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crow-aeris · 1 year ago

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Part 2 of Sapphire Eyes: Part 1 is linked!

The ao3 link is in part 1

After reaching the lake, Bruce tried to lift the mer pup off his shoulders, but it very quickly devolved into the pup wailing in his ear- the sheer volume enough to make Bruce's ears ring.

"Please let go," Bruce pleaded before stumbling into the lake. His boots squelched in the mud, and Bruce could only wince at the sound. He prays for whoever has to clean his clothes after this.

Bruce’s pants were sopping wet, and he was tired, "Buddy, I can't sleep in the water like you!"

In response, the little mer pup just wails again, his lips wobbling as he looks up at Bruce with wide, watery, sapphire eyes.

"Please..." Bruce tried again to pry the pup's claws out of his shirt, but he was helpless as the mer wailed, thrashing his tail and splashing icy water everywhere, "I have to get up early tomorrow!"

The pup dejectedly whimpered one last time before unhooking his claws, dropping unceremoniously into the water, and disappearing into the depths… But not before flicking his tail and drenching Bruce in cold, salty lake water.

Bruce sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face as shivers wrecked through his body. He trudged dejectedly into the castle, ignoring the few servants and guards still awake at this dreadful hour, navigating through the large castle to grab shovels from the Gardener's shed... Which was at the back of the castle… Which was on the side of the lake…

Bruce sighs internally and groans. He'd trudged through the entire castle for what? He did it for nothing...

…He blames it on fatigue.

Bruce heaves the shovel over his shoulder and heads back to the beach where he painstakingly- with more care than he'd ever had- dug a pair of graves farther inland, where the tides wouldn't be able to steal their bodies away.

The king took a deep breath, wiping the sweat from his brow and accidentally smearing dirt all over his face. Bruce contemplates tossing the shovel aside and passing out right then and there, but that would be a terrible disgrace toward the dead mers, and Bruce's parents and Alfred raised him better than that.

An aching sensation screamed at Bruce, tearing through every fiber of his being as he dropped the shovel haphazardly in the main hall before slowly shambling toward his room.

Right as he reached the castle’s family wing, Bruce was greeted by Alfred.

"I assume it went well, Master Bruce?" the butler said. A twitch of the man's mustache was the only thing that gave away his amusement.

Bruce groans, exhaustion tearing at his mind like a vicious creature, threatening to send the king to sleep right then and there, "I'll go wash, and then I'm going to sleep. Can you wake me up... an hour before the conference begins?"

"Of course, lad," Alfred's eyes take on a warm and fond light, "go get some rest."

And boy, does Bruce rest. He rests so hard that Alfred sprays freezing water onto the king's face to wake him up.

Bruce groaned petulantly, debating whether or not he should... not attend the conference and go back to sleep. Alas, all it took was a stern look from Alfred to force Bruce to his feet and get ready for the day.

-----

Bruce sat at the head of the wooden conference table as the barons and dukes of the provinces of Gotham gathered to report their annual crop yields, crime rates, population, and other jargon that Bruce- honestly- could care less of. Even so, Bruce cared about Gotham- this kingdom was his parents' pride and joy- and Bruce would be damned if he allowed this kingdom to fall into ruin.

"If I may be bold, Your Majesty," Duke Drake stood, his wife standing behind him with a calculating gaze, "I'd like to submit a request."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. Jack Drake was known to be a tyrannous duke who asked for too much and gave too little, ruling his province with an iron fist... but that was all he had going for him. His wife, a woman from the Far East who married into the Drake name, was the real threat between the two. She is as cunning as a snake and strikes deals like a spider weaving a web, luring victims into her trap without their realizing.

In short, Janet Drake was the one you should really look out for.

"Speak your mind, Duke Drake," Bruce waved his hand, tilting his head with a sickly-sweet, saccharine smile, "please, I'd love to hear your thoughts."

The duke faltered, but a look from Janet spurred him forward, "The province of Bristol has been growing steadily, and we have been producing knights and soldiers of the highest caliber!"

Bruce nodded slowly, "Your point, Drake?"

Duke Drake coughed awkwardly, and Bruce barely noticed Duchess Drake jabbing her nails into her husband's side, "I would like to request a higher amount of ration to be transported to Bristol."

The king raised a brow, noting how the dukes and duchesses of the other provinces had pinned the Drakes with incredulous glares.

"Why not purchase the rations instead?" Bruce tilted his head. He should really hire an advisor to help him settle these conferences. There was this up-and-coming son of a lesser noble, Lucius Fox, who seemed promising.

"Well," Jack faltered, and Bruce spotted Janet's eye twitch in irritation. But before the fumbling duke could continue his tiresome tirade, a faint yet familiar wailing curled through the air.

"What was that?" many of the dukes and duchesses straightened with alarmed expressions.

The king hummed noncommittally, "Don't worry about it."

"W-was that a mer?" the duke of a random seaside province stammered out, and the king could see anxiety rippling through the room of greater nobles.

Bruce flapped his hand, "Don't worry about it. Well, I think today's conference has been quite enlightening! I'll have the servants gather your belongings and see you out."

"Wait, Your Majesty!" the dukes shouted, shouting over one another with various levels of shock and disbelief. Those who've been dukes since Bruce's father was king were used to his antics, but the newer nobles have yet to adjust to Bruce's eccentric way of ruling.

"Sir!" a servant called, and Bruce barely managed to suppress a groan of irritation. A servant would interrupt a conference only if Alfred instructed them to. "Sir Pennyworth has instructed me to notify you-"

Very maturely, Bruce does not contemplate leaping out of the large window behind him to escape the conference and return to his mer pup's side.

Wisely, Bruce decides that he'd prefer to retain his life, and the king sits down to slog through the remainder of the two-hour conference.

Eventually, Bruce makes it through the painful endeavor and watches the nobles file out of the room into the hall where their servants are waiting patiently. Once the last noble leaves the room, Bruce drops his head against the wooden table with a thud.

"Bruce? What is this mer you've been keeping in the castle?"

The king groans, burying his face in his forearms before heaving himself upright and meeting his neighboring king's amused eyes, "What do you want, Clark?"

"That's no way to treat a childhood friend," the King of Metropolis smiled, his bright blue eyes dancing with amusement, "I'll tell Alfred you've been mistreating me. He likes me better, after all."

"Shut up," Bruce grumbled, shoving past Clark before waving down a servant, "Excuse me, does the kitchen have any fruits to spare?"

The servant nodded, "Some dukes arrived with a few baskets of fruits as gifts for the castle- but may I suggest something, sir?"

Bruce blinked and nodded, "Of course, speak your mind."

The teen nodded, and Bruce could see her being appointed to housemaid if she chose to remain in the castle, "I've heard rumors of a coup or potential uprising from servants within the visiting dukes' manor. There has been word of a rebellion among the nobles, and so the fruits may have been doused with either belladonna or henbane."

The king hummed before nodding, "Have the seeds harvested and the flesh of the fruits turned to compost to distribute among those who might need it. Does the kitchen have definitively safe fruits that we can eat?"

A thoughtful expression crossed the teen's face, "I think we have a few pomegranates and apples. Would you like the fruits peeled?"

"No, thank you," Bruce smiled, "I appreciate the offer, but I'm alright with peeling the fruits myself. I'll be with the Head of El by the lake. Thank you, Alyssa. If we have snacks prepared, could you bring some out, too? You may help yourself to however much you'd like as well."

Her eyes lit up with awe, and Bruce could tell the teen was doing her best to repress a bright smile, "Of course, Your High- Sir! I wish you a good day!"

"You as well," Bruce nodded with a slightly confused smile before heading toward the lake in the back, Clark hot on his heels.

"You still haven't told me about this mer pup you've adopted," Clark raised his brow pointedly.

Bruce shrugged, settling down on the shore of the lake... How was he going to call for the mer? The opposite end of the lake had a canal that flowed into the ocean, and nothing stopped the mer from... leaving.

His fellow king bumped his shoulder against Bruce, "Maybe you should call him?"

"I'm thinking," Bruce huffed, shoving him back.

Clark scoffed and nudged him back harder. Bruce narrowed his eyes, seeing the amused challenge in Clark's expression and accepting it wholeheartedly.

Bruce lunged forward, a smile on his lips as he tackled the other into the dirt.

"What! You never said go!" Clark shouted before kicking Bruce off of him.

"You should know this by now," Bruce snarked and dodged Clark's retaliatory lunge, "all is fair in love and war!"

"You're an asshole, B!" the king shouted before managing to finally connect with Bruce, sending the pair tumbling to the ground.

Bruce laughed, managing to wiggle out of Clark's grasp when suddenly the water erupted into a violent spray, and a snarling mer pup forced himself between the two. His dorsal fins were flared in a clear display of aggression, a rattling hiss-growl falling from the pup's throat as he reared up and displayed his fangs and claws. Even with the display, the pup was barely taller than Bruce's waist.

The two humans fell silent as the pup continued to hiss and growl, his cranial fins wiggling and flapping aggressively.

"Hey, buddy," Bruce kneeled and gently brushed his hand down the pup's back, smoothing his raised dorsal fins and flared caudal fins, "it's okay, he's a friend. This is Clark, and we were playing, okay? He wasn't actually trying to hurt me."

The pup relaxed slightly, chittering with an uncertain expression before leaning his wet self against Bruce's chest and legs. He grimaces but decides to indulge the mer, changing his position so he is sitting down rather than kneeling. Clark joined him, but the pup hissed whenever the fellow king got too close.

"Have you chosen a name for him yet?" Clark asked, watching the pup play with Bruce's left hand, leaving the other hand to card through the mer's oily hair.

"No," Bruce replies, "I want to choose something he'd like rather than choosing it for him."

Clark raised a questioning brow, "What are the chances of that happening? Sure, mers can mimic words and phrases, but there haven't been reports of ones speaking."

The king of Gotham glared at his friend with an expression of faux irritation, "You're such a dick, you know that?"

"Hey! Don't say that near the baby," Clark protested good-naturedly, "you'll teach him bad things!"

The two were so preoccupied with their conversation that they didn't notice the pup's thoughtful expression.

Clark nodded, "Yeah, so we've been trying to have the Groundskeeper plant some native flora to replenish the biodiversity of the kingdom-"

"Ick?"

The pair froze, their eyes snapping to the pup, who watched Bruce's mouth intently.

"Did he just say-"

"Dick!" the mer pup grinned toothily, pointing his webbed fingers at himself, "Dick!"

"I- buddy-" Bruce faltered, watching the pup helplessly as he pointed at himself and repeatedly chirped dick.

"I?" the pup echoed curiously, and the two kings exchanged matching expressions.

"Yes, "I,"" Bruce pointed to himself, "I am Bruce. Bruce. You are D-... You are Dick...?"

The pup narrowed his eyes before pointing at Bruce's face, "Moose."

"Uh... Bruce."

"Boose!" the pup exclaimed before giggling, and Bruce could feel himself melt with amused fondness.

"When we were younger, you said you wanted kids," Clarked grinned cheekily, "was this what you envisioned?"

"Shut up," Bruce doesn’t shove Clark because not only is he an adult, but he is still very tempted to do so. Also, since he has a very young and impressionable pup in his lap, he needs to be a good influence.

Clark, to Bruce's chagrin, does not shut up. Instead, he frustratingly continues, "You should tell Alfred he's a grandpa now, shouldn't you?"

"I will sic him on you," Bruce threatened even as his adorable little mer pup continued to gnaw gently at his fingers, "Don't test me- I will."

"Sure you will..." Clark drawled, his midwestern dialect slipping through.

Bruce scowls and smacks Clark with his free hand, “Why do I still put up with you?”

With a soft smile, Clark leaned forward with an earnest expression far too honest for this situation, "Because you're my friend, and no matter what happens, we will always stick with each other."

As his heart swells with a soft contentment, Bruce thinks he could stay like this forever.

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darkmaga-returns · 7 months ago

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Risking Nuclear War. Putin Warns of Retaliation. Boris Johnson calls for sending British troops to Ukraine. Bangladesh’s Hindu Genocide. UFOs in DC. Never forget what they did to us.

Lioness of Judah Ministry

Nov 29, 2024

Risking Nuclear War

Escalating brinkmanship might be justified if victory were in sight or if any of this contributed to American security. But none of these things are true.

We are probably closer to a nuclear war than any previous point in my lifetime. As a Generation X kid who grew up during the Cold War, fear of nuclear war is still a deeply ingrained instinct. We read Alas Babylon in school and saw The Day After to give us a sense of what a nuclear apocalypse might be like. Everyone understood it was the summum malum, the end of civilization as we know it. The fear of nuclear war did not stop all conflict during the Cold War, but it did ensure that conflicts were limited. During that tense time, there were no world wars or sustained fighting between the nuclear powers themselves. Instead, wars took place among proxies far from the territory of the superpowers, such as the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Putin Warns of Retaliation if Nuclear Weapons Transferred to Ukraine

Russia will use all means of destruction at its disposal if Ukraine gets nuclear weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at his press conference following the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Kazakhstan.

"In this case, we will take and use all, I want to emphasize, exactly all means of defeat available to Russia. Everything, we will not allow this," Putin pointed out, commenting on possible future Russian actions in case Ukraine has nuclear weapons. The president also noted that Russia will not allow Ukraine to obtain nuclear weapons. "What do you think, at the level of common sense? If the country with which we are essentially fighting now becomes a nuclear power, what should we do? In this case, we will take and use all, I want to emphasize this, exactly all the means of defeat available to Russia - everything. We will not allow this. We will watch their every move," Putin told reporters when asked about Russia's reaction to the possible transfer of nuclear weapons to Kiev.

Warning to Kiev and missile revelations: Key takeaways from Putin’s CSTO summit address

The Russian president used the military alliance’s annual meeting to clarify crucial points about the current standoff with Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed key military and political issues to allies during his speech at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Thursday. The CSTO military alliance comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Putin’s remarks provide new insights into Russia’s military strategies and objectives, particularly regarding Ukraine. Here are the key takeaways from his address

Putin says he does not believe Trump is safe after assassination attempts

ASTANA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin praised U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday as an experienced and intelligent politician, but said he did not believe Trump was safe after attempts on his life.

Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July. In a separate incident in September, a man was charged with attempted assassination after allegedly positioning himself with a rifle at one of Trump's Florida golf courses. Speaking to reporters in Kazakhstan after a summit, Putin said he had been shocked by the way the U.S. election campaign had unfolded.

WaPo Laments Ukraine Will Be Pushed To Negotiate Peace "Within Months"

forced to give up territory...

The Washington Post in a fresh report have revealed more details and rationale behind the decision-making of the lame-duck Biden administration, which this month has chosen to escalate with Russia in several ways. "President Joe Biden’s recent decisions to allow Ukraine to launch missiles deeper into Russia and to provide Kyiv with controversial antipersonnel land mines were driven by a stark new reality: Russia’s importing of North Korean troops, Ukrainian battlefield losses and the election of Donald Trump have thrust Ukraine into perhaps its weakest position in nearly three years," the publication writes.

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zinepavilion · 3 months ago

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Volunteer with the Zine Pavilion at ALA Annual 2025 and receive a free pass to the conference!

The Zine Pavilion is a space on the exhibit floor at the @AmericanLibraryAssociation’s annual conference to display zines, meet zine librarians, and talk about how zines and libraries are a great pair. ALA is the largest gathering of librarians in the world, with over 12,000 attendees, including librarians, archivists, writers, publishers, and guest speakers.

This year’s #ZinePavilion will be held in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Convention Center from Friday June 27 through Monday June 30, 2025.

We’re looking for volunteers who love zines to help the Zine Pavilion run smoothly.

This includes:

-talking to people about zines

-promoting the zine raffle

-folding and stapling zines.

In exchange, we’re offering a free exhibitor badge to the conference to those who volunteer for a 3-hour shift. This badge gives you access to the exhibit hall and all regular ALA sessions. (Please note that this badge does *not* include access to “ticketed events” such as pre-conferences or banquets).

We’re glad to have you as part of the Zine Pavilion!

*Sign up at link in bio or below*

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejsZbFyQD2SLtA_EL0SduQFs-yfLl3hwB_fPyauYASs6JvVg/viewform

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threebooksoneplot · 1 year ago

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had a blast making a zine page for the @zinepavilion at the ALA annual conference this weekend! ✂️📓

#booklr #alaac24 #podcasts #zines

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librarycomic · 2 years ago

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The Horizon Volume 1 by JH. Translation by Ultramedia. Ize Press, 2023. 9798400900297. 376pp. http://www.powells.com/book/-9798400900297?partnerid=34778&p_bt

This is a post-apocalyptic graphic novel, but it's never quite clear what the apocalypse is. There are dead bodies everywhere on some pages, and the art is nearly black and white, so it's a bit less gory than it might otherwise look. But when the wide-eyed little boy protagonist finds his mother's body, and then tries to gather her brains up and put them back into her head, that put my imagination into overdrive. And then he concludes that the value of life is just an illusion, and starts to walk through a ruined city, past more bodies and abandoned military vehicles and out into the county. He meets a little girl, and it becomes clear whatever violence they've both survived is still happening as bombs fall and people flee. Together they join the crowd (and eventually escape it). And from then on they travel together, taking care of each other.

I have no idea where this series is going, but I can't wait to read Volume 2.

Thanks to Mark de Vera who was at the Yen Press / Ize Press / JY booth at ALA Annual, and who booktalked this series to my wife and me and then gave her the first book. If you're at a library conference and have a chance to talk to Mark about comics, do it -- he always knows about graphic novels I want to read.

#bookreview #graphicnovel #graphicnovelreview #apocalypse #manhwa

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loreleybooks · 2 years ago

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PostalZine

zine de arte correio

PostalZine nasce como um projeto ousado a partir das ações apresentadas nas aulas do grupo de estudos Encontros de Arte Postal e propõe ser o primeiro número de uma revista com periodicidade anual.

O grupo de estudos orientado por Marcia Rosenberger busca referências nas características da Arte Correio dos anos 70 e 80 para desenvolver a sua prática, ao lançar um olhar às publicações independentes de baixo orçamento, os zines, amplamente divulgados e compartilhados pelos artistas na época.

Neste processo, as artistas participantes escolheram o tema Liberdade como moto propulsor de suas criações artísticas, palavra-ideologia que reverbera em nossa mente após os últimos anos de tensão democrática em nosso país, quiçá em todo o mundo.

PostalZine artistas: Marcia Rosenberger (editora), Ana Paula Barros, Fernanda Matos, Lourdes Sakotani, Luciana Maria Cassettari, Maura Takemiya, Renata Danicek, Suely Castro Mello, Virgínia Magalhães ano: 2023 técnica: impressão digital dimensão: 21x14,8 cm edição limitada: 100 exemplares numerados páginas: 32 projeto: encadernação tipo canoa com grampo. Miolo Offset 120g e capa em Cartão 300g. selo editorial: Loreley Books INBN: 978-65-981591-0-8

PORTFÓLIO - ações, exposições, feiras de artes gráficas e incorporação em acervos nacionais e internacionais:

integra o arquivo BIG Bienal Internacional de Guarulhos de Pequenos Formatos do Ateliê Coletivo 308, Guarulhos/ BRASIL, 2024

participou da exposição Zine Pavillion no ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition, San Diego-CA/ EUA, 2024

integra o acervo da Palisades Library, Pacific Palisades-CA/ EUA, 2024

participou da versão online da Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Fair, Atelierhaus der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien (Semperdepot), Vienna/ ÁUSTRIA, 2024

participou da exposição Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Exhibition, Atelierhaus der Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien (Semperdepot), Vienna/ ÁUSTRIA, 2024

integra o acervo da Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Fair, Vienna/ ÁUSTRIA, 2024

participou da exposição 9ª Edição da FANZINOTECA Expo, Calafia Art Store, Porto Alegre-RS/ BRASIL, 2024

integra o acervo da FANZINOTECA Expo, org. Priscila Moreira, Porto Alegre-RS, 2024

lançamento na Casa Âmbar de Cultura / Santo André, 2023

lançamento na Edições Motim / Brasília-DF, com Virgínia Magalhães, 2023

participou da exposição Arte Postal no Século XXI / Casa Âmbar de Cultura, Santo André, 2023

integra o acervo da Fanzinoteca itinerante do Grupo de Pesquisa CRIA_CIBER, da Faculdade de Artes Visuais da Universidade Federal de Goiás, 2023

participou da III Expozine – Exposição Internacional de Fanzines / Goiânia, 2023

concorreu ao I Prêmio Nacional Ciberpajelanças de Fanzines e Artezines / Goiânia, 2023

doado ao acervo da Seção de Obras Raras e Especiais da Biblioteca Mário de Andrade / São Paulo, 2023

lançamento na Feira Miolo(s) / São Paulo, 2023

______________________________________________________________

Um zine - derivado de revista - é um livreto publicado de forma independente ou autopublicada, geralmente criado por uma única pessoa. Os zines são normalmente criados cortando e colando fisicamente texto e imagens em uma superfície master para fotocópia, mas também é comum produzir o master digitando e formatando páginas em um computador. O produto final geralmente é dobrado e grampeado. Os zines podem ser impressos e encadernados de qualquer maneira. A impressão offset é uma alternativa relativamente comum à fotocópia, embora haja alguma controvérsia entre os redatores de zines sobre se os produtos impressos profissionalmente podem ser definidos como zines.

Fonte: https://zinewiki.com/wiki/Zine

#loreleybooks #marciarosenberger #independentpublisher #zine #encontrosdeartepostal #artepostalnosec21 #artecorreio #artecorreo #mailart #artepostal #zinecoletivo #lançamentosmiolos2023 #PostalZine #collage

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felipeandletizia · 2 years ago

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Felipe and Letizia retrospective: December 14th

2003: Weekend in London.

2004: Audience to the Junta Directiva del Club de Encuentros “Manuel Broseta” (the alicantin lawyer who was killed by ETA in 1992); Inauguration of the newspaper office of “Las Provincias Multimedia” in Valencia & 16th King Jaime I awards

2005: Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Institute of International and Strategic Studies

2007: Attended the musical “Beauty and the Beast” in benefit the Children’s Oncology Residence of the Spanish Association against Cancer

2009: Lunch offered to the president of Vietnam Nguyen Minh Triet; Meeting with Presidents of Communities and Autonomous Cities attending the 4th Conference of Presidents & Gala dinner offered to the president of Vietnam Nguyen Minh Triet

2011: Prince of Girona Foundation presentation in Barcelona

2012: Audiences at la Zarzuela

2014: Lunch with her team at a restaurant near la Zarzuela

2015: 13th meeting of the patronages of the Princess of Girona Foundation

2016: Meeting of Princess of Girona Foundation at the Royal Palace in Madrid.

2017: Visited Village Pilote initiative for kids of the streets in Dakar, Senegal as part of her four-day cooperation trip to the west African country; Visited Ala 46 (Group 82) of the air force in Las Palmas & Lunch for the 5th International Forum of Tourism, Maspalomas Costa Canaria

2020: Visited military facilities of the Spanish Air Force & Arrived in Honduras for a cooperation trip

2021: Lunch celebrating the 15th anniversary of the newspaper “elEconomista”

2022: Inaugurated the exhibition “De Territorios 5x50”, one of the events in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the UNED & Delivered the 19th edition of the Annual Awards of the Victims of Terrorism Foundation

F&L Through the Years: 1099/??

#King Felipe #Queen Letizia #King Felipe of Spain #Queen Letizia of Spain #King Felipe VI #King Felipe VI of Spain #F&L Through the Years #December14

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displayheartcode · 2 years ago

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new fomo is half my email responses having an automated out of office because they’re at the ala annual conference

#rachel in real life #I MISS BOOK CONFERENCES

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zebraradar · 2 years ago

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At the ALA Membership & Information Meeting, Annual Conference #ALAAC23 #ZibaZLibrarian #ALAChapterCouncilor

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turtlebot113 · 6 months ago

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I graduated with my Master's degree on library science, and then got a job at the library in my hometown 6 months later. And so far, I'm loving the work!

I got to go to the ALA Annual 2024 conference in San Diego, learned a bunch of new things, met some of my favorite authors, and made some queer library friends that I'm still in touch with now.

My grandparents moved to the West Coast to be closer to me, and now I can visit them regularly!

hey honest question, did anybody have GOOD stuff happen to them in 2024? cause it was really bad for me and for most people i know, so it would be nice to hear about anything that's been going WELL for any of you. even if it's small stuff. just to know there's light out there.

#Good news #Optimism #There's light out there still

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ur-online-friend · 9 days ago

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engbergsinfinland · 1 month ago

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Thursday (well, Friday; no, Saturday) Greetings & Salutations!

Hello, all! Well, we've passed the midpoint of the week here and I'd like to say I am in the home stretch of my grading, but that might be an exaggeration. I am praying I will be done by Monday. Tuesday night is the big end-of-the-year Fulbright ceremony, and I was asked to give a 5-minute speech, so I am also working on that. The audience will be comprised of Fulbrighters from this year, past years, and next year (Finns heading to the US), but Finnish government officials, officials from the City of Helsinki, and members of the US Embassy staff and Acting US Ambassador Christopher Krafft will be there also. So, I am being careful with what I say while also trying to convey the power of this experience, its resonance with the historical mission of Fulbright, and the urgency with which we must advocate for the persistence of the Fulbright project into the future. All in a way that doesn't get me barred entry upon my attempted return to the US ;)

***

I wrote a lot more content here on Friday – because, despite my wishes, I did not get this posted on Thursday! But, alas, what I wrote on Friday evening didn't save, and so now I am going to just try to get something posted here.

To be brief (yeah, right, you say!), I still have not finished my Fulbright event remarks (though I did get a sample of what the speaker two years ago said, but she mentioned the crucial importance of progressing with climate-related research, which was her research area; I don't think I can model my speech on hers, given that I am not a climate researcher, and also, such topics probably won't be on the menu this time, given the policing of speech that many in the US administration endorse and how careful all of the Fulbright decision-makers seem to be right now). Anyway, I have not finished the speech and I have not finished my grading. But, I only have two more students' projects to go, and then I will be all done. I graded one of the two theses I need to grade, and the other I will get to this weekend. I also have to get my presentation ready for the Finnish Technical Communication Society annual conference next Thursday. And listing all of this makes me pretty sure I know why I am having such wretched pain in not only my typically bad shoulder (the right one) but in my left shoulder too and on both sides of my neck, like I am being stabbed (I imagine; I have never been stabbed, thank Heavens, so I cannot accurately compare). I usually get really stressed at the end of the semester -- and, welp, here we are.

Cece seems to have little cold or some intense allergies from "The Pollening." Because of her stuffiness, she did not go to gymnastics tonight because she wanted to rest and read. But, she had no new books to read! So, we went to the public library after school and as we were walking there with Alex, and intending to get on the tram, we read the tram electronic board and all the trams were cancelled. So, we walked down the street and close to the center square, we noticed a big crowd. Upon further scrutiny, we saw there was a march going on and there was a noticeable number of elderly people and people with mobility-assistance devices like walkers, canes, and wheelchairs. I asked Cece to read their signs to me, and she did her best, but we couldn't figure it all out. So, she asked someone. It was an elderly people's visibility march, and their signs were about the importance of the elderly to life in Tampere. There was a convening of all of the marchers in the city square with some speeches, a band, and lots of balloons. Finns like balloons at all public gatherings. And store sales. And they also really love free buckets. Have a mentioned that? Take a look at this Reddit thread for more details. Anyway, the senior citizens march was a very nice thing to happen upon.

What else happened this week? Well, as I said, I have been in so much pain from end-of-semester stress. All of my NSAIDs from the US are gone, so I have been taking a few Finnish-issue ibubrofens every day and last night, I started to try to ice my neck with a bag of peas and I laid in the sauna and Eric even bought me some Icy Hot-type of stuff, so I guess I should have joined the elderly-people’s march because, well, isn’t the stereotype that old people smell like Ben-Gay? Such an ageist thing for me to say! But, now that I am officially middle-aged, I think my proximity to the elderly years is close enough that I can legitimately make jokes about smelling like Mentholatum, because, well, right now, I do. Eric also got me an NSAID type that is no longer sold in the US without a prescription. It is called Ketoprofen (and I was like, NO. That sounds like ketamine, and he said, it is not that; apparently, it is very popular in Europe and used to be sold in the US over-the-counter but was not as popular as Aleve and Advil, etc.). Anyway, I tried a ketoprofen this morning and, well, I cannot say it is a miracle drug. I know the recipe for success here: stop working, typing on my keyboard, holding my shoulders in such a tense way . . . blah blah blah.

I did get to take ballet class twice this week, and that is worthy of note. I also got to go see the ballet! I forgot to mention that! On Wednesday afternoon, I took the train to Helsinki to go see the Finnish National Ballet’s contemporary program, T(r)ansi. I went with my friend Laura, another former dancer, and she is so much fun. I love hanging out with her. We went to dinner first at a bistro right across from the opera house, Ravintola Carelia, and I had roasted eggplant pasta (it was like orzo pasta) and it was delicious. The performance was marketed as, like, a happening and there was a DJ in the foyer and some odd roving dancers carrying small speakers, and, as I said, it was like a thing. There were three pieces that comprised the contemporary program: a piece by William Forsythe danced by twelve men, a hypnotic and sort of unnerving piece by Sharon Eyal, and one piece by Paul Lightfoot and Sol León. The Eyal piece came last, after intermission, and Laura and I both have been thinking about it since; it was, for lack of a more sophisticated term, weird . . . and despite or because of that, it sort of gets under one’s skin through its repetitiveness, the cacophony of its score, and the sense that the movements of some of the dancers, done over and over, had to have caused some sort of overuse injury. Also, the lighting design for that piece (and the fact that I forgot my glasses) made it really hard to see clearly in the dimness. I kept hoping the lights would like fully pop on during the piece, but no such luck. Anyway, Laura and I both enjoyed our experience and it is sad that that was my last visit to a Finnish National Ballet performance this season.

On my train ride back to Tampere late on Wednesday, I just kept trucking along with my grading. Trains are nice for that – you can just keep going with whatever work you need to do (if your work only requires you to have a computer, that is) and you can periodically look out the window and see the countryside and towns blurring on by . . .

Welllll, Mother’s Day is Sunday and we’re going to the Tuulensuu Palatsi for brunch and I hope we will be heading out on some sort of nice walk or hike!

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