#anyone who’s looking at the roys like this :| is a winner in my book

[kencoded-kengirl]

the superior succession characters are always the extremely minor ones whose primary emotions about the roys are disdain and annoyance. stewy hosseini. nan pierce. lawrence yee. josh aaronson. daniel jimenez. lisa arthur.

#succession #succession hbo #stewy hosseini #nan pierce #lawrence yee #josh aaronson #daniel jimenez #lisa arthur #obv there’s more than this and the level of minorness and disdain both vary wildly but you know #anyone who’s looking at the roys like this :| is a winner in my book #amperspeaks

[eurosong]

My ESC 2019 ranking

Hey there, folks - after a lot of deliberation, I’ve decided upon my ranking of this year’s songs. I feel quite passionately about this year’s field, as always, and make some trenchant remarks, but a lot of them are tongue in cheek, and no shade is intended on those who like the songs I don’t or vice versa. Here’s my ranking with my thoughts on why I put each song where I did.

41. Croatia – The Dream I try to find a redeeming quality in every song, but sometimes the task proves impossible. This ironically-named nightmare of a track sounds like a poorly-produced early 00s track that tried to straddle the line between classic and futuristic and failed at both. The usual things that I hear in its defence are that Roko has a good voice, and that the Croatian segment is better. To the first point, maybe, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that the voice doesn’t shine through the scream mode of most of the song; to the latter point, if you know some BCS, you’ll know that the Croatian language bit is as cloyingly cliché as the English part. Some people are saying that this could be a surprise qualifier. If that happens, I will shed tears of blood.

40. France – Roi If France don’t change their national final system to equalise the jury and televote more after this year, I don’t know when they will. Destination Eurovision had a bunch of good songs, but thanks to the power of a Youtuber’s fanbase, one of the least remarkable and most cloying songs got the nod instead. Roi is an unabashed hymn to self with the most criminal franglais abominations (rhyming beaucoup with boo, really?) to which I’ve ever been subjected.  Now it’s supposedly got a chance of winning thanks to a gimmicky staging, which I feel uses people as props. I wouldn’t even mind the antipathetic performer and cringey, self-centred lyrics so much if the tune were interested, but it’s equally empty and pompous.

39. San Marino – Say na na na Well, this song certainly does get me saying nah, nah, nah. I do not get the amount of good will for it, as I neither find it a good track, nor enjoyable ironically like Who we are or Chain of lights were. It’s a “party track”, but the party in question is the kind I want to flee where the food is bad, the music is obnoxious and overbearing and the ambiance is that of an uncomfortable throwback. Bewildering how this is considered a worthy qualifier.

38. Moldova – Stay I swear Eurovision has songs like this just to be able to detect extra-terrestrials, because if anyone says this song is their favourite, and they’re neither Moldovan nor Romanian, then it confirms to me that they are aliens because this is banality writ large. Three minutes of contradictory and cliché rhymes (“it’s now or never, it’s forever”. Ok then mate), dull music, little progression, an oddly unpleasant vocal and even a staging that comes second-hand.

37. Finland – Look away My impulse is to look away from this song indeed – a dated slice of repetitive, oddly downbeat despite being uptempo EDM slathered with a simultaneously overwrought and undercooked social message and brought to us by an uncomfortable duo who look like two acquaintances whose fishing trip got interrupted abruptly and they had to cook up a Eurovision song last minute. There is nothing about this I like at all.

36. Israel – Home The one faintly interesting thing about this song is the remarkable wailing in its first few seconds, but they removed even that. This has to be one of the most maudlin songs I have ever heard, delivered gratingly. A friend of mine nicknamed Kobi the “Joystealer”, and the name is very apt. I feel like all the joy in the world is out of reach when listening to this lament, which is syrupy and bitter at the same time, like a coarse cough medicine. The “I am someone” has to be one of the most cloying lines of the entire year, too.

35. Estonia – Storm Estonia having to resort to sending a croaky renta-Swede to sing a budget Avicii b-side in front of a Windows XP screensaver with lyrics that imaginatively rhyme “this” with, well, “this” is like seeing someone who had always dressed elegantly having to resort to sporting torn, worn, ill-fitting hand-me-downs that were already out of fashion when bought first hand. This land of song and art can and should be doing so much better.

34. Montenegro – Heaven The fact this ironically infernal song is not just not bottom but also almost avoided my bottom 10 just goes to show how deep the bottom is this year. Sounds like Podgorica’s 56th best sixth form choir got some cassette tapes of bad late 90s R&B-lite, got a donation of a dodgy Casio keyboard and, at the last minute, got their granddad to do a bit of fiddling, mixed it all together and the result was this chaötic hot mess on ice. It’s a shame, because these kids seem genuinely nice, and they don’t deserve to be lumbered with the albatross around their neck of this song and the resultant cast iron “last in the semi” result it will achieve.

33. Switzerland – She got me There’s little separating the female attempt at a duego and the male one for me. Luca radiates a smug energy that annoys me more, but the song is a smidgen less generic, but then using the same dancers as from Fuego made the decision easier. I’m not sure what she got him, but it certainly wasn’t a grammar book, as the song is filled with bizarrely affected ungrammatical English, because I guess it’s uncool to properly conjugate.

32. Cyprus – Replay It seems almost self-parodising that Cyprus lamely returned to try to catch lightning in the same jar with a song that is entitled, and feels like, a giant replay. Fuego was an encapsulation of many things I really don’t like at Eurovision – a lyrically empty song with limited musical merit or memorability that got a lot further than it would off the basis, mostly, of staging. This year, the staging is worse and the performer is less charismatic. If it does as well, I will be astounded.

31. Norway – Spirit in the sky What if Aqua came back – perish the thought – and, for their comeback single, took a rejected b-side from the late 90s of theirs in their typical bubblegum style, but injected it with a dreadful attempt at joik and an aesthetic inspired by their newfound animal spirits? It would sound something like this bizarre Norwegian song, whose victory over En livredd mann still bewilders me. It’s a bit infectious, but so are many diseases, and part of the reason that it buries itself into your mind is because of its pretty flagrant lifting of last year’s “Monsters”’ chorus, which in itself was all too familiar. One of the year’s biggest cringefests for me.

30. Lithuania – Run with the lions Take a guy most noted until now for screeching in the world’s worst falsetto whilst pretending not to sing, while a drag act that barely qualified as a baroness let alone a queen wás pretending to sing, also badly. Give him a song that advocates running alongside large carnivores who’d probably find humans an attractive snack. That combination should at least be interesting, but it’s one of the dullest propositions of the year. The only real interesting thing is that dodgy falsetto making a reappearance. It’s pleasant enough but forgotten instantly.

29. Russia – Scream Russia confined themselves to a few fruitless years in the desert with the Samojlova charade, and now they look to return to ESC superpower status by bringing back the guy who won them the public vote back in 2016. Their logic in trying to go one step further, though, was rather flawed. Concentrating on winning over the juries, they took for granted that the public was going to enjoy this rather melodramatic effort as much as they did You are the only one. I doubt they will, and I doubt the jury will be much swayed from last time. Musically, its orchestral touches represent a step up from YATOO for me, but it is let down by the emo lyrics and some bombastic staging.

28. Belarus – Like it When I first heard this song, where “you gonna like it” is repeated approximately 14 thousand times, my first impression was “no, I certainly am not going to.” It’s a bizarre stream of non-sequiturs dolled up with a technicolour assault to the eyes. I’ve softened to it somewhat, in part because of a reimagining of the lyrics as being a call for help after getting drafted into Eurovision by Lukaszenka, but I’ll still be stunned if it qualifies.

27. United Kingdom – Bigger than us I had a Freudian slip a few days ago when writing the “Undo my ESC” post – I wrote “Bigger than us” as “Better than us”. A fair swathe of the year’s field very much is more remarkable than this anodyne X factor winner’s single which seems to be aiming for 19th rather than first. Michael is a likeable character, but unfortunately that doesn’t come across too much in his live performance, most notable for him flapping around his arms as though they were on fire.

26. Iceland – Hatrið mun sigra Musically, there are elements of this that are really up my street. Decent throwbacks are rare, but the 80s’ techno ambience of the track is pretty good. I just wish it were not accompanied with a disdainful hauteur and the OTT attitude of a bunch of sophomore arts students who’ve just discovered irony. The last thing the world needs now is more hate, ironic or not.

25. Sweden – Too late for love Sweden made one step in the right direction this year – they’ve sent a man rather than an overgrown embryo, and someone with a bit more humility than Grosso last year. It’s a much better song for me than the past two attempts, but that’s not saying much – manufactured gospel has little soul, and there’s a charisma chasm here only partially filled by drafting in American mammas to sell the song as something more than what it is.

24. Poland – Pali się This is one that I wish I liked more. It’s middle of the pack for me. I like the fact that there are clear heritage influences but find the song itself to be rather too linear and the voices too shrill – and I am a fan of white voice.

23. Macedonia – Proud I had high hopes for Macedonia as I adored their artist, Tamara’s, imperious Brod što tone back in Skopjefest 2014 – a song that frankly got robbed of representing Macedonia. Where BST was subtle and poëtic in its message, Proud, which I regret wasn’t in Macedonian also, is rather too much on the nose for me and sounds a little like a charity single. This is augmented by the rather basic video which reminded me a little too much of Bebe’s “Ella.” Nonetheless, it’s a nice composition and well sung.

22. Spain – La venda Spain this year had a selection that they called “eurotemazos”. It’s difficult to translate, but Eurobangers, smashes or hits all carry a shade of the meaning. As soon as I heard that, I knew it was an ill omen, and indeed, the list of songs was full of bad attempts at bops and a few soporific ballads-by-computer. La venda was the best of a bad lot. Miki has energy but the song is completely inconsequential.

21. Germany – Sister Germany have once again invited disaster by inviting Chaosmeisterin, Barbara “Wild Eyes” Schönberger back to compère the national final. The end result was this inexperienced wildcard (when will you ever learn, Germany?) clinching the win with two gals who’d never met before this year singing about sisterhood in a group called S!sters with their song Sister. This is hotly tipped for last place in the final, but I feel it has sóme merit. The verses, and especially the bridge, are lovely, and seem to be building to something great – until we get a really generic, squawked chorus where the two non-sisters try to outshriek one another.

20. Australia – Zero gravity I’ll never get over the fact that we could have had something truly Australian in all senses of the word for once, and instead we got this. It’s catchy but repetitive and rather gimmicky, and I lament that it will qualify over better songs thanks to a rather cringey staging gimmick.

19. Belgium – Wake up This truly is a musical coitus interruptus. The moody verses get you in the mood, building a sense of urgency and direction, only for everything to get abandoned without warning with a very dreary, incongruous chorus. “City Lights” this ain’t, and it’s a shame, as it’s still decent, but could have been so much more satisfying.

18. Czechia – Friend of a friend Some countries take decades to find their niche at the contest. It seems like Czechia has found theirs in the space of a year and a bit, and found a particularly narrow niche. Field a cutesy lad with a retro-inspired, somewhat catchy but also somewhat problematic song inspired by infidelity. Last year’s “Lie to me” was written from the perspective of the cheated; this year’s, from a potential cheater who spends half the song listening with his girlfriend to his neighbours having noisy sex and the other half protesting he barely knows the female neighbour anymore. Truly weird.

17. Denmark – Love is forever This song reminds me of one time I was by the seaside and got offered to try a freakshake. It was one of the most OTT sweetest things I’ve ever had in my life. I enjoyed it, but it’s something I could only enjoy on an annual basis. This song is much the same. It’s bringing the Gallic cuteness where France failed, and the fact Leonora looks into your soul unnervingly whilst singing just adds more interest to the song for me.

16. Azerbaijan – Truth Azerbaijan bring a halfway decent song for the 2nd time so far, by my count. This is nowhere as near as good as “Skeletons”, but still strong. I like the atypical lyrical matter and the fact that the Symphonix crew created something contemporary but wearing Azeri traditional influences on its sleeve. The unplugged version of this is even better.

15. Netherlands – Arcade Perhaps I would enjoy this more were it not for the intense amount of hype, the hubristic arrogance of many people in thinking the win is already in the bag, and the amount of condescending barbs flung my way on other corners of the net for not considering this some transcendental masterpiece that deserves to win more than any other song. It’s not in the same league as the oft-compared, timeless Amar pelos dois for me. It’s a nice, heartfelt song – albeit one that relies too much on a head voice that I find rather unappealing – and it has a few clever turns of phrase, but I will never understand why this one has been singled out when there are several songs I consider more moving in this final.

14. Georgia – Sul tsin iare This song has really grown on me. It has an incredible, almost scary intensity and was written on an epic, orchestral scale. It feels like the music to the climax of a war film. I felt what it meant before I understood the Georgian. I particularly love the chorus backing Oto and the staging that matches the song’s drama.

13. Hungary – Az én apam I expected a lot of things from a Joci Papai return, and this song only delivers some of them, but it’s a song worthy of enjoying in its own right. If Origo was fire and had an undercurrent of hurt, Az én apam is water, but is warm in its own right. It’s a nostalgic song with the same poetry I expected of Joci.

12. Latvia – That night Latvia’s song has been criticised for not being very impactful, and it isn’t, but therein lies its charm. It’s a low-key, saudadic effort that beautifully occupies three minutes. It is the kind of track I imagine listening to whilst, and which makes me imagine as a result, driving down a long, lonely road at night in the rain. It’s hushed, it’s delicate, and it sounds to me like petrichor smells.

11. Greece – Better love Greece is sending something very atypical from them, almost as an allergic reaction to doing so badly with the more ostensibly ethnic “Oneiro mou” last year. I’d be disappointed, but this is really quite good indeed, a very professional and rounded effort that has produced a soaring, anthemic song. Katerine’s voice has a beautiful, dark and deep huskiness that imbues a certain quality too. My only problem with this song are the careless lyrics that seem like a compilation of Instagram clichés.

10. Ireland – 22 My dear Ireland sneaks into my top 10 for the first time in a few years thanks to a full-on earworm of a song that has become one of my most played tracks this year. This song is very simple, but sometimes unassuming simplicity is elegant. It’s got a retro, blue-eyed soul feel and is at once nostalgic and catchy. It deserved a lot better than the slot of death to which Björkman consigned it.

09. Malta – Chameleon Malta getting into my top 10 for the first time since 2014, with a song that is even more contrary to our expectations of Maltese songs than “Tomorrow” was. This song is aptly named, as it is an explosion of colour – not just in the clever video, but also, the music itself is so vibrant and fun. The only part I don’t like is the rather cliché bridge, because both the drop-based chorus, the slow build of the verses and the exuberant post-chorus are really good. GIVE ME X I’M A Y is one of the lyrical memes of the year and is infectious. From beige to a rainbow; well done, Malta.

08. Slovenia – Sebi Slovenia are on the money for the second year in a row. Whilst “Hvala ne” was an in your face, high-octane buzz of a song, this year, we’ve gone in the completely opposite direction: a very contemplative, intimate song that imbues a sense of peace and harmony. What they do have in common is some of the best lyrics of the year. In Sebi’s case, the text is graceful in its effortless simplicity and minimalism. It feels like the only thing that matters during those 3 minutes for the song’s performers are each other, which creates a particular atmosphere indeed.

07. Albania – Ktheju tokës When I heard the venerable Festival i këngës, Albania’s selection process, was essentially going to revamp itself, I was worried that it would lose its magic, but in the end, I needn’t have so much. For the second year running, the best song by far won – a song full of dramatic potential. Thank heavens they left the song in the wonderful mellifluous Albanian language and did not dig out the song’s heart with a needless revamp. I hope Shqipëria can keep this trend and momentum up. Ktheju tokës is a heartrending song about immigration and divided families, inspired by true experience, and performed with power and style by the enigmatic Jonida.

06. Armenia – Walking out Another country for whom I have a lot of time at the contest is Armenia, who always tend to bring something different to the show. I was initially a bit confused by their effort this year because of its abrupt stops between different parts of the song which at first sounded rather jarring. Now, this, and the great variation in tone and style between the verses, the gentle bridge and the ferocious choruses are part of what make the song for me. Srbuk has charisma and a fierce set of pipes. All these elements have made Walking out one of the major earworms of the year for me.

05. Austria – Limits The first time I heard this, I was underwhelmed. It’s a nice song, but it is lacking a bit in instant impact. Nonetheless, something about it demanded repeated listens; with each one, my appreciation for this confessional, Kate Bush-inspired slice of heartrending emotion grew exponentially. I am hoping that the live performance will give it the instancy it needs to bring to life how exceptionally good a song this is. It’s up there with the very best in terms of the lyrics. It’s so personal, so intimate, so searing and one of the most underrated tracks of the year. 04. Serbia – Kruna Pretty much everyone who knows my ESC predilections knows I am a huge fan of Serbia. They generally stick with their own language, and bring songs that highlight their rich musical traditions. My support isn’t categorical – I despised “Beauty never lies” and felt let down by last year’s style pastiche, though I felt Balkanika were wonderful contestants – so this year, I was relieved to see them back at the height of their powers with an unassumingly lovely ballad, performed with power and purpose by the mesmerising Nevena. It’s a song of few words, and it feels like every single one was weighed out carefully to pack the most meaning. Delightful.

03. Romania – On a Sunday One of the biggest surprises of the season for me has been Romania. I had no interest in their national selection, and was nonplussed when this won, albeit grateful that it beat two truly dreadful frontrunners. My first impression was that it was an odd but catchy song, and that it was weird and a little funny how the grown woman singing it seemed to throw a tantrum in the middle of the performance. Something about it made me listen again, and again, and again – and then the amazingly theatrical and imaginative video came out, which added to my appreciation even more. It’s a really emotional song, which somehow invigorates rather than saddens me, perhaps because of the bewitching power of Ester’s performance. She delivers this with an unbelievable intensity and has such a singular voice. I fear for its chances because it’s not the most accessible song – but I really hope this will at least qualify.

02. Portugal – Telemóveis I remember my first reäction to this well. I was confused and a little perturbed – it seemed like the rantings of a madman over highly dissonant, if rather bewitching, music. It stuck in my head, though, and very soon, the confusion grew into appreciation and then full on love for probably the most singular, sui generis offering of the entire year. This is a song that sounds timeless but futuristic; that could not have been composed by any other country, but which blends influence of fado with sounds from the subcontinent, the near and far east and what seem to be other planets. The text – all too often dismissed as “lol he’s singing about cellphones, how random lmao” – is a deep, introspective, metaphorical look at mortality that is gushing with saudade. The fact that this, the most forward-thinking proposal of 2019, might not even qualify is scandalous; it should be in it to win it.

01. Italy – Soldi As much as I adore Telemóveis, there’s a song that I love even more. The first time I saw Soldi performed live, it was like a punch to the gut in the best possible way. This song about a deadbeat dad and how money can tear a family apart is just one example of how Italy is brimming with exceptional lyricists. I’d translate some of my favourite lyrics, but firstly, I find every line to be powerfully moving, and secondly, the English can’t quite do justice to the perfectly measured rhythm and cadence of the original as well as the emotion. On top of that, musically, it’s one of the freshest tracks of the year, with super modern production but symphonic touches. Who thinks of making a trap-inspired song, but with an orchestra? Italy, that is who, and I so, so hope they finish this barnstormer of a decade for them with a much awaited win.

#eurovision #esc #esc 2019 #eurovision song contest #opinion #eurovision 2019

[stellarune]

I wrote a thing

Ok so. I wrote this for a non existent fandom, so I’m posting it here. Since probably none of you know who these characters are, I’ll explain briefly.

This is in the book superpowereds by drew Hayes, which is basically my hero academia but with college students. The people here are :

Nick : grew up in Vegas, designated team tactician, really smart/manipulative, controls luck, Vince’s best friend

Vince : homeless kid, has a dad who he loves very much, absorbs any kind of energy and redirects it, nicks best friend

Alice : rich, likes makeup, warrior, daddy issues, floats and controls gravity Mary’s best friend

Mary : lives in the woods her whole life, telepath/telekinesist alices best friend, Hershel’s girlfriend

Hershel/Roy: two minds one body, hershel is a nerd, Roy is a fake cowboy fuqboi, Hershel turns into Roy after he drinks whisky , Roy is super strong. Mary’s boyfriend

Ok.

Title : 200 points

Tw : panic attack

General : angst and fluff, happy ending

Vince Reynolds was brave. He was also the most selfless person you could ever meet. He would never hesitate to put himself between danger and an innocent person, no matter the risk. There were even less things Vincewould not do for his loved ones. However, when it came to Nick, Vince was sort of a coward.

Nick Campbell was smart. there was no denying it. he was also extremely perceptive. sure mary was his friend, so she was biased. but if you asked anyone he ever met, they would all tell you.the same thiàg. he was so good some people believed him to be telepathic. however, when it came to vince, Nick was a dumb fool.

Mary could kind of understand the problem, but honestly it was a quick fix. Assuming they got over themselves obviously

knowing Nick, the obliviousness might even be intentional . either that, mary had become tremendously good at reading people, or she only knew because of her telepathy. seeing the looks alice gave them as they were cuddling on the couch, she highly doubted that.

as captivating s seeing these two making heart eyes at each other was, tonight was date night, and there was non way mary was making hershel wait. she looked at alice, and grinned. with a little luck, this would be interesting.

000

Neck knew trouble when he saw it, and right now trouble was taking Alice Adair’s form. Now, she would have seemed totally friendly to anyone, all big smile and long blond hair. But Nick had been living in melbrook for the past two years. This particular smile, he knew to avoid. It was the one Alice wore seconds before beating the shit out of someone.

Apparently, Nick wasn’t the only one smelling trouble, since Vince wriggled free of Nicks arms the moment Alice stood up. He planted a peck on Nicks cheek and got up. “Yup. Time for snacks.” Nick however, didn’t get the chance to run.

Alice sat down in the couch next to him, and started talking to him about a show she had started watching. This was definitely way too weird for Nicks likings.

When Vince returned five minutes later, Alice’s smile was back. So this wasn’t just a matter with Nick, Vince was [conserné] too. He opened a bag of Cheerios, and waited for doomsday to start.

Alice plunged her hand into the bag. “Sooooo… do you want to play a game ? Because there is no way I’m gonna watch a slasher movie again.”. She was smiling again.

000

This smelled so so bad. there was no way this could turn out fine. Not with that look in alices eyes. Apparently, Nick didn’t think so, since he agreed with Alice. However, he was no fool.

“What’s the bet ?”

Alices grin grew even larger, if that was possible. “The loser’s to tell the truth, the truth and nothin’ but the truth for a whole hour.” She swallowed her mouth full of chips. “And the winner gets to ask whatever questions they want.”

And just like that shit went down.

Turned out that the game in question was actually just dance. It turned out that Vince was absolutely awful at everything including following a rhythm. It also turned out that Nick was an amazing dancer.

He moved with the music, mirroring the guide without even really looking at it, moving with the music and actually looking like it didn’t take all of Vince’s hcp focus to be able to follow. Yeah, Nick was good. But Alice was better.

“Beat you !” This had been a close call, only 200 points between them, but Nick had lost anyways. Vince would have blamed it on luck, if this wasn’t the sixth time she beat him. It had only taken one experience for Vince to accept his loss, but Nick didn’t give up as easily. But 6 losses had been enough.

“Fine you win, whatever.” He crashed on the couch next to Vince. It wasn’t like he was actually tired, but he put on a show anyways. Nick threw his head back and closed his eyes. Which were actually visible. He had ditched the sunglasses earlier, now only wearing them outside of melbrook. Vince had mixed feelings on the question. One one hand, he kinda missed them. but on the other hand, now he could actually look into Nicks deep brown eyes.

Nick snapped his eyes open, staring at Vince. “You have gold in your eyes.” This was such a simple realization. Yet, somehow it changed everything. Nicks eyes still had gold in them, even when he wasn’t channeling luck.

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Yeah ? They do ?” Vince heard Alice sNicker behind them, and she threw him a knowing look.

“Nevermind”. Socialize now, freak out after. Right now, he would just ignore everything and Nick beautiful eyes and Nicks arms around him and Nicks breath in his hair and-

Vince hoped Alice had forgotten the bet

000

Alice was thinking about the bet.

Actually, she was thinking about the exact way she had phrased it, andmentaly patted herself on the back for it. She was a genius.

Vince was a blushing mess. He looked like he was having a crisis, his head in Nicks lap, but still refusing to meet his eyes. This was way more than what Alice had expected, but she was not going to complain. The bet would settle everything, if it worked as she planned it. And it would. She grinned. “So. The bet. You’re both losers, pay up.”

“Wait what ? Losers ? Who said anything about both of us doing the thing ?” Nick asked. Alice started at him, preparing herself for a staring contest, but Nicks eyes wandered around for a bit before sighing. “Well played.”

Alice couldn’t help but smile at that. That really was one of her best ones. “I don’t actually have a lot of questions, since I know more or less everything about you two.” Vince and Nick exchanged looks. It wasn’t totally true, and all of them knew it, but it wasn’t important right now. “I do have one question though.” What was important right now was what she was going to ask. “How are you both so oblivious ?”

The boys looked at each other with a silent question mark.

She threw her hands in the air. “Seriously. I’m not that surprised about Vince, but what the hell Nick ?” Alice wasn’t angry per se, she just wanted what was best for her friends, and this had been going on for too long. “How much does it take for you two to realize you like each other ? It’s not that hard ! Hershel and Mary figured it out !” They probably needed privacy, so she stormed out of the room, only leaving the angry mask once she was on her bed. There, she started laughing.

000

What did she mean What did she mean what did she mean what did-

“Ok. There is a lot to unpack here.” Nick joked. He was trying to keep a cool facade on, even if Vince probably knew him too well to be fooled by it. Right now though, the boy seemed in shock as he stared at Nick, mouth slightly agape. “Look I-“

“Oh my god.”

“I know this is-“

“Oh my GOD. Nononononono ! This isn’t happening! No fucking way !”

Nick took a sharp breath in and muttered something that, to anyone else would be intelligible, but to Nick sounded a lot like “I’m gonna kill her” She just had to say it, uh ? She just had to ruin this for him ? For what ? Because she thought it was mutual ? Nick hadn’t even realized he had stood up in the middle of Vince’s rumbling. Alice was a fucking fool to think that good things could ever happen to Nicholas Campbell. Luck had never been on his side once in his life.

Vince had shut up in the mean time and now he was staring at Nick, who was giggling to himself. Luck was never on his side. It was kind of funny now that he thought about it. “Luck is never on my side uh ?” This definitely sounded a lot more hoarse than intended. He also had his hair in his face, which prompted Nick to raise a hand to his face, only to realize that he had been crying. Luck was never on his side. It was not so funny anymore. Why had he even started to hope anything good could happen to him ? O. Because a good thing had actually happened to him. Vince happened to him. All of melbrook too. And now that was gone gone. Vince was gone.

He couldn’t stand having Vince just right next to him, talking to him, if he believed that Vince’s lips were forming words behind the ringing in his hears, and still being gone. So he ran. Because Vince was gone.

Because Alice had to ask this stupid question. No. Because he had lost at this stupid game. It was all his fault. His own damn fault. Because he had been 200 points behind. And that had been enough. Enough to lose fucking everything.

None of this made sense. Why didn’t anything make sense ? Everything always did in Nicks head. Always had. The small part of his mind that managed to understand this also managed to register what was happening as a panic attack, even if he didn’t get that now.

Right now, Nick didn’t even actually register where he was. He didn’t register when he heard shouting from outside his room. He didn’t register when Mary a,d Hershel came back. He didn’t even register when he passed out.

000

That’s morning was tense to say the least. Nick, Vince and Alice had yet to say a word, and Mary’s meaningless attempts at conversation soon stopped. Hershel didn’t know what happened last night, but the atmosseemed to weight him. He soon left to go tak a jog around campus. The others were a mess. Alice hadn’t put on a single drop of makeup and Vince and Nick hadn’t even made eye contact. She had come in with Nick on the middle of a panic attack, so of course she knew what had happened last night. There was going to be a lot of communicating needed, and needed soon.

She sighed. First, the boys, then Alice. Then everything would eventually fall into place. “Alice, can I tak to you for a sec ?”

Alice shrugged and got out of her sit. Nick started to stand up, but Mary kept him in place. He shot her a death glare that would have made anyone shiver. Anyone but Mary. She and Alice left the room, Mary locking it behind her. That was done at least. Now they would have to wait and see how things turned out. In the mean time, she had a best friends to comfort, jusdging by the tears building up in alices eyes.

000

Vince felt sick. He had since last night. And right now, in the kitchen, next to his best friend (could he even call him that anymore ?) he wanted nothing but puke. He felt claustrophobic. Everything around him was too close too close. He stood up, put his head in the sink, and let it all out. He expected to feel better afterwards. But he didn’t. He just didn’t want to puke anymore. The worst part was that he expected Nick to help him through it, to pull his air back and rub circles in his back. But he hadn’t. And that hurt like a bitch.

All of that because of a stupid crush. He had lost Nick over a stupid crush. He wanted to cry. So he did. He just cried on the kitchen floor. It was his fault. So he apologized.“I’m sorry. I’m so so so sorry…” I’m sorry I like you like that. I’m sorry I couldn’t get over it before it was too late. I’m sorry.

He couldn’t get it out. But he needed to. So he took a deep breath and got up. He took a second breath and wiped the tears. He took a third breath and made eye contact with Nick. He took a fourth breath and thought about what he was going to say. He took a fifth breath and opened his mouth.

“I’m so sorry I like you.” This didn’t sound like Vince’s voice. In fact it wasn’t. Nick was gripping his chair so hard Vince was afraid it might actually break. Nicks knuckles were white because of the strength he was using right now. He had put his sunglasses on.

“What ?” Vince finally came to his senses. “What do you mean ?” He plopped down to the ground.

“I like you.” Nick said through gritted teeth. “Like-like you.”

“What ?” What ? What was happening? What ?

“What do you mean what ! What ? What !? Do you want me to spell it out ? Isn’t it enough that I lost my best friend” his voice cracked “because I’m fucking in love with you ? Do you want me to print it on my forehead ? ‘IM THE POOR GUY IN LOVE WITH HIS BEST FRIEND’ ?” at this point Nick had actually left indents on the chair, and there was no doubt that his eyes were closed tight under his sunglasses. “Please don’t hate me.”

As if Vince ever could. “You, you really like me ? You mean that ?” It’s not like he really had to ask. Nick wouldn’t have been like that if it wasn’t. But a small part of his brain still thought this was some kind of messed up dream.

He got up and took a step towards Nick.

000

Alice was a mess. She really really was. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear through a crack on the wall. The guilt was crushing her. Knowing that she caused her friends to be in so much pain was eating her alive. But she still came talk to Mary. Because she had no rights to feel that way. Alice had made her bed, now she was going to sleep in it.

But when Mary actually started painting her nails, she was starting suffocate. And Mary was there. She was there when Alice finally let it out. It felt good to have a shoulder to cry on.

She didn’t know how long she had been crying. Maybe a few minute, maybe a few hours. It didn’t matter. “I hate this.” She croaked. “I hate this so so much. And it’s all” my fault. The words weren’t said, but it didn’t take a telepath to guess.

“It’s gonna be fine you’ll see” Mary said as she stroked alices hair. It was going to be alright. “But you’re going to have to talk to them sweetie.”

Alice knew that. But not right now. Everything would fall in place eventually.

000

Nick was keeping his eyes shut, and there was like a ringing in his ears. That was probably why he gasped when he felt Vince’s fingers on his own. They were gently removing Nicks hands from the chair he was sitting on. Why was Vince doing that. It made no sense. But it felt nice. And Nick was a bastard, he had every rights to be selfish.

Then he opened his eyes. And Vince was smiling at him, for some reason. Now, had this been anyone but Vince, Nick would have recognized the signs, the blown pupils, the faster-than-average heart rate, everything. But when it came to Vince Reynolds, Nick was a dumb fool.

Nick removed his sunglasses.

“I-“ Vince started. “I love you too, you know ? You’re like, the most wonderful person I’ve ever met ? And I, I just was, you know, too scared to admit it. Even to myself. I guess I’m kinda a cowards when it comes to you uh ?” He let out a nervous laugh.

Nicks normally extremely fast brain took some time to register what Vince was saying. Apparently, impulse control was lost in the process, since he soon found himself kissing Vince. And it was the best day of his life.

Okay, there was a lot of teeth clanging and awkward nose poking, but it was still the best kiss Nick had ever had. And somehow he found himself lying on the floor next to Vince, laughing.

000

Mary returned to the kitchen after making sure they sorted it out. They were still on the floor, arguing about Nicks horror movies when she came in. They looked so happy. But Alice needed to sort everything out. So she cleared her throat.

“Alice wants to talk to you.” Mary said. She opened the door and Alice stepped in.

Mary quickly retreated to Hershel’s room, to give them some privacy. Herself could use some privacy with her boyfriend, she thought, as she started kissing him. It had been way too long.

“Star Trek movie night !” Hershel cried.

Yup. Long overdue.

000

When Alice walked in, Nick didn’t think much of it. He knew that he should probably be angry at her or something, but he just wasn’t. Didn’t mean he couldn’t use this at his advantage. He smirked.

“So. Alice Adair is finally returning.” He stood up.

“Listen, I’m so so so so-“ Nick placed a finger on her mouth. This was revenge.

“I know. But it’s gonna take more than an apology to make it up to me.” He was enjoying this far too much wasn’t he ?

Alice started rambling again about what she was willing to do to make it up to them, and how she should have never done it that way and-

“I have the perfect idea,”Nick cut her off. “I want you to support me next time I want to do a slasher movie marathon.” Alice burst out laughing. And just like that she knew she was forgiven. “Now Vince, what do you want out of this ?” Nick asked.

“Uh… I want you to ? Uh… ask your chef to make us food for an entire week ?” Alice shook his hand.

“You have a deal.”

Needless to say, the next few days, when they were not in the hcp, were spent with Nick and Vince being glued to each other (not that it was any different from before), and eating more food than at thanksgiving. Oh and also very bad horror movies.

This was originally supposed to be pure fluff about these two dorks finally getting together, but it sorta came out of hand. I guess I wasn’t done with the angst from two days ago, but at least no one died !

#superpowereds #my fic #i wrote a thing yay

[creative-type]

How Fullmetal Alchemist Integrates Theme and Character

In a world where everything is subjective and polarizing opinions are the norm, where anti-fans and trolls take ‘love to hate’ a little too far, and where any story popular enough to become a pop-culture phenomenon is almost guaranteed to have a small-but-vocal minority that can’t see what all the fuss is about, I have never once seen, read, or heard of anyone say that Fullmetal Alchemist is a bad story. 

None. 

I’m sure they exist, but during the course of its run Fullmetal Alchemist reached the rarefied air of being almost universally beloved within the manga/anime community and being critically acclaimed as a damn good story. This success is wholly deserved. Arakawa was able to do something that a lot of shonen mangaka can’t, and as a result Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the best plotted, tightly written manga I have ever read. 

Others have and will write about the philosophy Arakawa presents, point out the incredible amount of research she was able to cram into her series, extrapolate on the world building better than I could, but today I want to talk about something I’ve not seen anyone else touch on, and that’s how she integrates her themes into her characterization in order to really drive the point she’s trying to make home. 

So what’s the main theme of Fullmetal Alchemist? Luckily Arakawa tells us directly on the next to last page of the series. 

So let’s pick this apart a little bit

There is nothing to be learned in a lesson without pain, because you can’t gain anything without losing something in exchange. But when you overcome that pain and make the lesson your own you will obtain an infallible, irreplaceable fullmetal heart.

Now since this is a comic we also have to take the image itself into account. None of the photos are of just one person. Even the dog managed to have puppies. So we can assume that the idea of community is also integral to what Arakawa’s trying to say here (I hesitate to say friendship, because, well, not all of these guys are friends, lol). Also, during Edward’s final showdown with Truth he states he’ll make due without his alchemy so long as he’s still got other people he can rely on

And Truth’s response is basically “Ding ding! You finally get it! Go claim your prize at the door, I never want to see your ugly mug again.”

(I don’t know Japanese, but I’m pretty sure that’s an accurate translation)

At its barest bones Fullmetal Alchemist is about overcoming past mistakes with the help of others. This is all fine and dandy, but without proper execution they just become empty words pasted onto the final pages in a halfhearted attempt at depth. I think most people know of stories about sacrificial love where there is neither meaningful sacrifice nor a healthy portrayal of love, or stories about overcoming overwhelming odds through the power of hard work and effort where every victory is handed over on a silver platter of asspulls and accelerated training arcs. It doesn’t matter how good something sounds if the execution sucks.

With that in mind, let’s look at some of the characters of Fullmetal Achemist and the mistakes they’ve made.

Fullmetal Alchemist: A Series of Terrible People Trying to Become Less Terrible

So this one is super easy. We’re presented with our lovable protagonists’s first major screw up on chapter 1, page 1

Oh look, it’s that quote again. Golly gee willikers, it’s almost as if Awakara knew what story she wanted to tell and integrated the main theme from the very beginning.

It’s not terribly uncommon for a manga to make some sort of thesis statement during their first chapter, but from the (few) long-running serializations I’ve read, the longer a series runs the more muddled these things get as far as theme and narrative go. It’s one of the difficult things about trying to keep an audience engaged over a long period of time. 

Fullmetal Alchemist is more tightly plotted than most shonen affairs, but there’s another thing that helps it keep from undercutting its own themes, and that’s that it lets its protagonists actually make terrible mistakes, and more importantly makes them suffer because of it.

The Elric’s attempt to resurrect their mother is never treated as anything but a horrible thing that never should have happened. Yes, the boys’s plight is sympathetic and the loss of their mother after their father abandoned the family was a tragedy, but they were told time and time again that human transformation was not only impossible, but forbidden

Of course the Elric brothers don’t listen, because otherwise there wouldn’t be a series. It cannot be overstated that they purposefully kept their plans secret. They didn’t tell Winry or Izumi or any one else that they were going to try to revive their mother. Perhaps they don’t feel like they can talk to anyone about their grief, but there’s also a definite hubris involved. Edward and Alphonse -- but especially Edward -- think they can accomplish something “adults” have found impossible.

Perhaps if they had talked to Izumi more she would have been able to guide them through their time of grief, but it goes back to one of the main themes of the series: Camaraderie, doing things together, trusting your friends, community as apposed to isolation. The Elric brothers lock themselves away to their father’s dark library and perform illegal experiments in their basement -- hidden from anyone who might try to stop them. 

And they suffer for it. 

(Keep in mind the word ignorant. We’ll be coming back to it later.)

This in and of itself is good, but this message is hammered home by the supporting cast, especially the characters from the military. Remember Roy Mustang, suave up-and-comer who wants to completely reform the government from the inside out for the betterment of the people?

Complicit in genocide

His number 2, all around team mom, and rescuer of cute puppies?

Complicit in genocide

Husband of the year and eternal winner of Best Dad Joke?

Complicit in genocide

Human teddy bear, series aesthete, and walking meme generator?

Complicit in genocide

The beloved small-town doctor?

Complicit in genocide and human experimentation

The grumpy curmudgeon with a hidden heart of gold?

Say it with me now, complicit in  freaking genocide.

That’s just looking at Armestrian military during the civil war. When the series jumps to the present day we see Scar has become a serial killer, while midway through the series Ling willingly becomes the vessel for an inhuman monster, nearly loosing his identity in the process. Hohenheim abandoned his family and was (unwittingly) complicit in a genocide of his own. In her grief Izumi tried to bring back her dead child via human transmutation, violating one of the fundamental laws of alchemy. The list goes on. 

It is impossible to fully implement a theme of overcoming past mistakes without having characters be fully responsible for said mistakes. I feel like it’s a common trap to sacrifice likability for pathos. How easy would it have been to say that Ed and Al couldn’t be held responsible for their actions because they weren’t aware of the consequences, or had never been told that human transformation was forbidden? How easy would it have been to say that the military made Roy and Riza and the rest participate in the Ishvalan massacre?

Luckily the writing never goes this route. While the various characters might not fully understand the ultimate outcome of their choices they never have their agency stripped away by something outside of their control. Each and every character in the series thinks they’re doing the right thing by acting the way they do, which not only makes them feel human as characters but brings me neatly into my second point.

Overcoming Ignorance and Finding Truth

During the Ishvalan flashback we see both Roy and Riza give their initial reason for joining the military, citing their desire to protect others as one of their main motivations.

Edward and Alphonse were young children when their mother died, and their desire to bring her back stems from a child’s love. Izumi and Sig had struggled for years for a child, and the grief of losing a baby after longing for a family for so long led her to try to resurrect her child.

None of these desires are in and of themselves bad, but they stem from a place of ignorance. Attempting human transmutation was forbidden for a reason. The military ended up not being as altruistic as the young soldiers were led to believe. The world, which our main characters looked at as a simple, understandable thing, turned out to be complex, and hard, and unforgiving.

With their worldviews essentially shattered it would have been easy to give up or give in to the darkness that they had seen, but instead each main character decides to take full ownership of their mistakes and takes steps to correct them.

There are very few irredeemable bad guys in Fullmetal Alchemist, and it’s a series that ultimately has a very hopeful view on humanity. Because of this underlying philosophy people are not ruined or broken by their pasts, but rather learn from them. 

This is the Truth that is presented. It’s not facts or book knowledge, which any alchemist capable of performing human transmutation would have in spades, but growth through life experience. Ed and Al see firsthand the evils alchemy can commit and strive to correct them. Roy and Riza stare down the barrel of the military machine and seek to dismantle it, even if it results in their own undoing. Ling learns to recognize the futility of his country’s current clan system and seeks to protect even the weakest of his people. It takes awhile, but Scar realizes that vengeance can only breed violence and strives to rebuild his people instead of the destruction of those who killed them in the first place.

None of these goals can be accomplished alone, building on the theme of camaraderie, but there’s also the side effect of preventing others from going down their path. 

That is Fullmetal Alchemist in a nutshell. It’s a series about flawed people making horrible mistakes, overcoming them with the help of their friends and in turn preventing others going down that dark path of destruction. It’s not a smooth transition, and the lessons learned are full of pain, but in the end you’ll find your own Truth and come out the other side a better person. The rest is just gravy. 

Although I will concede that having a main character who can turn his arm into a knife probably helps.

#Fullmetal Alchemist #Edward Elric #Alphonse Elric #creative-type analyzes #character analysis #Roy Mustang #Riza Hawkeye #Ling #character writing #Scar

[kpopgerapitico]

Song of the Week

I may have peeked ahead of time . . . but it was for good reason and I do not regret it.

Edit 1 (written halfway through): The universe has conspired against me. After a couple weeks (months) of the music scene disappointing me, it has decided to attack this week. There are SO MANY GOOD choices this week.

Edit 2 (at the end): It’s a long one folks, buckle up

Honorable Mentions:

I like the flip of the usual hip hop formula in Asol’s Bucket List, where the girl has the rap verse, and the guy has the chorus vocal. The rapping is not my favorite, so the song sadly doesn’t keep my attention, which is unfortunate when it has so many elements I like.

If you wanted a dose of anime intro this week, the indie scene is looking out for you with Unification Road March from Vanmal. It feels like Weezer mixed with the Burnout Syndromes. Which is a good mix in my books.

So, my pre watch this week came from PLT, because of course it did. So, Igoholic is amazing. More importantly, is anyone surprised? Moti has a great intro verse (with a sung rap part, which is one of my favorite mixed styles). Gaho and Jinwoo rock every chorus. Then June lowkey raps?!?! And then leads into the coolest part of the whole track (you will know when you hear it). And then Villain decides he doesn’t want to be shown up and kills it. And, because of course they are amazing, the live is just as amazing. (P.S. here is a live of Manitto that you should also absolutely listen to).

If you prefer your anime theme to be sung by women, then Dreamcatcher is back to give you exactly what you wanted. What is the same style that they have been doing the whole time, and for some reason I am all about it this time? Maybe I am just in the mood for the style, and need to go back through all their songs, but this is pretty great.

If nothing else, go at least watch parts of wetter’s Hello Sunshine. The MV does a good job of catching the vibe of the rock song. As for the song, I really like the verse, but not so much with the chorus.

I may be biased (who are we kidding, I am super biased), but Roy Kim has my favorite ballad of the week with The Hardest Part. Partially because his voice is one of my favorite things, partially because it is the simple acoustic tragedy style I can’t help but like. Also, holy shit, the lyrics . . . honestly, they have deeper plot than some tv shows. And he actually acts in his video (which, also, he’s so pretty in it), and the stories match up and . . . I’m rambling. Just go love this song too. Only for rainy days though (lucky me, living in Seattle and all that).

Next in the parade of amazing music is Park Sanhee with Over The Blue. I’m not sure how to describe the style. Maybe Taeyeon if she was a little more ballad-y and a little bit more indie. There are some amazing vocals (I love the ethereal part lots), and importantly interesting vocals throughout. Also, I love girls moving through their whole range, instead of just the top. Also, she is so unknown that her Instagram has like maybe 400 followers. It is a CRIME!!

If you liked Amber’s mixtape, you will like White Noise (which sounds like a lot of the tracks from it). That’s all I have to say about it (I’m hitting a good music coma). Okay, I will say the breakdown is inspired.

If you are wondering where the classic K-pop sound is hiding this week, it is in GOT7′s Lullaby, complete with box sets and questionable outfits and plot. I am not in love with the song as whole, because it feels just a bit too disjointed. The chorus though is wonderful.

So you know how groups formed from a show have sad ballads to announce their split up? The newest one is from UNI.T from The Unit which (controversial opinion) was the best competition show so far (fight me). Their sad ballad is Begin with the End, which is sung beautifully and would probably be a lot more emotional for me if I was a fan. If you feel like an actual release, produced by Brave sound no less, they also dropped I Mean, which is vocally stunning as expected, and is in a style I do not love, so I’m torn.

While Save Me, Save You is not my favorite WJSN track, I’m as shocked as everyone else that they still aren’t being paid?!?! Like, really? Starship literally only has 2 active groups right now.

Y’all. I am so torn about choosing a winner(s) right now. I have an honest to goodness 3 way tie, and I can’t choose one the drop . . .

I make my own rules, and I choose Igoholic from PLT for it’s hype-ness (is that a word? nope, but it is now), and The Hardest Part from Roy Kim for being emotional and BEAUTIFULLY sung (and beautiful all over), and Over The Blue from Park Sunhee for being criminally underrated (and also amazing).

#sotw #igoholic #plt #the hardest part #roy kim #over the blue #park sunhee

[theultimatefan]

Joe Bonamassa Launches NFT Of “One Song Record Company”

Blues rock hero Joe Bonamassa is partnering with Heritage Auction House to announce a game-changing NFT collection that stands to reshape the music industry forever by tokenizing the original master and publishing rights to a brand-new song titled "Broken Record." This lot is truly unprecedented as the chart-topping guitarist is the first artist in music to sell his publishing in an NFT as part of this digital + physical collection, which also features his own “Holy Grail” 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst guitar and 1963 Fender Vibroverb amp that were used to record the song. The auction is set for July 31. Bonamassa calls this lot "the one-song record company" because it totally transforms the way musicians can make a business from their intellectual property. Joe’s business partner Roy Weisman elaborates: “That is what this NFT concept gives artists — the opportunity to raise capital on an independent basis that will allow them to overstep the so-called gatekeepers of the music industry.” “One of the things that I like about being an independent artist is that Roy and I came up with this idea,” Bonamassa says. “We didn't have to run it up any sort of chain of command. It was like, let's do this because it feels right. And it's the next logical step in how independent artists are going to be on equal footing with major labels.” Weisman says “we’re now truly in a unique time in the music business where it is completely just supply and demand. People can find artists online anytime, people can buy their music, investors can invest in them with an artist having to go through that typical major label or even large independent label system that is heavily weighted against artists from the start.” This history-making auction from the music-business revolutionary is far from routine; then, nothing Bonamassa does is ever ordinary. Joe is breaking new ground in the music industry and playing by his own rules with this lot featuring highly collectible items, including not only some of the most prized musical instruments on the planet, but pairing them with a series of certificates of authenticity as cutting-edge non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The type of guitar has been used by rock royalty such as Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield. The instrument with the “unmatched deep, throaty sound,” as David Schiller writes in his book Guitar, was the ax that built rock and roll. Non-fungible tokens are changing the business world and Bonamassa's clever use of the new technology is now allowing other artists to build what is their own business. Bonamassa's auction is unique and stands to reshape how musicians make and sell their art. This incredible lot includes 13 items individually tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain. Each physical item will have a digital NFT component. This lot is a dream come true for any serious collector of vintage gear or NFT investor looking to diversify their portfolio. It should surprise no one who follows Bonamassa’s career that he’s leading this revolution. No guitarist has ever received as much coverage in the music and business media as the two-time Grammy Award nominee who has topped Billboard’s Blues chart 24 times – at only the age of 44, no less. Only last year, in fact, Forbes heralding the guitarist for “Taking Control Of His Business, Building A Brand And Investing In Himself.”Bonamassa, a wunderkind who opened for B.B. King when he was just 12 years old, learned early on never to trust the industry: His 2000 debut A New Day Yesterday, released on a Sony subsidiary, was a critical smash, with Billboard hailing the comer as “a bold talent who rises above narrow radio formatics.” Problem was that major labels have no time for bold talents who don’t get played on the radio. Bonamassa and Sony parted ways. For many musicians, that would have been the end of the story. For Bonamassa, it was only the beginning of the beginning: In 2002 the guitarist and his longtime manager and business partner Roy Weisman created J&R Adventures – a self-contained label, management, marketing and

concert promotion company. Which has meant that for the last 20 years, they haven’t had anyone looking over their shoulder, anyone telling them what to do or where to go, anyone telling them no. “We go against the grain by nature, and that's how we've been successful,” Weisman says. “I'm not really looking to get the input of the industry because quite frankly, I think the mainstream industry won't like independence. And with this auction, we’re going to show the world how to merge their copyrights, their intellectual property and sell it directly to an investor without a middleman like a major record company taking a major piece of the money and leaving them without any core assets. Now with the NFT, artists have an opportunity to build capital for themselves to then build what is their own business. And that is a beautiful thing. It's a game-changer.” The way both men tell it, the idea of selling the guitar and amp and the song in a single auction lot was an easy one, just another inevitable next step in the evolution of their revolution. It took Weisman and Bonamassa all of 20 minutes to settle on the concept and its eventual execution, which resulted in a full-blown studio session during which the guitarist recorded something of which he’s extraordinarily proud … which no one, outside of the winner, might ever hear. Joe explains “if three people hear the song and that’s it, I'm still proud of the work. If it’s licensed for film or TV and everybody hears the song, even better. But the fact of the matter is, I'm proud of the song whether three people hear it or 30 million hear it. It doesn't matter. My approach would not have changed.” “And in the end, we came to the conclusion that if we’re going to do this, let’s make a splash. This is going to be really cool.” ITEMS IN THIS LOT: 1 Vintage Guitar from Joe's Collection -1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, Serial # 9 0346 1 Vintage Amp From Joe's Collection -1963 Fender Vibroverb, Serial # 00352 1 Original Song by Joe Bonamassa -Track name: "Broken Record" -Written and Produced by Joe Bonamassa -Mixed and mastered by Kevin Shirley -Executive Producer: Roy Weisman -(will include WAV file for digital playback and Master for Manufacturing) -Master Rights and Publishing included - Rules as stated on Agreement 4 Videos -1 Full Live Studio Performance Video -EPK Interview about Song -Guitar "Origin" Video -Amp "Origin" Video Original handwritten Lyric Sheet - Signed by Joe 1 Original Cover Art design -1500x1500 digital JPEG image -J&R Retains Copyright of the design, NFT owner CANNOT use for Merch or Commercial use 1 Joe Bonamassa Hand-Signed Lithograph -Exclusive cover art printed and Hand Signed by Joe (1 of 1 original) -Framed, 21-inch X 21-inch 4 Concert Tickets & 4 Meet & Greet Passes to One Joe Bonamassa Show every calendar year. - Tickets and M&G passes must be used for the same show. - Where Joe Bonamassa is the sole headline artist (no festivals or special events). - Only if there is a scheduled Meet & Greet for the applicable show. - For as long as and until Joe continues to actively tour. - All costs to attend the show (travel, accommodations, etc.) other than the tickets and passes are the responsibility of the NFT owner. 1 Digital Photo Book - Includes 6 photos of Joe (in the studio and with the guitar & Amp) - These will be delivered digitally as JPEGs. - NFT owner will not own copyright of images A Personal "Nerdville" Museum Tour and lunch with Joe Bonamassa - Choice of either Los Angeles or Nashville location - Date and Time Subject to Joe Bonamassa's Schedule - Tour for Purchaser and 1 guest (2 people MAXIMUM) - Lunch will follow the tour at Joe's residence - Subject to signature by Purchaser and guest of a confidentiality agreement - No filming or recording of any nature permitted - This is a ONE TIME ONLY event - All travel, accommodation and other expenses are the sole responsibility of the Purchaser TOKENIZED ITEMS: (13 Different Minted items) -Song -Guitar -Amp -Tickets and Meet & Greet -Nerdville Museum Tour and Lunch with Joe -Full

Music Video -EPK Video about Song -Guitar "Origin" Video -Amp "Origin" Video -Digital Cover artwork image -Litho Print -Hand-written Lyrics Page -Digital Photo Book

[fullmetalgunfire]

Happy New Year, @blackwolfchimera!

So one of the times I was poking around your blog, I stumbled on a High School Musical related post, and I was... A little surprised how well that works as an AU. So I wrote a fic, which isn’t my usual thing, but seemed like the best way to do it so I went for it. And Eurydice helped me a little with the editing, so hopefully it’s not too rough...

And yeah, one of the reasons I waited to start posting this was because I could not resist posting this chapter on New Years Eve. XD

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I’ll be posting a chapter a day from here on out (right now it’ll probably be eight chapters, because I’m apparently incapable of doing anything short). And uh, warning for cursing, I guess? I mean, it’s mostly Ed, so I figure that’s expected, but...

(Ship information for everybody else: Mainly Roy/Ed, and in the later chapters some mention of Roy/Riza (in an old crush that didn’t go anywhere sense) as part of a plot point, and some very background Al/Mei)

- Erin

“Seriously?”

Ed blinked, glancing up from his book to his brother, standing with his arms crossed and a disapproving frown on his face, backlit by the party lights behind him.

“What?”

“You’re seriously reading right now? At a party?”

“Since when is that new?” he snorted, rolling his eyes a bit, “Come on, this one’s actually interesting. I don’t even know why you dragged me to this stupid party...”

“It’s New Years, we should be social, and this place is popular,” Al shrugged.

“The bar is popular,” Ed pointed out, gesturing toward the stairs, where downstairs one of the most popular New Years parties for adults was going on, “This is just to keep the kids who’s parents cant think of something more family friendly occupied. And why do we need to be social, anyway? I don’t know anyone here!”

“Well, Winry was supposed to meet us here, but she got busy...” Al sighed, “But that’s kind of the point. We just moved into town, we should get to know other kids our age around here, right?”

Ed gave him a look. “Moved back into town, you mean. I don’t think we need to meet the neighbors when we used to live here.”

“In a completely different part of town. When we were kids,” Al huffed, raising his eyebrows at him, “Who do you even remember?”

Ed opened his mouth to answer.

“Besides Winry.”

Ed promptly shut his mouth again and scowled at his brother, who just looked triumphant.

“See?” he said, grinning, “Come on, make some friends. There’s all these activities, even this sort of karaoke contest thing... It’ll be fun! You can read more when we get home...”

“Not interested, Al,” he huffed, going back to his book, “You go make friends or whatever, I don’t care about that shit.”

Al huffed and went silent for a moment, eyeing him. “If you stop reading for a few minutes we can go home early?”

Ed didn’t take the bait, not looking up from his book. “I’m good where I am.”

Al just huffed again, and Ed completely ignored him. Which meant he didn’t notice how Al’s eyes fell on the sign up table for the karaoke contest, his eyes lighting up with an idea.

“I’ll be back, I’m not letting you read all night,” he warned before heading off, Ed too absorbed in his book again to notice.

“I never want to come to this party ever again.”

“Oh come on, Roy, it’s not that bad,” Riza said mildly, barely even looking away from her phone to take in how Roy had flopped in the chair beside her, rolling her eyes a bit at his dramatics.

“I have been to this party... Every single year... Since I was ten,” Roy said, giving her a look but not moving from his sprawl. His aunt was the one who owned the bar, and ever since he had started living with her... “It’s exactly the same. Every. Single. Year. Tell me that I don’t have a reason for being sick of it.”

“Karaoke’s new,” she replied, finishing whatever it was she’d been doing and putting her phone away.

“What are you talking about, we always have Karaoke,” Roy said, frowning at her, then at the table. Vanessa, one of his aunt’s girls and therefore his honorary sister, caught him looking and waved to him with a smile.

“She’s running it differently this year,” Riza hummed, “I didn’t catch the details, but there’s some sort of contest. With a prize.”

“Huh,” he said, eyeing the table curiously for a moment before standing and heading over. “Good evening Vanessa...”

“Hey Roy,” she laughed, amused by his flirtatious tone... He’d been doing it ever since he figured out what flirting was, and they were both well aware what a joke it was by then. “Are you going to sign up this year?”

“Depends,” he hummed, watching as a short haired blond boy he didn’t recognize came up and scribbled down a name, “Riza said you made it a contest?”

“Yeah... Going to pair people up and chose a duet for them to perform, then everybody can vote on who was their favorite,” she said, grinning and holding up a pair of gift cards, “Winners each get to pick one of these two gift cards. 25 each.”

Roy eyed them, definitely starting to get interested. One was for a craft store, which he couldn’t care less about, but the other was for a bookstore and... Well, there were several he’d been eyeing for ages but hadn’t really had the money to spare.

But then he thought about it, and frowned. “Wait, you seriously spent 50 dollars just to make this a contest?”

“Well, someone did,” she shrugged, laughing at his confusion, “I’m regifting. I’m not going to use them, so...”

“Right...” he chuckled, eyeing them still.

“Going to join in, then?” she said, looking at him knowingly. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d included the one gift card purely to tempt him into signing up. And he was tempted. But he never really sang in front of strangers, or anyone really, and it wasn’t like he’d never have the money...

“You should do it,” Riza said from right behind him.

Roy promptly jumped, then glared at her, which she just looked amused by. She always did that when he was distracted... “You’re a damn ninja, Hawkeye,” he huffed, rolling his eyes and shaking off the mild annoyance at his friend, “I don’t know, I hardly sing...”

“So? Think anyone else here does?” she shrugged, then smirked, “I dare you to.”

Roy sighed. She knew him entirely too well... He hated backing down from a dare.

“Alright, fine,” he said, reaching over to the sign up sheet, glancing at the instruction to try to keep the two columns even, then scribbled his name in the shorter of the two without looking any further, “But if I embarrass myself, I’m blaming you.”

Vanessa got the contest started just a few minutes later, starting to call people up, apparently one person from each column at a time. Which led to some... Interesting matchups. Roy didn’t pay much attention to the duets, though, just wandering around the room (Riza was busy again... A friend of hers was apparently having a minor crisis of some kind) and trying to occupy himself before his turn came up.

He ended up in the corner by the drinks table, where another blond he didn’t recognize was holed up with a thick book. He was... A little bit jealous, honestly. Reading seemed much more appealing then this party... He was about to ask the other boy about it, when that same blond he’d spotted earlier at the sign up table came up to the other boy.

“Still reading?” he said with a sigh.

“Yeah,” the other one replied, looking up, “Told you I don’t care about this stupid party, Al... We going home soon?”

“Yeah, we have to soon, though-”

Roy didn’t hear the rest of the statement, Vanessa’s voice calling over the speaker. “Alright, let’s get our next duo up here. We’ve got...” Roy, who was watching her now, saw her grin almost deviously. “Roy Mustang and... Edward Elric.”

Roy groaned a little, wondering what she was planning to do to him, but the thought was quickly pushed out of his head by the exclamation beside him.

“What the fuck?!”

The boy who’d been reading dropped his book and practically jumping to his feet, clearly surprised by the announcement. Roy wondered for half a second how he could be, since he would have had to sign up, before the other one, Al apparently, tried and failed to suppress a laugh. Well. That would explain it...

Edward, apparently, put it together just as fast, because he rounded on Al, looking furious. “You signed me up behind my back? What the fuck, Al?!”

Roy cringed, and headed for the makeshift stage, not sticking around for the response. Al seemed to be trying to placate him somehow, but Roy had a feeling this duet wasn’t going to go well. Still, he was going to show up, because he wasn’t going to give Riza any reason to tease him for backing out of a dare.

He was a little surprised when Ed trudged up there a couple moments after him, arms crossed and fuming. He glanced over at Vanessa, hoping she might show mercy on him, but judging from the look on her face he wasn’t going to have any such luck.

This wasn’t just not going to go well, it was going to be a disaster.

“Roy, you’ll be singer one,” Vanessa explained to them, still grinning deviously, “And... Edward? You’ll be singer two. And the song you’ll be singing is...”

Vanessa hit a few buttons, calling up whatever song she had picked, and Roy looked over to the screen, almost immediately groaning when he saw the text on display and the song started to play.

You’re The One That I Want - Grease

He was going to kill Vanessa later. Yeah sure, he secretly liked the movie (one of the girls had shown it to him because she loved it, he’d grown fond of it) and the song was fun, and he’d normally love a chance to do something a bit flirty with someone cute (and this Edward was indeed cute, and exactly his type, and Vanessa would know it too, damn her), but now was not the time. Especially with how Edward had just started scowling more even before she’d announced the song...

Still, he was going to do his bit, even if it fell apart after. So when the words came up on screen, he sang, and while he didn’t try to have fun with it or anything he didn’t think he sounded half bad.

He half expected Edward to just refuse to sing, and made a small move to step away from the mic, but to his surprise the other boy started singing his part without any hesitation. A great deal of reluctance, sure, and he still seemed pissed, but no hesitance. And he sounded good, too.

Roy almost missed his next lines with his surprise, but he managed to hit them just fine.

Then they started to sing together, and... It actually sounded pretty damn good. Better than that, even. Maybe even great... Edward started to relax a little, and even smiled a bit when he glanced over and noticed the way Roy was grinning. Or maybe it was just because the song was so fun. Whatever it was, he seemed to be slowly getting into it.

When he hit his next verse, he even got a little playful with it, getting just a bit suggestive with the way he moved. Roy immediately gave him an over the top reaction to that, making the other boy burst out laughing. He almost expected him to miss his next line completely, he was laughing so much, but he just barely raised the mic in time to sing along, laughter still in his voice.

By the time they were done with the song, they weren’t even looking at the screens anymore, just grinning at each other and even dancing a bit on the makeshift stage, not paying any attention to the rest of the room.

“Well, I think we’ve definitely got a contender for the best duet of the night,” Vanessa said over the speaker, and the outside world came crashing in.

Roy couldn’t stop smiling, though, as he stepped away from the makeshift stage. Edward couldn’t seem to either, following him with a laugh.

“That was way more fun than I thought it’d be,” he admitted, grinning at Roy, “You sounded way better than most of the people tonight. I’ve been trying to tune them out, seriously, it sucked. You sing at all? Like in a band or something?”

“Not unless you count in the shower,” he snorted, “But I try. What about you... Edward, right?”

He promptly made a face. Well, maybe that was part of the reason he’d been scowling so much... “Ed. Call me Ed. Seriously, no one calls me Edward. Unless they’re mad at me.”

“Ed then,” he chuckled, “But seriously, what about you? You sounded better than me.”

“Al and I used to do these sing alongs with our mom when we were little,” he replied with a shrug, “Guess it stuck.”

“Your brother, I’m guessing? The one that snuck you into the contest?”

“Guess I was a bit loud about that, wasn’t I?” he said with a bit of a laugh, “Yeah, he was trying to get me to be social. I was going to kill him for that, but...”

“You had too much fun?”

“Don’t ever tell him I admitted that.”

“Promise,” Roy replied with a laugh of his own, “Is there a reason he wanted you to be social? Or is he one of those it’s rude to read at a party types?”

“You saw the book, too?”

Roy hummed and nodded. “I was a bit jealous. Looked interesting.”

Ed perked up. “You like chemistry?”

“Always liked science, those classes are usually some of my better subjects,” he replied, grinning, “You didn’t answer my question, though.”

“Wait, what question again?”

“If there was a reason he wanted you to be social, or if he just thought it was rude.”

“Oh, right,” Ed said, suddenly looking hesitant, “The first one. I mean, knowing Al it’s probably a bit of both, but definitely the first one. He thinks I need to make friends since we moved back here.”

“Well, that explains why I’ve never seen you at this party before...” Roy hummed, eyeing him with a small frown, “Moved back here?”

“Yeah. Used to live here when we were little, before our mom...” he started, looking a little uncomfortable before he cleared his throat, “Yeah. But we just got a new foster family so we’re back. Different part of town, though.”

“Oh,” he said, feeling a little uncomfortable himself. He’d clearly stumbled across a sensitive subject... He tried to think of what to say to make it better, but before he could Al came up to them, looking sheepish.

“Hey, Ed? We really ought to go back home...”

“Oh, right...” Ed said, giving Roy a weaker smile than before, “Nice talking to you?”

“Yeah, it was,” Roy replied as Ed started to walk away, “Hey, wait, can I give you my number? Maybe we could text about that book you were reading...”

Ed perked up at that, eagerly grabbing Roy’s phone out of his hand and handing over his own as they quickly added each other to their contacts.

Moments later, as he watched the brothers walk away (trying to ignore the way that the muted lighting made the elder Elric’s hair almost glitter), he felt a tap on his shoulder. Speaking of blonds…

“Hey, Riza.”

“You looked like you were having fun up there,” she said, trying not to smirk at him,  “Glad I made you sign up after all?”

“Actually... Yeah,” he said with a small smile of his own, “I really only did it because you dared me, but it really was fun. I’m pretty sure Vanessa was seriously messing with me though.”

“With that song? Oh yeah,” she snorted, shaking her head. “You wanna go?”

“Yeah, lets-”

“-the winners of our New Year’s Karaoke Contest are…Edward Elric and Roy Mustang!”

Roy gaped, his eyes widening at the announcement.  He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do, when he felt Riza elbow him lightly in the ribs.  “What…?”

“Go get your prizes, dumbass.” She laughed softly, shaking her head. “And don’t pick between them yourself, talk to that guy first. Gives you something to text him about...”

“Honestly I think we’re just going to end up fighting over the one for the bookstore,” he said with a bit of a laugh, heading up to the front to grab the gift cards. Regardless of the outcome, though, he was glad for another excuse to talk to him. They’d probably have to meet up for him to give Ed his prize... He grinned as he pocketed the two cards. This was going to be great.

#fma secret santa 2017 #royed #safe royed #(...if anyone's wondering why i changed the song... i wanted to sneak in references toother stuff i like #i like musicals ok i couldn't resist #it'll come up more later... -erin) #our stuff #our writing

[mydigisalon]

8 Winning Hair Salon Appointment Ideas To Bring More Customers

Looking for new ways to grab salon appointments? There are so many tips and tricks around that you are bound to feel overwhelmed. Feeling drowned with so many ideas that you do not know where to start is quite expected.

But instead of getting sucked into the black holes of tricks to attract customers, you need an action plan. You need to ATTRACT clients to BUILD your customer base and GROW your salon. We will help you plan an 8 steps beauty salon marketing plan to advertise your salon business and reach out to potential new clients.

1. Target the Right Audience

While investing your hard-earned money in targeting clients. Make sure that you are targeting the right people. Your ideal client should and will fit certain criteria like S/he will be willing to spend money on your services, live within your salon vicinity and segregate them into age groups.

After all, this is done, target your ads on them. E.g. waxing for ladies, hair salon appointment booking for haircuts and spas for both men and women. If they like your services you’ll get recurring users who will also bring new clients from referrals. Therefore, for highly profitable transactions, always target clients who are

2. Build Brand with Instagram

Instagram is the new go-to platform if you want to attract organic clients who are interested in availing your services.

To attract potential new clients for your hair salon appointment, use these 4 practical tips:

a. Salon Instagram business basics

Set up a new Instagram business profile/ account, don’t use your personal one. Why? Because you’ll get detailed stats on what’s working to attract new followers, can advertise on your business account and target a potentially new audience and it will be easier for these new clients to contact you back.

b. Your profile bio:

Add a good bio with a link to your salon website, if you have one. Bio is the only place where links are clickable on your profiles. Use it as an online booking system, too. Apart from that add your contact details, location and even your vision to connect with people.

c. Let visuals do the work

Instagram is all about visual appeal. You can showcase your brilliant work and expertise to new clients. They’ll get a little sneak peek into your work and know about what your business expertise and customer care are really like. Strong visuals with a simple layout will attract attention. You can find quality posts and images for your social media on My Digi Salon inventory. You will see eye-catching images and themes that will help you attract new followers. And help you turn the onlookers into bookers. Engage with your clients and show your human side to connect with them emotionally.

3. Build Presence on Google

Social media is important but it is not everything. Google is alive and you need to be seen and found on google to survive the digital competition. Mentioned below are the 3 main ways to increase your visibility on Google:

Google My Business

Organic SEO

Google Ads (PPC)

a. Google My Business

Google My Business is a free, invaluable marketing tool that is quite easy to use. Signup and claim your account to get ready for an online booking hair salon profile. After that, you need to optimize so both google and your clients can see your treatments, opening hours, location, contact details, website etc.

You can choose your category from:

beauty salon

skincare clinic

spa

hairdresser

hair salon

barbershop

nail salon

make-up artist

After adding some attractive pics of your salon and services in progress you can target new clients for your hair salon appointment. You can also ask your loyal or recurring customers to rate you and leave a review. It will help improve your rank.

b. Organic SEO

Looking visually appealing alone won’t work. The stats prove that 33% of users click on the first search result shown by Google and only 18% visit the second result. If you want quality leads then you need to work on your organic ranking so that your page appears on top or within the first 5 results. It needs constant work but is important. My Digi salon can help you here to improve your ROI for the considerable time, effort and budget every month to stay high on Google’s rankings.

c. Google Ads

Paid advertisements can easily eat up money in case of most hair and beauty businesses. You need to target your audience if you don’t want to waste your investment. A successful pay per click campaign needs time, creativity, money and strategic targeting.

4. Build Salon Website That Converts

Your website is the face of your salon for users in the virtual world and the best way to get hair salon appointment. Make sure that instead of luring customers in, your website is not shunning them off. There are a lot of spas and salons in cities and the competition is tough. How you showcase yourself will decide whether the customer will book an appointment or not. First impressions are very important. You need to make sure that you keeping a tab on the following points:

a. Mobile friendly

Make sure the website is mobile friendly and responsive. It will make sure that the clients can view it clearly on their mobile devices. If they face inconvenience while accessing the website, your bounce rate will shoot up and that is not good for business.

b. Design and content

Visuals are important but so is the ease to access. Keep your website design, simple, easy to navigate and classy. Do not clutter and make proper use of white spaces. Make sure you check for grammatical errors and other mistakes as they will reflect poorly on your salon image.

c. Key information for new clients

Make your contact details and opening hours prominent on your page. Clients do not have the time to search for them on your website. Make sure it is easy for them to get in touch with you via call, email or social media if they have any doubts.

Appointment booking system

You need to add a feature to help clients book online appointments. It will give them easy access without hindrances and talking to anyone. Some clients prefer no talking booking and this is a great way to ensure that.

5. Online Reviews

Request your clients to review you on Google, Facebook and Yelp. Strong reviews on these platforms will help you build trust, will act as social proof and boost your ranking on Google locally. Even after recommendations from friends, people check online reviews to assure themselves that they are going to spend money on something that is worthy of their time.

These reviews will also help you to improve your organic SEO ranking locally and at the same time improving your brand image.

6. Partner with Local Businesses

Get in touch with local businesses that can help you market. But choose the right clients e.g. fashion retailers, restaurants, wedding dress shops, bars, health clubs, florists are some of the businesses that will have the same audience segment as you. These business partners can be a good salon marketing tactic to build trust and getting hair salon appointment.

To lure more customers in you can run festive campaigns as Diwali offers with partners to boost your sales. E.g. get 50% off at a partner showroom after haircuts. Ask them to just show a receipt. This way both business will gain clients and transactions

7. Facebook Advertising

Social media can help you gain a lot of followers. We mentioned Instagram earlier but Facebook can help you target the right audience and convert them into that potential first visit appointment.

Why Facebook?

It is by far the biggest platform with 2.4 million monthly users. You can access untapped local marketplaces and competitor clients easily.

You can target a precise user segment to advertise to and help reduce your cost spend per user or acquisition.

Help you make a strong first impression with a Business Page.

You can woo your customers by avoiding constant selling posts or pitches and try to connect with them by building a relationship. E.g. showcase videos of before & after makeup sessions, bio posts on team members, training sessions etc.. Build your trust and the rest will follow.

Target potential clients with paid Facebook ads and competitions with incentives/ prizes. Contests will help grab attention because everyone loves free stuff. Try adding gift vouchers and free treatment services for winners. Do not forget to collect their email address and phone number after that. You can retarget them to become a recurring user via online salon booking.

Also, If you are looking to get more customers from Facebook, check out the experts tips.

8. Word of Mouth Marketing/ Referral

In this digital age, the traditional word of mouth marketing still works best. You can request your clients to recommend but to motivate them, even more, you can try to add some incentives like a referral scheme.

A simple card referral system that your clients can pass on to their friends.

Give benefits to both the referee and the new client after the first transaction to make sure you are not facing any loss.

Getting new clients should not stop after their 1st appointment. Ensure they have a good after experience too. Connect with them to rebook the next appointment after a while either use text, emails or calls.

Conclusion

All in all, the best way to attract new customers and clients is to go take a step ahead and bring your offline business to online. This way you can grab the opportunity that you may be losing.

Also, if you are not sure how to start, download My Digi Salon App today and we will assist you in building your onlin salon business!

Originally published here: https://www.mydigisalon.com/blog/hair-salon-appointment-ideas/

#book online hair salon #book hair appointment online #salon software #salon app #salon scheduling software #salon booking software

[curlygirl79]

I am joined today by Jo Jackson, who has kindly come to tell us all about the books she remembers, as part of the blog tour for Beyond the Margin. Many thanks to Jo for taking the time to talk to us, and to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of the blog tour. Without further ado, over to you Jo.

GUEST POST:

Reading is something I have enjoyed all my life. When I talk to friends who say they never read a book I wonder what they do last thing at night, first thing in the morning, on a hot summer’s day in the shade of the lime tree or on cold wet Sunday afternoons when  the log burner is on and its cosy inside.

I don’t have shelves of books. I won’t often read a book twice and I believe books are for sharing not for sitting on a dusty shelf. If you’ve read it and enjoyed it, pass it on and when it comes back to you, pass it on again.

My favourite book is God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and my favourite author is Gerbrand Backer author of The Twin and Ten White Geese. The books below are books I remember for many different reasons.

Heidi by Joanna Spyri. I read this as a child. I no longer own a copy, but I can still see the illustrations so clearly. The beautiful alpine scenery, Heidi’s self-contained grandfather sitting outside his hut. Heidi snuggling into her attic bed. Then there was Clara, the lonely little girl who because of her illness couldn’t run and play and enjoy the flowers and the sunshine as Heidi did. This is essentially a book about love and how it grows when it’s shared. Perhaps it was reading Heidi that made me want to discover other countries and to always feel at home amongst mountains.

As a teenager on one of my regular visits to the library I brought home John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. This was like something I’d never read before set in a landscape quite alien to me. The story depicts the hardships of a family migrating west from the Oklahoma dust bowl. On one level it’s about family unity, on another about exploitation and greed set against growing political unrest and a rising fear of communism. I’m sure I didn’t articulate those points at the time, but I loved Steinbeck’s poetic prose and his imagery. His characters were brilliantly drawn and whilst I was reading it I was part of the family. Fifty years later it’s those characteristics that still draws me to a book. I devoured every one of his novels and by the time I studied Of Mice and Men at school, Lennie was already a character I would never forget. Recently I found To a God Unknown. Written in 1933 and described as literary fantasy it has a haunting spiritualism. It is a beautiful book. The scene in the glade remains forever with me.

In recent years I have travelled to the beautiful country of Ethiopia and on another occasion camped in the Empty Quarter after travelling through the Oman.  These places were special to me because I felt I had already been there after reading Wilfred Thesiger’s wonderful travel books. He was born in 1910 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Life of My Choice is an account of his childhood and how, as he grew older, he became repulsed by the trappings of western life. He travelled extensively with the Bedu people and immersed himself in their way of life. His writing is succinct, descriptive and insightful. I suspect he was a troubled man trying to live at a time when having an unconventional personality was not applauded. He would have been difficult to know being controversial in his views and habits. I may not have liked him, but I wish I’d had the opportunity to know him because his books are wonderful.

My final book has a personal story attached but it is a book I believe everyone should read. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa was published in 2006 and explores life in post 1948 Palestine. It shows how love and loyalty can survive amongst the horror of war and why the Middle East question remains as insoluble today as it was then.

It is a meaningful book for me because in 1983 my husband and I and our three children were returning to England after living in Egypt for two years. Our plan was to drive back through Israel and take a ferry from Haifa to Venice before driving home through Europe. The journey out of Egypt was complex and ‘making friendships’ a necessary but slow part of the process along the way. The consequence being we were too late in the day to import the car at the Egyptian/ Israeli border and our only option was to take a taxi to the nearest hotel 70 km away. Our taxi driver, a Palestinian, offered instead to take us the short distance to his house near Gaza, let us sleep there and he would bring us back to the border early the next morning to collect our car, all for the price of the taxi fare.

When we arrived his whole extended family were there to greet us. He and his wife gave up their room and their bed and moved mattresses in for our children to sleep on. We had tea and pastries in the courtyard and anyone in the village who could speak a word of English popped in to say hello. At night he and his brother took us out for a meal and wouldn’t allow us to pay. Before we left in the morning, we had to have our photographs taken with each member of the family and his little daughter had proudly put on her best dress for the occasion.

We remember the kindness of that family with such fondness. As we watch the terrible destruction in the Gaza strip, we often think of them and hope their lives have been spared.

Of course there are many more wonderful books I have read but when I set myself this task these were the first ones to spring to mind. Perhaps you will have enjoyed some of them too.

BLURB:

Is living on the edge of society a choice? Or is choice a luxury of the fortunate?

Joe, fighting drug addiction, runs until the sea halts his progress. His is a faltering search for meaningful relationships.

‘Let luck be a friend’, Nuala is told but it had never felt that way. Abandoned at five years old survival means learning not to care. Her only hope is to take control of her own destiny.

The intertwining of their lives makes a compelling story of darkness and light, trauma, loss and second chances.

PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jo Jackson reads books and writes them too.

Having worked with some of the most vulnerable people in society she has a unique voice apparent in her second novel Beyond the Margin.

She was a nurse, midwife and family psychotherapist and now lives in rural Shropshire with her husband. She loves travelling and walking as well as gardening, philosophy and art.

Her first novel Too Loud a Silence is set in Egypt where Jo lived for a few years with her husband and three children. Events there were the inspiration for her book which she describes as ‘a story she had to write’.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook

Twitter

Website

GIVEAWAY:

Win signed copies of Beyond the Margin and Too Loud a Silence by Jo Jackson. (UK only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter link below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

ENTER HERE

To find out more about Beyond the Margin, have a look at the other blogs taking part in the tour.

@jojackson589 joins me today to talk about some of her favourite books as part of the #blogtour for #beyondthemargin @rararesources #guestpost #bookblogger #fictioncafewriters #spoonshortagebookclub I am joined today by Jo Jackson, who has kindly come to tell us all about the books she remembers, as part of the blog tour for Beyond the Margin.

#@jojackson589 #@rararesources #book blog #guest post #memorable books

[celticnoise]

DAVIE HAY took over as Celtic manager 37 years ago and kicked-started a rollercoaster four seasons in the Hoops hot-seat.

CQN has been looking back at those eventful campaigns in which the former Scotland international won the most dramatic title race in living memory and added a Scottish Cup for good luck.

Here is the third instalment from Davie Hay’s excellent autobiography, ‘The Quiet Assassin’, co-authored by his long-time friend Alex Gordon – in another CQN EXCLUSIVE series.

THE Scottish Cup was our only hope of achieving a trophy and, of course, I was mindful of my promise to the Celtic supporters at the start of the season.

I would like to think I am a man of my word, so you could say I was under extreme pressure when 19 May arrived and we faced Aberdeen in the final on a mild afternoon at Hampden. Rather remarkably, we didn’t play a solitary game at Parkhead on our run to the end-of-season showpiece.

We opened with a tie at Berwick Rangers on 28 January and a lot was being made of the fact that the date was exactly sixteen years since the Shielfield outfit had knocked out Rangers, then the Cup holders, in one of the biggest sensations in the tournament’s history. Was there a repeat on the cards at our expense? We went about our task with a laudable professionalism and coasted to a 4-0 triumph with goals from Brian McClair (2), Frank McGarvey and Jim Melrose.

Next up was a trip to Methil to face East Fife and once again we floored the opposition in a one-sided affair. We won 6-0 and McClair and McGarvey were on target again with Tommy Burns (2), Murdo MacLeod and John Colquhoun, my signing from Stirling Albion, weighing in with the others. Our journey through the national competition took us to Fir Park on 17 March and and another overwhelming victory. It was 6-0 again with McClair (2), Burns, McGarvey, MacLeod and Reid on target.

Was our name on the trophy? Certainly, the run to the semi-final was fairly impressive with sixteen goals scored and none conceded in three games. St.Mirren stood between us and our date with destiny. It still annoyed me that they had taken four goals off us in the league at Love Street and my mood, thankfully, was matched by that of my players.

We duly overcame them 2-1 with goals from McClair and Paul McStay. It was looking good and we were in excellent spirits when we turned up at the national stadium for our showdown with Aberdeen on 19 May. Would I be out of a job later that evening? Or would I have won my first piece of silverware as manager of Celtic?

Controversy dogged the encounter, unfortunately, and I was furious when our captain Roy Aitken was sent off by referee Bob Valentine, the match official who had awarded Rangers two penalties in the League Cup Final a couple of months earlier. I was raging at the decision to banish one of our most influential players seven minutes before half-time and I was unhappy at the way it happened.

Aitken challenged Mark McGhee and the Dons striker went down. It looked like just another hard tackle in a contact sport. It is a man’s game, after all. You take the knocks, get up, dust yourself down and get on with it. I am not implying for one second that the Aberdeen player took a dive or cheated in any way. It was just a fierce challenge and it bowled him over.

However, the Dons team, almost to a man, converged on the match official, clamouring for our skipper to be sent off. It was something Aberdeen players did on a regular basis. I don’t know if it influenced Valentine, but he ordered off Roy, the first player in over half-a-century to receive such punishment in a Scottish Cup Final.

I thought it was so unfair. It might have been a booking, but nothing more. I looked at our opponents, all smiles as Roy trudged off, shook my head and thought, ‘I hope you are proud of yourselves’.

There had been a bit of bad blood between the two teams that season and I recall there were six bookings in a fairly towsy League Cup semi-final. The Scottish Football Association wanted to have peace talks before the Hampden confrontation. They wished to speak to the respective managers and the chairmen.

I knocked the idea on the head. Frankly, I didn’t see the point of it. What good would have come of it? We would all make the right noises and everything would go straight out the window as soon as the referee blew his whistle for the kick-off. The match official came into our dressing room before the start and was eager to start handing out special warnings to my players.

Again, I thought he was overstepping the mark and I didn’t think there was any need for it. Who knows what might have happened if I had put up with this ridiculous charade? One thing that was certain was that Valentine, after being surrounded by a posse of Pittodrie players, pointed to the tunnel with indecent haste to banish our skipper.

We were already trailing to a goal from Eric Black, one that looked decidedly offside, when Roy was dismissed. It was always going to be a guargantuan task getting back into the game with eleven men never mind ten. My players showed fabulous courage and spirit throughout the hurly-burly of that contest and we deservedly equalised five minutes from the end through the tireless Paul McStay.

I have no doubt whatsoever that we would have gone on to claim the trophy if we still possessed our full complement of staff. The tie went into extra-time and, you could have written the script, Mark McGhee got the winner for them. The tackle from Roy must have taken a lot out of him. He even won the sponsor’s Mr.Superfit award at the end!

We had been runners-up in the league, runners-up in the League Cup and now we were runners-up in the Scottish Cup. It was a season of second prizes. That record might appease some managers at clubs where success is not demanded on the same scale as a boss of an Old Firm team. Second is nowhere as far as Celtic and Rangers fans are concerned. It’s win or bust.

I had failed to mark my first season as Celtic manager with a trophy. Would I resign? Frankly, there was absolutely no pressure on me from the board or from anyone else for that matter. We had come close, but you don’t get a goal if you hit the bar. I knew it was not good enough. Our support deserved a winning team.

We had played some attractive football throughout the campaign and that pleased me. But I didn’t need to be told twice that we had still been unsuccessful. I was at Parkhead a couple of days after the Scottish Cup Final and was locking my car door when I heard this voice coming from behind me.

‘Davie,’ yelled this old chap who was hanging around the entrance, looking for autographs and suchlike. ‘You don’t have to quit,’ he shouted. ‘Celtic have won the BP Youth Cup. You did get a trophy!’ I had to laugh.

My job was safe. For now.

TOMORROW: The return of Davie: Part Four

https://ift.tt/2Z3xq6s

#CelticNoise #Celtic #CelticFC #CelticQuickNews

[newagesispage]

                                                              JULY                               2019

PAGE RIB

If you care what people think, you’re their prisoner. – Heidi Fleiss

*****

The Stones are back and opened in Chicago on June21. The reviews were great, they mostly stuck to the hits and Mick was in top notch form. Monkey Man and Sweet Virginia are back!!! Woo Hoo!!

*****

Satellite images show the complete deployment of 4 Russian made S-300 missile defense systems.

*****

Comedians in cars getting coffee will start season 11 on July 19. This season will bring us Eddie Murphy, Barry Marder, Bridget Everett, Melissa Villsenor, Sebastian Maniscalco, Seth Rogan, Ricky Gervais, Matthew Broderick, Jamie Foxx, Mario Joyner and Martin Short.

*****

Law and Order: Hate Crimes is coming.

*****

NRATV is no more. Hooray!! The NRA’s second in command Chris Cox has resigned after he was implicated in a plot to oust Wayne La Pierre. Cox calls the charges, “offensive and patently false.” There are also multiple lawsuits from ad firm Ackerman McQueen that claim the NRA is in violation of contracts.

*****

Republican representative Duncan Hunter is headed to court in September for charges that he and his wife illegally spent more than $250,000 in political donations. Prosecutors want to list details of his many affairs.

*****

NBC is bringing back Who Do You Think You Are?

*****

Police in Hong Kong are beating protesters.

*****

Sexual harassment news of the month: George Nader, part of Trump’s transition team, was arrested in New York on child porn charges.**Cuba Gooding Jr. was charged in NY with forcible touching. His lawyer says that the incident is on tape and will prove he is innocent.** Trump has been accused by the 22nd woman, this time of rape, but most of the media seemed to be playing it down. The victim, writer E. Jean Carroll says she will cooperate 100%.

*****

The Supreme Court ruled that the government can’t stop us from running a business with a scandalous name.

*****

Stop the cash bail system. It is costing us money every day.

*****

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger have wed.

*****

Joe Sestak is running for President.

*****

I always think of Meghan McCain as the Rosie O’Donnell of the right. She seems to have a big heart and her childhood and parents seem to have made a huge influence. Somehow she always brings everything back to her and she freaks on certain talking points.

*****

Let’s keep an eye on U.S. transportation secretary Elaine Chao. The shipping dynasty of her family is benefitting from industrial policies in China.

*****

2 deputies were fired for inaction pertaining to the Parkland shooting.

*****

People were horrified at the image of Scary Clown with graves in the background on foreign soil as he talked of “Nervous Nancy” and called Mueller a fool. We were outraged when he told us that he would want to listen to dirt on others and wouldn’t see why he should tell the FBI before he walked it back. He does not fucking care. When will we all understand that?

*****

The President is being urged to cancel his speech at the Lincoln memorial.  Many of his own people think it might appear to be a campaign stop paid for by the American people. He did that already when he made ads for himself while at his golf course in Scotland.** I suppose he will pretend to be all about America again when he gets back from smiling with North Korean and Russian dictators.

*****

New York has banned declawing. Meow!!

*****

It is looking like Sam Little, in prison in California, may turn out to be the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history.

*****

The Tony’s came and went. Big winners were Bryan Cranston, Elaine May and Bob Mackie. Ali Stoker was the first wheelchair bound winner and Hadestown won the most awards.

*****

Some schools are trying out yoga instead of detention.  Teaching children how to control their feelings and help it to dissipate seems to be work.

*****

The Catholic Church has stomped on the rights of our Trans brothers and sisters. They decree that people should stay the way they are born.

*****

The movie,’ The Dead Don’t Die’ sounds great with Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adam Driver, Danny Glover, Tom Waits and Steve Buscemi.

*****

Trump and Pence seem pretty pleased with themselves for not allowing the rainbow flag to fly during pride month. They really hate progress, don’t they?  Luckily, some brave souls are finding ways around it.

*****

Scary Clown has signed an executive order to increase transparency of hospital costs and info of medical professionals.

*****

On July 17 Bob Mueller will testify. **A comic book publisher is turning the report into a graphic novel.

*****

JB Pritzker has signed legal weed into Illinois and they will look at releasing low level drug offenders and putting money back into hard hit communities that were affected by the drug war.

*****

Maple Vale is suing because they say big chicken companies have colluded to hike prices.

*****

Absolut has been a proud supporter of the gay community since the 70’s.  

*****

Jim Gaffigan is in the new film, ‘Being Frank.’

*****

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is out. Many reporters tell us that she and other WH staff can be very different behind the scenes. They have been known to be very helpful and personable at times. The bluster and the lies are mostly for show for the boss.** Acting US customs and border protection commissioner John Sanders is out.

*****  

Scary Clown really put his foot in it with his Stephanopoulus interview. From little wise guy to taking help from foreign powers to the look on his face after ‘the cough’ it was quite the show.** Chuck Todd really soft balled his interview with our Pres. Shame on you.

*****

So, of course Manafort is going to a Federal location instead of Riker’s Island after AG Barr sent a letter to state prosecutors.

*****

One day it is announced that ICE is throwing millions out of the country. Another day they will round up 2,000 illegals that haven’t shown up for court etc. then that is on hold. Iran is going to be hit then it isn’t. It seems like real panic time in the WH. Justice Department attorney Sarah Fabian has explained in her double talk that kids without toothbrushes, soap and proper sleep is fine. Concrete floors in cages seem like a good idea to Trumps WH. Sarah Fabians phone number of 202-532-4824 was released to the public and she got an earful but I am sure she has changed that # by now.** ICE won’t even allow anyone to donate items to the kids in cages except for one in Deming, NM.

*****

Roy Moore is running for senate in 2020. These pompous, narcissistic pigs will not just fade away.

*****

I really hate this way the media lumps all the ‘rest’ of the Dem candidates as interchangeable. At least give everybody a chance to tell us who they are until the debates. All should have an equal chance because there are some good candidates there. Each one is unique and has at least one good idea. Would they all make a good President? Probably not but let’s hear them out!! People wonder why we never have enough choices and then they try to thin the field right away.  Andrew Yang wasn’t even included in some of the advertising for the debates and he is polling 8th. ** Seth Macfarlane and Bill Maher suggest that we do away with the audience. Great idea!!

*****

The first night of debate went well. I went in loving Inslee and went out the same way. He didn’t get much chance to talk what with the moderators asking Elizabeth Warren questions about 4 to the others 1. When Jay did get to speak about climate change and calling out CEO’s,  I thought he was dynamic. He really puts his money where his mouth is. I wish more people would research him. He had the best answer of what this country’s greatest threat is when he answered ,”Donald Trump.” Colbert made fun of Inslee for interrupting Warren about the rights of women. I must say that as a woman, that never even occurred to me because I was looking at her as a candidate. He has also been raked over for trying to interject with that finger in the air. Hmm.. so polite. DeBlasio got in a great line about not blaming immigrants for their problems but blaming the corporations, otherwise he seemed like a bully. Warren and Booker were competent. Klobachar, Gabbard and Ryan should call it quits. I like O’Rourke but he just seems too sweet. I loved his close because he referenced current events like the kids in cages and student protests which didn’t seem like running for student council Pres. I was impressed with John Delaney who I hadn’t known much about.  But Julian Castro won the night. He still wouldn’t be my first choice but he did everything right. He was truly Presidential and seemed to resonate with everybody. He was forceful, down to earth and seemed to know what he was talking about.

*****

Night 2 of the debates was a bit more lively. Hickenlooper will probably impress a few conservatives with his insistence that the Dems shouldn’t identify so much with socialism. Gillibrand seemed like tonight’s bully and it is time for her to go along with Bennet, Swalwell  and Williamson. Now, Marianne got a lot of shit but I agree with her on some basics. Preventative medicine and love being the answer is not stupid. These are things we don’t put enough stock in so why laugh it off? She is right about the chemicals and climate and why we are so sick in this world. She is right about state sponsored crimes and child abuse at the border. I thought Gillibrand repeated herself too much but she is right about putting too much money into private prisons. Buttigieg had a great point about the ‘free college for all’ thing by looking at the reality of those who don’t want college, a decent minimum wage and the rich paying for their own schooling.  He is also quite perceptive about republicans using religion while separating families which gives them no right to use God’s name. He was a bit sweaty but poised and measured all the way through. I am a big Andrew Yang fan and his money to all every month is something I have thought a solid idea for years but he is not Presidential at this point. He should be in the cabinet because he is an idea person but he sort of nervously choked on his first question about his signature piece. I loved that he didn’t wear a tie and his closing statement was awesome. Bernie gave us no surprises but the red, white and blue reflected in his glasses was fascinating. I did love his line about a hemisphere problem that we have and called out the Yemen crisis.  Like the night before, Biden seemed to get more time than the lesser knowns. He started out smooth and easy and ended serious and defensive because of the jabs he received. Kamala Harris stole the night with some of those. She jumped on Williamson’s mention of reparations to explain to Biden why his recent rhetoric of segregationists was so painful. This is why I love debates, it can change everything. I can’t really imagine anyone else taking on Trump at this point. She had some great lines like calming the boys down about no food fights but putting food on the table. Her close was a bit halting but she fired up the crowd as if she was already President.

*****

The after shows zeroed in on the flaws which will unfortunately define some of them.  The way we loop ‘Bookers look’ or ‘Williamson’s love not fear for political purposes’ can belittle the progress we can make. I am right in there watching it but it gets old. Trevor Noah said that many try but it was the Right time for Harris to play the race card. Race is already playing a part as some birtherism is erupting eluding to her Indian mother and Jamaican father.  Don Jr. got the wheels in motion by retweeting some garbage about Harris not being an “American black.”She raised about 2 mil after the debates.

*****

I will never understand why people always bring up this ‘elite’ business when talking about the Dems. Most of the people I have personally known who had a lot of money and looked down their nose at others have been republicans. Perhaps it is all about where one is from.

*****

Teens are evolving bone spurs on the back of their heads from looking down at their phones so much.

*****

Succession will be back on August 11.

*****

A little political hocus pocus seems to be ok with the Supreme Court. In a 5-4 ruling they have barred challenges to partisan gerrymandering.

*****

G20 countries make about 80% of global CO2 emissions. They had agreed to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels. Reports show that in the years since , they have nearly tripled subsidies to coal plants.

*****

Trump is schmoozing with Kim Jong UN saying, ”I would invite him tight now to the WH.”** There was a brawl with new unofficial  WH press secretary Stephanie Grisham and Kim’s people.

*****

The Travers film fest will honor Lily Tomlin with a lifetime achievement award.

*****

The ex- governor of Michigan Rick Snyder, who is responsible for the Flint water crisis, will now have a fellowship at Harvard.

*****

“Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfered.”- Jimmy Carter, former President and international expert on election fraud.

Toy Story 4 is big box office.

*****

Mythic Quest is the new series produced and written in part by Charlie Day and Rob Mcelhenney.  The show will be about a video game development company and will star F. Murray Abraham and Danny Pudi.

*****

Melissa McCarthy may play Ursula in the live action  The Little Mermaid.

A hacker stole the latest music from Radiohead and threatened to release it if they didn’t pony up $150,000 in ransom. The band released a statement declaring. ”We’ve been hacked” , released it themselves for 18 days and the money went to charity. Rock on!!

*****

In Cape Coral, Fla., a parent forced a kid to walk around with a sign of  their wrong deeds. Oh bit.. this stuff is back again.

*****

ICS in Springfield, Illinois’ fired Joe Crane from his broadcast for his honesty. Corporate was insisting on using a ‘CODE RED’ alert for weather even when the weather wasn’t so bad to keep the paranoid watching. After numerous complaints and Crane apparently not able to talk corporate out of it, he went to the public and let them know how much he disagreed with the policy but his hands were tied.  Of course, corporate let him go.

*****

The FCC is giving the phone company more power to fight robo calls.

*****

Archeologists found some weed in China inside some ceremonial cannabis bowls from 2500 years ago.

*****

Rapper Scarface is running for city council in Houston.

*****

20,000 Christians have petitioned Netflix to cancel Good Omens. I am sure the Amazon show is loving the publicity, they were probably looking for something just like this to happen. Oddly, just before I heard this story I saw the first couple of episodes and thought it was pretty good.

*****

Don’t judge someone because they sin differently than you.

*****

The fight to end robo calls has been named ‘Operation Call it Quits.’

*****

OJ Simpson opened a twitter account on the 25th anniversary of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

*****

The 71st Emmy’s will be held on Sept. 22 and may not have a host. This no host thing seems to be catching on since it saves money and controversy. The noms will be announced July 16.

*****

If you get the chance, read the Vanity Fair article about Col. Jennifer Pritzker. The cousin of Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker is the world’s only known trans billionaire.

*****

Refineries, Chemical plants and plastics are giving our fire fighters cancer and cities are often not compensating them.

*****

Jordan Klepper used his mug shot as the pic to headline his show. He was arrested with pastors for their rally n support of immigrant students.

*****

Do you wonder if the Trump kids and Melania have so much power and money that they don’t mind that Trump is a laughingstock?

*****

I saw that Seth Meyers used the term bummer camp to explain a kid who gets sent to camp because their parents need to work on their divorce. My friends and I always used that term when our summer camp music festival gets ruined by endless rain.

*****

R.I.P. Roky Erickson, Leon Redbone, Dr. John, Franco Zeffirelli, Leah Chase, Zarious Fair, Elliot Roberts, Alan Brinkley , Troy Chisum, Oscar and Valeria Ramirez, Edward Gallardo and Gloria Vanderbilt.

[a-alex-hammer]

What to Do If You Win the Lottery (AKA how to NOT lose it all)

June 10, 2019 12:00 am

When you win the lottery, everyone will lie to you. Except me. Here’s what to do.

Ramit Sethi

Today I’m going to teach you what to do if you ever win the lottery, a massive inheritance, or any other huge infusion of cash.

1/3 of lottery winners go bankrupt and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that happen to you. So just listen and do what I say, please.

RULE #1: Shut The Hell Up

Shut your mouth right now, seriously. Do not tell anyone. Do not tell your boss, your loud-mouthed cousin with the mustache, or even your kids. You can tell 1 person: your spouse. And then tell them this: Shut The Hell Up. This is your new motto for the next 6 months.

Lotto winner Mavis Wanczyk (who won the 758.7 million Powerball) did not follow this advice and decided to tell her boss, the press, and therefore the whole world. Immediately after, random people came out of the woodwork and the police have had to watch her house.

Here are the scariest people who will try to find you, in descending order:

Kidnappers who will hold you for ransom

Scammy “wealth managers” who will bleed you dry

Uncle Joe, who wants you to invest in his dumb idea for a themed bar

DON’T DO IT. You can always choose to reveal your new wealth later once you have the proper precautions set up. But once the genie is out of the bottle, you can never put it back in. Be quiet and tell no one for now.

RULE #2: You have 2 new best friends: your lawyer and your financial advisor

I get it, you don’t have a lawyer. Now you do. You call up the biggest, most white-collar law firm in the country (just google “highest paid law firm”) and tell them you want a lawyer to help with taxes and trusts. When they ask why, tell them “I’ve recently come into some money and I’d like someone to coordinate my affairs.” They will charge you $500 or $600/hour. Pay it, happily.

This lawyer is now your conduit with the outside world. Who contacts the lottery to tell them about the winning ticket? Not you (see Rule #1). Your lawyer will handle that. Who do they make the check out to? Is it to you? Oh hell no. Your lawyer will set up an anonymous trust for you.

Your other new best friend is your financial advisor. Considering I hate most financial advisors and most of you don’t need one (see page 153 of my book for why), this might seem unusual. However, you just received millions of dollars out of the blue. It’s worth a few thousand bucks to get set up. Go to napfa.org to find a fee-only financial advisor who can guide you through the next few months of setting up your new financial systems.

I have a list of questions to ask financial advisors in my book and signs to watch out for. The one thing you want to look out for — the one sign you’ve chosen a salesperson, not a real advisor — is if they take a percentage of your assets. DO NOT sign up with some nutty wealth advisor who sweet talks you with a beautiful British accent. Just follow my directions from the book and your advisor can help you with the rest.

RULE #3: Do not change anything (with 3 exceptions)

You know all those movies about how a group of criminals gets away with a heist, but one idiot gets the entire crew caught because he goes out the next day and buys a fur coat and a $200,000 car? Do not do that.

For 6 months, don’t change anything. No new car, no extravagant trips, don’t quit your job. Your lawyer and financial advisor will help you get set up. This falls under Advice Everyone Says But Nobody Takes: When someone dies or you get a huge amount of sudden money, do not change anything for 6 months.

If you really need to quit your job, when people ask what you’re doing now, your line is, “I’m doing some consulting.” However, if you were a cashier at 7-11, I’m not sure if people are going to believe you’re a consultant. Anyway, your call.

I know most of you won’t follow this advice, so I came up with a list of acceptable things to spend money on:

Extra guac at Chipotle

Taco Bell Mexican Pizza

I also hereby authorize you to buy every product from iwillteachyoutoberich.com/products

After 6 months? Just don’t spend it all in one place.

If you haven’t won the lottery (yet…)

Let’s be real, 99.999999% of you reading this right now have not and will not ever win the lottery. But luckily, winning the lottery isn’t the only way to make a lot of money.

If you want to live a rich life, you can build it for yourself — with much better odds than Powerball.

My team and I have worked hard to create a guide to help you do just that: The Ultimate Guide to Making Money.

In it, I’ve included my best strategies to:

Create multiple income streams so you always have a consistent source of revenue.

Start your own business and escape the 9-to-5 for good.

Increase your income by thousands of dollars a year through side hustles like freelancing.

Download a FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide today by entering your name and email below — and start blowing up your net worth today.

Source link

Source/Repost=> http://technewsdestination.com/what-to-do-if-you-win-the-lottery-aka-how-to-not-lose-it-all/ ** Alex Hammer | Founder and CEO at Ecommerce ROI ** http://technewsdestination.com

#success #motivation #AlexHammer #Founder #CEO #Ecommerce #ROI #Charlotte #Secrets #win

[wetrumpfeed]

Afternoon MAGAthread: YOUR WEEKLY PRESIDENTIAL RECAP!

HAPPY SATURDAY DEPLORABLES!

This is your giiiirlllll u/Ivaginaryfriend here and I'm back with all things dank and spicy from the past week! If you happened to miss any past recaps you can catch those here!

Sunday, May 26th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Trump Attends the Sumo Wrestling Cultural Program

President Trump Participates in a Couples Dinner with the Prime Minister of Japan

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Tonight in Tokyo, Japan at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan Stadium, it was my great honor to present the first-ever U.S. President’s Cup to Sumo Grand Champion Asanoyama. Congratulations! A great time had by all, thank you @AbeShinzo!!

Thank you @JPN_PMO @AbeShinzo! #POTUSinJapan🇺🇸🇯🇵

“Why doesn’t the press apologize to President Trump for the Russian Collusion Delusion?” @marklevinshow @JudgeJeanine How about the Dems also?

The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!

Congratulations to the Great (and my friend) Roger Penske on winning his 18th (UNBELIEVABLE!) Indianapolis 500. I am in Japan, very early in the morning, but I got to watch Simon drive one of the greatest races in the history of the sport. I will see them both, & TEAM, at the WH!

Great evening last night, thank you!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo just posted a selfie with GEOTUS on the golf course!

Japan PEDE Approved

🚨IMPORTANT🚨 CBS News Poll: 7 in 10 Americans say the economy is in good shape. It’s clear: Americans are feeling the positive effects of @realDonaldTrump’s economy!

Oscar winner Jon Voight calls Trump the greatest president since Lincoln

�� TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

2020 election in a nutshell

A global mass awakening is happening

NEVER FORGET.

It's becoming hard to tell the real world and satire apart.

KEK

Monday, May 27th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan

President Trump Participates in a Joint Press Conference with the Prime Minister of Japan

President Trump Participates in a Meeting with Japanese Families of those Abducted by North Korea

President Trump and the First Lady Attend the State Banquet

Vice President Pence Participates in the Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Day Ceremony

President Trump and the First Lady Participate in a Memorial Day Address Aboard the USS WASP

President Trump and the First Lady Visit JS Kaga with the Prime Minister of Japan

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

(Retweeting The White House) President @realDonaldTrump and Prime Minister @AbeShinzo met for bilateral meetings and a working lunch at Akasaka Palace.

.@ianbremmer now admits that he MADE UP “a completely ludicrous quote,” attributing it to me. This is what’s going on in the age of Fake News. People think they can say anything and get away with it. Really, the libel laws should be changed to hold Fake News Media accountable!

Impeach for what, having created perhaps the greatest Economy in our Country’s history, rebuilding our Military, taking care of our Vets (Choice), Judges, Best Jobs Numbers Ever, and much more? Dems are Obstructionists!

The Dems are getting NOTHING done in Congress! They only want a Do-Over on Mueller!

Arlington National Cemetary

#MemorialDay🇺🇸

Liz Cheney: Statements by agents investigating Trump 'could well be treason'

Retweeting The White House Video

Hoping things will work out with Israel's coalition formation and Bibi and I can continue to make the alliance between America and Israel stronger than ever. A lot more to do!

....Super Predator was the term associated with the 1994 Crime Bill that Sleepy Joe Biden was so heavily involved in passing. That was a dark period in American History, but has Sleepy Joe apologized? No!

Anyone associated with the 1994 Crime Bill will not have a chance of being elected. In particular, African Americans will not be able to vote for you. I, on the other hand, was responsible for Criminal Justice Reform, which had tremendous support, & helped fix the bad 1994 Bill!

I will be making two stops this morning in Japan to visit with our Great Military, then a quick stop in Alaska and back to D.C. Meetings with Prime Minister Abe went very well, and getting to spend time with the new Emperor and Empress of Japan was a great honor!

Can’t wait to see you all soon!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Time Reporter ADMITS He Faked Trump Quote!

HEAR! HEAR!

My dad left Iran during the Revolution. He painted this and now hangs it in his house for everyone to see. He’s a proud American, and I’m proud of him.

It's just a matter of time before every women's athletic record will be held by someone with a Y chromosome.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

WHO: "Gamers are mentally ill." Also WHO: "Thinking you're the wrong sex is not a mental illness." honk honk.

If you want to thank a soldier....

For those who made the ultimate sacrifice, thank you 🇺🇸

Things you never see anymore...

Tuesday, May 28th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Spoke with @GovStitt of Oklahoma last night from Japan because of the devastating tornadoes. Told him that @FEMA and the federal government are fully behind him and the great people of Oklahoma.

Storms overnight across Ohio and many other States were very dangerous and damaging. My team continues to update me with reports from emergency managers in the States affected. Listen to your local officials and be resilient. We are with you!

.@GovMikeDeWine just updated me on the devastation from the many tornadoes that struck Ohio early this morning. My Administration fully supports the people of the great State of Ohio as they begin the cleanup and recovery.

Just spoke to Governor @AsaHutchinson of the Great State of Arkansas to inform him that FEMA and the Federal Government will do whatever is necessary to help out with what has turned out to be Record Flooding. Asa and local officials are doing a great job!

I was actually sticking up for Sleepy Joe Biden while on foreign soil. Kim Jong Un called him a “low IQ idiot,” and many other things, whereas I related the quote of Chairman Kim as a much softer “low IQ individual.” Who could possibly be upset with that?

Back from Japan after a very successful trip. Big progress on MANY fronts. A great country with a wonderful leader in Prime Minister Abe!

THANK YOU JAPAN!🇺🇸🇯🇵

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Airmen onboard the USS WASP wearing patches on their jumpsuits that read “Make Aircrew Great Again.” The patches include an image in the center in the likeness of President Trump.

I'll take stories that got swept under the carpet for 200

Senate Republicans vow to quickly crush impeachment trial of Trump if House proceeds with impeachment

Massachusetts judge who hid illegal alien from ICE faces 20 years in prison

Mueller Team Denies Michael Wolff Claim of Trump Indictment

A left-wing content creator on youtube and twitch openly endorses political violence against conservatives.

After answering question, Creepy Joe tells 10-yo girl... "if you give me your address I'm going to write you a longer answer & tell you the exact things I would do, okay? okay? promise? I bet you're as bright as you are good looking." then gropes her shoulders and gets in a sniff

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Three years ago today. RIP Harambe.

LOCK THEM UP!!!

The left set themselves such extremely low standards then fail to live up to them

Great Britain just got Great Again.

Wednesday, May 29th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Individual to a Key Administration Post

President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees and United States Marshal Nominee

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump Depart for Japan

President Trump Meets Members of the Military in Alaska

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump Visit Arlington Cemetery

President Trump Presents the Public Safety Medal of Valor

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama. This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t..... ... ...If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating....Judges and Supreme Court Justices!

Nothing changes from the Mueller Report. There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Thank you.

How do you impeach a Republican President for a crime that was committed by the Democrats? WITCH-HUNT!

Great show tonight @seanhannity, you really get it (9:00 P.M. @FoxNews), that’s why you’re Number One (by far)! Also, please tell Mark Levin congrats on having the Number One book!

I was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. McCain during my recent visit to Japan. Nevertheless, @FLOTUS and I loved being with our great Military Men and Women - what a spectacular job they do!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Posted by antifa international, but is literally fascism

Trump Cracks Down On People That Help Immigrants Illegally Enter The US

The guy who ran the FBI for 12 years does not believe in the fundamental underpinning of American law. This should terrify everyone.

A week before Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, Britain’s top national security official sent a private communique, hand-delivered to incoming U.S. national security adviser Mike Flynn’s team, that the British government lacked confidence in the credibility of former MI6 spy Christopher Steele.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

LOCK THEM UP

r/The_Donald Right Now................

Presumption of innocence, how does it work?

Mueller leaves them blue balled and frustrated once again

Hello? Hello?

Thursday, May 30th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

First Lady Melania Trump and Mrs. Akie Abe Visit Digital Art Museum in Tokyo

President Trump Delivers Remarks at the 2019 United States Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony

President Trump Delivers Remarks at the U.S. Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

The Greatest Presidential Harassment in history. After spending $40,000,000 over two dark years, with unlimited access, people, resources and cooperation, highly conflicted Robert Mueller would have brought charges, if he had ANYTHING, but there were no charges to bring!

Russia, Russia, Russia! That’s all you heard at the beginning of this Witch Hunt Hoax...And now Russia has disappeared because I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected. It was a crime that didn’t exist. So now the Dems and their partner, the Fake News Media,..... ... ....say he fought back against this phony crime that didn’t exist, this horrendous false accusation, and he shouldn’t fight back, he should just sit back and take it. Could this be Obstruction? No, Mueller didn’t find Obstruction either. Presidential Harassment!

Congressman John Ratcliffe, “The Trump Campaign clearly did not conspire or collude.” @FoxNews

“Comey and Brennan are turning on each other.” @kilmeade

Robert Mueller came to the Oval Office (along with other potential candidates) seeking to be named the Director of the FBI. He had already been in that position for 12 years, I told him NO. The next day he was named Special Counsel - A total Conflict of Interest. NICE!

Very sad to hear the news on the passing of my friend, Senator Thad Cochran. He was a real Senator with incredible values - even flew back to Senate from Mississippi for important Healthcare Vote when he was desperately ill. Thad never let our Country (or me) down!

Presidential Meme

Just arrived in Colorado. Getting ready to deliver the commencement speech at the Air Force Academy graduation. Very exciting - probably will be broadcast live on TV. They want good ratings!

(Retweeting The White House) Thank you to all of the brave men and women graduating from the United States Air Force Academy today! “You could have chosen any school, any career you wanted, but you chose a harder path and a higher calling to protect and defend the United States of America.”

(Retweeting The White House) “You are ready to fly, fight, and win!” — President Donald J. Trump

Yesterday, Border Patrol agents apprehended the largest group of illegal aliens ever: 1,036 people who illegally crossed the border in El Paso around 4am. Democrats need to stand by our incredible Border Patrol and finally fix the loopholes at our Border!

The Navy put out a disclaimer on the McCain story. Looks like the story was an exaggeration, or even Fake News - but why not, everything else is!

On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied,.. ... ....at which time the Tariffs will be removed. Details from the White House to follow.

I will be watching @AlanDersh on @IngrahamAngle at 10:00 P.M. He speaks the truth!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

GEOTUS JUST ANNOUNCED ALL GOODS FROM MEXICO WILL BE TARIFFED 5% UNTIL ILLEGALS STOP COMING!

Free hammers given out to the first 50 attendees!

Netflix Continues Production In Egypt, Where Abortion Is Illegal, While Considering Georgia Boycott Over ‘Heartbeat’ Bill

Chicago police release hundreds of pages of documents related to Jussie Smollett investigation straight from MAGA COUNTRY! #Transparency

William Barr interview: Attorney General says Mueller "could've reached a decision" on whether Trump obstructed justice — exclusive

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Hmmmm

MRW the White House imposes tariffs on Mexico over illegal immigration

Who's laughing now?

When Trump adds a 25% tariff...

Friday, May 31st:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Proclamation to Modify the List of Beneficiary Developing Countries Under the Trade Act of 1974

Proclamation on National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2019

Proclamation on Great Outdoors Month, 2019

Proclamation on National Homeownership Month, 2019

Proclamation on African American Music Appreciation Month, 2019

Proclamation on National Ocean Month, 2019

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Sean Davis, The Federalist: “Mueller proved his entire operation was a political hit job. Still ZERO evidence of Trump-Russia Collusion, and no new evidence from Mueller.” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews

Congratulations to the @AF_Academy Class of 2019!

Hard to believe that with the Crisis on the Border, the Dems won’t do the quick and easy fix. Would solve the problem but they want Open Borders, which equals crime!

Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades. Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD. Mexico makes a FORTUNE from the U.S., have for decades, they can easily fix this problem. Time for them to finally do what must be done!

In order not to pay Tariffs, if they start rising, companies will leave Mexico, which has taken 30% of our Auto Industry, and come back home to the USA. Mexico must take back their country from the drug lords and cartels. The Tariff is about stopping drugs as well as illegals!

90% of the Drugs coming into the United States come through Mexico & our Southern Border. 80,000 people died last year, 1,000,000 people ruined. This has gone on for many years & nothing has been done about it. We have a 100 Billion Dollar Trade Deficit with Mexico. It’s time!

Saddened to hear about the loss of John Pinto, a Navajo Code Talker in World War II, over the Memorial Day Weekend. The Code Talkers are true American HEROES and John never stopped serving his fellow citizens as a longtime New Mexico State Senator. John, Rest In Peace!

.@SeanHannity is having a DEEP STATE SHOW tonight on Fox News at 9:00 PM (E), exposing the tremendous abuse of power that has been uncovered. Tremendous guests, a must see – Enjoy!

As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals.... ... ....on the basis of their sexual orientation. My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort!

GREAT NEWS! #MAGA

I will be announcing my Second Term Presidential Run with First Lady Melania, Vice President Mike Pence, and Second Lady Karen Pence on June 18th in Orlando, Florida, at the 20,000 seat Amway Center. Join us for this Historic Rally! Tickets:

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Trump's approval rating hits highest point in two years

Justice Department Is Preparing Antitrust Investigation of Google

William Barr: Trump’s critics, not Trump, are 'shredding our norms and our institutions'

Flynn Filing Shows Mueller Twisted Everything Around And Prosecutors Refuse To Provide Proof Flynn Innocent

✅ Never Forget. Mueller Team Destroyed 19,000 Strzok/Page Texts Before Review

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

avocados are over rated anyway.

I like beer too🍻

Wow! Watch RINO justin amash get BTFO by this Trump supporter, for his stance on impeachment of POTUS. I'd like to buy this woman a beer. Thank you, patriot! 👏👏

I love this restaurant. I love it, love it, love it. But not as much as I love our POTUS.

Saturday, June 1st:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Spoke to Virginia Governor @RalphNortham last night, and the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Virginia Beach this morning, to offer condolences to that great community. The Federal Government is there, and will be, for whatever they may need. God bless the families and all!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

🚨🚨 Supreme Court to decide what happens when a US border agent shoots & kills someone on the Mexican side of the wall.

LISTEN TO THIS INFILTRATING WITCH .. Linda Sarsour STATES Muslims should NEVER assimilate, should ONLY appease Allah, & JIHAD against Trump & his administration !! BELIEVE HER SHE MEANS EVERY WORD.

Eric Trump: The media is a total joke — They discuss “avocado’s” potentially increasing a few cents but fail to mention the $200 Billion illegal immigration costs American taxpayers EVERY YEAR. How about the cost of illegal drugs on our youth, the cost to eduction & healthcare? #Priorities

CBS only wants you to watch small pieces of this interview so they can give before/after commentary to paint their own narrative around it. Listen to the entire uncut audio instead of watching their bullshit clips.

FITTON:MONSTROUS Abuse of Power: Investigate Mueller political attack on President Trump; New Docs show FBI helped Hillary Clinton just before the election; AND Hillary Knew: Was Warned Twice About Blackberry and Email Use -- Massive Judicial Watch Mega Update:

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Must have trained real hard.

My baby's smiling, probably because he knows he gets to live to be a badass. 🇺🇸 Here's hoping for a July 4th birthday.

Vegans For Biden. Drumpf doesn't stand a freakin' chance.

What a great idea. MAGA Parrots! 🦜

Training is one of the most important parts of winning. This is how AG Bill Barr begins each day.

WEEEW LAD! SOOOO MUCH FUCKING WINNING, STILL NOT TIRED OF IT!

Of course, no recap is complete without some tunes to get you jamming through all this winning:

Alright

Out Last Night

People Are Crazy

Why Don't We Just Dance

American Kids

MAGA ON PATRIOTS!

submitted by /u/Ivaginaryfriend [link] [comments]

[robgrayofficial]

HAPPY SATURDAY DEPLORABLES!This is your giiiirlllll u/Ivaginaryfriend here and I'm back with all things dank and spicy from the past week! If you happened to miss any past recaps you can catch those here!Sunday, May 26th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Trump Attends the Sumo Wrestling Cultural ProgramPresident Trump Participates in a Couples Dinner with the Prime Minister of Japan🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Tonight in Tokyo, Japan at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan Stadium, it was my great honor to present the first-ever U.S. President’s Cup to Sumo Grand Champion Asanoyama. Congratulations! A great time had by all, thank you @AbeShinzo!!Thank you @JPN_PMO @AbeShinzo! #POTUSinJapan🇺🇸🇯🇵“Why doesn’t the press apologize to President Trump for the Russian Collusion Delusion?” @marklevinshow @JudgeJeanine How about the Dems also?The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!Congratulations to the Great (and my friend) Roger Penske on winning his 18th (UNBELIEVABLE!) Indianapolis 500. I am in Japan, very early in the morning, but I got to watch Simon drive one of the greatest races in the history of the sport. I will see them both, & TEAM, at the WH!Great evening last night, thank you!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Prime Minister Abe Shinzo just posted a selfie with GEOTUS on the golf course!Japan PEDE Approved🚨IMPORTANT🚨 CBS News Poll: 7 in 10 Americans say the economy is in good shape. It’s clear: Americans are feeling the positive effects of @realDonaldTrump’s economy!Oscar winner Jon Voight calls Trump the greatest president since Lincoln🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:2020 election in a nutshellA global mass awakening is happeningNEVER FORGET.It's becoming hard to tell the real world and satire apart.KEKMonday, May 27th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Meeting with the Prime Minister of JapanPresident Trump Participates in a Joint Press Conference with the Prime Minister of JapanPresident Trump Participates in a Meeting with Japanese Families of those Abducted by North KoreaPresident Trump and the First Lady Attend the State BanquetVice President Pence Participates in the Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Day CeremonyPresident Trump and the First Lady Participate in a Memorial Day Address Aboard the USS WASPPresident Trump and the First Lady Visit JS Kaga with the Prime Minister of Japan🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:(Retweeting The White House) President @realDonaldTrump and Prime Minister @AbeShinzo met for bilateral meetings and a working lunch at Akasaka Palace..@ianbremmer now admits that he MADE UP “a completely ludicrous quote,” attributing it to me. This is what’s going on in the age of Fake News. People think they can say anything and get away with it. Really, the libel laws should be changed to hold Fake News Media accountable!Impeach for what, having created perhaps the greatest Economy in our Country’s history, rebuilding our Military, taking care of our Vets (Choice), Judges, Best Jobs Numbers Ever, and much more? Dems are Obstructionists!The Dems are getting NOTHING done in Congress! They only want a Do-Over on Mueller!Arlington National Cemetary#MemorialDay🇺🇸Liz Cheney: Statements by agents investigating Trump 'could well be treason'Retweeting The White House VideoHoping things will work out with Israel's coalition formation and Bibi and I can continue to make the alliance between America and Israel stronger than ever. A lot more to do!....Super Predator was the term associated with the 1994 Crime Bill that Sleepy Joe Biden was so heavily involved in passing. That was a dark period in American History, but has Sleepy Joe apologized? No!Anyone associated with the 1994 Crime Bill will not have a chance of being elected. In particular, African Americans will not be able to vote for you. I, on the other hand, was responsible for Criminal Justice Reform, which had tremendous support, & helped fix the bad 1994 Bill!I will be making two stops this morning in Japan to visit with our Great Military, then a quick stop in Alaska and back to D.C. Meetings with Prime Minister Abe went very well, and getting to spend time with the new Emperor and Empress of Japan was a great honor!Can’t wait to see you all soon!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Time Reporter ADMITS He Faked Trump Quote!HEAR! HEAR!My dad left Iran during the Revolution. He painted this and now hangs it in his house for everyone to see. He’s a proud American, and I’m proud of him.It's just a matter of time before every women's athletic record will be held by someone with a Y chromosome.🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:WHO: "Gamers are mentally ill." Also WHO: "Thinking you're the wrong sex is not a mental illness." honk honk.If you want to thank a soldier....For those who made the ultimate sacrifice, thank you 🇺🇸Things you never see anymore...Tuesday, May 28th:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Spoke with @GovStitt of Oklahoma last night from Japan because of the devastating tornadoes. Told him that @FEMA and the federal government are fully behind him and the great people of Oklahoma.Storms overnight across Ohio and many other States were very dangerous and damaging. My team continues to update me with reports from emergency managers in the States affected. Listen to your local officials and be resilient. We are with you!.@GovMikeDeWine just updated me on the devastation from the many tornadoes that struck Ohio early this morning. My Administration fully supports the people of the great State of Ohio as they begin the cleanup and recovery.Just spoke to Governor @AsaHutchinson of the Great State of Arkansas to inform him that FEMA and the Federal Government will do whatever is necessary to help out with what has turned out to be Record Flooding. Asa and local officials are doing a great job!I was actually sticking up for Sleepy Joe Biden while on foreign soil. Kim Jong Un called him a “low IQ idiot,” and many other things, whereas I related the quote of Chairman Kim as a much softer “low IQ individual.” Who could possibly be upset with that?Back from Japan after a very successful trip. Big progress on MANY fronts. A great country with a wonderful leader in Prime Minister Abe!THANK YOU JAPAN!🇺🇸🇯🇵SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Airmen onboard the USS WASP wearing patches on their jumpsuits that read “Make Aircrew Great Again.” The patches include an image in the center in the likeness of President Trump.I'll take stories that got swept under the carpet for 200Senate Republicans vow to quickly crush impeachment trial of Trump if House proceeds with impeachmentMassachusetts judge who hid illegal alien from ICE faces 20 years in prisonMueller Team Denies Michael Wolff Claim of Trump IndictmentA left-wing content creator on youtube and twitch openly endorses political violence against conservatives.After answering question, Creepy Joe tells 10-yo girl... "if you give me your address I'm going to write you a longer answer & tell you the exact things I would do, okay? okay? promise? I bet you're as bright as you are good looking." then gropes her shoulders and gets in a sniff🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Three years ago today. RIP Harambe.LOCK THEM UP!!!The left set themselves such extremely low standards then fail to live up to themGreat Britain just got Great Again.Wednesday, May 29th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Individual to a Key Administration PostPresident Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees and United States Marshal NomineePresident Trump and First Lady Melania Trump Depart for JapanPresident Trump Meets Members of the Military in AlaskaPresident Trump and First Lady Melania Trump Visit Arlington CemeteryPresident Trump Presents the Public Safety Medal of Valor🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama. This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t..... ... ...If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating....Judges and Supreme Court Justices!Nothing changes from the Mueller Report. There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Thank you.How do you impeach a Republican President for a crime that was committed by the Democrats? WITCH-HUNT!Great show tonight @seanhannity, you really get it (9:00 P.M. @FoxNews), that’s why you’re Number One (by far)! Also, please tell Mark Levin congrats on having the Number One book!I was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. McCain during my recent visit to Japan. Nevertheless, @FLOTUS and I loved being with our great Military Men and Women - what a spectacular job they do!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Posted by antifa international, but is literally fascismTrump Cracks Down On People That Help Immigrants Illegally Enter The USThe guy who ran the FBI for 12 years does not believe in the fundamental underpinning of American law. This should terrify everyone.A week before Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, Britain’s top national security official sent a private communique, hand-delivered to incoming U.S. national security adviser Mike Flynn’s team, that the British government lacked confidence in the credibility of former MI6 spy Christopher Steele.🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:LOCK THEM UPr/The_Donald Right Now................Presumption of innocence, how does it work?Mueller leaves them blue balled and frustrated once againHello? Hello?Thursday, May 30th:TODAY'S ACTION:First Lady Melania Trump and Mrs. Akie Abe Visit Digital Art Museum in TokyoPresident Trump Delivers Remarks at the 2019 United States Air Force Academy Graduation CeremonyPresident Trump Delivers Remarks at the U.S. Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:The Greatest Presidential Harassment in history. After spending $40,000,000 over two dark years, with unlimited access, people, resources and cooperation, highly conflicted Robert Mueller would have brought charges, if he had ANYTHING, but there were no charges to bring!Russia, Russia, Russia! That’s all you heard at the beginning of this Witch Hunt Hoax...And now Russia has disappeared because I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected. It was a crime that didn’t exist. So now the Dems and their partner, the Fake News Media,..... ... ....say he fought back against this phony crime that didn’t exist, this horrendous false accusation, and he shouldn’t fight back, he should just sit back and take it. Could this be Obstruction? No, Mueller didn’t find Obstruction either. Presidential Harassment!Congressman John Ratcliffe, “The Trump Campaign clearly did not conspire or collude.” @FoxNews“Comey and Brennan are turning on each other.” @kilmeadeRobert Mueller came to the Oval Office (along with other potential candidates) seeking to be named the Director of the FBI. He had already been in that position for 12 years, I told him NO. The next day he was named Special Counsel - A total Conflict of Interest. NICE!Very sad to hear the news on the passing of my friend, Senator Thad Cochran. He was a real Senator with incredible values - even flew back to Senate from Mississippi for important Healthcare Vote when he was desperately ill. Thad never let our Country (or me) down!Presidential MemeJust arrived in Colorado. Getting ready to deliver the commencement speech at the Air Force Academy graduation. Very exciting - probably will be broadcast live on TV. They want good ratings!(Retweeting The White House) Thank you to all of the brave men and women graduating from the United States Air Force Academy today! “You could have chosen any school, any career you wanted, but you chose a harder path and a higher calling to protect and defend the United States of America.”(Retweeting The White House) “You are ready to fly, fight, and win!” — President Donald J. TrumpYesterday, Border Patrol agents apprehended the largest group of illegal aliens ever: 1,036 people who illegally crossed the border in El Paso around 4am. Democrats need to stand by our incredible Border Patrol and finally fix the loopholes at our Border!The Navy put out a disclaimer on the McCain story. Looks like the story was an exaggeration, or even Fake News - but why not, everything else is!On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied,.. ... ....at which time the Tariffs will be removed. Details from the White House to follow.I will be watching @AlanDersh on @IngrahamAngle at 10:00 P.M. He speaks the truth!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:GEOTUS JUST ANNOUNCED ALL GOODS FROM MEXICO WILL BE TARIFFED 5% UNTIL ILLEGALS STOP COMING!Free hammers given out to the first 50 attendees!Netflix Continues Production In Egypt, Where Abortion Is Illegal, While Considering Georgia Boycott Over ‘Heartbeat’ BillChicago police release hundreds of pages of documents related to Jussie Smollett investigation straight from MAGA COUNTRY! #TransparencyWilliam Barr interview: Attorney General says Mueller "could've reached a decision" on whether Trump obstructed justice — exclusive🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:HmmmmMRW the White House imposes tariffs on Mexico over illegal immigrationWho's laughing now?When Trump adds a 25% tariff...Friday, May 31st:TODAY'S ACTION:Proclamation to Modify the List of Beneficiary Developing Countries Under the Trade Act of 1974Proclamation on National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2019Proclamation on Great Outdoors Month, 2019Proclamation on National Homeownership Month, 2019Proclamation on African American Music Appreciation Month, 2019Proclamation on National Ocean Month, 2019🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Sean Davis, The Federalist: “Mueller proved his entire operation was a political hit job. Still ZERO evidence of Trump-Russia Collusion, and no new evidence from Mueller.” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNewsCongratulations to the @AF_Academy Class of 2019!Hard to believe that with the Crisis on the Border, the Dems won’t do the quick and easy fix. Would solve the problem but they want Open Borders, which equals crime!Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades. Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD. Mexico makes a FORTUNE from the U.S., have for decades, they can easily fix this problem. Time for them to finally do what must be done!In order not to pay Tariffs, if they start rising, companies will leave Mexico, which has taken 30% of our Auto Industry, and come back home to the USA. Mexico must take back their country from the drug lords and cartels. The Tariff is about stopping drugs as well as illegals!90% of the Drugs coming into the United States come through Mexico & our Southern Border. 80,000 people died last year, 1,000,000 people ruined. This has gone on for many years & nothing has been done about it. We have a 100 Billion Dollar Trade Deficit with Mexico. It’s time!Saddened to hear about the loss of John Pinto, a Navajo Code Talker in World War II, over the Memorial Day Weekend. The Code Talkers are true American HEROES and John never stopped serving his fellow citizens as a longtime New Mexico State Senator. John, Rest In Peace!.@SeanHannity is having a DEEP STATE SHOW tonight on Fox News at 9:00 PM (E), exposing the tremendous abuse of power that has been uncovered. Tremendous guests, a must see – Enjoy!As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals.... ... ....on the basis of their sexual orientation. My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort!GREAT NEWS! #MAGAI will be announcing my Second Term Presidential Run with First Lady Melania, Vice President Mike Pence, and Second Lady Karen Pence on June 18th in Orlando, Florida, at the 20,000 seat Amway Center. Join us for this Historic Rally! Tickets:SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Trump's approval rating hits highest point in two yearsJustice Department Is Preparing Antitrust Investigation of GoogleWilliam Barr: Trump’s critics, not Trump, are 'shredding our norms and our institutions'Flynn Filing Shows Mueller Twisted Everything Around And Prosecutors Refuse To Provide Proof Flynn Innocent✅ Never Forget. Mueller Team Destroyed 19,000 Strzok/Page Texts Before Review🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:avocados are over rated anyway.I like beer too🍻Wow! Watch RINO justin amash get BTFO by this Trump supporter, for his stance on impeachment of POTUS. I'd like to buy this woman a beer. Thank you, patriot! 👏👏I love this restaurant. I love it, love it, love it. But not as much as I love our POTUS.Saturday, June 1st:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Spoke to Virginia Governor @RalphNortham last night, and the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Virginia Beach this morning, to offer condolences to that great community. The Federal Government is there, and will be, for whatever they may need. God bless the families and all!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:🚨🚨 Supreme Court to decide what happens when a US border agent shoots & kills someone on the Mexican side of the wall.LISTEN TO THIS INFILTRATING WITCH .. Linda Sarsour STATES Muslims should NEVER assimilate, should ONLY appease Allah, & JIHAD against Trump & his administration !! BELIEVE HER SHE MEANS EVERY WORD.Eric Trump: The media is a total joke — They discuss “avocado’s” potentially increasing a few cents but fail to mention the $200 Billion illegal immigration costs American taxpayers EVERY YEAR. How about the cost of illegal drugs on our youth, the cost to eduction & healthcare? #PrioritiesCBS only wants you to watch small pieces of this interview so they can give before/after commentary to paint their own narrative around it. Listen to the entire uncut audio instead of watching their bullshit clips.FITTON:MONSTROUS Abuse of Power: Investigate Mueller political attack on President Trump; New Docs show FBI helped Hillary Clinton just before the election; AND Hillary Knew: Was Warned Twice About Blackberry and Email Use -- Massive Judicial Watch Mega Update:🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Must have trained real hard.My baby's smiling, probably because he knows he gets to live to be a badass. 🇺🇸 Here's hoping for a July 4th birthday.Vegans For Biden. Drumpf doesn't stand a freakin' chance.What a great idea. MAGA Parrots! 🦜Training is one of the most important parts of winning. This is how AG Bill Barr begins each day.WEEEW LAD! SOOOO MUCH FUCKING WINNING, STILL NOT TIRED OF IT!Of course, no recap is complete without some tunes to get you jamming through all this winning:AlrightOut Last NightPeople Are CrazyWhy Don't We Just DanceAmerican KidsMAGA ON PATRIOTS! #robgray

#robgray

[interstellar-kai-blog]

NUS Medicine Cached

Dr Goh Wei Leong, Director and Founder of Healthserve, was the Guest of Honour at this year’s White Coat Ceremony (WCC) for first year students on 16 August 2018. This is what he told them:

It gives me great pleasure to be with you here today, on this memorable day which many of you have no doubt worked very hard for. I would like to congratulate you first, and welcome you to your first year of medical school. Well done, and welcome.

Since this day marks only the beginning of your lengthy training and education, I have been asked to give a speech that will motivate and encourage you. I hope this will encourage you today; but more importantly, down the road when you really need the encouragement, I hope that you will remember and hold this saying to heart: I am; because we are.

Margaret Mead, a renowned American cultural anthropologist, was once asked what she considered to be the first evidence of civilisation. Her answer: a human thigh bone with a healed fracture found in an archaeological site 15,000 years old.

Why not tools for hunting or religious artefacts or primitive forms of communal self-governance?

Mead pointed out that for a person to survive a broken femur, the individual had to have been cared for long enough for that bone to heal. Others must have provided shelter, protection, food and drink over an extended period of time for this kind of healing to be possible.

She suggested that the first indication of human civilisation is care over time for one who is broken and in need, evidenced through a fractured thigh bone that was healed.

This story is told by Ira Byock, an authority on palliative medicine, in his book The Best Care Possible: A Physician’s Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life (Avery, 2012). In many ways the book can be understood as an extended commentary on the famous aphorism in medicine:

“To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.”

I am a GP in the Jalan Kukoh neighbourhood at Outram. I have been practising there for 30 years, in my white coat —proudly and happily because I have always wanted to be a GP growing up.

I want to challenge you guys today, as much as we love to don our white coats as a symbol of the profession, to sometimes take them off in order to see people for who they are, and to learn from them in humility. I was challenged to take my coat off one day by my Filipino colleagues when we visited a patient, who I will refer to as Madam Tan.

Mdm Tan was an old lady; she didn’t live in a shoe, and she didn’t have many children. She had only one son, and she had just lost him in a tragic accident. She was alone, and great was her grief and distress. One day, a representative from the Agency for Integrated Care contacted me and told me Mdm Tan had requested my presence. So I brought two of my Filipino staff with me, Karl and Jana, and we paid her a home visit.

This was my perspective. After the visit, I was sufficiently impressed and even feeling proud of our local system. I felt that Mdm Tan was being well-supported in her time of need by the social worker and her family doctor, yours truly, and that she had been given clean and comfortable shelter at very little cost in a HDB rental flat.

My staff however had a completely different perspective, and it shocked me initially.

“Yes,” they said, “Mdm Tan’s flat is very nice compared to what we have in the Philippines. Even the financially able do not have housing as nice as this. But in our country, our village would have adopted this lady as our own grandmother, and she would live with us and we would care for her like our own.”

In other words, Mdm Tan wouldn’t or shouldn’t have needed professional intervention.

I learnt something very important that day from my Filipino colleagues. I learnt the importance of considering a patient beyond my professional perspective, so to speak, beyond their symptoms and diagnosis and health even.

I had donned a white coat (symbolic of the lab, what is clinical and sterile, official and efficient), but missed the deeper lesson of true healing and medicine. I boasted about the efficiency of Singapore medicine. But really, who is poorer? The Singaporean or the Filipino?

Filipinos, with their community and communal approach, would have adopted Mdm Tan as their grandmother. Community works within a covenantal relationship, not a contractual one. Covenant is about a vow, a mutual agreement, like marriage. Not a contract bound by time and ROI.

What if we, as medical professionals, move from contract to covenant? What if we see every patient as someone in our community? The migrant worker, the person with a disability, the local poor, the domestic helper and low-wage worker?

What if our culture shifts from individualism, contractual relationships and self-interest to neighbourliness and covenantal relationships? What if we practice Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is a beautiful and old South African concept. The modern dictionary defines ubuntu as “a quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity”, but the South Africans translate it as “I am; because of you.”

In other words, I am who I am because of who you are. People are not people without other people.

In 2006, Nelson Mandela was asked in an interview to explain the concept of Ubuntu. Mandela replied, “In the old days when we were young, a traveller through a country would stop at a village, and he didn’t have to ask for food or water; once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntudoes not mean that people should not address themselves. The question therefore is, are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you, and enable it to improve? These are important things in life. And if you can do that, you have done something very important.”

Another famous politician, former US President and 2007 TED Prize winner Bill Clinton, has also embraced the philosophy of Ubuntu in his philanthropic work at the Clinton Foundation. He says, “So Ubuntu — for us it means that the world is too small, our wisdom too limited, our time here too short, to waste any more of it in winning fleeting victories at other people’s expense. We have to now find a way to triumph together.” Also applying Ubuntu to politics, he told Labour delegates at a UK conference in 2006 that society and collaboration is important because of Ubuntu. “If we were the most beautiful, the most intelligent, the most wealthy, the most powerful person — and then found all of a sudden that we were alone on the planet, it wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans,” Clinton said.

When we understand Ubuntu, we realise from the inside that our own well-being is deeply tied to the well-being of others around us. It is a beautiful picture of connection, community and mutual caring for all.

When we understand Ubuntu, we will always look after the weakest in our community. And the femur would heal. We would make every effort to help those at the fringes. This is an idea of redemption too — we don’t let anyone fall through the cracks.

Here is an idea: starting with this new class of 350 first-year students. You will be together for the next five years and probably longer, as professionals in white coats. In your cohort; why not look after the weakest in your clinical groups and classes? That person struggling to understand physiology and anatomy. Or your classmate who has to work F&B banquets part-time in order to pay for his medical school fees. It is no longer about stepping on each other to get onto the Dean’s list, or scoring 100 marks while your friends fail.

Have you heard the saying that we are only as strong as the weakest link in our community? I challenge you to help take care of the weakest in your faculty. And then the weakest in the wards, and the weakest of our patients. The weakest in our society and then globally. All this will in turn shape us because of Ubuntu.

Remember: To do this and to celebrate Ubuntu, we may have to remove our white coats sometimes or allow them to be dirtied in our service of humanity and one another. So congratulations on getting your white coat today. But don’t become too attached to it, and to always remember the true purpose behind healing and medicine. And don’t forget this: Ubuntu: I am; because you are.

[nickyschneiderus]

The New Yorker Steve Bannon fracas is about much more than a festival

Former White House counselor Steve Bannon is out at the New Yorker Festival after several high-profile speakers threatened to drop out following his headlining announcement.

The three-day event brings together cultural figures, writers, thinkers and activists in conversation with reporters from the New Yorker.

The New Yorker’s editor-in-chief David Remnick announced on Monday night that the festival had disinvited Bannon. After Bannon was initially announced, other participants, including Judd Apatow, Jim Carrey, Jimmy Fallon, Patton Oswalt, Jack Antonoff, and John Mulaney, all said on Twitter that they would not be at the festival with Bannon as a headliner.

I’m out. I genuinely support public intellectual debate, and have paid to see people speak with whom I strongly disagree. But this isn’t James Baldwin vs William F Buckley. This is PT Barnum level horseshit. And it was announced on a weekend just before tix went on sale. https://t.co/oYk1llNgvV

— John Mulaney (@mulaney) September 3, 2018

If Steve Bannon is at the New Yorker festival I am out. I will not take part in an event that normalizes hate. I hope the @NewYorker will do the right thing and cancel the Steve Bannon event. Maybe they should read their own reporting about his ideology.

— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) September 3, 2018

I’m out. https://t.co/JkIOGqCxaM

— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) September 3, 2018

Bannon? And me? On the same program?

Could never happen.

— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) September 3, 2018

i’m no longer going to be speaking/performing at the new yorker festival as long as steve bannon is there

— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) September 3, 2018

I’m out. Sorry, @NewYorker. See if Milo Yiannopoulos is free? https://t.co/pDjlZkUdfO

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) September 3, 2018

Bannon has repeatedly been public about his most odious views. He campaigned for Roy Moore, the Alabama Senate candidate who faced numerous accusations of pedophilia. He was considered the architect of Trump’s initial Muslim ban, encouraged the racist policies of France’s National Front party, and allowed hate to run rampant online when he headed Breitbart.

Staff at the New Yorker, including Pulitzer Prize winner Kathryn Schultz, and readers alike, were appalled at the decision when it was first announced.

I love working for @NewYorker, but I'm beyond appalled by this: https://t.co/WlZdsBpF1R I have already made that very clear to David Remnick. You can, too: [email protected]

— Kathryn Schulz (@kathrynschulz) September 3, 2018

Faced with so many defections from the festival, which is still a month off, Remnick ultimately decided to pull the plug on his talk with Bannon.

“I don’t want well-meaning readers and staff members to think that I’ve ignored their concerns. I’ve thought this through and talked to colleagues—and I’ve re-considered. I’ve changed my mind. There is a better way to do this. Our writers have interviewed Steve Bannon for The New Yorker before, and if the opportunity presents itself I’ll interview him in a more traditionally journalistic setting as we first discussed, and not on stage,” Remnick said in a statement released Monday.

Whether it was a business decision (tickets to certain New Yorker Festival events can run as much as $259), an ethical one, or a mixture of the two isn’t clear. At any rate, the pushback on Twitter—not just from Carrey and Fallon, but from New Yorker readers, political pundits, reporters, and others—was too loud to ignore.

Although the New Yorker has covered Bannon several times before, Remnick said that the festival setting would be different; the audience would be participating in the interview, and Bannon wouldn’t have the opportunity to go off the record.

The decision to give air time or a platform to any former Trump official, particularly one that has been such a hard-core proponent of white nationalism, is bound to stir up controversy.

When Sean Spicer appeared at the Emmy Awards, it was as though Hollywood forgot how he lied about nearly everything: from crowd size to Hitler using chemical weapons against his people. People posed for photos; James Corden planted a big fat kiss on him. And last month Spicer’s book hit number 13 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Does Bannon, who had a much stronger hand in Trump’s policies, deserve an audience in the same way?

It is appropriate for journalists to interview someone whose ideas people find despicable, especially if they’ve influenced the thinking of people in power and shaped the national conversation. But that isn’t what’s happening here.

Bannon got kicked out of the White House, and he’s lost his platform at Breitbart. Roy Moore lost in Alabama and Marine Le Pen in France. It’s worth taking a step back and asking, really, how influential and how powerful he still is?

True, Bannon’s ideas still trickle through the White House, and he’s fought to keep himself relevant throughout his career—one could argue that he’ll crop up again one way or another. But the New Yorker is certainly not obligated to speed up the process.

Then why does it try?

The media elite treat Bannon and his ilk with a certain intellectual curiosity. It’s on full display during White House press briefings—this quixotic belief that the right question or proof of harm will make Sarah Huckabee Sanders toss aside her notes and admit she’s been lying all along and she just can’t do it anymore. Did Remnick think that by asking Bannon “hard questions” he’d somehow get Bannon to change his mind, or catch him in a logical fallacy?

Although Bannon said he was looking forward to the conversation with Remnick, it likely wouldn’t have changed his worldview. And given the types of people who attend the New Yorker Festival, it likely wouldn’t change anyone’s ideas about Bannon.

There’s not a simple answer for how to treat the castoffs of the Trump administration. White nationalists are running for office at an increasing rate. Does interviewing their Svengali help media members learn how to better cover noxious politicians, or just normalize Bannon and his racist ideas?

Bannon may have changed the political dynamic in the country through his involvement with Breitbart, the Trump campaign, Cambridge Analytica, and the hateful policies of which he was a primary architect that continue to affect people today. Sure, it makes sense to talk about Steve Bannon. But at this point, talking to Steve Bannon is not going to add anything new to the conversation.

We’ll never know what would have happened at The New Yorker Festival. But the conversation about Trump and the people in his orbit is going to go on for a long time.

Sean Spicer is still a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy Institute, Corey Lewandowski is still a Fox News talking head, and Anthony Scaramucci is going to be talking at Forbes’ Under 30 Summit in Boston this year.

And one day, Trump will be a former president. Should he be afforded the same statesman-like role that has been granted to every past president, no matter how egregious his behavior? Will Trump spend the rest of his life the way George W. Bush does now, painting dog portraits, forgotten for his sins and remembered for his service to America?

If the media fawning over Bannon is any indication, those sins will easily be forgotten. 

Perhaps the blowback against Bannon is the right first step in a different kind of future—one in which we’re in a less forgiving mood.

from Ricky Schneiderus Curation https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/steve-bannon-new-yorker/

#Ricky Schneiderus Curation