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bigskydreaming · 5 years

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Here's a random question for you: I know you're a big (the biggest) proponent of Scanny, but if you had to pick someone else for Danny to have a relationship with, who would it be?

I actually have thought about this! Honestly, my go to after Scott for Danny is Mason, because the younger characters are literally only two years younger than the original characters even if it seemed otherwise a lot of the time. And so given that we never saw Danny and Mason interact due to the whole ‘oh sure, he totally graduated offscreen a year early just in time to not be around for the season that revolved entirely around his specific expertise aka hacking’ nonsense....I can easily imagine a few years in the future, Danny and Mason meet in college or grad school or somewhere they’re on even footing and learn they have mutual friends/experiences/knowledge in common and from there grow into a friendship and also maybe then they’re boyfriends and then husbands and then dads and then grandpas and happily ever after yada yada.

Meanwhile, if Danny encountered Liam at any age, I feel like he would just be like: “No.” And then wave his hand around in Liam’s direction in a circle like to encompass all of him, as he’s all. “All of this is just exhausting, whatever it is. I am too old and too tired to deal with this....vibe you’re emitting.”

LOL I can’t explain it, like Liam and Mason have entirely different energies and I feel that age isn’t even a factor as to why Danny would just not at all have patience for Liam. Like, I don’t think he’d DISLIKE him exactly, so much as just....’I’m going to be over here, and you’re going to stay over there, and I just think that’ll be best for everyone and we’ll all get along great that way.”

Hmm, who else. Controversial I guess, but I actually did kinda like Dethan, waaaay back at the very beginning of it, before that very same season crapped all over any real potential it or even the twins at all had in the show. Given that I’m fine with them and even like them in AUs or fics that diverge before they had anything to do with Boyd’s death, but if that’s at all in canon for a story, I have no interest in them as anything other than cannon fodder. Which let’s be real, you always kinda have a need for in TW stories.

But initially, I REALLY REALLY liked the fact that there was this (at the time) mysterious new character that was there for DANNY, like, deliberately seeking him out because of real or suspected significance....I was all for that, because I was like yes, excellent, clearly this means they have plans to focus more on Danny and bring him into the core group eventually and also obviously Danny’s gonna turn this guy away from the Dark Side and make him betray his pack of overcompensating losers for Danny and the power of LOVE because who doesn’t love that trope, am I right? Its all so clearly laid out!

Ahhh, to be that dumb again.

Anyway, so in AUs or early canon-divergent fics, I can be all for Danny and a better, more fleshed out and non-jackass depiction of Ethan. But by the time Ethan returns in actual canon, the fact that he’s with Jackson just irritates me in a ‘hooking up with your ex’s best friend is a jerk move and we get it, show, you don’t consider Danny important and never did, jfc’ kinda way. Beyond that though, I’m just like, Jackson can have him at that point, they deserve each other, go Team Jerkwad.

I don’t see Theo and Danny ever happening because I like to think that Danny’s view on scheming, ambitious and boundary-breaking friends with possible homicidal inclinations has changed since Jackson and Ethan’s presences in his life, and he’s like.....”Nah, I’m not doing that again. Two of that type are enough for me, and I’m kinda always gonna put up with Jackson at this point because...look, I had my reasons probably, just because I can’t remember the basis of our friendship now, like....just back off, okay?”

Just saying, I don’t think he’d inherently hate Theo if Theo’s story happens in an AU kinda way where he doesn’t murder and betray his way through the show’s social hierarchy, lol, but Danny would still just be like “Look, whatever your issues are dude, I’m not trying to judge you for them if you don’t make me, but like, go put in some you-time offstage and then maybe we can talk. I am not emotionally equipped to put up with the schemes of yet another person whose whole thing seems to be ‘am I good or bad, you decide, because I sure as hell can’t.’ I don’t care how big your biceps are, that is not going to be a deciding factor for me, not this time, no sir, I have learned from my mistakes, I have had hashtag Growth, and you need to go now, and also please put on a shirt. I SAID GOOD DAY, SIR!”

Danny and Stiles is Lol That’s A No For Me, of course, Danny and Boyd I would be totally down for and can picture them being like, a snark queen power couple who hang back and watch all the drama unfold around them while providing entertaining commentary back and forth to each other but otherwise act like they’re not even there, and when someone annoyed by their running commentary finally snaps and goes “Why are you two even here?” like, I can so picture Danny and Boyd just blinking slowly and looking at them, then at each other, then back at them as if confused by the question.

“It’s Date Night,” Danny says slowly, in the tone reserved for being asked to solve the equation on the board that’s already got the answer written out right there.

“Okay, fine. But why are you HERE, then? If its your Date Night, like.....go have your date then. Catch a movie. Its all good, we don’t need you guys here at the moment.”

Boyd squints at them. “This IS our date. Whoppers?”

The latter is directed to Danny, as Boyd extends the box of candy towards him.

“Yes please,” Danny says, reaching for a handful.

Exasperated sighs are heard all around the room.

LOL anyway....who else....Jackson tends to be a no for me too, not for any real reason beyond like....I’ve read too many fics where they’re essentially treated as the Mirror Universe version of S/ciles, and you KNOW how I feel about that ship, so like, all even dubiously associated ships are by mere proxy also noped by me. *Shrugs*

Which mostly just leaves Isaac, and....idk, tbh. I’m not inherently opposed to them, and I’ve actually even read a couple of fairly long-ish and pretty enjoyable Danny/Isaac fics. But enjoyable in the sense of like....just as their own thing, a fun romance set in the TW setting/universe, between Danny and an Isaac-shaped woobiewolf. As the few Danny/Isaac fics I’ve found over the years tend to suffer from the exact same thing that’s always kept me from really ever getting into Scott and Isaac as a couple in anything other than theory...

Like, in the fics I’ve tried, I always tend to run into the same tendency to just....sand down all of Isaac’s rough edges and make him this shy, insecure, soft boy who is withdrawn until Danny or Scott bring him out of his shell....even when its based on the events of the show and Isaac’s already been turned into his leather jacket-wearing, snark-wielding, deliberately apathetic werewolfsona.

And that’s just...not Isaac to me? So if I treat him as an original character basically, I can enjoy those stories, and do, just because there’s sooooo little Danny-centric fic that awhile back, I absolutely spent a good year or so making sure like, I found every last scrap of it, lol. I went spelunking in some deep, dark places in search of even a little spotlight time for Danny, because He Deserved Better and I was willing to put up with a lot to see him get even a little (except for like, blatant and unavoidable Scott hate being front and center in the fic as well. Then I exited with rapidity. I love Danny, but not even for him can I stomach that).

But yeah, otherwise, I very very rarely found a lot of Isaac fics, no matter who he was paired with, where he wasn’t like....constantly soft and vulnerable and the focus of Scott or Danny or whomever else’s regular attempts to comfort and protect him. Which I mean, I love Isaac, and I’m always projecting onto abuse survivors in fiction even if just a little bit, so its not that I object to the comfort and desire to protect him parts, just the sheer unevenness that tends to be present in his dynamics as well. I’ve always said that for me, the true theme of TW was survivor empowerment, that all of these kids had been hurt and exploited and traumatized in various ways and they all struggled individually and together to find ways to cope and to heal, and also to feel empowered enough to protect THEMSELVES from whatever or whomever tried to hurt them again in the future.

And that’s the element that so often is missing from Isaac’s arc in fics, IMO...any hint of the character who he spent a lot of time and effort growing into on the show. Evolving first into a character who reveled in the power he’d been given and that made him feel safe and strong for the first time in his life, to the point where he was quite frankly an asshole a lot of the time.

But then from there he grew into a character who came to terms with the reality that as his own power grew, so did the power of the new tormentors he was now often in conflict with, due to the source of his newfound strength...and his strength and brutality and apathy were not at all the tools able to help him find true protection and recovery in his new world. They just weren’t going to get the job done, and that’s when he started to let Scott’s example sink in and take his lead from that, finding the power and strength in committing himself more to others, becoming more of an active participant rather than just a spectator or a henchman who needed orders before acting.....allowing himself to be vulnerable in exchange for the benefits being more open to others afforded him.

Isaac’s growth onscreen from season to season was the very thing that made him so interesting and enjoyable to me....as well as how his bond with Scott did the same thing....so when the former isn’t really present in fics, even the presence of the latter doesn’t really do a whole lot for me. And its the same thing in the Danny/Isaac fics I read, so yeah. There for it in theory, but the execution I’ve found has never done anything to make it any more compelling a ship possibility than any other random ship.

I think that’s pretty much everyone though? Well I mean like, there’s Corey, but I don’t have strong feelings about that possibility one way or another. And there’s Derek, given the whole ‘Miguel’ thing in S1, but you know me, even in future/aged-up settings, I still tend to be ‘what if Derek dated people his own damn age tho, like just for the sheer novelty, let’s explore that some more’.....not to mention that as the show progressed, the more fandom hated on Braeden and her relationship with Derek, the more I spite-shipped them. To the extent that now I find it hard to picture even AUs where they’re not endgame, or if Derek HAS to be in another ship for some reason, then they still were a super serious relationship before the fic and there’s always that hint of her being the one that got away, kinda.

*Shrugs* What can I say? The enemy ship of my enemy is my OTP. The Art of War, fandom style. I have no problem admitting it, lolol.

But yeah, that’s all of them I think now.

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placetobenation · 6 years

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As many of you are aware, WWE Network is pretty packed with all sorts of content. And as you may also know, we here at Place to Be Nation love long term, in depth projects. So, as part of this initiative, members of the PTBN Staff are choosing programs at random and after watching each program, they will share their thoughts, notes and recommendations with our readers. So, settle in and enjoy this epic ride through wrestling history!

Smackdown! October 31st 2002

Run Time: 83 Minutes

Why Jacob Why???: Since this edition be running right around Halloween, I thought I’d pick one of the more Halloween-centric WWF/E shows. Plus, it’s an excuse to watch the Smackdown Six.

Best Segment

OhhhhhhhhYEEEEAAAAH!

Aaron George: Matt Hardy enters the Halloween party with a boom box blasting his theme song. Sure he could have entered without it, but what kind of Mattitude would that project? Before long he’s declaring Moolah and Mae Young to be “Version BC” and quickly notes that their Mattitude has all dried up. We would have been treated to sheer perfection if only he had blasted that sweet boom box on his exit.

Brian Bayless: While seeing John Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice and rapping was great and ended up elevating his career, I though the brawl between Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle backstage at the party was the best of the night. It had everything from comedy (We saw Brother Love revealed behind the Scream mask & costume, the same costume Angle was using to avoid Benoit earlier in the show) and a wild brawl that saw Benoit break a bottle over Angle’s head just before getting put through a table with an Angle Slam. And poor Shannon Moore got tossed across the room by Angle.

Jacob Williams: It feels like cheating to pick the entire Halloween party. At the same time, it’s hard to narrow it down because a lot it was very fluid. If I had to pick one bit, it would be Tajiri’s romantic encounter with Mae and Moolah. His facials were classic.

Calum McDougall: “OOHHH YEAAAH!!” – there was only one winner in this one for me and it was Matt Hardy at the Halloween Party. From him coming in with his own music playing on a boom box to calling Mae and Moolah “Version B.C.” and everything in between, it was brilliant stuff.

Dave Hall: Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit brawl at the Halloween Party. The seeds of this segment lay in the earlier segment where Benoit was looking for Kurt, who was hiding under the Scream outfit. Following Angle’s match with Eddie, Kurt comes back to the party looking for Benoit. Kurt’s approach to the “Scream Character” believing it to be Benoit was a good call back to the earlier segment, and I loved seeing the cameo by Brother Love. The brawl between the two men following this was awesome, using the tables, wall and other party elements.

Best Match

Uhhhh stay out of Riverdale!

Aaron George: It’s the brown water match and it’s not even close. Sure every other match on the card was technically better, but Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson gave us a “stiff” (as per Tazzzzzzzzz) match that will always be etched into the annals of time as simply the best to take place in a pool of liquid shit. They can tell us it’s chocolate, but honestly what kind of chocolate has that consistency? It’s liquid human shit which is clearly their metaphor for the poopstorm that is coming in the form of this feud. Was the ref rolling around silly? Sure. Were Torrie’s chops DIRECTLY to Dawn’s breasts the best since Flair/Steamboat in 89? Absolutely. The best part was after the loss Dawn gave Torrie a look that clearly said, “Yeah? Well I’m going to fuck your dad.” A threat I have often used but have very rarely carried out. I can only imagine Vince McMahon Sr. looking down from Heaven, beaming with pride as his son carried on the family business. ******

Brian Bayless: Edge vs. Chris Benoit was an excellent TV match. The work was crisp and the finish made sense as it continued the friction between Angle and Benoit, who were the Smackdown Tag Team Champions.

Jacob Williams: On a show with some quality wrestling, the opener between Benoit and Edge felt like the most complete match. I love that they could come out and just have a great, straight-up match to start the show.

Calum McDougall: As good as Edge vs Benoit and Angle vs Eddie were, my favorite match was actually Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio. This match had three distinct parts to it – the early section with Rey out maneuvering the big man, followed by the middle part where Brock throws Rey around like a rag-doll and finally the end where Big Show comes out and manhandles both of them, looking like a complete beast in the process. Great stuff for the short time it was on, and call me crazy, but I wouldn’t mind seeing another Brock-Rey match in 2018.

Dave Hall: Kurt Angle vs Eddie Guerrero. On a show with so many options for the title of Match of the Night, Kurt and Eddie absolutely stole the show. Kurt was a wrestling machine, and looked amazing in the ring, while Eddie was crisp and quick. The two men countered each other finishers, and put on a clinic. The match built really well to some great action in the last few minutes, and a decent ending for a TV match. Benoit’s interference was appropriate to the storyline, and I loved how he took out Eddie and Chavo as well, demonstrating he was not working with them.

Most Cringeworthy Moment

Trojan Vince! Don’t let it in the city!

Aaron George: I’m not going to say that Stephanie McMahon isn’t an attractive woman, but on a show with the aforementioned Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie, does EVERY person who comes into Steph’s radius have to fawn on her as though she were Helen of fucking Troy. Are those the tits that launched a thousand ships?

Brian Bayless: Eric Bischoff making out with Stephanie McMahon after he was in her office wearing a Vince McMahon mask was something I never need to see again in my life. It was creepy in the worst way possible.

Jacob Williams: Sorry Michael Cole, but awkwardly perving out during the women’s pool-of-chocolate-sauce match can’t compete with Bischoff forcing himself on a woman 20 years his junior in a weird incest roleplay.

Calum McDougall: The piped-in cheers every time Stephanie McMahon was on the screen. Now I know that all of the cheers on SmackDown at this time were piped in, but there was no reason for Stephanie’s to be top-tier babyface loud other than pure ego. Only Brock and maybe Edge got louder “cheers”. I don’t know whether them going to these lengths to show Stephanie as being popular is cringy or outright infuriating, but it certainly rubbed me the wrong way.

Dave Hall: Dawn Marie vs. Torrie Wilson.This segment showed us just how far women’s wrestling has come in 16 years. This match was horrible to watch, with the two women degrading themselves in little clothing and in a pool of chocolate milk. I hated every moment of this match, including the customary referee gets rolled over spot. I am so glad the women’s evolution means we don’t have to see this crap any more.

Funniest Line/Moment

Hashtag Tajiritoo

Aaron George: I’m still laughing at the image of Al Wilson dressed up like a greaser. Still.

Brian Bayless: Tajiri’s facial expressions while Mae Young forced him to be her boyfriend. He is one of the more underrated comedic performers in wrestling.

Jacob Williams: Again, I can’t say enough about Tajiri’s face after the Mae Young smooch. I love Tajiri.

Calum McDougall: “He’s saying Do La Ray, you know what that means Cole? It means “I’m beating up Kurt”” – Tazz doing his best to boost the sales of his Spanish to Red Hook dictionary.

Dave Hall: With so much good “in-ring” action, there were not a lot of amazingly funny lines. However during the Eddie vs Angle match, Tazz made the comment “I like Guerrero… I like Kurt… I like everyone on the Smackdown roster except you Michael Cole”. Also John Cena’s “Vanilla Ice Costume” was a great reminder of how he broke out in the WWE. But when he told Stephanie that Vince was looking for her, and she called him out, and he then did the “damn, I look stupid moment”, I laughed out loud. Was a great reminder that John Cena has more in his character than the hustle/loyalty/respect stuff we have seen since about 2005/06, he can do good comedy and was willing to poke fun at himself.

Highlights

Remember when we weren’t insufferable pricks??

Aaron George: The entire concept of doing a Halloween show was a TON of fun, and made the show instantly memorable. They should do more theme shows today. I know that they are actively going for homogenous, but a curve ball like this would be more than welcome. The costumes were almost universally silly. Faarooq playing Charles Wright was bang on, and while you’d think that Chuck Palumbo dressed as a Native American would go down as 2018’s most offensive, you’d be horrible mistaken as the honor easily went to the fan dressed as the Rock in full blackface. Almost all the matches were top-tier television matches. “YEAH MY DURANGO, NUMBER 95,” is possibly the most Rob Zombie lyric ever. There is something beautiful about Chris Benoit simply avoiding Edge’s top rope dropkick rather than finding a way to kick him six times on the way down. Benoit also sells a turnbuckle drop in what can only be described as “like when you’re about to uppercut Von Kaiser in Mike Tyson’s Punch Out.” Teenage Brock Lesnar is always a blast to have around. Kurt Angle staring angrily into the audience as they chant “You Suck” is waaaay better that the smiling Kurt we get today. He STILL doesn’t get why they are booing him. He also has the best near falls in the business. I could also watch Brock throw Rey Mysterio around all day. Even then he was one of the better sellers in the business. Speaking of best in the business: Tajiri’s kicks. Oh and the Brother Love reveal was great.

Brian Bayless: The party segments backstage were amusing enough and some of the costumes were funny (Chuck Palumbo as a Native American and Disco Tajiri) while some were just lame (Phantom of the Opera Billy Kidman). And while not as good as Edge vs. Benoit, Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero was a solid match ending with Benoit whacking Angle with the belt setting up Eddie to hit a frog splash for the win. Matt Hardy with his Version 1.0 character was amusing and I liked his entrance into the party. The Pudding match between Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie was surprisingly intense and I can only imagine how hard Vince was laughing backstage after Torrie tossed ring announcer Tony Chimel into the pudding. And of course, Al Wilson dressed as a greaser was a sight to behold.

Jacob Williams: The Halloween stuff was a fun throwback to mid-80s TNT campiness that gave everyone a chance to show their personalities. I love any situation that shows that the wrestlers all hang out backstage and are basically coworkers. Smackdown had a nice roster who were either fun characters, amazing wrestlers, or a combination of both. Tazz and Cole are a fun commentary team that really fit the show.

Calum McDougall: The way the Big Show was presented was really good. It’s hard to imagine in 2018 that there was a time where people actually believed that Brock Lesnar couldn’t beat the Big Show. At least I believed that anyway… Tazz trying to call the Torrie/Dawn “match” as an actual athletic contest was excellent stuff. I watched this show on the Friday before WWE Evolution, and this really does show how far women’s wrestling has come in the last 16 years.

Dave Hall: Pretty well the entire show was a highlight. The in-ring product was amazing, and as much as I wanted to hate Chris Benoit, I loved his match with Edge and his brawl with Angle. Matt Hardy Version 1 was great, and a good reminder that Hardy always the better “character” to his brother Jeff. Brock Lesnar was awesome in the ring, although I felt he sold a little too much at the end of his match with Rey. Big Show was booked as the monster heel he excelled at. This show was a reminder of how good all these guys were in 2002, and also how much WWE missed the mark with so many of them over the years.

Lowlights

Aaron George: Big Show wrestling in his street clothes is awful. Is that business casual for him? He just looks like a god damn slob. His line delivery is worse. Is he bored? Stoned? Or did he simply study at the Stephanie McMahon “Petulant Child” school of acting? Seriously go back and watch how she says REY MYSTERIO in the opening segment when she gives him a match with Brock. Who on Earth talks that way? What on Earth was the point of the Bischoff/Stephanie kiss of weirdness? I know that she’s a sex symbol for the ages, but poor Eric simply doesn’t know what to do with himself after kissing the slutty witch of the east. Fuck Big Show for clearly ruining what could have been an awesome dream match. While I’m at it like me correct something I said earlier: there is no way Vince Sr. is in Heaven. Especially when you have a best friend named “Toots.”

Brian Bayless: One of the main goals was to build up Big Show as Brock Lesnar’s title opponent for Survivor Series and man did he fail tonight. His street clothes looked was terrible, his conditioning worse (he was gassed after beating Rikishi in a match that lasted under three minutes long), and the cut a terribly long promo that no one seemed to care about. Stephanie McMahon’s segments were all awkward tonight too.

Jacob Williams: The feud between Lesnar and Big Show was lackluster. Show looked so bloated and out of place in his biker dad jeans against a young stud like Brock. Show gasping through his promo and Brock’s stilted delivery of an S-Bomb in his response didn’t help matters. The women having to wrestle in a kiddy pool filled with Ovaltine was not a high point either.

Calum McDougall: The Big Show promo was unnecessarily long, he made the point, then made it another 2 or 3 times before Brock finally appeared. Also, Eddie Guerrero’s very noticeable bacne is a sad lowlight in retrospect.

Dave Hall: The only real lowlights for me were the segments involving Stephanie. The first segment seemed just an excuse to show off Stephanie’s breasts, while the kissing segment with Eric Bischoff, while humorous, was not necessary. With the amazing in-ring action, it made Stephanie’s part in the show seem really self-indulgent.

Wild Card BABY!!!

Wrestling!

I Can’t Believe This Got Over: It’s not rap. It’s bad slam poetry. It became worse slam poetry. – AG

Al Wilson Tidbit #1: Paul Heyman created the Al Wilson storyline and according to Torrie Wilson, Heyman gave her the option to use an actor in the role or her actual father and Torrie went with her dad because she rarely saw him and thought it would be fun as he used to act when he was younger. – BB

The Award for Most Misplaced Optimism: “Exciting times ahead in WWE after the signing of Scott Steiner.” I don’t think this one needs much explanation, let’s just let it sink in. – CM

Best Babyface in Peril: Person in the bear costume. – JW

Number of Sexual Assaults: 3! Mae Young accosts Tajiri. Eric Bischoff forces himself on Stephanie. (who is into it???) The letch in the Kane mask filming Dawn Marie. Someone should show Randy Savage footage of this guy to clearly demonstrate lust in the eyes. There is no way his hard on didn’t pierce someone’s back in front of him.

Al Wilson Tidbit #2: According to Dawn Marie, the toughest thing for her to do was kiss Al Wilson. However, Vince McMahon loved watching them kiss and even said he wanted to see “tongue.” – BB

Memories Are Forever: Looking at Brock and Kurt in amazing ring shape, and much smaller than recent years, Matt Hardy’s early character development, John Cena’s freestyle rapping and Edge using more counter wrestling really brought back some amazing memories of what these guys could do at the time. Watching this show made me think of the little things that seem to be missing today. – DH

Best Tidbit: According to Wade Keller of “Pro Wrestling Torch,” Brock Lesnar was originally going to defend the title against Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series 2002 but Hogan backed out, reportedly due to refusing to put Lesnar over. After contemplating between Chris Benoit and Big Show as replacements, Vince McMahon ultimately decided to go with Show despite Heyman pushing for a Benoit/Lesnar program. – BB

Best at Fooling Security Staff: The master of disguise Eric Bischoff strikes again. Twice now in 2002 Easy E has managed to get past SmackDown security just by wearing a mask. Extra points awarded for a good Vince impression, but points deducted for this not being as good as Billy and Chuck’s wedding. – CM

Al Wilson Tidbit #3: Dawn Marie also said that the Al Wilson angle was supposed to go on even longer with lawyers and Torrie’s brother added to the storyline but that all got nixed. – BB

Least Likely to Still be Full Time in 2018: Out of everyone on this show, who would have thought that it would be Rey Mysterio, the man of 619 knee operations, who would be the only one still wrestling full-time for WWE in 2018? – CM

I Really Tried…: I found it so hard watching Chris Benoit on this show. I really wanted to just overlook and hate him, but his match against Edge was amazing, and his brawl with Kurt was also great. As much as I wanted to, I just could not hate Benoit in this show, and I find myself really conflicted because of this. – DH

Final Thoughts

Come on! We needed one shot of this smoke show.

Aaron George: This was a fun, easy watch littered with great television matches and memorable moments. It’s easy to think of Smackdown as the “B” show, but it was clearly running on all cylinders here. Now someone please give me 75 minutes of Brock Lesnar manhandling Rey Mysterio! RATING: 7/10

Brian Bayless: The Halloween party theme worked really well and usually the WWE Holiday themed shows tend to be weak. It is also memorable for the creation of Cena’s rap character. We had a really good match and an intense brawl between Angle and Benoit. The Big Show segments were terrible but overall a fun show that breezed along. RATING: 7/10

Jacob Williams: This was a finely constructed piece of wrestling television. The Halloween stuff was enough to give the show a unique feel without smothering it. Just about everyone on the show looked to be pretty over and had something at least semi-meaningful to do. Plus, there were good matches to round everything out. Aside from the questionable Big Show spot, Smackdown looked to be in a pretty great groove at this point, so this show was a breezy watch. RATING: 7/10

Calum McDougall: It’s easy to see why SmackDown in ’02 was highly thought of at the time and is fondly remembered to this day, this stuff holds up so well. I had a smile on my face from start to finish, as this took me right back to when I would watch this on a Saturday morning. It was a fantastic trip down memory lane. It would be difficult to put on a bad show with this roster, and the quality of matches that they can and did put on was outrageous. I loved this, excellent stuff. RATING: 9/10

Dave Hall: This episode of Smackdown was awesome. 4 great matches, some good brawling out of the ring, John Cena giving us some freestyle and some good booking made this card one I would watch again. The only thing stopping it from being a 10 out of 10 was the Dawn Marie vs Torrie Wilson fiasco, and Stephanie’s self-indulgence. I may just need to watch some more Smackdown from this era… RATING: 9/10

And we are out! Where will the Network Adventure travel to? Which Coliseum will be conquered next? Which of these assholes will quit the project in an indignant rage??? Find out in TWO WEEKS!

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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itsiotrecords-blog · 7 years

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http://ift.tt/2uDjoL2

Who doesn’t know all about the 140 character goodness of Twitter these days? Originally, the 140 character limit was designed to allow users to send a single “tweet” through a single SMS text message. With over 300 million active monthly Twitter users, it’s hard to imagine a time when people weren’t using this social media giant! If we zap back into reality though, the service has only been a part of our lives for just over a decade. This has us all remembering a time when celebrities, politicians and billionaires were just discovering Twitter. At first, it was just a fun little pop sensation that kept them all current, but soon they realized that it was a powerful requirement to staying relevant! So in researching some of the most active celebrities and Twitter users these days, it is interesting that just like every person’s first words as a baby, we each get one shot at our first tweet! Some make the most of it, tweeting a profound statement or making a hilarious entry, while others have a very anti-climactic debut to the twitter-verse. Amazingly, there is one instance where someone has thousands of followers despite not having ever sent a tweet! While sifting through countless celebrity accounts, I have identified 15 of the best, funniest and most interesting “first tweets” put out to the world.

#1 Donald Trump Way back in 2009, when Donald Trump was some ordinary celebrity billionaire with a reality television series, he (or rather his people) decided to try this Twitter thing. Over 33 million followers, a Presidential election and daily news media discussion concerning his personal tweeting later and The Donald has so much social media power that the mere mention of a company or industry in a single tweet can create a change in the stock market! But waaaay back in 2009 when it all started for him, his epic first tweet was asking people to tune in to watch “him” do the David Letterman Top Ten list. At that point, other people obviously handled his tweeting for him. He wasn’t even a candidate at that point, but perhaps his old tweeting habits would serve him better than the personal touches he has added now.

#2 Katy Perry With over 100.5 million Twitter followers, Katy Perry is the number one account with the most followers in the world. That is such an amazingly impressive number that she could literally stop performing and recording music and just work her Twitter presence and still generate millions of dollars every year! But the monster that is her Twitter following all got started back on February 20, 2009 when she decided to tweet out that she had just arrived in Berlin and that she was feeling better (she was apparently a little under the weather). She also excitedly acknowledged her new Twitter presence and called herself a “follower.” Well Katy, with over 100 million “followers” to your account, we think the tables have turned. Who is the follower now Miss Perry?

#3 Cashmeousside Girl Danielle Bregoli, more commonly known as “Cashmeousside Girl” is known for her terrible behavior toward…well, everyone! She rocked the world when she went on Dr. Phil and showed off. Since then, she’s become one of the most viral memes of all time, has been on a variety of web shows and commands (and gets) big bucks to make personal appearances and say her famous catchphrase “cashmeousside, how bou dat?” But this has all been at the age of 13 when she was young and dumb. She’s now at the mature age of 14 and seems to be growing up. So what was her first tweet almost five long months ago? It doesn’t make much sense to anyone that doesn’t know what on earth she’s talking about. Calling some girl a hoe and referring to a butt pad. Way to keep your twitter entrance classy Danielle.

#4 Justin Bieber While Katy Perry is solidly in first place when it comes to Twitter followers, Justin Bieber is at an impressive second place. Bieber has had his ups and downs as a celebrity, going from cute kid singing his heart out on YouTube to international sensation, to self-absorbed douchebag celebrity to back on top and a little more classy. Through it all, his loyal fans (Beliebers) have kept the faith in him. His Twitter following has climbed and climbed since his first tweet in May of 2009. His first tweet was nothing ceremonial, except to promote “One Time” on his myspace page. If he knew then that his Twitter following would be as substantial as it has become, he likely would have said something more clever. But then again… this is Justin Bieber we’re talking about.

#5 Kris Jenner March 10, 2009 is a day that will live in infamy. Why? Because it’s the day Kris Jenner announced herself to the Twitter world and confessed that she invited all of her kids to join Twitter as well. I wonder if Kris realized the Pandora’s Box she was opening with those invites?! Truthfully, they probably would have found Twitter anyway, as it has obviously become a force that just couldn’t be stopped. Kris has managed to keep her fame and fame of her children going well past the typical fifteen minutes they deserve. She is still a hot reality star and a household name that most everyone recognizes. So sure enough, she’s been tweeting up a storm ever since that fateful day and hasn’t looked back. Thanks for nothing Kris.

#6 Kim Kardashian West One of those kids Kris Jenner invited to Twitter was her oldest daughter Kim Kardashian West. We all have come to know and tolerate Kim for so many different reasons. She is best known as being famous for being famous. Kim has done modeling, but it was the reality television show Keeping Up With the Kardashians that really made her “career” take off. So what was Kim’s first tweet and when? Well, it was a whole 11 days after her mother’s invitation to join (I guess she had to do some research) and Kim said to the world that she was on Twitter and while there were some fakes, this was the real one. A likely story for any posers out there. Of course, this was before Twitter had “verified” accounts.

#7 Oprah In April of 2009, her royal highness, Oprah Winfrey herself graced the Twitter world with her presence for the first time! Oprah today has one of the most followed accounts on the whole platform, but at the time, she very humbly said hello and acknowledged that she was a little late to the Twitter party by saying that she was feeling “really 21st century.” Oprah also said hello to the “Twitters.” This has us really wondering…considering that the term for those using Twitter tends to be questionable. Universally though, we are pretty sure that the term “Twitters” never took off. Tweeps, Tweeple and others have picked up some steam, but there isn’t just one word for users of the site. Sorry Oprah, but you don’t get to claim that one.

#8 John Cleese Some of the funniest things ever said didn’t actually use a whole lot of words, or require an extensive setup. John Cleese is known for his work with “Monty Python” and he has had a very prosperous and successful acting career. He is also one of the funniest British actors of his generation. He is also 77 years old, leaving us to think that perhaps he may not have the most to say on Twitter. True, his account isn’t at the top of the most followed list, but he does have 5.5 million followers. His first tweet was way back in December of 2007 when the platform was still very new. His profound entry into the world of Twitter was to say “ i am still alive” (all in lowercase with no punctuation). Nuff said I suppose John. Well done.

#9 CNN CNN has among the highest followings on Twitter. They have embraced the notion of using social media to expand their mission of delivering information and breaking news beautifully. Coming into the world of Twitter in early 2007 was a brilliant early move and they have reaped the rewards of being the news source with the highest following. So what amazing statement did they make as their first mark on the world of social media via Twitter? It was to announce the death of Anna Nicole Smith at age 39. While this was truly a sad event that no one would mock, it does seem somewhat odd that this is the first thing CNN decided to post. Either way, welcome to the tweeting world CNN, we’re glad you were one of the first to the party.

#10 Conan O’Brien Spending years as NBC’s show after the Tonight Show, Conan O’Brien established himself as funny, personable and one of the greats in late night television. Conan briefly took the reins of The Tonight Show but was quickly let go. Not one to run away with his tail between his legs, Conan went over to TBS and introduced their first step into late night. His show Conan has been extremely popular and well received by fans. Conan has been on Twitter for awhile now and looking back to his first tweet, we are not at all disappointed to see how funny he was from the beginning. He tweeted that he interviewed a squirrel in his backyard and then threw to commercial. This was in early 2010 in between his work at NBC and TBS. I think he was trying to tell us something with this tweet.

#11 Bill Clinton Former President of the United States Bill Clinton really needs to introduction. He spent eight years living in The White House and sincerely believed that he would be living there for four more at least. Bill didn’t have the luxury or burden (depending upon how you look at it) of Twitter during his two terms, but he did decide to join the party in April of 2013. He was a little late, but decided to get on board anyway. I guess he figured he’d better get all setup with social media before the 2016 election. Stephen Colbert gets the honor of being the topic of his first tweet. Clinton asked if he was sane? Then he said that he was cool. He even added a hashtag at the end of the tweet…#cgiu. Look at you being all modern Bill!

#12 Evan Spiegel Evan Spiegel is known as the youngest billionaire in the world. He is the CEO and co-founder of Snapchat. Sure, all these social media platforms are kind of indirectly competing with one another, but they still all use each of the other’s platform (even if it’s a secret account). Evan Spiegel has a verified Twitter account, meaning that it is the REAL him. He only has 58,000 followers though, which seems insanely low for such a high profile guy. He joined Twitter in 2010, so what gives? Well, you may notice that he has never…not once sent a tweet! Evan apparently has nothing to tweet about…but plenty to snapchat about I guess. It is kind of interesting though that 58,000 people follow an account that says absolutely nothing. The silence is deafening.

#13 Jerry Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most respected comedians in the world. Heck…at this point, he is one of the most respected comedians in history! He has carved out his place in history for sure. Best known for his “show about nothing” called Seinfeld back in the 90s, when Jerry speaks, everyone listens. So in 2013, when he opted to join Twitter, he said “hello Tweetarians” (that’s a new one) and acknowledged that this could be his last tweet. Well thankfully, it wasn’t his last tweet. He has tweeted out nearly 1,500 times and is followed by almost 5 million people! Surely he realized quickly that this was a pretty great way to communicate with fans and promote the work he does. Good thinking Jerry and we’re glad you decided to stick around.

#14 Kate Upton Model and actress Kate Upton may get the award for most hilarious first tweet. We have got to give her a lot of credit for coming up with something so witty to introduce herself to the world of Twitter. Back in October of 2010, she tweeted out: “I am trying to figure out how to make the background a picture of my boobs.” While this is surely something many slack jawed gawkers would absolutely love (anyone that has seen Kate Upton will get the point), Twitter wouldn’t stand for it I’m sure. She now has a couple of million followers, which clearly indicates that she doesn’t take building her social media presence all that seriously. Either way…she has a verified account and a few thousand tweets under her belt.

#15 First Tweet Ever…Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter) We really couldn’t have a list like this without posting the first official tweet ever sent out into the vast expanse of the Twitter-verse. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter established his account, @jack in March of 2006. What did he say you may ask? “Just setting up my twttr.” That’s kind of a let down when it comes to a historic event like the first tweet. Heck…he didn’t even spell out the word “Twitter.” He wasn’t even close to the 140 character limit! To paraphrase Forrest Gump: “If I had known that would be the first tweet I sent the world…I’d have thought of something better to say.” Nevertheless, when you need a conversation starter, here is a little nugget of information for you…the first tweet in history.

Source: TheRichest

#IoTRecords

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type2diabetestreatments-blog · 7 years

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D-Blog Week: On Costs, Fears, and Negativity

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/d-blog-week-on-costs-fears-and-negativity/

D-Blog Week: On Costs, Fears, and Negativity

There's a lot at stake for the Diabetes Community these days, and the costs are high for all of us.

So it's fitting that today, the second day of Diabetes Blog Week 2017, the focus is on financial burden and other obstacles:

"Let’s discuss how cost impacts our diabetes care. Do you have advice to share? ... (And) are there other factors such as accessibility or education that cause barriers to your diabetes care?"

Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock knows that the cost issue is at the heart of some extremely upsetting conversations these days -- made worse, it seems, by the overall current state of affairs on everything-healthcare and how Americans in general seem more polarized than we have been in a very long time.

Specifically:

There's an Insulin Affordability and Access Crisis happening in the U.S., and many are experiencing The Human Cost in ways they never have before. Yep, there's a very real Black Market emerging for insulin as people get increasingly desperate (as NBC reports).

Insurers and payers are regularly forcing patients to switch medications and supplies because they prioritize profit over good decisions in the name of health. They don't seem to understand that #DiabetesAccessMatters and that it should be a #PrescriberPrevails mindset, leaving the choice up to the physician and patient as to what will treatment is optimal for any given individual PWD (person with diabetes).

There's a staggering amount of misinformation being circulated among both the general public and key decision-makers in healthcare policy. Take the latest comment from federal Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, who made an ignorant statement about diabetes in the context of picking and choosing who gets healthcare coverage or what certain people would pay, based on their particular pre-existing conditions.

Politics trumps any reasonable discussion on healthcare reform right now, and everyone is on pins and needles trying to figure what impact the "reforms" will have on their health and pocketbooks. Those of us with pre-existing conditions face the most risk.

Temperatures are HOT: Everyone's mad, scared, and on edge. Just see this police story of how a Chicago woman tried to run her GOP congressman off the road over his healthcare policy vote - yikes! Yep, it's crazy out there these days and we're seeing that in the D-Advocacy world, too. Many people seem enraged, yelling about how outrageous everything is and how scared and angry we all are. What's missing is a willingness to step back and breath before reacting or judging, and trying to become a more educated consumer in order to channel that fire into productivity. It's not easy, and none of us are immune to the frenzy at hand. The fact that these very serious and emotional topics can lead our D-Community to sometimes start attacking each other just makes me even more afraid of how all of this will play out.

To be frank, I'm scared as hell. Yes, this brings me down. And yes, it impacts my diabetes care. How are we supposed to maintain a healthy mental balance with all this going on?!

Even though I've been fortunate to date, I do worry about losing my decent healthcare coverage through my wife's employer and not being able to afford (or even get) other insurance thanks to my 33 years of type 1.

You may have noticed a few other hashtags that have come out of all this: #IAmAPreExistingCondition and #HealthHasNoParty, both rally cries of patients with all kinds of chronic illnesses who are facing the same crises we are. (The former hashtag is even available as a Twibbon overlay for your Twitter profile pic.)

It's sort of ironic when you think about all our efforts to promote can-do messages like "Diabetes Doesn't Define Me," "You Can Do This," and the parallel "You've Got This" campaign for MS. Now suddenly we're forced into circulating the opposite message that "Our Health Conditions are Serious and Scary!" in order for our legislators and decision-makers to take us seriously.

Ugh. Mind-spinning, isn't it?

Sorry to say that the whole point of today's post is a big downer-fest: diabetes continues costing waaaay too much, it's getting worse, and it's causing the blame and stigma to snowball. How depressing at a time when we were just reaching the apex of not letting ourselves be defined by this condition.

Yet, as always, there is some silver lining.

People care.

Many good folks are getting fired up (so to speak) and raising their voices, both online and offline. Advocacy is happening in ways we haven't seen before -- like the MarchForHealth events around the country -- and that in itself should be encouraging. Here in the D-Community, at least we can all agree that we want what's best for PWDs (even as individual brands of advocacy may differ, i.e. Your Diabetes May Vary).

Here's to being able to work together effectively. The price-tag for living with diabetes is high in so many ways, let's do what we can to keep the toll down.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

#Diabetes Mellitus

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americanswatchingfootball-blog · 8 years

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Ten Hot Notes on: The Ipswich Blue Tractor Boys!

1. Who is Newcastle United playing this time and when are we playing them? We are playing a futbol team called the Ipswich Town “Ipswich”, “Blues”, and -- no fucking shit -- Tractor Boys. Go. Fuck. Yourselves.

I’ll get to Ipswich in a second, but I wanted to be sure to remind everyone that:

1. I went to the University of Essex;

2. Which is in the town (or shire, or whatever) of Colchester,

3. Which had -- this is not a joke -- two big ponds which were poisoned due to run-off and would regularly result in Giant White Swans Floating Upside Down due to #death;

4. Which is on the same train line as London to the West and Norwich to the East.

5. I took that train a lot because -- that fucking girl.

So, one time, at the Ipswich station, on my way to sleep in the same bed as That Girl but not Have Sex with that girl because, “It’s too intimate” or some horseshit, two gentlemen who were drinking Big Cans of Harp got on the train with me. We were alone in the car, they were drunk, for several minute they were doing these, like, Karate Kick Maneuvers where they’d sort of jump up in the air and kick the handles that you hold onto when you’re riding the train and it gets bumpy?

On the one hand: it was really impressive. On the other hand: what the fucking fuck. Because they were pretty serious. And certain British people are terrifying.

Anyway, long/short -- I was just a little frightened, and I did that thing I do where I sort of act like This Is A Totally Normal Thing Happening, and I probably even gave one of them a look like, “Nicely Done, Friend!” and then one of them said, “Are you a Yank?” and I was all: Fuck, and then The One Guy literally just took the hat off my head and started walking around the train kicking things and saying, “Look at me, I’m a Yank.”

And then he started throwing up on things.

And we got to A Train Stop and as one was kicking things and the other was throwing up, I grabbed my hat and ran off.

The game is today, at 10:00am.

2. Do We Like Their Kits? Honestly, I’ve been trying to develop an opinion on them but they are so boring they literally wipe themselves out of your memory. They’re...fine. They’re a totally forgettable 4.5.

But here’s some fucking nonsense. Ipshwitch is “sponsored” by Marcus Evans. Also: Marcus Evans owns Ipswitch. I don’t even know how to wrap my head totally around what the semantics are in this. I mean, I guess quite literally They Are In Fact Sponsored By Marcus Evans, because -- like, Marcus Evans Literally Owns The Team And Like Let’s People Wear The Shirts And Stuff. But if Marcus Evans cuts a sponsorship deal with Marcus Evans is it really a sponsorship deal?

Or is it just a dude making people wear his name and stuff?

I don’t fucking know.

On the wikipedia page for Marcus Evans it says that in 2006 Business Week reported there are no publicly available pictures of him. Here is like 300.

3. Where do they play? The Trucker Boys play at Portman Road which -- can you believe it! -- was built in 1884. HEY FUCKING WORLD WE ARE ENGLAND AND WE HAVE OLD THINGS!

Here is this week’s lesson in English Nonsense, Masquerading As History:

In 1911, the roof blew of the stand in a gale. Worse damage was caused during the First World War when the army ruined the club's immaculate playing surface. When the hostilities ended, the club tried whippet racing as an extra source of income and a new groundsman Walter Wollard kept chickens, goats and sheep in the stand.

Whatever, you ridiculous people.

This is also the second Championship Pitch that -- WHY THE FUCK IS THIS A THING -- had a section called “The Chicken Run”. There does not appear to be a Sentient Twitter Feed for the stadium, but -- 251 retweets vs. 371 “hearts” -- per Football Polls, Portman is waaay better than Carrow Road.

3. Who is their manager? It’s Mick Mccarthy!

If you don’t remember anything else about Mick Mccarthy, you’ll remember this: he has a smile that will make you wet your bed. Do not click on this link. Now you’re bed is wet. #Dummy.

For some reason that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, Mick -- after being fired by Wolverhampton Wolves United (which was just after being fired by Sunderland) -- turned down a job at Nottingham Forest because he wanted to manage in the Premiership.

And then like 4 minutes later he took a job with Ipswitch.

What do I know about the secret thoughts of men?

Do not click on this link. Or this one either.

4. Who Is Their Best Player? ICYMI: Our friends at Squawka tweeted out a picture of a “butthole” a long time ago.

Their highest scoring player is a gentleman named Grant Ward who plays on the right side and has a BMI of 23. Per Transfermarket, you can purchase him for 500,000 Euros.

That’s Some Amount of Money, Guys!

5. How’d They Do Last Year? My guess is that they -- and Mick McCarthy specifically -- would be pretty disappointed. Last year was their 14th consecutive season in the Championship, and they finished in seventh -- four points out of a playoff position.

I guess my question is: when do you just say to yourself, “This is who we are?” When do you stop getting out of bed in the morning? When do you just say, “A beer at ten in the morning is fine.”

When do you consider hashtag suicide?

6. Have they ever competed at the highest level of English Futbol? This is a little #fun. Ipswish was founded in 1878 (#whichisaboutwhenliterallyeveryoneelsewasfounded) but were actually amateur until 1936. Also, pretty much most websites you read about them mention that they were “among the first” teams to “adopt” “net” in their “goals”.

But/anyway: in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s they were mostly in The Football League Division One. In the 90’s they bounced back and forth between the Premiership and Division One until Division One was rebranded The Championship, and since 2003 they’ve been stuck there.

7. Have They Ever Been Managed by Tony Pulis or Harry Redknapp? No. But they were managed by Roy Keane, and though Roy Keane himself isn’t fun at all, what is fun is that Roy Keane has been fired from both Sunderland and Ipswich, as has Mick Mccarthy. And what is is waaaay more fun is that Roy Kean and Mick Mccarthy hate each other due to the “Saipan Incident”, in which Ireland prepared poorly for the World Cup, and Roy Keane (player) hated Mick Mccarthy (manager). Here’s what happened:

The Irish Times article increased tensions greatly. McCarthy decided to question Keane about the article. In a team meeting McCarthy held up a copy of the article and asked"What's this all about?", and an argument started. McCarthy then accused Keane of faking injury when Ireland were playing Iran in the second leg of the play off. Keane then unleashed a stinging verbal tirade against McCarthy: "Mick, you're a liar … you're a fucking wanker. I didn't rate you as a player, I don't rate you as a manager, and I don't rate you as a person. You're a fucking wanker and you can stick your World Cup up your arse. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country! You can stick it up your bollocks."[4] Mick McCarthy then held a press conference announcing that he had sent Keane home.

I’ll tell you this much! I’ve had it with the wankers too! I don’t rate them either!

8. Who Is Their Most Famous Supporter? Well. It very well may be someone else, but per a energetic discussion on the “North Stand Chat” message board:

It’s probably Julie Andrews?

User “red star portslade” masterbated “furiously” to her when he(?) was younger.

10. What’s At Stake? This is round 14 of the Championship, and Newcastle United is in first place in the league. Newcastle can’t fall out of the top two, but obviously points/etc etc. A loss by Ipswich could put them within two points of the relegation zone.

My understanding is: that’s bad.

Friends and Family: Our ongoing feature where we check in on the comings and goings of our Friends and Family in the lower leagues!

Hartlepool United (Come On You Pools!) faces Orient (NOT RACISSS) to rise above 14th in League Two

Scunthorpe United (Come on You Irons!) faces Chesterfield to remain FIRST IN LEAGUE ONE! WHICH IS ACTUALLY LEAGUE 3!

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gosilentactivist-blog · 8 years

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Oh the places you’ll go ...

Hi, I’m S. I’m sort of scared of the internet and anything being available to anyone so here I am, already rambling on my first post. Hi. I was sitting in a discussion forum with a Swiss veteran and Filipino victim of Martial law and thought hey, why not.

I have been volunteering with a Filipino organisation named Bahay Tuluyan, an NGO which advocates the rights of the child through their protection and encouraged education, for almost 2 months now.

It just reaaaaalllyyyyy grinds my gears to know that I’m sitting in my hotel in Manila while people as old, young, wise, lonely, afraid, uneasy, happy, or curious as me are living on the streets or in their homes in complete and utter fear for their lives because of the near-to-life return of martial law by the one and only DU30.

Today I learned that one of the kids in our shelter’s father was a victim of DU30′s EJKs. He isn’t even 5 years old and yet he and his 14 other siblings are left without a father figure (story of my life but we can save that for another day). I of all people know the struggle of living with one strong, independent and caring parent. But that is in an environment of love and safety and awareness. For this kid’s family to have lost a father means waaaay more than that. It means one less caregiver, one less financial supplier, one less hug and kiss at night. It means one more dead body to add to the list of bodies piling onto the president’s name. It means one more widow, one more broken door that needs fixing that dad was on his way home to fix, one more flat tire from home to school, one more missed class lesson, one more motivation to help mum with the electricity bill and grocery list, one more reason to hang around the streets in search for work, one more year goes by, one more reason to sell what they ask you to, one hundred pesos in your pocket, one more chance to help mum, one last time and then I’ll stop, one whisper in the streets, one shot to the heart, one last breath.

Wowww that got grim real fast.

I’m just saying, this whole thing is a cycle of death and violence and diminished hope and a willingness to survive. Sounds a lot like the times when martial law operated (or so Berto the Swiss vet says).

Pick up the signs (literally and figuratively)... This is only the beginning of what he can do. During Marcos’ presidency, he victimised 10,000 Filipinos. His presidency lasted from 1965 - 1986 indefinitely (someone do the math pls). During DU30′s presidency, he has victimised 7,000 Filipinos. His presidency has not even lasted a year yet.

I guess I was inspired to write this because I really am the silent activist. For those who know me, I literally do not speak unless spoken to. I only talk when I have something to say. So, in saying this, I’ve got a lil something to say. For the Filipinos to want a change, they need to make it happen. There is no use sitting back and pointing fingers at people who you’d prefer deal with this situation. This is the situation. People are dying in your neighbourhoods, your family’s neighbourhoods, your own backyards. Don’t point the finger. And if you do, point it in a mirror. This is personal, whether you like it or not. This is real, whether you like it or not. People, real people, are dying.

They say that the EDSA revolution personifies the Filipinos. This is 1000% true, or it was once upon a time. During a time of violence and corruption and cruelty to any and everyone, the Filipinos found a way to fight back through peaceful protest.

Never underestimate the power of peace. Or more so the power of wanting peace. My mentors described the EDSA movement as a time where police barricaded the streets waiting for something to fuel their fire. Helicopters were flying close to the ground waiting to drop every ounce of ammunition on the heads of children, priests, nuns, shopkeepers, students and parents below. What did they do? How did they fight? With flowers.

They literally walked around in smooth tones and solemn stares and handed out flowers to police officers, military, children, the elderly and anyone else who wished for, more than anything, peace.

And it worked.

We need to sow the seed now before we can even think about handing out flowers. We need to understand the situation for what it truly is. We need to grapple at the reality that is death at our front-step, and at our friends’ house and at our child’s friend’s home. In order to fight against arrogance and selfishness and ignorance, we need to first make sure that we are not arrogant or selfish or ignorant to what is happening here and now in the Philippines in 2017.

Wowww I just went to hashtag Filipinaactivist and Filipinaactress replaced it.... PRIORITIES PEOPLE.

BEAUTY IS SKIN DEEP.

LETS Just save that rant for another day.

Oh and I think I chose gosilentactivist because, if anyone has seen the movie Norbit where in one scene all the aggressively-dancing bystanders cheer him on saying GO NORBIT! GO NORBIT! to chug his wine cooler, I want the same type of gusto and aggressive dancing after anyone (if ever anyone) reads this.

#extrajudicialkillings #martiallaw #flowerpower #cycle of violence #reality #wakeupphilippines #please

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