen that Ida mixes for her counts, none Clothing: Veteran Ranger Uniform when she’s working, or the ranger vest outfit if she’s not. She doesn’t often wear the helmet aside from combat situations, though.

Lifestyle: Prior to Benny shooting her in the head, she had a pretty sedate lifestyle, living with her ghoul wife on a ranch homestead near Zion Canyon where she took care of the brahmin and ran packages for the Mojave Express as a specialty courier (specialty here meaning a delivery that they felt needed an ex-ranger to handle). When she’d been a Ranger, she had a reputation as one of the best, and occasionally she pulls out the old helmet and Sequoia if there’s trouble in town.

Affiliations: New California Republic, NCR Rangers, Vegas, Freeside, the Kings, Boomers, Enclave Remnants, Followers of the Apocalypse Former Affiliations: Desert Rangers Neutral Affiliations: Brotherhood of Steel Enemy Groups: The Legion, raiders

Friends: Arcade Gannon, Boone, Veronica, Christine, Lilly, Raul, Cass, The King, Beatrix Acquaintances: Ranger Stella (a deep respect, because Stella straight-up bare-handed fought a Centurion and Novak had been worried merging with the NCR would kill the high standards set for the Rangers), Ranger Ghost, Col. Moore, etc Enemies: Any given member of the Legion, Mr. House, Benny, Van Graffs

Weapon(s) of Choice: Ranger Sequoia or an anti-material rifle

Strengths: High survival abilities from years with the Rangers, and a ton of experience from it too. Good instincts and a lot of common sense. She’s not the smartest but she’s durable. Cares a lot about people and wants them to succeed. Made peace with the NCR, and believes they are the best choice for the future--she’s willing to compromise. Also, she has no fear of radiation and is going to end up a ghoul like her wife. She can drink Cass under the table. Flaws: No fear of radiation, much to Arcade’s dismay. Also pretty low intelligence, and she is willing to compromise, which a lot of people view as weakness.

Likes: Her wife, their homestead. Warm weather and sunshine. Cactus flowers. A cold beer on the porch that she built, sitting next to her wife. Watching her children grow up into happy adults. Taking care of the future generations and leaving this world a better place. Helping out. Listening to The Four Seasons. The holiday season, and giving gifts. Making people smile. Dislikes: Snow. Wet socks, hot rain. Having to pressure people into doing things. Lying, for the most part. Bugs. Molerat chunks, but she’ll eat them if Ida makes them. Hates: Liars and cheats. People turning their back on people trying to help. Feeling helpless. Chem addiction. Favorite Color: Red Favorite Food: Ida’s homemade tortillas and grilled brahmin steak with jalapenos Favorite Drink: A cold beer or a Sunset Sarsaparilla with tequila Favorite Snacks: Fancy Lads snack cakes

Random Facts:

She built most of their house herself to impress her new wife.

Raul is one of her best friends, and someone she travels with frequently even after the NCR takes Vegas. He didn’t believe she’d married a ghoul until she showed him one of her most prized possessions: a photograph from their wedding (he argued it was because he couldn’t believe anyone would want to marry her if they had any other options, not because he didn’t think a ghoul and a smoothskin could work as a couple)

Prior to discovering the Big MT, she was functionally blind (glasses helped some, but the riot gear helmet was the only thing that really did anything for her). She lost her sight from cataracts that developed when she was 35, but she kept on going (it just made her more legendary). The Auto-Doc in the Sink managed to give her back most of her vision (she’s still nearsighted, though), but her eyes still look cloudy, even if she can see.

The merge between the Rangers had nothing to do with her retirement, though she begrudgingly admitted that she’d been worried the NCR Rangers were gonna bring down that historic title of Desert Ranger with disgrace, but they turned out to be just as tough as any of the old guard (of which Novak is one of the last)

Her name came from a book that her father used to read, it was the last name of one of the characters.

She knew the Survivalist back when he was a Ranger

Her family has always had Rangers in it--her father, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, great-grandfather... She can trace her lineage in the Rangers back to the Great War, and likely even further.

She met Ida when she was 20 in a saloon in one of the villages outside Zion Canyon, where Ida was tending bar and Novak was posted as a freshly-minted Desert Ranger. Ida didn’t believe Novak was genuinely interested in a ghoul, but Novak was persistent and got Ida to agree to a night out. They got married a year later and lived in a motel-turned-apartments for half a year while Novak rebuilt/renovated a homestead for her wife.

Ida and Novak never formally intended to adopt any children, but kids who needed homes kept appearing, and neither of them were cruel enough to turn away someone who needed their help (and, Novak argued, they had plenty of space in their home, they could share). Now they have a grandkid who calls Novak Nana and Ida Abuela.

She’s Soft

Most of her backstory was ripped from “Sundown” by Marty Robbins

#oc novak #fnv ocs #fnv

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calvinphilip22-blog · 6 years ago

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The Foreigner Experience

In January, the rock band Completely Unchained stormed the Reilly Arts Center stage in a crank-it-to-11 flurry of sparks, leaps and wild hair. Lots and lots of hair. Think manes of hair. Think late '70s, early '80s. Think David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen.

That’s what hundreds of people were thinking that night, as Completely Unchained not only played Van Halen’s hits but inhabited the style and swagger of the legendary California party band. The show was part of the WIND-FM Rocks the Reilly Series, now in its third season. The Ocala-based classic rock radio station brings tribute bands into the arts center, and the shows have proved very popular, often selling out.

The success of the series is part of a larger phenomenon: Venues are booking more tribute acts — musicians who not only play the music of popular, often-gone acts but play the parts. They dress like the originals, strut like the originals, bend guitar strings like the originals. While the burgeoning local arts scene is presenting many headliners and fresh new acts, there definitely is a diverse menu of tribute bands. Reilly Arts Center in Ocala: Let It Be - The Beatles, Cash Unchained — The Ultimate Johnny Cash Tribute, Remembering John Denver, Nightrain — Guns N’ Roses Tribute and Pig Floyd — The Music of Pink Floyd.

Orange Blossom Opry in Weirsdale: The Everly Brothers Experience, Hotel California, John Denver Tribute and the Neil Diamond Tribute. This list is not complete. Also, several acts listed are returning. 200 ticket prices. But fans still want to hear that music. 20 ticket to a show minutes away, they will opt for a date night or girls night out in their hometown. Tribute bands also are cheaper for venues. 12,000 or less. Ticket prices are lower, but tribute bands generally fill — at the very least — several hundred seats. With tribute bands, WIND-FM Rocks the Reilly Series has been very successful, noted Hunter, an on-air co-host and WIND-FM’s program director. "We’ve had quite a few sellouts. These things are hot," she said. "It makes for a great date night. From teens to baby boomers, people simply love the sounds, styles and attitudes of classic rock.

20 ticket to see what they missed all those years ago is quite reasonable, local sources contend. Manning said there definitely has been an increase in tribute bands in the last five years. When 7 Bridges started 12 years ago, Manning said there were a handful of Eagles tribute bands touring. "We turn down more shows than we accept," Manning said, noting 7 Bridges also caps its tour dates these days to allow for more family time and side projects. "The appetite is there," said Matt Wardell, CEO and artistic director of the Reilly. So is the inventory. Wardell said the Reilly gets a handful of calls each week from promoters trying to book their tribute bands into the venue. It’s tricky, Wardell noted, because the Reilly never intended to book tribute bands when it opened, opting to present Ocala Symphony Orchestra concerts, local productions and original touring acts.

But the popularity and supply of tribute bands — good tribute bands — is not to be dismissed. WIND-FM rents the Reilly to host their tribute shows, but the Reilly staff has started booking their own tribute concerts in between larger acts and symphony shows. Last weekend’s Denny Diamond concert, for example, was a Reilly-hosted show, whereas Let It Be will be part of the WIND-FM series. "Five to eight years ago, performing arts centers wouldn’t even think about a tribute band," Manning said. But, now, a performing arts center such as the Reilly or Circle Square is perfect for tribute bands.

Fans of the original bands are at an age where sitting down with a cocktail is far more appealing than going to a sweaty bar or a stadium that demands standing. "I saw the Queen (and) AC/DC show at Reilly. It was awesome. I also went to the John Denver one and the Elton John show. I love them," noted Ocala resident Laura Fontaine. JoAnn Grosso, adding she has been called up on stage to dance at tribute shows. Other locals are not quite on board with the tribute band proliferation. Wardell said the Reilly does not want to be tribute band-heavy. It strives to fill its schedule with diverse and original acts with headliner appeal. But the tribute band market is hard to ignore. He said the Reilly vets tribute acts carefully, examining internet clips and talking to references. To be sure, there are bad tribute bands out there. But the increase in tribute bands also means there is a larger number of good bands, Manning said. "The tribute bands have really stepped up their game in the last five or six years," he said. They know how to put on a good show — a production with lights and quality sound and interaction.

"Abbey Road" was a last creative gasp for the Beatles, and on Wednesday the tribute band RAIN turned it into a multi-media, sensory assault. The classic album came out in 1969. It felt like 50 years flashed by in the two-hours, with stunning visual and audio re-creations at the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center. "Abbey Road" is a daring, sonic adventure that simmers with furious energy and mind-expanding rock and roll. I’ve seen many Beatles’ tribute bands and presentations, but nothing could match the quality of the music and the visual presentations in this show. RAIN has appeared on Broadway and also played the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. The Beatles were well on their way to breaking up in 1969. "Abbey Road" seemed like a farewell get-together in the recording studio that the album was named after.

"We wanted to make one last great album, and that’s how we made ‘Abbey Road,’" Paul McCartney has said. Steve Landes (John Lennon), Paul Curatolo (Paul McCartney), Alastar McNeil (George Harrison) and Aaron Chiazza (Ringo Starr) make up RAIN. They can’t match the Beatles but this group and its Broadway-show like presentation captures the music, emotion and atmosphere of the Beatles. The Beatles, who broke up in 1970, would release one more album - "Let It Be" - after "Abbey Road." That LP was mostly a rehash of old tapes and performances for the "Let It Be" movie. "Abbey Road," in contrast, is a fresh burst of musical adventure. In some ways, it’s a bittersweet album, sort of like a graduation.

The time has come to leave old friends and start over - but you want to have one last blast with your buddies. Landes gave props to John Lennon with a blistering cover of "Come Together" to start off Side 1 of the album. Landes, with shoulder-length hair and a wearing a chalk white suit, captured the 1969 Lennon look. And then there’s George - the quiet Beatle. George Harrison reached a musical climax on "Abbey Road." His ballad, "Something," on Side 1 (RAIN did not perform it) is a classic. Harrison kicked off Side 2 with another standard, "Here Comes the Sun." McNeil played an acoustic guitar on the song to perfection and was spot on with his vocals. After that number, the Beatles turned Side 2 of "Abbey Road" into one of the greatest rock performances in history. And that’s not an exaggeration.

I didn’t expect much from RAIN but they surprised me. The first hour of the program was a guided tour of Beatles history. It started with the appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964. The early songs were fun, as were the old television commercials shown on the giant stage screens behind the band. "Twist and Shout" was the highlight of the early years, with Landes wailing and rocking like a youthful John Lennon. As time passed, the Beatles evolved as human beings and musicians. A turning point in the show was the era of "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver." McNeil, as George Harrison, impressed with his lead guitar work and harmonies.

He did a remarkable job on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," starting the song slow and eventually building to a booming finish. RAIN displayed bright, colorful costumes for "Sgt. All in all, it was a concert to warm the hearts of aging Beatles fans. "It’s the music that matters and that’s why we’re all here today," said Trevor Edwards, who grew up near London and was visiting The Villages. Villager Stan McAlevey said the songs still have depth and meaning. "The Beatles were great storytellers," said McAlevey, who plays guitar and performs. He appreciates "Abbey Road" and what it means in Beatles’ history. "It’s one of the last times that they were happy together and they enjoyed making music," he said. "I love Side 2, when they ran all those songs together.

Led Zepplin tribute band Whole Lotta Led who will be headlining The Waterfront in Norwich. Ahead of Whole Lotta Led’s return to Norwich on Thursday, ADAM AIKEN caught up with Norfolk-born lead singer Lee Pryor. To send a link to this page you must be logged in. Lee Pryor is speaking from his home near Brighton. But he’s not like the legions of all the other 60-somethings enjoying life on the south cost. Pryor is about to hit the road again with his band, Whole Lotta Led, and head to Norfolk - the county where he was born. The Led Zeppelin tribute band have won plaudits for their live shows which, for most of us, are as near as we’ll ever get to seeing the real thing.

They are semi-regulars at the Waterfront, in Norwich, where they draw bigger audiences than many "original" acts, and they are back there this week. Check out the local listings and there are plenty of tribute acts on the circuit - some of them very impressive. But Whole Lotta Led are different from most of their peers. There’s no dressing up, there are no wigs - it’s all about the music. "Some of the other bands out there are really good, but we’re musicians, not actors," says Pryor. "If you’re not trained in acting, you can’t pull it off. Pryor joined Whole Lotta Led - who have been around for nearly a quarter of a century - in 2012, and is regularly struck by the reactions of the audience. And for those who aren’t new to the music, the gigs often take them back in time.

"It’s all about people’s memories," he says. "Music often brings things back in a way that a photograph doesn’t. "We like mixing up the set," says 67-year-old Pryor. Pryor was born in Great Yarmouth before his family moved south when he was a few years old. But he regularly returned for holidays and to help his grandmother in her guesthouse. And while Aerosmith have their own Rock ’n’ Roller Coasters in California and Paris, Pryor has his own favourite fairground attraction a little closer to home. "The Snails are still there!

" he says. "When I went back I had to have a go on them, and on the Tubs! And, in a way, that seems fitting for the congenial and down-to-earth Pryor. He and his fellow bandmates, who have earned the backing of Zep guitarist Jimmy Page, have the talent to be doing their own thing but they are happy paying homage to their heroes. And they are definitely worth checking out. Whether you remember Zeppelin from the old days or whether you just want to see what the fuss was all about, you’re not going to get a find a better tribute than Whole Lotta Led deliver.

To say that Talent Factory owners Larry and Cindy Sloan are bringing in some great shows would be an understatement. Tribute performances have been huge for them in the past year or so, and the Sloans didn’t even have to go after their March 15 tribute show. The leader of Made in America, a Toby Keith tribute band, called the Sloans. "Toby has a lot of his fan base (in Iowa)," Wenzel said. If you love country music, love America and/or love Toby Keith, the Friday, March 15, show is one you won’t want to miss. Those attending are going to see the same size band that Keith actually tours with, Wenzel said.

"We have all 12 pieces … fiddle, horns … and the hits; we have two hours-plus of nonstop Toby Keith top 100 hits," he said. With lights and props, they will drape the stage in patriotism. "You’re going to feel a lot more patriotic going out than you feel going in … We make you feel proud of your country before the night’s over," he said. Keith songs Wenzel enjoys performing most include "You Ain’t Much Fun," "Should’ve Been a Cowboy," "I Love This Bar" and "How Do You Like Me Now? And he really enjoys the end of each show — where they unleash the patriotism.

"We go into ‘American Soldier’ and ‘Courtesy Of The Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).’ That’s the crescendo," he said. Keith, an America country singer, songwriter and record producer, has definitely made a name for himself when it comes to big and patriotic country songs. But knowing him personally, Wenzel said the media has not always captured who Keith really is. "He’s a man’s man. He loves hunting, fishing, having a beer and talking about sports. And he has a deep love of America … I think he’s a bit misconstrued in the media … He’s portrayed as a far-right conservative when he’s really a moderate independent. When you talk to him, you figure that out," Wenzel said. Wenzel thinks it’s incumbent on him, as the tribute artist, to spread the word about who Keith is and to bring the best "Almost Toby" performances to his audiences.

"Toby Keith just loves his country and the military," he said. "That comes from fact that his father served and lost an eye fighting for the United States in the Army. A lot of his songs that are patriotic are stories about his dad. Wenzel actually opened for Keith’s band — Easy Money Band — when he was in another tribute band. "I’m probably the only person to open for Toby Keith and play him in a band," Wenzel said. But Wenzel, 46, notes that he doesn’t profess to be a Keith clone in life. "That impersonation (of Keith) begins and ends on stage … I bring it all to the stage," Wenzel said. A native of Chicago, Wenzel has been playing music for nearly 30 years.

He switched to country music around 2010, "when I started my band Suburban Cowboys." That band went on to win a couple of Chicago country music awards for best country entertainer. "It was in that band (Suburban Cowboys) that I opened for Toby Keith at (Keith’s) bar in Rosemont, Ill.," he said. Wenzel’s current band, Made in America, has been performing for about two years. "We’re all seasoned veterans," Wenzel said. Great Ides of March is a famous band out of Chicago that wrote hit song "Vehicle" back in the 1970s. The horn section will be in the Made in America band when it comes to Nevada.

Along with a lot of the band’s regulars, Wenzel said he’s pleased to announce that two Iowa musicians, horn players, Dave Rezek and Paul Bilson, both of Des Moines, will join the band at the Talent Factory. When possible, "we like to add local musicians," he noted. The closest Made in America has come to Iowa before is a performance in Savannah, Ill. So, for Iowa’s Toby Keith fans, this show is a unique opportunity. 25 (for front and center rows, while they last). Doors will open at 7 p.m.; the show itself will start at 8 p.m. "We hope that country fans will give us a spin and enjoy the night with us," Wenzel said.

"This show is so much fun. He (Keith) basically sings about three different things — beer, women and the American flag. What’s not to like about those three subject lines? "If you went to a Toby Keith show, you would leave there smiling. For Wenzel and the guys in the band, "we’re all patriotic dudes. ’s a labor of love. One last reminder from Wenzel, for those who attend, "Make sure you bring your red Solo cups. As a side note, those who enjoy good shows should come back the next night, Saturday, March 16, for Beatles tribute band, Rocky Raccoon. 10 for general seating.

Brett Young learned from ACM Awards host Reba McEntire that he's 2018 New Male Vocalist of the Year ahead of the official awards show. Caught off guard by the news — and call from the icon — he could only spout his gratitude. There is surely no better way to start the day, and as McEntire offered one more congratulations and then hung up, Young sat on the sofa in disbelief. Staring at his phone, a big smile soon takes over his face. This is his first-ever ACM Award, but it isn't his first accolade — the singer has been met with massive success since releasing his self-titled debut album last year. His first single, "Sleep Without You," hit No. 1 and went on to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. He was named a member of the inaugural class of Taste of Country RISERS i 2017, and his follow-up single, "In Case You Didn't Know," also rose to the top of the charts (and is now certified 3x platinum).

Grateful Dead lead guitarist Jerry Garcia may have died in 1995, but his group’s music lives on. That’s in part because of tribute bands like DeadBeat, which will be at 9 Wallis this Friday.

The lineup features Beverly natives Gary Barth and Jason Cohen. The Grateful Dead have always enjoyed an ardent group of followers, called Deadheads, and DeadBeat was formed in 2005 to satisfy the members’ hunger for live performances of songs by the original band. "The passion for it is extraordinary," said Barth, who plays rhythm guitar and sings with DeadBeat, which plays throughout Greater Boston and southern New Hampshire. Those faces can range in age from 18 to 80, proving that the Grateful Dead are drawing new fans today, Barth said.

When DeadBeat recently played at The Stone Church in Newmarket, New Hampshire, he saw fans who weren’t even born when Garcia was still alive, but were singing every word. "To me, ultimately, it’s about the music," Barth said. "From a purely musical standpoint, they’re so incredibly diverse. They epitomize what we call Americana, but depending on the time period, it could have been folk, jazz or rock ’n’ roll. The Grateful Dead were also renowned for jamming, rather than playing slavish imitations of their own recordings, and rarely repeated a song if they played at the same venue on successive nights. "For me, I always say it’s that curiosity about what’s around the next corner, even within this song — where is this jam going?

The shared attentiveness of fans generated a spirit that made Grateful Dead concerts special events, so that Deadheads would follow them from city to city on a tour. Barth said that he went to 10 concerts during the original band’s career, which began in 1965, and said they featured none of the theatrical gimmicks that some rock bands rely on to hold an audience’s attention. "There was no banter, never an interaction with the crowd," Barth said. "In fact, there was an incredible interaction, but it was unspoken, nonverbal. The band didn’t record a lot during their long career, producing 13 studio albums, because their focus was on live performances, where they often introduced songs years before recording them. "In the ’60s, it was more blues-based, but more psychedelic," Barth said. "Then in 1970, ‘American Beauty’ and ‘Working Man’s Dead’ were very folky, Americana.

ROCHESTER - The Rochester Opera House will present The Spirit of Johnny Cash at the Rochester theater on Friday, March 8 at 8 p.m. 27, are available now to the general public. The Opera House box office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone, and in person at the box office, located in Rochester City Hall. This is what country music is all about - the music of Johnny Cash. Harold Ford is incredible as Johnny Cash. He sings and looks exactly like the man in black - and it comes naturally. Accompanied by the Red Hot Cash Band, an extraordinarily talented team of musicians, The Spirit of Johnny Cash recreates the music that made Johnny Cash country music’s most iconic performer.

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riichardwilson · 5 years ago

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4 Signs Your Workplace Environment is Toxic

The data-driven signs that entrepreneurs and executives should be looking for.

March 4, 2020 5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Harassment and bias have been hot topics within C-suites and corporate boards since the dawn of #MeToo in 2017 when high-profile cases started to hit the headlines.

Despite lip service to the contrary, most business leaders only realize their workplace is toxic when they see their Glassdoor reviews, start to experience high turnover, get slapped with a lawsuit or even get fired. With this in mind, last year my company decided to embark on a benchmarking study that collected data from 40,000 employees at 125 healthy and unhealthy companies. This Workplace Culture Report 2020 allows companies to benchmark how they measure up to the best and worst cultures along six key indicators (including these four warning signs).

Here are some of the very clear, data-driven signs your company’s culture is infected and headed down an increasingly unhealthy road if untreated. Consider these the four deadly horsemen of a toxic workplace culture.

1. Unchecked power dynamics

Power dynamics refers to the way people use or abuse their authority. Many managers are unaware of how their power impacts their social interactions with coworkers and how coworkers don’t feel comfortable saying “no” to them. The result: Managers do not get the feedback they need when they misstep, and employees tolerate disrespectful behaviors they would not accept from others.

For example, consider the scene from a harassment training video showing a manager who, at the end of a long “stressful” day at the office, asks a very visibly uncomfortable subordinate to walk on his back to massage out the stress. One in three of the employees who saw the video said they would still have trouble saying no to this clearly inappropriate request.

According to recent data collected from 40,000 employees across 125 companies, more than one-third of employees (34 percent) report their managers are not aware that employees find it difficult to say no to them. In addition, 17 percent report they do not feel comfortable speaking up if they have a concern.

2. Too many people who feel they are part of an “out group”

When certain groups are favored, there’s power in belonging to an “in group” and disadvantages to being relegated to the unfavorable “out group.” Think of the office in a liberal-leaning city like San Francisco. An out-group employee could be someone with conservative political views. This type of employee feels less respect and empathy from coworkers, less confident that management will take a complaint seriously and is less likely to share corrective feedback with their colleagues. Or it could be a company comprised of mostly millennials as the in group, while those in the gen X/boomer demographic are in the out group.

This is more than just a case of people not liking the cool kids. Out-group dynamics have a real impact on the workplace. Our research has found that out group members are less comfortable speaking up and less trusting that their colleagues will speak up for them if they are subject to offensive comments. Only 40 percent of out group members are confident that if they report a workplace incident, their manager will take them seriously.

3. Your employees don’t believe the company is adequately addressing unconscious bias

The more bias that exists in an organization, the more there will be in-group/out-group dynamics, which are negative in any workplace. In some cases, unconscious bias shows up right from the start of the hiring process.

For example, often-cited research by the MIT Department of Economics showed that fictitious resumes sent to help wanted ads with white-sounding names received 50 percent more callbacks for interviews compared to the same resumes with African American sounding names. Race is just one of many factors that come into play. The National Bureau of Economic Research found that for every 1 percent increase in a woman’s body mass, there was a .6 percent decrease in family income.

Sadly, despite the fact that we often encourage people to “bring their whole selves to work,” only 32 percent of employees strongly agree they can be their authentic self in the workplace, and about two-thirds of them say they don’t actually see any processes in place at their workplace to minimize unconscious bias. Actions speak louder than words. And if employees don’t see and believe that you are working to address bias, they won’t care if you say it’s important.

4. Lack of commonly understood behavioral norms and practices

Norms and practices define “the way we do things here.” Positive norms and practices, where people’s behavior is generally respectful, civil and inclusive, are widely recognized by employees who rate their organization as healthy. When there aren’t strong positive norms in an organization, significantly fewer employees rate their organization as healthy. Unhealthy organizations have a vacuum of norms and practices, which provides an opening for toxicity to enter the workplace. This matters because every workforce is going to bring employees with different mindsets. Without understood norms, problems fester.

If you suspect these danger signs are present at your company, what’s the solution? Well, we can’t change what we don’t measure. And yet, we spend $5 billion each year on harassment training for a problem we don’t diagnose, measure or benchmark. It’s not surprising, then, that we’re no closer to eliminating harassment and bias despite decades of effort. I hope these key insights (and the rest of the report) help entrepreneurs focus and prioritize resources more strategically and in a way that generates the best results for their organizations. Together, we can spare Gen Z from these workplace culture failures.

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/4-signs-your-workplace-environment-is-toxic/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/611675538100256768

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laurelkrugerr · 5 years ago

Text

4 Signs Your Workplace Environment is Toxic

The data-driven signs that entrepreneurs and executives should be looking for.

March 4, 2020 5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Harassment and bias have been hot topics within C-suites and corporate boards since the dawn of #MeToo in 2017 when high-profile cases started to hit the headlines.

1. Unchecked power dynamics

2. Too many people who feel they are part of an “out group”

3. Your employees don’t believe the company is adequately addressing unconscious bias

4. Lack of commonly understood behavioral norms and practices

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/4-signs-your-workplace-environment-is-toxic/ source https://scpie1.blogspot.com/2020/03/4-signs-your-workplace-environment-is.html

0 notes

scpie · 5 years ago

Text

4 Signs Your Workplace Environment is Toxic

The data-driven signs that entrepreneurs and executives should be looking for.

March 4, 2020 5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Harassment and bias have been hot topics within C-suites and corporate boards since the dawn of #MeToo in 2017 when high-profile cases started to hit the headlines.

1. Unchecked power dynamics

2. Too many people who feel they are part of an “out group”

3. Your employees don’t believe the company is adequately addressing unconscious bias

4. Lack of commonly understood behavioral norms and practices

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/4-signs-your-workplace-environment-is-toxic/

0 notes

therightnewsnetwork · 8 years ago

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Never Date A Colored Girl

“Never date a colored girl. They’s all got the clap. They get it from they mamas.” My grandmother’s sage advice to me at five years old.

In spite of all the glamour shots of Spanish moss, and cypress trees, Louisiana is about as out of luck as one can get when it comes to being from somewhere. It’s hot, muggy, racist, and nobody’s family tree has a fork in it. Mine was no exception. My grandparents were first cousins, and I guess that’s why we all look alike, have every health condition known to America and some third world countries, Louisiana being among that group in spite of it being positioned at the tail end of the Mississippi River.

Long about the time I was three years old God decided it was time to kill me so I contradicted polio and something called the “sleeping sickness.” I lived, no thanks to the medical care of the day, and the following year they gave me a polio vaccination. You can’t make this stuff up folks. So at five I was deaf in one ear, which still rings till this day, blind in one eye and walking like a duck, but by golly I was white and that counted for something I guess.

Being white in a Klan based state had its perks, the main one being there was a whole race somewhere just a below white trash, which is what I was. What that amounted to was we could vote without getting lynched. Now we couldn’t marry a girl with all her teeth because that meant she’d been to a dentist and obviously was a blue blood, not capable of finding love unless black folk raped her. Then, of course then there’s the hanging, and Scarlet grows a new hymen just perfect for her fiancé Buddha Montgomery, heir to the gas station and thirty second degree Mason to boot.

All of this meant nothing to a kid growing up in a shotgun shack, living on liver gravy and bread with a flea bitten dog and a yard full of chickens, even in town. The difference between our “neighborhood” and “Nigger town” was the distance between the shacks. Theirs were closer. My most vivid memory was my uncle and dad “gigging” frogs and butchering them in the kitchen sink. All they’d eat were the legs, but they had to cut their heads off anyway, I suppose for the entertainment factor, and I’d watch them eat the frog legs while the heads blinked at them from the counter. They’d actually position the heads so they could see that. And poor old Martin Luther King tried singling “We Shall Overcome” to these guys. He’s lucky he wasn’t blinking from a sink.

I really did end up in a hospital when I had polio, but for minor ailments like nails in the foot, cut throats or pneumonia, you’d get taken to some camp in the swamp where a voodoo woman would blow smoke up your butt (literally) or put a penny on the wound so the spirit of Mr. Lincoln could draw out the poison, I crappith thee not!

I went to an all white school, but let me clarify. There’s white, then there’s white. The whitest kids had clean clothes and smelled good. I had neither. I usually wore a flannel shirt, and blue jeans with iron on patches. Iron on patches were the rage of the age. We was proud of iron on patches. I’d sit by the ironing board and watch in snake amazement as the patch cleaved to the fabric as if by magic. I really didn’t understand the social structure in school, only the fact that certain kids could hit me anytime they wanted to. There was this spoiled brat, Vance, I still remember him, who’d seek me out and beat me up during every recess. One day, in a moment of clarity, I hit him back and he fell, crying, so I hit him again. The teachers had to pull me off, but I think that was possibly the most memorable day of my life, that is until Velma Prigmore took off her blouse under the football stand years later, but I’ll save that for another chapter.

I was surrounded by family but none of us liked each other. I remember that every time there was a get together it ended up in a drunken fight with the kids all screaming, followed by that wild ride back to Shreveport across the Red River bridge with the car bouncing off the rails. The only good thing was at that age when you life flashes before your eyes it doesn’t take long. I know because every time I got my butt beat my life flashed before my eyes. Usually involving blinking frog’s heads.

My life flashed before my eyes when my grandmother got a hold of me once. I think I was five. We had this fat little dog named Maybelline. One day I had to pee, and couldn’t make it so I peed on the wall in the hall. My grandmother came along, saw the pee, then me, then the dog, picked up a stick and beat puppy crap out of Maybelleline. Wow! Remember, this was the days before internet. Next day, pee a little higher, bigger thrashing for Maybelline. Finally, I decided to kill the dog. I peed about two feet ABOVE my head. Now Maybelline was about the size of a fat possum. I have to give my grandmother credit. She did everything she could to match that dog’s butt with that pee before my life flashed before MY eyes!

Louisiana people will eat just about anything, steak, road kill, all manner of guts, small negroes, you name it. After the frogs I realized my dad was crazy and I generally stuck to liver gravy at home. Wonder Bread was safe. Rice. Beyond that was pot luck. Crawfish. Oh my LIVING God! Etched into my still developing mind was the image of huddles of inbreds sucking crawfish butts. Now, I’m not saying that’s wrong, some of you might suck crawfish butts, just not me. And Boudin sausage. I think there might be an FDA warning on that now. For those of you who do t know what that tastes like, take a dirty sock, pee on it, wring it out and stuff it in your mouth. There you go. Don’t forget to wash it down with some of dat good ol’ Jax beer.

And Jesus? God, did they have Jesus. My grandmother on my mother’s side, you know, the one who married her cousin, well, when we was living on Laurel Street, she would drag me down the the Baptist church and sit me right up there in the amen pew while this crazy old man screamed that me, and practically everyone else there was going to “hayell” and there wasn’t a damn thing we could do about it except put money in that little plate he had passed around. Jesus scared me to death until I was twenty-eight years old! I was just glad I wasn’t Catholic, and double glad I wasn’t black, or God forbid a black Catholic. Hell, if I turned out to be one of those I’d have just jumped into the Red River and been done with it.

I was told, when we lived Kaywood Apartments in Bossier City, to never go near the river. Now this is how much common sense we had at that age, and survival skills. With God, mosquitoes, teachers, the Klan and your parents all trying to kill you, you knew damn well not to go surfing on the Red River. This factor wore off by the time you got to high school because they were forever fishing teens out from under logs where the gators had stuffed them for seasoning. Oh yeah, we had those too. See the contrast; kids these days don’t know any better than to eat a dishwasher tablet and we used to play among the gators. We knew better than to eat a dishwasher tablet, one, because there weren’t any, and two, if there had been we’d have ended up down on the bayou with some old black lady blowing smoke up our butt. That’s called preventive medicine.

Not all things were bad. School lunches were a bitch. Till this day I have a prejudice. You see, all the school cooks were big, fat black women, and the result was whatever they come up with. Liver and onions, fried chicken, chicken and rice and courtesy of Huey Long you could eat all you wanted. They all had them Aunt Jemima wraps on their heads, a big smile, and even bigger spoons. They would throw mashed potatoes on the plate and it would drip over the side. Even today I have a hard time eating white woman cooking to the point of giving it to the dog when she looks away. Then you’d come home on the Good Ship Reality and find your uncle and dad in the kitchen with a case of Jax beer and a croak sack full of unfortunate frogs.

Louisiana weather sucks like a French lady of the night, and I know something about Them because Louisiana is full of them. You can’t see the tornadoes for the trees. I still remember the alert coming on the TV, the one you had to slap on the top to get reception from the station five miles away, and a very serious voice saying, “This is a severe tornado alert!” As opposed to the more mundane kind I suppose. Now, you didn’t know where it was, couldn’t see it, I’m told you could hear it, but that’s hard from under the bed. If you lived you’d stay up all night anyway just in case it had babies on the way through. Then the next day, in school, you have a bomb drill because everyone just knew the Russians were gonna bomb Barksdale Air Force Base at any given moment. All of this and the grown ups were worried about the blacks drinking out of the wrong water fountain. But . . . they all had Jesus!

By the time we moved to Texas I was ten years old, and pretty much bat-crap crazy. Had a permanent ringing in my ears, constantly looking over my shoulder for bombs, blacks, and bloody crosses, and the scary part is I left an entire state behind that thought just like me, and they’re still THERE! Well, the ones the gators didn’t get. Texas was a whole new deal, and I had to work it, which has only taken me fifty-five years, six wives, ten houses and three fortunes. This book is my story and thousands of baby boomers just like me!

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patriotnewsblogger-blog · 8 years ago

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Never Date A Colored Girl

New Post has been published on http://www.therightnewsnetwork.com/never-date-a-colored-girl/

Never Date A Colored Girl

“Never date a colored girl. They’s all got the clap. They get it from they mamas.” My grandmother’s sage advice to me at five years old.

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