#src: an actual conversation i had with my mouth today\

[incorrect-cavaliers-quotes]

mars: there are some things we SHOULD judge. being homophobic. whatever that vampire shit was.

blix: [narrowly restraining laughter] turning into a vampire pussy first?

mars: [sighing heavily] ... yeah. yeah.

[kaminobiwan]

cannonball

pairing: obi-wan kenobi x jedi!reader

summary: Throwing all caution out the window, Obi-Wan dives headfirst into a long awaited confession. At least, he tries to. The universe seems to leave an obstacle for him at every turn, but Obi-Wan is nothing if not persistent.

a/n: Oh my goodness, this has got to be my proudest piece. It was one of the victims of the incident™ and I had to rewrite the whole thing from scratch, but I actually think the final version came out better than the original! The title is inspired from the summary of my previous fic Indulgence, but this one is actually the cornerstone of all of my jedi!reader x Obi-Wan fics: every one of those has stemmed from this storyline idea that has been living in my head for so long. Suffice it to say this is THE fic that I have wanted to write from the beginning — my pièce de résistance, if you will.

I hope you enjoy :-) p.s. here's my taglist form

In all the years he’s known you, Obi-Wan swears he only ever started to lie to you during the Clone Wars.

In his defense, he’d been lying to himself, too. Forcibly crushing down his much-deeper-than-platonic favor for you in the hopes that it’d disappear, forgotten in his darkest recesses, was exhausting in more ways than one. One’s mind can only be dishonest with the heart for so long.

But after more than a year and a half into the fighting, he’d felt too many times the choking fear that he’d never see you again — be it because of his death or yours.

So he’d given up in repressing his emotions, and let himself feel. In the precious minutes of reprieve amidst the horrors of combat, sometimes the only thing that could console his jaded and war-torn soul was the memory of you.

He wonders how he managed to continue for as long as he did before allowing himself to consciously love — it was well into the conflict when he came to terms with it. If he closes his eyes, he can easily remember the exact moment.

Geonosis. His return to the forsaken planet.

The chaos of it all had been staggering. He’d barely been able to hear Cody’s warning before he was shot out of the sky, and the crash that claimed the lives of nearly everyone in the transport had been just the beginning of the hellscape he’d endured.

There was an instant where he’d been sure he was going to die on the field, seconds before the remainder of his battalion was about to be overrun.

He remembers the gunfire surrounding him, piercing the falling bodies of his men as he laid helpless and injured. Cody’s shouting amidst the mayhem. The stabbing pain of his ribs that had blackened the edges of his vision. The dirt that had caked his face and armor. The sheer amount of it had been maddening.

And yet, as the bugs had closed in around him and he’d forced himself to his feet to meet his imminent end, the only thing that had run through his mind was...you.

Your name, your face. The dissatisfaction at the fact that the last time he’d seen it, it’d been distorted, static and blue from the holo you’d shared with Master Unduli. The way you’d hidden a smile as she interrupted his competitive jeering with Anakin ahead of the battle.

At least he’d made you laugh, he’d thought, and with that, he’d ignited his lightsaber.

And then the reinforcements had come. And he’d been left to sink back down on shaking knees with the image of you burning in his brain until the concerned presence of Ahsoka materialized at his side.

He hadn’t had any time to process the stunning realization that he was in love with you. He’d scarcely had a second to gather himself before he was already spouting a revised attack plan to take the droid factory, reverting to autopilot the way he always did when he assumed his identity as a war general.

But the universe had seemed intent on not letting him escape it, regardless. Just days later, he’d saved your life — you’d arrived at Point Rain with Luminara only to be taken by the Geonosian queen to be turned into a mindless, shivering zombie.

“I still haven’t forgiven you for that, you know.” You’d chirped, while tapping his nose teasingly.

“What? The stunt with the worms? You know I wouldn’t have actually let it go up your nose.”

“No, for disobeying an order to fall back and leave us behind.”

His heart had clenched at your words. Never in a million years would he abandon you if he thought there was the smallest chance of saving you. He knew that, finally.

But the fear of losing the only life he’d ever known outweighed the fear of losing you, and he’d settled with yearning for you from afar. It would be enough, he’d convinced himself. He refused to burden you with the knowledge that he’d been pining helplessly for you for Force knows how long, and ruin the careers in the Order you’d both worked so hard to construct.

That was, until now.

Until he’d seen Satine Kryze again, after decades apart, and she’d declared her surviving affection for him from all those years ago, Anakin witnessing the whole thing. After he’d seen the weight of her unspoken truth upon her shoulders. And although he regretted that he couldn’t grant her the relief from her wanting, he’d resolved that he didn’t want to spend the rest of his days the same way — slowly being crushed by his own supression. Even if his feelings were unrequited.

So he’d decided that he’d tell you, Jedi Code be damned. He wouldn’t hold it in any longer.

As the Coronet docked on the landing pad where the Chancellor was waiting, he’d been jittery with anticipation. That, and disoriented from the events that had transpired on the way there. He’d blubbered uncharacteristically when Satine had caressed his face in farewell, Anakin watching delightedly at his back. Then, as he’d turned to find a speeder to make his way to you in the Temple, the universe had yet again toyed with him — you were there, appearing on the platform out of nowhere like a summoned spirit, but not making your way towards him.

No, you were walking straight towards Satine.

You didn’t seem to notice him or Anakin behind you, welcoming the Duchess with practiced cordiality and leading her to the airbus where the other Senators were boarding, glaringly obvious that you’d been assigned on escort duty. Obi-Wan held back a groan. Of all the Jedi.

Anakin had practically collapsed in hilarity, a hand heavy on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “The Force works in mysterious ways, Master,” he crowed. “I finally get that one.”

———

You’re perched high up on a viewing balcony of the Senate Chamber when he finds you, a little before Satine is set to address the Republic.

“You’re certainly off your game today,” you exhale an amused laugh as he skids to a stop, attempting to compose his appearance as he approaches you. “Anakin told me all about what happened on the Coronet en route to Coruscant.”

His blasted Padawan. Obi-Wan could strangle him.

“I didn’t teach him to gossip,” he grumbles, coming to stand beside you. He'd run the whole way here to catch you, but his rapid heartbeat isn’t from physical exertion. You’re as tranquil as ever, though, and your presence relaxes him despite.

You give a snort. “Maybe not intentionally. He definitely learned how to operate outside the lines of the Code by watching you.” He knows you’re poking fun at him, but his breath catches at the mention of the doctrine that dictates you both.

But he’s set on telling you. Today.

“Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about something similar.”

You turn to the Chancellor’s podium as his voice reverberates through the hall, but Obi-Wan’s hearing is fixed on you. “Of course, Obi, but it’ll have to wait until later. I think your friend is about to speak.”

He opens his mouth to reply, to bring your attention back to him, but you’re focused on the proceedings. He doesn’t like the jovial way you say friend, as if you’re almost happy about it, but he forces his gaze to follow yours as Satine begins her address.

Which, of course, goes terribly wrong. Because nothing seems to want to work out today.

Even your usually optimistic features are set with a grim expression as a testimonial from Satine’s own Deputy Minister slights her leadership, and the Senate turns against her. As her repulsorpod retreats from the center of the chamber, you cast concerned eyes towards him.

“Go,” you urge him, and he’s frozen between staying or leaving. “She needs you. I’ll buy you some time with the security detail.”

Obi-Wan doesn’t want to depart from your side, words hanging on the tip of his tongue, but he knows you’re right. He nods at you gratefully before chasing after Satine.

———

He tries again in the evening, while you’re between shifts of guarding the Duchess’ guest quarters.

“She seems...interesting,” you nod to the Mandalorian guard that passes by to take your post, speaking low enough that your conversation is relatively private. “She certainly had much to say about you.”

Obi-Wan wanted to scream. It seems everyone had been able to get you alone except for him. “I told you about that year on Mandalore after I came back,” he protests, and you shoot him a pitiful wink.

“Not the way she described it.”

Before he can demand just what Satine had let on, the sound of rapid footfalls draws both of your attention to the guard you’d greeted earlier. “Master Jedi! The Duchess is gone. We don’t know for how long.”

You curse lightly and rush down the hall to follow the Mandalorian, and Obi-Wan is about to do the same when his comm buzzes on his wrist.

He sighs in frustration. He knows exactly who it is.

———

After he’d relayed the untampered evidence to Padmé in time for the Senate convocation and Satine had been released from custody, Obi-Wan makes his way to your quarters in a determined stride. The past couple days were nothing short of a wild Bantha ride from start to finish, and he was tired of tiptoeing around you.

As he raises a shaking hand to knock outside your room, he stalls in a moment of fleeting hesitation. The impending metamorphose of your relationship nags at his brain, and he pauses. What he’s about to do will indelibly transform the dynamic between you, for better or for worse. It dawns on him that there won’t be any going back from this.

He hears your voice from a distant memory of late nights in the Temple gardens, basking in the light of the stars. Of course everything will change. Nothing can stop that.

So be it.

He stands as tall as he can manage, and knocks resolutely.

You open the door looking ready for bed, clad in a billowing camisole, face dewy from the refresher and hair still damp. He smiles at you as you open it wider. “Hello, Obi.”

He shuffles inside, meekly nodding in apology of his interruption. “I thought I’d come see you.”

Like routine, you’re already heating up a pot of water for him as you search for his favorite tea in your cupboard. Ever so thoughtful. His heart flutters beneath his robes. “I’m glad to see you found the Duchess,” you chime lightheartedly, “I had a hunch when you disappeared earlier.”

His hand finds the back of his neck. “I hope I didn’t make you look too bad, being on protection and all.”

You shake your head dismissively. “I was just glad to hear she was safe. You helped save her people from Republic occupation.”

Altruistic honesty radiates off of you, and his chest drops, in a good way. You care, and it’s written all over your actions.

You’re the best person he knows. Without question.

For a split second, Obi-Wan wonders if he even deserves you. But he pushes the thought in the back of his mind for later, hell-bent on not letting anything get in the way of what he wants to say.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

You face him fully, abandoning the tea as you take in the seriousness of his posture. He sucks in a stunted breath.

“It’s about —”

“I know.”

He startles, momentum lost as you interrupt him suddenly. Your gaze is penetrating. “What?” He asks dumbly.

“It’s about Satine, isn’t it?” Your bare arm comes up across your body to hold the other, and Obi-Wan finds himself staring at the way your too-long pants brush the floor as you sway to one side. Your sleeping shirt brushes the middle of your thighs, and he realizes how utterly small you seem in the moment. “You feel the same way about her that you used to.”

His eyes snap up to yours at your words, mind reeling. It takes him an eternity to force out a single word.

“...No.”

You tilt your head confusedly, and Obi-Wan wants to pinch himself to test if this is some sort of stress-induced hallucination. “No? You do know she’s positively infatuated with you, don’t you?”

“No, I —” he shuts his eyes desperately. “I mean, yes, I know, but I don’t —” he breaks off abruptly, opening his eyes at you with newfound willpower. Blast it.

Obi-Wan crosses the room in three steps, reaching his hands out to cradle you delicately as he pulls you in for a bruising kiss.

He hears your breath stutter, shock just about vibrating off of you, but in the next second your eyelashes graze his cheeks as you close your eyes and lean into him. His heart pounds in crazed gratification, and Obi-Wan feels downright dizzy from the sensation. He’s going to faint, he’s going to die right here in your arms —

Your hands find the top of his chestplate, fingers curling against it, but after a beat of his body singing with joy, he feels you apply the smallest pressure on his armor. You detach your lips from his slowly, and he blinks dazedly at you when you pull away. Disbelief paints your frame.

“Obi, what —”

“I love you,” he says quickly, hands still on either side of your face. “I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you. For so long.” One of your hands reaches up to clasp his own against your cheek. “I know that this goes against everything we’ve ever been taught, and you must be confused. I’m sorry.” He breaks off for a second, eyebrows creasing, because he’s not sorry. He could never be sorry for what he’s just done, not with the feeling of your lips still rippling in tingles through his brain. “But I had to tell you. I just...couldn’t go on without you knowing.”

Your mouth opens and closes as you flounder in his confession, and he studies you with more intensity than he’s felt in ages. He’s suddenly hyper-aware of everything about you, offhandedly concentrating to memorize every tiny detail. He’ll relive that kiss a thousand times over for the rest of his life if it’s the last one he’ll get.

“I — I don’t know what to say,” you manage to let out, and he presses his forehead to yours before releasing you. Say you love me, his heart cries. But Obi-Wan pushes the sentiment away.

“It’s alright,” he promises gently. You stare at him as he squeezes the hand that’s still holding his. “You don’t have to say anything.”

“Obi-Wan, I —”

Whatever you’re about to say is cut off by a loud knock from outside, and the way you jerk back from him pricks at his emotions. You quickly pad to the door, opening it a crack as he attempts to conceal himself from your unexpected visitor.

“Sorry to bother you so late, Master,” Anakin’s voice fills the air, and Obi-Wan shrinks further into the shadows. “I’m just checking in before I leave for Vanquor. I wanted to make sure you’re still available to train Ahsoka while I’m gone?”

It takes you a little to formulate a response, your eyes still wide. “Yes — of course, Anakin, always.” You attempt to shut the door, but Anakin speaks up before you can.

“Actually, I was hoping to ask you for some advice as well, if you don’t mind.”

You can’t look at Obi-Wan without giving him away, so he sends a subtle wave of reassurance your way, hoping you pick up on it.

The tension releases from your shoulders, and you nod at his old student. “I’d be happy to. Give me a bit to get ready,” you gesture behind you, “and I’ll walk you to your quarters.”

Anakin must nod in return, because you close the door without another word. You reach up to grab your outer robes from where they’re hung on the wall, and turn to him with a tormented expression.

Go, it’s his turn to coax you as he mouths the word silently. It’s alright.

Your eyes are shining with emotion that he can’t quite read in the dim light, but eventually you slip on your cloak and shoes and open the door once more. With one last lingering glimpse at him in the corner, you disappear into the hall where Anakin is waiting.

As he feels your presence dwindling away, he sends a final thought into the vacant room, more to himself and the aching emptiness of the Force than to you.

I love you.

[italicwatches]

Animal Sentai Zyuohger vs Ninninger - Part 1

Well I suppose we’ve got to sidestep to handle this one. I’m gonna level with you, Ninninger wasn’t a series I liked a ton at the time, and my opinion hasn’t improved with time. It was just such a series of dropped opportunities that spun its wheels instead of doing anything with any of its plots, and the movies already have a tendency to, well, spin their wheels for lack of being able to do much to the actual stories.

But I’ve been wrong before. Let’s see if maybe I’m wrong again. It’s Animal Sentai Zyuohger vs Ninninger the Movie: Super Sentai’s Message from the Future from Super Sentai, part one! Here we GO!

-TOEI LOGO, with a Zyuohger animal cry.

-We begin, in fire. A shinobi boy runs into an open stadium, to see the Super Sentai heroes dead on the floor! DRAMATIC.

-Cut back to Before. The crew are off on a camping trip out by the river, and even better, it’s out in the middle of nowhere so they can let out their animal heads. They can relax, and unwind, and not give two fucks about anything…Of course, as they relax, they’re being watched…

-While Misao is still on his way, having taken his time putting together perfect bento box lunches…When that little shrimp of a shinobi barrels past him and oh god all the bento boxes spilled. Miao is in despair.

-Back at the campsite, Yamato’s ready to start cooking some food…When the zyumen suddenly get vibes. Something is coming…! And it’s, to nobody’s surprise but the cast, a series of colorful shinobi, who think these animals are demons using the power of Sentai to commit evil! …Sure. Sure you know what let’s just roll with it.

-AKA NINJA SHURIKEN. THE CHANGE! NIN NIN NIN! NIN NI NIN NIN! Shuriken Change! RED! BLUE! YELLOW! WHITE! PINK! NINJAS! The shinobi who won’t hide! Shuriken Sentai, NINNINGER!

-Instincts Awakened! The Zyuohgers block a series of gunshots with their armor, as the two teams square off…And the fight is on!

-TITLE CARD! God I swear these get more absurd with every movie…

-So Eagle goes after Aka in the sky, Lion faces Ao’s trickery, Shark and Shiro clash, Elephant and Ki are against each other, and Tiger faces Momo. As you can imagine, these fights take a certain comical absurdity…Well, until everyone gathers back up, and it’s time for WHALE! Whale fires up a vicious, charged Final shot into the ground, slamming the shinobi back. …BOOK IT!

-And thus Aka decides to scale it up. Shuriken Combination! SHURIKENJIN! …Well shit.

-Zyuoh Cube! Animal Combination! ZYUOH KING! ZYUOH WILD! Gotta get those older toys to sell somehow, right? Of course, Shurikenjin manages to hold its own against both, keeping them from surrounding him…And Aka launches Shinobimaru to produce tons of chaos when they try to put on a unified front! Leaving them to call up UFOmaru for SHURIKENJIN UFO!

-Okay, fine, time for power. WILD ZYUOH KING! The mechs combine, and Aka’s kind of fired up at this serious fight. So, finishers? Finishers!

-SHURIKENJIN! UFO BIG BANG!

-ZYUOH DYNAMIC STRIKE! Beam claaaash! Which core team will reign supreme?

-The beams just make an explosion that send both teams flying. Well that’s one way to avoid answering the question. Everyone’s injured enough to be ripped out of their armors, as Yamato finds himself landing right by Takaharu…Who still has a sword. …Shit. Which leads to another scrambling battle, as he just tries to get away from the furious armed man…

-Meanwhile, Misao is in despair when he finally gets to the campsite…And finds it bombed out and burned to a husk?! Oh god, what happened?! NINJAS happened.

-The rest of the Ninninger team get back to their place, unable to reach Takaharu…And are greeted by…

-What the fuck is this thing.

-Runrun. This thing is called Runrun. Who insists their people were wiped out by the evil demons pretending to be Super Sentai, the Zyuohgers! I call horseshit. So, everyone’s left trying to figure out a plan…Not least being the fact that they only fought five Zyuohgers, and even independent sources can verify there are six…

-Meanwhile, the rest of the crew are stuck without Yamato or Misao, and are hanging out at a courtyard with food stands trying to sort out a plan of their own…With one certain food stand being manned by a certain fellow who’s listening so very closely to this talk of zyumen and ninjas. Tusk’s immediate thought is they need to know what a ninja is capable of if they’re going to fight one…

-Which is when the shinobi cowboy of legend appears before them!

-Yamato continues to insist he’s human and doesn’t have a tail, as their fight goes to a park…When the shrimp ninja comes to stop his father! …Takaharu thinks he would remember impregnating a woman.

-Back at the cabin, Mario’s working on a frog sculpture…When Ki and Momo come to observe…And Mario throws two of his sculpting knives at their hiding point, getting some kind of sense that something had intruded on his space! It’s a very good thing that Misao announces himself when he steps in or he might die.

-And Misao is deeply concerned about what he saw and hopes the others are okay…And then as soon as Mario turns away, the shinobi snatch Misao up and drag him out into the woods for some persuasive conversation.

-And then Misao falls into depressive despair so they knock him out. And Runrun is very pleased.

-While Yamato is meeting this kid, one Igasaki Yoshiharu. Son of Takaharu, back from the future. Oh that makes sense. Takaharu believes it in two seconds because he’s dealt with all kinds of weird ninja shit, while for Yamato that’s a bit of a bridge too far. …Look I’m just glad this dumbdumb isn’t trying to kill an actually good Red.

-So the kid came back using ninpou, and Yamato just gives up trying to sort it out.

-And then Takaharu asks about his future self…And learns he suffered a fate even worse than baldness.

-He died.

-One day from now, both teams are killed in a terrible battle. Yoshiharu came back to try and prevent it…

-While resident cowboy Kinji is explaining ninjas to the zyumen. And with the sun so low in the sky, he has clearly been doing this for hours.

-Which is when Cube Rhino appears, with a letter! A ransom note. Misao’s been captured, and they’re to come peacefully and turn themselves over if they want him unharmed…And Sela is furious.

-When Kinji reveals, THE CHANGE! Shuriken Change! STAR NINJA! The colorful star, STAR NIN—

-Come here motherfucker

-Back at the cabin, Yamato, Takaharu and Yoshiharu are at the cabin, where he lays out, and this may shock you, that Runrun tricked the two teams into destroying each other. And with nobody to safely pass the torch of power, no new Super Sentai teams were able to form…That power, what we Americans would think of as the Morphing Grid, was lost. A world without heroes to fight evil…

-Takaharu is at least able to apologize deeply from the bottom of his heart, and beg forgiveness, now that he knows he was operating on false information. So who in the hell is this Runrun for real…

-Cut up to the Big Bow in a flashback. Runrun was hired by Naria, an outside consultant with skills in manipulation and hero assassination. A little independent action to make Genis’s life easier. With skilled manipulation, and a pollen that blocks all communication signals, Runrun can easily twist the situation around…

-Case in point? The other Ninningers want to interrogate Misao some more. And that mask that Runrun’s put on him to keep him from shouting, also lets him put words in Misao’s mouth and make him ‘confess’!

-In his head, the phantoms try to get through to him, you’ve got to get this mask off! But his hands are bound…He’s got to find a way to change the script…

-While back at the cabin, Takaharu and Yamato have to set this right…

-The next morning, the rest of the crew brings a bound and gagged Kinji. This is now a hostage exchange.

-Of course, transformation devices come out…Shuriken Change! Instincts Awakened! Yamato and Takaharu arrive too late to stop the fight, as things go from bad to worse…And now these damned fools have decided there’s only one way out of the situation, and that’s to win. When the duo see their respective Sixths, and free them…

-But both now have pride on the line, as it’s Shuriken Change, Instincts Awakened, and these damned idiots make it worse as they just end up fighting eachother. Oh my god you’re all dumb.

-And then Takaharu decides the only answer is to just smack everyone down and make them listen. And now Yamato’s the only one here not fighting, as he realizes something has to be up. Something’s in his head. In all their heads. Got to stay calm, focused, can’t take up arms…Got to disarm them!

-Which is about when Aka gets blasted by his own sister for getting in her way, and Takaharu slides back, at least calmed down enough to not be fighting anymore…But now neither of them have any idea how to get out of this situation…

-As both teams bring up their respective finishes, the narrators shouting all over each other! Yamato and Takaharu sprint into the center…And both nearly get shot by their teams’ respective finishing blasts, as explosions and chaos echo through the gym amidst Runrun’s laughter…

-And as the smoke clears, Yoshiharu arrives in time to see that cold open, to see both teams laid out on the ground…

-Which is where we’re going to stop for today.

Well I guess that’s it, no more Super Sentai! Tragic, really. I guess the rest of this series will just be about Genis conquering the world.

…Okay we all know I’m lying. Come back next time for the rest of the movie to see how the teams recover and team up for a big epic showdown against this teletubby-ass villain. Wait for it!

[torentialtribute]

John Barnes says Raheem Sterling is one of society’s most influential people

John Barnes is well placed to empathize with Raheem Sterling .

Just like Sterling today at Manchester City, 30 years ago Barnes was the star man spearheading a title charge with Liverpool. And just like Sterling today, in the late 80s Barnes endured racist taunts while playing.

For that picture of Sterling being abused by Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge last December, see Barnes, a fellow Jamaican-born Englishman, back healing a banana skin off the pitch when Liverpool played at Everton in 1988.

Like Raheem Sterling, John Barnes endured racist abuse in his playing days 30 years ago

Sterling was abused by Chelsea fans playing for Manchester City last December

Sterling responded to taunts in Montenegro last week by suggesting they have a stage ban

Their shared experiences unite them but Barnes believes Sterling has a platform for change he could never have imagined in the 80s. Sterling, Barnes says, is one of society's most influential figures.

"He is," Barnes tells Sportsmail. "I would like to have a conversation with Raheem.

" Back in my day if we felt the same way as Raheem, we weren't allowed to express it. Back then you would be told if you spoke out against discrimination you were getting, you had a chip on your shoulder so you had to keep your mouth shut.

'Of course, times have changed. I wish I was around now (actually) make a real difference in the fight against discrimination. Not just from a racial point or view but from a homophobic and sexist point of view. I think in that respect high profile sportsmen are extremely important. "

In the aftermath of being subjected to racial taunts during England's 5-1 win over Montenegro last week, Sterling suggested stage bans may have been introduced, even in England, to try and combat discrimination.

Barnes Disagrees. For actual progress to emerge, he says education and empathy must be in place for those who abuse, no matter how close to home they are.

'I don't believe closing stadiums and walking off pitches is the answer . If you are going to put your head above the parapet and start talking about it, be truthful.

'If I am going to talk about racism in football when I played, I will tell you now that my Liverpool team-mates racially abused the opposition. Because everybody did.

'From my perspective, the answer is only through education and letting people know why it is wrong to be a racist. Racism is ideology. You don't individualize racism. Discrimination is not individual, personalized hate. It is about the group.

'To make an actual difference, we have more empathy. That's why I say racism is understandable. People say racism is wrong. Why? Because for hundreds of years, from a scientific and social point of view there has been told to people that morally and intellectually, a certain group are inferior.

"What those fans are actually saying is" group that I belong to is superior to the group that you belong to. What they are saying is "my group is superior to your group." That is what discrimination is. Not individual, personalized hate. It is about the group.

'Regardless of if it is a successful black man, woman or gay, they can always be discriminated against by a very average heterosexual, white man because he belongs to a superior group.

'That is what we have to change. The perception of our group, white and male, being superior to other groups. That is not going to be changed by banning people, making the stage empty. '

Barnes doesn believe stage closures and banning fans help eradicate discrimination

Barnes says he would like to meet with Sterling to discuss views on fighting discrimination

Barnes makes a point during his appearance on the BBC's Question Time back in February

Barnes has never shied away from addressing where he believes society's efforts to tackle discrimination are failing.

His appearance on Question Time in February, where he defended Liam Neeson's admission of wanting to ' kill 'a black person as a young man after someone close to him had been raped, was hailed by an Oxford professor, who wrote on Twitter:' Westminster, I hope you are taking notes'.

Yet Barnes would don't accept a job in football governance from The FA or Kick It Out if he was o ffered one.

"I've been speaking to people at Kick it Out but I wouldn't be involved in any organization. The party line is going to be just people and close down stages."

'From my understanding of these organizations, there is a party line, you have to sing from the same hymn sheet.

' A lot of people think the answer is just to get more black people in jobs and positions of power. If that is the avenue people are going to go down, the only avenue people are going to go down, then I am not interested.

'To get rid of racism, sexism, it is not to get more superior , intelligent black people into power, it's to look at the average black man on the street.

"Not for Obama to be president, not for John Barnes to be a manager because you are changing the perception of a black individual, not the perception of what is black."

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Gut wrenching, the edge of your seat anticipation, pageantry, drama it’s not a suspenseful movie it’s #1 Alabama vs. #4 Georgia for the SEC Championship. The beast from the east vs. the beast from the west.  A dead to right bullet of an on-target pass thrown by Jake Fromm towards Mecole Hardman broken up by Shyheim Carter at the last second otherwise Georgia keeps their potential game-winning drive going. Then a fake punt that gave Alabama possession at midfield.

Jalen Hurts rolls out to throw a pass during the SEC Championship Game (photo by Dennis Morton Jr.)

The forgotten one Jalen Hurts who came off the bench symbolic of last year when Tua Tagoloiva did the same put together a game-winning drive. The big play came on 3rd and 8.  It was a 19-yard pass to Irv Smith Jr.., followed by a scrambling 16-yard pass to Jaylen Waddle to pick up another first down. Hurts called his own number a quarterback draw right up the gut the defender nearly ripped his head off at the goal line, but nothing short of death was going to keep this outstanding young man out of the end zone to will his team to victory.

It was an ending befitting a hero. In a society commonly referred to as the lost generation, Jalen Hurts exemplifies team. During the quarterback controversy, not a word, during the season, not a peep when I asked him the question. How does it feel for all you have gone through to come off the bench and contribute to this amazing win he said, “ kinda feel like I am breaking my silence. I haven’t said anything all year, but this team has worked really hard. In the off-season last spring, we know what adversity looks like. Sometimes we’re going to get hit in the mouth, but we know that we are going to be fine. We did a great job of getting it done today. I think we did a great job of doing that.”

Tua Tagovailoa is helped off the field during the SEC Championship game (photo by Dennis Morton Jr. December 1, 2018 Mercedes Benz Stadium

  The Heisman Trophy front-runner Tua Tagovailoa went down with an ankle injury 11:15 mark of the 4th quarter. Dejavu crossed my mind thinking wouldn’t it be nice for Jalen Hurts if he could lead the comeback. His first pass was for 13 yards he converted the teams first 3rd down of the game that’s right Alabama’s first 3rd down conversion came in the fourth quarter. It was Hurts time. He connected with Jaylen Waddle on a 23-yard pass. The oxygen was sucked out of the stadium when he tied the game at 28 with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy.

Georgia lost the National Championship after a commanding 13-0 lead in the first half now they had allowed Alabama to come back from 14 points down to tie. How could this be?

Saban had kind words for Jalen Hurts: I’ve probably never been more proud of a player than Jalen. It’s unprecedented to have a guy that won as many games this whole time that he was a starter, and then all of a sudden he’s not the quarterback. How do you manage that? How do you handle that? You’ve got to have a tremendous amount of character and class to put the team first, knowing your situation is not what it used to be, and for a guy that’s a great competitor, that takes a lot. It’s not easy to do.

Georgia was first to score that was like a heavyweight boxer getting stung in the nose causing him to be dazed and confused. Alabama has lead in every game except Ole Miss, and that was for only seventy seconds.  Bama wasn’t Bama they dropped passes that hit them directly in their hands, Tua was harassed and looked uncomfortable the Crimson Tide were being tested for the first time all season.

Tua threw an interception at the goal line that killed their momentum.  The Bulldogs had them right where they wanted them. After a play, I had never seen where after further review the Alabama player fumbled the ball and recovered it for a touchdown the score was 21-14 at the half.

Jake Fromm was dropping dimes all night throwing the ball with pinpoint accuracy, at one point he completed ten straight tying an SEC Championship record. When he missed, he missed right so the defender couldn’t get to the ball. He made great decisions to throw it away; I didn’t understand the strategy with bringing in Justin Fields a great talent for the future but not the here and now.  Over the five past games Fromm has been on fire he finished the game 25-39 for 301 yards and 3 touchdowns. Fromm’s completions, TD passes, and yards were the most by a Bulldog in an SEC Championship game.

His counterpart Tua Tagovailoa 10-25 for 164 yards 2 interceptions and 1 touchdown easily his least productive game of the season. Josh Jacobs was the games most valuable player he made key runs to keep Alabama in the game none more important than the 59-yard blast in the first half. He contributed 8 carries for 83 yards and 2 touchdowns. Georgia scored no points off two Alabama turnovers while the Crimson Tide forced no turnovers.

The dynamic running duo of D’Andre Swift and Elijah Holifield combined for 135 yards far less than our 225-yard projection they needed to win the game. With that said Georgia had the game but let it get away AGAIN. Kirby Smart is an outstanding coach he has three years of experience in that role, and all new head coaches have to experience growing pains. The decision to run the fake punt at such a critical stage of the game will be debated for weeks however it shouldn’t define the head coach, that’s the difference between good, and great remember he has seen the living legend Nick Saban do it for years.

Here is his explanation on the mindset of the fake punt.

“Yeah, we had been carrying that for -actually carried it last year.  Thought it was there, and it was there today.  We were going to snap the ball quickly. We took too long to snap the ball.  They didn’t have a guy covered.  We had a guy wide open.  We took so long to snap it that they recognized it and got the guy covered late.  It was probably 20, 30 yards’ field position that — we came to win the game.  We wanted to win the game.

I talked to the guys before the game about it.  If we get an opportunity to run it, we’ll run it.  It was there.  We just didn’t get an opportunity to get it snapped before they covered the guy.

Sweet Home Alabama Crimson Tide are the 2018 Undefeated SEC Champions knocking off Georgia 35-28. If you are not an Alabama fan, you have to happy for the ultimate teammate Jalen Hurts.

  Jalen Hurts all smiles celebrating with his team after leading the comeback for Bama to win the 2018 SEC Championship in Mercedes Benz Stadium December 1, 2018 (photo by: Dennis Morton Jr.)

Photo by Dennis Morton Jr.

Photo by Dennis Morton Jr.

Photo by Dennis Morton Jr.

Photo by Dennis Morton Jr.

Photo by Dennis Morton Jr.

Photo by Dennis Morton Jr.

Photo by Dennis Morton Jr.

The Forgotten One Shall Rise Gut wrenching, the edge of your seat anticipation, pageantry, drama it’s not a suspenseful movie it’s #1 Alabama vs.

[jaigeddes]

009: The “Low Cost Modern House”

Modern Design used to be about the mechanization of the process thereby making a thing affordable to the masses … but that doesn’t really seem to be the case anymore. With their clarity often confused with simplicity, modern houses require a far greater attention to execution and as a result, seem to surprise everyone with how expensive modern houses actually cost.

[Note: If you are reading this via email, you will have to click here to access the on-site audio player] 

Quality versus Quantity [5:02 mark]

A big bag of nothing

The phrase “big bag of nothing” comes out of my mouth more times than I care to admit – mostly because it seems like nobody understands what it means except for me. The meaning behind this phrase is a person who will talk at length about a subject they don’t know anything about. It’s not much different than saying someone is “full of hot air” or “all talk and no action”. Lately, I have been using this phrase while trying to describe different types of clients and the way they approach their construction budgets – and yes, it involves bags – (but in this case, the bag is a metaphor for the client’s project budget).

2015 US Census – Characteristic of New Housing [6:45 mark] Average home size in the south in 1973 was 1,670 sf Average home size in the South in 2015 was 2,750 sf

Bedrooms 1973 = 12% 2 bedrooms      64% 3 bedrooms      23% 4+ bedrooms 2015 = 10% 2 bedrooms (2% drop)      42% 3 bedrooms (22% drop)      47% 4+ bedrooms (24% drop)

Bathrooms 1973 = 40% 1.5 baths      41% 2 baths      19% 2.5 baths      3 baths were N/A 2015 = 4% 1.5 baths      29% 2 baths      29% 2.5 baths      38% 2.5 baths

 Mark J. Perry, professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan’s Flint campus, wrote in 2016 that: “today’s new houses, compared to those built in the past, are much more energy-efficient; they come with better, bigger and more bathrooms, closets, fireplaces, and garages; they’re equipped with better and more home appliances; and they almost all include modern features like central air conditioning today (93% in 2015) that were expensive luxury options in previous decades like the 1970s (fewer than half the houses built in each year between 1973 and 1976 had air conditioning). Americans are paying about 70% more today for a median-priced new house on an inflation-adjusted basis compared to a 1973 house, largely because the size of the median house today is larger by almost 1,000 square feet and by 62%. So on an inflation-adjusted basis, Americans are actually paying only slightly more today for a new house on a per-square-foot basis ($120) than in 1973 ($114.42), for homes that are typically of a much higher quality.”

A few years ago, when I first started thinking in earnest about how to design and build a low-cost modern house, I actually had a moment when the stars aligned and the right project and the right client came together.

Weekend House – Low-Cost Modern Residence [12:15 mark]

I wrote this post originally back on August 02, 2010 [Modern House Challenge | Part 2] and it was the first time I discussed the possibility of designing and building a low-cost modern house. So what did we do and where did things end up? The good news is that we got the per square foot cost down to $126 per square foot … AWESOME!! The bad news? The house was 3,257 square feet and we were able to spread the cost of some of the more expensive rooms (kitchen and bathrooms) across more simple spaces like bedrooms and living spaces, so it’s larger than I think a house in the low-cost modern house conversation really should be for consideration.

Our guest today is Eric Reinholdt from 30×40 Design Workshop. He and I had a conversation before Landon and I recorded today’s podcast and we have artfully spliced bits and pieces from that conversation into the podcast.

Eric Reinholdt – 30 x 40 Design Workshop [18:05 mark]

At only 17 steps from his residence, the Long Studio is where Eric goes to work (in the podcast, I was off by 4 steps). The video that Landon and I mentioned, the one that was the first video Eric created that we both saw, the one that makes us both want to move to Mt. Desert Island and be Eric’s neighbors, can be found here.

Key Moments in the Show include:

Insurance for the Low-Cost Modern House [31:43 mark]

Designing the House so Items can Be Phased over time [34:14 mark]

Low-Cost Modern Materials [35:04 mark]

Landon’s Spare Time [43:25 mark]

The newest addition to Casa de Lando, Kylo the former downtown Dallas dumpster cat, now enjoys a posh lifestyle full of cat treats and pets from his fellow ginger.  No more need for nightly raids to scrounge the dumpsters, but he certainly knows where the trash can is in the house and isn’t afraid to leap right in given the opportunity.  His pastimes include eating the crunchiest bugs he can find and watching those furry-tailed rats run around the tree outside.  At 4 AM on a typical weekday morning he can be found pacing across my pillows and snuggling armpits, and after two weeks he’s still skeptical of the four-legged drool machine that tries to play with him every now and then.

Needless to say, he’s become a very welcomed addition to and a large part of my spare time of late (most of it involving tiring him out so I can get some decent sleep!)

Bob Note: The first cat photo on the site that I mentioned in the podcast was”Mocha” and Ginger from “This is NOT Mentorship”. When my thoughts turn towards imparting my wisdom to the younger members of my profession, especially when they might not be receptive to hearing the message, I think of cats … because just like cats, young people do what they want.

This is NOT Mentorship

Bob’s Spare Time [45:40 mark]

NOON Lighting I spent a few hours this past weekend “trying” to install one of the coolest home automation devices I’ve seen in a while. I discovered NOON lighting during a recent business trip. I say “trying” because I couldn’t get them to work … which I have no doubt has more to do with my electrical system than the ability of the product. I will be taking advantage of their technical support line this coming week because I am extremely excited to get these switches installed in my home.

Installs like a normal switch, Noon Lighting controls feature an OLED controller called a “Director” that can control up to 10 extension switches. Utilizing your existing wiring, you can change out your light switches and take control of all the hardwired light fixtures in your house. The Director control comes with three professional scenes based on the bulbs you have in place but you have the ability to customize up to six additional scenes.

The entire “Low-Cost Modern House” conversation is really about aligning the expectations between the budget and the end product – it all centers around the square footage of the finished product. New clients might come to me with a $500,000 budget – and let me tell you that this is a lot of money – but when the programming that they want adds up to 4,500 square feet and I tell them that they can’t get what they want for $111/square foot … those same folks are shocked when they learn that I can’t reconcile these two things.

I really wish there was an easy answer for this, there just isn’t one. It really comes down to what people want and what their budget can accommodate … and based on having this conversation hundred’s of times, it is not uncommon that people’s expectations are not in alignment with one another. Maybe my 14-year-old daughter’s generation is going to be the one that says this is what’s important to us and that the way we live our lives is more important than how we live our lives.

If you’ve listened to this podcast and you are still interested in having a house low-cost modern house designed, give me a call and we go from there. I really want to make this happen.

Cheers,

Outro [52:01 mark] … Drive-thru Daquiri’s Landon’s Grandma Heavy Metal … and more blood Special Privileges Funky Music

[superblyjovialtheorist-blog]

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"audi a1 insurance group 17 year old

audi a1 insurance group 17 year old

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How do I help families not see life insurance?

How do I help families not see life insurance as a bill but rather protection for their family? I am on a crusade to help families become properly protected (create an immediate estate) in case of a loved ones untimely death. Of lately, prospects see life insurance as another bill. Although it is; can any life insurance agent please share with me how they get around to making sales in the life insurance industry? Thank you.""

Do foster kids get health insurance? Any insurance?

suppose a adoptive kid w/ parents w/no health insurance. the adoption gets dissrupted and now they live in a foster home.

What is the most affordable health insurance in Los Angeles?

I am trying to find health insurance as a 35 yr old male. I have never had insurance before and don't have any illnesses. What is the most cost effective health insurance that will cover me and will allow me to go get a tune up quickly?

Good Student Discount Auto Insurance?

I have a 3.6 GPA. My grade is A average, but one of my quarter grade was a C, but the final semester came out as a B. Well, anyways, do we just send them the report card that we got or do we have to get the sealed one from school? Thanks! Thanks again!""

Will my car Insurance rates up if my car was vandalized?

My car was vandalized and there was about $1100 in damage. I m paying the $500 deductable and my insurance is paying the rest. Will my rates go up?

Cheap car insurance?????????

Hi I'm a 22 year old male I passed my test 7 1/2 months ago I got my first car it's a ford escort 1.6 yr 1999 does any one know where I can get really cheap car insurance as it will only be used to take my two kids to school thank a lot.................

How much would car insurance be for an 18 year old male?

I currently am under my mom's car insurance and I have a 2000 Ford Focus. I plan on trading that in for a 2012 Ford Focus, and I was just wondering how much it would cost for me to insure that car. My monthly insurance payments aren't that expensive. I just don't want to be paying more than I can afford.""

Car Insurance?

......bought a new car............still got the old one......transfered insurance from old to new..........want to sell old one, so if someone wants to test drive it, presumably its on their insurance????""

Car Insurance Question?

I'm a 16 year old girl with a car, and I wanted to know how much my car insurance price will range in. I'll be driving a white sedan (say a Corolla/Mazda 3, 2005-2007). How much will be my car insurance?""

Looking for individual dental insurance?

I'm trying to find an affordable good dental insurance company. I've looked online quite a bit and can only find insurance with a 6 mos waiting period or a dental plan that you pay like $100 a year for a discount which seem useles. I'm 30 and live in Ohio if that makes any difference. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Where do you get long term health care insurance quotes?

Where do people get long term care health insurance quotes? I've come across many websites but was wondering if anyone has had any particularly good experiences. I did come across http://www.ltcconnects.com which appears to compare various health care providers.

Car insurance??? help?

I have a 2013 Mazda and going to buy a 2014 the same model as the 13 one will my insurance go a little bit more up?

Speeding ticket in california?

i got my first speeding ticket i was going 55 on a 45 how much would that cost me? and also it wasnt my car it was my parents car but i dont live with them so will there insurance go up???

Does www.canyonlandsaz.com have the best auto insurance rates?

Does www.canyonlandsaz.com have the best auto insurance rates?

What is the average cost for insurance for a 16 yr old?

i just got my license like 2 weeks ago and im wondering about how much would it cost for insurance also i live in San Leandro CA if needed if car/s needed: honda pilot 2008 honda accord lx 2001 i didn't want to check quotes online cause i'd need my address and i don't really wanna put all that info

How Much Will My Car Insurance be?

I am a 16 year old boy, the type of Car Im look at is probably a 1999 Toyota Four Runner for about $3000-$4000. I got my liscence about a week ago and now I just need to get to a 3.0 GPA so that my insurance will go down. Can anyone tell me and estimate of how much money I'm looking at paying monthly for insurance with and without the 3.0 GPA? Thank You""

How much does your credit rating affect your car insurance premium?

The CSR from my company just told me that continuous coverage is much more of a discount than a good credit rating gives you. So, overall, about what percent do folks in the know think that the credit rating matters?""

CheapEST foreign cars to maintain? (Audi / Lexus / Volvo / Volkswagen )?

Which of these cars is cheapest to maintain? (Oil changes, brakes, tune ups, insurance, etc) I realize they're all foreign and they'll all cost more than a Ford would. But which is cheapest? Which is most expensive? Please help! I need someone with experience! Thank you so much!""

How to get my stolen car's value back from insurance?

Hi, my car was stolen from a repair shop that I had left overnight for maintenace work. I say they are negligent for not securing the keys. I filed a claim through their insurance and through my insurance thinking mine would go after them and give me a fair price for what I payed, not the current market value. I heard about the arbitration. Any suggestions on steps I can take to recover more money? plus why should I pay the deductible? Shouldn't I receive money from both insurances? I also incurred other expenses, I had to spend money on notaries, lost time from work, gas money making all these trips for the investigators etc. Thank you very much for any advice.""

Is there a new law about not having car insurance?

i heard the law had just changed in California and my insurance just ran out in order to renew i need to drive to the bank and im not sure if i can with no insurance

How to check multiple car insurance quotes at once?

We are in Tacoma WA and currently have progressive as auto insurer and we want to know what is the best way to check multiple insurance quotes? We would prefer than credit is not checked so please suggest accordingly.

audi a1 insurance group 17 year old

audi a1 insurance group 17 year old

Car insurance help please ?

Basically i have bought a car and i need to insure it as my dad as the main driver as he has 20+ years of no claim bonuses and it bring the insurance price down to a manageable payment for me.the problem is that its not with the same company that my dad is currently with and he doesn't have any recent renewal quotes so i don't have proof of his no claims bonus.how can i get proof and will i need the proof before i try to get the insurance ? im 18 and a first driver so i really need my dads ncb to be able to afford insurance

Why is progressive motorcycle insurance so cheap?

I got three quotes from three different insurence companies for a 2005 Honda 1100cc Sabre with under 2000 miles for $6300, all three with the same type of coverage. The first quote I got from State farm they gave me a quote for $650 for the year, the second was Geico they gave me a quote for $462 for the year, the third was Progressive they quoted me with only $220 for the year with the same exact coverage as the other 2. I am 36 years old have been riding a motorcycle for about 2 years and I am buying this 2005 1100cc Sabre. Why is Progressive so much cheaper, has anybody else used Progressive and are they a good insurance company. It just sounds too good to be true.""

I got into a motorcycle accident. insurance question...?

When I wiped out on my bike I tried to make a claim after I got home from the hospital. Little did I know that my insurance coverage had ended two days before the accident. Now my question is, will my health insurance pay for my medical bills from the accident or will they deny me because of my lack of motorcycle insurance at the time of the accident? When I found out about my lack of coverage, I immediately paid and got up to date but they told me that those two days when my coverage ended will not be covered... am I gonna get hit with all the medical bills? Or will my health insurance step up and cover me?""

Whats a good insurance company?

Hi guys!I just bought my first bike and I'm trying to find out which insurance company is cheap? I bought Suzuki Sv 650 bike.I need full coverage insurance. I just don't know how to get a insurance for my bike please help. Please tell me everything I should know aboout.

How much would a 1 million dollars liability policy cost per month for a fright transport company?

Im starting a small hot shot trucking transport company. I need to know how much a 1 or 2 million dollar policy will cost me per month. Or what kind of Insurance I would need. I will be hauling oil field equipment, cars, pipe, tanks, air fans, motors, things like that.""

How much adding coverage for substitute vehicle to my insurance will cost me?

I live in Mass

Getting car insurance?

hey guys.. i have a question... im getting Gieco car insurance but my mother has the same thing...we both live in the same house but are doing a separate thing...by me getting the same car insurance company with that have any type of affect on hers???please let me know asap..thanks

Car accident and they got old insurance.?

I got in a car accident last November and they tried to hit me with 6 duis with no evidence. We got the FDLC results 6 MONTHS LATER, and it came up with nothing. I have no idea what they had to charge me with 6 DUIs, however... It was reduced to reckless driving. Anyways, when I got in the accident, I left in an ambulance. The police gave out the wrong car insurance (I had just got statefarm the day before.) They gave like esurance to everyone, which was the WRONG insurance. So, I ended up having to tell the hospitals etc that they gave out the wrong insurance. Then I got a call from one of the people I hit's insurance, and they queried about what insurance I had (They said the policy they were given expired in like 08.)... Part of the deal of reckless driving is that I pay restitution. My lawyer is unaware that the police gave out the wrong insurance, but he told me that there should be like nothing (insurance should cover all of it.) I just got a letter in the mail yesterday saying that I owe 2500 to some person. Is it possible that he was given the wrong insurance as well, thus me getting charged for this?""

How much will motorcycle insurance cost?

I'm 16 I got a 97 Kawasaki ninja how much to I have to pay I have my own car insurance policy can I get it with the same company

I have a Texas Driver license but I'm staying in California for about 6 months?

So I moved to California and I'm only staying for six months because of work. I'm also buying a new car to get around. Because I am only staying for six months, I don't feel the need to change to a California license. Can I still buy car insurance and do everything I else need to do with just a Texas driver license? It doesn't expire till 2014.""

Can't decide if i want to go to college for Insurance sales?

I wanted to go to college to be and insurance salesperson but im not sure. If i go to a community college and get an associates degree in business-insurance sales what does it quallify me to sell, like what type of insurance? How much do they make? Will it be easy to find a job? What are the typical hours? Will i have a secure job? Do you work off comission? Any additional info plz""

Why do parents have life insurance policies on children?/?

I thought life insurance was supposed to be for parents or a major breadwinner in the family, so if something were to happen to them the family would be ok, not lose a house etc. Whats the purpose of it for children, just to cover the cost of buriel then? If you don't have enough money, god forbid to bury your child in case the person must have low income/no savings at alll, how are they affording the monthly premium then, although low. I think im missing something please enlighten me! Thank u""

What are cheap insurance companies in Ontario? (Toronto)?

My specs: 25 years old, female car is 1994 lexus sc400 bought it for $2500 has a really good alarm on it with a pager I heard Desjardins and Aviva are good prices.. any other companies I should check out? Thanks""

Im pregnant and dont have health insurance.?

Recently my boyfriend lost his job and we lost our health insurance. What can i do to get insurance for myself and our two other kids, him? I live in california""

How much is insurance on a genesis coupe?

I'm thinking about getting a genesis coupe sometime in june. How much is insurance on this car? I'll be 17, and I have done drivers ed.""

Can a person get insurance on a car when the tag is in someones name?

can a person get insurance on a car if the tag is in someones elses name?

Bussiness insurance?

need to know what type of insurance i need to open a carpet cleaning and window cleaning service.

""I'm a independent freelancer, what can I do to get affordable health insurance?""

I live (rent an apartment) in Pittsburgh, PA. I do not require any life sustaining medication- what health care options are available to me and how do I go about getting it?""

Car insurance question...?

I am currently driving my father's car. The insurance for the car is under his name, so the proof of insurance has his name on it. I have no idea if i myself am supposed to have insurance or not. Am i driving legally? If not, tell me what i can do to be able to. I am 16 and my father and I both live in Florida.""

Can anyone please suggest me Child insurance plans for my daughter?

I have 4 year old daughter for whom I wish to invest in a Child Plan. Please suggest a good child plan from any Indian insurance players

Why are older motorcycles cheaper to maintain and cheaper on insurance?

looking to buy a 1987 Suzuki Intruder

Another car insurance question to British drivers!?

My brother's car was written off yesterday [was the other party's fault]. He was told today the car wasn't redeemable so that's that! So he is waiting to see how much they are going to pay him for the loss, but the question is does he have to keep paying full comprehensive insurance when he no longer has a car to drive? Can he now pay a reduced rate until the insurance is sorted out? It seems unfair to continue paying out for fully comp insurance when there is no car to insure!""

Health Insurance for Seniors in the U.S.A but I'm Canadian?

I'm 26, A Canadian that is going to buy a U.S small business.(in California) Can anyone suggest a good heath insurance plan. I also would like to know can I get a plan for my parents (both age 60) when they come down and stay with me for more then six months? Thank you like always!!""

""If a teenager gets into a car accident, how long until their insurance rate goes back down?""

One of my friends was recently involved in a car crash which I believe he was at fault at. The other car didn't sustain much damage, but his car took quite a beating. He's only 17, and he's basically in a shell shock right now since it was his first accident. He told me that he feels really guilty about the fact that his insurance his gonna spike up (State Farm) and he feels so bad for the fact his dad is gonna be having to pay for it. So my question is..will his insurance always be that high for the rest of his driving life until he's old? Or will it steadily go back down?""

Does my Jaguar qualify for classic car insurance?

I have a 1996 (N) Reg Jaguar XJ 3.2 Sport, is it eligible for classic car insurance??""

audi a1 insurance group 17 year old

audi a1 insurance group 17 year old

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/liberty-mutual-home-insurance-online-quote-ryan-george/"

[oldguardaudio]

A little FAKE NEWS for ya? Hillary Clinton warns of ‘a full-fledged crisis in our democracy’ at Yale

FAKE NEWS uncovered at HoakAndChange.com

Help Hillary lost and can’t shut up at HoaxAndChange.com

Foul Mouth Crooked Hillary @ HoaxAndChange.com

Share:    

Listen to The Big Idea

Hillary Clinton warns of ‘a full-fledged crisis in our democracy’ at Yale

Clinton brings Russian hat to Yale commencement: ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em’

BY JAMES HOHMANN with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve

THE BIG IDEA: Hillary Clinton is not over it.

“Let me just get this out of the way: No, I’m not over it. I still think about the 2016 election. I still regret the mistakes I made,” the failed Democratic nominee told graduating seniors at Yale University on Sunday afternoon.

“Right now, we’re living through a full-fledged crisis in our democracy,” she told 1,360 seniors. “Now there are not tanks in the streets, but what’s happening right now goes to the heart of who we are as a nation. I say this not as a Democrat who lost an election but as an American afraid of losing a country.”

— The former secretary of state opened with a cascade of jokes related to the election. “I am thrilled for all of you, even the three of you who live in Michigan and didn’t request your absentee ballots in time,” she said.

As a tradition, Yalies wear humorous and playful hats during the Class Day ceremony. Clinton brought a Russian fur hat, known as an ushanka, with a Soviet-era hammer and sickle emblem. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” she said.

A graduate of Yale Law School herself, Clinton also mused about some of the ways students in New Haven might have coped with her loss – sprinkling in a reference to a campus watering hole. “I had my fair share of chardonnay,” she said. “You went through penny drinks at Woads.”

— President Trump seems happy to have her as a continuing foil. One reason she has not faded into the backdrop is that he continues to routinely attack her, at times as if the campaign never ended. Crowds still chant “lock her up” at his rallies. The president called her “crooked” on Twitter yesterday and said she’s the one who should be investigated.

— In her speech, Clinton declared that she was not going to get political. Then, in the very next sentence, she said the right deserves more blame for the radicalization of American politics than the left. A minute after that, she advocated for gun control.

“Our country is more polarized than ever,” she declared. “We have sorted ourselves into opposing camps, and that divides how we see the world. There are more liberals and conservatives than there used to be and fewer centrists. Our political parties are more ideologically and geographically consistent … The divides on race and religion are starker than ever before. As the middle shrank, partisan animosity grew.”

Those familiar with the Civil War, or the mistreatment of Native Americans or the internment of Japanese Americans, among other dark chapters in the past, might quibble with such hyperbole. But she was on a roll.

“This isn’t simply a ‘both sides’ problem. The radicalization of American politics hasn’t been symmetrical,” said Clinton. There are leaders in our country who blatantly incite people with hateful rhetoric, who fear change, who see the world in zero sum terms, so that if others are gaining they must be losing. That’s a recipe for polarization and conflict.”

— Her tone was more in sadness than anger. She read from a teleprompter. She never named Trump, but everyone in the audience knew that was who she was referring to.

— Eighteen months after her unexpected defeat, Clinton’s reading choices suggest that she’s still down the rabbit hole.

She quoted from “Fascism: A Warning,” the new book by Madeleine Albright, her husband’s secretary of state: “…This proposition that we are all created equal is the single most effective antidote to the self-centered moral numbness that allows fascism to thrive.”

Then Clinton referenced not one, but two books, by Yale history professor Timothy Snyder: “On Tyranny” and “The Road to Unfreedom.” Quoting the former, she said: “To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle.”

“Professor Snyder … is sounding the alarm as loudly as he can,” Clinton said. “Because attempting to erase the line between fact and fiction, truth and reality is a core feature of authoritarianism! The goal is to make us question logic and reason and to sow mistrust toward the people we need to rely on: our leaders, the press, experts who seek to guide public policy based on evidence, even ourselves.”

She also cited Rex Tillerson’s commencement speech at the Virginia Military Institute last week, in which the secretary of state said the country will be “on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom” if leaders don’t speak the truth. “Perhaps a tad late, but he’s absolutely right,” said Clinton.

Hillary Clinton poses for a photo with Yale senior Ryan Liu after her speech. (Peter Hvizdak/New Haven Register/AP)

— Clinton has been warning of “a vast right-wing conspiracy” since she was first lady. Now she’s worried this polarization poses an existential threat. “Our social fabric is fraying, and the bonds of community that hold us together are fractured,” she said. “This isn’t just a problem because it leads to unpleasant conversations over the Thanksgiving dinner table. It’s a problem because it undermines the civic spirit that makes democracy possible.”

— She said it will take an epidemic of “radical empathy” to heal America’s wounds. “As hard as it is, this is a moment to reach across divides of race, class and politics,” she said, “to try to see the world through the eyes of people very different from ourselves, to return to rational debate, to find a way to disagree without being disagreeable [and] to try to recapture a sense of community and common humanity.

“There are certain things that are so essential that they should transcend politics,” she continued, “waging a war on the rule of law and a free press, delegitimizing elections, perpetrating shameless corruption and rejecting the idea that our leaders should be public servants undermines our national unity. Attacking truth and reason, evidence and facts should alarm us all.”

— Clinton, whose brand became closely identified with her 1990s book “It Takes a Village,” called for the country to take on a more communitarian outlook. “Leaders can’t just ask am I better off than I was two years or four years ago. We have to ask: are we all better off? Are weas a country better, stronger and fairer?”

Democratic candidates might be able to use this frame in 2018 to push back on positive macroeconomic indicators. “You’ve learned you don’t need to be an immigrant to be outraged when a classmate’s father … is unjustly deported,” she told the graduates. “You don’t need to be a person of color to understand that when black students feel singled out and targeted, we still have work to do. And you don’t need to experience gun violence … Enough is enough.”

— “Resilience” has emerged as a favorite HRC buzzword. “Building democratic resilience,” she said, requires calling out “actual fake news,” speaking out about the vital role of higher education in society and voting.

— Clinton told the students to play the long game. “There are many fights to fight, and more seem to arise every day,” she said. “It will take work to keep up the pressure, to stay vigilant, to neither close our eyes, nor numb our hearts or throw up our hands and say, ‘Someone else take over from here.’ … We need to be ready to lose some fights because we will…

“Everyone gets knocked down,” she added. “What matters is whether you get back up and keep going. This may be hard for a group of Yale soon-to-be graduates to accept but, yes, you will make mistakes in life. You will even fail. It happens to all of us no matter how qualified or capable we are. Take it from me!”

Listen to James’s quick summary of today’s Big Idea and the headlines you need to know to start your day:

Subscribe to The Daily 202’s Big Idea on Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple Podcasts and other podcast players.

Welcome to the Daily 202, PowerPost’s morning briefing for decision-makers. Sign up to receive the newsletter.

Kilauea’s expanding lava flow injures man

GET SMART FAST:​​

Lava spatter struck a Hawaiian man and shattered his leg in the first known injury related to Kilauea’s recent volcanic activity.Lava spatter can weigh as much as a refrigerator — but kill you in even the smallest amounts. (Amy B Wang)

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro won reelection in a vote condemned internationally. Opposition parties were largely blocked from fielding candidates and sought a boycott of the vote amid concerns Maduro was trying to cement dictatorial power. Washington will not recognize the results and is considering additional sanctions, including an oil embargo. (Anthony Faiola)

Politicians in Mexico are being slaughtered by the dozens, and the country’s parties are facing challenges recruiting replacements. At least 36 candidates have been killed since September, making this the most violent election season in recent history. (Kevin Sieff)

Greece’s most liberal mayor was hospitalized after a group of far-right protesters beat him up, kicking the 75-year-old leader in the head and legs and beating him repeatedly with bottles. Yiannis Boutaris described what happened to him as a “nightmare.” (Amanda Erickson)

More than 7 million people in the U.S. may have had their driver’s licenses suspended or revoked because of traffic debt, according to a new Post study — a controversial practice that some say unfairly punishes the poor. (Justin Wm. Moyer)

Microsoft has secured a lucrative agreement to provide U.S. spy agencies with its cloud-computing platform and services, bolstering its prospects as tech giants battle to win a cloud contract with the Pentagon that is expected to be worth billions. (Aaron Gregg)

A cougar killed a mountain biker and injured another in Washington state this weekend. The attack is so unusual that officials said they will conduct a necropsy on the animal’s brain to determine whether it was sick or if “something else was going on.” (Kristine Phillips)

Trump demands campaign surveillance probe

THERE’S A BEAR IN THE WOODS:

— Under pressure from Trump, the Justice Department asked its inspector general to assess whether political motivation tainted the FBI investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign — a remarkable step that law enforcement officials hope might avert a constitutional crisis. Trump made the following “demand” on Sunday afternoon as part of a weekend of social media attacks on the special counsel’s probe:

“Hours later, the Justice Department responded by saying it had asked its inspector general to expand an ongoing review of the applications to monitor a former Trump campaign adviser ‘to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election,'” Matt Zapotosky, Robert Costa and David Nakamura report. “The department noted that a U.S. attorney would be consulted if evidence of criminal conduct was found.”

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein released a statement: “If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.”

The background: “Sunday’s developments came in the wake of reports that a longtime U.S. intelligence source assisted the investigation into Russian election interference now overseen by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. The Washington Post reported Friday that the source, a retired American professor, had contacts with three Trump advisers during the 2016 campaign. Trump and his allies have seized on the informant’s role to claim that the FBI spied on his campaign. There is no evidence to indicate an intelligence source was embedded within the campaign, as the president has suggested.

“The quick move Sunday by the Justice Department could forestall a bigger showdown. Late last month, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) issued a subpoena to the Justice Department seeking all documents related to the professor. So far, he has been rebuffed by department officials, who have said that exposing the source or the source’s work could put him and his contacts in danger and jeopardize international intelligence partnerships. … Some Justice Department officials feared that the president’s tweet signaled that he might overrule them and order the department to turn over the material Nunes seeks. If that occurs, it is possible that senior officials could resign in protest — or refuse the president’s order and force him to fire them.”

— Why this is a really big deal: “It wasn’t that long ago that both the executive branch and the legislature in this country considered the protection of intelligence sources a matter of surpassing national importance,” Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes write in a smart analysis on their Lawfare blog. “But what happens when the intentional outing of U.S. intelligence assets is the province … of senior officials in two branches of this country’s government who are most responsible for protecting those assets? … And what happens when they do so for frankly political reasons: to protect the president from a properly predicated counterintelligence investigation involving the activity of an adversary foreign power? … [It’s] fair to say that there are profound risks at many levels. Most immediately, there’s the risk to the source himself. That is presumably manageable. The bigger problem may be the threat to those who have worked with the source in the past. … In addition, there’s the problem of the message to other potential sources. One way to think about this problem is to ask yourself this question: How confident are you that the U.S. intelligence community could protect you in exchange your help? This is what FBI Director Chris Wray was talking about the other day when he told the Senate Appropriations Committee that, ‘The day that we can’t protect human sources is the day the American people start becoming less safe.’”

— Rudy Giuliani told several news outlets that Mueller’s team plans to wrap up the obstruction portion of their probe by Sept. 1, but that’s contingent upon Trump agreeing to be interviewed. The New York Times’s Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman report: “[Mueller’s office shared] its timeline about two weeks ago amid negotiations over whether Mr. Trump will be questioned by investigators, Mr. Giuliani said … Mr. Giuliani’s comments were an apparent attempt to publicly pressure Mr. Mueller amid their interview negotiations. Mr. Giuliani sought to frame the outcome of the obstruction investigation as pitting the credibility of one man against another: Mr. Trump vs. [James] Comey … ‘We want the concentration of this to be on Comey versus the president’s credibility, and I think we win that and people get that,’ Mr. Giuliani said, adding that he also hoped that the Justice Department would open a criminal investigation into Mr. Comey for perjury and for his role in the sharing of information … about his encounters with the president[.]”

— Speaking with The Post, Giuliani acknowledged the timeline could change “significantly” if Trump fails to cooperate: “It would depend on if they subpoena him. And if they subpoena him, there will be litigation. So no timeline on that,” Giuliani said. “That’d be unfortunate, but it could happen.”

— “Michael Flynn pleaded guilty. Now his supporters are trying to exonerate him,” by Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey: “Hashtags. Tweets. Speeches. A book foreword. Friends and family of former national security adviser Michael Flynn are waging a campaign to try to exonerate the retired lieutenant general — and, possibly, land him a presidential pardon. The push comes as Flynn himself — who in December pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak — is also trying to rehabilitate his public image, including appearing with a long-shot Republican House candidate, delivering a private foreign policy speech in Manhattan and writing the foreword to a friend’s self-published manifesto supporting President Trump. But the largely social-media-based effort has, at times, put Flynn’s advocates, and occasionally Flynn, at odds with his own legal team, which believes that any public attention to Flynn’s case is not helpful as he awaits sentencing and has counseled that he and his family to remain quiet.”

Donald Trump Jr. waves to the audience during a fundraiser for Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

FOLLOW THE MONEY:

— The Republican National Committee paid nearly half a million dollars to the law firm representing Hope Hicks and others in the Russia investigations, according to a new federal filing. Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Anu Narayanswamy report: “The RNC’s $451,780 payment to Trout Cacheris & Janis adds to the mounting legal fees associated with the investigations by [Mueller] and several congressional committees … Hicks hired Robert Trout, founder of the law firm, as her personal attorney in September[.] The report of the payments for legal and compliance services, contained in the [FEC] report filed Sunday, is the first public disclosure of RNC payments to the law firm since Hicks hired Trout.”

— Payments made to Michael Cohen have put a spotlight on the New York-based investment firm Columbus Nova — which is linked to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg: Rosalind S. Helderman, Michael Kranish and Steven Mufson report: “In June 2017, [the president’s personal lawyer] had an invitation for one of his other clients: Would he like to attend a fundraiser for Trump’s reelection? Andrew Intrater — the chief executive of Columbus Nova … paid the $35,000 donation to attend the event, which also benefited the Republican National Committee. Intrater also made a $250,000 donation to Trump’s inaugural committee, a contribution that gave him prime access to the January 2017 festivities. He brought with him as a guest his cousin, Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, whose conglomerate Renova Group is the biggest client of Columbus Nova. And Columbus Nova paid Cohen $500,000 in the first half of 2017 to bring in new investors. … Vekselberg and Renova Group were sanctioned in April by the Treasury Department … Meanwhile, federal officials working with [Mueller] questioned Vekselberg when his plane landed at a New York-area airport earlier this year and have also interviewed Intrater.”

— “Invitations from one of China’s biggest state-owned banks asked wealthy clients to pay $150,000 for a ticket to attend a Republican Party fundraiser in the US and meet [Trump],” the Financial Times’s Gabriel Wildau reports. “The invite from the private banking unit of China Construction Bank, the country’s second-largest state-owned lender, offered participants the chance to take photos with Mr Trump and mingle with US political and business figures. It also said that representatives from ZTE Group, the Chinese telecom company that is facing crippling US sanctions, would attend the event, to be held in Dallas. … The invitation for the May 31 event says that participation is open to Chinese nationals, even though US law forbids campaign donations by foreigners.”

— In case you missed it: Donald Trump Jr. met in Trump Tower in the summer of 2016 with a representative of two wealthy Arab princes who said they were eager to help his father win election. The New York Times’s Mark Mazzetti, Ronen Bergman and David D. Kirkpatrick reported on the Sunday front page: “The meeting was convened primarily to offer help to the Trump team, and it forged relationships between the men and Trump insiders that would develop over the coming months — past the election and well into [Trump’s] first year in office … [Former Blackwater chief and private security contractor Erik Prince] arranged the meeting[.] The emissary, George Nader, told Donald Trump Jr. that the princes who led Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were eager to help his father win election as president. … It is unclear whether such a proposal was executed, and the details of who commissioned it remain in dispute. But Donald Trump Jr. responded approvingly … and after those initial offers of help, Mr. Nader was quickly embraced as a close ally by Trump campaign advisers — meeting frequently with [Kushner and Michael Flynn].”

Steven Mnuchin waves to reporters as he arrives to a hotel after meeting with Chinese officials in Beijing. (Andy Wong/AP)

TRUMP BLINKS IN CHINA TRADE DISPUTE:

— “We’re putting the trade war on hold,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced on “Fox News Sunday” after the U.S. and China agreed on a broad outline to reduce the trade deficit and ease access for U.S. companies to compete in Beijing. David J. Lynch reports: “Mnuchin said the two sides have agreed on a ‘framework’ to avoid the sanctions that requires China to lower tariffs on unspecified American goods, protect U.S. technology and buy more made-in-the-USA items. ‘Right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework,’ Mnuchin said … Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will be dispatched to Beijing ‘immediately’ to work out the details of accelerated Chinese purchases. …

“Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said Friday that China had agreed to buy ‘at least $200 billion’ more from the United States each year. On Sunday, Kudlow appeared to back away from that claim, saying on ABC News’s ‘This Week’ that ‘there’s no agreement for a deal. We never anticipated one. There’s a communique between the two great countries. That’s all.’”

— “China is winning Trump’s trade war,” by Wonkblog’s Heather Long: “Notice China didn’t agree to a specific amount. … China’s ‘concessions’ are things it planned to do anyway. The Chinese have one of the fastest-growing economies and middle classes in the world. Chinese factories and cities need more energy, and its people want more meat. It’s no surprise then that China said it was interested in buying more U.S. energy and agricultural products. The Trump administration is trying to cast that as a win because the United States will be able to sell more to China, but it was almost certain that the Chinese were going to buy more of that stuff anyway.” Heather notes that there was no tangible agreement on intellectual property, which was a central rationale for starting the trade war.”

— Trump tweets that China agreed to buy massive amounts of additional agricultural products:

— But one reason the Chinese have so much leverage in trade talks is North Korea. 

President Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrive at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

THE LATEST ON THE SUMMIT:

— Trump spoke to South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday to seek advice about North Korea, where recent actions from Kim Jong Un have sowed doubt about the dictator’s willingness to denuclearize his country. David Nakamura and Carol D. Leonnig report: “On the call, which lasted less than 30 minutes, Trump sought Moon’s interpretation of Pyongyang’s shift to a harder-line position last week, a sharp contrast to the more positive and constructive tone after Moon met with [Kim] last month … North Korea’s actions in recent days, including its cancellation of a working-level meeting with South Korean officials and a threat to call off Kim’s summit with Trump on June 12, has alarmed the Trump administration and created new complications in the preparations, with just over three weeks left. An advance team from the United States is in Singapore to work out logistics, Trump administration officials said.

“[National security adviser John Bolton] has been telling colleagues that he doesn’t trust that the summit will go well, and he has reiterated his long-standing belief that he does not trust the North Koreans … Aides emphasized that Trump remains committed to meeting with Kim … but that time is running out to nail down an agenda and finalize several outstanding issues. The senior U.S. official said Pyongyang appears to be trying to extract more concessions from the United States before the summit, or to be building a narrative to blame Trump if things go poorly in Singapore or to pull out of the summit entirely.”

— Trump, increasingly concerned that his historic summit with Kim could turn into an embarrassment, has begun pressing his aides about whether he should take the risk of going forward with the meeting. The New York Times’s David Sanger reports: “Mr. Trump’s aides … [are] concerned about what kind of grasp Mr. Trump has on the details of the North Korea program, and what he must insist upon as the key components of denuclearization. … [Aides] who have recently left the administration say Mr. Trump has resisted the kind of detailed briefings about enrichment capabilities, plutonium reprocessing, nuclear weapons production and missile programs that Mr. Obama and President George W. Bush regularly sat through. Grappling with North Korea in negotiations is a new experience not just for Mr. Trump, but also for everyone else in the upper ranks of his administration. South Korean officials say that [Bolton] has been in near daily contact with his counterpart in Seoul, trying to work out a strategy.”

— Bigger picture: Trump keeps shooting himself in the foot. Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker observe: “As an emboldened Trump reaches for historic triumphs in hopes of bolstering his party’s prospects in November’s midterm elections … [his] agenda has been undermined by mixed messages and internal squabbles from within his administration — all compounded by the president’s own lack of discipline and his inconsistent ideology. Amy Zegart, co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, said ‘the one consistent policy that Trump seems to have is that America is getting a raw deal in the world, but how to address that raw deal varies day to day and hour to hour. It is enormously important to have message discipline, and this administration is fundamentally unable to have it.’”

‘Idiotic comments’: Both sides disagree on path forward after school shooting

GUN VIOLENCE:

— Incoming NRA president Oliver North blamed the rise of school shootings on a “a culture of violence” and young boys who “have been on Ritalin” since early childhood. “They’ve been drugged in many cases,” North said on “Fox News Sunday,” speaking two days after the latest school massacre killed 10 people in Texas. Frances Stead Sellers and Michael Scherer report: “Instead, [North] said, schools should look at fortifying their campuses, considering ingress and egress points and people’s ability to enter buildings carrying weapons. … Santa Fe High School was considered a hardened target, with an active-shooter plan and two armed police officers on patrol. In the fall, school district leaders made plans to eventually arm teachers and staff under the state’s school marshal program.”

— On ABC’s “This Week,” Texas Lt Gov. Dan Patrick (R) blamed the “social acceptance of abortion” and violent video games for the spike in campus massacres: “Should we be surprised in this nation? We have devalued life, whether it’s through abortion, whether it’s the breakup of families or violent movies, and particularly violent video games …” Patrick also suggested staggering school start times to funnel students through fewer doors — a move he said would allow for easier weapon detection.

— Parents of victims of gun violence responded with scathing criticism: “I think those are the most idiotic comments I have ever heard regarding gun safety,” said Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed in the Parkland, Fla., shooting. “He should be removed from office.”

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) placed blame for Congress’s inaction on guns squarely on the NRA: “It’s a three-letter word,” Sanders said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It’s the NRA, and it’s Trump and the Republicans who don’t have the guts to stand up to these people.”

— Stat du jour: “2018 has been deadlier for schoolchildren than service members.” (Philip Bump)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) questions Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen during a Senate hearing last week. (Erin Schaff/Reuters)

THE MIDTERMS:

— Democrats plan to highlight allegations of corruption surrounding the Trump administration as they continue unveiling their party platform ahead of the midterms: “The first planks of the ‘A Better Deal’ platform, released last year, focused on the party’s economic agenda. Now, with questions about pay-to-play politics swirling around President Trump and his current and former aides, Democrats are set to introduce anti-corruption proposals Monday billed as ‘A Better Deal for Our Democracy,’ Mike DeBonis reports. “According to a senior Democratic official familiar with the announcement, the new agenda will include proposals that would eliminate loopholes that allow lobbyists and lawmakers to buy and sell influence without the public’s knowledge. The message: Elect Democrats in November to ‘clean up the chaos and corruption in Washington.’ One proposal — which would tighten the federal laws governing lobbying disclosures and foreign-agent registration — responds to the apparent sale of influence by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer.”

— On the other side of the aisle, immigration is now on the front burner for 20 moderate Republicans. Mike explains: “Before they were ‘dreamers,’ they were just neighbors to California Republican Rep. Jeff Denham. They played basketball with his kids. They were the pride of the immigrant families upon which the Central Valley’s agricultural economy relies. And now, under threat of deportation, young undocumented immigrants want answers from Denham — even at his son’s recent birthday party … Denham and nearly two dozen of his fellow Republican lawmakers have now joined together, spurred by pressure back home and frustrated by the GOP leadership’s lack of action on a heated issue that has long stymied the party … ‘We’ve had it,’ said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who has joined Denham and the others pressing for a bill. ‘We’re boiling over. It’s got to get done.’

— The Bernie Sanders-inspired grass-roots group “Our Revolution” is in disarray, reports Politico’s Edward-Isaac Dovere. “Our Revolution has shown no ability to tip a major Democratic election in its favor — despite possessing Sanders’ email list, the envy of the Democratic Party — and can claim no major wins in 2018 as its own. The result has left many Sanders supporters disillusioned, feeling that the group that was supposed to harness the senator’s grass-roots movement is failing in its mission. The problems have also fueled doubts about Sanders’ organizational ability heading into 2020, even after his out-of-nowhere near-march to the nomination two years ago. Critics of the Vermont independent had been worried he’d have a juggernaut-in-waiting to fuel a second presidential campaign, but that anxiety has faded after watching Our Revolution the past year and a half.” Among Dovere’s findings: “Board members and Sanders presidential delegates from 2016 have raised questions about whether the group’s president, Nina Turner, is using her position to prepare for a presidential run of her own, and to settle scores with the Democratic National Committee from 2016.”

— Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) stumped for Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in Kansas City on Saturday night — part of an effort by McCaskill to beat back criticism that she hasn’t done enough to reach out to black voters. The Kansas City Star’s Brian Lowry reports: “The event comes after a prolonged period of tension between McCaskill and local African American leaders who have felt overlooked during her reelection campaign. ‘Our complaint is we just haven’t seen enough of her,’ said Rev. Daniel Childs Jr., a former president of the Metropolitan Kansas City Baptists Ministers Union. McCaskill has worked to dispel this perception in recent weeks. Ahead of the Booker event, she held a meeting Saturday with Freedom Inc., a Kansas City political organization dedicated to the concerns of the African American community.”

— Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), running for Senate, steadfastly avoided mentioning Trump by name in his keynote speech at a massive GOP fundraiser, which drew some 400 attendees — and the president himself, who called in via the cellphone of Attorney General Pam Bondi. “I’ll be there fairly soon,” Trump told the crowd. “We’ll hold a special event there in the near future … We’ll be in Tampa very soon.” (Tampa Bay Times)

SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:

Kellyanne Conway’s husband George, a prominent Republican lawyer, retweeted this post by a former Justice Department national security lawyer:

George Conway also pushed back on former George W. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer’s claim that Mueller’s team is partisan:

Lawfare executive editor Susan Hennessey, who used to be an attorney for the National Security Agency, reacted to Rosenstein’s announcement:

From former government ethics director Walter Shaub:

From conservative foreign policy scholar Max Boot:

One of Trump’s strongest allies in the House, Freedom Caucus member Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), praised Trump’s order:

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was one of many who criticized the U.S. caving to China on tariffs for little tangible in return:

The head of The Post’s fact checking unit noted that Trump did not deny the NYT story about his son meeting with emissaries of Gulf states offering campaign help:

From a Democratic congressman on the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees:

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) seems to have been up real early on Sunday:

Actor Michael McKean mocked longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone for saying that he expects to be indicted on a charge of some “extraneous crime”:

A Yahoo News reporter said the Stone euphemism should enter the lexicon:

George H.W. Bush has arrived in Maine for the summer. It’s his first trip back since his wife passed away:

John McCain wished his wife a happy birthday:

Meghan McCain reacted to being parodied on “SNL”:

An official BBC account threw shade at Trump, comparing the crowd size of his inauguration to the one outside the royal wedding:

GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE:

— The Atlantic, “How a Norwegian Retiree Got Caught Up in a Spy Scandal,” by Reid Standish: “A tale of intrigue on the Arctic border — and a new confrontation with Russia.”

— ICYMI: “New clues bolster belief that ISIS leader is still alive — and busy with a chilling new mission,” by Joby Warrick and Souad Mekhennet: “[The] prolonged absences [of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi] have given wings to countless false reports portraying Baghdadi as either dead, or gravely wounded and incapacitated. Despite such rumors, U.S. counterterrorism officials are convinced that Baghdadi is alive and is helping direct long-term strategy for the dwindling numbers of Islamic State fighters … [and] has shifted his attention in recent months to crafting an ideological framework that will survive the physical destruction of the caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Viewed together, such actions convey the impression of a disciplined retreat, with Baghdadi helping manage preparations for a shift from caliphate to underground insurgency and international terrorist movement, current and former U.S. officials said.”

HOT ON THE LEFT:

“A Border Patrol agent detained two U.S. citizens at a gas station after hearing them speak Spanish,” fromAmy B Wang: “A Montana woman said she plans to take legal action after a Border Patrol agent detained and questioned her and a friend — both U.S. citizens — when he overheard them speaking Spanish at a [Montana] gas station. Ana Suda said she and her friend [were] making a midnight run to the store to pick up some eggs and milk … when a uniformed Border Patrol agent interrupted them [to ask for her ID]. ‘ … I looked at him like, ‘Are you serious?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, very serious.’ In [a] video Suda recorded, she asks the agent why he is detaining them, and he says it is specifically because he heard them speaking Spanish. Suda asks whether they are being racially profiled; the agent says no.” “It has nothing to do with that,” he tells her. “It’s the fact that it has to do with you guys speaking Spanish in the store, in a state where it’s predominantly English-speaking.”

HOT ON THE RIGHT:

“Parents outraged at school’s silent tribute for Gaza victims,” from the New York Post: “Students at the elite Beacon School were asked to pause from their studies last week to pay tribute to the victims of violence in Gaza … The school-wide announcement Tuesday stunned some students and has outraged parents who question why the school is entering into the divisive Palestinian-Israeli conflict with what they see as an anti-Jewish bent. ‘I am extremely upset because I did not send my child to a New York City public school to pray for Hamas operatives,’ said one father …. ‘I just don’t think any school should be promoting a moment of silence for terrorists. What if it was [ISIS]?’ said one student’s mother, who is Jewish. The Zionist Organization of America, a pro-Israel group, said it would send a letter to the Beacon School demanding an apology.”

  DAYBOOK: Trump is going to CIA headquarters at 10 a.m. for Gina Haspel’s swearing-in as CIA director. Then he’s welcoming NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr. at 2 p.m. for an event on the South Lawn of the White House. At 6:30 p.m., the president will have dinner with governors to discuss border security.

NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:

— Here comes the sun: After last week’s rainy stretch, today will be partly sunny with temperatures near 80 degrees. Showers are possible later tonight. As the Capital Weather Gang puts it: “A second straight mostly rain-free day? Pinch me.”

— The seven-day rainy spell that broke Sunday set a record here in Washington, Martin Weil reports: “The record was for the number of consecutive days not just with rain, but with a substantial amount of it. In precise numerical terms it was for successive days with at least one quarter inch.”

— “Warm-and-fuzzy vs. driven by data: These mayoral candidates are total opposites,” by Patricia Wilson: Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg faces a robust challenge from Vice Mayor Justin Wilson after almost three years of public clashes. “Their Democratic primary battle — essentially the election in deep-blue Alexandria — could be seen as a referendum on how city hall should operate in 21st-century, small-city America, where growth is both a threat to a cherished way of life and a necessary economic engine for local governments perpetually short of cash.”

VIDEOS OF THE DAY:

John Oliver devoted 20 minutes of his HBO show last night to covering “the addiction industry” and problems with rehab:

Rehab: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

There was a star-studded cast for SNL’s cold open, which imagined a meeting between Trump, Giuliani, Cohen and Don Jr.:

Donald Trump Robert Mueller Cold Open – SNL

And Tina Fey went back into character as Sarah Palin:

Sarah Palin Advice – SNL

“Weekend Update” celebrated the one-year anniversary of Mueller’s probe:

Weekend Update on One-Year Anniversary of Robert Mueller Investigation – SNL

And this was the show’s take on the royal wedding:

Royal Wedding – SNL

Preakness was shrouded in fog on Saturday, but it was still quite a race. If you missed it, here’s the exciting call:

Y

A little FAKE NEWS for ya? Hillary Clinton warns of ‘a full-fledged crisis in our democracy’ at Yale A little FAKE NEWS for ya? Hillary Clinton warns of ‘a full-fledged crisis in our democracy’ at Yale…

[rebeccahpedersen]

Tall Tales From The Trenches On Feelgood Friday!

TorontoRealtyBlog

Last Friday, when I offered another edition of “Photos of the Week,” a couple of readers mentioned that rather than sharing negative reviews of listings, photos, and seller/agent behaviour, I should provide some feel-good examples of listings done right.

So in the spirit of positivity, let me offer you a story for “Feelgood Friday.”

Perhaps I don’t often share enough of the good stories, and despite this chaotic market, there are many.

Last week, I sold a condo listing amid 13 offers, and the ending sent chills up my spine…

You’ve heard this from me before, but I honestly don’t enjoy working on the selling side on “offer night” during multiple offers.

Most listing agents love it.

I mean, what’s not to love?

Power?  Status?  Envy?

That’s not me, I’m sorry.

Call me dramatic, but when I receive 13 offers on a listing, I can’t help but think about the twelve buyers, and buyer agents, who go home disappointed.

Once the “winning” bid has been accepted, I personally call all the agents with unsuccessful offers to tell them that I appreciate their offer, and their efforts, and that I hope to see them again out there in the real estate trenches.

In today’s market, when you have 13 offers on a property, the person-to-person connection often goes out the window.  More to the point, the buyer-to-seller connection goes with it.

Some of my clients couldn’t possibly care less who buys their house or condo, and yet to some, it’s tremendously important.

The first property sale I ever witnessed was my childhood home, which I mentioned in my Pick5 video today, on Parkhurst Boulevard in Leaside.

It was the spring of 1992, and I was 12-years-old.

I remember my father telling me, as I was upset that we had sold the house and were moving that a “young couple” were going to buy the house, and “start a family.”

In my mind, this was our house.  I belonged to us, and no matter what happened, and who moved in, it would always be our house.

Once we had moved out of our home, and into our new one on Bessborough Drive, we went back to the vacant house on Parkhurst, God knows why.  I think my brother, sister, and myself wanted to say some sort of “goodbye” before the deal closed, and another family moved in.

I remember laying on the floor of my bedroom so vividly, I can almost smell the 80’s carpet fibres, which always seemed a little dirty, and a little greasy.  My mom was trying to round up her three kids to get going, and she walked by the doorway to my tiny room, saw me laying on the floor with my arms outstretched as though I were hugging my room, and said aloud, “Oh my God, I knew this was a mistake.”

When we moved to Bessborough, I still thought of Parkhurst as “my house.”

Our family jogging route took us from Bessborough Drive along the outskirts of Leaside – Bayview, Southvale, Laird, and then back up Parkhurst to Bayview again.  We jogged by our old home hundreds of times.

We moved to Parkhurst from a house around the corner on Airdrie Road shortly after I was born in 1980, and lived there until 1992 – a total of twelve years.

I remember in 2005, chatting with my sister, when she said, “Can you believe the family who moved into our old house on Parkhurst has now been there longer than us?”

It was crazy-talk to me.

Longer than us?  Really?  How could that be?

“Time flies,” and all that?  Twelve years?

I remember when I was coaching Bantam baseball from 2007 to 2013, at some point one of the kids mentioned a party at the house (why do parents leave they teenagers alone???), and my head popped up.  I gave them the address, and they said, “Yeah, you know it?”

Time flies, indeed.  It seemed that the non-existent child from the “young couple” who were “going to start a family” as my Dad told me back in 1992, was now a 17-year-old, throwing parties with the kids I coached.

Well, guess what?  That family is still there.

They’ve been there now for a whopping twenty-six years, by my count.

And I think it’s fair to say, that of all the people that have ever owned that particular property, the 26-year tenure really makes it their house.

I think if you took a quick poll, and perhaps we should do that, you’d find that the ratio of people who care, and don’t care, about who buys their home, is about 50/50.

When I received 13 offers on my condo listing last week, my sellers said they really wanted to know who was buying the property from them.

They’re a really nice couple, and I could tell from the first time I entered their condo, that they take an immense amount of pride in their home.  They also like to entertain, and left behind in that condo, as is the case with everybody who moves, are a slew of good memories, great times with friends and family, and a few years of their lives.

When we settled on the “winning” bid of the thirteen offers, I called the buyer agent to let her know.  She was a little surprised, as anybody would be in the midst of thirteen offers, and she said, “My client will not believe this!”

She told me again, “You will not believe how much this means to my client, just, wow.”

I’ve heard it before; emotions run high in these situations, and the reactions are often hyperbolic.

I emailed the accepted offer, and asked the agent where she was, and where I could get the certified bank draft for the deposit.

And then things started to get really interesting.

“She’s at King & Sherbourne,” the agent said.  “I’m in the west end; I could go meet her, then meet you, wherever you are.”

I told her that I actually live two blocks from King & Sherbourne, and provided she trusted me interacting with her buyer-client, I was happy to save her the trip at 9pm in the evening, and go meet the buyer myself.

She took me up on the offer, and was quite grateful.

“Let me give you the address,” she told me, and I said, “I already know.”

Creepy-sounding, but it wasn’t.  “230 King Street East?” I asked.

“Yes, wow, how did you know?”

“I lived there for five years,” I told her.  “When you said ‘King & Sherbourne,’ I had a feeling.”

Ironically, in hindsight, I realize it could have been 39 Sherbourne Street, aka “King Plus Condo,” which is directly across from King’s Court at 230 King Street.

But I just had a feeling it was my old stomping grounds, and I got in my car, and headed down.

I got to the condo, and walked in through the beautiful lobby (it’s an old bank where they’ve preserved the interior as it was in the 1900’s, and even have ‘before’ photos posted on the walls), then found a seat on the padded benches in a separate waiting area off the mailroom.

It was on that very bench, on the same side, in the very same spot, where I waited for a friend of mine to meet me, along with my mother, back in 2005 when I was looking at purchasing a condo in the building.  And here I was, years later, waiting for somebody else, who was looking to buy a condo.

Not exactly the same situation; this lady was looking to buy someplace else, but the coincidence wasn’t lost on me.

I met the woman, as she peeked around the corner and asked, “David?”

She was carrying with her a dog that, I swear – I actually did a double-take as I thought it was my dog.

The resemblance was uncanny.

“That’s my dog’s face,” I told her.  “The nose, the eyes, the little teeth – this is my dog!”

It was a half Maltese, half Yorkie, just like my dog.  Yet another coincidence.

She handed me the deposit cheque, and we chatted for a while.

She told me that the dog was a rescue, which was ironic, given I had literally just had a conversation with my wife about adopting a rescue dog.  Not any time soon, of course.  We have a dog, and a 17-month-old baby.  Another dog is not in the cards.  But my wife volunteers for a non-profit called “Save our Scruff,” which helps find owners for rescued and abused dogs, and she said if we ever get another dog, it’ll be a rescue.

As we chatted, I asked the new-buyer what the importance of her offer price was.

I realized as soon as the words came out of my mouth that it’s a far more personal question than it seems.

A buyer might offer $800,610, because they got married on June 10th.

I’ve seen all kinds of numbers, with all kinds of meanings.  Birthdays, anniversaries, lucky numbers in various cultures, favourite numbers, sports jersey numbers, number of children – anything you can think of.

Of course in this case, the lady said, “My Dad.”  And then added, “My Mum.”

“My dad died on that date,” she told me.  And as the lump in my throat started to grow, she said, “And my Mum on the other date.”

Oh boy.  Well, add “death date” to the list of potential numbers and meanings above.  I guess I didn’t think of that.

“I actually lost both my parents in a very short time,” she added.  “In the same month.”

Right.  I was so glad to bring that back up for her…

But you know what?  She wasn’t sad.  She was actually happy!

“My parents always wanted to help me buy a place,” she told me.  “And tonight, they did.”

Boy, was I ever caught off guard.

I have to be honest, maybe I’m not a deep enough person, but I never really thought of it that way.

We had 13 offers, and as is always the case, the bidding was close.

The dates of her parents’ passing were used in her offer price, and those numbers helped her win the property.

In essence, her parents did “help her buy a place.” as she put it.

It was heart-warming, and the coincidences were not lost on me.

But there was even more ahead.

She told me how she had been a tenant in the same unit for eight years, and how recently her landlord asked her to sign a new lease, at a much higher price than what was permitted by law.  When she respectfully declined, he sent her a Form N12 by email, with no subject line, and no text.  Just the form.

The form specified that a family member would be moving into the unit, specifically his son.  She added that she had known him for eight years as his tenant, and she was pretty sure he didn’t have a son…

Rather than dwell on her situation, she decided now would be the time to take the plunge into the housing market, and she started to look at condos.

I know a lot of buyers say this, so it sounds cliché, but she said, “As soon as I walked into the condo, I felt like I was home.”

“They had my stuff,” she said.  “Half the stuff I have, they have!”

They also had a dog, as did she, and she had always wanted a terrace for the pup.  This condo, by the way, happened to have a 300 square foot terrace.

The coincidences, similarities, and happenstance was just too much.  I stood there in the lobby of my old building, and smiled.

And then came the clincher.

She told me, “I just absolutely love that terrace!  I’ve always wanted one,” she said.  “I actually live above a huge terrace in my current unit.”

It made me think.

“Do you live above the units on the second floor – the ones with the 440 square foot terraces?” I asked.

“I do!” she said.

I knew these rather well, of course.  There are six units with 440 square foot terraces, as I used to own one.

“I used to live in one,” I said.  “Which unit are you in?” I asked her.

“Unit xx2,” she told me.

Go figure.

“Small world,” I said.  I used to live four floors below you.  Directly below you.  I’m was in Unit xy2.

We both laughed.

What are the odds?

She actually lived there, a few floors above me, for two years while I was there.

We shook hands, I went out to my car, and I went home feeling good.

This can often be a miserable business, and I’m sorry to say, but an overwhelming majority of interactions that you have with people, no matter what role they play, are negative.

So how good did I feel, meeting such a pleasant lady, with such a great story about bidding on and winning this condo, with all these incredible coincidences and personal connections?

That’s a rhetorical question.  And suffice it to say, you don’t have to guess how happy my sellers were to hear the following day what a great person they sold their beloved condo to.

Perhaps I’m being overly-sentimental, or maybe you caught me on an off day.

But most “tales from the trenches” don’t end well, so I’m glad I could provide you one on an otherwise feelgood-Friday…

The post Tall Tales From The Trenches On Feelgood Friday! appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.

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How to Plan the Ultimate Coffee Crawl

When it comes to going overboard there’s one delectable drink I won’t ever feel guilty having another cup of. Have you already guessed it? Oh, wait, my title gave it away. JAVA. JAVA. JAVA. Honestly, I haven’t had enough coffee today to be doing this post justice. Hit Pause.

Okay, I’m back, reporting in from the local coffee shop. Ahh thats better. Writing a post about coffee without coffee? Well that’s just wrong.

You say the word coffee and I’m there. I’m not alone, riiiiiight?!?!

So Coffee Crawl you say? Here’s my espresso advice on a killer fun day of coffee shop hopping. 

How to Plan the Ultimate Coffee Crawl

Step One: Do your research.

I love finding new coffee shops to check out. I start by googling coffee shop locations and then look them up on social media. Instagram is my favorite place to scout out potential shops.No one knows the best shops like the locals! I love cool atmospheres and pay attention to the vibe of the shop. I look for what kind of images are getting shared and what people are saying about it. I find this is a great way to get a feel for the shop and how much people like it.  Now I’m not saying to be a coffee snob, but for the love of coffee, skip the chain coffee shops on a crawl. Go local, small business, and specialty!

Hitting three shops on a coffee crawl is my favorite number. Two just doesn’t do a crawl justice and anything over three will probably have you in a coffee comatose. So find your shops, preview them on social media and map your route out.

Step Two: Be prepared to drink a whole lot of coffee.

DUH! No seriously though. You’ll be checking out coffee shops and of course drinking coffee. Its important to be prepared for some serious caffeine intake. Bring and drink plenty of water. Partner your coffee with healthy snacks and plan to grab a bite to eat along the way. I love that most coffee shops also carry a variety of tasty treats. Some shops serve healthy smoothie bowls and even oatmeal! If you’re on a budget bringing your food along is a great option. This is also a great way to check out a restaurant if you need some serious sustenance during your crawl. A ton of coffee and no hydration or food is not to be advised. 

Step Three: Make it social.

Recruit friends to go on the crawl with you. This is a social event so gather your peeps to come along for the fun. Hopefully they love coffee just as much as you, but even the non coffee drinkers are welcome. No matter the level of love for coffee I find these days to be filled with my favorite conversations. Make it about the experience and simply being together. 

Step Four: Linger.

This outing will take at least half of your day so plan accordingly. Take your time at each shop and just savor those cups of coffee. The object of the day is to enjoy it in a leisurely fashion. Be in the moment. Leave the to do list and errands for another day. 

Step Five: Ordering.

This is the fun part. At home I make pour over or french press so when I hit the shop for a cup of joe it’s all about the espresso. My go to orders are either a cappuccino or macchiato. If you’re newer to coffee it’s good to do some research in advance. Because this is specialty coffee, knowing how you like your coffee is key. Sugar or no sugar, foam or no foam, a little milk or a lot of milk. How you take your coffee will dictate what you should be ordering. While I still consider myself a novice I’ve certainly developed a taste for what I like! So give me a smooth espresso and I’ll be happy every time.

Check out my latest local coffee crawl:

Stop One: Lindsey joined me and we started at one of her current favorites: Prospect Coffee in Ventura

I love this shop. Started by two brothers it’s super modern and perfectly chill. I’ve been seeing this look a lot lately. Minimalistic, subway tile, light wood table tops, white walls, lots of natural light and a fun neon sign of their logo. Coffee number one is a small macchiato. A cute little foam heart in a yummy blend of espresso. Unflavored and I prefer not to stir sugar in to savor the rich taste of the espresso. 

Fun fact: Espresso is a term for how the beans are brewed. While most people think it means a dark roast it’s actually pressurized hot water forced through finely ground coffee.

We sat at the bar and poor Lindsey had to put up with my distracted attention while I was busy watching the baristas make the drinks. They have a really unique menu and I found myself wanting to try everything I saw them making. I can’t wait to go back and order the Ventucky coffee (espresso, steamed milk, and bourbon honey syrup). How fantastic does that sound?

If you’re used to chain coffee shop macchiatos let me prepare you for a real macchiato. This italian cup of coffee is similar to a cappuccino, but with less milk. If you want more milk and foam with your espresso go for a cappuccino. If you want a lot of milk then you should order a latte. A chain coffee shop’s macchiato is basically a caramel latte which causes plenty of confusion if you don’t know the difference before ordering at a specialty coffee shop.

When it comes to the ins and outs of good coffee and a true understanding of what it is your drinking I turned to my friend and barista Lindsey to educate me on the finer points of brewing, ordering and all things coffee shop etiquette. So stay tuned for a guest post from her soon!

Stop two: Stoked Coffee Co. & Acai Bowls

New to Lindsey and a recent favorite of mine. Stoked serves Dune coffee and makes awesome bowls. I’ve had their espresso and macchiato as well as all three smoothie bowls on the menu. They just started serving waffles as well, so I will be visiting again soon, because who can resist a nutella topped waffle?

Lindsey went for their classic acai bowl while I tried out the dragon fruit bowl. We were not disappointed. The bowls are just as tasty as they are pretty. Since I started the day with a macchiato it was time to move on to coffee number two: a cappuccino. So so good. Lindsey went for a iced matcha latte and I’m regretting not asking for a sip! There’s always next time.

The baristas here are amazing too! You should definitely take the time to chat and get to know them while on your coffee crawl. They just launched waffles and I had seen them in their instagram stories. They weren’t even on the menu yet. After seeing they had them I was so excited, but they were only serving from 8-11. We arrived after 11 and they had just clean and put everything away. I was so impressed when they remembered me over an hour later when we were leaving and apologized again that I had missed the waffles. No worries! I love this coffee shop so much and I for sure will be visiting on a regular basis.

Stop three: Cafe du Suro

When more than one friend starts recommending a new French Bakery and Coffee shop, well you know, I’m checking it out ASAP! Cafe du Suro did not disappoint. I ordered a shot of espresso and a chocolate croissant. My espresso was served true French style with a lemon and a little glass of sparkling water on the side. My croissant was, melt in my mouth, amazing. I felt instantly transported back to Paris and so nostalgic. By coffee shop number three we were ready to chill and call it a day.

All in all it was a fabulous day! Have you done a coffee crawl? What’s your favorite part of coffee shop hopping?

xoxo Naomi

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