#but Also he chose it because Gates told him about it and utilizing the stories Gates told him… ‘bringing them to life’ you could say…

[i-need-entertainment]

Just Right

Character: Chronostasis x short reader

*In this story the reader is about 5′0, Chrono is in the 5′9-6′0 range*

*DISCLAIMER, I will do my absolute best to portray a short reader but I can only be so accurate...since I myself am 5′9..BUT I love the idea and will do my best! Thank you to @goblinchild99​ for requesting! I hope you enjoy it!!<3

TW- Mean words from dad, reader self doubts, mentions of insecurities

“Wait…what..?” Your heart shattered as you sat in front of your stone-faced parents. Your family was head of one of the many Yakuza of Japan, and your father was a cold and ruthless man not like your mother was much better. “You will be given to the Shie Hassaikai. What they do with you is none of my concern, but for our sake and for your own, behave. I know you are not wanted because of your…stature…but do not be a bother. I don’t want you being sent back h ere, I cannot imagine the shame you would bring to our name if you upset the new young leader.” 

You held back tears at your father’s decree. ‘Given…? Is that all I’m good for… To be given as a peace treaty when one of my brothers makes a mistake… Why do I have to pay the price for their actions…why am I just being used as compensation?’ Quickly wiping the tear that fell you stood up and left the room, going to your room to pack since you’d be leaving that evening. You sat down on your bed, sobs racking your body as you clutched your small frame. Your whole life you had been treated as an outcast, as the disappointment of the family. All because…because what? Because you were shorter than most? Because you were more ‘petite’? Just because you were small it didn’t make you any less important…any less deserving of love and affection. Instead you were being bargained off for ‘peace’. The sadness you felt was replaced by frustration. You angrily took out a suitcase and filled it with clothes, precious items, and whatever toiletries you knew you’d need. Without saying a word you rolled your suitcase out of your room, where an underling of some sort took it from your, and made your way to your parents. “Goodbye mom…dad…I wish you both the best.” You hugged your mom while your dad gave you a nod. “Make us proud, Y/n.” You held back your tears at your dad’s heartless reply and instead chose to nod, walking out the door and never looking back. After a good 2 ½ hour drive you made it to your new home, the Shie Hassaikai Headquarters. Where you would spend the rest of your life…Now anyone in your position would probably assume the worst..especially being a small female. But you were more afraid of being killed than…that. I mean, Overhaul was a major germaphobe so that stilled some worries you supposed…The car stopped and you shook yourself from your daydreams. Unbuckling your seat belt you exited the car, thanked the driver and made your way to the front gate. There to greet you was a man, who was much taller than you, wearing a white raincoat that reached just below his knees with black shiny boots. But the things that stood out to you the most was the hood he had covering his head, and the mask that covered his face. “Y/n L/n?” You looked up to the man, meekly nodding. He waved over one of the other masked associates, this time a man with a black mask, coat and hat to get your bag. The man in the white coat turned towards you. You couldn’t see his eyes but you could feel them burning holes through you. “Follow me, Overhaul would like to meet you.” You nodded, “But, put this on first…and don’t touch him, I imagine you wouldn’t like to die on your first day here.” You stilled as you shakily took the white medical mask and put it on, clasping your shaking hands together as you followed behind the strangely dressed man. “You don’t talk much…do you?” You looked up as you walked through the dim hallways of the Shie Hassaikai basement. “No…not to strangers, anyway…” You tried your best to sound normal, but you couldn’t deny you were scared. And rightfully so! “Yeah, well that might actually do you well here, you’re less likely to tick him off then.” You made a sound to let him know you understood, still not feeling well enough to answer him with a real response just yet. The two of you stopped at a door. Being raised in a Yakuza family you were no stranger to scary encounters, but this would be the scariest you’ve ever faced by far. Let alone faced by yourself. The man, who you had to have learned his name knocked on the door, answering that ‘L/n was there’ before the boss man told him (and you) to enter. Entering the office you were ushered over to the couch to sit down. So now here you were sitting directly across from a man that could kill you with a single touch. “L/n, I’m sure you know who I am, yes?” You nodded your head, looking down with your hands crossed in your lap. Overhaul may not have been the biggest guy, but he was still easily almost a foot taller than you…not to mention he had a fairly big build. “I won’t lie to you, I wasn’t fond of your fathers implications of why he was sending you here, but I assure you I have no intentions of following through with his original plans.” Your head shot up at this. “You may be small in stature, and it’s true that could be a weakness, but you also have a strong quirk. I’m offering you a place here, amongst me and the precepts…not everyone gets that opportunity. Should you choose to take it you will be taken care of, and your abilities will be praised.” You felt like you could cry, not from fear, but from being…wanted. “So? Will you join the Hassaikai, not as whatever it was your father wanted, but as apart of it?” Your face took on a determined look, “…I’ll do it. I know I’m not the strongest, and I’m not very strong, but I promise to do my best. Thank you..” Overhaul’s expression changed to a happy one. “Wonderful, I am aware of your inability to fight or defend yourself, so I’m putting you directly under Chronostasis,” He motioned for the said man to step forward. “Chrono, become acquainted with her, show her the ropes, teach her to fight, and utilize her natural abilities. Consider her your…assistant for now. Understood?” Chronostasis as you had learned his name was nodded, “Yes sir, come on L/n, I’ll show you around the base.” You nodded, standing up you bowed, “Thank you for this opportunity, I’ll do my best.” Overhaul nodded, walking passed you to his desk. “The pleasure is mine. You both are dismissed.” With that the two of you left the room and started navigating the hallways. “I’ll show you around first before getting started on what you’ll be doing here if that’s okay with you.” You nodded, “That’s fine.” You started walking, while you were talking he showed you the different rooms, which ones to avoid and which ones you’d be spending a lot of time in. “This is my office, which will be yours now too I guess.” He opened the door and stepped in. You didn’t follow. “…I’m sorry…” He turned around, “For what?” You nervously looked down, hands wringing together. “For being a burden…” He sighed, lightly guiding you into the room. “Listen, you’re not a burden, in all seriousness I could use the help, Overhaul gives me too much as it is anyways. And…I have a pretty good idea of how you were treated at your family’s Yakuza, and it kinda ticks me off. So I assure you, you’re not a bother.” You smiled at him, “Thank you…” “Yup.” He shut the door and sat down at his desk, motioning for you to do the same at the couch in the room. Without warning, he removed the mask he had on, the hood falling to his shoulders as he did so. “You can go ahead and take the mask off, I don’t wear mine when I’m not around Overhaul and he doesn’t care as long as you’re not interacting with him.” You sheepishly nodded, desperately trying to hide how flustered you were, because he was attractive. Not just the ‘oh yeah, he's good looking’ kind, more like the ‘Oh my gosh, I think I JUST DIED ‘ kind. He had the perfect proportions of traditional attractiveness and uniqueness to make him that much more appealing to you. He had sharp narrow dark gray-blue eyes, a jawline that could draw blood and a general intensity about him that made your heart stop beating. Remembering you were probably staring you quickly looked away. But something else about him caught your eye…his hair. It was a white silvery color, and medium in length, but as you examined him further you noticed the ends of his hair ended in arrow shapes. “Is that part of your quirk?” His dark eyes met yours, he figured you’d ask, most anyone who had ever seen him asked sooner or later. But when he looked at you, you weren’t looking at him like he was a freak. Your eyes held an innocent and honest curiosity. With no malice to be seen. “I’m sorry if that came off as weird or rude!! It’s just…I’ve never seen anything like it…” He nodded, “It’s fine, I kinda figured you would. My quirk is called Chronostasis. I can extend these clock needle things to pierce someone, but I need to be extremely still. If I do pierce someone I can slow them down, but the length depends on which hand I struck them with. If I use the minute,” He pointed to one of the ‘clock needles’ on the end of his hair, “They’re slowed for a minute, same thing if I use the hour.” He looked at you, noticing your expression. “I know it’s weird but-“ “I don’t think it’s weird.” He looked at you in shock, “You don’t? You can be honest, it’s pretty weird.” You shook your head, that honest and sincere glint never leaving your e/c eyes. “I think they’re really cool…beautiful…even..” In his 22 years of life, no one had ever told him his quirk was cool, let alone beautiful. If words could kill, Chronostasis would probably be dead. The red tint on his cheeks giving aware his flusteredness. “A-Uh..Thanks…What’s your quirk anyway?” “It’s called Seamless…Um basically I can sew without using needles, controlling the threads and what not…but it only works on sewing things, I can’t use it on people or anything..” You looked up, expecting him to be bored only to see interest gleaming in his eyes. “Sounds cool to me, useful too.” Never in your life had you felt so secure, safe, appreciated…it felt good. It felt good to know there were people out there who wanted you, even if it was just for work it still felt nice. Fast forward a bit, you’ve been with the Hassaikai for a year now. You had cemented your place here, and you felt great. You didn’t use your quirk too much, but you did save them a lot of money on clothes. You had also become a lot closer to Chrono, or Kurono Hari as you had learned his name was, and called him in private. You talked a lot, ranting to each other about your problems, spending time together even if it was just doing your own things in silent. It was safe to say the two of you had become good friends, but more than that you had developed feelings for the man. That was why you were on your current mission, making your way to Overhaul’s office. You knocked, and after hearing a ‘come in’ entered. He was sitting at his desk, fiddling with papers and what not. “Ah, L/n, what can I help you with?” You walked to stand in front of his desk, nervously messing with your fingers and fidgeting. “…I came to ask you something…” Overhaul sighed as he set his pen down, leaning to place his chin in his hand, which was propped up on his desk. “Oh? What is it? I take it everything is going fine?” Over the past year besides getting close to Chronostasis, you had also gotten close to Overhaul. Although you noticed he acted very protective of you, like an older brother. You had asked him about it a few months ago, he had simply told you he had met with your father a few years ago when he accompanied a business meeting with Pops. He had seen how you were treated and it made him sick especially because of how much potential you showed. In his own special way, you knew he cared somewhat about you. You nodded your head. “Everything’s fine, great, actually…I need to talk to you about something else…someone else….”. His eyebrow raised in interest, he pretended to act surprised but he had an inkling of why you were really here. “I want your permission to…to…” You opened your mouth to speak but ultimately chose to close it, not really knowing how to go forward. He sighed again, leaning back in his chair while his hands clasped together, resting by his mouth. “Let me guess…you’d like my permission to pursue a relationship with Chronostasis? Am I correct?” You felt heat raise to your face as you stiffened. ‘How did he…?’ “I may seclude myself to this office and limit my interactions with people to a minimum, but I’m not blind. I am well aware of he feelings the both of you have for each other.” You gulped, here it comes…”I don’t care, just don’t let it get in the way of your work. But if it ends the pitiful gazes and flirting between the two of you, by all means, get married for all I care.” Your eyes widened as your brain proceeded to implode. “A-are you sure?! You really don’t mind?!” He looked at you in disbelief before shrugging. “Nope, just don’t do any of that lovey-dovey stuff around me, affection like that makes me nauseas.” You nodded, “I promise.” He nodded and got up, walking you to the door. “…I’m trusting you won’t tell him what I’m about to say but, take care of him…He’s stupidly in love with you, so I know he’ll take care of you, but please be good to him…” You smiled, nodding your head. “I will…wait, did you say he’s in lo-“ “Time for you to go, goodbye L/n.” Before you could refute, he pushed you out of the room, shut the door and locked it. Sighing, you made you way to your and Chrono’s office, finally ready to tell the man of your dreams your feelings. To most you may be considered ‘short’ or ‘small’, and to some they might even think of you as ‘inadequate’ or ‘lesser’ than them. At one point you probably thought Chrono felt that way. (but as you were soon about to find out)But to Chrono? You were just right, just...perfect.

#chronostasis x reader #chrono x reader #chrono #chronostasis #bnha x reader #BNHA #bnha fanfiction #bnha villains #shie hassaikai #y/n #angst #requests

[thomasmartelpublication]

Japanese Postwar Period Drama As a  Modern Metaphor

Japanese Postwar Period Drama As a  Modern Metaphor

Japanese Postwar Period Drama As a Modern Metaphor By Thomas Martel

With globalization cinema as a whole is becoming an art form without country, without borders and even without a definitive national language. An idea that buds in one country’s cinema may blossom in another. Cinema and the ideas that go along with it travel back and forth across oceans and continents. Japan imported it’s first Edison Kinetoscopes in 1896, and Japanese filmmakers immediately utilized cinema to engage the masses at home and abroad. My inquiry is to examine how post-war Japanese cinema took on the role of fictional historical narratives to interact with the psyche of the postwar Japanese nation. In many ways, all films made in Japan since the end of World War II can be considered post-war cinema, because of the way in which that war affected the country, and because of the way of cinema always reflects society. Japanese directors chose to represent the war, its aftermath, and apprehension about the future of the nation as a whole through the medium of chinema, and more specifically, through fictional historical narrative, or jidaigeki.

Jidaigeki, meaning “period drama”, is a term applies to fictional narrative films set before the industrialization and modernization of Japan; typically before or during the Meiji Restoration of 1868 when the Emperor Meiji reclaimed political power from the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Japanese are a very historically conscious people, and often draw on history for examples relevant to current events. Japanese film is no exception, and jidaigeki are full of metaphors for the present day. As American coauthors George Lakoff and Mark Johnson state, “We draw references, set goals, make commitments, and execute plans all on the basis of how we in part structure our experience, consciously and unconsciously, by means of metaphor”.

Indeed, it is through the use of metaphor that Japanese cinema uses characters, dialogue, and imagery to depict modern international relations and concerns, as well as specific fundamental elements of Japanese society, such as ie, or “household;”which was put under significant stress during and after the war. Due to the popularity of the genre, there were, of course, many jidaigeki produced during the Second World War. Take, for example, Kenji Mizoguchi’s 1941 film Genroku Chushingura, an oft- told story of forty-seven loyal samurai who avenge their innocent master’s execution and then proceed to dutifully follow him into death through disembowelment. There have been hundreds of film adaptations of the story, but this is perhaps the only one financed by The Ministry of Information while under military rule to boost morale. Even stylistically it is clear; the soundtrack consists of bugles, trumpets, and deep, plodding drum beats. Unlike many other adaptations, this one doesn’t show any blood, despite the gory nature of the story. The forty seven ronin are heroic, yes, but equally as

heroically depicted are their wives, who, with great strength and resilience remain true to their doomed husbands, not unlike the wives and families of soldier sent to war to die.

Akira Kurosawa’s 1945 film The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail is also a retelling of a classic history-based story. The viewer follows a young war hero, Yoshitsune, in disguise and on the run with a small band of loyal followers after being betrayed by his own brother- the military dictator of Japan. Because the story was so well known and respected, perhaps it was not viewed as the protest film that it actually was, further, the film was banned by the American Occupation supposedly for promoting feudal values, although the ban may have been in response to the film’s persuasive power. After WWII, jidaigeki re-emerged to perform new metaphorical functions.

Because the real and fictionalized events of jidaigeki are supposedly removed from the events of modern-day they serve as ideal, safe metaphors for a people in need of a means of discussing their present concerns- the disastrous results of imperialism and militarism, both Japanese and Western. Popular cinema was the ideal tool for these demilitarizing metaphors, and that is exactly where they were reinvested. As Japanese- American scholar Marie Thorsten Morimoto has suggested,“a nation’s metaphors converse with its politics. Hence, with the dismantling of the Japanese Empire at the close of the Second World War, the images which shaped the... state also, in a sense, became ‘demilitarized.’ Like the guns and missiles they supported, war metaphors were ‘left over,’ waiting to be reinvested into peacetime Japan.” (Morimoto, 11).

Typically in jidaigeki, samurai cast as the main role in Japanese cinema had represented the Japanese masculine ideal: strong, courageous, courteous and polite, and chaste. However, after the war this masculine machismo was seen as somewhat fascist, and the heroes onscreen changed into imperfect, often lost or wandering swords in a tumultuous, war savaged country. Alternatively, they are disenfranchised warriors in time of peace that has no need for bushido and the real lords are mob bosses and gamblers who dominate the fictional-historical and post-war Japanese and international society.

The 1966 film Dai-bosatsu toge, or “The Pass of the Boddhisattva” by director Kihachi Okamoto is a good example of cinema filled with metaphors. The story follows a young and sword-skilled samurai named Ryunosuke, who, while initially abiding by the samurai code, bushido, more or less embodies opposite. He is quite, contemplative, but also cold and merciless. His peers respect his finesse with the sword, but he is at times seen him as brutal and without remorse. He is constantly challenged by “good-hearted” samurai, and is left with no option but to cut them down one by one. Ryunosuke seems unbeatable. He is an intriguing model for postwar Japan; a nation grasping to traditional ideals all the while reevaluating them as brutal and cold, particularly after the atrocities committed during the Pacific expansion and conquest of China, of which to this day there remains a strong denial. Controversially, events such as the “Nanjing

Massacre” are not even included in Japanese textbooks. Therefore, the only way to speak about these events is through metaphor and cinema.

Ryunoske’s world is thrown upside-down when for the first time in his life, he meets as a sword of comparable ability. Ryunosuke and Shimada play opposites, with an ever growing tension between the two. Despite this, they always remain civil, bound by societal form. These characters represent conflicted and confused views of Japan’s supposedly noble warrior class. Could they be cold, brutal, sociopathic murderers or indeed, honest and humble protectors?

In the end, all of Ryunoske’s brutal acts, such as mercy-killing an old man he heard begging for death, killing an opponent out of self- defense in a tournament, cutting down his wife after she threatens to kill their baby, and other seemingly justifiable acts (just as the atrocities of WWII may have seemed justifiable) drive the anti hero mad with guilt at realization of the impossibility of his circumstances. The film concludes with Ryunosuke drunkenly and madly cutting his way through a burning mansion- an apt metaphor for the state that Japan was left in at the end of the war. He is injured, bleeding, and surrounded by enemies, but he refuses to lay down his sword. It is never revealed if he escapes or is killed, and this represented the uncertainty of Japan’s future that was prevalent in post-war Japan.

Japan had long considered itself the most virile, strongest and superior race in Asia, but defeat by a western power certainly posed a new threat to this nationalistic ideal. In this way Japan’s metaphors became increasingly trans- sexual; submissive to western “barbarians”, yet clinging to the position of an aggressive power in Asia. This persistent attitude became even more apparent during post-war cinema. Feminine characters (who represent Japan as a nation victimized by western powers) are starkly contrasted with brutish, old- fashioned, almost comical masculine characters, as is aptly illustrated in Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 film Seppuku.

Seppuku tells the story of a young samurai named Chijiiwa who is fonder of the brush than the sword. When Chijiiwa’s father is forced by the Shoguante to commit seppuku, or ritual disembowelment, he goes to live with a family friend in poverty. He is forced to sell his sword, then, when his infant son becomes sick, Chijiiwa goes to a neighboring powerful household to beg for alms by means of threatening suicide, and he is then forced to slowly and painfully kill himself with a bamboo sword. The young and un-warrior like samurai’s body is then dumped off at the house unceremoniously . The rest of the film tells the story of how the family friend, a dangerous and impoverished ronin named Hanshiro, exacts and bring calamity to the household at fault for the destruction of the young and innocent family. Hanshiro arrives at the clan’s gate, threatening, like, Chijiiwa, to commit seppuku. He is admitted, but each of the clan’s assistants that he calls upon to act as a second happen to be home sick that day. Then, when he is about to be killed, he throws on the ground the topknots of each of the

supposedly honorable warriors responsible for Chijiiwa’s death, revealing their hypocrisy and sadistic nature. In the end, Hanshiro is unable to be killed by any of the clan’s warriors, so instead his is gunned down while carrying on his shoulders the clan’s ancestral armor. The empty suit of armor represents the vapidity and non-existence of the so-called bushido that was essentially reanimated for political use during the Second World War. Meanwhile, the dying Hanshiro represents a more realistic view of the nation’s recent past; that of a bleeding population struggling to maintain a dead ideal in the face of vain leaders. Moreover, Hanshiro’s death by a superior technology shows the viewer that modernity leaves little room for tradition.

A film that skillfully represents post-war Japan on an international stage through period drama is Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 film Yojimbo. A “yojimbo” is the old Japanese term for a “sword for hire,” essentially, a masterless samurai willing to sell his skills as a swordsman for assassination, dispute settlement, or protection. The main character of the film is just that, a lone swordsman walking down a dusty path without a name or direction. Like Japan, all he has left is his wit, and a remnant of whatever life he once led- his sword. Unlike the heroes of old Japanese cinema, he is carefree, blown about by the the winds of chance. He is lax, even comical at times. Not only this, but his name is never even revealed to the audience. He is not a famous or noteworthy hero; he represents any man, or every man.

Yojimbo is set in the 1860’s; a time when the warrior caste had essentially collapsed in favor of capitalism. Warlords no longer sought to hire famous or skilled swordsmen, they were too concerned with their own political preservation to even arm themselves to any great extant with modern weaponry. The protagonist wanders into a provincial town that is caught in a war between two rival factions. The yojimbo finds his skills as a swordsman lucrative, but his wit perhaps even more lucrative, as he plays to both factions of the town. He is a gruff, masculine samurai more than proficient with his sword, but he is also very cunning, and uses his wits to dupe the whole town, all the while making himself all the richer. This representation is relevant to post-war Japan primarily as a way of representing the disarmament of military super-power Japan and the transition into the scientific- economic superpower that it has become. “The transition was also one from a society threatened by the scarcity of food, where physical resources translated into physical strength, to a society hungry for knowledge, where young people began competing with their wits in a new game of “human capitalism” (Morimoto 21). Morimoto’s point is true, and can be seen in the rigorous preparation and competition between high school students applying for University. As such, this transition may be seen as beneficial but it also conveys the widespread feelings of nostalgia that the Japanese people felt during the difficult times immediately following the end of the war. Japan, and all of it history and traditions would be sold on the global market.

Besides serving as a metaphor for Japan’s transition from a militaristic

nation to an economically driven nation, Yojimbo illustrates Japan’s position in the Cold War as tension between the United States and the Soviet Union escalated. The village in which the entire film takes place can be seen as a miniaturized version of the world- in a transition phase, shrinking with huge gains being made in communication and transportation, but also dominated by two opposing forces. In the context of the film, these forces are rivaling factions, but in actuality the were the America/ NATO and the U.S.S.R./ Warsaw Pact. Much like Japan during the cold war, the unnamed yojimbo is often both detached and heavily involved in the “mutual assured destruction” of the town. He is ambivalent, an outsider, and the combined forces of the town are far more numerous and powerful than him and yet they both seeks his aid. Fitting with previous descriptions on how Japan views itself, “dominant themes in Japanese cultural self-representations have long been those of uniqueness, isolation, and victimization- hence, of a lone nation struggling against all odds” (Morimoto 22). In the end, the protagonist has prospered even more than either of the two factions, whose battle for dominance has ended in a clash leaving the town a quieter place than before. The “hero” of the film has saved a family, perhaps representative of the Japanese family as a whole, while dogs wander the streets feasting upon the remains of those less fortunate.

There are many more jidaigeki films with equally potent metaphors. Because of the context of film and viewership, we must be careful not to confuse metaphors or imagine them where they do not exist. However, metaphors are a powerful tool in the hands of Japanese filmmakers, and their many uses and examples should not go unnoticed.

Dissanayake, Wimal.1994. Colonialism and Nationalism in Asian Cinema. Indiana: Idianana University Press. Morimoto, Marie Thorsten. 1994. The ‘Peace Dividend’ in Japanese Cinema, Metaphors of a Demilitarized Nation. Indiana: Indiana University Press. Mellen, Joan. 1976. The Waves at Genji’s Door: Japan Through it’s Cinema. New York: Pantheon Books.

Said, Edward W. 1985. Orientalism Reconsidered. New York: Vintage Books. Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. Metaphors We Live by. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1980. Print.

[nemesis-nexus]

Full Crow/Worm Moon HAIL MARDUK, Great Father and Original Earth Defender/Water Protector, HEAR US! Tonight we celebrate the Full Worm Moon which this year comes before the Vernal Equinox and the official Rebirth of the Planet! It is so called because this is the time of year when the worms are underground toiling away, aerating and tilling the soil, preparing the plant life and vegetation for the Grand Regeneration of Life! When the Season of Death is drawn to a close and the Earth once again begins to awaken from its hibernation, when the birds who flew South return North, the bears come out of their caves and all manner of Life resurges and the cacophony of and bustle of Nature is in full swing yet again! I would like to take a moment to touch down on something even more personal. Four years ago in January or 2013, I began Walking the Gates of the Necronomicon and I was told before I even started that the true "Initiation" of the Deities on the 'Ladder' would begin AFTER I finished, if I was permitted passage in the first place AND I chose to keep going until the end, which I did. First I want to acknowledge that the Necronomicon is a FICTITIOUS book and NOTHING in the story is legit EXCEPT the Enuma Elish which is part of the Magan Text, the Descent of INANNA into the Underworld to confront her sister ERESHKIGAL and the names of the Babylonian Deities mentioned. Everything else is just the work of a literary genius whose gift was such that people are STILL convinced that it is completely REAL! This is why I love HP LoveCraft's work, he truly was one in a million! The reason I wanted to mention my Walking is because the book, though fiction, is still a great tool to utilize for personal introspection because when you are Walking the Gates, you are NOT just ascending into the Astral, you are also DEscending into your own psyche or as Freud put it, your own Abyss (hence the Dark Night Of The Soul which is the time just before the Vernal Equinox we take a good hard look at ourselves and see what it is that we are doing or not doing that is hurting or helping us), to establish a deeper connection to that which is Within to that which is Without. This is absolutely necessary to do because we all accumulate various forms of energy all throughout the year and sometimes we don't realize that some of the things we are doing or not doing are actually not helping a situation no matter how pure our intentions may be! What makes my Walking more interesting (at least to me anyway) is that ISHTAR/INANNA is the third Deity on the 'Ladder' and she represents the Divine Feminine, Fertility, Birth/Rebirth, Female Strength, Honor, all the attributes of the Spring Season and her personal holiday during this month is Ostara, this is interesting because with everything that has gone on in the last year ESPECIALLY during the Seasons of Degeneration and Death (Autumn and Winter) the Earth is in DESPERATE need of a Rebirth that will reawaken not just Nature itself but each and EVERY Earth Defender and Water Protector! The Worm Moon is also called the Crow Moon and what are Crows most famous for? They are the Bridges between Death and Life! With all the negative energy that has accumulated even since just September through the end of November of 2016, it is no surprise that the SURGE of support for those who have and are Protecting the Water, People and Planet has EXPLODED, where there was once only DEATH there is now a great deal of LIFE charging forth and taking the lead - the Crow has taken flight and all those who feel their sense of duty are heeding its call to bring back the Balance between Death and Life, Chaos and Order! As Satanists it is our duty to uphold our Fathers Honor and to earn his Respect by taking our cue from him when the Qi is rendered Unbalanced and restoring it to its Balanced state! There are many who still think that Satanism is about constant Chaos, Death and Destruction and while all three are utilized by Nature itself to keep things circulating, WE are NOT one-dimensional Beings! We understand that Order, Life and Creation are equally important or else NOTHING can exist in ANY state! We do not revel in anguish or the suffering of others as some would have you believe nor do we wish to destroy the world as others would have you believe! Rather we are the ones who will make the tough calls and step up when things get rough, we also have no problem with getting our hands dirty if it is necessary to defend anyone we call Family, whether Blood or Spiritual, Human or Animal! Some Core Values of Satanism are: 1) ALWAYS stand against injustice no matter WHAT form it takes or who the aggressors are; it is easy enough to stand up to an enemy who poses a threat but it is EXCEEDINGLY difficult to do the same with a friend or family member because of the emotional ties and the fear of losing that connection. Be that as it may what must be the deciding factor is the greater good especially if it means exposing tyranny and corruption in a well established organization. 2) ALWAYS Honor your Family both Blood and Spiritual because "We are ONE even though we are MANY and we stand STRONGEST when we stand TOGETHER!" what that phrase means is that even though many of us consider ourselves to be strong individuals and loners, no man is an island. We all call on our Family (Human and/or Animal) for support when the chips are down and as such we should demonstrate the same regard for them as we would have them show us - at all times! 3) NEVER stop pursuing education and knowledge because the world is ever-changing and the only way to keep up with these changes is to never stop learning! Some of these changes will be good, some will be bad, the only way to know is to seek out the information ESPECIALLY the information they AREN'T telling you because that is always the most vital information which can change even the most stalwart persons mind if it is so persuasive or devastating that it needed to be hidden in the first place! 4) PHILANTHROPY is not just a buzzword, a true Satanist aids in the care and maintenance of their respective communities, lending a hand where it is needed because we live here too! This assistance should not be limited to our immediate areas as what is happening in other parts of the world may be happening THERE but that DOESN'T mean that it WON'T affect us sooner or later and even if it doesn't we should do what we can to lend a hand if we are able! All too often we see people on the street who are being passed by from people who call themselves "good" or "righteous", there has even in recent years been businesses putting up SPIKES to prevent the homeless from being able to sleep where it is warm! Apparently the so-called "righteousness" of these company owners disappears during business hours! It's quite nauseating! The Domestic Terrorism that has been used against Water Protectors by the so-called powers that be in all its forms is UNACCEPTABLE and as such many people the world over have risen in resistance and even though they could not be in the immediate areas where it was occurring, they STILL did what they could to send aid in the form of money and physical items as well as spiritual reinforcement! Philanthropy is necessary to keep fighting the good fight and to do what must be done at the time it needs doing for the sake of protecting the people and planet! The world is now realizing that the Divine Feminine needs to be honored as much as the Divine Masculine and that Life needs to be valued more than money or material wealth and as such it is going through yet another huge transition that may take years to come to full fruition, however as Rage Against The Machine stated in their song Guerilla Radio, "It has to start SOMEWHERE! It has to start SOMETIME! What better place than HERE? What better time than NOW?" That being said, we ALL need to rise up and resist TOGETHER and as such I am posting one of my favorite prayers to inspire all those who are willing to do what needs to be done to Protect and Defend our great Mother Earth and all those who dwell in, on, above and below the surface! For the women, it is reinforcement of YOUR power and wisdom, for the men it is representative of YOUR own ability to stand in solidarity with the women rather than being threatened by them which demonstrates your own strength of character and security in your masculinity that enables you to instead of reducing women to being the alleged "weaker sex" see them for what they truly are = EQUAL! We now more than ever MUST work together to restore the Balance to the Multiverse, failure to deprogram from all those false teachings of money is everything, that people are only worth as much as their bank statements dictate and trying to force absolute authority over other humans and nature itself demonstrates a person or groups prowess will only end in the utter destruction of the Human Race and quite possibly with a MYRIAD of "collateral damage" in the form of the extinction of many animal, plant and insect species! We MUST do what we can to slam on the brakes of the train that is trying to railroad us all to oblivion and put those wheels in reverse so that not only do OUR children and subsequent lineages have a future, but so all life forms that currently reside on this planet are also able to keep going! The Human Race needs to remember that we are neither above nor below the Natural Order of things, that we are all part of the Circle or Hoop of Life and as such we need to repair the broken links so that we can resume doing our part in keeping the Qi flowing rather than being the weakness that is disrupting it and making things that much harder for all life forms! The Human Race lets go of its own ego and remember WHY it is that we are able to do the things we are especially as far as Magic, Technology, Medicine, Travel and Science are concerned, we were given the ability to Master all these things BECAUSE we were always the Guardians and Protectors of the Planet and everything that comes with it! We are here to work with nature, not exalt ourselves above it, the sooner we remember ourselves, the better off we will be! We can start by making sure that all those who are causing the hate, pain, destruction and devastation are brought to Justice so that they may be dealt with them accordingly and we can then resume our duty as assigned by our INFALLIBLE Father Satan! AVE SATANI! Illustrious Lady ISHTAR Do Not Mistake Her Kindness For Weakness, She Will Prove You Wrong! Do Not Think That Anything You Do Escapes Her Eye, She Sees All! Do Not Think That You Can Commit Acts Of Aggression And Not Be Judged, Her Judgment Is Severe And She Is Not In The Habit Of Being Lenient! When The Drums Sound, Heeding The War Cry, She Emerges In Full Armor! When The Names Of Her Children Are Slandered, She Will Strike Down Their Detractors! When The Children Of Her Children Are Attacked, She Will Destroy The Guilty! When Those Who Instigate Are Relentless, She Will Drive Them Into The Ground! SHE Who Removed Every Piece Of Protection And Ascended To EGURRA! SHE Who Faced Her Sister ERESHKIGAL And Her Horde Of Demons! SHE Who Died And Rose Again To Retake Her Place On The Throne! SHE Who Does Not Back Down From Any Battle No Matter Who Engages! SHE Who Comes To The Aid Of All Her Children In Their Time Of Need! Lionhearted Lady Of The Battle, I Call To You From The Earth, I PRAY YOU HEAR ME! Gentle Spirit Of Divine Love, I Call To You From My Soul, I PRAY YOU HEAL ME! Triumphant Goddess Over The Netherworld, I Call To You From My Heart, LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH THAT I MAY DECIMATE ALL ENEMIES! You Who Are Most Loved By The Gods, You Defend Your Own With Your Life, SPREAD YOUR ARMS AND EMBRACE THOSE AFFECTED! You Who Fears Nothing And No One, Who Will Meet Any Threat Head On, BRING FORTH YOUR SWORD AND SHIELD! You Who Lets It Be Known That She Will Not Be Disrespected By Anyone, SMITE THOSE WHO ARROGANTLY CURSE THINE OWN AND SATANS NAME! You Who Are An Inspiration To All Those Who Have Had To Die So They Could Live, WE ARE ETERNAL FOR WE KNOW YOURS AND SATANS LOVE, HONOR AND PROTECTION! --- ZI ANA KANPA! ZI KIA KANPA! MAY THE DEAD RISE AND SMELL THE INSENCE! Etiamsi MULTA Et Nos UNUM Sumus Nos Sto Validus Ut Nos Sto Una! Semper Veritas, Semper Fideles, In Diabolus Nomen Nos Fides! AVE SATANÍ! (We Are ONE Even Though We Are MANY And We Stand STRONGEST When We Stand TOGETHER! Always TRUTHFUL, Always FAITHFUL, In Satan's Name We Trust! HAIL SATAN!) Ave URURU! Ave EA! Ave DIMUZI! Ave ININNI! Ave GILGAMESH! Ave ENKIDU! Ave TIAMAT! Ave ABSU! Ave MARDUK! Ave SARPANITUM! Ave SATANÍ! HAIL SATAN! HPS Meg "Nemesis Nexus" Prentiss

[nasimabbas]

As news broke Friday that John Durham’s criminal probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation had resulted in a former FBI lawyer being charged with doctoring FISA evidence used against the Trump campaign, the formerly Russia-obsessed mainstream media did its best to look the other way.Kevin Clinesmith, who first worked on the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane team and then under special counsel Robert Mueller — only to be fired in February 2018 after it was revealed he sent anti-Trump messages — will plead guilty to one count of making false statements. Clinesmith’s admission came after Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz faulted him in a December report for doctoring an email to state that former Trump-campaign national security adviser Carter Page was “not a source” for the CIA — when in fact the email from a CIA official stated the opposite.Clinesmith’s plea is not an indictment, but a “criminal information,” in which the defendant seeks to avoid being charged by a grand jury. As National Review's Andy McCarthy has pointed out, such a move is often made under a cooperation agreement, suggesting that Clinesmith could be working with Durham.Despite the plea’s status as the first major development in Durham’s investigation, the media barely batted an eye, abandoning the Russia saga after providing wall-to-wall coverage of Michael Flynn’s plea deal with Robert Mueller in December 2017.“I think really the most important thing right now is to stay humble, and keep your eyes and your ears open, in terms of what you think you understand about Mike Flynn in this scandal,” MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said in her opening monologue the night Flynn, Trump’s former national-security adviser, pled guilty to lying to the FBI.But on her show Friday, Maddow, who breathlessly covered “Russia-gate” night after night for two years, totally ignored the Clinesmith news. And she wasn’t the only one. CNN's Anderson Cooper failed to cover the plea deal during his two hours of Friday-night programming. Cooper's colleague Don Lemon, who also covered the Russia probe and Flynn's plea relentlessly, couldn’t find time to cover Clinesmith's plea during his 10 p.m. time slot.Instead of ignoring the news altogether, Maddow’s colleague Chuck Todd reacted to the development by belittling Durham’s probe in general, wondering aloud whether the investigation is aimed at “creating confusion about investigating the investigators." MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann decided to challenge the news head on.Weissmann claimed on Twitter that Clinesmith’s altering of the email was not “material” to the indictment, because Durham did not say whether Carter Page had, in fact, been a “source” for the CIA in the court document. That Page provided information to the CIA, and was praised by the agency for doing so, is beyond dispute, whether Durham mentioned it in his indictment or not.> Clinesmith is charged with adding the words "not a source" to an email about Carter Page, but no where does the charge say that is false, i.e. that Page was a source for the CIA. Without that, how is the addition "materially" false? Compare with Barr's materiality std for Flynn.> > -- Andrew Weissmann (@AWeissmann_) August 14, 2020The attempt to compare the Flynn guilty plea to Clinesmith’s, however, does call into question the media framing of both stories.Elite political reporters and pundits focused their writing and broadcasting on Flynn’s guilty plea for months and jumped to far-reaching conclusions about what it meant for the future of Trump’s presidency. When Clinesmith’s plea was announced Friday, our opinion leaders and news gatherers collectively decided to fit the latest development into the framework they’d developed over the better part of two years, rather than revise their conclusions in the face of new facts.Take New York Times reporter Adam Goldman, who broke the Clinesmith story, for example.Goldman emphasized Friday that “prosecutors did not reveal any evidence in charging documents that showed Mr. Clinesmith’s actions were part of any broader conspiracy to undermine Mr. Trump.” But in the 23rd paragraph, Goldman mentions that “Mr. Clinesmith had provided the unchanged C.I.A. email to Crossfire Hurricane agents and the Justice Department lawyer drafting the original wiretap application.”Taken together, the two statements raise serious questions. If Clinesmith “provided the unchanged” email to other FBI officials, those officials must have been aware that he doctored his email to the FISA court. In other words, when they received the un-doctored email proving that Page had long cooperated with the federal government and chose to say nothing, they became part of a “broader conspiracy.”Goldman proved much more willing to assign blame to a broad and nebulous group of actors when Flynn pled guilty in December 2017, calling the news “a politically treacherous development for the president and his closest aides.”Goldman went on to write that Flynn’s plea implied “that prosecutors now have a cooperative source of information from inside the Oval Office during the administration’s chaotic first weeks.” But a similar hypothesis about the far-reaching implications of Clinesmith’s guilty plea was not advanced in Goldman’s most recent report.Other outlets have engaged in similar efforts to downplay the seriousness of Clinesmith’s wrongdoing by framing the plea as a single act of unintentional malfeasance. The notion that the Crossfire Hurricane team accidentally failed to mention Page’s work for the CIA to the FISA Court is facially absurd. The CIA sent a memo to the team detailing the agency’s relationship with the former Trump aide before the FBI filed their first FISA application to surveil Page; the FBI didn’t mention it on that first application or their three subsequent application renewals.NPR’s justice correspondent Carrie Johnson headlined her report on the Clinesmith plea: “Case Linked To Alleged Abuse Of Surveillance Power.” The label “alleged” has been inaccurate since December 2019, when Horowitz released a report detailing “at least 17 significant errors or omissions” in the FBI’s FISA applications used against Carter Page. Johnson also reported that the former FBI lawyer had “allegedly doctored an email.” In the very next paragraph, she quotes — without a hint of irony — Clinesmith’s lawyer, who told her that “Kevin deeply regrets having altered the email."Johnson was not so timid when speculating about the implications of Flynn’s guilty plea: After quoting then-White House special counsel Ty Cobb, who argued that Flynn’s decision to plead guilty did not implicate additional officials, she explained that “Flynn's plea agreement and cooperation with Mueller would seem to signal the opposite — that the investigation has now reached into the Trump White House itself, and that it still has a long way to go before wrapping up.”The Associated Press’s 2017 article on Flynn took a similar angle, warning that the development “could be an ominous sign for a White House” and hypothesizing that “if the Trump transition made secret back-door assurances to Russian diplomats, that could potentially run afoul of the Logan Act” — without mentioning that no one has ever been successfully prosecuted under the law since its passage in 1799.But in their report on Clinesmith’s plea, the AP opted against commenting on what the development meant for the Russian collusion narrative and chose instead to comment on its utility as a prop that might “lift Trump’s wobbly reelection prospects” by exposing what the Trump administration “see[s] as wrongdoing.”

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[anneedmonsonus]

Our Cladding Makeover Reveal

Don’t fall off your chair. Today I finally have a reveal for you! Our before and after of our Scyon Walls elevation makeover, where we overclad the exterior of our double brick 1970s house.

Yep, it’s been a while. If this is your first time to my blog, welcome! Basically we decided to overclad our existing double brick and rendered (poorly rendered!) three bedroom 1978 house, which once upon a time we named The Crap Shack. Originally our house was that 70s dark red-brown brick – you’ve probably seen a million of their type around. Here’s the house back then! The wisteria was its only saving grace (and sadly it died).

The brick wasn’t terrible but it was very dark and heavy and such a strong colour, so when we bought the house nine years ago we decided to do a budget refresh and Mr Nerd and I rendered it ourselves using a render product with the paint mixed in.

It definitely brightened it up for the interim but after a while it looked a bit shabby and we were just thinking about how we could modernise and update it when the opportunity to work with Scyon Walls came along. We chose Scyon Walls Axon and Stria panels with a feature wall done in cedar paneling and now we love how the house looks.

NOW

What we initially envisioned would be a relatively straightforward project extrapolated into a project more complicated and time-consuming than we had first thought (this is basically the storyline of every single Grand Designs episode ever made). We were okay with that – it’s just less blog-friendly!

I probably sound like I am whinging but for once in my life, I am genuinely not! Our 1978 house was just at that age where a lot of things needed upgrades (like new gutters and a new carport) and Mr Nerd and I are both of similar mind – when we do something to the house now, it’s like well, we might as well do it properly. So we’d rather save up and do it right. Don’t forget, our house was built in the 70s and had long been a rental property with the bare minimum carried out on it for years before we got our hands on it – she was overdue an upgrade in almost every area. We plan to be here a while longer and it felt like one thing led to another thing:

Ripping off the old crummy, leaking carport meant having to save up for and get a new carport.

Installing new gutters, downpipes and fascias meant waiting for council to install new underground power as they needed to cap the existing electrical lines running into the house through the fascias.

Cutting and knocking down the funny brick wall on the side of the house meant having to buy a gate to go there instead. (Who knew nice gates were so expensive? I did not).

It was all worth it. I love Scyon’s products and I’m grateful and glad we did it. I would use cladding again in a heartbeat if we were renovating another older home (or use it in a new-build if I were building). Not only have we improved the way the exterior of our home looks, but how it functions (new double carport, extended driveway, extra parking bay, walled-in garage, new patio and deck etc). But I am laughing at my naïve former self who thought we could redesign our elevation, hire contractors to the do the install, paint, add a new carport, add a new back patio and decking, do hardscaping down the sides of the house, pour a new driveway, landscape, tidy it all up and shoot in the space of four months. I think sometimes I live in blogger-land rather than reality, and I not only have an overinflated, optimistic sense of my own abilities but also a propensity to naturally underestimate how long things will take. Mr Nerd is the more practical one.

THAT SAID. Doing this kind of project in a four month time frame would definitely not be impossible. Your project could be WAY more straightforward than ours was. But we were restricted by time and budget – not to mention the minor issue of another pregnancy (another delightful HG pregnancy) and a newborn baby (babies so rudely throw a spanner in your renovation plans) to add into the mix of an existing toddler, a needy dog, work, life, Game of Thrones etc. Ugh, and one contractor who we hired towards the end of the project (unrelated to the cladding). I won’t tell you the whole story because it’s such an energy drain (maybe one day I’ll share) but we ended up having to pay for another company to rip out their work and redo the whole job. We did have other contractors who were great – I’ve put their details at the end of the post.

You can find all my old posts about the process here:

We’re Renovating Our House’s Renovation! The Before Photos

Making Over Our House’s Elevation: The Design

How to Clad Over a Double Brick House Making Over Our House’s Elevation: The Progress

Nearly Finished! Our Cladding Makeover (and Reader Questions)

Disclaimers done, here is our house before and after now! Thank you to the lovely Crystal Patterson for taking the professional pics – the others are mine.

BEFORE

AFTER

Mr Nerd was at work when we did this shoot, so my Mum stepped in My mum (“Oma” to our kids) is my chief savior, babysitter and angel in general and without her things like painting and photoshoots and writing would never ever ever get done. Thank you Mum. Photos by Crystal Patterson.

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OUR WINDOWS: A lot of people had asked me about our windows and asked if we had these redone as part of the cladding makeover. While old blog posts of mine have talked about how we spray-painted our old aluminium windows, years ago we had these replaced with new double-glazed ones with that low-e glass. The old aluminium windows looked heaps better spray painted, but they were very old, some you couldn’t open at all, and they had super thin glass and in winter you could walk past a window and literally feel the cold seeping into the house. Double glazing isn’t cheap but it has made a huge difference here.

I did so much gardening to get the house ready for these photos but looking at them now, I sort of wish I’d cut the garden back even more to show off the cladding more, but, kids. (Sometimes it is an effort to find time to just cut my toenails, or ‘feet nails’ as Little Nerd kind of disturbingly put it the other day.

One of the questions I get asked the most about the cladding is the colour scheme we chose. The main thing we wanted to achieve with the paint scheme was making sure it worked with our existing terracotta roof – a roof we didn’t want to paint. Obviously I know you CAN paint a terracotta roof, but when we looked into it, it seemed like firstly, one more cost, and secondly, not entirely recommended. Please correct me if I’m wrong – I know paint technologies are changing rapidly all the time – but a couple of companies told us that they wouldn’t actually spray-paint a glazed terracotta roof because it won’t stick under the harsh Perth sun.

Also, painting the roof seemed like just another cost, another thing to have to fork out for and maintain – when there were ways around it, like er, not painting the roof at all.

In the end we settled on a very simple colour palette of black and white. The black/charcoal is Dulux Monument, which turned out to be a good choice as Monument is also a Colorbond colour, so we could get gutters, fascias and the carport done in the same shade. The white is my favourite white, Dulux Natural White. (You CAN paint Scyon cladding any colour you want  – I say this as a lot of people think they come in a limited number of colours, but they come pre-primed and you paint once installed). The black and white worked with the cedar feature wall and the terracotta roof, which, if you look closely, has tiny little bits of charcoal in it. I can say now that I honestly don’t mind the roof colour at all – I think it works, and the focus is on the cladding.

BEFORE

NOW

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I’m a little bit embarrassed that we haven’t yet painted the driveway and we still have to re-build the edging wall around the garden. Just envision that whole driveway freshly painted (thinking a light grey) and the back garden paving re-done too, and the lawn extended to the edge of the decking, and the side of the house where the utilities are, that dirt all paved and graveled… we’ll get there!

Now let’s head to the back for a peek – but first, do you remember what it used to look like, with 70s sunroom/sleepout? The sleepout was mission brown – we painted it white.

BEFORE

PHOTOBOMBERS: I realise these photos were taken over by the kids and Nala. It was not my intention, but I don’t think there is such a thing as a photoshoot at our house without the kids and dog thinking it’s all about them. Little Nerd screamed as if he was in physical pain when I told him to get out of a photo and to go play inside. Kids, I tell you. He LOVES Crystal (who took these pics) and is like a bee to honey when she is around.

AFTER

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It seems like we’ve had the deck forever, but it was only done this summer. That was a big piece of the puzzle – a beautiful new deck. I sort of can’t believe we’ve been here almost nine years and we’ve only just had the deck. I keep crapping on about it on social media, but it has been the biggest gamechanger. I’ll do another post about the deck and all the details. (When? Who can say). All our outdoor furniture was from Early Settler Furniture.

Already our place looks different from when we did the shoot – now the garden has boofed up even more. Recently the kids and I were driving home and I found like, 48 tons of century plants (agaves) and aloe vera on the side of the road during green waste collection (you might have seen my hoard on my Instastories).

I was SO happy. Century plants cost like, $42 at Bunnings these days! Crazy Bunnings people.

I promptly filled my car to the brim with them (thank you, greenwaste gifters) and I have planted those all over the garden en masse (stealing the garden idea of this Bayswater home tour which I just featured. Greenwaste collection is the best.

BEFORE

Turn your back for one second… he wasn’t meant to paint over the numbers.

We also now have a new/old/upcycled letterbox!

Mr Nerd mounted our old letterbox, which used to be kind of wonky because one evening when we first moved here, I reversed into it driving TO the pub.

I never loved that letterbox and it was on our list of ‘things to upgrade’ for like eight years. We looked at new ones, but finally Mr Nerd ripped the old box off the metal legs and mounted it to these jarrah sleepers and we painted the letterbox black. Learn from me: when an overly earnest three year old asks if he can help you paint something that everyone who comes to your house is going to see, don’t say “I don’t see why not”. JUST SAY NO. Walk away from the eyes. Just walk away.

Our neighbours also had a crappy letterbox, so we asked them if they also wanted to upgrade. It does kind of look like a horse hitching post.

For the most part we had great suppliers and tradespeople.

SUPPLIERS AND CONTRACTORS

Scyon Cladding From Scyon Walls

Carpentry and deck Cladding and cedar wall put up by Tim Phillips and his team from TJP Carpentry

Limestone retaining wall by carport Chris Reeve and his team from Landscape A Lot

New carport and patio Great Aussie Patios

New patio lights The Montauk Lighting Co

Outdoor furniture Early Settler Furniture

New gutters, fascias and downpipes Westcoat Roof and Gutter Restoration Specialists

Roof restoration Mr Nerd

Painting Us and our family members

The other week there was an old lady who was walking past our house and she said she’s lived in the area for 30 years and she always loved walking past our garden because it reminded her of her garden when she was a child.

“It has that wild feel to it,” she said, which I took as a compliment. She said she loved that there were so many different plants and flowers, which is basically because when it comes to gardens I change my mind all the time. At one stage I was like, “I want an English cottage style garden” and planted rosemary and lavender and gardenias. The next stage I was like, “We need more natives!” so I bought natives. (Now I’m obsessed with tropical plantings and succulents and also xeriscaping, which is drought-friendly gardens landscaped to need very minimal water). The end result is sort of a jumbled lot of plantings that would horrify any landscape designer, but we have frogs and blue tongue lizards and bandicoots and the two cutest little bearded dragons living in all that undergrowth. The old lady took some cuttings.

Now let’s head over to the sides of the house – the utilities wall first. You can see where we visibly got tired of rendering and just gave up… eight years ago.

WAY better with the cladding huh? We still have to tidy up the paving here, obviously.

BEFORE AFTER BEFORE

What do you do when you try to remove your ugly 60 Minutes security door, but the screws have actually rusted it into place permanently? You leave it up. And lean casually against it.

Our ‘new’ walled-in garage.

I can’t tell you how much more we love the house now – the cladding has transformed the way the house looks. So much more pleasant, less creepy-looking!

Now that the cladding is all done, I can’t stop envisioning the footpath paved in recycled red brick with a white grout, and the back yard paving all finished, and I also want to spray paint those sheds in our back garden black or Monument and string up festoon lights… we always say to each other, “And then we’ll do this, and then that’s it, no more renovating,” but I think in reality we’ll never stop, there will always be something more we will want to improve – but it’s fun. Maya x

The post Our Cladding Makeover Reveal appeared first on House Nerd.

from Home Improvement https://house-nerd.com/2019/06/21/cladding-makeover-reveal/

[talabib]

Leadership Journey: Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs epitomizes the daring and creativity of the tech industry’s pioneering entrepreneurs. Idolized by many, he has become an almost mythological figure – a knight crusading for innovation and immaculate design. As CEO of Apple, Jobs created one of the most valuable and admired companies in the world and, along with it, a series of amazing products, including the iPhone.

But who, exactly, was the man behind the myth? A good many tales have been told. Some saw Jobs as a genius and visionary leader, while others thought he was a pompous jerk, a single-minded perfectionist or a stubborn half-genius, half-asshole. This is the story of how Steve Jobs became the Steve Jobs we think of today.

Steve Jobs had an early knack for technology.

Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, in San Francisco – and, shortly thereafter, he was put up for adoption by his biological mother, Joanna Schieble. As a result, he grew up the son of Paul and Clara Jobs, a working-class couple.

Being adopted by Paul and Clara may have greatly contributed to his later work, since Jobs quickly developed a keen understanding of technology. Because his father was a car mechanic and craftsman who made furniture, there was a workbench in the family’s garage and Jobs’s father taught him how to build things, take them apart and put them back together again. This education served him well; later in life, when he was showing the iPod to friends, Jobs reminisced about how his father told him to work as diligently on the underside of a cabinet as on its finish.

Jobs was also smart as a whip. He skipped sixth grade and was naturally drawn to math and science. Because of his demonstrated skill in these subjects, he was accepted into the Explorers Club, a group of kids who worked on electronics projects on the Hewlett-Packard campus. It was here that Jobs used a computer for the first time.

He was clearly precocious, so it’s no surprise that he was just 21 years old when he and Stephen Wozniak founded Apple.

The pair met in 1969 when a friend introduced Jobs to Wozniak, or “Woz,” an engineering genius and the son of a Lockheed Martin engineer. At the time, computing was anything but personal and computers didn’t even have keyboards or monitors. Woz recognized these shortcomings and Jobs knew they could build a better computer for home use.

So they set up in Jobs’s parents’ garage and began working on their first model, the Apple 1. They invited in a few kids from the neighborhood to assemble it and pretty soon they had a miniature assembly line going. They named the new company Apple – a nod to both the Garden of Eden and an Oregon apple orchard and commune that Jobs frequented after high school.

Apple quickly churned out a second computer, and the company became one of the fastest growing start-ups in history.

In founding his own company and designing the Apple 1, Jobs had discovered his purpose in life. He and Wozniak even convinced a local small-business owner to distribute their machines. Soon enough, they were selling a dozen computers every few weeks. Fewer than two hundred units of this first model were ever sold, but this success was nonetheless energizing.

Riding the momentum of their first attempt and Wozniak’s assurance that he could build a much better machine, they went to work on their second computer, the Apple II.

To fully realize Wozniak’s plan, however, they needed some serious capital, a problem they soon solved when Jobs won over A.C. “Mike” Markkula, a former Intel executive. This angel investor handed the pair a then whopping $92,000 out of his own pocket and set up a $250,000 line of credit for the young company.

Beyond that, Markkula also hired Michael “Scotty” Scott, who would become Apple’s first professional CEO and the company moved out of Jobs’s family garage and into a real office in Cupertino.

There, with their new professional assistance and start-up money, they focused on their vision to build a truly personal computer. In 1977, their hard work paid off and the Apple II was released. The new model came with a significantly faster microprocessor, which boosted performance, along with an audio amplifier and speaker as well as inputs for a gaming joystick.

But more importantly, as it was designed to be a personal computer, it didn’t make the frightening sounds of an industrial machine and it came packed in a single, manageable box. In combination, all these features made it a huge retail success.

Pretty soon, Apple was one of the fastest growing start-ups in history. In fact, soon after the Apple II was released, in April of 1977, the company was selling some 500 computers every month! From there, their sales rose from $7.8 million, in 1978, to an incredible $48 million, in 1979.

A series of product failures resulted in Jobs’s forced exile.

In the late 1970s, Jobs’s life was a rollercoaster; he was in his early twenties and he had thrown himself full throttle into his career, forgoing a social life and even going without sleep.

In many ways it paid off and, when Apple went public in 1980, Jobs’s shares made him worth $256 million. However, by icing out early contributors like Bill Fernandez and Daniel Kottke, Jobs isolated himself within the company. And then he and Wozniak began to grow apart.

Jobs was in urgent need of another breakthrough product, but the company simply couldn’t deliver. First, in 1980, they came out with the Apple III, the successor of the much-lauded Apple II. However, unlike its predecessor, this third model was an absolute disaster; it had an insane price tag of $4,340 and was prone to catastrophic overheating.

After the Apple III came the Lisa, a computer developed for businesses and introduced in 1983. It was the first computer to utilize a graphical user interface, or GUI, which meant it had desktop symbols that users could click on to open programs and files. Unfortunately, since Jobs was intent on making the computer accessible to individual users, rather than businesses, it was as much a failure as the Apple III.

Then, in 1984, the company released the Macintosh. While it was initially celebrated by the media for its beautiful graphics, it was clearly too under-powered to be truly useful and sales of the product missed the mark by a wide margin.

Such a stream of failures meant serious trouble for Jobs. In fact, the situation was so dire that, in 1985, he was forced into exile from his own company. The CEO at the time, John Sculley, made Jobs step down as head of the Mac product division and Jobs retaliated by trying to get Sculley fired. In the end, he couldn’t get the support he needed from the company board and was forced to walk away from Apple himself. Nonetheless, Jobs was more determined than ever to create the next big thing.

After leaving Apple, Jobs continued trying to revolutionize technology, but with little success.

Though forced out of Apple, Jobs was not about to give up. He was ready to plot his tech revolution and, with investors and the media hailing him as a genius, he was certain he could be a great CEO. He was also certain that he was the only person alive who could create such amazing products.

So, in 1985, he founded the computer company NeXT. But success didn’t come as readily as he’d assumed it would.

The firm started out with the idea of developing a computer geared toward the specific needs of the higher-education market, catering to universities and academic professionals. The academics Jobs spoke with told him that they couldn’t afford a penny above $3,000. Yet when NeXT finally released its first computer, in 1988, the retail cost was a shocking $6,500. And that wasn’t even the total cost for a fully functioning NeXT system; for the full works, users were really looking at something closer to $10,000! Naturally, at this price, the product had no chance.

The product’s demise is actually a good example of a general tendency Jobs had; he was so driven by innovation that he seemed practically incapable of noting the trade-offs that his choices necessitated.

For instance, he chose an optical disk drive for the storage of information rather than a more conventional hard drive. The disk drive had certain perks, like the ability to store two hundred times more information and the option for removal from the computer. However, pulling information off of an optical drive was impossibly slow, and nobody actually needed a removable drive.

Things weren’t going well at NeXT, but Jobs also had another project. He’d become the major owner of Pixar. This firm was a computer subdivision of Lucasfilm, which was responsible for the incredible special effects in movies like Star Trek II and Young Sherlock Holmes. The company caught Jobs’s attention because of the high-tier software they developed for the manipulation of 3D images. When all was said and done, it would be his experience at Pixar that would lead him back to Apple.

In the early 1990s, Microsoft dominated the computer industry, but success at Pixar reinvigorated Steve Jobs.

While Jobs struggled to pull together his vision for NeXT, which was drifting disastrously, another tech star was rising. This was Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. During the 1990s, his company was dominating the industry as NeXT and Apple alike began fading into the past.

In fact, by 1991, Microsoft was already the world’s leading software company. This might have had something to do with the fact that, while Apple and NeXT didn’t license their operating systems for other manufacturers, Microsoft’s operating system, Windows, became the industry standard for every personal computer not produced by the other two companies.

This wide appeal rocketed Gates into the elite circle of the super rich, but it also made clear the fundamental differences between him and Jobs. For instance, Jobs was always set on creating the best, most aesthetically pleasing and innovative machine possible. Gates, on the other hand, didn’t care much for revolutionizing the computer industry. Rather, he wanted to ensure reliability and gradual improvements, which is exactly what millions of corporate customers also craved.

Because of this difference, Gates became arguably the most important businessperson on earth, while Jobs looked on from the sidelines.

In 1995, Pixar partnered with Disney to produce its first animated film, Toy Story, which went on to be a smash success. This masterstroke also coincided with Pixar’s initial public offering, making Jobs, who owned 80 percent of the company’s shares, a billionaire overnight.

Oddly enough, the release of this animated film for children is what catalyzed Jobs’s rise from the dead. It boosted his confidence, and his experience at Pixar had also taught him about good management. During his tenure at the company, he learned from John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, both of whom ditched micromanagement at Pixar, enabling their creative employees to run with the freedom they needed.

Returning to Apple in 1997, Steve Jobs put the company back on track.

So the release of Toy Story put Jobs back in the spotlight. Nonetheless, NeXT was still struggling. The company’s products weren’t selling and Jobs’s dream that the company would produce the world’s next great computer was toast. It was by far the low point of his career.

Things were so bad that Jobs shut down production entirely, shifting the company’s focus to software development, specifically its operating system, NeXTSTEP, which at least brought in a small profit.

But if the situation with NeXT sounds dire, just wait till you hear what was going on with Apple. By the mid-1990s, the company was effectively a sinking ship. It had no promising products in the pipeline and was still failing to modernize its operating system.

Beyond that, Apple had way more employees than it could afford. As a result, in the first quarter of 1996 alone, the company lost $750 million.

Jobs watched the downfall of the company from a distance, but it was painful for him nonetheless. And then an unforeseen opportunity popped up: Apple, in search of a shortcut to a more advanced operating system and a way out of its crisis, was looking for software companies to acquire. Jobs threw his hat into the ring and, in late 1996, Apple purchased NeXT.

Just like that, Jobs was back at Apple! Over the years that followed, he worked hard to re-establish Apple as a profitable computer-industry leader. This process began with the forced resignation of the CEO, Gil Amelio, whom Jobs described as a “bozo.” With Amelio out of the picture, Jobs was offered the position and retook the reins.

Though finally back in power, Jobs was initially indecisive, which was a first for him. In fact, during the last few years, he had largely overcome his impulsive tendencies, learning to make careful, measured decisions. Thankfully, this initial indecision didn’t last and, by 2000, Apple was shipping out tons of ground-breaking products, including the iMac and Power Mac. It was this technological innovation that remade the company and brought it out of the red.

With the development of iTunes and the iPod, Apple entered the mass-market and rebuilt itself.

So Jobs succeeded in transforming Apple from a deeply troubled company into a soaring business, but how exactly?

First, he trimmed the firm down to a size that was appropriate to its resources. In the process, thousands of employees were laid off, but Jobs was able to inspire those who stayed to buckle down and create a whole new line of incredible products.

He did this by steering the company in a clear direction, focusing on no more than four basic products. The company produced two desktop PC models and two laptop models, one model from each pair directed at consumers; the other, at professionals.

Such focus laid the foundation for the company’s comeback. But the true innovation began in 2001, when Apple launched iTunes, a software that, for the first time ever, let users create digital music archives and put together personal playlists in a simple, easy-to-use way.

But what was even more important about iTunes is that it led to the development of the iPod. Introduced in the fall of 2001, this MP3 player was Apple’s first foray into the mass-market of consumer electronics. At the time, pocket-sized MP3 players existed, but were mostly poorly designed; it was difficult to put music on them and hard to find what you wanted to listen to.

The iPod changed all that. It was a truly usable device, in large part because of its user interface and its unique “thumb-wheel,” which let users intuitively scroll through their music collections. Customers instantly fell in love with the device and sales soared.

Then, in 2003, the company built an iTunes music store into the software and opened up iTunes for Windows users as well, taking a further step into the market. The addition of the music store was huge. It gave users a simple and fairly-priced option for buying albums and singles that they otherwise had to download illegally. It was so successful that, by the end of 2003, Apple had sold over 25 million songs. The company was back on the rise.

While Steve Jobs fought cancer, Apple continued to soar.

In his forty-nine years, Jobs had never experienced a serious medical condition. But then, in 2003, he was diagnosed with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. Luckily, the tumor turned out to be slow-growing and more treatable than was first thought.

However, while the Stanford doctors that Jobs enlisted told him he needed immediate surgery, Jobs himself wasn’t so sure. Ignoring their advice, he opted first for an alternative, less invasive treatment: an augmented diet.

This route was insufficient, however, and, in 2004, without any other options, he finally did have the tumor surgically removed. The operation was highly-invasive and Jobs spent practically an entire day on the operating table. Worse still, it took him a full month to get back into the office post-surgery and, though the surgery was successful, it uncovered another serious medical problem; surgeons detected a series of cancerous metastases – secondary tumors growing on his liver.

At the same time, during 2003 and 2004, Apple continued to surge. Sales from iTunes and the iPod kept climbing. It was just three years after the launch of iTunes, but revenue related to the store and MP3 player already made up 19 percent of Apple’s total sales. In 2004 alone, the company sold 4.4 million iPods which brought in a net income of $276 million, a dramatic jump from the $69 million of the previous year.

Not just that, but Apple’s entire product line, including its laptops and desktops, was upgraded during these two years. It also didn’t hurt that Apple simultaneously launched its own internet browser, called Safari, and released a cool new application called GarageBand that could be used for simple music recording and editing.

When Jobs came back to the office, it was with a relentless drive to improve and innovate. Unsurprisingly, the result of that innovation is arguably Apple’s most revolutionary product to date: the iPhone.

The release of the iPhone changed technology forever.

In 2007, there already existed devices that were being described as “smartphones,” like the BlackBerry and the Palm Treo. All of them were fine for checking email, finding a contact in your address book or checking your calendar. But when the iPhone first hit shelves that summer, it clearly offered something different.

What really set the iPhone apart was its full-sized touch-screen, which made making a call as easy as swiping a finger. The larger screen also enabled users to view full-featured websites, photos and videos in a way previous phones hadn’t.

Another difference was that while the existing smartphones all had a massive, fixed keyboard, the iPhone didn’t have a built-in keyboard at all. Instead, the keys only displayed on the screen when needed.

How did this incredible innovation come into existence? Apple had actually been tinkering with the touch-screen technology since 2002, but for different reasons. Their hope at the time had been to find a more intuitive way for users to interact with computers beyond the confines of a keyboard and a mouse. As they began experimenting with multi-touch – as the technology is called – they found that it was both fun and effective.

In another sense, the iPhone was also just a natural progression from the iPod, combining a phone, an iPod and a computer in a single, beautifully designed product.

That all being said, the phone did have an initial problem. Because of Apple’s refusal to allow outside developers to build applications, there weren’t a ton of apps to choose from. It was only in November of 2007 that Apple revealed its intention to release a software-developer kit, which may have been the greatest breakthrough the product offered. All of sudden, anyone who wanted to could create apps, making the iPhone truly versatile.

As a result, the iPhone remains the most successful consumer electronics product in history. Over half a billion iPhones have been sold since 2007 and, of course, Apple has profited tremendously.

The iPad and the MacBook Air were Steve Jobs’s final accomplishments.

So Apple was doing better than ever, but the same couldn’t be said of Jobs. His cancer never went away, and his health was declining. But, despite this fact, his illness also never overshadowed the daily business of Apple. While the board of directors began to discuss succession plans, for most people at Apple, Jobs’s declining health was a total mystery.

After all, even as his health deteriorated and he knew time was running out, Jobs refused to give up. Because of his dedication, the company released the MacBook Air in 2008 and, two years later, the iPad. At the time, the former product was Apple’s new “it” device. It was thinner than any previous laptop – effectively the computer equivalent of a supermodel.

From there, the iPad further revolutionized the industry in 2010. If the iPhone was a miniaturized computer, the iPad was a blown up iPhone. When it was released, Jobs unveiled its functions while comfortably sitting on a couch, demonstrating how easy it was to use. And, in fact, the iPad did offer a much more intimate experience than a laptop, easily bringing computing into the living room.

This casual presentation was perfect, but it was also necessitated by Jobs’s poor health; he had lost an alarming amount of weight and the prospect of death was becoming undeniable. In early 2009, he received a liver transplant, but it was to no avail and, on Tuesday, October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs passed away.

As you might imagine, the funeral services were magnificent. When he was buried, on October 8, there was a small ceremony – family, close friends and companions from Apple. But another service followed on October 17, at Memorial Church, on the Stanford University campus. And then another, on October 20, at the Apple headquarters, in Cupertino, with almost ten thousand people in attendance.

Following Jobs’s burial, his long-time colleague and friend Tim Cook took over as CEO of Apple, and he’s continued to advance Jobs’s legacy – a legacy of growth, success, creativity and innovation.

The life of Steve Jobs is a story of success, innovation and growth. Even from an early age, Jobs had a talent for technology and, when he cofounded Apple in his twenties, he already had a vision of what computers could become. Though a sometimes impulsive and difficult man, he was also a dreamer and a trailblazer – and in an inspiration to millions worldwide.

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