#oceans burned and worlds collapsed and revolutions started

[r4venking]

oh the things i'd do to feel again what i felt the first time i read the line "ronan's second secret was adam parrish"

#oceans burned and worlds collapsed and revolutions started #greatest line in literature history #the raven cycle #pynch #trc #adam parrish #ronan lynch #the raven boys #ronan x adam #the dream thieves

[galaxitic]

Nobody??? I'm a somebody!!! Tell me about your charactersssss

You are going to regret asking this. I will now proceed to explain to you my entire plot as it stands.

Just so you know, it’s very much incomplete.

........Well, we’re gonna have to start with the basic facts about my WIP, I guess—

(Also: potential trigger warnings for PTSD, war, drugging, hallucinations, torture, death, suicide, and a lot of other dark themes)

In summary, my story’s about a revolution that takes place in the tyrannical kingdom of Idris. We have three perspective characters (listed in no particular order):

- Brinne Alistair (22), the queen of the kingdom. Controlling, emotional, paranoid. Has bipolar disorder.

- Adrian Caldaver (22), the queen’s advisor. Timid, visionary, guilt-ridden.

- Rowen Pierce (25), the leader of a major rebellion in Idris. Passionate, sadistic, determined.

We also have four secondary characters as the story is right now (though that number’s undoubtedly going to go up over time):

- Lennox Warren (22), a noble of the kingdom. Controls criminal justice. Rigid, professional, calculating.

- Grace Hudson (22), another noble (although she’s secretly part of the rebellion). Controls public relations with other countries. Persistent, analytical, zealous.

- Evander Pierce (27), Rowen’s brother and moral compass right-hand-man in the revolution. Pragmatic, serious, good-natured.

- Zurielle Tessing (20), a noble of the kingdom, and Adrian’s fiancée. Shy, practical, melancholy.

We can probably start with some history. Six years before the actual story begins, before Brinne is queen, there’s an attack on the castle lead by none other than Rowen herself. Shit goes down, and a fuck ton of nobles and royalty die, including the parents of all my characters in nobility. 

Brinne and Adrian aren’t killed, but Adrian is shot in the leg and Brinne is not only stabbed, but also gets the symbol of the revolution carved into her left cheek by Rowen. They’re both left to die, but neither of their wounds are fatal.

Flash forward five years, they both have PTSD from the incident.

Starting with the actual storyline, Rowen infiltrates the castle with help from Grace, looking for both Adrian and Lennox. She enlists their help in her revolution, promising that if they lend her their aid, they won’t be killed. They both agree.

Specifically, Adrian’s job is to convince Brinne not to make any decisions that oppress the people further. Lennox’s is to make criminal punishments more lenient, because the rebels are going to be committing a hell of a lot of crimes. Both are instructed not to get in each other’s way.

✨Time skipping✨, Grace executes a plan to fake her death and escape living as a noble. Her motives for it are somewhat tentative as of now, but they’re related to being able to work closer with the revolution and have it be less risky.

Over the next six months or so, Grace and Rowen do some gay shit, and Grace does a ton of stuff for the revolution. Things are going better than ever.

...That is, until Grace is found and arrested for treason.

Rowen goes to the castle after Grace’s arrest in an attempt to negotiate with Lennox for her. However, in the process, Lennox shoots and arrests Rowen as well.

Rowen is put on death row for treason (as is Grace), but before her execution, she’s sent to be interrogated by Lennox. Lennox finds a file on Rowen in the castle archives of the kingdom’s citizens, and based off information in it, he has Evander detained in the dungeons as well. Through Rowen’s interrogation, she refuses to say anything until Lennox threatens Evander’s life in front of her. That gets her...real talkative, to say the least.

Post-interrogation Rowen is not doing so well. She isn’t dehydrated or starving anymore, but the only food and water she’s given in captivity is heavily sedated and laced with hallucinogens. Lucky for her, though, Adrian comes to rescue her (and Evander and Grace) via Methods I Don’t Know Yet. His motives behind it largely relate back to his guilt and moral dilemma, but they’re also fear-based.

When Rowen, Evander, and Adrian get to Grace’s cell, she’s dead. She’d committed suicide with a vial of poison that revolutionaries have on them at all times after hearing that Rowen was captured. However, since Rowen is still under the effects of hallucinogens, she hallucinates that Grace is alive and well, and escaping with them.

When Rowen and Evander make it back to where they live, and it processes that Grace is dead, Rowen’s mental state collapses.

Adrian feels exceedingly guilty over helping the traitors, and figures the least he can do is tell Lennox they’re gone. He does, and Lennox decides it isn’t safe for him to stay in the kingdom.

He flees to another country with some rather...unconventional help from Brinne. He puts a gun to her head and demands permission to leave the kingdom, to which she complies. Brinne nearly kills herself after aiding him, but stops herself out of fear of death.

There’s going to be a lot in between that and the next thing, but I don’t know what any of it is yet - all I know is that after some time, the actual revolution both starts and ends, and spoiler alert: the rebels win.

Great! So the war is won, the people are happy, and now they just have to decide what to do with the queen. Rowen and Evander argue over how to kill her, which seems like a pointless argument, but considering Rowen’s idea is to burn her alive, it’s not really unreasonable that Evander’d want something more humane. If only he’d won the argument.

After being completely humiliated, Brinne is burned alive, and all the remaining nobles in the kingdom are hanged.

Meanwhile, Adrian finally does the same thing Lennox did: he runs. Specifically to the country next over. After a whole day of not stopping to rest, he eventually comes across a secluded cottage right on the beach. Not what he’s used to, but it’ll work.

Over the next year, Rowen works to establish a just government in Idris. Things go surprisingly well for her.

Adrian, on the other hand, is not doing okay at all. He’s completely suicidal at this point, and has attempted both drowning and starving himself.

Rowen visits the country Adrian is in for a diplomatic mission of sorts. She realizes there’s a beach nearby where she’s staying, and she’s never seen the ocean before, so she figures she might as well go.

She finds Adrian there, who’s contemplating suicide again. Adrian asks her to kill him using the knife she has on her, and at first she refuses, claiming she has no reason to. After some persuasion, though, she caves. She stabs him right below his ribs, and using the last of his strength, Adrian takes her knife and stabs himself a second time.

Rowen is scarred. She tells no one about that day, not even Evander. In truth, Adrian and her were always equally scared of each other, to an extent, and Rowen’s fear of him only increased with the encounter.

I’m bad at endings, but pretty sure it’s going to end with a reflection on Rowen’s part.

So yeah, that’s my WIP! I’m so sorry this was so long - I really hope at least somebody took the time to read all that, cause it took a super long time to write.

I really do crave validation for this - commenting/reblogging would mean the world to me, and asking me further questions or DMing me about it would mean even more. Thank you so much if you read all the way through that...I love y’all more than I can describe. Please don’t be shy to ask me more about any of this, it’d legitimately make my day.

#kylie’s asks!! #kylie's wip!! #oc: adrian #oc: brinne #oc: rowen #oc: lennox #oc: grace #oc: evander #sebby asks me things!! #ask to tag #i'm so so so so so sorry this was so long #long post #writing #writeblr

[yastaghr]

Broken Things Shine Brighter 17

I’ve been working on this chapter for a while, it just didn’t want to end for me. So please enjoy it. Or not. That works too.

Warnings: Graphic Injuries, graphic pain

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13431909/chapters/54782299

Or below the cut!

The Day of Freedom would long be argued, debated, and discussed by the monsters of the Underground. It wasn’t that they didn’t think it should have happened. Everyone agreed that they should have done it a long time ago. No, what was unclear was the order of events.

Eventually everyone decided that what started it all was the spiders. They hadn't even known there were that many spiders in the Underground. They came flooding out of everywhere ready to fight. They had armor and weapons. And… they handed them to people. Everyone was shocked. Why would anyone just give away armor like this? This was top of the line stuff, not the shabby kit given out to guards. This was good enough for royalty.

The next thing that happened was the broadcast. TVs turned on everywhere and static cleared to show Dr. Undyne, the former royal scientist and face of the resistance. Standing behind her were Muffet, the unofficial ruler of Snowdin, and Captain Alphys, the head of the Royal Guard.

Undyne coughed and spoke simply. "People of the Underground. The time has come for revolution. The Queen has broken one of the Ancient Laws. She has bound another monster by magic to her against his will. Worse, she has lied to us. There is one way to break the barrier. With seven human souls to match the seven mages who imprisoned us, the Barrier can be broken. Two souls have already been gathered. We will reach the Surface within our lifetimes."

Muffet stepped forward, her face grim. "My spiders have provided to each of you armor and weapons best suited to your needs. Should you choose to take them, you agree to fight to depose her. Should you die the urn of your ashes will be brought to the Surface and placed in a monument to the brave monsters who fought back. Should you live you will have brought us that much closer to freedom."

Finally Captain Alphys spoke with a snarl. "Any guards hearing this? Stand down. Turn your back to the world and stare at the wall. Any guard not doing this is hereby free game. Kill them. No Queen of Monsterkind deserves to be protected if she has broken the Ancient Laws and lied to her people. She is now public enemy number one. Protect her and you die."

Then the orders flowed, a genuine battle plan that had every monster in these Underground wondering how long this had been planned. They all nodded as they donned their armor. It was time to fight back.

Beyond that… well, no one could agree. Did the Froggits snatch the keys out of the guards offices before the Pyropes strangled them or after? What about the Knight Knights and their heroic barrage of the treasury? Or the way the Moldbyggs snuck through the sewers and infiltrated the kitchens so the Migosps could liberate the contents of the fridges? And you can't forget the way the dog pack sniffed and destroyed every land mine in the inner yard.

=====

In all the confusion and fighting it wasn't surprising that one monster could be missed. Blue walked through it all like it was a dream. He couldn't help. He could only watch as monsters died in front of him. He wrote down their types and names in his notebook when he could so they could be properly recorded in the monument. It had been his idea. The memory of Sans' little shrine to his dogs would never leave him.

Papyrus was right in the thick of it, too, throwing bones and showing off the sheer power he had hidden every day of his life. Monsters were impressed and in awe. They wanted him to be on top of the list of heroes. He insisted that he take his place alphabetically, just like everyone else.

Muffet strode through the captured palace and monsters stopped to stare. Het magic went everywhere, tying everyone down and ending the fighting in an instant. She left behind awe struck (and love struck) monsters of every variety. She didn’t care or notice. She had a job to do, and until it was done she would focus on it.

The palace was nearly empty when they reached the torture chamber. Captain Alphys and Dr. Undyne were fighting together in perfect sync against the Queen herself. Both were covered in wounds. So was Sans.

Blue immediately ran over and released Sans from his place on the hot coals, leaving the others to worry about the Queen. The other collapsed into the arms of his brother who looked devastated. The small skeleton looked like he'd taken a swim in a sea of barbed wire only to be attacked by the dullest toothed sharks in the ocean and regurgitated into a pool of liquid metal. The worst wound was the one on his chest. A large sigil that burned like magma was branded deep into his chest.

Blue couldn't take his eyes off of it.  It felt like it would be forever scarred into his mind. He wanted to heal it. He wanted to destroy it. He wanted it never to have been drawn. But he didn't dare touch it until a proper healer had seen it.

He was so focused on it that he missed the entire conversation between Muffet and the healer about what needed to be done. He missed Papyrus' heated outburst. He missed Muffet's quiet, angry speech. He only became aware when he was pulled away from Sans and tied down. His shirt was pulled over his head, covering his sight so he couldn't see who was doing this to him.

"hey, uh, not really appreciating the manhandling. what's up?"

Muffet's voice was emotionless, coming from somewhere to his left. "The sigil cannot be undone. The only way to free him is to change who he is bound to and bind them to him. To do that, someone else must be bound. Out of all of us I think you would treat him best, so it has to be you."

Blue struggled in his bonds to no avail. "you can't be serious. you know what that means, right? i'd be soulmates with him. i can't, i- i- i don't know if i care for him like that. we've never been on a date! i don't-"

"blue. please. he needs you," Papyrus pleaded with him. Blue could hear the worry in his voice. The sincerity. The fear. How could he deny something like that?

But how could he do something like this? There was no way Sans could consent. What if he hated him? What if he hurt him? He could hide nothing from Sans if they were bound like this.  He'd be completely bare and defenseless.

On the other hand, Sans would die if he was still bound to the queen when she was executed. Blue had read the sigils. He would die, and he would die a slow and intensely painful death. Blue didn't want that. And Blue had to admit that he was tempted. More than tempted, he wanted Sans. He wanted to see him smile every day. He wanted to sneak a kiss under a sprig of mistletoe. He wanted to sit under the stars with him and make up stories about their pasts. He wanted to-

Oh.

Oh.

He was in love. When did that happen?

"You have two minutes to answer or we're doing it anyway," Muffet said harshly.

"i'll do it. i'll be his soulmate. for better or for worse, right? go ahead," Blue said bravely.

"Good," Muffet laid a hand on his chest. Healing magic flowed into him. It did nothing but circulate. He made a noise of inquiry. "I'm afraid this is going to hurt a lot, but the magic I just gave you should keep you from dying."

Blue gulped and nodded. He’d been through pain before. He could do this. “okay. just get it over with.”

The next thing he knew he was in crazy intense pain. It felt like the time he’d spilled boiling water all over his arm, only much, much worse. The burning, throbbing pain was all he could think of. It filled his whole world, pushing everything else out of his mind and moving in. It rummaged around the apartment of his mind making a huge, bloody mess. Oh, no. That was his chest. He knew what bleeding felt like and he was definitely bleeding. That meant more bandages. Yay.

The pain didn’t so much abate as become normal. Blue sucked in a huge breath, which of course made his chest hurt even more. A battle between his need to breathe and the pain ensued. Eventually he found a rhythm that didn’t feel agonizing. No wonder Sans could be so testy. This hurt.

Blue blinked when Papyrus pulled down his shirt. There was an apology in his eyes that Blue just managed to recognize. He wasn’t quite sure why it was there. This had to be done, right? And he’d volunteered to do it. There was no way this was Papyrus’ fault.

“we need you to do the last bit, blue. can you summon your magic for us?” Papyrus asked.

Blue nodded. He focused through the pain and let his magic swirl around him. It was brighter than it had been the last time he had summoned it, but it still had his signature yellow fringes to the dark blue flames. Someone gasped in a way he didn’t recognize.

He looked up, and it was Sans gasping at him. His eye lights were finally focused, which was good. He was staring at Blue’s chest and magic with a look of… fear?

Sans, despite his injuries, crawled past the stunned audience and stopped in front of Blue. His hands were shaking badly. Blue reached out to soothe them. Sans didn’t pull them back, which Blue had been half expecting. Instead he let Blue place his hands on top of his.

“YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE COME AFTER ME. IT’S ONLY A LITTLE BIT OF PAIN. I WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE. I ALWAYS-”

Blue interrupted him. “-have been? you should have asked for help, sans. this is way more than you should have been dealing with alone. this much pain… it’s ridiculous. why didn’t you ever say something about it? you know your brother and muffet would have helped you.”

“I COULDN’T. IT’S IN THE SPELL. I COULDN’T TALK ABOUT IT WITH ANYONE WHO DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW. BESIDES. SHE HAD BACKUP SPELLS TO USE AGAINST THEM IF THEY EVER CAME AFTER ME. YOU KNOW NOW, DON’T YOU? YOU’VE GOT ONE BURNED INTO YOUR CHEST THE SAME AS ME.”

Blue shook his head. “she didn’t draw this on me, sans. i asked for this. you need someone else to be bonded to, and i- i- i wanted it to be me. okay? i know it’s selfish, but-”

Sans laughed in an unhinged way. “SELFISH IS NOT THE RIGHT WORD FOR WILLINGLY TAKING ON THIS MUCH PAIN JUST TO HELP ME. STUPID, MAYBE. THOUGHTLESS. BUT NOT SELFISH. IF YOU HAD ASKED ME-”

“You were comatose, Sans,” Muffet interrupted him this time. “We thought you would be out for days. And we aren’t done yet. We still need to bind you to Blue.”

Sans looked around for the first time. Blue saw his face grow more and more confused as he took in the scene. Papyrus was crouching near where Sans had been. He was watching them intently. Muffet was standing over Toriel, her magic wrapping her up in a struggling bundle of spiderwebs. Alphys and Dr. Undyne stood awkwardly next to one another, refusing to look each other in the eye. Blue chuckled at Sans’ confusion, because he knew it came from disbelief. How would Sans react when he found out that he had inspired the entire Underground to rebel? That would be a sight to see. He couldn’t wait.

“AND WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO BE BOUND TO BLUE? WHAT IF I WANT TO BE BOUND TO SOMEONE ELSE INSTEAD?” Sans said perversely.

Alphys snorted. He glared at her, but she didn’t back down. “You stood down the fucking Queen, full knowing what she would do to you, just because you didn’t want to tell her about him. She told us. You’re in love with him, idiot. Just admit it so we can go home. My show is on in a bit.”

Sans scowled at her. “THE MAGNIFICENT AND TERRIBLE SANS ONLY FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE BRAVEST OF MONSTERS! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HE QUALIFIES?”

Papyrus chuckled this time. Sans skewered him with a glance. Papyrus acted like he didn’t notice. “you should have heard him helping us plan the attack, bro. he kept wanting to actually help. not to mention the way he volunteered to let us bind him to you. he’s brave. stupid, like you said, but brave.”

Blue jumped in before Sans could jump down his brother’s throat. “i’m not arguing there. with the stupid part, that is. i’ve done a lot of stupid things lately. but i’d like to finish this one before we move on to the next.”

Sans let out a bark of unexpected laughter. Blue couldn’t help the grin that split his face. Sans’ laughter sounded nice. He definitely wanted to hear more of that.

“VERY WELL THEN, BLUE. BROTHER? MAKE IT SO.”

When Papyrus reached out for Blue’s magic to replace the magic in Sans’ sigil Blue already had a ball of it ready for him to use. Sans’ eyes fixed on it as Papyrus knelt down to trace his chest. “this is still going to hurt, bro, but hopefully not as much.”

Sans, oddly enough, smiled. “SOMEHOW I DOUBT THAT. SHE USED SALT TO FINISH OFF THE SPELL WHEN SHE PUT IT ON. AND THAT TELLS YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW.”

Blue winced in sympathy. At least he didn’t have to deal with that level of pain ever again. At least not if Blue had any say in the matter.

The rush of emotion that Blue felt when Papyrus finished off the last rune was overwhelming. Sans felt like so many things at once. Pride, sorrow, curiosity, amusement, love, fear, excitement… wait, love? Blue looked up at his new soulmate and saw the same surprise echoed in his eyes and face that Blue was feeling. Heh. Guess he wasn’t the only one who had a crush on his partner. From the way it felt, Sans had been in love for a while. Blue wondered if he felt the same.

Sans’ soft smile made Blue feel giddy with happiness. He smiled back. He had no idea how long they were staring at each other like that before Alphys’ cough drew their attention. She had the most amused expression on her face. “So! Can we go home now? I’m going to miss my show if we don’t hurry.”

#rottenjoke #sanscest #fellswap #undertale #sans #fellswap sans #fellswap papyrus #fellswap muffet #fellswap undyne #fellswap alphys #yastaghr

[sidpah]

Cold War Souls

Blessedly alive, outside in the bright morning haze, a large field stretches green and full before me. Megaphone in hand, from a tall nail and glue stage, white flag waving behind, a voice peals out from my throat to a mass of half-clothed natives. I am paying my recompense…

“All these Cold War Souls, you, you, you! Selling yourselves for an empty political promise and a slice of stale bread! – The body is a market, the world an industrial stripmall – Poor panicked souls clinging to ghosts of pleasure, long extinct. Driven to scavenge, suckling rain pipes, forgetting every lake they pass, they dry up, crumble, sell themselves for air…” I am so inspired by Jerry Greenestreet’s vibrancy I co-opt his whole patina…

“Oh, but to be sovereign. To be steadfast. To be dreaming of daybreak… To be willing to walk through the desert all alone, all open and pliable and fragile. This heavy armor crumbling into sand; will for survival forsaken in peace. To enter the tunnel and not think about the mountain or ocean that’s swallowing you whole… Saints and Patriarchs cling, cling, cling to tradition, while Saviors and Soldiers burn for their collective faith. (But who trusts a man with a Russian automatic beaded on your eyebrow? Who trusts a man cutting a D for Damnation into your chest with his short scepter?) Their pockets are overflowing but their arms are too short to reach their own spoils… Sages and Heretics stand fast behind one opinion, but a Martyr knows that only one is all it ever ever ever takes. Where the Piper plays, neither wonder nor mystery find nutrients to grow – Steel and granite anthems – Plowing eighteen miles an hour over cemetery fences – straight through mosque walls and footbaths, tiled fountains and the kneeling faithful – Surrounded by three hundred and sixty degrees of rocket-proof alloy the fires of Hell don’t seem so hot! Lies justified by injections of fluoride and testosterone – Drink up plenty Pride! Eat much Loyalty to make muscle strong! You’ve heard them on the streets, you’ve heard them on the radio waves, you’ve heard them in your fitful dreams! ‘What’s right is right, what’s left is mine, what’s black is burnt; I’ll hear no goddamned debates!’ Pilgrims chant, repeating the names of their god on ninety-nine clay beads, polished by friction of finger pads, friction of mind on mind, burning itself out until it relinquishes control and reveals the nature of their unified god – Everyone’s unified god – Tanks rain the melody of chaos, screeches of twisting steel and crumbling mortar – Singing along staves of fetid retribution: ‘Any line they lay out, you’ll suck it down whole’ those voices tell us without saying a goddamn word... They’re selling you nine pounds of ether bronzed with fool’s gold, and eleven soldiers waving a flag at half-mast to distract all the cameras as the carnage slips past – And the rockets slip past and caskets slips past and the gospel slips past and more Cold War Souls slip into the reinforced bear hug to slumber away that long winter with red skies and brown grass and a black halo dispersing above mountain peaks –”

“So let’s lean upon the leaders and judges! Let their rhetoric and lies be the wind for our sails! Let it push us to find ourselves a New Land far away from their covert wiretaps and black sites torturing children in the cursed name of liberty! We’ll draw upon our weakest moments and display them sans the obligatory shame… Sometimes it feels a disgrace just living off water and fruit… We’ll laugh, comparing scars, tracing the light outlines on each other’s limbs and forget how they’d ever come to be. We’re all the squeamish products of billions of manipulating fingers molding us in their own morbid self-image… So fuck being lazy! And I say fuck playing sane to continue the contrived cellophane ugliness of our suburbanite ideals…. Let’s listen for each cell in our skin to join together a roar like city streets revolting and turbines taking flight just to know there is life within us! And let’s realize as one that between feeling and craving exists the root of all our pain, and let’s cut it away like wheat from chaff!”  

I’m not convinced they can understand a word I say, but I continue, too driven to wrap up my prelection…

“Why else do we bother to pretend someone’s listening? That they’re motivated and planning a movement we’re all awaiting, though secretly a little terrified it might actually come to fruition? – (change is too unpredictable to be comfortable) – Why pretend that divine inspiration is a communicable disease? And that epic shifts really happen by tiny imperceptible degrees?...”

I notice then, a man very much out of place. He wears a white short-sleeved button down linen/cotton blend it looks like from here, and cargo shorts, green like he’s on a Polynesian vacation. As I talk he seems to be looking uneasily around and he’s starting to give me the fantods because I realize that on more than one occasion it’s appeared that he’s been speaking covertly into a watch which means he’s either undercover or deranged and I’m not looking for competition on either front, so I decide to pack it up for real…

“We’ll recount our greatest defeats, caving in to Easy. When we daydream the long amatory lists of If Onlys and Someday I Wills, when they’ve all turned stale in our midlife sobriety and seen as feeble pipedreams that’ve smoldered down leaving us filled with cancer and emphysema, oxygen tanks slung across our bony shoulders… Let’s run far, far from all the men of promises and power stations, greedy congressmen and their football-headed gold-plated champagne sons, cold rubber sheets on the oily beds of prostitutes and the locust hands of the suffering wretched destitute. Let’s sit here and wait for humanity to slow itself down so we can reconvene with the world, or if she likes, let her wither fondly, adored by handful of children present at her bedside. Her last words reminding us there’s no purpose to life except learning the best way to go about dying…”

My message is garbled. I forget my original point. Why I am up here trying to incite a riot? It was all related to something…

“I give up! I see! I drip stagnancy and chemical noise! – I lack an inherent meaning,” I yell to the congregation. So why can’t I stop looking for assurances in the places where I should be cultivating uncertainty spontaneous and rippled with delight? I don’t expect a miracle will happen. I don’t expect to survive this ordeal… Still, I can’t say I’d mind a sign from some wise old dimensional porta-god… maybe one telling me this plight’s not just a big mistake… Giving me assurance that there’s no road to a distant blistering hell… Gentle reminders that there is a path up to a place where a mountain can still sit still and silent as a still and silent mountain – not erupting spark laughter, not carved out for rumble of tourist picnics and suicidal presence-junkies leaping from jagged cliff-nose… And that an unconcerned breath watched is still just a breath witnessed by the Universe – Inhale the sparks of divinity and exhale the bones that are left!...

“Let’s plant our fields and wait for the Sun to get tired or burn herself out like an enraged toddler crying herself to sleep. No more of our incessant struggle to unearth an ultimate, cerebral meaning to existence when there never was one back when we emerged from her crescent womb… What could we find to pacify our trembling minds except that it’s okay to lie down and collapse into Unity?… And that there is a greater peace in surrender than in revolution…”

A gunshot offstage… a hole above my ear… crowd noise drifting into the ocean… …there is no Moon at the bottom of the sea… she never thought to throw herself into the water… …thick green leaves protruding from the side of my head… drops of animal blood across my cheek… chanting, repetitious vowels in asymmetrical phrases… a low moaning chorus of throats all directed from the same worried mind… A pale distant song… gorgeous in its simplicity, yet I can’t follow more than a note without forgetting what came before… this way I can’t tell whether it’s a melody I’m hearing or a long droning hum… Kalday, Kalday… Just let me sleep here… just let me sleep…

#fiction #anarchy #anarchism #war #militarism #colonialism #rebellion #revolution

[dfroza]

Today’s reading from the ancient book of Proverbs and book of Psalms

for july 25 of 2021 with Proverbs 25 and Psalm 25, accompanied by Psalm 36 for the 36th day of Summer and Psalm 56 for day 206 of the year (now with the consummate book of 150 Psalms in its 2nd revolution this year)

[Proverbs 25]

Solomon’s proverbs, published by the scribes of King Hezekiah:

God conceals the revelation of his word

in the hiding place of his glory.

But the honor of kings is revealed

by how they thoroughly search out

the deeper meaning of all that God says.

The heart of a king is full of understanding,

like the heavens are high and the ocean is deep.

If you burn away the impurities from silver,

a sterling vessel will emerge from the fire.

And if you purge corruption from the kingdom,

a king’s reign will be established in righteousness.

Don’t boast in the presence of a king

or promote yourself by taking a seat at the head table

and pretending that you’re someone important.

For it is better for the king to say to you,

“Come, you should sit at the head table,”

than for him to say in front of everyone,

“Please get up and move—

you’re sitting in the place of the prince.”

Don’t be hasty to file a lawsuit.

By starting something you wish you hadn’t,

you could be humiliated when you lose your case.

Don’t reveal another person’s secret

just to prove a point in an argument,

or you could be accused of being a gossip

and gain a reputation for being one

who betrays the confidence of a friend.

Winsome words spoken at just the right time

are as appealing as apples gilded in gold

surrounded with silver.

When you humbly receive wise correction,

it adorns your life with beauty

and makes you a better person.

A reliable, trustworthy messenger

refreshes the heart of his master,

like a gentle snowfall at harvest time.

Clouds that carry no water

and a wind that brings no refreshing rain—

that’s what you’re like when you boast

of a gift that you don’t have.

[Wisdom Practices Self-Control]

Use patience and kindness when you want to persuade leaders

and watch them change their minds right in front of you.

For your gentle wisdom will quell the strongest resistance.

When you discover something sweet,

don’t overindulge and eat more than you need,

for excess in anything can make you sick of even a good thing.

Don’t wear out your welcome

by staying too long at the home of your friends,

or they may get fed up with always having you there

and wish you hadn’t come.

Lying about and slandering people

are as bad as hitting them with a club,

or wounding them with an arrow,

or stabbing them with a sword.

You can’t depend on an unreliable person

when you really need help.

It can be compared to biting down on an abscessed tooth

or walking with a sprained ankle.

When you sing a song of joy to someone suffering

in the deepest grief and heartache,

it can be compared to disrobing in the middle of a blizzard

or rubbing salt in a wound.

Is your enemy hungry? Buy him lunch.

Win him over with your kindness.

Your surprising generosity will awaken his conscience

and God will reward you with favor.

As the north wind brings a storm,

saying things you shouldn’t brings a storm to any relationship.

It’s better to live all alone in a rundown shack

than to share a castle with a crabby spouse!

Like a drink of cool water refreshes a weary, thirsty soul,

so hearing good news revives the spirit.

When a lover of God gives in and compromises with wickedness,

it can be compared to contaminating a stream with sewage

or polluting a fountain.

It’s good to eat sweet things,

but you can take too much.

It’s good to be honored,

but to seek words of praise is not honor at all.

If you live without restraint

and are unable to control your temper,

you’re as helpless as a city with broken-down defenses,

open to attack.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 25 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 25]

A song of David.

ALWAYS I will lift up my soul to You, Eternal One,

BECAUSE You are my God and I put my trust in You.

Do not let me be humiliated.

Do not let my enemies celebrate at my expense.

CERTAINLY none of the people who rely on You will be shamed,

but those who are unfaithful, who intentionally deceive,

they are the ones who will be disgraced.

DEMONSTRATE Your ways, O Eternal One.

Teach me to understand so I can follow.

EASE me down the path of Your truth.

FEED me Your word

because You are the True God who has saved me.

I wait all day long, hoping, trusting in You.

GRACIOUS Eternal One, remember Your compassion; rekindle Your concern and love,

which have always been part of Your actions toward those who are Yours.

Do not HOLD against me the sins I committed when I was young;

instead, deal with me according to Your mercy and love.

Then Your goodness may be demonstrated in all the world, Eternal One.

IMMENSELY good and honorable is the Eternal;

that’s why He teaches sinners the way.

With JUSTICE, He directs the humble in all that is right,

and He shows them His way.

KIND and true are all the ways of the Eternal

to the people who keep His covenant and His words.

O LORD, the Eternal, bring glory to Your name,

and forgive my sins because they are beyond number.

MAY anyone who fears the Eternal

be shown the path he should choose.

His soul will NOT only live in goodness,

but his children will inherit the land.

ONLY those who stand in awe of the Eternal will have intimacy with Him,

and He will reveal His covenant to them.

PERPETUALLY my focus takes me to the Eternal

because He will set me free from the traps laid for me.

QUIETLY turn Your eyes to me and be compassionate toward me

because I am lonely and persecuted.

RAPIDLY my heart beats as troubles build on the horizon.

Come relieve me from these threats.

SEE my troubles and my misery,

and forgive all my sins.

TAKE notice of my enemies.

See how there are so many of them

who hate me and would seek my violent destruction.

Watch over my soul,

and let me face shame and defeat

UNASHAMED because You are my refuge.

May honor and strong character keep me safe.

VIGILANTLY I wait for You, hoping, trusting.

Save Israel from all its troubles,

O True God.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 25 (The Voice)

[Psalm 36]

For the worship leader. A song of David, the Eternal’s servant.

Sin speaks in the depths of the soul

of those who oppose God; they listen closely to its urgings.

You’ll never see the fear of God

in their eyes,

For they flatter themselves—

convinced their sin will remain secret, undiscovered, and so unhated.

They speak words of evil and deceit.

Wisdom and goodness, they deserted long ago.

Even as they sleep, they are plotting mischief.

They journey along a path far from anything good,

gravitating to trouble, welcoming evil.

Your love, O Eternal One, towers high into the heavens.

Even the skies are lower than Your faithfulness.

Your justice is like the majestic mountains.

Your judgments are as deep as the oceans, and yet in Your greatness,

You, O Eternal, offer life for every person and animal.

Your strong love, O True God, is precious.

All people run for shelter under the shadow of Your wings.

In Your house, they eat and are full at Your table.

They drink from the river of Your overflowing kindness.

You have the fountain of life that quenches our thirst.

Your light has opened our eyes and awakened our souls.

May Your love continue to grow deeply in the lives of all who know You.

May Your salvation reach every heart committed to do right.

Give me shelter from prideful feet that hunt me down

and wicked hands that push me from Your path.

It is there, far away from You, that the wicked will be forced down,

face to the earth, never again returning to their feet.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 36 (The Voice)

with these lines mirrored in The Message:

How exquisite your love, O God!

How eager we are to run under your wings,

To eat our fill at the banquet you spread

as you fill our tankards with Eden spring water.

You’re a fountain of cascading light,

and you open our eyes to light.

Keep on loving your friends;

do your work in welcoming hearts.

Don’t let the bullies kick me around,

the moral midgets slap me down.

Send the upstarts sprawling

flat on their faces in the mud.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 36:7-12 (The Message)

[Psalm 56]

Trusting in God

For the Pure and Shining One

King David’s golden song of instruction composed when the Philistines captured him in Gath To the tune of “The Oppression of the Princes to Come”

Lord, show me your kindness and mercy,

for these men oppose and oppress me all day long.

Not a day goes by without somebody harassing me.

So many in their pride trample me under their feet.

But in the day that I’m afraid, I lay all my fears before you

and trust in you with all my heart.

What harm could a man bring to me?

With God on my side, I will not be afraid of what comes.

The roaring praises of God fill my heart

as I trust his promises.

Day after day cruel critics distort my words;

constantly they plot my collapse.

They lurk in the dark, waiting, spying on my movements in secret

to take me by surprise, ready to take my life.

They don’t deserve to get away with this!

Look at their wickedness, their injustice, Lord.

In your fierce anger cast them down to defeat.

You’ve kept track of all my wandering and my weeping.

You’ve stored my many tears in your bottle—not one will be lost.

For they are all recorded in your book of remembrance.

The very moment I call to you for a father’s help

the tide of battle turns and my enemies flee.

This one thing I know: God is on my side!

I trust in the Lord. And I praise him!

I trust in the Word of God. And I praise him!

What harm could man do to me?

With God on my side, I will not be afraid of what comes.

My heart overflows with praise to God and for his promises.

I will always trust in him.

So I’m thanking you with all my heart,

with gratitude for all you’ve done.

I will do everything I’ve promised you, Lord.

For you have saved my soul from death

and my feet from stumbling

so that I can walk before the Lord

bathed in his life-giving light.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 56 (The Passion Translation)

[aion-rsa]

Doctor Who: Introducing John Bishop

https://ift.tt/3hJ3QeV

A teaser at the end of Doctor Who festive special ‘Revolution of the Daleks‘ introduced the audience to John Bishop, freshly cast as new companion Dan and due to appear alongside Mandip Gill and Jodie Whittaker in the show’s upcoming 13th season.

John Bishop is very well known in his native United Kingdom, mostly for his output as an award-winning stand-up comedian, and for being a mainstay of some of the country’s best-loved panel shows. In the US, he’s a less familiar face – a consequence of the US comedy scene being harder to break into than Fort Knox in a time eddy. Even in the UK there may be pockets of Who viewers unfamiliar with Bishop’s work, especially as ever-fewer people aged 16-34 are choosing to watch broadcast TV. 

The only other Doctor Who actor to have been introduced in this way at the tail-end of an episode was John Hurt, a big-name British actor whose brand recognition carried across both the Atlantic Ocean and audience demographics. If the overall reaction to the casting of The War Doctor was, ‘Bloody hell, it’s John Hurt!’, it’s no slight on the soon-to-be TARDIS-travelling Liverpudlian to assume that the most common reaction this time, at least globally, might have been: ‘Who the bloody hell is John Bishop?’ But don’t worry. That’s what we’re here to find out.

The good news is: you’ll like him.

Runcorn, Football, and Bad Jobs

John Bishop grew up in a council estate in Runcorn, and always dreamed of greater things, or at least – as he told The Guardian newspaper in 2010 – a job where he wouldn’t have to go home and ‘get a wash’ afterwards. His ambition and intellect carried him to college, and thereafter into a short-lived career playing semi-professional football for Southport FC. His first foray into the working world, however, was as a vacuum-cleaner salesman, where he was mystified – and perhaps a little scared – by the go-getting ethos that the company had adopted. Each working day began with the mandatory recitation of an inspirational sales song performed to the tune of a Beatles hit. “It was mad,” he told talk-show host Graham Norton. “As a 17-year-old… I thought that’s what all jobs were like.” You can watch John Bishop having a bad-job-off with Chris Pratt in this video:  

In his thirties, Bishop was living a comfortable existence as a medical rep for a pharmaceutical company. At the same time as his corporate star was rising, his marriage was collapsing, an event that carried within it – unbeknownst to him – the seeds of serendipity: his failing marriage would kick-start his comedy career, and his burgeoning comedy career would, in turn, kick-start his marriage.

From Open Mic Comedy to Sold-Out Tours

In conversation with fellow comedian Rob Brydon on the latter’s online show Brydon &, (see below), Bishop explained that didn’t nurse a burning, life-long ambition to make strangers laugh in the dark. He pretty much drifted into stand-up. He just wanted somewhere to go and something to do after he’d dropped his three kids off with his estranged wife on a Monday night; something to distract him from missing them. In fact, when he attended his first Open Mic night he didn’t even know what the term ‘open mic night’ meant, but was overjoyed to discover that one of the main things it meant was that as a performer he’d get into the venue for free.

Speaking to Brydon, Bishop recalled stepping out on stage for the first time, struggling a little and getting maybe a few polite titters from the seven-strong crowd. He quickly decided to bin his repertoire of gags, admitting to the audience, “I’m only here because I’m getting divorced”. He then launched into a funny, stream-of-consciousness, self-deprecating routine about his ailing marital fortunes.

In many ways, then, John Bishop is the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel of UK comedy (although, unlike Midge Maisel, he successfully rekindled his marriage). Perhaps we should call him ‘The Jubilant Mr John Bishop’.    

Bishop had never told anyone he was doing stand-up, so it came as something of a shock to his wife when she went along to The Frog and Bucket comedy club with some workmates, only to see her husband walk out onto the stage. She came to talk to him afterwards, and told him it was great to see him more like his old self. Counselling and reconciliation followed, and the family has been rock-solid ever since. “Getting back together was the reward,” he told Rob Brydon. “All the rest of this stuff is secondary.”

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Bishop went on to build a solid, multi-award-winning career on the comedy circuit – branching out into panel shows and some small-screen roles –  but it was his 2009 Edinburgh Festival Show ‘Elvis Has Left the Building’ that launched him into the big time.

Millions find him hilarious, but there are three key critics who resolutely don’t: his own children. Bishop told The Mirror newspaper in January 2013: “They just look at me as if to say, ‘what are you doing?’ My eldest came up to me over Christmas and said, ‘Dad, I think you should use this bit of time off to rethink your material’. I couldn’t believe it.”

You can judge for yourself here by watching one of his early TV appearances, where he muses about refrigerators and municipal tips in his endearingly droll, dad-next-door style.

Politics, Charity and LGBTQ+ Allyship

Bishop’s TV roles have provided incidental connections to the wider Who-niverse: he appeared as comedic but catastrophic dad Rob Fitch on the E4 series Skins from 2009 to 2010, a show that had also once featured future 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi; in 2012, Bishop appeared in fellow Merseysider Jimmy McGovern‘s Accused, a characteristically gritty drama in which Christopher Eccleston had also previously appeared. By 2012, Bishop was no stranger to working with smart, angry, ideology-driven writers and auteurs, having played a small but key role in Ken Loach’s 2010 pro-friendship, anti-Iraq movie Route Irish.

Politics are, and have always been, at Bishop’s core. He’s a long-time vegetarian and animal lover who regularly rails against the UK class system, an oppressive model he managed to buck by becoming the first member of his working-class family to attend university. He graduated with a BA (Hons) in Social Science from Manchester Polytechnic in 1989. He’s a staunch and outspoken socialist, and vocal supporter of the UK’s Labour Party. In short, a man who’s never afraid to poke his head above the parapets. In 2014 he told The Mirror newspaper that if he ever appeared on the political panel show Question Time he’d probably end up punching someone.

Nowhere is this anger more intense than in his support for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster, a 1989 footballing tragedy that affected his beloved Liverpool football club, the act and aftermath of which intersected issues of class with police malfeasance and media treachery. The battle for accountability continues to this day. In 2014, Bishop donated £96,000 (£1000 for each of the victims) to the Hillsborough Family Support Group. In the charity sphere, Bishop has raised millions of pounds through all manner of sporting feats, most notably enduring a five-day triathlon from Paris to London.

In 2018, Bishop was named the Virgin Atlantic Celebrity Ally of the Year at the NatWest British LGBT Awards, a moment that fused the political and the social with his family. In his funny yet hard-hitting acceptance speech he revealed that one of his sons is gay. You can watch him talking about it on this clip from The Jonathan Ross Show:

One area of Bishop’s life that’s stayed relatively free of politics is his stand-up. He explained to The Guardian in 2010: “I don’t want to be categorised as a comedian going down any particular avenue. Besides, political comedians are hamstrung, because they’re waiting for other people to do stuff before they can come up with something funny.”

Dan, The TARDIS, and Series 13

And so we arrive at the latest chapter in John Bishop’s career: becoming a fully-fledged member of Team TARDIS. It almost never happened. Executive Producer Chris Chibnall created the part of Dan with John Bishop in mind, but there was too big a scheduling conflict with the star’s nationwide stand-up tour to allow him to say yes. Enter stage-left the pandemic, which reduced Bishop’s sold-out run to a shut-down nothing, and prompted him to approach Chris Chibnall to see if his offer still stood.

Given that John Bishop is a working-class Liverpudlian playing a working-class Liverpudlian on-screen, and that Chris Chibnall created Dan with John Bishop in mind, it’s tempting to conclude that we might see an exploration of class through Dan’s eyes, something the show is yet to directly touch upon despite Rose Tyler being a working class character.

Bishop has finished filming for series 13, and returns to the road on tour this September. It’s unclear whether this means he’s a one-and-done companion, or if he’ll be joining Jodie Whittaker or some as-yet unspecified fourteenth (ish) Doctor in seasons to come. But whatever the future holds for Dan, the character undoubtedly is in good hands. And Doctor Who’s audience is in good company with John Bishop.   

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John Bishop will appear on the Doctor Who panel at SDCC At Home on Sunday the 25th of July.

The post Doctor Who: Introducing John Bishop appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[willtasker]

Science Fiction Legend David Gerrold On Why Snowpiercer Is Bad

All right, so let's talk about SNOWPIERCER, a brilliantly produced movie that ultimately fails in the two most important ways a science fiction film can fail.

I'll take the easy one first -- the audience will suspend disbelief, they will not suspend common sense.

The idea here is that the Earth has frozen over. The only survivors are living on a train that circles the globe endlessly.

1) The Earth is frozen over because scientists have decided to put something called CW7 in the atmosphere to halt global warming. They do it with chem trails. It works too well. The planet gets too cold, everything freezes down so cold you'll freeze to death in minutes.

Now, look -- whatever that CW7 stuff is -- you're gonna have to put several million tons of it into the atmosphere to cools down the planet. That's a lot of chem trails. It's going to take a long time. Years. Decades perhaps. Even if you could retro-fit every jet plane in the world on its next scheduled maintenance, it would still take millions of miles. And you would think that as soon as the temperature gradients start falling too fast, not matching the projections, the scientists -- or whatever agency behind it -- would stop the process to evaluate the results. But no -- whatever this CW7 is ... bam, it freezes everything to a giant planet-sized popsicle.

2) Where did all that water come from? Even in this planet's worst ice ages, there wasn't enough H2o to make enough snow to cover every continent.

3) Now let's talk about that train. Supposedly there's a track that spans the entire globe -- we get a quick glimpse of the map. That train has been running for 17 years, non-stop. Who's maintaining the rails? Who's replacing the worn out bearings? Who's maintaining the bridges. What's it using for fuel? Any machine with moving parts wears out quickly. Even with the best materials available -- friction takes its toll. This train is made out of bolognium....

4) When there's an avalanche blocking the track -- does the train slow down and burn the ice away? No, it roars into it at high speed, cracking the ice like a bullet. Nothing derails. The engine doesn't even get dented.

5) The McGuffin is industrial waste that produces hallucinogenic effects, but can also be compiled to make a bomb. Uh ... really?

6) The people at the tail end of the train are have-nots who are fed protein derived from crushed cockroaches. They are living in a slum. The people in the front of the train are the 1%.

Okay -- why is there such a dichotomy? It's never really justified. Why are these people even allowed on the train if they're just there to be poor slobs?

7) The train is a completely closed eco-system. We see a farm, we see an aquarium car, but we don't really see enough to suggest an eco-system that can support all these people. And after 17 years, you'd think they'd have run out of steaks by now.

8) At the end, an Asian girl rescues a black boy, blows a hole in the side of the engine, which triggers an avalanche, which destroys the entire train. She and the boy are the only survivors. But it's all right -- they see a polar bear, so life is possible. Maybe -- but if that polar bear is hungry enough, their life is over too.

9) About that polar bear. Polar bears eat seals or whale blubber if they can find a dead whale. So if that polar bear is alive, seals must be alive. And if seals are alive, then fish are still alive. And if fish are still alive, then plankton is still alive, and that means the oceans aren't frozen over because plankton need sunlight to grow.

Should I continue?

Okay, now some of the above can be fixed. For instance, the people living at the tail end of the train are the maintenance crew and the servants for the one-percenters. Everything from grease-monkeys to sex-workers.

From time to time the train arrives at some kind of underground facility where parts, fuel, and supplies are stored. The train is the only mechanism for moving supplies from one station to the next. So there are some survivors maintaining the stations, but the train brings its own repair and maintenance crew, because life in the supply bunkers is probably pretty bad too.

There, now right there, we have a more believable world situation. The maintenance crew is also responsible for clearing the tracks ahead of the train, checking that the bridges are holding up, and melting or blowing up avalanches. So there's a luxury train and a crew train -- and you have the set up for the story you want to tell.

But that's not the movie that got made -- the movie that got made defies the laws of physics and a lot of the laws of common sense -- so it's not a science fiction movie based on science. It's an ... (wait for it) ... ALLEGORY. It's an allegory about a revolution by the have-nots against the haves.

Now, the acting in this is pretty good. And if you ignore the gaping plot holes, the directing is fast-paced and keeps us moving forward. The costumes, the sets, the details of this thing, all look pretty good -- almost enough to be convincing. And I like trains, so I'm aboard to see where they're going.

Unfortunately ... even as an ALLEGORY this thing doesn't work.

That's the second and much bigger failure.

So the have-nots fight their way forward to capture the engine and the emperor of the train who lives in the engine. He's played by Ed Harris who reveals that the entire revolution was scheduled to happen, because there are too many people on the train.

See, along the way, the rebels meet Tilda Swinton who talks to them about ecological balance, how life on the train can only exist because everything has to be balanced and everybody and everything has to stay in its appropriate place.

Ed Harris repeats this to our hero -- the leader and last survivor of the rebellion -- that there are too many people on the train for the train to support them all, so the rebellion was engineered so that the extras could be terminated. 74 of them have to die. Or is it 74%? Doesn't matter. It's a cold equation.

It's a very cold equation. The coldest possible. And it doesn't take too much of a leap to realize that the train is an allegory for the planet and there are too many people on the planet Earth -- and um ... we really shouldn't have this many people on the planet because the planet can't support us all and ... well, um, see, here's the thing ... Ed Harris is getting old and he's dying and he needs to find a successor, someone who can be ruthless, and gee, wouldn't it be really a good thing if the leader of the rebellion became the new emperor of the train? The engineer. But of course, you'll have to engineer future genocides.

Our hero, who has finally accepted his role as a moral man, never really gets a chance to say no, he will not do it.

And then -- the Asian girl blows up the train, killing the hero, the engineer, and everyone else aboard. And she and the black kid, the only survivors, see a polar bear, and we're supposed to see her as a heroine, mother to the civilization to come.

Oh, hell no.

As an allegory, this one sucks -- it says that even if the have-nots can fight their way to the front of the train and confront the haves, they're still part of the larger process of keeping the whole shitty system running smoothly. And if they don't accept, then the only responsible answer is to blow up the train, bring the whole system down, kill everybody, and maybe start over -- if the survivors don't get eaten by bears.

Okay, this part of the allegory is kinda fixable. What if ... when the hero is confronted with the choice to become the new engineer and live in luxury, what if he says, "Okay, I'll do it." And what if it's his intention to change things for the better, so everyone has a fair chance at a decent life -- and what if, to his horror, he discovers that's not really possible, that the system isn't designed for equality, that the system requires that some people have to be maintenance workers and some people have to be cleaners and some people have to be farmers and that all of this needs real management and ... the system can't be changed.

Then, like Orwell's Animal Farm, we see the real horror of this allegory -- that it doesn't matter what your intentions are, the system overrules your idealism.

But no -- these filmmakers just blow up the train. And the takeaway from this is that the only answer to inequality is to destroy the system that keeps everyone alive -- including your friends, your family, and all the innocent people who were just doing their best to make it from one day to the next. Fuck that. That's not a rebellion for justice -- that's nihilistic anarchy.

So ... as I said when I started, Snowpiercer fails twice. First, it ignores the laws of physics and the truth about how machines really work -- and second, the underlying allegory collapses like a bad souffle because instead of making a valid and poignant point, the filmmakers decided it was easier to just blow up the train and suggest that life was possible outside the train after all ....

No. Just no.

Part of writing science fiction is getting your science right. You have to do your research. A good writer takes the time to learn about ice ages, learn how trains work, and in this case learns how to create a self-sufficient society in a hostile environment. And then, a great writer thinks about the theme of his story.

If you're going to show people being heroic in search of justice, there has to be a victory. The moral arc of this story leads the audience to believe there will be a victory, or at least some kind of enlightenment waiting for us at the head of the train. Instead, no -- there is no victory. Yes, there is enlightenment -- the train is a balanced eco-system, but instead of dealing with that philosophical dead-end, they just give up and blow it all to bits.

But in its failure, by what isn't here, by allowing us to look at what's missing, the picture reveals something about what we expect/demand from a great story.

See, the thing about a science fiction story -- it has to have two endings. It has to have a satisfying resolution to the scientific puzzle or dilemma and it has to have a satisfying resolution to the hero's situation. This picture fails twice, but it's a useful failure.

More shortly.

#Snowpiercer #david gerrold #scifi #movies #science ficiton #science ficiton movies #action #dystopia #chris evans

[thewriteboy]

Cause and Effect

The year is 2013. The location is a small boat with a small crew in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of Australia. A diver puts on her mask just before diving. Perched on the edge of the boat as she is, ready to get in the water, she can see forever in all directions. The water reflects the blazing sun like a borderless sea of sapphires, and the smell of seaweed is carried on the warm breeze. The diver lets herself fall backwards, and plunges below the surface.

When she opens her eyes, she is stunned by the scene before her. It is the incredible starkness and variety of color that first captures her attention. Deep red, sunset orange, bright green, magenta - it is as though somebody has come and painted the coral all the colors the eye can perceive - all in startling contrast against a turquoise backdrop. Great shafts of light pierce the surface of the water, illuminating the Great Barrier Reef. The diver can make out dozens of coral species; some are spindly and grow like trees, and some are named for their round, brain-like shape.

Schools of fish weave in and out of sight in an intricate dance, as though choreographed solely for the diver’s pleasure. A leatherback sea turtle glides serenely by. Swimming closer, the diver can see the creatures who stick close to the coral. Seahorses and shellfish and anemone and sea sponges and too many more to count. Life here on the reef seems to be infinitely diverse. . .

The year is 2016 and the location is a small boat in the pacific ocean off Australia’s northeastern coast. A diver prepares for a dive. She is excited to see the enchanting beauty of the reef again, as she has seen nothing to match it in three years. She puts on her mask and falls backwards into the water. Below, she sees the same turquoise backdrop and the same bars of sunlight puncturing the surface of the ocean. What she does not see, however, is the mesmerizing collage of colors and sea creatures. The scene from her first dive is quite transformed. In place of the bright, multicolored coral reef is a skeleton, pale white and devoid of life. There are no fish swimming about, no sea turtles meandering by. Nothing lives here anymore. The diver is not sure, even, if the white coral is still alive.

Coral bleaching is a by-product of lighting houses and turning wheels.  The ocean absorbs the vast majority of heat trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which causes the water to warm up. Excessive heat puts coral under stress and causes them to release the symbiotic algae living within their polyps, leaving the coral in a weakened state, unable to attain steady nutrition, and susceptible to mortality. Creatures that live on or receive nutrients from the coral lose their food source or home and leave or die, and the creatures who live in or feed on those creatures lose their food source or home and leave or die, and so on up the food chain. The circle of life is disrupted and the ecosystem collapses, leaving a barren, starving husk where once there was a hugely complex ecological community positively teeming with life.

The industrial revolution was a defining event in human history which changed the world forever. It ignited incredible advances in technology, without which the developed world wouldn’t exist as it does now. We could be living feudal lives, working ourselves to the bone, to see no real return for our labors. Without the industrial revolution, we would not have the luxury, ease of life, and infinite riches that wealthy countries enjoy. Industrialization is a miracle, there is no denying, and one of the most significant human achievements to date.

Energy has to come from somewhere, and we found cheap, energy dense, and relatively clean-burning fuels to power industrialization: coal, oil, and natural gas. The mining of land for coal and oil brought economic success and abundant energy to the world, giving humans a leg up and allowing us to have higher living standards with less manual labor. However, it comes at a hefty price.

The greatest cost of using these fossil fuels comes in the form of greenhouse gases, which trap heat from the sun and keep it from dissipating into space, the most harmful of which are carbon dioxide and methane. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by cars and factories, and methane is released by livestock and landfills. Carbon dioxide is the  most prevalent greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere, nine times more abundant than methane, and remains in the atmosphere for decades or even centuries. On the other hand, while methane remains in the atmosphere for only a single decade and then dissipates, it is capable of trapping up to 100 times more heat than carbon dioxide.

The reason the effects of global warming due to greenhouse gases are not more  apparent is that oceans absorb most of the heat trapping gases, which causes them to warm up more quickly than the air does. But water can only hold so much carbon dioxide; eventually the various gasses will overflow and build up in the atmosphere, causing the temperature on land to increase rapidly. This will be exacerbated by deforestation, with fewer trees to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

If left unchecked, global warming will cause serious havoc and drastically alter life as humans know it. The ice caps are already in the process of melting, and if they melt completely the planet will absorb much more heat from sunlight, unable to reflect it into space without the mirror-like ice sheets. If all of the ice on land melts, though, we will be in for a much greater disaster as the newly melted water will have to flow somewhere. Sea level will rise 216 feet, completely submerging major cities, island nations, and whole peninsulas. San Diego, New Orleans, Florida - gone. London, Venice, the Netherlands - swallowed whole. Australia will gain an inland sea, and what's left of Antarctica will become habitable.

However, the naturally produced fuels with the potential for such devastation are not infinite. There are an estimated 1,687,900,000,000 barrels of oil left in reserves on Earth, a number which seems large, but will only last for approximately 50 more years at the current rate of consumption, according to BP. The remaining coal will last much longer, possibly hundreds of years. If we wish to maintain our way of life, we will set fossil fuels to the side. Fossil fuels will run out; this is a certainty, and they will not be replenished for such a long time that calling it forever is acceptable. More importantly, energy can be harvested from many inexhaustible, morally unambiguous sources. The sun, for example, pours more energy, at predictable intervals, onto the earth than mankind could ever use, and we know how to harness it.

There are two major obstacle standing in the way of utilizing solar energy on a massive global scale, though. The first is the price of solar panels, as they are very expensive at present, and the second is the fact that solar power is not available at all times, as the sun is often blocked, whether by the planet itself or by clouds. Both of these issues, however, are being addressed.

As technology progresses, parts become cheaper, techniques become more refined, and production becomes more efficient. This means that solar panels are being made now at a faster pace and at a lower cost than ever, which, in turn, means they are less expensive than ever to the consumer, and the price of collecting solar energy is only falling from here. Since the sun is not always out, we cannot always harness its power. The solution to this problem is twofold. The easiest fix is to supplement sunlight with wind and geothermal power. We could also store excess energy for use at night and in places that receive little sunlight. . . if we had enough batteries.

Elon Musk’s company, Tesla, is working hard to make solar energy a viable option. Tesla’s gigafactory, is producing, and as it is expanded, will produce increasingly more batteries than any other factory on Earth. And this is not the only gigafactory that Tesla is building. Furthermore, the company is pioneering, not only in the business of making batteries, but also in stringing lots of batteries together and storing solar energy on a massive scale, proving that it is feasible. Tesla has three battery storage plants, each bigger than any other built before it, which together, equate to 15 percent of the storage capacity planet-wide in 2016.

The environment is impacted by more than just the fuels we burn. The world produces a great deal of waste, and the United States is one of the biggest contributors. America is home to five percent of the planet’s human population, yet produces 30 percent of the earth’s total waste. Billions of pounds of food and plastic are thrown away by Americans alone. The vast majority of this refuse ends up in landfills, and far too much of it ends up in the ocean.

An apple core thrown into the woods would biodegrade very rapidly and cleanly, nourishing the soil where it landed; however, millions of pounds of organic material buried in a landfill to rot with no air spells disaster. It produces methane gas, a greenhouse gas several times more potent than CO2. And the trash that ends up in the ocean presents a hazard to fish and other water-dwellers. Some die from accidentally ingesting plastic, and others will get their heads stuck in six pack yokes, the plastic rings that hold soda cans together, and too often, are strangled to death by this unintentional trap.

Public doubt that climate change is real, or that it poses a real threat, is detrimental to the efforts of those who care, those who will likely still be alive when the heat becomes too much and the seas start swelling into our backyards, those with the foresight to think of the future generation who could easily be handed a planet in worse shape than their parents found it in. Citizens of Earth, however, are slowly waking up to the looming threat. We are no longer content to sit idly by while the planet dies. We are becoming more aware of the problem and are standing up en masse to combat it.

As of November 2017, 195 nations have signed the Paris Climate Accord, an agreement that strives to mitigate climate change by reducing carbon emissions. More specifically, the goal of the agreement is to keep average global temperature increase under two degrees celsius above average pre-industrial temperatures. Each nation party to the agreement sets its own target for reducing greenhouse emissions and investing in clean energy, reporting a plan to this end every five years beginning in 2020. Members of the accord are not obligated by any force to meet their carbon goals, but they are required to report their emissions. The United States, a leader in negotiating this agreement, insisted on having a single, stringent carbon auditing panel to track the progress of each nation. There have been similar agreements, but none as successful or widely adopted as the Paris agreement.

The agreement was signed by over 190 world leaders, including President Obama, on 22 April 2016, and put into effect on 04 November of the same year. However, only seven months later, Mr. Trump announced in June 2017 that he was going to pull America out of the accord. This on the premise that the agreement was unfair to America, and with the incorrect assumption that a new agreement could be negotiated, saying, “I was elected to represent Pittsburgh, not Paris."

With the United States as the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide, its departure from the world’s best chance of keeping climate change in check is a serious blow. However, the process for leaving the Paris agreement is a lengthy one. A nation must wait three years from the date the agreement went into effect, then submit a formal document, expressing the nation’s intention to withdraw, to the United Nations, after which the withdrawal will take place exactly one year later. All of this is to say that the soonest an Amerexit from the Paris agreement could take place is the day after the 2020 presidential election. The process, though, of re-entering the PCA is purposely short and simple: a nation submits its intention to rejoin to the United Nations and, 30 days later, is reinstated. This means that, under a future president, the US could rejoin the agreement with smooth ease - perhaps as soon as 19 February 2021.

In the meantime, America is still a member of the Paris agreement and will hold herself to her climate goals until and unless the withdrawal is completed. Furthermore, a group comprised of 20 states, 50 major cities, and numerous companies, called America’s Pledge, is making the important decision to fulfill the commitments of the Paris agreement regardless of whether the current administration formally withdraws, saying, “Its is important for the world to know, the american government may have pulled out of the Paris agreement, but the American people are committed to its goals, and there is nothing Washington can do to stop us." However, the importance of having the strength of the federal government backing these efforts cannot be understated, and without that support, American efforts to curb climate change will be stunted.

As of October 2017, there are approximately 7,574,900,000 people on earth. The annual growth rate is currently 1.12 percent, meaning that the global population increases by approximately 83,000,000 people every year. Population growth has been slowing down since 1968, but it is not stopping. By the year 2100 the global population is projected to reach 11,200,000,000, increasing at 0.9 percent annually. In the year 2100, the human race will be tasked with producing enough food, clean fresh water, housing, and energy to accommodate its 11.2 billion members. This will be a daunting challenge, as resources are already scarce in many parts of the world, and already too many go without food.

It is within our power, and it is our duty, to ensure that our descendants have adequate food, fresh water, and abundant energy. If we cling to cheap fossil fuels, the world will be damaged and low on energy by the end of the century; but if we make the hard decision to make the world sustainable, humans will live on Earth with abundant resources indefinitely.

#writing #my writing #essay #academics #climate change #global warming #greenenergy #green energy #cleanenergy #paris climate accord #paris climate agreement #paris agreement #great barrier reef #cause and effect #sustainability #sustainable

[bixshits]

Lost Odyssey - A Thousand Years of Dreams - Story Eight Transcript

They Live in Shells

"Stop this! Please, I beg of you! Let me go!"

A young man's screams echo through the emptiness.

No voice answers him.

Crouching in the darkness, Kaim counts the footsteps. Three men have come in. The disorderly footsteps probably belong to the young man. The other two are perfectly regular.

"Please, I'm begging you. If it's money you want, I'll get you all you could ask for on the outside. I promise. I won't forget to show my thanks to you. Please!"

The only reply of the two men who have brought the young one here is the clunk of an iron lock opening.

"No! No! Please, I'm begging you. I'll do anything you want. Anything!"

A dull thud is the sound of flesh tearing, bone wrenching. Someone collapses on the floor. A strangled scream. The clunk of an iron lock closing.

Kaim knows the young man has been thrown into the shell diagonally opposite his own. When you are locked into one of these windowless shells, your hearing becomes acutely sensitive.

"Don't do this! Let me out of here! Please! Let me out of here!"

From the sound of the voice, Kaim can imagine a young man's face with boyish traces: a small-time hoodlum hardly a step above a teenage gang member. When he was still on the streets, no doubt, he used to swagger down the sidewalk, his cunning but cowardly eyes darting every which way.

The two men who brought him here maintain their silence to the end, their footsteps moving off together. The heavy door opens and closes again.

Left alone in the darkness, the young man howls his entreaties for a time, but when her realizes they will do no good, he shouts himself hoarse, spitting out one curse after another until he begins to sob.

"Quiet down there," an old man calls out from one of the inner shells, "It won't do you any good to make a fuss, Time to give up, sonny."

This is the voice of the oldest man living in the dozen or so shells lined up in the darkness.

He was already here when Kaim was sent to this place. It is always his role to quiet and comfort the obstreperous newcomers.

"If you've got time to bawl like that, keep your eyes closed!"

"Huh?"

"Just make sure you keep sucking on your memories of the outside-like a piece of candy!"

Sounds of suppressed laugher come from the surrounding shells.

Kaim joins in with a smile and a sigh

All the shells in the dark are supposedly full, but few of their inhabitants are laughing.

Most of them have lost the strength to laugh.

"Hey, sonny." the old man continues in his role as adviser to the newcomer, "No point making a fuss. Just calm down and accept your fate. Otherwise..." and here a note of intensity enters the old man's voice, "they'll just drag you out of here feet first."

This is exactly what happened yesterday to the former inhabitant of the young man's shell.

He had been screaming on and off for a day. Then came a day of banging his head against the shell wall. Then nothing... until he was dragged out in silence.

"So get a hold of yourself, sonny. Don't let the darkness swallow you up. Close your eyes and imagine nice scenery from the outside, the bigger the better: the ocean, or the sky, or some huge field of grass. Remember! Imagine! that's the only way to survive this place."

This was the advice he always gave to the newcomers.

But the young man screamed tearfully.

"Who the hell do you think you're kidding? Survive this place? And then what? I know what this place is. 'No exit' prison! They throw the lifers in here, give them just enough food to keep them alive, and in the end they kick the bucket anyway—Am I right? There's nothing left to hope for."

His shouts turn to sobs again.

This is the reaction of most of the newcomers.

Nor are they mistaken. This is a prison. Each of the "shells" is a solitary cell with bars, and the sun shines on a prisoner only on the day of his funeral...

"Everybody dies, sonny, that's for sure. You just cant let your mind go before your body does. Hope doesn't have to fade unless you throw it out yourself," the old man goes on softly.

Then he adds with feeling, "This system we live under can't last much longer, either."

The old man is a political prisoner. As leader of the anti-government faction, he long resisted the dictatorship until he finally lost the struggle and was imprisoned.

The young man has no ears for the old man's words, however, he continues thrashing on the floor and crying.

This fellow won't be in his shell much longer than his predecessor. In a few days, or in less than a month at best, he will go to pieces.

The darkness is that powerful. Depriving a prisoner of light is far crueler than taking his life in an instant.

"My my," the old man reflects, "This fellow's not going to do us much good in a prison break."

The old revolutionary laughs, it might be a genuine laugh of a bold front, but in any case almost no one laughs in response.

Tomorrow morning- or rather, since there is no clear-cut "morning" in the darkness- after they go to sleep, wake up and have their next meal, another cold corpse will be dragged out wordlessly from another shell.

"Hey, listen. How many of us are here now?" the old revolutionary asks. "Answer if you can hear me!"

"I can hear you," Kaim says.

His is the only voice.

"Man, this is bad, we were full up a little while ago."

The old man gives a dry chuckle.

Kaim asks, I wonder if something's happened out there."

"Maybe so," answers the old revolutionary.

"If you ask me, this would be about the right time for a coup d'etat or a revolution."

"My 'boys' aren't going to keep quiet much longer..."

"Uh, what was your name again? Kaim? Have you noticed what's happening? How there used to be a lot more guys getting thrown in here until a little while ago, and most of them real nobodies, not worth sentencing to life?"

"Uh-huh, sure..."

The young man was one of them- nothing but a small-time crook. It just so happened that the storehouse he broke into belonged to a rich man with ties to a powerful politician. this was the only reason they put him in a shell.

"The shells always used to be full. They would throw a bunch of men in here and they would die, then the new men would come, and they would die..."

The young man was one of those, the terror of being enveloped in darkness was too much for him, and he went to pieces. He was apparently having hallucinations at the end: "I'm coming Mama, I'm coming. Wait for me, please, Mama..." he repeated over and over like a child. "Where are you, Mama? Here? Are you here?" and he gouged his own eyes out with his bare hands.

"I figured things were getting scary out there—the cops losing control—so the government was really starting to crack down- which is why these shells were always full."

This is what brought the young man here. Blood streaming from his eye sockets, he died muttering in snatches, "What did I do? Everybody knows damn well... there are plenty of men way worse than me..."

"But now the place is empty. Do you know what that means, Kaim?"

"Sure. There's so much crime out there now that the government can't suppress it."

"You got it; the whole royal family might be strung up by now for all we know. Its a revolution. It will happen any day now! That means you and I will get out of here. My boys will come and get us. Just hang in there a little while longer."

Kaim nods in silence. The old revolutionary goes on, "Your strong, Kaim. Not many guys could stay as calm as you, thrown into a shell and enveloped in darkness like this."

Not even Kaim can explain it. It is true that he was strangely calm when they put him in the shell. The darkness was something he seemed to recognize as a distant memory. In the distant past, he, too, may have tasted the anguish of the other shell inhabitants so tortured by the fear of being sealed in darkness.

"How are you so tough mentally, Kaim? Does it mean you, too, are a revolutionary?"

"No, not me..."

His crime is hardly worth talking about. He resisted somewhat under questioning when they brought him in as a suspect, and for that he was branded a rebel and thrown into a shell. The old man is probably right, though. The country's dictatorship is almost certainly in its last days.

"It won't be long now. We'll be back in the real world before we know it. I have hope right in here, and it will stay here until I abandon it myself," the old revolutionary mutters as if trying to convince himself.

The prison falls soon afterward. Armed young men come charging into the darkness and open the shells' barred doors.

Embraced by his "boys", the old revolutionary goes out.

"Wait," Kaim cries, trying to hold him back.

But he is too late. Anxious to see the new world following the destruction of the old system, the old revolutionary steps outside and opens his eyes.

It is evening.

Though the sun is nearly down, its light is still strong enough to burn eyes accustomed to total darkness.

The old revolutionary presses his hands to his eyes. And with a groan, crumples to his knees.

Kaim has saved himself by shielding his eyes with his arm.

Not even he knows what caused him to do this. Could distant memories have taught him that the truly frightening thing about punishment by darkness is what happens after the release from prison?

When could I have been imprisoned, and where? More important, how long have I been on this endless journey?

With bleeding eyes, surrounded on the ground by his boys, the old revolutionary searches for Kaim.

"I came all this way, Kaim, only to make one terrible mistake at the bitter end. My eyes are probably useless now."

This is precisely why he asks Kaim for one last favor.

"Tell me Kaim, what is the outside world like? Has the revolution succeeded? Are the people happy? Are they smiling joyfully?"

Kaim opens his eyes slowly, and just barely, beneath the shade of his hand.

As far as he can see, the ground is covered in bodies. The corpses of royal troops and revolutionary troops are heaped on one another, and countless civilians are dead. A mother lies dead with her small child in her arms, the bloody corpse of the child's father next to them, arms outstretched in a vain attempt to shield them.

"Tell me what you see, Kaim."

Kaim fights back a sigh and says, "You must work from now on to build a happy society."

The old revolutionary senses the truth.

"I won't abandon hope, Kaim, no matter what."

As if to say, "I know that," Kaim nods and begins to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know...someplace."

"Why don't you stay here and build a new world with us? You of all people can do that, I know."

"Thank you, sir, but I'll be moving on just the same."

The old revolutionary does not try anymore to hold Kaim back. Instead, as a parting gift, he repeats for Kaim the words he spoke so often in his shell.

"There will always be hope, wherever you are, until you yourself abandon it. Never forget that!"

Kaim walks on.

His eyes chance to light on the body of a young boy lying at his feet. The boy breathed his last with eyes wide open in fear.

Kaim kneels and gently closes the boy's eyelids.

He knows deep down, in a memory too far away for even him to reach, that while darkness can be a great source of terror, it can also bring deep and lasting peace.

#lost odyssey #sarah sisulart #seth balmore #kaim argonar #ming numara #jansen friedh #cooke and mack #cooke #mack #a thousand years of dreams #1000 years of dreams

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 6.8

218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. He flees, but is captured near Chalcedon and later executed in Cappadocia. 632 – Muhammad, Islamic prophet, dies in Medina. 793 – Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of Norse activity in the British Isles. 1042 – Edward the Confessor becomes King of England, one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. 1191 – Richard I arrives in Acre, beginning his crusade. 1405 – Richard le Scrope, the Archbishop of York, and Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Norfolk, are executed in York on Henry IV's orders. 1776 – American Revolutionary War: American attackers are driven back at the Battle of Trois-Rivières. 1783 – Laki, a volcano in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine. 1789 – James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress. 1794 – Robespierre inaugurates the French Revolution's new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, with large organized festivals all across France. 1856 – A group of 194 Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the mutineers of HMS Bounty, arrives at Norfolk Island, commencing the Third Settlement of the Island. 1861 – American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Cross Keys: Confederate forces under General Stonewall Jackson save the Army of Northern Virginia from a Union assault on the James Peninsula led by General George B. McClellan. 1867 – Coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Hungary following the Austro-Hungarian compromise (Ausgleich). 1887 – Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the 'Art of Compiling Statistics', which was his punched card calculator. 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value. 1912 – Carl Laemmle incorporates Universal Pictures. 1918 – A solar eclipse is observed at Baker City, Oregon by scientists and an artist hired by the United States Navy. 1928 – Second Northern Expedition: The National Revolutionary Army captures Peking, whose name is changed to Beijing ("Northern Capital"). 1929 – Margaret Bondfield is appointed Minister of Labour. She is the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. 1940 – World War II: The completion of Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied forces from Narvik at the end of the Norwegian Campaign. 1941 – World War II: The Allies commence the Syria–Lebanon Campaign against the possessions of Vichy France in the Levant. 1942 – World War II: The Japanese imperial submarines I-21 and I-24 shell the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. 1949 – Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members. 1949 – George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is published. 1953 – An F5 tornado hits Beecher, Michigan, killing 116, injuring 844, and destroying 340 homes. 1953 – The United States Supreme Court rules that restaurants in Washington, D.C. cannot refuse to serve black patrons. 1959 – The USS Barbero and United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail. 1966 – An F-104 Starfighter collides with XB-70 Valkyrie prototype no. 2, destroying both aircraft during a photo shoot near Edwards Air Force Base. Joseph A. Walker, a NASA test pilot, and Carl Cross, a United States Air Force test pilot, are both killed. 1966 – Topeka, Kansas, is devastated by a tornado that registers as an "F5" on the Fujita scale: The first to exceed US$100 million in damages. Sixteen people are killed, hundreds more injured, and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed. 1967 – Six-Day War: The USS Liberty incident occurs, killing 34 and wounding 171. 1972 – Vietnam War: Nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc is burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl is seen running down a road, in what would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo. 1982 – Bluff Cove Air Attacks during the Falklands War: Fifty-six British servicemen are killed by an Argentine air attack on two landing ships, RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram. 1984 – Homosexuality is declared legal in the Australian state of New South Wales. 1987 – New Zealand's Labour government establishes a national nuclear-free zone under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987. 1992 – The first World Ocean Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1995 – Downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia. 2001 – Mamoru Takuma kills eight and injures 15 in a mass stabbing at an elementary school in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan. 2004 – The first Venus Transit in well over a century takes place, the previous one being in 1882. 2007 – Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, is hit by the State's worst storms and flooding in 30 years resulting in the death of nine people and the grounding of a trade ship, the MV Pasha Bulker. 2008 – At least 37 miners go missing after an explosion in an Ukrainian coal mine causes it to collapse. 2008 – At least seven people are killed and ten injured in a stabbing spree in Tokyo, Japan. 2009 – Two American journalists are found guilty of illegally entering North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of penal labour. 2014 – At least 28 people are killed in an attack at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan.

#Events

[lynfraser09]

Fireworks and Sparks ~ a Doctor/Rose fic

Title: Fireworks and Sparks

Rating: T

Word Count: 6,587

Characters: Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler

Summary: A night of relaxation and fun under the fireworks could change the Doctor and Rose's relationship forever. 

Notes: This was previously posted on A03 a few months ago but I am now creating a new fanfiction blog and migrating things over. 

A03

“Where are we?” Rose asked eagerly as the TARDIS landed.

The Doctor had been very secretive about their destination giving her only that it'd be a much needed relaxation day.

She had been a little down since they returned from the parallel world and left Mickey behind. The thought of never seeing her dear friend again left an ache in her chest.

She perked up a little when she walked into the galley and found the Doctor grinning with excitement and as much as she begged and pleaded he wouldn't tell her where they were going.

He remained secretive all throughout the journey and even now as he grinned from ear to ear and motioned towards the door.

She grinned back at him and then bounded toward the doors. Her pulse thrummed heavy through her veins as she grabbed hold of the handles. No matter how many travels they went on, no matter how long she stayed with the Doctor she knew she’d never get tired of this moment;  Opening the doors to a brand new world.

She released a breath and then pulled open the doors and stepped outside.

The landscape was vaguely similar to Earth, she noticed. She stood on what looked like Earth grass and just out in front of her was the edge of a cliff, overlooking a violet sky with two lavender moons shining brightly.

On either side of her was a forest of tall, thin, multicolored trees and her eyes widened in awe at the variety of vibrant colors.

She turned around when she heard the doors closing and grinned at the Doctor. “This is beautiful!”

He continued to grin back at her and it was then she noticed he had a folded blanket thrown over his arm.

“Oh yes.” He agreed, walking up to stand next to her.

“What's the blanket for?” She wondered and he smirked but only nodded toward the cliff face.

“Go on, look out.”

She bit her lip eyeing him for a moment and then walked forward.

Her jaw dropped as she looked out and saw miles stretched wide of pink sanded beach meeting an ocean as deep a purple as the sky. And thousands of people gathered on the beach as far as the eye could see.

“What is all this?” She asked as the Doctor approached from behind.

“It's Independence Day!” He explained. “And it's brilliant because it's not a country or even a continent wide celebration. It's a planet wide celebration! About, oh, 5000 years ago they had been invaded by a nasty race, called the Mokols. They came in and took over everything, burned down villages and forests, slaughtered almost the entire population and then enslaved the survivors.”

Rose frowned deeply, her heart clenching at the thought. “That's awful…”

The Doctor hummed in agreement. “Yes, and their reign of terror lasted almost 4000 years with generation after generation just being held prisoner on their own planet. But, as small of a population as they were, they were clever, oh so very clever. Those thousands of years they weren't sitting around letting it happen. They started planning a revolution and it took thousands of years to plan and gather enough supplies to actually go through with it but once they did...oh they were brilliant!” He grinned and Rose smiled back, listening intently to his story.

“The Mokols had their headquarters in the city just a few miles that way.” He pointed behind them beyond where the TARDIS sat. “So the battle, the victory battle happened right here on this beach. Because you see what the Mokols didn't know was that the revolution was run in secret because only a select few knew about it, and those select few adapted over the years to live and breathe underwater. So they hid,” he pointed out over the ocean, “right there for hundreds, thousands of years...The Mokols never even thought to look there so they never saw the attack coming. As with any war, lives were lost on both sides but the planet was victorious and ran the Mokols off the planet for good. So every year people from all over the planet come to this beach and celebrate.”

Rose smiled. “That's lovely. So we're going down there?”

“Er...um, no.” The Doctor tugged at his ear. “No we’re not.”

Rose furrowed her brow. “Why not?”

“Welllllll because they had been invaded and enslaved for millennia they really are not too fond of other world travelers especially on Independence Day.”

“So we’re not supposed to be here is what you're saying.”

“Yep.” He said popping the “p” and then grinned at her. “But when have we ever followed the rules Rose Tyler? More fun this way.”

She held back a chuckle. “And if we get caught?”

“Well, trespassing without proper papers might land you imprisoned for a few days until you can prove why you are on the planet has peaceful means.”

“Not too bad, we've had worse.”

“....yes but trespassing on Independence Day is a planetary crime worthy of months if not years of imprisonment.”

She turned to him quickly, her eyes wide. “Doctor!” She laughed. “Why are we here then?”

“Because it's beautiful! The fireworks sing, Rose! And we should be safe up here. Safe-ish. Maybe. But,” he exclaimed loudly, “fun though!”

Rose shook her head with a small scoff. “Alright so if we do get caught...you said we just need the proper papers and stuff yeah? The psychic paper will do?”

He blinked silently, avoiding her gaze. “And just look at the view! You wouldn't get this from down there.”

She folded her arms, turning to face him. “Doctor…”

He sighed and looked at her. “You worry too much! We won't get caught. But, um, no the psychic paper will not work. There are very few races who have the psychic ability to see past the psychic paper’s ability but this is one of them.“

She let out a breath. “So what you're saying is you've landed us on a planet where trespassing is viciously illegal with no way of defending ourselves just to watch some fireworks?”

“Musical fireworks. It's brilliant!”

She shook her head, reaching out to squeeze his arm affectionately. “Doctor I really think you need to redefine your definition of relaxing. Cuz to me it sure isn't threat of imprisonment.“

He just grinned. “Day in the life, Rose Tyler. We should be fine up here. The trees hide us. And besides, we wouldn't want to be down there anyway. Too crowded. It’s much more private up here.”

Rose lifted one brow. “Private? What do we need privacy for?” It was then she was redirected back to the blanket thrown over his arm.

Catching her line of sight, the Doctor smiled and took a few steps back and then shook open the blanket before laying it on the ground.

He looked over to Rose, presenting it proudly and she smiled brightly.

“A picnic under the fireworks?”

She tried to push back the fluttering feeling in her stomach. The Doctor, alien as he was, probably didn't realize how humanly romantic it was. She couldn't begin to hope he did.

“With the best view!” He nodded.

She bit her lip softly and then giggled quietly as she made her way over to the blanket.

She plopped herself down and she was joined a few seconds later by the Doctor who had shed his brown coat and tossed it to the side of him.

He leaned back against his elbows and she noticed then that his suit jacket and shirt had the first few buttons undone and he was even missing the tie revealing just a little bit more of his skin. She realized that was about as relaxed as he was going to get. The Doctor had a thing for layers, in both the bodies she knew him in. Her first Doctor was rarely seen without his leather jacket, even when inside the TARDIS and the same went for this Doctor and his suit jacket buttoned all the way up.

She tried not to stare at the revealed skin and definitely was not thinking about how she'd like to undo just a few more buttons.

She swallowed thickly and quickly averted her gaze, collapsing onto her back and looking up the sky before the Doctor caught her staring.

The colored leaves danced high above her head in the gentle, salty breeze from the beach below.

“What's this planet called?” She asked the Doctor.

“Hm? Oh, I didn't say?”

She turned her head to look back at him and found him staring down at her.

She smirked. “No, you didn't. You mentioned the invaders but not the planet's name or the people.”

“Right, sorry about that. Well, the planet's name is Vabnaraum. The people are called Limniotas and the subspecies, the ones who evolved under water, are called Limnio-ti-iotas. Ti is their native word for sea, so after their defeat of the Mokols they were still similar enough to the Limniotas to retain the species name but due to their differences, and the fact that they led the victorious rebellion, the Scientific Council decided to reward them their own specie name. And Vabnaraum is their word for victory. This planet's name, before the invasion, used to be Maskaopan but when the Mokols took over they renamed it to Mokol-35.”

Rose scoffed. “What seriously? How original.”

“Yes well, all the Mokols did was invade other planets. After awhile it just became easier to name it after themselves than create something original each time.”

Rose frowned. “Mokol-35, you said? So they've done this 35 times? 34 other planets were taken over?”

The Doctor nodded. “All over the universe, yeah. And that was a thousand years ago, there are probably more than that now. Some don't last as long as others. Mokol-6 only lasted for 3 years before the natives won it back. They even tried taking over Earth once.”

“Did they?” Rose’s eyes widened.

The Doctor furrowed  his brow.  “Or will do. In the year 7,899. Of course you humans fought for your little planet.” He grinned. “Oh many have tried taking over Earth but you humans are stubborn and fierce and well, you can invade other planets no problem but God forbid anyone try to take your planet from you. And you know, in the end, the planet's destruction came from its own sun.”

Rose nodded solemnly  remembering watching her own planet explode in front of her.  “And then came New Earth.”

“Yep! And all sorts of species live  on New Earth  and humans, well you remember, Cassandra was the last true human, all others cross bred and expanded all over the universe.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “I'm sorry but being a flab of skin does not make you human. Cassandra was more human when she took over the body of that poor genetically made boy if you ask me.”

The Doctor chuckled, grinning. “You'll never get over that will you?”

She sat up and shot him a look. “On my first trip into the universe you took me to the day my planet exploded and the last human was a bitchy trampoline and they thought a jukebox was an iPod!  I mean where did they even find a jukebox  in the year 5 billion!”  

She couldn't help but smile as he fell completely onto his back in giddy laughter. She always did love it when the Doctor laughed  so joyous and genuine  

“Oh you loved it though!”  He looked up at her with a grin.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a few seconds and then finally smiled, her tongue poking between her teeth.  “Well yeah...our first date. Can't beat that.”

The Doctor hummed in agreement but said nothing more but the smile still on his lips told her she hadn't gone too far by yet again calling it a date.  

“This is nicer though.” She said, now resting back just a little closer to him than she was before.  “Scenery wise, at least.”

The Doctor smiled wider. “Yeah? Glad you think so. And just wait until you see the fireworks! Colors like you wouldn't believe!”

“You've been here before, have you?”

“Nah! Just heard stories...always wanted to though. Thought it should be with someone special, yeah? If you're going to risk imprisonment to see some fireworks it'd better be with someone you like.”

A grin blossomed across her face. She always liked to think she meant something to the Doctor, something more than just his companion so when he spoke about her like that she really believed  it .

Rose giggled. “Are you saying you didn't like your other companions?”

His brow shot up and he lifted himself back onto his elbows. “Oh no they were all brilliant but would I want to spend months or years trapped in a cell with them?”

Her heart thundered. “You'd want to spend months or years in a cell with me?”

“Welllllll I wouldn't want to be trapped anywhere but if I had to, yeah I wouldn't mind it being with you.”

Rose grinned. “Yeah? Me neither.”

He smiled back at her, eyes twinkling in delight. They stared, grinning at each other for a few moments and then it was broken as the Doctor quickly sat up, gently clearing his throat.

“Should start soon.” He said as he looked out at the darkening sky and her smile faltered only slightly. The first step into a little more intimacy and the Doctor took a step back from it, just like always but Rose couldn’t complain. How could she when she got to experience all of this to begin with? And with a man who definitely enjoyed her presence, perhaps not in the way she wanted but they were friends - good friends and she was content with that for now.

A minute later the Doctor started talking again, going deeper into the planet’s history and Rose hung on his every word.

She slowly made her way closer to him to rest her head on his shoulder and though he didn’t pause in his speech, he smiled widely and glanced down at her, fully accepting of the touch.

Holding hands, hugging, her head on his shoulder, these were all things Rose was incredibly grateful the Doctor had no trouble with doing.

He talked until the sun completely set beneath the horizon and the first firework was set off, reaching high into the sky and exploding in an array of color and to Rose’s utter delight and amazement, music.

The sound climbed the musical scale from low to high as the fireworks launched from the ground into the sky. Then as they exploded with bright, vibrant colors, a swell of beautiful harmonies filled the air and as the colors faded, drifting back down through the air, the music faded along with it.

It started off with just a few fireworks, one going off one right after the other. Then they started to increase in speed and frequency and soon different types of fireworks collided in the sky together, creating a painting in the sky to a beautiful soundtrack of music.

The Doctor turned to watch Rose, her eyes lit up in awe and wonder and his hearts were working double time. This was one of his favorite parts of traveling, getting to show his companion something new, something beautiful and amazing that they never could dream of seeing before. And showing Rose, seeing that smile on her lips, and the joy in her eyes, to see how very happy their travels made her, made him happy beyond anything he thought he could feel after the war.

After a minute of watching her intently, he suddenly jumped up onto his feet. Rose caught the movement and turned to look up at him, her brow furrowing curiously.

He grinned and held out his hand towards her. “Rose Tyler, would you care to dance?”

Her eyes widened for a second and then a breathtaking grin spread across her lips.

She placed her hand in his and he helped her to her feet. “I don't think we've danced since you regenerated.” She bit her lip. “Think you've still got the moves?”

He waggled his brow, causing her to giggle. Then she squeaked as he brought one hand to the small of her back and pulled her in closer. “Oh Rose... I definitely still have the moves.”

Her free hand rested over his chest and she could feel his hearts beating rapidly against her palm.

He tapped his fingers against her back to the beat of the music of the fireworks and then when the time was right, he grinned and pulled her into a dance.

She squealed at the sudden movement and then laughed once she caught her footing and followed the Doctor’s lead.

The Doctor kept perfect time with the music (he was a Time Lord after all) and twirled her around the small clearing.

The grin would not leave his face as Rose’s laughter joined the constant melody of the musical fireworks and he made a mental note to dance with Rose more often if he could get her to smile and laugh like that.

They danced in circles all around the clearing, both grinning and laughing, for several minutes.

Then as they circled back towards the blanket, Rose’s foot caught on the edge and she tripped.

With a small squeak she started to topple sideways but the Doctor was quick to react and wrapped both his arms around her middle

She grabbed fistfuls of his suit jacket and once she was sure she was steady, she threw her head back and let out a long laugh.

The Doctor eyed her in concern for a moment and then smiled seeing she was alright and laughing.  

Their bodies were pressed close together, so close he could feel twitch of her muscles as she laughed heartily.

His breath caught as he took in the sight of her. Her head tilted back, a large grin on her lips, eyes closed and the colors of the fireworks lighting up her pale face.

Slowly her laughter began to fade and she lifted her head, opening her eyes.

She stopped breathing as she caught sight of the Doctor’s gaze.

His eyes were locked on hers and his pupils were dilated, making them appear darker.

Her throat went dry and she swallowed thickly, parting her lips slightly to finally take in some air.

It was a rare moment when she and the Doctor were this close in such an intimate way. And when they were, the Doctor always pulled away and then quickly changed the subject.

Rose waited for him to do the same now.

He didn't.

His gaze darted down to her lips and her heart leapt.

He wouldn't….

The Doctor knew he should pull away but Rose was pulling him back in.

His eyes focused on her pink lips, parted ever so slightly and beckoning him in.

His tongue darted out to lick his suddenly dry lips and he started to lean in towards her.

She gasped quietly and he paused just inches from her lips.

Oh he wanted this and he was almost sure there was no going back at this point. He was also fairly sure Rose wanted it as well, he could smell the pheromones on her and feel her rapid heart rate and hear her quickened breathing.

Still, he couldn't risk doing anything she didn't want to do. “Rose…?” Her name left his lips in a whisper.

She whimpered, tightening her grip on him. “Yes.” She whispered back, a soft, desperate plea.

His hearts leapt and then his lips were on hers.

She gasped softly, parting her lips slightly as his mouth made contact with hers.

The Doctor’s arms tightened around her waist tugging her even closer. Rose felt like her insides were going to melt from the flood of warmth that pooled inside her. She could not believe that this was actually happening. She had a vague memory of Cassandra kissing him using her body but she was locked away inside her own head, she didn’t get to really experience what kissing him felt like and it was better than she ever imagined it to be.

They both pulled away several seconds later as the last of the fireworks exploded in the sky with a loud, harmonious sound.

They watched as the last of the colorful sparks fizzled out into the now dark black sky and the crowd below burst into a thunderous applause.

Rose swallowed as she was suddenly aware that she was still pressed up intimately against the Doctor.

She hesitated to look back at him, fearing that the moment would be over and he'd pull away, like he always did and pretend like it never happened.

But how could they, after this? The last kiss she wasn't herself and it could be easily swept under the rug.

This kiss, it was all theirs and Rose knew she would want more of it.

Finally she braved a look back to the Doctor and her breath caught as he looked back at her, meeting her eyes..

His eyes were slightly wide but unreadable and he made no move to run away.

She swallowed again and a small smile twitched at her lips, which then slowly pulled into a shy, sweet smile.

As soon as the smile fully formed her lips, a similar smile spread across his face, reaching all the way to his eyes and that was all Rose needed.

She suddenly leapt at him, throwing her arms around his neck going for his lips again. The force and shock of the impact sent him toppling backwards and they both let out a small shriek as they hit the ground.

The Doctor landed on his back with a groan and Rose landed on top of him, half sprawled over his torso.

Once they got over the initial shock of the fall, they took one glance at each other and burst into laughter.

They laughed for a few good seconds but the Doctor faded off first, quickly becoming acutely aware of Rose’s heaving chest pressed against his own.

His hand was at her hip, holding her to him and her shirt had ridden up in the fall so his fingers grazed her bare, hot skin.

It took another few seconds for Rose to realize he had stopped and slowly her laughter faded as she looked down at him.

Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders and the warmth and joy In her eyes, combined with her beaming, beautiful smile on the backdrop of the navy sky and colored treetops made her completely irresistible.

His eyes darkened and he gripped her tighter. She let out a small squeak as he suddenly rolled them over and pressed her into the blanket.

Her widened eyes met his and he grinned down at her, catching her mirrored grin only for a half a second before he swept down to reclaim her lips with his.

Rose let out a pleasured sigh, her hands flying up, threading her fingers through his hair.

A low moan escaped the back of his throat as her fingers caressed his scalp and pulled him closer, deeper against her.

He pressed one hand to the ground beside her head, supporting his weight, which was slowly beginning to feel like jelly as he lost himself to Rose.

Their lips moved together in a natural, tender rhythm. It was heated and passionate but not frenzied as they both took the time to explore and enjoy the feel of a long awaited kiss.

Rose was just beginning to feel the burn at her lungs and the Doctor could feel the first click of his respiratory bypass when they suddenly were stopped by a bright white light shining down upon them and a myriad of distant shouting voices.

The Doctor looked up, alarmed, and squinted against the bright light. He couldn't see anything against the blinding light but he knew what it meant.

He quickly glanced back down to Rose, meeting her own widened, slightly panicked eyes.

Then his lips curled in a mischievous grin and he pushed himself off of her and onto his feet and pulled her up a second later.

They grinned at each other and the Doctor secured his hand around hers. “Run!”

Rose let out a small squeal and grabbed the blanket off the ground before they both raced towards the TARDIS.

As the blue doors shut behind them, the shouting slowly faded and they both were laughing as the Doctor finally released her hand and threw the ship into the vortex.

Once the ship had safely taken off as the constant grind of the time rotors indicated, they both leaned against the console in a deeper, hearty laughter.

“Oh, we won't get caught, he said!” Rose barked in laughter as she grinned at him.

“Oi!” He laughed right back. “We're safe and sound in the TARDIS. We did not get caught, then did we?”

“Almost, Doctor.” She teased, her laughter slowly fading but giving him her famous tongue touched smile.

“Almost is the fun stuff, Rose Tyler. Thrill of the chase!” He grinned.

She shook her head affectionately and then took in the sight of him.

She had seen him happy, and this body of his in particular almost always wore a smile, but now he was practically glowing, a big bright smile, a light in his eyes and something more that made her heart flip. He looked thoroughly kissed. His wild hair was in disarray from her fingers’ work and his lips were slightly more pink and swollen.

She realized as the Doctor’s expression slowly changed that she must have looked exactly the same.

Her smile softened and she bit her lip, tossing the blanket over the railing before taking a few steps closer to him.

His smile slowly faded as he watched her but his expression was still soft.

This was more natural territory, the awkward silence that fell over them whenever they got a little too close. Though what they had done outside was nothing like they had ever done before and the more silent the Doctor was, the more anxious Rose became that he would sink back into that zone of his. The zone where he refused to acknowledge that there was something between them, something a lot more than friendship and companionship and if Rose had ever doubted that her feelings were reciprocated those doubts were long gone. She had never been kissed like that before and she knew it had to mean something.

So she refused to let it just slide past them and let the Doctor act like it never happened.

Her heart was pounding but she knew she had to confront him. “Not that I'm complaining, Doctor, really because that was…,” she paused to let out a breath, “brilliant,” His lips twitched in a smile and she smiled, knowing he agreed, “but...where did that come from? I mean…” She lifted her shoulders. “Why did you kiss me?”

He stared at her for a few moments, his expression now calmly blank and then he averted his gaze, turning in towards the console.

Rose frowned, already feeling her frustration growing. “Doctor.” She prodded and then huffed quietly. “Was it a ‘heat of the moment’ kind of thing or…”

“No.” He answered quickly and her brow shot up. “Well, yes, sort of…” He groaned quietly, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. “It may have been a heat of the moment action but...the emotions behind it…” He lifted his head, staring at the rhythmic movement of the time rotors and he swallowed thickly. “No.” He concluded quietly. “Those weren't new at all.”

Her stomach flipped and the smile returned to her lips and she stared at him in disbelief. Did he really just admit to having feelings for her?

Though her heart sank a little when she realized he was still avoiding her gaze. “Okay.” She breathed. “Doctor...why aren't you looking at me?”

He visibly winced and bowed his head again and she sighed.

“Doctor, we can't ignore this! It's happened and it was great and...we can't just pretend like it didn't.”

“No, we can't.” He agreed. “And we shouldn't.” He closed his eyes and gripped at the edges of the console.

She swallowed, her face softening and she knew there was some kind of war raging inside his head. “Then what's wrong? You're holding back from me, Doctor, why?”

He sighed quietly. “Do you remember what I told you? About my life span?”

She nodded once. “Yeah, it's longer than mine.” Then she remembered something else he had said. “The curse of the Time Lords.” She slowly shook her head and then scoffed. “No offense, Doctor, but that's a load of crap.”

His head whipped up sharply and dark eyes met hers. “It most certainly is not.” He snipped, turning to face her.

“Timelines and ages and life spans, none of that matters to me, Doctor!”

His jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed. “It matters to me. You are not the one who is going to have to watch me die, Rose!”

He snapped his jaw closed and his eyes widened slightly.

Rose’s expression softened in realization and then understanding. “That's what this is all about?”

He kept his eyes on her, sad and dark and full of longing and fear.

“Doctor,” she breathed and took a few steps closer to him until she was close enough to touch him. She reached out and placed her hand on his wrist and he looked down at it.

“You said you were never going to drop me off like you did with Sarah Jane, yeah?”

He glanced back up at her. “Never.” He rasped and she gave him a small smile.

“And I'm never going to choose to leave so what's the difference between going on, traveling about as we have been, or moving forward with whatever this is between us? You're going to lose me, Doctor, we both know that and no matter what we do...it's going to hurt when it happens.”

His body tensed as he looked down, his face scrunching up and she squeezed his arm gently. “But don't you think it would hurt more if you also lived with regret?”

He lifted his head and slowly turned to meet her eyes.

“Doctor, with what just happened out there, I don’t want to go back to what we were, I don’t think I can. If you didn’t want this...well, I wouldn’t leave you, Doctor, no matter what but...do you really think we can just ignore this?”

His eyes softened. “No.” He answered quietly, his lips twitching. “And I don’t want to either, Rose, but…”

“But what?” She pressed him gently, imploring him with kind eyes. “Doctor, tell me what you’re thinking.”

He sighed, his lips twitching into a small, sad smile. “I don’t deserve you, Rose.”

“What?” She gasped and slipped her hand down into his, entwining their fingers together as she tugged him to look at her. “Of course you do, Doctor. You deserve all the happiness in the universe.”

His eyes met hers, brown eyes full of pain, guilt, fear, sadness and sprinkled with tears and her heart broke a little for him. He was filled with such self loathing and he truly believed he didn’t deserve her.

It was she who didn’t deserve him. He was a wonderful, brilliant, amazing Time Lord and she was just a simple little human. It still amazed her that he would even want to travel with her at all none the less feeling any sort of attraction towards her. But she would do anything to make sure he knew that he was loved - so fully and completely by her.

“Precious girl…” He murmured, bringing his free hand to cup her cheek and she smiled as she leaned into his touch. “You really want a daft, old, alien like me?”

She squeezed his hand in hers and pressed a feather light kiss to his palm. “Of course I do. I always have and I always will.”

He let out a shuddering breath at her soft, intimate gesture and swayed his body in just a little closer to hers.

“It doesn’t matter to me that we’re different species, Doctor. What you and I have is...so much greater and deeper and more real than anything I could ever have with another human.”

He sighed again. “You say that now, Rose….”

She frowned. “Wherever am I going to meet anyone like you? There is no one like you Doctor not anywhere and certainly not on Earth. I made my choice back when you still wore leather, had blue eyes and big ears. This is the life I want and I want it with you. If we have to stay just friends than fine but I don’t want that Doctor and I don’t think you do either if that kiss was anything to go by.”

His lips twitched up and she swore his cheeks turned a little pink which caused a little thrill in the pit of her stomach. She didn't even know Time Lords could blush and it was adorable and she made it a silent point to try to make him do it more often.

His thumb brushed lazily across her cheek, sending little tingles down her spine and he smiled softly.

“You are right.” He admitted finally, hesitantly. “I do...I do want this, I want...you... I have done for, well...quite a while.”

Her heart soared and a grin blossomed across her face at the words she had longed to hear for so long. It was strange to see him stumble over his words and that was how she knew he meant it.

“I know this must be all new for you, Doctor, these human emotions. From what you’ve told me about Time Lords they didn’t really do romance, yeah?”

He nodded in confirmation. “It was discouraged and very frowned upon. They didn’t like those kinds of emotions to get in the way and well, I always did rebel against them, stole a TARDIS, ran away, fraternized with Earth and the lives of so many other species and planets...but I never experienced that. Oh, I cared for my companions, every one of them but never in that way. I couldn’t...and then you come along,” he smiled at her affectionately and she returned it, “All pink and yellow and clever and I was...so broken. You brought me back to life, Rose, I hope you know that. Suddenly you were a bright and shining light in my life and I knew I never wanted to let go of you. I can’t bare the thought of losing you, Rose, and you’re right...that is why I have held back for so long. I thought putting some distance between us might make it better when the time comes and I know it will. Precious, fleeting human lives...so fragile…” He whispered, looking deep into her eyes.

“Not that fragile.” She assured him with a small smile.

“Fragile enough.” He muttered darkly, the same darkness passing over his eyes.

She looked into those eyes and tried to convey as much truth and emotion as she could through her gaze. “Alright, so if I die tomorrow, wouldn’t you be glad to have the memory of what we just shared? I know I would and we can create hundreds of more memories just like that. Happy memories to get you through the dark times and that’s another thing, Doctor. You haven’t lost me yet, and we may not know when it’s gonna happen, but you shouldn’t live thinking and dreading the day that it will. We make each other happy, don’t we, Doctor?”

He smiled genuinely and caressed her cheek. “Oh yes. You make me so happy, Rose…”

“And you, me Doctor. I never dreamed I could have this sort of life and feel the way I do...about you. You have to see that what we had was amazing but we can have going forward could be so much greater than that.”

He stared at her for a few moments, a hundred different emotions passing through his eyes and she watched him in anticipation.

Then his eyes softened and his smile widened and he took yet another step in closer to her. “You are so incredible, Rose, you know that?”

Her cheeks flamed and she smiled. “I dunno about that but I just want you to see what I see. You see us moving forward as a risk, and yeah, maybe it is, but it's a risk well worth taking for the gains, yeah?”

He eyed her for a long few, silent seconds and then his other hand shot up to gently cup her other cheek and he guided her once again to his mouth.

She smiled against his lips and slid her hands up onto his chest where she felt both his hearts wildly beating.

The kiss was over shortly and she pulled back, her head spinning as she grinned up at him. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the look he was giving her, so full of passion and joy and love.

He removed his hands from her cheeks and let them fall at his sides but quickly then reached out to place them on her hips, drawing her in even closer.

“Rose.” He started seriously, looking deep into her eyes and her heart stuttered. She didn’t know what to expect from him but she hoped the kiss was a good indicator of something good. “If we do this...I fear I won’t ever be able to let you go. So I need you to be sure…”

She quickly shook her head and cut him off with another short but passionate kiss.

“You never have to let me go, Doctor.” She whispered once they parted and pressed her forehead against his. “I’m yours, forever.”

He made a small choking, gasping sound at the back of his throat and then tightly wound his arms around her waist, crushing her body against his and capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

Her arms flung around his neck as she lifted herself onto her toes to press herself deeper into him. He slowly started to back them up until he hit the console and he sat perched there as they eagerly, hungrily, desperately explored each other.

“Forever’s a long time, Rose.” The Doctor gasped against her mouth in between kisses and she paused long enough to reach up to touch his cheek and smile at him.

“I know and I’m looking forward to every second of it.”

“Brilliant.” He breathed out before he dove in for her again.

If there was anything the Doctor knew it was that nothing lasted forever and time was not set in stone. He saw an unlimited amount of possible futures laid out before them and Rose’s horribly short timeline would sit heavy on him forever but he also knew something else. He wanted Rose Tyler and Rose Tyler wanted him and he was not going to hold back anymore. This day marked their new beginning as something so great and so wonderful. The Doctor and Rose Tyler, in the TARDIS, in love, as it should be.

#Show:DW #Ship:DocRose #Ship:TenRose #Char:Ten #Char:Rose Tyler #Doctor Who #TenxRose #DoctorxRose

[we-future-first]

So long and thanks for all the fish!

Thousands of methane filled bubbles are waiting to explode in Siberia | zmescience.com

In all the sound and fury over climate change, too little public and media attention has been devoted to the ‘methane gun’ (1) – and yet this terrifying phenomenon could usher humans unceremoniously off Earth’s stage for good.

Like CO2, methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas that helps trap the sun’s heat within the Earth’s atmosphere. The big difference is that it is 25-84 times more potent at doing so.

The planet has massive stores of methane, locked as frozen ice in the seabed (the world’s largest natural gas reserve), in the frozen soils of the Canadian, US and Russian Arctic, and buried in the sediments of tropical swamps and peatlands. Like the bubbles in a stagnant pond, the gas is mostly the work of bacteria digesting organic matter over millions of years.

How large these reserves of methane are is still a matter for scientific debate – but estimates fall between 1.5 and 5 trillion tonnes. Very, very large indeed. If released suddenly, these are thought more than capable of driving the Earth’s temperature up by another 7-10 degrees, on top of the 2-5 degrees likely to result from human emissions from burning fossil fuels and clearing land (currently rising at record rates (2)).

The worst-case scenario – a large-scale, rapid release of trapped gas known as the ‘methane gun’ – could potentially render the Earth uninhabitable by humans and other large animals. This is why we need to pay attention. Now.

What has some scientists concerned – and others frightened – is that atmospheric levels of methane which have doubled since the Industrial Revolution and have been rising for steadily for the past 30 years, began to rise more steeply in the past five years, as the following graph shows:

Atmospheric methane concentrations up to October 2019: Mauna Loa Observatory, USA. Atmospheric methane concentrations up to October 2019: Mauna Loa Observatory, USA.

The source of the new methane is debated. Is it mainly caused by the mining of natural gas, petroleum and coal – as several lines of evidence suggest? Is it released by expanding world cattle and rice production, the draining of tropical swamps and burning of tropical forests? Is it the frozen gas seeping out of the oceans and tundra as the planet warms and its ice vanishes? Or is it all of the above? The evidence is starting to favour the latter view (3) – but the scientific jury remains undecided.

We know that a mass-release of methane can be catastrophic for life on Earth, because that’s exactly what took place 55 million years ago in an event known as PETM – the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum – when global temperatures shot up by 5-10 degrees, wiping out a number of species (4). There were no humans round then to release carbon, so it was probably due to one or more of the natural sources rapidly giving up its gas. Recently opinion has narrowed in favour of tropical swamps and peatlands drying out and catching fire during a warming cycle, as the main source. The frozen methane, apparently, remained largely undisturbed in the ocean and tundra.

But that is not the case today. Not only are tropical forests burning and swamps being drained, but scientists have observed major escapes of methane from the Arctic tundra in the form of exploding pingos – mounts of frozen methane, mud and water – and the eruption of melted methane ice from the seabed. In October 2019 veteran Russian researcher Igor Semiletor, from Tomsk Polytechnic University, reported “the most powerful seep I have ever been able to observe” venting in a potent eruption of gas bubbles in the East Siberian Sea (5).

Two years earlier, in June 2017, Russian reindeer herders reported a violent explosion that left a 50- metre deep crater in the tundra of the Yamal Peninsula, Siberia, which scientists attributed to a methane blast. In recent years researchers have reported numerous craters left by explosions across Siberia, the Canadian and Alaskan tundra – and even craters in the seabed. Many are recent – but some are up to 12,000 years old, and still leaking gas. Therein lies the uncertainty: are the methane explosions observed today part of a process that occurs more or less constantly through Earth history – or do they represent the start of a sudden release, ramping up to runaway global warming? The scientific jury is at odds.

Pennsylvania State climate scientist Prof Michael Mann, for instance, characterises the methane bomb idea as “catastrophism” and claims it is being exploited by the climate denial lobby to discredit climate theory generally. He says the amount of methane released will be “small compared to human emissions” of carbon (6). Other scientists, like Gavin Schmidt of the NASA Goddard Institute, argue that it is highly unlikely that a large volume of seabed methane would be released suddenly, i.e. over a period less than thousands of years, because it did not do so in past warming events. Instead it will continue to trickle out.

Oceanography and ice expert Prof Peter Wadhams disagrees. He says loss of Arctic sea ice from the shallow continental margins could trigger such a release which “could happen very suddenly and … is the greatest single threat that we face”. He says that mainstream science, represented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), does not generally recognise the threat (7).

Australian National University earth scientist Prof. Andrew Glikson cites the Global Carbon project finding that there are 1.4 trillion tonnes of accumulated methane stored on land and 16 trillion tonnes in the ocean, available for release if the planet grew warm enough, and this ‘could have catastrophic effects on the biosphere’. He points out there is already clear evidence for the explosive release of methane, on land and at sea. With Arctic temperatures already 3-8 degrees warmer due to global warming, the risks of a sudden methane release “have not yet been fully accounted for in climate projections” (8).

At temperatures above +4 degrees, many scientists now consider the risk is increasing of the planet becoming partly or wholly uninhabitable to humans and large animals. Certainly, such heat and climate instability would destroy most of our current food production systems, spilling billions of climate refugees across the planet and causing wars to break out between and within nation states (9).

How many would die in such an event is not knowable, because we cannot predict how humans will respond, how many wars we will start, or how many nukes we will unleash in the ensuing chaos. Potsdam Institute climatologist John Schellnhuber has said: “At 4 C Earth’s… carrying capacity estimates are below 1 billion people.” Prof Kevin Anderson of the U.K.’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change concurs: “Only about 10 per cent of the planet’s population would survive at 4 C.” Several scientists have voiced the view that the human population will be reduced from 9-10 billion to around 1-3 billion in the long run (10).

We already know that our physical survival is in jeopardy in extended periods above 35 degrees Celsius – that is, where daytime temperatures constantly reach 40-50 degrees C or more. Such temperatures will occur frequently with +7 degrees of global warming and will render large parts of the earth uninhabitable – including the most heavily populated. Above +12 degrees of global warming, human survival becomes physically impossible (11). However long before our heat tolerance limits are reached, local and global food and water supplies will collapse, prompting mass migration and war. Without urgent worldwide action, the global economy – and with it civilized society – are predicted to go down as we approach +4 degrees. Such warnings come, not from ‘radical greens’, but from authorities no less conservative than Bank of England governor Marc Carney (12), who states that the global financial system is currently investing in catastrophe by backing new fossil fuel projects (13).

These numbers represent the current most-informed estimates of the impact of the unfolding climate crisis, should world efforts to halt it fail and should the climate deniers triumph.

The risk for humanity posed by the ‘methane gun’ is that rapid global mass-release may be ‘locked and loaded’ and firing before we have sufficient scientific data to confirm it. It is, as they say, an event of low probability – but very high impact. Is it a risk that a rational person would take?

Once the gun has begun to fire, there is practically nothing humans can do to stop it. It will unleash other dangerous feedbacks, potentially leading to runaway warming. It will shift the planet from its present warming state to a ‘hothouse Earth’ state (14) where human survival comes into question.

The only viable strategy – possibly – is preventative: to move civilization far faster towards total elimination of all fossil fuels and land clearing worldwide – and plant billions of trees as quickly as possible, to slow the global warming trend before it triggers the methane gun.

This means that countries like America, Australia, Brazil and Russia must cease their dangerous do-nothing policies, and stop mining coal, oil and gas, and clearing land. Countries like India and China need to cease building coal-fired power stations immediately. And every country needs to scale back carbon emissions on an accelerated time-scale from transport, agriculture, concrete and industry.

While some scientists urge geoengineering solutions, such as the artificial release of sulphate aerosol particles to erect a giant sunshade over the Earth, this represents a counsel of despair. It means allowing the atmosphere to attain virtual temperatures that would cook humans, then trying to chill them down with a planet-sized ‘air-conditioner’. The consequences, should our air conditioner fail, would be terminal. That really only leaves us with the option of trying to contain global warming by eliminating human carbon emissions – before the methane gun fires.

In the end, the worst that can happen by banning fossil fuels and regreening the planet is that we get a new clean energy system, cheaper energy, renewed economic growth and a more sustainable Earth.

If the climate deniers – fifty huge energy corporates and their political and media cheer squad – get their way, the worst that can happen is human extinction.

Which risk do you prefer?

submitted by /u/Danton-McGrugger [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/e3u3x6/so_long_and_thanks_for_all_the_fish/

#Future #Futuristic #Future oriented

[thetruthseekerway]

Our World is Sinking

New Post has been published on http://www.truth-seeker.info/quran-science-2/our-world-is-sinking/

Our World is Sinking

By Siraj Islam Mufti

Introduction

The June 24, 2019, issue of Time on Our Sinking Planet shows Antonio Guterres, the U.N. Secretary-General on the cover off the coast of Tuvalu – one of the world’s most vulnerable countries, to highlight the urgency of rising seas. Among other small island nations grappling with the effects of rising sea levels are Fiji, Kiribati, Maldives, Marshall Islands, and the Bahamas. Left alone these poor countries cannot tackle this huge problem. In the U.S., Florida, Louisiana and North Carolina among other coastal states face the adverse effects of rising sea level.

Global Rising Sea levels

Globally, it is estimated that at present the sea level is 5 to 8 inches higher on average than it was in 1900, and is expected to rise more quickly by the end of the 21st century.

It is generally agreed that changes in climate we see today are largely caused by human activity. Sea levels started rising in the late 1800s soon after the industrial revolution with the burning of coal, gas and other fossil fuels for the energy needed. These fuels when burnt produce carbon dioxide, which absorbs heat from the sun and traps it, leading to a warming of the atmosphere and our planet. Global average temperatures rose about 1oC since the beginning of the industrial era, melting ice on land and increasing volume of water into the seas.

Vulnerable Nations Leaders Meet

The Time describes how the leaders of 15 Pacific nations came together on September 2015 in Suva, the capital of Fiji to chart out their course for the approaching international negotiations in Paris. They had three goals in mind: a halt to new coal mines in countries that support the industry; back research and development on issues facing climate change; help poor countries prepare for extreme weather. One demand was paramount: any new global climate pact must aim to stop temperatures from rising more than 1.5oC by the year 2100, half a degree from the 2oC targeted by global climate experts. And they brought in other vulnerable countries in pressuring their wealthier peers.

Activists from all over Europe joined their cause chanting the mantra, “One point five to stay alive.” Ireland President Mary Robinson, who served as the U.N. climate-change envoy during the talks called climate change as an “existential threat”, which has to be overcome.

The result of these efforts was the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 that raised hundreds of billions of dollars in financial commitments by the richer countries of the developing world. It led to the creation of an International Panel on Climate Change in 2018 and subsequently helped save climate talks from collapsing.

World Areas and Lands hit the Hardest

An April 30, 2018 article posted by Smithsonian indicates that a rise in sea level will hit coastal lands the hardest. Over the coming centuries, this land that is home to between 470 and 760 million residents will be inundated by rising sea levels associated with a 4oC warming of the atmosphere, with China most to lose, followed by India, Bangladesh, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Japan, and the United States. Rising sea level is already making storms more dangerous, causing more flooding and damaging areas crowded with people.

According to a report by the United Nations Environmental Program, “The 52 [small island] nations, home to over 62 million people emit less than one percent of global greenhouse gases, yet they suffer disproportionately from the climate change that global emissions cause.” These island nations face increased flooding and erosion of their shorelines, and their sources of fresh water and agricultural land become unusable by seawater seeping in.

The Maldives lowest country on the planet has an average height of its 1,2000 islands across 1,000 miles in the Indian Ocean, is only 4 feet above the sea level. The ever-higher waves encroach on its lowest islands and erode beaches with nowhere for residents to retreat when a tropical cyclone or a tsunami wave hits, and they are forced to move as refugees of the world’s worsening climate.

What Are the Future Prospects?

Predicting the future is a difficult task because we do not know how our planet will respond to a warming climate, and there are enough naysayers, including President Donald Trump and his cohorts. However, there are some inescapable trends already taking place that cannot be ignored.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by the scientists at the United Nations in its 2013 report projected that sea level will rise by 2 to 3 feet by 2100 if we do not slow our carbon dioxide emissions by using less energy or renewable energy sources.

Short-term alternatives followed are to build barriers: they won’t reduce sea level rise or even to completely remove its impact. They are also costly and have to be maintained consistently, as waves and salt quickly erode concrete and as sea level rises they need to be built higher and higher. They also render beaches useless for humans and animals that live there with disruption of the natural movement of sand and waves.

A recent study by U.S. Center for Climate Integrity found that it would cost $400 billion to build 50,000 miles seawalls up and down in 22 states, with Florida costing nearly $76 billion, followed by Louisiana at about $38 billion, and North Carolina at almost $35 billion, but with other costs far outreaching than building concrete barriers.

Another alternative is moving somewhere else. However, coastlines are lined with homes of millions of people, cities, power plants and ports they rely upon. It won’t be easy to pick up and move inland without massive effort and reconstruction. Over the next century, people will be forced to abandon their homes along the coasts as increased flooding makes life difficult. Many cities, states, and countries are incorporating sea-level rise and shifting coastlines in their planning and policy.

Reducing emissions is the only viable alternative for our future sustainable world. And it is heartening that Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are cognizant of the climate issue and working in the U.S. Congress for the best interest of us all.

———

Siraj Islam Mufti, Ph.D. is an activist involved in intercommunity affairs. His latest book Western Families in Crisis, Muslims Resurging is available on Amazon.com.

#earth #Environment #existence #Featured #humanity #humankind #Our World is Sinking #planet #sink #Water

[alamante]

Image copyright Dylan Maddux for Tonle

Image caption Some zero-waste brands, like Tonlé, make garments only from discarded and excess textiles

At a time when our waste and our environmental impact is firmly under the spotlight, news in early July that fashion brand Burberry had burned almost £30m ($40m) of stock has caused outrage.

The company admitted destroying the unsold clothes, accessories and perfume instead of selling it off cheaply, in order to protect the brand’s exclusivity and value. It added that it had captured the energy from the burning to try and make the process more environmentally friendly.

But how widespread is stock destruction at this level?

Orsola de Castro is the co-founder and creative director of activist group Fashion Revolution, who lobby brands on production transparency. She describes landfilling and burning as fashion’s “dirtiest open secret” and says she has been waiting decades for a story like Burberry’s to emerge.

The BBC contacted 35 high-end designers and high-street retailers to ask about their practice.

Only six replied with breakdowns or further information, and the rest said they could not help or did not respond at all.

The secretive nature of the industry makes it difficult to accurately quantify the scale of the problem – but with global production now exceeding 100 billion garments a year, groups are warning of “potentially catastrophic” environmental damage if current growth trends continue.

After more than 1,100 people died in a garment factory collapse in Bangladesh five years ago, pressure has also mounted on western retailers to be transparent about their supply chain.

Image copyright Fashion Revolution

Image caption Fashion Revolution was set up in response to the deadly Rana Plaza collapse, and ranks brands on transparency

Many now opt to publish end-of-year reports that detail progress on workers’ rights and environmental sustainability. The information about Burberry’s stock burning was released in one such report – and Orsola points out that the designer is in fact one of the most transparent.

So why is stock destruction even a thing?

Designer brands typically work on much lower stock levels than high-street retailers, so their waste stock should be lower.

Retailer Inditex (who own brands like Zara and Bershka) work on a similar model – buying small batches at the start of the season and using customer popularity to gauge how much more to produce.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionAre we buying too many clothes? Fashion bloggers on loving what you have and recycling

Larger commercial producers have greater stock levels and tend to first reduce prices to shift their product, then recycle or resell what is left. In some cases, external companies that specialise in moving on unsold goods are used by some retailers. Others have adopted initiatives to donate unwanted clothes to NGOs and social enterprises.

But environmental activists say fashion’s waste problem is much bigger than just unsold stock. They blame ‘fast fashion’ – a term describing our high rate of fashion consumption fuelled by the quantity of new clothes that go on sale.

Image copyright H&M

Image caption H&M have garment recycle points in their stores; its partner I:CO then sorts items into rewear, reuse and recycle

Research collated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation suggests that global clothing production has doubled in the past 15 years, with garments on average being worn much less and discarded quicker than ever before.

The majority of used clothes we donate to charity have traditionally been re-sold abroad, but now even that demand is in decline. Demand in developing markets is however on the increase, with nations such as Rwanda instead opting to generate textiles independently, in part because of the low quality of donated products from fast-fashion retailers.

How is the industry changing?

While our passion for fashion is at least part of the problem, experts say the industry itself needs to be smarter with production to lessen environmental damage.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionWhat is the future of used clothing now that no one wants our used clothes anymore?

Initiatives for change are happening – the 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment was adopted by dozens of brands at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in May 2017.

The conference was organised by a group called Global Fashion Agenda, who want brands to adopt initiatives like using monofibres instead of synthetic and mixed-fibre fabrics, which are hard to break down in the recycling process.

Scientists have also warned that polyester-type materials are adding to the problem of ocean plastic pollution.

It is estimated that only 1% of our clothing is ultimately recycled into new garments because of this complexity – instead becoming items like insulation and cloths, which in turn may end up in landfill.

By May 2018, 12.5% of the global fashion market had signed up to the 2020 targets – including big global names like Nike, Asos and Gap.

Image copyright Nike

Image caption Sports brand Nike’s Grind range involves making products and sports surfaces from surplus and old footwear

Certain brands are capitalising on the environmental wave to set ambitious targets for themselves: Adidas for example have committed to only using recycling plastic in their shoes by 2024 and H&M says it hopes to only use sustainable materials in its production by 2030.

An end to fast fashion?

The UK government recently announced it would look into the environmental impact of fast fashion with the European Parliament also setting ambitious targets on circularity for consumer and business textile waste.

Jack Ostrowski, who runs a company that advises retailers how best to recycle their clothes, believes fast fashion it is not just an industry problem but a social one too.

“People simply don’t understand how big negative impact fashion industry is on the environment and how quickly that has to change,” he says. “It just simply cannot continue in the way it is now.”

He has developed an app that encourages consumers to recycle their clothes by offering incentives such as retailer discounts. He believes retailers who profit from clothes have a responsibility to better inform, facilitate and incentivise recycling from customers.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Greenpeace has lobbied fashion retailers to detox its use of hazardous materials in production

The sentiment is echoed by activists such as Greenpeace, who say fashion’s circularity targets do not go far enough. They say the industry needs to stop marketing cheap fast-fashion altogether, advocating for a slowdown our current consumption level.

Part of fashion retailers’ advertising strategy to younger audiences is now through social media. Popular figures are brought on board for line collaborations and online influencers are sent goods for free to help promote them to their followers.

“There’s going to be a tipping point where consumers will start seeing this act of hoarding or hauling goods as negative,” Orsola from Fashion Revolution says.

“Which influencers right now will film themselves drinking from 50 different plastic straws because they’re 50 different colours? That would look so wrong right now but two years ago would have been fine.”

Image copyright Ragged Life

Image caption Bloggers such as Elspeth Morrison try to get younger people to creatively reuse their old clothes

She has worked in the fashion industry for years advocating for upcycling of products. This also has currency in the online world – with bloggers and social media accounts sharing advice on how to repair, reuse or repurpose our clothes in inventive ways.

Asked for advice on how to resist the temptation to spend, she recommends people return to engaging emotionally with their clothing – learning to love the things they own and taking longer to consider future purchases.

“Torture yourself a little bit! Because actually waiting for something, waiting to see if you really, really want it, waiting to see if it has a function in your life and then buying it is beautiful.”

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[mikeo56]

The Feuding Kleptocrats

The Trump kleptocrats are political arsonists. They are carting cans of gasoline into government agencies and Congress to burn down any structure or program that promotes the common good and impedes corporate profit.

They ineptly have set themselves on fire over Obamacare, but this misstep will do little to halt the drive to, as Stephen Bannon promises, carry out the “deconstruction of the administrative state.” Donald Trump’s appointees are busy diminishing or dismantling the agencies they were named to lead and the programs they are supposed to administer. That is why they were selected. Rex Tillerson at the State Department, Steven Mnuchin at the Treasury Department, Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency, Rick Perry at the Department of Energy, Tom Price at Health and Human Services, Ben Carson at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Betsy DeVos at the Department of Education are eating away the foundations of democratic institutions like gigantic termites. And there is no force inside government that can stop them.

The sparing of Obamacare last week was a Pyrrhic victory. There are numerous subterfuges that can be employed to cripple or kill that very flawed health care program. These include defunding cost-sharing subsidies for low-income families, allowing premium rates for individual insurance to continue to soar (they have gone up 25 percent this year), cutting compensation to insurers in order to drive more insurance companies out of the program, and refusing to enforce the individual mandate that requires many Americans to purchase health insurance or be fined. The Trump administration’s Shermanesque march to the sea has just begun.    

William S. Burroughs in his novel “Naked Lunch” creates predatory creatures he calls “Mugwumps.” “Mugwumps,” he writes, “have no liver and nourish themselves exclusively on sweets. Thin, purple-blue lips cover a razor-sharp beak of black bone with which they frequently tear each other to shreds in fights over clients. These creatures secrete an addictive fluid though their erect penises which prolongs life by slowing metabolism.” Those addicted to this fluid are called “Reptiles.”

The addiction to the grotesque, to our own version of Mugwumps, has become our national pathology. We are entranced, even as the secretion of Trump’s Mugwump fluid repulses us. He brings us down to his level. We are glued to cable news, which usually sees a huge falling off of viewership after a presidential election. Ratings for the Trump-as-president reality show, however, are up 50 percent. CNN, which last year had its most profitable year ever, looks set in 2017 to break even that record and is projecting a billion dollars in profit. The New York Times added some 500,000 subscribers, net, over the past six months. The Washington Post has seen a 75 percent increase in new subscribers over the past year. Subscriptions to magazines like The New Yorker and The Atlantic have increased.

This growth is provoked not by a sudden desire to be informed, but by Americans’ wanting to be continually updated on the soap opera that epitomizes the U.S. government. What country will the president insult today? Mexico? Australia? Sweden? Germany? What celebrity or politician will he belittle? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Barack Obama? John McCain? Chuck Schumer? What idiocy will come out of his mouth or from his appointees? Can Kellyanne Conway top her claim that microwave ovens that turned into cameras were used to spy on Donald Trump? Will DeVos say something as stupid as her assertion that guns are needed in schools to protect children from grizzly bears? Will Trump make another assertion such as his insistence that Obama ordered his phone in Trump Tower to be tapped?

It is all entertainment all the time. It is the result of a media that long ago gave up journalism to keep us amused. Trump was its creation. And now we get a daily “Gong Show” out of the White House. It is good for Trump. It is good for the profits of the cable news networks. But it is bad for us. It keeps us distracted as the kleptocrats transform the country into a banana republic. Our world is lifted from the pages of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel “The Autumn of the Patriarch,” in which the “eternal” dictator was feared and mocked in equal measure.

The kleptocrats—and, now, those they con—have no interest in the flowery words of inclusivity, multiculturalism and democracy that a bankrupt liberal class used with great effectiveness for three decades to swindle the public on behalf of corporations. That rhetoric is a spent force. Barack Obama tried it when he crisscrossed the country during the presidential campaign telling a betrayed public that Hillary Clinton would finish the job started by his administration.

Political language has been replaced by the obscenities of reality television, professional wrestling and the daytime shows in which couples find out if they cheated on each other. This is the language used by Trump, who views reality and himself through the degraded lens of television and the sickness of celebrity culture. He, like much of the public, lives in the fantasy world of electronic hallucinations.  

The battle over health care was all about the most effective way to hand money to corporations. Do we stick with Obamacare, already a gift to the for-profit insurance and pharmaceutical industries, or do we turn to a sham bill of pretend care that gives even more tax cuts to the rich? This is what passes for nuanced political debate now. The courtiers in the media give the various sides in this argument ample airtime and space in print, but they lock out critics of corporate power, especially those who promote the rational system of Medicare for all. Health care costs in the United States, where 40 cents of every health care dollar goes to corporations, are double what they are in industrial countries that have a national health service. This censorship on behalf of corporations is the press’ steadfast lie of omission. And it is this lie that leaves the media at once distrusted by the public and complicit in Trump’s fleecing of America. When we are not being amused by these debates among corporate lackeys we listen to retired generals, all making six-figure incomes from the weapons industry, selling the public on the imperative of endless war and endless arms purchases.

Trump understands the effectiveness of illusions, false promises and lies, an understanding that eludes those in the Freedom Caucus, many of whom want to do away with health care systems that involve government. If the ruling kleptocrats strip everything away at once, it could provoke an angry backlash among the population. Better to use the more subtle mechanisms of theft that worked in Trump’s casinos and his fake university. Better to steal with finesse. Better to strip the government on behalf of corporations while promising to make America great again.

The kleptocrats, whatever their differences, are united by one overriding fear. They fear large numbers of people will become wise to their kleptocracy and revolt. They fear the mob. They fear revolution, the only mechanism left that can rid us of these parasites.

They are perverting the legal system and building mechanisms and paramilitary groups that will protect the kleptocrats and oligarchs when the last bits of the country and the citizens are being “harvested” for corporate profit. They don’t want anything to impede the pillage, even when climate change forces people to confront the reality that they and their children may soon become extinct. They will steal despite the fact that the ecosystem is collapsing, heat waves and droughts are destroying crop yields, the air and water are becoming toxic and the oceans are being transformed into dead zones. There will be hundreds of millions of desperate climate refugees. Civil society will break down. They won’t stop until their own generators have run out of fuel in their gated compounds and their private security forces have deserted them. When the end comes they will greet it with their characteristic blank expression of idiocy and greed. But most of us won’t be around to see their epiphany.

The kleptocrats have placed all citizens under surveillance. This is by design. They sweep up our email correspondence, tweets, web searches, phone records, file transfers, live chats, financial data, medical data, criminal and civil court records and information on movements. They do this in the name of the war on terror. They have diverted billions of taxpayer dollars to store this information in sophisticated computer systems. They have set up surveillance cameras, biosensors, scanners and face recognition technologies in public and private places to obliterate our anonymity and our privacy. They are watching us constantly. And when a government watches you constantly you cannot use the word “liberty.” The people’s relationship to government is that of slave to master.

The kleptocrats have used the courts to strip us of due process and habeas corpus. They have constructed the largest prison system in the world. They have militarized police and authorized them to kill unarmed citizens, especially poor people of color, with impunity. They have overturned the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which once prohibited the military from acting as a domestic police force, by passing Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1021 gives the kleptocrats the power to carry out extraordinary rendition on the streets of American cities and hold citizens indefinitely in military detention centers without due process—in essence disappearing them as in any totalitarian state. The kleptocrats have handed the executive branch of government the power to assassinate U.S. citizens. And they have stacked the courts with corporate loyalists who treat corporations as people and people as noisome impediments to corporate profit.

This omnipresent surveillance state and militarization of the forces of internal security are designed to thwart popular revolt. These tools are the moats the kleptocrats have built to protect themselves from the threatening hoards. Full surveillance, as political philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote, is not a means to discover or prevent crimes, but a device to have “on hand when the government decides to arrest a certain category of the population.” The most innocuous information will be twisted and used by the kleptocrats to condemn anyone considered a threat.

The kleptocrats, in the end, have only one real enemy: us. Their goal is to make sure we are mesmerized by their carnival act or, if we wake up, shackled while they do their dirty work. Our goal must be to get rid of them.

#corporate coup #hedges #empire #surveillance #media

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 6.8

218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. 452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces as he heads for Rome. 793 – Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of Norse activity in the British Isles. 1042 – Edward the Confessor becomes King of England - the country's penultimate Anglo-Saxon king. 1191 – Richard I arrives in Acre, beginning his crusade. 1663 – Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial ensures Portugal's independence from Spain. 1776 – American Revolutionary War: American attackers are driven back at the Battle of Trois-Rivières. 1783 – Laki, a volcano in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine. 1789 – James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress. 1794 – Robespierre inaugurates the French Revolution's new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, with large organized festivals all across France. 1856 – A group of 194 Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the mutineers of HMS Bounty, arrives at Norfolk Island, commencing the Third Settlement of the Island. 1861 – American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Cross Keys: Confederate forces under General Stonewall Jackson save the Army of Northern Virginia from a Union assault on the James Peninsula led by General George B. McClellan. 1867 – Coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Hungary following the Austro-Hungarian compromise (Ausgleich). 1887 – Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the 'Art of Compiling Statistics', which was his punched card calculator. 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value. 1912 – Carl Laemmle incorporates Universal Pictures. 1918 – A solar eclipse is observed at Baker City, Oregon by scientists and an artist hired by the United States Navy. 1928 – Second Northern Expedition: The National Revolutionary Army captures Peking, whose name is changed to Beijing ("Northern Capital"). 1929 – Margaret Bondfield is appointed Minister of Labour. She is the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. 1940 – World War II: The completion of Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied forces from Narvik at the end of the Norwegian Campaign. 1941 – World War II: The Allies commence the Syria–Lebanon Campaign against the possessions of Vichy France in the Levant. 1942 – World War II: The Japanese imperial submarines I-21 and I-24 shell the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. 1949 – Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members. 1949 – George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is published. 1953 – An F5 tornado hits Beecher, Michigan, killing 116, injuring 844, and destroying 340 homes. 1953 – The United States Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons. 1959 – USS Barbero and the United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail. 1966 – An F-104 Starfighter collides with XB-70 Valkyrie prototype no. 2, destroying both aircraft during a photo shoot near Edwards Air Force Base. Joseph A. Walker, a NASA test pilot, and Carl Cross, a United States Air Force test pilot, are both killed. 1966 – Topeka, Kansas, is devastated by a tornado that registers as an "F5" on the Fujita scale: The first to exceed US$100 million in damages. Sixteen people are killed, hundreds more injured, and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed. 1966 – The National Football League and American Football League announced a merger effective in 1970. 1967 – Six-Day War: The USS Liberty incident occurs, killing 34 and wounding 171. 1968 – James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. is arrested at a London airport. 1972 – Vietnam War: Nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc is burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl is seen running down a road, in what would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo. 1982 – Bluff Cove Air Attacks during the Falklands War: Fifty-six British servicemen are killed by an Argentine air attack on two landing ships, RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram. 1982 – VASP Flight 168 crashes in Pacatuba, Ceará, Brazil, killing 128 people. 1984 – Homosexuality is declared legal in the Australian state of New South Wales. 1987 – New Zealand's Labour government establishes a national nuclear-free zone under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987. 1992 – The first World Oceans Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1995 – Downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia. 2001 – Mamoru Takuma kills eight and injures 15 in a mass stabbing at an elementary school in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan. 2004 – The first Venus Transit in well over a century takes place, the previous one being in 1882. 2007 – Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, is hit by the State's worst storms and flooding in 30 years resulting in the death of nine people and the grounding of a trade ship, the MV Pasha Bulker. 2008 – At least 37 miners go missing after an explosion in a Ukrainian coal mine causes it to collapse. 2008 – At least seven people are killed and ten injured in a stabbing spree in Tokyo, Japan. 2009 – Two American journalists are found guilty of illegally entering North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of penal labour. 2014 – At least 28 people are killed in an attack at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan.

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