#and i CANNOT find the video interview they reference in the article

[admiralgrove]

Sourced from an article by Clash Music, from 2022

[centrally-unplanned]

I was listening to this cast by The Weeb Crew, with SteveM as a guest, going through some other Evangelion video and dissecting the mythical memetic tropes it buys into. Which was a lot of fun, I recommend the cast, and the video they are critiquing is a bit of a grad-bag of zombie memes about Evangelion from the 2000's, which yeah have aged poorly.

One of the ones they get into is the idea that Evangelion's TV ending was "intensely unpopular", and Anno & crew were getting like bombarded with death threats and stuff. Which happened at some level sure, but certainly wasn't the median response. The video actually sites the "emails" shown on screen in End of Evangelion as evidence:

And like, bro those emails are fake! The staff wrote them for the movie, they didn't use real death threats or fan mail, that would be a huge legal liability. Not saying they are analytically useless or anything but, you know, you need to know that.

Anyway, SteveM mentions that of course there was pushback against Eva's ending, but actually the big wave wasn't interior to the fandom - instead it was sparked by Eva "going mainstream" discourse-wise. In particular a review essay by social critic Eiji Otuska (who is also a former lolicon creator ding ding ding) that was published after the finale aired sparked a widespread discussion in the media by other critics. He links to the essay in their discussion....except he doesn't. He thinks he did, and then when they look, its just someone else mentioning it in an article in 2003:

Bitter disputes broke out on online bulletin boards, with some critical of the producers for failing to provide a clear-cut end to the story, and others who praised the finish for being "typically Evangelion-like." But when commentator Eiji Otsuka sent a letter to the Yomiuri Shimbun, complaining about the end of the Evangelion series, the debate went nationwide. "The debate that erupted over the ending went way beyond our calculations," Gainax's Sato chuckles. "Anno probably knew what was going on. He realized that media other than anime had taken notice of Evangelion."

Which triggered in me the thought - why doesn't he have it? He references it in his own work after all. As you can guess, after some searching I am pretty sure I know why; no one has it. Its never been scanned or reprinted in an accessible format! It definitely is important in the history of Evangelion - I have seen this claim in other contexts, the essay that sparked a discourse, and you can find many works about Evangelion citing Otsuki (generally later works, like an article published in September of 1996 which you can buy) But what the article article said is only discernable via the clues dropped from second-hand accounts.

So can we find it?

First of all I need to figure out what is even being referenced. Searching through contemporary Japanese sources, I dug up an extremely handy find:

A somehow-still-existing 1997 fan page by a Japanese otaku (I'm giving you this stuff auto-translated btw, what would you do with a wall of kanji?) who extensively catalogued every media mention of Evangelion. I am sure they missed some, but they didn't miss a big one like the Otsuki letter - which we know from the above interview appeared in gigantic newspaper Yoimiuri Shimbun:

This gives us three candidates; given that we know it was written after the finale aired, and that was March 27th, 1996, our most likely candidate is the April 1st essay; I was able to find a secondary source mentioning the review was "immediately" after the finale, so I think that nails it.

Which alas does not bring up anything! Try as I might I cannot find any extant blog post, or scanned image, or long quoted form. But after trying the usual methods I did realize something - unlike my average document hunt, this is Yoimiuri Shimbum, a newspaper, a big newspaper. Which means they probably have their own archive, which I might be able to access. and low and behold, they do! And my university research services actually have an account!!

Incredibly blessed by this stroke of luck, I went digging for everything containing "Evangelion" and "Eiji Otsuka" in 1996, and found it:

And it's fucking blank. If the article is scanned or anything it will have that "Japanese Text" you see on the first result, or "Scanned Image" tag or something. I swear its like the only ones not scanned, all the random ads and list of best sellers are all there, but the entire cultural essays section is just an archival void. Shot in the skull right at the finish line.

Alas I am out of ideas of this one - its a newspaper, no one is selling this on Yahoo Auctions. Though hey, at least now we know the title:

"オウム」を超えるはずが... / It should surpass Aum...", 876 characters long.

"Aum" by the way is Aum Shinrikyo, the cult terrorist group that conducted the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack. Which you can imagine really took the chattering classes by storm; it was the culmination of a series of "extremist" actions that began in the 1980's that built up a narrative of societal decay and alarm. It really isn't surprising that Otsuka linked Evangelion to Aum Shinrikyo; the apocalyptic connections were obvious, there was even an episode of the show that had to be changed due to the attacks as the production team thought the events were too similar. And additionally, if this essay was gonna spark a "societal backlash", it has to say something controversial right? I have definitely seen other critics like Hiroki Azuma discussing Eva in relation to Aum as a "social phenomenon" - I am betting Otsuka is the source of that comparison being so ubiquitous.

From other sources like people on twitter and other articles, I can pick up a few other details on what it contained; apparently he referred to Evangelion's finale as a "self-help seminar" for otaku and lambasted the idea of airing one of those on TV. And from his other writings I think you can certainly piece it together - essentially seeing Evangelion's self-involvement and hyper-introspection as a product of the same societal malaise that birthed Aum Shinrikyo, while failing to deliver a solution that could "go beyond" that. Which, the shit you said about media in the 90's, I want a hit of what he's having! But while today its quite obvious that groups like Aum were, sure, saying something about society but turned out overwhelmingly to be fringe weirdos as opposed to canaries in the mental institute coal mine, at the time this was very much the zeitgeist.

Still, I don't really care all that much what it says - its an important artifact! It started the "Eva discourse boom" that broke out of otaku circles and launched Evangelion into a cross-societal phenomenon! We should have a record of it, it should be preserved. I will ruminate on it, and see if any other ideas pop up. And meanwhile if anyone out there happens to see what I missed definitely let me know.

[speculativeartisan]

A Chapter by Chapter Analysis of Amygdala by Sam Fennah

Alright trying to rebuild my momentum here, I would ideally like to finish this before the next book comes out but we'll see how that goes!

Chapter 7

We're finally back with Lucy, Ludwig, and Shale (their third coworker and the cool older sister figure of the group I cannot remember if I mentioned her in my recap of the last chapter and I'm not going back to double check) as they head out on Lucy's first big assignment to report on the Yolshen march out to the mine. And like everyone who's ever lied in their first job interview Lucy kind of bombs it. She writes in her own hand (as opposed to the standardized 'Inker's Hand' reporters are supposed to use), she misses details, she can't quite follow what's happening and write it down at the same time. Her prior skillset lends itself to working at a book burrow and she's finding out in real time that they aren't really transferable.

A brief aside here but I still cannot believe that a species that has this much limb diversity hasn't invented typing devices of some sort. Like the thing with tentacles for arms and the thing with 76 insect legs and the thing with three toed hooves and a pseudo thumb all share a singular alphabet that they're all capable of writing in by hand? That they're capable of inventing doors that fold space time but a typewriter is a bridge too far? Fennah has commented elsewhere that Kivs are staunchly about displays of physicality to the point that they resist inventions that invite too much efficiency or remove that manual element, but I would argue there are few things more satisfyingly physical than wrestling with an older model mechanical type writer.

Anyway after we get some allusions to Ludwig having been previously been raised on a boat, the group returns to Wylly who is thoroughly unimpressed with Lucy's handiwork. He tells her to rewrite the whole thing in the proper hand or she's out on her ass. Lucy, panicking, concocts some DIY whiteout and grabs some of Ludwig's old finished articles as a handwriting reference and tries her best to amend the errors. All she really accomplishes is making a bigger mess. Ludwig eventually returns to their room to find her curled up in the middle of it all crying.

Ludwig gathers everything up and sits down to rewrite Lucy's paper himself. When she protests this he tells her he owes her for saving his job. When she points out that his job was only at risk because of her in the first place he brushes it off saying sure but she didn't have to try and fix it for him after. He also notes that she has something of a talent for forgery. While her rushing made a mess, the practice papers where she copied his handwriting are all fairly immaculate. Wylly accepts the revisions and tells the three to go out and see if they can offload some old stock.

What follows is essentially more explanation of the barter system, Lucy gets a video game style tutorial on mirroring in conversations and tries her hand at selling off day old papers. It turns out she's better at this than she is at writing. Her interest in psychology makes her a fairly decent salesperson as we've already seen and she manages to trade for some trinkets. We also get what's probably one of the funniest lines in the book so far:

Eventually however the group happen upon the beginnings of an angry mob gathering at the bookburrow, wanting more erillion in fear of the projected shortage and becoming more and more irate when the owner won't dole out more than they're already contracted for. Ludwig wants to intervene, they have information that the shortage is bunk even if it hasn't been published yet and they could say as much. Shale is against it, the information hasn't been fully verified yet and besides if these idiots cause a riot and get themselves killed by the yolsh then that's their own fault isn't it? That's just the price for panicking and causing a scene. Lucy for the most part agrees with Shale. When Ludwig points out that he literally just rescued her from the consequences of her own actions not even an hour ago she points out that messing up a newspaper and forming an angry mob aren't exactly the same thing.

Ignoring both of them he does step in, tells them that there is no shortage, and that the paper saying as much will be published tomorrow. Skeptical the mob does sort of begrudgingly disperse, and the three enter the bookburrow but not before they chew Ludwig out for taking a needless risk.

This is the point where 'A Good Thing' becomes almost as much of an arc phrase as 'a little thing' does. The overall thrust of it is a desire to examine what 'good' really is. Ludwig argues that preventing a riot is a good thing to do. Shale argues that his first duty is to the truth and his work, good doesn't really factor into that. Characters lying, doing underhanded things, or causing problems for a 'good cause' will be a persistent theme going forward. And in the end most of them won't actually accomplish the good they set out to do, in fact they will usually have made things worse.

Lucy likewise has a bit of an outburst when Ludwig insists that he's just a little thing, prompting Shale to check in with her. Lucy won't comment only alludes to it still being a fresh hurt, and Shale drops the subject. The three of them head inside and Lucy shows off a little selling some of the old papers for a book on the trade revolution. This is where we learn a little more about what actually went down.

Basically what happened is yeah the kivs absolutely speedran to late stage capitalism, banks and companies bought up everything, the economy crashed, and everything went to shit. The notable difference here is that instead of attempting to rework the currency system into something actually usable Locket apparently just went 'nope no more money' and just like… REMOVED an entire chunk of the economy leaving presumably millions out of a job with only a year and some change to find alternatives. And she's… surprised? That this ended badly? Like the book frames the ensuing civil war/revolution as being mostly rich billionaires throwing a shit fit that they don't get to be rich billionaires anymore but like… this was literally the most predictable outcome? You couldn't have phased this out? Done it in steps? You're all literally immortal don't tell me that you can't be bothered to do it the long way round. Like you're surprised that the formerly rich assholes managed to radicalize their old work force immediately after everyone's out of a job? Like were mortgages a thing? Did houses get repossessed? GIRL YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD AT POLITICS WHAT HAPPENED HERE??

It's no small surprise that most of Locket's enemies come from this time period. Most of the book's antagonists come from this era in one way or another, as do most of the people who eventually turn to their side. They blame locket for what happened, for the people they lost, and they blame her system for letting it get as bad as it did. And they aren't exactly wrong? This isn't a democracy, at least I don't think it is. Locket is supreme dictator for life, what recourse do people have when they don't like how things are being run then outside of trying to overthrow the entire government? The reason why stable democracy is beneficial is because it prevents things like this from happening on a yearly basis. That this is the only major upset they've had since the city's inception is a small miracle honestly.

Anyway as the three head back to the Inkhouse they run into a mysterious figure on the sidewalk who Lucy recognizes as one of Fontaine's agents that Goldune met while she was tailing him. This woman is Greta, and she asks Lucy where she works. Lucy is frozen in fear and Ludwig answers for her since he doesn't realize this person is dangerous. She departs, and Lucy has a panic attack but won't tell the other two what's wrong because she's afraid they'll hate her if they know she caused the dollhouse fire all the papers have been writing about.

Of course Greta beats them back to the Inkhouse, and that's a bit more than Lucy can handle. The stress of it all forces her into puberty which unfortunately also entails having your first orgasm. A bit awkward to do in front of all your coworkers admittedly.

We end the chapter on Lucy blacking out as her body enters the process of becoming an adult, and Greta stepping out to talk business with Wyley. Despite all of her best efforts Lucy's mistake has caught up with her and now she's forced to play along. She can't properly warn her friends of the danger they're all in because that would mean telling them how she knows Greta is a criminal, and how she knows mire is so flammable. Her inability to come clean will make things worse in the long run.

This ties into the thesis statement that the book is now slowly bringing to the forefront. I don't subscribe to the idea that novels need to have a moral or some kind of lesson they need to impart to the reader but most good books will at least have a central thrust to their narrative. A core ideology behind all the sword fights and lavish descriptions of food. I could boil Harry Potter down into 'The redemptive power of love will always overcome hatred in the end" (irony of ironies). The Webcomic El-Goonish Shive could be summed up as 'being forced to hide parts of who you are is damaging in a lot of small and subtle ways.' Kill Six Billion Demons likewise chews over whether lasting peace can really be built on top of violence or if overthrowing tyrants will always be an endless cycle.

If I were to boil down the themes Amygdala is getting at, it feels like currently it would be 'Truth is the closest thing to an objective good there is, because it is only when we know all the facts about a situation that we can act rationally" with a side smattering of "what is the cost of safety and how much hardship do we actually need for life to feel like living?" With a garnish of 'Good is a fake concept actually and we shouldn't do things just because someone said it was good without backing up why it was beneficial in the long run.' Lucy's inability to come clean will get everyone in a lot of trouble. Methusa's underhanded tactics will ultimately sabotage her. I'm sure Dalton's lies to Celia will likewise bite him in the ass in some way even if only because they will burn that bridge for good. Yeshua is a silver tongued con-man and the closest thing there is so far to an actually malicious actor.

I do have to admire the domino effect being set up in these early chapters. For me the hardest part of writing is getting my story to sound like more than just a list of events. The story is long and winding and just full of people but so far everything falls into place so neatly. Lucy sets fire to a dollhouse accidentally, she saves one of the dollies from the blaze, presumably this is how Greta tracks her down later, and her guilt over what happened keeps her stuck in a bad situation. None of it explicitly spelled out but it flows very naturally.

[x-on-the-calendar-business]

ryan ross iceberg (tier 7)

tier 1, tier 2, tier 3, tier 4, tier 5, tier 6, tier 8

deep waters:

light up skechers fancam:

this is a fancam made by twitter user fleetwood_wac. the background song is skechers by dripreport, and i think it was a tiktok song? (i don’t have tiktok) in 2020/2021, it became famous on ryan ross stan twitter. i don’t think the original tweet is still up, but aryn has it in this reply.

side note, if you weren’t on ryan ross stan twitter in 2020, you were sorely missing out.

go figure. to late honey:

this is a quote from one of ryan’s livejournal posts from july 3, 2005. it’s SO iconic.

zrosswald:

this refers to ryan/z berg/alex greenwald. i think it’s meant to refer more to their friendship; the golden trio, if you will. however, i’m sure there are people who genuinely ship them all together, just like rydan.

they have been a tight group for a while, as z and alex both played with the young veins some. also, ryan and alex made appearances at z’s prom events.

eta: as i suspected, this is definitely a real ship.

here's a tumblr post explaining the ship dynamics a bit more. this blog has a lot of zrosswald content if you're interested!

kale:

on thanksgiving of 2011, ryan tweeted this:

in 2021, it became a meme in the ryan stan twitter community, and people tagged gordan ramsay in the tweet, asking his opinion on ryan’s cooking.

first male model for mac:

the story goes that in the fever era, the makeup company mac offered ryan a spot to be their first male model. unfortunately, he declined. according to the comments on a livejournal post i found, ryan discussed this in a 2006 spin magazine interview [i]. there were scans of the interview, but sadly, they’re not available, like most pictures on lj. it hasn’t been archived either.

the same commenter says that article doesn’t specifically mention mac, though. mac did offer ryan free products, but he doesn’t say if he accepted them [i].

so, it’s unsure if ryan was offered to be mac’s male model (unless there’s another source i’ve missed) or another brand’s. either way he turned it down. my guess is that the mac idea came from the fact that he used mac’s products back then.

beef with pete wentz:

after the split, brendon got pete in the divorce.

in a MTV interview that ryan did in 2009, it says “…he wishes Urie and Smith well and still considers them both to be his friends…The same cannot be said, however, about his former boss -- Decaydance Records honcho/ Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz -- who seems to have clearly aligned himself with the Urie/Smith camp following the split" [ii].

in the same interview, ryan specifically says:

"I haven't spoken to him in a while, since this happened. I guess I've been meaning to call him back. He called me, but I've missed a lot of phone calls this week," Ross said. "We're not sure [whether Ross' and Walker's new band will be on Wentz's Decaydance Records]. I'll have to talk to him, but obviously from what's happening online, I think he's ... he's written a lot about them. I don't know if they're working together on their stuff. I'm not really sure, but it's been awhile since we've spoken. It's strange. It's kind of weird" [ii].

the author of the article speculates that ryan and pete’s friendship is over [ii]. i can’t find the source for this, nor can i remember what the specific comments were, but i swear that pete did make some shady comments about ryan at one point.

however, it does seem that their relationship is not on negative terms currently. in 2016, pete tweeted this and this about ryan [iii] [iv]. also, this year (2023), pete mentioned ryan in a video fall out boy posted of pete reviewing his old fashion! you can watch it here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Fall Out Boy (@falloutboy)

i’m also going to link an article i found that chronicles ryan and pete’s entire relationship, which is an interesting read (although i get the feeling they’re a little biased against ryan…).

ryan’s pet turtles:

i can’t find the post or comment, but on a lj post, ryan commented “this reminds me of when my dad ran over my pet turtles with the lawn mower. thanks.”

“i went to high school with ryan:”

i have two sources for this, and i’m not sure of which one is the original. however, this one is the one i remember seeing first (around 2014).

on tumblr, someone sent in an ask saying essentially the same thing, also in 2014.

i know that both are referring to the same thing; i’m just not sure if the first pic is based on the ask, or if the ask is based on the image. either way, the sentiment is the same.

honestly, i don’t think this story is true. still funny nonetheless

hot girls eating pizza:

this is another one i cannot find a source for anywhere (not even a tweet mentioning it), even though i was able to in the past. i apologize.

but i’m pretty sure that what this is about is a tweet/social media post in which he referred to hot girls eating pizza.

if anyone has a source or more information on this one though, please let me know!!

(i was going to dm the creator of one of the icebergs i referenced to ask her, but twitter won’t allow me to send dms to someone who doesn’t follow me unless i pay for twitter blue. i’m committed to explaining this iceberg but not enough to give elon musk my money i fear)

sent to an island:

in an alternative press interview from 2018, z said that on christmas eve, she shipped ryan off to an island to clear his head. ryan says, “true story” [v].

kate moss playboy:

in the following picture from ryan’s instagram, you can see a kate moss playboy on the table.

hentai:

in the fever era, panic did interviews for a japanese magazine. someone ran ryan’s portion through an image translation, and it brought back something about hentai.

eta: update, twitter user givememallce bought the actual magazine from japan and provided us with translations of this image and the questions the band was answering! they also included the answers from the rest of the band if you're curious about those [vi]. so the biggest shoutout to them and their service.

fake wedding with z:

in 2009, ryan and z pretended to be married. ryan tweeted a picture of z with a wedding ring, called her his wife, and also tweeted a quote of her calling him “the best husband ever” [vii].

later, he tweeted that his wife left in the middle of the night. he then had a revelation:

the best part is that all of these events took place within a single day.

here’s the masterpost with all the details:

not actually 5’11:

this is a conspiracy that ryan is lying about his height.

one piece of evidence was that brendon is 5’9, meaning ryan would be 2 inches taller than him. however, in a lot of photos they look to be relatively the same height.

the other piece is that multiple fans who have met ryan said that compared to their own heights, he can’t be 5’11. i don’t have specific sources of people saying that, but i know it was discourse on twitter at one point.

next is the final entry in the iceberg, where we get into the most obscure stuff the iceberg has to offer and finish this thing up.

tier 8

references:

[i] https://bandfandom-ref.livejournal.com/133181.html

[ii] https://www.mtv.com/news/1fedpk/exclusive-ryan-ross-talks-about-leaving-panic-at-the-disco

[iii] https://twitter.com/petewentz/status/794988164901261312

[iv] https://twitter.com/petewentz/status/795025751930114048

[v] https://www.altpress.com/ryan-ross-z-berg-the-bad-list/

[vi] https://twitter.com/GIVEMEMALlCE/status/1695649402663363028

[vii] https://pathetic-at-the-disco.tumblr.com/post/180912208431/ryan-ross-and-z-bergs-wedding-masterpost

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

dude where the fuck is your references, these are some BIG ass claims and you provided literally nothing.

you did not use proper citations, nor did you quote anything.

The links you’ve given lead to Wikipedia which like not a trusted source for these sorts of things, uneditable information and resources are more used as they are more reliable.

you included very wrong information and refused to back it up,

and as someone who loves history and has actually spoken to historians and loves oral history, this shit is despicable.

any self respecting historian would use proper citations and references, videos, transcripts, journals, and more!

but I see nothing here that is connected with a link of verifiable information, or a quote with a book page, or a video, interview or anything.

you are saying an opinion piece and presenting it like it is fact, if you cannot find the links or references to what you are referring to you probably made it up.

hell I see no links to holocaust museums which have teaching materials exactly for this, I see no links to maybe a newspaper article or something that may have influenced your opinion, I don’t see any documentary quotes or any oral history stuff.

all I see is a unsubstantiated claim, by someone who can’t even link things that aren’t Wikipedia.

Not to mention the Yiddish speakers, Jewish people and decedents of holocaust survivors who literally have talked about these things IN DETAIL and have called people out for this shit.

hell if you’d linked other tumblr accounts with their experiences and stuff I’d be less pissed. But you didn’t, you wrote an opinion piece and presented as fact.

be better!

Ok gotta talk about it.

As a Jewish historian, I fucking hate Israel in ways most probably will never be able to comprehend. I'm going to try and explain it anyways. The central creation myth of Israel is that it is Jewish, and then consequently, that Israel is a part of Jewishness. Its easy to simply state this is false, but fully comprehending this and putting it into practice in thought and deed seems rare to me.

The evil at the heart of this violence predates the recent acceleration of genocide. Israel is a colony, and more than that, an antisemitic fraud itself. After WW2, when Israel was being founded, the Jews of Europe generally did not wave goodbye to their neighbors and head to the promised land. Many were expelled from their homes. Zionism itself, as an action, was a false choice at the time. A mere excuse to place an ally in the middle east, and an excuse to complete the expulsion and destruction of the European Jew. The Zionist Jew is more than complicit in this, they actively seek the destruction and assimilation of all other Jews.

Many fail to realize, and largely because of Israel, that Jews are not inherently white, Ashkenazi, European-descended people. Our faith and culture has an immense variety that is spread all across the globe. Jewishness, in population and volume of culture, exists more so outside of Israel than within it. Israel is for a very specific kind of Jew. The kind that lets Yiddish die, that attaches themselves to European things, that makes themselves and their practices as white as possible.

And they have the nerve, the fucking belligerent GALL, to frame themselves as the necessary saviors of our people. To the Zionist, questioning Israel is to question Jewishness itself. They bake adoration for the colonial machine into their very prayers, and push them on us even as children. To *not* oppress, to *not* kill, to *not* genocide, is to invite death. This is the core of fascistic thought, of course. "Kill them before they kill us." And they KNOW this too, they really do. The truth of that irony does not matter, because as is true for all fascists, the truth itself does not matter to them. They wanted this, they wanted this even before the British saw it in their best interest to give them the land. Any excuse to RETVRN, as the neo-nazis say of Rome, or the German Empire, or whatever the fuck stupid country they want to poorly animate the corpse of. Some select Zionists even *sided with the fucking Nazis* in agreement they should abandon Europe to colonize Palestine. (Haavara Agreement)

My people have proved time and time and time again you don't need a nation state to have an enduring culture. We have protected ourselves for thousands of years without the help of these spiteful, doom-saying maniacs. I was going to post something like this on Passover, but that would be hypocritical. The state of Israel doesn't actually have shit to do with Jewishness. שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְה Vi tsu derleb ikh im shoyn tsu bagrobn. [my best translation] Hear Israel (beginning of a prayer in Hebrew) I should outlive him long enough to bury him. (an old Yiddish curse)

Free Palestine. Donate what you can, they need it right now.

[jcmarchi]

AI and The Coming Implosion of Media

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/ai-and-the-coming-implosion-of-media/

AI and The Coming Implosion of Media

It is popular among journalists these days to warn that AI might have catastrophic effects on humanity. These concerns are overblown with regards to humanity as a whole. But they are actually quite prescient with regards to journalists themselves.

To understand why, let’s take a closer look at the sub-disciplines that we collectively call AI. AI is the widest umbrella term, but we can generally break it down into rule-based systems and machine-learning systems. Machine-learning systems can be broken down by their application (video, images, natural language, etc). Among these, we’ve seen the greatest recent strides made in natural language processing. Specifically, we’ve seen the invention of the transformer model in 2017, followed by rapid growth in the size of transformers. Once the model exceeds 7 billion parameters, it is generally referred to as a large language model (LLM).

The core “skill” (if you might call it that) of an LLM is its ability to predict the most likely next word in an incomplete block of text. We can use this predictive mechanism to generate large blocks of text from scratch, by asking the LLM to predict one word at a time.

If you train the LLM on large datasets with variable quality, this predictive mechanism will often produce bad writing. This is the case with ChatGPT today. This is why, whenever I broach the topic with journalists, I encounter skepticism – journalists see how badly ChatGPT writes, and they assume AI poses no threat to them because it’s inept.

But ChatGPT is not the only LLM out there. If an LLM is trained on a carefully-selected dataset of text written by the best journalists – and no one else – then it will develop the ability to write like the best journalists.

Unlike journalists, however, this LLM will require no salary.

Writing vs. Knowing What to Write

Before we proceed, we need to distinguish between the mechanics of writing and the creativity required to know what is worth writing about. AI can’t interview whistleblowers or to badger a politician long-enough for the politician to accidentally tell the truth.

AI cannot gather information. But it can describe information gathered by humans in an eloquent way. This is a skill that journalists and writers used to have a monopoly over. They no longer do.

Given the current rate of progress, within a year, AI could write better than 99% of journalists and professional writers. It will do so for free, on demand, and with infinite throughput.

The Economics of Zero-Cost Writing

Anyone who has a list of facts to convey will be able to turn these facts into a well-written article. Anyone who finds an article on any subject will be able to produce another article, covering the same subject. This derivative article will be just as good as the first one, and won’t plagiarize it or violate its copyrights..

The marginal cost of written content will become zero.

Currently, the economics of written media are based on human labor. Well-written content is scarce, so it has value. Entire industries were built to capture this value.

When AI can produce high-quality content for free, the financial foundation of these industries will collapse.

The Abolition of Publications

Consider traditional publications. For decades, companies like The New York Times have employed skilled writers to produce a limited number of articles each day (typically around 300). This model is inherently constrained by the number of writers and the costs involved.

In a world where AI can generate an unlimited number of articles at no cost, why limit production to a fixed number? Why not create personalized content for every reader, tailored to their interests and generated on demand?

In this new paradigm, the traditional model of periodic issues and fixed article counts becomes obsolete. Publications can shift to a model where content is continuously created and personalized, catering to the specific needs of individual readers. One reader might need a single article each day. Another might need 5000.

Publications whose primary product is packing 300 articles into a single daily issue will go extinct.

Search Engines Becoming Answer Engines

Search engines act as distributors, connecting users to pre-existing content. To achieve this, they perform four steps.

First, they index vast amounts of pre-written content. Second, they receive a query from the user. Third, they search the pre-written content to find items that are relevant to the user’s query. And fourth, they rank the retrieved content and present a sorted list of results to the user.

So far so good. But if content can be created on demand, for free, then why would search engines return pre-existing content to the user? They could simply generate the answer instead. The user would certainly be happier with a single answer to her query, instead of a long list of results whose quality may vary.

Now let’s consider the logical next step. If search engines no longer lead users to any content written by others, what would happen to the “content” economy?

Most content on the internet was written to be monetized. People write articles, rank on Google, receive traffic, and turn it into income (using ads, affiliate links, or direct sales of products or services).

What will happen to this ecosystem when the traffic disappears?

Social Media: The Next Domino

Social media platforms were initially designed to facilitate interaction between users. I am old enough to remember the days when people logged into Facebook to write on a friend’s wall, poke, or throw a virtual sheep at someone.

Today’s social media is different. The most common number of followers users have on Instagram is zero. The second most common number of followers is one. The vast majority of views, shares, comments and followers is amassed by a small number of professional creators. Most users post nothing and are followed by no one.

Simply put – most users visit social media to find content they might enjoy. Social media companies act as distributors, just like search engines. The main difference between Facebook and Google is that Google uses a query to select content, whereas Facebook selects content without one.

If this is the case, then the next step becomes obvious. Why would social media promote user-generated content, when they can generate AI-based content on demand? Text-only at first, perhaps, but eventually images and videos too.

And once social media no longer leads users to content made by creators, what will happen to the “creator economy”?

The Star Trek Replicator Analogy

We are entering a new paradigm where AI functions as a Star Trek replicator for content.

In Star Trek, there is no need for farmers who grow food, stores who sell food, chefs who cook food or waiters who serve food. The replicator can create any food you like, on demand, by directly transforming raw materials into the final product.

Likewise, I see no place in our future for any company who creates written content, distributes written content, mixes written content in some special way, or serves pre-existing written content to the user. The only valuable functions will be obtaining raw materials and transforming them into the final product on demand.

We still need ways to create information that did not exist before and gather information that was not publicly available before. Everything else will be achieved by AI engines that convert the available information into personalized content.

Implications for Content Creators and Distributors

Traders often talk about “positive exposure” and “negative exposure”. The easiest way to understand these concepts is to ask yourself – if this thing goes up, will I benefit or suffer?

AI is going up. And it is going up especially fast in areas like natural language and other human-generated content. The question every professional needs to ask themselves is – do I have positive or negative exposure to AI right now?

If you are a content creator – let’s say a news publication – and your cost structure is non-zero, then you are likely in trouble. You will soon be competing with content creators whose cost is zero, and that is not a competition you can win. In all likelihood, you have exactly 3 choices: exit the market; reduce your costs to zero (by becoming an AI company); or go bankrupt.

If you are on the distribution side of things, you probably have more time before the full effects reach your bottom line. Network effects will help you stave off the disruption for a few years. But eventually, things that must happen, do happen. Search engines replaced web directories. Feeds replaced a large part of the function search engines served before. And soon, on-demand content creation will replace both.

The Role of Government and Regulation

As someone who was born in the Soviet Union, I am not a big fan of government regulating speech. The moral hazards are usually higher than any temporary benefit such regulation might bring.

Nevertheless, I think that governments might have an important role to play in determining how this unfolds.

We have good and bad examples of government regulations and the effects they’ve had on industry. The “26 words that created the internet” grew a nascent industry to trillions of dollars in value. The regulation of ISPs in the 90s, however, brought down the number of ISPs in the US from over 3000 to 6, and resulted in a situation where US consumers have the worst bandwidth access in the developed world.

When asked for my recommendations, I usually point out three ways in which government regulation can help, rather than hinder, the development of this new ecosystem:

1. Mandate interoperability, and make it easier for consumers to switch providers.

Capitalism works like natural selection – companies that do  things better or more efficiently will grow faster than companies who don’t. “Lock in” mechanisms that make it harder to switch, like the inability to export one’s data out of a service and port it to a competitor, slow down this evolution and result in lower growth.

If governments can mandate interoperability throughout the tech industry, we will see more good features and good behaviors rewarded. We will create incentive for companies to innovate in things people want, rather than innovating in ways to squeeze more out of a captive audience.

2. Enforce antitrust by focusing on monopoly abuses, rather than monopoly risks.

We all know that when two companies merge, the resulting entity might become large and have outsized power relative to its customers. But the existence of outsized power does not always lead to bad service or predatory pricing.

Meanwhile, companies who already have outsized power are often engaging in anti-competitive behaviors right before our eyes. And yet the FTC focuses on blocking mergers and acquisitions.

If governments focus on banning and strict enforcement of anti-competitive practices like dumping and bundling, especially with regards to tech products that are used by the majority of the population, the entire system will become unclogged.

Some specific examples might help illustrate this point.

Providing a browser, which is a very complex piece of software that costs billions to develop, for free – is a clear case of dumping. New browser companies like Cliq or Brave find it hard to innovate in this space because their much larger competitors give this expensive product away for free. The result is that all browsers look the same these days, and there’s been no significant innovation in this space since 2016.

Providing a corporate messaging app as a part of a document editing suite that every business must buy – is a clear case of bundling. Even a very successful startup like Slack was essentially forced to sell itself to a larger company, just to be able to compete as a paid product in a space where their main competitor is bundled with something their customer must have anyway.

As AI develops into a new ecosystem that becomes larger than the internet, we’re bound to see even greater abuses in this nascent space – unless governments step in and ensure that dumping and bundling do not pay.

3. Consider ways to subsidize or protect original content creation.

Government funds basic research and science through grants and other subsidies. It also protects new ideas that people discover in their research through patents. The reason these two mechanisms are necessary is that copying an idea that works is much cheaper than coming up with a new idea that works. Without intervention, this might lead to a tragedy of the commons where everyone copies from their neighbor and no one creates anything new.

In journalism, and content creation in general, these mechanisms were unnecessary because copying without violating copyrights was a difficult process. But with the advent of AI, this is no longer true. As the price of paraphrasing others’ writing approaches zero, we will need mechanisms to incentivize something other than paraphrasing – and the best answers might look a lot like the ones we have in basic research today.

Making the Best of this Challenge

The transformation brought about by AI is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. Journalists and other content creators will be affected first. Distributors of content will follow soon thereafter. We will eventually enter a completely new paradigm, which I referred to as the “Star Trek Replicator” model for content creation and distribution.

We have an opportunity here to build something much better than what exists today. Just as the invention of the printing press led to the Enlightenment, the invention of AI could lead to a second Enlightenment. But unfortunately, not all the possible futures are benign.

It’s up to us to nudge this evolution in the right direction.

[redclercs]

DELICATE✰ CHARLES LECLERC.

x. what a shame she's fucked in the head.

— the one where they tell you what your word is worth.

❝𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦❞ —𝘛𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵, 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵.

warnings: abuse downplay, bashing towards taylor swift (i obviously adore her pls don't come for me haha), online bullying, new york inaccuracies, corny taylor references per usual, etc. 2k words + articles

in my head there's a mix of begin again and cornelia street playing as background music.

masterlist ✢ next

NO one likes a mad woman, but not for the reasons Taylor Swift made you believe in the lyrics of her 2020 song. Although we are definitely afraid y/n might get 'more crazy'.

Honestly, who gave her the right to speak like that about Aidan Kim? As it turns out, the three-year relationships she willingly stayed on was a 'dead-end' one, and Aidan "abused" (and I cannot stress the quotations enough) her through several stages of their shared time.

Well, I call bullshit.

How is it that after Aidan Kim helped her build whatever she has going on that people call a 'career' she wasn't bothered about being told 'how to look and how to act' (direct quote from her own video, by the way).

Breaking up with your sneaky link and calling him your friend won't save what you did before, y/n, it's the oldes trick in the book. Everything she said in her Youtube video, one I regretfully watched despite the knowledge that I won't get those 45 minutes of my life back, is rehearsed and calculated and just tried to paint the real victims in a bad light.

Playing the victim worked for Taylor Swift in 2009, 2017, 2019... but we surely won't let it happen again, right folks? y/n needs a new tactic to crawl back from the hell, because we're not believing anything that comes out of her mouth anymore.

It's true what they say, an untalented actress makes an untalented liar.

By Lia Yim

Victoria Presley is worried about best friend's y/n y/ln's well-being after the actress 'completely ghosted her' since moving back to New York.

"One day we were fine and the next, she had packed her bags and left my house," Presley said in an exclusive interview with iNTouch. "I'm not going to lie, I was deeply hurt by her actions. I offered her my home as a safe haven and she left without explanation."

y/n had been living in Victorias Los Angeles home since mid-February until this month when she returned to her infamous SoHo apartment, one she shared with Aidan Kim until their breakup.

"I can find it in my heart to forgive her, of course," 'Vic', as she's known on social media, added. "Right now, I just want my best friend back. I want the y/n I've known for years and not this person she became since Matilde Bassi and Charles Leclerc inserted themselves in her life."

Victoria Presley, the founder and CEO of Presley Beauty, is the daughter of Luke Presley and Claire Walker and has been in the influencing business for a few years now.

"If y/n ends up reading this, I want her to know that I will support her decisions but not in the way her new 'friends' are doing. I just want what's best for her."

SEE ALSO:

→ Vic Presley on having to start from zero: "I'm not a nepobaby!"

→ A look inside y/n's SoHo apartment, the one Aidan Kim paid for.

→ Is Charles Leclerc's career going downhill thanks to y/n?

By Beatrice Mann

With y/n y/ln's latest controversy, the whole world has turned their backs on the actress. But, is it really that bad? Or is it just because she's a woman in the business?

The online community's hottest topic is y/n's Youtube video where she speaks on her relationship with Aidan Kim, her friendship with Charles Leclerc and, most importantly, how all of this has affected her career. And I want to tell you all, y/n is right.

If the roles were reversed, Aidan Kim would be thriving on a newly unlocked 'Heartbreaker' persona and y/n would still be constantly humiliated for not being 'wife material'.

I believe y/n deserves much better than what she's getting. The woman admitted she escaped a relationship where her partner LAUGHED at her and manipulated her actions for his comfort. And people are still siding with the man? Seriously, people, use your brains and dig up your morals!

The only thing we're communicating to younger generations by constantly doubting women's words and putting them in the spotlight for standing up for themselves, is that only men's words are worth something.

June 14th, Manhattan, New York.

It isn't much of a surprise when Charles calls you while you're trying to get your Moka pot to work that morning. It's your third attempt at it and the previous mornings you've left it alone with tears in your eyes to walk down the street and get Starbucks coffee. You might be a little too attached to that coffee maker.

Charles got to New York city the previous night, and reminded you that you promised to show him around more than once. You intended to keep your promise, thinking you would have more time before the day came.

But as you walk to the restaurant where you decided to meet him, you can't help but think how exciting it is that you get to show the city you love so much to Charles. And just like that morning in Monaco, you can't help but remind yourself that this is a friendly get-together.

Charles has slowly, but surely, become one of your closest friends in the middle of the frenzy that your life is. With your ex-best friend saying you walked out on her and your failed fiancé insisting that it was you, who acted like a 'total psychopath' towards the end of your relationship, you have more fingers than people you can count on.

You watch him carefully as he smooths the napkin on his legs twice and then drops in on the table again, fidgeting with the loose threads in the corner.

Your wristwatch says it's 10:00 am, which is the exact time you agreed to meet. You wonder how long he's been waiting if there's an empty cup of coffee in front of him.

"You know, it's also rude to be too early for a meeting," you say as a form of greeting once you approach the table.

This startles him enough to drop the napkin on his lap again, proceeding to scramble to return it to the table before pushing his chair out to get up.

You chuckle, but before you can say you were joking, Charles is engulfing you in a hug. Your stomach flutters because of the way he holds the back of your head with his palm. It feels like you're being reunited after months instead of just two weeks. Time doesn't feel real sometimes, you would know.

"Soleil!" he says excitedly, putting his hands on your shoulders. "It's so good to see you,"

"It's nice to see you too, Charlie."

There's the nickname again. You've tried not to think too hard about it. Is it a European thing to call your friends that? When you asked him about it the last time he called before taking his flight to New York, his response was a simple 'it suits you'.

Charles pulls your chair for you and grabs your purse to place it on the empty chair between you two. He grabs his napkin again, pulling one last time on a thread before smoothing it down and forgetting about it.

"How are you?" Charles asks, a bright smile on his face. It falters in a barely perceptible way because he doesn't want to give you bad thoughts, which seem to come automatically every time the question is asked.

"Well, I'm okay," you assure in a soothing tone, "Still looking for jobs. And you?"

"Alright. Lots of work in the simulator and I'm hoping this is a good weekend,"

"Are you sure you'll be okay getting to Montreal tomorrow?" you smile at the waitress that approaches your table, "Can I have some coffee, please?"

"Of course," Charles assures, with a gesture of his hand. He's getting to Montreal at seven in the morning and running straight to his motorhome. "There's time for everything."

"What do you want to do, then?"

You don't want to exhaust him by showing him around New York, he has a long weekend ahead. To be honest, you really wonder what compelled him to make this stop instead of going straight to Canada. Sure you had talked about him coming to New York, eventually. Not a day before he had to start his Grand Prix weekend.

"Anything you want us to do," he replies, the single-dimpled smile on his face. "I'm open to anything."

"MoMA? Central Park? Something not so touristy?" you suggest, before thanking the waitress as she places a hot cup of coffee on the table.

"Just show me the places you like, y/n, don't stress about it." Charles laughs, eyes returning to the open menu in front of him. "I only care about hanging out with you."

"Thanks," is all you manage to say as you sip the scalding coffee, you do your best not to wince as it burns your tongue and down your throat. "Let's do it then."

"So, what do you think? Everything you expected and more?"

You're taking a walk in Central Park after Charles agreed to see the Alice in Wonderland statue. It's a warm morning in New York and although you haven't been walking around for that long, Charles seems content enough with what he's seen.

"It's very... you," Charles replies, and you're sure he means it as a compliment, but New York can be really ugly too. "In a good way!" he adds when he sees your expression.

"Thank you, Charlie." you laugh again. It's easy being with Charles, laughing with sincerity and really being in what's happening in the moment.

You didn't lie when you said you weren't afraid of speaking up anymore, but the dread of actually doing it is inevitable. Your words are being twisted and marked as false because Aidan is far 'more loved' than you are. Not to mention Victoria's interview about your lack of reciprocity to her humble feelings

You're still thinking about suing her. But it hurts to know that she was your best friend a week ago.

A few people stop you both to ask for pictures and autographs on the back of phone cases. A few of them ignore you, others smile politely at Charles before asking him to take their picture with you.

"I'm really polishing my photographing skills," Charles jokes as you walk away from a group of young girls who gush about how much they wish they could dress like you.

"Sorry if it bothers you," you whisper, looking at him only from the corner of your eye.

"Of course not, y/n. They ask nicely, and you're okay with it." he shrugs.

There was one time when a teenager, around fourteen or fifteeen, asked Aidan if he could please take a picture of her and yourself. It was an innocent question, she had already acknowledged him as 'that guy from Star-5' and how he'd been in Supercut with you.

But just by the way you saw his expression change, you told the girl a selfie was a better option, you would hold the phone yourself if she was okay with it.

You didn't hear the end of it for the rest of night. Aidan berated your career for the first time of many, saying it was frankly offensive that he’d been treated that way. It didn't matter that you told him the girl was barely a teen and she hadn't been rude. Still, he was more famous than you, he didn't deserve to be made felt like the opposite.

"What are you thinking?" Charles asks, touching your shoulder gently to make you pause your walk.

You really don't want to admit you were thinking about your ex-boyfriend. Not that it matters, Charles knows you think about Aidan often in a mostly negative light, but it feels weird to say it here. So you shrug and sigh. "I wish I thought of nothing, to be honest."

Charles squeezes your shoulder in a half hug. He doesn't push your boundaries, although he wishes he knew what was actually going through your mind.

─────────

It's when you two are having dinner in a restaurant in SoHo that Charles asks the question that has been eating him away since he landed in New York the previous night.

"Do you want to come to Canada with me?"

"Am I not blacklisted from the paddock?" you tease, although Elix is gone. You wonder if Ferrari people blame you a little bit for their sponsor dropping them.

"Absolutely not," Charles frowns, "And you would be my guest, you get to be in the Ferrari Suite like always."

"Thank you, Charlie–"

Charles tries not to seem disappointed as he waits for the 'but' to follow, so he drinks from his wine.

"—but I have some back to back things to do this weekend," you do regret not being able to make it, you loved the few Grand Prix you were able to attend and you would love to see Carlos too. But you have booked a few interviews with people who, more than anything want to consume gossip, but have disguised it as 'letting you tell your truth in more depth'. You cannot back down from what you started.

"That's okay," he assures with a quick wink. "You know you can come to races whenever you want to, though, right?"

"I can?" you raise both eyebrows and Charles rolls his eyes. "The benefits of having a Ferrari driver as a friend. I should have befriended you sooner."

"Very funny," he says as he hides his smile behind his glass of wine again. "Do I get invited to the Red Carpets?"

"You kind of befriended me at the downfall of my career. It's going to take a while for you to be on a Red Carpet."

Charles clicks his tongue and shakes his head. "You're only just getting started, soleil. Don't say that."

You hope he's right, because you have castings lined-up for next week too and you don't want to call him, or Mati, or your mom, crying about how unwanted you feel.

You shrug, drinking from your own wine.

"I'm being serious, y/n," Charles' tone is stern for a moment, yet not aggressive. "You have a lot of wonderful things to do in the future."

"Yeah, thanks." you dislike yourself for ruining the mood yet again, but Charles isn't bothered as he smiles at you once again.

"I mean it,"

He does, and so does Mati, and your mom. You are bound for great things, although they're taking time to find you right now.

"I know. Thank you Charlie, you're very kind. I hope you have a good race this weekend."

Charles huffs. "Yes, me too. Wish me luck?"

"I feel like I jinx you more than help you, Charlie."

"You didn't wish me luck in Spain, look how that went," he fakes a shudder and you snort. You hated every minute spent in Spain after FP3.

"Good luck, you'll do great." You pat the hand that he keeps on top of the table a couple times and before you can take your hand back, he grabs it, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Your heart races and you take a deep, sharp breath, like that would help it go back to normal. You have tried not to overanalyze everything about today, from the way Charles looked to the words he said, to the way your body responded to it. You don't want to go down that specific spiral.

"Thanks for stopping by," you take your hand back and keep it busy with your almost empty glass of wine. The alcohol has turned your cheeks warm. "You really want to see New York, huh?"

"I really wanted to see you," Charles replies, nonchalantly.

And you know you'll be spiraling, despite your best efforts.

─── team principal radio: ❝thanks for reading! also thank you so so so much because last chapter got to 1k+ interactions and i was beyond shocked!! it means a lot that you're enjoying delicate!♡❞

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[sevenfists]

Some Geno research

Here’s a collection of articles and videos I’ve relied on for fic-writing purposes. This isn’t meant to be comprehensive, just things I saved over the years because I found them useful in some way or didn’t think I could easily find them again.

All links to articles are to archived versions to hopefully future-proof to some extent. Some articles are in Russian; Google Translate makes a hash out of them, but you can usually read between the lines.

Let me know if any of the links don’t go where they should!

Childhood & Early Professional Career (Metallurg)

Evgeni Malkin: A Russian tale with roots founded in ice and iron: a flowery overview of Geno’s family history and early life, with some good details about Magnitogorsk

The Interview: Evgeni Malkin: Sportsnet interview with some background about youth hockey (they played cards on the bus) and his growth spurt at 15

Marek Sykora (Malkin's first pro coach): Zhenia was growing up in poverty: “a silent type,” glowing praise of Geno’s hockey, some strong criticism of Geno’s father

Hockey Star Malkin Offers Lock-Down Dinners at Prison-Themed Restaurant

Evgeni Malkin: The boy, the rep …: pre-draft scouting gossip

early scouting info

Crosby is not my competition: gushing about Sid

Christina rolls scandals to Malkin [Russian]: mostly interesting because of the info about Geno’s girlfriend and Mercedes

Let Morozov Be The Top Sniper Because Metallurg Is a Champion!: long interview where Geno discusses Pittsburgh, the Turin Olympics, some details about his family life (including a reference to a girlfriend from Ufa)

I hope Pittsburgh respects my decision: interview about his decision to stay with Metallurg for 05-06

They Decided I Have Enough Strength Left In Me!: rooting for Ovi over Sid in the Calder race… ice cold

The Main Thing is Not To Get Intimidated: interview largely about Turin

I cannot forgive myself for that match penalty against Lecavalier: aftermath of Turin

MALKIN WANTS TO BE IN PITTSBURGH WITH PENGUINS THIS FALL: Sid and Geno gushing about each other before Geno was even in Pittsburgh

(from russianprospects.com which is now a dead website)

Escape to Pittsburgh

Note: This event is thoroughly covered in “Flight.” I’m not going to duplicate sources here and will only provide a few that aren’t included in that primer.

MA1KIN: Escape from Russia: really nice and thorough article from the Pens

Excerpt from Dave King’s book

It’s like Evgeny is under hypnosis: the Russian media was full of hot takes

I have no idea to where my client (Evgeny Malkin) disappeared: interview with Geno’s agent Gennady Ushakov (Genya)

Evgeny Malkin found! Malkin called Magnitogorsk and said he is well: brief comments from Velichkin

You can't force someone to sign a contract at 3am!: interview with Geno and JP Barry (companion to this excellent interview, cited in “Flight” but with a now-dead link) 

Malkin initially denied entry to U.S.: I think I saved this because it has info about Geno’s agent and I was trying to figure out what was going on with his agent hopping in summer 2006

Rookie Year

March of the Penguin: general overview of Geno’s departure from Metallurg, early months in Pittsburgh, and some of the legal proceedings with Metallurg; plus some nice character details like Geno buying a Range Rover

It's official: Penguins sign Russian star Malkin: some details about Geno’s arrival in Pittsburgh

MALKIN HAPPY TO BE IN PITTSBURGH WITH PENGUINS: more details about the early days in Pittsburgh

Malkin beats adversity, is signed, sealed and delivered: more arrival details; ate filet mignon and lobster at Mario’s

To Lemieux’s house on Gonchar’s Jaguar: available translated on Tumblr; good interview with details about Geno’s first days in Pittsburgh

Malkin works to solve language barrier: details about rookie camp, Geno rooming with Besa

Malkin injured in his debut: details about the events of Geno’s shoulder separation

MA1KIN: Malkin reflects on his career and legacy: interview discussing his thoughts/feelings after his shoulder injury

Malkin's landlord also his teammate: interview with Gonch about his new houseguest

"Once in a while, he helps me move the garbage [cans] outside, then bring them back," Gonchar said. "That's the only thing he does."

WITH FAMILY IN ATTENDANCE, MALKIN SCORES AGAIN: Geno’s family came to visit him in Pittsburgh in October 2006

Adventure with Malkin [Russian]: interview from 2007 All Star weekend; one part translated on Tumblr

2009 Cup Era

SECOND ONLY TO SIDNEY: good details about Geno’s 2007 postseason performance, adjustment to the league, card habits

Geno comes out of the shadows

Malkin's friends say he is charming and funny, and the English is coming, slowly.  His buddies and teammates used to chuckle at his replies to their texts, which would usually consist of nothing but a "K", a "$" (they have no idea what that meant), or a "Da", the Russian word for yes.  Now, there are actual words in complete sentences.

Malkin coming out of his shell in third season: details about food, card games, Geno’s poor housekeeping; he moved out of Gonch’s house into his own place in mid-December 2008

Ovechkin-Malkin friendship grows cold: details of the Geno/Ovi feud

Kovalchuk Brokers Ovechkin-Malkin Peace: what it says on the tin

Puck Daddy chats with Evgeni Malkin about the Penguins' playoff hopes, his buddy Ovechkin, Flyers fans and Crosby's critics: Geno would like to be captain someday

Penguins-Flyers blog (April 2009) (I looked for the original Trib article and couldn’t find it on their website, although admittedly I didn’t spend a ton of time searching.)

Priceless quote from Sergei Gonchar in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Evgeni Malkin moved out of Gonchar's home about three months ago. When asked if things are different around the Gonchar house since the League's leading scorer left, Gonchar said no.

"He moved out and my wife delivered anohter [sic] baby. So one baby is out and another is in." 

Transcript: Malkin Russian Radio Interview: discusses the 2009 Cup win, some personal details, and this foolishness:

When I look at a blonde I get more emotions inside of me.

Vancouver Olympics

Forward of the Russian national team and Pittsburgh Evgeni Malkin: I will not be ceremonious with Crosby! [Russian]: long interview with lots of nice tidbits, like Geno reading Akunin, saying he never had an English tutor, bought a Moscow apartment in summer 2009

- some bits of this article are available translated on Tumblr

2011 Knee Injury

Evgeni Malkin: 'My motivation now is very good': lots of details about Geno’s summer 2011 training with Kadar

MVP Season

 Evgeni Malkin Wants His Cup Back: retrospective on the 11-12 season

He was really, really excited about the start of the 2011-2012 season, so much so that when he talked about Sidney Crosby coming back he literally would lose his breath.

2013 Contract Extension

Malkin wants 'many more' years with Pens: talking in January about wanting to stay with the Penguins

Malkin's Heart Stays in Pittsburgh: “my heart pushed me so hard”; details about his contract extension

Malkin has his priorities in place: “started the process of building a lavish house near Sewickley,” oh really?? (he’s lived in the same house since the end of 2008)

Sochi Olympics

Penguins star Malkin angry after Russia's flameout at Olympics: details about Geno’s objections to Team Russia’s coaching

A Talk with Crosby Helps Malkin Break Out of Post-Olympic Funk: the infamous post-Sochi heart-to-heart

Evgeni Malkin denies Sochi Olympics rift with Alex Ovechkin: brief but interesting interview about the aftermath of Sochi

unsourced Tumblr translation: some thoughts about Sid and their relationship after the Vancouver Olympics

 General & Retrospectives

MA1KIN: Malkin reflects on his career and legacy: part of the content for Geno’s 1000th point; nice interview-based article, good general overview of his career

Exclusive interview with Evgeni Malkin: 1000 points, idol Fedorov, Kucherov and Mogilny, Gretzky's records [Russian]: long three-part interview. I don’t even remember what’s in here because there’s so much (part two) (part three)

It boy of May: Evgeni Malkin: details about Geno’s Moscow activities

Malkin: it was harder for mom than for me now [Russian]: “I am modest and shy in life”; his mother worked as a seamstress

Yevgeni Malkin: Americans still ask me if we shoot each other in Russia: 2011 interview with lots of character details including the origin of his cat Dixie

Evgeni Malkin Would Like a Word With You: somewhat corny overview through the 11-12 season

Maxim interview, April 2017: translated from Russian; lots of nice character details

SNC Russia, May 2018: long interview with Geno and Anna with details about the beginning of their relationship

"Ovechkin loves to shock, Zhenya is more modest." Big interview with Kasterova [Russian]: available translated on Tumblr; lots of good insight into Geno’s personality

Miscellany

random sovsport.ru translation: iirc this is from fall 2014 so the reference to his private life is about a pap video of him and Anna getting busy in the Maldives, lol

The many superstitions of Evgeni Malkin: a nice list with sources

unsourced FHM.ru translation: I think this is from 2014 based on when it was posted on Tumblr

unsourced Vladimir Malkin quote about Geno’s personality

Videos: Russian

Evgeni Malkin: The Russian Penguin: subtitled documentary, full of information; a must-watch

Ovechkin, Malkin & Kuznetsov Prank. Mascots Made in Russia: mainly of interest for the behind-the-scenes footage at the very end

Malkin: 71 Questions: subtitled feature filmed at Geno’s house; many useful character details, gives a good sense of his personality; transcript available on Tumblr

Zoom call with Sergachev and Orlov: with transcript/translation available on Tumblr

Гиганты хоккея - Евгений Малкин (Evgeni Malkin): no idea what’s going on here but Geno was interviewed at his house so there’s some good footage

Евгений Малкин: see above

some manner of documentary: again not sure what’s happening but features loving footage of Geno stripping down in the locker room

Evgeni Malkin interview after Penguins' elimination game, playoffs 2019 (in Russian, with subs): pretty long locker room interview, great for getting a sense of how he speaks in Russian

Videos: English 

Note: Many of these are not particularly interesting in and of themselves but serve as references for how Geno’s English has changed over the years.

From Russia With Love: Evgeni Malkin Training Part One: prime gym twink content from summer 2011

5 Questions With Evgeni Malkin

Hockey Night in Canada: The many sides of Evgeni Malkin: a must-watch although I know everyone’s seen it

Evgeni Malkin Home Ticket Delivery: from 2007

Sad Malkin Interview 12/1/08

Evgeni Malkin All Star Game Interview

Pens' Ryan Malone Gets Personal With Malkin, Whitney: worth watching for Geno’s shirt alone

Malkin Interview After Receiving His "A"

Off the Ice: Evgeni Malkin

2009 locker room interview

2009 Stanley Cup Final: CBC Malkin Interview

Evgeni Malkin interview in english post game 10-18-08

Penguins 2009 Preview - Crosby & Malkin: The 2 Headed Monster

Evgeni Malkin meets David Mnatsyan Video - NHL VideoCenter - Pittsburgh Penguins.mp4: from 2010

Evgeni Malkin talks about girls in his rookie NHL season (2006): an actual baby with George Birman translating for him

just like me - Forsberg Malkin - Ch 09 of 11: early documentary with lots of baby Geno footage

Malkin Plays Revenge Prank on Kessel

60 seconds with Geno

Evgeni Malkin at basketball game Pens/Flyers 12/17/09: why did I save this? maybe I was trying to figure out when he got his teeth fixed

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

A clear example of how obsession with political correctness blinds people to real justice. 

Now, I have no problem examining Navalny’s past and present statements. No public figure should be beyond criticism. Anyone familiar with Russia’s current political landscape knows that Navalny has his critics on all sides [1]. This is healthy, compared to the sycophants who surround President Putin. 

However, there is a fundamental difference between necessary critique of someone’s positions, and equivocating between a flawed person and a wicked person. Navalny’s wrongdoing is not equal to that of President Putin. You can deal with misguided and objectionable statements through criticism [2]. 

Dealing with a ruthless gangster who has destroyed an entire country demands far more effort. 

No matter how popular it is to dredge through Tweets from years ago and denounce people online, civil rights apply to everyone. If not, then civil rights apply to no one. It’s that simple.

Navalny has the right to criticise the government, the right to live freely without stalking and false arrest, and the right to run for the Presidency. If the Russian government continues to suppress these rights, then we must defend Navalny. Period. Hence why Russians who disagree with Navalny still protested on his behalf several times. 

As for xenophobia, Russia has ongoing problems with this and other bigotry, no doubt exacerbated by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. I do not excuse this in any way. 

The irony is that while Margarita Simonyan praises Katya Kazbek for “exposing” Navalny, she says nothing of Putin’s own record when it comes to xenophobia and extreme nationalism. I guess Simonyan has forgotten about Anna Politkovskaya, who took Putin to task for his treatment of Chechens in several articles.  

Even more ironically, Navalny himself played a reel of comments from Simonyan’s husband’s “comedy” show on RT, which include all kinds of vile chauvinist, xenophobic, and racist remarks [3]. He also made similar criticisms of Simonyan’s film, Krimskii Most [4]. So it is disingenuous to act as though Navalny has not changed since the early 2000s. 

I guess Ms. Kazbek did not watch 60 Minutes’ interview with Navalny in 2017, where he was questioned about former links with extreme nationalist groups [5]. Leslie Stahl pointed out that he had tried downplaying this since, which he would not do if the subject matter was not embarrassing. 

In the BBC’s article, you will see that Amnesty’s Alexander Artemev struggles to explain why Amnesty International would strip Navalny’s “prisoner of conscience” status, because he knows his organisation denounced his arrest back in January. 

Furthermore, Artemev knows the responses were orchestrated for political, not moral reasons. Yet he is so committed to his definition of a prisoner of conscience that he undermines the principle of protecting the victim against the aggressor. 

Navalny’s conscience calls him to expose corruption in Russia, particularly at the federal level. For this, he has survived a campaign of abuse and attempted murder. The idea that he cannot be a prisoner of conscience based on past videos (whether renounced or not) is a pathetic betrayal of justice-- particularly when Navalny has committed no violence. 

Many of these pseudo-righteous objectors (Ms. Kazbek has praised mass murderer Josef Stalin) wish to distract your attention from or downplay Putin’s crimes. This is why I find it suspicious when people want to highlight Navalny’s past when discussing Putin. It’s a false equivalency. 

Don’t let offence at Navalny’s statements blind you here. The issue at stake is civil rights. Amnesty International has just beheaded its own mission statement by yielding pro-Kremlin pressure. They should be ashamed. 

SOURCES/FURTHER READING:

Russia’s Growing Dissent podcast with Dana Lewis. The second guest, former Prime Minister Kasyanov, explains that Navalny still has to win over other demographics in Russia, who are critical of his views. 

Tweet from Mig Greengard, reposted at my Tumblr blog with commentary. Quote: “I’m all for discussing Navalny’s personal politics, and disagree with him on much, but saying the free world shouldn’t stand up for someone jailed and nearly murdered because he’s not Bernie Gandhi Mandela is bullshit. He’s risking his life fighting a mafia dictatorship.”

Паразиты. (Parasites). An investigation into corruption at Russia Today, which begins by mocking Tigran Keosayan’s “comedy” show as being low-class. One of the reasons given is xenophobia. (English subtitles included).

Крымский мост. Украдено с любовью! (Crimean Bridge: Stolen with Love!). Again, the film, coming from Margarita Simonyan and Tigran Keosayan, includes mockery for its crude and bigoted content. (English subtitles included). 

60 Minutes’ interview with Navalny in 2017. Leslie Stahl questionably referred to these extreme nationalist groups as “right-wing”, as though they reflected the same mainstream views as Western right-wingers. However, she was right to question Navalny about these affiliations. 

[pracup]

6 Ways To Improve Your Communication Skills

Communication skills are crucial as they are used extensively at every step of our lives. Most of the human resource management looks for the word "communication" in the skill section. A lot of people get hired easily based on communication skills. It is important to be good at both 'written' and 'verbal' communication skills.

Communication is an instrument used to reflect oneself. It is a process of conveying our thoughts. Communication skills also help in building great relationships with colleagues, clients, etc.

Continue reading to know the tried and tested ways of learning effective communication skills.

Means To Improve Your Communication Skills

1. Listen Actively To Your Partners

Most of us all might have heard that to learn communication skills we have to be good at listening. Listening is an entirely different skill.

To achieve the mark in communication skills first you need to excel at listening skills.

Don't just listen to reply to your colleagues.

Whenever you encounter yourself in a discussion with your teammates at the workplace, try to listen to what they are conveying. Treat the opposite person as your mentor and some elderly person to pay attention wildly. Rather than planning your response, consider what the other person is saying. Hearing the speaker and preparing your response at the same time is a challenge. Show genuine interest while communicating and show the speaker that you are listening actively.

Listen to understand

As said earlier, don't listen to reply but rather listen to understand. Listen as if the opposite person is teaching you a concept even if you submerge yourself in a general talk. You can use a picture or an arrangement of abstract concepts to create a mental model. Listen to the speaker's words and phrases, and do not rehearse what you will say afterward.

How to listen actively

—Use non-verbal cues such as nodding

—Maintain eye contact

—Ask questions at the end

—Clarify the doubts by asking to explain

—Use positive verbal affirmations such as "I understand", " I know",  "I can relate", " Thank you" etc.,

—Demonstrating concern through facial expressions

—Do not try to interrupt, and if you absolutely have to, seek permission. For example - If I may interject or I am sorry I have to pause you here.

2. Observing And Grasping New Professional Jargons

Participate in a lot of workshops and debates conducted by your organization. Observe the participants and their delivery of the speech. Do not just involve yourself in listening to the speech or debate of the participants. Not every debate can be organised, a lot can be witnessed during meetings and gatherings.

Observe and grasp the usage of the words. For example, how certain typical words are being placed in a sentence. Professional jargon aids in hindering a lot of filler words. Most of us are habituated to pause and use a lot of filler words such as "umm", " hmm", "like", etc.  These words are fine but they impede the true expression of our language and make it look less professional.

People in a debate professionally work on their speech and you can observe and grasp them to improve your vocabulary.

Tips to improve observe and grasp

Have a little book or journal to note down the new words.

Search for the meanings right after the discussion or debate.

Frame your sentences on your own using this vocabulary.

Try to use them often.

Also, observe and grasp the expression and body language of the speaker while using those vocabulary.

3. Have A Learning Attitude

World's greatest people have one thing in common that is " learning attitude". To have effective communication skills one must be a long-term learner.

Try to learn as many things as possible at your workplace.

"Earning money is important but it should not be the driving force at the workplace".

Have a learning attitude and not an earning attitude. A learning attitude keeps our mind focused & open to learn various things which also helps in personal growth.

Research. Find things on the internet, refer to social media, YouTube, e-books, articles, and take up things that interest you.  In this way, you get a lot of  exposure and you will be able to articulate your ideas by connecting thoughts.

4. Leap Towards Leadership

Effective communication is no longer described as two-way. Leaders need to recognize a lot more than the mechanics of sending and receiving information. Leaders must be competent to express themselves effectively without depending on two way communication.

Put yourself in the shoes of a leader, in this way you will push yourself harder to improve your communication skills.

A leader has to communicate and articulate a lot of aspects to his team. They face a lot of complexity while addressing conflict, proposing ideas, sharing information, managing ambiguity etc.

Things to remember while communicating as a leader

Listen to Engage

As a leader, your ability to listen is your most valuable communication skill. To be a good listener you need to pay attention to the message and any emotions that may be underlying it, as well as ask relevant questions about it.

Compliment

People want to be noticed for their work.

Most effective compliments are specific to the situation and you can write them down so they can be re-read many times.

Be authentic and sincere

Be sincere and truthful. Get rid of corporate jargons and stop sounding like someone you aren't. Make sure your communication reflects who you are and what you value. Individuals desire and value authentic leadership and influential communication.

As a result, forget about eloquence and focus on being real instead. Don't try to hide your true self. People will never follow someone they believe to be untrustworthy.

5. Read Great Books

The importance of reading cannot be overstated. The ability to read is essential for both personal and professional development. Books on a variety of topics improve one's general knowledge, imagination, and creativity, in addition to improving one's vocabulary and grammar. These benefits can also help bridge the gap between colleagues when working in distributed teams.

To get started reading start with the books you are comfortable with. Make a habit of reading books every day for a short duration. Start with 20 mins or 30 mins and gradually increase it to 1 or 2 hours.

Find the best-suited genre and immerse yourself in reading.

6. Practice With A Coach

While going on any path we need mentors/coaches. Similarly while learning communication skills you need to have a coach who can give you one-on-one feedback. Self-learning can take a long time. And also learning through videos can make the learning monotonous.

Most of us get stuck while improving communication skills since we do not know where to get started. There are many sources to better communication skills and one of them is PRACUP which provides you experienced coaches for each of the individuals looking to brush up on certain aspects of communication skills.

Are you someone who “knows” but unable to express effortlessly?

Do you want to use the right words at the right time?

Are you looking for an expert to elevate your communication skills?

Do you think a practice buddy will help you improve your communication?

If you have answered yes to all of the above questions then you are at the right place. PracUp offers a wide range of courses in communication such as:

Practice before a Client Meeting

Prepare for a Difficult Conversation

Practice before a Job Interview

Public Speaking etc.

Above all improving communication is about consistency. Regular focus on improving the way we articulate can make our journey to excellence seem effortless.

[sapphicconservative]

I'm questionable over BLM too. Supposedly donation money is going to ActBlue rich white democrats also them calling Terry Crews racial slurs and the murdering of the two kids in the car in Chaz and them trying their damndest to remove evidence and I've yet to see them do something about the young girl that got shot supposedly by THEM. Now there's Nick Cannon proving Terry correct and the BLM leaders admitting that they're trained Marxists and looking up to a actual terrorist.

I’m all for racial equality, but I don’t believe BLM is the answer to this problem. You mentioned some valid criticisms towards this movement.

Here are some articles covering the ActBlue situation. Source 1. Source 2. Source 3. Coincidentally, I couldn’t find anything to back this up on Google, I had to switch over to DuckDuckGo to get some variety in my results on this topic. Disclaimer: I’m not familiar with the sources I chose (this applies to all topics I’m addressing).

Here are a few articles on the whole ordeal with Twitter’s reaction to what Terry Crews said. Source 1. Source 2. I don’t have access to Twitter as I don’t like nor use it. So, I can only use second-hand information with articles here. Was able to grab this link, though. Worth taking a look through the, uh, notes?

Horace Lorenzo Sr received a call shortly after his son was killed, but the call was from Trump. As of July 2nd, it seems he still hasn’t heard from the Mayor of Seattle, the Seattle police, or BLM, and seems to have denounced the movement for not caring about the unjust killing of his son. Source 1. Source 2. Here’s the interview he did with Fox, it’s rather sad to watch.

This one was a bit too vague for me to figure out what you were referring to exactly, but I have a familiar incident that BLM handled. Many people ask why ALM people don’t speak up often in situations. Now, when they pull this “trump card” you can remind them of Jessica Whitaker. How, when she spoke up on ALM in public, BLM responded by shooting and killing her. Source 1. Not only that, but BLM supporters had some nasty things to say about her and her death. Source 2.

Nick Cannon pretty much proved Terry Crews right. Not only was he so horrifically openly racist to white people, he wasn’t even called out for this aspect. He was called out for antisemitism comments. Here’s an article addressing his comments and the fallout. Source 1. The real icing on the cake is that he’s demanding to own Wild N’ Out after all of this and is calling Viacom racist for firing him for racist comments. Source 2.

The founders being Marxists has been a really major issue with me supporting BLM. I cannot and will not support Marxists for any reason. Nothing good ever comes from communists. Here’s a video that shows and discusses the founders admitting they are a “trained” Marxist. Here’s an article discussing the founders being Marxists.

In short, practice critical thinking over any movement. Do not fall into it simply because of the name alone. Do your research and make sure this is truly a movement you want to stand by.

[queen-of-dirt]

This is what the Buffalo police released in reference to a video of police officers pushing an older man to the ground, where he audibly hit his head and began bleeding from his ear. You can find the video, but warning that it is disturbing and there is no info on the man's condition at this point. I'm not a doctor, but he was knocked out cold. I can't imagine him being OK after that.

The police are claiming he "tripped and fell" and was "injured". This is an important reminder that the police are not only reframing incidents ("injured" does not fully cover what happened in that video), but they are more than willing to lie about things we have video evidence of. We absolutely cannot trust any statements they put out about incidents for which we don't have videos.

Note what sources the articles you read are using. Who are they quoting? Have they interviewed any protestors or are they only repeating what a police chief has told them? Do they appear to have done any independent investigation, or does it seem like they only attended a press conference? News sources, even liberal ones, will privilege the establishment story and establishment sources over any conflicting accounts from the ground. Now is the time to consciously exercise critical analysis of your news sources, because there is going to be a lot of misinformation and bias.

[fallingstarsarentreal]

The Blue-Haired Minnie Mouse/ Purple Hoodie Guy

September 14, 2020 (6 months after Hellish pandemic break loose)

The situation is not getting any better in the Philippines. Everything is just being a huge joke here and we’re not actually getting proper response from the high ranking officials. Hence, I cannot help but feel quite hopeless with the situation. Also, the toxicity of my fandom has been getting to me at one point in time. So I have decided to go away for a bit, and go back to what soothes me at hard times, Music.

Truth be told, I liked his former band’s music, but I’m not in to the point that I will be stanning them as hard as I am doing right now. (I’m really not into KPOP except for Blackpink so I don’t have much reference... And I usually like ballad and relaxing songs.) I didn’t have the time to watch series then because I was too busy in my former job. Also, I have been into writing way before, so I would be satisfied with listening to their music from time to time.

However, by the time that I have fallen in love with their band, 9by9th, I found out that their “End Route” means the end already, no more renewal of contract of 1 year. I was quite devastated with the news and I kinda took it hard and tried to go fan girl over series instead. *SOBS*

(9x9th members: L-R: Thanapob, Ryu, Captain, Porsche ^^, JameyJames, Third, Jackie, Jaylerr, IceParis)

When Trinity debuted, I was really focused on Third and I can remember that I cried over their MV (Hater’s Got Nothing) because I thought that Third will be able to continue with what he’s passionate about. (Third is originally from Kamikaze group but the company disbanded, and his second group is 9x9th but disbanded as well after one year). I kind of followed them for a bit but then I started managing Philippine Fan club bases of my favorite series, with everything that happened, I got too busy... but all I can remember then was the old me crying because I cannot buy the merchandise from before. (Quite a noob then and I didn’t know about pasabuys and stuff.. so yeah). T_T.

(Trinity members: L-R: Jackie, Porsche <3, JMJ, Third)

Before hell broke lose in the whole world, I had the opportunity to go back to Thailand for the second time and I met those artists that I am following. I actually wanted to meet Trinity but there was no opportunity for me to do so because I didn’t even check their schedule then and I think there wasn’t any update regarding their work, so yeah... T_T. (Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed my stay in Bangkok)

So yeah.. After probably taking in shit from the govt for about 7 months already, and toxicity from something that I really used to enjoy and made me smile, I started to distance myself for a bit because what I really need now is not stress, but something that will probably lift up my mood. So what I did was to stress myself even further... watch mystery series that will probably make your head burst into thinking... so in the end, I actually stopped watching BL series and stumbled into their first series together as 9x9 boys, In Family We Trust.

So an excerpt from Wikipedia says,

The Jiraanan family is a wealthy ethnic Chinese business family, whose extended family spans three generations. Grandfather (A-gong) and Grandmother (A-ma) have four children. Prasoet, the eldest son, heads the family business, Jirananta Hotel, and manages its main Bangkok location, while Phatson, the only daughter, manages its Pattaya branch. Met, the second son, is a single stay-at-home parent, while the youngest son Konkan lives a playboy lifestyle. Among them (and a deceased fifth sibling), they have nine third-generation children. The family members seem to get along well as they celebrate A-gong's birthday, but when he dies of old age shortly after, and his will is revealed to exclude Phatson from inheritance of the hotel, she gets into an argument with Prasoet regarding its management. Prasoet is then found dead from a gunshot in his bedroom, and Phatson becomes a prime suspect. Prasoet's wife Chris also becomes suspected when it is revealed that Prasoet had been seeing a mistress for twenty years. The grandchildren, especially Prasoet and Chris's son Pete and Phatson's eldest son Yi, become involved as each family tries to prove their innocence and uncover the mystery of the case.

This was the first time that I started to look at him. Porsche played the character of Kuaitiao, the orphaned grandson who lived with Grandpa and Grandma. Kuaitiao is actually an art student here and he’s passionate about his drawings.

What probably captured my attention is his ability to lighten up the mood around him. Even at awkward situations he was able to make me laugh. And probably the fact that he’s close to his grandma and a sweet grandchild even if he’s an adopted one. It kinda got into me. I’ll be honest. There was a scene where Grandma wouldn’t eat, and he pretended to be angry and did not eat as well. I found it cute and smiled at first, but after few moments, I was sobbing already. He made me miss my grandma who passed away last July 15.

Over all, I loved his acting here. Rating 4.5/5

(But please, don’t make him cry because I’ll end up crying as well).

(He’s such a precious person guys, pleaseeeee... make him smile a lot, okay?)

So, of course, once you’re interested in your new bias wrecker’s work, you’re going to check his latest and previous works, right? So what I did next is watched their latest series (still with 9x9 boys, but this time, it was 7/9 only. I just found out that Thanapob cannot join the series anymore because he’s busy filming another series and Ryu is actually an actor of another channel. Hence, his few appearances as Macao in In Family We Trust) entitled as, Great Men Academy.

(Great Men Academy Cast: Porsche as P’Good <3, Third as Nuclear, JameyJames as Love, Jackie as Menn, Captain as Sean, Jaylerr as Tangmo, and IceParis as Vier)

The excerpt of the story is as stated below,

Love (Chanyapuk Numprasop) has always been a fan of the popular guy Vier (Paris Intarakomalyasut) of the famous all boys high school Great Men Academy, but she has never had the chance to meet him. One day, she sees the mystical unicorn rumored to fulfill wishes and wished for her love for Vier to get a chance.

Unfortunately, the unicorn interpreted her wishes in a different way and Love wakes up to find herself in a male's body. She is able to switch between genders under the condition that she must return as a girl before midnight each night. Love attends Great Men Academy as a guy, and works through the complications of winning Vier's heart and meeting new people while trying to keep her identity a secret.

I actually fell in love with P’Good’s character here because he’s such a stern but doting brother. Good is kinda strict when it comes to Love at first because he has to be strong for their whole family because his dad passed away. He’s a very smart guy, yet clumsy fellow. He can also be shy when it comes to Me. (His crush in the series. Why can’t it be “me” instead? Just kidding).

Over all, I loved how he brought to life my favorite glasses ikemen on this series. He made me cry with the way he handled the vulnerability of his sister, Love. His acting for me in this series is a complete 5.0/5.0! *For the love of Good, Please?*

I rest my case. I’m dying again of spazzing to Phi Good. (Okay. I have a huge crush on this character. The character, okay?!) hahaha

Wait... let me breathe for just a bit... *hyperventilates in Good’s name*

Then after watching the said series, I started to rewatch their Elements MV. And that got me hooked. I noticed his talent in rapping, singing and dancing that I wouldn’t have normally seen in the first place because I have a bias of my own before.

It’s like the more that I watch him, the more I fall for this person (in terms of being a fan of his). I kind of accepted that he’s my bias on Trinity now when I saw this video. (ปาว ปาว (Shout) – V.R.P kamikaze)

I’ve been reading articles about him when I came across the interview of Bangkok Post with Third and Porsche regarding their new work. (being 9x9th members and In Family We Trust). I found out that Porsche was actually a member of VRP of Kamikaze and I watched all his previous work. So when I saw the video Paw Paw/ (Shout), I burst into laughter. I knew from that time that he’s such a funny guy and he’s giving me positive vibes.

As I continued watching, I saw him with a Minnie mouse headband, and I lost it... I laughed a lot, which I rarely do these days. So by then, I wasn’t able to help it, I started to love this kid more.

I continued to watch all the showcases, the fancams, the v-live videos, the vlogs about him and goodness gracious, I am really swoon. This kid is such an interesting person and I really regret not knowing him right away.

As I get to know him, the more I admire him. I mean... for real, it’s even funny knowing his quirks. Like he likes to draw stuff, he likes to play the piano, he loves Anime and his favorite anime is Hitman Reborn! (I wonder if he likes Hibari Kyoya too). Anyway aside from his talent, another selling factor of him to me is his positivity towards life.

“Don't worry na krub, all TWILIGHT. No matter what will happen in the future or the situation, we are always TRINITY and we will do better than before krub.” #XXSIVK #PorscheSivakorn 

His positivity and his ambition would inspire you to do well and go on no matter how difficult things may be.

Thank you Porsche, you are indeed a good source of a breather in my life. Things have been quite difficult in the Philippines and no matter how much I wanted to take a vacation now, I can’t. Your music makes me smile a lot and at times, I forget my worries when I watch you dance. It’s like watching someone you idolize do what they love to do and give it all with passion makes you motivated as well and keeps you going.

Truth be told, you remind me of one of my favorite persons. He used to be brimming with life. But covid made things difficult for him... well it made things difficult for everyone. I really hope he gets his footing soon.

PS. I might not be able to get to know you in person in this life, but I really wish you success. I will always be watching from afar. :)

I’ll be waiting for your come back again. Thanks a bunch XX :)

[christarango]

I Interviewed the Guy Who Went Into a Museum & "Vandalized" a Picasso.

    In 2012, a man in a suit entered the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas.  That man was Uriel Landeros, a self proclaimed artist and a student at the University of Houston.   A cell phone video captured his visit to the prestigious musuem and was posted on YouTube the same day. The video quickly went viral and set the "Art World" on fire.  That's because Mr. Landeros brazenly walked up to Pablo Picasso's 1929 painting, "Woman in a Red Armchair" and spray painted directly onto the priceless piece of art.  In just a few seconds, the Picasso was altered, hanging there with a mysterious image of a bull and the word "Conquista" spray painted across the surface.  "Conquista" is a Spanish word that means "conquest" or "to conquer".  But why?  What did it mean?  The incident pissed off plenty of people worldwide and started heated debates about the true value of "art".  I had the opportunity to catch up with the artist..  vandal.. visionary.. terrorist.  or whatever it is you choose to call him.  

CT:  Who are you, where are you from?

UL:  I am CONQUISTA, the kid who conquered Picasso, but the name my father gave me is Uriel Landeros.  I was born in South Texas in the city of Edinburg, located in the Rio Grande Valley, but I consider Houston my second home because I went to art school there.  I am a Native/Mexican American.

CT:  As an artist, can you describe the work that you create?

UL:  The Majority of my work comes from my dreams and the subconscious, that other spiritual realm that most people don’t pay attention to.  I try to write down all of my dreams and create images from them. I also use all forms of meditation to influence my work, from fasting, sun gazing, prayer and psychedelic rituals. This is the spiritual side of my work but I also spend a lot of time watching news and current events, not only on TV & newspapers but also the Internet. I compare articles from different countries, independent and mainstream newspapers and bring about a conclusion of closer truth, and then I create political art from this. I try to create a voice that is a little rawer with truth trough my images; I stopped making art years ago though all I make now is art history. But both my spiritual and political work is intertwined. The world is one, everything is connected.

CT:  How did the concept to "destroy" a Picasso piece come about? Was it carefully planned or was it spontaneous?

UL:  The year 2012 was very chaotic for America and for the world, Like I said my work is influenced from all this mayhem, I meditated for so long trying to come up with an image of power and symbology. The image of the Conquista in particular came directly from a lucid dream. Once I obtained the image of the bullfighter slaying the golden bull with the all Seeing Eye, I began to plan the heist. It took about 2 months to completely plan everything; I drew blueprints, counted guards, created exit strategies, etc. It was like a hacker stealing classified information. My plan was never to destroy the Picasso painting, if I wanted to destroy it I would have slashed it with a knife or poured acid on it. The whole point was to leave a message to create a voice and spark another fire against this NEW WORLD ORDER. Believe me I know about paint, I am a professional; I knew that the painting would be easily restored.

CT:  Obviously you pissed off a lot of people. At the same time you suddenly had lots of attention on you & your work. Was that the idea from the beginning or did it accidentally happen that way?

UL:  Not everyone was pissed off, some people were very happy with what I did, many strangers clapped @ my actions & and continue to do so. Most of the people who were hating on me where so called “artists” who have never been able to break the veil of success. I did not know the future, I did not know that galleries would take interest in my art, especially not the world renown museum “The Palace of Fine Arts, MACG” in Mexico city.  When those things began to happen, I was skeptical because I thought that the museum and galleries were working with the F.B.I. and U.S. Marshalls.  But after some research I found out those opportunities were legit, so I welcomed them.  This helped me spread the message further. CT:  What's the deal with your solo art show in Houston following the incident? Apparently you were on a live video feed from Mexico. Can you tell me about that? Also, I heard some of your own artwork was destroyed.

UL:  James Art Gallery gave me a solo show in Houston; James Perez has been a friend of mine for several years. Ironically the title of the show was “ Houston, we have a problem”.  We promoted the event saying that I was going to show up at the event, I had been a fugitive for several months & already there was a $15,000 reward for me, so I knew that the cops were going to show up, but we tricked those pigs.  As you know I was there but through live video feed “Skype”.  I was logged in from an ice cream shop in Monterrey, Mexico.  I gave several interviews and said hello to all the people that attended the show.  My work was not destroyed, James and me invited all the local graffiti writers we could find and let them tag whatever they wanted on several of my paintings. The whole point of this was to show the art community that art is not about paintings but rather the message. Fuck the paintings, this is what Picasso would say “Art is a lie that enables us to see truth” For example The Guernica was not about making a pretty painting but rather transmitting the message of the horrors of genocide and war. Art is a weapon, painting and drawing is secondary to the true purpose of the art tool.  So I don’t care if people tag or graffiti my work, what matters is the message I convey. 

CT:  I definitely feel like you have a message that you're trying to convey. What are you all about, what's all this about?

UL:  First of all fuck the NEW WORLD ORDER, once more; I did this for the people who are tired of being treated like slaves. The Conquista was an artistic metaphor with much symbology.  A lot of the art community successfully digested the message although the reactions were diverse. I stenciled a bullfighter killing a bull with the word Conquista below it with spray paint in color gold on a 1929 Picasso painting. It was a lot of work to pull the heist but all the details are another story.  This graffiti was a form of protest/activism against the government and the corrupt church, who continue to abuse their power of imperial rape. A way to tell the people conquer your fear and stand up for injustice. There was much civil unrest all around the globe in the year 2012, the year of the conquista.  Remember the Occupy movement?  The anonymous organization, the immigrant protests in Arizona, and Wikileaks?  And even after I turned myself in to the authorities, it continued with Edward Snowden and the unraveling of the N.S.A. surveillance, abusing their power to infringe in our privacy. The word Conquista is my artist name, it is also the Spanish word for conquer, in reference to the conquistadores and the Spanish inquisition, the biggest unrecognized genocide in the world, because of gold and greed, “Capitalism in its cradle”. Those who converted the natives into Christianity through murder and rape, those same characters who are now looked upon like heroes such as Christopher Columbus. The word Conquista is also in reference to so many innocent kids who got raped by priest who went unpunished because pope Benedict XVI protected them by sending them to the Vatican and granting them political asylum. This was so controversial that the pope had to resign. Conquista is also in reference to the immigration reform and the dream act that president Obama promised and never fulfilled. My people my culture and my family is bullied around society because of the color of our skin because of racism and discrimination. Just look at the laws in Arizona, its as if its still the 1960s in that state. Discriminating against immigrants when in fact the only non-immigrants are the natives/Hispanics, my people. Nobody ever asked any conquistador for a passport or green card, how was this fucking hypocrisy born?  What the fuck is going on? All this seems like a big joke, nobody in power cares to make a positive difference; they are worried about policing the world and selling guns. This is the history that I have begun to convert into my story. The majority of native culture/archeology is now displayed in museums throughout Europe as trophies of genocide, and thus disables the Hispanic community to truly understand their history & culture, because that art is not in its native land. I cannot bring back all the art that was stolen by the conquistadors but I can create new history. New art, so that is what I did for my people. The golden bull represents the stock market, wall street, gold, money being idolized, The federal reserve, the biggest deceiving ponzi scheme that enslaves us all, and the president & government working for wall street banksters instead of the people. The golden bull also represents Picasso “ the Art Beast”, he who understood that art is not a painting or a drawing but rather a political tool to educate and influence the form of thinking of the masses. I am the bullfighter inspired by Picasso to use the art tool, doing the daring move to kill the golden beast. Conquering Picasso in his own game. Fighting against this whole corrupt system. The bullfighting culture and Picasso are both originally from Spain and this is the irony of a Native Mexican American conquering a Spaniard.

CT:  Whoa, thats heavy.  You were just released from jail for what you did, that's fucking crazy.  How long were you locked up?

UL:  I was in prison for 21 months, almost 2 years.

CT:  What were you thinking about while in prison? Any new concepts or artwork created during that time?

UL:  I was a prisoner before I went to prison, but it was in that dark cold place, in that cage, when I was hungry, when I meditated, that I understood what freedom was.  If your mind is free they can never imprison you. The power of the third eye is limitless, the universe is born from it. I created over 100 paintings and thousands of drawings. I will soon publish all these works online and I will exhibit them in a prison series for my next Art show. My force of creation has only gotten stronger.

CT:  What's next for you?

UL:  I am organizing my next event.  I will soon publish the date and details.  I am also in the process of publishing a book about the entire story, all the things I could not say because of lawful repercussions, how I pulled the heist (it was some oceans 11 shit) and also my life as a fugitive.

CT:  How can we follow you and see how this evolves?

UL:  I’m always accessible through Facebook that is the social media of my choice, but I also have twitter, instagram, pinterest, photobucket, vine, we heart it and email of course. Or just watch the news or Google me.

CT:  Best of luck to you!  Anything else you want to add?

UL:  Yea I just want to give a shout out to everyone out there trying to provoke and stimulate a positive change in the world, all those free hugs people, all the honest police and every activist who has put their life in danger for the benefit of the community, especially Edward Snowden, thank you.

[nakamina]

How similar are Hanyu Yuzuru and Katsuki Yuri? - The Never Ending Debate

Hi all,

Nakamina here again with a long blog post. Now before ya’ll get triggered from this title please read the following.

So about a year ago I made a Yuzu fan video (which you can find below) and I have received many comments since comparing him to Yuri from the anime ‘Yuri!!! on ICE’ (YOI) which is a figure skating themed anime that aired in the fall of 2016.

The kind of comments being:

“Yuzu is the real Yuri!“ (<- pretty much got about 10+ of these)

“He is the inspiration of Yuri”

“He looks so much like Yuri”

“He reminds me of Yuri”

“Yuzuru Hanyu and Javier Fernandes look like Yuri and Viktor!”

Now, this is really no surprise since I used the anime’s opening song ‘History Maker’ for this video, although the video itself really does not make any reference to the anime. But it got me thinking…how similar/different are they actually??

DISCLAIMER: I would just like to say that this comparison is purely for fun and I am not here to put down Yuzuru Hanyu nor YOI. I became a fan of Yuzu long before YOI came out and I am also a massive anime otaku. So obviously, I support both fandoms and am not here to discredit one or the other. I thought this would be something interesting since so many people point it out and I genuinely want to nut out their differences and similarities in a neutral and unbiased manner for once, since this topic seems to only ever bring in a cat fight between the figure skating fandom and anime fandom… Let’s change that!

Yuzuru Hanyu vs Katsuki Yuri

SIMILARITIES

Race and Cultural Background

I guess this is an inevitable similarity since they come from the same country and culture. Yes, they are both Japanese and have black hair, black eyes, wears glasses…etc the list goes on. I mean Yuzu probably also likes Katsu-don too (maybe). These similarities are applicable to most Japanese men really, and hence why I think this is the main aspect that a lot of people tend to focus and highlight on.

Idolising a Russian Skater

What a lot of the people also point are the two’s idolisation towards a Russian skater. This is also no surprise. When I first saw YOI I too thought that this was very reminiscent of Yuzu’s idolisation towards Evgeni Plushenko. They both grew up watching their Russian idols on TV and consider them as their ultimate inspiration. Yuzu also has formed quite a friendly relationship with Plushenko since, and has even gone far as to use one of his iconic pieces for his 2018-2019 free program - ‘Tribute to Nijinsky’. Much like how Yuri skates to Viktor’s choice of music and choreography, and wears one of his previous costumes for his short program in the anime. 

Hometown Support

This is probably a less obvious one but in YOI there is a decent sense of “Jimoto ai” - hometown love. There are a number of scenes where it depicts the support Yuri receives from his home town. As many would know Yuzu also receives a lot of support from his hometown in Sendai/Miyagi, and Yuzu himself has also raised many funds for the recovery from the 2011 earthquake. They are both from different prefectures, but their love for their hometown are quite alike.

Relationship with Family

With all that being said, I think the most noteworthy thing the two have in common is their family bond. Yuri is shown to have a strong relationship with his family, and from what I know Yuzu also does with his family, notably his mother. Family & love is a reoccurring theme in YOI. Yuri’s quote from ep 4: “...my family never treated me like a weakling. They all had faith that I’d keep growing as a person, and they never stepped over the line.”.  Yuzu has also stated in an interview after his second Olympic win that the people he feels the most gratitude towards is his family, for their unconditional support throughout his whole skating career. I personally think this is the most significant alikeness between the two that a lot of people seem to undermine. Yuri’s family has unconditionally loved and believed in him (as quoted from the anime), which I think is very similar to that of Yuzu’s relationship with his family.

DIFFERENCES

Track Record

In terms of track record, the two are quite different. Yes, the two are Japan National Champions but when speaking at an international level the differences are apparent. Yuri is more of a late bloomer as a competitive skater while Yuzu is very much an early bloomer. Yuri first medalled at the GPF at age 24 (Re YOI ep12), whereas Yuzu first medalled at the GPF at the age of 17. Also, Yuri first qualified for the GPF at age 23 (Re YOI ep1) while Yuzu first qualified for the GPF at age 16. By the age of 23 Yuzu has also won numerous other international titles such as 2x World Championship golds, 4x GPF golds and 2x Olympic golds. So there are some stark differences in terms of their career progression. Now I know the Olympics and Worlds were not mentioned in the anime; however, judging from the whole tone of the anime and what was heard from Yuri’s monologues, the likelihood of him winning one of these titles in the past is very low. Although I would say Yuri winning the 4CC (Four Continents Championships) is a possibility.  

Side note: Actually looking into their track records has made me realise how rapid and incredible Yuzu’s achievements were… no wonder he is called a living legend. Yuri’s track record by all means is very impressive as well, as it is a lot more than what most figure skaters can ever achieve in their life time.

Personality

Another major difference is their personality. Yes, they are both very competitive and hate to lose, but from what I have seen Yuri easily gets anxious and lacks confidence. We can see that from the way he desperately avoids to even listen to the other performances in episode 7 in order to calm his nerves. Of course this gradually changes in Yuri, and we see that he learns to handle the pressure better in competitions. As for Yuzu, he lives off pressure and gets motivated the more his competitors do well. Yuzu has stated that his “ideal” way of winning is for him to defeat the other competitors when they are are at their best. 

Skating skills/style

Yuzu, at this point in time, can jump the quad salchow, quad toe-loop, quad loop & quad lutz. Yuri is able to do the quad salchow, quad toe loop and…the quad flip, which just happens to be the one quadruple jump (excluding the axel) that Yuzu cannot do. Interesting aye? 

Also, Yuzu is very much an all rounded skater, and has been for the majority of his senior career. He is well renowned for possessing great artistry and technical skills that are on par with each other. Whereas Yuri’s strength leans more towards the components/artistic side of skating (Refer to YOI ep 4). Yuri is very expressive in the way that he performs and interprets music quite well, but he has the tendency to flop when it comes to his jumps. However, this too gradually changes following Viktor’s coaching as he starts to polish up Yuri’s skills in other areas too. 

New York Times Article on Yuzuru Hanyu:

Body Type, Physical Condition   

Yuri, in the anime, is very susceptible to binge eat and gains weight easily. His love for food, especially Katsu-don, is clearly depicted in the anime, and it’s apparent that the act of eating brings him joy. Yuzu on the other hand really has no interest in eating, and suffers from the total opposite concern of being unable to gain weight. 

Another stark difference is their stamina. Yuri’s stamina has always been one of his strengths; whereas Yuzu suffers from asthma and has struggled with stamina especially during his early senior years. 

Final Verdict/Thoughts

So I think we can see that Yuzu and Yuri are somewhat similar in terms of race, background and upbringing, but are quite different in terms of personality, skating skills/style and track record.

I like to actually think that bits of Yuzu’s traits are shown through not just Yuri but multiple characters in YOI. He has the charisma of Viktor, drive of Yurio and love/affection of Yuri. Just like how we see bits of Yuzu in lot of these characters, the character of Yuri was inspired by various iconic skaters; noteworthy ones being Machida Tatsuki and Takahashi Daisuke.

Many people worked hard to create this anime, just like how Yuzu has worked his butt off to get to where he is now. I think it is okay for people to compare the two, just as long as you respect and acknowledge the fact that Yuri is his own character and Yuzu is his own person. I think it is great that a lot of people found out about Yuzu and Figure Skating through this anime. I’m also sure that there are people who got into YOI as they were initially part of the figure skating fandom or were Yuzu fans (like myself!). 

I sincerely hope people have not been offended by this blog. I tried being objective as possible. Adios until my next post! 

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Putin’s Palace Problems

This morning, I asked why Putin sent Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov to deny that he owned a palace on the Black Sea, instead of doing so himself. 

Well, perhaps Putin saw my post and decided to speak, finally! Today, he conducted an interview via Rossiya 1, in which he denied owning the infamous Palace. 

Let us see whether Putin’s denial refutes the allegations made by Navalny’s documentary, currently at almost 87 million views.   

Andrew Roth and Luke Harding at The Guardian, provided this review of Putin’s responses: 

Putin said that the palace never:

“belongs [sic] to or ever belonged to me or my close relatives. Ever.”

What about proxy and subsidiary companies owned either directly or indirectly by the President of Russia, as Navalny alleges in his documentary? Putin does not respond to that contention, so this denial is meaningless. 

Instead, he said the documentary was “boring”, but then said:

he hadn’t had time to watch it and had merely glanced at a few clips compiled by his assistants.

(Paraphrase from Guardian article.) 

The reason why Putin did not watch the documentary was:

because of too much work

(Source: Tweet by Christo Grozev.)

Think about this. Putin not only faces career-destroying allegations of mass bribery, fraud, and embezzlement going back over 15 years, but also lost contol of the country on Saturday, January 23, as tens of thousands of Russians poured onto the streets in fury. 

This documentary was a key motivation for many, with protesters in one city even chanting “Aquadiscotheque” at the police, in reference to the luxurious rooms found in Putin’s palace. 

You would think that someone facing colossal damage to their reputation and mass disorder nationwide would carefully study the allegations, so that he can refute them and restore calm. 

But Putin says he was too busy to find out why tens of thousands of Russians across 11 time zones were furious enough to shut down entire cities, despite threats of arrest and police brutality. 

Notice how Putin admits that his assistants have “compiled” clips together, already indicating that he has only received an edited version of events. This means by default that he cannot refute central and devastating allegations made in the documentary. 

The lynchpins that destroy Putin’s denial are as follows.

Firstly, that you must phone the FSB for permission to sail or fish along the Black Sea Coast. Navalny proved this by having one of his colleagues phone the FSB, and recording the responses. This colleague was told to sail out for a mile into the sea, before reaching his required fishing destination. 

Putin can deny owning the proxy companies, deny being connected to certain businessmen-- can even deny the allegations of embezzlement all he likes. 

What he cannot deny is that the FSB, his own security service, have total control over who can sail around the Black Sea coast where this palace is located. 

Nowhere in Putin’s denial does he explain why an audio recording proves that FSB permission is required prior to sailing around the area, nor the reason why the FSB have been granted such powers, nor who authorised this. 

Another lynchpin is the fact that Putin’s own former ally, Sergei Kolesnikov, revealed that Putin was embezzling funds to build a palace back in 2010. Not only that, but Kolesnikov wrote an open letter to Dmitri Medvedev at the time, demanding that the latter stop Putin’s corruption. 

(Obviously, this did not happen. Medvedev is a crook, implicated in bribery, fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering.)

Kolesnikov, who is filmed discussing the whole plan with Navalny via video conferencing, released several documents proving how he had worked with Putin to fund this palace over 15 years ago. 

So, Putin can claim that he had too much work to do while the country erupted into outrage, but how does he explain Kolesnikov-- his own former ally-- making the exact same accusations over 10 years ago? Putin did not address this simple, yet devastating conundrum. 

In conclusion: as a matter of principle, I believe that anyone facing serious allegations must be given the opportunity to defend themselves. This includes crooks like Putin. 

It is strange, however, that Navalny’s team released this documentary on 19th January, yet despite the devastating impact on his reputation, Putin did not see fit to respond in person until the 25th. Nor has he responded to any of the evidence presented, including documentation from his own former colleague, released to the public over a decade ago. 

I also cannot help noticing that Putin’s interview took place on state-controlled Rossiya 1, where journalists like Nailya Asker-Zade are known to give favourable interviews to members of his government. Why won’t Putin give an interview to newspapers like The Moscow Times, or Телеканал Дождь? 

Could it be that journalists at those outlets have watched Navalny’s documentation in full and would ask more detailed questions, for which a blanket denial will not suffice as an answer? 

I agree with lawyer Lyubov Sobol, who tweeted, “Putin could not ignore what the whole country is discussing.” (Translation from The Guardian). 

Despite Dmitri Peskov assuring us that the Kremlin does not fear Navalny, that not many people came to Saturday’s protests, and that many people vote for Putin, the fact that the Russian President had to appear before his people to deny owning a multi-billion rouble secret palace shows the Kremlin’s increasing panic as it loses contol of the country. 

May it be so!