#throughout the process and thereafter

[lexsnotdead]

sometimes i let my family's reproaches that i'm wasting my talent on drawing childish things (aka fanart) get to me, but then i remember that one of the most prevalent and recurring themes in art throughout history was, in fact, bible fanart, and, relieved, i let it go. sorry mom your fandom sucks

[dekusleftsock]

I think that there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what exactly is…happening with Izuku’s character. Specifically in regards to chapter 425.

I’m glad that a lot more people generally recognize that Izuku is not a character that can be read at a surface level, given that he’s both a repressed person with built up emotion of basically everything and also a very glaringly HUGELY unreliable narrator, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with the ways I’ve seen this most recent chapter spoken about.

I see posts, comments, etc with ideas like “Izuku don’t suppress your emotions! Open up with people! It’ll be okay I promise!” When that’s fundamentally not what is happening here.

There’s always always ALWAYS been a distinct difference in character throughout horikoshi’s writing when he is showing that a character is:

A—Avoiding emotions, thoughts, ideas less than ideal for them. Not opening up when they probably should about their problems given that they’ve been handed the space to do so. Just genuinely not acknowledging, feeling, or expressing emotions that they don’t want.

B—Reflecting on the ways they feel about the world, themselves, or other people given their new perspective on a situation. Not outright reaching out to others to talk about these problems/feelings, but instead waiting until the moment they feel they have the most confidence to do so with their new outlook on their own life.

And genuinely, guys, to grab your BkDk attention rn, this is the exact reason why Ochako’s reflection on her feelings for Izuku and thereafter decision to pull away from them WAS NEVER GOING TO END IN OCHAKO EXPLODING WITH HER LOVE FOR HIM.

This was another common interpretation I saw of Ochako and Izuocha for a long time. That because she pushed these feelings away, they were somehow going to explode in this unbelievable way and she would “get the boy” because of it. That her arc would surround accepting her romantic feelings and that she can’t just push away how she feels for a career.

But yk. That didn’t happen. At all. Nowhere close even.

The same kind of goes for Katsuki, allmight, etc. They all had moments in their arc where it was spent genuinely reflecting, and the only reason we as the audience never connected it in the same ways we do ochako or Izuku was ALWAYS BECAUSE the narrative showed their inner thoughts while doing so (mostly because Allmight’s arc after losing OFA and Katsuki’s arc on what it means to be a hero were so intrinsically tied, both starting at the same time and ending at the same time during the final war. And because they were so tied this caused their own reflections, development, and thought process to be broadcasted to us frequently throughout their arcs… to each other. They also somewhat shared aspects with Izuku, but these were cherry picked more often than not, like dvk2 for example).

To us Katsuki never seemed to be.. idk, suppressing his anger in any way because we were always told what he was doing and why (side note: this is why I’ve always thought arguments against Katsuki were so weird, bc unlike characters like endeavor or Ochako he wasn’t like… hiding who he was and how he was changing. Ever. Like the audience knows at all times past basically season 3 what Katsuki is thinking and doing. Like how do you watch this happen, stare me dead in the eye, and tell me how much of a terrible and awful teenage boy he is. Like damn I didn’t think we were this dumb. This is also my theory as to why he’s most popular, his arc is very… in your face if that makes sense). Katsuki’s entire mini arc on reflecting his mistakes and his childhood and his future is spent TELLING YOU that it’s what he’s doing. (I’m referring mostly to the endeavor internship arc, the provisional license exam makeup, and basically everything in the war arc related to him leading up to bakugou Katsuki rising here)

And see, Horikoshi will stare you dead in the eye, tell you “this girl has taken into consideration that she doesn’t want to waste her time training her career focusing on a boy because he kinda caught her fancy”, and y’all will still say that this will explode in her face.

Y’all this is a series about learning how to manage emotions, maturity in relationship to one’s emotions, how to feel an emotion, but in a way that is helpful. Horikoshi isn’t telling you “go buck wild, feel everything all the time and always express it”, in fact he explores why you DONT do that! Through Toga or Shigaraki, they show how grief and anger can genuinely consume you. But he also shows why you shouldn’t just put everything in a box to never look at or acknowledge, or why you shouldn’t just let your grief destroy the world around you, or pretending that some emotions simply don’t exist.

I can’t say this enough, so let me say it now, mha is about the extremes of your psyche. That you should control something, but not too much. Everything can be harmful. Everything can be good.

Izuku is not controlling too much, he’s expressing just enough.

I LOVE shaming this dickhead at all times in all my posts. I love saying he’s an ignorant dipshit with a weird amount of distaste for a girl who just confessed to him. I’ve joked that chapter 348 is basically an entire chapter spent on Izuku calling Himiko a mean dyke. And yet I also believe he’s doing nothing WRONG here.

In fact, I’ll even say that this moment right here?

ISNT EVEN IZUKU DOING THE SOCIALLY APPROPRIATE THING ABOUT IT! But he’s still TRYING to reach out to someone he thinks MIGHT be able to understand. (And frankly, this moment is far deeper than what it’s being made out to be, to me it reads more like an unrequited friendship that Izuku both desires and has thought of them to have, while simultaneously showing the distance Ochako has successfully wedged between them for her own sake. Maybe it was always there though, maybe in weird, miscommunicated Horikoshi fashion, this is a representation of how Ochako always read all those “fun friend hangouts” as a little more than that, and without those feelings the friendship never really held any substance to her in the first place. Where Izuku saw his first real friend at UA, she saw little more than acquaintance)

Simultaneously, Izuku is genuinely reflecting on what it means for the world to change, to be a hero, to live after loss—and trying and failing to gain the connection he desires from individuals who can not and will not afford him that.

Izuku is ready for the world to change, a few select characters are also ready for the world to change (mirio, for example), but not nearly enough are. So maybe I’ll have to take this back if I’m proven wrong and I accidentally looked into this far past what everyone else did for no reason, but I genuinely believe with moments like this

And this

Aand this

That Izuku has come forward with that aspect of his character development. He’s reflecting on his new beliefs, not repressing his emotions for them.

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1969 Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback

1969 was, effectively, the final year for the Shelby Mustang. By now assembly had shifted in Michigan from California where it was contracted out to A.O. Smith Corporation. Smith, an established Motor City contractor, had brought a level of serious manufacturing skill, supplier management, procedure and standards never seen at Shelby’s facility where LAX met the vibrant (and sometimes extreme) subculture of Venice, California.

Now largely designed and specified by Ford staffers, the 1969 Shelby Mustang was drastically different visually from the standard Mustangs, with a completely different nose and grille, a wide rectangular opening with blacked out grille flanked by 7” headlights and with Shelby’s characteristic driving lights now smaller rectangular pieces below the attractive, but largely ineffective, bumper. The special Shelby hood had five ducts, three NACA-style surface ducts replaced the complicated but entertaining shaker hoods of years gone by to supply cold air directly to the engine air intake and two extractors at the back of the hood relieving underhood pressure and exhausting heated air in front of the windshield.

A surface duct behind the headlights and a scoop behind the door and in front of the rear wheel arch that was ducted to the rear brakes continued the performance theme. The rear panel was completely different from the Mustang, housing a set of 1965 Thunderbird sequential taillights with the rear license plate placed between them and including a small ducktail spoiler. The area under the bumper where standard Mustangs carried their license plate contained two rectangular outlets for the Shelby’s dual exhaust system. Standard wheels were unique 5-spoke Mag Stars with alloy centers and chrome steel rims.

Under the hood lay the 428 Cobra Jet which had powered the ’68 Shelby GT500KR. Both Ford and Shelby recognized the superiority of the high performance CJ and made it the standard engine for 1969’s Shelby Mustangs. 

At the end of the 1969 model year 789 Shelby Mustangs were in-process at A.O. Smith. They were visually updated with black hood stripes and a chin spoiler and given new VINs. Otherwise the 1970s were exactly the same as the ‘69s making these two years essentially identical examples of the end of the Shelby Mustang series which had begun only a scant six years before.

Avidly sought by collectors and obsessively documented by the Shelby American Automobile Club, most Shelby Mustangs are well known and have well known histories. Occasionally, however, a example appears which has been out of sight for years. Even more rarely it turns out to have been little used and continuously maintained by a thoughtful and caring single owner for nearly forty years.

The Black Jade 1969 Shelby Mustang GT500 Sportsroof fastback offered here is one of those rare and highly desirable cars. It was delivered new to Ford’s dealer in Yokohama, Japan, Marubeni Motors K.K., and was sold thereafter to its first, and only, owner in Japan. It has been repainted in the original color once but is otherwise completely original, as delivered and has only 84,941km on its metric-calibrated export speedometer (52,779 miles.) Its sympathetic maintenance and care shows throughout in its clean, straight, rust-free condition.

Power of course comes from the 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet Ram Air V-8 engine which Ford and Shelby conservatively rated at 335 horsepower at 5,200rpm and a gut-wrenching 440 lb-ft torque at 3,400rpm. It puts the power through Ford’s highly regarded C-6 automatic transmission and Traction-Lok differential with high speed 3.00:1 gearing that takes full advantage of the CJ engine’s torque. In addition to the highly desirable drivetrain specification it is loaded with options including the Visibility Group, Goodyear white letter tires, Sport Deck folding rear seat, power front disc brakes, power steering, tilt steering column, Selectaire air conditioning, AM/8-track stereo radio, tinted glass, deluxe belts, tachometer and trip odometer.

It is finished in one of the Shelby Mustang’s most attractive colors, Black Jade. The interior and high back buckets seats are upholstered in black Clarion Knit/Corinthian vinyl that complements with Black Jade exterior.

It returned to the U.S. in 2006 but has never been titled by its current owner so it remains a one-owner car. Its absolutely clear history, one-owner provenance, highly original condition with known mileage and extensive options list are attributes shared by few Shelby Mustangs of this age. This is a rare opportunity for an astute collector to acquire a particularly significant, unmolested Shelby Mustang from the last, and most highly developed, series.

1969 Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback

Powered by a 428ci V8 engine mated to a C6 automatic transmission, this beauty includes the original #Shelby owner card, a copy of the Shelby work order and Window Sticker.

1969 Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback

1969 Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback

[probablyasocialecologist]

Back in 2005, shortly after Arafat’s death, the situation appeared more open. The PA agreed, in coordination with the governments of Israel and the United States, to hold new elections for its presidency and its parliament (both of which have tightly limited powers under Oslo). This time around, Hamas’s leaders agreed to take part in the parliamentary election. It was the first time Hamas showed a willingness to work within the Oslo framework, the clear goal of which was always understood by the PLO and all other Palestinian and Arab leaders to be the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. When those elections were held in January 2006, Hamas won them handily, taking 74 of the council’s 132 seats. The victory stunned the traditional Fatah leaders of the PA and their backers in Washington and Tel Aviv. In a reporting trip to the region soon thereafter, I found that Hamas’s success reflected a combination of skills: a history of having provided helpful community services to different grassroots constituencies; a reputation for generally “clean hands” (unlike Fatah); effective organizing through women’s networks, with several Hamas women leaders getting elected to the parliament; and good electoral discipline, not running more candidates than there were seats in multi-seat constituencies, as Fatah and its allies did in several places. The elections gave the PLO and its U.S. and Israeli allies a great opportunity to work to find a way to draw Hamas into the political process. Hamas was willing, too, initially making inroads to form a “government of national unity” with Fatah. But the reaction from Israel and Washington was harsh. They threatened to kill any of the newly elected legislators who would agree to join such a government—which I know because I was the conduit for conveying one such threat. Later, Washington and Israel persuaded Fatah to start plotting to overthrow the newly elected leaders of the PA’s parliament and premiership. In 2007 Fatah tried to launch a violent coup against Hamas, but Hamas leaders in Gaza rebuffed the attempt. Afterwards, Hamas set about institutionalizing their position in Gaza while Fatah retreated, with their generous U.S. funding, to Ramallah in the West Bank. All the while, Hamas and its allies retained significant support in the West Bank and throughout the widespread Palestinian diaspora—and remained the democratically elected government in Gaza, although new elections have not been held since. Though by 2005 Israel had withdrawn all its civilian settlers from Gaza, it has always maintained very tight control over all the crossings through which people or goods could pass in or out of the Strip—until October 7, that is. The United Nations continues to deem Israel as the “occupying power” there, with all the responsibilities that status entails under international law. And since 2007, several Israeli governments have undertaken punishment raids into Gaza—actions that some Israeli commentators have cynically dubbed “mowing the lawn.” The raids of late 2008 and summer 2014 were particularly destructive, with thousands of Palestinians killed in total. Successive U.S. presidents have generally seemed happy to allow these incursions. And the United States’ position in the global political order has meant that its word is law.

[usafphantom2]

SR-71 pilot tells how he was able to RTB after he got lost at Mach 3 because both attitude indicator and heading indicator were unserviceable

SR-71 Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft

The SR-71, unofficially known as the “Blackbird,” is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft. The first flight of an SR-71 took place on Dec. 22, 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in January 1966. The US Air Force (USAF) retired its fleet of SR-71s on Jan. 26, 1990.

T-shirts Habubrats 2

CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with the SR-71 because her father Butch Sheffield flew the Blackbird from test flight in 1965 until 1973. Butch’s Granddaughter’s Lisa Burroughs and Susan Miller are graphic designers. They designed most of the merchandise that is for sale on Threadless. A percentage of the profits go to Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. This nonprofit charity is personal to the Sheffield family because they are raising money to house SR-71, #955. This was the first Blackbird that Butch Sheffield flew on Oct. 4, 1965.

Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the SR-71 remained the world’s fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft. From 80,000 feet, it could survey 100,000 square miles of Earth’s surface per hour.

SR-71 Lost at Mach 3

The following never told story was written by Col Darrell Cobb and given to me by his son Chris, whom I became reacquainted with at the Wheatland Union High School reunion.

‘Decelling, after an extremely valuable take leg over Hanoi, I encountered an emergency and landed in Thailand. Next day my Recovery Team Crew Chief cornered me – – – They were most anxious to get this TAKE to the processing center and no transport is available from Thailand. They told me: “Your malfunction is fixed, but you are legally required to have a NAV SET, and I can provide that for launch in about an hour. HOWEVER, I guarantee the NAV SET will fail about half an hour after level-off speed. Can you get this back to Kadena for them?”

‘I checked the forecast landing weather – CLEAR! I can do this! NAV SET failure degrades Primary Instrument Panels but even if primary FAIL, I’ve got the BACKUP system (called the FRS) – no sweat!!

‘We went and sure enough, 20 minutes after leveling off at speed (locked on the heading home) NAV SET failed. But Primary Flight Instruments also failed. Shortly thereafter all flight instruments OFF FLAGS POPPED UP. Guess what!?!?! I’m on a partial panel at Mach 3 – – LOST!

‘We checked OCEAN STATION DELTA and were about 60 nm left of course. I dropped the right wing 5 degrees for a count of 10 and reentered the needle. Start decel backset distance was 230 nm. Kadena TACAN locked on at 235 nm within 1 degree of inbound track. HOME FREE!

‘So, when you hear that old cliche, you ain’t been lost till you’re lost at Mach 3.’

Partial panel

But what does the term “partial panel” refer to?

Former SR-71 Blackbird pilot Stormy Boudreaux answers the question;

‘The term partial panel refers to instrument flying while the attitude indicator and heading indicator are unserviceable. Without the heading indicator you have to rely on the “whiskey compass” – so named, because it floats in a container of alcohol – for your heading and looking out the window for your attitude. However, the whiskey compass will tell you the heading only when the wings are level or very nearly level.

SR-71 pilot tells how he was able to RTB after he got lost at Mach 3 because both attitude indicator and heading indicator were unserviceable

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. SR-71A Blackbird 61-7972 “Skunkworks”

“The pilot has to time his turn because establishing a turn of more than a few degrees of bank causes the floating magnetic card to hang up and freeze inside of the instrument case during the turn until the turn is complete – only after you roll out of your bank and the compass card settles down can you find out your new heading.

‘So you start your turn and maintain the turn for a predetermined number of minutes or seconds, then roll out to wings level based on time – you let the card stabilize (15-30 seconds) while it sloshes around figuring out where north is again and finally you read your new heading.’

Turning to the new heading as accurately and quickly as possible

Boudreaux concludes;

‘You prefer to turn to the new heading as accurately and quickly as possible- without rolling out and checking too many times because you are moving at 30 miles per minute. A large deviation from the desired heading means you are going in the wrong direction in a hell of a hurry! In this instance, weather was not a factor for visually determining his attitude and bank angle. If this happens in the weather it is an extremely serious emergency.’

Be sure to check out Linda Sheffield Miller (Col Richard (Butch) Sheffield’s daughter, Col. Sheffield was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer) Twitter X Page Habubrats SR-71, Instagram Page SR71Habubrats and Facebook Page Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Habubrats for awesome Blackbird’s photos and stories.

Photo credit: Lockheed Martin, U.S. Air Force and NASA

Linda Sheffield Miller

Grew up at Beale Air Force Base, California. I am a Habubrat. Graduated from North Dakota State University. Former Public School Substitute Teacher, (all subjects all grades). Member of the DAR (Daughters of the Revolutionary War). I am interested in History, especially the history of SR-71. Married, Mother of three wonderful daughters and four extremely handsome grandsons. I live near Washington, DC.

@Habubrats71 via X

[tyrantisterror]

To bring this chain of asks full circle, what are your top ten favorite Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi monsters and why? Either on the basis of biology, design, or even story significance? What are your favorite dishes from Delicious in Dungeon? 😋

I thin the chapter that introduced Dungeon Meshi's take on living armor is the moment where most readers realize they're in for something special and more than just the gag manga it could have been. For me, it's the epitome of what makes Dungeon Meshi's world-building so special. Living Armors are a stock monster in fantasy fiction, and normally the thought that goes into them begins and ends with "a suit of armor moves on its own because magic." That's all they have to be for an audience to accept them and move on, and in most fiction, that's all they will be.

Dungeon Meshi, by contrast, came up with the most creative explanation for why a suit of armor would walk around and attack people I've ever encountered. It's so bizarre that it's fascinating on its own - BUT THEN, just to show she's a fucking master of story-telling, Ryoko Kui makes the process of our hero discovering the nature of living armor vital to stopping them, saving his friends, and making his way through the dungeon. Dungeon Meshi took a monster archetype that is usually little more than a footnote and turned it into a crucial and iconic story beat, one so important that it continues to figure in to the plot thereafter in the form of Laios's living sword, Kensuke.

Griffins are a monster I have a great deal of fondness for, and one I feel should be more prominent given how iconic they are. There should be more kickass griffins in fiction, more memorable griffin stories, more griffins in general! Dungeon Meshi didn't reinvent the wheel with its take on griffins like it did with Living Armors, but its griffin/hippogriff arc is nonetheless one of the most important emotional beats in the story, and also led into the changeling arc, which is one of the funniest in the entire manga. They also gave griffins the gravitas as a monster that they rightfully deserve. A+ griffin use.

The vegetable lamb is one of my favorite obscure medieval folklore monsters and seeing it show up in this manga made me so happy. It is exactly the kind of bonkers idea that fits perfectly into Ryoko Kui's fantasy world, perfect addition, no notes.

I'm of two minds on how Quetzalcoatl has been reduced to a monster in pop culture instead of, you know, the benevolent god he was originally, but Dungeon Meshi's coatl at least gets a lot of gravitas and even plays a semi-heroic role in some scenes, which is better than most knockoff Q's get. Also the one in the manga itself is covered in psychedlic flower pictures because of SPOILERS and it's really cute.

...Falin's chimera form is ridiculously hot in ways that make me look long and hard at myself in the mirror and wonder why I'm wired like this.

On a less existential side of things, Laios's Ultimate Monster design is, for my money, the absolute best running gag in the manga, with the PERFECT punchline at the story's climax that you'll think you've guessed but trust me, you haven't quite. If you're looking at it and thinking, "That looks like what a four year old would draw when making a monster," you are right, and that is the gag, and trust me, it is ALWAYS funny when it pops up.

How many slots do I have left? Four? Fuck it, let's talk about the dragons, we can go over I don't give a shit. The Red Dragon is the Heavy for the first third of the manga, and it's built up impressively throughout all the monster-eating shenanigans, so that when it finally arrives as this small-scale kaiju who makes the dungeon tremble and quake in its path, you really get a sense of dread attached to it. A lot of modern fantasy fiction gets lazy with dragons, content to let their cultural reputation do the work for them, but Kui made sure that when a dragon entered her story, it feels like an EVENT.

I haven't watched the anime yet, but what I've seen shows they did a good job handling Kui's design, which has this wonderful blend of T.rex, sauropod, and crocodile to give it this primordial reptilian strength. I also love how they animated its Thor Thimble, it's a great touch.

About the only thing I'd change about the Red Dragon is its lack of wings, but then you see how the other dragon species look in Dungeon Meshi, and it makes more sense. Another trope of modern dragons I dislike is giving them all one body plan, when their mythic predecessors could have all sorts of arrangements and numbers of limbs. Kui's dragons follow suit - the red dragon is a stocky quadruped, green dragons have the hexapodal look with two wings and slightly more gracile proportions, we've got two-legged and two-winged wyverns, two-armed wyrms, multi-finned leviathans, Asian-style dragons, and even a big fluffy arctic dragon for those freaks out there who don't want dragons to have scales for some inexplicable reason. All of them are still very much dragons, but each one feels unique and broadens what a "dragon" can be in the setting. It's great, I love it, A+ dragon usage.

Oh, yeah, there's one other dragon species I forgot to put up there - the Nightmares, which in your dreams look like, well, a nightmare, and in the waking world look like... shellfish. Apparently it's a Japanese pun that doesn't translate easily into English. They're not really my favorite monster but I knew if I included all the other dragons and not these guys then at least one person would feel compelled to "Um, actually" me. That nightmare form for the Nightmare looks pretty wicked, though.

[thumpypuppy]

Lindar here!

Thinking on a conversation I had with Sadie about the title theme of ISAT, and given a lot of folks have been transcribing music for the OST, I kinda want to briefly talk about something.

First I would like to say, the language we use for music theory is DEscriptive, not PREscriptive, and so it is important to keep that in mind. We try our best to describe what's happening!

One interesting conversation is around the title theme, and so I will say this: The first part written was the melody, which is strictly in D Dorian. This melody and it's various incarnations throughout the soundtrack exist with many different supporting chord structures that change on basically every iteration, but one unusual feature in its original iteration (the START AGAIN title theme) and modern original (In Stars and Time title theme) is that, despite being in D Dorian for the melody, the supporting chord structure features a rather prominent major five. To me it makes sense and adds some amount of resolution, where if it was ACTUALLY D Dorian it would feature a minor five, which didn't sound right. Does the piece shift between D Dorian and A minor? Is it a "harmonic Dorian" scale? WHO KNOWS! As much technical nonsense as I've put into the soundtrack (largely thanks to the ongoing theory lessons from the one and only Sadie Greyduck) at the end of the day we do what sounds best. It's an unusual modality, so maybe we can just call it "Thumpian Mode" and call it from there?

I've also seen some other interpretations of different pieces, and one that really stands out to me is how people perceive the rather drastic key change in, among other things, "We're With You!". While we could talk endlessly about this particular motion of chords, I'd like to bring up my actual thought process.

First off, listen to the first battle with the King ("Do You Remember?"), specifically the "victory/hope" motiff at the end that features a prominent brass section. The beginnings of that song as a whole were actually the first piece of music written for the original START AGAIN soundtrack, followed shortly thereafter by the melody for the title theme. While START AGAIN and the subsequent In Stars and Time do feature a heavy usage of leitmotifs (and yes the many identifiable motifs are specifically used to indicate an emotion or context, which are later recontextualized for dramatic effect), a number of them were written out of order and given additional meaning through clever placement. Further, transitioning from START AGAIN's 11 tracks to In Stars and Time's staggering 41 tracks, a significant amount of expansion of existing leitmotifs was done in addition to creating new ones.

Second, the actual thought process behind writing the hope/victory motif was something like "dang I need something to round this off… uhhh… screw it, arbitrary chromaticism because it sounds intense and metal" and so we go A5, C5, B5, Bb5, and the actual melodies used were vaguely navigated by ear kinda in the ballpark of A minor. Upon hearing this piece, Sadie explained to me that a common alternative to using a Dominant 5 is to use a tritone substitution of the five, which is a bII(7), which is why the progression (mostly) makes sense despite classic progressive motion saying i->III is valid but fairly weak, and III->ii is extremely weak.

Now we fast forward a year or two and I have been requested to make a chipper rendition of the victory/hope motif for a different context (which, in my opinion, adds to the weight of its later appearance), so now let's finally take a look at "We're With You!". While the time signature is quite different from its original 5/4, you'll notice that the chord progression is somewhat familiar (I -> iii -> ii -> bII), and while the leading melody is something else, the supporting voice(s) are a reiteration of the hope/victory motif!

Now we get to the unusual part, the key change! It's not particularly common to change keys to a tritone as they have essentially nothing in common, but we're using that bII as our return to tonic, so what if we reinterpret that chord as the V of a new key, since it's kinda functioning that way anyway? So instead of Bb returning to A as we've done before, we move to the new tonic of Eb! From there the piece essentially makes the same motions, and does the same key change at the end, returning us back to our original key in time for the piece to loop!

So I think at the end of the day what I'm trying to say is that music theory can definitely give you an understanding of why certain things sound certain ways, and it can teach you things that you would not have thought to do before, but the most correct way to write music is to do what sounds good and try to understand it later. Lindar from five years ago was afraid of key changes, but modern Lindar knows that keys are arbitrary and you can make unusual motion to interesting effect.

All that said, I absolutely love reading posts about how people interpret and analyze the things I've written, so keep it coming, because I learn something new every time I see a new interpretation!

[wxz987]

Moon Square Pluto aspect, in natal, personal observation and healing tips:

Moon square Pluto is a harsh placement in my birth chart, it’s interesting because growing up I was physically abused by my father due to my mother winding him up to do so. I wasn’t taught how to stabilise my emotions in any way, the only feelings I could mentally process were of hurt, grief, sadness, humiliation, aggression and destruction. (we can also throw depression in the mix)

I would be physically beaten then thrown outside, to sit there for hours. That’s how I became scared of the dark, I couldn’t confront my feelings in a healthy way, I could only fear them. This led to horrible anxiety all throughout my life (Moon in Virgo, 4th).

I guess Squares in the Natal chart make you face the negative side of these planets upfront, for Moon Square Pluto, it was in my childhood. Carrying into my teenage life and thereafter into my adulthood.

The only way I’d face conflict or even the most insignificant arguments, were with aggressive outbursts, people were scared of me but in private I’d obsess and cry over these events, self pitying and hating myself more than the perpetrator. This is where I have to note, I was giving away my power to these people by reacting this way.

Due to my upbringing, the only way I was taught to face conflict was to create even more conflict. I thought I could only protect myself by being aggressive and belittling those who tried to ‘start’ something with me. It was my only method of defence, as I had to constantly defend myself from my parents growing up.

It has taken a long journey, to finally understand how to navigate this aspect personally. I’m no astrologer, but if you have this placement and face adversity in your feelings hear me out, this is what has worked for me.

Learn to accept positive emotions, be kind, gentle and patient with yourself even typing this gives me the chills. It’s time you learnt to be kind to yourself, stop speaking to yourself so negatively. Progress is never linear, there’s always bumps along the way to test whether you have learnt to be kinder with yourself.

Understand that peoples actions and emotions are not a reflection of you but themselves, Pluto aspecting your Moon here could mean you take on peoples negativity and own them as your own emotions. Learn to detach and remove these people from your life.

One thing I’ve learnt about Pluto is that you will only be rewarded once you weed out the negative aspects of your life and learn to be kind and gentle with your emotions (Moon). Pluto will then reward you with positive new beginnings, as endings are a way to trigger transformations.

Personally, breathwork and meditation tapped into a part of my trauma which helped me relax and ease my anxiety. It was tough at first as I’d have minor panic attacks while trying to regulate my breathing, my body was operating on fight or flight mode. It takes months, sometimes longer to tap into your emotions and regulate your nervous system.

Helpful tip: Try to understand the chakras, the energy flow of regulating your breathing, this has been extremely important in my healing journey.

If you can’t get away from these negative people, aspects, teach yourself how to not give a reaction to these people or events. No reaction is a reaction and the best way to end something is to starve it of its source, which is your energy. Someone is trying to trigger your anger, belittle your self esteem, leaving you out in the cold? That’s okay, that shows how much they value you. The best way to react is with no emotion, that’s fine, focus on something else, plan a date with yourself. Starve the source of its energy.

I’m going to repeat the above again, please hear me out, the best reaction is no reaction, they left you out of a group outing? All good, you had other plans anyway. Don’t give them the benefit of your reaction, being happy will ruin these people, they will then drown in the negativity that they tried to inflict upon you.

There’s so much more I want to add to this post, but it’s already a lengthy one.

We will meet again, love yourself, be kind to yourself, be gentle with yourself, be patient with the process, you’re destined to be great.

Yours truly, wxz987.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for tricking my (ex-)friend into doing something that benefited her?

I (28 F) recently re-encountered an old friend of mine– let’s call her C, (27 F) – under less-than-ideal circumstances. I have long resented C for the nature of our falling out, and may have been looking to exact a bit of revenge. Long story short, following an altercation, C nearly fell to her death after being knocked unconscious. I was able to rouse her in time for her to catch herself, but was honestly surprised that I had wanted to. Anyway, now I can’t help feeling a little guilty for that (and for her subsequently being afflicted by a curse while rescuing a third party (A, 14 F) that I had fooled into endangering herself as part of the plan to get back at C).

Suffice to say, this has left me somewhat conflicted about the whole feud, and even made me a tad uncertain about its origin. I still believe I was and am in the right, but I suppose there’s no harm in asking for a second opinion, especially as this is anonymous. 

C and I were very close friends throughout high school. She was, for a time, arguably the most important person in my life. We’ve always been very different people, in terms of ambitions, outlooks, and personalities, but we nonetheless made it work. The issues arose when our ambitions came into conflict. For my entire life, I have been working towards the preservation and resurgence of an important natural force (magic) (upon which, among other things, the lives of multiple sapient species depend) which has been slowly and surely dying out over the past few centuries. There isn’t much time left (although, not to worry– I have a plan). 

On the other hand, C, while having as much love as I did for magic, always preferred to focus on its application. She intended to use it to entertain, so that she could, to paraphrase, ‘bring joy to the whole world.’ I saw no issue with this. It seemed a harmless enough course of action, and she was certainly quite skilled at it (even I found her performances charming). 

The problem, then, was that my plan at the time to safeguard magic hinged on obtaining a particular ancient relic (the CS, ???), which has the ability to unlock an immense source of power (the GT, ???) capable of enacting large-scale changes to the fabric of reality itself. I had spent my entire life working towards this end, but the CS and its creator/guardian (W, 1000s F) chose instead to entrust that responsibility to C. 

At first, I did my best to be accepting and supportive towards C in light of these events. I worked with her to the best of my ability to access the CS’s abilities. Unfortunately, around this time, C’s performances began to garner attention. She was signed by an agent, and went on tour shortly thereafter. I was furious. Magic was dying out all around her, and she wanted to use the one thing possibly capable of saving it as a stage magician’s prop! Meanwhile, I was left behind to try to think of some alternate method of accomplishing the same thing. (Obviously, I understand that this was her lifelong dream, but surely her responsibility should have come first?)

Eventually, C (then 17 F)’s shows started to wane in popularity. I (then 18 F) correctly deduced that this was not due to a lack of talent on her part, but on the inability of magic in its current state to provide enough of a spectacle to be consistently worth watching. I saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, so I approached C about a process I had been experimenting with, which would allow her to utilize much more powerful magic, even in locations without any ambient magical energy. This would also serve as a test of my process’s abilities, which I hoped to (and, in the future have) develop into a power source for an alternate means of saving magic.

Here’s where I think I could, from a certain viewpoint, have been at fault. The process had a slight drawback. The power it offered was harvested from the emotions of people in its surroundings, and came at the cost of their own potential to use magic in the future. Now, as I’ve repeated ad nauseam, magic is dying. No one other than families for whom it is traditional bothers to learn to use it these days (foolishly seeing it as nothing but an useless curiosity of a bygone age), and I did not believe that any of those would be in attendance. However, C has always been something of a bleeding heart, and I knew she probably wouldn’t go through with it if she knew how it worked. For that reason, I neglected to inform her.

The performance was far more spectacular than any of her others to that point, and my experiment was a tremendous success. After the show, however, I informed her of the true nature of the process. We had an argument, and then angrily went our separate ways (although, it is worth mentioning that I did attend the final of her subsequent shows, and erased the audience’s memories to protect her from facing consequences for accidentally blowing up the moon). We didn’t speak for about a decade afterwards. 

I feel that I was only doing what was necessary, and that because of her recalcitrance to focus on what was most important, was forced to turn to more extreme measures, but I realize she may see it differently. 

So, AITA?

EDIT: Do you people have no reading comprehension? I wasn’t asking if I was the asshole for nearly killing a child. That was a largely irrelevant aside. Can we please focus on my actual question?

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kyle Cheney at Politico:

Donald Trump is on the cusp of emerging unscathed from his four criminal prosecutions — thanks almost entirely to the decisions of four judges he appointed. Trump’s three Supreme Court picks formed a decisive bloc to declare presidents immune from prosecution for official conduct — freezing the charges he faces in multiple jurisdictions for trying to subvert the 2020 election and putting his New York conviction in doubt. Then his nominee to the federal court in Florida, Judge Aileen Cannon, handed him another victory by dismissing the charges he faces for hoarding classified documents and concealing them from investigators.

Her decision earned a shout-out from Trump as he accepted the Republican nomination on Thursday. “A major ruling was handed down from a highly respected federal judge in Florida, Aileen Cannon,” he said. Trump’s string of victories reflects what experts say is extraordinary luck and timing. He’s the first president since Ronald Reagan to appoint three justices to the Supreme Court, and the first to ever face criminal charges that, soon thereafter, landed in front of the very judges he put on the bench. “This is a perfect example of serendipity, how the occurrence of events and trials and tribulations of the judicial process have all combined to work in favor of Donald Trump,” said Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor and civil litigator.

But it’s also a function, those experts say, of the fact that Trump rose to power in an era when conservatives — who had been burned in the past by judicial picks that later broke ranks — had begun perfecting a strategy of appointing judges who would more reliably rule in their favor. President Joe Biden, too, has appointed judges whose backgrounds appear more reliably liberal, though it’s not yet clear whether he will have the same impact on the judiciary as his predecessor. “Today, given that politics are so important in securing a judicial appointment, I can see how that sort of concern can spread,” said David Zaring, professor of legal studies from the Wharton School of Business. “[Trump] got so lucky — people don’t usually get a chance to appoint three justices to the Supreme Court in one term. Trump got it and then the Supreme Court gave him a very favorable ruling after that.”

Cannon’s ruling in the documents case had nothing to do with the substance of the charges — widely considered to be the most clear-cut case Trump faces. Cannon found that Attorney General Merrick Garland overstepped his authority when he named Smith special counsel, invalidating the entire prosecution. But the decision — which legal experts suggested would likely be reversed on appeal — nevertheless put Trump’s already-slim odds of facing trial this year effectively out of reach. [...] Cannon, in particular, represents a stark example. She was confirmed to the bench in November 2020, days after Trump lost reelection to Joe Biden. And she drew widespread criticism two years later after she slowed the investigation by granting a longshot push by the defense to require that an independent monitor review materials the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago.

[...] Not all of Trump’s appointees have ruled uniformly in his favor throughout his yearslong odyssey through the criminal justice system. In 2022, the Supreme Court rebuffed his effort to shield his White House papers from the Jan. 6 select committee, and it declined to consider his Cannon-backed effort to keep the documents investigation frozen.

This Politico article details the influence that the judges Donald Trump appointed are helping him evade legal trouble.

[spacecadet-sims]

Casting Call for @spacecadet-sims' Double Shot At Love: Beguiling the Heirs

Atticus and Imogen Gryswald are world-renown philanthropists who, up until now, have spent their time leading fast-paced, free-wheeling lives without too much of a care for finding steadiness and security (outside of monetarily).

The elder Grywalds have had enough of the near-scandal filled escapades of their darling twins, however, and have offered them an ultimatum: find spouses or be disinherited.

But where's the fun in doing anything traditionally?

Full application below the cut:

I'm looking for 14 sims to fill this double shot at love challenge; 7 for Atticus and 7 for Imogen. This will be mostly story-based with some gameplay sprinkled throughout.

Please tag me @spacecadet-sims in the post as well as hashtag #scbth application for consideration. If I do not reblog your post within a day, please message me as I may not have seen your submission.

Applications may be submitted from now until July 8th at 11:59 pm. I'm making the application process long because I work a full-time job, and mother a toddler in most of my downtime. I have some time off work over the holiday, so I'd like to gather my submissions during that time. :)

Any gender/sexuality for either. They’re both queer.

Please include the following bio with your submission:

Name: Age: Gender: Pronouns: Sexuality: Occupation: Likes: Dislikes: Favorites (music, food, etc): Traits: Aspiration: Family/Important Friends/Pets?: Short Bio: Anything other misc. information?:

Please have your characters dressed in the following: 2 casual outfits 2 formal outfits 2 party outfits at least 1 of each other outfit type

I may require additional information if I select your submission for when I'm compiling my reference page, and thereafter the story as it unfolds. :)

Quick FAQs from my last attempt at this challenge:

Can we submit more than one sim? Yes. There's not a guarantee that both will be chosen, but please feel free to submit two unrelated sims, friends, siblings, exes, etc.

Do entries need to be wealthy? No! Potential admirers can be from any socioeconomic background. The Gryswalds do not worry for wealth, and would take care of a spouse who does.

Will this be scripted? Partially! I will be taking some liberties with conversations, personalities or reactions to things. I’ll do my best to not make the contestants too out of character. I won’t be controlling the contestants beyond instructing them to complete a task when it’s needed or to pose them. I won’t initiate intimacy unless the heirs whims include it. If they’re prompted into intimacy by contestants, especially on dates, I’ll likely let it happen.

Will this be NSFW? It could be! I'll try not to show anything too graphic, but there could be instances of intimacy.

How will eliminations be conducted? Eliminations will be based on relationship levels within the romance and friendship bars. If there’s a tie, it’ll go to whoever is more attracted to the heirs. If attraction is also a tie, I’ll either use WheelDecide or ask the audience. I’ll likely ask the audience for other reasons as well.

Limitations on CC? I’d prefer you kept away from alpha hair and eye CC (as I have a preference), but all other CC is fine and accepted. I have all packs, except the most recent couple and Batuu.

[catty-words]

being a lover of music colonizes more of my personality every year, but i do not claim to have refined taste. still, cataloguing my musical life for the past year appeals, so -

albums that defined my 2024

the grandma eps by the front bottoms: on my drive to visit my family for christmas 2023, i fully unlocked my obsession with the front bottoms. in the song "the plan (fuck jobs)", the emotional crescendo is the following line: when my mind is uncertain, my body decides. listening to this chanted at me somewhere in the middle of the mind-numbingly long state of pennsylvania after the sun had already set and i was desperate to stand out of my car seat altered my brain chemistry permanently.

before this moment, i'd appreciated a number of tfb albums. the majority of them even! after this moment, though, every last song in their catalogue was a revelation. i love this band not just as art, but as a confidant and kindred spirit. every time i declare a band to be my favorite, my relationship with that band seems to run its course shortly thereafter. the front bottoms, though, the front bottoms are forever.

anyway, when i got back home in the new year, i downloaded the grandma eps and took my time appreciating each of them in turn. like the rest of the front bottoms' albums, there's not a single song i feel dispassionate about. many times throughout the year, i felt the decisive need to put on ann or theresa and my first time seeing tfb live was for the 10 year celebration of rose. if any album defined my 2024, it was this trio of eps. on those merits alone, 2024 was a good year.

the window (2023) by ratboys: if i'm being honest, though i enjoy this album quite a bit, it makes this list primarily thanks to its title track, which is about the writer's grandparents saying goodbye to each other on opposite sides of a window thanks to covid. it's about processing death and celebrating life. i choke up literally every time i listen to it, and being so profoundly touched by a piece of art is a gift i do not take for granted. hence this album's place on this list.

also, the instrumental break in "black earth, wi" fucks.

if i can't have love, i want power (2021) by halsey: i got into halsey this year because of a todd in the shadows tweet about tortured poets department! i would say it was fortuitous since she released a new album, but i have yet to properly listen to that album. out of the rest of her discography, though, this one wins out as my favorite. i think it has something to do with the way its disillusionment has a certain maturity. or the way the world of the album feels familiar, yet older and more magic than our own. there's atmosphere and bitterness and bops. literally, what more could i ask for?

big ideas (2024) by remi wolf: a grower! i wasn't especially taken with this one when it was first released in may, then by september, i craved big ideas. it hit me out of nowhere and then dogged me through the end of the year. my favorite release of 2024 by a wide margin.

everything seems like yesterday (2020) by the frights: what is it about music from the pandemic* that makes it seep so deep into my brain? there's a certain quality to the melancholy that hits right and hasn't stopped hitting right.

anyway, this was not the first album i listened to by the frights - that honor goes to hypochondriac (2018). and if hypochondriac (2018) hadn't gripped me instantly the way it did, i may have never listened to everything seems like yesterday (2020) and then i wouldn't have been haunted by everything seems like yesterday (2020) at the end of 2024 and then my 2024 wouldn't have held quite the same grey, introspective quality that it does in my mind. i don't want that. i'm glad my year included this messy, chilly album that never overstays its welcome.

*since this album was released in january, it's not actually from a world overshadowed by the pandemic. but in a more honest sense, it's absolutely a pandemic album. i will not be taking notes at this time.

the loneliest time (2022), tug of war (2008), and the loveliest time (2023) by carly rae jepsen: i had already been made an unwavering fan the year before, but in 2024, i cemented my status as a certified crj girlie. she is my pop icon to end all other pop icons. her every album carefully, thoughtfully, and generously lends effervescence and joy to my music listening life. peace and love on planet canada.

gnx (2024) by kendrick lamar: fucking around and becoming a more well-rounded appreciator of music. this is, i am embarrassed to say, the first rap album to which i've given my proper attention and i think it changed my life. i have this distinct memory of walking around the second floor of a barnes & noble listening to "reincarnated" for the first time the saturday after thanksgiving, and the verse where kendrick is in conversation with god literally took my breath away. it was an "oh. oh." moment with an entire genre of music to which i'd previously never opened myself up.

art is beautiful and it never stops giving.

[docgold13]

Batman: The Animated Series - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

The Scarecrow (New Adventures)

Following a prolonged absence, The Scarecrow returned to Gotham.  He now wore a much more frightening costume complete with lifts that made him seem taller, a ghoulish mask and a hangman’s noose dangled about his neck.  

Crane’s further research into fear led to the development of a new fear-toxin.  This was a gas that completely nullified terror and debilitated an individual from being able to feel the least bit of fear or anxiety.  In that a degree of fear is essential in foresight and self-preservation, a total lack of fear was severely dangerous.  

Crane recruited test subjects for the new compound by was of a series of phony self-help seminars aimed toward people suffering from anxiety.  He found that those exposed to the anti-fear gas behaved in a highly chaotic and destructive fashion.  

Batman infiltrated one of these seminars in disguise and ended up dosed with the anti-fear gas.  Although he believed he could handle its effects, Robin quickly noticed that Batman was behaving in an increasingly reckless fashion. Batman was ultimately able to discover The Scarecrow’s scheme but he almost killed a suspect in the process and Robin was forced to subdue Batman until a cure for the gas could be found.  

The Scarecrow planned to hold Gotham ransom, threatening to release the gas throughout the city, sewing absolute mayhem unless an exorbitant ransom was paid.  He had commandeered a subway train to administer the gas.  Robin caught up to the train but was captured by The Scarecrow’s henchmen.  Batman, meanwhile, had escaped Robin’s bindings and followed.  He defeated The Scarecrow and his men and would have killed the villain had Robin not administered the antidote just in time.   

Not long thereafter, the Scarecrow once more escaped Arkham and was pulling a heist.  He was captured by Batman but not before dosing Batgirl with a concentrated version his traditional fear gas.  This caused Batgirl to fall into a comatose-like sleep where she had an awful nightmare that involved her father, Commissioner Gordon, going to war with Batman over the fact that she had been killed in action.  She was terribly relieved when she awakened and discovered it was all a dream induced by the fear gas.  

Actors Actors Henry Polic II, Jeff Bennett and Jeffery Combs have each provided the voice for The Scarecrow.  The villain first appeared in the tenth episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series, ‘Nothing to Fear.’  

[ripeteeth]

Hi! I just discovered you from your snarry fic "Strange Pilgrims" (I absolutely loved it!) and was happily surprised that you also read danmei. I came across your tumblr and was really struck by the phrase "all love stories are ghost stories." I’d love to hear more about what it means to you. You mentioned that this line is a recurring theme in your work, and I’m curious—How did you discover the original phrase? Why does it resonate with you so deeply? How does it influence your storytelling?

Hi! I know you sent this ages ago and thanks for your patience! I’m so delighted that you enjoyed Strange Pilgrims!

I first encountered the phrase “every love story is a ghost story” through David Foster Wallace, who peppers it throughout his own work (but may not have originated the phrase himself, which this article goes into with some detail — it’s fascinating and I highly recommend). It’s a line that burned itself onto my psyche, especially in regard to my art and writing, as much of my work is centered on grief and loss, and grief is the ghostly echo of love. All love stories are ghost stories because one of us always has to go first, and grief is that love that haunts us thereafter.

I sometimes approach writing as a way to process that grief. As if the piece is an elegy to a feeling, to a time or a place, to the memory of a dream, to someone you once loved, or to someone you once were. It’s about the ghostly parts loved and lost and how to weave them into a quilt of words to be kept safe.

[usafphantom2]

Thunderchiefs at Hill AFB (cupido)

hill.af.mil/News/Article-D…

@kadonkey via X

1970s: The F-105 and Reserve 508th Tactical Fighter Group at Hill AFB

May 21, 2020

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --

Editor's note: This feature is part of a Hill Air Force Base 80th anniversary series. These articles will feature the base’s historical innovations and achievements, and will highlight mission platforms that have been operated and supported throughout the decades.

During the 1970s, several Hill Air Force Base tenant organizations made various changes. Formerly assigned to the 452nd Tactical Airlift Wing, the Air Force Reserve 945th Military Airlift Group was reassigned to the 301st Tactical Fighter Wing on July 1, 1972. Resulting from this reassignment, the first of 18 newly assigned F-105 Thunderchief aircraft arrived at Hill AFB on September 24, 1972, for the 945th.

Shortly thereafter, on November 27, 1972, the last C-124 Globemaster assigned to the group departed Hill AFB. A few months later, the 945th inactivated. Concurrently, the AFRES constituted the 508th Tactical Fighter Group and activated the unit at Hill AFB. The new group received the F-105 aircraft which had briefly been assigned to the 945th. Three months later, AFRES inactivated the 508th on March 25, 1973, and in its place activated Detachment 508 of the 301 TFW in order to provide the wing’s organizational structure conformity with other units in the command. Subsequent requirements, however, necessitated the reactivation of the 508th Tactical Fighter Group on October 17, 1975, at which time Detachment 508, 301 TFW, inactivated.

On October 10, 1978, AFRES activated the 405th Combat Logistics Support Squadron at Hill AFB and assigned the unit to the 508 TFG. Prior to this, on October 1, 1977, the 508th lost three of its assigned squadrons: the 7th Supply Squadron, Mobile; the 7th Maintenance Squadron, Mobile; and the 5th Augmentation Squadron, Wendover Auxiliary Field.

The AFRES inactivated the 508th Tactical Fighter Group at Hill AFB on October 1, 1982, concurrently activating the 419th Tactical Fighter Wing. Despite the fact that the 419th Fighter Wing’s 466th Tactical Fighter Squadron continued to fly the F-105 until March 1984, the 508 TFG was the last unit assigned the F-105. In June 1983, the 419th TFW, assigned the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, began retiring the F-105s it inherited from the 508th TFG upon the unit’s inactivation.

Shortly before beginning this process, the 466th TFS flew a 24-ship “diamonds on diamonds” formation with the F-105 as a salute to the aircraft’s many contributions. The F-105 flew and fought in the skies of Southeast Asia during the conflict in Vietnam. On February 25, 1984, F-105 combat veterans reunited at Hill AFB and conducted the final F-105 missing man formation.

During this ceremony they dedicated aircraft 62-4347, the F-105 with the most air time, as a monument to those who served with F-105s and especially those who gave their lives while doing so. The last F-105 (aircraft 62-8287, an F model) departed Hill AFB on March 10, 1984, for Chanute AFB, Illinois, where it was put on display.

[tasmiq]

Jumu'ah Sohbet: 29 November 2024

Our Aqim al-Salat book compiled by our Shaykh Taner and Anne (spiritual mother) opens our minds and hearts to the myriad means of Divine connection beyond our ritual prayers. Last weekend, Shaykh Nishaat simply identified it as everything and everyone that connects us with Allah. Our sweet and soulful murid brother Javed Hoosen broke it down even deeper, where each of our unique and personal paths of service form our constitution or guideline in the present; paving our way into the future, but it was shaped by our circumstances and experiences in the past, with our beloved Shaykh Taner. Subhana'Allah (Divine glory) that our Tariqa (Sufi spiritual family) remind us about our purpose and provide us moral clarity in the way ahead. Bismillah...

#1. Brother Javed thereafter spoke about what shaped his own unique path ahead:

- There is no compulsion in religion. Therefore, we should approach all things from a place of understanding because the right is very clear from the wrong. Sometimes, we are compelled to follow things from a literal perspective, but at some point, we falter with it in our beings and actions.

- We must choose to worship Allah knowingly and willingly all the time as a repeated reality throughout our lives. Allah is not asking us to choose other's paths, but He is asking us to choose our own unique path to Him. Shaykh Taner explained that there are as many paths to Allah as people on earth! And, the hardest part is working out what our own Aqim al-Salat is. It all comes down to how our spiritual mentors guided us at pivotal moments in our lives.

- We must keep an open mind in terms of the understanding and knowledge of Allah because there is a difference between information, knowledge, and wisdom. If we're able to do the last; we're able to separate, segment, and filter out information that we keep for the sake of it vs. practical information. Information is as distracting as our nafs and especially in the age of information overload that we're living in with numerous perspectives, narratives, and versions of circumstances and not the truth!

We cannot be living an aspect of Sufism and Islam outside of who we are and what we understand. The focus should be on where we are now and understand Allah, and realise that even our Sufi paths are unique! We are not going to relate to Allah in the same way. Because if we understood how great Allah truly is, we would realise how little we know. And acknowledging this will help us to be better in searching, more open to learning, and improving in a state of complete submission.

- Shaykh Taner would often tell us to keep an open mind and question everything. He would even suggest a process of having a front and backpack. The front pack is for the information that you have now and the backpack is for the information that you will need later. So Shaykh Taner had developed the habit of not dismissing any type of knowledge because it could be from Allah. That is the type of critical thinking that Shaykh Taner inculcated in us, where he was able to show us that there is always more!

- The best information and Sohbets would come from people questioning Shaykh Taner and Anne respectfully vs. wanting to demonstrate their own nafs' prowess. There is an adhab (respect) of questioning and engagement.

- Shaykh Taner was able to connect our experiences to Allah immediately. As beyond heaven and hell, and living in the present and now, and the possibility of His enjoyment and Divine breath as a reality.

#2. Well, I recall several misunderstandings tainting my own subsequent encounters with Shaykh Taner. It is where I had encountered his grouchy side, tainted by other's perceptions of him. So much so that I hadn't even noticed or appreciated his acknowledgment of our connection from the onset, even before I formally became a murid (follower). I recall meeting him first at someone's home, where he singled me out for my opinion. I was so struck by his attention, which intrigued me as I was really spiritually hungry after several life failures, in my eyes. I was even gutsy enough to attend with my Wushin (traditional martial arts) training clothes. It was fortuitously the day that I had witnessed your Abbu and Zaheer Bhai taking their be'yat (Sufi pledges).

Thereafter, I asked your Mama to meet him and Anne because I was curious to know more. Sadly. a series of misunderstandings tainted our union as Shaykh and murid. It was after your Abbu and I became closer friends and I joined the Tariqa as a muhib (regular attendee), even traveled to Turkey with the Tariqa and delayed marrying your Abbu, did I finally request to become a murid. I couldn't help but recognise that the reason that I fit into this spiritual group is that we were all social misfits. I had struggled my whole life to resonate deeply with religion, where I even spoke to Allah as a kid, "If You really exist, make this curtain move!"

Only Sufism through Shaykh Taner made the curtains of my consciousness move, years later. After witnessing my brother's studious approach to knowing Allah and even my study of Qur'anic Arabic had not been able to do that. Even as a Sufi muhib and later murid of Shaykh Taner, I was often left frustrated because I was brought to the cusp of understanding, but always feeling left behind because the messages hadn't truly sunk in. I would say that I truly became a murid a couple of years back, as an accident survivor 😳 After I was even bitter enough at Allah and had declared to Shaykh Taner that I hadn't felt him or anyone's presence in my rehabilitation journey!

I was eventually humbled enough to recognise that I needed the purpose that Allah brought through Sufism. I grew to suspend my inherently snooty nature to realise that the reason that I had willingly chosen this spiritual family is because we were all a part of each other and a part of Allah as the Divine breath of Hu. Subsequently, I was suddenly swimming in an ocean of consciousness that leaves me swimming in new tides of insights. This leaves me choked up in gratitude as brother Javed described. I feel as though my awakening into our Tariqa happened so late, and so close to when Shaykh Taner passed on, I keep him even closer and our other Pirs, as ropes to Allah.

#3. Additionally, these are some other ways that I have been enriched by our Tariqa, akin to a personality trait, Alhamdulillah!:

i. Its focus on complementary health. As a child of medical doctors, I marvel that after having grown up on allopathic medicine as a former paracetamol and antihistamine junkie, now I am often treated for annual colds and flus by the natural means of ginger, garlic and honey. Including other kinder alternatives.

ii. Ilahi (Divine praise): based often on the Turkish and specifically Sufi language. Most beautifully keeping us connected to the spirits of our beloved Shaykh Taner and Anne. But also known for Divine praise in many other languages

iii. Sohbet duties as "Khatheeb" (transmitter of spiritual messages every Jumu'ah): consolidates our regular weekly, spiritual inspiration that feels akin to swimming in an ocean of Divine consciousness.

iv. Ansari Sustainable Living: As the former researcher for sustainable living and project leader of the informal recycling project, I fit into this mission of our Tariqa as hands into a glove.

v. World consciousness: in the right kind of way through the smallest action of prayer beyond vocalisation and direct retaliation, and not simply drowning in despair! Anne has refreshingly made me aware of another way of being, in submission, and surrender to Allah for things I cannot control.

vi. Qur'an: My connection has transformed from an inability to connect as hard as I tried as a former Qur'anic Arabic student, to opening a floodgate of contemplation and grateful connection with every other verse of Allah's words of our Tariqa's English translation 🥹 Subhana'Allah! With gratitude, especially to Khalifa Rubina, who frequently has to manage my hāl (temporary state of consciousness) during our weekly Qur'an Contemplation and Action sessions 😅

vii. Silat (An Indonesian Islamic martial arts system): As a former senior martial arts student which truly resonated with our beloved Shaykh Taner, who expressed his love of Silat from our meeting at the onset. This keeps me connected to him, Islam, and my former practice of another traditional martial arts system.

There is no wonder that just as pervasive as nafs is, is the heart quenching reality of belonging and longing for continued spiritual sustenance that we get from our Sufi Tariqa:

Shukran Ya Allah × infinity for the opening into this eternal consciousness, Insha'Allah!