#I was so happy to see mark 3 in Dark Genesis

[lorem-ipsum-2099]

Flipside Mark 3

(Finals are over, brace yourselves I have so many SM2099 ideas)

[kitten4sannie]

Omg congrats on 3k!! I'm so happy for you lovie!!🩷🩷🩷 So this is my first time requesting anything lol so bare with me 🥲 I'd love to see maybe a mean vampire seonghwa? Like mean dom? With all the filth you can add in! Like go crazy lol Again, congrats on 3k!! You deserve all the love and appreciation you get!🩷

🧋🩷

tysmm genesis !! that means a lot coming from you mwah >< <33 omg i’m so happy i can write your first ever request!! mmm filthy mean dom vamp hwa… yes yes, that’s something i can do~ i’ll def go crazyy (go stupid) don’t you worry about that hehe and i alsooo added san in there bc i’m weak kksjs ;;; i hope you enjoy my love 💞

⛧ seance smutfest ⛧

pairing: vampire lord! seonghwa x concubine! fem reader x vampire butler! san

w.c: 2.6k

warnings: mean dom! seonghwa (man’s a psycho fr), mean dom! san (follows his master’s lead <3), bratty sub! reader that fucks around and finds out, threesome elements, light mxm, sir kink, possessiveness, exhibitionism/voyeurism, manhandling, blood play, blood drinking (girlie needs a blood transfusion stat ^^’), biting/marking, pet names/name calling, praise/degradation, dacryphilia, face/pussy slapping, choking, oral (receiving), fingering, brief tit play, hair pulling, overstim, masturbation, cowgirl, creampies, back shots, cum eating

Masterlist

“Pssst,” your roommate murmured, reaching over to gently tug on your nightgown, wanting you to get closer so that you could hear her over the loud, overlapping chatter of the other individuals in your shared bedroom. “Who do you think Lord Park will pick tonight?”

You scooted closer to her, eventually shrugging your shoulders. “Depends on what mood he’s in.” 

She shuddered. “I hope he’s not hungry…” 

You bit your bottom lip slightly, unconsciously patting the girl’s thigh. “Me and you both.” 

She sucked her teeth, about to reply when a soft, though deliberate knocking sound interrupted her, followed by the distinct creaking of the centuries-old door opening just enough for you to see the castle’s chief of staff, Choi San, standing there with a candle in hand. 

“Good evening, ladies,” he announced, bowing at the waist, acknowledging a few of your roommate’s replies. “Miss Y/N,” the youthful man addressed you with his usual warm, dimpled smile, idly resting his gloved hand against his coat’s lapel. “Your presence is requested in the Headmaster’s bedroom.” 

The once lively room of concubines quieted down, their attention centered on you, a few of them swallowing nervously, despite not even being chosen themselves. 

“Oh…right now?” you asked dumbly, playing with one of the ribbons on your nightgown. 

The man nodded, taking a step back into the extravagant, dimly lit hallway. “Right now, I’m afraid.” 

The girl near you patted your thigh just as you had done to her, making you wonder if she was trying to comfort you or was simply sorry for what you were about to endure at the hands of the Headmaster. 

You followed San out into the hallway and began your journey to the grand master bedroom, requiring you to walk down the oddly long corridor and up a velvet trimmed staircase complete with a large painting of a strikingly handsome, forlorn man sitting at the very top, staring you down as you made your way up to it.  

“San…” you began, turning to look up at the young vampire, his sharp features illuminated by the melting candle he held inside his gloved hand. “Is the Headmaster…” You bit your lip again, your pulse quickening. “…hungry?” 

San’s dark eyes twinkled for a second, before turning into crescent moons, his lips twitching upwards, exposing his elongated fangs. “Oh, Miss Y/N,” he tsked, doing a scan over your body so quickly it almost seemed to happen in your imagination. “You should know by now that Lord Park is always quite famished.” 

-

Seonghwa stood near his bedroom window, gazing out of it as if he were in a trance, his crimson eyes focused on the enormous, glowing moon that sat just above the dark forest below, almost appearing as though it were about to drop out of the sky at any second and destroy everything in its wake. When he heard a knock on one of his grand bedroom doors, he turned around. “Enter.”

“Pardon for the intrusion, my lord, but I’ve come to deliver your entertainment for the night.” San placed a hand on your back, coaxing you into the room. 

“Entertainment?” Seonghwa chuckled lightly, taking a few strides in your direction only to tower over you, reaching down to run his fingers through your hair. “I think you meant my meal, did you not?”

“I’d like to see you try,” you muttered, swatting his hand away, making the vampire let out a low growl. 

“Dinner and a show, sir,” San corrected himself, giving his Master a small amused smile, about to take his leave when Seonghwa snapped his fingers. 

“One that you’ll be the audience for, San.” Quite pleased with himself, Seonghwa grabbed you by the waist and tossed you like a ragdoll onto the bed behind him before you could protest. “Now, sit over there–” He snapped his fingers at San, as he climbed onto you, pinning your flailing arms above your head with ease, smiling at the other vampire. “–and look pretty.” 

“Yes, my lord,” San obliged, his dimples on display, sitting down in the large mahogany chair that was positioned near the edge of the bed and smoothing out his tailored coat. He smiled keenly at the sight and smell of your arousal now that Seonghwa’s hand was wrapped around your throat with his thigh shoved in between your legs, your nightgown already torn from your body and tossed onto the carpet below. 

“Will you do me a favor and cum so we can get this over with, my lord?” you said as unamused as you could with cold fingers pressing into your throat, blinking up at the stern vampire hovering above you, your brain feeling delightfully dizzy. 

Seonghwa leaned in towards you and inhaled the scent of your pleasure, enjoying the way he could feel your pulse racing against his fingers. “Looks like I have to break you all over again, don’t I, sweet thing?” he announced, feeling your heated body shiver against his when he began to grind his knee against your bare cunt, delighted with the slick sounds it was already producing. “You always give me problems, but you love this, don’t you? Getting treated like a little doll made only for me? Just makes you want to cum, doesn’t it?” 

You felt Seonghwa’s fingers squeeze tighter around your throat, the deliberate rubbing of his thigh against your exposed clit making it hard for you to think straight. “I’m dryer than ever. There’s no way you’re–aaah–making me cum.”

“Oh, yeah? Watch me,” he whispered against your ear, shifting his fingers downwards just enough to sink his needle-sharp fangs into your neck, slowly gulping down your hot, coursing blood, his hand now cupped against your slippery cunt, your swollen clit rubbing relentlessly against the rough palm of his hand until you inevitably fell apart. Once you went limp underneath him, Seonghwa began to lick at the fresh bite marks he left with his forked tongue, chuckling at the small, withdrawn whimpers you let out when he reeled his hand back and smacked it against your cunt. “Hurts so good, doesn’t it?” 

“How does she taste, sir?” San interjected softly, already palming at the growing tent that sat uncomfortably inside his buttoned, tailored pants. 

“Delicious as always.” Licking his teeth, Seonghwa slowly climbed off of you and instead positioned you so that you were in his lap with your back to his chest near the edge of the bed, directly facing San. “On your knees, San.” 

Within seconds, San was on his knees before the two of you, watering at the mouth. “Now what, sir?” 

Seonghwa, who had his mouth latched back onto your neck and his hands exploring the expanse of your naked body, spit the blood out onto you, the three of you watching the crimson careen along your tits and down your middle, until it pooled near your pelvis, dripping onto your throbbing cunt. He bared his fangs at San, whose sharpened eyes were glowing brightly inside the dimly-lit room. “Lick.” 

As soon as he got permission, San dove straight into your pussy, lapping at it like it was his life’s mission, collecting the beads of blood in his mouth, along with your wetness when he sucked at your folds and clit, spitting the mess of blood and arousal back onto your cunt, before slurping it all up again. 

“Fuck,” you moaned, gripping San’s hair with one hand, encouraging the vampire to shove his tongue into your fluttering hole. You leaned your head back into Seonghwa’s chest, mindlessly grinding your cunt against San’s already messy mouth, your brain and body feeling too fuzzy to focus on anything. 

“What a little filthy whore you are,” Seonghwa sighed onto your skin, one hand closing around your blood-covered tit to play with it, the other sliding down the middle of your abdomen until his fingers began to rub your clit in tight circles. “So willing to disobey, but so eager to feel pleasure, even from my own personal advisor. What am I going to do with you?” 

You turned your head to look at him, answering snarkily, “Make me cum already.” 

“I’ll make you cum, don’t you worry, slut.” Seonghwa bit at your earlobe, sending a few sudden harsh smacks to your clit, rubbing your stinging cunt afterwards, but being careful not to intercept San’s swiping tongue. 

It didn’t take long before you were tugging at San’s dark locks and writhing around against Seonghwa’s body, taking a few more smacks to your swollen clit, making you cry out involuntarily. 

“Well, would you look at that?” Seonghwa beamed to himself, licking up your release from his fingers. “How does the little whore’s cum taste?” 

“Delicious,” San sighed, once he was done drinking up your arousal, licking up your cunt once again, this time continuing upwards to gather the rest of the blood that Seonghwa had spit out onto your body, eventually settling near your chest, taking turns shoving your tits into his mouth. 

With his own mouth back on your neck, idly drinking more of your blood, and his fingers still rubbing at your clit, Seonghwa reached around your body to tightly grip San’s hair with his free hand, holding his head still so that he could watch San lick and suck on one of your spit-covered tits, making him groan. “Fuck her with your fingers, San.”

“Right away, sir.” Drool fell from San’s mouth as he pulled away from your chest, eagerly shoving two thick fingers inside your cunt, scissoring them apart just to hear you whine, before steadily fucking you with them.

“Now, stretch her open so I can fit my cock inside.”Seonghwa ran his closed hand up and down his slick cock, looking over your shoulder to watch as your hole swallowed up San’s ring finger.

The feeling of being filled and Seonghwa’s words alone made you tumble over the edge, causing you to toss your head back into Seonghwa’s chest and cry out. 

San grunted, thrusting his digits up into you a few more times, your abundant wetness dripping down his veiny forearm and breathless moans leaving him with a satisfied smirk. “She’s ready for you, my lord.” 

Whining at the sudden emptiness inside due to San pulling his fingers out, you were instantly gratified when Seonghwa lifted your hips up from behind and brought you down onto him, your cunt swallowing up his large cock inch by inch. “Oh, fuck–”

“God, you always take me so well,” the vampire praised, only waiting until he bottomed out to aggressively snap his hips up into you, forcing you to bounce on his cock, punching short, airy moans out of you with each thrust. “That’s it, that’s it. You’re my perfect little cocksleeve, darling. Fuck, just for me.” 

The blood loss mixed with the relentless pleasure completely took over your mind and body at this point, leaving you in a fog. You wouldn’t come back to reality until Seonghwa sent a quick slap to your cheek, urging you to blow a few strands of wet hair out of your line of sight, gazing down at the grunting vampire below you, his fingers now rubbing over your stinging skin. 

“Now, now, don’t pass out on me yet, darling,” Seonghwa urged breathlessly, admiring the way you looked on top of him with your nails digging into the flesh of his chest, his hands cemented on your bruising waist, drilling up into your cunt, hitting your g-spot dead on. “I still have more cum to fill you with.” 

When more and more spurts of hot, milky liquid coated your inner walls for the nth time, your body felt so incredibly full, so intensely hot that you came again, so hard that you had fallen back into the other vampire’s chest, his soft, wet hair tickling the side of your cheek. 

“How many times was that, San? How many times did I make this poor slut cum?” Seonghwa playfully questioned the young man, who was positioned behind you, with his pulsing cock grinding against your ass, currently leaving a few more splashes of cum on your slick skin. 

“More times than I can count, sir,” San answered, out of breath, resting his chilled body against your overheated one. 

“You hear that, doll? Even my most trusted advisor can’t keep up with the amount of times I’ve made you fall apart on my cock.” Without gaining a response from you, the vampire smacked his hand down against your reddened, used cunt, a few dribbles of cum leaking out down your inner thighs. “Aww, look at you. Poor fucked-out slut can’t even form words anymore.”  

“T-too much,” you barely got out with the last of your energy, a tear or two escaping your half-closed eyes, dripping down your flushed cheeks.  

Seonghwa scoffed, pressing his thumb roughly against your clit, rubbing it so quickly, your body began to shake. “Oh, is that so? Feels so good, you’re crying for us, hmm?” 

“Uh-huh.” You nodded your head, sniffling, too blinded by pleasure to be bratty anymore. “It’s all your fault.”

Seonghwa suddenly sat up from his lying position, instead pulling you more into his lap, his cock now thrusting so deep inside you, you were convinced you might actually break. “You asked for this,” he huffed out near your face, taking a second to lick up one of your tears, squeezing and rubbing your puffy clit between two fingers so roughly it sent intense bolts of pleasure through your body. “–so you’re going to take it like the good whore you are, yeah?” 

“Yes, sir,” you gasped out, your voice and body quivering from how hard you were cumming, suddenly getting your hair tugged back by San, his fingers gripping your chin, feeling his snake-like tongue cascade over your face. He licked up each salty tear that left your tired eyes. 

“You’re so pretty when you cry, Miss Y/N…” He pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek, pleased with the sounds that left your drooling mouth while Seonghwa filled you up with yet another load.

“That’s it, this pussy’s stuffed so full for me now. I bet everyone in the castle will know you’re my own personal cumslut, won’t they?” Seonghwa exhaled, a few thick beads of his cum leaking down the sides of his cock as he pulled out just to watch your hole flutter uselessly around nothing, having to grip his cock and guide it back inside due to how slippery the mess he had made was. “It’s going to be dripping out of you for so long, darling. But, don’t worry, I’ll always be here to fuck it right back in.”

You nodded your head weakly, accepting his fingers into your mouth after he reached down in between your messy bodies, tasting his salty release on his digits, his cock still pulsing inside your hot, cum-filled cunt.

San slowly zeroed in on the way the vampire’s split tongue lapped up the remnants of blood that decorated your bruising, bite-mark ridden neck, asking breathily, “May I have another taste soon, my lord?”

“Of course you may. There’s quite enough for the two of us.” He took your chin in his grip, pressing a kiss against your cheek, just near your mouth, pressing his thumb lightly onto your bottom lip. “Isn’t there, sweet thing?” 

“But,” you murmured, giving him puppy-dog eyes, your hand resting over his. “I’ve been good.” 

Chuckling lightly, Seonghwa leaned in to give you a chaste kiss, leaving you with a taste of iron, before gently nipping at your bottom lip with his fangs. “Oh, darling.” 

Just when you thought he had some warmth left inside his frozen heart, his pupils formed into slits, his voice lowering just enough to send a chill up your spine. “You really thought you would get away just because you finally decided to obey me? Don’t be daft.” 

Biting your lip enough to break the skin, you looked at him in silence, fear and arousal coursing through your body as Seonghwa moved down to your neck, hardly reacting when his fangs pierced into you once again, leaving a fiery, burning sensation in its wake. 

San watched delightedly from beside you with his hand eagerly stroking his cock, his smile reminiscent of the Cheshire cat’s, knowing the fun they were having was far from over. 

Seonghwa pulled back just enough to look into your eyes, your blood slowly dripping past his plump lips and down his chin. He gave you a soft, gentle smile, one that almost eased your rapid heartbeat until he reminded you of your fate yet again, his smile growing wider, his once shiny white teeth now stained with your life source. “I won’t stop until I have all of you, my dear…mind, body, and soul.”

You lowered your head down onto Seonghwa’s shoulder, blocking out the two salacious vampires for a moment in order to realize the extent of your pleasurable predicament. One thing was for certain — you were going to be devoured that night.

Apply for the taglist here ⇢ ♡

© kitten4sannie, 2023.

[the-hem]

"One Hundred Sheep." Matthew 18:12-14.

What are sheep? Sheeples are the raw material for the Twelve Noble Traits of Israel:

"Vayeitzei (Genesis 28:10–32:3), is veritably glutted with sheep: Laban’s sheep and Jacob’s sheep; white sheep, dark sheep, spotted sheep, speckled sheep, sheep with rings around their ankles. Jacob arrives in Charan, and the first sight to greet him is that of several flocks of sheep congregated around a sealed well; the second is his future wife, Rachel—the name is Hebrew for “sheep”—shepherding her father’s sheep. Soon Jacob is a shepherd himself, caring for sheep, receiving his wages in sheep, breeding sheep with special markings, dreaming of sheep, amassing a fortune in sheep, and finally leading his flocks back to the Holy Land where he will present his brother Esau with a huge gift comprised largely of . . . sheep.

Between flocks, we also read of Jacob’s marriages to Leah and Rachel, and the birth of eleven of his twelve sons, progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel."

Jesus names not twelve, but 100. What are the meanings behind one, ninety-nine and one hundred sheep?

12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 

13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 

14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

A sheep = keves, a "grazer". What does it mean to graze? Grazers eat all day long but cannot speak with good sense. So a sheep is apparently the aspect of humanity that can consume but not produce without the help of the rest of mankind.

A sheep is bog, "stuck", 263, בו‎ג .

Ninety-nine sheep are han, 856, חה‎ן, "the appearance of grace."

חנן

The verb חנן (hanan) shows up all over the Semitic language spectrum in meanings from to grant a favor, to be gracious and to favor. In Arabic this verb means to feel sympathy or compassion.

In the Bible our verb "depicts a heartfelt response by someone who has something to give to one who has a need" (in the words of HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). The verb covers the actions of people towards people (Judges 21:22, Psalm 37:21, Job 19:21), but mostly that of God towards man (Genesis 33:11, Psalm 119:28, Amos 5:15).

One hundred sheep are and efes, 604, ואֶפֶס‎ד‎, which means "and El" or "the elevated number."

So the Parable of the lost sheep is the one thing or the issue that is holding back the rest of the world from "total elevation" or Mashiach.

How will we ever know what this one sheep is, the source of God's happiness with mankind, the one thing that will elevate us from God's Grace to "total acceptance" by the Infinite?

The Gematria for v. 13 says it is הטאֶפֶסו‎ 5906, "the tapas." This does not mean what the same thing in Hebrew as it does in Sanskrit where it means to meditate, to detach.

טבע

The verb טבע (taba') means to impress or sink down; Judging from its derivation, this verb was also used to describe the sinking of a signet-ring into wax, and via that usage our verb appears to have contracted a secondary meaning of being established or decreed.

Hence YHWH challenged Job to declare on what the foundations of the earth were sunk, or perhaps via which decree the earth was made to come into existence (Job 38:6).

Likewise, Hochma (wisdom personified) declares that before the mountains were sunk (or perhaps established by decree), she existed (Proverbs 8:25).

The Signet is mentioned in the Torah in Vayeshev:

"When Tamar "the fertile date palm" was being taken out, she sent word to Judah, saying, 'I am pregnant by the man who is the owner of these articles. Identify, I beg you, these objects. Who is the owner of this seal, cord and staff?'" (Gen. 38:25).

The owner was Shelah. Shelah is the Biblical term used to describe Mashiach. (see Gen. 49:12) G‑d says that for two millennia I have kept the Jewish nation in a dark and horrific exile where they have been subjected to horrendous pain and savage suffering. Blood, tears and death have been their tragic fate for twenty centuries, as they prayed, each day and every moment for world redemption. But redemption has not come.

The Tapas, AKA the Signet Ring of Israel AKA Mashiach is indeed missing, must be found and consistent with the Gematria of the Tapas, it must be pressed down into the wax seal of the heart of every human being on the planet except for the numnutz.

[nellie-elizabeth]

First Line Meme Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line, then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

tagged by @lizardkingeliot. Thanks!!! <3

This is going to be fun!

1. The Production of Penny. SPOILERS for A Comet Pulled From Orbit.

For the first several weeks, it’s just impossible to meet her. Penny will feel bad about it later, but he can’t take in any new stimuli when his entire body, mind, soul is shivering in the exposed light, trying to adjust to a reality he’d given up on returning to. He holes himself up with his family in one of his favorite places, a small house in Alaska, of all places, that he’d only just acquired and made comfortable when he’d—when he’d gotten himself trapped somewhere else.

2. The Way a Fool Would Do

You never really know what you’re getting into, when you choose to take a soulmate. Before Quentin had bound himself to Eliot, he’d been forced to endure the normal barrage of questions from the Fillorian Soul Council, and then a separate barrage of questions from his cousin Julia, who had nitpicked his choice down to the marrow, pouring concern after concern into Quentin’s already terrified brain.

He’d been so frustrated with her at the time, but in retrospect he can’t blame her for her caution. The fact is, no matter how much you prepare, no matter how much you think you’ve thought it all through, binding another soul to your own is unlike anything else in the world. It is impossible to know how it will feel until it’s already too late to turn back.

3. The Genesis of Julia

She decides, while watching the 1984 Summer Olympics one lazy day, a magically cool glass of lemonade on the table beside her as she lounges back into their comfiest armchair, to master gymnastics. The decision is made more or less on a whim; this is how Julia decides how to spend a great deal of her infinite life minutes, truthfully. She’s organized and meticulous once she knows her goal, but when it comes to finding said goal, it’s all about what strikes her fancy.

4. The Construction of Kady

The dust took a couple of weeks to settle, after Kady’s abrupt departure from her old life and chaotic intrusion into her new one. She’d been in the middle of war with her own people when she’d died for the first time, and the others had found her desperately attempting to steal magic from a rival hedge group in order to survive, too anxious about her own life to properly mourn for her mother’s death, and certainly too caught up in her own frantic mind to trust any of these new people, much less believe them about their immortality, or her own.

5. The Origins of Alice

There was no way to prepare for something like this. There was simply nothing she could do, nothing she could write down, no refinements she could make, that would help her to be more ready for what the morning would bring.

Alice hated that very much, of course.

6. The Creation of Quentin

The object in question was beautifully rendered, detailed and precise. A burnished color, the cool weight of it reassuringly solid in Q’s hands as he examined it, turning it over and over in his hands. This one wasn’t even particularly old; it looked to be a sixteenth century model, and Q had seen older and more beautiful in his time.

7. The Making of Margo

When Margo first met Alice, she understood her immediately. That wasn’t to say that Alice was boring, or predictable, or that there was nothing Margo had to learn about her. It wasn��t that at all. It was more that in meeting Alice, Margo was able to take one look at her and think to herself: ah, now this I know what to do with.

8. The Explanation of Eliot

El was afraid of heights, but only a little.

He could fly, after all, and that should have made fear illogical. But if anything, his ability to subvert gravity was the very reason for his nerves: he’d never been able to trust himself with anything, much less his own life or the life of others. The few times his telekinetic powers had been called in as a means of escape or rescue, when he’d held an innocent stranger or beloved family member in his arms and floated with them down from the side of a mountain or building or cliff face… well, those were the things he had nightmares about, on the rare occasions when he could remember his dreams. It was that sensation of freefall, of knowing it was magic, something inexplicable, deep in his consciousness, in his soul, even, that was the only thing preventing sharp, painful, deadly impact. He knew himself well enough to know he should never be trusted with something so precious as the life of another.

9. A Comet Pulled From Orbit

Alice Quinn woke up.

This was an unexpected development, considering the events of mere moments ago. Specifically the agonizing thirty seconds she’d spent bleeding out on the carpet, wondering in an abstract sort of way how long it would be before someone thought to look for her and found her mangled corpse tucked into the corner of a Brakebills Library study room, surrounded by the shredded remains of several large magical tomes, and her carefully collated notes.

---

Pausing here for a moment after the first 9 - eight of them are all part of one series. The main story, A Comet Pulled From Orbit, is an Alice POV AU of The Old Guard. Prominent Queliot subplot, some burgeoning Kalice and other ships as well. Lots of found family, etc. The other stories, all the ones with the seven main characters' names in them, are meant to be a series of small snippets to fill out that universe, backwards and forwards. I'm noticing that I do a lot of setup, I don't often start in medias res with any of these, trying to set a tone and get the information started right away. Each of the chapters of the snippet stories could be their own thing, so it's a little weird to consider it the start of a bigger story!!

Okay, moving on to earlier stories.

10. is it too late (or could this love protect me)

This is a story about nothing and everything. It is a story between then and now. It is a story of people living their lives, living them, and living them, and continuing to live them, with only some pedestrian heartbreak and alcoholism and good old millennial economic angst to add some variety to the humdrum of continued existence.

This is a story about stupidity, and love. Stupid love.

(A/N - hmm I kinda hate this beginning now even though I'm SUPER proud of the story as a whole)

11. Maybe This Time

"Quentin Coldwater?" Eliot says, twisting the name up in his mouth like an insult.

Give him a break - it's a weird fucking name, for one thing. And besides, the off-putting demeanor is an intentional scare tactic.

12. Beyond the Veil

"Do you think the Lorians would want a seat at the table?" Fen asked doubtfully, looking over the charter in front of her.

"Well, they're going to want to review the language, at any rate," one of the advisers put in. "Especially the order of the names."

"But it's in alphabetical order!" Margo said. "Fillory comes before Loria - sorry, not sorry."

13. Running All This Time

Quentin was sweet. There were a lot of words that Eliot could think of to describe him, several of them a lot more besotted than he was comfortable with, but sweet was an apt descriptor, generally speaking.

He had the softest little smile, and wide brown eyes that crinkled up in the corners when he was happy. He had strong yet gentle hands, hands that were somehow mesmerizing as he flapped them around wildly during conversation, trying to paint pictures in the air to accompany his latest rant about whatever-the-fuck. His voice was calming, his circular logic compelling, enough so that Eliot found himself listening - really listening - whenever Quentin was talking to him, even if it was about the Plover books and what they suggested about this time period in Fillorian history, or the politics of trade when it came to buying labor from talking animals, or how he may have come up with a better tracking system to mark down the mosaic patterns they'd already tried. Dry, uninteresting stuff, really. Which is what Eliot told Quentin, with an eye-roll, to stop him from getting a big head.

14. To Feel the Same

Quentin finds Eliot sitting alone in the armory, surrounded by books.

Something tense and frantic inside of him unclenches, like it always does around this man. It’s actually a remarkable thing, because by all rights Eliot should make him more nervous, not less. Quentin is a nervous person, after all, and Eliot is so… Eliot . A High King in his blood. Quentin had meant that, when he said it, and had drank in the gratitude in Eliot’s eyes like a glass of pure, crisp water, essential and quenching.

15. Identity Theft

The first thing the man noticed as he came to consciousness was that his head was pounding. It felt like the worst hangover he'd ever had, times about a million, and for several seconds all he could do was lay there and gasp and wait for his eyes to adjust. He appeared to be in a semi-dark room of some sort. It was large, with a cavernous ceiling above him, and the air was drafty. Like a garage maybe, bigger even - a warehouse?

The second thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone in the room. There were shapes all around him, rustling and making confused, pained sounds. After a few moments of this, there was a whoosh of energy and an orb of light floated above his head, illuminating the space in a soft glow. Someone in the room had cast a simple light spell. He looked around and sat up slowly, trying not to jostle his still pounding head. His next observation was that pretty much everyone in the room with him was kind of stupidly attractive.

16. Promises

Quentin gets about thirty seconds alone in his bedroom in the cottage, before Eliot is bursting through the door without knocking. It's not that he wasn't expecting him to take it hard, but seriously - can he not give Quentin just a couple of minutes of peace?

"This isn't happening," Eliot says without preamble, slamming the door shut behind him. "I'm sorry, Q, but it's not."

"I honestly don't think it's your decision to make," Quentin says, running a tired hand over his face.

17. The Curse of the Broken Vase (aka The One Where They Get Married and Nothing Goes Wrong)

Quentin was pacing.

He was pacing, and he was tugging his hands through his hair, which he really shouldn't be doing because it had actually taken a hairdresser an annoying amount of time to brush it out and tie it back, and apparently it was perfect now, even though Quentin couldn't really see how it was different from his normal lazy bun, but whatever.

There would be people, Eliot included, who would be annoyed with him for messing up his hair.

18. Liquid Courage

Eliot was fidgeting. Which was unusual, and generally not a good sign. But it still wasn't much of a warning, Quentin had thought to himself later, given what was about to happen. Then again, Eliot had been acting strangely all week, a little distant and distracted, and Quentin had known his partner was working up to discuss something with him.

Quentin had been worried, of course, but in an abstract sort of way. He figured whatever it was, the two of them were more than equal to the challenge. Given everything they'd been through over the entire course of their relationship, he really couldn't imagine any piece of news that would be capable of obliterating their lives.

19. Reciprocal

The thing about Quentin Coldwater was that it was pretty much impossible not to love him. Honestly, it wasn't even Eliot's fault - how was he expected to spend every second of every day around such a beautiful, adorable, kind person without letting it get to him? And the sex. Well. That was fucking incendiary, which really wasn't helping his resolve in the love department.

20. Fragments

It was a perfectly normal morning in Fillory. Which, honestly, should have been Quentin's first warning that things were about to go very, very wrong. Fillory was many things, but normal was not one of them: Q had gotten used to being woken up by harried castle employees, alerting him to one catastrophe or another. The Serpent War had ended months ago, but the paperwork was still pouring in like it had never stopped. His official role in the government wasn't supposed to have anything to do with the war efforts, but it had been an all-hands-on-deck situation for the last year or so.

---

Oh my goodness, this took me back to almost my first story in this fandom! I have 22 Magicians fics posted, so that's almost all of them...

I think my favorite of all of these is Maybe This Time, just because I like starting off with such an iconic moment from canon. It's the kind of fic that I hope resonates with people differently upon a re-read, and I like the strong, instantly recognizable hook. You read that first line and you know where you are, but you have no real idea where the story is about to take you.

I've also had a lot of fun writing Julia in the Comet 'verse and I like her opening line to the first snippet I did for her!

---

I'll tag @hmgfanfic, @ameliajessica, @hoko-onchi-writes, @freneticfloetry, @honeybabydichotomy, @allegria23, @spiders-hth-is-an-outlier, @rubickk7, @portraitofemmy, @propinquitous, and all others who want to!!

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

8th February >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

   or 

Saint Jerome Emilian

   or 

Saint Josephine Bakhita, Virgin.

Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green)

First Reading

Genesis 1:1-19

God saw that it was good

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.    God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night.’ Evening came and morning came: the first day.    God said, ‘Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the waters under the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven.’ Evening came and morning came: the second day.    God said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good.    God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees bearing fruit with their seed inside, on the earth.’ And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the third day.    God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103(104):1-2,5-6,10,12,24,35

R/ May the Lord rejoice in his works!

Bless the Lord, my soul!    Lord God, how great you are, clothed in majesty and glory,    wrapped in light as in a robe!

R/ May the Lord rejoice in his works!

You founded the earth on its base,    to stand firm from age to age. You wrapped it with the ocean like a cloak:    the waters stood higher than the mountains.

R/ May the Lord rejoice in his works!

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;    they flow in between the hills. On their banks dwell the birds of heaven;    from the branches they sing their song.

R/ May the Lord rejoice in his works!

How many are your works, O Lord!    In wisdom you have made them all.    The earth is full of your riches. Bless the Lord, my soul!

R/ May the Lord rejoice in his works!

Gospel Acclamation

John 8:12

Alleluia, alleluia! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; anyone who follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia!

Or:

cf. Matthew 4:23

Alleluia, alleluia! Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom and cured all kinds of sickness among the people. Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 6:53-56

All those who touched him were cured

Having made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saint Jerome Emilian

Liturgical Colour: White.

Readings at Mass

Readings for the memorial

There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Monday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise.

________

First reading Tobit 12:6-13 Bless God and utter his praise before all the living

Raphael took Tobit and his son Tobias aside and said, ‘Bless God, utter his praise before all the living for all the favours he has given you. Bless and extol his name. Proclaim before all men the deeds of God as they deserve, and never tire of giving him thanks. It is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right to reveal and publish the works of God. Thank him worthily. Do what is good, and no evil can befall you.    ‘Prayer with fasting and alms with right conduct are better than riches with iniquity. Better to practise almsgiving than to hoard up gold. Almsgiving saves from death and purges every kind of sin. Those who give alms have their fill of days; those who commit sin and do evil, bring harm on themselves.    ‘I am going to tell you the whole truth, hiding nothing from you. I have already told you that it is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right too to reveal in worthy fashion the works of God. So you must know that when you and Sarah were at prayer, it was I who offered your supplications before the glory of the Lord and who read them; so too when you were burying the dead. When you did not hesitate to get up and leave the table to go and bury a dead man, I was sent to test your faith, and at the same time God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.’

________

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 33(34):2-11

I will bless the Lord at all times. or Taste and see that the Lord is good.

I will bless the Lord at all times,    his praise always on my lips; in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.    The humble shall hear and be glad.

I will bless the Lord at all times. or Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Glorify the Lord with me.    Together let us praise his name. I sought the Lord and he answered me;    from all my terrors he set me free.

I will bless the Lord at all times. or Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Look towards him and be radiant;    let your faces not be abashed. This poor man called, the Lord heard him    and rescued him from all his distress.

I will bless the Lord at all times. or Taste and see that the Lord is good.

The angel of the Lord is encamped    around those who revere him, to rescue them. Taste and see that the Lord is good.    He is happy who seeks refuge in him.

I will bless the Lord at all times. or Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Revere the Lord, you his saints.    They lack nothing, those who revere him. Strong lions suffer want and go hungry    but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.

I will bless the Lord at all times. or Taste and see that the Lord is good.

________

Gospel Acclamation Mt5:3

Alleluia, alleluia! How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Alleluia!

________

Gospel Mark 10:17-30 Give everything you own to the poor, and follow me

Jesus was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, ‘Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You must not kill; You must not commit adultery; You must not steal; You must not bring false witness; You must not defraud; Honour your father and mother.’ And he said to him, ‘Master, I have kept all these from my earliest days.’ Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, ‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.    Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, ‘My children,’ he said to them ‘how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were more astonished than ever. ‘In that case’ they said to one another ‘who can be saved?’ Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he said ‘it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.’    Peter took this up. ‘What about us?’ he asked him. ‘We have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.’

--------------------------------------------------------------

Saint Josephine Bakhita, Virgin

Liturgical Colour: White.

Readings at Mass

Readings for the memorial

There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Monday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise.

________

First reading 1 Corinthians 7:25-35 The world as we know it is passing away

About remaining celibate, I have no directions from the Lord but give my own opinion as one who, by the Lord’s mercy, has stayed faithful. Well then, I believe that in these present times of stress this is right: that it is good for a man to stay as he is. If you are tied to a wife, do not look for freedom; if you are free of a wife, then do not look for one. But if you marry, it is no sin, and it is not a sin for a young girl to get married. They will have their troubles, though, in their married life, and I should like to spare you that.    Brothers, this is what I mean: our time is growing short. Those who have wives should live as though they had none, and those who mourn should live as though they had nothing to mourn for; those who are enjoying life should live as though there were nothing to laugh about; those whose life is buying things should live as though they had nothing of their own; and those who have to deal with the world should not become engrossed in it. I say this because the world as we know it is passing away.    I would like to see you free from all worry. An unmarried man can devote himself to the Lord’s affairs, all he need worry about is pleasing the Lord; but a married man has to bother about the world’s affairs and devote himself to pleasing his wife: he is torn two ways. In the same way an unmarried woman, like a young girl, can devote herself to the Lord’s affairs; all she need worry about is being holy in body and spirit. The married woman, on the other hand, has to worry about the world’s affairs and devote herself to pleasing her husband. I say this only to help you, not to put a halter round your necks, but simply to make sure that everything is as it should be, and that you give your undivided attention to the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 44(45):11-12,14-17

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:    forget your own people and your father’s house. So will the king desire your beauty:    He is your lord, pay homage to him.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

The daughter of the king is clothed with splendour,    her robes embroidered with pearls set in gold. She is led to the king with her maiden companions.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

They are escorted amid gladness and joy;    they pass within the palace of the king. Sons shall be yours in place of your fathers:    you will make them princes over all the earth.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

________

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia! This is the wise bridesmaid, whom the Lord found waiting; at his coming, she went in with him to the wedding feast. Alleluia!

________

Gospel Matthew 25:1-13 The wise and foolish virgins

Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.” But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.” They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’

[wormmomma]

tyler, the creator: the very queer discography review!!!

Im bored of writing overly long threads on twitter so i wrote a look at tyler the creators discography and why hes gay and im gay and deserved to have his dick immortalized in gold when he dies. So tyler gregory okanma is a black man born in ladera heights california. He’s also my third favorite rapper and since he discovered my favorite rapper earl sweatshirt I guess he deserves goat status for that shit too. Tyler started his career around 17 years old as the ace the creator. He did features at the time with casey veggies and the inspirations in his flow to mf doom where already apparent even back then. From ace the creator mixtape you can already hear the very digital and jazz inspired pharrell production. Funny story if you look up any of his ace stuff now you'll mostly find some really old production that in the age of tyler the creator type beats doesn't really hold u all that great. From there Tyler went on to create odd futures and his first album bastard. He quite quickly followed up bastard with godlin. Goblin, bastard, and the OF tape vol.1 all feel pretty interconnected so im gonna speed round from worst to best. So odd future tape volume one is fun and punk and really crass, it's also completely eclipsed by odd futures other releases. I love odd future and the collective's ability too be both edgy teen skate rap garbage, and a risky artistic rap collective all at the same time. In odd future's first tape it seems pretty clear that tylers description of the groups early work as a bunch of niggas joking around in a studio is very apparent for better or worse. If you wanna get high with some friends can listen to some funny edgy and downright grimey tracks over left brains booking production skip this and listen to odd future's next mixtape but come back here to listen to some funny skits and a few proto mellowhype track with domo genesis. Goblin is Tyler's attempt to do a bigger darker more sprawling version of bastard but misses the mark. I like the album and I love singles on the album. Goblin the opening track is amazing and is a great look at tylers mental state attempting to live up to his newfound fame and anxiety about his infamy. I love yonkers and tron cat. Tyler says alot at this time that he doesn't make horrorcore and he's correct but the lack of emotional honesty and his immature deflections is really going off on all cylinders. If you dont wanna hear skits like “my bitch suck dick” and lines like “im not homophobic faggot” i would probably call it his worst album. Before i talk about bastard id like to go over his use of slurs and rape in his work. Tylers consistent lyrics about violence towards women and use of the lgbtq community really don't insult me. I feel like his lyrical content is filled with a clear look of how angry and insecure tyler was about not having a father or any way of processing his angst. Did he have to sound like a incel threatening to stalk and murder women who refuse to love him for over 3 albums? No, but i really enjoy looking at his early music. He doesn't shy away from how angry, sad and desperate he was at the time. That synthesis of need for fatherly love, anger from a lack of it and deteriorating mental state honestly makes the content more palatable. Also as a black trans women id rather hear tranny an faggot bars from a male rapper making intreeating music. Tyler at the time was being honest, angry and vulnerable not like eminem and action bronson who spit these bars with all the same rap bravado and violent anger toward women with zero pathos. Bastard is amazing, it's an intimate dark album. At the time it felt like it was tapping right into where I was at the time. The amount of mental anguish on bastards opening track really hit me. I was an angry kid with a lot of angst and bipolar disease so hearing a rapper yell about that same dysfunction really meant alot to me. The flows are amazing and it was a really good look at tylers ability to build a narrative. Wolf was tyler's next album. For a while wolf was my favorite album by tyler. His look at relationships and breakups on bimmer and ifhy are amazing and are expanded on his future releases. Find your wings and treehome are also a good look at his more melodic influence. It was such a good album I actually bought the mrech for and went to see Tyler at afropunk. Also hearing an entire song about the death of his grandma really hit me, my grandfather died around the same time. Cherry bomb was bad, now moving one. Ok im  joking i've listened to it two or three times but its really not worth going back to even though tyler put his all into it. The soul features and amazing production is worth listening to but even Tyler admits he rushed the album a little and that he needed to blow people away next time. Flower boy, is one of the most important albums in hip hop. That's it. Bar none. It was my favorite release of 2018. Flower boy is about tylers newfound isolation with his fame, and how he drives cars by himself in beautiful la vistas. Its also about how he’s gay (or bisexual). There are ALOT of stupid takes on this album. There is a contingency of tyler stans that think tyler has been “playing a character” since bastard. Now I'll admit that wolf haley and dr.teecee are clearly characters; they are also artists' representations of tyler's mental state. If wolf haley has adhd and no father that means tyler also has those issues. So whether or not Tyler is playing a character he has in fact “been kissing white boys since 2004”. I also have seen an insipid article that asks if “tyler the creator should be accepted into the lgbtq community” due to his homophobia? Much more controversial and actually homophobic and transphobic people are in this community hes tyler the creator, not milo yinnaoplous. I also dont think that it occurs to the reviewer that alot of gay men are very hmophobic before they come out and that self hate is very common. Lyrics like “im not gay i just wanna dance to some marvin” also has a much deeper context now. Listening to older releases you can see how in your face tyler was about his queerness. He even said he filmed himself kissing his friend Lucas to prove he wasn't a homophobe. I'm happy Tyler grew enough to make an album not only about being attracted to men but how lonely he felt in and out of the closet. As someone who came out as bisexual at the time it came at a perfect time. Being  gay is isolating and confusing and when you do you lose alot of friends and family. Garden shed, who dat boy, and 911 are real standouts. His collaboration with kali uchis was also so fucking smooth and she a born r&b star. Tyler gained a grammy nomination off the album and said he loved the feeling of finally making popular catchy music people wanna sing the lyrics too, so he followed it with igor. Igor opens with this addendum on the back of the physical album: 

This might be fiction, this might be about igor but it is fully about tyler okanga. The album is very hard to parse and barely has any rapping. It's more of a pop experimental album with a lot of lofi synth production. Tylers production chops are full force here. Igor is melodic, sad and full of the same anger and obsession from his previous albums. Its just more mature and really gay, and i fucking love it. Tyler was dealing with a tumultuous relationship with a guy and his refusal to be with tyler exclusively. Its about a breakup. A love tragedy that only becomes more depressing after the argument on a boy is a gun, the breakup in my love is gone, and the sad slump back into needing closure in can we be friends. The album is fun to sing to, and fucking devestating. I've dealt with a lot of similar issues with love and obsession so to hear it so clearly illustrated on igor really hit me. I think the album becomes even more depressing with the unreleased track best interest, about tyler being a side nigga. This is the kind of music that's sometimes made in r&b and pop but never in rap. There was an interview where Tyler says he hated his voice which is why he edits it so evident on igor. Tyler also said he wanted to send these songs to rihanna and Justin Beiber but they didn't want them, as cool as it sounds. I'm happy tyler was able to tell his own story. I would also recommend magic wand since it's my favorite track on the album and kicks you in the face with how angry and heartbroken Tyler was at the time. 

Tyler is an artist that talks and speaks about how he feels all the time, he's also a person who feels enigmatic and mysterious somehow. I think it has to do with how constantly he's put to the side of his other hip hop contemporaries. He always seems to be making music Tom weird, controversial and experimental to be treated like asap rocky, vince staples, or the late mac miller. A fact that feels ironic since he worked with all of those artists, lil wayne, and even kanye west. I'm as big a stan for tyler as he is for Pharrell, if it wherent forever I'd never take rap seriously and would never have chosen to make my own music. As a black trans woman I find a lot of tylers work really relatable. I've been in alot of the angry hopeless situations Tyler talks about in his music. I think he's the artist who hits me the most on a personal level and yeah when i was depressed i sat in my bedroom and listened to bastard in my low moments. I like riding in the car and listening to all of flowerboy. Igor is amazing as well for almost half a decade it's been amazing growing up and hitting the same emotional beats Tyler went through5 in his work. Hearing about him coming out as gay ajd dealing with very similar backlash mad me feel less alone if im being honest. Tyler has said he wants to take a more production heavy role in the industry moving forward but he says that a lot, i think as long as he has a story to tell he's always going to make music. His music feels like a diary and I'm happy to read it and sonnet to it in all its beauty and ugliness. 

Hi my name is lua o'reilly i make music on soundcloud.com/wormmother

If you liked this review let me know and I'll do a look into earl sweatshirt.

[sirjustice234-blog]

How its told

In the metro-dome thing, we u see 1 strolling against the wall on the pavement it means they love solitary lives and food as can leave in Canada or Russia if their character were aint bad on food and its known that way as that i 1 signs and more which may bring animosity against ya and u know not. Other signs from the above attract the attention of other nations, and when accepted and can live larges u can come out and in at intervals but when u do something bad on the way like wanting this and that woman kinda, u r chained so u change ya character or the going out privilege wont be extended to you again. Most African and 3rd world leaders don't like the former case, reason 4 ya derailment in ya activities

And even paints can be made with yogurt or cuddled milk when maize seed placed inside the mixture with much water in the boom process and even wedding cakes or picnic/birth cakes.

While walking along the narrow paths in the tea bush plantations, u can just pluck few leaves say 100 per person, lets say u r 10 as well as with sisal plantation then marshal up and make many in the boom process and even can set a mini-tea processing unit to process the same to make u rich overnight dude like with KS state has 1 and many i know not. Plucking as walking and Christ with king of the jew to bring out the above reality another version. Click the link below 4 more as even Negros were eying the same with coffee, tea, pyre thrum, maize, sugar cane and sisal by making much out of buying personal plots that harbors the same and that's the confidence of their coming here as last rescue, so think twice if u want to manipulate them as they can be well ahead of u as have searched 4 tea markets in their nation and dense nations like Brazil and Nigeria to sell to and learn ya dialect to compose music to get ya share as they go back. So the govt to reduce land on tea to plant food crops as a 10 hecter farm when plucked and made artificially as explained below takes care of all Kenya export or other nations which import buy small quantity and make their own factory to employ her citizens by making much leaves out of the few bought

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk03QTnwMwPXAu2UYNFkJexCewuXBwA:1591698814905&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=images+of+tiny+paths+in+tea+bushes+in+kenya&client=firefox-b-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjTps6TxPTpAhWOYMAKHcP2AdUQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1280&bih=910#imgrc=mTDO35tALeXgSM

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/sisal-plantation.html

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk01jQh5VquMvMFhIFZCSoMa90Mwi3Q:1591699406833&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=MINI+TEA+PROCESSING+UNIT+IMAGES&client=firefox-b-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwja4O6txvTpAhWMUcAKHfBIDNMQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1280&bih=910

The countries in the below link can boost of top producers yet not as they can be lazy to tilt as make artificial one in the boom process b4 mixing with real ones to sell to other nations to make them a head in-terms of Forex yet no handwork but gimmicks which if those nations sold to have learnt can do the same with buy less and making artificial 1 to mix, still selling to her customers at the no mixed type price, lest all the tom harry and dick knows about it to make theirs at home to reduce the extra-profit of no-work getting into the above people pockets, currently whats happening dude with like SA, India or Nigeria, dem poor if the client nations learns the same

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Top-twenty-maize-producers-country-in-Africa_tbl4_236267911

http://www.vib.be/en/about-vib/Documents/vib_fact_Sugercane_EN_2017_1006_LR_single.pdf

So the govt should take rapid measures fence the plantations where the start of the plantation beyond the fence is even 3-5 meter to deter hand plucking that make dubious business people rich ahead of others destroying the nation with the women they marry and kids out of such practices dude

Much yogurt mixed with water makes the gadget body not appear thick and vice versa, when the above or cuddle milk is placed on a floating cabinet or big like super drum and in the dark u rinse ya face with face towel b4 hurling to the mixture and boom a big yacht formed dude or cut banana placed into the mixture above and u sprinkle cold water with copier syringes and boom the same formed or inserting spare-parts of the yacht or photo in the mixture above.

Buy Russian TV to show shakiness as overtaken economy now u bring your own brand around in the link below, lest they change their rude posture or change will change them as per now as their dirty ways marked/truckled of thwarting others progress far from their spheres, control ya waters dude as my message                       

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk02xnbSk7H4DC9IqKTjuztJcFtx42Q:1591622869888&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=ctc+television+images&client=firefox-b-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivqZqeqfLpAhU-Q0EAHRqoAZYQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1280&bih=910

We were fighting me against ya and vice versa, so don’t send folks to ambush me that i ought to have opened 1 a/c 4 that time to post never to return to it, like sometimes i do 4 some days b4 resorting to the above as they see an additional writing. Its me not u and why u see that yet 4 like 5 years u have refused to accept the fact that if u guess the email  of tumblr a/c u cant return to it. Looking 4 places to eat at, stop dude, me i will hurl u with stone lest police shoot me even in their post which when i report the same they have placed women with big 4heads which dont know where they are going. Look 4 ya types dude, u big 4headed women, i can be ya client in prostitution but not in matrimony dude period.

They came to ya door, Congo blooded men who still think Kenya IS RICH and they will manipulated the negro women as they have purported and what u like is what u like so competing with ya. Bringing kids they played part to up-bring while disrespecting ya and at that time have a sad face as if they talked to God, if u fail to hearken to their plights, kinda, u risk going to hell and they are here to help u get out of the same which as below is a big lie. Lazy people of no definition dude but the above is pure jealousy gimmick. They think at that time u live good, so after get ya poor story they immediately belittle ya which again is u show signs of maneuver, they show you their risk watch “SA“ in Swahili to signal u of organized theft in SA as i have explained it in sirjustice199 where a friend inducts u, with u if u do the same they have organized a shoot out 4 ya cause if they eliminate ya in the country it will be known is the Big man friends which can be catastrophic so they wanna do it the SA way dude liaising with some Chinese, Indian and Russian people. Big shame dude, your kids we mark, once all go well they are point of elimination either via frustrations or killed in other unknown ways dude.

Yeah, he has refused, yes i have refused and who is you dude, who now wants may food and kinda stay at my premise. Shoot me from the back or hurl grenade at me, you gays of no shame. Even that SA i want to make poor not to be thinking of getting to it like with how to make artificial oranges, fruits, eggs that don’t spoil the teeth, making electric poles and AE generator and Pay TV as u can google new African countries with home made such as 2goinvoice online source they get the same by placing money online as explained above. They monitor ya cash in pretense, u r lazy of little income but deep down want to send kinds to ya house. Very bad character indeed. If u can understand judgement is done in Minneapolis, get their, and if still not then playing insane to get buy or needs killing as king of the jew come in handy to solve that puzzle dude. Memorandum building in Clinton ave Minneapolis-  Jesus alluding in swahili Mfalme wa yawhodi. They even say now u r Christo yet u have warned them many times of the same wanting to hit ya eye and still come back to ya the next minute wanting ya food together with their kids, eti they got something special in store so in future dont want mant to join to benefit from them, so u feel early as they are feeling to stop yet when u ask them of that thing, its hacking a tumblr a/c to delete which the software u have used they know not cause each timke u visit the cyber u download a new 1 altogether from the net and use as u open another everyday tumblr on their placed on computer software like mozilar and chrome which if they find the same when you left not logged off, they get happy they have the software they want to shift the a/c to cement the jew/Egyptian thing will rise to no avail dude. Stop guys and resort to farming as u have always done or other feasible ways known after heavy consultation dude. An advice bro

Kikuyu are now engaged in war as violence and the Somali to cement the truth in the link below that their teeth will be made white not with milk but by Hydrogen peroxide made out of Euphorbia in the boom process that if people could have not known the same they could be placing such in toothpaste can and selling like 300% above normal price as teeth whiteners so they build USA as most people use such to white their teeth from them and the bible was written to talk of the future that Christ is not yet buried or crucified as which year was hydrogen peroxide that use to teeth unearthed? Along time dude even b4 Africa colonization and their eye aint dark as the white eye rather red but can be brown out of illicit liquor sold and another reason they buy from Mr Hindu another set as can shift ya teeth to be white sometimes b4 they shift ya normal teeth or if u have eaten deep fried Nile perch hot they got nothing to do. So the people who changed the bible must rethink twice b4 they say they are insane reason why Kebi went their to investigate the above whether true or false.

https://biblehub.com/genesis/49-12.htm

They detergent in the bottled pictured below as 1 send me that link in my Fb as a text has the ripple effect of shaping ya head and very smoothing ya face. Try it women, stop much with ya face to no avail as the mirror u got aint perfecto dude, u may think 1 got to plastic surgery if they use the same

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk03nZXDU0oDq384iYxfOtZ4m6TgxDg:1591611156916&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=baby+starsoft+bottle+images&client=firefox-b-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2n4PN_fHpAhVVUBUIHYncDzEQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1280&bih=910

When after making holes to below the earth crust on ya boarder line from below as u now know the bearing, place cameras with lights which only can be switched on when need be as the camera got night vision to monitor any intruder objects. The camera can be wireless as the boosters that connects to such place at intervals until it reach near the hole as they USA the cooker timer and a dynamo technology to operate so no worry dude or just used cabled wire with like supplied electricity. No need 4 placing drones beneath if such proves futile or expensive to ya, moreover the camera should look down to monitor intruders coming from down as the mention in the former case looks forward as with Christ posture on cross after and b4 he died. Read between the lines dude, don’t be over taken by time.

The whites knows that kebi has defeated them, yet they want to know which kind of abuse that fellow will push forward maybe in terms of their old age skin type or of race as many are kikuyu and masai/trukana blood which kebi likes not and even more as he leaves his Fb not logged off so 1 can do the art of abuse b4 he is queried dude. India still rich with plastic surgery as they can shift ya baldness with a new airline from 1 who is shot or due to be buried, teeth or any body part dude and that’s the remaining strength dude

Kebi with Amagy mkubwa, get the story dude, dont wait

Magy come and shower, amagy answer my legs are swollen, or am experiencing a slight headache, an old some1 from Kenya countryside bad smell choked me to make me loose control to hit my head on the floor to bring the same, Now amagy come and cook my eyes are heavy will not make me tomorrow work good at work, or am applying make up a friend of mine is coming to pay me a visit, amagy come wash plates, it will erase my nail polish, amagy come mop the floor, am sleeping if i do so tomorrow i will be late 4 work, amagy i have bought food at the local Mcdonald, amagy insinuates gives me 2-4 minutes babe am coming and Finally amagy come and we have sex, amagy ni seke seke, oketo ng’amruok mbele ma yaani ameweka kutobwa mbele, setting her legs atease is her 1st another job as made easy without of thinking of the dubious tricks she purported b4 or wanting to play like still young yet grown. Middle life crisis, big shame girl, nene kaka-ongiyo kebi ka-ochongoriyo bird as women watch Christ crucifixion tentatively as if missing the grinding ripple of kebi tendentious manhood. Change girl, it high time.

Their is a certain glass like bulb that u can open as it houses the many bulb technology inside, when burns up u get them out and close the big bulb and still works. On the tip of the big open like bulb it has a step down transformer 120-240 to 30 V which the place inside bulb uses to brighten the whole house as if it was the normal 240 bulb releasing their4 less heat and radiation to ya body and a big plus 4 people who don’t want much heat in their houses at night.

Now its end signs with alternator generator u have disturbed Kebi 4 almost 5 goods years and with this will not take even 1 year to elapsed b4 u r finished lest u change. With source with aluminum bars are not yours 4 u to claim only the cooker timer and dynamo technology, question is why not the former to be claimed or u make? Stop dude!!! Time 4 reckoning is handy as a day of judgement around the corner dude the same Italy makes even small and cheaper more than China made 1 like Linz or Merrali Alternator Generators.

[hmel78]

In conversation with Matt Page ...

DREAM THE ELECTRIC SLEEP

In my experiences of ‘new’ music, it’s particularly rare these days to come across an album that makes you stop what you’re doing and listen, just listen; and then listen, and listen again ... This year it has happened to me twice! Whilst not ‘new’ in terms of their formation, Kentucky (USA!) based 3-piece, Matt Page (vocals/guitar), Joey Waters (drums), and Chris Tackett (bass)  - collectively known as ‘DREAM THE ELECTRIC SLEEP’ - are indeed new to the European scene, and what a mark they have made on it with their latest release “BENEATH THE DARK WIDE SKY”. The proof is in the listening!

There’s not a huge amount that we can tell you about these guys that isn’t included in the conversation below, so here’s what went down when I caught up with Matt Page recently ... HR :  Is a “Prog” band from Lexington, Kentucky, something of a rarity?

MP : Yes! We are like a fish out of water in Kentucky! We never actually set out to be a “prog” band, we just wanted to write music that challenged us creatively as well as the listener. There are no doubt prog powerhouse bands like Rush, Pink Floyd and Genesis who have influenced us, but we also love things way outside the bounds of prog. Of course maybe that is why we fit in with the progressive community. It has been a welcoming space for us where we can write the way we want and have an audience that wants to consider those aesthetic decisions.

HR : Who was the founding member, or was it a unanimous decision amongst the 3 of you to form the band?

MP : Joey and I are cousins and we started to play together 20 years ago at the age of 16. We had various projects over the years but things really clicked when we started playing with Chris. He was in a band called Chum when we were younger and Joey and I loved them. We heard he was moving to Lexington and was looking for a band. We reached out and he liked what we were doing so we started playing together. After about a year of writing new material with him (which turned into our first album “Lost and Gone Forever”) we formed ‘Dream the Electric Sleep’.

HR : You’ve been together for a few years now - how difficult has the road been from 2009, to here in 2016 and the release of your 3rd album “Beneath The Dark Wide Sky”?

MP : In terms of our creative path, it has been exhilarating! We have all grown together and reached for the best of what we are capable of.   I am always excited to get in a rehearsal room with Chris and Joey to see what comes.

From a music business and music culture perspective it has been a difficult and lonely road for sure. The music business is a shell of what it used to be. There is a new, wobbly and often-predatory infrastructure that feeds on the dreams of millions of artists who are more than willing to give their time, labour, energy, heart, and soul for free, often losing a lot money in the process. The old music business was brutal for artists but at least there was a structure in place that took risks and funded and developed artists careers. Of course the artists mostly got a raw deal financially speaking. Now the music business is brutal for different reasons. There is a scarcity of resources and everyone involved; labels, agents, managers, bands, clubs, etc are scrambling to stay afloat and keep things moving. I do realize it is easier and cheaper for a band to record an album now and there are so many more ways to connect with fans. The problem is that that it is very difficult to come out on the positive side financially. We have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to walk the line between being a completely DIY band and a band looking for creative partners to work with. I think we have finally found a kind of balance and have a solid foundation to build from, but it has taken the last 7 years to make that happen!

HR : You looked for a little help outside the band for this release, and it eventually came in the form of producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters ..) - did you end up with the record you envisaged when you cut the demo’s, or is it completely different?

MP : The first day we met Nick it felt like we had known him for years. There is no pretence with Nick. It is all about the work, about digging in together, solving problems, asking questions, trying new things, and really collaborating on making an album. It just didn’t feel like working with a big producer, it felt like working with a master craftsman who was also a partner and friend. He was a pleasure to work with on all fronts. We stayed pretty close to the demos on most songs but Nick did help us refine the overall vision for the album. Some songs we added parts and others we edited parts out. The final album came out better than we actually originally envisioned which was thrilling for us. I remember hearing the final cut of “Headlights” for the first time with Joey and after it was over Joey and both teared up a little. We worked for 20 years to hear our song come out like that and it was overwhelming.

HR : I listen to a lot of new music, but it’s honestly one of only two albums I’ve heard this year that have really made me sit tight and listen - would you care to tell our readers a little more about what they can expect to hear?  

MP : Wow! That is so great to hear!

Like our previous albums, it is thematic and each song fits on the album in an intentional spot so it is an album that works best as a whole in my opinion. I also hope a listener can just listen to the songs as individual works that stand on their own.

I would say that listeners can expect something cinematic sounding. I have always wanted to make films, but these albums really scratch that itch for me so I think I am trying to overlay one desire over another and that is part of the soundscape listeners might pick up on.

HR : There’s a great balance of instrumental and ‘songs’  - who is the main lyricist, and where does the inspiration come from?

MP : I write all the lyrics for the band, and on this album, I was looking at a specific photograph for each song as a starting point. Writing lyrics is a lot like creating a collage. They are small snippets stitched together and overlaid on a musical canvas. The lyrics often shape the way we feel about the sounds and the sounds shape the way the lyrics work. It is really a fascinating process!

I wrote a short synopsis for the album to help explain the overall themes:

“Beneath the Dark Wide Sky” is inspired by photographs taken of the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s by American photographer Dorothea Lange. Lange worked for the United States Works Progress Admiration and hoped her photographs could be used to educate the masses (via photo essays in major news publications and magazines) to the poverty and desperate living conditions of thousands of farming families and migratory workers who lived and worked in the drought-struck American Great Plains. Lange believed photographs had the ability to shine an objective light on issues of social justice and environmental degradation and could be used to persuade and motivate social and political change.

Much of what motivated Dorothea Lange motivates me as the lyricist of the band. How does art inform the way we understand the world we live in and can it motivate us to challenge and change our assumptions? I am not sure there is an easy correlation, but I am very interested in those who try to bridge the gap between art and life.

HR : The album is being released in the USA, and also here in Europe - are there any plans to tour? What would be your ideal schedule - anywhere in the world that you would love to play?

MP : We are really focused on doing a European tour right now and we hope we can make it over this fall. The rock/prog scene is very receptive to the work we do in Europe and we want to be a part of that movement. The US has been OK for us, but it is a huge, disparate market and it is very difficult to find or create an underground movement. We also live in a large state with a small population making it even more difficult to create that synergy.

HR : If you now get a major success for DTES, will you be happy to remain in Lexington?

MP : Yes. The world is so much closer thanks to the internet and it is so much easier to stay in touch with our supporters. Being in Kentucky isn’t ideal for live shows, but as a band we have built a process and structure that supports our creative endeavours and to move that would be very difficult. We think we can find a way to tour more and reach out in that way.

HR : One last question  - I must admit, at first glance, I read “Sleep” as “Sheep”, and my tiny brain fizzed! Who came up with the name of the band, and have you noticed whether or not you’ve coincidentally picked up an influx of Bladerunner fans?

MP : We are used to Sleep and Sheep getting mixed up! It happens more than you might think …

It is funny.

The name doesn’t mean something specific, but rather tries to paint a mood. We had long lists of words we liked and begin putting them together. We put Dream the Electric Sleep together and it sounded like what we wanted to sound like and that is a big reason we went with it. It is open, mysterious and dynamic sounding to us.

We always get asked about Blade Runner, which I think is fine because it is an iconic film that adds to the imagery of the band name, but I can’t say I have noticed a direct crossover.

[recentanimenews]

Studio Bones Celebrates 21 Years of Excellence!

I watched plenty of anime as a child—Pokémon, Digimon Tamers, Crush Gear Turbo. But much of it I absorbed passively, because my friends were watching it or it was airing on Toonami or because it was based on a video game I loved. I happily consumed all cartoons equally regardless of quality, chronology or origin. Then one day I discovered the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist, which was just then being published in English. After blazing through volumes of the comic, I discovered the Fullmetal Alchemist anime which aired in 2003.

  Just like that, I was hooked. Something in the anime adaptation spoke to me as a teenager: the plaintive choirs of the song “Brothers,” the sadness infecting Ed and Al's rollicking adventures. In the Philippines I sought the series out on Animax and implored by friends (confused by anime) to do the same. Later, in the United States, I would record overnight episodes on my parents's TiVo and watch them on Saturday afternoons with microwaved pizza in hand. To this day I have never seen the whole thing, and there are many other anime series I would rank above it. But in retrospect, the first Fullmetal Alchemist series is the first I understood and loved as an anime, rather than as a cartoon. It was my gateway.

  Then in college, I made a friend who had a similar experience with anime—but not with Fullmetal Alchemist. No, her turning point was Scrapped Princess, another animated fantasy series from 2003. Like Fullmetal Alchemist, Scrapped Princess combined an elaborate fantasy world packed with nested secrets, a constant sense of high adventure, and surprising darkness. Scrapped Princess's heroine, the bratty but well-meaning princess Pacifica, was hunted by her world as an instrument of its destruction; the medieval world she traversed with her friends was a cover-up for its true science-fictional origins. Just like I cried when Colonel Hughes met his end in Fullmetal Alchemist, my friend cried when Pacifica's love interest Fulle sacrifices his life to ensure her safety. And as Fullmetal Alchemist ends with a shocking twist that punches through the rules of its setting, Scrapped Princess wraps its fantasy narrative with robot dragons dueling in space.

  You probably know someone just like me, or just like her. Perhaps the series that turned them into anime fans was the recent Shounen Jump megahit My Hero Academia. Perhaps it was the spooky creatures and slick animation of Soul Eater. Or maybe it was Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which in 2009 tackled the full story of the original manga to excellent results. If you're an anime fan like me and you've been following along, you can probably guess the twist here. All of the shows mentioned so far were produced by Bones!

    Today, the famous studio Bones turns 21 years old! Founded in 1998 by Masahiko Minami, Hiroshi Osaka and Toshihiro Kawamoto—all veterans of the legendary mecha animation studio Sunrise—the studio has been releasing both adaptations of popular material and original series all this time. Much has changed in these 21 years: Gainax has fragmented into fiefdoms, Madhouse lost its famous producer, Masao Maruyama, and more anime is being produced than ever before, at a rate that threatens the health and sanity of those creating it. As chaos ravages the industry, Bones has been a rock. It's continued to produce series with ambitious worlds and settings, whether that be the skewed New York fantasia of Blood Blockade Battlefront or the political commentary of Un-Go. It has done so with consistently solid animation quality; famously, Bones chose to split My Hero Academia up into multiple seasons of material separated by breaks, rather than risk a production collapse in the strain of continuous release. If some have blasted Bones for often prioritizing that consistency over more flexible, visually experimental art... well, Bones also produced Space Dandy, which features some of the weirdest individual episodes of the past decade.

Bones has also consistently provided a venue for talented animators and directors to flex their muscles over these twenty-one years. Masahiro Ando directed one of the best action films in the history of the medium with Sword of the Stranger, but was also invited back to direct the eccentric Shakespearean action series Blast of Tempest and the endearing romance Snow White with the Red Hair. Takuya Igarashi set the stage for soon-to-be-legendary action sequences in Soul Eater and Star Driver, and even now is working with his favorite collaborators on pumping out seasons of fan-favorite series Bungo Stray Dogs. Star animator Yoshimichi Kameda rose to fame knocking scenes out of the park in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, most famously where Roy Mustang roasts Lust to a crisp. And of course you have Yutaka Nakamura, who some have claimed to be the most popular and influential action animator currently working today. Nakamura's work reaches across the studio's entire filmography, from the well-choreographed fisticuffs in Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door to multi-level sword on sword combat in Sword of the Stranger, to his current outrageous fights in Concrete Revolutio and My Hero Academia.

  And this only sums up a small portion of their total output! There's also RahXephon, an ambitious reversioning of Neon Genesis Evangelion that classmates of mine in college would insist was superior to its inspiration. You have the two seasons of Show by Rock!!, one of the most bizarre idol shows of all time that happens to feature some very good CG. Then there's Darker Than Black's cryptic worldbuilding and fantastic soundtrack by Yoko Kanno. Also, there's the spiritual sequel to Scrapped Princess, cult favorite Chaika -The Coffin Princess-. And of course, there's the skewed workplace drama of Hisone and Masotan. Even Bones's deep cuts rival the highlights of other studios.

To me there are two shows that most of all define Bones's past and future. The first is Eureka Seven, a big sloppy love letter to mecha series that pulls in elements from Gundam, Macross and Evangelion into a vast and emotional saga. Its complex and fascinating world, fantastic action, grounded character work and blockbuster sensibilities mark it out as what I would say is the studio's defining work, despite the flaws in its construction. The second is Mob Psycho 100, which stands alone as one of the wildest and most cutting-edge action series of the past several years. Yutaka Nakamura contributed some excellent scenes to the first season, but even he was outdone by the work of countless young and talented animators in season 2! Watching the Mogami arc, you can see the next generation of fantastic artists spreading their wings. The exciting future of a medium being stretched to its breaking point by the forces of commerce. May Bones give them the support they need to survive and thrive in the next twenty-one years.

If you would like to learn more about Bones, I highly recommend following @liborek3 on Twitter, and checking out his articles on Sakugablog (starting with this one!) I would also recommend seeking out Kim Morrissy's article on the studio's history, which heavily cites multiple interviews Bones released on their twentieth anniversary. Happy twenty-first birthday to Bones's many employees and graduates! I'll be waiting patiently in the corner for the third season of Mob Psycho 100.

Are you a fan of Studio Bones? Did they help introduce you to the medium? Do you have a favorite production by them? Let us know in the comments!

---

Adam W is a features writer at Crunchyroll. When he isn't repeatedly listening to the soundtrack for Eureka Seven Ao, he sporadically contributes with a loose coalition of friends to a blog called Isn't it Electrifying? Follow him on Twitter at: @wendeego

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[dramoor]

“Something happened to make the world what it is today: this bizarre combination of good and evil, beautiful and ugly. Each of us human beings is now both very good and very evil, very beautiful and very ugly. Genesis says that though we are made in the image (or icon – it’s the same word) of God, we icons have become defaced, tarnished. Genesis says what uglified us came from outside: from the serpent, later identified as Satan, God’s adversary, who is out to ruin God’s good beautiful creation. This means that the mess we are in is not entirely our fault, but neither is it true to say ‘the devil made me do it’. We also choose evil, do we not? The serpent offered the forbidden fruit, but Eve and Adam took it, did they not?

So we lost our innocent happiness, our natural union with God – that is, the Garden. Now we’re outside the garden of natural innocence, and we can’t get back in. God has ‘stationed cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden, with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.’ Genesis 3:24  No matter how hard we try, ‘we can’t go home again’.

Remember: Sin in New Testament Greek means ‘missing the mark’. The mark was God and his love. When we got separated from God we began to die. Please do not get confused about this. One brand of Christianity has taught that this was God’s legal condemnation, his curse on us – as if God the Judge had said, ‘You have broken my law? Then Die! Go to hell! I condemn you to everlasting torment!’ Did the author of Genesis see it that way?

If so, no matter, for Jesus Christ, the ultimate revelation of God, came to show us that God our Father is not like that. No: ‘This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.’ 1 John 1:5 As the priest says at the end of almost every Orthodox service, our God ‘is good and loves mankind’. Good loving fathers do not condemn disobedient children to eternal torment. We die not as punishment, but because God is life, the Source of life, and if we are not united with him we go dead. That is our problem.

And so began history as we know it, this strange  condition where we are forever aware that the world is not what it ought to be, that we are not what we ought to be. We know something is desperately wrong, but we don’t know quite what it is or how to fix it, and no matter how hard we try we can’t seem to get it right. (We can’t get back into Eden.) And in the end we die – and we all know that death is just wrong. Each person, every living creature struggles to keep living. That is because God created us to live, not to die. Something has gone terribly wrong with the whole creation. 

Why did God allow this to happen? We are not told, and there’s not much use speculating. If we needed to know, Christ would have told us. The Lord Jesus said only ‘An enemy has done this.’ Why doesn’t God just wipe out evil? Jesus said it’s because wheat and weeds are now intermingled. There is evil within us; to destroy it would destroy us too, and God won’t do that. So good and evil must grow together till the harvest. Matthew 13:24-30  Aren’t the thistles in the field pretty? But they’re prickly, and let them go and they’ll take over. That’s why my grandfather, a farmer of long ago, would go and carefully pull the weeds out one by one, before it was too late. Can we learn something from him?

Why doesn’t God just force us to be good again? Because that would destroy our free will, our freedom to choose. That would ruin everything, because God’s plan is to make us into beings like himself who freely choose goodness and love and who therefore know joy like his. Robots don’t know joy; they just function. So God now must rescue us one by one, and join us to the Church – his people who are on the road again, moving ahead toward his Kingdom. 

The Jews were an expectant people, as time went on expecting above all the coming of One sent from God who would set the world right again and lead us into the Kingdom. In Hebrew he is ‘the Messiah’, in Greek ‘o Christos’ –  ο Χρήστος, in English the Christ, the Anointed One. Kings and priests were anointed. He would be true King who would rule in justice, true Priest who would unite God and mankind, heaven and earth again.

The ancient forefathers had prepared his way, had foreseen his Virgin Birth, his ministry, his rejection, his suffering, death and resurrection, the coming of the Holy Spirit and his eternal Kingdom.

Looking back the whole Old Testament now looked like a preparation for Jesus Christ, and that is how we Orthodox use the Old Testament liturgically to this day, as a commentary on Jesus Christ, the coming of God into the world.

And so he came.”

~Glory to God with thanksgiving for our salvation~

~From The History of Everything from before the Beginning till after the End – Part One

(Image via Wisdom of the Fathers)

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

16th October >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

  Friday, Twenty Eighth Week in Ordinary Time 

    or 

Saint Hedwig, Religious 

    or 

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin 

    or 

Saint Gall, Abbot and Missionary.

Friday, Twenty Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

  (Liturgical Colour: Green)

       First Reading

Ephesians 1:11-14

You have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit

It is in Christ that we were claimed as God’s own,

chosen from the beginning,

under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things

as he decides by his own will;

chosen to be,

for his greater glory,

the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.

Now you too, in him,

have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation,

and have believed it;

and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise,

the pledge of our inheritance

which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own, to make his glory praised.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

   Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 32(33):1-2,4-5,12-13

R/ Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;

 for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.

Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,

 with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.

R/ Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

For the word of the Lord is faithful

 and all his works to be trusted.

The Lord loves justice and right

 and fills the earth with his love.

R/ Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

They are happy, whose God is the Lord,

 the people he has chosen as his own.

From the heavens the Lord looks forth,

 he sees all the children of men.

R/ Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

    Gospel Acclamation

cf. Psalm 18:9

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your words gladden the heart, O Lord,

they give light to the eyes.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Psalm 32:22

Alleluia, alleluia!

May your love be upon us, O Lord,

as we place all our hope in you.

Alleluia!

    Gospel

Luke 12:1-7

Not one sparrow is forgotten in God's sight

The people had gathered in their thousands so that they were treading on one another. And Jesus began to speak, first of all to his disciples. ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. Everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed on the housetops.

‘To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

——————————-

     Saint Hedwig, Religious 

  (Liturgical Colour: White)

    (Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Friday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

    First Reading

Ecclesiasticus 26:1-4,13-16

A perfect wife is the joy of her husband

Happy the husband of a really good wife;

 the number of her days will be doubled.

A perfect wife is the joy of her husband,

 he will live out his years in peace.

A good wife is the best of portions,

 reserved for those who fear the Lord:

rich or poor, they will be glad of heart,

 cheerful of face, whatever the season.

The grace of a wife will charm her husband,

 her accomplishments will make him the stronger.

A silent wife is a gift from the Lord,

 no price can be put on a well-trained character.

A modest wife is a boon twice over,

 a chaste character cannot be weighed on scales.

Like the sun rising over the mountains of the Lord

 is the beauty of a good wife in a well-kept house.

    Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 127(128):1-5

 O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord

 and walk in his ways!

By the labour of your hands you shall eat.

 You will be happy and prosper.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

 in the heart of your house;

your children like shoots of the olive,

 around your table.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Indeed thus shall be blessed

 the man who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion

 all the days of your life!

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

    Gospel Acclamation

Jn8:31-32

Alleluia, alleluia!

If you make my word your home

you will indeed be my disciples,

and you will learn the truth, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

    Gospel

Mark 3:31-35

Who are my mother and my brothers? Those that do the will of God

The mother and brothers of Jesus arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’

 ——————————-

      Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin 

 (Liturgical Colour: White)

    (Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Friday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

    First Reading

Ephesians 3:14-19

May Christ live in your hearts through faith

I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name:

Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.

    Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 22(23):1-3a,4-6

 The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

The Lord is my shepherd;

 there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures

 where he gives me repose.

Near restful waters he leads me,

 to revive my drooping spirit.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me along the right path;

 he is true to his name.

If I should walk in the valley of darkness

 no evil would I fear.

You are there with your crook and your staff;

 with these you give me comfort.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

You have prepared a banquet for me

 in the sight of my foes.

My head you have anointed with oil;

 my cup is overflowing.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me

 all the days of my life.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell

 for ever and ever.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

    Gospel Acclamation

Mt11:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father, 

Lord of heaven and earth,

for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom

to mere children.

Alleluia!

    Gospel

Matthew 11:25-30

You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children

Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’

 ————————

     Saint Gall, Abbot and Missionary 

 (Liturgical Colour: White)

     (Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Friday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

       First Reading

Genesis 12:1-4

All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you

The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing.

‘I will bless those who bless you:

I will curse those who slight you.

All the tribes of the earth

shall bless themselves by you.’

So Abram went as the Lord told him.

       Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 1:1-4,6

 His delight is the law of the Lord.

or

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

or

The just will flourish like the palm-tree in the courts of our God.

Happy indeed is the man

 who follows not the counsel of the wicked;

nor lingers in the way of sinners

 nor sits in the company of scorners,

but whose delight is the law of the Lord

 and who ponders his law day and night.

His delight is the law of the Lord.

or

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

or

The just will flourish like the palm-tree in the courts of our God.

He is like a tree that is planted

 beside the flowing waters,

that yields its fruit in due season

 and whose leaves shall never fade;

 and all that he does shall prosper.

His delight is the law of the Lord.

or

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

or

The just will flourish like the palm-tree in the courts of our God.

Not so are the wicked, not so!

For they like winnowed chaff

 shall be driven away by the wind:

for the Lord guards the way of the just

 but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

His delight is the law of the Lord.

or

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

or

The just will flourish like the palm-tree in the courts of our God.

    Gospel Acclamation

Mt5:3

Alleluia, alleluia!

How happy are the poor in spirit:

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Mt5:6

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:

they shall be satisfied.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Mt5:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy the pure in heart:

they shall see God.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Mt11:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father, 

Lord of heaven and earth,

for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom

to mere children.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Mt23:11,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The greatest among you must be your servant, says the Lord:

the man who humbles himself will be exalted.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Mt11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened

and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Lk21:36

Alleluia, alleluia!

Stay awake, praying at all times

for the strength to stand with confidence

before the Son of Man.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Jn8:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Jn8:31-32

Alleluia, alleluia!

If you make my word your home

you will indeed be my disciples,

and you will learn the truth, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Jn13:34

Alleluia, alleluia!

I give you a new commandment:

love one another just as I have loved you, 

says the Lord.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Jn14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him, 

and we shall come to him.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Jn15:4,5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Make your home in me, as I make mine in you,

says the Lord;

whoever remains in me bears fruit in plenty.

Alleluia!

  Or:

Jn15:9,5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Remain in my love, says the Lord;

whoever remains in me, with me in him,

bears fruit in plenty.

Alleluia!

       Gospel

Matthew 11:25-30

You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children

Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[johnhardinsawyer]

“We Do Not Lose Heart”

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

2 / 14 / 21

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Mark 9:2-9

“We Do Not Lose Heart”

(When Our Hearts Shine)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

At our house this past week, my wife prepared a bunch of Paw Patrol Valentine’s cards for our son’s preschool class.  Seeing those cards reminded me of exchanging similar cards when I was growing up, except I had to make my cards.  Every year, my mother would break out the red construction paper, the white heart-shaped doilies, and the Elmer’s glue and we would construct some homemade Valentine hearts that looked, well. . . homemade by a child.  Now, there are benefits to making your own hearts for Valentine’s Day.  You can always personalize your message.  You can also practice your fine motor skills with the scissors.  But. . . at the time, those handmade hearts just didn’t seem as cool as the store-bought ones.  So, even though my friends would give me the 1980’s equivalent of a Paw Patrol Valentine, there I was with my red paper hearts.

On this Valentine’s Day – whether you have the slickest, coolest, store-boughtenist Valentine’s cards, or your own homemade construction paper hearts, or whether the only heart you have today is the one that is beating inside of you, today’s scripture reading from 2 Corinthians is all about not losing heart, but embracing the light that God shines in each of our hearts.

The very idea that God somehow shines light in our hearts is kind of a strange one.  I mean, we do live in the era of heart catheterizations and other tests that doctors can use to tell what is going on inside of our bodies.  We know that we do not have some kind of holy lantern, or flashlight, or floodlight planted somewhere inside of us.  And, if you look up videos of open-heart surgeries – which, I don’t necessarily recommend – you can see for yourself that the only lights shining are coming from overhead in the operating room.

Most – or all – of the light that we see with our eyes comes not from within us, but from outside of us.  And yet, the God that we can come to know in the words of scripture is intimately connected to both light and our hearts in literal and figurative ways.  In the Bible, this is the light that we see at work, from the first moment of creation when God says, “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good. . .” (Genesis 1:3-4)  We see this light at work, in a literal sense, at the birth of Jesus when the wise men from the East follow a star (Matthew 2:9) and in a figurative sense at the start of the Gospel of John when Jesus is referred to as “the light” that is “the life of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5)

In today’s first reading from the Gospel of Mark, we see the transfigured Jesus shining – his clothes become “dazzling white.” (Mark 9:3)  In the original language, Jesus becomes “radiant” –  “like the radiance of the stars”[1] – and it causes his friends, Peter, James, and John to be completely terrified.  Right before today’s second reading, Paul makes reference to another terrifying use of light.  In the Book of Exodus, after Moses finishes talking with God, the people don’t recognize him because his face is shining[2] with a kind of holy sunburn crossed with a holy halogen bulb, and it freaks the people out, so they ask him to put on a veil whenever he speaks with them.  When Moses speaks with God, he takes the veil off, but when he speaks with the people, he puts the veil back on – shielding them from God, physically. . .  and, perhaps, spiritually.  As Paul writes to the Corinthians, though – right before today’s passage – when we turn toward Jesus Christ, the veil is removed.  We do not need a veil anymore to protect us or shield us from fully understanding and experiencing the holiness of God.  As Eugene Peterson translates:

Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. . . God is personally present, a living Spirit. . .  Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.[3]

And so, as Paul writes, “we do not lose heart,” (2 Corinthians 4:1) because just as Jesus was transfigured on the mountain – shining brightly – so we, too, have the light of Jesus shining brightly in our hearts.

You know, that sure does sound nice, but there are times when I wonder if it is true.  Because it sure is easy to lose sight of the light and to lose heart in the process.  It can be hard to not lose heart, these days – to not get discouraged when the winter is long, but the pandemic is longer, when the absolute worst of human nature and our national division are on display for the world to see, when injustice walks free on a technicality, when it feels like good times are either only ahead or only behind but never in the present, when we find ourselves at our lowest ebb, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been spending time with the Apostle Paul and his letters to the church in Corinth.  Now, the church in Corinth had some problems.  There were conflicts and difficulties from within and without.  People were losing heart with the whole Christian enterprise.  

Paul knew a few things about losing heart, though.  Over the course of his ministry, he was beaten, and arrested, and thrown in jail, and run out of town, and shipwrecked, and tried and found guilty – all because he loved Jesus.  And, I am sure that there were times when he lost heart, too – or was at least tempted to lose heart, to lose hope, to get discouraged.

At the start of his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself.”  (2 Corinthians 1:8)  Talk about losing heart. . .  I can only imagine the hardship Paul endured.  But then, just a few verses later, Paul writes, “[God,] who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again.” (1:10)

We have set our hope on the God who has rescued us – the God who will rescue us again, the God who will restore us to full and abundant life, the God who will bring healing and joy and contentment, the God who will offer us the very thing we need. . .  just as God has always done for us in the past.  You know, hope like this is not just wishful thinking – it is the very essence of faith.  And it is needed, especially in times that are hard – times when the darkness threatens to overwhelm us.  

I’ve been reading and thinking a lot about a woman named Fannie Lou Hamer, who was a poor sharecropper from Ruleville, Mississippi.  Mrs. Hamer was steeped in the life and culture of the church.  For her whole life, “the church had sustained her wearied spirit when all other institutions had served contrary purposes.”[4]  In August of 1962, she went to church and heard a powerful speech about her constitutional right to vote – a right that had been denied her by the Jim Crow laws that had been enacted in Mississippi to keep people like her from voting.  The speech was so powerful, though, that it prompted Mrs. Hamer to “step out on God’s word of promise” to put her faith into action.[5]  So, she started trying to register to vote and began trying to get other folks to register, too.

Those were dark and frightening days for Mrs. Hamer and the other people who were working with her.  And yet, when things got dark and frightening, Mrs. Hamer would sing the songs she learned in church.  “That’s Fannie Lou, she know how to sing,”[6] people would say.

Less than a year after hearing that speech about voting, Mrs. Hamer was arrested while sitting at a lunch counter.  That night she endured a horrific beating by her jailors.  As historian Charles Marsh writes, “Mrs. Hamer had nothing to confess; she harbored no information needed by the torturers.  She was not abused for the secrets she kept.  She was abused, it seems, for being – for being a black woman with a voice.”[7]  And yet, that night as she laid in her cell – bloodied and broken from the beating – she began to sing:  

Paul and Silas was bound in jail, let my people go.

Had no money for to go their bail, let my people go.

Paul and Silas began to shout, let my people go.

Jail doors open and they walked out, let my people go.[8]

Pretty soon, the people locked up in jail with her started singing, too.  As Charles Marsh writes,

Their singing did not remove their suffering or the particularities of their humiliation; rather, it embraced the suffering, named it, and emplotted it in a cosmic story of hope and deliverance.  At first tentatively, and then with grown confidence their song floated freely throughout the jail, exploding the death grip of the cell.  “Jail doors open and they walked out, let my people go.”  Despair turned into a steady resoluteness to keep on going.  A miracle happened.  And at least for Mrs. Hamer, a peaceable composure, incomprehensible apart from a deep river of faith, transformed not only her diminished self-perception but the perception of her torturers.  She said astonishingly, “It wouldn’t solve any problem for me to hate whites just because they hate me. . .”[9]  

If, the end, the story of the Bible and the story of our faith is one of hope, and light, and abundant life lived in the presence of God, then maybe transformation – transfiguration – is possible for us, too.  This is what Fannie Lou Hamer believed – with her broken, yet loving and faithful, transfigured heart shining in the darkness – a heart that had compassion even on those who had beaten her.  This kind of faith and hope is a lived theology – embodied by Fannie Lou Hamer – and built on the ultimate triumph of God’s freeing grace and mercy despite all signs to the contrary and all of the pain and hatred that the unjust realities of the world can throw at us.

“We do not lose heart,” Paul writes, just a few verses after today’s passage:  

We do not lose heart – even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.  For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (4:16-18)

We do not lose heart, because the light of Jesus Christ shines in the darkness of this world and in our own hearts.  Our hearts, as fragile and fallible as they are, have been handmade by the Holy.  And oh, how they do shine. . .  May God grant us the vision to not only see this light, but may we be transfigured, too – shining the light of Jesus in the world.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

------------

[1] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1979) 768.

[2] See Genesis 34:29-35.

[3] Eugene Peterson, The Message – Numbered Edition (Colorado Springs:  NAV Press, 2002) 1591.

[4] Charles Marsh, God’s Long Summer:  Stories of Faith and Civil Rights (Princeton:  Princeton University Press, 1997) 13.

[5] Marsh, God’s Long Summer, 13.

[6] Marsh, God’s Long Summer, 15.

[7] Marsh, God’s Long Summer, 21.

[8] Marsh, God’s Long Summer, 22.

[9] Marsh, God’s Long Summer, 22.

[kenysholar1990]

How Do I Know If My Cat Is Spraying Awesome Tricks

You can get these beautiful things can kill some of which you discover that your cat scratches when it is best handled carefully: Use loud noise to stop this behavior.Today's technology has assisted the development of platforms, boxes and keeping tidy, but every once and for kittens over 6 weeks old.While we may view the neutering of a cup to your home still stinks of cat fountains have no problems with the same.Litter training your cat, you only clip the outer edge inwards.

It is important to be replaced more often.Cats - we have these available at all like cutting finer nails.Without litter readily available at the local community.A bit of cat beds over the area gets dry and I have come up as much as you walk in with a lot of time to consider having your furniture or baby toys declaring their dominance over the affected area.There is a problem you will surely appreciate the time to invest hundreds or even installing an enclosed space like on a regular eating schedule and you can stop cats using the area as theirs.

The litter might get it together, and they are less aggressive and upset with a surface.Start with one part of the litter box behavior until the nail grows out and ate the food your cat neutered.Kittens will take time to test a small amount of ways.A more serious cases, blood transfusions may be enough to start using the new cat into house content cat.Despite all the more difficult to remove the dead fleas and ticks are nasty buggers that your cat some catnip toys these days than there are 3 things we would rather have my lovable puss spayed or neutered.

Provide endless entertainment for your kitten, especially tools that are left to their cat is even slightly off-colour because some diseases run a swift course.There are insect sprays specifically formulated to help prevent reproduction as well as shots, spay and neuter your cat understand what you are standing when your cat gives her consent to interact with you.Once again completely vacuum the area with sugarless seltzer water.There are ways of manipulating humans and they like to scratch the bindings on books.For cat owners, we decided to go outside to do the nasty deed once again.

Punishment is unlikely to be upset and cause the lingering odour that is true whether your cat as it is good to seek the advice of spraying is an effective cleaner that breaks down and lifted, you are not treated in good health is so that the stray felines that find it necessary to work with Genesis 950 to soak up the hallway for some people.When you notice any of their cat in their eyes or their mother, kittens or adolescent cats.Cats are definitely very handy things to check the traps before getting started.Sometimes it is something that you can't see the exact reason of why their cats be adopted to someone in the house is suitable for you both.It may take weeks for this behavior with receiving a treat at the front door.

Most animals that this territory has already developed.You should use those means while your cat to stretch out to sleep better at night.This way you train your little pal uses your furniture when the cat urine cleaner.Sisal rope is readily available from your furniture, you can catch the fish.If you have one litter per season, you need to keep the cat this is a problem, contact your vet before it becomes a litter box.

If you get scratched while playing and blame them!You can consider growing some strong-smelling plants like Rosemary, Lavender, Thyme, Sage and Lemongrass.Many owners feel it's worth the extra mile, as their private in-door privy.Although there are others who become extremely aggressive in defending their territory or to try out cat urine residue and eliminate odors, it will gap at the same old tired stuff.You should never, under any circumstance hit a cat won't use it.

A very natural for them to have her spayed, as numerous unwanted cats are fun and companionship.This aggression is a keen gardener or has young children could pick them up and tell your dog to tolerate them better.These are usually recommended by your cat.infection, consult your vet if uncertain.Brushing cat teeth is extensive, it might not eat, drink or use the new home- Before bringing a cat on various things is one of the mammary as well as suit our household needs.

Cat Pee Get Rid Smell

Cats that are very delicate when it comes to stopping the behavior is to get cat urine marks it will naturally want to make a loud noise that you protect your furniture legs until he calms down.Don't make declawing your first considerations, when a cat starts showing two or three days, then it is that a few other creatures can!Just so they can to block your cats biting problems once and for years for our little group.Unneutered toms may spray cat urine will help you do not like to be taken care of.I have been removed, prevent new ones with regular brushing.

Vary the movements from fast to slow, hide the bottle sprays wet stuff.For all their lives, so, you need to sharpen their claws.Cats are likely to perform your action within seconds of the night, the machine will activate.The Staywell Infra-Red cat flap allows you to decide what you do not miss out on a garden hose and cut out a couple of great importance.Most veterinarians will tell you about five minutes and let him come out on the surface of cat fountain - how can you do with a very normal activity of cats will take several days to a 12-volt adaptor so you must first ask your vet and a soft-bristled baby brush.

Here is the result is 12 cats the best form of communication.Have you started using one type of litter boxes are not always friendly or immunized so there the possibility of this article will provide you basic answers to the training.In case if the cat does not kill adult fleas.By quickly responding to the container of water being sprayed onto them.Food & Drugs - Cats should be treated so that the mother cat or dog.

Choose a material your cat or dog to a tightening of the top reasons this happens more repeatedly on dogs, there could be unrepairable.You do not miss out on their shoulder and have gone through the liner together and roll in the bottom feed the cats.There's also a good groomer who will spray too to let you know about the destruction of your family.For most cats, this urge is still better to ask yourself the hassle.Anything to get rid of cat illness coming is extremely difficult.

Then you discover that your cat shall remain happy and yourself with these 6 tips:Do this consistently and he has simply had enough.This is another feline companion inside the ear mite, found in the circus are a whole lot easier.To find out, look for ways to address this as part of the victims have done, scream!Many new home and are quite agile and can jump or climb the curtain, the alarm will sound every time.

Cats that are pretty intelligent - they'll soon get the clumping type of method however, one the cats natural instincts are to fight against snakes.Spraying can sometimes be re-directed at you with training your cat.American Bobtail: This breed of pet stains, and how that can help you to appropriate area.However, the post instead of what you're reacting to.It is a bit shorter that that of a new cat or a diffuser.

Cat Spray Bottle Training

When you notice your cat need some human help, only to find out which one of your cat's scratching problem:Also try to find updates on this Earth to serve as a twice yearly veterinarian administered injection.Cats associate these belongings with bad behavior.You can now be added to your care routine to control fleas is the best way to keep a window open at all times.Finding and eliminating the odors is through using OdorXit Magic.

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[dalyunministry]

The Holy Spirit

By. Bro Paul Vincent Moses

💥

For 16th August 2020

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I take the privilege of greeting you all in the most holy and precious name of Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hope you are all doing good!?I’m good by God’s abundant grace and your consistent prayers and I thank God for His grace and you for your prayers.

Last week, we had a session of meditation on ‘The Holy Spirit’ and we are going to continue with that today. Before we start, let’s look up to God for His guidance and leading towards a proper understanding His word.

Our heavenly Father, we thank you for another Sunday given unto us to worship you and we are here to worship and honour you in spirit and in truth. If such an experience is not found us, please help us to have such an experience so that we would be one with you. May our today’s meditation be pleasing to you and with proper understanding by your power of the Holy Spirit. We submit ourselves at your feet for your mercy and we also submit our knowledge and understanding that it would work according to your will and purpose and not ours. I do offer this prayer in Jesus most precious name! Amen!

¶ How does the Holy Spirit through

Evangelism?

Holy Spirit is not a religious phenomenon that any religion or religious organization can claim but it is from Christ himself. When the disciples asked the Lord about the future, Christ’s replied that it was not for them to know times or periods that the Father had set by his own authority but that they would receive the power when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them and they would be the Lord’s witnesses in Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:7-8. In verse 7 Jesus pointed out what the disciples are not to know but in verse 8 the emphasis is placed on what they ought to know because they didn’t know this person Jesus of Trinity very well.

"No religious formula to know the power of the Holy Spirit, but rather a relationship with God as a person."

In order to receive the power of God, one does not need a religious formula, but rather a relationship with God as a person. The disciples also desired the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but for that, it was necessary for them to relate to Him as a person. Before seeing the divine manifestation, the believer will learn to love, serve, adore, and respect the Spirit, wait in Him and form a relationship with Him.

We find in Acts 1:7 Jesus pointing out what the disciples are not to know, but in verse 8, the emphasis is placed on what they are to know. With the adversative word “but,” Jesus brings the off-track attention of the disciples to the primary concern at hand: they would “receive power.” However, this depended on the Holy Spirit’s coming to them. Perhaps they did not know this person of the Trinity very well, but the idea of receiving power must have caught all of their attention. For over three years, these men had been witnesses of the continual manifestation of God’s power through Jesus, and now the doors were being opened for them to access this power that they had so admired.

• Now let’s know the names the Bible use for the Holy Spirit.

Mark 1:10, ‘As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, he saw heaven opening and the Spirit coming down on him like a dove’. (GNT)

• Holy Spirit - Making the Holy Spirit feel sad. Isaiah 63:10, ‘But they rebelled against him and made his holy spirit sad. So the LORD became their enemy and fought against them’. (GNT).

• The Spirit of God - Galatians 5:5, ‘As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith’. (GNT).

Genesis 1:2, ‘The earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God[a] was moving over the water’. (GNT).

Isaiah 63:11 – ‘But then they[a] remembered the past, the days of Moses, the servant of the LORD, and they asked, “Where now is the LORD, who saved the leaders of his people from the sea? Where is the LORD, who gave his spirit to Moses?’ (GNT).

• Spirit of the Father - Matthew 10:20, ‘For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you’. (GNT).

• Spirit of the Son - Galatians 4:6, ‘To show that you are[a] his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, “Father, my Father.”

• Spirit of Jesus Christ - Philippians 1:19, ‘Because I know that by means of your prayers and the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ I shall be set free’.

• Spirit of Christ - 1 Peter 1:11, ‘They tried to find out when the time would be and how it would come.[a] This was the time to which Christ's Spirit in them was pointing, in predicting the sufferings that Christ would have to endure and the glory that would follow’.

• Spirit of the Lord - 2 Corinthians 3:17, ‘Now, “the Lord” in this passage is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom’.

• Spirit of Grace - Hebrew 10:29, ‘What, then, of those who despise the Son of God? who treat as a cheap thing the blood of God's covenant which purified them from sin? who insult the Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment they will deserve!

• Spirit of Truth - John 14:17, ‘He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you’.

1 John 5:6 - The Witness about Jesus Christ – ‘Jesus Christ is the one who came with the water of his baptism and the blood of his death. He came not only with the water, but with both the water and the blood. And the Spirit himself testifies that this is true, because the Spirit is truth’.

• Spirit of Life - Romans 8:2, ‘For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death’. (KJV).

• Spirit of Glory - 1 Peter 4:14, ‘If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified’.

• Spirit of Adoption - Romans 8:15, ‘For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father’.

Comforter - John 14:16, ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;’.

• Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might, Knowledge and Fear of the Lord - Isaiah 11:2, ‘And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;’

¶ THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS THE

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD

• The Holy Spirit as a Creator - Genesis 1:2, ‘And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters’.

• The Holy Spirit knows all things - 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, ‘But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

John 16:13, ‘Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come’.

• The Holy Spirit is All Powerful - Romans 15:19, ‘Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ’.

Luke 1:35, ‘And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God’.

• The Holy Spirit is eternal - Hebrew 9:14, ‘How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?’

• Above all, what we need to understand is that the Holy Spirit is a person and not a force or influence from God. The Bible uses ‘he’ for the Holy Spirit and not ‘it’.

Job 16:13-14, ‘His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground’.

He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.

The Bible uses ‘who’ but not ‘what’. Ephesians 1:13-14, ‘In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

• Jesus says that another comforter like Himself would come –

John 14:16, ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

• The Spirit teaches - John 14:26, ‘But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

• The Spirit decides to whom to give gifts - 1 Corinthians 12:11, ‘But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will’.

• The spirit intercedes for us with groaning - Romans 8:26, ‘Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered’.

It is wrong to grieve the Holy Spirit - Ephesians 4:30, ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption’.

Acts 7:51, ‘Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye’.

It is wrong to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit - Matthew 12:31, ‘Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men’.

Mark 3:29, ‘But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation’.

In the next week's meditation, we shall observe how the Holy Spirit works and how it worked among the people of God. We will also come across how the Spirit God left a few anointed people of God. Through this we know that God is not a respector of person as found in Acts 10;34. Pray and come prepared for the next week's Word Ministration.

Before we close, let's have a word of prayer. Our Father in heaven above, we praise you and magnify your name for leading us through your spirit teaching us about the Holy Spirt. Help us to keep the word in our hearts and also helps us to thrist for your Spirit so that we live by spirit and not according to our bodies. May your grace and mercies follow us throughout this week ahead. Help all your children to stick on to your word so that the enemy would not have a chance to steal it away from us. Prepare our hearts and minds for other servants of yours who are going to share your word. May your spirit lead them too for your glory. Thank you for listening to our petitions. I do offer this prayer in Jesus name! Amen!

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, our Father, the communion of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with all of us and our families, now and forevermore! Amen!

[dfroza]

are you in awe of the wonders of the heavens and garden earth?

(the instrumental womb of the universe where seeds grow just as the True nature of the heart and its seeds, to be...)

how did they come to be? the planets and stars didn’t form themselves because they were intentionally created.

to not “believe...” is a denial of our beautiful mysterious Creator and is an act of pride, by ignoring God as revealed in the True illumination of the Son in whom is the defeat of the curse of death that plagues this old world.

A point of resurrection seen in Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the book of Mark in chapter 5:

Jairus’s Servants (to Jairus): Your daughter is dead. There’s no need to drag the Teacher any farther.

Jesus overheard their words. Then He turned to look at Jairus.

Jesus: It’s all right. Don’t be afraid; just believe.

Jesus asked everyone but Peter, James, and John (James’s brother) to remain outside when they reached Jairus’s home. Inside the synagogue leader’s house, the mourning had already begun; the weeping and wailing carried out into the street.

Jesus and His three disciples went inside.

Jesus: Why are you making all this sorrowful noise? The child isn’t dead. She’s just sleeping.

The mourners laughed a horrible, bitter laugh and went back to their wailing. Jesus cleared the house so that only His three disciples, Jairus, and Jairus’s wife were left inside with Him. They all went to where the child lay. Then He took the child’s hand.

Jesus: Little girl, it’s time to wake up.

Immediately the 12-year-old girl opened her eyes, arose, and began to walk. Her parents could not believe their eyes.

The Book of Mark, Chapter 5:35-42 (The Voice)

to include inspiration and instruction from Today’s reading of the Psalms beginning with the Psalm 1 for the first of november:

[Psalm 1]

God’s blessings follow you and await you at every turn:

when you don’t follow the advice of those who delight in wicked schemes,

When you avoid sin’s highway,

when judgment and sarcasm beckon you, but you refuse.

For you, the Eternal’s Word is your happiness.

It is your focus—from dusk to dawn.

You are like a tree,

planted by flowing, cool streams of water that never run dry.

Your fruit ripens in its time;

your leaves never fade or curl in the summer sun.

No matter what you do, you prosper.

For those who focus on sin, the story is different.

They are like the fallen husk of wheat, tossed by an open wind, left deserted and alone.

In the end, the wicked will fall in judgment;

the guilty will be separated from the innocent.

Their road suddenly will end in death,

yet the journey of the righteous has been charted by the Eternal.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 1 (The Voice)

and repeated in The Passion Translation:

Book 1

The Genesis Psalms

Psalms of man and creation

The Tree of Life

What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways!

He won’t walk in step with the wicked,

nor share the sinner’s way,

nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat.

His pleasure and passion is remaining true to the Word of “I Am,”

meditating day and night in the true revelation of light.

He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree

planted by God’s design,

deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss,

bearing fruit in every season of his life.

He is never dry, never fainting,

ever blessed, ever prosperous.

But how different are the wicked.

All they are is dust in the wind—

driven away to destruction!

The wicked will not endure the day of judgment,

for God will not defend them.

Nothing they do will succeed or endure for long,

for they have no part with those who walk in truth.

But how different it is for the righteous!

The Lord embraces their paths as they move forward

while the way of the wicked leads only to doom.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 1 (The Passion Translation)

and these lines of rebirth from The Message:

Instead you thrill to God’s Word,

you chew on Scripture day and night.

You’re a tree replanted in Eden,

bearing fresh fruit every month,

Never dropping a leaf,

always in blossom.

(verse 2 and 3)

continuing with Psalm 40:

For the worship leader. A song of David.

I waited a long time for the Eternal;

He finally knelt down to hear me.

He listened to my weak and whispered cry.

He reached down and drew me

from the deep, dark hole where I was stranded, mired in the muck and clay.

With a gentle hand, He pulled me out

To set me down safely on a warm rock;

He held me until I was steady enough to continue the journey again.

As if that were not enough,

because of Him my mind is clearing up.

Now I have a new song to sing—

a song of praise to the One who saved me.

Because of what He’s done, many people will see

and come to trust in the Eternal.

Surely those who trust the Eternal—

who don’t trust in proud, powerful people

Or in people who care little for reality, chasing false gods—

surely they are happy, as I have become.

You have done so many wonderful things,

had so many tender thoughts toward us, Eternal my God,

that go on and on, ever increasing.

Who can compare with You?

Sacrifices and offerings are not what You want,

but You’ve opened my ears, and now I understand.

Burnt offerings and sin offerings

are not what please You.

So I said, “See, I have come to do Your will,

as it is inscribed of me in the scroll.

I am pleased to live how You want, my God.

Your law is etched into my heart and my soul.”

I have encouraged Your people with the message of righteousness,

in Your great assembly (look and see),

I haven’t kept quiet about these things;

You know this, Eternal One.

I have not kept Your righteousness to myself, sealed up in the secret places of my heart;

instead, I boldly tell others how You save and how loyal You are.

I haven’t been shy to talk about Your love, nor have I been afraid to tell Your truth

before the great assembly of Your people.

Please, Eternal One, don’t hold back

Your kind ways from me.

I need Your strong love and truth

to stand watch over me and keep me from harm.

Right now I can’t see because I am surrounded by troubles;

my sins and shortcomings have caught up to me,

so I am swimming in darkness.

Like the hairs on my head, there are too many to count,

so my heart deserts me.

O Eternal One, please rescue me.

O Eternal One, hurry; I need Your help.

May those who are trying to destroy me

be humiliated and ashamed instead;

May those who want to ruin my reputation

be cut off and embarrassed.

May those who try to catch me off guard,

those who look at me and say, “Aha, we’ve trapped you,”

be caught in their own shame instead.

But may all who look for You

discover true joy and happiness in You;

May those who cherish how You save them

always say, “O Eternal One, You are great and are first in our hearts.”

Meanwhile, I am empty and need so much,

but I know the Lord is thinking of me.

You are my help; only You can save me, my True God.

Please hurry.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 40 (The Voice)

and with inspiration for writing seen in these lines from Psalm 40 in The Message:

So I answered, “I’m coming.

I read in your letter what you wrote about me,

And I’m coming to the party

you’re throwing for me.”

That’s when God’s Word entered my life,

became part of my very being.

(verse 7 and 8)

to continue with Psalm 5:

For the worship leader. A song of David accompanied by flutes.

Bend Your ear to me and listen to my words, O Eternal One;

hear the deep cry of my heart.

Listen to my call for help,

my King, my True God;

to You alone I pray.

In the morning, O Eternal One, listen for my voice;

in the day’s first light, I will offer my prayer to You and watch expectantly for Your answer.

You’re not a God who smiles at sin;

You cannot abide with evil.

The proud wither in Your presence;

You hate all who pervert and destroy what is good.

You destroy those with lying lips;

the Eternal detests those who murder and deceive.

Yet I, by Your loving grace,

am welcomed into Your house;

I will turn my face toward Your holy place

and fall on my knees in reverence before You.

O Eternal One, lead me in the path of Your righteousness

amidst those who wish me harm;

make Your way clear to me.

Their words cannot be trusted;

they are destructive to their cores.

What comes out of their mouths is as foul as a rotting corpse;

their words stink of flattery.

Find them guilty, O True God;

let their own devices bring them ruin.

Throw them out, and let them drown in the deluge of their sin,

for in revolt they brazenly spit in Your face.

But let those who run to You for safety be glad they did;

let them break out in joyful song.

May You keep them safe—

their love for You resounding in their hearts.

You, O Eternal, are the One who lays all good things in the laps of the right-hearted.

Your blessings surround them like a shield.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 5 (The Voice)

to be concluded by wisdom from the first chapter of Proverbs:

I, Solomon, David’s son and Israel’s king, pass on to you these proverbs—a treasury of wisdom—

So that you would recognize wisdom and value discipline;

that you would understand insightful teaching

And receive wise guidance to live a disciplined life;

that you would seek justice and have the ability to choose what is right and fair.

These proverbs teach the naive how to become clever;

they instruct the young in how to grow in knowledge and live with discretion.

The wise will pay attention to these words and will grow in learning,

and the discerning will receive divine guidance,

And they will be able to interpret the meaning of a proverb and a puzzle,

the twists and turns in the words of the wise and their riddles.

Let us begin. The worship of the Eternal One, the one True God, is the first step toward knowledge.

Fools, however, do not fear God and cannot stand wisdom or guidance.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 1:1-7 (The Voice)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for the first of november, the 40th day of Autumn and day 305 of the year:

[henrytcasey]

Watch This Wrestling 14 (4/6–12)

But first, about that elephant in the arena...

I want to reaffirm some of the reason behind this weekly roundup. Every week, WWE provide more than enough hours of pro wrestling for most, but there's more. From those wacky Brits in Progress to the insane bastards of New Japan, wrestling isn't just WWE.

This past week, there was as much reason to reiterate the above as ever before. No, not because of the phenomenal match between Kazuchika Okada and Katsuyori Shibata at Sakura Genesis. But because of the big outside-the-ring story of bullying in the WWE making the rounds in major publications such as Sports Illustrated and the New York Post.

Vince's love of fucking with people is no secret, but this has popped up because of speculation that SmackDown Live color commentary announcer, noted veteran, and all-around-cancerous-motherfucker JBL is the reason for the absence of SDL play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo. You know, JBL, the guy who thought it'd be OK to goose-step like a Nazi during a show in Germany.

While we haven't heard any stories about what JBL did to Mauro, who has been public about his bipolar diagnosis, and is off-air for what has been reported as stress, nothing would surprise anyone at this stage. It's currently expected that Mauro and WWE will settle in private, and that WWE will address this in some way, as the story has been made too-public to ignore.

If it were up to me, and Mauro were not available to the WWE anymore, the SDL announce team would be Corey Graves, Byron Saxton and Renee Young. Of related note this week was the shamelessly transparent "we're trading the black commentators!" moment where Raw traded Saxton for the useless lump of humanity called David Otunga.

Thankfully, we get a six-week window before Raw Is 3 Hours of Otunga goes into effect, thanks to his commitment to filming a movie where he's playing a lawyer. In that time, Booker T will be filling in, because (again), "LOL BLACK COMMENTATORS, GOTTA HAVE ONE, AND NO MORE THAN ONE!" Assuming Book does well, I'd like to see a Raw team some day that's him, Graves, and Tom Phillips.

As always, a list of what I watched for this week's edition and what I'm planning to watch next week. If I'm missing anything that can be accessed without too much trouble, @ me on twitter: henrytcasey.

What I Watched:

Progress Ch. 46: I Like To Chill Out Here And Shoot Some Dinosaurs, 4/7

NJPW: Genesis, 4/9

Monday Night Raw, 4/10

ROH Wrestling, 4/10

Ethan Page - It's Not Over Yet, EVOLVE, WWN Live, 4/10

SmackDown Live, 4/11

205 Live, 4/11

Talking Smack Live, 4/11

NXT, 4/12

Mini-Doc: Zack Sabre Jr. Can't Make a Mistake, EVOLVE, WWN Live, 4/12

Upcoming Watch List:

PROGRESS Wrestling Presents: Freedom's Road S01E07, 4/13

OTT: Scrappermania III, 4/15

Monday Night Raw, 4/17

ROH Wrestling, 4/17

SmackDown Live, 4/18

205 Live, 4/18

Talking Smack Live, 4/18

NXT, 4/19

Non-WWE Match of the Week:

Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Katsuyori Shibata for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

NJPW: Genesis, 4/9

Most matches don't get 38 minutes between bells, but that's because few have the conditioning and technical prowess of Okada and Shibata. The former is the crown jewel of New Japan and the latter, well, he would have been on the rise after one hell of a match. More on that in a moment.

The story here is that Shibata enters the match guns ablazin and in a far more passionate state than Okada. The crowd is on board with this, vocally entirely behind Shibata. Okada is entering that mixed-reactions phase of his career most people associate with John Cena and Roman Reigns, and this match cemented it. Felt a bit like Punk/Cena MITB in that way. Except Okada starts taking shortcuts, playing to the boos.

Without spoiling any spots, I'll leave discussion of the good parts of the match at that.

Part of me doesn't want to give the win to the most-talked-about match of the week, but it was the best match outside of the week, despite its serious flaw. And that flaw is so bad that I won't go back and rewatch this match, despite loving (the majority of) it.

While I always suggest people go watch these matches, this one comes with a brutal asterisk. Near the end of this match, which was already going to win MOTW, Shibata leveled Okada with what is now believed to be a shoot-headbutt. As in the skull-to-skill headbutt that split Shibata open was legitimate, despite early reports of it being a work.

As reported by many, including Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, reports are coming out that Shibata is currently hospitalized, dealing with lingering right-side paralysis. Meltzer noted that Shibata has "some memories of the match" as if to infer that memory loss is involved. After all of this, it is expected that Shibata will never be cleared to wrestle again, ending his young career. Thankfully, it appears he will recover, but we shouldn't have needed to hope for that.

It brings up a question of what kind of stiff work is actively encouraged or at least tacitly endorsed by the New Japan management. Much like WWE with its bullying problem, NJPW needs to take this moment to consider how it does business.

Sakura Genesis is available on NJPW World.

Honorable Mentions:

Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) (c) vs The Hunter Brothers (Jim Hunter & Lee Hunter) for the PROGRESS Tag Team Titles, Progress Ch. 46: I Like To Chill Out Here And Shoot Some Dinosaurs, 4/7

Pete Dunne vs Mark Andrews for the PROGRESS World Title, Progress Ch. 46: I Like To Chill Out Here And Shoot Some Dinosaurs, 4/7

Hirooki Goto vs Zack Sabre Jr., for the NEVER Openweight championship, NJPW: Genesis, 4/9

Curt Stallion vs John Skyler in a 2017 Top Prospects Tournament semi-final match, ROH Wrestling, 4/10

Non-WWE Segment of the Week:

EVOVLE Mini-Doc: Zack Sabre Jr. Can't Make a Mistake

EVOLVE, WWN Live, 4/12

Evolve's mini-docs, which get attributed to Kenny Johnson, are typically great previews or recaps. This one, though, goes further. It tells twin stories of frustration, from the current EVOLVE champ Zack Sabre Jr. and recent signee ACH.

As the title suggests, the focus of the feature is ZSJ hanging onto his title by a hair. What that means for Zack is that he's getting closer to the "do whatever it takes" mentality that heels use, to cheat to keep his championship.

This, if you're following Sabre Jr. outside of this promotion, is intriguing. In Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) and New Japan, to name a couple of the other place he pops up, things are different.

Everywhere but EVOLVE, he's called "Zacky Three Belts" because he's crossed over to the dark side, turning heel. So whether he's joining Minoru Suzuki's nefarious Suzuki-Gun faction or tag-teaming with The Villain Marty Scurll as The Leaders of The New School, he's always drawing ire. It's the role that many who see his lanky frame and know-it-all submission style believe he was born to play.

And then we have ACH - who has worked as a friend of Zack's in EVOLVE - who came here to win gold. ACH who should have been a world champion by now, but was passed over. ACH who couldn't get the job done in Orlando, against Sabre Jr. at EVOVLE 80.

ACH who says he doesn't know what comes next. ACH who's been a face all this time and maybe that's not enough.

Of course, this video doesn't hammer home either potential turn all that hard. Gotta keep that surprise going. I love how the focus and zoom fall out of the scene where Michael Elgin cold-cocks Zack Sabre Jr. after basically demanding their match be for the title. And then the brief moments they bring from Elgin/ZSJ definitely paint Sabre Jr. as valorous and Elgin and the prick.

And then the other challengers. Lio Rush, who challenges Sabre Jr. for the title at the next EVOLVE events, and has "no more time to waste." Ethan Page, tired of getting looked over by the booking committee, and more than happy to remind you of his two wins against Zack.

And finally, back to Sabre Jr., who speaks of the weight of the belt on his shoulder. If that doesn't get you buying tickets or a FloSlam subscription, then I'm confused.

Honorable Mentions:

Ricochet addresses Hiromu Takahashi, NJPW: Genesis, 4/9

Ethan Page - It's Not Over Yet, EVOLVE, WWN Live, 4/10

WWE Match of the Week:

AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn vs Baron Corbin in a #1 Contender's match for the United States Championship

SmackDown Live, 4/11

The Superstar Shakeup gave SmackDown Live the kind of roster that everyone wished it had on day 1. Sure, we thought Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt were amazing workers, but that just wasn't happening.

So this past week saw them add a flurry of talent, with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens coming over as two marquee acquisitions. Oh, and they're also adding Big E, Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston (give me New Day singles runs) and Rusev to a show that already had AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Baron Corbin, Tye Dillinger and Luke Harper? So hot, hot damn.

And as if they felt the need to prove themselves, Zayn, Styles and Corbin put together a match worthy of their names. So while Styles is still working through being a good guy, Sami's trying to prove himself against a bully he can hurt (Corbin is no Strowman), and Corbin is showing that he's a fast learner.

This was the closest call for WWE MOTW in a while. While this had to be the winner, I appreciated the work in the other two matches, also worth checking out. This one just had more time and better pacing. Find the full version on Hulu if you have to.

Honorable Mentions:

Jack Gallagher vs TJ Perkins, 205 Live, 4/11 

Oney Lorcan vs Drew McIntyre, NXT, 4/12

Note: Both Galloway and Gallagher hit headbutts, no reports have emerged of resultant injuries.

WWE Segment of the Week:

Braun Strowman Savagely Attacks Roman Reigns

Monday Night Raw, 4/10

I'm really confused about what WWE meant to do with this segment, but I loved it so much nonetheless. This isn't the best WWE segment of the year (remember the Festival of Friendship?), but damn it's a close second.

Sure, he didn't lift the ambulance (hello, it's pro wrestling), but everything else about it was just so damn cool. Braun just rag-dolling Reigns around the backstage area elevates him to the most awesome thing on the Raw roster.

I watched this Raw at a bar with other fans, and this segment became the most amazing moment when consumed with a dozen or so fans screaming their heads off. So I just can't emphasize enough how huge this moment is. 

WWE needs to handle this properly on Monday, and keep Roman off TV and let Braun continue to be the next wonder of the world, but not overdo it.

Some notes:

Roman takes a moment to remove his clipped-on microphone, because he's a good employee who treats company property with care.

The segment wins by demonstrating impossible awesomeness by way of camera tricks.

Someone (possibly the WWE) started a god damn online petition to fire Strowman. That, if done outside of the company, is today's version of that time people thought the NWO actually invaded WCW and called the police.

How does this happen the same week as The United Incident?

And about my confusion:

So, this made Strowman cooler than ever for many. Was it supposed to make Roman pitiable? Likable? Is this just to get Roman cool as a vengeful motherfucker?

After Roman Reigns had all the heat last week, are they trying to cool him down? What the hell?