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newagesispage · 3 years

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MAY 2021

The Rib Page

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George Takei is sweatin’ with the oldies. He stars in a fitness app for gay seniors, Bar Belles. It was his April Fool’s day joke.

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Fox will bring us Crime Scene Kitchen on May 26 with host Joel McHale.

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Joel Hodgson has launched a new kick starter to create a new independent season of MTS3K, The goal is $2mil.

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Bob Odenkirk will release: Comedy, comedy, comedy, drama: A Memoir on Jan. 18 2022

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Leslie Jones will host the 2021 MTV Awards.

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$3 mil was raised for Next for Autism with help from Conan, Kimmel, Charlize, Chris Rock, Jack Black and Sarah Silverman.

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Have ya noticed that Gayle King looks great in yellow.

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Some people are not too happy that Elon Musk will host SNL on May 8. Miley Cyrus is the musical guest.** Musk tweeted: Let’s find out just how live SNL really is. Cast member Bowen Yang tweeted back, : What the Fuck does this even mean?

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Oh Seth Meyers: Every time I see the sea captain on your show, I miss him so much!!

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There is a spotlight on Foxconn which made a big splash for Trump at the start of his presidency. The company has done a lot of nothing but still gets tax cuts. Homes were demolished, roads were widened to nowhere and money was spent. Wisconsinites are upset that this big business is just folly and a big glass orb.

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Mike Lindell is a kook but he did try to appear to be a good sport on Kimmel.

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When will weed be legal on a federal level? When will drug testing for employment be illegal? We hear so much about personal rights with the gun laws and vaccines and masks. What about the right to do what we want with our bodies when we are not at work. Think of the administrative costs that could be saved if we just removed drug testing. Our experience and work ethic should mean more that what we do with our free time. This is not a problem at all companies. There are places in this country where it is near impossible anywhere in your area to get hired without a drug screening. One joint on a random Saturday night could keep someone from a great opportunity. A person in pain who reaches for an edible might miss out on the job that saves their lives.

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NASA sent the first flight to another planet. The Mars flight made history with the 30 sec feat.

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What? The Menendez brothers are popular again? From the Ramsey case to the Manson murders or Bundy, it all comes back around again.

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The Lizzie Borden house just sold for $2mil to Lance Zaal of U. S. Ghost Adventures.

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Quarantine and so much television et al proves one thing, the pharmaceutical and insurance companies have way too much $.

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Trump told everyone to boycott Coke and is later seen drinking diet Coke.** Trump sent out a statement about how bad the Oscars are. They threw it right back in his face. ** Federal agents have searched Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment. It stems from the 2 year investigation into activities in Ukraine.

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X-VP Pence is said to have pressured the Navy to reinstate former Mo. Gov. Eric Greitens. Greitens was accused of tying up, blindfolding, taking explicit photos of and blackmailing a woman.

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There is a crisis in schools with the lack of civics and history being taught.

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Hulk Hogan was hit with a chorus of Boo’s at his latest event.

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The latest sexual harassment news: Matt Gaetz is being looked into for sex with a minor and sex trafficking. Bill Barr opened the investigation.** Tom Reed has been accused of sexual misconduct by former lobbyist, Nicolette Davis.** Marilyn Manson has been sued by Game of Thrones, Esme Bianco for sexual abuse.

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What is going on with Bank of America? I am hearing from multiple people that often they do not get their statement in the mail. Is this a bad Postal service? Is this bad business practice? How many late fees had to be paid because of this? Not everybody wants to pay their bills online.

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Jack Hanna has revealed that he has dementia.

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Tiny Tim : King for a day is a new doc I must see. The film contains footage shot from Warhol’s Factory. There are excerpts from Tim’s diary read by Weird Al Yankovic and the story of how Tiny’s friend, Bob Dylan wanted to make a film with him.

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Lindsay Lohan’s Father, Michael has been charged with 5 counts patient brokering and 1 count of attempted patient brokering. This is an apparent scam of steering addicts into rehab for cash.

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Aaron Sorkin and Paulina Porizkova are dating. Pete Davidson and Phoebe Dynevor are dating.

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JB Smoove has a new podcast brought to you by TeamCoco.

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Hey.. People working on the new Law and Order: Organized Crime….. TOO MUCH MELONI!!

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Zach Avery, actor, was arrested for his participation in a $690 mil Ponzi scheme.

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President Biden has restored aid to the Palestinians.

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MLB put up a wall in Georgia but the Masters stayed.

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Hank Azaria has brought Brockmire to a new podcast.

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Tommy Chong isn’t allowed on FB because of his weed posts but they allow an imposter to use his name to sell weed.

Pennsylvania is trying to push thru 14 voter suppression bills.

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Joe Manchin. Ugh!!** Marjorie Taylor- Greene has let go of her America First caucus.** Ted Cruz has allegedly used $154, 000 of his campaign funds to buy up copies of his book to boost sales. This is an old trick but still illegal.

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For the first time, The Carter Center became involved in a U.S. election. They published videos and live webcasts as well as deploying observers across Georgia.

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Most health programs in Uganda, Nigeria and Ethiopia have resumed after Covid.** Tom Vilsack from the Dept. of Agriculture has announced the USDA will provide assistance to 30 million kids.** It is sad to me that we have to entice people to vaccinate. Football games, Church’s and shot for shot in bars?? Really? Saving the lives of others should be enough. WTF?

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Alec Baldwin, Alec Mapa and Kelsey Grammer are shopping around a new comedy that ABC decided to pass on.

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Chauvin was found guilty.

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Days alert: C’mon Ben, calm the fuck down! Don’t prove how out of control you are like everybody thinks. ** Xander is so funny right now.** How many people will Kristen be and how many times can one person melt down?? **Bring Carrie back!! **Jackee’ seemed a bit nervous in the beginning but she is fitting right in. More!

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The SAG awards came and went. With the Trial of the Chicago 7 winning best ensemble, Michael Keaton is the first person to be in 3 best casts for SAG’s.** Other winners include Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Daniel Kaluuta, Youn Yuh-Jung, Mark Ruffalo, Anya Taylor- Joy, Jason Bateman, Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek and The Crown.

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The Oscars were held on April 25. It was a bit of a yawner and why would a show set themselves up for an awkward end?? There was a commercial from P&G right before the broadcast that stated, “ Widen the screen so we can widen our view.” Nice sentiment. Mank had so many noms and only 2 wins. People looking their best to me were Leslie Odom Jr., Glenn Close, Riz Ahmed, LaKeith Stanfield, Colman Domingo, John Batiste, Mia Neal, Questlove (gold crocs and a mask!), Desmond Roe, Travon Free, Trish Summerville, Marlee Matlin, The Lucas Brothers, Andra Day, Carey Mulligan, Amanda Seyfried, Nicolette Robinson, Regina King and Margot Robbie. Laura Dern looked like Big Bird, there were just too many feathers. Tiara Thomas had feathers but they looked great. Angela Bassett had some power sleeves and Tyer Perry looked like a little boy. Hooray for Emerald Fennell for her win for original screenplay but not sure about the dress. And Viola Davis?? Dana Murray?? Ashley Fox?? Hmm?? Winners seemed to have trouble getting to the stage. They often refused the steps or the walkway and sort of climbed up the side. I did love the intimate setting and it did remind me of the old clips of years before. Sound of metal and Ma Rainey both won. Tyler Perry and for the first time, an organization, the motion picture and television fund, took home the humanitarian award. I was thrilled to see My Octopus Teacher win for Doc. I loved Crip Camp too, that was a hard category. The acting winners went in all directions. Many critics complained that the films were real downers . Nomadland won best picture. Michael Moore put it best I think. Of the films this year, he said, “They force you to look backward with 2021 eyes.”

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Why the Fuck do we need a militarized police force?

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R.I.P. victims of the multiple mass shootings, victims of police shootings, the crush in Israel, Cosette Brown, Midwin Charles, DMX, Paul Ritter, Ethel Gabriel, G. Gordon Liddy, Buddy Peppenschmidt, Prince Philip, Anne Beatts, Diane Adler, Vartan Gregorian, Monte Hellman, Jim Steinman, Michael Collins, Michael wolf Snyder, Johnny Crawford, Eli Broad and Walter Mondale.

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starrynight0612 · 4 years

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OP of the latest Toews post is a PKane lover. You might not know but PKane and Toews are both well known as toxic so definitely don’t support them. Also they’ve been asked to answer for racism before and ignored it. They’re doing this to get brownie points and we shouldn’t buy it.

I am very aware of their friendship. And I’m aware of PK’s past actions and yeah, not a fan of that man. However, I’m going to talk about why I’m not going to hold that against Toews (but why I will hold him accountable moving forward). The main reason being if I write him off I violate my belief that people can genuinely change. I have to have that belief. Why? My goals in life as a result of my major and my experiences is criminal justice reform which I believe starts with reforming prisons to be rehabilitation centers, decriminalizing several laws, and believing criminals are capable of positive change.

With that though comes the understanding that not everyone will have that journey. There will be some people who never change and repeat the cycle of crime, even if we were to give them every resource available to succeed. So if I believe gang members are capable of change what does it say about me if I believe this 30 something-year-old hockey player can’t?

I’m pretty sure I know which of my followers this is or an idea of a few people who this could be and we interpreted his speech differently. I see this as a person who’s always thought to themselves, “I’m not racist.” But you know it was the blanket antiracist statement the majority of people say because that’s what it means to be a good person. Then just goes on with life like normal not giving it much of a thought and when something does happen thinking people are sensitive because “Racism isn’t really that BIG of a problem. This isn’t pre 1960′s.”

His statement spoke of someone who genuinely had been going through personal conflict. I was like him. I saw the riots and I about lost it. Like what in the damn hell? PEACEFUL PROTESTS. And God if that isn’t the biggest sign of social conditioning. Civil activism since the start has been glorified as the right way to do it and over the last two days, I’ve watched reactions and realized how even me, an avid BLM supporter, was still getting it wrong. The fact that he said this message was for white people and not black people floored me because how many of us keep addressing the population like it’s a collective whole, “ We need to...We must be..” Eff that. Black people know what’s wrong. They know what needs to change. It’s us white individuals who need to get with the damn program.

Now Patrick Kane. Here’s where I disagree with a lot of people; stay friends with the racists. When we turn our back on racists we just keep them in their sphere of racism and if we want real change, genuine social change, we gotta stick with them as long as we can (I mean at some point we all realize that the person will never change and then I’m okay with walking away from someone). My mom, my strong Mexican immigrant mom who raised her children to be independent and passionate, and people say is the sweetest woman alive, was homophobic. Mexico is a strong devout Catholic country and so she knew no gay people. Her sister came out as a lesbian. When I tell you my mom and her struggled to maintain a friendship....or the amount of arguments she had with me and my cousins. Worst of all when I realized I like girls too and I’m not going to be able to express that part of myself because of my mom I was filled with so much anger and sadness. Then i was sent to live with my dad in Utah (we lived in New York). I called my mom the day gay marriage was legalized and said, “I know you won’t be happy but this happened and mom I’m overjoyed.” And she was like, “Why wouldn’t I be happy? That’s the best news I hear all day.” Turns out in the two years we lived apart she met countless gay people at her job and she realized she was damn wrong. Even when my sister started questioning her sexuality she had a family call and asked us all to chime in because she knew she was afraid of going about it wrong. And she’s struggling because it became even more real but we’ve had the best conversations about sexuality the last few months and I came out. She accepted me. I told my sister she’s too young to date (she’s 13) but when she’s old enough she isn’t going to be upset if she goes out with a girl and that’s her daughter.

I could vilify my mom. Tell her she should know better. That she should have been this way all along. But I stuck with her and because of that my sister has a more positive experience coming out story than I do. I’m not telling people to forgive their parents. That’s your own journey to make and you decide what is best for your mental health and well being. My dad still on the whole homophobic front but I’m sticking with the man. Going to keep trying my damn hardest.

Jonathan Toews is going to have to work with PK for probably the rest of their hockey careers. I’m hoping that Toews can take these last few days and make an actual change in those locker rooms. Let’s tell him to sign petitions to change the name of their hockey team since he brought up Native American’s in his speech. Tell him to hold PK accountable. Let’s use this moment to answer his question of “what can I do for you?”

And if he does shit. If this is the extent of how far he goes. Well, I’ll be right there with you turning my back on the man. For right now though I’m holding out hope because I have to believe that these protests are going to actually change things. I believe they can. I’m already seeing so many of my white friends who usually stay quiet actually give a shit for once and speak up. If you don’t find value in what I’ve said and disagree completely then I give you two choices: unfollow me or engage in conversation with me. I hope you choose the second one.

#jonathan toews #patrick kane #black lives matters #gay pride #bisexuality pride #let's have real converstaions #hold people accountable #hockey #nhl #chicago blackhawks

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amplesalty · 4 years

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Christmas 2019: Day 9 - The Christmas Hope (2009)

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Nine months of gestation!

On reflection, I can see that the past two entries on this years list have been a bit of a downer. Far too centered in talk of mental illness, depression and the like. Let’s perk things up a bit with...*checks notes*...shit.

Right now millions of people across the planet (or galaxy as it were) are enjoying/not enjoying the end to a very different cinematic trilogy. Me? I have a long overdue wrap up to attend to that started many moons ago thanks to a certain little film about a certain pair of shoes based on a certain song. Quite why I’m doing this know I don’t know. I can only suspect that I’ve seen one too many reflective social media posts now that we’re reaching both the end of a year and decade, perhaps I’m subconsciously wanted to sort out unfinished business, hence looking at stuff like this, Christmas Story Live and the Christmas Carol Musical.

The movie starts with Traci here recording herself singing a song before commenting ‘American Idol here I come!’. The camera pans all through her house looking at pictures of her daughter, soppy picture frames with ‘I LOVE YOU MOMMY’ written on them and no sign of a boyfriend/husband so she has the basis for a feel good story if she does make it on. Might need to jazz it up somewhere along the line if we’re to really tug at the audiences heartstrings but it’s a start. This actress would go on to play Vicky in the live action Fairly Odd Parents movies so that’s another tie in to a previous entry. Apparently there’s a third one of those and I’m not sure if I’ve seen it.

She literally runs into a couple on her way to work, knocking their teddy bear to the floor which they graciously give to her when she mentions that her daughter would love it. This is Nathan and Megan from The Christmas Blessing, sadly both recast. Actually, maybe that’s a good thing. Not sure I’d be able to take NPH seriously after all those H&K movies recently. Nathan is a bit more of a ginger this time around, rather than the dirty blonde thing NPH has going on. Megan is expecting and they have about a bajillion teddies so they don’t mind passing one along. Hey, someone probably got you that as a gift. Be grateful!

Meanwhile, the police arrest a drug dealer and find she has a malnourished baby in her apartment so in swoop child services to save the day.

Mr. T feels your pain.

I hope you weren’t getting too attached to Traci by the way because about fifteen minutes into the film, shortly after making a heartfelt promise to her daughter that they were going to decorate the Christmas tree once she got home from work and that she had a very special present for her this year, she promptly gets run over.

Have you ever crossed the road, and looked the wrong way? A car's nearly on you? So what do you do? Something very silly; you freeze. Your life doesn't flash before you, cause you're too fucking scared to think, you just freeze and pull a stupid face.

I know I shouldn’t be surprised given this is one of those melodramatic, Hallmark movies and this whole series has been overly morbid up to this point but it still kinda threw me. Here we are all nice and happy, Traci’s going about her day and there’s a nice Christian, soft rock Christmas ballad playing in the background and then BOOM, SUV to the face.

Then it cuts to her daughter, Emily, going through the Christmas decorations before settling on a angel which she ponders on for a moment before looking to the heavens as she’s having this moment of intuition.

But when child services pop their head in again to take her away, they find that all their usual helpers are fully booked for the holidays so what else can they do? One of the workers, Patricia, has no choice but to take her home. It’s not by the book but, damnit, it’s Christmas and we’re going to give this kid some degree of stability. By sheer coincidence, Patricia happens to be the mother of one Sean Addision who was the kid that died following a car accident the start of Christmas Blessing which caused Nathan to have his Dr Cox crisis of confidence moment. These movies are just ridiculous to how everyone's lives are so intertwined.

Like, up to this point, we met Traci who then bumped into Nathan and Megan, before going to work and having a young, troubled teen skip out on his bill but Patricia was in at the same time and tipped really generously to make up for it. That same kid then pretty much steals her bag following accident and also knew Sean who was mentoring him in one of those Big Brother mentoring programs.

Patricia’s husband, Mark, is played by James Remar, he of The Warriors fame and, more pertinent to this blog, he was in the Miracle on 34th Street remake and one of the segments in the Tales from the Darkside movie. Theirs is a very frosty relationship currently owing to the death of Sean, there’s no sense of chemistry between these two and I’m surprised they’re actually as close in age as they are, Remar only 4 years older. Feels like there’s more of like a 10-20 year gap. He gets on very well with Emily though, they have this instant rapport whilst Patricia is more distant which is understandable. She obviously has to keep things professional as she can’t get too attached to these kids and doesn’t want them getting attached to her, plus there’s probably ongoing issues from Sean’s death, maybe she’s not prepared to slip back into that motherly role again. Which you can tell by that dinner she serves; rolls of wafer thin ham, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks and celery? That’s just what all the kids want.

At least she’ll read Emily a bedtime story, ‘I’ll Love You Forever’ which documents a mother who sings to her song that she’ll love him forever, even when he becomes a rebellious teenager who thinks it’s lame for her to do that. This leads to the very strange visual of him cradiling her in his arms on a rocking chair and singing it to her when she’s old and frail, a mirror image of how she first sang to him when he was a baby. This really hits Patricia in the feels as she felt distant from Sean as he seemed closer to his father, wanting to impress him by picking the sports and classes he thought his father wanted him to take. She even seems to partly blame her husband for their sons death as he switched around his work schedule to come home early for Christmas, which in turn led to Sean coming home early too. If he’d just come home on the day he intended this never would have happened! That seems grossly unfair. Even when she passed along a family heirloom in the form of her fathers watch, he was unimpressed and even managed to break it whilst horsing around with a friend in his room.

The massively tangled web of these characters comes into play again when Megan is going through some things and finds an old Christmas gift which sends Nathan into some sort of Nam flashback. Turns out Sean was holding it as he was wheeled into the hospital and Nathan had taken it upon himself to make sure it found its way to its intended destination but he just forgot about it over the years. I actually went back to check this and ,yeah, that is in the previous movie. I had this whole thing pegged as just a series of independent stories with loose connections throughout but no, apparently they had whole plot points planned out in advance.

Nathan and Patricia do interact several times as she takes the crack baby to the hospital to be checked up. There’s this strange level of frustration akin to An American Tail where Nathan keeps getting little flashbacks in his head but he’s never quite able to connect the dots.

But of course he eventually does and the present turns out to be, say it with me now, the broken watch! Perhaps more meaningful though is the accompanying note which reveals Sean intended to study social work at college because he wanted to help kids just like his mom. This seems to serve as a form of closure for her but I feel like you could already start drawing that sort of conclusion. I mean, the guy was already in that Big Brother program so you were clearly already having some sort of influence on him.

Strike two of the big overly emotional finale comes when it’s suggested Emily puts the angel atop the tree which promptly makes her bolt out of the room. Everyone is left thinking they’ve upset her but she comes back clutching a picture which she wedges onto the tree, a picture not of her mother as I had suspected but of Sean. She says he is her angel and she feels like whenever she’s felt all alone, he’s been there to help here. Awww.

The big showstopper though is the troubled kid finally coming good and, after realising who everyone is in this story, returns Traci’s bag to the Addison home. Inside was her camera and on that camera was the video from the very start of the movie. Turns out she wrote that song as a Christmas gift for Emily.

Though, I feel the writers fell short of a grand slam here. Near the end, Nathan shares the story with Megan about giving the gift to Sean’s parents and how it gave him his own little bit of closure after how much Sean’s death affected him back then. Megan goes into labour shortly afterwards and I was fully expecting them to decide to call the baby Sean but no such luck.

Christmas Blessing was lacking a little bit in the big emotional ending so it feels like this one is making up for that and then some. It’s not as cheesy as that song from Christmas Shoes but still delivers that overly sentimental feeling. Again, it’s something I am loathed to admit but it got to me a little bit. This whole movie has that same morbid energy as the other two but in a slightly different way, the first two felt like you spent the entire movie watching people who were on deaths door before something happened at the end to soften the blow. Here they just give you the death right up front and everyone is left to cope with the aftermath and reflect on how deal with it. It’s like an encapsulation of everything that Nathan has gone through over these movies, facing death in his personal and professional life but coming to terms with it.

You know what’s bullshit though? No sign of the eponymous Christmas Shoes anywhere. They’re even in the box of stuff that Megan finds the old Christmas present in. How can you make this your big conclusion and not bring them back? You brought them back the last one, you couldn’t have Megan tag along and give them to Emily at the end as some sort of passing of the torch? It was her destiny, Nathan got them for his dead mother, Charlie got them for his dead mother, those shoes have been robbed of their purpose in life.

#Christmas 2019 #The Christmas Hope

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pcrcelainprincess-blog · 6 years

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☾ . : * ( ADELAIDE KANE - FEMALE - SHE/HER - 19 ) DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT I DO BELIEVE [ASTORIA GREENGRASS] JUST POPPED IN. STUCK WITH THE LOT OF US THEN, ARE THEY? TO THINK THEY WOULD PUT SOMEONE SO [IMPULSIVE] INTO THE BUNCH. SOUNDS LIKE A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN IF YOU ASK ME, THOUGH ACCORDING TO THE PROPHET THEY CAN BE RATHER [CONFIDENT] WHEN THEY WANT TO BE. WELL, BULLY FOR THEM, EH? THOUGH I WOULDN’T DARE GET ANYWHERE NEAR THAT [SLYTHERIN] IF MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT.

Astoria was meant to be a boy. Her parents remind her of this when she disappoints them. They wanted someone to carry on the family name. They instead got Astoria. She was drowned in luxury from birth. There would be nothing but the best for the youngest Greengrass daughter. She may not be the child they wanted, but she was the child they had. No expense would be spared. Tutors were hired for all manner of skills. Hours each day were spent learning decorum and academia. She was groomed to be the ideal pureblood wife. Her timid nature was taken advantage of by her family. She offered little to no resistance as they shaped her in their image.

Solace was found in nature and singing. She would spend free time in their gardens putting all the plants to memory. The alone time stripped away her usual self-conscious nature. Anyone who wandered upon her would hear the soft melody of her voice, and see her sweet smile in its most genuine form. She was the sunflower among her family of orchids. They wanted wealth and power for her. She wanted happiness. No designer dress made her as happy as she was barefoot in a cheap cotton sundress in the garden. She just couldn’t tell her parents this truth.

Her parents made themselves the center of her world. She was forever in debt to them. They did only want the best for her. She put their desires over her own. They had to know what was best. She would do as she was told. Duty and loyalty were of the utmost importance. Family came first always. It was not all negative. It formed the close bond between Astoria and Daphne. She looked up to her sister. Daphne is her mentor and confidant. There is nothing she would not do for her. The school year without her were hard on Astoria. She wrote to her constantly, but it was not the same. She had no one to run to when overwhelmed, or confused. When Astoria made it to Hogwarts, she was crushed to nearly be sorted into Hufflepuff. She had nothing against the house, but she wanted to be with her sister. Her whole family had been in Slytherin. A little begging caused the hat to concede and place her in Slytherin.

Socializing didn’t come easy for Astoria. She was polite, but far too nervous to approach people. She mostly keeps to herself. It made her group of friends at school small. Most believe her to be cold and elitist. The former was far from the truth. She cares more for others than herself. Nothing quite ruins her day like seeing someone in pain and being unable to help. The latter is a work in progress. She was raised with traditional views of pureblood supremacy. It was easy to maintain those views in the bubble of her home and among the circles her family frequented. It was harder in the much more diverse halls of Hogwarts. She was exposed to people of all backgrounds with all manner of skills. It wasn’t long before she saw the error in her upbringing. However, she had to keep up appearances with her family, and fellow Slytherins.

Her sixth year was all about flying under the radar. She had little to worry about being a pureblood in Slytherin. It was the matter that she held different views from those in charge. She wanted to speak out against the atrocious treatment of her peers, but found herself unable. It was easier to stay silent, to not disappoint her parents, and avoid punishment. Astoria was in the dungeons during the battle of Hogwarts. She could not bring herself to fight with the death eaters, but would not betray her family and fight with the order. It was to her great relief to hear the outcome.

Astoria spent the summer helping her family reestablish themselves in a post-war world. They had done well to avoid major scandal. Their alliances had been known, but they weren’t actively participating like many other families. They had chosen to stay out of the war. It was a matter of appearances now. The sweet sixteen daughter playing messenger between business connections, attending social gatherings, and aiding in rebuilding the war-torn world was the perfect advertisement for their brand image. She was happy to help, but glad to leave as well. Hogwarts gave her more freedom. At school she could bury herself in books, spend time in the Hospital Wing, and have mostly free roam of the land. She wasn’t sure how much of that she could retain after she completed schooling. Her parents had specific plans for her future.

It was going back after completing her schooling that became the major turning point in her life. Her parents were even more determined to control every aspect of her life. The rebellion of her sister, and the freedom she had experienced at school were beginning to build up Astoria. It wasn’t long before they were asking too much of her, and Daphne was having none of it. With her newfound confidence, Astoria was able to stand up to her parents and choose to leave with her sister. It was an addictive feeling, speaking her mind. Soon she was discovering a whole other side to herself. All the years with her parents had programmed her in their image, stunting her personal growth. She found that she thrived in her confidence, and liked acting on whim rather than calculation. Her overly-romantic view of the world was enhanced being in a supportive environment with Daphne. However, she couldn’t shake everything. She still uses the manipulation taught by her parents, using it without even realizing to sway people in her favor. It’s the thing she is working on at the moment.

Astoria is tentative about the safe house. She understands the purpose it servers, but dislikes being sequestered. She wants to have a garden and the ability to come and go as she pleases. It also takes her away from her healer training. Her books have been brought with her, but it doesn’t compare to being in the hospital. It’s going to put her behind. She’ll comply for now, if only for the sake of Daphne, but not forever.

TLDR: Astoria has been through a lot of shit with her parents that has suppressed her personality and aspirations. She is only recently coming into her own with the support of her sister. While she was shy, and appeared cold at school, she is now confident in herself and lively. It’s a miracle what independence from her parent’s influence has done for her. She is an incurable optimist who hopes to be a healer. She is at the safe house to appease Daphne, but upset that it stops her healer training.

#;ripped at every edge but still a masterpiece (( about ))

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outstanding-ocs · 7 years

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((Art by Me!))

Name: Jai Kyuroah-Ippmososi

Age: He looks 15, but his body is 5 years old. Mentally he is 25 years old.

Birthdate: NA

Sexual Orientation: NA

Gender: Male

Height: 6'3

Weight: 520lbs

Appearance: Jai is a very hadsome young man. He looks just like Mihajlo Raznatovic, even though he has never met this man before. Jai has superhero-like facial features. He has auburn hair, a square jaw and eyes that seem to have permanent eyeliner on them. He has a slight cleft in his chin, and full lips. Like all A'maranians, his canines are longer than a humans, he has a tail with a slight auburn tuft at the end, and his eyes identify what part of the planet he is from. They are white and his eyes have been described as “Paralyzing beautiful” by the people who meet him. He has a slight tan from traveling to other planets, but other than that he has a pale complexion. He is always seen in his Uniform, which consists of a black duster coat that is reinforced on some areas but it has the Symbol of Nenigol on the back, a green sash, and some customized gauntlets that almost give him the appearance of having long and sharp claws. These gauntlets also allow him to pick up his spears after they heat up from him throwing them.

Current bio: Jai has no real memory of being activated. For a short while, he did live with an old man who helped him to learn the A'maranian language and their ways of life. Due to the old mans health, he was left at the door of the Nenigoolian temple where he was taken in by Iitä Rowess. She eventually learned about him being an Android and despite the fact that she wanted him gone because he went against what their planet stood for, she took him in and trained him. At first the other children were afraid of him because although he was much older than them, he acted like a child. It was also scary to see someone who was that old and they had no control over their powers. In order to help him, she asked that he be placed into the priesthood because their training programs were the most structured, but they constantly turned her down because of what he was. Having no choice, she eventually trained him herself. She eventually asked for him to be inducted into the Priesthood again, and much to the councils decision, he was allowed to go through the training. After 15 years of training he took these skills and he started to work as a hunter for the Secular Guards, and he turned out to be a valuable asset, but soon some people were jealous of the fact that a robot was getting all of these missions instead of them. One of the groups told him that there were a few prisoners located on the formerly hostile planet of Akoa, which was the home of the Shershen’ warriors. He was damaged beyond repair, and he had no way of seeking the help that he needed. In an effort to save his own life, he hid in a cave and went into a low power state. In 15 years, the war between the Shershen’ and the A'maranians was stopped and they had become great allies. In an effort to make reparations for what they did, Some of the Shershen’ went on missions to return the bodies of the A'maranians to their planet. A group of warriors discovered Jai’s body in the cave, and they made an effort to repair him so that he could go back home. Sadly enough, the damage had been done to his memory center, and he could not remember the last 25 years of his life. He went back home and was rewarded for his service, but he had no memory of it. After a few years, he slowly started to regain some of his memories. He couldn’t remember why, but he knew that he had a mission to do, and that he was the only one who could do it. Iitä Rowess warned him against traveling to other planets because it was so dangerous for him, but she did not discourage him. She knew that if this was his fate, then he should do as he pleased, as long as it was within the rights of Nenigool.

Personality: Jai is described as being extremely focused and highly intelligent. When he sets his mind on a goal, it is impossible for him to be deterred. He is also an AI that has independent thought, so although he does follow the doctrine of his shrine, he deviates from it sometimes. He acts older than he looks and he is quick to correct anyone’s behavior if they treat him like a child. When it comes to his religion, he is devout and he follows it strictly. He is tolerant of other factions of religion, but he is quick to question someone else’s devotion.

Weird Fact: He gets really salty if you mispronounce his name because he’s named after one of their gods. It’s pronounced as “Zzhai”.

Facts: *He actually does laugh and smile. People say that it is very cute and infectious.

*Like the Raznatovic siblings. He is of Argentinian and Serbian descent.

* He is currently in safe mode, which means that he is blocked from attacking anyone until they figure out why he started to attack people on Earth.

*He has a form of PTSD, so he gets really jumpy near Shershen Warriors.

*Do not insult his outfit. That was given to him by his teacher and he’s really proud of it.

*He is basically a priest in his planet, which is why he’s allowed to use weapons. *A lot of people forget that he’s an adult, he just has a child like body and appearance, so they tack down to him which makes him really upset.

*His power is telekinesis. He uses it to fight with multiple spears at one time. It’s a common misconception that he has Telepathy, but that’s not the case.

#I love him already #look at that adorable face ahh #queue #outstanding OCs #submission

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weirdlingwonders · 7 years

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“Therapy dogs, emotional support dogs and companion dogs are NOT service dogs under the ADA.”

“A service dog must be individually trained to perform work or tasks directly related to the handler’s disability, while a therapy and emotional support dog merely provides comfort and coping assistance to an individual in some fashion.“

“Therapy and emotional support dogs are allowed in housing under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), but are not permitted in public places as are service dogs.“

FUCKING THANK YOU.

I know that there are service dogs who help with epilepsy and other invisible illness, but as a person who grew up around REAL service dogs (guide dogs for the blind and who’s done TONS of research (including traveling to guide dog facilities to potentially get one), I am BEYOND tired of people running around with their PETS touting them to be “service dogs” when they have absolutely NO training and are in NO WAY an ACTUAL service animal. XP You are ABUSING the rights that REAL DISABLED PEOPLE have fought TOOTH AND NAIL FOR, and giving ACTUAL service dog users a bad name because you can’t stomach leaving Fluffy at home- where she should be- instead of carting her upset and yarping throughout the grocery store. XS YOU are the reason why SO many establishments have a problem w/”service animals.” Not because ACTUAL service animals are poorly behaved and causing trouble, but because people like YOU bring your animals EVERYWHERE when they are neither welcome nor trained to safely & calmly cope w/such situations, causing distress to not only everyone else around you, but also YOUR PET.

There reeeeeally needs to be a certification program given to animals/owners who wish to operate under the umbrella of “service dog.” If an animal’s been bred and trained to do the WORK of a service dog, it deserves that license. And if Joe Schmoe wants to take Fluffy into a private space or public area where dogs are not normally permitted, yer damned right I think he should be asked to present his damned license, and then freaking ejected if he can’t produce one. I’m not saying there needs to be ANY mention of WHAT disability a person has or why the dog is there, but IMO there DOES need to be SOME sort of national system implemented regarding a universal SD certification code/law. (So ANY type of service dog, once it’s done w/its training can get a certificate and a card for its owner to carry around once it’s done being trained, & owners of businesses and other private spaces can VERIFY these animals and owners have the RIGHT to go where regular animals cannot.

I’m GLAD service animals are allowed everywhere by law. This is an amazing, NECESSARY THING for people w/REAL disabilities. But there is a REASON why untrained animals are NOT allowed in certain places. It’s because some people may not be SAFE if they’re exposed to an otherwise untrained animal. (Whether that be mentally, emotionally or physically. Hygiene reasons can be just as valid as someone with misophonia, PTSD or anxiety issues being traumatized by loud, unruly or constant barking, physical disruptions, etc.) Service dogs are VITAL. Service dog training is also VITAL. -For the safety of their humans as well as the safety of the animal- in addition to the safety of the public. Abusing these laws is not abuse of some meaningless, invisible law. It’s abuse of the PEOPLE whose lives literally DEPEND on the use of a REAL SERVICE ANIMAL TO LIVE THEIR LIVES, EVERYDAY, AND COULD NOT SURVIVE WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF THESE ANIMALS. So if your health is not DIRECTLY and IMMEDIATELY jeopardized by the lack of the presence of your dog, and your dog has not been trained to cope w/various situations regarding SERVING SPECIFIC NEEDS for you as a disabled person (beyond the gifts of comfort and companionship), YOU DO NOT HAVE A SERVICE DOG.

I get it. As a person w/depression and anxiety, I understand the MASSIVE aid my companion animals offer me every single day of my life.

But yanno what..? I’m also not gonna take my companion animals to the mall or the grocery store, because I know they’d be traumatized, I’d be upset by their emotional distress, and in the process we’d probably upset or cause harm to other people- either directly or indirectly. It’s called consideration & honorability. It’s called learning some basic freaking coping skills, and realizing what I want may not be okay for the rest of the world. -Nor my PET.

In short, dear delusional (or blatantly fraudulent, manipulative) people, you DO NOT have the right to bring your untrained animals EVERY-DAMNED-WHERE because you or your animal SIMPLY cannot handle being alone. XP And even if you DO have some sort of psychological issue, Therapy dog =/= SERVICE DOG. Unless your animal has been expressly trained to serve SOME sort of actual DUTY (beyond “fetch,” “stay, etc), you have a therapy or companion animal. LEARN THE DIFFERENCE, AND STOP MAKING THE WORLD PAY FOR YOUR BAD BEHAVIOR. (And notice I didn’t mention that of your animal/s.. because that’s not their fault. As their owner/companion, it’s YOURS.)

/rant

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original-character-archives · 7 years

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((Art by me)) Name: Jai Kyuroah-Ippmososi (Kyuroah is pronounced Ewe-rah) Age & Date of Birth: Unknown. He looks 14, but he is actually their equivalent of being 25. Species: He is an A'maranian android that is known as an Aidomlejho Gender: Male Orientation: N/A Fandom/Original: He’s an original and one of my first Villains.

Warnings: Religion, Zealots, Abandonment, Injury.

Biography: In the early years, when Akrinko was in its scientific age, A select group of doctors decided that they would introduce AI’s to the population of the planet. It took them 30 years, but they managed to create AI’s that functioned and looked like actual A'maranians.

Sadly, this program was short lived because of the religious concerns for their planet. The program was abandoned and eventually forgotten.

Jai has no real memory of being activated. For a short while, he did live with an old man who helped him to learn the A'maranian language and their ways of life. Due to the old mans health, he was left at the door of the Nenigoolian temple where he was taken in by Iitä Rowess. She eventually learned about him being an Aidomlejho and despite the fact that she wanted him gone because he went against what their planet stood for, she took him in and trained him.

At first the other children were afraid of him because although he was much older than them, he acted like a child. It was also scary to see someone who was that old and they had no control over their powers. His emotions were new, so when he was upset, he enraged. In order to help him, she asked that he be placed into the priesthood because their training programs were the most structured, but they constantly turned her down because of what he was. Having no choice, she eventually trained him herself and although she was from the North, she helped him with controlling his powers. She eventually asked for him to be inducted into the Priesthood again, and much to the councils decision, he was allowed to go through the training.

Because A'maranian priests are the only ones who can use weapons, Jai decided to train himself so that he could be proficient in the use of Sähiek spears. This was a rather daunting feat because these weapons were infamous for being difficult to use, but after 15 years of training he could use four at the same time. He took these skills and he started to work as a hunter for the Ata'til Guards, and he turned out to be a valuable asset. The fact that he could go on missions for days on end without needing to stop helped them to find criminals who decided to leave the solar system or those who traveled to deep space. He was seen as a valuable member of their team, but soon some people were jealous of the fact that a robot was getting all of these missions instead of them.

One of the groups told him that there were a few prisoners located on the formerly hostile planet of Akoa, which was the home of the Shershen’ warriors. Because he was overconfident, he traveled there with no hesitation. Seeing as he had not been trained in the correct way of fighting one of these warriors, he was nearly destroyed by them. He was damaged beyond repair, and he had no way of seeking the help that he needed. In an effort to save his own life, he hid in a cave and went into a low power state.

In 15 years, the war between the Shershen’ and the A'maranians was stopped and they had become great allies. In an effort to make reparations for what they did, Some of the Shershen’ went on missions to return the bodies of the A'maranians to their planet. A group of warriors discovered Jai’s body in the cave, and they made an effort to repair him so that he could go back home. Sadly enough, the damage had been done to his memory center, and he could not remember the last 25 years of his life. The Shershen’ knew that he was a priest of some sorts because of his outfit, but that was all that they knew about him. He went back home and was rewarded for his service, but he had no memory of it. With that, he respectfully declined the award, and he went back to his duties as a Priest.

After a few years, he slowly started to regain some of his memories. He couldn’t remember why, but he knew that he had a mission to do, and that he was the only one who could do it. Iitä Rowess warned him against hunting these criminals because it was so dangerous for him, but she did not discourage him. She knew that if this was his fate, then he should do as he pleased, as long as it was within the rights of Nenigool. Appearance: Jai is a very handsome young man. He looks just like Mihajlo Raznatovic, even though he has never met this man before. Jai has superhero-like facial features. He has auburn hair, a square jaw and eyes that seem to have permanent eyeliner on them. He has a slight cleft in his chin, and full lips. Like all A'maranians, his canines are longer than a humans, he has a tail with a slight auburn tuft at the end, and his eyes identify what part of the planet he is from. They are white and his eyes have been described as “Paralyzing beautiful” by the people who meet him. He has a slight tan from traveling to other planets, but other than that he has a pale complexion. He is always seen in his Uniform, which consists of a black duster coat that is reinforced on some areas but it has the Symbol of Nenigol on the back, a green sash, and some customized gauntlets that almost give him the appearance of having long and sharp claws. These gauntlets also allow him to pick up his spears after they heat up from him throwing them.

Personality: Jai is described as being extremely focused. When he sets his mind on a goal, it is impossible for him to be deterred. He is also an AI that has independent thought, so although he does follow the doctrine of his shrine, he deviates from it sometimes.

He acts older than he looks and he is quick to correct anyone’s behavior if they treat him like a child.

When it comes to his religion, he is devout and he follows it strictly. He is tolerant of other factions of religion, but he is quick to question someone else’s devotion. The only reason as to why he does this is because his own religion tells him to question and ask in order to understand something better.

Favourite & Least Favourite things: He loves his job, and his outfit. He takes meticulous care of his uniform. When he’s not working, he does like helping people out, learning more about his religion, and finding criminals.

His least Favorites include people who are insubordinate, tasks like writing and praying because it gets tedious after a while and he has things to do.

Strengths and Weaknesses: Physical Strengths: He has telekenisis and that’s about it, but he is proficient with his skills. Like all A'Maranians he can fly, live in the space vacuum, and his strength is enhanced.

Strengths: This guy does not give up. He will do everything in his power to complete his job, and of it takes him weeks then so be it. He’s also very serious

Weaknesses: He is really self conscious about how he looks. Nobody believes that he’s 25 and many people talk to him like he’s a child, which does make him upset. He’s also sensitive about how his first name is pronounced because it’s the name of one of their saints. He can also shut off if he receives too much bodily damage.

Additional notes: 6 Facts about Jai! 1. He has the strangest accent out there. He was raised in a temple where he learned an archaic version of their language. It’s the equivalent of someone learning Ancient Latin their whole life and then they speak English.

2. He is very particular of how his name is pronounced. It’s “Zchai Ewe-Rah”.

3. He sees Viggo as a failed priest, But Viggo actually completed his trials and he’s ordained, unlike him, who is a priest in training.

4. He doesn’t like Luka because he sees him as some sort of abomination, he doesn’t like Shershen’ because they have no set religion.

5. He has a deactivation code that Viggo knows for some unknown reason.

6. Smiling is not something he does frequently.

Specify here whether fanart/fanwork of your OC is okay! Yes Please!

#racial discrimination #death #abuse #submission #original

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actutrends · 4 years

Text

Putin’s Russia, 20 years on

Marc Bennetts is a Moscow-based reporter and author of “I’m Going to Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin’s War on Russia’s Opposition” (Oneworld, 2016).

MOSCOW– Boris Yeltsin had a reputation for the marvelous and the unforeseeable, from buying tanks to shell a rebellious Russian parliament to drunkenly hunting for pizza in Washington in his underclothing. He saved perhaps his most significant surprise for last.

Twenty years ago this Brand-new Year’s Eve, with six months to go till completion of his last term, an ailing Yeltsin addressed Russia in a special noontime broadcast. “I am leaving. I have actually done all I could,” he said, his words slurred by disease and alcoholic abuse. “A new generation is coming. They can do more, and better.”

Later on that night, as the Kremlin clock ticked down the final minutes of the 1990 s, a dour-faced representative of that “brand-new generation” appeared prior to the country as Russia’s acting president.

” Like you, I intended this night to listen to the New Year greetings of President Boris Yeltsin,” stated Vladimir Putin, the previous state security service chief who had been called prime minister simply 4 months previously. “But things turned out otherwise.”

Life under Boris Yeltsin had been a mixture of the surreal and the monstrous.

I was in Britain that significant Brand-new Year’s Eve, but I ‘d been residing in Russia since 1997, catching the tail end of Yeltsin’s chaotic presidency. There were obviously no Twitter storms or YouTube videos of the handover of power. Rather, I found out about Yeltsin’s decision to bless Putin as Russia’s brand-new leader hours after it had occurred, via Ceefax, a now-defunct teletext info service.

I flew back to Moscow later on that week: If someone had actually possessed a crystal ball, I’m unsure what I would have been more stunned to find– that I would still be residing in the Russian capital 20 years on, or that Putin would still remain in the Kremlin.

Life under Yeltsin had actually been a mixture of the surreal and the monstrous. The Communist ideology that had actually dominated life for 7 years had actually been tossed onto history’s trash dump, leaving Russians to adjust to an odd brand-new monster called commercialism.

It was a task lots of were just not up to: Suicides increased, life cost savings were lost in wild pyramid plans, and crime rocketed. State staff members typically went unsettled for months. In August 1998, Russia defaulted on its foreign financial obligation, setting off financial collapse.

Vladimir Putin, left, with Boris Yeltsin at the Kremlin in 1999|Pool photo by TASS/EPA

Soviet propaganda had portrayed life in the West as relentless misery for all but the really richest, and the 1990 s appeared to show the communists were.

Putin understood what his fellow citizens longed for.

Over the next eight years, assisted by soaring rates for oil– Russia’s main export– Putin approached doing just that. By May 2008, towards completion of his second term in workplace, salaries were not only being paid on time, but they were higher than ever. The streets of major cities began to fill with advertisements for simple loans, and individuals long accustomed to frugality suddenly found they could manage foreign holidays, brand-new cars and plasma-screen TVs.

Although political freedoms were being curtailed, independent media strangled, and money that needs to have been utilized to build up important infrastructure simply siphoned out of the country, many Russians remained quiet. After all, it seemed churlish to grumble about such things when you could invest 2 weeks a year at a Turkish Black Sea resort and after that come back to your brand-new house entertainment center.

” Putin acquired a ransacked and bewildered nation, with a poor and demoralized individuals” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Soviet dissident author

” People agreed on a pact with the devil,” said Oleg Orlov, the head of Memorial, Russia’s oldest human rights company. “They stated, ‘We will avoid of the social and political procedure and concentrate on our private lives– simply do not touch us and leave us a small piece of the profits from your oil booty.'”

It was, as Russian intellectuals like to state, a case of “sausages in exchange for freedom.”

Sausages won out.

” What good is freedom of speech if my refrigerator is empty?” a senior female asked me in the main city of Voronezh in2007 I wasn’t sure what to reply, so I mumbled something about how, in an ideal world, she would have both. My answer stopped working to encourage her. “Both?” she stated. “Who is going to provide me both?”

It was toward the end of his 2nd term that the sale of Putin souvenirs went overboard– stores were suddenly full of clocks, mugs and even wall carpets bearing his image.

Putin got praise from unlikely quarters. “Putin acquired a rummaged and mystified country, with a poor and demoralized individuals,” said Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Soviet dissident writer. “And he started to do what was possible– a slow and gradual repair. These efforts were not noticed, nor valued, immediately.”

Solzhenitsyn was not the only fan.

Vladimir Putin souvenirs on sale in Moscow|Mladen Antonov/AFP by means of Getty Images

” I want a guy like Putin, loaded with strength/ I desire a guy like Putin, who doesn’t consume/ I desire a man like Putin, who will not upset me/ I desire a man like Putin, who will not flee,” went the lyrics to an contagious hit by a female pop duo. It was simply the very first of a variety of pop and rap songs to eulogize the Kremlin strongman.

It ended up being progressively hard to escape Putinmania.

In 2008, Russia’s military defeated neighboring Georgia in a five-day war over the breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

Putin’s hold over Russian politics throughout the 2000 s was outright. However as his 2nd term of workplace struck the midway point, he had to make possibly the most crucial decision of his presidency. The Russian constitution stated plainly that no president might serve more than two ” successive” terms. Putin had no strategies to give up power.

In May 2008, Putin moved to the post of prime minister while Dmitry Medvedev, his previous election project supervisor, became president.

As part of Medvedev’s much-heralded program of “modernization,” the Kremlin oversaw the reinvention of RIA Novosti, a state news agency, as a modern-day, censorship-free media outlet. In 2011, I became its very first full-time English-language reporter. This was no Kremlin propaganda outfit– RIA Novosti had total editorial independence and I spent my days speaking with opposition figures and listening to accusations of high-level corruption.

Vladimir Putin utilized Dmitry Medvedev to keep his chair warm at the head of the Kremlin|Yuri Kadobnov/AFP by means of Getty Images

Yet despite Medvedev’s tentative reforms, no one was any under illusions as to who was pulling the most essential strings.

Rather, Putin made a return to the presidency in May 2012 for a third term. As soon as safely re-installed in the Kremlin, Putin set about rolling back Medvedev’s meager reforms. In 2013, RIA Novosti was dismantled and the agency’s boss, Svetlana Mironyuk, dismissed.

Putin changed her with Dmitry Kiselyov, a well-known television presenter known for his anti-Western tirades.

It was a wake-up call for those Russians who had actually bought into Medvedev’s promises of reform. However things will get much darker.

The Kremlin’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 activated an outbreak of aggressive nationalism. Putin, in a keynote speech, implicated opposition political leaders of being “nationwide traitors,” a term that his critics kept in mind had actually once been used by Adolf Hitler.

Unexpectedly, everyone in Russia wished to talk politics. It became progressively challenging to avoid getting sucked into heated conversations about the “fascist junta” in Ukraine– as Russian state media had actually taken to calling the new pro-Western federal government in Kyiv.

Later on that year, I saw a mother scream at her adult daughter that she was “betraying her homeland” because she applauded investigations by Alexei Navalny, the opposition political leader, into alleged corruption by members of Putin’s inner circle.

” There is no Russia today if there is no Putin” — Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian parliament

This environment of unchecked nationalism was encapsulated perfectly by the Night Wolves, a motorcycle gang that received around EUR1 million in state funds to promote anti-Western ideas and “traditional” Russian values.

The leather-clad gang staged performances for kids that depicted the West as intent on ruining Russia.

Amidst the stand-off over Ukraine, Putin was transformed into the living, breathing personification of Russia. As Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian parliament, put it: “There is no Russia today if there is no Putin.”

The anniversary of Putin’s second decade in power has been accompanied by a concrete cooling of Russia’s enthusiasm for the ex-KGB officer who has currently lasted longer than 3 U.S. presidents and been accused of assisting put a fourth into the White Home.

In May, Putin’s trust scores fell to a 13- year low of just 31 percent as discontent simmered over a boost to the pension age, widespread hardship and ruthless allegations of corruption versus the political elite. Putin came to power promising stability, however his opponents are significantly drawing comparisons with Yeltsin’s “wild” 1990 s.

In my trips across Russia, far fewer people seem going to applaud Putin and his policies. Instead, anger and frustration are far more common.

Residents at a market in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Across the nation, appreciation for Putin appears to be more irregular|Mladen Antonov/AFP by means of Getty Images

” They tricked us for a while with Crimea,” Konstantin, an out of work man in Russia’s far north, told me last year. “Today he’s revealed his real colors with the pension reforms.”

This year has likewise seen a significant uptick in demonstrations over issues ranging from election scams to poisonous garbage discards The authorities are obviously so worried that in September they deployed around a dozen armed officers to detain a Siberian shaman who had vowed to amazingly expel Putin from workplace.

State-sponsored commemorations of the anniversary of Putin’s ascent to the presidency have actually been low-key. Indeed, state media has actually hardly mentioned that it is now 20 years considering that Yeltsin turned over the secrets to the Kremlin.

Konstantin Gaaze, a political expert with the Carnegie Moscow Center, recommended the silence is due to the fact that Putin is uncomfortable of memories of precisely how he ended up being president. “On 31 st December 1999, Putin was just an item of Yeltsin’s will. And he wants to forget about this,” Gaaze said. He also stated the Kremlin may be cautious about advising Russians of precisely how long Putin has been in power, especially if he intends to lengthen his guideline beyond May 2024, when his last term of workplace is because of expire.

For how long will Putin’s stranglehold on Russian politics last?|Alexey Nikolsky/AFP through Getty Images

Speculation has currently started that Putin is looking for to craft a method to stay in power. Heading a Union State with surrounding Belarus might be one option, as might another stint as prime minister.

It’s not likely, naturally, that Putin will handle another 20 years as Russia’s leader. And even if he does, it’s extremely unlikely that I will still be in Moscow to report on it.

Just a fool, nevertheless, would entirely rule out either circumstance.

The post Putin’s Russia, 20 years on appeared first on Actu Trends.

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igiti2019 · 5 years

Text

Day 5 (5/23)

Great day great day great day great day

Today we woke up early for our first day of work! When I woke up I went to the kitchen to hard boil the eggs I bought at the Kimironko Market. One of them cracked and then another one broke while I was peeling it and became an eggy shelly mess, so I threw those away and put the rest in the fridge and decided I would reap the benefits of my culinary work another day. Then we walked to Java House, the cute cafe with the sun logo, and I got a medium americano to go, since we had no time for breakfast. Outside Java House we got a cab and were on our way to work! When we first arrived at work at 10 we went to the third floor where the employees work and filled into a small meeting room that was available. This was perfect because it was small enough for just us 3, it had outlets and a fan, and with the door closed we were able to talk and collaborate. A few moments after getting settled in, Laura, the head of diversity at Kepler, poked her head in to tell us that if we had any questions or wanted to interview her and get her help on anything to let her know. We love Laura. But we had work to do, so we looked at our first deliverable which was to summarize key points of a data set that included data from 3 different sites of Kepler’s college preparation program called ITEME (“small log bridge” in Kinyarwanda). So we each took one site and spent 2 hours in that room summarizing the data! Finding trends, finding differences in gender, in refugees vs. non-refugees, etc. and then comparing the data across sites. At 12, we orded food from Java House with an app called Jumia, which is just like Rwanda’s Uber Eats. We decided we needed a change of scenery, so we went down to the great hall where all of the students can hang out and work, and we claimed a long table in the corner of the room and waited for our food. My lunch was so. Damn. delicious. I got a small dish of rice, a small dish of steamed vegetables, and a small dish of fried plantains, but of course the serving sizes in Rwanda are huge despite the incredibly cheap prices, so I was only able to finish half of it. The other half I’ve boxed up and will have tomorrow, hopefully with one of my prized hard-boiled market eggs. We didn’t do much work during lunch, just talked. Then after lunch we went back upstairs to the quiet room with everyone’s desk offices as I’m calling them, and for about 1 or 2 hours all silently worked on our data, going more in depth, doing other research, etc. until we finished our independent work and needed to collaborate again so we went back to our beloved available meeting room. We worked on our work plan in there until someone came in and kicked us out because they had it reserved for a meeting, and we returned to the great hall downstairs. We finalized that on a weekly basis we’ll plan to be at the office Monday - Friday, and just be very loose about taking days off to attend conferences or work remotely, which I think is just perfect. We also set rough deadlines for each of our 3 deliverables throughout the summer, including work for the case study that we’re meant to be compiling for the class that sent us here in the first place. After we finalized those two schedules Zodi and Ananya talked about some extra curriculars that they have in common until we called a cab and went home. At home things got a little bit icky, because we were all tired after our first day at work, and some of our different preferences were coming up about wifi and electricity use, work schedules, just different differences that will inevitably arise when people live together. I got upset when Zodi gave me some trouble for being so stringent with saving electricity and wifi, so I just isolated myself for a bit and went to my room to cool off. Cried a bit, took an anxiety med, and shook it off, because an hour later we had dinner with our boss in town. We were already kind of running late because it was taking too long to find a cab so we decided to walk, but then Ananya forgot her anti-malarial pills so we had to go back to the apartment but after that we were able to get a cab and make our way to Chez Lando, a higher end restaurant attached to a hotel. Our boss was there waiting for us (she’s really chill so she wasn’t mad at all), and we all sat down and ordered food. For the first time, we experienced what we had all read about – Rwandan service taking forever! Before coming here, we’d all read that restaurant meals can take up to 2 hours just to be delivered to the table, and that’s just a normal thing in Rwanda, but we weren’t experiencing that anywhere we went, we actually noticed that waiters were extremely pleasant and very attentive to our needs. But tonight the dinner took 90 minutes (Ananya timed it) to arrive. But it was well worth the wait! Ashley (boss lady) and Zodi both got Ugali, which is kind of like the outside of mochi if you can imagine that, but as a big blog, and you pick it up with your fingers and use it to then pick up and act as the starchy background for whatever else you ordered, usually spinach, stew, or meats. I’ve wanted to try it since we got here, but unfortunately Zodi and Ashley’s dishes both had meat. But I’m happy that I saw it! It reminded me to look for it next time we go somewhere that might have it. As for me, I got two plates LOADED with vegetables that made my heart sing. I ordered a plain omelette, a vegetable shishkabob, and potato croquettes (a lot of my meals here consist of me ordering things I can eat off of the sides menu and constructing my own meal and I LOVE it), and of course I got one plate with a huge omelette and tons of fresh veggies on the side (including half an avocado oh my god), and another plate with a gigantic roasted veggie skewer, three huge potato croquettes, and for some reason also boiled peas and carrots. It was so damn good. It all cost $4. So… yeah. I’m pretty sure my eyes were just giant stars when the waitress put it in front of me. It looked like a lot, and I thought I would be able to save some of it to add to my lunch tomorrow, but I surprised myself with how quickly I actually finished it! (Except for one of the potato croquettes I gave to Zodi and the fresh veggies that I couldn’t eat bc they’re raw and potentially have cholera bacteria on them but I did eat the avocado because it has a peel so sue me.) During the 90 minute wait and the meal afterwards, Ashley told us about her time living in India in college, her time doing the Peace Corps in Guatemala, her eventual move to Rwanda, her recent move within Rwanda, and her upcoming move to Ethiopia (uhhh… hello.. Can you say “dream life”?????????) We asked her questions about Kepler, and WE FOUND OUT THAT IT’S ACTUALLY SAFE FOR US TO GO TO KIZIBA REFUGEE CAMP. This is huge for me. We had been worried that the recent Ebola outbreak in DRC would make it unsafe to visit the Kiziba Refugee camp, one of Kepler’s campuses, but Kiziba hasn’t accepted any new refugees from DRC in years! I can’t even explain how much it means to me that I will soon be stepping foot onto what I’ve built all of my work around, all of my goals, all of my projects and classes and research. When Ashley saw my excitetment at the news, she stopped smiling for one of the only times that night, and warned me that, “It’s really… a lot. It’s extremely difficult to be there and see it, especially for you guys who have never seen something like it before. But as soon as you get there, people will be following you and touching you, and the poverty is really extreme.” But I’m so ready. I want to see, I want to experience, I want to understand, and then I want to think, and I want to help. June is Refugee Awareness Month, and June 20 is World Refugee Day, so this timing is pretty serendipitous. We need to send our passports to the government and get government clearance to go, and we always need to tell them when we plan to go so that they expect us. (It’s a 4 hour drive up a mountain, so we couldn’t just pop by anyways.) The Kiziba campus graduation is July 5th, so Ashley said that we could certainly go with Kepler for that, but I’d like to go sooner if possible, even just once. It’s $100 to get a 4-wheel drive car (which is necessary for the journey) to take us there, but that’s only $20 more than a regular car would cost. Kepler employees are there Monday - Friday, too, so we would have people who could show us around and speak English with us. At our dinner we also found out that Sylvia, who had become our new supervisor after Obed was leaving to work at a different Kepler location, was now also leaving for a new job somewhere else. So next week we’ll find out who our new supervisor is! It’s too bad, because Sylvia and Obed seem great, but we’ve also met some very cool employees at Kepler like Laura, Cristine, Teppo, Joell, they all seem great, and Ashley seemed confident that we were being placed with the right person. We were ALSO told that tomorrow the president of Southern New Hampshire University, Kepler’s biggest partner, is coming with a group of about 35 people! Ashley is coordinating the whole thing, so she said that we could go and be flies on the wall, but we can’t talk to her because she will be at maximum stress limits. It’s 8:45-12, so I’m hoping we can go at 8:45 and see as much as possible. After that, we’ll hopefully meet with Sylvia to finalize our work plan and get ideas from her about where to go for data, etc. Then it sounded like Ananya and Zodi didn’t want to do a full work day tomorrow, so I’m not sure what will happen after that. Bruno (landlord) is bringing us a rice cooker tomorrow, so I may go back to Kimironko Market and buy some more eggs (since I’ve already lost 3) and some rice by the kilo. 6 organic eggs for $1.20! Did I already tell y’all that?! Anyways after dinner Zodi and Ananya said they no longer wanted to go happy hour at the Inema Arts Center so I had to text Innocent and tell him we would be there next week. Which was very sad, and I really wish we could’ve gone, it would’ve been nice to celebrate our first day of work with 2 for 1 wine!!!! But also it was late, and we need to get up early especially if we’re going in at 8:45! So we taxied home with the SWEETEST French-speaking old man I have ever met and I love him with all my heart and I wish we could’ve gotten his number and used him as our driver every time. (Most taxi drivers give strangers their numbers so that they’ll just call them instead of calling a random cab) He would even be perfect because since he drove us to our impossible-to-find apartment, he knows where it is! If I ever get in his cab again I’ll get his number… We came inside and I took.. My first… RWANDAN SHOWER. (That’s what I’ll be calling it.) But like full on cold shower with a detached shower head I had to move around me without spraying water, squatting down to wash my hair so I wouldn’t get water everywhere, it was great. Very refreshing of course, but also I always love experiencing those little things that make a country definitely different from my country, even if it’s “less comfortable” or considered “worse”. ANY part of a new culture, good or bad, I love discovering it. Now I’m in my room writing this under my mosquito bed net, which I actually love. It’s like a fort. When I got back to my room after my shower and got changed, I threw my phone, backpack, and water bottle under the net and then climbed in. I just throw anything I need for the night in, and then get in! It’s just like a fort!! I love it. Okay that’s all I have to report on today. We used up over half our wifi that we had bought for 30 days in just 3 days, so I’ll post pictures tomorrow when I have work wifi….

Peace!

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coaoreo-blog · 6 years

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A Black Sheep's Diary: Dealing with Comparisons

Hello Again Beautiful People

[caption id="attachment_94" align="alignnone" width="750"] Sister Appreciation Post: She Loves the Filters Just as Much as I Do!!![/caption] I am currently sitting in a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt with my house slippers in my basement contemplating what I want to write about for this week's blog. This Tuesday happens to be my day off from both jobs and as many would say; "I woke up on the wrong side of the bed." So what did I do to get out of this mindset before the "World feels my wrath?" I watched the movie Marshall starring Chadwick Boseman. Some of you may know him from his more recent films Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. After watching this I was just compelled to change my major. Don't worry...I didn't :) This past week, for me personally, has been extremely busy. It was all due to President Trump visiting. He was escorted by all families from across the country to celebrate those graduating from the United States Naval Academy. I had the opportunity this week to meet some awesome people from Italy, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, etc. I've also had some impactful discussions with some regulars from the coffee shop. There was one in particular that really spoke to me. I have found myself over the past few days reflecting on my life so far and thinking hard about the future. I often get feelings when scrolling through social media and seeing all of the people from my high school class graduating college or coming up on their last year as rising seniors. These friends are traveling the world and doing the things I only dream about. When I scroll or click through the different feeds be it Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram, this dark feeling never fades. I find myself thinking, "Here I am working two jobs, attending community college, not a clear idea of my future, and nowhere close to having the ability to experience things my friends are at regular colleges. Why am I so behind in life?"

The Struggle with Comparison

The truth is...these statements, although they are mine, make me angry. I could not believe that my brain had the audacity to think these thoughts. I mean, I had gotten into MTSU. However, due to some difficulties with financial aid, I am now in a place where my future is uncertain leaving me unnerved. I'm not one to not know where I am going to be tomorrow, next week, nor next semester. Yet, here I am stuck...waiting. Have you ever been in a place like this where all you feel is stuck? To me, it was like a room with four white walls and no door. For the past few months, I felt like I needed to be at this big four-year college. It was my way of being seen less as a failure. However, I wasn't where I had imagined myself to be and that caused me to feel like less of a person. I started to compare my life and what I had done to my siblings. I mean, those are the closest and most realistic ones to compare to: am I right? I mean, I could not be more proud of them. My oldest brother is a preacher, leading a church and making differences all throughout the city of Annapolis. My older sister is a phenomenal athlete, amazing icon and household name within the equestrian circle and beyond. My next oldest brother is living a life many dream of right out of college; I mean he went to Peru (also walked miles to bring me home a longboard for Christmas). He is kicking butt in a business, buying his first house, traveling the world, and changing the way people and business operate. Last but not least, my younger brother is attending the school that I could not bring myself to finish (USNA) and doing the things that he loves to do. It was hard not to look at my life and all of the things unfinished compared to the success stories of my own family. I felt like a black sheep for I had not done anything special or taken steps towards my dream or just any dream in my mind. I was stuck in the quicksand of inadequacy and I couldn't find a way out. There were many nights that I would delete my social media to try and eliminate the temptation to compare yet I couldn't stop it. The other day at work a co-worker greeted me by stating, "Hey Kid". I laughed and proceeded to ask why she felt the need to call someone, two and a half years older than her, "kid". She then went on to inform me that she had "done, lived, and gotten more out of life in comparison to me" and therefore had the right to call me kid. This coworker is younger than me with a beautiful baby girl. However, she felt that since she had a daughter, bills and was "more independent" with different problems, she had hit it in life. Now, I want to state first that I don't want to take away from her experiences, whatever they may be, however, how am I suppose to answer. There are so many young adults my age (above or below) who are married, have children, renting their first house, and "starting life". One of my siblings is also an example of that. Yet, at the same age, I find myself living with my parents unsure of the future and frustrated. Why I am so late to the party? It was not until my conversation with a local customer that I really started to see things differently.

Different Does Not Mean Wrong

I found myself, last Wednesday, in a conversation centered around a program called YWAM or Youth With A Mission. I had been upset with the reality that I may not receive the financial aid needed to attend MTSU ( still waiting though with fingers crossed). I didn't think college was really my path if this all didn't go through and I wanted to have a purpose in life. I needed it. If college wasn't going to do it then I needed to look elsewhere. This led to a customer who had a personal connection. I was astonished by some of the similarities that we had throughout the conversation. We both had scholarships to very prestigious schools and decided to leave because it not what we wanted out of life. This customer took to hitchhiking. She headed towards upstate New York to try to find herself. It was during that year that she found Christ and decided to continue her education. Fast-forward a couple years, she settled down, finished her degree, got a Masters, Ph.D., and post-doctorate, became a professor, traveled the world, and now lectures to important leaders within our government today. Wow right? I was thinking the exact same thing. She said a lot of amazing things that day to me, however, the one thing that stuck out the most was this: "Not everyone's path is straight. There are those that fit into a box and there are those that fit outside of a box. Just because your path is different does not mean that you are inadequate. You didn't fit a lifestyle and that's fine. Choices are hard, and thankfully, we have lots of life to live. I believe that you can be a great Christian and think outside of the box. If the early disciples didn't think outside the box we'd all be Jewish or something like that." This woman spoke into my life at the exact moment that I need someone. It's funny, I often find myself praying for signs. Yet, I always imagined something big like those miracles in the Bible. Something similar to the stories of Moses and the burning bush or a stranger that turns into something (say an angel), or a voice inside my head: who knows (Yes, I realize these are far-fetched but hey a girl can wish). Anyways, I just remember constantly praying for something. "Speak", I would say, because I can't hear you. I can say, this past Wednesday, I heard him clearly: when everything felt so wrong, she could not have been more right. I can say, now, that I am aware. My path is different from my siblings for I am not my siblings. I am me and I cannot change it. In fact, I should not want to change it and I don't. It is not easy, for growing up, I had always been compared to others but I have decided the only person I can compare myself to is the person I was yesterday. If I am better than I was the day before I can then conclude that I am doing a pretty damn good job. I won't say that I am perfectly content now because feelings (negative ones especially) for so long do not disappear following a ten-minute conversation. What I can say, however, is that I am okay with the path I am walking. I have goals and plans for the future and I am excited to see it unfold right before my eyes. There is no perfect path for one person. There are many paths and just because one differs from another does not mean that you are behind or less of a person. Sometimes people need detours to build them and train them for the rigors of what is to come in the future :) Therefore, to everyone, I say: live your lives the way you want. Do not compare to others for it doesn't bring happiness just sadness, anger, and loneliness. Love your differences for they make you who you are. You are an awesome person and don't forget it. You are never going to be as good as someone else for they are not you. Only you can be the best you. So stop comparing and LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE ! Peace out homies :) Your Oreo and Local Black Sheep, Announcements!!!

I will be posting every Tuesday. Make sure to check in then.

I have also heard some things about snacks for people who are gluten-free. I have recently traveled to target and will post some snack ideas to the home page within the next day or so.

I am also working on some videos to put on here so keep watch for those.

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gocasualrunawaycollection-blog · 6 years

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Anyone know of a good insurance company in Texas for Home Owners Insurance?

"Anyone know of a good insurance company in Texas for Home Owners Insurance?

I'm shopping for home owners insurance and I was wondering whats out there and is good and reliable.

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://freeautoinsurance.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr

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I got my licenses a almost half a year back and my mom told me she'll get me insurance if i bring my grades up or wait until i turn 18... She told me to get a 3.0 gpa+ and the ...show more

Dental Insurances in California...?

I live in California. What is the difference between HMO vs PPO? Meaning there cost and coverage. I know that HMO has a very small selection of Dentists and PPO means you can pick from a larger selection, but I am asking about costy and coverage. I am in need of either Dentures, Bridge work, and eventually Dental Implants badly. 2 emergency dentists that I have seen have mentioned something about... if I have a PPO then they will cover everything, but when I ask them to explain, they tell me to look it up because they don't have time to explain it to me. I have tried to look it up, but I can't seem to figure out what they are talking about. What did the dentist mean by... they will cover everything? As in I will not have to pay anything out of pocket? One dentist even said that if I have a PPO then he can do the work while I wait for the insurance to start, pay him directly, then he will give me back my money when the insurance pays him. But what does that mean? All the PPO and HMO plans I see say that I would still have to pay 50% of the cost. I am unemployed so money is a huge problem, but with my current problems with my teeth, I can not go on interviews. What is the best Dental Insurance in California I can get to cover the most of the expenses of the work I need done??? Free clinics have a 1-2 year waiting list and won't handle problems like mine. Please help!!!""

Farmers Market Liability Insurance?

My girl friend and I are starting a new company that would sell smoothies and baked goods at Californias farmers market and it is our understanding that we need 100,00.00 liability insurance coverage to get into most markets. My question is how much on average do people pay for this and would the cost be different if we were to go under the cottage food act? Any information or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks""

Insurance??

if i buy a new(used) car, wont the insurance papers in my other car cover my new car for a few days? i have heard this from many of my friends, but i dont want to find out the hard way...""

How much would insurance be on a 2005 Subaru Wrx Sti?

Before you answer please read this: I am 16, this will be my first car, my father will be buying it for me but i would call the insurance company but they are closed at this time of night so i will just ask on here. Please do not lecture about how i don't need this car and all i understand the concern but since you aren't the ones paying the bills please don't lecture. Thank you for any and all help available.""

Medicaid health insurance? for pregnant teen?

I am 17 years old. i recently found out i was pregnant and i am under my moms health insurance. unfortunitly i am currently unemployed and my boyfriend's job isn't that good. with my mom's insurance i have to pay $20 every time i go for an appt. and the bills are kind of high. i need better insurance for me and my baby on the way and someone mentioned medicaid. any idea how to apply? also if anyone has a good insurance for them and their baby i will take any advice!!

Still waiting to hear from car insurance if car is a write off?

its been a week since this guy hit me from behind. he was 100% at fault. how long do i have to wait to find out if my car was a write off? the car is fixable and i need to know how much to fix? want my car back!!!!!

How should I get car insurance?

Let me explain my situation. I am an adult who has not had a drivers license before and I am wanting to take the test next week to get it. In order to take the test, I must prove that I have car insurance. I have called a couple place to get car insurance and they have told me that I need a driver license in order to get for them to insure me. I have tried to look up quotes online as well, but they also expect me to have a license in order to get a quite? I have no family that will put me on their insurance. Secondary question, how much does liability insurance go for?""

Insurance companies that don't require college degree ?

Does anybody know of any insurance companies that you don't need a college degree to work at? Apparently you need one for liberty mutual which is where I was looking to work. I was working at American income for a month but was not satisfied with how the company is operated. I'm looking to go into property and casualty as well. Is there any good companies out there that will hire with a little experience and offer a schooling program for property and casualty? I already hold a life license good for the next 2 years.

Is this a good health insurance for my mom?

My mom is 58 years old and lives in California. I needed a plan where if there's any hospital bills or chemotherapy that needs to be done and it exceeds $100,000......I want the insurance company to pay for everything. https://www.healthinsurance.com/hi/web/health/ind/PlanDetails.aspx Also, can an insurance company suddenly cut someone if they are really sick and in the process of recovery? Does anyone know of a better health plan I should get for her? Thanks so much in advance.""

Do you buy insurance before you buy a car?

Say you picked a car that you want. And negotiated your deal? Who do you get insurance? I never had a car before.

Affordable kids health insurance in Florida?

I recently got a new job, and my income combined with my husbands will be *just* over 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, making us ineligible for the $20/month payment for Medikids. It would cost $160 for each of our 2 children to continue this full coverage/no co-pay insurance. We cannot afford this. What are some other options? We definitely cannot afford insurance for the whole family.""

What can I do about my car insurance?

My son wrecked my 2007 Dodge Ram1500 6/23/09. My mother offered to apply the truck to her insuance for lower rates. I ask the agent for full coverage because it had a lien on it with collion, now the insurance won't pay because they saud I have libility w/no collion, I'm sick, so it's a battle what can I do, please help""

""What is the definition of junk insurance and did all insurance companies, even Blue Cross, once offer them ?""

it is a good thing you did not get seriously ill because you would have lost everything and still be dying a miserable death. BTW, Insurance companies did not call their product junk insurance. It was easy takings from suckers though.""

Do i need to be a full time student to be covered for medical insurance?

i've always been told that i need to have at least 12 credit hours a semester in order to be covered for health insurance. with the new obama health care is this still true since most 23-26 year olds do not attend school anymore?

What would be a rough estimate on a monthly insurance price for and 18 yr old kid with a '12 motorcycle?

I have no previous accidents or anything But I want a new ninja. Just a ballpark if you can

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if you can get like your life insurance lisence online and where?

""Confused about totaled car, insurance, and bank loan!! Help!!?""

Bought a 1999 VW Jetta months ago, have a bank loan was in accident and it was totaled. Appraisal people came, decided to keep the car and just got check for $6000 bucks needs sign from me and bank. I'm still covered for insurance, if I go get it fixed, will I just pay the deductible or will it totally be out of pocket? They are also asking for the title, but I don't own the car so would the bank have it? I'm so confused!!""

""I'm living in Japan, looking for private health insurance. Can anyone recommend a good *affordable company?""

I'm an expat, planning on spending most of my life here in Japan. The national health insurance is good but a bit expensive. So if anyone knows a good expat health insurance company that is somewhat comprehensive, please send the information my way. I only have to cover myself and I have my own business.""

Anyone know of a good insurance company in Texas for Home Owners Insurance?

I'm shopping for home owners insurance and I was wondering whats out there and is good and reliable.

How much will my Geico Insurance go up after my accident?

I have Geico Insurance. I had a DUI 2 years ago, and I pay $150/month for auto insurance. Two months ago I rear-ended a guy in bumper to bumper traffic (he stopped short. I've heard 90% of rear-end accidents, the person who did the hitting is at fault, but it was impossible to maintain a safe distance since people were constantly cutting in vying for an edge.) Anyway, neither of us told our insurance companies, we both took pics of each other's cars (mine looked way worse cause it already had a busted front end from someone who backed into it while parked at night and took off with no note). So I got an estimate from his mechanic for $1700. To fix my front-end, it's probably going to be $3000-4000. My question is (would LOVE to hear from a current geico or or other auto insurance agent) How much will my rates go up? How long will they go up for? Do I get a point on my license for this? Because if the amount they charge me (over time, in higher rates) is more than $4700 (i.e. his $1700 + my $3000) then I'll just pay for both on my own and spare myself the DMV point. But if it will be less than that (i.e. the higher rate expires before it reaches $4700 more), then I'll just tell my Insurance company and deal with the point. Can anyone help me here? Much appreciated!""

I own a car and am selling it to a guy. He is the only driver. He refuses to get insurance.?

I have given him 3 months to get insurance, but he hasnt gotten it yet. I have kept the vehicle on my insurance until he gets it, but he still hasnt gotten it. And now he is complaining that I should stop insuring it so that he doesnt have to reimburse me for it. My questions are: What would happen if i dropped the insurance and he got pulled over or in a wreck? Who would be responsible, me or him? Could my rates be raised? Could I personally get into trouble with the law for allowing an uninsured driver drive an uninsured car that I own? We're in the process of getting a temporary title for him so that I won't be responsible, but in the meantime I need to know the consequences. I live in Ohio.""

What is the cost of basic car insurance?

I know it varies but i mean for an average car? Are there any other costs to be considered when first purchasing/driving a car?

How much would the insurance be on a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS for an 18 year old?

I need to know how much it would be for both the 454 and 396 model. *And my driving record is clean.

Health insurance help please?

My husband and I were dropped by our health insurance company. We think it's because we started using our coverage (miscarriage). My husband is a contractor so the insurance they offer is pathetic and doesn't cover anything. But, we can't afford to being paying high deductibles and premiums. We make too much to get on medicaid, so we fall in the middle. Are there any programs or resources available for the average class family?""

Do insurance companies have a specific category for rock crawlers and how much does it cost to insure one?

I want to buy a rock crawler and the only reason I would probably insure it is just so I could drive it on the street ocassionally not as a daily driver that wouldnt be to smart anyway depends though

Is there any car insurance company who won't ask for no claim bonus proof?

Cheap car insurance 22yr old just passed test but have been banned for drink driving?

hi all i've been banned from driving and now i've passed my test i need cheap car insurance but everywhere i go is way to high for me. any advice please?

Why are Dental and Vision Insurance separate from regular Health insurance?

Why are Dental and Vision Insurance separate from regular Health insurance? I have regular health insurance one me and my kids. I also have Dental and Vision insurance on just myself, because I can't afford it for my kids. They are the ones who need it most. Why are Dental and Vision not included on Health insurance? I'm not talking about for Braces or colored contacts, but for wellness check-ups, fillings, glasses if needed, etc.""

Insurance auctions/Salvage yards websites???

can anyone tell me good websites that sale salvage/insurance auction cars ......i live in south texas........

Which health insurance is good and better in California?

Deciding from this health insurance Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross of California, Kaiser Permanante.""

What's the most affordable auto insurance when you have drivers under 25?

I have two sons: ages 21 and 16. Need to know the cheapest option someone has found. The 16 year old took the defensive driving course, that it helps to lower his monthly insurance payment? What else, if anything, helps to lower the cost when there is under 25 years old drivers? Appreciate your answers""

How much is car insurance for a 16 year old living in Florida?

Hi, I'm fifteen and I'm getting my license soon. I was wondering, what's the average cost for car insurance for a child at the age of 16 driving a Ford Mustang GT? I included my car model if that's any help at all to you. I also live in Central Florida. Thanks in advance!""

Health care bill will make health services more affordable and of higer quality?

why would it? can anyone give me a paragraph on why and why these things happen?

What is the best individual insurance for a pregnant woman?

I just found out i am 5 weeks pregnant and dont currently have insurance. My husbands works and his employer offers insurance for the family for $850.00/mo, which is completely ridiculous and not affordable for us right now. I stay at home with my daughter in Missouri, but we are having a hard time getting medicaid. Any advice. Thanks...""

How much increase will I expect in my car insurance premium after an accident that was my fault?

I rear-ended a car that in turn rear-ended another car. Damage to my car cost $6500, liability claims against my policy at $5000. Also one driver claimed for bodily injury amounting to $2000. I am insured under Progressive in Texas""

Insurance Costs on a car when a minor?

Me (16 years old) and a friend (15) have an interest to buy a 2001 Passat. 5 speed manual for 1000$ to fix and sell for profit. How brutal would insurance be and is this joint purchase even possible? All costs would be covered by us. We have State Farm. Any information would be great. Thanks.

Any suggestions on first time driver insurance in the nyc area?

I need suggestions on good affordable insurance, keep in mind Im a first time driver.""

""On average, how much would motorcycle insurance be for a 16 year old?""

I am 16, i will be 17 when i get my bike. Im pretty sure it is going to be a Kawasaki Ninja 250. Could anyone tell me about how much it would be to insure it. I live in Pennsylvania.""

Do judges call in to verify your car insurance?

I was just curious if you are sent to court for driving without proof of insurance if the judge in court calls into the insurance to verify it. If it helps I live in Illinois. Just curious I'm trying to prove something to a friend.

What is the best health insurance plan in Chicago?

I am self-employed and want to get health insurance. I am trying to find the most cost-effective plan with the most service for the lowest price and least hassle.

How do I get my insurance licenses?

Do I have to work for an insurance company before?

How much more is insurance if I don't take Driver's Ed.?

I'm nearly seventeen, and I don't even have a permit :X, I was never able to find my proper documentation (no, I'm not illegal, I just HATE going through beurocracy). I live in Iowa, and I have to wait six months before I can get my license. But it'll be a limited license, and in order to get it I have to take three months of driver's ed. and do twenty hours of independent driving. So if I got it in March, the earliest I could drive would be September. But I won't have a car, and I don't need a car; and I don't have the money for a car. So I figured I'd wait until I was eighteen, which would be in May of 2011, because I wouldn't need any needless requirements, and I wouldn't have to take driver's ed. But my question is; how much more would car insurance be if I didn't take driver's ed, and just went for my full license when I was eighteen?""

Good mobile insurance companies?

I'm getting an iPhone 4S and I want to feel as though I've got back up if something went wrong (I'm very clumsy too at times) and I've been through lists of insurance companies and they're either too expensive or have bad reviews about 'receiving refurbished phones' Can some one tell me a good company they know of under 7 per month and/or even better someone whose had a claim and they were a good company?! Really stressing out!

Can a 19 year old get cheap car insurance on a 20 plus year old muscle car.?

O.K. i know these cars are expensive to insure in most cases but i am wondering if there is any possible way i can get cheap insurance on such a car. There is also the fact that this will be a daily driver . also if anyone knows if a modified car will be more to insure. im looking at a 1974 Camaro with a 454 Modified or a stock 1974 AMC AMX. Thanks Jay.

Anyone know of a good insurance company in Texas for Home Owners Insurance?

I'm shopping for home owners insurance and I was wondering whats out there and is good and reliable.

Insurance on a ford fiesta 1.25 GHIA?

im 17 and will be having my full license at the very latest January the 1st just wondering the average price for cheapest cover, 5 door 1.25""

Best insurance for young driver?

I live in Ontario, and I am looking for the best (or give me a list) of relatively cheap companies. I am 16 years old, but gathering information for when I am 17-18. My parents are currently with State Farm, but I am looking to purchase a Mini Cooper (y. 2000-2004), so what would be the best option for me? A list of good insurance companies would be helpful, and any additional information is great. Thank you in advanced, Spencer""

What will happen if I drive without car insurance and get caught?

I drive my parents Grand Prix every once in a while, but i do not ever drive the ford expedition. I asked my stepfather will it be okay for me to drive back to college, he said no. He said that it will cost to much to add me on at this point. My mom does not want me to drive sometimes, because she think my license will be revoked or I would have to pay a large fine. I want to have a car on campus, because I do not like being stuck their mostly throughout the week, even though the semester is about over. Is it a good idea to drive without car insurance.""

Insurance costs for a teen in a mustang?

Hey there. I will be 16 soon, and I already have a car though, but not registered or applied for insurance or anything. Anyway, the car is a 1978 ford mustang, cherry red inside and out. I have driven a lot on roads and I'm confident about not wrecking it. I'm not one of those bad *** jocks you show off with their car, I just happen to have a mustang. anyway, anyone estimate the monthly insurance, we are with geico.""

Insurance for Photographers?

Where can I buy insurance for my Photography company?

Can you be on someone other than your families car insurance?

I just want to know if it is an option to be on someone other than your families car insurance. Like a friend's or whatnot. Or is car insurance for one family only.

Should i Register my car under my dad's name to get cheaper insurance?

How does it work? Do i buy the car under his name and register it under his name? OR Do i buy it under my name and register it under my name and just insure it under him? How does it work? EZ 10 Points here guys.

Afforable Health insurance?

I'm 19 years old, I work a part time job and I need health insurance. The cheapest I saw was Blue cross blue care and it was $95 a month and 30 copay. Is there anything cheaper I ...show more""

Will my car insurance be able to transfer over to another car without extra fees?

My mother-n-law has an extra car that she doesn't have insurance on because she doesn't drive it shes letting me use it for a month. If i get my own policy and pay the 6 month premium in full and add that car to it when I take that car off after i give it back to her will i have a credit that I can transfer over to my car when i get one in a couple months without paying anything extra?

Insurance on a car that is not registered to me ?

Can I get insurance if the car has not yet been transferred to me?

Van insurance young driver?

im 20 years old, been driving for 3 years with 1 year no claims, im a qualified tiler but i cant find van insurance cheaper than 6 grand anywhere its a joke, so i cant work cause i need a van wtf can i do""

""How can I find affordable health insurance that covers chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, or both?""

I live in Colorado. I only make slightly above minimum wage. I am not eligible for health care benefits through work. I have a chronic issue and am in pain if I do not go. I spend $250 on chiropractic and $250 on acupuncture for a grand total of $500 a month. Is there a health insurance plan that could cover either one or both kinds of treatments for less than $500 a month? If not, I will just continue to pay out of pocket although it is very expensive.""

Car Insurance?

I am just trying to get some quotes on maybe what my car insurance would be. I don't have the kind of car that I want yet but I was just trying to get an estimate and check and see what it would be around.. Can I get any quotes without the Vin Number?

Let's not have universal health care but just make health insurance more affordable?

and have the insurance companies take out take all these pre existing condition clauses. Then we don't have to worry about giving health care to illegals or higher taxes. Does anyone agree with me?

If i lease a car do I pay insurance?

I am thinking about leasing a car, do I have to pay insurance?""

Will women protest being forced to pay LESS for life and auto insurance than men?

No? I didn't think so.

About how much is the average teen insurance of the lowest requirements for TX of a 17 year old with a license

Young Person Car Insurance?

Hi there, I am currently looking for my son who is 19 and has just got himself a new job, i promised him if he gets a job he can have a car to get there. However i am very worried about the insurance quotes ive looked up on the internet which is looking at 3700 a year which is the cheapest i can find. Very worrying seeing his mates are 2500 which im happy to pay. He is looking for a old ford fiesta, is there any ideas where i could improve and seek a cheaper quote? Possibly phoning up companies or is the internet quotes better, any other suggested cheap car insurance websites? Thanks Fiona""

How much is your car insurance a month?

What kind of car do you have? What car insurance company are you with?

""Best insurance for my small business? im 25, non registered business 0-10 jobs per week.?""

Best insurance for my small business? im 25, non registered business 0-10 jobs per week.?""

I am a soon to be mom without health insurance.?

I have not had health insurance for 3 yrs now. Till now it's not really been that big of a deal because I'm a very healthy person and was able to pay for all of ck ups @ the doc. but now I'm expecting & I'm not going to be able to pay in full for prental care,& birth delivery of a baby. I have not gone to the doc because I would like to get on health insurance first & I'm scared if I go to the doc first insurance will say it was a preexisting condidtion & not insure me. The baby's father says I should get on Medicaid but he makes $6000 a month, & we live together, so I'm scared that he makes too much money for me to get on Meicaid & we can't afford for me to have any kind of insurance that is expensive. What is the best thing for me to do?""

How much should I pay for a1967 Chevy Impala?

Basically, I want this car. How much (ball park figure, estimates, exact prices, whatever) wwould it set me back? Just the car itself, mind. I'll handle the tax and insurance, etc myself. And no, its not because of Supernatural.""

I live in CA and want to know How much $$$ to pay for insurance if i get a sports car?

I am getting my permit in 2 months and i am getting the Toyota MR2 Spyder. How much do i have to pay for the insurance? i heard that it costs more because its a sports car.

""Insurance Claim estimate lower than expected, what do I do?""

An elderly lady backed up into my car a few days ago and we decided it'd be best to file an insurance claim. After the claim was ruled in my favor I was sent to a body shop for an estimate of the repair. The damage was to the rear quarter panel of my car which consisted of a scrape across the panel and a quarter sized dent in the panel. The insurance adjuster gave me an estimate and check for 855$. My question is in regards to the repairs, I feel that since this is 100% the other party's fault and since I am the person who has to drive the car that I am entitled to the maximum premium in repairs. I have been reading on Paintless Dent Removal (PDR) and most will say that its the cheap way of making a repair. Does anyone know if it would be possible to go back and get a new estimate/settlement for a new rear quarter panel? Basically my logic is this, if you damage any of my property it should be 100% my call if I want to settle for a compromise or not.""

Moped insurance for 16 year olds?

about how much would the insurance cost me for my moped, i'm 16, i have my provisional licence? x""

Anyone know of a good insurance company in Texas for Home Owners Insurance?

I'm shopping for home owners insurance and I was wondering whats out there and is good and reliable.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-cheapest-auto-insurance-teens-days-zerneisen-sasha"

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ethel9769184-blog · 6 years

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itbeatsbookmarks · 6 years

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(Via: Perspectives)

Many years ago I worked on IBM DB2 and so I occasionally get the question, “how the heck could you folks possibly have four relational database management system code bases?” Some go on to argue that a single code base would have been much more efficient. That’s certainly true. And, had we moved to a single code base, that engineering resource efficiency improvement would have lead to a very difficult outcome in the database wars. I’m skeptical on this extension of the argument but the question is an interesting one and I wrote up a more detailed answer than usually possible off the cuff.

——————–

IBM Relational Database Code Bases

Few server manufacturers have the inclination and the resources needed to develop a relational database management system and yet IBM has internally developed and continues to support four independent, full-featured relational database products. A production-quality RDBMS with a large customer base is typically is well over a million lines of code and represents a multi-year effort of hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of engineers. These are massive undertakings requiring special skills, so the question sometimes comes up, how could IBM possibly end up with four different RDBMS systems that don’t share components?

At least while I was at IBM, there was frequent talk of developing a single RDBMS code base for all supported hardware and operating systems. The reasons why this didn’t happen are at least partly social and historical, but there are also many strong technical challenges that make it difficult rewind the clock and use a single code base. The diversity of the IBM hardware and operating platforms would have made it difficult, the deep exploitation of unique underlying platform characteristics like the single level store on the AS/400 or the Sysplex Data Sharing on System z would make it truly challenging, the implementation languages used by many of the RDBMS code bases don’t exist on all platforms raised yet another road block, and differences in features and functionality across the four IBM database code bases make it even less feasible. After so many years of diverse evolution and unique optimizations, releasing a single code base to rule them all would almost certainly fail to be feature and performance compatible with prior releases. Consequently, IBM has four different relational database management system code lines maintained by four different engineering teams.

DB2/MVS, now called Db2 for z/OS, is a great product optimized for the z/OS operating system supporting unique System z features such as the Sysplex Coupling Facility. Many of IBM’s most important customers still depend on this database system and it would be truly challenging to port to another operating system such as Windows, System I, UNIX or Linux. It would be even more challenging to replace Db2 for z/OS with one of the other IBM relational code bases. Db2 for z/OS will live on for the life of the IBM mainframe and won’t likely be ported to any other platform or ever be replaced by another RDBMS code line from within IBM.

DB2/400, now called Db2 for i, is the IBM relational database for the AS/400. This hardware platform, originally called the System/38, was released way back in 1979 but continues to be an excellent example of many modern operating system features. Now called System i, this server hosts a very advanced operating system with a single level store where memory and disk addresses are indistinguishable and objects can transparently move between disk and memory. It’s a capability-based system where pointers, whether to disk or memory, include the security permissions needed to access the object referenced. The database on the System i exploits these system features, making Db2 for i another system-optimized and non-portable database. As with Db2 for z/OS, this code base will live on for the life of the platform and won’t likely be ported to any other platform or ever be replaced by another RDBMS code line.

There actually is a single DB2 code base for the VM/CMS and the DOS/VSE operating systems. Originally called SQL/Data System or, more commonly, SQL/DS (now officially Db2 for VSE & VM), it is the productization of the original System R research system. Some components such as the execution engine have changed fairly substantially from System R, but most parts of the system evolved directly from the original System R project developed at the IBM San Jose Research Center (later to become IBM Almaden Research Center). This code base is not written in a widely supported or portable programming language and recently it hasn’t had the deep engineering investment the other IBM RDBMS code bases have enjoyed. But it does remain in production use and continues to be fully supported. It wouldn’t be a good choice to port to other IBM platforms and it would be very difficult to replace while maintaining compatibility with the previous releases in production on VM/CMS and DOS/VSE.

For the OS/2 system, IBM wrote yet another relational database system but this time it was written in a portable language and with fewer operating system and hardware dependencies. When IBM needed a fifth RDBMS for the RS/6000, many saw porting the OS/2 DBM code base as the quickest option. As part of this plan, the development of OS/2 Database Manager (also called OS/2 DBM) was transferred from the OS/2 development team to the IBM Software Solutions development lab in Toronto. The mission was both to continue supporting and enhancing OS/2 DBM but also to port the code base to AIX on the RS/6000. We also went on to deliver this code base on Linux, Windows, HP/UX, and Sun Solaris.

My involvement with this project started as we began the transfer of the OS/2 DBM code base to Toronto. It was an exciting time because not only were we going to have a portable RDBMS code base and be able to support multiple platforms but, in what was really unusual for IBM at the time, we would also support non-IBM operating systems. This really felt to me like “being in the database business” rather than being in the systems business with a great database.

One of the first things we discovered was OS/2 DBM was really struggling with our largest customers and they were complaining to the most senior levels at IBM. I remember having to fly into Chicago to meet with an important IBM customer who was very upset with OS/2 Database Manager stability. As I pulled up in front of their building, a helicopter landed on the lawn with the IBM executives who had flown in from headquarters for the meeting. I knew that this was going to be a long and difficult meeting and it was.

We knew we had to get this code stable fast, but we also had made commitments to the IBM Software Solutions leadership to quickly be in production on the RS/6000. The more we learned about the code base, the more difficult the challenge looked. The code base wasn’t stable, didn’t perform well, nor did it scale well in any dimension. It became clear we either had to choose a different code base to build upon or make some big changes fast.

There was a lot to be done and very little time. The pressure was mounting and we were looking at other solutions from a variety of different sources when the IBM Almaden database research team jumped in. They offered to put the entire Almaden database research team on the project, with a goal to both replace the OS/2 DBM optimizer and execution engine with Starburst (Database research project) components and to help solve the scaling and stability problems we were currently experiencing in the field. Taking a research code base is a dangerous step for any development team, but this proposal was different in that the authors would accompany the code base. Pat Selinger of IBM Almaden Research essentially convinced us that we would have a world-class optimizer and execution engine and we would have the full-time commitment from Pat, Bruce Lindsay, Guy Lohman, C. Mohan, Hamid Pirahesh, John McPherson and the rest of the IBM Almaden database research team working shoulder to shoulder with us in making this product successful.

The decision was made to take this path. At around the same time we were making that decision, we had just brought the database up on the RS/6000 and discovered that it was capable of only 6 transactions per second measured using TPC-B. The performance leader on that platform at the time, Informix, was able to deliver 69 tps. This was incredibly difficult news in that the new Starburst research optimizer, although vital for more complex relational workloads, would have virtually no impact on the simple transactional performance of TPC-B.

I remember feeling like quitting as I thought through where this miserable performance would put us as we made a late entrance to the UNIX database market. I dragged myself up out of my chair and walked down to the Janet Perna’s office. Janet was the leader of IBM Database at the time and responsible for all code bases on all platforms. I remember walking into Janet’s office and, more or less without noticing she was already meeting with someone, and blurting out “we have a massive problem.” She asked for the details and Janet, typical of her usual “just get it done” style to all problems, said “well, we’ll just have to get it fixed then. Bring together a team of the best from Toronto and Almaden and report weekly.” Janet is an incredible leader and, without her confidence and support, I’m not sure we would have even started the project. Things just looked too bleak.

Instead of being a punishing or unrewarding long march, the performance improvement project was one of the best experiences of my life. Over the course of six months, the joint Toronto/Almaden team transformed the worse performing database management system to the best. When we published our audited TPC-B performance later that year, it was the best performing database management system on the RISC System/6000 platform.

It was during this performance work that I really came to depend upon Bruce Lindsay. I used to joke that convincing Bruce to do anything was nearly impossible but, once he was believed it was the right thing to do, he could achieve as much by himself as any mid-sized engineering team. I’ve never seen a problem too big for Bruce. He’s saved my butt multiple times over the years and, although I’ve bought him a good many beers, I probably still owe him a few more.

The ad hoc Toronto/Almaden DB2 performance team did amazing work and that early effort not only saved the product in the market but also cemented the trust between the two engineering teams. Over subsequent years, many great features were delivered and much was achieved.

Many of the OS/2 DBM quality and scaling problems were due to a process model where all connected users ran in the same database address space. We knew that needed to change. Matt Huras, Tim Vincent and the teams they led completely replaced the database process model to one where each database connection had its own process each of which could access a large shared buffer pool. This gave the isolation needed to run reliably. They also kept the ability to run in operating system threads, and put in support for greater than 4GB-addressing even though all the operating systems we were using at the time were 32-bit systems. This work was a massive improvement in database performance and stability. It was a breath of fresh air to have the system stabilized at key customer sites so we could focus on moving the product forward and functionally improving it with a much lower customer support burden.

Another problem we faced with this young code base, originally written for OS/2, was that each database table was stored in its own file. There are some downsides to this mode but, generally, it can be made to work fairly well. What was absolutely unworkable was that no table could be more than 2GB. Even back then, a database system where a table could not exceed 2GB is pretty close to doomed.

At this point, we were getting close to our committed delivery date and the collective Toronto and Almaden teams had fixed all the major problems with the original OS/2 DBM code base and had it ported and running well on AIX. We also could support other operating systems and platforms fairly easily. But, the one problem we just hadn’t found a way to address was the 2GB table size limit.

At the time I was lead architect for the product and felt super-strongly that we needed to address the table size limitation of 2GB before we shipped. I was making that argument vociferously but the excellent counter argument was we were simply out of time. Any reasonable redesign would have delayed us significantly from our committed product ship dates. Estimates ranged from 9 to 12 months and many felt bigger slips were likely if we made changes of this magnitude to the storage engine.

I still couldn’t live with the prospect of shipping a UNIX database product with this scaling limitation so I ended up taking a long weekend and writing support for a primitive approach to supporting greater-than-2GB tables. It wasn’t a beautiful solution but the beautiful solutions had been investigated extensively and just couldn’t be implemented quickly enough. What I did was implement a virtualization layer below the physical table manager that allowed a table to be implemented over multiple files. It wasn’t the most elegant of solutions but it certainly was the most expedient. It left most of the storage engine unchanged and, after the files were opened, it had close to no negative impact on performance. Having this code in our hands and it being able to pass our full regression test suite swung the argument the other way and we decided to remove the 2GB table size limit before shipping.

When we released the product, we had the world’s fastest database on AIX measured using TPC-B. We also had the basis for a very available system and the customers that were previously threatening legal action became happy reference customers. Soon after, we shipped the new Starburst optimizer and query engine.

This database system became quite successful and, after working on it for many releases, it remains one of the best engineering experiences of my life. The combined Toronto and Almaden teams are amongst the most selfless and talented group of engineers with which I’ve ever worked. Janet Perna, who headed IBM database at the time, was a unique leader who made us all better, had incredibly high expectations, and yet never was that awful boss you sometimes hear about. Matt Huras, Tim Vincent, Al Comeau, Kathy McKnight, Richard Hedges, Dale Hagen, Bernie Schieffer and the rest of the excellent Toronto DB2 team weren’t afraid of a challenge and knew how to deliver systems that worked reliably for customers. Pat Selinger is an amazing leader who helped rally the world-class Almaden database research team and kept all of us on the product team believing. Bruce Lindsay, C. Mohan, Guy Lohman, John McPherson, Hamid Pirahesh and the rest of IBM Almaden database research team are all phenomenal database researchers but they are also willing to roll up their sleeves and do the sometimes monotonous work that seems to be about 90% of what it takes to ship high quality production systems. For example, Pat Selinger, an IBM Fellow and inventor of the relational database cost based optimizer, spent vast amounts of her time writing the test plan and some of the tests used to get the system stable and gain confidence that it was ready for production.

IBM continues to earn billions annually from its database offerings so it’s hard to refer to these code bases as anything other than phenomenal successes. An argument might be made that getting to a single code base could have allowed the engineering resources to be applied more efficiently. I suppose that is true, but market share is even more important than engineering efficiency and what would have helped grow market share faster would have been to focus the database engineering, marketing, and sales resources on selling DB2 on non-IBM server platforms earlier and with more focus. It’s certainly true that Windows has long been on the DB2 supported platforms list, but IBM has always been most effective selling on its own platforms. That’s still true today. DB2 is available on the leading cloud computing platform but, again, most IBM sales and engineering resources are still invested in their own competitive cloud platform. On this model, IBM database success will always be tied to IBM server platform market share.

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