#The guy travels all the way from California to Maryland

[kyriolex]

We don’t kill our oppressive upper class with fancy guillotines like the French. Real Americans use duct tape and a Glock 17 pistol.

[ddarker-dreams]

How would the team react to SR reader taking them to a trip back to their home? For instance, I'm from NY, so I would definitely take them or M&M world or something fun 😊.

NONNIE THIS IS SO CUTE !! SR Reader would want to take everyone to an area she thinks they’d like!! It’d be a very chaotic trip. Maybe an Everyone Lives AU type of special. Lemme go over my thoughts...

If you’re travelling with Giorno, you’re gonna be travelling in style. Man is packing the big bucks. He just tells you to bring him wherever you want. Might be a bit disappointed that the others are tagging along at first, but still has plans to get alone time with you :) he’s the least likely to want to go anywhere specific. He’s gonna be harshly judging any of the food you recommend, but doesn’t ever tell you lmao. Just flashes you a charming smile and says it’s wonderful while going on an internal Gordon Ramsey monologue over the flavors and presentation. He’d secretly like places that specialize in sweets, and should you catch onto this, would make feeble attempts at dismissing it. Despite all the fancy food he can afford, he has a soft spot for smores you made for him!! Thought it was the cutest thing ever :’)))) especially when you were blowing on the marshmallows to set the fire off. The moment was ruined by Narancia mourning his marshmallow that fell into the fire...  

Mista is going to want to visit Hollywood 100%. This man is a cinema addict and nothing can convince me otherwise. He’s going to be finding areas that appeared in his favorite movies and dragging you (and maybe a few other unlucky people, probably Fugo) along for the ride. Sex Pistols are gonna embarrass him by reenacting his favorite scenes lmao. He’d want to go to Griffith’s Observatory to reminiscence about Rebel Without a Cause and won’t shut up about the movie the entire time. Mista fits in with the lackadaisical air of LA a little too perfectly, and you keep telling him to change out of his sweater because it’s gonna be hot. But he doesn’t. Mista is gonna be so tilted when he finds out his favorite Clint Eastwood doesn’t have a star on the Walk of Fame... you didn’t have the heart to tell him at first. He’s also sad that he can’t legally drink in the states LMAOO

“[First], so let me get this straight. I can carry my pistol around openly here, but I can’t legally drink?” 

“Couldn’t have explained it better myself, Mista.” 

Narancia is another person who would be excited to visit areas in California the most. He’s more into music, so he’s going to want to tour all the big studios (and gets bored when he doesn’t spot any celebrities like he expected). Also the most likely to be disappointed with California prices. When you explain to him how much he needs to pay in USD for a meal he’s gonna gape at you like you have two heads. 

“W-what? That much for a burger and fries? This has to be a crime! Bucciarati, come talk some sense into this guy!” 

“Narancia, no, don’t beat up the Americans--” 

He’d also be interested in New York!! Specifically in areas that hold cultural significance for hip hop like the Bronx. He thinks it’s the coolest thing ever. Might stand out a little too much but it’s okay he’s having fun. Narancia would be suffering on the east coast, since a lot of people there are prickly. If anyone bumps into him in New York, you’re gonna have to deescalate lmao. He’d also want to visit places like Hershey Park, Six Flags, etc... you’re gonna have to explain to him that they’re all very far apart. Narancia wants to drag you on rollercoasters, god help your soul ... (if you refuse, he’ll settle on Mista joining him. Emphasis on settle). You might need to get him a shirt that says “If lost, return to [First]” for him, and a “I’m [First]” for yourself. 

Trish is another one from the group who is most interested in visiting New York. She fits in perfectly, unlike Narancia. She can keep up with the walking speed there too lmao. Trish is gonna drag you into countless fashion stores, and take selfies with you at Times Square. If anyone tries to cat call her... well, she’s gonna have you defending her honor. Trish is gonna want to go to Tiffany’s, and Radio City music hall to see a concert. She actually speaks English pretty well! She has a cute little accent on some words, but when you tell her that, she gives you a >:( look. Anyways you’d both be looking like models next to one another. A few people have come up to Trish, asking if they’ve seen her in magazines or something... smh... it’s your job to flirt with her so you shoo them off in English >:) 

God... Bruno would be so adorable. He wants to explore the beaches!! When you’re asking where he wants to go, he’ll mention these places. The Outer Banks, Ocean City (until you tell him he’s gonna be greatly disappointed if you go there), Honolulu, and the Santa Monica beaches. He likes sitting on the piers and feeling the ocean breeze, and trying the boardwalk food!! He thrives the most in Southern states since he likes the warmer places. 

The state I see him liking the most should he visit is Maryland. He’d be prancing around the inner harbor, enjoying all the outdoor cafes and feasting on seafood. Just be sure to teach him how to eat crabs properly :’) the gang eating crabs is a mess. The waiter brings wooden hammers, and Narancia starts SMACKING the FUCK out of that steamed crab. You have to explain to him it’s not meant to be used like that... Mista tries using it like a judge’s gavel to make you laugh. Fugo and Abbacchio are leaving the table so as not to associate with them... 

Fugo is gonna be embarrassed by everyone else’s shenangins. He fits in the frigid temperament a lot of East Coasters have. He’d be the most interested in visiting Boston for its historical importance, and touring the various colleges there. He prefers Boston over New York and LA, he’s a bit of a snob... is gonna be internally screaming over the stupidly complicated way of getting around. Why is the train system here so archaic?? Who designed this?? He wants to have a word with them. Fugo isn’t big on city life though, so he might want to visit somewhere more rural. Perhaps... Florida... ahaha... jk... unless? 

Abbacchio is going to want to visit New Orleans and nothing can convince me otherwise. I headcanon that he’s a big fan of jazz. So he’ll be hanging out in notable jazz clubs, sipping on fine wine, enjoying the music with you. He appreciates how the music transcends language. Especially since he feels weird constantly badgering you or Fugo, the best English speakers, to translate stuff for him. He might be a little bit smug that he’s able to drink alcohol unlike Mista, who is still greatly offended by not being able to drink. 

[julia-highstorms]

Whatshisname (Bryce x Rei (F!MC))

Author’s note: I remember Bryce commented on one chapter that he was a bartender during med school and I love the “what if they’ve met before?” trope. I believe that there’s a right place and time in our lives for things to happen, and that some random people from our past somehow in the end becomes someone important furthermore. I’m also inspired by Vic (@sawyeroakleyscowboyhat) who says that “someone like Bryce would never look at a girl like me” lol a mood 😂 So this fanfic takes place a few years before Open Heart. My masterlist

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Pixelberry Studios.

Rating: PG-13 (alcohol)

Pairing: Bryce x F!MC (Rei Sato)

Word count: 1800

Rei sat down onto the stool with a heavy sigh, her forehead hitting the wooden bar countertop. There were just a few people in the dim and small bar. Well, it was still 3 pm after all.

She had lost her trip for nothing.

...Okay, not entirely.

Stanford University was holding a long week conference and all the most influential medical researchers and doctors were attending it. And that included her own idol, Dr. Ethan Ramsey. She had read all his work and, as soon as she knew the Dr. Ramsey was going to give a seminar there, she fled from Maryland and all the way to California right away. The timing was perfect; although she would miss some classes that Friday, she’d watch Dr. Ramsey’s seminar, go back home to Oregon in time for Tom’s - her little cousin - birthday and she’d see her family again - she missed all of them like hell - and on Sunday afternoon she’d be back to Baltimore. It was a wild trip but it would be worth it.

…But as soon as Rei stepped into the Californian university, she was informed that the experienced doctor wouldn’t be able to attend the conference due to some complication at his work.

She had travelled almost 10 hours for that and he wasn’t even there. Okay, she saw other celeb physicians talks, but… it wasn’t the same thing. They weren’t her idol.

So that was a lost trip. She didn’t have any money and she knew she should be going back to San Francisco in a couple hours, but she was so frustrated she decided to go to the nearest bar she could find and drown her frustration in affordable alcohol as any other broke student (god knew how much she had to pay for her tuition, ugh). Going in there meant more money into her debt, but Rei wanted to forget all that.

“What can I get you?” - she heard the bartender talking to her.

“The strongest and cheapest drink you have.”

Although she couldn’t see it, the man raised his eyebrow.

“That bad, huh? Alright, I’ll get you a mojito. And don’t worry. It’s on the house.”

Rei immediately lifted her head.

“No, you don’t need to—” - her voice dying as she finally saw the bartender’s face.

He was gorgeous.

Like heavenly gorgeous. His hair was flawless, his face structure was one belonged to the Gods, and he had a smirk that left her dumbstruck.

“Nah, it’s okay.” - he winked at her, skillfully fetching her drink, and the young medical student blushed violently. Rei wasn’t one to be flattered easily. In fact, Stephen, her best friend, was constantly flirting with her, but she never bothered nor cared. She would just laugh it off. But there was something about that bartender that made her heartbeat speed up.

He looked like a god. She was pretty sure he was being only nice to her because that was his job. But that wink and bright white smile caught her off guard. She even forgot her sorrow for a second.

“U-uh, thanks.” - she managed to mumble, taking her glass. His hands brushed slightly on hers and Rei could swear she felt an electric current flowing between them.

“You’re welcome.” - he winked again before turning to a group of freshly arrived customers. The young woman quickly found a booth, her face still flushed.

Rei was still feeling numb. She wasn’t one to feel attracted easily. It was just so rare when she found someone hot.

But that bartender… she was having some naughty thoughts while sipping on her mojito, watching him skillfully prepare some drinks to other customers. Hmm, he was pretty good with his hands...

“Oh my God, stop it, Rei. Get ahold of yourself.” - she muttered to herself, embarrassed for even thinking that.

She decided to focus on something else…

Just when that thought flashed her mind, her phone started buzzing with texts from her mother, asking when she was arriving, how long it would take her to come home. if she needed Dad to pick her up at the bus station, if she would really go back to Maryland by Monday, if she didn’t have an important test on Monday that she could possibly miss...

Rei spent a few minutes answering to all her mom’s inquiries. When Mom seemed to calm herself, the young woman looked over to the bar counter, wondering if the bartender would still be there. She always lost track of time whenever her mom started with all that interrogation.

He looked up at the exact moment as she glanced there, his dark eyes locking with hers. And he flashed her that smirk that made Rei feel her knees turning into jelly. She looked away immediately and resumed to drinking.

Okay, that was just a coincidence. He just probably saw something or someone behind her, right? Like, it didn’t mean he looked right at her.

Rei attempted to glance at the bartender once more, who looked up again, smirking a bit wider this time.

Oh my god, he was totally checking her out too. That was how people stole glances? What should she do? Never in a hundred million years Rei Sato would have imagined a god like him would look over to her not once, neither twice, but three times over! Oh god, she was starting to panic—

No, come on, Rei. This is getting ridiculous. Just get up and go talk to him. You’re an independent woman, dammit.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up and walked over to him, his eyes trained on her, never leaving her face. Rei felt her cheeks getting hotter and hotter as she approached the handsome stranger, thoughts starting to fly around her mind.

If she was going there, she would have to say something. She couldn’t just stand in there in front of him and say nothing. Maybe ask his phone number? But why? She lived in the other side of the country and she would be gone from Stanford in a couple of hours. In fact, she should be going to the airport at that right moment.

Oh god, she was almost there. There were no other clients talking to him. He was completely free.

“Hey.” - she tried to sound both confident and relaxed, but Rei was hyperventilating so hard, she surely was as red as a tomato.

“Hey.” - he greeted her back, his smile widening as he leaned over the counter. - “What can I get you?”

“I…” - she mumbled, dumbstruck by his energy. Oh my god, his hair was flawless… uh, say something! - “Uh… where’s the restroom?”

She watched him biting his lower lip - was it another flirting technique? Or was he disappointed? Jeez, what it meant? - before pointing out to the door in the back of the saloon with a W.C. sign on it.

The young woman quickly thanked him and locked herself inside the small restroom, leaning her back against it.

“You’re ridiculous, Rei.” - she told herself, and decided to throw some water on her face, the heat of her cheeks going down. After waiting for a couple of minutes, she left the restroom, as ready as she could ever be.

The bartender was now busy, preparing drinks while talking to a group of girls - probably Stanford students - who seemed to know him well.

Rei felt a bit more relaxed by it - she was the worst flirt ever - and returned to her booth. She finished her mojito and looked at the time. She would have to wait some more and then would go get a bus and then a train to San Francisco, where she should take her flight to Oregon and then another bus to her hometown, a small town named Westchester. It would all take 5 hours, but she would be back home before dinner. The medical school student felt the tiredness consuming her body, but it was going to be worth it in the end. She missed her family like hell and Tomo would be thrilled to see her on his birthday. They were cousins but got along well like siblings.

Oh crap, she forgot to buy his present! She’ll have to get something for him at the airport shop. Maybe new headphones? He was always breaking his—

Suddenly, a glass with a transparent liquid was set in front of her. She promptly lifted her head, murmuring:

“I didn’t ask for anything—” - shutting up when she saw who was standing there, right next to her. That smirk.

“I know, but this might help you. It’s water.”

“Oh… thank you…” - Rei was back to being monosyllabic and drank the water in one go. The bartender chuckled.

“Hey, calm down. You’ll choke drinking this fast.”

“Sorry… I mean, thanks… I mean, ugh…” - she knew she was sounding like a total loser. Not that she wasn’t one. Rei noticed that he had changed his clothes. - “Oh, are you heading home? Uh, sorry, this was too personal…”

“Don’t worry about it. My shift’s over, but I’m heading to my classes. I’ve never seen you around the campus before.”

“It’s because I’m not from here… when I heard that Dr. Ramsey was coming to the conference, I fled all the way here…”

“Dr. Ramsey? As author of Diagnostic Principles, Dr. Ethan Ramsey?”

“Do you know him?!” - her jaw dropped.

“Yeah, I believe every medical student has heard about him.”

“Oh my god, are you a medical student too?”

“Yes. I’m going to be a surgeon, though.” - he smirked confidently. - “Where do you study at?”

“At Johns Hopkins.”

The bartender whistled.

“Wow, you’re good. Color me impressed.” - Rei felt her cheeks getting slightly hotter as he suddenly checked his watch. - “Crap, I have to go. But what do you say we continue this later? We can grab dinner.”

Rei felt her heart leaping inside her chest. HE WAS ASKING HER OUT!!!!!! She bit her lower lip, looking hesitant.

“Sorry… In fact I’m flying home later today…” - fuuuck!! She couldn’t believe that a guy like him was asking her on a date but she can’t go!!!!!! Fuuuuck!!!!!

“Aww, that’s too bad.” - the stranger pouted. - “But hey, maybe we will meet again someday, right? Since we're both going to be doctors.”

“Ha, yeah.” - Rei snorted to that idea, rolling her eyes. There were thousands of hospitals in the US. The possibility of them meeting ever again was unlikely.

“Never say never.” - he winked at her and Rei’s face got bright red. - “Now I really gotta go or I’ll be late. See you someday, stranger.”

“Yeah. See you someday.” - she waved shyly at him, her cheeks still flushed.

She watched as the bartender left the bar with confident steps.

Okay, going to Stanford wasn’t a total waste of time after all.

…

…

…

...Crap, she never got his name.

Tagging: @brightpinkpeppercorn @pixelburied @nyastarlight @endlessflame @awkwardalbatros @choicesarehard @strangelycami @stillafictosexual @queen-among-writers @indiacater @worldofchoices @radlovedreamer @fairydustandsarcasm @choicesthot @blackreddish @lilyofchoices @fluffywhitehair @weaving-in-words @eileendannie @hellooliviaolivia @professorortegasstudent @bucket-harrington @god-save-the-keen @choices97 @camcantarella @thequeenchoices @miss-raleigh-carrera @omgjasminesimone (if you would like to be tagged in upcoming Bryce x MC fanfics, tell me!)

[pbwsports]

Driveways, canyons, pools: NFL players create clever workouts

A farm. A field. A canyon. A pool. Even a driveway. As NFL players wait for a return to normalcy before the 2020 regular season begins, they have had to get creative with how and where they train.

The ripple effects of these unprecedented times -- nationwide social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic and an unknown timetable for a vaccine --have altered the professional sports landscape, and the NFL is no exception.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell authorized the reopening of all team facilities this week, in accordance with state and local regulations, although coaches and players who are not undergoing rehabilitation are prohibited from entering team buildings. While a handful of clubs took advantage of this allowance, states such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Washington and California are still imposing heavier restrictions that affect a dozen team facilities.

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These inconsistent regulations have also changed the responsibilities of NFL strength trainers, who have spent time remotely assessing the workout needs of players, including their access to resources, as well as acting as liaisons for online equipment purchases. NFL teams were permitted to provide each player with up to $1,500 worth of workout equipment. Nevertheless, players have had to find inventive ways to stay in shape.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins uses his parents' driveway as his outdoor gym. New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate mowed a track into a steep canyon near his home. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver James Washington designed a training regimen on his Texas farm. New Orleans Saintslinebacker Demario Davis has his personal trainers living with him. Giants linebacker Blake Martinez became the beneficiary of a state-of-the-art gym. And Cleveland Browns punter Jamie Gillan grabbed some beers and built a "grubby" garage gym.

Even though players' locations, living situations and resources differ, there's a lesson shared by all: There are no excuses.

Big-money quarterback staying with parents

The playful jab is uttered without warning, hurled from the driver's side of a passing vehicle.

"Go Pack, go!"

And in that moment of lighthearted jest, Kirk Cousins can only ignore it. He knows the stop sign in front of the house makes him a sitting duck every morning.

Four times a week, starting promptly at 9 a.m., the Vikings quarterback gathers equipment from the garage and arranges it neatly on the long, curved pavement leading from his parents' house to the sidewalk. Resting on a wooden chair is his laptop, connected by videoconference to his longtime personal trainer, Chad Cook, who is 450 miles away in Atlanta. This is a glimpse into what constitutes the 2020 NFL offseason.

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"I like my privacy, so being out in the driveway, on display for the whole neighborhood to see is probably less than ideal. But desperate times call for desperate measures," Cousins said with a smile during a recent ESPN interview. "If it means a guy drives by in a truck and yells, 'Go Pack, go!' at me while we're working out, then so be it."

The manicured lawns of this Orlando, Florida, suburb serve as a backdrop to Cousins' regimen and his attempt at normalcy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

It's not a "home gym" by any means, Cousins concedes, but he insists he has everything he needs: a medicine ball, jump-rope, foam rollers, free weights and a football. And, the most essential tool of all: the laptop he uses to connect with Cook.

"[Every car will] see me doing my shuffles across the driveway, or my cariocas, or doing the jump-rope or different plank exercises, core work, medicine ball, lunges -- whatever it may be. And different people honk or wave, so it's kind of fun," said Cousins, who signed a two-year, $66 million extension with the Vikings in March.

Spotty Wi-Fi is a challenge when working out outdoors, but sheltering in place with his parents was by design: The nine-year veteran and his wife, Julie, now have plenty of reinforcements when it comes to taking care of their sons, Cooper, 2½, and Turner, 1.

"I kind of laugh when I talk about having two like I have 10," Cousins joked, "because compared to other guys in the league who have three, four, five, six kids, having two is not a big deal."

Dealing with this adversity has reaffirmed his commitment to his craft. It also taught him that the Public Broadcasting Service can be a football player's, as well as a father's, best friend: "'Daniel Tiger['s Neighborhood]' on PBS can be a lifesaver."

'Strict training mode' means living with trainers

The plan was to be in Nashville, Tennessee, for a month, but Demario Davis' offseason residence has become his permanent dwelling during the pandemic. His 7,500-square-foot house, purchased last offseason, is a saving grace of sorts, equipped with enough room for his wife, Tamela, and their four children under the age of 6.

And his two personal trainers.

Davis' trainers, Jose Tienda and Piankhi Gibson, typically work with him in two-to-three-week "strict training mode" spurts before heading back to their respective homes. They'll return to Nashville soon for another extended stay with Davis.

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As the 31-year-old enters his ninth NFL season -- and the final year of his contract -- he is determined not to lose ground to a youngster who might be aiming for his spot.

Mid-morning acupuncture and soft tissue work with Tienda give way to afternoon aqua training in a neighbor's pool with Gibson. Davis pauses for dinner and to help put the kids to bed. But before long, he's headed back for more body work. He crawls into bed around 12:30 or 1 a.m. on those rigorous training days.

With Louisiana still reeling from 35,316 confirmed COVID-19 cases (and 2,485 reported deaths) as of Thursday, Davis wasn't surprised Saints coach Sean Payton -- who was the first known NFL figure to test positive for the coronavirus -- announced there would not be virtual workouts, meetings or workout sessions at the team facility.

"The virtual offseason really wouldn't have fit the flow of how we operate down there," the veteran linebacker said of the Saints, who have one of the oldest rosters in the NFL. "We don't have a young team. ... He knew with our experience level, the strong leaders we have at each position, that we'd get it done as far as training."

While Davis is eager to play, he said he won't waste time guessing when the season will start.

"The pandemic don't know nothing about football season. The virus ain't just like, 'Oh, football season's coming, let me chill out,'" he said with a laugh. "So I'm going to train and stay in shape because that's just a philosophy of mine -- you stay ready at all times. But I think it's a discredit to people who are on the front lines working, and the people who are being affected by it, when we're just thinking about how fast we can get back to sports."

'Grubby little gym' becomes labor of love

The police officers approached without warning.

Jamie Gillan had been punting on a turf field almost an hour away from his Tremont, Ohio, residence, completely unaware of the state's shelter-in-place orders. With nonessential businesses closed, the Browns punter -- nicknamed "The Scottish Hammer" -- had used local fields to practice his kicking drills. That is, until he was no longer allowed.

"[The officers] were like, 'Yeah man, we want to let you punt. We love the Browns and everything, but it's just the rules,'" the Scotland-born special-teamer explained in his thick brogue.

Faced with the prospect of quarantining alone, Gillan chose to go be with family.

He made trips to the liquor store and the supermarket -- packing his truck with several bottles of bourbon for his father, "120 eggs and 16 racks of bacon" -- and then he and his German shepherd named Bear traveled seven hours to southern Maryland to stay with his parents and 19-year-old sister.

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The rural area around his parents' house affords him space to practice his booming kicks, and there's a "massive" field, owned by a friend, which Gillan uses, too. But the self-described "workout junkie" had to get creative with strength training. Soon his parents' garage became his gym.

Unable to buy equipment online because of limited inventory and "skyrocketing" prices, Gillan purchased old equipment from a local high school: barbells, bumper plates, 40-, 80- and 100-pound dumbbells and bands. He purchased rubber matting from a local tractor store.

He searched Facebook Marketplace for a squat rack, but he and his father, Colin, who is a former rugby player and member of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, came up with a better solution -- they would construct their own.

"We came back [from Lowe's], cracked open some beers and just started building it," Gillan said with a chuckle. Even with old, rusty weights, his "grubby little gym" was everything he needed.

Gillan said his resourcefulness was forged during four years playing at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a historically black university. During offseasons when he and his teammates didn't have access to the gym, their surroundings became their workout room. They bench-pressed and squatted logs, they did dips and pullups on metal bars at local parks, and Gillan hopped fences to punt on neighboring fields when access to their football field was prohibited.

"One thing I notice about a lot of historically black colleges is they're very underfunded," Gillan said, stressing that he and other student-athletes had to be creative. "Maybe it got me prepared for this weird period."

State-of-the-art amenities ease the transition

Blake Martinez's father, Marc, had a master plan: purchase a plot of land 15 minutes from the family home in Tucson, Arizona, and build a facility for his son to train and live. It didn't take long for the idea to become Martinez's reality.

The linebacker thanks his father every day for his ingenuity, as well as his construction company.

The 18,000-square-foot facility -- conceptualized and built last year -- "has everything a football player would need," said Martinez, a 2016 fourth-round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers who signed a three-year, $30 million free-agent contract with the Giants in March.

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The warehouse-looking steel structure contains "a miniature version of a college weight room," a full-length basketball court, a 30-by-15-yard turf field and an outdoor sand volleyball court. It also doubles as a residence, with three bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen on the second level for him, his wife, Kristy, and their young daughter.

"It kept getting better and better as it kept getting built," Martinez said. He works out for two hours in person with his longtime trainer, Glenn Howell, four times a week.

But familiarity with his new franchise is a luxury Martinez, 26, doesn't have.

With New York and New Jersey being one of the epicenters of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, Martinez doesn't know when he'll be able to travel to the facility or even meet members of the Giants organization for the first time.

"It's not like I've been on the team for a while and I know the guys already. So, it's been tough in that aspect, connecting with guys," he said.

Martinez said the pandemic has taught him "I literally have zero excuses not to show up the first day and make sure I'm 100 percent ready to go and help push all of the younger guys to that level if they haven't gotten there yet."

Making use of California canyons

Golden Tate's stunning San Diego views come at a price.

"I've just got to watch out for rattlesnakes," the Giants wide receiver said with a laugh.

When stay-at-home orders were issued in California in mid-March, Tate took advantage of his surroundings -- namely, the canyon his house is built on.

"It's not the best condition to be running in," admitted the 11-year NFL player, who mowed a 7-by-40-yard patch of grass on a steep incline. "But it'll suffice right now. It's better than doing nothing."

Team work makes the dream work! Uncle @tatethagreat & LoLo helping me get my daily catches in. Hope everyone has a great Friday! #FamilyFriday

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Tate, a married father of two small kids, purchased PowerBlock dumbbells and a Jugs machine from which he catches about 100 balls a day. He bikes at home on his Peloton and uses mountain bike trails for his aerobic conditioning. But finding a flat surface for route running has been a challenge. So, too, is self-discipline.

"Over my career, I'm so used to having someone -- an instructor or the guys around me -- push me. And right now, I'm forced to push myself," said Tate, who turns 32 on Aug. 2.

The veteran receiver played through the 2011 NFL lockout, but he said the coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything he has experienced.

"I feel bad for the first-, second-, third- and fourth-round guys who are expected to come in and help the team right away, but they're not having the same opportunity to grow as a player, not getting those reps on the field," he said.

"The offseason is when you have the time to really focus on the fundamentals of the game, the bigger picture and the details of the game. And it looks like right now we're going to show up for camp -- if we show up for camp -- in the middle of the fire of trying to figure out who's going to make the team and trying to get ready for a season. That can be overwhelming."

Strengths trainers turned investigators

With their players scattered across the country, NFL strength and conditioning coaches feel more like part-time sleuths and office managers than in-person trainers.

"We kind of went more into equipment sales and trying to be a liaison to help guys get set up and make sure they're doing the right thing," said Justus Galac, now in his seventh year as the New York Jets' head strength and conditioning coach. "What we found was, guys in the Southern states and more into the Midwest had more access than our guys in the Northeast and West Coast."

Amendola shows off his backyard workout

Danny Amendola impresses with some nifty, one-handed catches while working out with a helmet on in his backyard.

Strength trainers have been tasked with identifying what their players need from a performance standpoint to achieve their fitness goals, regardless of where they live and what resources they have access to. "Even though they might have access to a Steak 'n Shake parking lot or they might be in a third floor of an apartment," said Justin Lovett, the Los Angeles Rams' new head strength and conditioning coach.

Lovett was hired in the midst of California's coronavirus shutdown, but unlike during the 2011 lockout year, when he was on the Denver Broncos' staff, communication is permitted and has proved paramount. But there have been challenges.

"The biggest problem with the rookie class is they don't have the money that some of the older guys do," Galac said. "Not saying millions of dollars, but able to go buy equipment, pay for a trainer to take care of them, buying more food that you may normally not have to buy because the facility provides it. All those little things are adding up for these guys. And the rookies, they have no idea. And it's not their fault."

This time of year is crucial for strength staffs, not only for getting players in shape but also for getting new players up to speed with their programs. "And we've lost that," Galac said.

In fact, the Jets' weight room underwent a face-lift this offseason, complete with a new floor, turf accents and equipment. "And nobody's using it," Galac said. "It's sitting empty. The players haven't even seen it yet."

Finding space and serenity in the countryside

James Washington misses football. And, occasionally, his farm.

The 26-acre property the Steelers wide receiver purchased near his hometown of Abilene, Texas, made it easy for him to comply with social distancing rules. It also afforded him space to work out and keep in shape by way of chores. Washington, who was an agribusiness major with a concentration in farm and ranch management at Oklahoma State, finds the countryside calming. He enjoys the views of passing cars, wheat fields and cattle pastures during his eight- to 12-mile rides on his recently purchased bicycle.

His workout setup, which included an assortment of resistance bands sent by the Steelers and his high school dumbbells retrieved from his parents' house, was complete with the arrival of a Jugs machine, which he kept in the barn and carried to a flat area in one of the pastures.

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However, staving off boredom is a challenge whenever he's in Pittsburgh, a more crowded city with fewer options for keeping busy.

"When I was in Texas, I'd work out, do my virtual [team] meetings and then I'd have to find something to do cause I can't just sit in the house," Washington said last week, after he, JuJu Smith-Schuster and fellow receiver Ryan Switzer worked out in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's home weight room. "Being on the farm really helped me a lot, because there was always something that could have been done."

Washington loves his farm so much his recent stay in Pittsburgh was short-lived. He returned to Texas on Wednesday to celebrate Memorial Day weekend with family and tend to his most recent purchase: cattle. The time away from the Steelers' facility has also given Washington time to think.

"It just doesn't feel right," he said. "Everybody feels like we should be at the facility, doing physical stuff, getting ready to go. ... Even if there's no fans, we still have to go out there and just go 110 percent, even if it would feel weird. Fans help make the game. It's really crazy to think about.

"Just being away from things, you really find out how much you miss the sport. It sucks. That's really what I figured out. That I love football." Source - ESPN

[dailyaudiobible]

02/13/2020 DAB Transcript

Exodus 35:10-36:38, Matthew 27:32-66, Psalms 34:1-10, Proverbs 9:7-8

Today is the 13th day of February, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it's great to be here with you today. Oh, later on today is a…this is a travel day so later on this afternoon It’ll all night flight, but we’ll talk about that in a little bit. We’re all here now, on this 13th day of February, taking the next step forward and we’re reading from the Mew Living translation this week, picking up the story from yesterday, Exodus chapter 35 verse 10 through 36:38

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word and we just…we take this time because this is the first time this year that we’ve moved through the story of her death and it's a…it…I mean it's a story that we've…we've heard maybe since Sunday school, maybe all of our lives but we’re not wanting it to be just a story that we read in the Bible. We want to take time here to…to contemplate what you went through. Yesterday we talked about losing the plot. We talked about Moses veil and we’re seeing all that on full display here but what we’re also seeing is that you never lost the plot, that you were never ever willing to allow your creation, your image bearers on this planet, you…You were never willing to abandon us to the darkness and we are here because that's true. And yet in the book of Matthew we are also reading how dark the darkness is, so dark that a human being bearing the image of God could not recognize its own maker. And then we have to confess that, that has…that has been our story too…that…that has been us too. And we’re sorry because you…you just have never given up. We've given up almost every single time. You’ve just never given up. You just won't stop coming for us. And the invitation is simply that we surrender to that, that we that we realize that we’re not in control and that we surrender to you and allow our lives to then be enveloped and enraptured by you so that we are no longer living in insane animal like life on this planet, that we are rejoined to you and we are living as we were created. And this all made possible because of the cross. And, so, we thank you Jesus profoundly for your sacrifice and we ask Holy Spirit that you would help us to continually keep this in mind today we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it's the website, it's how you stay connected. It's how you find out what’s happening around here.

And I guess I’ve been mentioning it every day this week, today…today is a travel day and it's a big travel day. A little later this afternoon we'll be getting on the big plane and heading across the ocean. So, this is departure day and we’ll be making a stop in Rome for a couple of days where we are beginning to capture some of the photography and video like we've created in the Promise Land films for some of the biblical events situated around Rome and most in particular, situated around the apostle Paul's life. And that sounds…saying it…that's sounds incredible and I'm sure it will be, I've never been. But on a number of occasions I have dropped in on the other side of the world to…to start filming things and the jetlag and the brain fog of it all can be challenging. So, thank you for your prayers. But I…I will be posting some video and pictures and stuff like…like we do all the time that we’re in the land of the Bible. So, if you haven't yet gone over and followed the Facebook page, which is Facebook.com/dailyaudiobible or Instagram, which is dailyaudiobible, you might want to do that if you want to follow along with trip and just able to peer in, be able to be with us in spirit, be with us virtually as we do this journey. But I think my main request is prayer. And I’ve been saying it all this week, that's my prayer, is that we as a community raise a canopy over all of it, all of the jetlag that’s gonna happen, all the stamina that's gonna be needed, all of the health that we’re going to need, all of the clarity that we’re going to need and the disorientation of it, all of the protection for all of the vehicles, all of the technology all of everything that…that goes into this. We just wanna…we just wanna keep praying over that. And, so, we’re gonna end today that way even though we’ve kinda already done it.

I just want to pray. God, thank you, thank you for…thank you for letting us live when we do, that…thst what we’re going to do is even possible, is almost miraculous, and that what we do here every day in coming together around the campfire and hearing from your word, that we can do this no matter where we are in the world, it’s almost like a miracle. We live in a miraculous time and we thank you for that because we acknowledge just a century ago, this…this is not the story and a couple of centuries ago this is science fiction. And, so, you’ve let us be here at this time and allowed us an opportunity to come to the lands of the Bible to walk the soil, to smell the smells, to be able to turn in a complete circle and see it all. We’re…we’re grateful for that. And even as we go, we know that we don't go alone, we go as a community. And, so, father I pray that as we do this virtually, as we create postings and pictures and videos and allow them to happen as their happening that you will bind us together in community, that we’ll be able to have a little window into what's going on there and a little window into the places where the Bible happened. And father, indeed, we do pray for health and, indeed, we do pray for jet lag and, indeed, we pray over all of the transport, and we pray over all of the logistics, and all of the vehicles, and all of the technology. We pray for stable Internet everywhere that we go and thank you for allowing the Daily Audio Bible to progress unimpeded in any way. And most important God we pray for wide open hearts to anything and everything that you might want to speak, whether there in person or whether virtually, that our hearts would be open to anything you want to speak. And, so, we pray, come Holy Spirit, and hover above everything about this journey we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Alright folks that’s it I will see you on the other side. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning DAB this is Abby calling from Maryland this is my second time calling in this week, but my request today is a personal prayer for me. I am planning or I have started the process of getting certified as a financial management coach, personal financial management coach and instructor as well. And even though I’m going through this process, I…part of me is hesitant because I have a tendency to start things that I don’t finish, and I am so close to finishing this and getting my certification. And I also struggle because I feel like this is an area where I have struggled so much in my life and now, I want to be considered a coach. And inside of me I just…I still struggle with that, but I feel God calling me to do this, that this is not about me, this is about how He wants to use my story to help other people. So, I ask that you guys lift me up and prayers, that God gives me the confidence that I need to go through and pull through with this and God just gives me the boldness that I need to speak that God’s word will come out from my mouth every time I open my mouth to ministering to speaking to help of family or person in need. I am so close to wrapping this program up and I’m hoping to be done before the end of this month. So, you guys pray for me. I need a host of people praying for me that I will not…I will be consistent in doing this. Thank you, guys so much. I appreciate you. I appreciate this community that I am in. God bless you. God bless you Brian, God bless the entire DAB family. God bless you. Love you. Abby from Maryland.

Good morning DABber’s this is Abby calling from Maryland today is February 8th and just listening to everyone calling in and it was such a delight to hear Michael Davis voice. He has been in my prayer along with his brother Elijah Davis and his mom Diana Davis. And it really broke my heart to hear the stage that his mom is in, but I pray that the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind, will guard your families mind, will guard your hearts. In Jesus’ name my God will comfort you, He will keep you, He will watch over you. As you have requested, you and your brother will not be separated in the mighty name of Jesus. God will continue to just use you for His glory. It’s so good to hear your voice Michael. My God will elevate you He will bless you and your brother Elijah. You will not be separated in Jesus’ name but through this experience God will bring both of you closer to Him and He would just showcase His glory all around you. You are going to be great. You are going to do great and mighty things in Jesus’ name. Thank You, Father Lord I worship You and I lift up Charisse and her family unto Your hands or God I pray that You comfort her. Wven though she has lost her husband You will watch over her in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family, to be a blessing in California. It’s the 7th of February and Pelham, I heard your testimony about being promoted at work and how you and the guys are reading the word and following along. It’s just a blessing to hear how God is transforming your life in such amazing ways. But we serve an amazing God. Prayers will continue for you. I was struck by the commentary Brian around wisdom tonight as I was listening and just thinking about simple choices that we make could have such profound results for good or for bad. And choosing wisdom, that’s the desire, is to choose wisdom and to make decisions that honor God, build the kingdom. Thank you for that. Thank you so much for that Commentary. And Sharon, I’m praying for you that you will have somebody that you can share information on where you are, that your daughter knows, praying that you will reconcile because I know how your heart is breaking and I’m longing for that peace and that connection that you desire as well. Victoria Soldier thank you so much for your ongoing prayerful, thoughtful ways of sharing with this community and really bringing us together to sit and listen to your voice and to hear your prayers. Praying for others as you call in. God bless each and every one. Bye.

Good morning DABber’s my name is Alan I’m calling from St. Petersburg Florida. Technically, this is my second time calling in. My first time I didn’t give my name. I’ve been read…listening to Daily Audio Bible, this is my second year. Want to say Brian, you do a great job with Commentary. I’m really grateful for it. And calling in also for edification. We’re to lift each other up and I would like to encourage each and every one who’s listening, that through our suffering we grow obedience. The word of the Lord tells us that even Jesus learned obedience through suffering. So, have courage my friends. Have strength that you know that the things we go through is to learn the obedience of the Lord. Rejoice in His name always in all things. Take all thoughts captive according to the word of the Lord and rejoice in Him and let Him lead and guide you and you will be blessed beyond compare. Thank you once again. Alan from St. Petersburg Florida. Praise the Lord and Lord bless each and every one of you in this day. Bye-bye.

[singing] Oh no you’ll never let ‘em go through the highs through the lows. Oh no, no you’ll never let ‘em go Lord you’ll never let go of me [singing ends]. I’m sorry I just felt I really had to sing that. So, this is Tony the painter, Tony the narrator and I just wanted to say that I’m praying for everybody in the Daily Audio Bible family right now. Father God, Lord, bless this family all umpteen thousand of us. We are your children. Many of us suffering, many of us going through difficult times. Lord, hold us up because I know you can. Lord, carry us through because I know you can. Lord bring us your peace, and your joy and your love because we love you. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This is Oki Girl. We just have a continuation of great needs in our family. I kind of feel like we have a cloud of Job following our family. We had sexual abuse happen within our family 11 years ago by one of our sons to our daughter and that daughter has suffered since. She knows the Lord, but she struggles with being overweight, she’s gone through periods of cutting. And, so, that’s really hard. And then this son is obviously not walking with the Lord but I wish like that was it but it isn’t. We’ve got two other sons. One who is now saying that he’s bisexual and is twisting God’s word and not living according to this plan but the biggest thing is my oldest son, he got into drugs in high school and then during the college years he actually started dealing drugs and got caught and got felonies but the Lord is gracious and they God reduced down to misdemeanors and he went to jail and he’s been out of jail for about a month but the problem is he’s just not functioning. And so now he’s got so much anxiety and depression and suicidal thoughts that he’s not working, he’s not able to move forward and the hard part is he’s lashing out at us. All these kids were raised in a Christian home. And, so, it’s just really hard. So, could you please pray for us that the chains and the bondages that they are enslaved to would be broken. We know God is more powerful than Satan but it’s just…at times it’s so overwhelming that you just don’t know what to do. So, I appreciate you Brian and your ministry and everything that you’ve done. We are very grateful for this ministry. So, thank you very much.

[martinaiii156]

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[blackkudos]

Octavia Butler

Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction writer. A multiple recipient of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, Butler was one of the best-known women in the field. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship, nicknamed the "Genius Grant".

Early life

Octavia Estelle Butler was born on June 22, 1947, in Pasadena, California, the only child of Octavia Margaret Guy, a housemaid, and Laurice James Butler, a shoeshine man. Butler's father died when she was seven, so Octavia was raised by her mother and maternal grandmother in what she would later recall as a strict Baptist environment.

Growing up in the racially integrated community of Pasadena allowed Butler to experience cultural and ethnic diversity in the midst of racial segregation. She accompanied her mother to her cleaning work and witnessed her entering white people's houses through back doors. Her mother was treated poorly by her employers.

From an early age, an almost paralyzing shyness made it difficult for Butler to socialize with other children. Her awkwardness, paired with a slight dyslexia that made schoolwork a torment, led her to believe that she was "ugly and stupid, clumsy, and socially hopeless," becoming an easy target for bullies. As a result, she frequently passed the time reading at the Pasadena Public Library and writing reams and reams of pages in her "big pink notebook". Hooked at first on fairy tales and horse stories, she quickly became interested in science fiction magazines such as Amazing Stories (aka Amazing), Galaxy Science Fiction (aka Galaxy), and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and began reading stories by John Brunner, Zenna Henderson, and Theodore Sturgeon.

At age 10, she begged her mother to buy her a Remington typewriter on which she "pecked [her] stories two fingered". At 12, watching the televised version of the film Devil Girl from Mars (1954) convinced her she could write a better story, so she drafted what would later become the basis for her Patternist novels. Happily ignorant of the obstacles that a black female writer could encounter, she became unsure of herself for the first time at the age of 13, when her well-intentioned aunt Hazel conveyed the realities of segregation in five words: "Honey ... Negroes can't be writers." Nevertheless, Butler persevered in her desire to publish a story, even asking her junior high school science teacher, Mr. Pfaff, to type the first manuscript she submitted to a science fiction magazine.

After graduating from John Muir High School in 1965, Butler worked during the day and attended Pasadena City College (PCC) at night. As a freshman at PCC, she won a college-wide short story contest, earning her first income ($15) as a writer. She also got the "germ of the idea" for what would become her best-selling novel, Kindred, when a young African American classmate involved in the Black Power Movement loudly criticized previous generations of African Americans for being subservient to whites. As she explained in later interviews, the young man's remarks instigated her to respond with a story that would give historical context to that shameful subservience so that it could be understood as silent but courageous survival. In 1968, Butler graduated from PCC with an associate of arts degree with a focus in History.

Rise to success

Even though Butler's mother wanted her to become a secretary with a steady income, Butler continued to work at a series of temporary jobs, preferring the kind of mindless work that would allow her to get up at two or three in the morning to write. Success continued to elude her, as an absence of useful criticism led her to style her stories after the white-and-male-dominated science fiction she had grown up reading. She enrolled at California State University, Los Angeles, but then switched to taking writing courses through UCLA Extension.

During the Open Door Workshop of the Screenwriters' Guild of America, West, a program designed to mentor minority writers, her writing impressed one of the teachers, noted science-fiction writer Harlan Ellison. He encouraged her to attend the six-week Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop in Clarion, Pennsylvania. There, Butler met the writer and later longtime friend Samuel R. Delany. She also sold her first stories: "Child Finder" to Ellison, for his anthology The Last Dangerous Visions (still unpublished), and "Crossover" to Robin Scott Wilson, the director of Clarion, who published it in the 1971 Clarion anthology.

For the next five years, Butler worked on the series of novels that later become known as the Patternist series: Patternmaster (1976), Mind of My Mind (1977), and Survivor (1978). In 1978, she was finally able to stop working at temporary jobs and live on her writing. She took a break from the Patternist series to research and write Kindred (1979), and then finished the series with Wild Seed (1980) and Clay's Ark (1984).

Butler's rise to prominence began in 1984 when "Speech Sounds" won the Hugo Award for Short Story and, a year later, Bloodchild won the Hugo Award, the Locus Award, and the Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award for Best Novelette. In the meantime, Butler traveled to the Amazon rainforest and the Andes to do research for what would become the Xenogenesis trilogy: Dawn (1987), Adulthood Rites (1988), and Imago (1989). These stories were republished in 2000 as the collection Lilith's Brood.

During the 1990s, Butler worked on the novels that solidified her fame as a writer: Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998). In 1995, she became the first science-fiction writer to be awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowship, an award that came with a prize of $295,000.

In 1999, after her mother's death, Butler moved to Lake Forest Park, Washington. The Parable of the Talents had won the Science Fiction Writers of America's Nebula Award for Best Science Novel and she had plans for four more Parable novels: Parable of the Trickster, Parable of the Teacher, Parable of Chaos, and Parable of Clay. However, after several failed attempts to begin The Parable of the Trickster, she decided to stop work in the series. In later interviews, Butler explained that the research and writing of the Parable novels had overwhelmed and depressed her, so she had shifted to composing something "lightweight" and "fun" instead. This became her last book, the science-fiction vampire novel Fledgling (2005).

Writing career

Early stories, Patternist series, and Kindred: 1971–1984

Butler's first work published was Crossover in the 1971 Clarion Workshop anthology. She also sold the short story Childfinder to Harlan Ellison for the anthology The Last Dangerous Visions. "I thought I was on my way as a writer," Butler recalled in her short fiction collection Bloodchild and Other Stories. "In fact, I had five more years of rejection slips and horrible little jobs ahead of me before I sold another word."

Starting in 1974, Butler worked on a series of novels that would later be collected as the Patternist series, which depicts the transformation of humanity into three genetic groups: the dominant Patternists, humans who have been bred with heightened telepathic powers and are bound to the Patternmaster via a psionic chain; their enemies the Clayarks, disease-mutated animal-like superhumans; and the Mutes, ordinary humans bonded to the Patternists.

The first novel, Patternmaster (1976), eventually became the last installment in the series' internal chronology. Set in the distant future, it tells of the coming-of-age of Teray, a young Patternist who fights for position within Patternist society and eventually for the role of Patternmaster.

Next came Mind of My Mind (1977), a prequel to Patternmaster set in the twentieth century. The story follows the development of Mary, the creator of the psionic chain and the first Patternmaster to bind all Patternists, and her inevitable struggle for power with her father Doro, a parapsychological vampire who seeks to retain control over the psionic children he has bred over the centuries.

The third book of the series, Survivor, was published in 1978. The titular survivor is Alanna, the adopted child of the Missionaries, fundamentalist Christians who have traveled to another planet to escape Patternist control and Clayark infection. Captured by a local tribe called the Tehkohn, Alanna learns their language and adopts their customs, knowledge which she then uses to help the Missionaries avoid bondage and assimilation into a rival tribe that opposes the Tehkohn.

After Survivor, Butler took a break from the Patternist series to write what would become her best-selling novel, Kindred (1979) as well as the short story "Near of Kin" (1979). In Kindred, Dana, an African American woman, is transported from 1976 Los Angeles to early nineteenth century Maryland. She meets her ancestors: Rufus, a white slave holder, and Alice, a black freewoman forced into slavery later in life. In "Near of Kin" the protagonist discovers a taboo relationship in her family as she goes through her mother's things after her death.

In 1980, Butler published the fourth book of the Patternist series, Wild Seed, whose narrative became the series' origin story. Set in Africa and America during the seventeenth century, Wild Seed traces the struggle between the four-thousand-year-old parapsychological vampire Doro and his "wild" child and bride, the three-hundred-year-old shapeshifter and healer Anyanwu. Doro, who has bred psionic children for centuries, deceives Anyanwu into becoming one of his breeders, but she eventually escapes and uses her gifts to create communities that rival Doro's. When Doro finally tracks her down, Anyanwu, tired by decades of escaping or fighting Doro, decides to commit suicide, forcing him to admit his need for her.

In 1983, Butler published "Speech Sounds," a story set in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles where a pandemic has caused most humans to lose their ability to read, speak, or write. For many, this impairment is accompanied by uncontrollable feelings of jealousy, resentment, and rage. "Speech Sounds" received the 1984 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.

In 1984, Butler released the last book of the Patternmaster series, Clay's Ark. Set in the Mojave Desert, it focuses on a colony of humans infected by an extraterrestrial microorganism brought to Earth by the one surviving astronaut of the spaceship Clay's Ark. As the microorganism compels them to spread it, they kidnap ordinary people to infect them and, in the case of women, give birth to the mutant, sphinx-like children who will be the first members of the Clayark race.

Bloodchild and the Xenogenesis trilogy: 1984–1989

Butler followed Clay's Ark with the critically acclaimed short story "Bloodchild" (1984). Set on an alien planet, it depicts the complex relationship between human refugees and the insect-like aliens who keep them in a preserve to protect them, but also to use them as hosts for breeding their young. Sometimes called Butler's "pregnant man story," "Bloodchild" won the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards, and the Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award.

Three years later, Butler published Dawn, the first installment of what would become known as the Xenogenesis trilogy. The series examines the theme of alienation by creating situations in which humans are forced to coexist with other species to survive and extends Butler's recurring exploration of genetically-altered, hybrid individuals and communities. In Dawn, protagonist Lilith Iyapo finds herself in a spaceship after surviving a nuclear apocalypse that destroys Earth. Saved by the Oankali aliens, the human survivors must combine their DNA with an ooloi, the Oankali's third sex, in order to create a new race that eliminates a self-destructive flaw in humans—their aggressive hierarchical tendencies. Butler followed Dawn with "The Evening and the Morning and the Night" (1987), a story about how certain female sufferers of "Duryea-Gode Disease," a genetic disorder which causes dissociative states, obsessive self-mutilation, and violent psychosis, are able to control others afflicted with the disease.

Adulthood Rites (1988) and Imago (1989) the second and the third books in the Xenogenesis trilogy, focus on the predatory and prideful tendencies that affect human evolution, as humans now revolt against Lilith's Oankali-engineered progeny. Set thirty years after humanity's return to Earth, Adulthood Rites centers on the kidnapping of Lilith's part-human, part alien child, Akin, by a human-only group who are against the Oankali. Akin learns about both aspects of his identity through his life with the humans as well as the Akjai. The Oankali-only group becomes their mediator, and ultimately creates a human-only colony in Mars. In Imago, the Oankali create a third species more powerful than themselves: the shape-shifting healer Jodahs, a human-Oankali ooloi who must find suitable human male and female mates to survive its metamorphosis and finds them in the most unexpected of places, in a village of renegade humans.

The Parable series: 1993–1998

In the mid-1990s, Butler published two novels later designated as the Parable (or Earthseed) series. The books depict the struggle of the Earthseed community to survive the socioeconomic and political collapse of twenty-first century America due to poor environmental stewardship, corporate greed, and the growing gap between the wealthy and the poor. The books propose alternate philosophical views and religious interventions as solutions to such dilemmas.

The first book in the series, Parable of the Sower (1993), features a fifteen-year-old protagonist named Lauren Oya Olamina, and is set in a dystopian California in the 2020s. Lauren, who suffers from a syndrome causing her to literally feel any physical pain she witnesses, decides to escape the corruption and corporatization of her community of Robledo. She forms a new belief system, Earthseed, in order to prepare for the future of the human race on another planet. Recruiting members of varying social backgrounds, Lauren relocates her new group to Northern California, naming her new community "Earthseed".

Her 1998 follow-up novel, Parable of the Talents, is set sometime after Lauren's death and is told through the excerpts of Lauren's journals as framed by the commentary of her estranged daughter, Larkin. It details the takeover of Earthseed by right-wing fundamentalist Christians, Lauren's attempts to survive their religious "re-education", and the final triumph of Earthseed as a community and a doctrine.

In between her Earthseed novels, Butler published the collection Bloodchild and Other Stories (1995), which includes the short stories "Bloodchild", "The Evening and the Morning and the Night", "Near of Kin", "Speech Sounds", and "Crossover", as well as the non-fiction pieces "Positive Obsession" and "Furor Scribendi".

Late stories and Fledgling: 2003–2005

After several years of suffering from writer's block, Butler published the short stories "Amnesty" (2003) and "The Book of Martha" (2003), and her second standalone novel, Fledgling (2005). Both short stories focus on how impossible conditions force an ordinary woman to make a distressing choice. In "Amnesty", an alien abductee recounts her painful abuse at the hand of the unwitting aliens, and upon her release, by humans, and explains why she chose to work as a translator for the aliens now that the Earth's economy is in a deep depression. In "The Book of Martha", God asks a middle-aged African American novelist to make one important change to fix humanity's destructive ways. Martha's choice—to make humans have vivid and satisfying dreams—means that she will no longer be able to do what she loves, writing fiction. These two stories were added to the 2005 edition of Bloodchild and Other Stories.

Butler's last publication during her lifetime was Fledgling, a novel exploring the culture of a vampire community living in mutualistic symbiosis with humans. Set on the West Coast, it tells of the coming-of-age of a young female hybrid vampire whose species is called Ina. The only survivor of a vicious attack on her families that left her an amnesiac, she must seek justice for her dead, build a new family, and relearn how to be Ina.

Butler bequeathed her papers including manuscripts, correspondence, school papers, notebooks, and photographs to the Huntington Library.

Themes

The critique of present-day hierarchies

In multiple interviews and essays, Butler explained her view of humanity as inherently flawed by an innate tendency towards hierarchical thinking which leads to intolerance, violence and, if not checked, the ultimate destruction of our species.

"Simple peck-order bullying", she wrote in her essay "A World without Racism," "is only the beginning of the kind of hierarchical behavior that can lead to racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, classism, and all the other 'isms' that cause so much suffering in the world." Her stories, then, often replay humanity's domination of the weak by the strong as a type of parasitism. These superior beings, whether aliens, vampires, superhuman, or a slave masters, find themselves defied by a protagonist who embodies difference, diversity, and change, so that, as John R. Pfeiffer notes "[i]n one sense [Butler's] fables are trials of solutions to the self-destructive condition in which she finds mankind."

The remaking of the human

In his essay on the sociobiological backgrounds of Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy, J. Adam Johns describes how Butler's narratives counteract the death drive behind the hierarchical impulse with an innate love of life (biophilia), particularly different, strange life. Specifically, Butler's stories feature gene manipulation, interbreeding, miscegenation, symbiosis, mutation, alien contact, non-consensual sex, contamination, and other forms of hybridity as the means to correct the sociobiological causes of hierarchical violence. As De Witt Douglas Kilgore and Ranu Samantrai note, "[i]n [Butler's] narratives the undoing of the human body is both literal and metaphorical, for it signifies the profound changes necessary to shape a world not organized by hierarchical violence." The evolutionary maturity achieved by the bioengineered hybrid protagonist at the end of the story, then, signals the possible evolution of the dominant community in terms of tolerance, acceptance of diversity, and a desire to wield power responsibly.

The survivor as hero

Butler's protagonists are disenfranchised individuals who endure, compromise, and embrace radical change in order to survive. As De Witt Douglas Kilgore and Ranu Samantrai note, her stories focus on minority characters whose historical background makes them already intimate with brutal violation and exploitation, and therefore the need to compromise to survive. Even when endowed with extra abilities, these characters are forced to experience unprecedented physical, mental, and emotional distress and exclusion to ensure a minimal degree of agency and to prevent humanity from achieving self-destruction. In many stories, their acts of courage become acts of understanding, and in some cases, love, as they reach a crucial compromise with those in power. Ultimately, Butler's focus on disenfranchised characters serves to illustrate both the historical exploitation of minorities and how the resolve of one such exploited individual may bring on critical change.

The creation of alternative communities

Butler's stories feature mixed communities founded by African protagonists and populated by diverse, if similar-minded individuals. Members may be humans of African, European, or Asian descent, extraterrestrial (such as the N'Tlic in "Bloodchild"), from a different species (such as the vampiric Ina in Fledgling), and cross-species (such as the human-Oankali Akin and Jodahs in the Xenogenesis trilogy). In some stories, the community's hybridity results in a flexible view of sexuality and gender (for instance, the polyamorous extended families in Fledgling). Thus, Butler creates bonds between groups that are generally considered to be separate and unrelated, and suggests hybridity as "the potential root of good family and blessed community life."

Relationship to Afrofuturism

Butler's work has been associated with the genre of Afrofuturism, a term coined by Mark Dery to describe "speculative fiction that treats African-American themes and addresses African-American concerns in the context of 20th-century technoculture." Some critics, however, have noted that while Butler's protagonists are of African descent, the communities they create are multi-ethnic and, sometimes, multi-species. As De Witt Douglas Kilgore and Ranu Samantrai explain in their 2010 memorial to Butler, while Butler does offer "an afro-centric sensibility at the core of narratives," her "insistence on hybridity beyond the point of discomfort" exceeds the tenets of both black cultural nationalism and of "white-dominated" liberal pluralism.

Influence

In interviews with Charles Rowell and Randall Kenan, Butler credited the struggles of her working-class mother as an important influence on her writing. Because Butler's mother received little formal education herself, she made sure that young Butler was given the opportunity to learn by bringing her reading materials that her white employers threw away, from magazines to advanced books. She also encouraged Butler to write. She bought her daughter her first typewriter when she was ten years old, and, seeing her hard at work on a story, casually remarked that maybe one day she could become a writer, causing Butler to realize that it was possible to make a living as an author. A decade later, Mrs. Butler would pay more than a month's rent to have an agent review her daughter's work. She also provided Butler with the money she had been saving for dental work to pay for Butler's scholarship so she could attend the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop, where Butler sold her first two stories.

A second person to play an influential role in Butler's work was American writer Harlan Ellison. As a teacher at the Open Door Workshop of the Screen Writers Guild of America, he gave Butler her first honest and constructive criticism on her writing after years of lukewarm responses from composition teachers and baffling rejections from publishers. Impressed by her work, Ellison suggested she attend the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop, and even contributed $100 towards her application fee. As the years passed, Ellison's mentorship became a close friendship.

Point of view

Butler began reading science fiction at a young age, but quickly became disenchanted by the genre's unimaginative portrayal of ethnicity and class as well as by its lack of noteworthy female protagonists. She then set to correct those gaps by, as De Witt Douglas Kilgore and Ranu Samantrai point out, "choosing to write self-consciously as an African-American woman marked by a particular history" —what Butler termed as "writing myself in". Butler's stories, therefore, are usually written from the perspective of a marginalized black woman whose difference from the dominant agents increases her potential for reconfiguring the future of her society.

Audience

Publishers and critics have labelled Butler's work as science fiction. While Butler enjoyed the genre deeply, calling it "potentially the freest genre in existence", she resisted being branded a genre writer. Many critics have pointed out that her narratives have drawn attention of people from varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds. She claimed to have three loyal audiences: black readers, science-fiction fans, and feminists.

Interviews

Charlie Rose interviewed Octavia Butler in 2000 soon after the award of a MacArthur Fellowship. The highlights are probing questions that arise out of Butler's personal life narrative and her interest in becoming not only a writer, but a writer of science fiction. Rose asked, "What then is central to what you want to say about race?" Butler's response was, "Do I want to say something central about race? Aside from, 'Hey we're here!'?" This points to an essential claim for Butler that the world of science fiction is a world of possibilities, and although race is an innate element, it is embedded in the narrative, not forced upon it.

In an interview by Randall Kenan, Octavia E. Butler discusses how her life experiences as a child shaped most of her thinking. As a writer, Butler was able to use her writing as a vehicle to critique history under the lenses of feminism. In the interview, she discusses the research that had to be done in order to write her bestselling novel, Kindred. Most of it is based on visiting libraries as well as historic landmarks with respect to what she is investigating. Butler admits that she writes science fiction because she does not want her work to be labeled or used as a marketing tool. She wants the readers to be genuinely interested in her work and the story she provides, but at the same time she fears that people will not read her work because of the "science fiction" label that they have.

Adaptations

Parable of the Sower was adapted as Parable of the Sower: The Concert Version, a work-in-progress opera written by American folk/blues musician Toshi Reagon in collaboration with her mother, singer and composer Bernice Johnson Reagon. The adaptation's libretto and musical score combine African-American spirituals, soul, rock and roll, and folk music into rounds to be performed by singers sitting in a circle. It was performed as part of The Public Theater's 2015 Under the Radar Festival in New York City.

Awards and honors

Winner:

2012: Solstice Award

2010: Inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame

2005: Langston Hughes Medal of The City College

2000: Lifetime Achievement Award in Writing from the PEN American Center

1999: Nebula Award for Best Novel – Parable of the Talents

1995: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant

1988: Science Fiction Chronicle Award for Best Novelette – "The Evening and the Morning and the Night"

1985: Locus Award for Best Novelette – "Bloodchild"

1985: Hugo Award for Best Novelette – "Bloodchild"

1985: Science Fiction Chronicle Award for Best Novelette – "Bloodchild"

1984: Nebula Award for Best Novelette – "Bloodchild"

1984: Hugo Award for Best Short Story – "Speech Sounds"

1980: Creative Arts Award, L.A. YWCA

Nominated:

1994: Nebula Award for Best Novel – Parable of the Sower

1987: Nebula Award for Best Novelette – "The Evening and the Morning and the Night"

1967: Fifth Place, Writer's Digest Short Story Contest

Critical reception

Most critics praise Butler on her unflinching exposition of human flaws, which she depicts with striking realism. The New York Times regarded her novels as "evocative" if "often troubling" explorations of "far-reaching issues of race, sex, power". The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction called her examination of humanity "clear-headed and brutally unsentimental" and Village Voice's Dorothy Allison described her as "writing the most detailed social criticism" where "the hard edge of cruelty, violence, and domination is described in stark detail." Locus regarded her as "one of those authors who pay serious attention to the way human beings actually work together and against each other, and she does so with extraordinary plausibility." Houston Post ranked her "among the best SF writers, blessed with a mind capable of conceiving complicated futuristic situations that shed considerable light on our current affairs."

Scholars, on the other hand, focus on Butler's choice to write from the point of view of marginal characters and communities and thus "expanded SF to reflect the experiences and expertise of the disenfranchised." While surveying Butler's novels, critic Burton Raffel noted how race and gender influence her writing: "I do not think any of these eight books could have been written by a man, as they most emphatically were not, nor, with the single exception of her first book, Pattern-Master (1976), are likely to have been written, as they most emphatically were, by anyone but an African American." Robert Crossley commended how Butler's "feminist aesthetic" works to expose sexual, racial, and cultural chauvinisms because it is "enriched by a historical consciousness that shapes the depiction of enslavement both in the real past and in imaginary pasts and futures."

Butler has been praised widely for her spare yet vivid style, with Washington Post Book World calling her craftsmanship "superb". Burton Raffel regards her prose as "carefully, expertly crafted" and "crystalline, at its best, sensuous, sensitive, exact not in the least directed at calling attention to itself."

Death

During her last years, Butler struggled with writer's block and depression, partly caused by the side effects of medication for her high blood pressure. She continued writing and taught at Clarion's Science Fiction Writers' Workshop regularly. In 2005, she was inducted into Chicago State University's International Black Writers Hall of Fame.

Butler died outside of her home in Lake Forest Park, Washington, on February 24, 2006, aged 58. Contemporary news accounts were inconsistent as to the cause of her death, with some reporting that she suffered a fatal stroke, while others indicated that she died of head injuries after falling and striking her head on her walkway. Another suggestion, backed by Locus magazine, is that a stroke caused the fall and hence the head injuries. After her death, the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship was established by the Carl Brandon Society to provide support to students of color to attend the Clarion West Writers Workshop and Clarion Writers' Workshop, descendants of the original Clarion Science Fiction Writers' Workshop where Butler had gotten her start 35 years before.

Scholarship fund

The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship was established in Butler's memory in 2006 by the Carl Brandon Society. Its goal is to provide an annual scholarship to enable writers of color to attend the Clarion West Writers Workshop and Clarion Writers' Workshop, descendants of the original Clarion Science Fiction Writers' Workshop in Clarion, Pennsylvania, where Butler got her start. The first scholarships were awarded in 2007.

Selected works

Series

Patternist series

Patternmaster (Doubleday 1976; Avon 1979; Warner 1995)

Mind of My Mind (Doubleday 1977; Warner 1994)

Survivor (Doubleday 1978)

Wild Seed (Doubleday 1980; Warner 1988, 2001)

Clay's Ark (St. Martin's Press 1984; Ace Books 1985; Warner 1996)

Seed to Harvest (Grand Central Publishing 2007; omnibus excluding Survivor)

Xenogenesis series

Dawn (Warner 1987, 1989, 1997)

Adulthood Rites (Warner 1988, 1977)

Imago (Warner 1989, 1997)

Xenogenesis (Guild America Books 1989; omnibus)

Lilith's Brood (Warner 2000; omnibus)

Parable series (also referred to as the Earthseed series)

Parable of the Sower (Four Walls, Eight Windows 1993; Women's Press 1995; Warner 1995, 2000).

Parable of the Talents (Seven Stories Press 1998; Quality Paperback Book Club 1999; Women's Press 2000, 2001; Warner 2000, 2001)

Standalone novels

Kindred (Doubleday 1979; Beacon Press 1988, 2004).

Fledgling (Seven Stories Press 2005; Grand Central Publishing 2007).

Short story collections

Bloodchild and Other Stories (Four Walls, Eight Windows, 1995; Seven Stories Press, 1996, 2005; second edition includes "Amnesty" and "The Book of Martha").

Unexpected Stories (2014, includes "A Necessary Being" and "Childfinder")

Essays and speeches

"Birth of a Writer." Essence 20 (May 1989): 74+. Reprinted as "Positive Obsession" in Bloodchild and Other Stories.

"Free Libraries: Are They Becoming Extinct?" Omni 15.10 (Aug. 1993): 4.

"Devil Girl from Mars: Why I Write Science Fiction." Media in Transition. MIT 19 February 1998. Transcript 4 October 1998.

""Brave New Worlds: A Few Rules for Predicting the Future." Essence 31.1 (May 2000): 164+.

"A World without Racism." NPR Weekend Edition Saturday. 1 September 2001.

"Eye Witness: "Butler's Aha! Moment." O: The Oprah Magazine 3.5 (May 2002): 79–80.

Wikipedia

[expatimes]

Trump moves to Walter Reed after COVID-19 diagnosis

US President Donald Trump has arrived at a military hospital for treatment after being diagnosed with COVID-19, a move the White House said would last for a “few days” and was taken “out of an abundance of caution”.

Roughly 17 hours after he announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus, Trump on Friday walked slowly from the White House to a waiting helicopter to be taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

He wore a mask and business suit and did not speak to reporters.

“I think I'm doing very well, but we're going to make sure that things work out,” Trump said in a brief video that was taped before leaving for Walter Reed and posted on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/B4H105KVSs

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

Trump will work in a special suite at the hospital for the next few days as a precautionary measure, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

She said he remains “in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day” and added: “Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days. ”

Trump, 74, has a mild fever, nasal congestion and a cough, the New York Times reported, citing two people close to him.

White House doctor Sean P Conley said the president is being treated with an experimental drug cocktail and is “fatigued but in good spirits”.

Risk factors

Trump's diagnosis came during an already turbulent period in Washington and around the world, with the US gripped in a heated presidential election amid the human and economic toll of the virus.

Trump's immediate campaign events were all canceled, and his next debate with Democrat rival Joe Biden, scheduled for October 15, is now in question.

Trump has been trying all year - and as recently as Wednesday - to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is in the past, and he has consistently played down concerns about being personally vulnerable. He has mostly refused to abide by basic public health guidelines - including those issued by his own administration - such as wearing face coverings in public and practicing social distancing. Until he tested positive, he continued to hold campaign rallies that drew thousands of often maskless supporters.

Esther Choo, an emergency physician and professor at Oregon Health and Science University, told Al Jazeera that Trump has a number of risk factors.

“He falls into several categories of people who tend to experience more severe symptoms of COVID-19 and to need hospitalisation: his age, his obesity, the fact he's male - there seems to be a male predominance in severe disease and hospitalisation and ICU care and fatalities. '

Referring to the president's doctor previously revealing that Trump has high calcium deposits in his coronary arteries, Choo said: “We also know that he has some coronary heart disease. So, he has more than one risk factor, but that's across the population and how that plays out in an individual person, we never know. ”

She added: “He also has some positive things - he doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink alcohol and also importantly, he's extremely wealthy and privileged.

Conley, the White House doctor, said Trump has received an experimental treatment, Regeneron's REGN-COV2. The drug is one of several experimental COVID-19 drugs known as monoclonal antibodies, which are used for treating a wide range of illnesses. US infectious disease chief Dr Anthony Fauci has been among those saying the technology has promise.

Trump is also taking zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin.

Trump 'is in charge'

White House officials said the president has not transferred his powers to Vice President Mike Pence. “The president is in charge,” Judd Deere, a spokesman, told the New York Times.

Peter Mathews, professor of political science at Cypress College in California, said the president's move to Walter Reed is significant, adding that it is important to know what plans are in place for any transfer of power.

“The fact that he's been transferred to Walter Reed is a major development. He could have been quarantined in the White House and waited it out there. It could be they are being very cautious as he's the president, but still, you have to take these things seriously and look at what is being put in place by this administration to make sure there's a smooth transition, ”Mathews told Al Jazeera.

“There's two ways to go and there's a precedent when President Ronald Reagan had to go in for surgery, he signed a letter saying he's turning over power to Vice President George HW Bush for eight hours and then he would resume after that. And it worked out pretty smoothly. That's one way, with the president voluntarily signing a statement.

“Another way is when the president is incapacitated, and it seems very clear that he is, the vice president has to lead and call the cabinet has to vote by majority vote to proceed to transfer of power to the vice president. When that happens, the president can challenge it if he's available to do that, then it goes to Congress where it is voted by a two-thirds majority in each house to transfer the power over. So, there's a couple of options here and it all depends on how President Trump comes through right now as far as his physical health goes. ”

Biden, Trump's election opponent, pulled ads attacking Trump off the air but otherwise continued his campaign, traveling to Michigan on Friday after testing negative for the virus.

At a union hall in Grand Rapids, Biden said he was praying for his rival's recovery. However, he also implicitly criticized Trump, who has mocked Biden for routinely wearing a mask and has held huge campaign rallies with little social distancing.

“Be patriotic,” Biden said. “It's not about being a tough guy. It's about doing your part. "

Trump is the latest world leader to contract the virus, which can cause a severe respiratory infection.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was rushed into intensive care after falling gravely ill in March. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called the virus a "little flu" after being infected in July. Both men recovered.

#world Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=11338&feed_id=8498

[dogfinder2]

Becoming the Best Society Entertainer Magician You Can Be

"First think as an entertainer, then as a magician"

Any person may learn and also do a magical"trick", but to choose a hint and transform it in an remarkable performance is just one of those secrets to doing good magic. May I suggest many people DO NOT prefer to feel like they will have now already been"tricked" or even"fooled", alternatively they prefer to understand they've participate in good entertainment.

Maybe you have been curious about why you would like to complete"magic Tricks"? Is it to your own fame and luck because you might possess a fire to amuse?

"First think as an entertainer, then as a magician"

As New York Based Master Society Entertainer Magician Simon Lovell says"Magicians worry about'How can I take action ' Instead of 'Why' do I do it? There in lies one of the biggest problems -- there has to be a reason. Magic intrinsically is an illogical thing, but you can do it at least in a logical way. You ask, what is more important to me -- an audience remembering me or the tricks I perform? I would rather them remember me than the tricks I perform. It is essential to create uniqueness about yourself - separate yourself from the masses"

Personal Case Study:

While at a cook out last summer I had been talking with the server and he desired for me to amuse my guests, even excluding himselfas he explained"I am not fond of'magical', I do not enjoy it". Such as this particular gentleman, you will find people who frankly do not delight in watching magical, however, maybe perhaps not enjoying magic isn't just a terrible thing.

At an incident similar to this DO NOT SAY"BUT, YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN ME PERFORM" (Unless of class in the exact identical sentence you've got the capability to generate a two ton wolf look within his swimmingpool and also result in a parade of camels to parade throughout the picnic space. Should you possess this capacity, I will caution, then he can call upon a native ministry to carry out an exorcism).

Inside this scenario as an example I inquired VERY un-aggressively"Have you ever seen a live licensed society entertainer close-up magician?" For the he explained,"Yes" (In a humorous, ''..."magic is only a good idea for children's birthday parties"... type of tone). His opinion didn't offend me since I have heard this earlier; I reacted to him having"So you have not seen an"impressive" sleight of hand artist?" For the he said"No, the magicians I have seen seemed OK for kid's but too cheesy and dated for me."

"First think as an entertainer, then as a magician"

After a time travelling acting because of his picnic guests, then I approached him and inquired if he'd think about giving his frank opinion of some thing I have now already been focusing and when he'd believe it's all up to level to do because of his pals? He stated,"Sure, go ahead." Fastforward several hoursby the day's end he had been asking I work for"this individual and that one over there, oh and they would love the one you just did with me." Such as this particular individual, the majority of people have observed the"pick any card TRICK" and also"make six piles TRICK", etc.. Bear in mind, eventually become an entertainer, not simply a magician (trickster).

CHILDREN'S PARTIES

Inside my kids' birthday party shows I amuse the young adults just as far as the kiddies, section of my assurance! is ALL THEIR GUESTS WILL BE TRULY ENTERTAINED OR THEY PAY ME NOTHING! I've NEVER had some one take me up with this deal. . .EVER (Humbly Stated).

Ordinarily whilst the guests are coming (at a young child's birthday party) I shall do some walk round magical (A FREE BONUS), your customer adores this because there was certainly NO dead distance and you also have more chance to contact the adults and kiddies earlier"show" period. The parents in presence love to understand who's amusing their own children. While I do what I call"Maryland Style Close-Up Magic" to your young ones they be given a better peek into who I am and also they aren't"just" at a"child's birthday party" anymore.

"First think as an entertainer, then as a magician"

Some times while achieving such a walk round I may have two or one of those laidback, trendy, brew drinking guys and their friends saying (because I attitude )"No, go show the tricks to the kids, I do not want to see any of that stuff it is for children." I can return with"Oh, you know I have been working on a few things for this show, for the kid's," (I shall often browse around as though I am sharing a romantic relationship using them) and indicate,"would you mind/ be so kind to allow me to show you something I may want to perform for the children, you be the judge. Let me know if you think the children will enjoy this or not."

Now I current Master Magic Creator John Kennedy's"Mystery Box", Blizzard Deck out of Master Magician Dean Dill of all Los Angeles California or perhaps some mentalism (Mind-Reading) / card sleights of Dai Vernon (AKA The Professor). The answer to those would be ALWAYS phenomenal!!! Why? I think being a entertainer, then being a magician". These guys always ask to see more and then to show more of this amazing magic to their friends. I also find they get better involved when it comes to the "kid's" part of the show! They are now the ones taking a front row seat.

WHY PERFORM MAGIC TRICKS

You may go into a Baltimore, Maryland magic shop and purchase the newest, neatest, trick on the market. After you get it home, the package ripped open, you can hardly contain the excitement, you read the directions, go through the routine a couple times and then run out of your room showing your parents, husband, wife and/ or children. Showing off your "skills" you now possess with your T.T., Professors Nightmare, and a stripper deck.

Your friends encourage you and say..."wow"... that is neat, your parents tell you"You would be the most useful magician they've ever seen" and because you have a few weeks of"clinic" and have bought 15 of the"trendiest" tricks sold in a local magic studio today you believe you are"ready" to perform as a professional. You make business cards with your name stating you do kids birthday parties, etc.. Now you are going to be making money.

PLEASE! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP!

First, have you taken time to consider why you want to do "magic Tricks"? Is it for the fame and fortune? If I asked if you know who David Blaine and David Copperfield are, you would not hesitate to say"they have been wealthy and famous magicians." Right you would be. But if I were to ask you if you knew the name of Puck, Scott Alexander or Dennis Haney to name a few?

Your reply may be"whois Puck, Scott Alexander or even Dennis Haney? Why have not I heard about these " I say to you"They can be excellent magicians." You reply,"when they're so beautiful, I might have seen on TV." The answer to your last statement is simple -- they have been working, and practicing, taking advice, practicing, learning, creating, performing and practicing.

Scott Alexander has been a top pro for many years and one of the busiest professionals in the world. His credits include Denny & Lee, Malone's Bar in Boca, cruise ships all over the world, Caesar Magical Empire, and now he is starring in his own show at Fitzgerald's in Las Vegas. His style is simple -- comedy that goes right to the center of the audience's brain.

Master entertainer magician Puck headlines around the globe traveling from Orlando, FL one of the most sought after entertainers in the nation.

Dennis Haney is one of the most "famous" of all three named here. He owns two magic shops/ studios one is local in Baltimore, Maryland and the other in Las Vegas, Nevada - his tag line is:"Where the experts shop"; Mr. Haney is among the who's who in the world of magic / NaijaVibe (worldwide).

If you try and follow fame and fortune more than likely you will be as Client Eastwood so calmly said in one of his movies"You certainly really are a legend in your mind" Do not pursue fame and fortune, let it find you. Keep on practicing, rehearsing, reading and listening to those in the trenches, learn from their mistakes and their victories. Did David Copperfield"only appear" on the scene? (bad play on words, I know but hey. . .it is a free article what do you expect), no, he was practicing over and over again. Practice does not make perfect, as one individual told me some time ago,"perfect practice makes perfect"

"First think as an entertainer, then as a magician"

Practice, practice and practice some more. Once you've practiced a few instances, multiplied by 10 then move in your closest magic store, or into some community regular magician and suggest to them exactly what you have now already been doing work on, then you've got two ears and one mouth, then use the first two and never the previous one, tune in to exactly what they must say. Return straight back and clinic, oh, by how have I said that must clinic? (I state this having a curious smile ).

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 9/4/20 – TENET! MULAN! I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (but now that I’ve seen Tenet and Mulan, I’m better)… and More!

It’s Labor Day weekend… it is, isn’t it? I can’t even remember what day of the week it is anymore, and it looks like movie theaters across the country are generally all reopened except for a few specific areas. While theaters seem to be playing a variety of old and new movies – and Chadwick Boseman’s breakout 42, in which he plays Jackie Robinson, will be shown in 300 AMC theaters starting Thursday --  it still feels like we’re not quite where we should be. That said, only three states remain fully closed as far as movie theaters go: New York (eff you, Cuomo!), North Carolina and New Mexico. California is slowly rolling out movie theaters reopening in certain sections but not in L.A. or San Francisco just yet. Honestly, I’m having a rough week, and I’ll be surprised if I even get through half the movies that I have seen and planned to review, let alone everything else I have to do.

Finally! The movie that’s looking to be one of the most controversial movies of the summer, if not the year, comes to the United States. Of course, I’m talking about Christopher Nolan’s TENET (Warner Bros.), his tribute to James Bond movies with John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) playing a super-spy (of sorts) who teams with Robert Pattinson to perform intricate heists on a mission to find out who has discovered bullets that travel backwards through time and brought them back into our time. Also starring Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh, the movie has received mixed to positive reviews with about 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can read my full review right here and a second technical review here.

Right now, it looks like Tenet is going to be playing in roughly 3,000 theaters over Labor Day weekend with only a few states fully closed including my own (New York), as well as North Carolina and New Mexico. A few other states like New Jersey and Maryland are reopening but it may be too late to get Tenet in there. California has a few areas open but not Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Although I’m hesitant at making any predictions right now or doing a full-blown analysis – there so many unknowns in a pandemic -- I think a four-day opening of somewhere between $25 and 28 million should be possible even with limited seating in most theaters that have reopened. I think people are ready to go back to theaters despite the negative narrative created by certain irresponsible film critics who seem to care more about their own personal health than that of the industry that has allowed them to pay rent and live large for years.

Another movie that I’ve been looking forward to and actually my most anticipated movie of the year is Disney’s live action remake of their animated classic, MULAN, this one directed by one of my favorite filmmakers, Niki Caro of Whale Rider fame. I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally see this movie after being invited to a press screen back in March, and then have it systematically cancelled as everything else started shutting down. Fortunately, I got a screener and while not my favorite way to watch a movie, I absolutely LOVED IT!

It stars Yifei Liu as the title character, made famous in the 1998 Disney animated movie, and it follows a similar story of a teen girl who steals her father’s sword and armor and pretends to be a man to join the Imperial Army under secrecy. There are definitely major changes in Caro’s version, most notably the lack of songs and no sign of Mushu, the adorable dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy. This is also not meant for small children, because it’s PG-13 not because it has anything terrible like someone waving genitals or swearing but because some of the action does get intense without much blood or anything terrible. I mean, this is definitely a SOFT PG-13, if that’s even a thing.

The movie is gorgeous and in the vein of movies I love like Zhang Yimou’s Hero and Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and it’s even exec. produced by Bill Kong, who produced many of those films. The point is that I love these kinds of movies, plus I’ve long been a fan of Caro’s, and everything just comes together beautifully from the performance by Yifei Liu to the fantastic characters around her, including ones played by Jet Li and Donnie Yen (reuniting from Hero!), as well as an amazing witch played by the indelible Ms. Gong Li, who is also terrific. Sure, there’s a few issues with the dialogue, but this is not a kiddie movie, as much as it’s something on par with the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and I just love all of the decision Caro and her all-Asian cast make in telling this story in a new way. I particularly liked how the film followed Chinese traditions and dealt with things like “chi,” but as with the animated film, the stuff in the army 

On top of the amazing martial arts fights, there are also some terrific battle scene that would do Braveheart proud, and it’s all pulled together by Harry Gregson-Williams’ score, which may be one of my favorite pieces of music this year. Definitely a score I’ll be buying since it brings so much excitement and emotion to every scene, but that’s just as much a credit to Ms. Caro and her fantastic cast, who in a couple scenes, particularly between Liu and Li, had me tearing up almost as much as every single time I’ve watched Caro’s debut, Whale Rider.

I’m sure that fans of the animated movie (which I only saw for the first time earlier this year) will have different expectations, but you can’t fault Disney for being a little bit concerned and undeservedly dumping it to the Disney+ streaming service (which you can watch it at a premium of $29.95) rather than giving it the theatrical release it truly deserved. Honestly, if for some strange reason, Disney decides to play it in a bunch of theaters once they’re fully open, I would not hesitate to watch this again in what I consider a much-better environment for a movie which is likely to end up in my top 10 for year. It’s probably my favorite straight-up Disney movie (not including Pixar or Marvel) since maybe Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, although I kind of enjoyed Mary Poppins Returns, too.

I also have a crafts review of Mulan over at Below the Line, so check that out!

While I’ve generally been mixed on Charlie Kaufman’s movies that he directed himself, I couldn’t NOT watch I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS, his new movie on Netflix, starring Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons as a young couple going to visit his parents, played by Toni Collette and David Thewlis. At first, it looks like they’ll get stuck in a snowstorm, but then they get there and then they leave and once again get stuck in a snowtorm. No, this isn’t Centigrade 2, but actually something far FAR worse, to the point where I’m not even sure where to begin.

It starts with Buckley’s “Young woman” – yes, Kaufman doesn’t even bother giving her a name – being picked up by her boyfriend Jake (Plemons) before the long ride through the snow to his parent’s house. The whole time, we hear her inner thoughts about wanting to break up with Jake for one or reason or another, her thoughts always been interrupted by Jake making a statement that seems out of the blue. When they get to his parents’ farm in the middle of nowhere, things start to get weird, and I don’t want to go into too many details because if you read my review and decide to sit through it anyway, then it’s your own fault.

Apparently, this was loosely based on a book of the same name by Iain Reid, but it was adapted by the guy who wrote Adaptation, so Kaufman pretty much just went off and did his own thing based on Reid’s general premise. What I find particularly weird is that some of the early reviews talked about this movie as if it was a horror movie, but I just don’t see that at all. It’s just a really dry and weird comedy that doesn’t really take off. While parts of it remind me of the comics work of Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), who I genuinely love, other parts just get so weird, and at times, it reminded me of David Lynch’s Eraserhead or M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit, but only because there are so many WTF moments that you wonder what the actors must have thought while they were doing what Kaufman told them to do. Again, I’m not going to ruin the experience of being thoroughly confounded by some of the weirder moments but after Buckley and Plemons leave the farmhouse, they’re back driving through the snow and having far more intelligent conversations about such mundane topics. At one point, I thought, “This movie must be over soon, right?” and I checked, and there were 43 more minutes to go. That’s when I went from angry to outright ballistic, because I knew that there were so many other things I could be doing than listening to all the talking, talking, talking… They eventually arrive at an abandoned school and go there for shelter, and I was like, “Oh, good, now we get to the horror stuff.” Nope.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is the perfect movie for the scant few that raved about Darren Aronofsky’s mother!, or those who consider Holy Rollers a masterpiece of the highest order. Awful, aggravating and almost unwatchable at times, I’d only recommend Kaufman’s movie to people as a practical joke. Nah, I’m not that mean. It’ll be on Netflix tomorrow. Good luck with it.

Filmmaker and Rooney* frontman Robert Schwartzman directs his third feature, the comedy THE “ARGUMENT” (Gravitas Ventures), which takes the simple idea of a cocktail party and turns it into a riotous and sometimes strange comedy of errors, of sorts.

Dan Fogler and Emma Bell play couple Jack and Lisa, he a writer, her an actress, who have been together for some time, and Jack is ready to pop the question. After the final of a stageplay Lisa is co-starring in, Jack throws a cocktail party at which he’s gonna propose. He invites over his agent Danny Pudi from Community) and his wife Sarah (Maggie Q) but Lisa has invited her amorous co-star Paul (Tyler James Williams from Everybody Hates Chris all grown up!), who brought his own bubbly girlfriend Trina (Cleopatra Coleman).  As Trina starts drinking, thing just get worse and worse, and it inevitably turns into a full- on fight between Jack and Lisa aka the “argument” of the title. Jack is convinced that if they have a do-over on the night, they can prove who is right.

Oh, yeah. That couldn’t possibly work, right? Well, I’m not going to spoil it, but the one do-over turns into several, which turns into Jack trying to script the perfect cocktail party with the six of them … or rather five after Maggie Q’s character quits in a hilarious huff where she does impressions of the other five. (I’ve always found Maggie to be hilarious from talking to her years ago, and it’s great that her comic skills are finally being used, along with her beauty.) Eventually, Jack brings in actors to play each of them and perform the script he’s written so they can all sit back and figure out where things went wrong. Honestly, The “Argument” is more like the Charlie Kaufman movies I liked (such as Adaptation), and the movie has a vibe a lot like the play God of Carnage, which Roman Polanski adapted into a movie that nobody saw and few gave a fair shake. Also reminded me of Ike Barinholtz’s The Oath, which I quite enjoyed. The main leads are great, but I gotta give additional kudos to Maggie and Cleopatra Coleman, who gives a surprisingly layered performance as possibly the first ditzy African-American not-blonde “blonde” in movie history?

Although Schwartzman didn’t write this movie – it’s written by Zac Sanford who made The Chumscrubber -- he does a great job using his talented cast to throw many surprises at the viewer, and I was laughing quite hardily as the movie went on, because I really enjoyed the characters portrayed not just by the main six but also the actors playing the actors. Yeah, I know it might get confusing but at least this doesn’t have time travel, so if you want a fun and unexpectedly clever dark comedy, do check out The “Argument” which will be in theaters and On Demand, and apparently, you can even order it bundled with WINE?!?!? (*And you can also check out Rooney on Spotify!)

Another really nice surprise this week was Jeff Barnaby’s apocalyptic horror film BLOOD QUANTUM (Shudder/RLJEFilms), which was released on VOD, Digital HD, DVD and Blu-Ray earlier this week but is also on the awesome horror streamer, Shudder, I guess right now? It involves a community of indigenous people in the reserve Red Crow who face the undead when an infection hits the village through a bunch of animals who come back to life and then infect the humans. The movie starts on the first night of this plague and then cuts forward six months when the people of Red Crow have shut themselves off from the rest of the world with the hopes of keeping those still alive uninfected from the hordes of “Zeds” outside their gates.

I’m a little bummed I didn’t have press notes for this movie because there are so many great characters and performances, but it was hard to keep track of them without a scorecard. It does star Michael Greyeyes from Fear the Walking Dead, as well as Forrest Godluck (The Revenant), Kiowa Gordon and Elle-Máijá Tailfeatures, but other than Greeneyes, who plays the sherriff trying to keep his family safe, I could barely keep track of the characters or figure out who played them, and that’s a shame.

I generally liked the recent Train to Busan: Peninsula but Blood Quantum works just as little bit better, mainly from the interaction of the characters in a world full of sex and drugs and gore galore where you never who is gonna get killed but for the most part, they’re likely to go in a way that involves blood that pours like a waterfall. You add to the quick pace of Barnaby’s direction the amazing score that almost sounds like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and you have a movie that makes you realize that Barnaby has made a film that perfectly captures the spirit and feel of John Carpenter’s best work. 

I actually watched John Leguizamo’s feature film directorial debut CRITICAL THINKING (Vertical Entertainment), way back in March, literally my very last press screening before movie theaters shut down, little realizing that it would be the last press screening for six months! It’s written by Dito Montiel, who I’ve generally been mixed on, and it’s based on a true story from 1998 where a Miami teacher, played by Leguizamo, tries to save a group of Latino and Black teenagers from the inevitable drugs and crime that kids from the underserved ghetto usually get into by teaching them chess and getting them all the way to the National Chess Championship. I didn’t get to rewatch it to write any sort of intelligent review, but as you can imagine, it has a Mr. Holland’s Opus or Dead Poet’s Society feel, but mixed with the little-seen Disney movie, Queen of Katwe, which I generally enjoyed much more. I do think Leguizamo did a pretty decent job with his first feature as a director and maybe if the crazy early days of COVID weren’t distracting me so much, maybe I would have enjoyed it more. This is a movie that I need to rewatch with a better head on my shoulders.

Tyler Norwood’s doc ROBIN’S WISH (Vertical) takes a look at the last years of comedian and actor Robin Williams, who died from suicide in August 2014 at the age of 63. To everyone who knew him, from close acquaintances to fans, it was a mystery why Williams would take his own life with things going so well in his marriage to Susan Schneider. After his death, the autopsy showed that he was afflicted by undiagnosed diffuse Lewy body dementia, and apparently, that was enough to do his head in to the point where suicide seemed like the only solution.

This is a very different than the equally good Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, because it does focus so much on Williams’ last years and his relationship with Schneider, who plays a much bigger role in this movie with in-depth and intimate moments. It also does a good job talking to Williams’ neighbors in Marin County, who laud the comedian’s commitment to entertaining those in the community. It also interviews Shawn Levy from the Night at the Museum movies, who talks about how Williams wouldn’t let anyone around him know what was going on, maybe because he didn’t really know himself.

Williams’ death was tragic but even moreso when you realize what he must have been going through, and the only thing else I will say is that the notably teary documentary Dear Zachary may finally have some competition as the most tear-inducing real-life film you ever watch. Even so, it’s wonderful and does as great job shining a light on how hard something like dementia hits people when they least expect it. (Also, the score and cinematography for the film are fabulous at provoking those sorrowful emotions even more.)

Arthur Jones’ doc FEELS GOOD MAN is available right now On Demand via the Fantasia Film Festival and will be available via other film festivals, like Oxford Film Festival, starting Friday. (It will also be in theaters, including Oxford’s drive-in!) The movie follows the journey of comics artist Matt Furie, who drew a comic called “Boys Club” that featured a strange frog character named Pepe, who I never heard of, but apparently, the odd underground comic character went from being a popular meme to becoming a symbol of the alt-right. It sounds pretty crazy, but it is an absolutely crazy story as Furie sees his lovable and peaceful slacker character get out from under his control as right wing kooks like Alex Jones from InfoWars gloms onto him.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d find this as interesting as the HBO doc, Beware the Slenderman (which I also happened to see at Fantasia a few years ago), but the way that Jones tells Furie and Pepe’s story is really quite compelling, especially as he (and we) watch the craziness surrounding his character unfold, and Pepe becomes less and less like something he wanted to be associated with. (Furie and his wife spent thousands of their own money-making Pepe T-shirts and merch only to have to destroy it all once Furie gets pegged as the creator of a hate image. I mean, holy shit, this thing gets ugly!)

Apparently, Feels Good Man won an “Emerging Filmmaker” Jury Award at Sundance, and it’s well-deserved. I’d recommend the movie to anyone who likes comics or politics and doesn’t mind when the two things collide.

There are a few other movies that I want to write about that I didn’t have time to watch despite having screeners and who knows, maybe I can watch them over this longer weekend if things aren’t too crazy screener-wise. (I lost quite a bit of time with my trip to Connecticut to see Tenet, unfortunately.)

First, there’s Julius Berg’s THE OWNERS (RLJEFilms), which stars Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones and Sylvester McCoy aka Doctor Who #6 (I think?). It’s about a group of friends who want to break into an empty house in which there’s a safe full of money, but when the elderly couple (including McCoy) return home early, they turn the tables in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Yeah, it does sound like it could be fun, and it’ll be in select theaters, On Demand and digital this Friday.

Also out on Digital, as well as DVD, Blu-Ray this week is the anime CHILDREN OF THE SEA (Shout! Factory/GKids) from director Ayumu Watanabe and STUDIO4ºC who made Mind Game and Tekkonkinkreet. It’s about a young girl named Ruka whose father works at an aquarium where she comes across two mysterious boys who were raised by dugongs (a type of sea cow) so they’re very familiar and acclimated to water, to the point where they have to be in or near it at all times, kind of like Aquaman. I did watch a little bit of this, and I do have to say that it looks gorgeous, definitely more photo-realistic than the work of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I’m sure I’ll get around to watch the rest of it because I do enjoy well-made anime -- Weathering With You and Ride Your Wave are likely to be in my year-end Top 25, for instance – so hopefully, fans of anime and fantsy will check it out.

On Amazon Prime this Friday is Eric Merola’s doc THE ANDORRA HUSTLE, which look at the country of Andorra, located between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains, holding a population of 80,000 people who find themselves at the center of one of the most convoluted robberies in history in 2015 when a the private bank Banca Privada d’Andorra was shut down by the government to destroy the Catalonian Independence Movement, leaving dozens of innocent civilians facing jail time for laundering money after losing their life savings.

A couple prominent science fiction series premiere this weekend, including the Ridley Scott-produced Raised by Wolves on HBO Max and Away, starring Hillary Swank on Netflix. Someday, I hope to have

There’s a lot of other stuff that I didn’t have to watch or even think about it, so yeah, this is a little bit of a “lite edition” of the Weekend Warrior, so I apologize. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do better next week.

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

[wsmith215]

Driveways, canyons, pools – NFL players create clever workouts

A farm. A field. A canyon. A pool. Even a driveway. As NFL players wait for a return to normalcy before the 2020 regular season begins, they have had to get creative with how and where they train.

The ripple effects of these unprecedented times — nationwide social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic and an unknown timetable for a vaccine — have altered the professional sports landscape, and the NFL is no exception.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell authorized the reopening of all team facilities this week, in accordance with state and local regulations, although coaches and players who are not undergoing rehabilitation are prohibited from entering team buildings. While a handful of clubs took advantage of this allowance, states such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Washington and California are still imposing heavier restrictions that affect a dozen team facilities.

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These inconsistent regulations have also changed the responsibilities of NFL strength trainers, who have spent time remotely assessing the workout needs of players, including their access to resources, as well as acting as liaisons for online equipment purchases. NFL teams were permitted to provide each player with up to $1,500 worth of workout equipment. Nevertheless, players have had to find inventive ways to stay in shape.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins uses his parents’ driveway as his outdoor gym. New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate mowed a track into a steep canyon near his home. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver James Washington designed a training regimen on his Texas farm. New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis has his personal trainers living with him. Giants linebacker Blake Martinez became the beneficiary of a state-of-the-art gym. And Cleveland Browns punter Jamie Gillan grabbed some beers and built a “grubby” garage gym.

Even though players’ locations, living situations and resources differ, there’s a lesson shared by all: There are no excuses.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins says of his training at his parents’ house in Orlando, Florida: “Being out in the driveway, on display for the whole neighborhood to see is probably less than ideal.” ESPNBig-money quarterback staying with parents

The playful jab is uttered without warning, hurled from the driver’s side of a passing vehicle.

“Go Pack, go!”

And in that moment of lighthearted jest, Kirk Cousins can only ignore it. He knows the stop sign in front of the house makes him a sitting duck every morning.

Four times a week, starting promptly at 9 a.m., the Vikings quarterback gathers equipment from the garage and arranges it neatly on the long, curved pavement leading from his parents’ house to the sidewalk. Resting on a wooden chair is his laptop, connected by videoconference to his longtime personal trainer, Chad Cook, who is 450 miles away in Atlanta. This is a glimpse into what constitutes the 2020 NFL offseason.

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“I like my privacy, so being out in the driveway, on display for the whole neighborhood to see is probably less than ideal. But desperate times call for desperate measures,” Cousins said with a smile during a recent ESPN interview. “If it means a guy drives by in a truck and yells, ‘Go Pack, go!’ at me while we’re working out, then so be it.”

The manicured lawns of this Orlando, Florida, suburb serve as a backdrop to Cousins’ regimen and his attempt at normalcy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s not a “home gym” by any means, Cousins concedes, but he insists he has everything he needs: a medicine ball, jump-rope, foam rollers, free weights and a football. And, the most essential tool of all: the laptop he uses to connect with Cook.

“[Every car will] see me doing my shuffles across the driveway, or my cariocas, or doing the jump-rope or different plank exercises, core work, medicine ball, lunges — whatever it may be. And different people honk or wave, so it’s kind of fun,” said Cousins, who signed a two-year, $66 million extension with the Vikings in March.

Spotty Wi-Fi is a challenge when working out outdoors, but sheltering in place with his parents was by design: The nine-year veteran and his wife, Julie, now have plenty of reinforcements when it comes to taking care of their sons, Cooper, 2½, and Turner, 1.

“I kind of laugh when I talk about having two like I have 10,” Cousins joked, “because compared to other guys in the league who have three, four, five, six kids, having two is not a big deal.”

Dealing with this adversity has reaffirmed his commitment to his craft. It also taught him that the Public Broadcasting Service can be a football player’s, as well as a father’s, best friend: “‘Daniel Tiger[‘s Neighborhood]’ on PBS can be a lifesaver.”

An underwater workout? Saints linebacker Demario Davis doesn’t bat an eye when his trainers suggest some aqua methods to stay in shape. Courtesy of Demario Davis’Strict training mode’ means living with trainers

The plan was to be in Nashville, Tennessee, for a month, but Demario Davis‘ offseason residence has become his permanent dwelling during the pandemic. His 7,500-square-foot house, purchased last offseason, is a saving grace of sorts, equipped with enough room for his wife, Tamela, and their four children under the age of 6.

And his two personal trainers.

Davis’ trainers, Jose Tienda and Piankhi Gibson, typically work with him in two-to-three-week “strict training mode” spurts before heading back to their respective homes. They’ll return to Nashville soon for another extended stay with Davis.

To celebrate 100 years of pro football, Peyton Manning travels the country to see the people and places that made the NFL the NFL. Watch on ESPN+ » More »

As the 31-year-old enters his ninth NFL season — and the final year of his contract — he is determined not to lose ground to a youngster who might be aiming for his spot.

Mid-morning acupuncture and soft tissue work with Tienda give way to afternoon aqua training in a neighbor’s pool with Gibson. Davis pauses for dinner and to help put the kids to bed. But before long, he’s headed back for more body work. He crawls into bed around 12:30 or 1 a.m. on those rigorous training days.

With Louisiana still reeling from 35,316 confirmed COVID-19 cases (and 2,485 reported deaths) as of Thursday, Davis wasn’t surprised Saints coach Sean Payton — who was the first known NFL figure to test positive for the coronavirus — announced there would not be virtual workouts, meetings or workout sessions at the team facility.

“The virtual offseason really wouldn’t have fit the flow of how we operate down there,” the veteran linebacker said of the Saints, who have one of the oldest rosters in the NFL. “We don’t have a young team. … He knew with our experience level, the strong leaders we have at each position, that we’d get it done as far as training.”

While Davis is eager to play, he said he won’t waste time guessing when the season will start.

“The pandemic don’t know nothing about football season. The virus ain’t just like, ‘Oh, football season’s coming, let me chill out,'” he said with a laugh. “So I’m going to train and stay in shape because that’s just a philosophy of mine — you stay ready at all times. But I think it’s a discredit to people who are on the front lines working, and the people who are being affected by it, when we’re just thinking about how fast we can get back to sports.”

Browns punter Jamie Gillan and his father, Colin, constructed a squat rack in the garage. Courtesy of Jamie Gillan’Grubby little gym’ becomes labor of love

The police officers approached without warning.

Jamie Gillan had been punting on a turf field almost an hour away from his Tremont, Ohio, residence, completely unaware of the state’s shelter-in-place orders. With nonessential businesses closed, the Browns punter — nicknamed “The Scottish Hammer” — had used local fields to practice his kicking drills. That is, until he was no longer allowed.

“[The officers] were like, ‘Yeah man, we want to let you punt. We love the Browns and everything, but it’s just the rules,'” the Scotland-born special-teamer explained in his thick brogue.

Faced with the prospect of quarantining alone, Gillan chose to go be with family.

He made trips to the liquor store and the supermarket — packing his truck with several bottles of bourbon for his father, “120 eggs and 16 racks of bacon” — and then he and his German shepherd named Bear traveled seven hours to southern Maryland to stay with his parents and 19-year-old sister.

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The rural area around his parents’ house affords him space to practice his booming kicks, and there’s a “massive” field, owned by a friend, which Gillan uses, too. But the self-described “workout junkie” had to get creative with strength training. Soon his parents’ garage became his gym.

Unable to buy equipment online because of limited inventory and “skyrocketing” prices, Gillan purchased old equipment from a local high school: barbells, bumper plates, 40-, 80- and 100-pound dumbbells and bands. He purchased rubber matting from a local tractor store.

He searched Facebook Marketplace for a squat rack, but he and his father, Colin, who is a former rugby player and member of the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, came up with a better solution — they would construct their own.

“We came back [from Lowe’s], cracked open some beers and just started building it,” Gillan said with a chuckle. Even with old, rusty weights, his “grubby little gym” was everything he needed.

Gillan said his resourcefulness was forged during four years playing at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a historically black university. During offseasons when he and his teammates didn’t have access to the gym, their surroundings became their workout room. They bench-pressed and squatted logs, they did dips and pullups on metal bars at local parks, and Gillan hopped fences to punt on neighboring fields when access to their football field was prohibited.

“One thing I notice about a lot of historically black colleges is they’re very underfunded,” Gillan said, stressing that he and other student-athletes had to be creative. “Maybe it got me prepared for this weird period.”

Taking it up a few notches, Giants linebacker Blake Martinez often escapes to a sports facility his father helped conceptualize and build. Courtesy of Blake MartinezState-of-the-art amenities ease the transition

Blake Martinez‘s father, Marc, had a master plan: purchase a plot of land 15 minutes from the family home in Tucson, Arizona, and build a facility for his son to train and live. It didn’t take long for the idea to become Martinez’s reality.

The linebacker thanks his father every day for his ingenuity, as well as his construction company.

The 18,000-square-foot facility — conceptualized and built last year — “has everything a football player would need,” said Martinez, a 2016 fourth-round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers who signed a three-year, $30 million free-agent contract with the Giants in March.

Relive the NFL’s greatest games, original series and more. Watch on ESPN+

The warehouse-looking steel structure contains “a miniature version of a college weight room,” a full-length basketball court, a 30-by-15-yard turf field and an outdoor sand volleyball court. It also doubles as a residence, with three bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen on the second level for him, his wife, Kristy, and their young daughter.

“It kept getting better and better as it kept getting built,” Martinez said. He works out for two hours in person with his longtime trainer, Glenn Howell, four times a week.

But familiarity with his new franchise is a luxury Martinez, 26, doesn’t have.

With New York and New Jersey being one of the epicenters of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, Martinez doesn’t know when he’ll be able to travel to the facility or even meet members of the Giants organization for the first time.

“It’s not like I’ve been on the team for a while and I know the guys already. So, it’s been tough in that aspect, connecting with guys,” he said.

Martinez said the pandemic has taught him “I literally have zero excuses not to show up the first day and make sure I’m 100 percent ready to go and help push all of the younger guys to that level if they haven’t gotten there yet.”

Making use of California canyons

Golden Tate‘s stunning San Diego views come at a price.

“I’ve just got to watch out for rattlesnakes,” the Giants wide receiver said with a laugh.

When stay-at-home orders were issued in California in mid-March, Tate took advantage of his surroundings — namely, the canyon his house is built on.

“It’s not the best condition to be running in,” admitted the 11-year NFL player, who mowed a 7-by-40-yard patch of grass on a steep incline. “But it’ll suffice right now. It’s better than doing nothing.”

Team work makes the dream work! Uncle @tatethagreat & LoLo helping me get my daily catches in. Hope everyone has a great Friday! 🙌🏽 🏈 #FamilyFriday pic.twitter.com/RtZXRHcygS

— Golden Tate (@ShowtimeTate) May 15, 2020

Tate, a married father of two small kids, purchased PowerBlock dumbbells and a Jugs machine from which he catches about 100 balls a day. He bikes at home on his Peloton and uses mountain bike trails for his aerobic conditioning. But finding a flat surface for route running has been a challenge. So, too, is self-discipline.

“Over my career, I’m so used to having someone — an instructor or the guys around me — push me. And right now, I’m forced to push myself,” said Tate, who turns 32 on Aug. 2.

The veteran receiver played through the 2011 NFL lockout, but he said the coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything he has experienced.

“I feel bad for the first-, second-, third- and fourth-round guys who are expected to come in and help the team right away, but they’re not having the same opportunity to grow as a player, not getting those reps on the field,” he said.

“The offseason is when you have the time to really focus on the fundamentals of the game, the bigger picture and the details of the game. And it looks like right now we’re going to show up for camp — if we show up for camp — in the middle of the fire of trying to figure out who’s going to make the team and trying to get ready for a season. That can be overwhelming.”

Strengths trainers turned investigators

With their players scattered across the country, NFL strength and conditioning coaches feel more like part-time sleuths and office managers than in-person trainers.

“We kind of went more into equipment sales and trying to be a liaison to help guys get set up and make sure they’re doing the right thing,” said Justus Galac, now in his seventh year as the New York Jets’ head strength and conditioning coach. “What we found was, guys in the Southern states and more into the Midwest had more access than our guys in the Northeast and West Coast.”

play

0:18

Danny Amendola impresses with some nifty, one-handed catches while working out with a helmet on in his backyard.

Strength trainers have been tasked with identifying what their players need from a performance standpoint to achieve their fitness goals, regardless of where they live and what resources they have access to. “Even though they might have access to a Steak ‘n Shake parking lot or they might be in a third floor of an apartment,” said Justin Lovett, the Los Angeles Rams’ new head strength and conditioning coach.

Lovett was hired in the midst of California’s coronavirus shutdown, but unlike during the 2011 lockout year, when he was on the Denver Broncos’ staff, communication is permitted and has proved paramount. But there have been challenges.

“The biggest problem with the rookie class is they don’t have the money that some of the older guys do,” Galac said. “Not saying millions of dollars, but able to go buy equipment, pay for a trainer to take care of them, buying more food that you may normally not have to buy because the facility provides it. All those little things are adding up for these guys. And the rookies, they have no idea. And it’s not their fault.”

This time of year is crucial for strength staffs, not only for getting players in shape but also for getting new players up to speed with their programs. “And we’ve lost that,” Galac said.

In fact, the Jets’ weight room underwent a face-lift this offseason, complete with a new floor, turf accents and equipment. “And nobody’s using it,” Galac said. “It’s sitting empty. The players haven’t even seen it yet.”

Plenty of land and space around James Washington’s home in Abilene, Texas, allows the Steelers receiver the space to work out and social distance at the same time. Courtesy of James WashingtonFinding space and serenity in the countryside

James Washington misses football. And, occasionally, his farm.

The 26-acre property the Steelers wide receiver purchased near his hometown of Abilene, Texas, made it easy for him to comply with social distancing rules. It also afforded him space to work out and keep in shape by way of chores. Washington, who was an agribusiness major with a concentration in farm and ranch management at Oklahoma State, finds the countryside calming. He enjoys the views of passing cars, wheat fields and cattle pastures during his eight- to 12-mile rides on his recently purchased bicycle.

His workout setup, which included an assortment of resistance bands sent by the Steelers and his high school dumbbells retrieved from his parents’ house, was complete with the arrival of a Jugs machine, which he kept in the barn and carried to a flat area in one of the pastures.

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However, staving off boredom is a challenge whenever he’s in Pittsburgh, a more crowded city with fewer options for keeping busy.

“When I was in Texas, I’d work out, do my virtual [team] meetings and then I’d have to find something to do cause I can’t just sit in the house,” Washington said last week, after he, JuJu Smith-Schuster and fellow receiver Ryan Switzer worked out in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s home weight room. “Being on the farm really helped me a lot, because there was always something that could have been done.”

Washington loves his farm so much his recent stay in Pittsburgh was short-lived. He returned to Texas on Wednesday to celebrate Memorial Day weekend with family and tend to his most recent purchase: cattle. The time away from the Steelers’ facility has also given Washington time to think.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” he said. “Everybody feels like we should be at the facility, doing physical stuff, getting ready to go. … Even if there’s no fans, we still have to go out there and just go 110 percent, even if it would feel weird. Fans help make the game. It’s really crazy to think about.

“Just being away from things, you really find out how much you miss the sport. It sucks. That’s really what I figured out. That I love football.”

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[femnet]

My dad keeps his guns in cases under his mattress. The bullets are kept under his bed or in the closet. Every once in a while, he takes a few to a gun range or out to the desert to shoot cans. He hasn't gone hunting in years. He doesn't carry a firearm daily even though it’s perfectly legal to do so in our state (he could actually carry it concealed and he wouldn't even need a license).

My dad is one of those people who thinks that society as we know it is going to end, and that we will definitely need guns when the world does "inevitably" come to a stop. Occasionally, he will get out his smallest firearm and make me extremely uncomfortable by putting it in my hands. About once a month, he asks me to go with him to the gun range so that I know how to use it when the world does end, but I never follow through.

My dad is not the reason we need better gun regulations. Being able to purchase 33 rifles in a span of less than a year, however, is a reason.

Stephen Paddock took the lives of 58 others and injured over 500 before taking his own life on October 2nd, 2017. In doing so, he committed the largest massacre by a single shooter in American history, just a little over a year since the Pulse Shooting, the last title belt-holder. My heart goes out to all of the survivors, all the people who lost a loved one, and especially those who lost their lives. Your country let you down; let's make it so it never happens again.

In his hotel room, Paddock had over 40 rifles, an alarming number especially considering he obtained more than three-fourths of the guns within the span of a year. To reiterate: He obtained 33 rifles in less than a year. How is that even legal? Between the years of 1993 and 2012, Virginia had a law that you could only buy one gun a month and it worked. The law came into effect because most eastern crime guns were traced back to Virginian gun dealers. While the law was in effect tracing a gun back to Virginian gun dealers dropped by over 60% in most eastern states. California, New Jersey, and Maryland all have laws prohibiting the purchase of more that one gun in a 30 day period. Currently there is no federal law concerning how often a person can buy guns. 

The US needs to take a stronger stance against guns. Guns are weapons that kill people. You could look at a car in the same way and we have to register, license, insure, and do emissions testing on our cars. Why shouldn't we do the same with guns? (Suggested Reading: this super duper cool article from 2014 on one of our Blind Spots.) The underlying purpose of a car is to travel; the underlying purpose of a gun is to kill something.

We need to have extensive background checks before you can be allowed to buy a gun. We need to prohibit felons from purchasing and owning guns. We need to limit the number of guns purchased to one every 30 days. We need future gun-owners to take a shooting class and test to get licensed and to have them retake the test every few years. We also need to do a psych evaluation on future gun-owners and have them retake it every few years to be licensed. That's just the start of it.

My dad is not the problem, but he would lose his right to own a firearm under the propositions I outlined above. That's okay. He may not like it, but it's the safer alternative. I'd rather people who aren't dangerous, but maybe went to prison in their younger, dumber days for punching a couple guys in a bar, be unable to have a hobby than mentally unstable men being able to obtain 33 rifles in less than a year to mow down innocent people peacefully enjoying some music.  

It is the time to talk about it.

Sources: {x} {x} 

[dailyaudiobible]

11/15/2017 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 31:1-32:32, Hebrews 12:14-29, Psalms 113:1-114:8, Proverbs 27:18-20

Today is the 15th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today around this global campfire that we share together, where no matter where we are, no matter when we’re listening, someone else is as well, and we’re never alone here. And it's a beautiful. It's a beautiful thing. And we’ve come together to take the next step forward in the Scriptures. We’re reading from the common English Bible this week and we’ll continue our journey through Ezekiel and Hebrews. Tomorrow we’ll conclude the book of Hebrews, but Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Ezekiel chapter 31 verse 1 through 32 verse 32.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of Hebrews we’ve been talking for the last couple of days about faith and the fact that its presence in our lives is a necessity to operate in this kingdom or to enter into this new covenant. And we went through many examples from the Old Testament of biblical people who were regarded as the most influential people to the Hebrews. And they were all used as examples of people who had faith, people who saw something that they could not see, and hoped in it, hoped in the promise. And then we were led into the understanding that we find ourselves in the same place. We have to have the same kind of faith in what we can't see but in what we know is coming, because at the time of this writing those were following Jesus were being marginalized and sidelined and persecuted and it didn't feel like things were getting better, it felt like things were getting worse. And, so, that's where faith comes in. And Hebrews counseled us on perseverance and discipline and the fact that what we can see right this minute isn't all there is there is, there’s much more going on, there's a larger story happening, but the only way to renew our hope in this coming thing is through faith. And so, today we’re kind of reaching the climax. We’re just about done with the book of Hebrews. We’ll complete it tomorrow. And so, we’re instructed on how to navigate, how to navigate life, and how to look at things. And, so, we’re instructed and we should pay attention to this because it applies to our lives. ‘Pursue the goal of peace along with everyone and holiness as well because no one will see the Lord without it. Make sure that no one misses out on God's grace. Make sure that no root of bitterness grows up that might cause trouble and pollute many people. Make sure that no one becomes sexually immoral or ungodly like Esau’. These are postures. These are instructions on what our lives are supposed to be shaped like in order to cultivate faith that will bring hope. And then we’re led into a contrasting example of Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Mount Sinai, of course, representing God meeting with the people in the wilderness, and giving the 10 Commandments, and instituting the first covenant. And the writer of Hebrews reminds them that everyone was freaked out. Like, no one could even touch the mountain. Even Moses said that he was terrified and shaking. And that was brought up to represent the institution of the old covenant, but then the writer says ‘but you have drawn near to Mount Zion’ and goes on to explain how this represents this new thing that God is doing, this new covenant through Jesus. And then we’re given a warning and a hopeful picture. The warning is that everything is going to get shaken up because of this. And certainly 2000 years later, we can see that Jesus has indeed shaken the world. Before the Hebrews, at this time, it’s just counsel. Everything that can shake his calling to get shaken up because of this new covenant because it's a new era, a new dawning of a new day. Things among the human race have profoundly been changed. So, it's going to shake things up but that’s necessary. Everything that can shake is going to get shaken and the things that aren't shaken are the things that will remain. And because of this new covenant we are entering into and receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and our response to that can only be gratitude. And we can take the last statement from our reading today and place it in our hearts as we move forward in our lives. ‘With this gratitude let's serve in a way that is pleasing to God, with respect and awe because our God really is a consuming fire’.

Prayer:

Father, there is no doubt that we experience shaking and shake up in our lives. And most of the time we see this is a horribly bad thing. And rarely do we look at it as everything that needs to be shaken lose. Everything that needs to fall away is falling away because of the shaking and rarely do we run to You and embrace the process and move through it by the council and power of Your Holy Spirit. Usually we’re asking You why You let this happen. And from the book of Hebrews today, we can see that things need to be shaken up. Things need to fall away so that that which is stable and solid and cannot be shaken is what remains. And Your kingdom cannot be shaken. And You have invited us to participate in it. And, so, we embrace all of the things that we are going through. And we invite Your Holy Spirit. We run to You, not with accusation, but with gratitude. We express our gratitude that You can continue to pursue us and to shake loose the things it will only take us down in the end. We are grateful that You are a consuming fire, You consume the things that do not belong in and around us, and You consume us with the power of Your Holy Spirit to operate as Your image bearers, ambassadors, and representatives on this earth. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to give us this awareness, a much larger perspective on all of the issues that we face in our lives. Come Holy Spirit, give us the eyes and the ears of Your unshakable kingdom. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

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And we have this one date left on our calendar for travel this year and it's the 19th, which is this Sunday. We’ll be in Louisiana in the Shreveport area, in Bossier City at River Valley church and we are looking forward to it. So, if you’re in the area we’d love to say hi. Come say hello. You can get the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There's a link, it's on the homepage. And thank you for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment there are numbers that you can call. We have a few of them. If you are in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number to dial. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number to dial. And if you are in Australia or the lands down under 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to call and that's it for today.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is ___ from Maryland. Just wanted to say, this message is for Jill. Jill, I hear everybody talking about you when they thank Brian and Jill. And I’ve heard Brian’s voice and I haven’t gotten to know you yet. But yesterday I started listening to some of the resources that are on the app, the first videos and the women resources, it was your interviews with Stacey. If I am saying her name wrong, I’m sorry. But you are awesome Jill and it was so great to get to know you. I was listening to the interviews that were from 2014, but so profoundly, exactly what I needed here in the moment that I heard it. And I could hear your heart and your love of God and I just wanted to thank you, and nice to meet you, Brian and Jill, both of you. Thank you for everything. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for God and for you all for the resources that you’ve provided us with to be in his word every day. I cannot thank you enough. Just thank you. And anyone who feels inspired to tap into the resources that Jill has put forth through DAB with Brian, just do it. I highly recommend it. Love you guys.

Windows of opportunity surround us each day Choices are chances to do things God's way Is there healing or venom in the things that you say Help us sweet Jesus to do things your way Do you do unto others before they do you Do you render to Caesar the all that he’s due Do you humbly ask Jesus your strength to renew Are you really for God or is it all about you Storm clouds may gather but they will not prevail God has all power and his word will not fail Satan is a liar, a robber, a thief Help me sweet Jesus with my unbelief Windows of opportunity surround us each day Choices and chances to do things God's way Is there healing or venom in the things that you say Help us sweet Jesus to do things your way Mom was a Christian and daddy was too They did all the good things that parents can do Sometimes we’d listen and sometimes we’d stray But we always had chances to do things God's way Jobs, friends, and family, they all have their place They all can add balance if we run the good race But they also add attention and trials each day Help us sweet Jesus to do things your way Do you encourage your family Do you uplift your friends Do you know that your jobs are just means to your ends Do you glorify Jesus in all that you do Are you really for God or is it all about you

blindtony1016@gmail.com. Victory S. I missed you last week, I didn’t hear your voice last week and I definitely missed it. Hope all is well. Anyway, thank you once again Brian for this wonderful Podcast for Gods Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowin’ y’all. Alright. Bye-bye.

This is Peg in Texas, praying with the DAB family. Almighty, all-powerful God, who loves with an everlasting love, I come asking, asking for Sharon in California whose daughter is bipolar. This diagnosis is up and down and so often unstable Lord. I ask, Father, for all that is needed for stabilizing the brain of this loved one. For Zander, the one man who is missing the blessing as Tony said so well in a poem, show him to Yourself, open his eyes to his own addiction and open his heart to see you, to find Christian friends, to remove himself from a harmful relationship. Oh God, in the name of Jesus, redeem the child in the situation. For Sandy in Arkansas, help her to see that this playing of marriage and playing house but living in an abusive and sinful situation is not in accordance with Your will. The culture may say it is but your word does not give proof. Give her the courage to leave, to walk out and away from a man who is taking advantage of her availability. Yes, we do ask for his salvation, we ask for his healing, but at the same time, I ask for Sandy’s healing for she is helping to create a sick and really a sinful situation. And, oh Lord, for Gloria in New York and her deep concern for her mom. She wants to move her mom to New York. If this is for the mother’s situation to be greatly bettered, for stability, for peace, for kindness or attentive care or more attentive care, maybe I should say Lord, I ask that the move will be made. I pray for brothers, that Gloria sees as controlling and cruel and abusive, that in the name of Jesus, You will work powerfully, bringing healing in lives between siblings, for I believe it to be Your divine will. And for Jordan the teacher, give him the desire and ability to firmly hold onto Your word…

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. I’m asking you to please, please pray for my husband. We’ve lost two daughters to gun violence and now my husband, John, has been diagnosed with cancer. I can't describe the pain and anxiety we’re feeling right now but God showed me in a dream to call Daily Audio Bible and ask for prayer. So, we trust in the power of prayer and the power of the blood and the power of God’s love. So, I’m asking all of you guys out there to pry for us. And I want to thank you in advance for covering us in prayer

[nursewandering]

Me and this guy Headed across the country soon. Join us on our adventure and help us share awareness PLEASE PLEASE SHARE! I sure love my job. Cant wait to make it even better. We deserve better. Our patients deserve better. The only way for us to make this happen is to all come together as one. This is exactly why I’m taking this journey. Hello, my name is Brenda Copeland. I’m 50 years old, I’m from Townsend, MT and I’ve been in LPN now for almost 30 years. There has been a significant decline in the quality of care that our residents in long-term care facilities are receiving, and it is a growing concern. I plan to walk across America starting late March of 2020 to raise awareness for the need for change for not only residents, but also staff in our long-term care system. I have been trying for years to come up with some way that I can make a difference. I am a travel nurse and have traveled to many different facilities and feel that I have a lot of insight a lot of wisdom to share. And even more to learn. I will be walking from Ocean City, Maryland to San Francisco, California with my dog Gibson. I hope to get to see and talk with many of you along the way, in hopes that we can raise awareness for what has become a tragic situation for the people that live in long-term care facilities. After much research I have realized that this crisis encompasses all Health Care not just long-term care. The biggest crisis that we have is our patient Staffing ratios,compensation and recognition. Only we can change this, imagine a gathering of nursing staff RN LPNs CNA alike. Imagine us all together as one. We will have power numbers. WE ARE NOT REPLACEABLE!!! Let us create a union of nursing staff. of US, by US and for US. If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem. Thank you and hope you follow my journey. And please share my story. #putthecarebackinlongtermcare #putthecarebackintohealthcare #nursesrock #walkacrossamerica #nurselife #lovemyjob #compassion #elderlylivesmatter #careforthosewhocantcareforthemsleves #loveeachother #helpingthosewhoneedusmost #wanderingnurse #wanderlust #itsadogslife #gibsonthewanderdog

[the-awkward-writer]

Look Into My Eyes

Pairings: Dean x sister!Reader, Sam x sister!Reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: Angst, jealousy, drinking, swearing, kind of stalking (you’ll see), death of a major character

A/N: This is my entry for @thing-you-do-with-that-thing’s Danish Artists Challenge! This one was very different for me; it’s written in third person, and it’s a Winchesters x sister!Reader, which is something I haven’t really done before. However, I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy it too! The fic was inspired by the song. I chose not to put the lyrics in because I felt that it didn’t really work well.

Prompt: Look Into My Eyes: Outlandish

x

Dean found out that he had a little sister when he was 32. Dad was gone and Dean had finally brought himself to read the last few pages of his journal.

Once he read those words, he sprinted off to find Sammy at the library, shoving the leather-bound book in his face. “Look at what I just found,” Dean said to his younger brother.

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he took the notebook from Dean’s hands. His eyes scanned over the words, realization crossing his face as he read.

The case they were supposed to be working on was set on the back burner for a moment.

“We have a little sister,” Sam said in disbelief. His head turned towards Dean, his eyes as wide as saucers.

“Looks like you’re a big brother, Sammy,” Dean said, ruffling the younger man’s hair.

“It’s Sam,” he grumbled, fixing his hair. “We are going to find her, right?”

Dean sits down across from his brother, “Hell yeah we are.”

Sam smiles at his brother and Dean smiles back.

They were going to find their baby sister.

It took days and days of digging through records and scouring the internet, but they did it. They found their little sister.

She was tucked away in a small corner town in upstate Maine.

“You ready to go to the Pine Tree State?” Dean asked Sam as he read the article over his shoulder.

There, in bold print, was evidence that you were alive and kicking: “Y/N Winchester takes the college life by storm, breaking records for amount of scholarship money earned.”

“I don’t know where you guys get your brains from, I swear,” Dean grumbles as he cleans up the mess they made at the library table.

“God I hope she doesn’t think we’re lying,” Sam said the next day.

He and Dean had set out a few hours earlier, hoping to miss most of the traffic by leaving in the early morning hours.

“Which is why we can’t tell her what we do,” Dean said. His hands were gripping Baby’s steering wheel tightly, “She’ll think we’re bat shit crazy. We need her to know that we’re not crazy.”

Sam nodded, “FBI?”

Dean contemplated it for moment, “Yeah. Dad was a marine and we’re FBI.”

The brothers fell into a comfortable silence. Sam’s head was turned to his right as he watched the sun rise and the scenery pass by.

Dean’s gaze was focused on the road, the yellow, white, and black, staring right back at him.

They traveled north from their case in South Carolina towards Maine.

Dean insisted on pushing through. It didn’t matter how many times he had to stop for coffee or energy drinks. He was going to get to Maine as fast as he could.

Sam slept in the passenger seat of Baby. His legs were curled uncomfortably and his neck was resting against the window, making it ache painfully, but he didn’t want to stop either.

His little sister was only a few states away and he couldn’t wait to see her.

It was a twenty hour drive in total, but Dean made it in seventeen.

Welcome to Castine, Maine! The giant green sign read.

Dean breathed a sigh of relief. He was worn and tired. He smelled like gas station, and all he wanted to do was shower, nap, and find his sister.

He easily found a motel; there was one right off of the highway leading into the town.

“Sammy,” Dean nudged Sam’s shoulder. “Sammy, we’re here.”

Sam’s eyes flutter open, “How long was I out?” Sam asked.

“Since Maryland,” Dean chuckled, throwing the door open and climbing out.

“I need a shower and a couple of hours,” Dean said groggily, stumbling to the faded red motel door.

Sam sighed. He was so close to meeting his sister, but he knew that his brother was no good to anyone dead beat tired.

Sam sat on the thin mattress while he waited for his brother in the shower. While he waited for his turn in the shower, Sam found himself lost in thought.

He wondered what she was like. Was she obsessed with Harry Potter and other fandoms the same way that Sam was? Was she crazy about pie and classic rock like Dean? Did she have a crazy amount of dedication that John had, and Sam and Dean never possessed? Did she enjoy school? Or did it come naturally? Did she want to get out of this small town? What did she want to do when she got out of high school?

Wondering and contemplating all of these questions made Sam come to a single conclusion.

Little did Sam know, Dean was in a similar situation.

Dean’s brain was on autopilot. He scrubbed his hair and washed his body with robotic movements. As his subconscious took over his actions, his brain started to wander.

What was her childhood like? John hadn’t raised her, meaning that she wasn’t a hunter. Dean thought she was in a similar situation to Adam. Did John stop by every month and take her somewhere? Did John shower her with attention while his eldest sons were in some run down motel room in the middle of some random state?

His sister wasn’t born into this. She wasn’t apart of the life. She was a good kid. Straight A’s, class president, captain of the soccer, basketball, and lacrosse teams. She deserved better than what a hunting life could offer her.

And that’s exactly what Sam and Dean were doing. They were going to drag her into the life and she won’t ever be able to get back out.

She deserved that apple pie life. A husband, kids, a dog and a white picket fence.

Dean would never forgive himself if his baby sister were killed on a hunt, never getting to live up to her full potential.

Dean finished up in the shower, drying off and throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a clean flannel. Dean didn’t want to disappoint his brother. It was the last thing that he ever dreamed of doing, but he knew that his little sister could not, under any circumstances be brought into the life.

He stumbled into bed, falling asleep quickly while Sam got a shower of his own.

Sam didn’t know how he was going to tell Dean, but there was no way that his sister was going to step foot into that Impala.

Dean took a good four hour nap while Sam surfed the internet, trying to dig up anything he could about Y/N.

He didn’t find much that he didn’t already know. She was a great student, loved by others. She was going somewhere in life.

It was around three when Sam and Dean climbed into Baby and set off in the direction of her high school.

It was a short drive. Ten minutes at the most. Neither of the brothers talked. They just stared out of the windshield, unknowingly submersed in the same thoughts.

As Dean swung into a parking space at her high school, Sam spoke, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Sam asked, looking over at Dean.

“We can’t do this,” Dean whispered. His eyes were glued to the large gray building.

Sam shook his head, “We can’t do this to her.”

Dean sighed and placed his forehead on the wheel. “I’d never forgive myself if we did.”

“So we just drove to Maine for nothing?”

Dean sighed again, “Well I heard they have some pretty decent pies around here, whaddaya say we go check it out?”

Sam nodded, his heart sinking as Dean got further and further away from the school.

Sam and Dean found themselves in Maine at least twice a year. When Y/N was accepted into Stanford, just like Sam was, they found themselves in California instead.

Sometimes, if they were on a case nearby, Dean would drive to Y/N’s small house and sit outside. He didn’t mean to be creepy or stalker-ish. He just wanted to make sure she was safe. While he sat out there, he often times found himself deep in thought.

Dean thought about a lot of things. A simple thought could end up an entire train, circling his brain, gathering new ideas and musings.

The one thing that Dean thought of the most, and he hated himself for it, was how fucking lucky his sister was.

She was born to a hunter. John Winchester, a legendary hunter. But, she wasn’t born into the life, much like Dean. John didn’t drag her into the life. John kept her separate. John let her live her life and do what she always wanted to. Yet he didn’t do that for his boys. He dragged them everywhere. He took them from dingy motel to dingy motel. Dean was forced to look after Sammy. Dean gave up so much for his little brother. He steal and beg for money and gifts. He gave everything for Sammy and John, and got nothing in return.

When Dean found himself breathing heavy, his anger rising, he told himself to reign it in; he had no reason to hate Y/N. It wasn’t her fault. She had no control over the life that she was given, and neither did Dean.

Dean would always feel guilty for the things he thought of when parked outside of her house, but as he pulled away from the curb, he would remind himself of one thing: He fought these monsters every day of his godforsaken life just so normal people like Y/N could live that apple pie life that they always dreamed of.

Sam and Dean were hunters. They were destined for death, not greatness. They were on a one way street. There were no outs, no exits, no left turns. There was only forward, one day more is one step farther down that short road of life. Whenever that short hunter life threw him a curve ball and made him want to give up, Dean thought of her. She was what kept him going.

And as he lay on the ground, Sam above him telling Dean to keep breathing, Dean thought of her. She was safe because Dean kept fighting. Sam was safe because he kept fighting. He only hoped they stayed safe when he was gone.

tags: want to be added or removed? shoot me an ask!

@evyiione

[kaileigabrielle]

Meeting Grayson Dolan (part 1)

Hello, so this is my first story thing lmao- it’s probably not that good but I tried. I hope you guys like it though! And requests are open :) ———————————————— Warnings: None (yet lol) ————————————————

You’ve wanted to take a trip to Los Angles ever since you and your mom moved to California almost a year ago. You haven’t had time because you had to unpack and settle into your new house before traveling. You’ve mentioned taking trips to your mom and she surprised you by planning a week long trip to L.A.

“Y/n! Start getting your stuff together honey! We need to leave soon!” Your mom yelled up the staircase towards your room.

“Okay. I just need to get changed. And don’t worry, I have my outfit picked out I just need to put it on.” You replied as you walked over to your bed. You threw on dark wash jean shorts, a black tank top with a black and red flannel. You put on a pair of old converse and threw your hair up into a messy bun. You then grabbed your suitcase and check quickly to see if you forgot anything which you did. You picked up your sunglasses and put them on top of your head then headed downstairs.

Once you got in the car you and your mom started talking about what you wanted to do while you were there. You obviously wanted to see the Hollywood walk of fame, go shopping at the grove, and you definitely wanted to go to the beach.

You got to the hotel a decided where to go first. You really wanted to go shopping so your mom got directions to the grove and you headed out. You got to the grove and went into a few stores before you and your mom decided it was time to get food. Your mom was going to get a snack for later when you said you’d wait outside the restaurant. Just as you walked out a tall guy bumped into you and spilled your drink all over you.

You gasped loudly at the unexpected contact. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry!!” He exclaimed. “It’s uh. It’s okay. No worries.” You said looked down at your clothes. Looking up, you noticed him staring at you in a concerned way. “I’m fine. Seriously.” You said noticing how attractive he is. “Well let me at least buy you another drink.” He said opening the door to the restaurant you were in before.

“You don’t have to do that.” You replied. “I know. I want to though.” He said smiling. You let out an airy laugh then walked through the door to see your mom coming towards you and the guy. “Hey, y/n. What’s going on?” Your mom asked referring to the stranger standing next to you. “Oh mom. This is…” you looked over realizing you didn’t know his name.

“Grayson- Grayson Dolan.” He held his hand out to shake your moms hand. “I accidentally bumped into your daughter and spilt her drink on her. So I’m getting her another one- if that’s okay with you.” He said quickly.

Your mom smiled at you then replied, “of course that’s okay. Just text me when your done honey.” She said to you then left the restaurant. “So your name is y/n?” He asked as the waitress brought us to a small table.

“Yeah. And wait. You said your name is Grayson Dolan? As in one of the twins on vine and YouTube?” You realized.

“Yup. That’s me.” He said.

“Some of my friends watch your videos but I’ve never gotten around to it. I bet your funny though.” You said smiling.

The waitress took your drink orders then left to get them.

He laughed then asked, “So are you from around here?”

“No. I’m actually not. I’m from Connecticut. But my mom and I moved here to California almost a year ago.” You responded.

“Oh that’s cool. I’m not from here either.” He said.

“Right. Aren’t you from Maryland or something?” You wondered.

“Um no, close though,” he said laughing. “I’m from New Jersey.”

“Ohhhhhh. I totally knew that.” You said returning the laugh.

“But it’s okay that you didn’t know that because now we both get to learn about each other.” He said looking at you smiling.

The waitress brought your drinks to your table. You thanked her then asked Grayson, “So you want to learn more about me?”

“Um, yeah. I do. You seem pretty cool.” He said looking down.

“Well look. I have to run. But I’ll give you my number and we can chat or hang out if you want.” You said confidently.

“That would be awesome.” He said while giving you his phone.

You put your number in his phone and he said he’d call you so you have his number as well. You said goodbye and thanked him. When you were walking out you realized you never cleaned yourself up after the soda incident because you and Grayson were talking so much. You texted your mom that you were going to the bathroom to get clean and she said she’d meet you there. As you looked in the mirror you thought of what just happened with Grayson and couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey honey. Did you have fun? That boy was pretty cute huh?!” Your mom said smiling. “Mommm…. but yes and yes.” You replied. That was the last time you talked about him that day but you thought about him very often.

About 2 days later- *buzz buzz*