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bountyofbeads · 5 years

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Turkish offensive sparks yet another Syrian exodus

https://apnews.com/78ebb25ccdbe4126ac02d315a2985d88

Turkish offensive sparks yet another Syrian exodus #TrumpGenocide #KurdsBetrayedByTrump

By ZEINA KARAM and JOSEPH Krauss |

Published October 10, 2019 12:45 PM ET |

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrians are fleeing by the tens of thousands yet again, a recurring nightmare of hastily packed bags, traffic-clogged highways and an uncertain fate.

Families who just a few years ago fled from an Islamic State onslaught are now running from a Turkish offensive against the same Kurdish fighters who defeated the extremist group. The United States, which worked hand-in-hand with the Syrian Kurds, has stepped aside and abandoned its allies .

Now, civilians are on the run again, but this time there are even fewer places to go. The northern border with Turkey is sealed, displacement camps are already overwhelmed and hostile forces, including unbowed IS militants, are poised to move in and exploit the chaos.

Here's a look at the refugee crisis in northeastern Syria amid fears it will dramatically worsen.

FROM ONE WAR TO ANOTHER

Syrian government forces largely withdrew from the northeast after the civil war erupted in 2011 to focus on other parts of the country. That allowed the Kurdish minority to carve out an autonomous region that welcomed refugees from the fighting in other parts of the country, including Christians and other religious minorities.

But the Islamic State group swept in starting in 2013 and eventually conquered most of the area, establishing the capital of its self-styled caliphate in the northeastern city of Raqqa. Tens of thousands of people fled the fighting and the group's brutal rule, which was marked by massacres, public beheadings and other atrocities.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launched a counteroffensive after nearly being wiped out in the northeastern border town of Kobane. With close U.S. military support, they gradually retook nearly all of northeastern Syria from the extremists, including Raqqa. But victory came at a staggering cost, with tens of thousands killed and entire neighborhoods and towns left in ruins. Much of Raqqa was destroyed, and the city is still littered with undetonated explosive devices.

Now the Kurdish fighters are racing to the front lines once again, this time to fight Turkey, which considers them terrorists because of their links to the Kurdish insurgency inside its borders.

Turkey has vowed to carve out a "safe zone" along the border extending 30 kilometers (20 miles) into Syria, where it plans to resettle some of the more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees it is hosting. But the offensive itself could generate a whole new wave of displacement.

"Hundreds of thousands of civilians in northern Syria are now in harm's way," said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "Civilians and civilian infrastructure must not be a target."

FEW PLACES LEFT TO GO

As Turkey began launching airstrikes and artillery barrages along the border, lines of cars, trucks and motorized rickshaws could be seen racing down the main roads, loaded with families who had hastily packed their belongings into duffel bags and plastic sacks. The Norwegian Refugee Council estimates that some 450,000 people live within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the border, including 90,000 who have already fled the civil war at least once.

The International Rescue Committee, another aid group that works in the region, says the fighting could displace up to 300,000 people, and that even a limited military operation could drive 60,000 from the border area. "Many of these people have already been displaced multiple times and suffered horribly under the brutal rule of (IS), only to be facing yet another crisis," it said.

There are few places left to run.

To the north, Turkey has largely sealed its border in recent years and no longer accepts refugees. To the east is Iraq, which is already hosting 250,000 Syrian refugees, 90,000 of them in camps that rely on international aid, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. To the west is territory held by Syrian government forces and their Russian and Iranian allies. Refugees who have fled from government-held areas have been slow to return, fearing arrest or violent reprisal.

That leaves the south, which is dotted with devastated towns and cities, and camps that are already home to more than 108,000 displaced people.

"People living in displacement camps in northeast Syria are extremely vulnerable," said Karl Schembri of the Norwegian Refugee Council. "They live in overcrowded camps that are wholly reliant on assistance provided by aid agencies who are struggling to meet the needs."

The region has also seen a wave of attacks by IS remnants. Syrian Kurdish forces are holding thousands of IS fighters, including many foreigners, but say they may not be able to maintain their detention centers in the face of the Turkish onslaught. The escape of even a small number of those fighters could hasten another resurrection of the extremist group, which in different forms has survived past setbacks dating back to the U.S. war in Iraq.

A PROLONGED CONFLICT

Turkey has been threatening a massive operation for months but had been restrained in part by U.S. opposition to any assault on Washington's Kurdish allies. Those concerns appear to have evaporated over the weekend, when President Donald Trump, saying he wanted out of America's "stupid endless wars," gave a green light to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and began pulling back from border posts some of the more than 1,000 U.S. troops based in northeastern Syria as part of the fight against IS.

That decision has been widely condemned by Democrats and many Republicans, including some close Trump allies. The mercurial Trump has reversed himself on Syria before and may intervene to try and stop the operation if the violence escalates. But it's also possible that Turkey will try to eliminate the SDF once and for all, bringing the fighting deep inside Syria.

Waiting in the wings are forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has repeatedly vowed to bring the entire country back under his control.

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Krauss reported from Ramallah, West Bank.

Turkey presses Syrian assault as thousands flee the fighting

By LEFTERIS PITARAKIS and MEHMET GUZEL | Published October 10, 2019 12:40 PM ET | AP | Posted October 10, 2019 1:35 PM ET |

AKCAKALE, Turkey (AP) — Turkey pressed its assault against U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria on Thursday for a second day, pounding the region with airstrikes and an artillery bombardment that raised columns of black smoke in a border town and sent panicked civilians scrambling to get out.

Residents fled with their belongings loaded into cars, pickup trucks and motorcycle rickshaws, while others escaped on foot. The U.N. refugee agency said tens of thousands were on the move, and aid agencies warned that nearly a half-million people near the border were at risk.

It was a wrenchingly familiar scene for many who had fled the militants of the Islamic State group only a few years ago.

The Turkish air and ground assault was launched three days after U.S. President Donald Trump opened the way by pulling American troops from their positions near the border alongside their Kurdish allies.

At a time when Trump faces an impeachment inquiry, the move drew swift criticism from Republicans and Democrats in Congress, along with many national defense experts, who say it has endangered not only the Kurds and regional stability but U.S. credibility as well. The Syrian Kurdish militia was the only U.S. ally in the campaign that brought down the Islamic State group in Syria.

Trump warned Turkey for moderation during its assault and safeguard civilians. But the opening barrage showed little sign of holding back: The Turkish Defense Military said its jets and artillery had struck 181 targets so far.

More than a dozen columns of thick smoke rose in and around the town of Tel Abyad, one of the offensive's first main targets. Turkish officials said the Kurdish militia has fired dozens of mortars into Turkish border towns the past two days, including Akcakale.

Turkish officials in two border provinces said mortar fire from Syria killed at least six civilians, including a 9-month-old boy and three girls under 15. On the Syrian side, seven civilians and eight Kurdish fighters have been killed since the operation began, according to activists in Syria.

A Kurdish-led group and Syrian activists said that despite the bombardment, Turkish troops had not made much progress on several fronts they had opened. But their claims could not be independently verified.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 109 "terrorists" were killed in the offensive, a reference to the Syrian Kurdish fighters. He did not elaborate, and reports from the area did not indicate anything remotely close to such a large number of casualties.

Erdogan also warned the European Union not to call Ankara's incursion into Syria an "invasion." He threatened, as he has in the past, to "open the gates" and let Syrian refugees flood into Europe.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the military intends to move 30 kilometers (19 miles) into northern Syria and that its operation will last until all "terrorists are neutralized."

Meanwhile, the Kurdish forces halted all operations against IS in order to focus on fighting Turkish troops, Kurdish and U.S. officials said.

The Syrian Kurdish fighters, along with U.S. troops, have been involved in mopping-up operations against IS fighters still holed up in the desert after their territorial hold was toppled earlier this year.

Ankara considers members of the Kurdish militia to be "terrorists" because of their links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has led an insurgency against Turkey for 35 years. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people. The U.S. and other Western countries also consider the PKK a terrorist group.

Turkey, a NATO member, considers its operations against the Kurdish militia in Syria a matter of its own survival, and it also insists it won't tolerate the virtual self-rule that the Kurds succeeded in carving out in northern Syria along the border.

The Turkish assault aims to carve out a corridor of control along the length of the border — a so-called "safe zone" — clearing out the Kurdish militia. Such a zone would end the Kurds' autonomy in the area and put much of their population under Turkish control.

Ankara has said it aims to settle 2 million Syrian refugees, who are mainly Arabs, in the zone.

Turkey began its offensive in northern Syria on Wednesday with airstrikes and artillery shelling, and then ground troops crossed the border later in the day.

Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said their fighters have repelled Turkish forces ground attacks.

"No advance as of now," he tweeted Thursday.

But Maj. Youssef Hammoud, a spokesman for Turkish-backed opposition fighters participating in the operation, said they captured the village of Yabisa, near Tal Abyad, a spokesman for the fighters said. In a tweet, he called it "the first village to win freedom."

Turkey's state-run news agency said the allied Syrian fighters had cleared and entered a second village, Tel Fander, but provided no details. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Turkish commandos entered the village of Beir Asheq.

The Observatory said more than 60,000 people have fled their homes since Wednesday, while the UNHCR estimated it at tens of thousands. It called on parties to adhere to International Humanitarian Law, including providing access for aid agencies.

International aid agencies warned of an escalating humanitarian crisis, saying that civilians were at risk "as violence escalates."

The statement was co-signed by 14 organizations, including Doctors of the World and Oxfam, saying an estimated 450,000 people live within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the border with Turkey "and are at risk if all sides do not exercise maximum restraint and prioritize the protection of civilians."

There already are more than 90,000 internally displaced people in the region, it said, with camps and detention centers holding tens of thousands of fighters with families.

Trump's decision marked a stark change in his rhetoric. Last year, he vowed to stand by the Kurds, saying they "fought with us" and "died with us," and insisted America would never forget.

On Wednesday, Trump called Turkey's operation "a bad idea," but also said he didn't want the U.S. to be involved in "endless, senseless wars."

The U.N. Security Council scheduled closed consultations Thursday at the request of the five European council nations — the U.K., France, Germany, Belgium and Poland.

The campaign drew criticism and calls for restraint.

Australia expressed concerns it could lead to a resurgence of the Islamic State group. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had contacted the Turkish and U.S. governments overnight and said he was worried about the situation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Turkey's actions and warned of an "ethnic cleansing" against the Kurds. He said Israel is prepared to extend humanitarian assistance to the "gallant Kurdish people."

Two British militants believed to be part of an Islamic State cell that beheaded hostages have been moved out of a detention center in Syria and were in U.S. custody, and they will be handed over to Iraqi authorities.

The two are part of nearly 50 IS members to be handed over by Friday, according to two Iraqi intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The two, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey, along with other British jihadis allegedly made up the IS cell that was nicknamed "The Beatles" by surviving captives because of their English accents. In 2014 and 2015, the militants held more than 20 Western hostages in Syria and tortured many of them.

The group beheaded seven American, British and Japanese journalists and aid workers and a group of Syrian soldiers, boasting of the butchery in videos posted online.

Kurdish forces are holding more than 10,000 IS members. Those include some 2,000 foreigners, including about 800 Europeans.

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Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed.

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lindoig4 · 5 years

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San Francisco

5 July

Having arrived in San Fran yesterday, just a few hours before we left home, we were dead beat and slept late, albeit somewhat fitfully. We bought breakfast in the hotel, just as they were closing the kitchen at 10am – then went back to bed and slept until 3.15! A very weird day for us!!

We then walked the kilometre or two to Downtown, exploring a little as we went, and called in at several places trying to buy a bigger backpack. The one I was using was filled to capacity so we decided to invest in a bigger one. We finally found a place with a suitable range just a few doors from the Aida Hotel where we will be staying on our way back to Melbourne in a couple of months’ time. The first time we came to San Fran in 1995, we stayed at Aida and bought a new suitcase at the very same luggage shop we bought the backpack. On that occasion, we had broken the wheels off our case getting it down the stairs in Richmond before we even left home on that trip so we had to replace it in San Fran after struggling with it at the Tullamarine and SF airports and then the Shuttle and hotel.

We needed to buy a few comestibles – mainly tea, sugar and coffee – interesting that the instant coffee was under lock and key and we had to get a staff member to free it from its prison so we could buy it. Apparently, coffee is one of the things that is commonly stolen (lots of other very basic things were also locked up) but I can’t see how locking it up protects it. We were still free to walk around with it and presumably hide it in our backpack before approaching the checkout.

Shopping for olives? Large, mild and nutty!

It was great to see and hear the trolley buses (in my view far and away the best, quietest, most comfortable, cheapest and cleanest form of mass transport – as well as being very traffic-friendly) as well as the streetcars (trams). I have long advocated removal of trams and all their overblown infrastructure from Melbourne to be replaced with trolleys. The streetcars have been purchased from all over the world and retain their original livery and branding. There is even a W-class Melbourne tram here – apparently recently acquired and still under test when we saw it.

The clanging of the streetcars, the police sirens and the mournful wail of the Amtrak locos are all very nostalgic reminders of our previous trips here, and particularly of San Fran. It always fascinates me how sounds and smells in particular can transport us instantly to another time and place. Things we have seen and heard in movies come alive when they are triggered by the merest hint of something similar that we experience in real life.

There are so many different forms of transport here. The car is king of course, and there are lots of pickups, more and mostly quite a bit bigger than those common in Oz, but there are several types of buses (hybrids, traditional, double-deckers, very loooong articulateds) – and several more personal moving machines. I have seen hundreds of powered and unpowered scooters and numerous variations of Segways – upright ones, simple wheels with foot rests side to side or fore and aft, all manner of 2-, 3- and 4-wheeled bikes and very cute bright yellow 2-seater, 3-wheeled motorbikes rented to tourists. And of course, there are the iconic cable cars. No place for pedestrians like us.

There are many hundred homeless people, mostly but not only, black and they all have their little cache of belongings, but some quite large collections that are transported in a range of trolleys. Some have their own patches, sometimes quite complex. I have seen mini tent cities, some small homeless colonies, tiny compounds barricaded with wheelie bins or discarded sheets of iron, plastic and so on. It is sad to see but it is America, Land of the Free, after all.

We bought a pizza on our way back to the hotel and ate it in our room – and promptly went back to sleep. Alas another fitful night, broken by a series of midnight messages back and forth to Australia about Heather’s SIM – a little more about that later.

6 July

We purchased tickets for the Hop On Hop Off Big Bus from the hotel and walked the mile or so to Union Square, the closest stop to the hotel. We only went about 3 stops on the bus to Fisherman’s Wharf before they made us all get off and join a long queue to join a different bus - no explanations, but being a holiday weekend and short of drivers who weren’t enjoying their holiday BBQs, we queued for about an hour before we managed to get on our way again. They seemed hopelessly disorganised but off we went on what was about a 3½ half hour trip around the city, out past the huge Golden Gate Park, across the Golden Gate Bridge then back along the beach and Presidio and eventually back to Fisherman’s Wharf where we alighted in time for a late lunch.

The Big Bus was not quite up to scratch really. Commentary was light on and a bit trivial, but passable. Some parts of the route were very slow, almost gridlocked in one stretch approaching the Golden Gate Bridge. As they said, it was a holiday weekend, every man and his dog (and cat and horse) were out and things were chaotic. At least we got to see a lot more of SF than we otherwise would have and we got a better perspective of places we might visit at the end of our trip.

The crowds along the wharves were overwhelming, but we checked out the sea-lion colony and the birdlife in one partially enclosed area before heading for lunch. (We had been thinking of doing a Bay Cruise, but seeing the queues for that, we decided that a couple more hours queueing and getting sunburnt BEFORE boarding wasn’t really desirable.). We eventually settled on Aliotos Restaurant (partly to avoid the long queues of people waiting to use the public toilets). Heather had her heart set on clam chowder in a big crusty bun - the signature dish for the wharf area. We enjoyed them immensely when here 24 years ago, but they seem to have lost the recipe in the meantime (or maybe the clams just weren’t biting) but it was a bit disappointing, mainly vegetarian with very few clams! I had the Fisherman’s Basket and we helped each other with our respective orders but couldn’t finish either of them anyway.

An interesting thing we heard about the sea-lions on the bus (we were on the bus, not the sea-lions!) was that the whole colony lived out on the beach for as long as anyone could remember – until 1987 when for reasons unknown, they migrated up-Bay to Pier 39 and they (and their squealing pong) have been there for the tourists to ogle ever since. We saw, heard and smelled them when we were here in ’95 and imagined that they had always been there.

We then caught a grossly overcrowded streetcar back to near our hotel and walked home. Called in at the local shop for a very small snack and brekky fare, still bloated from our 3pm lunch.

7 July

Heather has spent many hours (mainly in the very early hours of the morning) conversing with people in Australia and New York trying to get the data component of her phone contract working. She bought some SIMs in Australia to be activated along the way and although the voice component worked, the data wouldn’t and she has spent hours virtually rebuilding her phone in consultation with the phone company, but she finally got it working late morning - thanks to a very helpful guy in New York, and absolutely no thanks to the Cretans in Australia.

We then walked to the Bus Transit Station, a few blocks down the hill, to suss out what we had to do to transit to our train tomorrow. All pretty easy so we walked down to the Embarcadero and the edge of the Bay. It was a beautiful summer’s day and there were plenty of strollers out, most with dogs. We walked a kilometre or so to a market in the huge Ferry Terminal and wandered around that for a while before returning to a bayside restaurant for a late lunch and to watch the world go by. One wonderful thing happened over lunch when an Anna’s Hummingbird visited a row of WA kangaroo paws right next to our al fresco table. We managed to get a few photos and had a good look as it hovered around several of the flowers before heading off to places unknown.

That was Bird 13 for me, having seen American robins, American crows, Brewer’s blackbirds, Californian gulls, vultures and hawks, night-herons, cormorants, starlings, sparrows and so on. The gulls are everywhere, but they are well outnumbered by hordes of the dirtiest scungiest pigeons imaginable. Some of the many homeless people here look very sad and bedraggled, but the pigeons look a whole lot worse.

We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and over-ordered as usual. I thought it was a really good meal and a little cheaper than many places we have looked at. They boast more than 3000 restaurants in San Fran (I imagine Melbourne has as many!) but competition is so fierce that the average lifespan of each establishment is only a few months.

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survivormanhattanbeach · 5 years

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Episode 1: “...too early to be shady?”-Ryan

There....are so many men and I'm overwhelmed. Also Keaton shading me during his intro is a whole ass mood

I’m so excited to be playing with majority of this cast... too early to be shady?

Oooooooofffff what the hell did I just get myself into. Julian’s here. He always finds some fucking way i swear to god... and then there’s Keaton who i pissed off in a prior BB game... which literally ended like 3 days ago for me.... and then i ahve Andreas form Kuang Si and Billy from IdlM.... what the fuck is wrong with my life right now I mean...... i’ll figure this out, let me stop having a heart attack right now

I am SO OVERWHELMED right now! All these messages from people that I think hate me, this is going to be fun! As of right now I'm most nervous about Sarah because I LOVE talking to her, she's so easy to talk to but we always do each other wrong and have never made it far together in anything SO yeah. I'm really hoping that I get on a tribe where I connect with a majority and/or two of them don't like each other so I'm not the first to go! I guess it's time to now... go and be social haha!

When did talking to people become so hard??? Idk if it's because I've been away kind of for awhile and not talking to people but I feel like I'm the most boring person in the world AHHH. Hopefully things get better soon. I'm about to ignore that annoying red number two by the skype icon and play the game for a bit to maybe give me something to talk about with these people!!

http://atleastyoumadejury.tumblr.com/post/182902334923 That’s me in this challenge.

First night = first opinions! Let's go. -called isaac immediately to form a bond with him. He seems super stoked to have me in the season and we agreed to form a f2 deal. Honestly he is funny, adorable and iconic so I am not mad if I go to f2 with him. I will be loyal to him as long as I know he is loyal to me -mark is very social and I know he uses this to his advantage. Every cute thing he is saying, he is definitely saying to the other players -I can easily bond with basically everyone on this season so I feel like this is going somewhere. I can tell ppl are liking me so honestly I am fucking excited to play --went on a one world call with ryan, tom, madison, dani, isaac and myself and they are cool af. I know ryan and tom used to work together from the beginning of mykonos so I am kinda scared they are a definite power duo. Tom has already proven to be a good player in terms of strength and I can tell hes strategic. I REALLY REALLY WANT TO BE HIS #1 SO I WILL WORK ON IT. fuck I need to get on his good side to get far. i can tell. I just dont want him to screw me over - Junior is playing and I guess he is the shadiest person in the game? SO I will be on the lookout for that. -Ruthie needs to leave. -Keaton hates madison so I can use that to my advantage somehow ? well see. -I am going to continue to talk and be social but honestly I dont want to give away too much. Im back after a year so I hope I can go far this time. Fingers crossed

I’ve smelled some fake shit before, but nothing quite as fake as Ryan trying to squash the beef with me. I’m flutter my lashes and play stupid for a while, but in all honesty, I want him gone as early as possible. I don’t trust him, at all. Also, Dan is sneaky as fuck. So I don’t trust him either. Plus I’ve hosted him and I know he’s only in it for himself. He’s vote himself out if it meant he’d win the game. But then there’s Mark, who has played with and been burned by both Ryan and Dan. Between the three of them I’m just not feeling him. I don’t want to be his demise, but I wouldn’t be sad to use him to kill the other two then dump him before he gets farther than me. Kill three birds with Mark’s stone. As for y’all hosts, thanks for dumping me with Madison, Joey and Keaton. Who will keep me around just as a number. They think I’m stupid and I have no idea what I’m doing. Same goes with Brandon. Like I love “OH MY GOD HEWWO”ing my friends. Another main, another season where I’ll just do whatever I can to make it far. Here’s to a good season.

VL Confessional: This is my greatest chance to FINALLY make an impact on Tumblr Survivor. The minute I was casted, my ranking average went up. What I want to do this season is to take advantage of the time that I have. I want to do well, I want to finally prove how good I CAN be. This is my opportunity to bond with a ton of other players, and I’m READY FOR IT. My mood rn: https://youtu.be/roJ5NSfmxvs

I feel like this game is lowkey a test of Madison and I’s relationship...

VL CONFESSIONAL I’m sitting here on my couch watching the TV They’re picking all the numbers of my favorite lottery I am so excited when fortune calls I’ve never been so happy with someone picking my balls.

Oh god, I shouldn't write any of those weird and unsettling oneliners that I have in mind right now, so.... Hello! Just hello! I'm back for another Tumblr Survivor fun time and I have no idea what to expect from myself for this season. Will I have motivation? HELL YEAH! Will I have the time to back it up? NOPE!!! So... let's start with a little cast assessment, shall we? I already know that I am lucky to have LUCY around, because I know her from another community. That being said, she is a great player, so if she is active this time around, she'll definitely make it further than last time... So far though, it doesn't look like that... :sadface: I am also THRILLED to see RUTHIE playing. I love her, and we only got to play once (in a BB game that ended after 2 weeks) and I happy to see her and I really hope we can work together this season!!! I have mixed feelings about MARK and BRANDAN rn, because I've played in TS with them previously. I pissed off Brandan a lot in Kuang Si when I told him that I wanted him out. I hope he's gotten over that, but I feel like he's not the type of person to forget. But I think he'll be willing to give playing with me another try, but he'll keep me on a short leash. Mark, I voted off in Flops, and then I flipped him to vote for me in the worst FTC of TS history. But the guy is strongheaded and idk how well I can work with that. I've had great conversations with TOM and KEVIN and I feel like they're people I can talk to a lot more, and maybe build a relationship with. I had some decent chats with SARAH, DANIELLE, ISAAC and MADISON. I can't place them yet, but I think I can get along with them. I got off the wrong foot with ISAIAH and RYAN a little, but they seem fun and I can see myself working with them in the future. Or maybe I am just imagining things here? Who knows.... KEATON, JOEY and BILLY, I tried talking to, but I am really not sure yet if we're on the same wavelength. But they seem active enough and open, and it's not even been a day yet. ;) JUNIOR, DAN, JAKE and JULIAN, I haven't spoken with at all so far. rip? --- Let me tell you that I really like it being 4 Tribes of 5 to start the season off (at least that's what it looks like). I don't care too much about being a top-placing player here. I don't think I'd be immediately at the bottom right off the bat, so I don't need that unneccessary potential challenge threat target right away. I think I've spoken to enough people and got a little bit of that Andreas personality across, so I at least have a foot in peoples doors, you know? Let's see how things shake up! I am confident for starters, but that's the point of it, isn't it?

I’ve only talked game with a few people which kinda scares me. I also think a lot of this cast has previous relationships and I only know like 2 people. I love Isaac, Jake, Ryan, and Mark. I need to start socializing more.

hellurrrrr we're back and better than ever! first tumblr org since like... July so I'm feeling pretty rusty. Thankfully I have a couple familiar faces in this cast so I'm not too nervous. I was pretty excited to see Dani cast... we literally went to middle school together LOL. I want to keep that a secret, but Joey already knows because Dani has her location set to my city UGH. So now I gotta hope that Joey doesn't blow that cover. I know Kevin from Zwooper but idk how loyal he actually will be to me. I know Dan, Ruthie, Isaac and Madison from previous games but I don't think we worked well together in them so whoops. RYAN is here which I'm excited for. I want to work with him, he seems sweet. I also know Sarah because she made Eddie cry so I already love ha. But Eddie told me she's crazy in games so maybe I should tread carefull with her for now. I think everyone else is a fresh face to me? So this should be interesting. Half of them haven't even added me yet though so they need to step their pussies up. I'm here to win since that's the only placement I could get that will beat my last placement LOL. But I'm not trying to let an ORG make me go cray cray like Crossroads did... but it probably will <3

Ok, so. This whole picking tribes thing, has just got to go. I have multiple people telling me they are putting me first and although I love being first for once, this might not be the best thing for my game. If a random person I haven’t played with picks me, that looks shady. If one of my MANY previous allies picks me, that looks shady. Oh and there’s that thing where Billy and I squashed beef, and hopefully that can stay because I don’t need a giant target on my back for billy being my only enemy in all of the games I’ve ever played. If this tribe swap is 4 tribes of 5 then I need to make sure my people pick wisely and make sure that they have the 3 they need to keep a majority. The only issue with that, is I’m essentially in the middle of 5 groups: Mykonos, Bermuda, Unova (Pacific Island), Guyana, and then anyone I haven’t played. Take the union of those sets and you have the entire cast Manhattan Beach (yes I did just use math language, no I am not ashamed).

Imma make Jake think im his bitch. “Oh Jake, ill vote out my best friend, and someone who I respect as a host to boost your ego!”

Alright, Day 1 is nearing its end and I've made some progress I feel? So to get right to it: I've spoken a bunch with Danielle and Kevin and they've spoken a lot with each other too, so we're trying to get together on a tribe of 3. The plan right now is to hopefully get one of us in the top 4 (me), I pick Kevin, Kevin picks Danielle, and we've got an easy majority if it's tribes of 5. Now, we don't know if we actually split up in 4 of 5, or 2 of 10, or 4 of 5 but we have Tribal Councils with 2 tribes together. It's impossible to call right now. As a small addition to my first confessional, some final cast assessments: JUNIOR: A very friendly guy. I feel like he's genuine, but he's definitely VERY friendly, and I am not used to that level of friendliness in TS. But I think we good rn DAN: We spoke about Germany and that's about it. We have a little basis. JAKE: We spoke a little about politics, so at least we spoke and have a basis. Not much more than that. JULIAN: Dude... you seem so nice, but you are giving off no confidence in yourself. I don't have much more to say than that right now. I fear that he'll be used as a number by someone rn --- I got some good chats with KEATON and ISAAC going. And that's about it! I hope that I get put on a tribe with KEVIN, DANI, LUCY, RUTHIE, TOM, KEATON... and maybe SARAH. Just bring on the tribes, so I can finally start playing this game. One World is too big for me.

I'm pretty confident with my score for this challenge, I think it's enough to at least show my future tribe that I can do my part in the challenges, and hopefully I get somewhat of a say in who will be on my tribe. For my social game, I'm definitely planning to use me being the first boot on Guyana to my advantage. I've heard from Andreas and checked a bit as well that there's some fierce competition in this cast, and I think I can slide by for quite a while as long as I make some good connections. I know Dani, Andreas and Ryan from outside of this season, and those will be some people I could rely on from the beginning (not sure about Ryan though for that one since we don't know each other that well). Also I don't know what it is about Ruthie, but she seems so sweet and I'd love to get to work with her further down the line.

I love my tribe so much! It is PERFECT! Literally they are all people that I've talked to since the game started and I don't have any issues with any of them. I'm really glad especially that Andreas is on my team and I think that all in all we will have a strong tribe going forward! I don't want to get too cocky but I do feel confident in my position on this tribe! Nowwww if only we can win and stay away from tribal council!

Honestly, what is wrong with me? Another main season and it's One World? Negative. This is how I will die. I would rather eat glass than have to fucking message 25 people I don't care about. On another note, I love my tribe high key. Aesthetically, we're a really great looking tribe. We could all be models tbh. We all get along really well so if we go to tribal, I'll probably just tell everyone to vote me out, for my mental health and theirs hahahaha save them the trouble. Nah, jk I'll fight, but I don't want to think about like voting any of them out? I def feel closest to Mark, but I really enjoy Dani and Ryan's banter. Junior is so cute too ugh haha. I'm just happy I'm not with the other ugly asses on other tribes

ugh i hate doing these things but im gonna try and be better if i flop this season im deleting skype tbh. This cast is going to give me a solid chance to go deep i feel like. Ryan Billy Dan all want to be my F2, madison is close with me, dani and sarah have both expressed interest in going deep together tribes were picked and holy frick is this tribe incredible. Ryan and Dan and Dani all were in my top 5 of who i wanted to be in a tribe with and junior is actually dope as fuck. i just hope we dont lose and have to vote someone out. especially the first round bc junior is safe so id have to decide between dan dani and ryan and id probably self vote if that was the case

So now I’m like 200% not even gonna try to work with Mark or Dan or Ryan. They’re all on the same tribe. Which means they’re gonna make a final three and that’s something I don’t want to be anywhere near. That’s a dumpster fire that I do not want to be a part of. What sucks even more is, Mark told me I was number one of his list. But Dan was picked by him before I was. So clearly he lied to me. But to add insult to injury, I was picked last for a tribe. So I was literally no one’s number 1. So that sucks, a lot. I guess that’s a fun way to start the season. “Way to go! No one likes you enough to be your #1!” Always a bridesmaid, never the bride. It just makes me have the “anyone but me” mindset even more than I already have.

Hello new tribe. I am content with the outcome. On one hand, it sucks that I ended in 5th or 6th place, but on the other hand, the draft was rather revealing. I planned to pick KEVIN while he picks DANI, but Dani is soo fucking popular, that she was the absolute first pick - and then she picked Ryan over both Kevin and I. That definitely alerts me, but oh well, I don't blame her or anyone, she's lovely. I am happy that I wasn't the last pick of my tribe, because that would have sucked a lot. Instead, I get to be around BRANDAN, who I actually want to work together with for the time being. RUTHIE picked me, which I am really grateful for, but there is no guaranteed to know how far up I actually was on her list, but at least 6 others were behind me. Now I picked LUCY. Which is a good thing. She rocks at challenges. But she's definitely on the bottom of the totem pole here. I would prefer to vote out JULIAN first if we ever go to TC as this tribe, but for that, Ruthie needs to like Lucy more than the guy who picked her... Either way, let's win challenges somehow and not worry about that. The people I care for should be okay..? Dani will be safe. JUNIOR will be safe by default. Orange tribe will be fun to watch, because I care about everyone but BILLY on there (sorry honey). I am actually scared for my #1 Kevin rn, because JOEY and MADISON are together, which is scary, and neither of them picked him... So he could go first :( Either way, I need to stay on Brandans good side and I need to build up a strong bond with Ruthie, so I can keep Lucy around...

VL CONFESSIONAL HOLY MOTHER OF GOD NVGHHYGCSZAAAWSDDXF I’M SAFEEEEEEEEEE. I’m honestly so happy about it. I gave it my all and I’m honestly shook. And then I realized Madison and I are on the same tribe... Welcome to the plotline of the season.

I have the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair

VL CONFESSIONAL So yeah for this challenge [email protected] is taken. Fun.

I'm not really sure how I stand with my tribe. Currently my main connection is Andreas, but I know I can't just rely on him. He was picked before I was and he could easily just let me go if I'm in the way of him getting to the first tribe swap. We seem to be doing well in the challenge, and I hope we do win. I personally at least kind of feel like the outsider, and I don't know the connections the others have with one another, so hopefully this gives me time to build a connection with them before we go to tribal.

alright so first off, fuck y’all for giving us this challenge. you’re gonna make me sit here all day reblogging a post because i’m competitive, but we’re probably going to lose because my tribe sucks. like i was the only one doing it for 2 hours. kill me. let’s talk about my tribe real quick. i think kevin is genuinely with me with is good. but when i got put on this tribe, dan messaged me saying that joey, madison, and isaiah are a friend group. i knew that joey and madison were “dating”, but the isaiah thing worries me because if it’s true, then um they have the majority. i’m trying to stay close with joey too since we played zwooper together before. i just really need to bank that him and Kevin would stick with me over the others if we go to tribal. um but i wish i was on a tribe with my same city sister, dani, or with Ryan. let me just say something about Ryan... yo why he gotta do me like this? when i saw ryan in this cast i thought omg that’s the cute ryan but he probably won’t pay me much attention... flash forward to last night when we ditched the main call to call one on one and basically called all night. ummm, are we about to have a survivor showmance? probably not, boys like to ghost me all the time so i don’t expect much but that boy is about to have me WHIPPED i just know it. anyways let’s hope i don’t lose the first challenge because i literally ALWAYS go to tribal first in orgs

YAY! My tribe pulled out a win. I wish we would have gotten an idol clue but a win is a win and I will take it!! In all honesty it seems like Brandan, Andreas and I did all the work, but maybe Julian and Lucy did things too and just weren't... vocal about it. Lucy has talked to me one on one a bit but I don't know if she knows what she's doing haha. As for Julian, I really like him but he's been SO quiet, not talking in the tribe chat and not being very talkative via PM so we'll see. Right now I feel the closest with Brandan and Andreas and I hope that the three of us can maybe form some kind of alliance. I really hope that Kevin and Jake will be safe! I like Madison and Isasiah (I spent five minutes trying to remember how to spell that name and I still can't get it GRR) but I haven't talked to them as much as the others. I guess we'll see what happens haha!

so julian can talk in the one world but not our tribe chat... interesting... although i can't talk. i BARELY ever talk in the one world aSLFJLSF

Well we came in first for the first challenge! I tried sooooo hard and I have never reblogged so much in my entire life. The tribe that came in last has two of my allies on it and I’m pretty sure they are in the minority. Madison, joey, and isiah have an alliance apparently. But Jake did tell me that Joey came to him and wanted to get Isaiah out. I really hope he isn’t fucking with him because I need Jake and Kevin to stay in the game!! So far I really love my tribe. I wouldn’t even know who to get rid of if it came down to it. I think Dans the least person I’ve talked to on my tribe. I should probably keep talking to people who aren’t on my tribe aside from jake/Kevin/Tom/Sarah. And I should probably start talking strategy but I like where I am so far social wise.

My tribe is so fucking united it’s scary. We all just gel really well and literally called for an obscene amount of time this weekend. I really love Dani, we haven’t connected too much in pms yet, but she gives off such good vibes. I feel like she’s definitely a social threat, but maybe by aligning with her she can bring up my social game a little. I desperately need to talk to more than just my tribe mates, but honestly the only other person who attempts to talk to me is Tom, and he’s just kind of forward and weird. Like he asked to share idol clues and I was like....okay sis out of the blue. Idk just seems kinda shady. Pennekamp, or as I like to call them Pasta tribe, losing is honestly my kink. I really hope that someone from the friend group goes home, but honestly it might be Jake or Kevin going. Madison and Joey are for sure an alliance bc of hos22, and then I know Isaiah is friends with Madison bc she was talking about him on call one day in another game, so. Let’s hope one of them flips and one of those 3 gets the damn boot.

Being on the Robinson Riptides tribe is lit af. Why? Mark and I are on the same tribe, so I have my number one, and then Dani picked me and I know she is a close ally as well. Plus now that we won the first challenge, Junior does not have immunity in the next round and in the event we go to tribal next round, he would be my first target on our tribe. I like Dan, but def not someone I want to take deep in the game, seems like a large threat. Who knows, could easily use him for a number. Also, I love Tom. I am so happy he is back with me in this game after playing in Mykonos. I don't think people understand how close we are, and I want to down play that as much as possible. He is my secret go to persona and I'm going to keep that hush hush for now. We are trying to get our sides to merge into an alliance while the one world business is still going on. Goal: Tom gets Sarah to want to make a chat with either myself, Dani, or Mark. And if this happens, then we have five people with great connections outside but also people I would want to work with for this portion of the game. Also, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THIS IDOL CLUE BEING USELESS AF? CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN? LIKE ACTUALLY EXPLAIN? HOW IS THIS CLUE SUPPOSE TO HELP ME? CUZ IT DOES NOT!

Yay, Immunity. The Pacific Panthers are so boring as a tribe. The chat is dead. Is it because of timezones? Is it because of age diversity? This tribe has it all! Lucy is still new to TS, Ruthie is busy most of the time when I'm around. Brandan and I don't mean too well rn.... And Julian? He is wearing Harry Potter's Cloak of Invisibility! Either way, I hope Kevin survives F20 TC, as he is a valuable pawn and friend to me already. I'd expect Isaiah to go here, even if Madison might be the smartest move, but it's too early for big moves I feel. See ya next round!

Okay this game is NOT back to basics Johnny, it's back to hell. Schoolyard pick tribes, messy players, ONE WORLD, it's just an absolute cluster truck. I'm doing well for myself though. Getting 4th gave me the opportunity to set myself up well with Sarah and getting lucky with Billy should make me safe on this small tribe for awhile. How I'm not happy to see Madison here though. I'm afraid there's going to be a gun pointed at me by her the entire time, so I'm thinking I'll be forced to go after her before anyone else when given the opportunity. I just have to keep conversation high, keep game level talk at a medium, and eventually get taken out by an idol/twist

https://youtu.be/wpsiisk5lQQ

So big surprise, I'm going to tribal first. Joey is getting on my nerves idk why he even signs up for these games if he's always working but anyways. He's safe so I have to play the role of the devoted housewife to save face. As of now the vote is on Isaiah which sucks because he is definitely an ally for me, but at the end of the day our tribe and the game in general needs strength and commitment. Ugh why must my tribe be so iconic.

OK SOOOOOOO Basically my paranoid ass has convinced myself I’m going home already, but let me walk you through why SO Isaiah is just super inactive, not to the point where he is NEVER here but just considerably less when comparing him to myself or others and so me jake Madison and joey all talked among ourselves and in various 1 on 1 and came to the conclusion we are voting him out, ALLEGEDLY! but ever since this tribe started the rumor of Madison Joey and Isaiah being friends has been brought up SO many times so that is just engrained in my head, now I’m probably over thinking this part but it makes sense to me, if Isaiah purposefully was being less responsive to provoke the instinct in me and Jake to vote him out, perhaps he has an idol or perhaps he is just fine being the decoy vote among the three and it helps that friend group manage the votes if they know who/how we are voting and it makes me and jake feel “safe” which could lead to the not playing of an idol SHOULD either of us have one and get suspicious. THEN after we have this “set” plan I guess Isaiah told Madison that he was voting for Jake, and Madison told him to continue the lie of being open and honest to the 2 of us so we don’t suspect anything, now if he WERE voting Jake and Jake had an idol I think he’d be impulsive and paranoid (like me) enough to play it and THEN those 3 would in all actuality be voting me, leaving me defenseless and alone, flushing Jakes non-existent idol (it exists theoretically though) and then I go home first boot 3-2. So yeah I don’t feel good but I’ll never feel good I also just scarfed down from chick fil a and now I have to poop. Anyways I will be casting my vote was Isaiah later tonight because that is the only move I can make and pray that my show watching, self loathing attitude has made such a positive impact on Madison and Joey that they want to keep me around ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

apparently isaiah wants to vote me out after being inactive for 2 days... bitch suck my taint. everyone else says they're voting isaiah so umm fingers crossed?? a bitch is nervous af regardless bc i will cry if i flop and get 20th

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What Are The Main Platform Ideas Of Republicans

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What Are The Main Platform Ideas Of Republicans

National Republican Platform Adopted By The National Republican Convention Held In Chicago May 17 1860 Chicago Press And Tribune Office Chicago Illinois 1860 Library Of Congress Rare Book And Special Collections Division Alfred Whital Stern Collection Of Lincolniana Https://googl/lcbfpa

Resolved, that we, the delegated representatives of the Republican electors of the United States in Convention assembled, in discharge of the duty we owe to our constituents and our country, unite in the following declarations:

That the history of the nation during the last four years, has fully established the propriety and necessity of the organization and perpetuation of the Republican party, and that the causes which called it into existence are permanent in their nature, and now, more than ever before, demand its peaceful and constitutional triumph.

That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution, “That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” is essential to the preservation of our Republican institutions; and that the Federal Constitution, the Rights of the States, and the Union of the States must and shall be preserved.

. . .

Republican Platform Of 1860. A reprint of the original broadside containing the Republican Platform of 1860, adopted by the National Republican Convention held in Chicago, 1860. Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbpe.0180010b.

Study Questions

Apply Special Scrutiny To Refugees Foreign Nationals From Countries Linked To Islamic Terror

Similar to Donald Trump’s proposals for “extreme vetting” of any immigrants and refugees from countries plagued by extreme terror groups, the Republican platform calls for “special scrutiny” to be applied to those seeking entry into the U.S. from “regions associated with Islamic terrorism.” The document, however, did not call for a temporary ban on Muslims stepping foot on U.S. soil — a proposal made by Trump during his presidential campaign.

“To ensure our national security, refugees that cannot be carefully vetted, cannot be admitted to the country, especially those whose homelands have been the breeding grounds for terrorism,” the GOP wrote in its platform.

It goes on, “To keep our people safe, we must secure our borders, enforce our immigration laws, and properly screen refugees and other immigrants entering from any country. In particular we must apply special scrutiny to those foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States from terror-sponsoring countries or from regions associated with Islamic terrorism.”

In 2012, the party platform only made one mention of refugees:

“We affirm our country’s historic tradition of welcoming refugees from troubled lands,” it read. “In some cases, they are people who stood with us during dangerous times, and they have first call on our hospitality.”

How Different Are The Policies Of The Republican And Democratic Parties

The public sees a clear distinction between the policy positions of the Republican and Democratic parties: About half say the positions of the two parties are very different, while another 34% say they are somewhat different. Just 14% say they are either not too or not at all different.

Partisans are especially likely to see the two parties as holding different views: 60% of Republicans and 62% of Democrats say the parties take very different policy positions.

Republicans and Democrats also do not see many good ideas coming out of the other party. Among Democrats, just 21% say the Republican Party has either a lot or some good ideas; 43% say it has a few and 34% say it has almost no good ideas. Views of the Democratic Party’s ideas among Republicans are similarly skeptical: Only 16% say the Democratic Party has a lot or some good ideas, while 40% say it has a few and 43% say it has almost none.

Why Trumps Team Initially Wanted To Rethink The Gop Platform This Year

Back in 2016, most of the delegates to the Republican National Convention were chosen while Trump’s hostile takeover of the party was still in progress. And as Trump started to clinch the nomination, he mostly ceded the platform-drafting task to those delegates, a process that was dominated by conservative activists.

This resulted in embarrassing stories about how, for instance, the Republican platform had language “conversion therapy”— sending a child to therapy to try to change their sexual orientation. There was also a messy controversy involving a proposed amendment in support of providing lethal aid to Ukraine. Trump advisers helped defeat the amendment, and critics argued that showed they were too supportive of Russia.

Overall, Republicans had a fairly typical platform-drafting process, one in which various delegates are named to a committee and negotiations take place in a way that’s guided but not always controlled by the presidential campaign. It’s a process that seems a bit antiquated. The end product is certainly not optimally designed to serve the interests of the presidential candidate or to speak to voters.

So this May, Axios’s Jonathan Swan reported that Kushner wanted to change all that.

Kushner was probably acting at Trump’s behest, if this later tweet from the president is any indication:

The Republican Party has not yet voted on a Platform. No rush. I prefer a new and updated Platform, short form, if possible.

— Donald J. Trump June 12, 2020

Exclusive: Dozens Of Former Republican Officials In Talks To Form Anti

5 Min Read

– Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump and his attempts to undermine U.S. democracy, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party, four people involved in the discussions told Reuters.

The early stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say.

More than 120 of them held a Zoom call last Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a platform of “principled conservatism,” including adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law – ideas those involved say have been trashed by Trump.

The plan would be to run candidates in some races but also to endorse center-right candidates in others, be they Republicans, independents or Democrats, the people say.

Evan McMullin, who was chief policy director for the House Republican Conference and ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election, told Reuters that he co-hosted the Zoom call with former officials concerned about Trump’s grip on Republicans and the nativist turn the party has taken.

Three other people confirmed to Reuters the call and the discussions for a potential splinter party, but asked not to be identified.

‘THESE LOSERS’

“The only way we’re going to win is if we come together,” she said.

Greater Agreement With Partys Positions Among The Politically Engaged

Republicans and Democrats who are highly engaged with politics are more likely to agree with their own party’s positions on issues than those who are less engaged.

Among Republicans who are highly engaged with politics , 88% say they agree with the Republican Party’s positions on at least five of seven major issues. Republicans who have medium or low levels of political engagement are less likely to express agreement with their own party on these issues .

The same relationship between political engagement and in-party issue agreement is seen among Democrats. Nine-in-ten highly engaged Democrats agree with their own party on most of the seven issues, compared with 72% of Democrats with medium levels of political engagement and 63% of Democrats with low levels of political engagement.

More politically engaged Republicans and Democrats also are more likely than the less engaged to see large differences between the policies of the two parties and to say the other party has almost no good ideas.

Why Republicans Didnt Write A Platform For Their Convention This Year

TEAM BEPINKU.COMSomething Special

The Republican Party took an unusual approach to writing its convention platform for 2020: It decided not to write one.

Rather, the GOP is reusing its platform from four years ago, which was written before Donald Trump became president. That means Republican delegates will not go through the usual process of deliberating over policies and principles to determine what the party stands for in 2020, as Democrats recently did.

A Republican National Committee resolution on the topic says the reason the party has no new platform is the Covid-19 pandemic, which has necessitated a scaled-back convention this year. Since all the delegates couldn’t gather in person, they claim, they’re not doing a platform.

But that’s not all there is to the story. Just a few months ago, word leaked out that Trump’s team, led by his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, had big plans to shake up the platform by dramatically shortening it — plans that drew the ire of some conservative activists, who were used to exerting their influence on the lengthy document.

So, back in June, the party made the decision to skip platform-drafting entirely and just reuse the 2016 document, citing the pandemic as the reason. It’s unclear if this was done deliberately to avoid messy party infighting over the platform, but it certainly had that effect.

Studying The Bible Should Be Offered In Public School Curricula

“A good understanding of the Bible being indispensable for the development of an educated citizenry, we encourage state legislatures to offer the Bible in a literature curriculum as an elective in America’s high schools,” the platform reads.

The 2012 platform made no such push for the Bible in public schools.

Why Did The Democratic And Republican Parties Switch Platforms

02 November 2020

Around 100 years ago, Democrats and Republicans switched their political stances.

The Republican and Democratic parties of the United States didn’t always stand for what they do today.

During the 1860s, Republicans, who dominated northern states, orchestrated an ambitious expansion of federal power, helping to fund the transcontinental railroad, the state university system and the settlement of the West by homesteaders, and instating a national currency and protective tariff. Democrats, who dominated the South, opposed those measures.

After the Civil War, Republicans passed laws that granted protections for Black Americans and advanced social justice. And again, Democrats largely opposed these apparent expansions of federal power.

Sound like an alternate universe? Fast forward to 1936.

Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt won reelection that year on the strength of the New Deal, a set of Depression-remedying reforms including regulation of financial institutions, the founding of welfare and pension programs, infrastructure development and more. Roosevelt won in a landslide against Republican Alf Landon, who opposed these exercises of federal power.

So, sometime between the 1860s and 1936, the party of small government became the party of big government, and the party of big government became rhetorically committed to curbing federal power.

In A First Republicans Solicit Ideas For Party Platform Online

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Republican leaders on Friday launched an innovative new effort to solicit ideas from and gather information about its grassroots cohorts through a new website designed to build its party platform.

The move is a sharp departure from the party’s traditional top-down, one-voice messaging techniques, and is a bold one at a time when there is plenty of dissent within its ranks.

The web site GOPPLatform2008.com, was launched Friday morning, but news of its first broke on the microblogging service Twitter, where the RNC’s eCampaign Director Cyrus Krohn quietly announced it.

The site requires users to register, and offers them the ability to submit their ideas either through text or via video.

Voters can view each others’ submissions online, and they can discuss their ideas with each other on a .

The site offers users the choice of submitting ideas on any subject they choose, or on a pre-selected group of top issues that include: accountability in education; energy and gas prices; healthcare reform; the economy; judicial nominations; national security and “protecting American values.”

Republican leaders sounded several of this presidential campaign cycle’s popular themes in their video welcome messages.

“This web site really is about you: Your ideas, your issues, and most important of all, your aspirations,” said RNC Chairman Mike Duncan in a pre-recorded online video.

Government Is Not The Solution To Domestic Social Problems

This is pretty universal among Republicans. Government should not be providing solutions to problems that confront people . Those problems should be solved by the people themselves. A Republican would say that relying on the government to solve problems is a crutch that makes people lazy and feel entitled to receive things without working for them.

Religion And The Belief In God Is Vital To A Strong Nation

Republicans are generally accepting only of the Judeo-Christian belief system. For most Republicans, religion is absolutely vital in their political beliefs and the two cannot be separated. Therefore, separation of church and state is not that important to them. In fact, they believe that much of what is wrong has been caused by too much secularism.

Those are the four basic Republican tenets: small government, local control, the power of free markets, and Christian authority. Below are other things they believe that derive from those four ideas.

The Racist Theory That Inspired Murderers Is Now Gop Dogma

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty

Newt Gingrich, Stephen Miller, Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene, among others, all keep alluding to the same vicious, violent idea.

The hoods are off, and Republicans are embracing the white supremacist “replacement theory.”

If you’re dismissing this as fear-mongering or click-bait, you probably missed Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House and renowned adulterer, espousing replacement theory rhetoric on Fox News earlier this week while talking to host Maria Baritromo, who always has time to offer a platform to dangerous conspiracy peddling. Speaking about Mexican immigrants coming to America during the pandemic, Gingrich said the “radical left” wants to “get rid of the rest of us” and would “love to drown traditional, classic Americans with as many people as they can who know nothing of American history, nothing of American tradition, nothing of the rule of law.”

He wasn’t talking about Donald Trump, notorious for being historically ignorant and profoundly incurious, but about those of us with darker skin, who are never seen as “traditional” or “classic” or “real Americans.” Gingrich, a craven political opportunist, parroted the talking points associated with “the great replacement” theory, also known as “white genocide,” which stipulates the white race and “Western civilization” are in dire threat of being weakened and ultimately usurped by immigrants of color, Muslims, feminists, and gays.

For Many Political Compromise Means Their Party Gets More

Most partisans say that, when it comes to how Democrats and Republicans should address the most important issues facing the county, their party should get more out of the deal.

On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 means their party gets everything it wants and 0 means the other party gets everything it wants, about six-in-ten of those in both parties think their side should get more on the key issues facing the nation. Roughly three-in-ten Republicans and Democrats say both parties should get about half of what they want .

Partisans with colder feelings toward the other party are more likely to say that their own side should get more. Among Republicans, 44% of those who feel neutral or warm toward Democrats say their own party should get more than half of what it wants on key issues facing the country. That share rises to 62% of Republicans who give Democrats somewhat cold ratings, and 69% of those who rate Democrats very coldly.

The same pattern is evident among Democrats. Among those who give Republicans a very cold rating, 71% say Democrats should get more in partisan dealings; 69% of those who rate Republicans coldly say the same. By comparison, a smaller share of those who rate Republicans neutrally or warmly say their own party should get most of what it wants.

The Republican Party General Policy And Political Values

The Republican Party is often referred to as the GOP. This abbreviation stands for Grand Old Party. Its logo is an elephant. The Republican Party is known to support right-leaning ideologies of conservatism, social conservatism, and economic libertarianism, among other -isms. Thus, Republicans broadly advocate for traditional values, a low degree of government interference, and large support of the private sector.

One main standpoint of the Republican Party platform is a strong focus on the family and individual freedom. Generally, the Republican Party therefore often tends to promote states’ and local rights. That means that they often wish for federal regulations to play a lesser role in policymaking. Furthermore, the GOP has a pro-business-oriented platform. Thus, the party advocates for businesses to exist in a free market instead of being impacted by tight government regulations.

The Democratic Party General Policy And Political Values

The Democratic Party generally represents left-leaning, liberal and progressive ideological values, thus advocating for a strong government to regulate business and support for the citizens of the United States. Thus, one of the key values emphasized by Democrats is social responsibility. Overall, Democrats believe that a prominent and powerful government can ensure welfare and equality for all. Much like the Republican Party, political opinions within the Democratic Party stretch across a wide spectrum, as both parties are, to a large degree, decentralized. However, from a general point of view, Democrats tend to support heavy taxation of high-income households. In comparison to Denmark, where taxes are generally high, the Democratic taxation policy may not seem excessive, but on a U.S. taxation scale these tax percentages are in the heavy end.

What Is The Difference Between Republicans And Democrats

Republicans and Democrats are the two main and historically the largest political parties in the US and, after every election, hold the majority seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate as well as the highest number of Governors. Though both the parties mean well for the US citizens, they have distinct differences that manifest in their comments, decisions, and history. These differences are mainly ideological, political, social, and economic paths to making the US successful and the world a better place for all. Differences between the two parties that are covered in this article rely on the majority position though individual politicians may have varied preferences.

Civil Rights United States Citizens In Puerto Rico

The 2016 Republican Party Platform declares: “We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state. We further recognize the historic significance of the 2012 local referendum in which a 54 percent majority voted to end Puerto Rico’s current status as a U.S. territory, and 61 percent chose statehood over options for sovereign nationhood. We support the federally sponsored political status referendum authorized and funded by an Act of Congress in 2014 to ascertain the aspirations of the people of Puerto Rico. Once the 2012 local vote for statehood is ratified, Congress should approve an enabling act with terms for Puerto Rico’s future admission as the 51st state of the Union”.

Which Republican President Inspired The Teddy Bear

Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican U.S. president from 1901 to 1909, inspired the teddy bear when he refused to shoot a tied-up bear on a hunting trip. The story reached toy maker Morris Michtom, who decided to make stuffed bears as a dedication to Roosevelt. The name comes from Roosevelt’s nickname, Teddy.

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Republican Party, byname Grand Old Party , in the United States, one of the two major political parties, the other being the Democratic Party. During the 19th century the Republican Party stood against the extension of slavery to the country’s new territories and, ultimately, for slavery’s complete abolition. During the 20th and 21st centuries the party came to be associated with laissez-fairecapitalism, low taxes, and conservative social policies. The party acquired the acronym GOP, widely understood as “Grand Old Party,” in the 1870s. The party’s official logo, the elephant, is derived from a cartoon by Thomas Nast and also dates from the 1870s.

Writing Activity For What Is A Political Platform:

You are becoming disillusioned with the two major political parties. You and your friends have decided to form a third party. You are in charge of developing the party’s platform. After reviewing the respective platforms of the Republicans and Democrats , write a platform that you think will serve your party well. It may be useful to pick three hot topics/issues and focus on them in your platform. For instance, you could choose topics such as student debt, healthcare, and gun rights.

The 2020 Republican Party Platform: Letat Cest Moi

As published on the party’s official web site, the “Resolution Regarding the Republican Party Platform” states:

“RESOLVED, That the Republican National Convention will adjourn without adopting a new platform until the 2024 Republican National Convention.”

We all know that party platforms are traditionally about mom and apple pie—but at least they tell us the party is in favor of apple pie rather than cherry pie. I was on the drafting committee for the 2012 Democratic platform; the process is one of grappling with diverse interests and priorities. The diversity of those issues and interests reflect the challenges of governing.

The Republican resolution cites COVID-19 as a reason for cutting back on platform development. Yes, “strict restrictions on gatherings and meetings” have changed the nature of the 2020 political conventions. Such restrictions, however, did not stop the development of the 2020 Democratic platform to address the issues of the day and let Americans know what the party stood for.

There will be no grappling with the issues raised by our current national crisis by the Republican Party, however. There will be no forward-looking agenda to define what the party stands for.

Views Of Parties Positions On Issues Ideologies

Republicans and Democrats see little common ground between the two parties when it comes to issues, ideas and ideology. Majorities of partisans say the policy positions of the Republican and Democratic parties are very different, and neither Republicans nor Democrats say the other party has many good ideas.

In general terms, both Republicans and Democrats agree with their own party’s policies. In-party agreement extends to specific issues, such as policies to deal with the economy, health care and immigration.

However, there are some issue areas – climate change for Republicans and policies to deal with ISIS for Democrats – where somewhat smaller majorities of partisans say they agree with their own party’s approach. Even then, few partisans express agreement with the other party on these issues.

Overall, about seven-in-ten Republicans and Democrats say they generally agree with their party’s positions almost always or more than half the time. Even larger majorities – 84% of Republicans and 82% of Democrats – disagree with the other party’s positions at least most of the time.

Most Republicans and Democrats also agree with their own party’s policies on a range of specific issues, including the economy, immigration, health care and policies to deal with the Islamic militant group in Iraq and Syria.

However, the shares agreeing with their own party vary by issue, and the patterns of agreement are different within the two parties.

The Platform: A Road Map For A Political Party

One of the most common complaints about politics these days is that the two major parties seem almost indistinguishable. Of course, everyone knows this isn’t really so – it’s clear they’re not ‘exactly’ the same, since they’re fighting all the time – but the policy differences between the two parties can sometimes be hard to figure out.

But it’s not actually that hard to understand what Republicans and Democrats believe about the nation and its future. There are easy-to-find documents that explain their views in great detail. Each party produces a platform. The platform is something like a roadmap; it’s the path the parties would like to follow if they can find their way to a place where they can make those decisions. The platform usually contains a list of the party’s beliefs, policy choices, and ambitions. These are often a lot more specific than candidates tend to be when they’re running for office.

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Contrasting Perceptions Of Parties Ideologies

Republicans and Democrats tend to view the opposing party as highly ideological, while viewing their own party as less ideological.

On an 11-point scale where 10 is very liberal and 0 is very conservative, a 34% plurality of Democrats use the most conservative option to describe the ideology of the Republican Party. Fully 58% of Democrats select one of the three most conservative points to describe the Republican Party’s ideology.1

While most Republicans describe their party as conservative , just 11% of Republicans select the most conservative option. About a third of Republicans rate their party one of the three most conservative points , while about as many give their party a conservative rating that is closer to the midpoint . Just 16% select the midpoint of the scale and only about one-in-ten place themselves on the liberal side of the scale.

A similar pattern is seen in views of the Democratic Party’s ideology. Fully 45% of Republicans select the most liberal option to describe the Democratic Party, and nearly seven-in-ten Republicans use one of the three most liberal points on the scale to describe the party.

Politics & PolicyPolitical PartiesPolitical PolarizationPolitical AnimosityElection 2016

The Platform The Gop Is Too Scared To Publish

What the Republican Party actually stands for, in 13 points

About the author: David Frum is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of . In 2001 and 2002, he was a speechwriter for President George W. Bush.

Republicans have decided not to publish a party platform for 2020.

This omission has led some to conclude that the GOP lacks ideas, that it stands for nothing, that it has shriveled to little more than a Trump cult.

This conclusion is wrong. The Republican Party of 2020 has lots of ideas. I’m about to list 13 ideas that command almost universal assent within the Trump administration, within the Republican caucuses of the U.S. House and Senate, among governors and state legislators, on Fox News, and among rank-and-file Republicans.

Once you read the list, I think you’ll agree that these are authentic ideas with meaningful policy consequences, and that they are broadly shared. The question is not why Republicans lack a coherent platform; it’s why they’re so reluctant to publish the one on which they’re running.

Annie Lowrey: The party of no content

1) The most important mechanism of economic policy—not the only tool, but the most important—is adjusting the burden of taxation on society’s richest citizens. Lower this level, as Republicans did in 2017, and prosperity will follow. The economy has had a temporary setback, but thanks to the tax cut of 2017, recovery is ready to follow strongly. No further policy change is required, except possibly lower taxes still.

Democrats Plan To Keep Their Primary Strategy

Morgan Carroll, chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party and a former state Senate president, said a proposal to forgo primaries would never receive serious consideration among state Democrats.

She called the idea “ridiculous and undemocratic.”

“If we had a candidate that recommended it, I think they’d be driven out of town,” Morgan Carroll said.

She sees the push as part of a larger pattern “by Trump and his loyalists to basically move in an authoritarian direction, take away choices from voters, make it harder to vote, make it hard for the people to decide, and make it easier for them to install whoever they want in whatever position they want.”

Want exclusive political news and insights first? Subscribe to The Unaffiliated, the political newsletter from The Colorado Sun. That’s where this story first appeared. Join now or upgrade your membership.

If the Republican proposal passes, she said it’s hard to know whether more unaffiliated voters would participate in 2022 Democratic primaries because they would be the only primary left they could vote in.

She thinks the move would backfire for Republicans as they’ve struggled to win elections in Colorado in recent years. “If I were a rank-and-file Republican person, I’d be furious.”

Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.

Republican Platform Panders To Israel Zealots

annexationChristian ZionismgopJerusalemoccupationrepublican national committeeRepublican platformrncUnited Nations

The Republican platform for 2016/2020 has a starring role for Israel.

The Republican National Committee platform of 2016, resurrected for 2020, will once again genuflect before Israel – ignoring the realities of human rights, international law, and logic.

Last month, If Americans Knew presented an analysis of the Democratic National Committee’s 2020 platform on Israel/Palestine. In the spirit of impartiality, we now offer a similar review of the Republican counterpart.

Interestingly, the Republican National Committee decided to recycle its 2016 platform for 2020-2024. This document was heavily influenced by Christian conservatives – including Christian Nationalists and Christian Zionists – who have very explicit ideas about the issue of Israel. On the other hand, Christian conservatives with more nuanced viewpoints on the the Bible or the issue of Israel-Palestine , many of whom actively support Palestinian rights, seem to have been ignored.

The platform was likely also influenced by donors like Sheldon Adelson, considered “the most important mega-donor in the Republican Party,” and whose pro-Israel demands have largely determined Trump’s Mideast policies.

The first question, then, is whether the RNC platform reflects the will of Republicans, or just that of certain Republicans.

Do the “representatives” represent the people?

Jerusalem

Political Positions Of The Republican Party

Republicanism in the United States

The platform of the Republican Party of the United States is generally based on American conservatism, contrasting with the modern liberalism of the Democratic Party. The positions of the Republican Party have evolved over time. Currently, the party’s fiscal conservatism includes support for lower taxes, free marketcapitalism, deregulation of corporations, and restrictions on labor unions. The party’s social conservatism includes support for gun rights and other traditional values, often with a Christian foundation, including restrictions on abortion. In foreign policy, Republicans usually favor increased military spending and unilateral action. Other Republican positions include restrictions on immigration, opposition to drug legalization, and support for school choice.

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missaureus · 6 years

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ElyXiOn in Manila Pt. 2

I left home feeling unsure if I had some forgotten baggage from my less-than-an-hour-pack-up and drove away towards the east following the light of the streetlamps. But one thing was sure, I was leaving my academic-induced stresses. But, to have that sense of relief, I still brought a few reading materials with me, which were left unbothered throughout my secret trip.

Past 8 PM, the car was already swerving the road towards the airport from the highway. It was the boundary which felt that I was not home already. I was leaving home, temporarily. To be exact, less than 36 hours. I jumped off from the backseat and bid farewell to my family by the time we reached the entrance of the departure area, as if they were giving it to me as my well-deserved break from reality.

The airport was tranquil the moment I checked in, no hustle at all. No one was forming a line, so I directly went to the counter. I asked the staff in-charge if I can get into the flight prior to mine. My flight was still at 11:20 PM but I decided to be at the airport before 9 PM, gathering all my luck to be able to have a seat in my friends’ flight to Manila. Sadly, he turned me down and said that a few were also trying to get into early schedules but most of the passengers had checked in already. He gave me my ticket and directed me to the boarding area.

Honestly, I expected it to happen since flight fares at these times were super expensive, who would have ditch their flight schedule? I rode the escalator up and looked for my friends who were already waiting for their boarding time by past 9 PM.

I have my two concert buddies, Anne and Alisha, who were also my companion last EXOrDium. I regretfully informed them that I was not able to have the chance of getting into their flight. I was not able to avail the same flight schedule beforehand since I had no concrete school schedule and just waited for the safe zone to get one. We just chatted for a few minutes and the next thing was, they were already on board.

I waited in the first row while busily watching The Miracle We Met. Guess what? I failed to sense that the line forming in front of me was already my flight after an hour of watching, my bad! I hurriedly pulled out my earphones and stuffed my gadgets inside my sling bag. After picking up all of my stuff, I went to the back of the line. I was shocked that the boarding time was an hour earlier than what was indicated on my ticket!

It did not feel any difference at all that it was my first air travel alone. Sometimes, being solitary is the best feeling in the world. It took an hour before the plane finally took off but I was already half asleep during that time. Imagine the energy I spent the whole day in school, what a suicide. My eyebags do not lie even.

Almost 1 AM, the plane arrived in Manila. I realized at that point while riding the bus to the arrival area that night travels are such a beauty. Peaceful. I fell in love with the idea. I walked together with the surge of people to the exit of the arrival area where lots of people were waiting and waving for their loved ones.

I am never familiar of the place but I trusted my instincts so much. I trusted on where my feet would bring me. Terminal 3 of the airport was ridiculously silent! I could not believe I missed CBX in there with just hours apart. How does it feel?

I directly went to the Grab-Taxi lane. I was honestly nervous. I am a baby to this monstrous city. Despite the uncertainty, I acted stoic. But how crazy love would make you do. My first step in Manila 3 years ago was also due to an EXO concert. EXO did that to me, to act independent for a day. Away from my comfort zone. I was glad to fake an act of bravery. You will never know what to do in a difficult situation until that situation is right in front of you.

A staff in the counter booked my driver and waited for him a few minutes. I was just quiet at the backseat trying to enjoy the city lights. I navigated with my Google Maps to arrive safely in my destination. I stayed with my other group of friends who were also concert goers since my concert buddies were staying somewhere else far from the airport.

At almost 2 AM, my friends fetch me in the lobby of the condominium building but before getting into the unit we went to the nearest convenient store to buy some food and drinks. We directly went back to the residence.

My body was so beaten. I could hardly move. I placed my things on the corner and admired the aerial view for a second. I was conflicted if I would sleep right away or fix my mini-giveaways which I was not able to work on days ago. My housemates were already asleep but I decided to work on that thing. Even if I was tired, I was not sleepy yet.

Past 3 AM I already rolled over my sleeping space. One of my housemates was playing her EXO playlist overnight. Wow. The last song I could recall before dozing off was She’s Dreaming. I can clearly remember.

I got little sleep. Three hours of it. But my body was hyped since I could not waste time on sleep. My housemates left me by 10 AM since they needed to post near the venue to distribute their prepared giveaways. They are admins of one of the fanbases under EXO Worldwide Union. Big responsibility, huh? I chose to stay in the unit since I was still waiting for Anne and Alisha to arrive.

Almost 12 noon, we left the condo unit. I booked for our Grab driver which surprisingly knew how to speak Bisaya and that gave me relief! Undeniably, riding taxis is a horrifying experience unless you could assure that the driver is not taking any advantage of you! We chatted with him, like you gotta befriend people and gain their trust, haha.

The air was crazily humid. If I am not mistaken, the temperature went up to 34 degrees C. I was afraid to walk around so much because, again, the pit was calling me! I tried so bad not to expend so much energy prior to the concert.

The crowd was unbelievable also! It was the same situation last EXOluXion. There were shouting in every corner that would give you frequent heart attacks! You get afraid that they might see some of the members(?) while you miss that chance, haha! It was never like this around Araneta during EXOrDium. I swear it was so frustrating. Like every big buses that would pass by towards the backstage entrance, those crazy fangirls would run into for nothing. I chose to stay away from the arena. We eventually looked for the desk to have our VIP straps on and went to the mall area right away to look for vacant food stores. Most of it with nearer proximity to the arena were full, mostly on standby and meetups. We luckily found a resto with a vacant table with an outlet to recharge our phones! We were so happy to find an outlet lmao! Fully-charged phones is a must! So we decided not to let go of that post and stayed there until 3:30 PM. I met a few of my internet friends but sadly was not able to meet all since the temperature was pretty energy-draining and also the mobile network service was down.

After freshening up, we went to our sequence line by past 3 PM. We were honestly disappointed with our sequence numbers, 230-232, since my friends had 66-67 last year! However, when we were following our line in the sequence, our numbers were right after those foreigners or those who availed the Global Package, which somehow gave us an assurance that 200 plus was still a good number to have better view in the pit.

A few were wearing killer platforms and it made me regret on why I only added over 1 inch of my height, I could have worn higher ones! I stand 5 feet 4 inches plus 1.18 inches but I felt so smol! I was starting to get tired and rested near the railings. I refused to used my phone to preserve my battery. So, I just killed time on resting. There was also one thing that happened! The girl before us in the line started crying because her ticket went missing! Some staffs were roaming around announcing a lost ticket but only to find out it was not it. There was a moment of panic around because OMG that was a huge problem! Eventually, she found it in some i-did-not-bother-to-know corner. Thank God! If it happened to me, I do not know what to do too but cry.

Almost 5 PM, we were already in front of the entrance of the arena. I still could not feel any tension! I was so numb at that moment. We went through the metal detector and our bags were checked as well as our tickets. I directly went straight to the line being held in front of W standing pit entrance, only to find out that my buddies were not behind me! I went back to the first entrance and my friend was being confined by the officer due to her instax camera. What were they so pressed for? It was not even a professional camera! A few moments later, he gave it back because it was not on the list of the prohibited things inside the arena. Sadly, a few people already overtook the lane and that made me so pissed off! On a brighter side, the number of people allowed to get inside the pit was grouped which was good. What happened last year was that, the line from the outside to the pit was continuous and it was not being held by the staffs, thus, the fans had a chance to run inside the pit and overtake those with lesser sequences numbers.

I was awed the moment I set foot in the pit! The first thing that came in my mind was questioning my past self on why I did not take standing tickets back then! The three of us were in chaos! We already strategized on where to run and stand when we get inside but yes, planned moments mostly never happen. My buddies wanted the barricade so bad in the left side. It is every fangirl’s dream: to hold that barricade. But we have a rule to follow too! Follow your bias, not your friends. Thou shall not break the rule. I had to think straight and fast and cut off my indecisive self. I went in the center part of the pit. 2-3 rows were already formed and mostly foreigners were still inside. I ran back to my friends saying firmly that I would stay in the center part! After acknowledging my decision, I went back to my post. I will never regret this spot. I assured myself. Come what may. The surge of fans was only minimal. Thank God there was no need to panic.

A few minutes later, one of my buddies, who is also a Jongin stan, came to me and checked the area! She went back to the barricade and went back again to my post saying she also decided to stand in the center part with me! I was happy because we have studied the map of the whole setlist long ago and we, Kai stans, knew by heart on where he positions in a certain song! He is not put in the center part for no reason at all, Kai is the center. The center belongs to Kai!

Eventually the arena was being filled with fans. I just observed the people around me. Most foreigner fans were quite aggressive and knew the pit game so well. They guarded their post as if they already mastered the dirty game. Diversity in language was an advantage for all! You get to talk with your co-nationality EXOLs on how to safeguard your position since some were really pain in the arse. They would push you so bad. Some would even swear at you. Stressful. I did not mind them and gave not a single cent of care.

I had regrets in bringing my doll inside the arena. I just took a photo of my baby once and placed it back inside the bag. But eventually, it served its purpose well since I place my bag in front of me, it became a cushion from the people in front row. It was such a relief for me.

Everyone waited patiently for an hour while singing along with the background music being played. Finally, the lights went off! My heart was banging against the rib cage. I cannot contain the fact that THIS IS IT! A year of waiting. I am going to see my artists again.

#exo #exo concert #concert #kai #jongin #kyungsoo #suho #junmyeon #baekhyun #sehun #chanyeol #jongdae #xiumin #minseok #lay #yixing #elyxion #elyxioninmanila #diary #personal

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akay1ni · 3 years

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Final Research Project

In the 18th century, society was relatively stable. Europe and Eastern countries engaged in small-scale trade and continued to occupy the colonies of Southeast Asia and Oceania. Cultural goods from China and Oceania flowed into Europe. Exoticism became popular in the Western world. Baroque style, by this time, has also transformed from luxury and exaggeration to slenderness and grace. This is the Rococo era. The 18th century France was the fashion center of Europe. Rococo style emphasized gorgeousness and elegance. The styles of shoes were mostly shallow high heels and half high heels. The toe of the shoe is beautiful, thanks to the exquisite embroidery on the face and decorated with precious stones. The materials are mostly satin, woven cotton, and lambskin. You need to wear a layer of leather shoe covers when you go out. At this time, shoes began to pay attention to the matching of clothing, colors, fabrics, and embroidery details, and gradually embarked on the road of aesthetics. Men's shoes are popular with smooth black leather shoes with red or pink heels. The overall characteristics of men are also colorful and gorgeous. (iRococo gorgeous shoes of the time)Shoe buckles also appeared in this period, which was a very successful invention at that time. The meaning of shoe buckles symbolizes education and status.

But after a period, this kind of simple straw shoes no longer met their needs. The rock dwellers on the Iranian border began to wear shoes made of animal skins. The earliest leather shoes were produced in this way, using a few pieces of leather and leather cords. Wrap the feet directly, the original shoes do not distinguish the left and right feet. (Figure 1, Animal leather shoes about 5,500 years ago found in the caves of Armenia by archaeologists)

In ancient Greece, before the Middle Ages, the earliest shoes were woven from wheat straw, plant fibers and papyrus. The uppers were decorated, and the soles were wooden soles, leather soles or cork soles. In 395 AD, they were favored by the barbarians. The barbaric invasion, the sandals that were popular in ancient Greece were ended in the Byzantine civilization. In Greek art, shoes were deified, with high-lace sandals and boots, and a pair of wings on the shoes, which played a very important role in ancient Greek mythology. In the early days, only kings and persons with status had shoes to wear, which was a status symbol. (Figure 2, Deified shoes in ancient Greece)

C. 937 AD

Foot binding was a practice introduced in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and became more and more popular in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). From the age of 5 to 8, the bones of the girl’s feet were broken and then wrapped tightly to prevent growth. The ideal model of a woman's foot is to imitate a lotus blossom and is ruled not to exceed three to four inches in length. Girls with very small arches are regarded as the most important marriage material, but cruel customs make it almost impossible for many to walk.

These tiny feet are decorated with exquisite silk or cotton shoes, embroidered with exquisite shoes. Chinese upper-class women are often buried with many pairs of these shoes. Although several prohibitions were imposed on this custom (the first prohibition was introduced by the Manchu Emperor in 1645, and the second was imposed by the Kangxi Emperor in 1662), foot binding in China has always been in the early 20th century. A common custom.

Medieval Europe is an era that is quite profane to fashion, but Italian shoe styles are enriched. From the end of the 12th century to the early period of the 13th, the structure of the shoes changed more in line with the human body, and the shape of the sole changed from a straight shape to a thin waist shape.

In the late 14th century, shoes appeared hollow designs, carved patterns, heights also changed, and materials were diversified, the most common being cloth, leather, and wood. Due to cultural reasons, the prohibition laws of medieval Italy played an important role in the fashion manufacturing and consumer market. Shoemakers began to appear in this period, and the first shoemaking union in the Italian peninsula was established in Bologna in 1144.

"Pianelle", the sole is extremely high, shaped like a deformed sponge cake sole, and the shape is a bit like today's open-toed slippers. People wear these shoes to prevent their socks from being contaminated by dust and dirt on the street when they go out. At the same time, at the time, men's Pianelle was the same as women's Pianelle, the difference is that men's Pianelle did not show toes. This kind of Pianelle was popular for 200 years at that time. Pianelle has many symbolic meanings. Like the Chinese three-inch bound feet (In the past, a womanhad to have a pair of small feet to be called a beauty), they restrict women's travel. (Figure 3, Pianelle)

In the 17th century, there have been great changes in the shoe materials at this time. Pianelle is no longer popular, and another form of high-heeled shoes has appeared, which is different from the 90-degree vertical thick soles. Most of them are pointed and mainly embroidered fabrics. Sharp and beautiful, men are also the main customers for high-heeled shoes. They feel confident and great when they wear them. The one who pioneered this trend was Louis XIV, the most authoritative king in Europe.

Louis XIV used his wisdom to promote commercial development and the circulation of goods through many wars and court expenditures. During his 72 years in power, he developed the power of the king to the peak and made himself the greatest in French history; ruling the longest time king, so under his strong influence, the trend of high heels intensified in the European continent. He himself was less than 155 cm tall. In addition to wearing a wig, he asked the shoemaker to make high heels up to 5 inches high. The leather on the heel was dyed red., The color that symbolizes members of the nobility, only he and ministers can wear it. (Figure 4, Louis XIV's cherished shoes)

In the 18th century, society was relatively stable. Europe and Eastern countries engaged in small-scale trade and continued to occupy the colonies of Southeast Asia and Oceania. Cultural goods from China and Oceania flowed into Europe. Exoticism became popular in the Western world. Baroque style, by this time, has also transformed from luxury and exaggeration to slenderness and grace. This is the Rococo era. The 18th century France was the fashion center of Europe. Rococo style emphasized gorgeousness and elegance. The styles of shoes were mostly shallow high heels and half high heels. The toe of the shoe is beautiful, thanks to the exquisite embroidery on the face and decorated with precious stones. The materials are mostly satin, woven cotton, and lambskin. You need to wear a layer of leather shoe covers when you go out. At this time, shoes began to pay attention to the matching of clothing, colors, fabrics, and embroidery details, and gradually embarked on the road of aesthetics. Men's shoes are popular with smooth black leather shoes with red or pink heels. The overall characteristics of men are also colorful and gorgeous. (Figure 5, Rococo gorgeous shoes of the time)Shoe buckles also appeared in this period, which was a very successful invention at that time. The meaning of shoe buckles symbolizes education and status. (Figure 6, The shoe buckle that symbolized status at that time)

In the 18th century, the queen of Louis XVI was obsessed with shoes, Marie Antoinette. She was extremely luxurious in her life. It is said that she would change her shoes several times a day, and each shoe was tailor-made by a craftsman. Each pair is exquisite and priceless. She has lived in the palace since she was a child, and she does not understand the suffering of the people at all. The entire treasury gave her beautiful clothes and shoes.

In the last ten years of the 18th century, shoes have undergone great changes. Men's shoes have become more functional, practical, and comfortable, and they have become popular. Women's shoes have become protective, personal, and lighter. The heel height has changed, and mid-heeled shoes and flat shoes have appeared. The emergence of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century changed society. The style of the previous aristocracy was no longer popular, especially high heels. At this time women began to work, flat shoes, sandals and shoes became the best choice for workers. At this time, the United States became the birthplace of industrial shoemaking. The development of mechanization greatly reduced the cost of shoemaking, while Europe still relied on hand-made shoes. It was not until the end of the 19th century that Europe switched to machine production. Traditional handmade shoemakers can only barely survive at this time. At the end of the 19th century, high-heeled shoes that had disappeared for 100 years appeared again, but they were different from the cumbersome and gorgeous styles before. After they were introduced to the United States, they formed a simple and highly suitable style. (Figure 7, American machine-produced wool women's boots)

In the 20th century, the development of footwear was unprecedented, and all kinds of materials were used in the shoes making. There was also a new profession that was appeared, which is fashion designer. This time the significance of shoes once again undergone major changes, originally sponsored shoemaker process, the process that was originally handled by the shoemaker has now been divided into two parts: design and production. At this time, TV media also appeared, and the shoe market was booming. Different tastes and professions wear different shoes; therefore, shoes are no longer a status symbol.

Canvas shoes were born in the 1920s, and people have more leisure activities. Basically, it focuses on sports. In 1917, Converse produced the first pair of canvas shoes, which is a representative of a young culture. In the 1920s, after the First World War, military boots became a symbol of male unruly, bloody, and strong with their tough appearance and sonorous sound when walking. Cowboy boots also emerged at this time.

In the 1930s, the discovery of high-heeled sandals, this new design did not appear vulgar because of the exposed sandals. Women wearing evening dresses and high-heeled shoes quickly became popular, and they were sought after by most women for a while. In the late 1930s, platform shoes and platform shoes also gradually became popular. (Figure 8, Open-toed high heels from the 1930s）

Because of the war, the raw materials for shoemaking on the market are scarce. Shoemakers have found plant fibers; hemp rope; reptiles; fishing nets; water pine. The shoe master Salvador Ferragamo, he weaves coconut tree leaf fibers and then dyes them and adds a kind of cellophane as the raw material for the upper, the sole is made of cork and cork with a certain thickness. The heels are decorated with brightly colored patterns on the heels for aesthetics or decorated with shiny gilded glass. These are the platform shoes of the early 20th century. (Figure 9, Platform shoes made by Ferragamo）

In the 1950s, stiletto heels were born. The stilettos have a heel that is as tall and thin as a dagger, like a long nail, designed and invented by designer Roger Vivier.

The Beatles booties in the 1960s, the Beatles are the super fashion icon in the 1960s, their rebellious styles reached the resonance of the young people. People began to wear the clothes worn by the idols and cut the hairstyles of the idols, so that the short boots worn by the idols became popular. In addition to the classic style, the Beatles ankle boots are produced in this way. The Beatles ankle boots have a Chinese-style men's high heel. The boots are usually ankle-high, and the toe is relatively pointed.

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leisurelypanda · 6 years

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To be honest, Steve didn't have any idea what was going on. One moment he was asking his boyfriend to have sex with him someday, the next he was scared out of his wits. He and Thor spent more time together than ever. It was a few days before Steve once again found himself with his shirt off and Thor tenderly kissing the scars left long ago. Just like before, he found himself feeling exposed and vulnerable. Unlike before, Thor removed his shirt as well and their chests touched. Steve trembled against him. Thor made no move, however, to press his advantage.

Not that it helped with Steve's arousal. And this second time, he could feel the evidence of Thor's. And that, more than anything, more than being with him or showing him his scars, more than the idea of standing up to his father, terrified him. The idea that someone could somehow want him in… that way.

He could barely sleep at night, going over what he said to him, wondering if he made a mistake, whether Thor really wanted him at all or if he was just a horny teenager. He wondered if he truly was falling for him or if he himself was a horny teenager. He wondered if he would ever really be ready when Thor was ready. He even wondered whether all of this was a good idea.

On the Friday before Thanksgiving, Steve awoke feeling like he hadn't slept at all. His alarm went off 5 times before his mom was forced to practically pull him out of bed so he could get ready for school. They barely got out the door to get to school on time. On the way to school, Steve looked down at his phone to see a text from his boyfriend. It made sense, he would usually have been at the meeting place 15 minutes ago by now.

Are you well?

I’m fine, I was just late getting out of bed, he replied.

I am relieved. See you soon :)

He smiled in spite of himself at the fact that Thor was worried about him. It didn’t help his conundrum, though.

“Mom, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, dear,” she said.

“How do you know when you’re... ?” he trailed off.

“When you’re what?” she asked.

“...in love,” he said. His mom, thankfully, didn’t laugh at him. She smiled knowingly.

“It depends. You might think about him constantly, you might feel really, really good when you’re around them, you might feel really, really stressed--”

“Well, if anyone can accomplish feeling really happy and really stressed at the same time,” he said. “I think it’s me.”

She laughed at that. “You make future plans with him--”

“Like Thanksgiving,” he interrupted again.

“Yes, like that,” she said with a smile. It had been years since they actually went somewhere with a Thanksgiving dinner. Bucky always visited family elsewhere, so it was usually just the two of them. “You might feel safe when you’re with him and things that might terrify you don’t seem as bad if you’re with him.”

Steve remembered the night Thor got him to go on the roller coasters at Coney Island. He hated it, but somehow it didn’t fill him with trepidation like it did. He’d do it again. That was to say nothing of the daily fear that he lived with that he wasn’t living up to Thor’s expectations or that he was somehow failing him. Thor had a… soothing presence. Even if it didn’t help completely, it did help some.

“I think I might be falling in love with Thor,” he said quietly. She smiled with sympathy.

“I know, dear,” she whispered, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “I know.”

“I don’t know what to do,” he confessed.

“Have you told him?” she asked.

“Well, a couple weeks ago I said I thought I was falling hard for him,” he said.

“What did he say?”

“He said he was in the same boat,” he replied. “But I don’t want to like… scare him off, you know?”

“Well, you don’t have to say anything just yet,” she said. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll be surprised.”

“I wish I could know for sure,” he said.

“I know you do,” she whispered. Shortly after she pulled into the school parking lot. “Now, dry your eyes and hurry on inside before you’re late to class.”

“Thanks mom,” he said, grabbing his backpack. “Love you!”

“I love you, too,” she said with a wave. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve didn’t get a chance to talk to Thor until school let out. For a school that was about to go on break, the teachers were oddly insistent that they get shit done. Except for Ms. Foster, who seemed to understand that at the end of the day, no one was really paying attention to physics. Not with a week off school so within reach.

“Have you been sleeping, älskling?” Thor asked after class.

“Not really,” he admitted as they trudged down to the parking lot. They made plans to hang out after school today, to celebrate a break from school. “I’m pretty sure I went most of the night without.”

“Is it your anxiety?” he asked.

Yes. “No, I’ve just been working too hard,” he replied. Thor raised an eyebrow but didn’t contradict him. He wasn’t sure whether that was a good sign or not. Besides, if the bags under his eyes were any indication, Thor looked like he was short on sleep, too.

“Maybe we can take a nap before we do anything else today,” Thor said. Steve snickered.

“Does the mighty Thor take naps?” he asked.

“The mighty Thor takes power naps,” his boyfriend replied with a grin. “Care to join me?”

Perhaps against his better judgment, Steve nodded as he stifled a yawn. He managed to last until they got to Thor's house. As soon as they were on the couch, Steve laid his head on his boyfriend's shoulder and fell right to sleep. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve was standing in the middle of a golden palace. All around him people wore garments that hadn't been seen in easily 1000 years. There were robes so regal he couldn't imagine the cost, warriors in armor that gleamed in the golden light. He couldn't help but feel like he was out of place until he looked down at himself. He was dressed in soft, form fitting blue robes with a burgundy tunic beneath.

He looked up and, to his shock, he stood in the middle of a crowded throne room. The people cheered. Steve immediately felt self-conscious being the center of everyone's attention. At the end of the hall in front of the steps ascending to the throne was… Thor… on a majestic, white horse. Clad in glittering black armor that outlined his muscular form, a long red cape that dragged behind him on the floor, and a hammer, of all things, he was the image of royal bearing. His boyfriend beamed at him as he approached.

When Steve arrived at the foot of the stairs, Thor dismounted and kissed him full on the lips to the adoring cheers of the public.

“Welcome,” a voice boomed. Steve jumped and looked up at the throne. It was Odin, but instead of looking like a thundercloud as he so often did, he looked kind, gentle even. Strangely, he also wore an eye patch and he held a great spear in one hand. Next to him on one side was Frigga, smiling down at him and Loki on the other. Tony was there too, and he looked as out of place as Steve felt.

“My firstborn son shall declare his intentions today before our court,” he intoned.

“Huh now?” Steve asked. Thor walked over to him and took his hand in his, lacing their fingers together as they so often did.

“My love,” he said in a clear, powerful voice. “I have never been happier since I have known you. Your beautiful heart and your warrior's spirit have enticed me like no other. With your blessing, I will make you my husband and consort. Will you have me?”

“Yes!” he cried. “Yes I will!”

“Let it be known,” Odin intoned. “That I, Odin All-father, bless and sanction this union!”

The throne room erupted in cheers and Thor captured Steve's lips in a passionate kiss. Then he lifted him up onto the horse. Steve gripped the saddle for dear life as Thor mounted the steed behind him.

“I have you, my love,” he whispered. He gripped the reins and drove the horse into a gallop. They rode through the streets, people cheering as they passed and they kept riding until finally they reached the limits of the golden city.

“Ready for the next adventure?” Thor asked. Steve smiled and laid a hand on his.

“Always,” he said. Thor moved the horse to a trot and they rode out into the gleaming sunset. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve awoke on the couch feeling somewhat disoriented. For one, he was lying down. His head was resting against something… not uncomfortable, but definitely too firm to be a pillow. He felt someone's hand in his hair and heard someone snoring softly above him. Another arm was resting protectively on his back. His arms were also wrapped around something warm. It was then that he realized that he was literally sleeping on Thor. Steve's body was nestled between Thor's legs and his head rested on his stomach.

Thor's breaths were slow and even. Steve was in the awkward position of wanting to cuddle with his boyfriend but also wanting to do something. With nothing better to do, he thought back on the dream he had. It wasn’t like most dreams he remembered. Most were bad, based in some kind of fear, according to Dr. Erskine. This one, this one was positively joyful. It was strange. The image of Thor as a kind of knight in shining armor seemed appropriate. It did fit somewhat with how he saw him. He reached for his backpack on the floor beneath him and took out his sketchbook. He was going to try and capture that image.

Trying to draw something from a memory as hazy as a dream was always challenging. He had already drawn Thor. That picture was more or less done by now. He just needed to make a few adjustments. Motivation to work on it had been fleeting over the past few weeks. He looked up an image of a white horse for a reference. Having only ever seen horses a handful of times, and then mostly in movies or videos, it was difficult at first. He managed to get the dimensions right after a few tries. Drawing Thor on top of it would be another challenge. He went through half a dozen sheets of paper before he was satisfied with the outcome.

In lieu of drawing dozens of separate, distinct faces, Steve decided to just draw the sun through a large, open window with Loki and Frigga in the background. He debated drawing Odin as well, but decided to forego it for now. Odin left a bad taste in Steve’s mouth. He couldn’t figure out why. The sun shone its rays down on the figures there, filling the room with the golden light from Steve’s dream.

Steve set the drawing aside and stretched his cramped hand. His fingers had long since formed calluses where he held his pencils when he was sketching. He looked over at Thor. He was still sleeping, none the wiser, evidently. His face was gentle, serene. Stray strands of hair fell across his face. His beard was getting a bit long, but it was well groomed and neat, not like the messy, scraggly beards young people seemed to have more often than not. He honestly couldn’t imagine him clean shaven. He found his beard too attractive to entertain the thought for long.

He leaned back against him. He relished the warmth of his body. Thor hummed and wrapped one of his arms back around him. Steve smiled and rested his head against his chest.

Then, whether it was bravado or if he was spending too much time with Loki, a wonderful, mischievous thought occurred to him. He moved up Thor's body and began to kiss his neck. His hand sneaked up to his hair and ran his hands through it, massaging his scalp.

Thor purred. Whether it was in his sleep or if he was beginning to wake up, Steve couldn't tell. But he took it as a good sign. He continued his ministrations, moving to suck at his neck and sneaked a hand up beneath Thor's shirt to feel his body. He trembled. This boldness wasn't usually his thing. Maybe Thor was rubbing off on him.

Thor hummed beneath him. He was beginning to stir beneath him. His hands began to roam over his body. Steve shivered as his hands touched his sides, trying not to laugh. His hands reached the small of his back… then went past it to rest on his ass.

“Thor,” Steve whispered.

“Steve,” Thor replied. His hands continued to grope him. Thor bucked his hips slightly and Steve gasped as he realized they were both hard. He bit his lip and moaned.

Thor's eyes fluttered open. His hands paused for a moment and Steve froze.

“Is this a dream?” he asked. He, perhaps hesitantly, squeezed Steve's ass. Steve moaned and jumped in Thor's arms as his boyfriend began to knead his ass. “If it is, it is a good dream.”

“No,” he whispered.

Thor paused and his hands rose up to his back.

“Please,” he whispered into Thor's ear. He pulled his hair, gently. “Don't stop.”

Thor regarded him for a moment. Then Thor kissed him and returned his hands to where they had been. It was the slow, lazy kiss of a man who had everything he wanted and Steve smiled against his lips.

“My little hero,” he whispered. “How brave you are becoming.”

Steve preened at the endearment. One of Thor's hands squeezed his ass again. The other snaked up below his shirt. Steve hummed as he felt Thor's callused hand caress the small of his back. He arched into the touch, pressing the evidence of his arousal against his boyfriend's.

“Oh my God!” he gasped. He blushed so much he thought his face would burst into flames. He tried to get away, but Thor pulled him close and rolled them over so Steve was trapped between him and the couch cushions. He was completely shocked when Thor began to rut himself against him.

Someone made a disgusted noise. He saw Loki covering his head with a hand.

“If you two must hump each other,” he said. “You might want to wait until everyone's gone or find somewhere private to do it.”

Steve hid is mortification in Thor's neck until Loki left.

“We can stop if you want,” Thor whispered.

Do I want that? he wondered. It was hard to think clearly. He wanted the physical proximity. He wanted to be with Thor, but… was he ready for their relationship to go there? It wasn't like they would go that far today, but still, it felt like a big deal. He couldn't help the surge of anxiety as he realized what his answer was.

“Yes,” he said. “I want to stop. I'm sorry.”

Thor rested his head against Steve's. “You need not apologize, älskling,” he said. “We do not have to do anything you are not ready for.”

Steve closed his eyes and breathed in tandem with his boyfriend. He felt his heart rate begin to settle. He released a shaky breath.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“It is no trouble, my little hero,” Thor replied. He kissed his nose and sat up. “What's this?”

Thor held up the picture of him from Steve's dream. Steve had managed to get the rough outline of the picture mostly done. If he wanted to, he could start sketching with colors.

“Oh. That,” he said. “It’s something knew that came to me.”

“Should I pose on a horse to help your process?” he asked with a grin. “I can ride a horse, if you want.”

“Do you happen to have a red cape as well?” Steve asked drily. "What about a suit of armor?"

“Alas, I do not,” he replied. “My heroic visage will be incomplete. I would like to see it when it is complete.”

“I can do that,” Steve agreed. “Speaking of completed drawings, I have this.”

He flipped to the page with the final edition of the picture he had started sketching some weeks back and handed it to his boyfriend. Thor held it gently.

“You did this with colored pencils?” he asked in amazement.

“It's not that impressive,” he said.

“Älskling, I do not know what you compare your art to,” Thor said as he gazed at the picture. “But you are too modest. This is amazing.”

“Thanks babe,” he said. He wasn't sure whether to believe him. He personally didn't think that his art was that impressive. But it was rude to turn down a compliment, he had learned.

“Do you mind if I show mother?” he asked. “She wanted to see it, remember?”

Steve fell back against the couch cushions again.

“Fine.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whether it was empty flattery or if Frigga genuinely loved it, Steve wasn't sure how to react. Frigga stared at it for a long time, her eyes wandering over every little detail examining. He sat still and waited for any word of criticism. She was silent, though. He felt a bit like he was in the hot seat. He was trying not to fidget.

“Steve,” she said. “This is truly remarkable.”

“It's nothing special,” he said. “I mean, it's just some scribbles on a piece of paper. I can't make real art like you.”

“Steve, false modesty isn't attractive on anyone,” she said. “What you have here is art as much as anything I've ever done.”

“But--”

Frigga set down the drawing and took his hands in hers. For the first time, he noticed that she also had calluses from practicing her art. She looked into his eyes with such gentleness that whatever protest he had prepared died on his tongue.

“Sweetheart,” she said. “It's okay to be proud of what you've done. To be happy with what you've managed to achieve. This is something to take pride in. Don't be ashamed of anything that makes you happy.”

Tears welled in his eyes. He wished, very briefly, that he wasn't such an easy crier. It made him feel weak. Frigga looked at him for another long moment and drew him into a gentle, motherly embrace. It was a bit like hugging Thor, actually.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“My dear boy,” she whispered back. “Anytime.”

#thundershield #stevethor #thorsteve #steve rogers x thor #marvel #avengers #Thundering Heart #Ballad of the Thundering Heart #fanfic #my work

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huesofblue · 3 years

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Gliding Across the Ice for Victory (Pt. I)

Elegance. Sophistication. Artistry. Precision. These are only some of the few things that can be observed when spectating one of the most famous sports among young girls and women – figure skating (Eschner, 2018).

According to Scott Hamilton (2019), figure skating is a sport in which “ice skaters, singly or in pairs, perform freestyle movements of jumps, spins, lifts, and footwork in a graceful matter.” The sport had gained its name due to the patterns that skaters do on the ice.

And today, in this blog post, we will be witnessing such patterns and figures of the sport as we review the Full Match of the Women’s Singles Short Program of Figure Skating from the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. But before we get into the good stuff, we will first take a look at some of the basic need-to-knows of figure skating.

Court Dimensions

As you may or may not have noticed, skating rinks used in different competitions vary in size. The reason for that is because the size depends on the level of skill that athletes and performers possess – the largest most notably being the rink used in the Olympics (Powell, 2020).

In the Olympics, the size of the rinks measures 30 meters by 60 meters; in the NHL, the rinks are 26 meters wide and 61 meters long; and, rinks used in Europe sometimes measure 30 meters by 64 meters in size. Regardless of these variations, the International Skating Union (ISU) prefers the size of the rinks used in the Olympics because they “make the differences in skill between skaters more apparent (Wikipedia, 2021).” Ice rinks also have rounded corners, measuring a corner radius of 8.5 meters.

Since the quality of the ice in the rink is affected by temperature (among others), the surface temperature of the ice sheet is maintained around −5.5 °C (22.1 °F) and −3.5 °C (25.7 °F). Once the quality of the ice’s surface deteriorates, an ice resurfacer comes out and cleans and smoothens the surface of the ice sheet.

Equipment

According to a web site called Ice Skating Passion (2021), there are 10 pieces of essential equipment to have when taking up the sport of figure skating.

The first on the list is the ice skates, and these are the shoes with a blade on the bottom that will help the player slip and glide across the ice. The fit has to be adjusted completely according to the foot size of the wearer in order to provide utmost comfort during the match, as well as to ensure that no potential accidents from mismeasurements will be made. After the skates are the socks, and people usually wear this to prevent their feet from getting cold. However, some high-level skaters do not wear this piece of equipment because it creates much friction. Following that is the ice skating bag, and this is where the ice skates will be stored during transportation to avoid getting the skates damaged in any way. The fourth piece of equipment is the skate guards, and these protect the blades on the bottom of the skates as the athlete walks around on non-ice ground. The absorbent cloth/towel is the next essential equipment, and this is used to dry the blades on the skates to prevent rust, as well as for mounting surfaces after a practice.

The sixth piece of equipment is the soakers, and this piece of equipment is used to absorb the humidity that built up within and around the skates due to use. Following that is the appropriate clothing; skaters have to wear layered, flexible, form-fitted and water-resistant clothes. After that is the gloves, and while these are mostly only used during practice and some skaters don’t enjoy wearing them, the equipment still provides warmth and protection when falling. The ninth piece of essential equipment is the water bottle because it is always important to stay hydrated to maintain good health and performance. The last essential equipment is tissues, and this is mostly used for skaters who develop nasal congestion while moving around in the ice.

Aside from the 10 essential equipment, it would also be good to note that players should keep an extra pair of laces, lace tightener, boot covers, spare hair bands, and pads for beginners’ elbow and knee protection.

Basic Skills

In figure skating, the basic skills are divided into 6 levels – each level being respective to the level of skill that a player has. The following skills and levels were taken exactly as is from the Skating Academy web site (Basic Skills, n.d.):

Basic Skills 1

Sit on ice and stand up

March forward across the ice

Forward two-foot glide

Dip

Forward swizzles — 6–8 in a row

Backward wiggles — 6–8 in a row

Beginning snowplow stop on two feet or one foot

Bonus skill: Two-foot hop in place

Basic Skills 2

Scooter pushes — R and L

Forward one-foot glides — R and L

Backward two-foot glide — Glide the length of skater’s height

Rocking Horse (one forward swizzle, one backward swizzle) — Repeat twice

Backward swizzles — 6–8 in a row

Two-foot turns from forward to backward in place — clockwise and counterclockwise

Moving snowplow stop

Bonus skill: Curves

Basic Skills 3

Beginning forward stroking showing correct use of blade

Forward half swizzle pumps on a circle — 6–8 consecutive clockwise and counterclockwise

Moving forward to backward two- foot turns on a circle — clockwise and counterclockwise

Beginning backward one-foot glides — focus on balance

Backward snowplow stop — R and L

Forward slalom

Bonus skill: Forward pivots – clockwise and counterclockwise

Basic Skills 4

Forward outside edge on a circle — R and L

Forward inside edge on a circle — R and L

Forward crossovers — clockwise and counterclockwise

Backward half swizzle pumps on a circle — clockwise and counterclockwise

Backward one-foot glides — R and L

Beginning two-foot spin — Up to two revolutions

Bonus skill: Forward lunges — both legs

Basic Skills 5

Backward outside edge on a circle — R and L

Backward inside edge on a circle — R and L

Backward crossovers — clockwise and counterclockwise

Forward outside three-turn — R and L

Advanced two-foot spin — 4–6

Hockey stop — both directions

Bonus skill: Side toe hop — R and L

Basic Skills 6

Forward inside three-turn — R and L

Moving backward to forward two- foot turn on a circle — clockwise and counterclockwise

Backward stroking

Beginning one-foot spin — 2–4 revolutions, optional free leg position and entry

T-stops – R and L

Bunny hop

Forward spiral on a straight line — R or L

Bonus skill: Shoot the duck — R or L

Technical Skills

Once a skater masters the basic skills, they can now move on to the more difficult, more technical skills of figure skating. These skills are some of the main moves and techniques that are used and open to all skill levels, despite being more technical. The following technical skills were taken exactly as is from the Real Buzz web site (n.d.):

JUMPS

Toe Jumps

Toe loops — When attempting a toe loop, the figure skater jumps in a counter-clockwise motion. He (or she) quickly glides backwards over the ice rink before using the outside edge of their back skate — and the toe-pick of their front skate — to launch into the air. The performer spins half a revolution in mid-air before landing, once more, onto the outside edge of their back skate.

Flips — When attempting a flip jump, the figure skater glides backwards across the ice rink before launching into the air by pushing on the inside edge of their back foot and the toe-pick of their front skate. The performer then spins a full-revolution in mid-air before landing smoothly onto the ice and continuing to skate.

Lutzs — The lutz jump is exactly like the flip; only here the skater launches into the jump from the outside edge of their back foot rather than the inside edge. It’s very difficult to stay balanced when launching into a full, mid-air revolution from the outside edge of the skate. As a result, the lutz is a tricky move to master, requiring hours of hard work, pain and frustration. In the end, it’ll be worth all the effort though!

Edge Jumps

Salchows — The salchow jump sees the performer launch into the air by pushing on the inside edge of their strongest foot. After performing a half-revolution in mid-air, the skater then lands smoothly onto the outside edge of their weaker foot, before continuing to skate their way across the ice.

Loop jumps — When attempting a loop jump, the figure skater takes off from the outside edge of their strongest foot before spinning a full-revolution in the air. The performer then lands backwards onto the same foot and either carries on skating across the ice or prepares to launch into another spin.

Axels — The axel is a key ice skating technique for all beginner skaters to aspire to! Here, the performer gathers momentum before launching forwards into the air by springing from the outside edge of their strongest foot. The skater spins one-and-a-half revolutions in mid-air before landing onto the outside edge of their weaker foot. Tricky, eh? Without the aid of a toe-pick to help launch the skater, this is an incredibly difficult maneuver which can take years of hard work to master. So keep practicing!

SPINS

Upright spin — This is one of the easiest spins to master in the early days of your ice skating tuition. Upright spins see the skater position their body in a straight, upwardly position with one or both of their feet remaining on the ice throughout the maneuver.

Sit spin — This spin is self-explanatory really! It’s carried out when the performer skates on one leg only, whilst stretching the other limb straight out in front of them. Whilst spinning, the performer bends their skating leg as far as they can — essentially sitting down as low as possible without toppling over. In competition, judges award points based on how close to the ice a performer can bend whilst still maintaining their rhythm. It really is a case of ‘how low can you go?’

Camel spin — This popular move sees the performer position his or her body into a ‘T’ shape. The performer’s stronger leg is used for skating, whilst the other limb is stretched backwards, straight behind the skater’s head. During this spin, the performer leans their neck forward, bringing their head in line with the straightened rear leg. This maneuver may sound rather daunting, nevertheless, with practice and patience, the balance and suppleness that the camel spin requires will come to you in time.

Tactical Skills

Like every other sport out there, figure skating also has tactical skills that one can apply to their performance. However, unlike a portion of those “every other sport,” figure skating doesn’t require an athlete to directly play offense or go on defense against an opponent, hence the tactics would have to be used on the self.

According to Sarah Dunn (n.d.), the first tactic on the list of four would be to use your flexibility. Since figure skating is comprised largely of graceful and fluid movements, it is important to make use of one’s flexibility to ensure that utmost fluidity in a performance is delivered. To use it, it is important to always stretch to prepare the muscles for exertion. After that is utilizing the right amounts of balance and strength, which means exerting just enough of both to execute on-point skills and to maintain footing while on the ice. The third tactic is do not be afraid of falling [on the ice] because Kelly Cassity once said “Learning how to fall correctly will help protect you from injury when you tumble unexpectedly.” Lastly, the fourth tactic is build and have confidence; confidence is developed as a result of having good balance and strength on your blade edges, so in order to become more confident on the ice, one must first build their strength and balance simultaneously.

Rules of the Game

To keep the honor of figure skating intact, a system of rules was implemented and followed not only by the skaters themselves but also everyone else involved. The following rules were taken exactly as is from the article posted by the NBC Connecticut (2018):

The women’s, men’s and pairs’ short programs last a maximum of two minutes, 50 seconds. The women’s free skate lasts between 3:50 and 4:10, but pairs’ and men’s free skates can last between 4:20 and 4:40.

The ice dance short dance can last anywhere from 2:40 to three minutes, and the genre of music is dictated by the International Skating Union. For the Olympic season, the short dance must use music with a rumba rhythm plus any number of the following Latin American dance rhythms: samba, mambo, meringue, salsa, bachata and any closely related Latin American or Caribbean rhythms.

The Pyeongchang Olympics are the first Games in which women, men and pairs skaters are permitted to use music with lyrics. The new rule was introduced for the 2014-15 season, but this is the first Olympics the rule change affects. Ice dancers had already been allowed to use music with lyrics.

The free dance has no required musical genre, but the music must be arranged in such a way that it has a rhythmic beat and creates an “interesting, colorful, entertaining dance program.” It lasts about four minutes.

SHORT PROGRAM (Hamilton, 2019)

The short program is made up of required elements.

Singles skaters at the senior level are required to complete eight designated elements set to music lasting no longer than 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

Skaters choose their costume and music and may perform the elements in any sequence they choose, but they cannot repeat an element if they miss it.

LONG PROGRAM (Hamilton, 2019)

The long program (also called the free skate) is designed to display skill and grace as well as jumping ability.

Senior men skate four and a half minutes, while women skate for four minutes.

Although there are no required elements, judges are looking for balanced programs that showcase the technical and artistic talent of the skater. Particular attention is paid to the difficulty of the jumps and how well the skater performs in harmony with the instrumental music.

Elite women will include up to six different triples, some in combination, in their programs, and elite men perform at least seven triples, with some also in combination, and often one or two quads.

The skaters choose their own spins but must demonstrate four different types.

Pairs skaters at the senior level must include three different lifts (but no more than five) including one twist lift, at least one solo jump, a jump sequence, a throw jump, and only one solo spin.

SCORES AND JUDGING:

Skaters receive two sets of marks for each program: the technical element score and the program component score. The technical score is based on the difficulty and execution of the technical elements, such as jumps and spins, while the program component is based on artistry, interpretation and presentation. The two numbers are combined for a skater’s total score.

The total element score is a sum of all the element scores. A total score is determined by two sets of people for each program: the nine-person judging panel and a three-person technical panel.

The technical panel identifies each element (such as discerning a flip from a Lutz, or a quadruple jump from a triple jump). They are also charged with verifying if jumps are fully rotated or landed short.

For elements such as spins and footwork, the technical panel assigns levels numbered one through four, where four is the highest. A skater can enter the spin in a difficult way, or change position during the spin to make it more difficult.

This is the reason why a technically gifted skater like Chen can exponentially rack up points, while Rippon, who relies more on his performing skills, does not post the same kinds of scores.

The members of the judging panel evaluate each element based on how well it was performed, assigning a grade of execution between -3 and +3 to the element’s predetermined base value. The highest and lowest scores get dropped while the remaining seven scores are averaged.

Then, the judging panel adds the base values with the grades of execution to get the total element score.

The program components score is based on the judges’ determination of the overall program, and not the individual elements. The judges mark five program components on a scale from 0.25 to 10.

The scores are averaged to form the score out of 10 for each component. Then, that total is multiplied by a factor, which differs for each program, so that the total element score and the program components score are weighted more equally in the makeup of the score.

The factored results are rounded to two decimal places and added, providing the program components score.

The total segment score is the technical and program scores added together. The skater’s final score is the total minus any deductions, which can be taken for missed time limits, illegal elements, costume violations, program interruptions and falls.

Who officiates the sport? And how do they do it?

According to the Skate Canada (n.d.) web site, figure skating has a total of 6 different kinds of officials. The first of those six are the evaluators, and they are tasked to assess the skaters during assessment days to evaluate whether or not said skaters can move on to the next round/s. During assessments, the evaluators will act as both the assessor and referee for on-ice activities. Next, the technical specialists and the technical controllers are former athletes, coaches, judges or referees who are responsible for identifying the elements and their respective level of difficulty performed by each skater in their performance. After that are the judges, and these are officials who have the duty of assessing a skater’s performance, assessing competitive tests, and officiating all levels of the competition.

Following the judges are the referees, and they oversee the ice conditions, ensures that all rules applicable to an assessment or competition are followed and acts as chairman of the judges’ panel and arbiter in policy or procedure disputes. At smaller events, the referee will typically act as both referee and one of the judges. The last type of official are the data specialists who calculates the judges’ points on each performer and tabulates the final result. If open marking is used at an event the data specialists are normally found at ice level. At other events, they will be in the result calculation centre. Generally, each event will have a Chief Data Specialist who ensures all accounting rules are followed when determining the result of an event. They work with the technical representative or referee and technical controller to post results, attend draws and to answer questions regarding results calculation.

Please direct yourself to the second half of this blog post to find the actual analysis of the match. Thank you, and I'll see you there!

References

Dunn, S. T. (n.d.). 4 Ways to Improve Your Ice-Skating Technique. Retrieved April 3, 2021, from Experience Life by Life Time web site: https://experiencelife.lifetime.life/article/4-ways-to-improve-your-ice-skating-technique/

Eschner, K. (2018, February 6). A Brief History of Women's Figure Skating. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved April 2, 2021, from Smithsonian Magazine web site: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-womens-figure-skating-180968044/

Hamilton, S. (2019, May 13). Figure skating. Britannica Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 2, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/sports/figure-skating/additional-info#history

Ice Skating Passion. (2021, February 16). Figure skating equipment (10 Essentials). Retrieved April 2, 2021, from Ice Skating Passion web site: https://iceskatingpassion.com/figure-skating-equipment/

NBC Connecticut. (2018, February 17). Figure Skating 101: Get to Know the Rules and Scoring. Retrieved April 3, 2021, from NBC Connecticut: https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/figure-skating-101-basics-scoring/2015233/

Powell, B. (2020, December 14). Figure Skating Rink. (Fantastic Offense) Retrieved April 2, 2021, from Dimensions web site: https://www.dimensions.com/element/figure-skating-rink#:~:text=Skating%20rinks%20vary%20in%20size,typically%20the%20same%20for%20both.

Real Buzz. (n.d.). Key Ice Skating Techniques. Retrieved April 2, 2021, from Real Buzz web site: https://www.realbuzz.com/articles-interests/sports-activities/article/key-ice-skating-techniques/

Skate Canada. (n.d.). Types of Officials. Retrieved April 3, 2021, from Skate Canada web site: https://skateabnwtnun.ca/officials/types-of-officials/#:~:text=In%20figure%20skating%20there%20are,a%20specific%20job%20to%20do.

Skating Academy. (n.d.). Basic Skills. Retrieved April 3, 2021, from Skating Academy web site: https://skatingacademy.org/learn-to-skate/basic-skills/

Wikipedia. (2021, April 2). Figure Skating. Retrieved April 2, 2021, from Wikipedia web site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating#:~:text=Olympic%2Dsized%20rinks%20have%20dimensions,competitions%2C%20particularly%20for%20major%20events.

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rhinodriver77 · 4 years

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The Homecoming Float Saga

As the 1965-66 school year started, the Chess Club reassembled with its original core of characters. I mentioned ADMMG in the first post. He was one of my better acquaintances from the group. His family had come to the U.S. during World War II, and we were from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Culture was a different story. I learned a lot about migrant workers and the hard life they lived in agriculture. His dad had learned some skills (welding, equipment repair, etc., and was thus able to settle down in a farming community northwest of where I lived. Since my earliest days were in small-town south Texas, where my dad was the owner of a small business running jukeboxes around Corpus Christi, Kingsville, and the area south of San Antonio, I was passingly familiar with life where there was not a lot of cash around. We weren’t real poor, but we weren’t very high on the hog either. He was Catholic with Spanish roots, thus the long string of names (and it actually went on a bit more) my roots are largely Celtic from the British Isles with a smattering of other Northern European genes. We had some interesting conversations.

Other characters included John the Poet, an English major and a folk singer. Then there was Tall Joe (TJ), and Engineering student, the son of a Policeman and probably the biggest nerd of the group. He was about 6′5″ tall, intelligent beyond belief, could recite the Pi ratio to 200 places (3.14159...) and was on the academic honor roll every semester. There was DD (the second D was for dwarf, the genetic condition). He was a History major with a wicked sense of wry humor. I also started out in Engineering was a Basketball player (freshman year only) and ran track as a Long- and Triple-Jumper. Richie got his nickname not only by shortening his name, but he was also, like the comic book character, handsome and rich -- his family was in the oil business -- but he was a really nice guy unlike in the comic. He was a Business/Econ major with an odd view of life that he expressed quite well. A week or so after the semester started, SHE arrived as noted in the first entry, and brought along Big E -- a tallish gal, very introverted at the time -- very quick witted so that she fit right in with the group. Big E had gone to a different middle school than SHE or I did, but SHE had befriended her and they became lifelong friends. In all, the group was an unlikely amalgam of nerdy, intelligent, witty young people with little in common except Chess at the hobby level, and who had been mostly loners before college.

One of the outside of school hour activities that the group met for was the school football games. The Junior College was one of the national powerhouses at that level, and usually won its games with scores like 66-0, or 72-12. By the third quarter we usually had the reserves playing, with a 50+ point lead, and the crowd would begin cheering for the opposition to at least score.... We would all meet at the stadium and sit in the student section together, and then go to the post-game dance at the Student Union. By this time, I had almost exclusive use of a small window VW Beetle, so I was driving to the games. After the dance, we would often go to one of the Drive-In diners in town, have a soda and snack and hang out for a while, then make sure that everyone had a ride. I would often have one passenger (John the Poet, or someone else) from the south side of town, Big E, and HER in the Beetle as we headed out as they both lived out of town in the same direction I did, but I was about 10 miles beyond them. Needless to say, I dropped HER off last so we could talk for a bit by ourselves....

School was progressing merrily along and the football team was undefeated when the school paper began talking about Homecoming. That afternoon, DD mused about how the Chess Club could participate in the festivities. By the time the football game and dance, etc., were done, we had settled on maybe building a float for the parade. That next Monday, we talked t over again, and DD said he would find out what we needed to do to enter. On Thursday or so, he came into the Union with a stack of papers and announced, “We are in!” He had dealt with the school administration, devised a set of by-laws, filled out all of the appropriate forms, convinced one of his teachers to be the advisor, and chartered the B.C. Chess Club as an official, school-sponsored organization, and entered it into the Parade.By the time the weekend was over, we had the basics of a design, and were in the scrounge mode for materials to build with. Richie had an Uncle that was a farmer, so he got us a 50 foot long flat-bed trailer to use, and a roll of chicken wire, and we were on our way. we finalized the design during the next week -- a living chess board display. The next Saturday. we moved the trailer into position into the building at the county fairgrounds where all the entries were being built and stapled the chicken wire around the edges of the trailer to form the structure of the skirt to hide the undercarriage. By this time, the other entries had been under construction for at least a couple of weeks, and were looking pretty good. There was one month to Homecoming. We had a bare trailer and chicken wire....

During the week, we procured enough black and white poster boards to cover the bed of the trailer. On Saturday, about half a dozen of us showed up to staple the poster boards down to make the checkerboard. There were now three weeks to go, and we had a trailer with a black and white checkerboard, surrounded by chicken wire....

Two weeks later, a few of us showed up early in the afternoon to organize for the big push to finish. As we arrived, we interrupted a crew that was preparing to move our “float” out of the way as it had been sitting inactive for two weeks. Since several commercial entries had come in, space was at a premium, and they assumed we had lost interest or otherwise dropped out. After we got that taken care of, we prepositioned the tissue paper to fill in the skirt (there is a lot of that for a 50 foot trailer!), then we took a break to get something to eat. We had arranged for the rest of the group to meet at 5:00 pm along with boy/girl friends, cousins, or whoever else they could convince to help, to do the pomping of the skirt. By 5:30, there were about 35 or 40 people stuffing tissue into chicken wire. Of course there was off site work going on during the meantime. We had built thrones for the King and Queen, a variety of props -- shields, spears, swords, etc., and we were all assembling our costumes. The on float crew (DD as King, a very tall girl as Queen (memory fails on the details), ADMMG and TJ as bishops, John the Poet as the White Knight, and Richie as the Black Knight) had written a short skit that ended with the Black Knight victorious over the White Knight, and the Queen turning the Black Knight into a statue. Anyone else that wanted to be in the parade would be a pawn walking alongside the float.

During that time, SHE and I were together almost every day working on costumes. I made spears (foil covered dowels) and shields (painted cardboard) while SHE sewed simple muslin tunics for Pawns. We made up about a dozen sets. This is where I found out that SHE was quite a seamstress and otherwise quite crafty as well. And our romance was beginning to bloom! Somewhere in that period we shared our first kiss, and the rest of the story will follow in later posts.....

At about 2:00 in the morning, we were done with the float. the next stage was marshalling and judging on the day of the parade. The float was nice: white skirt with red script on the side relating Chess to the parade theme and education somehow -- one of those quick constructions that have some meaning, but are also quickly forgotten. We were ready.

Parade day was bright and sunny and even little warm.We showed up in costume at the appointed time, the stage characters ran through their routine couple of times and we were ready for the judges.At 1:00 pm, the parade moved out and we marched through, performing the skit every block or two during stoppages of the flow. Once the rute was finished, we descended on our favorite drive-in for hamburgers, etc., in costume, and having a great time.

The winners of the float competition were announced during the Homecoming Coronation. To the absolute astonishment of every one, especially the other competitors, we won the Best Student Float, and Grand Prize awards. We had gone into this whole scene on a lark, with absolutely no expectations and ended up winning the whole shebang!

As part of the celebration that night, I screwed up my courage beyond belief and asked HER to go steady with me. I actually felt a physical relief when she not only said yes, but also threw HER arms around me and gave me a KISS like I had never received before! SHE had me completely awed, starstruck, quivering and panting like a puppy, wanting more than ever to do things to please HER.

More of the story as we go along.

June 20, 2020

#first kiss #romance #college homecoming

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dfroza · 5 years

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the marital bond is a sacred Union

formed by God, the Author and Creator of the heavens and garden Mother earth

with 2 bodies becoming as “One” through sex which is why such an act is reserved for the promise and trust in marriage and why it isn’t meant for a woman to be sexual with another woman, or a man with a man. nor is it possible to change a person’s birth gender to make such a bond by merely changing the appearance of the physical body.

and the marriage relationship is the topic of an ancient question asked of our Creator which was written down and conserved in the Scriptures and seen in Today’s reading from chapter 10 of the book of Mark:

From there he went to the area of Judea across the Jordan. A crowd of people, as was so often the case, went along, and he, as he so often did, taught them. Pharisees came up, intending to give him a hard time. They asked, “Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife?”

Jesus said, “What did Moses command?”

They answered, “Moses gave permission to fill out a certificate of dismissal and divorce her.”

Jesus said, “Moses wrote this command only as a concession to your hardhearted ways. In the original creation, God made male and female to be together. Because of this, a man leaves father and mother, and in marriage he becomes one flesh with a woman—no longer two individuals, but forming a new unity. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.”

When they were back home, the disciples brought it up again. Jesus gave it to them straight: “A man who divorces his wife so he can marry someone else commits adultery against her. And a woman who divorces her husband so she can marry someone else commits adultery.”

The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.

The Book of Mark, Chapter 10:1-16 (The Message)

to be accompanied by lines from a wedding song in Psalm 45 which is read for the 45th day of Autumn:

A Wedding Song

For the worship leader. A contemplative song of the sons of Korah to the tune “The Lilies.”

A love song.

My heart bursts its banks,

spilling beauty and goodness.

I pour it out in a poem to the king,

shaping the river into words:

“Your ozone-drenched garments

are fragrant with mountain breeze.

Chamber music—from the throne room—

makes you want to dance.

Kings’ daughters are maids in your court,

the Bride glittering with golden jewelry.

“Now listen, daughter, don’t miss a word:

forget your country, put your home behind you.

Be here—the king is wild for you.

Since he’s your lord, adore him.

Wedding gifts pour in from Tyre;

rich guests shower you with presents.”

(Her wedding dress is dazzling,

lined with gold by the weavers;

All her dresses and robes

are woven with gold.

She is led to the king,

followed by her virgin companions.

A procession of joy and laughter!

a grand entrance to the king’s palace!)

The Book of Psalms, Poem 45:1, 8-15 (The Message / The Voice)

and in Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments (with Mark 10) from chapter 45 of Ezekiel we read of setting aside a sacred space for God, just as we are meant to do in the heart where treasure is stored (inside, Anew)

[Sacred Space for God]

“When you divide up the inheritance of the land, you must set aside part of the land as sacred space for God: approximately seven miles long by six miles wide, all of it holy ground. Within this rectangle, reserve a seven-hundred-fifty-foot square for the Sanctuary with a seventy-five-foot buffer zone surrounding it. Mark off within the sacred reserve a section seven miles long by three miles wide. The Sanctuary with its Holy of Holies will be placed there. This is where the priests will live, those who lead worship in the Sanctuary and serve God there. Their houses will be there along with The Holy Place.

“To the north of the sacred reserve, an area roughly seven miles long and two and a quarter miles wide will be set aside as land for the villages of the Levites who administer the affairs of worship in the Sanctuary.

“To the south of the sacred reserve, measure off a section seven miles long and about a mile and a half wide for the city itself, an area held in common by the whole family of Israel.

“The prince gets the land abutting the seven-mile east and west borders of the central sacred square, extending eastward toward the Jordan and westward toward the Mediterranean. This is the prince’s possession in Israel. My princes will no longer bully my people, running roughshod over them. They’ll respect the land as it has been allotted to the tribes.

“This is the Message of God, the Master: ‘I’ve put up with you long enough, princes of Israel! Quit bullying and taking advantage of my people. Do what’s just and right for a change.

The Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 45:1-9 (The Message)

to be concluded by these lines from Today’s chapter in the book of Proverbs that point to the significance of being faithful in marriage:

Someone who struts around taking advantage of unsuspecting souls

and deceiving others is to be avoided.

With a wink of his eye, a quick shuffle of his feet,

and a slight gesture with his hand, he signals his roguish treachery.

With a warped mind and twisted heart, he constantly looks for his own gain at others’ expense,

causing friction everywhere he goes.

But you watch: his actions will bring sudden disaster!

In an instant, his life will be shattered,

and there will be nothing to save him.

Take note, there are six things the Eternal hates;

no, make it seven He abhors:

Eyes that look down on others, a tongue that can’t be trusted,

hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that conceives evil plans,

feet that sprint toward evil,

A false witness who breathes out lies,

and anyone who stirs up trouble among the faithful.

So, my son, follow your father’s direction,

and don’t forget what your mother taught you—

Keep their teachings close to your heart;

engrave them on a pendant, and hang it around your neck.

Their instruction will guide you along your journey,

guard you when you sleep,

and address you when you wake in the morning.

For their direction is a lamp; their instruction will light your path,

and their discipline will correct your missteps,

sending you down the right path of life.

They will keep you far from the corrupted woman,

away from the smooth talk of a seductive woman.

Do not lose yourself in desire for her beauty

or let her win you over with her painted eyes,

For you can buy a harlot with a loaf of bread,

but sex with another man’s wife will cost you your life.

Can you carry fire right next to your body

and keep your clothes from burning?

Can you walk over fiery coals

and keep your feet from blistering?

Take another man’s wife, and you will find out—

whoever touches her will be found guilty.

People don’t despise a thief

who only steals to fill his hunger;

Still if they catch him, he must repay seven times over—

he could end up losing everything he owns!

By contrast only a fool would commit adultery

since by his action he loses not only his possessions but also his own life.

He will suffer injury and be disgraced;

dishonor will leave a permanent mark on his life.

For jealousy sparks a husband’s rage—

when he gets his revenge, he’ll show no mercy.

He will not be paid off or appeased;

no bribe or gift will set things right.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 6:12-35 (The Voice)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Wednesday, november 5, the 45th day of Autumn and day 310 of the year:

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pamphletstoinspire · 7 years

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Our Universal Mother

Part 53 - Our Lady of the Cape - Queen of the Holy Rosary - Queen of Canada

The Heart of Our Lady of the Cape teaches us the most beautiful love from the most beautiful heart: that of our Heavenly Mother.

The statue of Our Lady of the Cape, seen on the cover, was given to the Shrine of Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Que., in 1854, the same year as the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. We therefore celebrated in 2004 the 150th Anniversary of both events. This very same statue is still venerated in the Shrine today.

The shrine of Our Lady of the Cape or Notre-Dame-du-Cap is located on the St. Lawrence River in the town of cap-de-la-Madeleine (Quebec), halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. It is one of Canada’s most visited shrines, since it is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, Queen of Canada. The history of this shrine shows that when the faithful abandon the practice of the Rosary, everything collapses in families and society. As Pope John Paul II said, we must return to the practice of the daily recitation of the Rosary in the families, for the survival of peoples and nations.

Historical Background

French explorer Jacques Cartier, sailing the majestic St. Lawrence River, in 1535, had planted the Cross of Christ on one of the islands of the St. Maurice River, that separates the present cities of Trois-Rivieres (Three Rivers) and Cap-de-la-Madeleine. This was on October 7, which was to be proclaimed a few years later, by Pope Pius V, the Feast of the Holy Rosary.

Master Jacques de la Ferté, a priest of St. Marie Madeleine of Chateaudun, in France, and a member of the Company of the One Hundred Associates, received a plot called the Cape of Trois-Rivieres. In 1651, Master de la Ferté gave to the Jesuit Fathers, the first missionaries in the area, a domain, asking them to establish there a center of missions for the native peoples who went there every year to trade furs. In remembrance of the first owner, the Jesuits called the place Cap-de-la-Madeleine.

In the first years, this land was blessed with the passage of Fathers Brebeuf, Daniel, and Lalemant - three of the eight North American martyrs canonized in 1930. For 18 years, Father Jacques Buteux was the main apostle of this settlement, and was martyred there by the Iroquois in 1652.

In 1659, a modest wooden chapel was erected by the governor of Trois-Rivieres, Pierre Boucher. It was given in 1661 to the new parish of St. Mary Magdalene, which inaugurated the devotion to Our Lady.

Cap-de-la-Madeleine was created a parish on October 30, 1867 by Blessed François de Laval, the first Bishop of Quebec City. In 1694, a Confraternity of the Rosary is established in the parish. Bishop de Saint-Vallier, the successor of François de Laval, wanted to replace the wooden parish church with a stone church, but the parishioners had to ask the financial aid of the other settlements in Canada at that time: Quebec City, Ville Marie (Montreal), and Trois-Rivieres. Our Lady was already establishing the foundations of a national shrine.

The "birth certificate" of the Shrine of the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary is signed on May 13, 1714, by Bishop of Saint-Vallier, of Quebec City. It was opened to the cult in 1720, and as of 2004, is the oldest church in Canada that has retained its primitive state.

Flourishing at its beginning, the Confraternity of the Rosary experienced serious flagging one century later, due to the lack of zeal of a priest. The recitation of the Rosary was abandoned, and the parishioners did not even go to Mass on Sundays. Deprived of his Protectress and of zealous pastors, the morals of the population declined, as history has shown in every country.

The 150th Anniversary of the Immaculate Conception and of the Statue of Our Lady of the Cape

In 1854, the year of the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady inspires Zephirin Dorval, a generous parishioner of Cap-de-la-Madeleine, to donate to the shrine a statue of the Madonna as She appeared to Catherine Laboure in 1830. This event is known as the Miraculous Medal Apparition. It shows Mary without the Child Jesus, Her arms outstretched toward the people, standing on a half-globe, Her foot/heal crushing the head of the snake. (cf Gen 3:15.) It is one of eleven identical statues made in Canada by an unknown Italian sculptor. The meaning of the burning heart of Mary is one of burning love beating in union with the heart of Her son, and partaking in His suffering.

The other characteristic element of the statue of Our Lady of the Cape is Her crown. As we will see later, it was added in 1904 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the definition of the Immaculate Conception. The coronation honors and highlights, in particular, the miraculous character of the statue. In fact, since the ice-bridge miracle of 1878, and the prodigy of the eyes of 1888, this statue of Our Lady has been considered miraculous.

The task of the new priest, Luc Désilets, was to arouse the languid faith of his parishioners, who had been without a parish priest for more than a century. When he arrived, the population of Cap-de-la-Madeleine was about one-thousand strong. One day, something strange attracted Father Désilets’ attention. He was returning from the sacristy, where he had been hearing confessions, and stopped in the church for a moment to pray. It was the eve of the Feast of the Ascension, in 1867, but the church was empty. Suddenly, the priest was astonished to see a pig with a Rosary between its teeth. The thought came to him unbidden: "The Rosary falls from men’s hands to be picked up by the swine." It was subsequent to this curious incident that Father Désillets decided to propagate the devotion to the Rosary, and he dedicated himself to Our Lady of the Rosary on November 5, 1867.

Gradually, enthusiasm began to awaken; and the drowsy faith shook off it lethargy. The Rosary Society enjoyed renewed popularity, and the tiny 1714 church, which could barely hold a congregation of 60, became too small for the parish. People began to talk of a new church, the third in the history of the parish. Unfortunately, money was scarce; as for building stone, it was only to be found on the opposite shore of the St. Lawrence River. Nonetheless, the project of a new church was approved by the church wardens in the fall of 1878. The stone was cut and dressed on the south shore, ready to be carted over the frozen river once winter set in. But the winter of 1878-79 was temperate...and the parish could not afford the luxury of having the stone ferried across the waters.

The wardens wanted to demolish the first church built in 1714 and use the stones to build the new church, but Father Desilets made this vow to the Virgin Mary: "If You grant us solid ice on the river by the Feast of St. Joseph, we will not destroy Your small church, and we will dedicate it to Your Holy Rosary."

THE MIRACLE OF THE ICE BRIDGE IN 1879

The Shrine of Our Lady of the Cap or Cap de la Madeleine had a miracle of note in its origin, called the Ice Bridge Miracle.

In November, Father luc Désilets asked the people to pray that a bridge of ice form on the river, so that the building blocks could be carried across. Everyone began praying. The young associate pastor, Father Duquay, each day, prayed the Rosary at a side chapel, in front of the altar of the Brotherhood of the Most Holy Rosary, at the feet of Our Lady of the Cap. March came and a high wind began to break up the ice blocking the mouth of the Saint-Maurice River to the south and the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. The ice began to drift downstream to the Cap de la Madeleine. It was covering the river several hundred feet from the church.

That Sunday, March 17th, Feast of St. Patrick, Father Duquay told the parishioners that there would be a High Mass for the feast of St. Joseph on March 19th, petitioning Jesus’ foster father to ask his Son to form a bridge of ice! He also invited the men to come with him to survey the river.

When they arrived, they saw that the river was covered with a thin layer of ice floating among drifts of snow. They went from spot to spot, looking for blocks of ice floating closely together. They had gone about 1000 feet with no success, when they spotted two of the guides heading upriver to the south shore. Father joined them. Only Father Duquay and the two guides dared continue, the ice was so thin and treacherous.

Having arrived at the south shore, Firmin Cadotte (one of the guides) crawled forward, feeling in the icy waters for a piece of ice that could carry his weight. He persisted and then was joined by thirty other men who began working alongside one another to form a 1600 foot stretch of ice along the river, wide enough for two carts carrying stones to pass one another. At 11 p.m., they returned to the sacristy and Father asked, "Well men, what are we going to do now?" A plan was formulated whereby they would pour water over the thin bridge of ice that had formed and, upon freezing, pour more water over it until it would become thicker, and when it was thick enough to carry the weight of the carts and stones, they would begin carting the stones across the river.

It was the following morning, March 18th, at 3 a.m., when the men returned to the river’s edge and went back to work on the ice. Now considering how temperate it had been and that it was now March, it was nothing short of a miracle that the bridge was now solid enough to walk on! Men kept pouring water on the ice. It was now 6 inches thick! Encouraged, seeing a possible light at the end of the tunnel, they kept on pouring water.

March 19th, Feast of St. Joseph, just as they were trying to decide where the opening should be made for the carts to travel, as much snow had fallen during the night blocking the way, what did they see coming across the bridge of ice? The first cart carrying blocks of stone! This cart was followed by other carts, until by Sunday 175 sleighs carrying stones had passed.

The men had carted 1000 feet of dressed stone plus enough stone for a foundation. Father Duquay ordered all work to stop. God had answered their prayers; it was time to say Thank You, Lord. That day, the bridge was given the name it carries till today, The Bridge of the Rosary.

One of the workers said, " It was quite extraordinary, a real miracle. It defied common sense." And when Father Désilets saw what had come to pass, he said, " Is this not a clear sign of Heavenly intervention? Can one not manifestly see the Finger of God?"

To this day, many, many people still make a pilgrimage to Canada to visit this very beautiful and powerful Shrine and Rosary Bridge in honor of Our Lady.

#our universal mother

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danasukontarak · 7 years

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Dana’s Travel Diary: Paradise, No Passport Required

I’ve known my friend Krystal since we were seven years old in the second grade. I’m not sure if our friendship was initially based on anything deep (we both liked ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Arthur’), but over the years, we’ve grown together. We have a truly similar sense of humor and decades’ worth of inside jokes. This February, she turned 28, and for her first official “Ladies’ Birthday Trip,” we (along with our other BFF/my roommate, Kiara) went to Puerto Rico. We would be flying into San Juan, staying in Carolina, and exploring several other areas mostly along the northern coast of the island.

The three of us had been to Miami for Kiara’s 25th and Los Angeles for my 26th. We’d also traveled to Denver and New Orleans together last year (plus our friend/neighbor Traci), so we were all confident that we wouldn’t annoy each other too badly over the course of four days with limited personal space.

We flew to San Juan by way of Chicago (a cold and stupid route, but the cheapest) and arrived at 5 A.M. At this point, I realized I made the rental car reservation for 10 A.M., but we headed to the rental place anyway. They were able to accommodate us early, but the price we paid was steep. We had to drive a huge Dodge Ram pickup truck. Correction: I had to drive a huge Dodge Ram pickup truck. It also had a big ass “Allied Car & Truck Rental” sign on the side. Thanks, Misael!

We found the condo we stayed at through AirBnb. Much to our grin-less chagrin, there was a union workers’ protest directly in front of the building next door, so every morning brought honking horns and Spanish chants that rhymed “luchar” and “lugar.” (Note: we learned that they’d been there all week, and they were also there during our entire stay.)

Our first excursion was to El Yunque Rainforest, where the truck came in handy. The many potholes on the winding mountain roads that led up to the rainforest were no match for our chubby Caucasian truck. We saw a few small waterfalls, one of which we got close to by climbing over rocks in an area clearly marked by a sign reading “DO NOT CLIMB THE ROCKS.”

There were many marked areas at which we were able to park and gaze. The views were spectacular from our height.

On the second day, we drove about an hour east to Luquillo Beach. The sand was like tan powdered sugar, and the water was calm and blue. This was genuinely the nicest beach I’d ever been to. The water was crisp, cool, and toted absolutely zero weird debris. I’m not used to nice things, so I definitely expected a jellyfish, some seaweed, at least a beer can or a condom wrapper. There were none to be found. Just beautiful palm trees, pleasant waves, and cute kids. Luquillo Beach also has a stand that serves pina coladas, rum punch, beers, and empanadas. We went all in (which later came all out, of me, into a hole I dug in the sand). Cheers to discrete public vomits!

On the way back from the beach, Krystal drove. She misinterpreted a road sign in Spanish, and thought the speed limit was 65 mph, with a minimum of 55 mph. We found out after getting pulled over and ticketed that the speed limit was ordinarily 65, but 55 for heavy vehicles, i.e. our big body Ram.

The next day, we went to Old San Juan. We’d read that parking was difficult in this area, and that turned out to be correct. Street parking is virtually nonexistent. The roads are narrow and cobbled, and it looks like a place where once you find a street spot, you never, ever move. We ended up parking in a lot with a 7-foot height clearance, which barely missed fucking up the top of our truck.

Old San Juan was gorgeous, full of colorful buildings and historical sites. We visited El Morro, a 400-year-old fort by the water. We also saw the Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, which is apparently the final resting place for a number of Puerto Rico’s most prominent residents and natives.

From Old San Juan, we headed west to Arecibo to visit Cueva Ventana, a large cave atop a limestone cliff that is a popular tourist attraction for both Puerto Rican natives and visitors. Tours are all guided, and our tour group appeared to be mostly Puerto Ricans. We were the only non-Spanish speakers, which required our guide to explain everything twice. Oops.

The guide explained that the caves were full of wonder, in the form of cockroaches, bats, spiders and snakes. We entered with hard hats and flashlights, and were instructed not to shine our lights at the ceiling of the cave, where bats slept in clusters. The guide shone an undisturbing red light up to illuminate the bat clusters. They were far less appetizing than pecan clusters, as far as clusters go.

When we finally reached the famous window cave, we took turns taking photos. I asked the guide if anyone had ever fallen out of the cave, and he said no, but let me know that if I wasn’t careful, that day could be the first.

On our last day in Puerto Rico, we spent the morning at Isla Verde Beach, which was not as nice as Luquillo but walking distance from our condo. It began to rain after about an hour, so we packed up and headed to San Juan’s botanical garden. This was a pleasant, peaceful conclusion to our time in Puerto Rico. The highlight of this excursion was definitely the peacock we saw, but the sad part was that it was caged.

The weather in Puerto Rico was similar to Miami - rain storms that hit hard but last just a few minutes. The weather sat around 85 degrees every day, and I returned browner than before, for sure.

If you are planning a trip to Puerto Rico (from the U.S.), remember: no need for a passport! Here are a few tips that might come in handy!

1: Learn basic Spanish - This would’ve saved us some heartache when interpreting road signs. Between Krystal being half Panamanian and me taking 3+ years of Spanish in school, we managed alright. But I did witness a few instances of “stupid Americans” being totally lost in the sauce when asked a simple question in Spanish (”What time is your reservation?”).

2: Go off the beaten path to save money - Compared to the trip I took to Mexico, all prices in Puerto Rico seemed pretty much comparable to prices at home, i.e. NOT cheap. The farther we got from the capital, the better the prices seemed to get for basic things like food and water.

3: Try food native to Puerto Rico - My favorite dish was seafood mofongos, which is mashed plantains with garlic and butter, served with shrimp, scallops and octopus.

4: Be prepared to pay tolls - They’re pretty much on every highway to every city in Puerto Rico. Our rental car was equipped with an E-Z pass, which you will definitely need if you plan to drive ANYWHERE.

#travel #travelseries #travelwriting #wanderlust #puertorico #sanjuan #danastraveldiary

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chosen-42-blog · 5 years

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The distance between you and the moon

"I love you to the moon and back." This romantic quote comes from a children’s book “Guess How Much I Love You”, which means to express that one loves another person more than they can imagine.

In our imagination, the moon has an unreachable distance from us. From ancient times to the present, moon is always seen as a symbol of beauty, romance and mysterious. The significance of space exploration is to serve the whole humanity better. With the development of technology, our distance from space is getting closer, we can clearly feel the tremendous contribution and transformation that the exploration of the universe brings, to numbers of different fields such As culture, politics and even our daily life. On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first and second person to walk on the moon. In the televised broadcast of the call, Nixon told the astronauts that the whole world is proud of them and said, “because "Apollo 11 is the fifth manned mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Apollo program, the first human mission to the moon. Since the past, humans regard the moon as a wonderful symbol. It is both the goal of scientific inquiry and political expansion, as well as the source of romance and the desire of art. Common ambitions and desires have gone through thousands of years of accumulation, and humans have finally had a close contact With the closest neighbors of the Earth half a century ago. In order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Apollo's moon landing, the global art circle presents various forms of exhibition projects related to human imagina Tion and exploration of the moon aiming to show its importance and breakthrough.

One of the most attractive exhibitions is Apollo's Muse: The Moon in the Age of Photography in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which explores the visual performance of the moon from the beginning of photography technology. In addition to the photos, the exhibition Also features a series of related sketches, prints, oil paintings, movies, astronomical instruments and cameras used by Apollo astronauts.

▲ On July 20, 1969, 500 million viewers around the world watched the first moon landing photo uploaded by the American astronauts from the moon.

▲ El Meyers, “Le Voyage dans la lune” film excerpt, 1902. This “moon landing” themed film pioneered science fiction movies, which created a platform of imagination of fantasy and a tool for entertainment. Almost all the exhibitions commemorating Apollo would show This film in the West.

Another typical exhibition is the museum of the moon. The Moon Museum is an art installation project for global tours. British artist Luke Jerram replicates the moon at a ratio of 1:500,000. Through the images of NASA, he displays every corner and crack of The moon's surface on an internally illuminated 23-foot diameter sphere, representing 5 kilometers of the moon per centimeter. As Jerram said in an article, "I hope this project can reproduce a myth, inspire people's doubts and re-engage with the night sky " However, it is not as simple as a photo location. Its popularity comes from the result of the common emotions, myths and narratives of human beings. When you stand in front of this huge moon, it seems to be surrounded and impacted by The charm of the vast universe.

▲ Moon Museum, British National History Museum, London

▲ Moon Museum, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

▲ Moon Museum, Aga Khan Museum, Toronto

▲ Moon Museum, Milano

▲ Moon Museum, Water Cube, Beijing

As it travels from one place to another, it will collect new reactions, stories and myths, as well as musical compositions. The exhibition alway accompanies beautiful background music which was inspired from the moon image, moonlight and surround sound created by British composer Dan Jones Throughout history, the moon has inspired artists, poets, scientists, writers and musicians all over the world. The delicate new moon, the mysterious dark side of the moon, and its faint blue light, always evoke people's passion of exploration. The moon have allowed us to observe and think about cultural differences and similarities all over the world and to encourage human to explore deeper space science. (https:/ /my-moon.org/about/)

Back to the meaning of moon exhibition, those exhibitions aim to memorize the 50th anniversary of the first human landing on the moon. Under the competitive relationship of the first international landing, the scientific and technological strength of a country has become one of the important Criteria for measuring its political status. The father of aerospace, Orkovsky, proposed in the early 20th century that "the earth is the cradle of mankind, but human beings will not live in the cradle for ever, but will continue to strive to survive the world And space." Space is considered to be the fourth environment except the land, the ocean and the atmosphere. With the exploration, development and utilization of space by human beings, space has many meanings for the foothold and development of sovereign states. At any level, the activities, forms, and relationships of space politics are all about power, and the core of power related to space practice activities is Aerospace technology.

The beginning of the Apollo program is inextricably linked to political competition. In the fierce space competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union successively launched the world's first artificial earth satellite, the world's first moon Detecting, and the world's first manned spaceship. Which made The United States deeply feel that it is an extremely serious political issue. The United States has been eager to surpass the Soviet Union and determined to show its strength as the world's number one superpower On May 25, 1961, US President Kennedy announced to the world that he would implement the goal of sending people to the moon and returning them safely to Earth before the end Thus, the implementation of the manned mission to the moon in the United States is a political decision. The purpose is to re -establish theelectronic leadership of US in the world and to invigorate the spirit of the United States citizens.

▲ President Kennedy speaks on the “Apollo” project in Congress

Politically, it has finally established the United States in a leading position in many aspects of space technology, and has produced a great reputation. In science, it has made humans have the first direct research and understanding of the moon and near-moon space. In terms of technology, many breakthroughs have been made, which not only laid the foundation for the later aerospace program, but also widely used in the national economy.

At 10:26 am on January 3, 2019, the "Chang'e IV" detector successfully landed on the back of the moon and passed back a photo of the moon back through the relay star "Yuqiao", which is the first photo of The back of the moon in human history.

▲ The "Chang'e IV" probe was the first soft landing on the back of the moon in human history.

The geological features of the back and front of the moon are very different. Comprehensive exploration of the back of the moon can promote new understanding of the early evolutionary history of the moon and is of great value to the study of the early history of the Earth . Moreover, because the moon's rotation is the same as the revolution period, the back of the moon is never seen on the earth. Therefore, radio astronomical observations on the back of the moon can shield various radio interference signals from the Earth and monitor the electromagnetic signals that are indistinguishable from the ground and the Earth. It is a very significant astronomical achievement and be seen as an important step for China to become a superpower in space. This initiative immediately caused reports from major news media around the world.

▲ The US “Times” website published a commentary on January 3 (https://time.com/5493033/china-lands-rover-moon-far-side/)

The US Time magazine website published on January 3rd, "Why should you be happy for China's moon landing achievements?", saying that the significance of China's fourth landing on the back of the moon cannot be estimated, even if China becomes a space power and world space. This is not only the success of China, but also the success of all mankind. China is making a force in space competition. Although it has been decades of space exploration, China is catching up quickly and may challenge the dominance of the United States in areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

▲ British "Guardian" January 3 issue (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/03/china-probe-change-4-land-far-side-moon-basin-crater)

The British "Guardian" published the "Space Race is back, is China leading?" on January 3, saying that the significance of the successful landing of the Chinese spacecraft on the back of the moon is not only because it is a human initiative, but also because it has enhanced China's The status of international space exploration has become a space power with the United States and Russia, and has also opened up a new dimension of competition. Today's China's success brings with it both excitement, challenges, and even threats . The Space Powers Club has a question mark on China's welcome. After the end of the Cold War, the United States and Russia began space cooperation, and the International Space Station was basically a shared platform. Such cooperation was basically not affected by political conflicts . It took the United States and Russia half a century to reach the current relationship of cooperation. The rise of China may break this tacit understanding. Will Russia regard China as a partner or an opponent? The anti-China attitude of the US Congress has been fully revealed. The United States not only regards China as an economic and military opponent, but also establishes a new space command in the US military to compete with China.

▲ "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" reported on January 3 that "China successfully landed the world for the first time on the back of the moon."

In a commentary published on December 29th entitled "China's Leading the World in the World", the newspaper pointed out that after the United States sent humans to the moon through the Apollo program, there were almost no plans for the detector to land on the moon . success. From the Soviet Union's "Lunar 24" landed in 1976 to China's "Chang'e 3" landed on the front of the moon in 2013, there was a 37-year gap between them. After entering the 21st century, only the Chinese detectors were landed on the moon. Following the Chang'e 4, it is advancing plans to launch the Chang'e 5 in 2019 and use the detector to bring back samples of rocks and other samples from the moon. Against the background of lunar exploration and development competition around the world, China has taken a step ahead and is likely to launch a new round of international space competition.

Through these reports, it is not difficult to see the importance and vigilance of space science and technology in various countries. Because the development of aerospace science and technology and the country's military strength, economic strength has a close relationship. "This is a small step taken by a person, but it is a big step for mankind."The famous saying of American astronaut Armstrong is the first sentence he said 50 years ago as the first person on the surface of the moon. That day was July 20, 1969. The "big step" he refers to is the achievements of mankind in the field of science and technology half a century ago. In fact, achievements are not only technological breakthroughs in aerospace capabilities, but also many inter-generational changes in human daily life. The Apollo program in the United States is costly, with about $25 billion in that year equivalent to nearly $200 billion today. This plan, while sending people to the moon, also triggered little-known technologic al advances in other fields.

▲ Bar code for shopping pricing is one of the aerospace technology masterpieces that was originally invented by the United States to control the countless components of the Apollo program.

▲ The dried cabbage leaves in instant noodles are the dehydrated vegetables commonly used in aerospace foods. They are used to store, store, and transport excess water in vegetables. The Apollo program first uses this technology to allow astronauts to eat vegetables. Aerospace foods are now widely available in aerospace foods.

▲ All kinds of fashionable sneakers are also the “products” of Apollo's achievements. The “air blow molding” manufacturing technology is derived from the Apollo plan for the production of space suits. At that time, scientists made a complete and uniform thickness. The large-pressure space suit liner invented a method of heating and softening a group of pressure-resistant soft materials, placing them in a mold, and then blowing high-pressure gas into the mold. After that, the sneaker manufacturer found that the process could Quickly and efficiently create a complete upper that is widely used.

▲ GPS was the first generation of satellite positioning system jointly developed by the US Air, Sea, and Air Forces in the 1970s. The main purpose is to provide real-time, all-weather and global navigation services for the three major areas of land , sea and air. The initial research and development is a major alliance between aerospace satellites and military. Today, 24 satellites cover 98% of the world's regions. The network maps used on weekdays, enterprises accurately locate users to provide better services, etc. GPS is in us. Has become an indispensable member of daily life.

▲ The intensive care unit was one of the important medical advances brought by aerospace technology. It was originally born in response to the Apollo program’s need for health testing of astronauts on the moon.

Having said that, we will find that perhaps the moon is not an unreachable relationship with us. Aerospace technology is closely related to our country and has an inseparable relationship with our lives. Since then, the moon is no longer just a synonym for romance, but a mirror of technology. Mystery stems from the unknown. I believe that through the continuous exploration of mankind, we will be able to look beyond the depths of the universe and use our power to update our lives.

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bharatiyamedia-blog · 5 years

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Ryan Kalish, Lars Anderson seek for life after baseball

http://tinyurl.com/y5usvem7 I used to be launched to Ryan Kalish this winter at a spot in Santa Monica, California, identified for respectable burgers and chilly beer. I recalled he’d had greater than a little bit promise as a participant. I additionally hadn’t heard a lot of him for some time. He was staying within the space with mates and he nodded towards a desk the place a handful of women and men had been selecting chairs and hanging their coats. He mentioned he wasn’t taking part in ball anymore and that he was educating pilates and had a stake in a startup firm known as Birdman Bats. He appeared enthusiastic about each, and we agreed {that a} story in regards to the bats, an enterprise that had begun with a single lathe in a storage in Northern California, could be worthwhile. His buddy, Lars Anderson, was a co-founder, he mentioned, and for the second time that night time I used to be struck by a reputation and profession I knew existed however couldn’t fairly place. He mentioned Lars had performed abroad in recent times however had retired as effectively, and that I’d like Lars, who was clever and humorous and had an attention-grabbing means of taking a look at issues. The place was getting louder, my burger colder, my beer hotter, and we shook palms, promising to remain in contact. My 26-year-old son, sitting beside me, mentioned, “Who was that?” A man who used to play ball, I informed him. “Used to?” he mentioned. “How previous is he?” I tapped at my telephone. Thirty. I tapped once more. Lars was 31. A number of months later, this time at a Thai place in an El Segundo, California, strip mall, Ryan recalled that night time in Santa Monica and mentioned, “Man, I used to be so rattled then.” He checked out Lars, who smiled. “Inform him about your routine,” Lars mentioned. “My routine?” Ryan mentioned. “Oh, yeah. Get up, cry, pilates, cry, cook dinner, cry. It was like every single day. Each single day. Listening to those songs that I, I really needed to flush it. You understand, I knew it was taking place. So I placed on these songs that might sort of set off it, simply let it out. You understand?” It wasn’t precisely the baseball working out of him, however maybe the since gone imaginative and prescient of who he’d be in baseball, what he would do in baseball, how the 2 of them — the gifted younger man and the sport, his sport — would have grown not less than a little bit older collectively. Certainly, by now, he’d have carried out nice issues, created higher moments, stood in physique and soul with the participant he’d all the time imagined. As a substitute, a little bit greater than a yr in the past, he’d talked himself into the spring coaching lineup of the impartial New Britain Bees, requested his ineffective knee to carry for a couple of extra minutes, flared a single, breathed that in and surrendered. The bat didn’t make it. They had been drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2006, Lars 9 rounds after Ryan. Lars was from Northern California. Ryan from New Jersey. They turned mates late in that very same summer time in Fort Myers, Florida, and within the coming summers had been street roomies and bus mates. Ryan reached the massive leagues in July 2010, Lars a couple of month later. They had been 22. The sport that they had performed since they might hardly bear in mind, since Christmas mornings meant toy bats and balls, since they’d begun to see they had been possibly just a bit higher than the opposite youngsters, was solely simply starting. Staying was the onerous half, everybody mentioned. Getting there, although, that was one thing, too. Over elements of 4 seasons unfold over seven summers, Ryan performed in 153 main league video games. If his swing and arm and foot velocity and instincts had been keen, they usually had been, his physique was not. His knees, his shoulder and his neck took turns sending him to medical doctors and trainers and, ultimately, a actuality that his profession could be these 153 video games, and people could be surrounded by the types of experiences that has a person schedule into his day a great cry. Lars performed in 30 video games over three seasons, all with the Crimson Sox. His first profession hit — a single towards the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park — additionally noticed the runner forward of him flip recklessly at second base, get back-picked from proper area and tagged out. So Lars stood at first base within the second he’d labored his younger life to expertise whereas a full home booed Invoice Corridor. He’d get seven extra big-league hits, then almost a decade later strike out on a baseball area in Germany, pack his gear bag yet another time and head residence for good. “I don’t have disappointment or despair over my profession as a baseball participant,” Lars mentioned. “I believe I’ve extra nervousness about what lies forward. I’m not mourning not having the ability to play. I don’t even take into consideration taking part in baseball. I performed sufficient. I miss batting observe. For me, the disappointment and the fear and the nervousness and the worry is extra primarily based on possibly the lack of id. Simply feeling such as you’ve abruptly slipped into anonymity. You’re not related anymore. It’s like a sure dying of this projection that you’ve got of your self. How individuals determine with you. Which isn’t essentially wholesome. … I’ll recover from that. “However, I assume for me, the factor is, I’ve had one job my complete life. I’m certain some issues will begin to emerge. I’m thinking about plenty of issues. … However this can be a dying. We’re going by means of a dying. You don’t know what occurs if you die. I’m in that interval the place it’s like, ‘Oh rattling, I don’t know what’s coming.’ And that’s actually scary.” ‘Twice as more durable than hell’ to remain within the majors Roughly 60 p.c of gamers who log at some point within the main leagues don’t attain the service time required (about three years) for wage arbitration, in line with Steve Rogers, the previous main league pitcher who heads the Main League Baseball Gamers Affiliation’s profession transition program. The common main league profession for these gamers, he mentioned, is about 1 ½ years. Of the remaining, the 40 p.c who do play lengthy sufficient to safe the monetary features of wage arbitration and past, the common profession is 7 ½ years. Primarily based on the union’s analysis, Rogers mentioned, the common main league profession is about 4 years. Given minor-league salaries barely cowl meals and grooming merchandise, and the foremost league minimal wage is lower than $600,000, and most gamers don’t end school if they begin it in any respect, the fresh-out-of-work ballplayer would appear significantly susceptible in a job market that usually requires schooling, expertise and, effectively, expertise past hitting or throwing a fastball. The presumed path, maybe, is a minor-league teaching job, if the sport nonetheless runs deep sufficient and choices are few. To that finish, an entry degree, A-ball hitting coach may count on an annual wage of about $50,000, and there’ll be loads of competitors for it, and that sort of cash may be simply sufficient to get a coach to his offseason job. Steve Rogers retired in 1985, the top of a profession during which he’d received 158 video games and been an All-Star 5 occasions for the Montreal Expos. He had a petroleum engineering diploma from the College of Tulsa and had plans to enter the oil trade. Within the first 9 months of his post-baseball life, the price of a barrel of oil fell from $70 to $10. He went to work for the Gamers Affiliation. Former Montreal Expos pitcher Steve Rogers now heads the Main League Baseball Gamers Affiliation’s profession transition program. (Getty Photographs) Extra Fifteen years later, he started work with others on a pilot program that might help gamers — some lively, others retired — in profession transition. A brand new iteration of that program shaped in 2008, close to the ultimate days of Don Fehr’s management and the start of Michael Weiner’s, and the present multi-phased program took form about six years in the past. This system is partnered with the Ayers Group, a division of Kelly Companies. Roughly 100 gamers have taken step one in that course of, which is to satisfy with and endure an analysis by a profession coach and design a path ahead, often persevering with — or restarting — their schooling. (MLB funds the Persevering with Training Program, which financially assists retired gamers as effectively, and lots of drafted highschool gamers have school tuition written into their contracts.) The primary part is supplied without spending a dime by the union and the Main League Baseball Alumni Affiliation. On the finish of final week, Rogers was in Miami, the place he distributed program data to the New York Mets and Miami Marlins. The week earlier than, he mentioned, three gamers, all just lately retired, contacted him. “It isn’t rocket science,” he mentioned. “The reality of the matter is, it’s more durable than hell to get to the foremost leagues. And it’s twice as more durable than hell to remain there. So the whole focus is on getting there and staying there and ‘I’ll take care of the remaining later.’ And ‘the remaining’ hits nearly everybody. And ‘the remaining’ lasts longer. … It’s comprehensible. It’s not a damaging. It’s the character of the beast.” So he goes clubhouse to clubhouse and leaves folders for gamers who imagine the life-changing cash is coming and the baseball won’t ever finish and possess neither the time nor the top house to contemplate the options. And he screens a program designed to clarify what may very well be subsequent, in English and Spanish, when essentially the most urgent query in these clubhouses is — and needs to be — what’s now. The remaining, effectively, that’d be anyone else’s drawback, till it isn’t. ‘I favored performing for the world’ Virtually earlier than that final hit fell, Ryan Kalish was on the telephone with John Baker, a good friend and former teammate and, at the moment, a coordinator within the psychological expertise program for the Chicago Cubs. Although his physique ached and his baseball was unaffiliated and he’d left his twenties behind, and although he’d had an concept today was coming, Ryan knew he was in for a troublesome experience. “I actually needed it,” Ryan mentioned. “I put myself by means of plenty of ache to try to play. This man” — he nodded to Lars — “can attest to a few of the surgical procedures that I had, the rehabs, the shoulder, the knees. The knees had been the worst of it. Having neck surgical procedures, two of them. A variety of ache. And proving, quick, that I may play on the highest degree. So it was onerous for me to just accept, wow, I’m actually not going to get to show what I believe I may present everybody I may very well be. Everybody. As on the planet, man.” He laughed regardless of himself and continued, “I favored performing for the world. I favored to be on the stage. I needed to do cool issues. And ultimately, I needed to turn into an inspiration, too. I assume in some methods I’m. However it could have been larger on an even bigger stage. I favored that. Inspiration only for a combat. Simply to attempt. Like in no matter it’s that you simply wish to do exactly preserve attempting. Like, if you’d like one thing dangerous sufficient preserve going. I don’t know. I actually pushed the boundaries of how far I may go. “Hear, I do know individuals have had it worse. Ryan Westmoreland, that man, I all the time take into consideration him. I roomed with him throughout his mind surgical procedures and all that. So I do know I don’t have it the worst. However I took it fairly far. I had it fairly dangerous within the damage division. In order that was actually onerous to just accept, that I’m not going to play anymore. I by no means bought that likelihood. That was what was onerous for me.” Baker was raised in Northern California, performed baseball at Cal, was drafted within the fourth spherical in 2002 by the Oakland A’s and performed seven main league seasons as a catcher. He went residence at 35. Former catcher John Baker performed for seven seasons within the majors. (Getty Photographs) Extra “It’s like being thrown out of a helicopter into an ocean that’s the actual world,” Baker mentioned. “Earlier than that, you’re in perpetual Peter Pan-hood. You get to be a baby. You reside in a locker room. You’re round individuals who aren’t all that superior from highschool.” These are all good issues. Ok, anyway, that hardly anybody needs to go away, to go to a spot the place the sport modifications, the place you make the schedule, the place what’s subsequent is a thriller and possibly not all too comfy. “He known as me from the dugout,” Baker mentioned. “After the hit. He mentioned he was carried out. The very first thing, I needed to verify he was sure. Man, when he was wholesome, he wasn’t only a good baseball participant, he was top-of-the-line baseball gamers on the planet, a extremely particular expertise with a physique that couldn’t stand up to what a physique may do.” Ryan’s plan was to go to Europe for some time, watch Lars play in Germany, then bounce round, see the world and put far between himself and the earlier 13 years. After that, he’d transfer again to New Jersey, begin over there. He signed a one-year lease on an condominium in his hometown, broke that in two months, bought in his automobile and headed west till he reached Gilbert, Arizona. John and Meghan Baker’s home. They shared a bunch hug on the entrance door and began the rebuild. When the baseball goes, Baker mentioned, three issues go together with it. First, the previous participant now not has an apparent ability to grasp. “Hitting might be essentially the most addictive factor on the planet,” he mentioned. “You get a success and there’s a chemical launch. You’re so pleased. After which it’s the driving drive to stand up the following day.” Second, he mentioned, there isn’t a extra collaborative aim. No extra group. No extra scoreboard. “Once I first went residence I used to be destroying my 3-year-old in tic-tac-toe,” he mentioned. “That will get previous.” Then, he mentioned, the ex-player has nowhere to place his thoughts. “The quantity of stress they endure when taking part in, 50,000 individuals screaming, an enormous image of your face, your silly face, subsequent to your crappy file,” he mentioned. “We miss being beneath stress.” So there was Ryan Kalish. Adrift. Scheduling cries. Refusing eye contact. Asking for assist. For all Baker knew, Lars could be driving up any minute. He didn’t. He may’ve. “Ryan was looking,” Baker mentioned. ‘No matter occurred to that Lars man?’ Lars Anderson sat this spring on a inexperienced knoll behind a backstop at Camelback Ranch exterior Phoenix, the place the Los Angeles Dodgers prepare. He’d kicked his footwear into the grass in entrance of him. He watched batting observe, the a part of baseball he missed, and he watched a Dodgers coach flick floor balls with a Birdman Bat fungo. From a methods again, he’d seen afternoons like this one coming. Possibly from the primary time his identify made the waiver wire right here, or when he was launched, or possibly from Japan or Australia or standing at first base as a Solingen Alligator of Germany’s Bundesliga. The breeze, the clack-clack-clack of BP, the music from the close by ballpark, a case of recent bats at his aspect, he mentioned, these had been sufficient. He was a salesman now, a type of buoyant souls who units up a row of bats close to the cage or exterior the clubhouse and fights the earnest combat of the start-up. He’d grown Birdman internationally. He’d help in Birdman’s intentions to discover a place among the many company bat giants within the U.S. There was a protracted solution to go and that was OK by Lars. He had the time. He had the curiosity. He had the sport expertise. “I used to be not a man who swung one bat,” he mentioned. “I sampled all of them. I used to be very sanguine in my bat life, like a butterfly flying from department to department. So I bought to know loads about it simply accidentally. “Generally you get a vibe about it. My dad, when he would take me to purchase bats as a child, he’d say, ‘Lars, if you choose it up it has to say ‘Sure’ in your palms.’ I sort of saved that with me all through my profession. The issue was plenty of bats mentioned sure after which typically they’d say sure for a month after which begin to say no.” Ex-Crimson Sox infielder Lars Anderson co-founded the Birdman Bats firm. (Getty Photographs) Extra The bat firm, like their friendship, like their life paths, binds them. They went searching for an condominium just lately, pretty sure Southern California would maintain them for now. Ryan is gaining traction as a pilates teacher and part-time minor-league coach with the Dodgers. His brother, Jake, is a left-handed pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, pitching in Triple-A. Lars composes dance music and has written a number of first-person items for The Athletic. They nonetheless fret over their futures. They snigger about their pasts, the great elements and the not-so-good elements. Additionally they have switched roles in latest weeks, Ryan now the settled one, pretty sure he’s on strong floor, Lars questioning what’s on the market for him. Possibly a e-book about his travels in baseball. Possibly enterprise college. And there’s nonetheless all these bats to promote. Once I requested him who was most pleased with the profession he did have, he grinned and mentioned his grandfather, who’d just lately died. “Any article about me, he’d print it out and also you’d go to dinner with him and he’d hand the hostess that article,” Lars mentioned. “I’m like, ‘She doesn’t care.’ He was simply so stoked. He’d come to spring coaching, he’d come go to me through the season. “However I used to be considering, since he handed, all of the individuals within the service trade are going to be like, ‘No matter occurred to that Lars man? I haven’t bought an replace shortly.’ ” He’s nonetheless engaged on that. So a lot of them are. What comes of those that made it, however didn’t fairly make it? What occurs when the final half is left undone? The place’s that sit of their heads? Of their hearts? Of their pockets? “As soon as I knew there was an expert baseball, that you would do this to your job, that was what I needed to do,” Lars mentioned. “So, at Three years previous. I didn’t consciously select my career out of school or one thing. That’s what I’m doing now. Nevertheless it was by no means even a selection. It was simply, I’m doing it. Prefer it selected me. It wasn’t a 12-year profession, it was a 31-year profession. As quickly as I may hit socks that my dad pitched me when he was folding them in the lounge, that was it.” Ryan grinned. Being an ex-ballplayer hasn’t been straightforward. Possibly it by no means might be. Nevertheless it was inevitable. And it’s nonetheless higher than the choice. “It all the time follows you, man,” he mentioned. “Yeah,” Lars mentioned, “I don’t assume that’ll ever go away, truthfully.” “It by no means goes wherever,” Ryan mentioned. “I’m curious,” Lars mentioned, “to see how that goes.” Extra from Yahoo Sports activities: Source link

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kevinclerk11-blog · 5 years

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The J. Milton Doremus House - 320 West 80th Street

In 1898 the Riverside Building Co. began construction of a row of eight rowhouses that would begin at No. 320 West 80th Street and wrap around the corner to No. 74 Riverside Drive. In fact, the architect of the row, Clarence True, owned the development firm. By now the prolific designer was so successful that he could be a one-man show; eliminating the need for a developer or contractor. Clarence True routinely worked in historic styles and for this project he chose Elizabethan Renaissance Revival. The total cost of the project was estimated at $266,000--more than $1 million each today. Six of the homes were faced in red or tan brick. No. 320 West 80th Street, on the other hand, wore a suit of chunky red ashlar which, coupled with the full-height rounded bay, gave this narrow, 17-foot wide structure a turret-like appearance. True's choice of ashlar, the same sandstone used by Henry Hobson Richardson in his masterful North Congregational Church in Massachusetts, gave the structure a redder, less heavy appearance than the more ubiquitous brownstone. While the blocks of the second through fourth floor were undressed, that ground floor facade was formally planar. Here delicate carvings graced the arched openings, spandrels and the frieze below the cornice.

Facade repair resulted in the loss of carving. True did his best to make the service entrance, right, unnoticeable.

The fifth floor took the form of a mansard with a single, lofty dormer. The solid parapet here would have provided privacy to servants who moved bedding outside on steam summer nights. No. 320 was quickly sold. On April 23, 1899 The Sun reported that it had been "bought by ex-Postmaster-General Thomas L. James." The very fact that James chose this house and block testified to the extremely upscale nature of the area. Beginning his career as a printer and newspaper owner upstate, he had worked for the government since moving to New York City in 1861. He reorganized the operations of the Custom House and quickly rose in governmental positions. In 1873 President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him Postmaster of New York. As he had done with Customs, he overhauled the efficiency of the mails--increasing the number of deliveries, instituting a "fast-mail service," and expediting foreign service, for example. When President James A. Garfield put together his cabinet, he selected James as his Postmaster-General. When James took his position, the postal service was running at a $2 million deficit. He attacked the problem as he always did--by reorganizing, ferreting out fraud and abuse, and in this case, reducing the clerical force. His changes made up for more than the shortfall. James resigned following Garfield's assassination, focusing on his office as president of the Lincoln National Bank.

His library in the 80th Street house was impressive. The New York Times noted in 1899 "Gen. James is constantly adding to his collection of books, his aim being to accumulate on the shelves of his library the best that there is in general literature. He does not aspire to be a collector of specialties. He has a taste for pictures and other beautiful objects in art, which he gratifies judiciously." James maintained a summer estate in Englewood, New Jersey. He became seriously ill there a few months after purchasing No. 320. But on August 19 The Times assured readers that James, "who has been ill at his home here for several days with congestion of the lungs, is much better, and will be able to sail for Europe on Wednesday next." In case readers were distrustful, the newspaper noted on September 23 that he had arrived in London. "He is in fine health." The trip was brief, especially considering that the back-and-forth voyage would have consumed several days. On October 9 he was back in his office at the bank. Also brief was James's ownership of No. 320. He returned title to Clarence True by the spring of 1900; and on June 20 newspapers announced that it had been sold. The buyer was J. Milton Doremus, vice-president of a drug firm. He and his wife, Isabella, had an 11-year-old daughter, Miriam.

The upper stair hall is patently Clarence True, reappearing in his houses throughout the Upper West Side. photo via www.elliman. com

Doremus took an active interest in his new neighborhood. In October 1902 he was elected to membership in the West End Association, a politically-active group that lobbied for improvements on the Upper West Side. He would become a strong voice within the Association for years. Shortly after moving into the house, Doremus had been selected to sit on a grand jury regarding the failure of a bank. It was a relatively uninteresting case. But in the summer of 1903 he found himself on a highly-publicized and potentially dangerous trial involving gangsters, labor conflict, and threats of violence. Labor differences and strikes in the first half of the 20th century were often violent--sometimes involving beatings, arson, and even bombings. Samuel J. Parks, a leader of the Housesmiths' and Bridgemen's Union, was on trial for extortion--forcing business owners to pay large sums before union workers would return to work. The Evening World called the trial "really a struggle between capital and labor in one of the ugliest forms." The newspaper said that those who dared to testify against Parks had "splendid courage."

Although there had been threats against the prosecution team, when the jury was been finally selected on August 17, the New-York Tribune printed the home addresses of each jury member. Nonetheless, Doremus was apparently unruffled (possibly because of the large number of detectives reported to fill the halls of the courtroom). At one point in the trial he directly questioned a witness for the defendant. It took the jury only a day to deliberate and the verdict was announced nation-wide. On August 22, 1903 the Maysville, Kentucky newspaper, The Evening Bulletin, reported "Samuel J. Parks, the labor leader, who has been on trial for several days charged with extortion...was found guilty." Around 1909 J. Milton Doremus gave up the drug business and took a job with the Brooklyn-based Paddock Cork Company, which manufactured products like bulletin boards for schoolrooms. The American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record viewed the job on par with a religious defection, calling him a "proselyte." The last major entertainment for the family occurred on November 7, 1914. On that day Miriam was married to Ripley Ropes in the Central Presbyterian Church. The Princeton Alumni Weekly reported "After the ceremony a reception was held at 320 West 80th St."

At the time her parents were preparing to leave Manhattan. On May 5, 1915 the 80th Street house was sold to Rhoda F. Greene. Two months later J. Milton and Isabella Doremus moved into their newly-completed "fifteen room Colonial House," as described in the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide, on Manhasset Bay, Long Island. The journal called it "one of the most attractive on the North Shore." Rhoda Green would remain in the house for years. It seems possible that although she never married, her life was not without romance. She had a close friend, Charles Albert Schieren. The wealthy bachelor was the son of the former Brooklyn mayor and principal in Charles A. Schieren & Company, leather and belting manufacturer. The younger Schieren died on December 4, 1932. His will left Rhoda $100,000 "in recognition of her friendship for me." The token of friendship would be more than $1.8 million today.

Rhoda's summer estate was at Long Branch, New Jersey. It was there that she died on May 25, 1936. Her funeral was held in the 80th Street house two days later. No. 320 was soon purchased by Paul and Mary Cinkosky. They "modernized" the house, according to The New York Times on December 27, 1937, before leasing it to a single tenant "for occupancy." The Cinkoskys, Hungarian immigrants, seem to have fudged a bit on the documentation, for they received a "multiple dwelling violation" shortly afterward. The Cinkoskys retained possession of the house (now leased to single residents) until 1943. Perhaps because of its slim proportions, No. 320 remained a single-family house until 1969. The new owners initiated a renovation, completed in 1971, which included a separate apartment on the ground floor. That was reversed around 2001, returning the house to a single-family home. Stone reparation included in one of those renovations resulted in the loss of carved decoration. No. 320 was recently placed on the market for $7.65 million.

Cost factors, no doubt, resulted in the replacement parapet being unexpectedly austere.

Although much of Clarence True's interior detailing has been lost; much remains. And except for the loss of the carvings, his romantic, rosy-red citadel survives intact.

photographs by the author

Source: http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-j-milton-doremus-house-320-west.html

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