#Buffalo School Practice Test

[helloodisha]

New York School Grade-5 Science EOG

New York School Grade-5 Science EOG

[sunbecms]

* (   CHAY SUEDE.  CIS MAN.  HE/HIM.   )   ⸺   Ꮺ  ⋆   greetings, buffalos !  walking around campus , sporting his BRAIDED TWINE BRACELET we’ve spotted LEIGHTON DE LOURDES BEHRENS ,  a thirty-two year old who contributes to our thriving community as a DOCTOR. according to our intel , they’ve been around the sanctuary for FIVE YEARS and they DON’T agree with the decision to close the gates . 

trigger warnings :  abuse , addiction , parental issues , violence , alcohol , medical , death 

leighton de lourdes behrens may sound like a fancy , luxurious name , but it carries the weight of anything but to its owner .  as a baby , leighton was born into an environment that yielded nothing positive and no room for a child to grow .  the parents he never had time to know were impoverished and suffering addictions — the only presence of them that remained in his life was his surname , de lourdes .  at the young age in which he ended up in another’s care , he was re-given the name leighton because the caretaker ( a very liberally used term here , as he continued to suffer in their ‘care’ , ) had once read the name in a book and thought it sounded prestigious .  his early identity was practically erased but leighton was none the wiser .   

by the time he entered the foster care system , leighton was hardly a child and had never received proper schooling , structure , or love .  family and trust were not things he’d inherited , and the abusive cycle in which he found himself continued .  leighton was somewhat reclusive , known as a strange loner who kept to himself and could be violent at times if other children - or even adults - tried to mess with him .  he never saw a need to connect with others as they had brought him very little in life anyway . 

it wasn’t until a persistent , pestering girl just a few years younger than him squirmed her way into his world that leighton considered there was value in companionship .  this other child was jack behrens — his foster sister — and after a year or so , the solidified bubble in which he protected himself grew to include jack .  over the years she became his sole family and his other half ; anyone who dared harm jack might as well have been harming leighton , and he would fight back on her behalf without hesitation .  this innate bond served the brother and sister well during and after the outbreak years later .  

despite growth in his personal life , leighton continued to fail miserably in school and often cut class to explore the city , sneak out , and drink underage .  there were a few times he nearly ended up in juvenile hall , and the trajectory of his life did not look bright .  during early years of high school , a rather blunt and observant science teacher pointed out to leighton that he was very smart and talented at life sciences , but that he was wasting all potential and was going to end up being a statistic .  up until this point in his life , leighton had never even considered an alternative , never really thought about his own potential - no one had ever called him smart before .  it was a revelation , and over time this teacher took him under his wing and encouraged him to study medicine . 

by graduation , leighton held on just enough to make it through and get into a community college on scholarship .  his academics were subpar , but his test scores were high and he showed promise .  to everyone’s surprise , leighton made it into med school .  he didn’t quite fit in , didn’t have the correct clothes or books , and if it weren’t for jack’s encouragement and the promise of getting them out of their horrific situation someday , leighton probably would have dropped out . 

he was just starting out his medical schooling when the outbreak began .  he could have completely stopped , but the world was in dire need of doctors as they stood on the front lines dying left and right from the mysterious virus .  leighton became somewhat of a soldier , receiving shoddy medical training and crash courses from a doctor mentor who’d been a guest lecturer , and his skills helped protect himself and jack during their travels until they eventually ended up at the sanctuary .  

even after five years at the sanctuary , leighton still feels restless .  he’s never been able to kick the survival mode he was born in , and his inability to connect with people continues to haunt him oftentimes as an adult .  due to so much of his training being informal , leighton is quietly insecure about his doctor-ing skills and underestimates his own immense talent .  

wanted connections ?? 

➤  a couple confidants , a close friend who leighton can confide in and feel comfortable with when he is too much in his own head or is filled with self doubt ; also an adult mentor who can help keep him on track

➤  bad / good influences , people who persuade leighton one way or another to give into his bad or good tendencies 

➤  ex romantic interest(s) , either former flings that didn’t work out or weren’t too serious , or ex romantic partners who got too close and then either devastated leighton’s heart or vice versa ; gender doesn’t matter . 

➤ a brotp , look i know they’re in the middle of an apocalypse and all that but i love good ole bros being bros sometimes

➤  ( fre ? ) enemies , leighton and this person just clash and probably always will 

➤  opposites attract , friends who are different from leighton and try to pull him from his mental shell 

➤  etc , i’m very open to wcs you want for your own muses or ideas you think may work ! 

[anthonybialy]

Buffalo Sabres Need Help Replacing Assistants

The Buffalo Sabres returned to reality, which in their case is very bad.  Retaining what they already have ruined a throwback.  Moving to the future with a prominent name from the past is tough while accompanied by names from an unfortunate present.  The team is curiously proud of detailing how coaching duties will be split for coaches who should split.  Nostalgia sustained us for about a week.  

Lindy Ruff will be saddled with Matt Ellis.  The only thing worse than keeping anyone connected to the drought is keeping a crop-killer.  His record is established.  Like noting anything associated with the Sabres during Terry Pegula’s exhausting tenure, that’s not praise.

Ellis shows that working hard may not pay off.  The greatest superstars have easier circumstances whether or not they realize it.  Peyton Manning can claim that most of his challenge as a player was mental, which is easy when you’re Archie’s son.  By contrast, there are many coaches who applied getting the most out of limited abilities to overseeing players such as, say, Sean McDermott and Lindy Ruff.

But satisfying the condition of failing to be an all-star is insufficient on its own.  A hardworking marginal pro is not necessarily going to be an amazing coach.  Toiling in fourth-line obscurity cannot be the only qualification.  We call that the Matt Ellis rule.

Ellis maintains his important role of telling Rob Ray during the first admission that the roster must keep working to overcome the thing not working.  His work as a public relations flack has been invaluable to those who don’t pay attention.  As for actual coaching, you’re just going to have to let the trainee have more practice time.

Successful businesses know it’s important to maintain all the wonderful aspects everyone has enjoyed.  Ellis is renowned for the unbeatable extra-man tactic of players staying in place.  Hold still and defenders might not see you.  Save molecule movement for possible later use.  Inertness is a perfect metaphor for a team that needs and won’t get a complete staff overhaul.

Fans are lucky if the team should maintain their recent strategies, which they should not.  The power play has been a crime against hockey that has represented ineptitude through an unprecedented woeful stretch.  Baffling inertia hasn’t just figuratively summarized misery: the infuriating lack of productivity despite the advantage of having one more player than the foe has helped keep a low-scoring entity banished.

Now-former Rochester coach Seth Appert is the one franchise employee who had a chance at success.  Naturally, he didn’t taken it, and naturally, he gets ahead.  The Sabres shrewdly losing regularly has allowed them to stockpile youthful talent, although the average age is rising rapidly.  The cunning plan would presumably allow a farm team to rack up titles.  But let me introduce you to this organization.  Defensive lapses are a great way to test a young goalie.

The Sabres became predictable during exile.  For example, they presumably just promoted their next coach.  Appert’s real new task is waiting for Lindy to take a front office position.  Fans who’ve noticed how things have gone during the HDTV era are not as thrilled by apparent continuity.

Promoting internally is great as long as the business doesn’t suck.  Is there a way for a pro team to track that?  Changing culture should be paramount to a group that is enduring an ignominious postseason absence.  I can think of one franchise that should look everywhere else for employees.  The Sabres prove the Peter principle past the first level of incompetence.

Firing everyone would be insufficient yet the closest this club gets to creating fulfillment.  It won’t happen, of course.  Every overreacting social media fan is correct if they follow the Sabres.  Make one fuming tweeter general manager if it’d lead to Ellis helping Kevyn Adams run a hockey school.

People never change.  Always remember rule number one.  Meanwhile, the Sabres don’t know the rules of hockey.  Franchises owned by sadly consistent humans don’t, either.  It sure looks like the Pegulas are pleased with how all the stuff’s going.  No edition of Buffalo’s alleged NHL member has moved to the knockout stage in what seems like awhile, but I don’t want to be negative by checking how many years in a row it’s been.

A moment of clarity is traditionally associated undertaking fundamental alterations.  The Sabres realized everything they’re doing is super.  Employed hockey experts are way smarter than rash critics who want to change everything just because the performance has been worse than anything in league history.

As a coach, Ellis is respectable as a player.  I really liked how he toiled to his utmost before he got his current post overseeing guys who don’t do the same.  It’d be mean to expect him to look for a different job just because he can’t do his current one.  How would he ever find another?  You should be against his family starving just because he’s unskilled.

It’s almost a relief to not feel optimistic.  How do followers of good teams maintain that all offseason?  The Sabres prefer not resurfacing the ice to enable settling into ruts.  Retaining Ellis is like curing shortness of breath by smoking more.  They don’t have the excuse of cigarettes.  Like having zero clue of how to win games, some habits are hard to break.

[thewestern]

Chapter 23

Of note, all Ari found were the front bumper of Billy’s car, a positive pregnancy test in a hamburger bag and a one-eyed cat. Little devil nearly clawed His Eye out when he lifted the lid. Dumpster diving — that’s all counterintelligence work amounted to nowadays. Analog investigation, at least. No need anymore for gumshoes. Not in the era of Electronic Surveillance. He couldn’t have deduced anything about Billy, or any of these barfly meshuggenehs for that matter, that couldn’t have been much more easily ascertained from the comfort of a cubicle somewhere, with a few deft clicks and keystrokes. Like all modern currencies, information was now being traded programmatically on a digital exchange. Millions of micro-transactions processed per second. No non-institutional intelligence broker could ever hope to keep up with Big Brother and the Holding Company. Cell phone records, email transcripts, browser histories, unpaid parking tickets, voter registration, bank statements, dating profiles, grade point averages, blood types and sperm counts. It was all out there for the taking … Somewhere In The Cloud. (The rainbow is over. Or at least you can’t see it behind … The Cloud.) Hell, even Billy’s car was a computer. That wasn’t how Ari had found it though. It was Perlmutter Agency policy to keep tabs on clients and any relevant associates. Only as a contingency. Within reason, of course. Therefore, Ari had stashed a transponder under the chassis, of both this car and its backup. They had all types of cool shit like that down at the office, despite that most of it was in a broom closet collecting dust. Listening devices, hidden cameras, a primitive pair of night vision goggles. (This particular rig weighed no less than twenty pounds, like a toaster oven hanging off your damn face. These were your classic Tom Clancy-ass, Cold War-era specs … on some Buffalo Bill shit.) Really anything you could conceivably use in the spying on and/or blackmailing of somebody. They even had an audio processor … you know, for making the monster voice. (No guns or live rounds, however. Again, agents were expected to supply their own service weapons and munitions.) Secret agent gadgets were like office supplies at Perlmutter. They were back there with the fax machine and photocopier. Nobody hardly used them anymore either. 

Yes, sadly, tradecraft was a dying art. But, hey, that was no skin off Ari’s dick. He didn’t harbour any delusions about becoming an international man of mystery. Intelligence wasn’t his core competency anyway. He had been carving out his own, adjacent niche. You see, even if Ari wasn’t much for a risk analyst, as it were, you don’t need a Bloomberg Terminal to know which way the shit runs. (Downhill.) Whereas the market for information was going global, he could plainly see how good old-fashioned violence was once again being made right here in USA America. Wholesale bloodshed, manufactured in bulk. Government buildings, houses of worship, art museums, strip malls, supermarkets, sporting events and of course, schools (fucking especially schools) — potential combat zones, all. Home theaters of war. WE are soldiers. And, in addition to automatic weapons, soldiers require training. Ari would be personal trainer. Like he had been before, but not anymore at gymnasium. No longer to teach housewife fitness and nutrition. (At least, not exclusive … they are crucial part of any well-balanced threat-respond practicing.) Teaching the will to survive. The will to kill. They are same one. 

However, death would have to wait, because today he was off running errands for Hildy. At least she gave him the car, for to pick up the China-man with. The airport was so fucking far, man. When he did finally get there, he had to hold a sign at baggage claim with two Chinese characters printed on Wolffenbeir Company letterhead.

Hildy had also offloaded on him the dogs. She said she needed some space. Obviously they rode up front with him, of where there was precious little. (They couldn’t well be back there drooling on this very important China-person, could they?) Needless to say, the boys were a wreck without their mummykins, and the Deep House he played in the driver’s compartment was exacerbating their separation anxiety, as well as it was wreaking havoc on their inner ear issues. (The passenger’s cabin was completely soundproof, even just beyond the thin partition. Billy could have been driving up there watching hardcore female orgasm cumpilations turned up to eleven and Mr. Wang wouldn’t have heard a damned thing.) 

Having dropped off Wang the dogs, now Ari was back on to chasing Billy. Such a silly boy. How had he gotten himself involved with these silly fools? He was following them in their station wagon. Normally it would have been a difficult tail, on account of there were so many similar station wagons on the roadway. Only the girl with the boy’s haircut had drawn a penis with her finger in the dirt on the rear windshield. Ari was disgusted by this. Women should act and look a certain way, his father taught him. All the same, he could not help but admire this presumed lesbian’s athletic physique. Broad shoulders and toned triceps. Women had vanity muscles like men but they were opposite. Legs and glutes rather than chest and arms. Not her. She would be good for soldier in IDF.  

(The Israeli army ranks among the global military leaders for LGBT inclusion practices, this according to a study conducted by a Dutch defence industry think tank. A far cry from a fighting force of homophobes, such as ours, here in the land of the Don’t Ask and the home of the Don’t Tell. Had Grace been so swept up in patriotic fervor following the hijacking attacks on the World Trade Center, that she marched down to her local recruiter to enlist in the forever war against global terrorism, they would have turned her away, soley on the basis that she had come out as an openly gay person three days prior. Not to mention, she was eleven.) 

The large kushi boy wouldn’t have fared so well, for him. (Not only because the Israeli rank and file were markedly less tolerant of racial minorities, generally speaking.) Physical size was no more a strategic advantage in modern, urban warfare. Even in increasingly rare hand-to-hand combat scenarios, with proper instruction, sheer technique could overcome brute strength. Ari was a studied practitioner of Krav Maga, a proprietary fighting style developed by the IDF special forces, which became fashionable as a group fitness craze among civilian American women, nominally as a means of self-defense training in suburbia. Cherry-picking components from multiple martial arts, KM explicitly aims to mitigate size disparities through efficiency of force displacement. This via the shameless exploitation of one’s opponent’s physical vulnerabilities. I make demonstrate: David headbutt Goliath in groin, in repeat. Bang, bang, bang. Work combination. Alternative stomping toes with uppercut haymaker to livers. You Do Not Do That, Goliath.

(Ari couldn’t have known this, but Zeke’s size had been similarly undervalued by violent-doing elements on the home front. Perhaps in part because they lacked the same opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities as their peers at SciTech, gang affiliation among the student body at West High had reached an all-time high during Zeke’s tenure. However, certain trends allowed for him to remain an unconscious objector in such a way that would have been previously impossible for a promising young man of his considerable build. Foremostly being the surging proliferation of affordable firearms on the secondary market. Doesn’t matter how big you are, not if you’re strapped. Why would I lift weights when all I’m finna lift this nine? Lift these stacks. If anything, Zeke’s broad stature only made him an easier target. The hoppers and the corner kids had no use for a true Heavy — an old-school enforcer-type. For a fact, they all laughed at him when he passed by. Called him names, like Suge Light and Ashy the Giant and Freak-A-Zeke. 

Now shout out the radio station that gave ya what ya wanted. W Boom Boom Beat, baby.

Additionally, there were the corrosive, trickle-down effects of the so-called RICO statutes. You see, before the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the street gang economy had been a cut-and-dry oligopoly. One wherein an elite ruling class of felonious actors wielded cartel power with near impunity. Which is to say in any given market, defined be it by geographic radii or ethnic grouping, there were usually only one, two or at the upper band three competing producers for robbery, extortion, running numbers, drug dealing, whatever, what have you. In just such an environment, Zeke would have been inevitably recruited to a life of crime, itself only to be inevitably cut short by untimely death or incarceration. What RICO did via grand jury indictments was force the CEOs of these underworld conglomerates — be they the Lucchese and the Gambinos, the Crips and the Bloods, the Hells Angels and the Oath Keepers and the Juggalos — into an early retirement to be served in a maximum security prison community. However, rather than the desired upon effect of stifling organized crime from the top down, the resulting power vacuum only served to metastasize petty malfeasances among middle management-level gang bangers and cultivate a more competitive illicit marketplace, thus begetting a halcyon age of thug entrepreneurship. A free agency of chaos, call it. [For a fact, one could quite plausibly make the argument that RICO was the lone effective piece of antitrust legislation passed in the latter half of the Twentieth Century. But that’s a panel discussion for another day.] In Zeke’s hood and others like it, a kaleidoscopic network of tribalist crews and sets arose from the ashes of their absent forefathers. Known by the Sheriff’s Department gang task force to be operating in the City Public School District alone, there were the Fifty-Ninth Street Mafia, Rolling Twenties, los Gatos Ojituertos, the Bullet Hole in the Drywall Gangstas, JD & the Straight Hittas, KFBR392, the Pussy Posse, TH YNG PUSHRS, Outlaw Aristocracy, the Barrio Bourgeoisie and several others. With sundry potential suitors for his services, somehow it became easier for Zeke to slip through the cracks altogether and maintain his independent status. And that was a-okay with him. Commanding in stature though he was, Zeke was as calmly dispositioned as they came, always content to mind after his own store, so to speak. You’re familiar with the beloved children’s story of Ferdinand the Bull? All the other young Spanish bulls wanted to roughouse with one other to prove their machismo, with hopes of someday being selected for the bullfights in Madrid. (Must have been they were an optimistic bunch. In terms of a win-loss ratio, the bulls are the Washington Generals to the matadors’ Harlem Globetrotters. Of course there are exceptions, because as Maggie Thatcher can attest, the bull only hast to get lucky once. The matador, meanwhile, has to get lucky every time. Case in point, Hank had once spectated a bullfight in Mexico City at the Plaza de Toros, the largest such venue in the world. [Bienvenidos a Estadio del Cartel de Sinaloa.] That day a matador proved the old adage: you mess with the bull, you get … well, you know what you get — a belly full of horn, in this instance. Subsequently Hank took some flack from his compadres, for standing in gleeful applause as the man in the blanco pantalones’ guts spilled out there on the dirt. Que pasa? You don’t cheer for the bull?) But Ferdinand, despite being the biggest bull of them all, only wanted to have a siesta beneath the shade of his favorite cork tree and smell the flowers. No spoilers, but suffice to say that Zeke was like Ferdinand.

The black and the lesbian were led by a sad-looking caucasian male in a hoodie. What did he have to be sad about? Ari could tell from his mopey demeanor that he was American Jew. How he pitied them. The diaspora had made his people weak, as his father had so often said. No longer a sense of pride in protecting something. Nothing worth fearing makes afraid of everything. Like fear for losing identity. This, always groaning on about … Identity, this. Culture, that. Ari knew there is no such thing. Place. Only this is real. Ground beneath your feet on which to stand. Surrounded by four walls and a tall fence. Armed to teeth. Proud culture of a warrior people, fighting for homeland. Here is your identity. 

Then last there was the woman who took his beer right out from his hand. Women shouldn’t drink. Especially beer. Father was adamant about this. It clots the bleeding. Old man had many opinions of the menstrations. Ari was only ordering it for cover anyway. He drank vodka. Someday, after his personal brand as self-defense influencer had scaled, he dreamt of having his own spirits brand, as side hustle. But the beer store give him idea. He had never been to a place where they made the alcohol to serve. Maybe he could make the vodka and sell it in same place, and this could combine with also dream of owning discotech? Im Tirzu, Ein Zo Agadah. (If you will it, it is no dream.) 

She was driving. Typical of sad American Jew boy to be chauffeured by his lead-footed gypsy wife. On a routine tail, maintain at least three car-lengths’ distance between you and the target vehicle. More difficult in non-urban driving scenarios. Ari could barely keep up on these winding backroads. They were all four off to the foothills. Headed in the direction of the Double W Ranch. Summoned by Billy for some or other silliness. Left the foul-mouthed couple to tend the bar. Mother would never speak to his father in such way before she left home for good.

[zooterchet]

The History of Megaman MUSH

In the 1980s, French External Security mounted an online training and recruiting project, with a program called MUD, intended to test determination and endurance, MUCK for cybersex with Stasi “warriors”, as they called themselves, East German programmers hunting KGB in France through ExSec (whom specialize in hunting INTERPOL), MUSH for standard gaming (the flag cover), and MUX for use in integral servers maintenance (in private circles, in French “crown towns”, such as those in New Hampshire).

The project failed, since each programmer became a porn addict, besides the Stasi (those whose parents had died in an industrial accident related to an union or practice of ethic, targeting the entire industrial professional practice, apolitically, specializing in the politics of the prime ‘block’ once activated into opposition of their late parent’s aggressor).

The program was ditched, by the early 1990s, to the pornographic industry, of Los Angeles, by the Stasi, who had stolen it.

For 10 years, the porn industry was brilliant, until the NSA and NRA came to blows over the game, NSA and CIA and MI-6 officers fighting with ‘backwooders’, comedians and cops who “owned” the games, due to military and police veteran claims, bringing in an NRA video game tech from Midway Games, known as “Shaun Sans Pants”.

Obsessed with “The Joker”, a Bombardier con to offend a storywriter who insisted on the main character winning in any plot by title or focus, Shaun wanted to date an NSA/CIA assassin named Sandi MacDonald, who was part Jewish, as was Shaun, but she asserted national British Commonwealth politics given membership in intelligence services and refusal of suzereinty by right of nation, given British and American law, the consideration of those opposing, particularly demanding conscription or informant status or “bitch” biker, a “mobster”, targeted by local “vindiction” teams, out of school and athletics leagues, for “server hacks” (removal of their job forms for family employment, deconstructing entire businesses for hiring “neo-cons” and “media socialists”, the MoveOn movement to spring out of the MUSH).

Sandi MacDonald, refusing to date “Shaun Sans Pants”, recommended he form “Silence of the Lambs MUSH”, to seduce her.

Since then, M3 per director, has moved through each book, with the director becoming the hunted predator, from Shaun (Buffalo Bill), Libra (Red Dragon), Dr. Leo (Mason Verger), and Cherna Gast (Hannibal’s lead foe), with each surmonting director to attempt to modify M3, writing the entire book set, mimicking the inversion of Firdusi’s “The Tower” that Thomas Harris novels are designed around, to turn each reader of the Harris novel into Firdusi, a lady’s man or women’s killer, man and women, heterosexual, with the thieves of the book becoming the literary implement, the chapter form’s Fatwa policy (divorces), out of four sets, the four incarnations of M3.

[kemetic-dreams]

     IS IT BLACK OR AFRICAN OR AFRICAN AMERICAN?

HAD A RECENT RUN IN WITH AN ASIAN PATIENT OF MINE. WHO ASKED ME, AFTER I STATED MY NAME. WHAT DO I CALL YOUR PEOPLE? I HEAR SOME PEOPLE SAY BLACK, THEN AFRICAN AMERICAN,COLORED, AND SOMETHING CALLED MELANATED BEINGS?

SO THE BIG QUESTION WHAT DO WE CALL OURSELVES? I AM CONFUSED.

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND AFRICANS NEVER SPOKE ENGLISH

AFRICANS NEVER HAD A UNIFYING LANGUAGE

THE BASIS OF AFRICAN IDENTITY LET ALONE ALL IDENTITIES COMES FROM ETHNIC IDENTITY.

WHY WOULD AFRICANS BE MESMERIZED BY COLOR

REAL IDENTITIES ARE AUTONYMS, EXAMPLE AMAZULU IS A IDENTITY THAT THOSE GROUPS OF PPL WITH OUT FOREIGN INTERVENTION CAME UP WITH.

EUROPEANS NOR ASIAN CAME UP WITH THE TERM ZULU

THE TERM IFIRIYA OR AFRICA COMES FROM THE VARIOUS ETHNIC GROUPS FROM NORTH AFRICA

AFTER HANNIBAL WAS DEFEATED, SCIPIO NAMED HIS SELF AFTER THE LAND

ALSO AFRICA COMES FROM  Massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning "to turn toward the opening of the Ka." The Ka is the energetic double of every person and the "opening of the Ka" refers to a womb or birthplace. Africa would be, for the Egyptians, "the birthplace."

WHEN WE SAY WE ARE AFRICAN WE ARE STATING OUR RAICAL ORIGINS. NOT A NATIONALITY

                        IS YOUR SKIN COLOR BLACK?

NO OUR SKIN IS NOT BLACK NOR DO ALL AFRICAN LOOK ALIKE OR MYOPIC

Human skin color ranges in variety from the darkest brown to the lightest hues. An individual's skin pigmentation is the result of genetics, being the product of both of the individual's biological parents' genetic makeup, and exposure to sun. In evolution, skin pigmentation in human beings evolved by a process of natural selection primarily to regulate the amount of ultraviolet radiation penetrating the skin, controlling its biochemical effects 

Black people refers to a racialized classification of people, usually a political and a skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all Black people have dark skin; in certain countries, often in socially based systems of racial classification in the Western world, the term "Black" is used to describe persons who are perceived as dark-skinned compared to other populations. It is mostly used for people of Sub-Saharan African descent and the indigenous peoples of Oceania. Indigenous African societies do not use the term Black as a racial identity outside of influences brought by Western cultures.

For some individuals, communities and countries, "Black" is perceived as a derogatory, outdated, reductive or otherwise unrepresentative label, and as a result is neither used nor defined, especially in African countries with little to no history of colonial racial segregation. Some have commented that labeling people "Black" is erroneous as the people described as "Black" are seen by some to have a brown skin color.

WHO CAME UP WITH THE IDEA TO CALL AFRICANS BLACK

AFTER THE BACONS REBELLION, WHEN EUROPEANS AND AFRICANS HAD A REVOLT, THAT DESTROYED PLANTATIONS

It was the first rebellion in the North American colonies in which discontented frontiersmen took part (a somewhat similar uprising in Maryland involving John Coode and Josias Fendall took place shortly afterwards). The alliance between European indentured servants and Africans (many enslaved until death or freed), united by their bond-servitude, disturbed the ruling class. The ruling class responded by hardening the racial caste of slavery in an attempt to divide the two races from subsequent united uprisings with the passage of the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705.While the farmers did not succeed in their initial goal of driving the Native Americans from Virginia, the rebellion resulted in Berkeley being recalled to England.

AFTER THE LEADER OF THE REBELLION DIED LAND OWNERS, REACHED OUT TO LAW MAKERS FROM LONDON CAME OVER FOR HELP AND TO BE ADVISED

FIRST THING THEY DID WAS BAN INTER RACIAL MARRIAGES

THEN THEY DECIDED THAT AFRICANS WOULD NEVER GET OUT OF SLAVERY.

THIS IS WHEN THE TERM WHITE AND BLACK WERE DEVELOPED. BLACK MEANING YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS, AND WHITE MEANS YOU DO HAVE RIGHTS

                 SO WHEN WAS THE MAJOR CHANGE

By that time, the majority of African people in the United States were native-born, so the use of the term "African" became problematic. Though initially a source of pride, many Africans feared that the use of African as an identity would be a hindrance to their fight for full citizenship in the US. They also felt that it would give ammunition to those who were advocating repatriating black people back to Africa. In 1835, black leaders called upon Black Americans to remove the title of "African" from their institutions and replace it with "Negro" or "Colored American". A few institutions chose to keep their historic names, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church. African Americans popularly used the terms "Negro" or "colored" for themselves until the late 1960s.

In 1988, the civil rights leader Jesse Jackson urged Americans to use instead the term "African American" because it had a historical cultural base and was a construction similar to terms used by European descendants, such as German American, Italian American, etc. Since then, African American and black have often had parallel status. However, controversy continues over which if any of the two terms is more appropriate. Maulana Karenga argues that the term African-American is more appropriate because it accurately articulates their geographical and historical origin.

Others have argued that "black" is a better term because "African" suggests foreignness, although Black Americans helped found the United States. Still others believe that the term black is inaccurate because African Americans have a variety of skin tones. Some surveys suggest that the majority of Black Americans have no preference for "African American" or "Black",although they have a slight preference for "black" in personal settings and "African American" in more formal settings

The United States is weird on labeling people. At one point all Europeans were not considered white, ironically at the same time Asians were considered to be white. They say white and black are skin colors, but at what point do we call Asians a myopic color. According to the United States Census, because I have North African ancestry, I am considered to be white.

                                        Are Mexicans white?

The official racial status of Mexican Americans has varied throughout American history. From 1850 to 1920, the U.S. Census form did not distinguish between whites and Mexican Americans. In 1930, the U.S. Census form asked for "color or race," and census enumerators were instructed to write W for white and Mex for Mexican. In 1940 and 1950, the census reverted its decision and made Mexicans be classified as white again and thus the instructions were to "Report white (W) for Mexicans unless they were definitely of full Indigenous Indian or other non-white races (such as Black or Asian)."

.

During periods in U.S. history when racial intermarriage wasn't legally acknowledged, and when Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were uniformly allotted white status, they were legally allowed to intermarry with what today are termed non-Hispanic whites, unlike Blacks and Asians. They were allowed to acquire U.S. citizenship upon arrival; served in all-white units during World War II; could vote and hold elected office in places such as Texas, especially San Antonio; ran the state politics and constituted most of the elite of New Mexico since colonial times; and went to segregated white schools in Central Texas and Los Angeles. Additionally, Asians were barred from marrying Mexican Americans because Mexicans were legally white.

U.S. nativists in the late 1920s and 1930s (mostly due to the socially xenophobic and economic climate of the Great Depression) tried to put a halt to Mexican immigration by having Mexicans (and Mexican Americans) declared non-white, by virtue of their Indian heritage. After 70 years of being in the United States and having been bestowed white status by the U.S. government this was the first time the United States began to show true racist attitudes towards Mexicans in America something that usually came quickly to people of other races. They based their strategy on a 1924 law that barred entry to immigrants who were ineligible for citizenship, and at that point, only blacks and whites, and not Asians or Native Americans, could naturalize and become U.S. citizens. The test case came in December 1935, when a Buffalo, N.Y., judge rejected Jalisco native Timoteo Andrade's application for citizenship on the grounds that he was a "Mexican Indian." Had it not been for the intervention of the Mexican and American governments, who forced a second hearing, this precedent could very well have made many Mexicans, the majority of whom are mestizo, ineligible for citizenship. When mixed race Mexicans were allowed to retain their white status in American society they were unperturbed with the fact that the United States still continued its discriminatory practices towards Mexicans of full Indigenous heritage.

During the Great Depression, Mexicans were largely considered non-white. As many as 400,000 Mexicans and Mexican Americans were deported in a decade-long effort by the government called the Mexican Repatriation.

In the 2000 U.S census, around half of all persons of Mexican or Mexican American origin in the U.S. checked white to register their race (in addition to stating their Mexican national origin).Mexican Americans are the largest white Hispanic group in the United States.

The idea of color is a European colonial disease not an African one.

African is a racial origins term

Saying your Jamaican,Nigerian,Ethiopian,Canadian,Mexican, or Brazilian are Nations/Nationality

Saying Amhara, Sicilian, Irish, Yoruba, Zulu, or Han are examples of Ethnicities 

African American is not an ethnic group but clusters of different ethnics from Africa in the Americas.

Black is nothing more than a class system designed by Europeans

Just because your born in Germany doesn’t change your race.

When do Asian people stop being racially Asian just because they moved to a different nation

So, why does this happens to Europeans or Africans

There is no such things as a black language, skin color, or names or even a black or nation called black

[greenishbucket]

💞🚢 A Ford/Lardo Manifesto! 💞🚢

It’s them :)

Plain text version below the cut!

Larissa “Lardo” P. Duan

From Boston, now lives in Cambridge, MA.

Art major (probably), did a semester in Kenya, class of 2016

SMH manager 2013ish - 2016

Acts chill, actually has significantly less chill

Still waters run deep

‘the bro-iest person at Samwell under 5'5"’

Likes sculpture/installation art/modernishy art, beer pong, ducks, eyeliner, hockey, smoking weed

Dislikes repetitive questions, thinking about the future, skating [but she does learn by the end of the comic!]

Denice “Foxtrot” Ford

From Buffalo, ‘currently’ lives in San Diego when not at Samwell [has two brothers who play American football]

Drama/theatre major, class of 2020

(A)SMing since middle school, SMH manager 2016 - 2020

Has got this and will yell really loud

‘She gets it’

Likes (musical) theatre, knitting and sewing, foxes, having a collection of headbands, emotional jocks. American Football? Hockey?

Dislikes the smell of used hockey gear, the thanklessness of stage managing, skating

Some handy word of god

The table, created by Ngozi, indicates characters’ Hogwarts house and element alignments. Both Ford and Lardo are categorised as Gryffindors (meaning ‘values bravado’). For the elements, Lardo is earth (meaning ‘stable but stubborn’) and Ford is water (meaning ‘graceful but pliant’).

My notes at the time:

Lardo: earth (‘stable but stubborn’) - someone that can be relied on and has it together(ish) through practice but sticks to that tried and tested routine/approach/etc to her own detriment?

Ford: water (‘graceful but pliant’) - someone that can adapt easily and elegantly to new situations and people but can sometimes be a little too amenable rather than sticking to her guns (if she knows what her guns are to start with)?

Both: Gryffindor (‘values bravado’) - presenting a lot more whatever-they-need-to-be than actual, confidence and boldness

Outcome: Lardo grounds Ford, Ford reminds Lardo that change/alternatives aren’t always a threat. Getting to see through each other’s bravados and support each other! With some banter.

Canonical interactions

Year 3, Comic 16 - Help Wanted and the associated notes/blog

They’re in the same frame in the first page of this manifesto!

Search here for ‘Ford’, ‘Lardo’ or ‘manager’

Bitty briefly talks to Ford about Lardo and Co. in Year 4, Comic 8 - Haus 2.0

Some things I filled in from a ship meme I saw going round

Favorite non-sexual activity: just getting to hang out and talk/share space, they’re always Doing so much and having to Be A Particular Kind of Person with the rest of the world. other than that, going to the park to feed the ducks.

Who uses all the hot water: Ford!!! she really doesn’t mean to but somehow always does :/

What has a season pass on their dvr/who controls the netflix queue: this is what they actually argue over most. Ford is a Theatre Kid (enough said) and Lardo likes some of that but sometimes she wants to get high and into her Angsty Art Kid Groove (which Ford can watch and appreciate but doesn’t enjoy) so they have separate accounts under the same payment, then they agree as and when to watch comedies/documentaries/more general stuff on either account bc they share taste there. it gets confusing because they watch series across their accounts so it’s always a struggle to figure out what ep they got up to

Who calls up the super/landlord when the heat’s not working: either of them can get their I’m the Manager Don’t Fuck Around voice on easy enough

Who leaves their stuff around: they’re both immensely guilty of this, though Ford doesn’t leave her shoes in the way of where people walk, Lardo

How often do they fight?: not often for real, but neither of them are that good at Bringing Actual Stuff Up so little things build up and then blow up when it’s been a bad day, then it’s all aired out until it’s building up again and the cycle continues. they’re working on it!

What do they do when they’re away from each other?: use things like snapchat/generally send small pics and snippets - if they’re away from each other either one or both of them is probs busy so there’s not much time to videocall, and Lardo loves things like snapchat bc you dont have to word [in hindsight, does this question mean what do they get up to? they do their lives as usual! but miss the other being around in the small moments]

Why They Are GOOD

The potential of their shared bravado vs graceful+pliant/stable+stubborn

Art kid and theatre kid both with some jock tendencies/sympathies is hilarious

Mentor/mentee. Not sure how into this I am but STILL.

Litcherally why not

ford and lardo: problematising the false binaries of 1) girls that say hiiii vs girls that say bruh 2) jock vs theatre/art kid 3) gender 4) hello they are in love 5) thanks for listening

🎺 the comic may be over, but the fun isn’t! all aboard the finest omgcp ship there is!! 🚢

[bxdbxdboy]

Character Development

BASICS

Full Name:  Luz Noceda 

Alias:   Apprentice

Nicknames: Bad Boy, (Luz Squad) B.Boy, (herself) Soft Boy, (Cottage) Baby Boy, (Eda) Nice Boy, (Sunny) Sweetheart (Bee)

Sex / Gender:  Female, Nonbinary  (she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs ) .

Right or Left:    Left 

Age:   16.

Height:   5'6″.

Eye Color:    dark brown

Hair Color:   Dark brown

Distinguishing Marks:  She has a raven tattoo over her scar she received trying to stop her villain in her timeline. She’s shaved her left eyebrow in the middle to match her friend’s scar.  

Paragraph Of Physical Traits: She’s got a rather strong build which means she has no weak nerd arms and a significant amount of muscle to her arm. Her hair is slicked back like a wave and it’s always been like that it just has always naturally curled and folded over in that direction. When she sleeps it gets wavy or spikey sticking up like a parrot.

FAMILY / RELIGION

Parents / Guardians:     Camilla Noceda 

Siblings: n/a  adopted Brother King.

Marital Status:  Not married. 

Significant Other(s): Bee (Amity-Bee), Blushy (Amity in her timeline)  

Children:   N/A.

Other Relatives:   Many Many cousins, aunts and uncles and cousins on both sides of the family. 

Pets:   Bunga, (familiar, honey badger) Saturn, (familiar magical Owl) Calypso. (palisman Sable)  

Friends:     Cottage, Sunny, Iris, Bee, Lucky, Otter, Puppy, Gus, Willow.

Enemies:     Emperor Belos. 

Ethnicity:     Latina 

Religion:     None. 

Beliefs:    N/A

Superstitions:    black cats, broken mirrors. KARMA!

Languages:   English. Spanish. 

Diction / Accent:    Spanish 

SCHOOL / WORK / HOME

Education:   Public School / High scool leverl/ Hexside

Degree(s):   Not yet. 

Occupation:   Local Power washer for her boiling isles, Food delivery, Potion distributor. 

Own or Rent:    Neither.

Living Space:   Eda’s home in the owl house, Her home in the human realm, and Magic Treehouse bedroom. 

Work Space:    N/A.

Main Mode of Transport:   Skateboarding, Walking, running, or flying. Can drive, will learn, will drive without license. 

PSYCHOLOGY

Fears:      Being replaced / abandoned,  her anger issues, her home getting concurred, loosing her friends, venomous snakes, possessed creatures, dark mimics. spiders, The deepest depths of the Ocean, Slender Man, Siren Head.  

Secrets:    A big softie just doesn’t want many who meet her to realize it. 

IQ:     Was never formally tested,   but she may not be as intellectually gifted as the other Luz’s There’s a big jock mentally mindset to her as a whole.

Eating Habits:  Ravenous Appetite, no matter how much she eats she’s always asking for more. She can put some food away if someone has something they’re saving it’s too late she’s already gotten to it. 

Food Preferences: She enjoys Hot Wings they are her most favorite food besides Pizza coming around at a close second She likes a lot of junk food candy, cookies, chips of all kinds. On occasion she will eat something green though like some lettuce with taco meat or a green pepper. She’ll eat it all everything under the sun and even be adventurous eating a wide margin of other foods. She almost always has hot sauce on her there isn’t a single kind of meal she doesn’t love covered in the hot stuff.  

Sleeping Habits:   She sleeps well, for the most part, when she isn’t attempting to be a night owl she falls asleep relatively quick, even rivaling some of the younger Luz’s with how early she can fall asleep. It’s likely she has sleep apnea as she has tendency to snore so very loud and wakes up during the night in cold sweat, when she stops breathing from night terrors. She will oversleep until almost 2:00 in the afternoon if not monitored.         

Book Preferences:   She’s not a big egg-head book reader like the rest of the squad is the most Bad Boy read in school was “Animal Farm”, and The “Lord of the Flies”, in high school two books that peaked her interest a little bit. She also enjoys listening to Cottage read some horror books it’s the most she’ll really listen rather than use her eyes to read, in fact, one would say she struggles to read efficiently. 

Music Preferences:     Hip Hop, Rap, Dubstep, 80′s music, The Weekend, Various artists. 

Leader or Follower:    She likes to be the boss, but will occasionally follow if she doesn’t have to do much. 

Planner or Spontaneous:  Spontaneous! All of her ideas are never planned out she definitely does not look before she leaps. Her leaps are full of optimism and happy stupidity. The only time she tends to plan is when Bee holds her hand and forces her to take a step back. 

Journal:    Nope

Hobbies:    Dancing,   listening to music,     training,    watching videos / shows,  exercising,  roasting members of the Luz squad, doing dangerous stunts, skateboarding, basketball, baseball, (more so the batting range)  Surfing (Prior), Deep woods exploring, practicing her magic, teaching her familiars, (Saturn and Bunga) Listening to music, Swooning Bee, Video games, Baking Pizza, Breakdancing, Beat Boxing, Collecting Hats, Serenading, Dancing, Snuggling King.

How Do They Relax:  By listening to some calming beats privately, counting to 10, or at any point stroked by Bee she curls and becomes softer. 

What Excites Them:  Competitions,  Wild magic, Magical Creatures, Parkour, Plane Crash videos, Unus Annus, Dogs! Kitties, Being in charge, Buffalo sauce, Food!, Flirting, 

What Stresses Them:  Bossy individuals, Strict Parents, Rude people, Being inside the Emperor Castle, Being the butt of the joke, Tests, Explosives. Needles. 

Pet Peeves:   Vegan food, Whining, losing games, Being accused of being a perv, mocking, people stealing her hat,  Lucky sending her cursed images. 

Prejudices:  high horse, pretends not to be a trouble maker to stay in good graces, struggling to not be hostile towards her doppelgängers, 

Attitudes:   Closed off, Laid back, Aggressive,  or chill and cool depending on who you are. Bad Boy appears to be the “scary” anger issues Luz that is liable to explode at any moment and when she does her face and ears can get as red as Bee’s. You’re either in good graces with her or your not, she’s not always easy to approach unless you have a good sense of humor than she cracks up with you about stupid jokes. 

Obsessions:    Her shoes and hats, her favorite music, lids, BEE

Addictions:    Does addiction to sugary cereal count? because oh my god-!!

Ambitions:     Defeat Belos in her timeline, find a way to get adopted as a sibling by Cottage Core, Have her own identity outside of Cottage and the Luz squad.   Become a powerful witch, Make her mom proud.  

ASTROLOGY / PHISIOLOGY

Birth Date:    November 26,    2005.

Sign:    Sagittarius

Traits Associated with Western Sign:  loyal, smart, assertive, and compassionate personality   

Chinese Zodiac Sign:    The rooster

Traits Associated with Chinese Sign: active, amusing, and popular within a crowd. Roosters are talkative, outspoken, frank, open, honest, and loyal individuals. They like to be the center of attention and always appear attractive and beautiful.

Handwriting:     It’s okay…;      fairly sloppy.

Sexual History:   N/A.

General Health:     She takes pretty good care of herself as far as hygiene and having a good confident attitude.  experiencing some struggles with her adhd, bad posture leaves her with some back pain.

Mental Disabilities:      PTSD,   ADHD,  depression,  

Allergies:   Seasonal.

OBJECTS KEPT IN

Purse / Bag:  Wallet, towel, water bottle, Treehouse keys key chain,

Wallet:     Photo ID, Gold, Cash, rings, Brass knuckle, 

Fridge:     Chalked full of between meal and frozen pizza. 

Medicine Cabinet:  Bandages, Healing Potions, Icey-hot muscle rub,  

Glove Compartment:   Parking tickets, Trespassing tickets, concert tickets. 

Junk Drawer:     fidget spinners, gum, pens, sharpies, stress balls. 

Backpack:   Hats, Snacks, Mints, hair gel, Extra clothes, socks,  pepper spray, hand sanitizer, suntan lotion, hair brush

Desk:   Doodles, Paper Airplanes, Crumpled up Paper.

Clothes Pockets:    Phone, Hot Sauce packets, hand warmers, stress ball.  

OTHER

Halloween Costumes:   A zombie, the cementary is hiring.

Talents:    break dancing, beat boxing, fighting in close quarters, self defense, making Luz squad question their sanity, making jokes, flipping her hat. being annoying. 

Politics: Nah. 

Flaws:   stand offish,  moody,     blunt and direct,   vain,  doesn’t like to be on the losing side indecisive, selfish,

Strengths:  Her optimism, strong sense of personal integrity, avoiding the status quo, free spirited, confidence level, good sense of humor.  

Drugs / Alcohol:    N/A. No who invited? 

Passwords:     The most random shit. 

Prized Possessions:   Her hat passed down by her oldest cousin, her unus annus sweatshirt, a small wolf plushy named Akela 

Time and Place:    Currently, at the Treehouse interviewing new members of the Luz squad. She just got back from a trip and she has jet lag.     

Special Places:      The treehouse, her original house, The owl house, the forest where she goes to meet Blushy, The cliff by the Grom tree, the beach. 

Special Memories:   Meeting Eda and King then running into Cottage and Bee, Becoming friends with Cottage Core learning magic from them, Teasing Belos and Hunter with Cottage Core, Dancing with Bee at her Grom, becoming a polyamorous couple with Bee and Cottage. Being accepted into the Luz Squad. 

Tagged by:    Stole it from @witchesborn​

Tagging:    You,    if you want to do it.

[helloodisha]

New York School Mathematics EOG (Grade-5)

New York School Mathematics EOG (Grade-5)

[regular-things]

Here are some of the bail funds and other organizations fighting against police injustice:

National

LGBTQ Fund: Bail fund providing relief to jailed LGBTQ people in 15 states and counting. Mission: “Each day, tens of thousands of LGBTQ people are held in jail or immigration detention because they cannot afford bail — for immigration status or charges like sleeping in public. With your help, the Freedom Fund posts bail to secure their release and safety.”

Campaign Zero: Organization that utilizes research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in the U.S. Mission: “Over 1,000 people are killed by police every year in America. We are calling on local, state, and federal lawmakers to take immediate action to adopt data-driven policy solutions to end this violence and hold police accountable.”

Unicorn Riot: Nonprofit media collective dedicated to exposing the root causes of social, economic, and environmental issues. Mission: “Our work is dedicated to exposing root causes of dynamic social and environmental issues through amplifying stories and exploring sustainable alternatives in today’s globalized world.”

Minnesota

George Floyd Memorial Fund: The official GoFundMe to support the Floyd family. Mission: “This fund is established to cover funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist our family in the days to come as we continue to seek justice for George. A portion of these funds will also go to the Estate of George Floyd for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund.”

Minnesota Freedom Fund: Community-based fund set up to pay criminal bail and immigration bonds for individuals who have been arrested while protesting police brutality. This has become one of the most prominent bail funds, providing relief to protesters in Minneapolis seeking justice for George Floyd. Mission: “We stand against cash bail as unjust and identify wealth-based discrimination as a vehicle for the criminal justice system to target populations for structural violence.”

Black Visions Collective: Minnesota-based black, trans, and queer-led organization committed to dismantling systems of oppression and violence. Mission: “We aim to center our work in healing and transformative justice principles, intentionally develop our organizations core ‘DNA’ to ensure sustainability, and develop Minnesota’s emerging black leadership to lead powerful campaigns. By building movements from the ground up with an integrated model, we are creating the conditions for long-term success and transformation.”

Reclaim the Block: Coalition that advocates for and invests in community-led safety initiatives in Minneapolis neighborhoods. Mission: “We believe health, safety, and resiliency exist without police of any kind. We organize around policies that strengthen community-led safety initiatives and reduce reliance on police departments.”

California

Peoples City Council Freedom Fund: Los Angeles-based fund helping to pay for legal support, bail, fines, and court fees for arrested protesters in the city, as well as medical bills and transportation for injured protesters, supplies for field medics, and direct support to L.A.’s Black Lives Matter chapter. Mission: “As the mayor and city council have sought to increase the LAPD’s budget during a pandemic, and as police around the country continue to kill innocent people of color, we have taken to the street to protest the funding of state sanctioned murder.”

Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America Bail Fund: The Oakland/San Jose chapter of DSA is currently allocating donations to a temporary bail fund, as well as a COVID-19 aid fund. Mission: “Money in the fund may be used at the discretion of the committee for the following purposes: to pay bail, fines, or legal fees; to provide jail support; to pay for closely related expenses.”

Colorado

Colorado Freedom Fund: Providing bail relief to protesters and other individuals across the state of Colorado. CFF has also been providing protest updates on its webpage. Mission: “Founded in 2018, Colorado Freedom Fund (CFF) is a revolving fund that pays ransom (posts money bond, pays cash bail) for people unable to afford the cost of buying their own freedom.”

Florida

Free Them All: Fund organized by the group Fempower to post bond in Miami.

Georgia

Atlanta Solidarity Fund: Action Network fund set up to support the George Floyd protesters with both bail and necessary legal relief. Mission: “This fundraiser is for bail expenses for those arrested. Any surplus funds will go toward their legal defense, and to support arrestees at other protests.”

Buy Black Atlanta: Community group fund to support and repair black-owned businesses in Atlanta that were damaged during the protests.

Illinois

Chicago Community Bond Fund: Organization committed to posting bail for individuals in Cook County, Illinois, who are unable to post bail themselves. Mission: Through a revolving fund, CCBF supports individuals whose communities cannot afford to pay the bonds themselves and who have been impacted by structural violence.

Kentucky

Louisville Community Bail Fund: Bail, legal, and support fund for activists in Louisville. Mission: “The Louisville Community Bail Fund exists to not only bail out folks, but provide post-release support to get them from jail, fed, and to a situation of safety. LCBF also maintains a focus on preventative measures for those targeted by law enforcement and threatened with incarceration.”

Louisiana

New Orleans Safety and Freedom Fund: Community fund for bail, jail fees, fines, and drug testing fees in New Orleans. Mission: “Together, we will make New Orleans a safer, more equitable place to live, by redesigning the role money plays in the criminal justice system.”

Maryland

Baltimore Action Legal Team: Bail fund and legal relief for the city of Baltimore, with a focus on black activists. Mission: “BALT is committed to building the power of the local Movement for Black Lives. We take our direction from community-organizing groups who are on the ground, and we respect the leadership of local activists. BALT is committed to anti-racist practices and to black leadership. BALT is dedicated to politically-conscious lawyering and to using creative, collective solutions to support the Movement for Black Lives in Baltimore.”

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Bail Fund: Working to post bails up to $2,000 in Essex and Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts. Mission: “The Massachusetts Bail Fund pays up to $2,000 bail so that low-income people can stay free while they work towards resolving their case, allowing individuals, families, and communities to stay productive, together, and stable.”

Michigan

Detroit Bail Fund: Bail fund launched by a local activist to provide relief to the city’s protesters. Mission: “Funds donated will support BailProject.org and others who assist detained individuals in the release from jail. Your dollar will be contributed to supporting the protests, as well as getting people out of jail who were detained.”

Missouri

Kansas City Community Bail Fund: Committed to posting bail for those arrested to Kansas City. Mission: “Our mission is to give those who cannot afford bail a fighting chance at getting a positive outcome in their case rather than be persuaded to plead out through the use of a revolving fund. We want those detained pretrial to be given a chance to keep their jobs, their spot in school, their housing, and provide care for their children, while maintaining their presumed innocence, rather than sitting in local or county jail costing the taxpayers and themselves money. By doing so, we will be advocating for bail reform and ending mass incarceration by example.”

Nebraska

Neighbors for Common Good: Organization providing bail to protesters in Omaha, Nebraska.

New York

Brooklyn Bail Fund: Community bail fund for Brooklyn’s incarcerated individuals. The nonprofit recently pivoted its focus to bail reform, but organizers have committed to helping those arrested in this week’s protests and are providing support to other bail funds across the country – read their full statement on the George Floyd protests here. Mission: “We are committed to challenging the criminalization of race, poverty, and immigration status, the practice of putting a price on fundamental rights, and the persistent myth that bail is a necessary element of the justice system.”

May 2020 Buffalo Bail Fund: Fundraiser set up to provide bail for those protesting in Buffalo, New York. Mission: “In mourning and in solidarity, many people in Buffalo and other cities across the country have taken to the streets to demand justice for George Floyd and other black and brown people killed by police. This fund supports bail requirements for demonstrators arrested while doing this work here in Buffalo.”

Ohio

Columbus Freedom Fund: Bail fund committed to helping those arrested for protesting in Columbus.

Oregon

PDX Protest Bail Fund: GoFundMe established by the General Defense Committee Local 1 to bail protesters out in Portland. Mission: “The Portland General Defense Committee (https://pdxgdc.com/) has provided ongoing legal support to workers and protesters in Oregon since 2017, relying on over a century of national experience. The GDC works in connection with the National Lawyers Guild and other Portland-based organizations.”

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Bail Fund: Bail fund providing relief to protesters in the city of Philadelphia, with the long-term goal of bringing an end to cash bail. Mission: “We are committed to providing direct bail assistance to Philadelphia protesters participating in actions to ensure their safe return home.”

Bukit Bail Fund of Pittsburgh: Organization founded after the preventable death of Frank “Bukit” Smart Jr., in Allegheny County Jail, working to bail out individuals currently incarcerated in ACJ. Mission: “The Bukit Bail Fund of Pittsburgh is a coalition of individuals and organizations striving to provide support for those incarcerated at Allegheny County Jail, located in Pittsburgh. We hope to not just provide bail, but also to increase our capacity for supporting people after they have been released.”

Tennessee

Nashville Bail Fund: Nonprofit committed to freeing low-income individuals from jail in the city of Nashville. Mission: “The Nashville Community Bail Fund frees low-income persons from jail, connects with their loved ones, and works to end wealth-based detention through community partnerships.”

Texas

Restoring Justice Community Bail Fund: A partnership between Restoring Justice, the Bail Project and Pure Justice to provide bail relief in Houston, initially set up as a response to COVID-19. Mission: “Restoring Justice is partnering with the Bail Project and Pure Justice to use donations to pay bail for people in need during the Covid-19 pandemic at no cost to them or their loved ones.”

Luke 4:18 Bail Fund: Bail fund overseen by Faith in Texas committed to posting bail for individuals in Dallas. Mission: “The Luke 4:18 Bail Fund is partnering with faith communities, currently and formerly incarcerated people, families impacted by the legal justice system, and funders to drastically reduce the jail population in Dallas County.”

400+1 Bail Fund: Bail fund originally created to assist a black man arrested in Austin who feared he could catch COVID-19 in jail. The fund is now being directed toward protesters in the city. Mission: “This bail fund was originally created to crowdfund resources for one black man too poor to make bail while fearing for his life due to the COVID outbreak. As demonstrations erupt around the nation, we are increasing our ask and reach. Additional funds will be used as a general bail fund to support the legal needs of comrades on the ground.”

Project Roar: Community fund dedicated to providing resources and outreach programs to Texas’ rural areas. They’ve expanded their services to include emergency jail and bail. Mission: “Some of the most marginalized and neglected communities are in your city, but also lie in the county areas outside the city limits. The need for services in rural areas is often overlooked. Engaging the community will include canvassing and blockwalking, phonebanking and word of mouth, public service announcements and community service announcements, etc.”

San Antonio Freedom Fund: Community fund set up to directly go towards arrested demonstrators in the city. Mission: “Every year countless unarmed black and brown men are humiliated, beaten, and murdered by militarized police. On May 30th, San Antonio will seek justice. The threat of arrest is real. We need your support. Please consider donating to our bail fund. All proceeds will go directly to the arrested demonstrators.”

Virginia

Richmond Community Bail Fund: Community group dedicated to freeing jailed individuals in Richmond who can’t make bail. Mission: “The Richmond Community Bail Fund exists to restore the presumption of innocence to defendants so they don’t lose their jobs, families, and critical services while also reducing the financial burden on our community of detaining citizens prior to their day in court.”

Washington

Northwest Community Bail Fund: Providing cash bail to arrested individuals in the Seattle metropolitan area. Mission: “The Northwest Community Bail Fund (NCBF) provides cash bail for marginalized people charged with crimes who are unable to afford bail and find themselves incarcerated while awaiting routine court appearances in King and Snohomish Counties in Washington State.”

Wisconsin

Milwaukee Freedom Fund: Bail fund for black and brown organizers in Milwaukee. Donations are currently on pause so as to administer the funds they’ve already received, but the webpage includes a list of similar local organizations to donate to instead. Mission: “The Milwaukee Freedom Fund was started by Black and Brown Milwaukee organizers who want to see residents supported as they assert their right to protest for justice. We are raising money and gathering resources for bail, court-related costs, rides, food, water, and other needs, as the community struggles for liberation.”

Outside the U.S.

Toronto Protestor Bail Fund: Toronto activists are holding their own Black Lives Matter protests over the death of Regis Korchinski and have set up this bail fund for those arrested. Mission: “In light of today’s protest we are looking to generate funding to release and support protesters who end up incarcerated. This bail fund includes any legal fees that may be incurred.”

[eclecticmiasma]

Unattended (Fugonara)

Abbacchio gets sick of Fugo and Narancia’s constant fighting. 

NSFW

[Warnings: N/A]

*do not re-upload my work without explicit permission

As a member of Passione, rare are the days that one isn’t given some sort of work to be done.

Rarer still are the days that Fugo isn’t endlessly harassing Narancia about his studies.

The boy had barely woken up when his junior came barreling through the bedroom door and tossed a division practice book at his feet. Narancia flailed wildly and groaned about what a wonderful day off he had planned. First, he was going to go to a new French Bistro that Mista wouldn’t stop raving about. Apparently, their croissants melted in your mouth and the girls had to wear little French maid outfits. Then, he wanted to longboard to the beach and work on a nice summer tan. But, his whining was to no avail. Fugo simply stared at his writhing form with utter disdain.  

Downstairs, Abbacchio could hear Narancia’s shrill pleas for mercy. He sighed heavily into his espresso and closed his eyes. He thought briefly what his life would be like if he were a more social, outgoing person. Maybe he would have an inkling of how to use his days off rather than spend them trapped inside of Bucciarati’s childhood home with youth that had the emotional capacity of feral orphans. Just as he began to entertain images of a day out in the countryside, the sound of footsteps not unlike those of a stampeding buffalo herd pulled him back to reality.

Fugo emerged into the kitchen. Narancia trudged in behind him like a beaten dog. It would have all been amusing if Abbacchio didn’t know that it would all escalate into yet another brawl between the two. Mista and Bucciarati might have been able to wave away their volatile relationship, but it drove Abbacchio crazy. Always screaming, fighting, stabbing each other with cutlery- he wished desperately that they would either kill each other or fuck each other, anything to get some peace and quiet. Though he secretly hoped they would snap and do the latter, as he and Mista had a pretty hefty bet going.

Unbeknownst to Bucciarati, of course.

The miserable pair made their way through the kitchen and into the living area without so much as acknowledging the silver-haired man’s presence. Fugo plopped himself onto an old, but well-kept sofa and gestured at the pencil and paper he set out earlier. Narancia continued to moan about French maids and new tanning oil before he threw himself down next to the other.

“So, do you remember what we talked about last time?” Fugo inquired, knowing fully well that his teammate didn’t have a clue.

“Division,” Narancia spat back. The green suited man sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Open the damn book,” He ordered, trying not to lose his cool in record timing. Begrudgingly, Narancia followed his instruction and opened to a dog-eared page covered in angry red marks.

And so they continued. Fugo reviewed what he had tried to teach the rambunctious teen nearly three weeks before and then let him try on his own. As he watched shrewdly, he heard the echo of Bucciarati’s words. He may have gone against my wishes, but it is my duty to make sure he gets an education. Unfortunately, fishing didn’t allow me to have an education. But he has a real chance if you’ll help him. He sighed again.

“There!” Narancia threw down his pencil, causing it to bounce off of and roll under the couch. Fugo grabbed his notebook with more force than necessary and looked over the raven-haired boy’s work. Sometimes Bucciarati’s words could bring Fugo comfort, or help remind him of his goals and why he continued to even wake up in the morning.

Sometimes they flew right out the window.

“Narancia!” He barked, furious. Not only was every single problem wrong, but two of the answers were just different angry doodles of maids with their butts showing. Fugo saw red. He threw the notebook behind him and grabbed Narancia by his stupid little neck straps. “Why are you fucking around here you troglodyte?!”

“I had shit to do to day you troglo- trog- what the fuck did you call me?!” Of course, the older boy was at the ready with his signature silver switchblade. He pressed it to the other’s throat menacingly.

“Enough!” Both boys jerked around to face Abbacchio, who had entered the living room and sat in an armchair across from the pair unnoticed. They were ready to continue fighting before his low, threatening voice continued, “I won’t listen to this anymore. You two need to get whatever this is out of your system, and you need to do it today. Before one of you kills the other, or before I kill the both of you.” Narancia made a face but held his blade steady.

“I’ll get it out of my system by coating this smug asshole’s blood all over the couch!” He growled. Fugo rolled his eyes and twisted the other’s neck straps so that they begin to choke him out. His purple eyes bulged out and he made an inhuman gurgling noise out of pure rage.

“The two of you need to fuck.” Abbacchio interrupted. Fugo let go of Narancia’s clothing long enough for him to catch air.

“What?!” The pair hissed, staring daggers in Abbacchio’s direction.

“You heard me,” He leaned back in the armchair and surveyed them, “I saw it all the time in the force. Rage-filled criminals who really just needed to get their rocks off.” Something that the tall man always admired about himself was his ability to lie imperceptibly to most anyone. He could see the gears turning furiously in Fugo’s mind as Narancia just gaped at him, open-mouthed. “Of course, if you kill one another it’s no skin off my back. But, I think you’d rather kiss each other than kill each other.”

“Kiss him?!” Narancia finally broke out of his stupor and spoke, “This idiot’s never kissed anything in his life, why the hell would I want to do that?” Fugo smacked him upside the head.

“You don’t know anything about me, shit-for-brains. You’re the one that has to go to maid café’s to see some ass!” Narancia’s mouth flopped open and closed like a fish.

“T-that doesn’t mean shit! I’ve kissed people before! You’re the one who spent all your time in school, I was on the streets!”

“Yeah? Prove it, you little shit. I bet the only thing you’ve kissed is Bucciarati’s ass-”

Narancia grabbed Fugo’s tie and jerked him forward into a closed-mouth kiss. Abbacchio grinned widely, triumphant. Fugo resisted initially, but Narancia had a surprisingly strong grip for such a small frame. When he finally let go, the taller boy gaped at him, flustered.

“Th-that’s not how you kiss someone! You didn’t even move your lips at all, idiot!” Before Narancia could protest, Fugo grabbed either side of his face and pulled him in for another bruising kiss. This time, Fugo’s golden eyes fluttered closed so he couldn’t see the other’s purple orbs boring holes into him. He opened his lips slightly, and Narancia did the same. Being that close, Narancia briefly noticed that his teammate smelled lightly of coffee and strawberry shampoo.

Abbacchio watched as the kiss intensified. He thought about what he could buy with the money Mista owed him. Fugo tentatively licked at Narancia’s lower lip. A small swipe at first, then another. Narancia followed suit, testing the waters with his own tongue until they finally met in the middle. The smaller boy made a sound that pulled Abbacchio out of his daydream and went straight to Fugo’s dick.

All hell broke loose.

Fugo deepened the kiss, tongue exploring Narancia’s mouth in earnest. The other complied, rubbing his tongue up the length of his partner’s feverishly. It was messy, it was unexperienced, but it felt glorious. Narancia softly moaned again into the kiss and let his switchblade fall to the floor. He gripped Fugo’s shoulders tight and let himelf be pushed flat against the arm of the couch. As minutes wore on, they parted for air only briefly before plunging back into each other’s depths and letting their hands wander over one another’s tense bodies.

It wasn’t long before Fugo realized that the tightness in his pants was nearly unbearable. He brushed his thigh against Narancia’s groin and was relieved, and aroused, to find that the other seemed to be struggling as well. He slid his thigh between Narancia’s legs and groaned aloud at the contact. The two pulled away from each other, flushed and panting.

“F-Fugo…” Narancia pleaded. As Fugo looked down at the boy’s reddened skin and swollen lips, his mussed raven hair and the drool that dripped slowly from his chin to his chest, he thought that his friend was beautiful. He bit his lip and cautiously grinded his lower body into the other’s. Narancia yelped and blushed near the color of the strawberry earrings that Fugo wore, “Don’t stop,” He pleaded, and it was all Fugo needed to grind against the other in earnest, earning a throaty groan and two thin arms wrapped around his neck.

Abbacchio watched the pair frot against one another and came to the very uncomfortable realization that he was painfully aroused. As the scene in front of him continued to unfold, he justified palming himself through his pants by reasoning that if the pair didn’t want him there they would have told him.

When Fugo wanted something, he was quick to get it. Before Narancia knew what was happening his clothes were on the floor and his friend was sucking deep, blooming bruises into his neck and chest. When Fugo’s hand wrapped around his exposed cock, his brain short-circuited and he came instantly with a shrill cry.

Before he could express his shame, Fugo leaned in and kissed him softly. With his other hand, he undid his belt and slid off his ridiculously holey pants. Narancia gasped.

“So you do wear a thong!” The other’s cheeks flared crimson red. He decided to shut Narancia up for good by spreading his legs and sliding a hand around one of his ass cheeks.

“N-Narancia,” Fugo’s own voice sounded foreign in his ears. How long had it been since he sounded so far away, so unsure? How did he have this gorgeous boy writhing underneath him, undone by just his lips and his touch?

Narancia wouldn’t say he was the smartest tool in the crayon shed, but no one would deny he was surprisingly perceptive. “You want to put it in me?” He said matter of fact, turning Fugo into a sputtering mess.

“Well, I mean…I…you…we don’t have…but-”

“Put your fingers in his mouth,” Abbacchio offered, his own member fully on display for his teammates to gawk at, “It’ll make things much easier.”

“J-Jesus Christ, Abbacchio…” Narancia marveled, disgusted at his voyeurism but oddly intrigued by how brazenly he stroked himself at them.

Fugo bristled with anger at such a private moment being ogled at. He readied himself to take his friend’s discarded switchblade and castrate the tall goth himself, but his anger dissipated when Narancia took his hand and lapped at his fingertips. He sucked in a breath as his fingers moved past Narancia’s lips and into his mouth. The smaller boy’s warmth combined with the soft texture of his tongue and the way that he looked at him, purple eyes clouded with lust, made Fugo’s cock throb painfully.

After a few moments Narancia let go of the other’s fingers with a pop, satisfied that they were as slick as possible. Fugo pulled them back hesitantly, shifting his body so that he could see the other’s hole. He felt dizzy staring at it, as if suddenly everything was real and he was really about to fuck his best friend.

He licked his lips and placed one finger at Narancia’s entrance. Narancia squeaked at the sensation, but held his body still. Slowly, gauging Narancia’s face for any signs of pain, he pushed his slickened fingers forward. Once he passed the ring of muscle, the smaller boy’s body nearly sucked him in. It was warm, it was soft. It was so, incredibly tight.

It was a slow and painful process, but eventually Fugo had Narancia rocking his hips against his hand, three fingers buried deep inside him. He began to love the sounds that his small friend made- soft, breathy moans that made him shiver in anticipation. He never knew the other could be so erotic.

“I can’t…I can’t take it anymore…” Narancia mumbled into the air, eyes screwed shut, “J-just do it already!” Fugo removed his fingers and sat up. Heart beating out of his chest, he placed his cock at Narancia’s reddened hole and took a deep breath.

Abbacchio himself nearly groaned as Fugo pushed in. He fisted his own cock, slick with precum, slowly, deliberately, as if he was impaling the boy himself. Fugo groaned as he finally bottomed out. Narancia didn’t make a single sound, confident that if he did his body just might tear in two. Fugo leaned forward and peppered the boy with kisses on his face and chest, uncharacteristically concerned that he might be severely hurting him. Narancia almost laughed at how painful it was, but the thrill of having Fugo inside of him was motivation enough to persevere.

Narancia let out a pained squeak as the other started to move. Fugo kissed his lips apologetically. He reciprocated in earnest, the sensation of being filled from two ends thrilling enough to distract from the throbbing in his spine. Fugo set up some semblance of a rhythm, short, shallow thrusts deepening as time went on.

“F-fuck, Narancia…” He swore, the tightness of the other’s walls almost painful around his dick. He rocked his hips faster and faster into that heat, losing more control as the moments ticked by. Pain slowly turned into pleasure for Narancia, the foreign feeling of cock sliding in and out of his body morphing into something erotic. Spurred on by Fugo’s shaky breathing and soft grunts, and the sound of their bodies smacking together, Narancia felt something sweet like candy blooming in the pit of his stomach.

Fugo leaned down and licked the shell of Narancia’s reddened ear. “I don’t…you feel so fucking good…” He whispered in a low growl that went straight to the other’s core. Praise from the younger boy was so rare that he came again, suddenly, Fugo’s name spilling from his lips. Fugo moaned loudly as the soft walls around his cock contracted. He snapped his hips almost violently into the other, setting a brutal pace.

“Nara…” Fugo nearly whined, fucking into his teammates body like his life depended on it, “I’m so close…” Narancia threaded his fingers into the other’s blonde locks and held on for dear life. He was sure that Fugo’s nails gripped his hips so tightly that he was bleeding. In the haze of arousal, four words tumbled from his lips that he never thought he’d say in his life.

“Fugo, cum inside me!” He pleaded. Somewhere in the room Abbacchio grunted loudly, the boy’s desperation going straight to his dick and causing him to spill ropes of cum into his palm. The pair hardly noticed as Fugo reached his own orgasm, hips stuttering as he released with a loud groan into Narancia’s shoulder.

Narancia himself moaned at the sensation of being filled to the brim, warmth spreading through his core. Fugo collapsed on top of him and gasped for air. For a while the three men sat there, trying desperately to come down from their highs.

Just as Fugo went to pull out, sunlight filled the living room. Mista had opened the front door and was standing there, slack jawed, holding two sacks of groceries. Bucciarati nearly bumped into him from behind.

“Wh-” He peaked around the frozen gunman and was greeted with the sight of his near naked, slick covered underlings. His eyes were wide as saucers, but a devlish grin played slowly across his features. “Well, Mista, guess you owe quite a bit of money.” *all original work belongs to me. do not re-upload without explicit permission. 

[andromeda-sapphire]

Witchy Then Vs. Now

I was SO inspired by the post by @hermeticimp​ regarding comparing the witchy things of our childhood to the witchy things we do now. I had to write a blog post about it!

Herbal Magic:

Then: I remember when I was a kid, maybe around age 5 or 7, I used to make rose water with my brother in the summertime. But not quite the way I would now! My mom had a few rose bushes in the front yard, and we would pick a bunch of roses and put them in a big bucket of water. Then, we’d roll up our pants and jump in the bucket (or for me, just jump in, as I was usually wearing dresses at that age) and start smashing the roses up with our bare feet! We called the rose water “magic perfume” and I remember wanting to keep some stored in a bottle but my mom always dumped it out when we were finished because playtime was over and it was dinnertime.

Now: I typically don’t even make rose water very often now, as I don’t usually have access to fresh rose petals. I love to use beauty products with rose water in them though, like Thayer’s brand alcohol-free witch hazel. Nowadays I usually use dried rose petals for spell bottles and for smoking herbal blends. My herbal witchcraft nowadays is mostly making tea blends, smoke blends, and of course as ingredients for spells. I’ve also made healing salves and oils with herbs over the years.

Crystal Magic:

Then: Inspired by my mother’s geological rock collection (she was a science teacher when I was a kid), I began collecting rocks when I was a young child, probably as young as 7. I have a lot of crystals that came from my mom’s collection, and as a kid, I remember taking out her rock collection boxes from the garage and placing them all over the living room so I could open them all up and look at the cool rocks inside. I remember reading about crystal healing in a book on home remedies that my mom gave me. I bookmarked so many pages in that book, most of them in the crystal healing section. I had one special crystal that I had found near my elementary school as a kid (but lost over time.. sad!) and I was convinced it was a magic crystal. I carried it with me all the time, I slept with it under my pillow, and I never completely knew what it was (maybe some kind of quartz?) but I felt that it enhanced my dreams and made them much more vivid.

Now: My crystal collection has multiplied... Significantly... (oops) I am definitely a crystal collector, and now I go out and find some of my own crystals as well. In fact, the huge chunk of serpentine in the image above is one that I found, and it’s roughly the size of my face! I love my crystals, and I make crystal grids as a part of my rituals and practice. Crystals are somehow always involved in my practice actually. I make wire wrap jewelry now with crystals also (check out Buffalo Wraps on Instagram) inspired by the healing properties of the crystals.

Astrology:

Then: When I was about 10, my grandma gave me this book. It was her original copy of Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. It even has my grandmother’s signature on the inside cover. I was visiting my grandparents in New Zealand at the time, and didn’t have any other books with me for the trip that I can remember, so I spent my evenings in bed reading the section on How to Recognize a Libra. (I’m a Libra Sun, and that was all I knew about astrology at the time) As I finished the chapter on Libra, I was convinced there had to be something real to this tradition of the cosmos. So after returning to the USA, I began researching astrology in my free time, reading as many books and online resources as possible about the topic. I gave my friends and family birth chart readings, and was constantly examining my friends’ behaviors as a scientist examines their test subject.

Now: Well, now I’m trying to become a professional astrologer! It’s been my goal since my third year in University to become an astrologer, and I’ve been taking webinar courses since then from well-known astrologers and (again) reading as many books and online resources as possible. I now have shelves and shelves (almost a whole large tote full actually) of astrology books of all kinds that I’ve collected and read over the years, and it all started with my grandma’s little copy of Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. Instead of only giving free birth chart readings to friends and family, now I offer paid readings of all types as well! I’ve learned so much over the last almost 15 years of studying this beautiful tradition! Astrology is also a huge part of my magic as well. I never cast a spell without first planning it for a specific planetary hour and day that aligns with the desired planetary energies. I’m constantly watching transits and studying how they affect us down here on Earth as well.

Astronomy:

Then: As a kid, maybe 3rd grade through middle school, I was super into outer space. I remember having those little glow in the dark stars all over my ceiling. My dad gave me a telescope for Christmas one year, and I remember him helping me to set it up a few times at night outside on the porch. I was always staring at the stars as a kid, looking at the moon and the constellations. I had (still have actually) a great little guide book on all of the constellations in the sky and the mythology behind them, and all kinds of cool info.

Now: Unfortunately, that telescope got very dusty over the years. It’s sitting in storage now, and I’m dying to bring it out and set it up again, but I need the space for it first! I still observe the sky and watch the stars and moon, but aside from my astrology practice and cosmic witchery, I don’t focus too much on space. I still watch documentaries on space and the planets etc. however! My magic actually heavily relies on my knowledge of both astronomy AND astrology.

Mythology/Fairy Tales:

Then: As a kid, I loved reading fiction and fantasy! I loved drawing dragons and unicorns, and reading about magical princesses and fairies. I wanted to live in a world of mythology so badly. I remember one of my favorite books at the time was Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. I think that book really got me excited about dragons and magic. I also have believed from a very young age, not sure where it originated from, that I am a witch, and have magic within me! I know one influence on that belief was a graphic novel series I used to read all the time growing up called W.I.T.C.H. - I related to one of the characters in that series, Irma, who had water magic abilities. I always felt a deep connection to water for some reason, and as a kid I believed I could control it to an extent. Later in elementary school, I remember learning about Greek mythology briefly, but didn’t get to learn much about it until later.

Now: I went through a bit of a phase a while ago where I thought I had to connect to a deity, or a pantheon. And I feel like I did have a few encounters with deities, but nothing that truly made me feel comfortable worshiping a deity. Don’t get me wrong, I love Greek mythology and religion, and I’ve actually taken a class at University on Greek mythology. Though I’m no expert, I feel pretty well-versed in my myths. They have a few good mythology documentary shows on Netflix that I enjoy as well. I guess because I come from a semi-Christian background though, I have a distaste for worshiping a “god” or “god-like” figure... So I don’t really worship any deities at the moment, but I do recognize the possibility of them existing, and I recognize them as archetypal figures. Same goes for other mythological beings, I don’t really work with them, but I recognize the potential for their existence in another plane.

Divination:

Then: When I was a kid, I had a little pendulum that I made out of blue lace agate and a chain. I used that for divination purposes, just asking yes or no questions. I didn’t know much else about divination though, aside from astrology, so I didn’t know what other directions there were for me to explore.

Now: I use a few different types of divination, and surprisingly, I rarely use my crystal pendulums! Besides astrology, my go-to divination method nowadays is tarot. I’ve learned to read tarot cards over the last few years after one of my college roommates gave me a rune reading and introduced me to tarot and other forms of divination. Now I have several tarot decks, oracle decks, and pendulums all stored in a beautiful box I call my “divination box.”

Anyway, that’s my Witchy Then Vs. Now! I really would like to see this pick up on Witchblr cuz it’s a fun challenge to make you reflect a little on how you’ve changed, or stayed the same!

Check out my Ko-Fi below to leave me a tip!

ko-fi.com/andromeda_sapphire

[sciencespies]

How Has The Covid-19 Pandemic Impacted Cancer Research?

https://sciencespies.com/news/how-has-the-covid-19-pandemic-impacted-cancer-research/

How Has The Covid-19 Pandemic Impacted Cancer Research?

How has the pandemic affected cancer research?

getty

The outbreak of the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus that began slowly in Wuhan, China a year ago, before quickly enveloping the world has had widespread, devastating effects on lives, livelihoods and entire economies. Although much focus has rightly centered on the impressive scientific research directly tackling the pandemic, including work tracking the virus, trialing treatments for Covid-19 and developing vaccines, the impact on many other areas of medical research have been less documented and may take several years to fully come to terms with.

Cancer, for example, is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., with the American Cancer Society projecting over 600,000 cancer deaths in 2020. Despite a raging Covid-19 pandemic, this is roughly a quarter of a million people more than died of Covid-19 last year in the U.S.

A survey of 239 cancer research scientists in the U.K. in November of last year found that the researchers estimated that their work would be set back by an average of 6 months. The same researchers also estimated that major advances would be delayed almost 18 months due to numerous effects of the pandemic including lab shutdowns, reductions in funding and barriers to enrolling patients on clinical trials.

In the U.S., restrictions and setbacks to research vary widely depending on location and nature of the work. Cancer research is also a highly diverse topic with research not only developing new treatments and testing them in clinical trials, but also studies looking at the health of people who have survived cancer and racial and social disparities which affect care and outcomes of people with cancer.

Forbes Health interviewed several cancer researchers in the U.S. about their experiences during the pandemic so far, asking how the pandemic has affected them and their work.

Dr. Wayne Lawrence, DrPH, MPH, Cancer Prevention Fellow, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, MD.

MORE FOR YOU

Dr. Wayne Lawrence (left), DrPH, MPH, Cancer Prevention Fellow, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and … [+] Genetics, National Cancer Institute

State University of New York at Albany.

“My research is in the field of cancer epidemiology with an emphasis on minority and economically disadvantaged populations. My work lies at the intersection of biological susceptibility and inequities in health care delivery,” said Lawrence. “I am fortunate that I can work from home, as my research consists of analyzing large population-based data at a computer rather than working in a lab. However, the constant worry of family members becoming infected with Covid-19 pulls my focus away from my research often. This is intensified as I have family members that are essential workers in New York City,” Lawrence added.

Lawrence’s research aims to develop new approaches to cancer prevention and improvement of long-term cancer survival in minority and economically disadvantaged people, an issue brought into sharper focus during the pandemic as it is now well-known that these people also have the highest risk of contracting, and dying from, Covid-19.

“What is further challenging during this period is society’s grapple with structural racism in the U.S. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has made focusing on my work difficult with the constant concerns of infection among family and friends. Watching the country struggle to grasp how deeply rooted racism is in society has compounded this difficulty,” said Lawrence.

Academic researchers already experience high levels of burnout, stress and mental health difficulties compared to the general population and many are finding that the additional strain of the pandemic is compounding their abilities to run their research programs.

“I am still grappling with the extent to which the ongoing pandemic is impacting my daily life. At this point, I will be more productive when my family and friends have received the Covid-19 vaccine. The constant worry of loved ones becoming infected and dying from Covid-19, especially those living in areas with alarming increases in cases, makes it difficult to concentrate on projects,” said Lawrence.

Olivia Geneus, Ph.D. Candidate in Nanotechnology at State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.

Olivia Geneus, Ph.D. Candidate at State University of New York, Buffalo.

Alexander Harold

Geneus is working on a nanotechnology solution to deliver targeted therapies directly to a type of brain tumor called a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which has a very poor survival rate currently. Her campus at State University of New York in Buffalo was temporarily shut down during the first wave of the pandemic.

“With the abrupt campus lockdown including our laboratories, experiments that were conducted prior had to be immediately terminated without any plan as to how to proceed forward. Accessing our instrument centers to test our samples also became difficult due to the campus-wide social distancing guidelines. And on the front end, laboratory materials and chemicals now take much longer to ship when ordered,” said Geneus.

Geneus like many graduate students, helps to mentor and train other students earlier on in their careers, yet another aspect of research which was been disrupted.

“During the pandemic, it is quite apparent that virtual learning has decreased feedback and engagement from my students. I never want my students to feel isolated from their learning environment and experience. Additionally, as a graduate research mentor, my undergraduate mentees are unable to receive the laboratory and research experience that they would have normally been provided,” said Geneus.

However, an unexpected positive for Geneus was that the enforced time away from her lab gave her a chance to finish off some previous work.

“It is quite difficult to accurately estimate how much the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed my research progress. Obtaining accurate data from laboratory experiments that are conducted are the biggest factor driving such setbacks. However, what is in my control is the time spent on completing my first-author research paper for publication,” said Geneus.

Dr. Christopher Sweeney, MBBS, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA.

Dr. Christopher Sweeney, medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute:

American Society of Clinical Oncology

Dr. Sweeney is a practicing oncologist and professor at Harvard Medical school. His research mainly focuses on international phase III trials for men with prostate cancer. In April 2020, the international team had just launched a new clinical trial to test out a new therapy for a particular type of prostate cancer and had to move quickly to modify the trial so that patients could still participate.

“The global team convened and modified the trial in accordance with the relevant government regulations to allow tele-health visits and delivery of drugs to patients homes and so minimize in-person visits to a health care facility while maintaining the ability to safely monitor patients and deliver the care needed. We also adjudicated that some visits were still essential and ensured isolation protocols were in place so patients could still get the treatments designed to manage their advanced prostate cancer. It took some quick yet judicious thinking and adjustments and in the end has proven to be a successful model and allowed the safe continuation of research that has the potential to decrease the chance men will die of prostate cancer,” said Sweeney.

Dr. Erica T. Warner, ScD MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA.

Erica T. Warner, ScD MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and … [+] Harvard Medical School

Erica T. Warner

Dr. Warner’s research focuses on breast cancer risk factors and racial disparities in breast cancer treatment, diagnosis and survivorship, as well as ways to improve patient care in these areas.

“I had several projects, including a American Cancer Society and Pfizer funded study on breast cancer survivorship in Black women, that were ready to launch right when all observational research was halted in March. Those projects have been significantly delayed by the pandemic because of the stoppage, and then the time it took the redesign them to recruit and enroll participants and conduct the study remotely,” said Warner.

Warner estimates that her group’s projects have been delayed approximately a year, so far, by the pandemic. However, like many researchers, Warner has also created projects to address problems caused by, or exacerbated by the pandemic.

“We conducted a national survey in partnership with several breast cancer advocacy organizations to understand from the patient perspective how the pandemic has affected breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. I’m also working with several collaborators to use large institutional databases to see how screening rates have declined as a result of the pandemic, and to better understand how to bring women back to care,” said Warner.

Dr. Elizabeth Wayne, PhD, biomedical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.

Dr Elizabeth Wayne, biomedical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University.

TED

Dr. Wayne recently started her own research group and focuses on studying immune cell interactions with biomaterials for the purpose of drug delivery, diagnostics, and drug discovery. 

“My work is heavily experimental and as such the reductions in density [of people] requirements have made it challenging to schedule and conduct laboratory experiments. Moreover, I am an early career professor—I started my position in August 2019—my lab is so young we are still in a training phase. Being in close proximity to someone outside of your household for prolonged periods of time is the one thing you aren’t supposed to do and yet it is exactly the thing that I need,” said Wayne.

Wayne, like many other researchers also has academic teaching and mentoring duties, which have been severely affected by the ongoing pandemic. The need to pivot largely to virtual learning solutions has created many challenges, especially for students studying sciences as many programs require hands-on laboratory-based experience.

“Postdocs, graduate students have felt like they were in a holding pattern and this has uncovered or exacerbated physical, social and mental health challenges. I also enjoy mentoring undergraduates, but it has been very challenging providing meaningful research experience. Myself along with other colleagues have pivoted to creating virtual lab experiences and I believe this is something that could have great utility even after the pandemic. Nonetheless, I absolutely worry about how this will affect students’ ability to demonstrate their capacity for research, something that is valued if not required for admission into STEM PhD programs,” said Wayne.

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[whenerosmetpsyche]

Life Calling to Us

An astrologer I avidly follow and study closely is Ernst Wilhelm whose philosophy of astrology includes the practice of observing “life calling to us” by observing the symbols and energy around us. Astrocartography and local astrology move towards this idea, but Ernst has always claimed it to be much simpler. He sees astrology living with us on earth, in our environment, and our day-to-day lives. So while a solar return foretells the year, paying attention the day of your birthday can outline it just as well. Likewise, while a horary chart can answer a question, a read of the landscape at the right moment can too. One example Wilhelm gives seeing a hawk fly by as you ponder when you’ll hear back from a friend. The hawk is the messenger and you’ll have your answer soon. 

Per Wilhelm’s philosophy these events are entwined with you and your natal chart and your location on the planet. 

To me it sounded akin to the way I try to intuitively move through life by reading the currents of life, but the details felt like a reach. And although Ernst was able to operationalize the process of reading the world in a way that made sense to me, in practice, I remain doubtful of my daily interpretation of life’s events. But I’ve been trying. 

A Solar Return in a Day

This Aquarius season I have been attempting to read the world like Ernst. To start I took up his recommendation and purchased these cards, called Medicine Cards (created by Jamie Sams and David Carson) and I’ve been watching for animals. Coincidences. Events. So now the crow that routinely uses the gutter hanging over my corner bedroom window as a birdbath is no longer just a bird. It’s nice to know the house I lived in years ago was actually protected by the countless neighborhood raccoons that would greet my return, and not haunted by them. Or that the summer hummingbirds in my garden portend joy. Even the cobwebs are encouraging. And because my birthday passed by recently, I thought I would document the day to observe how closely it aligned with my solar return. Here is roughly what happened:

1) so very little sleep and late to everything 2) weird technical outages in public situations 3) waited in the wrong line at the DMV for nearly 45 minutes 4) almost failed my vision test due to a misunderstanding 5) rare successful shopping trip (I am super picky about clothes) 6) so many chatty people around me everywhere all the time 7) felt strangely chatty myself 8) one of the more lovely evenings in recent memory 9) an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love 10) some encouraging financial news

Based on this day it would seem the year will be stressful, frenetic, busy, not as planned, bureaucratic and delayed due to miscommunications. The second half looks social, encouraging and optimistic. 

In comparison my solar return looks like a lot of communication work (school crap) and a lot of behind the scenes work. Perhaps the clothes are all about finding the right fit with my research? Jupiter is in my solar return’s second house so maybe my income looks like it could increase this year. And I ate salmon for dinner which I hope symbolically means more inner wisdom to come? I’m crossing my fingers.

The Symbolism of Animals

Sadly I saw few living animals during the day, but I did use the Medicine cards to identify the animal totems that walk beside me so I’ll know their meaning when I see them in the future. For my left side of nurturing I pulled a butterfly (meaning transformation -- and Psyche!), and for my right side of fatherly protection I pulled a dog (loyalty), and horse (power). Above I linked to a blog which has posted the contents of the book so you can read about the animals that routinely come into your life and their meaning. And although I did not notice any butterflies, dogs, or horses on the big day, a friend of mine reported being attacked by a mountain lion on hers. The symbolism of the mountain lion is a call to leadership -- which I guess technically she had been fleeing much like the lion that chased her down the hill. And I did run into a horse in the city during my jog a few weeks ago while feeling particularly empowered. I remain unconvinced for the most part, but it has been fun looking at the world with this lens for a bit. And I’m still wondering what the stink bug invasion of my house indicates. My partner informs me we just need better insulation.

Here is a breakdown of animal meanings from Sams & Carson’s Medicine Cards.

EAGLE - Spirit

HAWK - Messenger

ELK - Stamina

DEER - Gentleness

BEAR- Introspection

SNAKE - Transmutation

SKUNK - Reputation

OTTER - Woman Medicine

BUTTERFLY - Transformation

TURTLE - Mother Earth / Nature Energy

MOOSE - Self-Esteem

WILD BOAR - Confrontation

SALMON - Wisdom & Inner Knowing

PORCUPINE - Innocence

COYOTE - Trickster

DOG - Loyalty

WOLF - Teacher

RAVEN - Magic

MOUNTAIN LION - Leadership

LYNX - Secrets

BUFFALO - Prayer & Abundance

MOUSE - Scrutiny

OWL - Deception

BEAVER - Builder

OPOSSUM - Diversion

CROW - Law

FOX - Camouflage

SQUIRREL - Gathering

DRAGONFLY - Illusion

ARMADILLO - Boundaries

BADGER - Aggressiveness

RABBIT - Fear

TURKEY - Give-Away

ANT - Patience

WEASEL - Stealth

GROUSE - Sacred Spiral

HORSE - Power

LIZARD - Dreaming

ANTELOPE - Action

FROG - Cleansing

SWAN - Grace

DOLPHIN - Manna

WHALE - Record Keeper

BAT - Rebirth

SPIDER - Weaving

HUMMINGBIRD - Joy

BLUE HERON - Self Reflection

RACCOON - Generous Protection

PRAIRIE DOG - Retreat

ALLIGATOR - Integration

JAGUAR - Integrity & Impeccability

BLACK PANTHER - Embracing the Unknown