Tumgik
#anyway i only know 4 is the Bad Number in China and Japan and i only wrote it this way to cover my butt lmao
symptoms-syndrome · 11 months
Note
13, 21, 25?
13. What is a song that always brightens your mood?
I'm not sure! I rarely ever pick a song to listen to TBH, I just press shuffle on a playlist of about 2k songs I have that I've just been adding to since high school. I really like Gorillaz though they're probably my favorite, and I think Out of Body from Humanz is probably the one I vibe with most lately. No pun intended.
21. What kinds of decisions do you check in with parts before making?
I'm bad at this. I worry about checking in w parts and hold off on doing things and then later do things impulsively. Especially lately. I do try and check in about big financial things though.
25. What is a piece of misinformation about DID/OSDD do you want to clear up?
This one is popular. Good thing I have a lot of opinions.
I hate the red hair thing. "DID is as common as red hair, and you know someone with red hair so you probably know someone with DID!" Because like by the numbers sure I believe it. And I think I saw someone else talk about this but like. Ok say 1-2% of the earth's population has red hair. And 1-2% of the earth's population has DID. I don't remember the actual numbers.
DID is gonna be universal-ish, give or take depending on shit like cultural context or access to diagnosis or whatever. But being in, for example, Japan does not make you more or less likely to develop DID. But it does make you less likely to know someone with red hair. Being in Ireland probably makes you more likely to see someone with red hair. 13% of Ireland has red hair according to my Google search.
Breaking this down in a diff way, step by step by the numbers.
Red hair is 99% going to be a white thing. White ppl are the people most likely to have red hair. Around 6% of white people have red hair according to a cursory Google search.
If you live in the US, 71% of your population is white. 6% of 71% is around 4. If you have 100 people representative of the US population, you'll have around 4 redheads.
If you live in China, which has about 18% of the entire world's population, one of the largest, around 8% are not Chinese (96% of these are white, so most of the 8% is white.) If you have 100 people representative of China's population, you have (if my math is right) a 50/50 chance of having one redhead.
The only reason the math shakes out to 1-2% for both is because they're worldwide averages. If you live in the US, there are 4x as many red haired people as people w DID. I think I know like. Two redheads.
Which is not even taking into account the fact that like. As a population, people with DID are often more disabled, more mentally ill, etc and thus more likely to be incarcerated, in long term psych treatment (often the same thing but I digress) or otherwise isolated in some way from the mainstream world, especially places that have a higher barrier of entry; like colleges where many 20 somethings are spending their days. More likely than someone with red hair anyway.
So sure. DID is as common as red hair in the worldwide context. I can believe that. But that doesn't mean that you individually, in the context of your life (where you live, who you associate with, etc) are just as likely to know someone with red hair as you are someone with DID.
Numbers and statistics are for demonstrative purposes only and have not been thoroughly fact checked. Do not quote me on them.
7 notes · View notes
anakinh · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
favourite music from soundtracks: one-winged angel - rebirth from final fantasy vii remake
734 notes · View notes
Text
Coronavirus and Unemployment
- The Data set that I have chosen is the ‘Gapminder Data set’.
- The research question that I am going to work on is:
“ Does pandemic sitiuation affect world employment and economy globally”
Hypothesis: There are lots of negative effects on economy and employment during pandemic period 
                                                 My codebook
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The search terms that I used for my literature review are:
- Employment and economy before pandemic
-  Obstacles for employment in pandemic
-  Quarantine’s effects on Firms and factories
- Economic derogation during quarantine
- Reduction on number of employees
Literature Review Summary:
The Coronavirus has already led to disruption in manufacturing output, foreign travel and consumer demand. If the virus spreads and becomes a pandemic, what will be the likely economic effects?
In short, a global pandemic will have a serious supply-side impact – especially on foreign travel, manufacturing and investment. The uncertainty and decline in travel will also lead to people staying off work, losing income and causing a fall in demand. If it is relatively short-lived, the economy may quickly bounce back. But, if it is prolonged, it could lead to permanent loss of output – with vulnerable groups of workers particularly negatively affected.
Initial estimates on the effects of COVID-19 on the world economy include
A fall in global GDP of up to 4% below baseline (World Bank April 2020)
A fall in UK GDP of 14% (According to Bank of England)
A fall in US GDP of 10% (Golden Sachs)
Tumblr media
Supply-side effects
Reduced manufacturing output. The most effective response to the virus is quarantining and limiting chances for the virus to spread. In China, the high number of cases, led to workers staying at home, either because they have the virus or because they fear to catch it from other workers. This has led to a very significant fall in manufacturing output. In one month, the official China manufacturing index fell to 35.7 (above 50 is expansion, less than 50 is contraction) It is the biggest fall on record.
Knock-on effects. Even for countries or regions not affected by the virus, the global interconnectedness of supply chains means that nearly all manufacturers are affected by the lack of availability of parts. This leads to supply bottlenecks. UK car producers have reported bringing spare parts in suitcases from China. Big companies like Apple, which produce the iPhone in China have warned of supply shortages occuring soon.
Confidence. In a time of uncertainty, firms will cut back on investment and wait until what happens. If the pandemic causes uncertainty for a prolonged period of time, it will cause investment projects to be delayed and even postponed completely.
Lost productivity. A rise in sickness and mortality itself has an economic cost.
Demand-side effect
If travel restrictions are imposed, there will be a big fall in demand for some sectors, especially travel and tourism. Already airlines have issued profit warnings for 2020 and some flights have been cancelled. It will also cause a significant fall in demand for certain tourist sights and related business. For example, the popular tourist city of Venice is completely deserted as people avoid due to the outbreak in Italy. This will be devastating for local business, such as restaurants and gift shops who rely on tourists.
A limited pandemic may have some benefits for local tourist destinations. For example, rather than risk flights, Americans and British holidaymakers may choose to holiday at home, so there could be winners in the domestic tourist industry. But, this relies on the virus being contained in those particular countries. A real pandemic would probably cause a worldwide fall in travel.
Impact on workers. In recent years, there has been a rise in self-employed workers and workers on zero-hour contracts. This means that more workers are vulnerable to having to take time off work. If workers can work at home or get sick pay, their income will be maintained. But, for gig workers like delivery drivers and English language teachers, they could face very low income from travel restrictions and a decline in business.
Confidence. The stock market has seen its biggest contraction since the global credit crunch. With falls of 12%. A falling stock market can cause a decline in consumer wealth and hold back spending as people absorb the negative news. One study suggests falls in the stock market only have a limited effect on reducing GDP growth
“In the case of prolonged falls in share prices of 10 per cent, the QUEST model gives an additional negative output effect in the range of between -0.2 and -0.8, depending on the monetary policy response.” (effects of pandemic)
Limited scope for monetary policy. In western Europe and Japan, interest rates are already very low, there is limited scope for significant interest rate cuts. Even if rates were cut from 1% to 0.5%, it is not clear this would make much difference to the effects of the crisis. Japan has announced stimulus measures to shore up the economy – but given a prolonged period of stagnation it is uncertain whether this will make a significant difference.
Evaluation – How bad would the effects really be?
Liberia, for example, saw GDP growth decline 8 percentage points from 2013 to 2014 during the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The World Bank estimates that a very serious global influenza pandemic would cost the world economy $800 billion and kill tens-of-millions of people.
Time. An important question is how serious and prolonged is the crisis. If the crisis is less than six months, there is every chance that the economy can rebound with no loss of output. If firms delay production for three months, they build up a backlog of orders, when people return to work, this backlog can be solved due to people working over-time. This can lead to a post-crisis mini-boom.
Tumblr media
How serious is the pandemic?
A model by the EU commission in 2006, tried to model the effects of a future pandemic on the economy.
Tumblr media
Can people work from home? In recent years, we have seen a shift in people working from home. A pandemic crisis would speed up this shift and more firms could encourage people to work from home. This can work for some sectors, but you cannot outsource manufacturing or nursing, supermarket sales. It is clear that any pandemic would hit vulnerable sectors much more.
Can monetary/fiscal policy offset the fall? Usually, if we get a demand-side shock (e.g. fall in confidence), the monetary authorities can cut interest rates to boost demand. The government can pursue fiscal policy to increase public sector investment. This helps to maintain aggregate demand. The problem is that a pandemic is both a demand-side and supply-side shock. If people stay at home because they are sick or because they fear to go to work, demand-side policy cannot deal with that. A tax cut does not particularly help if you are not working or it is difficult to get goods.
How much would economic activity cease? In the beginning of a pandemic, where is highly localised, there is a strong case for strict quarantine, leading to the factory shuts downs we see in China and ghost towns in Italy. However, if the pandemic reaches a tipping point and the virus becomes widespread, severe travel restrictions may not be effective anyway. It is uncertain how people will respond. It may reach a point, where critical industries like foods supply have to continue – regardless of the risk of transmission. The WHO state dealing with a pandemic is not just about the direct health effects on sickness and possible fatalities, but also wider issues such as the potential breakdown of social order. E.g. failure to provide sanitation and food supplies could cause more serious problems than the virus itself.
The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Employment Contracts
 As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate the global economy, employers in large and small businesses are faced with a dreadful conundrum on whether to let their staff go, cut their hours, or declare them redundant.
It is however highly unlikely that most employers, in drafting their contracts of employment, would have contemplated the current circumstances; particularly the level of interruption and disruption to work as we know it, which has been occasioned by the Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, employers and employees have had to be deal with this unprecedented situation by adopting new ways of meeting their obligations under their employment contracts.
The primary legislation on labour and employment matters in Nigeria is the Labour Act1. The other relevant legislations are the Trade Union Act2, the Trade Disputes Act3, National Industrial Court Act4 and the National Industrial Court Rules, 20075. Nonetheless, the relationship between employers and employees are typically regulated by the contracts of employment which sets out the terms of such employment. It is trite that parties to a contract are bound by its terms and cannot vary the terms and conditions of the contract except with each other's consent6. This principle extends to employer – employee relationship and to the extent that a contract of employment is a contract, the general principles relating to general contracts will apply unless the law provides for a departure from such general principles. Hence, in NEPA v. Adesaaji7, it was held by the Court that in an employer-employee relationship, the parties' relationship is governed by terms and conditions of the contract between them. The foregoing therefore begs the critical question: What options are available to employers considering the impact the pandemic is having on their businesses? In this article we will analyze the options available to employers for addressing their employment issues during this pandemic under the existing legal framework in Nigeria.
Working from Home: The New Normal
As expected, the first reaction by most organizations has been to direct their employees to work remotely, to protect their employees and clients from the spread of the pandemic. This directive may raise the question of whose responsibility it is to provide remote working tools to the employee? This question can be answered from the decision in the case of Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc8, where the California Supreme Court held that the intention of the provision of California Labor Code9 which requires an employer to indemnify its employees for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred as a direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, is to "protect employees from suffering expenses in direct consequence of doing their jobs." It is important to note that whilst the above case is from the jurisdiction of the State of California, in the United States of America, the dictum of the Court in Adetoun Oladeji (Nig.) Ltd. v. N.B. Plc10 on the application of foreign judgments in Nigeria as a form of judicial precedent may be instructive in this regard. The court held that, "... decisions of English courts or any foreign court are not binding on Nigerian courts. They are merely of persuasive authority". In addition to this, by virtue of the Third Constitutional Alteration Act of 2010, the National Industrial Court was empowered to apply all labour-related international conventions, treaties and protocols ratified by Nigeria even where they have not been domesticated11. Indeed, section 7(6) of the National Industrial Court Act provides:
"The Court shall, in exercising its jurisdiction or any of the powers conferred upon it by this Act or any other enactment or law, have due regard to good or international best practice in labour or industrial relations and what amounts to good or international best practice in labour or industrial relations shall be a question of fact".
So, if our courts are persuaded by foreign decisions on the issue of who bears the costs of expenses of working from home during the periods of lockdown, Nigerian employers may be required to reimburse employees who had to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic for their reasonable and necessary home office expenses if they did not do that before now.
Deferment/Reduction of Salaries
Having regard to the current realities especially the inability to do business as we know it, one of the options available to employers may be to vary the terms of their employees' contract such that there is a deferment or reduction of agreed salaries. This approach should be a win-win situation for both parties as on one hand, employees would be able to retain their employments during the pandemic and on the other hand, the employers are able to manage their resources until things return to normal. In the event that this option is considered, an employer is required to notify/engage its employees and obtain prior consent as to when and how the changes would take effect, before implementing same12. In Adebusola Adedayo Omole v. Mainstreet Bank Microfinance Bank Ltd,13 the Court held that it is not acceptable for an employer to engage in unilateral reduction in the wages and salaries of workers as the reduction of the salary of the employee by the employer, without her consent, violated the spirit of section 5(1) of the Labour Act and the ILO Convention14. Furthermore, to avoid any adverse claims on the acceptance of the reduction or deferment, the employer should ensure that the employees communicate their acceptance of the changes in writing. In other words, in communicating the deferment or reduction, the employer should ensure that the notification is communicated in writing and request for a confirmation of acceptance in writing.
However, there may be instances where an employee refuses to give a written consent to such deferment or reduction in salary but continues to receive the reduced salary and does not complain. In that situation, the Court may infer an acquiescence on the part of the employee as in Oyeyemi v. Guardian Global Resources Nigeria Ltd15 where the claimant claimed that the reduction in his salary was without his consent. In dismissing the prayers of the claimant, the court held that even though his consent was required, his silence and continued stay in the employment without any form of protest; whilst receiving the reduced salary for over a year, was an acquiescence to the variation and that his silence for a year was deemed as consent.
Deferment of bonuses and promotions
Another option available to employers is deferment of bonus or promotions. In most companies, bonus determination and application usually form part of the company's policies which are typically incorporated by reference in employment contracts; thereby, becoming binding. In such circumstance, the provision for bonuses and promotions vests a right in an employee and may be recoverable against the employer due to the expectation interest they create for the employee.
The doctrine of legitimate expectation is that where an employer by his actions or inactions, creates a state of affairs that gives an employee an expectation interest which is legitimate and reasonable, then such employer is by law obligated to meet up with such expectation.
The leading and most frequently cited case supporting this approach in employment matters is the case of Toussaint v Blue Cross and Blue Shield16, which came up in the State of Michigan.
The issue before the Supreme Court was whether a voluntary promise, including a discharge-for-cause policy, made by the employer to his employee in a handbook constituted a binding obligation upon the employer. The Court held that such a policy could bind an employer if the 'employer's written policy statements set forth in the manual of personnel gave rise to legitimate expectations'. The court held that when a promise acquires legitimate expectation, the employer's unlawful breach or departure constitutes a breach of contract.
Essentially, for legitimate expectation to give rise to protection, all that has to be proven is that the employer has chosen 'to create an environment in which the employee believes that, whatever the personnel policies and practices, they are established and official at any given time, purport to be fair, and are applied consistently and uniformly to each employee'. Consequently, an employer that makes a voluntary promise in a formal statement that is reasonably capable of creating a legitimate expectation to the employee 'may not treat its promise as illusory'.17
Whilst this is a developing area in Nigerian jurisprudence, the National Industrial Court (NIC) recently applied the principle in the case of Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria & Ors v. Federal Ministry of Health18. The Court acknowledged that the practice of skipping salary grade levels by Government can create an expectation interest, which in turn was capable of creating an entitlement or vested right in favour of the complainants who had all the while been beneficiaries of the practice19.
Having said that, it does appear that there is a tendency for the courts to respect the employer's decision where there is genuine reason for the employer to resile such as when the future of the business and its survival is at stake20. The test must therefore be applied on the fact of each case, the context and impact of the promise made by the employer and the degree of business efficiency or need, when considering an employer's decision to revoke its promise.21
Promotions, on the other hand, are not contractual rights, as they are usually conditional upon the employee meeting certain organizational performance-based indexes. Thus, in the case of Sylvester C. Nwoye V. Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria22, it was held that promotion from one level or position in an organization to another is not a right but a privilege, which is earned. Hence, an employer cannot be compelled to promote its employee no matter the good opinion the employee might have of himself.
Paid and Unpaid Leave
Whilst section 18 of the Labour Act23 provides for at least six (6) days of paid annual leave for every 12 months of employment, most employment contracts typically provide for more number of days which can be taken as annual leave by the employee in an organization. Due to the compulsory stay at home directed by Government to curb the spread of the pandemic, many organizations may consider bringing forward the scheduled leave days/period of employees such that the leave days become part of the period now being compulsorily spent at home. This may however not apply to businesses whose employees have been working remotely during the lockdown, as this is likely to be considered an unfair labour practice by the Courts.
Thus, in Akinfemiwa Akinyinka v. More Time CO23 Gas Plant Ltd24 the National Industrial Court held that denial of annual leave to an employee is an unfair labour practice. The Court, in upholding the case of the Claimant held; "We find that the denial of annual leave entitlement to the claimants all through their years of service to the 1st defendant coupled with the 1st defendant's work days is inhuman and so a deprivation of the right to annual leave under section 18 of the Labour Act. This is, therefore, an unfair labour practice which this court cannot close its eyes to. There has been a violation of a legal right which entitles the claimants to an award of general damages and its quantum need not be pleaded or proved".
Declaration of redundancy
In Nigeria, redundancies are governed by the Labour Act, the decisions of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), the contracts of the affected employees, organizational policies or employees' handbook, and the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement between an employer and the representatives of a trade union.
The Nigerian labour law acknowledges that an employer reserves the right to pay off any employee whether based on redundancy, idleness etc. or at the end of a project where the employee is engaged. The Labour Act defines redundancy as an "involuntary and permanent loss of employment caused by an excess of manpower".25 No specific rules apply to mass layoff or collective redundancy. Section 20 (1) of the Labour Act provides that in the event of redundancy, employers shall apply the procedure as follows:
informing the trade union or representatives of the employees of the reason for and extent of the anticipated redundancy
applying the principle of 'last in, first out' in determining the employees to be affected by the process, subject to all factors of relative merit, including skill, ability, and reliability; and
negotiating redundancy payments of the affected employees.
Though the definition of excess manpower is not provided in the Labour Act, the courts have considered the acquisition of a company, restructuring, reduction of production line, shortage of raw materials, economic and technological reasons as valid grounds for declaring redundancy.
In Alexander O. Ejah & Ors v Niger Mills Co. Ltd26, the Court reasoned that from the evidence shown, the mass termination of employment of the Defendant's employees arose from a change from a manual to an automated process requiring fewer staff; the disengagement was necessitated by economic and technological reasons, and was thus within the contemplation of the Act as a ground for redundancy. Also, in Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Ltd v Oje27 the Court described redundancy in the following words: "it is a mode of removing of an employee from service when his post is declared 'redundant' by his employee (sic). It is not a voluntary or forced retirement. It is not a dismissal from service. It is not a voluntary or forced resignation. It is not a termination of appointment as is known in public service. It is a form unique only to its procedure where an employee is quietly and lawfully relieved of his post....".
Another insightful decision of the Court in this regard is the case of Okwara Agwu & Ors v. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc28. where the Supreme Court, in dismissing the appeal held that a Court will not compel an unwilling employer to retain employees it does not need, and that the only thing a Court can do is to order for payment of all entitlement of the employees, based on the provisions of the contract of employment. In view of the foregoing, it is recommended that employers be transparent about the redundancy process and inform employees of the intention to declare a redundancy as well as negotiate a disengagement package where necessary.
Termination
In light of current realities and considering the effect of the pandemic on business activities, employers may also, as a last resort, rely on the principle of frustration or contractual force majeure to terminate employments.
Generally, frustration is upheld as a basis for termination where it is established to the satisfaction of the court that due to a subsequent change in circumstances, the contract has become impossible to perform29. Such change in circumstance may include subsequent legal changes, outbreak of war, cancellation by an unexpected event.
The consequence of the occurrence of a frustrating event which makes parties unable to perform their contract such as lockdown directives by governments to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the contract is terminated immediately and the parties discharged.30
Force majeure provisions, on the other hand, are provisions contained in the employment contract which allows the parties to determine in their contract, such occurrences which may be termed as being beyond their control and described as force majeure events. This is distinct from the principle of frustration in that for force majeure provisions to hold, such events must have been agreed by the parties and their occurrence must be such that they affect the performance of parties' respective obligations under the contract. These events typically include wars, floods, or pandemics such as COVID-19. However, for an employer to rely on a force majeure clause, such clause must specifically mention pandemics, or acts of government which are beyond the reasonable control of the parties.
The above notwithstanding, it is not enough to have merely described the events which may be regarded as a force majeure event in the contract, an employer who seeks to rely on it, has the duty to prove that the pandemic and the resultant government lockdown has prevented it from being able to physically or legally fulfil its contractual obligations to the employee. However, an employer will not be heard to say that such occurrence has merely created a difficulty to perform, higher cost of performance, or less profits to the business. The employer must be able to prove that:31
such occurrence was reasonably foreseeable at the time of entering the contract
such occurrence is beyond the control of the employer/employee and cannot not be reasonably avoided; and
due to the occurrence of such event, the employer/employee is incapable of performing obligations under the employment contract
CONCLUSION
Whether or not the parties are still able to continue performing their contractual obligations in the face of the current pandemic will depend on pertinent considerations such as:
the nature of the job and ability of the employee and availability of tools for the employee to work remotely
the nature, length, and effect of the force majeure/frustrating event such as the COVID-19 pandemic
whether in the circumstance a reasonable employer could have been expected to wait any longer before taking a decision, and
reasonable adjustments made by the parties to ensure the continued performance of the contract32.
It would be practical for employers to engage their employees before arriving at a decision as this would afford the employer the opportunity to communicate its present predicament to its employees. It is also advisable for the employer to comply with the provisions of the contract of employment for the execution of whatever decision they elect. This may include notice/pay requirement, severance packages, terminal benefits, or consultation with union representatives and compliance with international best practices. It is important to note however that for employers in the oil and gas sector, an approval from the Department of Petroleum Resources ('the DPR') must first be obtained before releasing any Nigerian staff33. The Guidelines defines "release" to include but not limited to, the removal of a worker in a manner that permanently separates the worker from the employer in ways such as by dismissal; retirement; termination; redundancy; release on medical grounds; resignation; death or abandonment of duty post".34 Thus, any employer who wishes to release a worker shall apply in writing to the Director for the Minister's approval stating the manner of staff release, the reasons for the proposed release, the compensation due to the Worker, and any proposed replacement for the Worker.35
On a final note, if disputes arise between employer and employee, it is recommended that such disputes are settled through Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms such as mediation, negotiation or arbitration. However, where either party is dissatisfied with the outcome, they may resort to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) for adjudication
The links to my literature review:
https://www.mondaq.com/nigeria/employment-and-workforce-wellbeing/938130/the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-employment-contracts
https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/161156/economics/economic-effects-of-a-pandemic/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-unemployment-jobs-work-impact-g7-pandemic/
1 note · View note
dredshirtroberts · 4 years
Text
I’m bored and found this having been done by a blog I admire, @vinceaddams. Plus, I - like my projection-favorite Dragon Age Inquisition Character, Dorian Pavus - love talking about myself.
1. Name : I have many and much. I’m currently playing with the name Eyrelain/e (undecided about the final e) but for the purposes of simplicity and what I’ll generally answer to, just call me M.
2. Zodiac : Aries sun, Taurus moon, and either Leo or Pisces rising but I’ve never been able to get that one clear on my birth charts lol. 
3. Height : 5′3" roughly.
4. What time is it ? 11:57pm as of just now - it will be much later by the time I finish this
5. Favourite musician / group ? I’ve always hated this question on these things. I barely know what I’m listening to at any given time, let alone have a favorite out of them all. I just like music.
6. Favorite sport team ? If pressed (and generally if I’m around my family) I state one of the Washington DC teams - and to be fair those are pretty much the only ones I’m familiar with. But honestly I have fallen out of touch with the sportsball games and will have to work extra hard to get back into the, ah, swing of things as it were. Mostly the only sport I give a shit about is Hockey and that’s mostly because I find the players extremely attractive. Something about Russians missing teeth just really does it for me, apparently.
7. Other blogs : @witchwraytohome is mostly aesthetic with some roughly witchcraft-y, spiritual-ish bullshit fleckled in there. @adara-et-al is where I’m trying to put shit about my original characters but I’m bad at keeping up with these things so it’s not well fleshed out yet. @lia-and-em-adventure-in-thedas is a joint blog with @sumomoblossom77 for the fic I’m working on - we’re mostly keeping references and stuff there for now, but maybe one day the fic will go up there too. Once i’m finished with it anyway.
8. Do I get asks ? lol no. Maybe one or two in a blue moon but generally those are from friends who send me DMs usually. I’m not against asks, of course, so please send those on if you have them!
9. How many blogs do I follow : 80, apparently - higher than I thought it was the last I checked but then again I have a terrible memory and do not check often.
10. Any tumblr crushes ? Nah, but not really any crushes right now either. 
11. Lucky number : 3, 5, and 6 tend to be numbers that come up frequently for me and portend nice things. Multiples also count, because lucky numbers are what you make them.
12. What am I wearing right now : a pair of quickly falling apart jeggings, and a really fuckin soft old navy sweater-shirt my mom got me for xmas. it’s so soft. It’s also a lovely dark taupe color
13. Dream vacation : 1) any vacation would be a dream vacation right now. 2) I’d love to travel to Japan. And if I’m in Japan why not go ahead and hit up S Korea, and Taiwan, and China and Hong Kong, and then let’s just go ahead and get all the pacific islands, the Philippines, and head down to New Zealand to head that off there. 3) Of course that’s not taking into account wanting to go further west from there, Tibet, India, Russia, idk maybe the whole middle east. Then do I go down into Africa and start making my way through there? Clearly with the trajectory I’m on I’d start in Egypt and make my way down south from there. Or do I go the opposite direction and take on Europe? Pretty much what I’m getting at here is I’d one day like to travel the entire globe - take like...at least a year probably more, and just explore the world. Eat in every country. Enjoy life. Idk...it’s a dream. 
14. Dream car : One that isn’t almost 20 years old would be nice. less than 100k miles on it would be *excellent*, but I know that’s asking for a lot. Gotta have A/C and working windows. A relatively new sound system would be great, so the radio isn’t jangly (though honestly a working radio is enough). If I can hook up my phone to play music - AND A CD PLAYER, IT HAS TO HAVE A CD PLAYER. And her hair whatever color it please god.
15. Favourite food: I’m gonna have to say steak and/or sushi. I will ALWAYS be down for either. Or Mexican food of any sort. Seriously, you want to win me over? Feed me in general. If you feed me Mexican food (god, especially authentic central or Gulf coast mexican food yaasss) I’ll be yours forever. 
16. Drink of choice : If we’re talking alcohol, always a margarita. I’m a tequila bitch for sure. Non-alcoholic, diet cola (whatever brand I’m really not picky). Though I have found these fun little powder things my parents use called ZipFizz and boy howdy are those tasty as FUCK.
17. Languages : English, very little Spanish, German and French. I’ve been learning a few fantasy languages for fic I’m writing (where Spanish, German and French will come into play, so I imagine I’ll learn those more too). Oh and Latin. I know a little of Latin. It’s not a lot and it’s not great but it could be worse.
18. Instruments : I used to play piano - I technically still can but it’s not very good at all. I tried playing bass guitar which was...alright. I did not go very far with it. I played the recorder for class in elementary school like most everyone else did, and that was...interesting.
19. Celebrity crushes : no one, really, right now. I’m kinda figuring myself out a little and haven’t really processed attraction past “they’re kinda fit, wonder if they’re an alright person to get to know” and then realize that there’s no way I’d ever get to know them as a person outside of their fame and celebrity so I just kinda drop it. ‘S not worth the time or effort honestly.
20. Random Fact : All my old injuries that bother me are completely invisible from the surface - my one that crops up the most is my knee(s) but from the outside nothing looks the matter with them (unless the start swelling but that doesn’t happen as much anymore). Second most easily aggravated is my shoulder that also has no outward sign of having been an injury. Third most easily aggravated and honestly rarely rears its head unless I do something immensely stupid or it’s bitter fucking cold outside, is my right ribs. I got knocked really hard and they were cracked but not broken but I was also, like 10 when it happened and I’m fairly certain they healed slightly incorrectly. Sometimes it feels like I’ve got light bruising and sometimes it’s like they’ve just been injured (depending on the cause of the aggravation). I do not have good scars to show people to be like “yeah this acts up because I was stabbed in the jellies but it’s fine except during low-pressure weather”. I just all the sudden cannot stand up right, or reach over my head properly and I have to deal with it.
2 notes · View notes
weimeki · 5 years
Text
"We Boom" Album Review and Song Ranking by @luvguk
(nobody asked for it but it’s here anyways)
Tumblr media
My sons,,, they’re back and still growing up (sob) i’ve been listening to them since their debut and they’ve really come a long way since chewing gum era (rip vocalist jeno 😔)
I shall be ranking the songs from my favorite to least favorite and explaining why:
1. Dream Run
At the top of my list because it reminds me of both the "We Young" era and the "My First and Last" era. They even mention both of the song titles in the song!! The sound is summery and bright- but not so much that it seems childish or immature. The lyrics are both reminiscing on what they’ve done so far and what awaits them in the future and honestly it’s a bop pls stream Dream Run ty.
2. Bye My First
as an avid "my first and last" stan,,, this one kinda stings. it’s a bit melancholic as they sing about realizing that their first love wasn’t actually going to be their last love (well duh romeo calm tf down) but the sound vaguely reminds me of high school musical songs (not a lot, just a little bit). we are well fed by renjun and chenle’s high notes (god bless) and jisung is actually a singer now i guess?? and a rapper?? normally i don’t go for slower songs but this one is oddly soothing and not overly sad.
3. Best Friend
omg this song is such an ear worm and sounds even more like "we young" than "dream run" does. the only downside for me is that it seems a bit too repetitive (borderline annoying but i love those boys sm it doesn’t really matter). the song title is pretty self explanatory so i’m not really gonna elaborate more but i recommend it to those of you who really enjoyed we young but are also up for a slightly less summery kind of song if you know what i mean.
4. BOOM
ah the title song,,,, it’s not that bad (except i’m not a fan of the rapping) but like i state in my review of 119 the rapping sounds a bit choppy to me but that was probably what they were going for (i’m assuming) and it makes up for it with haechan’s first line in the song cause WOW it really hits you it’s so good man. the chorus, while repetitive, is super catchy and fun to jam along with. alSO jisung’s voice got like five octaves lower since the last comeback like wtf is sm feeding the boy!?
5. 119
i have mixed feelings about the song because some parts (mostly the rap parts) seem so out of place they really don’t seem to fit with the flow of the song so sometimes the song itself can sound a bit choppy. it’s a shame though because i really like the chorus. it’s so unique and gives you a bit of "go" era vibes but not as in-your-face as "go" was. if i had to describe the chorus i’d say it sounds a bit eerie? idk that’s the best i can come up with lmao. i’m pretty sure the song title is referring to an emergency number (for me it’s 911 as i live in the u.s.) and i did a bit of research and 119 is the emergency number in japan as well as china along with a couple other countries. so yeah.
6. STRONGER
i just don’t like the way it sounds. like i think it sounds really chaotic and seems like too much is trying to happen in this one song. i think they might’ve been trying to go for something that sounded like "go" but they really missed the mark here in my opinion,,, the one part in the song that i do like is :
네가 원했던 silence
너의 반대로 난 외쳐 (I love it)
난 널 그대로 비춰낼 mirrors
내 손으로 다 깨부숴
and that’s about it.
Tumblr media
1 note · View note
camigani · 6 years
Text
Update: My Trip to China
Hi, all, it’s been an insane couple of months! Where have I been and why haven’t I been updating? Well, I’ve finally moved in a completely new place all by myself with a new job and lots of pleasant isolation in a tiny town by the sea. Right before that, my family took me overseas to China for a final family trip. I only got food poisoning twice. Oh, and I caught a cold. -v-
LONG POST UNDER THE CUT!!
Things I noticed that generally happen in China:
1) There are a lot of couples! Compared to Japan and Taiwan, I noticed the people here are more open about traveling and showing affection (and discourse) publicly. Where are the lonesome ones? Well, my brother deduced that because Chinese has so many people, the single people stay at home. TvT
2) Women like to cling onto arms or hold hands with their friends or lovers. My Shanghainese housemate was like this, too. I guess it’s a cultural thing. 
3) Men tend to smoke, not women. You find women smoking sometimes, but it’s usually associated with being dirty and shameless. The men tend to cough and spit a lot. Everyone openly coughs and sneezes. There are no common words for “Excuse me” and “Bless you/Salud/Gesundheit/etc” in the Chinese language. It feels rude, but that’s how they are. 
4) The subways are hi-tech. The navigation is better than Japan and Taiwan. The maps are friendly and easy to read for Chinese and English-literate people. Similar to an airport, however, you have to pass your bags and luggages through a scanning system and have your liquid containers examined before security allows you to board trains. The rides are cleaner. 
5) In modern areas, everyone is very well-dressed. They have a fashion style evolved to incorporating modern and slightly retro looks. Unlike Taiwan and Japan, you don’t see people wearing traditional clothing unless it’s for shows or homely occasions. 
6) There are cameras everywhere. It’s like London crosses the Patriot Act. Cameras on the highways, cameras on the streets, cameras in the subways. They use facial recognition and license plate recognition. A price of freedom to pay, but because of this system, we were able to track down one of our luggages that we left in a taxi cab. (Haha.) Security checked where my parents got off onto the subway, found the license plate of the taxi cab, and phoned the taxi driver to tell him to meet my parents at XX station to drop off their luggage. 
7) They, uh, don’t like Japanese things in China. There are very few Japanese cars, buildings, and brands, going as far as vandalizing Japanese chain stores and boycotting products despite being safer and better. You can say it’s attributed to history and culture. Chinese people view self-humiliation in a different light. They can be quite envious.
8) Infrastructure is king. Not being political; from an objective outlook, the US spends a hefty amount of tax money on military. China invests in infrastructure. There are a lot of building projects going into apartments, museums, preserving historical sites, and parks and recreation. It’s at the point where national parks are completely paved and tiled. (Kinda defeats the purpose of national parks, but at least you don’t have to worry about muddy shoes.)
9) Local vendors that don’t belong to companies or corporations may sometimes be unsanitary, but the food quality is generally cheaper and tastier. Otherwise, if it wasn’t tasty, how would they sell?
10) Hype isn’t always a good thing. Just about every restaurant we’ve gone to where it was packed with people was just okay. Quiet hole-in-the-walls have a personable charm, quicker service, and equally if not better food. Real talk, the original ma po tofu shop serves tofu that is extremely spicy and bitter. Not worth it.
11) Public facilities like museums and libraries are taken quite seriously. The government believes when things are free, people are more civilized. Go figure, yet in my experiences, people were. Not sure about the museums since there’s a lot of Chinese history and culture to go through, anyway, but the public libraries are utilized to the fullest. You need identification to get inside, and every then, you’re only allowed to bring certain material into the library after going through a baggage and metal scan. There are lockers for your things. It was school time next to a university when I visited, so every seat was occupied with a busy Chinese scholar with a stack of books reviewing notes and practicing words or formulas. It was pretty surreal. I didn’t take pictures, but I’ll let you know there were very few fictional books where I visited.
12) Chinese people don’t listen to signs or tourist warning information. Seriously, as someone who’s part Chinese, myself, the tourists can be extremely disrespectful, and it’s super embarrassing. It’s usually the older generation because...well, if you know your history, you might know why they’re like this. But if it says no cellphones and pictures, you’ll find cellphones and pictures. Lower your sound? Someone’s yelling on their phone about the most trivial thing like what they ate for dinner. Stay on the path? Let me just hop this fence and proceed to head towards this dangerous slippery waterfall to take a mediocre selfie. Yeah, it wasn’t a great time. Someone like Germany would blow their brains out. 
13) BRING YOUR OWN TOILET PAPER
I cannot stress enough how precious soft butt paper is. The kind they sell in China are sandpaper scrolls on your tender cheeks. Bring your own tp from home if you are to survive the plight of the outdoor public restroom. And soap or sanitizer. There is normally running water in bathrooms, but no soap! What’s the point if the bacteria is going to spread through the water?! Be prepared for squatting, turds, smells, and wet rims. Unless you stake out in your western hotel all day, you WILL find a squat toilet, and there is a high chance it WILL smell or be mysteriously slippery.
Anyway, here are some pictures I lazily took. The descriptions are all on the top of the photos.
We went to Shanghai first. The people are meh at best. But the architecture is interesting because of the heavy western influences. (Missing obligatory picture of The Bund because I exported it somewhere else.)
Tumblr media
Beef noodle soup! My favorite! I like it with a little spiciness. They made the noddles with a knee paddle. Only $2 USD!
Tumblr media
I’m not sure how to explain it correctly, nor do I know what the exact name of the method used to make the noodles is. I tried to explain it in the crude drawing I made below. 
Tumblr media
.
..
...
This is KFC.
Tumblr media
The majority of the trip was spent in Chengdu in Sichuan Province. It’s hot and humid in the summer, but it was just right when we went. 
There are a lot of open markets. Look at all the meat and produce! They even had morel mushrooms. Too bad we didn’t have a stove or butter in our hotel. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
We visited Kuanzhai Street, a historical alley consisting of wide and narrow paths with historical buildings. Its initial intent is to let tourists experience some of the old culture of China, but nowadays, there are a bunch of vendors who try to capitalize on how many people go there. It gets very crowded.  
Tumblr media Tumblr media
A most mysterious wall of memes.
Tumblr media
Not bad.
Tumblr media
Sugar-blown rooster! It tastes like those rainbow lollipops you sometimes see at fairs or candy shops. You get to blow up the sugar, yourself. An interactive show. :)
Tumblr media
Burnt sugar rooster! It tastes like the top of a creme brûlée. 
Tumblr media
Went on a tour to a panda rehabilitation center. Chengdu is a popular spot for earthquakes, and the one in 2017 left pandas injured and traumatized. This place helps them recuperate  until they’re well enough to go back to the public zoos. Outside to greet us was a 5-some of panda statues. The one that stood out was the one on the far right with one leg. I thought he was just leaning his leg behind him, but it turns out, his leg is missing! Affirmative action?
Tumblr media
(Missing black and white panda because my good captures were all videos.) The red panda tails are so fluffy and gravity-defying. The tails are like a foot long and stay straight in the air.
Tumblr media
A Tibetan-like feast! You eat with your hands, and they give you gloves. Everything was fresh and tasty. They served us yak milk. It tastes like if you mix 1 part milk, 2 parts water, so it’s not bad if you don’t mind the watery taste. Over here, your wealth is measured by the number of white yaks you own. 
I’m missing pictures, but there was a good number of performances with singing, dancing, and conga lines at our table. My dad got really into it. Because some Chinese cultures are normally reserved, they weren’t used to his disco dancing. Later, they called him Uncle Buddha. And they said he looked high. 
Tumblr media
Jiuzhaigou. It was closed since the 2008 earthquake due to high levels of mountain and road collapses. It opened recently, so the locals were surprised to hear that it was open again. You can even take pictures wearing local minority Chinese garb. I think it was around $3 USD, but we needed to haul butt. 
WATCH THE PICKLE!! We stayed at a decent hotel, but a popular breakfast dish in China is porridge with various kinds of pickled vegetables. I figured I needed vegetables to help me “go” easier during our travels, so I ate a little of everything. So did my dad. My brother and surprisingly my mom, who eats more veggies than anyone in our family, skipped out. Two hours of a bus ride later, I threw up on the street. My dad threw up minutes after I did. We’re pretty sure the old used for the spicy pickle was stale.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Eh, what can you do?
Tumblr media
A clear limestone lake. Surprisingly not many people here. It was also very quiet and clean.
Tumblr media
We went to Leshan to see the giant Buddha. It’s not too bad of a walk, maybe because it’s at sea level. (Two days prior, Jiuzhaigou was at 7000ft/2100m, so it was really hard to hike without getting tired.) This thing is HUGE. You might be able to see tiny people in the upper right-hand corner for scale. Only take pictures on the Buddha’s right side!
By the way, there are a lot of little statues and tiny Buddha carvings littered on the hike up there. Per Chinese superstition, you are not supposed to take pictures of them. Some either house evil spirits that you can take home with you or you might trap good spirits from spreading fortune.
Tumblr media
Very pretty architecture behind the statue. You can drink tea here for about $5, however, it’s a tourist trap! Don’t waste your money and time. See how these pictures don’t have tourists in them? It’s because they were all caught up drinking tea and sitting on their butts. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Aw, the picture rotated. Anyway, here’s a fly modern monk with Nike’s and a smartphone.
Tumblr media
Kinda mad I can’t remember this place, but there were many elephant themes in this tourist town we visited. My brother (listed in the picture below with the ONLY pair of long pants and jacket he stupidly packed for the 12-day trip) found a mantou shop that sells these long buns for only 1 YUAN. That’s like $0.17 USD. As a bun advocate, he said they were tasty. 
Tumblr media
DPRAUNNDKA (Someone was drunk, alright.)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Hot pot! Taiwan was better, and the Guangdong guys were too afraid to try to spicy broth. (Like Hong Kong, haha. Because Cantonese people don’t like spicy food, according to Himaruya.) It was okay, but we only had 30 minutes to eat before catching a show. I don’t have pictures, but the sets and performances were really cool!
Tumblr media
Gelatins! Sketchy at best but tasty-looking!
Tumblr media
A pleasant view of the hike up Umeishan. Right past this chasm are monkeys! If I panned my phone down, you would’ve seen trash. This is from the monkeys eating tourists’ food. You have to watch your pockets and bags because they’ll go through them for kicks, usually not even for food. And don’t wear red because it intimidates them. 
Tumblr media
You can hire rickshaw(?) carriers to take you up the mountain. Great for elderly or lazy people. I think it’s about $32 per way.
Tumblr media
Famous Emeishan statue thing. You are supposed to take pictures relevant to your zodiac sign, so there are twelve positions like a clock. It’s COLD up there. But the hike makes you warm! And there’s a cable cart that takes you up most of the way.  
Tumblr media
Zoomed-in luna month friend. It was behind a temple door. The wings looked so soft. 
Tumblr media
I forgot what this trail was called. The whole hike was about 7 km. Supposed to be 10, but it started to rain, so we skipped the end. Lots of tourists in places, but very nice scenery. Walk fast to avoid smokers. Why do they smoke while walking? :/
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Beer Garden in Chengdu City. It’s a strip of bars and clubs where foreigners can sing American pop songs and drink beer. Lots of “trashy” women with rich drunk men. It’s an insane atmosphere with rich-looking people and every bar being full. Seriously. I’d show more pictures, but you really need a video to get an idea of the vibe. Here’s one of Goose Island, whatever that means. Next to it were two hedge sheep. Look at this shit, there’s a picture of the White House on the poster! Ahhh! XD
Tumblr media
Chengdu Global Center Mall
Cheese and rice, I thought Tokyo’s AEON Laketown mall was huge. This place has a hotel and a water theme park built into it with a grocery store and food court in the basement. At this point, my family’s feet hurt from all the walking. -.-’
Tumblr media
Boo. We came too late. All the boba was sold out. Hey, cat poop coffee on the top.
Tumblr media
Just why?
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Last full day in Chengdu. Here’s the outside of the museum. You have to wait in line to get screened before going in, however, it’s free.
Tumblr media
An underground strip mall. Okay here me out, we tried very hard to look for bootleg Chinglish shirts, but we could NOT find any. The Chinese locals seemed to either snatch them up or we weren’t looking in the right places. 
Tumblr media
lol and that’s it. We went back to Shanghai for a full day after that, but I caught major food poisoning from something I ate. It was bad. My bowels felt all twisty and uncomfortable. So I spent the entire day in the hotel while my family had a blast eating food and looking at architecture. My brother found a slew of funny Chinglish menus. I wish I had the pictures. If I find them, I’ll pass them along. 
Thanks for reading and I’ll try to update stuff when I get settled down in my new place. :3
100 notes · View notes
loadlonestar494 · 3 years
Text
Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple Ova 12 Release Date
Tumblr media
Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple Ova 12 Release Date 2
Kenichi Ova Episode 12
Shun Matsuena's Shijō Saikyō no Deshi Kenichi manga already inspired TV anime
Tumblr media
This year's 47th issue of Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine is announcing on Wednesday that an original video anime (OVA) project of Shun Matsuena's Shijō Saikyō no Deshi Kenichi (History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi) manga has been green-lit. The anime studio Brains Base will produce the project. More details and the release date information will be provided in future issues of Weekly Shonen Sunday.
Hey has anyone heard any news about Kenichi: History's Strongest Disciple ova getting a dub or if there will be anymore, i have done a little looking but found nothing on the matter and really don't know where to look. I just finished 1-50 and it was soooo good and i want more haha, so is there any news on 51+ or the the ova getting a dub. Short Special bundled with the Fourth and Fifth OVA episodes. History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi: Specials Special 12 (0) OVA Special 1. Just announced History's Strongest Disciple OVA 10 coming soon. Shogakukan will ship the limited edition bundle in Japan on May 16. Kenichi the mightiest disciple ova op full - Duration: 3:52. Mar 14, 2012 OVAs of History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi bundled with volumes 46, 47, 49, 53, 54, 55, & 56 of the manga. Alternate Titles: 史上最強の弟子 ケンイチ, Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi, 'History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi' Genre: Action, Comedy, Martial Arts, School, Shounen, Sub Type: TV(Fall 2006) Status: Finished Airing Number of Episodes: 50 Episode(s) Views: 1370 Views Date: Oct 7, 2006 to Sep 30, 2007 MyAnimeList Score: 8.16.
The manga already inspired a television anime series that Funimationreleased in North America.
(Via Manga News)
https://loadlonestar494.tumblr.com/post/657336116382466048/redmi-note-4-unlock-tool. Download all in a folder, Install Driver, Open Tool, Load MI Account Unlock File. Connect Phone with PC via USB Cable in Necessary Mode like Fastboot, Recovery, EDL etc. Some device need Authorized Account Permission By Authorized User id And Password. Xiaomi Mi Unlock Tool. Mi Flash Pro is the updated software suite of the Xiaomi Mi Flash Tool. Lt is a small software tool to install MIUI firmwares on Xiaomi smartphones or tablets! It is officialy made by Xiaomi China and can help you to install MIUI ROMs or recover your bricked device! The Xiaomi Mi Flash Pro Tool can even more!
Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple Ova 12 Release Date 2
Tumblr media
discuss this in the forum (16 posts) |
News homepage / archives
Kenichi Ova Episode 12
Kenichi STORY:ShirahamaKenichi is an average 15-year-old high school student who has earned the nickname 'Weak Legs' fromalways getting bullied. One day he meets a cute girl named Furinji Miuwho helps him build the courage to begin training at a mysterious dojowhere she lives. Here Kenichi faces intense training from masters of manydifferent martial arts styles as he attempts to become stronger. Kenichi eventually becomes a full disciple of Ryōzanpaku, and becomes enamored of Miu. Subsequently, Kenichi's daily routine is divided between training under the six masters of Ryōzanpaku, and his fights against the members of 'Ragnarok', a gang of bullies trying alternately to recruit or to vanquish him. After Ragnarok is disbanded, Kenichi andMiu are targeted by Yomi, a group of disciples personally trained by a master of an organization rivaling Ryōzanpaku, Yami. While the masters of Ryōzanpaku and their allies follow the principle of always sparing their opponents' lives (Katsujin-ken), the members of Yami believe that any means of defeating an opponent is valid, including murder (Satsujin-ken). In the struggle between the two factions, Kenichi, Miu, and their allies fight the members of Yomi, while his mastersconfront the members of Yami.
A pretty snazzy character selection screen, that is.
ABOUT: ShijouSaikyou no Deshi: Kenichi (literally translated asHistory's Strongest DiscipleKenichi) is a 3D fighting game developed and published by Capcom, based on the manga and animeseries of the same name. Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple began as a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Syun Matsuena. The first tankōbon was published in August 2002. An anime adaptation made by Tokyo Movie Shinsha aired from October 2006 to September 2007 and had 50 episodes. The Kenichi PS2 fighting game was the first ever videogame based on the Kenichi series, releasing only in Japan in March 2007.
Kenichi features 12 selectable characters, each representing their unique fighting styles seen in the original manga and anime. Modes include Story, Versus, Practice, Score Attack, Time Attack, Survival, Mission, and Gallery. For each character,you can choose two battle styles 'Quiet' and 'Motion'. Quiet focuses ondefense and counter attacks, while 'Motion' focuses on attacks and explodeanger (super combos). During battles there are 3 types of attacks: shockskills (strikes), truth skills and return skills (counter attacks). Shockskills are stronger than Truth skills; Truth skills are stronger than Returnskills; and Return skills are stronger than Shock skills.
https://loadlonestar494.tumblr.com/post/657336202910908416/firefox-os-x-104. Download Old Version of Firefox for Mac for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger (PowerPC) Skip Development Versions tead. 13 March, 2012 (9 years ago) 18.77 MB. Mozilla Firefox 3.5.19. 28 April, 2011 (10 years ago) 17.84 MB. Mozilla Firefox. I'm running Mac OS X 10.4.11 'Intel,' TenFourFox doesn't help with that. Whenever I load Firefox it tells me to upgrade to 12.0 for security reasons. 12.0 is most definitely not compatible with the version of OS X on my MacBook Pro.
Where have I seen this stage before?
In more ways than one, Kenichi resembles Capcom's well known 3D fighting game series starring high school stereotypes, Rival Schools. From the cel-shaded 3D graphics style of Kenichi to the stylized anime characters, Kenichi is an attractive looking PS2 game for the time. The fighting stays mostly on a 2D plane, but there are somesidestepping techniques as well. The gameplay is comparable to several Capcom fighters, but focuses more on martial arts techniques and less on projectiles. The gameplay isn't nearly as solid or deep as comparable fighting games of 2007, but features plenty of fan service for those familiar with the manga and anime series.
Page Updated:January 29th, 2020Developer(s):Eighting Co.Publisher(s):CapcomPlatform(s): PlayStation 2 Release Date(s): March 2007 Characters: Kenichi, Takeda, Miu, Ukita, Siegfried, Hermit, Nijima, Valkyrie, Thor, Loki, Freiya, Berserker, Odin, 20
Featured Video:
Related Games:Project Justice, Rival Schools, Fate/Unlimited Codes, Hokuto No Ken, The King of Fighters 2006, The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation A, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Virtua Fighter 5, Virtua Fighter 5 R, Battle Fantasia, Sengoku Basara X, Martial Masters, Sunday X Magazine
Gameplay EngineStory / ThemeOverall GraphicsAnimationMusic / Sound EffectsInnovationArt DirectionCustomizationOptions / ExtrasIntro / PresentationReplayability / Fun'Ouch' FactorCharacters
BOTTOM LINE
Final Words:
Kenichi is one of the few fighting games with 'Capcom' written on the box that I haven't played. (Although, the game was developed by Eighting.) Out of many of the 'me too' anime fighting games that spawned in the mid / late 2000's (and after), Kenishi seemed like one of the more interesting ones. The series seems like aperfect fit for a fighting game. From whatI've seen, the animation quality is rather decent. I've only caught a few episodes of the anime, and it's actually not too bad from what I remember. Some of the character designsare a bit stale, in my opinion.. but others are worth checking out. Honestly what I like most about Kenichi is that the characters seem like they could share the same universe as Rival Schools. Anyway, I don't have a modded PS2 in order to play this game.. but ifever get around to it, I'll give this game a proper review. ~TFG Webmaster
.
Tumblr media
1 note · View note
yosttravis · 4 years
Text
Checking in on Bill Mitchell, The Godfather of Being Wrong
I thought the Krassenstein Twins era would be the low point of Twitter. Remember the shirtless cartoons? Remember all of the conspiracy theories? I suppose Seth Abramson is still chugging along. While the worst part of Democrat Twitter is hunting for the latest and greatest ten-pronged Donald Trump conspiracy theory, the worst part of Republican Twitter is doing what they do best, full and unadulterated gaslighting. No one does this better than takist Bill Mitchell. Bill prides himself on Being Right All Of The Time -- he’s a few months away from betting Diet Dews against Skip Bayless. Anyways, the best of the best gaslighters in this niche do two things well: they signal boost when they were right, and they bury where they were wrong. Burying comes in the form of either pretending they never said that (Mitchell is an exceptional tweet deleter), or moving the goal posts (he’s even better here). Mitchell has had a lot of takes on the coronavirus outbreak. Like many of us, he has zero subject matter expertise. That didn’t stop him from screaming to a rabid, half-million follower base about the danger coronavirus didn’t present to the American public. Of course, as the obvious severity of the issue has become more and more obvious, Mitchell just changed his tune -- April has seen him spending his days begging for an economy open-up, pretending death counts are fake, and calling out people like Anthony Fauci as Deep Staters. It should be noted that math isn't particularly Bill's strong suit.
Interesting that ActBlue raised an average donation of $30.38. This would imply people are donating in uneven numbers, including pennies, which would be odd. OR it would indicate untraceable foreign donations and an exchange rate translation, which would be illegal.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) April 21, 2020
But it wasn’t always like this! One thing about Twitter is you can just .. kind of .. go back in time. January and February were reserved for occasional thoughts about the virus, China’s role, and the like -- mostly boilerplate stuff. In March, as limited cases spread into the States and concerns grew over the preparedness of the United States, Mitchell took it upon himself to carry as much water as he could for the federal government and their role in the pandemic. As time elapsed, Mitchell predictably transitioned his arguments and measurement criteria to whatever looked favorable for Donald Trump on a given day. Even a thirty day snapshot of this is comical. This is a daily collection of tweets from as far back as .... March of 2020.
Can you imagine the absolute PANIC if COVID-19 numbers were as bad an COMMON FLU numbers? https://t.co/hVzlwlbxWZ
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 1, 2020
Imagine if we ever hit 60K dead here in the States. Imagine!
The USA is one of the most traveled to destinations on the planet. The fact we only have 88 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2 deaths is a true credit to President Trump's efforts to keep us safe.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 2, 2020
Am I right in thinking the vast majority of US cases of COVID-19 were acquired outside the US mainland? So in essence, those really aren't US cases at all. They are international cases of people from the US.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 2, 2020
COVID-19 began by people eating infected snakes from a Wuhan market. Wuhan death rates highest by far. Is this due to lack of care or because ingesting the virus in food makes it more potent? Is China slowing down because people are no longer ingesting it just as with SARS?
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 3, 2020
Imagine for a moment that COVID-19 targets only unborn children, killing a million American babies in the womb every year. The Democrats would be outraged, calling for Trump's impeachment for, "failing to protect the most vulnerable among us." We could rename it to ABORTION-19.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 4, 2020
As you know, abortions are ... contagious?
And so what if the mortality rate of COVID-19 appears higher in some places than the flu? You will NEVER get 31 million cases of COVID-19 in the US. You will NEVER get 34,000 deaths from this disease. And for the flu, 34,000 deaths is a SLOW season. https://t.co/eMDKepUd2V
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 6, 2020
COVID-19 is serious and needs to be limited. But so is the flu - much much more serious. Closing down events, businesses etc. is overdoing it. The best solution. If you are sick, stay home. Don't go to see the Stones with the flu.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 6, 2020
As biological weapons go, COVID-19 is pretty mild. I mean, compare that to some of the NASTY stuff they came up with in WW1.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 6, 2020
COVID-19 isn't the flu. Until COVID-19 infects 31 million and kills 34,000 Americans, the flu is worse.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 6, 2020
Coronavirus "survivor" had a 3 hour fever of less than 100 and not a single symptom since there.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 7, 2020
So every time a new virus comes along that kills 3500 people worldwide we shut down modern civilization? COVID-19 seems to share a lot of common goals with climate change activism, doesn't it? Coincidence?
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 8, 2020
How big a deal is COVID-19?
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 8, 2020
(As an aside, this is one of any million of examples of Bill moving goal posts. First it was nothing, then it was real but not as bad as the flu, then it was like the flu. And so on. You may know this, but Bill Mitchell -- not a doctor.)
I am seeing more and more trollbot accounts calling themselves "Trump supporters" who aren't and are spreading COVID-19 #fearporn. This is a concerted effort by the left to over-hype this. It's obvious as yesterday they called for banning Trump rallies.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 9, 2020
There are a bunch of these but Bill’s surprise that this global health issue may not be political and, well, Republicans can actually be concerned with their health ...
Will companies start mass-layoffs for the COVID-19 dip? Unlikely. Hiring and training new staff is EXPENSIVE and CEO's understand this is all hype-driven. They don't want to unleash their hard-earned staff so their smarter competitors can scoop them up cheap.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 9, 2020
Certainly not an economist either.
How can Democrats say Trump is failing in his COVID-19 response when America is clearly outperforming the planet by leaps and bounds in prevention? More #FakeNews. https://t.co/VC1EO4J4nW
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 9, 2020
The amount of hyper-hype surrounding COVID-19 is truly without precedent. Other than 15 people who died at an senior acute care facility in WA known for poor virus protections in the past, SEVEN Americans have died from COVID-19. SEVEN. Did you catch that? SEVEN.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 9, 2020
I've gotten a flu shot 3 times. 3 times I got the flu shortly thereafter. I won't be rushing to get a COVID-19 shot.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 9, 2020
Not a doctor.
I've gotten a flu shot 3 times. 3 times I got the flu shortly thereafter. I won't be rushing to get a COVID-19 shot.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 9, 2020
The media can bitch all they want about Trump's "failure of leadership" on COVID-19, but the bottom line is, in a nation of 350,000,000 souls, outside of one senior care center in WA, there have been just 8 deaths from this disease. That's REAL leadership and REAL results.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 10, 2020
What will be the next Democrat manufactured crisis after COVID-19 fades away with the warm weather?
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 10, 2020
I keep hearing that deaths from COVID-19 are going to "explode" in the US any day now. WHEN?
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 11, 2020
Not an epidemiologist, either.
A month from today, how many American will have died from COVID-19?
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 11, 2020
This doesn’t have anything to do with Bill but boy is it depressing.
Just to be clear in case you missed it: 94% of all reported deaths from COVID-19 are in THREE countries. The largest of those 3 accounting for 70% of all deaths has slowed expansion to a crawl - they've beaten it. Take away these TOP THREE and you have only 291 global deaths.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 12, 2020
Ignore the dead people and you have less dead people. An update to this one would be nice.
Looks like the COVID-19 updates are in: USA - 1 new death. 10 in serious condition. Hardly the zombie apocalypse we've been promised.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 12, 2020
Other than Japan, the USA is clearly doing much better than any other major nation - and yet, the #Media is calling Trump's efforts an abject failure. Remove the 26 deaths from one nursing home and there have been only 15 deaths in America attributed to COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/nM2iZtGy3c
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 13, 2020
What do fake climate models, fake COVID-19 models and fake polls have in common? They are all fictional numbers created for one purpose, to provide a premise for that days #TDS news cycle. None of it is real.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 13, 2020
March 13th is one of the earliest days where Bill began positioning his next line of arguments, transitioning from “the numbers don’t exist” to “the numbers do exist but now they aren’t real”.
I'm amused by people who say, "just the flu." The flu infects millions and kills 10's of thousands. When COVID-19 gets to that level, ring a bell so we'll know. https://t.co/ZUD9F54NZr
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 14, 2020
US testing for COVID-19 is really taking off. Expect infection numbers to spike and mortality to plummet. I'm guessing we'll be under 1% US mortality within 2 weeks and under .5% in a month.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 18, 2020
Not a mathematician. Certainly not a freaking mathematician.
What makes the 127 lives lost to COVID-19 so much more valuable than the 50,000 lives lost to the flu?
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 18, 2020
Six weeks and annualized and .. yeah.
100% cure rate + warm weather = the end of the COVID-19 panic. Of course, the #Media won't want to let this go since it'a all they've got, but just a matter of time now. https://t.co/V0eIsydR4H
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 20, 2020
Mitchell has frequently criticized the media, an easy target with such significant failings on both sides of the political aisle. But he also will very quickly circulate anything that coincides with his unfounded, baseless, void-of-science beliefs. From those same media outlets. Every time. “Believe it only when I say so.” The usual.
No one cares about flu deaths because the flu is "common" and has no fear factor. It cannot be used politically. And yes folks, this is ALL about politics. This is all about beating Trump. It won't work. Tell me when COVID-19 reaches 55,000 US deaths.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 20, 2020
Yes, tell Bill when we reach 55K deaths here in the States.
Dr #FearPorn Fauci is the designated Democrat Debbie Downer of the #COVID19 crisis: Vaccines are beginning trials! FAUCI: "Those will take years of testing."#Hydrochloroquine very effective treating COVID-19! FAUCI: "We need massive, slow testing before that is used." Jerk.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 20, 2020
Bill Mitchell, not a doctor.
Here's the deal. If you are on Trump's COVID-19 Task Force, you DO NOT run to CNN and CONTRADICT the President unless, YOU ARE THE ENEMY. FULL STOP. https://t.co/72UdoU0p9I
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 20, 2020
See prior.
COVID-19 will be over as a serious global threat within 60 days, and perhaps sooner.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 22, 2020
All of the arrogant liberals telling us COVID-19 is the worst disease ever to strike mankind will crawl back under their rocks in another 30-60 days when this is all over - then come back out next time some new fake disaster arises to harm Trump.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 22, 2020
Studies have shown, as with H1N1, CFR'S tend to be inflated by a factor of 10 early as only the sickest are tested. As time passes this changes and CFR plummets by a factor of 10. In the end, COVID-19 will be no more deadly than H1Ñ1 which was no more deadly than THE FLU.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 23, 2020
“H1N1 caused 18,500 laboratory-confirmed deaths with an estimated 151,700 to 575,400 deaths total in two years.”
Trust me, within 60 days, the #Media will be writing articles that COVID-19 was, "a scam by Trump all along." "He always knew there was a cure but withheld it for maximum effect." They'll even find some way to tie it to Russia. You KNOW it's coming.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 23, 2020
NY is clearly the COVID-19 apex in America. Word is major #hydrochloroquine testing may begin there tomorrow. If that happens and shows results, it's just a matter of time before President Trump has defeated "a once in 100 years" outbreak, as the #Media loved to call it.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 23, 2020
By wildly overhyping COVID-19, Democrats have set Trump up to be the GOAT when this thing ends in the next 30 to 60 days. They put the ball on the T for Babe Ruth with the bases loaded.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 24, 2020
So far today, new COVID-19 are lagging yesterday's numbers. Of course that can still change, but we are NOT seeing exponential growth. This looks like the top of a bell curve. pic.twitter.com/Fj99H9q2kA
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 24, 2020
Not a mathematician.
My sixth sense is telling me that the research done on creating a COVID-19 vaccine will lead to a completely new approach to fighting viruses and a "Universal Virus Vaccine" which defeats all viruses ability to attach to and invade human cells.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 25, 2020
By the 25th of March, we were in Bruce Willis territory.
History will look at COVID-19 as the greatest overreaction in medical history based upon politics.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 26, 2020
There were about 15K dead globally at the time of this tweet. We are now at a quarter million dead, one month later.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, Diarrhea has killed 900,000 people. Can someone link me to the best Diarrhea Tracker? I'd like to avoid dying from Diarrhea. Thanks.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 26, 2020
I don’t even know, I had to include it though.
If COVID-19 numbers doubled the seasonal flu, I'd be concerned. https://t.co/pZYZOgXPLh
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 27, 2020
A great goalpost move. A week prior it had to “match” the flu. Now it’s double. Then we can talk!
I would not put it past Cuomo to alter New York's mortality numbers. Are they counting deaths WITH or FROM COVID-19? Something strange is going on there.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 29, 2020
Around the end of March, coinciding with the inevitable exponential growth being experienced in the States, Mitchell strengthened the transition from ‘not a problem’ to ‘not really a problem’ to ‘it’s not worth shutting the economy over’ to 'the numbers are fake’. Which is odd, because as far as I can tell, Mitchell has never disputed -- in the literal sense -- the existence of coronavirus.
I am seeing hundreds of tweets from people who had a "weird flu" in December. Many of the COVID-19 symptoms, but tested negative for flu. No one described this as "life-threatening," just the flu, maybe a bit on the mild side.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 29, 2020
Not a doctor.
I take whatever mortalities I see reported in Italy and divide by 10 to get close to those actually killed by COVID-19. Their counting method is preposterous. 11% CFR is BS.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 29, 2020
GOOD OLD DOCTOR DOOM IS AT IT AGAIN ON CNN, HIS FAVORITE SPOT TO DUMP ON TRUMP - Fauci: U.S. Could Have 100k to 200k Deaths from Coronavirus https://t.co/oB7nXarQo1 via @BreitbartNews
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 29, 2020
The States are over 60K dead as of today, so "Dr. Doom” appears to be forecasting with a reasonable degree of accuracy, unlike Bill, who is not qualified for any of this.
If 80,000 die from COVID-19 it would be roughly equivalent to a bad flu season we'd normally ignore.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 29, 2020
(Goal posts. Now it’s 80,000.)
Seems as if the exponential growth in COVID-19 deaths is always, "The Day After Tomorrow." I was assured two weeks ago we'd already be at many thousands of US deaths daily by now.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 30, 2020
It seems Dr Birx and Dr. Fauci are completely discounting the effects of warm weather and #hydrochloroquine on COVID-19.
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii)
March 30, 2020
In summary: Bill Mitchell is a dangerous fool. And that is apolitical.
0 notes
prettysei-remade · 7 years
Text
He’s Taken
Written for @leojiweek 2017: Day 1 
Prompt: Others’ Interpretation of Leoji/Social Media 
read on ao3
Laura xoxo: ugh
Laura xoxo: dani im so sry but my sister saw that picture u put on insta of u and ur brother at the water park and now she's begging me 2 get his number from u
Laura xoxo: she went on his insta and found out he's a wrld famous figure sk8r and she wont shut up abt him
Laura xoxo: pls ill buy u ice cream 4 a week if u can make her stop gushing abt how hot he is
Daniela sighs.
This is not the first time this has happened.
So many people - her friends, her friends’ sisters, girls from drama club, even a couple guys at her school - have tried to get to Leo through her. They're incredibly persistent, and Dani supposes she can see why they would be, from an objective standpoint.
Even she can't bring herself to say that Leo is bad-looking. It's horrible when all her friends come over while Leo is around, because they get all stupid and tongue-tied. She loves them, but they become incredibly annoying in those moments.
She knows Leo has his reasons for choosing to stay at home after graduating high school, but honestly, him moving out would make her life so much easier.
Of course, it doesn't help that he's also a competitive figure skater on the international level, and that he's won a bunch of medals. He's pretty successful, and relatively famous, so naturally everyone wants to be with him.
It would be marginally less irritating if everyone would stop hounding her for information on him.
She sets her phone back down on the kitchen table, prepared to ignore the text until she's finished her geometry homework, when a loud laugh from outside nearly makes her drop her pencil. She rolls her eyes.
Leo's home, and he's probably talking to his skating friend from China.
It's not that she doesn't like Guang Hong. From what she's seen and heard of him, he seems to be very sweet, pretty quiet, and definitely…
Well. It's obvious that he has a crush on Leo.
Anyway, she's spoken to him a little before, during some of his and Leo's many (many) Skype calls, and she likes him. He's only two years older than her, and he's always nice to her.
She knows Leo has a crush on him, too. They're seriously so obvious. But neither one of them thinks they have a chance.
Dani would be amused if it weren't so pathetic. Boys are so stupid, especially when it comes to feelings.
She hears the door swing open, and Leo continues to laugh and talk to the person on the other end of the phone as he walks through the house.
“We'll see each other soon, you know,” he says, a smile in his voice. He mouths a quick “hola” to Dani as he passes the kitchen. “We were both assigned to Skate Canada this year.” A pause as Guang Hong replies. Then, “I know, I feel like I haven't seen you in…”
His voice trails off down the hall, and Dani rolls her eyes. She picks up her phone to tell Laura what she's told everybody else.
It's not quite true, but it might as well be.
You: he’s taken, sry
Dani storms up the stairs, shouting all the way up.
“Leo! Mamá already called you for dinner twice, she's gonna be...”
Stopping by his slightly opened bedroom door, she looks through the crack to see Guang Hong's face on Leo's computer screen.
She rolls her eyes and barges in.
“Hi, Guang Hong,” she sighs. “Sorry to steal your boyfriend, but it's time for dinner and Leo really has to come downstairs right now.” She directs those last words at Leo with a pointed glare.
He sputters in response.
“Guang Hong isn't - we're not dating! I'm not his boyfriend!”
Guang Hong just laughs a little on his side.
She has to give him kudos for his reaction, at least. It's still obvious he likes Leo, but he seems to be way more chill about it than Leo is.
She directs her next question at him.
“Hey, isn't it really late in China? Or, like,  early?”
He laughs again.
“I'm actually in France right now, for a competition,” he explains.
“A competition he's going to dominate,” Leo adds.
Guang Hong blushes.
Dani throws up in her mouth a little.
“Sure, whatever,” she says, turning to leave. “Mamá's getting really mad downstairs, so say goodbye to your boyfriend.”
“He's not my boyfriend!”
The cheers of the crowd nearly drown out what the TV announcer is saying when Leo is awarded his gold medal.
A few moments later, they roar up again when the silver medalist is presented, and then a final, third time when Guang Hong goes to get his bronze.
They look good, standing side-by-side on the podium.
Dani watches them hold up their medals for pictures with matching grins on their faces. Leo says something to Guang Hong, which makes him laugh, and then Guang Hong responds, which makes Leo blush.
To anyone else, this is nothing unusual.
Well, actually, it's nothing unusual to Dani, either. She has to live with half of this. But she's pretty sure she's the only one who's noticed the massive crushes they have on each other.
She's thought about schemes to get them together, before. Like, texting Guang Hong from Leo's phone, or something. It would probably be amusing, and they'd at least stop acting like idiots all the time.
But they should figure it out for themselves. It's bound to happen, sooner or later. Eventually, one of them is going to confess, or make a move. They're building up to something, all on their own, and she doesn't want to interfere unless she absolutely has to.
They're actually pretty cute already, she supposes. Leo is skating around the rink with Guang Hong, an arm draped over his shoulder, and they're both laughing and smiling. They keep saying things into each other's ear, and it's like everybody else - the photographers, the cheering crowd, even the other medalist - doesn't even exist.
She hopes they figure it out soon.
Unknown Number: Hi, this is Guang Hong! I hope you don't mind, but Leo gave me your number after we talked on Skype last night. Good luck for your play tonight!
Dani is surprised Guang Hong remembers what she had said about the play, and her drama club.
Sure, Guang Hong had invited her to join the conversation, and they'd actually all talked for a really long time, until Dani realized how late it was getting. She'd thought he would mostly just focus on Leo, though, and was only including her because he was nice to everyone like that.
Apparently not.
She quickly saves his number as a contact (“Leo’s Boyfriend,” because she’s hilarious) and tries to think of how to respond.
Despite her many interactions and connections at school, and a rather large amount of social experience, she isn't exactly sure on the protocol for when your brother's almost-boyfriend texts you, completely separate from said brother.
Whatever. Guang Hong's cool, he'll be nice no matter what she says. She does try to tidy up her grammar, though. At least a little bit.
You: it's cool, i like talking to you. and thanks
Leo's Boyfriend: You're welcome! :)
He still uses smiley faces. Unironically.
That's honestly adorable.
Dani has to hand it to Leo. He's found himself a keeper.
Leo's Boyfriend: one time, when we were in japan, phichit made us all try sushi
You: omg no
Leo's Boyfriend: lets just say im never again forcing him to eat anything he says he doesn't want 2 eat
You: omg
You: ok ok my turn
You: so one time we went on this road trip to minnesota
You: it was winter so we decided to go skating at an outdoor rink for fun
You: of course, hes famous and everything so this one lady recognized him and asked him for a picture
You: so they take the picture, everythings great
You: but then he goes to skate away
Leo's Boyfriend: oh no
You: he somehow slips
You: and falls flat on his back
Leo's Boyfriend: did he get hurt??
You: just his pride
You: he got so embarrassed. it was hilarious
Leo's Boyfriend: omg!! XD
You: u know, i think sharing our blackmail material is the best idea weve ever had
Leo's Boyfriend: agreed
You: omg i know
You: its always the worst when he tries 2 rap, though
Leo's Boyfriend: don't get me started
Leo's Boyfriend: one time he tried to rap along to ceiling can't hold us by macklemore?
Leo's Boyfriend: like it was cute, but also probably one of the most awful things ive ever heard
Leo's Boyfriend: !!! pls dont tell him i said that!!
You: the cute part or the awful part
Leo's Boyfriend: …
Leo's Boyfriend: both
You: u know he wldn’t care right
You: actually he'd probably spontaneously combust if he knew
Leo's Boyfriend: u want me to tell him i think he's awful at rapping??
You: no
You: nvm
You: has he told u abt his death metal phase yet?
Leo's Boyfriend: !!!
“Hey, Dani?”
She looks up from her phone, about to tell Leo off for interrupting her in the middle of an important conversation about whether or not Charlie actually likes Liza, but then she sees his face.
He looks nervous. And… maybe a little upset, though he's hiding it pretty well.
“What?” she asks, turning off the screen and dropping her phone on the armrest.
“Um… can I talk to you?”
“Of course.”
He sits down next to her on the couch and takes a moment to collect himself.
“It's…”
He pauses. Swallows.
“It's about Guang Hong.”
Dani’s ears perk up at that, but she decides not to say anything. She'd rather Leo tell her what's up on his own terms.
“I…” he takes a breath. “You guys are… pretty close, right?”
Dani raises an eyebrow.
“I mean… I guess,” she answers. “I guess we text a lot.”
“Yeah. Well, you - you like him, right?”
“... yeah?”
Leo exhales.
“Okay,” he says decidedly.
Dani is confused.
Did she miss something?
“Okay… what?” she asks.
“Just… okay. You have my blessing.”
What on earth is he talking about?
“I have your blessing? Your blessing for what?”
Leo holds up his hands.
“I know, I know, you don't care what I think,” he says quickly. “I know you don't need it. But… I just thought… I know you like each other, but he's my friend, too, so I thought I'd just… tell you, I approve. Okay?”
A cold, hard pit starts to form inside of Dani’s stomach as she begins to realize what's going on.
“Leo,” she says, carefully, “what… exactly are you giving your blessing for me to do?”
Leo frowns. He runs a hand through his hair.
“To… to date Guang Hong.”
Oh.
Oh my god.
Dani lets her eyes fall shut and her head drop back against the couch.
“Leo,” she groans.
“It's okay! It's fine, I don't mind, really!”
“Leo…”
“I know, this is awkward, but I'm your brother, so - ”
“Leo, you're so stupid.”
He stops at that.
“I…” he swallows. “What?”
“Leo,” Dani says patiently. “I don't like Guang Hong like that. Guang Hong doesn't like me like that. We're friends. Just like you.”
Leo sits back.
“Huh,” he says. “Well, nevermind, then.”
Dani looks at him, sitting there all confused, getting lost in his own thoughts.
He looks a little relieved, but he doesn't know what to think, now. Dani wonders how much he had psyched himself up, prepared himself for hearing that Dani wants to date the guy he's in love with.
Probably a lot.
He has no idea Guang Hong likes him back, and Dani is just now realizing how seriously it's affecting Leo.
They can't go on this way. Dani needs to do something, if only to keep her brother from hurting like this.
“Actually, we're not like you at all,” she says, sitting up straighter. “Guang Hong and I are friends. Guang Hong and you are… I don't even know what you are.”
“What do you mean? We're friends!”
“No, you're not, Leo,” Dani insists. “I mean, you are, but don't you see you're so much more than that? God, you guys are hopeless.”
“What do you mean, more?”
“I mean, you two are in love with each other and you don't even know it! It's driving all three of us insane, and I'm the only one who even notices! I mean you're hopeless, Leo!”
She pauses at the stunned look on Leo's face, panting slightly.
Leo stares at her.
Dani stares back.
Then Leo whispers, “You think he knows?”
Dani swallows.
“Not about you,” she whispers back.
“But he likes me back.”
“Yeah.”
Leo looks at the floor.
“Wow.”
Dani grins, in spite of it all.
“Yeah. Wow.”
He looks up at her, squinting.
“Do you think I should tell him?”
“If you don't, I'll tell him myself.”
He looks back at the floor.
“Wow,” he whispers.
He looks amazed, as if the idea of Guang Hong actually liking him back had never even entered his brain.
He smiles softly to himself.
Dani rolls her eyes.
Unknown Number: hey, this is tara from drama club last year! ashlyn gave me your number, hope that's ok lol! i was just wondering, that's your brother and his friend in that pic on instagram, right?
You: let me guess. u want my brothers number
Unknown Number: actually, i was wondering abt his friend? he's rlly cute lol
Dani is a little surprised Tara doesn't want Leo's number, but she knows the post she's talking about, and honestly, she kind of gets it.
Guang Hong has been coming over every few days to visit, since he’s training in California in the off-season. In this particular instance, he and Leo were sitting side-by-side on the couch, Leo's arm resting casually over the top of Guang Hong's shoulders, and the lighting coming in from the bay window was absolutely gorgeous. They made a perfect picture, and Dani couldn’t resist putting in on Instagram.  
Well.
She smirks as she types her response to Tara, entirely truthful this time.
You: he’s taken, sry
31 notes · View notes
empresskira · 7 years
Text
(I AM AWFUL I DIDNT EVEN NOTICED THESE I”M SORRY) (Plus I am just answering the quesitons for these, thank you all~!)
tagged by @fire-lark and @awkwardonthedancefloor
Always repost the rules
Answer the 11 questions posted for you
Create 11 new ones
Tag 11 people (if you want!! No pressure <3)
1. What is your favorite quote from One Piece (or any other anime)?
“Pirates are evil? The Marines are righteous?... Justice will prevail, you say? But of course it will! Whoever wins this war becomes justice!” - Doflamingo Donquixote 
2. Favorite fictional genre?
Fantasy or like school/slice of life stuff.
3. If you could wish for one thing, no limits, what would it be?
To be all honest? Whenever I go to buy something, money is always there for it, so I could donate or buy for people as well.
4. Oldest/middle/youngest sibling? Or an only child?
Youngest and have an older sister.
5. What is worse? Being too hot, or being too cold?
Being too hot. I can at least try to stay warm if cold.
6. Tell me a funny story!
There once was a hero named Ragnar the Red! --- Hahaha,Skyrim reference~! But funny? I guess just a few days ago I thought there was a snake in the house, but it was just a ribbon. I am near sighted, so I was having a mild heart attack while trying to figure out what it really was. XD
7. What’s the first word that comes to your mind? Type it down :D
Phoenix 
8. Do you have a favourite plot bunny/art idea you haven’t been able to work on yet?
Yes, I want to do a story where Ace and Sabo set off together instead of separate as planned. But like, Sabo helped Ace through his whole anger stuff, but still wants to duel Whitebeard. Anyways, kind of the same happens but instead in his exhaustion makes a deal that if he can’t beat Whitebeard, that he will become part of the crew. Sabo, of course, protests but at the same time doesn’t fight it too much since he knows Ace is thick headed and as he has heard is that the WB pirates weren’t bad. Plus, Sabo is looking out for his brother so he thinks maybe it will do them both some good. Sabo and Ace eventually both become the second commander as a joint position like they did when they were Captains.
9. When did you start writing/drawing/creating in general?
Drawing was like seven and then I started typing stories at 12.
10. If you could make a crew of characters to sail on the Grand Line, who would you choose?
I will just join the Whitebeard pirates, I don’t even care if I was a nurse. 
11. If you were to go on a trip, where would you like to go?
Denmark, believe it or not. Or possibly Japan.
1) What is one project that you’re most proud of?
At this moment for story wise is ‘The Maiden’s Light’ I think I did fairly well with that one. As for painting, I did a mermaid and dig it mostly since it was my first really painting project. Drawing would have to be my recent one of a worn out version of me, but in anime style XD 
2) What’s one word that does not describe you? And you never want to be associated with?
Outgoing. To be all honest, I am not at all. I am a hermit, but sadly I am associated with it a whole lot.
3)  Have you ever broken something that you couldn’t fix, no matter how hard you try? (Like an egg?)
Besides an egg, lol. One of my Buddha statues had a shelf fall on it. There is no way I can fix his head.
4) Who do you love the most in the world right now? (Family, friend, s/o, etc)
It’s always going to be family, but I have amazing people on here and the ones that review my stories are high on my list even if I don’t know them because they make my day so much better.
5) What’s your arch nemesis? (for me it’s mayo, and mean people, and chinese)
FEET. I absolutely cannot have feet touching me. I absolutely hate feet with a passion, I only find mine pretty!
6) If you could play rock paper scissors with anyone in the world, who? ( They can be ancient people, like “the last emperor of china”.)
Probably my Nana or Grandaddy so I could have one more moment with them.
7) What was your most successful lie?
I actually lied to my mom a few times, one being that I stayed at a friends house and she told her parents she was staying with me. Our parents never communicated and we went to another town to go drinking. But karma back to bite me later when I tried to lie again about something and got into n ATV accident, so yeah... you learn. lol
8) Who changed you?
To be all honest, my ex-girlfriend did. We don’t talk anymore because of me getting married and complications in her life and miscommunication between us. But a lot of the occasion, I wish I could talk to her still.
9) If you could go back to the past, but could not interact with your past self…what would you do? (no notes, no warnings, no advice)
Tell other people that they should get me to be more adventurous. Though, then again, I wouldn’t have my beautiful daughter, so I guess it would be tough to decide on if I wanted to do anything. Maybe tell someone the winning numbers to tell myself? Someone I trusted to write it down since I can’t. Lol
10) If you could be a plant, what plant would you wanna be? (I wanna be a tree, like a giant ass tree so that I could look down on all the tinier trees.)
A Mongolia tree. My grandmother used to have one and it was gorgeous~!
11) If you were stuck on a deserted island….. Yeah, that’s the question. “If you were stuck on a deserted island…”
If I was stuck on a deserted island... I would most likely be able to live. I have some pretty decent survival skills, but I would probably turn delusional with my imagination. Picturing myself on a One Piece island or something XD
4 notes · View notes
i-am-always-lost · 7 years
Text
Day 25 | Yokohama
I have been planning to go to Yokohama ever since the first week I've been in Tokyo.
Tumblr media
For some reason, that iconic (for me at least) Ferris wheel from Honey and Clover has always been in my head since 2007. I don't even think it's the one from Yokohama but that started my fascination for Ferris Wheels. I've never even been on a proper one. I think the only one I've been on is the two story high one in Sunway Pyramid. PLEASE DONT LAUGH AT ME!
Been putting it off because I know it requires a full day and I don't get many full days. Because I waste my full days on studying (this is for my parents)! Yay! Plus it's bloody far away. It takes 1.5 hours and FOUR lines to get from the nerimatakanodai station to yokohama. But believe it or not, there is a direct train. It changes automatically. Color me surprised because my station is small, obscure and very far away. It goes from the seibu Ikebukuro line -> Fukutoshin metro -> Tokyo Tokyu metro (passing by Shibuya) and one more which I forgot to get to Montomachi Chuukagai (China town stop). You never know who would google this. Hello to Kyoko's future homestay guests!
Of course, Ferris wheel obsession aside, I was attracted to Yokohama for an entirely different reason.
Pilgrimage no 2!!
For those of you watching Bungou Stray Dogs (probably only two of my friends), you will know that it's set in Yokohama. It's a beautiful seaside town - bad description- one of the oldest and major ports in Japan. It is heavy with infrastructure yet beautiful in its own way. Other people know it as the place where the ramen museum is located. I know it as a port area.
tl;dr: No regrets coming here but might have regretted going to the ramen museum earlier than expected. Covered MOST of the places from BSD.
But you wouldn't want a tl;dr when you just clicked 'Read More', don't you?
How did I travel around?
I painstakingly planned out all locations according to a Crunchyroll article screenshots of the real life comparisons with the anime ones. SHOUTOUT TO YI EN BC I couldn't access the website in Japan. Okay, it didn't take that long and it was pretty fun. I ended up walking all over Yokohama though because of bad planning on my part. Also I got distracted by the ramen museum so I ended up missing one hour  of daylight.
Tumblr media
Some fucked up route I took
For some reason, I stayed on past Yokohama and went all the way to Chinatown, which cost like 210 yen more! My brain thought that it would be the easiest starting point (which it was) so I went there. It was dead empty on a 9:30AM Wednesday morning, no doubt. Shops were opening slowly but pretty much no sign of life. So I decided to stand in the middle of the street to take a photo. TIP: Do not do this. There might be cars.
Got the shot!
Unfortunately, I couldn't see many similarities aside from the sign. I might have been at the wrong entrance as there are a number of entrances. The one in the anime has red poles and they have different store fronts surrounding it. Oh well!
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Walked in Chinatown for a bit and saw tian hou gong. Pretty Chinese of them to have it right smack in the center of China town, lol! 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
After that, I went to the park (you can observe the “logical” sequence)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The view from the deck was so amazing. You can see the Yokohama view and bridge from here. I didnt knew how to take less shitty photos though.
Tumblr media
There was a flower garden near by as well with a nice fountain.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
This is near the exit of the park where the girl wanted to surrender her crimes to the nearest police station from the anime.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Motomachi shopping street. This street looks quite fancy with all the fancy shops along the street. Even the roads look like they are right out from an anime. But you can see its very European-esque.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
After that, I walked past this doll museum so I just went in randomly. It was 400 yen and the dolls were pretty creepy looking. The museum was designed like a huge, pink dollhouse! 
Tumblr media
Entry ticket
Tumblr media
Historical japanese dolls where they displayed dolls according to their geographical regions of Japan. They had international dolls too. The Malaysian one was in some traditional Malay outfit lol.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
After that, I walked along the pier to get to the bay area where the ferris wheel and brickhouse was located.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Inside the brickhouse place was a shopping area! One of the shops that was interesting was this fake food shop. Look at the toasts!!! 
Tumblr media
I bought a piece of salmon! It found its permanent spot on my bag pack now hehe.
Tumblr media
Ferris wheel scene near one of Yokohama’s theme park. You will definitely see it near the pier.
Tumblr media
Not quite the angle but trust me, this was the best I could get.
Tumblr media
Yokohama’s Customs (Queens tower)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Okay. I walked past this building before heading to the ramen museum so the sequence is a little messed up. Honestly, I shouldnt have went to the Ramen Museum if I wanted to take good photos in the day but I still went anyway! 
The Ramen Museum near the Ferris Wheel (apparently there’s a nicer and larger one at Shin Yokohama which i HIGHLY regret not going to because of time constraint - I really should have skipped dinner that night) was pretty good, but I wouldnt waste my time if i were you and just go to the one at Shin Yokohama. At the very least, I got to customized my own Ramen cup and learnt a little about the Ramen history! Nissin is the main brand if you wondering. I never knew it was Japanese from the packaging when I used to see it at the local Asian grocer.
Tumblr media
The interior looks damn nice and atas ok,
Tumblr media
Vending machines for you to get empty cups. Customized ones are about 300 yen each!
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
This is how it looks like pre cooked.
Tumblr media
After this experience, I think I’m a Nissin convert now. (They actually have laksa flavours at Hometown (Elizabeth Street near my Melb apartment) 
Tumblr media
OKAY. SORRY FOR THE DETOUR (maybe I should do a two parter...)
The Yokohama Port Opening Memorial Hall.
Tumblr media
I know this is a horrible photo but all my other photos could barely be seen due to the direction of the sun!! I took this photo around 4pm and the sun was so setting so quickly. This was when I realized I should have planned my whole pilgrimage better. Wasted too much time at the Ramen Museum.
Tumblr media
Museum of History and Culture of Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama
Tumblr media Tumblr media
As you can see, the skies are getting darker with every photo heh. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The police station featured in the anime!
Tumblr media Tumblr media
(this is the photo with the Kevin filter - wanted to give it the orange tinge. The sun was setting when I took this photo but it didnt hit the building :( )
Tumblr media
Yokohamabashi Shopping District.
Tumblr media
I remember the moment when I finally reached this street - it was such a long day and it was getting so dark at merely 5:30 (fuck winter, seriously), and I felt so relieved that I found most of the places featured on Crunchyroll! Sadly, I didnt get to find the bridge shot and the pier, plus the big longkang featured in episode 1. But I’m happy enough.
Tumblr media
Inside the shopping street. 
Tumblr media
It’s pretty old in comparison to the Motomachi shopping street and it is mainly selling food stuff - its like a market!
Tumblr media
After that, I took the train home. I was lucky enough to only switch twice tbh! I was on the same train that automatically switched lines 4 times (i love Japan for almost 30 stops. The train ride was like 90 minutes long and I even made it back for dinner.
Yokohama is seriously one of the nicest, prettiest places in the world. I think I just personally love ports (Docklands, Yokohama, Port Klang (lol jk)) because of that fantastic ocean view in contrast with the city skyline.
Tumblr media
ugh bring me back pls
Tumblr media
If you have the chance, go to Yokohama or Kanagawa or just fucking both bc the views are definitely worth. Pictures cannot describe the feeling that you will experience. I promise that it will be worth it.
One day, I’m going back to Yokohama to complete my pilgrimage.
26 notes · View notes
gordonwilliamsweb · 4 years
Text
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
The Friday Breeze
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads everything on health care to compile our daily Morning Briefing, offers the best and most provocative stories for the weekend.
Happy Friday! Have you all settled on your preferred method of greeting people now that handshakes are verboden? Vice President Mike Pence apparently favors the forearm bump, but I particularly like the foot tap, which you should very much feel free to expand into funky dance moves at random.
Also, has anyone actually managed to stop touching your face? (She asks after 10 minutes of working with her hand on her face.) Most of the tips I’ve seen have been utterly useless (relax, you’re going to fail was actually one of them).
Anyway, brace yourself, friends. I have all the coronavirus news you could ever want. Here we go:
— President Donald Trump signed an $8.3 billion emergency spending package aimed at fighting the outbreak that made it through Congress with stunning enough speed that most people felt compelled to mention it. Look, they can actually get stuff done. In the package: Each state gets at least $4 million and HHS gets $3.1 billion to spend on medical supplies, vaccine-making and ensuring health systems are up to handling the outbreak.
— This is good news because the United States sailed past 200 confirmed cases, and it’s just expected to skyrocket from there. Some of the states where there have been patients: California, Washington, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas.
— Speaking of confirmed cases, that might actually be hard to tally because, as Pence has admitted, there are not enough testing kits to meet the surge in demand now that restrictions beyond a doctor’s green light have been lifted. But the good news is both insurers and the government said they are covering the costs of the tests for patients who end up getting them.
— So, should you get tested? No one wants to be the jerk who spreads the virus to a vulnerable population, but the already stressed health system shouldn’t have to bear the added strain of treating everyone with only a common cold or the flu. If you have symptoms you can manage at home, do so. If you’re experiencing shortness of breath, unremitting fever, weakness or lethargy, it’s time to call the doctor.
— President Donald Trump’s bombastic style and rosy promises are colliding with the somber tone set by his top health officials. Trump has repeatedly misstated the number of Americans who have tested positive for the virus and claimed it would “miraculously” disappear in the spring, given a false timeline for the development of a vaccine, publicly questioned whether vaccinations for the flu could be used to treat the virus and dismissed WHO’s death rate estimates. At a time when public faith in the government is critical to fighting panic and hysteria, experts worry the mixed messaging is doing anything but.
— Does that mean Trump is getting the administration he always wanted? He rallies the people, Pence governs them, as Gabby Orr and Anita Kumar say in Politico’s story. Whatever the case, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Pence, who is stepping into the spotlight after living most of the past years in Trump’s shadow.
— If the United States’ outbreak had an epicenter, it would likely be Washington state, where a nursing facility played host to a cluster of cases and was responsible for much of the death toll in the country (which stands at 14 at press time). Relatives of those in the nursing facility are livid that their loved ones are being kept essentially as “prisoners,” especially since the virus has proven to be particularly deadly for older patients. “It’s like we are waiting for them to be picked off, one by one,” said the son-in-law of one resident.
— In response to this Washington state cluster, CMS is intensifying its infection-control efforts for nursing homes, where safety and quality breaches have long been a problem.
— California has also been hit harder so far by the outbreak, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency so that health officials can be better prepared to handle the cases. Meanwhile, a cruise ship is being held off the coast of San Francisco after a previous passenger was the state’s first coronavirus death. Test kits were helicoptered out to the ship, but many are left worrying that it’s going to become a floating petri dish, just like the one held off the coast of Japan in the early days of the outbreak.
— Globally, stock markets went tumbling as the number of confirmed cases surged past 100,000.
The Friday Breeze
Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week chosen by KHN Newsletter Editor Brianna Labuskes? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.
Sign Up
Please confirm your email address below:
Sign Up
All right, that was the news you should know to keep yourself updated, but here are some of the more interesting stories of the week:
— It used to be a rule of thumb that there were about three pandemics per century. So far, 20 years in, we’ve had at least seven scares. What’s to blame? Urbanization, globalization and increased consumption of animal proteins.
— For a president who has built his brand on “America First,” a global epidemic poses a unique challenge. Responding to the crisis is entangling him with institutions he doesn’t like (such as WHO), undercutting his strong-border rhetoric as travel restrictions fail and forcing him into a financial reckoning as global markets plunge.
— In research that surprises no one, there’s a gender gap when it comes to bathroom hygiene habits. Want to guess which way it skews?
— You’ve read the stories about how, at least right now, the flu is far deadlier to Americans than is the coronavirus. So, why the hysteria? The fact that the coronavirus is new, foreign and we don’t have a vaccine or treatment for it means it’s hitting all our fear-based psychological hot buttons.
— So, how many people are actually infected? Some researchers think that only one-third of cases coming out of China have been observed.
— Is there an end in sight? Maybe, but researchers don’t really know what it’s going to look like. Past pandemics give us clues, though. In general, it seems experts think it might burn out by summer but enter into the rotation of seasonal flus, which return every year.
— “I assumed it was all being paid for.”
— And no matter how ready you are, it’s almost impossible to account for all the ways human error can throw a wrench in your response efforts.
Holy moly. If you’re interested in falling further down the rabbit hole, check out the Morning Briefings for (and I say this with zero exaggeration) literally hundreds of more stories. For now, let’s trudge onward to other news in the health sphere.
Highly anticipated oral arguments in a case involving abortion providers’ hospital admitting privileges finally played out. Eyes were mostly on swing-vote Chief Justice John Roberts, who asked pointed questions about whether the court was bound by a 2016 Supreme Court decision on a similar Texas law. In that case, the majority opinion found no evidence that Texas’ admitting-privileges requirement “would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment.” Roberts seemed to be questioning why that would change on a state-to-state basis.
Meanwhile, both Democrats and Republicans have seized on the idea of “sanctuary cities” as a way of walling themselves off from policies they find distasteful. For the left, it’s been used as a way to avoid cracking down on cities’ immigration population. For the right, it’s about abortion.
The Supreme Court delighted Democrats this week when it decided to take up a case on the health law. The decision won’t likely come until after 2020, but the oral arguments could be held in October, right before the election. That means health care — a topic in which Dems have the edge — will be top of mind in the contentious weeks right before voters go to the polls.
A federal judge dealt the latest blow to Medicaid work requirements when he blocked Michigan’s “community engagement” waiver. The judge cited a decision on similar rules in Arkansas. The opinion found that the waiver approval was not consistent with the primary objective of the Medicaid statute: furnishing medical coverage.
A new study found that for decades the VA unlawfully turned away thousands of veterans who have other-than-honorable discharges. The discharges — colloquially known as “bad papers” — make it less likely that veterans will qualify for services. But the agency is required by law to accept applications. That’s not what was happening, though.
That’s it from me! Remember, keep calm, wash your hands and don’t buy face masks. (Health professionals actually need them!) Have a good weekend.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/
0 notes
stephenmccull · 4 years
Text
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
The Friday Breeze
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads everything on health care to compile our daily Morning Briefing, offers the best and most provocative stories for the weekend.
Happy Friday! Have you all settled on your preferred method of greeting people now that handshakes are verboden? Vice President Mike Pence apparently favors the forearm bump, but I particularly like the foot tap, which you should very much feel free to expand into funky dance moves at random.
Also, has anyone actually managed to stop touching your face? (She asks after 10 minutes of working with her hand on her face.) Most of the tips I’ve seen have been utterly useless (relax, you’re going to fail was actually one of them).
Anyway, brace yourself, friends. I have all the coronavirus news you could ever want. Here we go:
— President Donald Trump signed an $8.3 billion emergency spending package aimed at fighting the outbreak that made it through Congress with stunning enough speed that most people felt compelled to mention it. Look, they can actually get stuff done. In the package: Each state gets at least $4 million and HHS gets $3.1 billion to spend on medical supplies, vaccine-making and ensuring health systems are up to handling the outbreak.
— This is good news because the United States sailed past 200 confirmed cases, and it’s just expected to skyrocket from there. Some of the states where there have been patients: California, Washington, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas.
— Speaking of confirmed cases, that might actually be hard to tally because, as Pence has admitted, there are not enough testing kits to meet the surge in demand now that restrictions beyond a doctor’s green light have been lifted. But the good news is both insurers and the government said they are covering the costs of the tests for patients who end up getting them.
— So, should you get tested? No one wants to be the jerk who spreads the virus to a vulnerable population, but the already stressed health system shouldn’t have to bear the added strain of treating everyone with only a common cold or the flu. If you have symptoms you can manage at home, do so. If you’re experiencing shortness of breath, unremitting fever, weakness or lethargy, it’s time to call the doctor.
— President Donald Trump’s bombastic style and rosy promises are colliding with the somber tone set by his top health officials. Trump has repeatedly misstated the number of Americans who have tested positive for the virus and claimed it would “miraculously” disappear in the spring, given a false timeline for the development of a vaccine, publicly questioned whether vaccinations for the flu could be used to treat the virus and dismissed WHO’s death rate estimates. At a time when public faith in the government is critical to fighting panic and hysteria, experts worry the mixed messaging is doing anything but.
— Does that mean Trump is getting the administration he always wanted? He rallies the people, Pence governs them, as Gabby Orr and Anita Kumar say in Politico’s story. Whatever the case, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Pence, who is stepping into the spotlight after living most of the past years in Trump’s shadow.
— If the United States’ outbreak had an epicenter, it would likely be Washington state, where a nursing facility played host to a cluster of cases and was responsible for much of the death toll in the country (which stands at 14 at press time). Relatives of those in the nursing facility are livid that their loved ones are being kept essentially as “prisoners,” especially since the virus has proven to be particularly deadly for older patients. “It’s like we are waiting for them to be picked off, one by one,” said the son-in-law of one resident.
— In response to this Washington state cluster, CMS is intensifying its infection-control efforts for nursing homes, where safety and quality breaches have long been a problem.
— California has also been hit harder so far by the outbreak, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency so that health officials can be better prepared to handle the cases. Meanwhile, a cruise ship is being held off the coast of San Francisco after a previous passenger was the state’s first coronavirus death. Test kits were helicoptered out to the ship, but many are left worrying that it’s going to become a floating petri dish, just like the one held off the coast of Japan in the early days of the outbreak.
— Globally, stock markets went tumbling as the number of confirmed cases surged past 100,000.
The Friday Breeze
Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week chosen by KHN Newsletter Editor Brianna Labuskes? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.
Sign Up
Please confirm your email address below:
Sign Up
All right, that was the news you should know to keep yourself updated, but here are some of the more interesting stories of the week:
— It used to be a rule of thumb that there were about three pandemics per century. So far, 20 years in, we’ve had at least seven scares. What’s to blame? Urbanization, globalization and increased consumption of animal proteins.
— For a president who has built his brand on “America First,” a global epidemic poses a unique challenge. Responding to the crisis is entangling him with institutions he doesn’t like (such as WHO), undercutting his strong-border rhetoric as travel restrictions fail and forcing him into a financial reckoning as global markets plunge.
— In research that surprises no one, there’s a gender gap when it comes to bathroom hygiene habits. Want to guess which way it skews?
— You’ve read the stories about how, at least right now, the flu is far deadlier to Americans than is the coronavirus. So, why the hysteria? The fact that the coronavirus is new, foreign and we don’t have a vaccine or treatment for it means it’s hitting all our fear-based psychological hot buttons.
— So, how many people are actually infected? Some researchers think that only one-third of cases coming out of China have been observed.
— Is there an end in sight? Maybe, but researchers don’t really know what it’s going to look like. Past pandemics give us clues, though. In general, it seems experts think it might burn out by summer but enter into the rotation of seasonal flus, which return every year.
— “I assumed it was all being paid for.”
— And no matter how ready you are, it’s almost impossible to account for all the ways human error can throw a wrench in your response efforts.
Holy moly. If you’re interested in falling further down the rabbit hole, check out the Morning Briefings for (and I say this with zero exaggeration) literally hundreds of more stories. For now, let’s trudge onward to other news in the health sphere.
Highly anticipated oral arguments in a case involving abortion providers’ hospital admitting privileges finally played out. Eyes were mostly on swing-vote Chief Justice John Roberts, who asked pointed questions about whether the court was bound by a 2016 Supreme Court decision on a similar Texas law. In that case, the majority opinion found no evidence that Texas’ admitting-privileges requirement “would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment.” Roberts seemed to be questioning why that would change on a state-to-state basis.
Meanwhile, both Democrats and Republicans have seized on the idea of “sanctuary cities” as a way of walling themselves off from policies they find distasteful. For the left, it’s been used as a way to avoid cracking down on cities’ immigration population. For the right, it’s about abortion.
The Supreme Court delighted Democrats this week when it decided to take up a case on the health law. The decision won’t likely come until after 2020, but the oral arguments could be held in October, right before the election. That means health care — a topic in which Dems have the edge — will be top of mind in the contentious weeks right before voters go to the polls.
A federal judge dealt the latest blow to Medicaid work requirements when he blocked Michigan’s “community engagement” waiver. The judge cited a decision on similar rules in Arkansas. The opinion found that the waiver approval was not consistent with the primary objective of the Medicaid statute: furnishing medical coverage.
A new study found that for decades the VA unlawfully turned away thousands of veterans who have other-than-honorable discharges. The discharges — colloquially known as “bad papers” — make it less likely that veterans will qualify for services. But the agency is required by law to accept applications. That’s not what was happening, though.
That’s it from me! Remember, keep calm, wash your hands and don’t buy face masks. (Health professionals actually need them!) Have a good weekend.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/
0 notes
dinafbrownil · 4 years
Text
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
The Friday Breeze
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads everything on health care to compile our daily Morning Briefing, offers the best and most provocative stories for the weekend.
Happy Friday! Have you all settled on your preferred method of greeting people now that handshakes are verboden? Vice President Mike Pence apparently favors the forearm bump, but I particularly like the foot tap, which you should very much feel free to expand into funky dance moves at random.
Also, has anyone actually managed to stop touching your face? (She asks after 10 minutes of working with her hand on her face.) Most of the tips I’ve seen have been utterly useless (relax, you’re going to fail was actually one of them).
Anyway, brace yourself, friends. I have all the coronavirus news you could ever want. Here we go:
— President Donald Trump signed an $8.3 billion emergency spending package aimed at fighting the outbreak that made it through Congress with stunning enough speed that most people felt compelled to mention it. Look, they can actually get stuff done. In the package: Each state gets at least $4 million and HHS gets $3.1 billion to spend on medical supplies, vaccine-making and ensuring health systems are up to handling the outbreak.
— This is good news because the United States sailed past 200 confirmed cases, and it’s just expected to skyrocket from there. Some of the states where there have been patients: California, Washington, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas.
— Speaking of confirmed cases, that might actually be hard to tally because, as Pence has admitted, there are not enough testing kits to meet the surge in demand now that restrictions beyond a doctor’s green light have been lifted. But the good news is both insurers and the government said they are covering the costs of the tests for patients who end up getting them.
— So, should you get tested? No one wants to be the jerk who spreads the virus to a vulnerable population, but the already stressed health system shouldn’t have to bear the added strain of treating everyone with only a common cold or the flu. If you have symptoms you can manage at home, do so. If you’re experiencing shortness of breath, unremitting fever, weakness or lethargy, it’s time to call the doctor.
— President Donald Trump’s bombastic style and rosy promises are colliding with the somber tone set by his top health officials. Trump has repeatedly misstated the number of Americans who have tested positive for the virus and claimed it would “miraculously” disappear in the spring, given a false timeline for the development of a vaccine, publicly questioned whether vaccinations for the flu could be used to treat the virus and dismissed WHO’s death rate estimates. At a time when public faith in the government is critical to fighting panic and hysteria, experts worry the mixed messaging is doing anything but.
— Does that mean Trump is getting the administration he always wanted? He rallies the people, Pence governs them, as Gabby Orr and Anita Kumar say in Politico’s story. Whatever the case, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Pence, who is stepping into the spotlight after living most of the past years in Trump’s shadow.
— If the United States’ outbreak had an epicenter, it would likely be Washington state, where a nursing facility played host to a cluster of cases and was responsible for much of the death toll in the country (which stands at 14 at press time). Relatives of those in the nursing facility are livid that their loved ones are being kept essentially as “prisoners,” especially since the virus has proven to be particularly deadly for older patients. “It’s like we are waiting for them to be picked off, one by one,” said the son-in-law of one resident.
— In response to this Washington state cluster, CMS is intensifying its infection-control efforts for nursing homes, where safety and quality breaches have long been a problem.
— California has also been hit harder so far by the outbreak, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency so that health officials can be better prepared to handle the cases. Meanwhile, a cruise ship is being held off the coast of San Francisco after a previous passenger was the state’s first coronavirus death. Test kits were helicoptered out to the ship, but many are left worrying that it’s going to become a floating petri dish, just like the one held off the coast of Japan in the early days of the outbreak.
— Globally, stock markets went tumbling as the number of confirmed cases surged past 100,000.
The Friday Breeze
Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week chosen by KHN Newsletter Editor Brianna Labuskes? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.
Sign Up
Please confirm your email address below:
Sign Up
All right, that was the news you should know to keep yourself updated, but here are some of the more interesting stories of the week:
— It used to be a rule of thumb that there were about three pandemics per century. So far, 20 years in, we’ve had at least seven scares. What’s to blame? Urbanization, globalization and increased consumption of animal proteins.
— For a president who has built his brand on “America First,” a global epidemic poses a unique challenge. Responding to the crisis is entangling him with institutions he doesn’t like (such as WHO), undercutting his strong-border rhetoric as travel restrictions fail and forcing him into a financial reckoning as global markets plunge.
— In research that surprises no one, there’s a gender gap when it comes to bathroom hygiene habits. Want to guess which way it skews?
— You’ve read the stories about how, at least right now, the flu is far deadlier to Americans than is the coronavirus. So, why the hysteria? The fact that the coronavirus is new, foreign and we don’t have a vaccine or treatment for it means it’s hitting all our fear-based psychological hot buttons.
— So, how many people are actually infected? Some researchers think that only one-third of cases coming out of China have been observed.
— Is there an end in sight? Maybe, but researchers don’t really know what it’s going to look like. Past pandemics give us clues, though. In general, it seems experts think it might burn out by summer but enter into the rotation of seasonal flus, which return every year.
— “I assumed it was all being paid for.”
— And no matter how ready you are, it’s almost impossible to account for all the ways human error can throw a wrench in your response efforts.
Holy moly. If you’re interested in falling further down the rabbit hole, check out the Morning Briefings for (and I say this with zero exaggeration) literally hundreds of more stories. For now, let’s trudge onward to other news in the health sphere.
Highly anticipated oral arguments in a case involving abortion providers’ hospital admitting privileges finally played out. Eyes were mostly on swing-vote Chief Justice John Roberts, who asked pointed questions about whether the court was bound by a 2016 Supreme Court decision on a similar Texas law. In that case, the majority opinion found no evidence that Texas’ admitting-privileges requirement “would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment.” Roberts seemed to be questioning why that would change on a state-to-state basis.
Meanwhile, both Democrats and Republicans have seized on the idea of “sanctuary cities” as a way of walling themselves off from policies they find distasteful. For the left, it’s been used as a way to avoid cracking down on cities’ immigration population. For the right, it’s about abortion.
The Supreme Court delighted Democrats this week when it decided to take up a case on the health law. The decision won’t likely come until after 2020, but the oral arguments could be held in October, right before the election. That means health care — a topic in which Dems have the edge — will be top of mind in the contentious weeks right before voters go to the polls.
A federal judge dealt the latest blow to Medicaid work requirements when he blocked Michigan’s “community engagement” waiver. The judge cited a decision on similar rules in Arkansas. The opinion found that the waiver approval was not consistent with the primary objective of the Medicaid statute: furnishing medical coverage.
A new study found that for decades the VA unlawfully turned away thousands of veterans who have other-than-honorable discharges. The discharges — colloquially known as “bad papers” — make it less likely that veterans will qualify for services. But the agency is required by law to accept applications. That’s not what was happening, though.
That’s it from me! Remember, keep calm, wash your hands and don’t buy face masks. (Health professionals actually need them!) Have a good weekend.
from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/friday-breeze-health-care-policy-must-reads-of-the-week-from-brianna-labuskes-march-6-2020/
0 notes
scamdating · 4 years
Text
OkQupid trading
Pre words, there will be some missing gaps since I am pretty bad at telling stories, I forget stuff in general and just plain bad at retelling a story. Plus I might leave out some details since it doesn’t really matter. Ok, so some time ago I matched with a woman on OkQupid. I don’t remember her profile now, since it was a month or so ago. But anyway, after a couple of messages in the app she asked if I instead wanted to chat on WhatsApp. Being a bit paranoid I decided not to say I have it (I have it, and use it here and there), so we continued to chat a little in the app. From what I remember now she was a bit pushy for me to get WhatsApp, a bit of a warning flag for me. I decided to pick up a prepaid sim, just to be careful. I knew I had my old phone at home still, I usually always save at least the previous phone for backup. I sent her my new number, we started to chat on WhatsApp instead. She removed her match (or the profile, I haven’t figured out how OkQupid does this yet since I haven’t seen her again while swiping, and she’s not in the “archived chats” folder) not long after. Another warning flag, though not as serious - but I understand why they do it now - to prevent you from figuring out it is a scam so you can report the profile and have it removed. After a couple of days chatting back and forth, sending me random selfies here and there (which I of course reverse image searched, no hits...), she asks if I can help her with something. “Oh well, here it comes!” I think to myself. She wants me to help her friend... Basically she invites me to her friends metatrading company, for a demo account. Because it’s a “trading event” I have the opportunity to win something. After some back and forth about this I finally have a demo account. They give me $100,000 in virtual currency to use to trade bitcoin, or at least fractions of it. I didn’t put a whole lot of effort into this. If I remember correctly, about a week pass and I have earned a couple of thousand in fake money they tell me that I have won $500. BUT before I can get the money, I need to create a real account. For which they need personal details, and a picture of my photo ID. I do not agree to this, because I do not want to share my personal details. And of course there are no other ways for them to give me my price money. I have to trade 10 hands before I can transfer anything from my trading account to a bank account, they say. Sooooooooo... I provide them with some randomly made up details, and I take a picture of a broken ass ID card I find using google images. I use Photoshop to change name, date of birth, picture and signature and send it off to the contact at the trading company. It’s all approved and I am provided with my account... While all of this is happening I am chatting with my match. She’s quite flirty and stuff. She says she wants to meet me but she’s taking care of a family member  and is very busy... The only thing she has said to me, that she is busy with is studying the trading graph in the app (MetaTrader 4, used for Forex trading it seems). She also sends me random (very low resolution screenshots, probably stolen from google. It’s hard to reverse search these since they are basically plain text...) screenshots of her winnings. Showing positive gain the further in the “relationship” we go.
There is a lot of back and forth about love, and that I need to accept her kindness for her to stay happy with me. Her kindness is basically just tips about when to buy and when to sell in the app, to make profit. I play along with her flirty attitude and tell her I want to spoil her with lingerie and other fine things. Which only seem to fuel her more into making me trade, and add more money in to the account. Well, one day I wake up and all my money in the account (the trading account, not my actual one) is gone, and I freak out. I write to her and the contact person and we all have a bit of a panic. I thought initially that they had emptied it, and was going to try to scam me into refilling it (more on this later). Well, it turns out it was my fault. I forgot to close a sale, or whatever, in the app. I am going to be honest, the app is not very user friendly and there is nothing to guide you in on how to use it. I have asked her to show me how to use it but all she says it when to buy or when to sell as per the trend. So not very useful help. I have always been a bit skeptical if she’s even in Sweden as she claims. I have asked her where she’s staying and she just tells me it is at some relatives home. I asked where it is, and she gave me a random place in the city I live in. I think she translated it from Chinese (I believe that is where she is from at least, though her WhatsApp number is from Philippines, also a warning flag...) since it was very misspelled and I had to do some weird googling to figure out what she meant. Anyway, I have been watching videos and streams about scams on YouTube and Twitch for a while now so I have found some tools that are useful. A guy on YouTube called Pleasant Green uses a tool to figure out the location of the person. It basically creates a redirect link that snags some details about the computer before directing it to the actual website you are trying to send the person to. In this case I was linking some lingerie that I was asking about if she would like. And I found out she was in Singapore, using an older laptop with AMD R5 graphics, 1366x768 pixel resolution and Windows 7, and an outdated version of Chrome. Connected via Alibaba as ISP, didn’t even know they also are an ISP...? Not a very fancy machine for someone that claims to have been profitable in trading! So this is pretty much where I am at right now. I have no money left in my trading account and my match keeps telling me I have to refill my account to prove my love to her. I just today told her that money and love have no connection with each other, and that I do not care about how much money I have. There has to be another way to prove my love... Of course she agrees, probably to just prolong the cam even more. Oh yeah, and she told me she went home this weekend, since I hurt her because I didn’t want to “accept her kindness”, to prove my love for her... So I once again used said tool, and now she’s in China. Using the same computer, or at least one with same specs. Though this time there are more than one entry, that seems to be via a VPN (since it is listed as a web hosting company) via Japan as well. So I am wondering if the fake site is blocked on VPN, and she turned it off to access it? Regardless if she’s trying to scam me or not, I am quite impressed with her persistence. It’s been like a month or more now, and she has not blocked me yet. The other ones, that have been obvious scammers, have been quite quick about it. Usually using pictures that show up in reverse image searches or just blatant celebrities.
0 notes
ihallyu · 6 years
Text
Super Junior, My First Love in All of KPOP
Not Asking to Like them, But… Recognize and Respect them
It was year 2005 when I came across from the ARIRANG channel the group called Super Junior, and from what I can remember, the only person who struck me the most was the orange-colored long haired guy with a giant fan on his hand as his prop on performing. From then on, I had never imagine that years will pass and I will come to know and love them.
Tumblr media
Last quarter of 2010 it is, I was still studying my degree in college when one of my housemates invited us to watch some clips on her laptop. Those clips were Super Junior Music Videos, while we were watching she keeps on telling stories about them. She already knew enought about them by the time she had let us watch the videos. I was just into Korean Dramas that time, not really into korean idol groups. I only listen to their music because of the OST’s. I already knew the group when she showed them to us because they did become viral because of their song “Sorry, Sorry”, but I was late in realizing that it was the same group I came across year 2005, and the orange-colored long haired guy with a giant fan was Kim Heechul. Around that time, I just finished watching the drama “Oh! My Lady” starring Choi Siwon. He was playing the role of a top star who is so bad at acting, then she met an older lady to whom he will fall in love with. He sings and also dances in the drama. After watching my housemate’s videos, there I realized Siwon is one of the members of Super Junior. From that point, my life unfolded from every aspect - introduce me to the world of KPOP and absolutely everything about Korea.
How did I start loving Super Junior and be an ELF? It is definitely a different story, it’s not an instant thing, especially it was my first encounter with a korean group. I do have a separate story for this. (Coming Soon!)
Tumblr media
Super Junior (SJ, SUJU) is one of the second generation idols of KPOP, and now year 2017, we all knew that the of 4th generation groups is starting to build in numbers. Currently, the 3rd generation groups are the ones dominating the wold of KPOP. But what I wanted to convey to a various range of kpop fans is not really to persuade them to like Super Junior, but at least recognize what they have accomplished and contributed to the KPOP industry and respect them because they really do deserve it. As a KDrama fan since 2004, and a KPOP fan since 2010, it might not be too long for those who started earlier than me, but it is longer than most of the fans now. KPOP has really grown now to be known all over the world, when I started I only knew one or two people who are into it also. And to go beyond just KPOP, almost everything Korean - drama, music, entertainment, food, culture, etc, many are just loving them now.
Tumblr media
What I have here are some of Super Junior’s accomplishments and contribution to Korean industry in general, the reasons why I wanted them to be at least recognized and respected. These are just “some” because it is literally impossible for me to list all of them. I was a fan when they were already in their 5th year from debut, and even if I already dug into their history and it felt like I’ve been with them since debut, I might still miss some events which did happen when I was not yet a fan. They debuted 2005, thus five years is a lot to take in. I may only have the highlights from that 5-year period.
Super Junior was named as SuperJunior’05 when debuted since they were a project group. The original intention of SM Entertainment was to make changes every year for the group, mostly with regards with group composition. Only from this, you would know how hard they’ve fought and how far they’ve come. Survival shows are so in these days, and Super Junior has to go through those before and after debut. Most of the members were trained together (with 5 TVXQ members too),  despite being a team they had intense competition within since they individually have to fight for their position in the team.
Tumblr media
Super Junior was a project group and the FIRST group with that large number of members. They debuted as a 12-member group, and in 2006, they became a 13-member group with the addition of Cho Kyuhyun. Since they are the first group who had this setup and succeeds, they paved the way for the following groups who had several members than usual to follow through and also be successful.
Variety idols. If sense of humor and wit can be trained, Super Junior members will surely be mentors for it. They had their own show called “Explorers of the Human Body” way back 2007-2008. They started the trend that idols must or idol group shall somehow have member/s whose good in varieties. Each member of Super Junior has their own charm when it comes to variety. You can actually find all those kinds of variety sense in all of the members. This is why, until today, members never ran out of shows to host or be a fixed member of. They are always acknowledged by those who worked with them. The group wherein you would expect that the word “boring” is not in their dictionary once you spot them on shows or even on music shows.
The FIRST KPOP group who had a foreign member (please correct me if I’m wrong about this, but at the very least they made it popular) , Hangeng or Hankyung is the very first Chinese to debut in Korea. Not everybody is aware, but when they debuted Hangeng had to put on a mask for months while performing, he looked like a backup dancer and his lines were lipsynced by other members. He’s not invited on shows where the group was guested on. He had a problem with his Visa (not his fault anyways, SM had to be aware of the laws). There was also a law that foreigners can only perform on three TV channels. It was hard already for him because of the language but also it was unfair for him when it comes to exposure. If not for the extraordinary Heechul who blatantly removed his mask on one of their performances, the Korean entertainment might not be open about a foreign act appearing on TV screens. Hangeng may ended the relationship with SME and continued on his career in his home country, and is hugely successful by the way, his friendship with Super Junior members stayed the same. They can still talked about each other in media (magazine interviews, talk shows) and never talked bad. He ended it neatly too with SME going though the right and long process. Now, that definitely tells me, several idols took and follow his steps, right? The “neat” process is quite different though.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
If its ALL AROUND ENTERTAINMENT, it’s SUPER JUNIOR who started it. In addition to being singers, dancers and rappers, they ventured from variety shows - hosting or just being a member, to radio DJ-ing, to musicals and dramas, name them all. They’ve got members who are all over the places and being excellent. They even released a movie with all the members as the cast. They were exposed to almost all the field of entertainment at first because of the original intention of a project group. Each member who debuted first in SuperJunior’05 had to fight for them not to be kicked out. Each wanted to take place of importance for the next team. But these exposures made them be excellent on their respective chosen fields. They are making each other an all-rounded entertainer as they also learn from each other. Until now, they still keep on learning. Now they have choreographers, stage directors, lyricists and composers within the group.
UNIT GROUPS and SOLOs. They’re the first group who branched out to UNIT groups. SUPERJUNIOR-T which focuses on Trot music, then SUPERJUNIOR-M, the chinese unit group who made immensely huge in China, they had two additional Chinese members for this group. They were all over China and even staying there for months during their promo period. Another one would be SUPERJUNIOR-H(appy) whose songs are all about feeling good and happy. What we cannot miss is SUPERJUNIOR’s K.R.Y consisting of the three main vocals of the group - Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, Yesung. The whole group vocals is definitely one of the best especially when they sing in chorus, even professionals would agree with me. But these three are super special, they ultimately have different vocal colors but together, it’s magic! If you wanted to know what I mean, you better hear them sing ‘Sorry Sorry, Answer’ for starters. Lastly, this was only a ship which can be considered as one of the most popular ships, and who also almost started the ship of all ships, it’s Eunhae’s unit called D&E, Donghae and Eunhyuk. Ultimately they do their own music, and mostly active in Japan. For SOLOs, they may not be the first one to start of with this trend if I’m not mistaken, but they definitely made it a trend starting of with Kyuhyun’s solo, his debut song was “Gwanghwamun”, and it was a huge hit. He basically started it for SME artists. Then all followed along. Ryeowook and Yesung also debuted as solo’s.
Scandals, Issues, Controversies, name it all, Super Junior have gone through it all. Up until today, 2017, they still do. From the moment they debut, criticisms left and right can be heard and read. They were the first group who had that large number of members, thus a lot is skeptical if they can make it work. They had to prove their worth for years, not only to the Korean public but also to their agency. They had to work nonstop to be known. On several occasions, happening to different members, there would be one who’ll spit blood during or after the performance. Some will collapse right after performances. Some had severe stomach pains during recording. They really had no filters when it comes to performing, they practically do anything that is appropriate for the sake of entertainment.
Tumblr media
A major car accident happened year 2006 when Heechul got badly hurt to the extent of staying in the hospital for months. He was on his way home after attending Donghae’s father’s funeral. Due to this accident he had metal rods on his leg for years to recover. As expected messages of support from the fans were given, but also many were very brave and bold saying ‘He should die’, ‘He should’ve died’. He’s a member of the group but he once left from their group’s fancafe. Some of the member’s fans also cussed at him and that he should leave the group. He came back performing on stage barely dancing but only standing on an award show singing a SuperJunior-T song. He popped out on a elevating stage and everybody was surprised but at the same he’s being applaused. He even recorded his shows then on wheelchair with cast on.
Tumblr media
Until now that he is still receiving treatments and shall continue the rehabilitation for his leg, comments regarding how he is not performing enough or he is getting it easy still do exist. He is concern for the team not to degrade the group performance as they’re known for complicated dances.
Year 2007, Leeteuk, Shindong, Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun are on their way back home after their radio show. This was a major news in S.Korea that time, several news channels covered it, there are articles here and there.
Tumblr media
Eunhyuk and Shindong had minor injuries, Leeteuk had a more complicated condition than the two where he needed several stitches. In Kyuhyun’s case, if you want to know more how critical it was, you may watch some videos of it or search some articles, but after he made it alive it was his second life. He had to undergone several operations including one with regards to his lungs but can hugely affect his singing career. The doctor even said that time that even with a surgery his chance of living is only 20%, he had little hope to almost none. He had broken bones almost everywhere. From that moment on, as the leader Leeteuk has said, that’s when Super Junior as a team really started to get stronger.
Tumblr media
They were not a project group anymore, they are an official team who do not need to compete with each other but fight on together. That’s when they knew how each member is needed for the whole team to be great and successful.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Members leaving. Hangeng as mentioned above. Then Kibum whose contract with SME has ended last 2015 and officially parted from the group. Nonetheless, Super Junior is Super Junior, they have always considered these two members still part of the group.
Dating scandals? They had their fair share of this. They never said anything out as the other party of dating scandals. But for most, they always got the worst comments even if it’s not their fault at all.
Marriage? Yes, a FIRST again for an active idol group member.
Tumblr media
I don’t need to go step by step on this. Fans leaving on this member’s fancafe, his fansites decreasing, practically this made it so big of an issue inside the fandom, which for me it hurts even more. He even opted to drop out from the comeback after 2-year group hiatus and after his discharge.
Controversies involving their parents. Spoken words which are not so acceptable to the public. Opinions which are rarely expressed openly. Act of violence, death, DUI. They’ve all gone through this and still is going through.
Tumblr media
Despite all of these, they’re standing strong, 12 years and counting. As the leader also said, it’s really 12 years full of events but they always came over.
Military. Super Junior is the first group with members one by one entering military while the group is still actively promoting. Starting with Kangin enlisting last 2010, down now to the last member who enlisted this year 2017. By 2019, all of the members are discharge and have completed their duties.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Thinking about this, I always got goosebumps. Each time there is a member enlisting they always do their goodbyes on a Super Show. They will start crying and giving out messages to the member/s and to ELFs to not change our hearts. It is always heartbreaking sending off a member, shaving their hair and seeing them on their uniforms is sad but it’s making you proud. Patiently waiting for each member is hard, but once it’s over the overwhelming feeling is indescribable.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
By 2019, when Kyuhyun will finally finish his military duty, I honestly do not know what to feel by then. Almost ten years of waiting with members going in and out of the military, I am running out of words, ELFs all around the world, we are best you know.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
We maybe the fandom who waited the longest until all of the members of the group we stan stand on stage again, fulfilling their duties for their country and completely be man and mature in all aspect. For that time - I cannot wait. We just have to be patient for two more years now.
Super Show series. They started this year 2008, and as of today they are about to start Super Show 7 this coming December 2017. I do feel proud in all aspect. I managed to watch Super Show 5 only here in Manila.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Super Show 3 Manila, I was still a student then, I barely managed to get money for a concert. I fell in love with them ten times more when I started watching their concerts, from their awesome and cool stages, to their fun and comical stages, down to their performances full of fan service.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
And not to be absent is their always unique and entertaining MENT (introduction or talk during the concert). Their MENTs sometimes takes too long but we fans do love it. Yes, they are noisy but we fans love them more because of it.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
International cross-over. Year 2009 when their hit song ‘Sorry Sorry’ bothered the whole world and started the international phenomena of the so-called ‘KPOP’ to a ‘Hallyu Wave’ or ‘K-Wave’. They are called ‘KPOP Legends’, ‘Kings of KPOP’, or ‘Hallyu Kings’ for nothing.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
They opened the doors, everyone. If I may describe it in a more practical way, if you are in a queue for a show inside a stadium, the first ones to enter will pave the way for the ones who are those on the latter part of the line to enter. The first ones would be Super Junior who pave the way for KPOP to cross continents for it to be known worldwide. In comparison, in the field of science and research, the first one who made the discovery or an invention will of course be credited for being the first, and those who will follow will always make reference on them and credit them. And in KPOP, Super Junior is one to be credited for if not the only. 
ELF. Everlasting Friends. Super Junior’s fandom name. The very first Korean artist fandom I have ever belonged.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Fan Projects. May it be long term or short term, ELFs all over the world have it. Short term projects are mostly for comebacks and during concerts. But long term projects are the ones which we can always be proud of. One long term project now is the “SJ School” in Africa which started year 2015, when SJ celebrated their 10th year anniversary. Almost every year, fans from different parts of the globe see to it to get one school built. To add, many of the Super Junior members have their own stars name after them which are bought ELF. There are also forests in and outside of S.Korea which was built to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other activities.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
ELF purchased shares from SME to gain a legal representation as part of SME’s shareholders. This was after some fans silently waited in front of the SME building to express on how they are against of adding more members to Super Junior. This happened year 2008 where fans wanted to keep Super Junior as a thirteen member group only.
Super Junior Love ELF. Super Junior Forever. This is not an end but an and. There is always a beginning, but there is no end. When almost no body believed us, ELF did. To. ELF, Thank you. Sorry. I Love You. From. SJ.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
These are some uttered and written words by Super Junior. The love from ELF they knew by heart, and the love from Super Junior, ELF knew by heart. What more can you ask for as an ELF? These guys… I already ran out of words.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
This list is really long and this is not even all of it. I did not even include here the many firsts (awards and records) they have received as an international Korean group in different parts of the world. They are the pivotal point why KPOP has now a culture of its own.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Super Junior are relevant making it to talk at Oxford University in London, attending to business summit meeting all those businessmen from different parts of the world and be ambassadors to represent Hallyu and S.Korea.
Like I said, this is not to convince anyone who will read this to like and start stanning Super Junior, this is to recognize them for what they have hugely contributed to Korean Entertainment in general and how they paved ways to almost what we know in KPOP, in good and in bad aspects of it. And how they lead the way for other groups.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
I know like in any other fields, time always comes and goes. There is always a time to shine brightly and a time of trial wherein you need to climb back again. No one in the world who is forever on top. But, ultimately what we can attain for is that longevity. Super Junior in 12 years had already experience the highest of the highs and lowest of lows. What newer generation groups are now experiencing had been a long gone for Super Junior. They may not be on their prime anymore in terms of popularity and fame but they will stay as long as they said “They will perform until their backs are bended.” And we ELFs, will also stay as long as they are.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
(credits to all the owner of the pictures posted on this)
1 note · View note