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dangeroustimemachinehologram · 2 years

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D.B. Cooper - what happened to the legendary airplane hijacker?

Criminals rarely evoke positive feelings in us. The case of D.B. Cooper is considered an exception to this rule. It is also one of my favorite unsolved crime mysteries.

In November 1971, the man boarded the plane. Dan Cooper acted and looked like a cultured middle-aged businessman. However, he was distinguished from other passengers by the fact that ... he had a bomb with him. The mysterious hijacker wanted to fulfill several of his demands. When the authorities obediently filled in all of them, the man jumped unexpectedly from the flying plane. What was his further fate? Traditionally, I invite you to read!

Let's go back in time to Wednesday, November 24, 1971. It was the day before Thanksgiving. Many Americans then traveled all over the country, wanting to spend another day with their relatives. One of the travelers was a man named Dan Cooper at the ticket office. In the context of subsequent events, it should be assumed that this was not his real identity. For the purposes of our story, however, this is what I will call the main character.

It is worth adding that in the 1970s, the purchase of airline tickets looked completely different than today. It was enough to give only your first and last name. Nobody has even verified the identity on the basis of any document. There were also no security controls as we know them today. It is true that we associate the tightening of procedures with the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001. It seems inconceivable, however, that several dozen years ago it was not even necessary to show a passport or other document with a photo.

In any case, Dan Cooper bought a plane ticket that was departing from Portland, Oregon, USA. This was flight 305 to Seattle, Washington, USA. The carrier was the Northwest Orient airlines. It later changed their name to Northwest Airlines, which is now part of Delta Air Lines. Cooper boarded the Boeing 727-100 and took a seat in the rear of the plane. It was called "18C".

The hero of this story was later described by witnesses as a tall man in his 40s. It is estimated that he was about 178-183 cm tall. Cooper wore an elegant dark suit that day. His white collared shirt was neatly ironed. He also wore a black tie with a mother-of-pearl hairpin. He wore a black coat and loafers on his legs. At one point during the flight, the man also put on sunglasses. Probably in this way he wanted to make it difficult to later determine his appearance and identity.

As the plane took off from Portland airport, Cooper handed a note to flight attendant Florence Schaffner. The woman initially thought that the man had given her his phone number. It happened that passengers hit her like this. The flight attendant, however, was not interested in this, so she immediately put the paper in her pocket. So she didn't read the message.

Dan Cooper noticed this and suggested that the woman should take a better look at the note. He added that he had a bomb. This unusual argument was of course convinced by Schaffner. It turned out that the note contained confirmation that an explosive was hidden in the suitcase. The kidnapper informed that he would detonate the bomb if the need arose. The man also asked the flight attendant to sit next to him and follow his instructions.

The memo requested $200,000 and two parachute sets. Each of them was to be equipped with one main and one emergency parachute. According to the instructions, the money and parachuting equipment was to be delivered when the plane lands at Seattle airport. The hijacker declared that he would otherwise detonate the explosive.

After the flight attendant informed the rest of the crew about the situation, pilot William Scott contacted Seattle-Tacoma airport staff. They, in turn, passed on the message to the police and the FBI. Federal agents contacted Northwest Airlines president Donald Nyrop. The man recommended that the pilots cooperate with the hijacker.

Scott ordered the flight attendant to return to the seat next to Cooper and make sure the bomb was real. The man opened the suitcase and showed Schaffner that it contained, among others, a large battery and wires. It looked like a bomb to a woman. So Florence returned to the cockpit. She told the pilot that she had to refrain from landing. So the plane began circling over Puget Bay. Passengers were informed that the landing was delayed for technical reasons. Nothing was mentioned about the hijacker, lest panic breaks out on board.

The pilots waited for the FBI to collect and deliver the ransom and parachutes. At that time, the "order" was being completed. It took a while as federal agents recorded the serial numbers of each of the 10,000 bills. The decision was made to withdraw $ 200,000, not in hundred-dollar bills, but in twenty-dollar bills. Service officials thought a sack filled with money would be larger and heavier, and therefore more problematic for Cooper.

At 5:24 pm, airport traffic control established contact with Scott. The pilot was informed that all items requested by the hijacker had been delivered. So Cooper gave the captain permission to land. The plane completed its route on the Seattle-Tacoma airport lane at 17:39. The hijacker instructed the pilot to stop the aircraft in a remote part of the landing field. In addition, the windows were to be covered. The man was afraid that he might become a target of police snipers.

Cooper ordered one person to provide the ransom and parachutes. The chosen one was one of the Northwest Orient employees who waited at the back flight of the plane. He then handed the money and equipment to flight attendant Mucklow. Minutes later, the hijacker released all 36 passengers as well as flight attendant Schaffner. Pilot Scott, First Officer Bob Rataczak, Flight Attendant Mucklow, and Flight Engineer H.E. Anderson were not allowed to leave the plane.

Cooper's plans and his request for four parachutes were a mystery to the FBI. The agents wondered if Cooper had an accomplice aboard. Another theory was that the parachutes were to be used by the crew of whom there were just four left. Special agencies were also surprised. Until now, no one had tried to jump with a parachute from a hijacked civil plane before.

The plane was refueled. During this time, Cooper carefully checked the money and parachutes received. Together with the crew, he also began to work out the details of the route. The hijacker wanted to take off around 7:40 pm and fly to Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. According to Cooper's plan, the speed was to be 185 km / h, and the altitude was not more than 3000 m. It should be added at this point that the standard cruising altitude is in the range of 7600-11000 m. The average speed during the flight of a jet is also several times higher.

The first officer, Rataczak, replied that with such parameters, the passenger plane can cover only 1,600 km. Several scenarios were considered. Ultimately, the hijacker agreed to land in Reno, Nevada. The jet was to be refueled there. The flight path led through the Cascade Mountains. Cooper also instructed the pilot not to pressurize the cabin of the plane. This meant that at an altitude of 3,000 m it was possible to breathe normally with equal pressure inside and outside the cabin. This action was also intended to prevent violent airflow when attempting to leave the Boeing during flight.

Shortly after taking off again, Cooper ordered flight attendant Mucklow, who was with him, to join the rest of the crew in the cockpit. Before the woman entered, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that the kidnapper was tying something to his waist. It looked like a rope. Moments later, one of the lights in the pilot's cabin started to light. It signaled that Cooper had activated the rear staircase mechanism. Scott then asked over the intercom if the hijacker expected any action from the crew. The man denied it.

After a while, the crew noticed a change in cabin pressure. It turned out that the stairs at the rear of the plane had extended. This allowed Cooper to jump out of the flying jet. It is believed to have taken place around 8:13 PM over the southwest of Washington state. When the hijacker unexpectedly disembarked the Boeing, a violent storm prevailed outside. The sun had set before, so it was dark too. Due to the very limited visibility of the jump, the pilots of the two F-106 fighters were not noticed. The military planes followed in the footsteps of the kidnapped Boeing. One was flying over and the other under the hijacked aircraft.

At approximately 10:15 pm, almost 2.5 hours after take-off from Seattle-Tacoma airport, the Boeing 727 landed in Reno. The airport was surrounded by FBI agents and local police. The services decided to do so even though the pilot reported that Cooper had jumped out of the plane. Federal agents boarded the machine to search for evidence left behind. Multiple fingerprints (which may have belonged to the kidnapper or other people), a tie with a cufflink, and two of the four parachutes were discovered. Eight Raleigh cigarette butts were also found but were lost sometime later. The inside of the jet was thoroughly searched, but the hijacker was nowhere to be found. With him, his suitcase, ransom bag, and two parachutes were missing.

The investigators also interviewed people who had contact with the kidnapper. The witnesses described the man's behavior and appearance. On this basis, a memory portrait of Cooper was prepared. The descriptions indicated by the crew members were the same. On this basis, it is assumed that the actual appearance of the man was very similar to the effect of the work of police cartoonists.

The FBI wanted to solve the case as soon as possible. At first, attempts were made to determine whether the name given by the kidnapper had any meaning. Based on this, investigators found a man from Oregon named D.B. Cooper. He had a criminal record, although these were not serious crimes. It was quickly established that it was in no way related to the whole event. Local newspaper journalist James Long reported on the story. However, he made a mistake and in the article named the kidnapper D.B. Cooper, not Dan Cooper. This mistake was repeated by many other journalists, and the case grew really loud. For this reason, everyone began to call the perpetrator D.B. Cooper and has remained so to this day.

In February 1980, eight-year-old Brian Ingram was spending a vacation with his family on the Columbia River in a place known as Tina (according to other Tena sources) Bar. On February 10, the boy was shuffling the sand on the river bank to light a fire. Unexpectedly, Brian then came across three bundles of money with a total value of $5,800. The find was reported to the police.

FBI agents examined the money and confirmed that it came from the ransom. The bills were in the same order the kidnapper received them. It was significant that one roll was missing ten twenty-dollar bills. The cash was partially damaged due to the prolonged exposure to moisture. The rubber bands with which the bills were tied were in good condition.

This discovery initiated many new hypotheses. Ultimately, however, there were more questions than answers. The main question was how long the banknotes remained there. It has not been possible to determine precisely when this could have happened. It is assumed that the money most likely entered the water at least a few months after the kidnapping. Some researchers and enthusiasts of the case believe that it was Cooper himself who later planted part of the ransom in order to confuse FBI agents who were tracking him. Was it really so? This has not been confirmed or denied.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation decided to keep thirteen banknotes. It was one of two tangible pieces of evidence in the case that was found outside of the hijacked Boeing. The second was a sign with instructions to lower the rear stairs in the Boeing 727. This item was discovered in November 1978 by a hunter. The man found the sign near a forest road about 21 miles east of Castle Rock, Washington. This place was on the route of the plane hijacked by Copera.

In 1986, the rest of the ransom money found was split equally between the Northwest Orient insurer and the Ingram family. In 2008, Brian Ingram decided to put up fifteen of his banknotes at an auction. They were eventually sold for $37,000.

Federal agents assumed that Cooper's nickname was derived from a popular Belgian comic book series that was published in French. The title character, Dan Cooper, appeared in them. This character was a pilot of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Comic book Dan Cooper has participated in numerous heroic missions. Importantly, he also jumped with a parachute.

The comics in question have never been translated into English. They were also not distributed in the United States. It has been speculated that the criminal had come into contact with them during his military service in Europe. The man could also have connections with Canada, where French is also one of the official languages. Another argument for this hypothesis was that the comic book hero belonged to the Canadian army. Also in this case, however, it was not possible to find evidence that would support this theory.

Cooper seemed to know the Seattle area. It was also supposed that he may have been a veteran of the US Air Force. For he recognized the city of Tacoma from the air as the jet circled Puget Sound Bay. He also told flight attendant Mucklow that McChord Air Force Base was about a 20-minute drive from Seattle-Tacoma Airport. It was information that the vast majority of civilians would not have known.

It has been speculated that the kidnapper's financial situation was most likely desperate. So thought retired FBI chief investigator Ralph Himmelsbach. In his opinion, scammers and other criminals who steal large sums of money almost always do it because they urgently need it. People with financial resources would not risk being caught and severely punished. There was also another scenario. Cooper may have been a thrill-seeker who made a historic leap solely to prove that it was possible.

During an investigation that lasted several decades, the FBI had several hundred suspects on its long list. I will present only a few of the most famous and most reminiscent of Cooper.

One of the prime suspects was Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. (1942-1974) who was a war veteran. The man served in the US Army twice during the Vietnam War. During his second stay, he was a helicopter pilot, so he had knowledge and experience related to aviation. After his military service, he became an ensign of the Utah National Guard. Importantly, he loved parachuting.

On April 7, 1972, McCoy carried out the most famous of several kidnappings inspired by the feat of an unidentified perpetrator. The 30-year-old boarded a Boeing 727 belonging to United Airlines. It was therefore the same model of the plane used by D.B. Cooper. The jet was leaving Denver, Colorado this time. McCoy has threatened to have a grenade and a firearm with him. The man threatened to use if necessary. It later turned out that the grenade was in fact a paperweight and the gun was not loaded.

McCoy Jr. demanded four parachutes and $500,000. The money and parachutes were delivered to San Francisco International Airport. The hijacker then ordered the pilots to take off again. The man jumped out of the plane near the city of Provo, Utah. McCoy, like Cooper, did not avoid mistakes. For he had left a handwritten kidnapping plan and fingerprints on the magazine he was reading.

The hustle and bustle did not enjoy his success for a long time. He was arrested just two days later, on April 9. At that time, he had the ransom money with him, which was irrefutable proof of his guilt. McCoy was sentenced to 45 years in prison for his actions. Two years later, the 32-year-old escaped from a prison in Lewisburg with several partners. He was found three months later in Virginia Beach, where the offender was shot and killed by one of the FBI agents.

To this day, there are doubts as to whether McCoy was actually Cooper or just one of his followers. The first theory is undoubtedly similar to the two cases. The man's family also believed that the tie and mother-of-pearl clip left on the plane by Cooper belonged to McCoy.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, on the other hand, deleted the man from the list of suspects. The main reason was the significant discrepancies in age and description. McCoy was also considered too good a skydiver. According to experts, a person with such experience would not have decided to leave the plane in the weather conditions that prevailed during the first hijacking.

In addition, evidence was found that McCoy was in Las Vegas on the day of the hijacking of a Boeing flying to Seattle. A day later, he was at his home in Utah, where he ate a Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Interestingly, McCoy himself never confirmed or denied that he was Cooper.

In 2003, a Minnesota resident, Lyle Christiansen, watched a TV documentary about D.B. Coats. He then became convinced that his brother Kenneth (1926-1994) might have been the kidnapper. He first informed the FBI about it. He also contacted film director Nora Ephron. The man hoped that she would make a film in which he presented this theory. Lyle's efforts proved unsuccessful. Then he hired a private detective. It was Skipp Porteous from New York. In 2010, the detective published a book intended to convince readers that Kenneth Christiansen was D.B. Cooper.

Lyle's brother joined the military in 1944 and was trained as a paratrooper. World War II was soon over. The man, however, made training jumps while stationed in Japan in the late 1940s. In 1954, Christiansen began working in the Northwest Orient as a mechanic. Then he became a flight attendant and then steward in Seattle.

In 1971, Christiansen was 45 years old, but he was shorter (173 cm), thinner (68 kg), and had a lighter complexion than Cooper reported by eyewitnesses. Christiansen, like the kidnapper, smoked cigarettes and liked the bourbon. Flight attendant Florence Schaffner told reporters that Kenneth reminded her of the kidnapper more than any of the other suspects whose photos she had seen. The woman, however, was not able to conclusively confirm that he was the perpetrator of the kidnapping.

Despite the publicity of Porteous's book and 2011 TV documentary, the FBI has upheld its position that Christiansen cannot be considered a prime suspect. Investigators claimed that the man was not sufficiently similar to the image in the memoir portrait. Christiansen was also expected to have more skydiving experience than Cooper. There was also no evidence of the alleged perpetrator's guilt.

Sheridan Peterson (1926-2021) served in the Marine Corps during World War II. Later, the man worked as a technical editor at Boeing in Seattle. Investigators qualified Peterson as a suspect shortly after the incident. The reason was the man's experience as a skydiver and his love of taking risks. Sheridan was also quite similar to Cooper's description. His age (44) was also in line with the testimony of the witnesses.

Peterson often teased the media about whether or not he was really Cooper. Entrepreneur Eric Ulis, who had been investigating the case for many years, claimed to be "98% convinced" that Sheridan was a Cooper. When FBI agents began to investigate this possibility, Peterson insisted that he was in Nepal at the time of the hijacking.

In late 2007, it was publicly announced that a partial DNA profile was obtained in 2001 from samples found on Cooper's tie. At the same time, the FBI admitted that it was not certain that the genetic material belonged to the kidnapper. Investigators also provided previously unpublished evidence. Among them was, among others Cooper's flight ticket from the memorable flight 305.

The FBI also revealed that the hijacker chose an outdated military parachute. A professional sports parachute, which could be better maneuvered in the air, seemed to be a better solution. Cooper was also supposed to choose a dummy as a reserve parachute. It was a stitched parachute that was used for demonstrations in the classroom. According to federal agents, an experienced jumper would recognize that it was unusable. The hijacker also used a rope from a functioning parachute that jumped to secure a bag of money.

In March 2009, the FBI revealed that Tom Kaye, a paleontologist at the Seattle Museum of Natural History and Culture, was leading a new research group. This team was named the "Cooper Research Team". Its members re-examined important aspects of the case. The research used GPS, satellite imagery, and other modern technologies that were unavailable in 1971. It is true that much new groundbreaking information has not been obtained. Instead, electron microscopy examined hundreds of tiny particles on Cooper's tie. The results were interesting. Spores of a plant from the Lycopodium family have been identified. It is assumed that they probably came from some medicine. Traces of metals were also found: bismuth and aluminum.

In November 2011, Kaye announced that traces of pure titanium had also been found on the tie. This metal was much less used in industry in the 1970s than today. At that time, it was used in plants producing metals. Chemical companies, on the other hand, used titanium, which, in combination with aluminum, was used to store extremely corrosive substances. On this basis, it was presumed that Cooper may have been working in metal fabrication or chemical plants.

In January 2017, it was reported that rare minerals such as cerium and strontium sulfide were also identified among the particles in the tie. In the 1970s, they were used in special Boeing projects. This could explain Cooper's knowledge of building a hijacked plane. These chemicals were also used by the factories producing picture tubes. There were at least two such companies in Portland: Teledyne and Tektronix. There was a possibility that the kidnapper was working in one of them. However, it was not possible to confirm this information (or at least it has not been publicly announced).

It is worth adding that while waiting for cash and parachutes, Cooper as if nothing had happened, sipped bourbon with lemon-lime soda. The man also smoked cigarettes, as it was not forbidden on airplanes in the 1970s. Tina Mucklow told about the kidnapper after the whole incident. The woman was the flight attendant who spent the most time with Cooper.

Mucklow described the man as nice and calm. He didn't act like the typical kidnapper we usually imagine to be the aggressive, brutal, and adrenaline-fueled criminal. The kidnapper even paid for his drinks and even left a tip. He also demanded that the crew be provided with a meal upon landing in Seattle. In the end, none of the passengers or crew members were hurt.

All these aspects make D.B. Cooper has a reputation as one of history's most beloved criminals. He was also undoubtedly famous that the FBI never managed to discover his true identity. The services did not capture the man or find his body. To this day, Cooper remains the only hijacker in US history that was unsuccessful. It is also the only issue of its kind in the world that has not been clarified. The kidnapper's audacious action ended in a severe slap that was aimed at the FBI. This amazing story ignites the imaginations of many enthusiasts who try to find out the true identity of the perpetrator and his further fate. Let us hope that one day we will manage to find out the solution to this puzzle.

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bignaz8 · 3 years

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Todd: Hello… Operator…listen to me…I can’t speak very loud. – This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco.. We have a situation here….Our plane has been hijacked…..can you understand me?

Lisa: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… Can the hijackers see you talking on the phone?

Todd: No

Lisa: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane?

Todd: There are three that we know of.

Lisa: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have?

Todd: Yes…. they don’t have guns….they have knives – they took over the plane with knives.

Lisa: Do you mean…like steak knives?

Todd: No, these are razor knives…like box cutters.

Lisa: Can you tell what country these people are from?

Todd: No…..I don’t know. They sound like they’re from the mid-east.

Lisa: Have they said what they want?

Todd: Someone announced from the cockpit that there was a bomb on board. He said he was the captain and to stay in our seats and stay quiet.

He said that they were meeting these men’s demands and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and… I’m telling you…it sounded fake!

Lisa: Ok sir, please give me your name.

Todd: My name is Todd Beamer.

Lisa: Ok Todd….my name is Lisa…Do you know your flight number? If you can’t remember, it’s on your ticket.

Todd: It’s United Flight 93.

Lisa: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened?

Todd: Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit. A third one was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up. front got into the cockpit somehow; there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He’s got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind.

Lisa: So is the door to the cockpit open?

Todd: No, the hijackers shut it behind them.

Lisa: Has anyone been injured?

Todd: Yes, ..they…they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There’s been lots of shouting. We don’t know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded.

Lisa: Where is the 3rd hijacker now Todd?

Todd: He’s near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class. There are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants. He hasn’t noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane……….oh Jesus.. Help!

Lisa: Todd….are you ok? Tell me what’s happening!

Todd: Hello…..We’re going down….I think we’re going to crash……Wait – wait a minute. No, we’re leveling off….we’re ok. I think we may be turning around…..That’s it – we changed directions. Do you hear me….we’re flying east again.

Lisa: Ok Todd…. What’s going on with the other passengers?

Todd: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives. A guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him that hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center……Lisa is that true??

Lisa: Todd…..I have to tell you the truth…..it’s very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed.

Todd: Oh God —help us!

Lisa: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack….and I’m afraid that your plane may be part of their plan.

Todd: Oh dear God. Dear God…….Lisa, will you do something for me?

Lisa: I’ll try….if I can….Yes.

Todd: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what’s happened. Promise me you’ll call..

Lisa: I promise – I’ll call.

Todd: Our home number is 201 xxx-1073…….You have the same name as my wife…Lisa….We’ve been married for 10 years. She’s pregnant with our 3rd child. Tell her that I love her…….(choking up)..I’ll always love her..(clearing throat) We have two boys.. David, he’s 3 and Andrew, he’s 1…..Tell them……(choking) tell them that their daddy loves them and that he is so proud of them. (clearing throat again) Our baby is due January 12th…..I saw an ultra sound…..it was great….we still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy………Lisa?

Lisa: (barely able to speak) I’ll tell them, I promise Todd.

Todd: I’m going back to the group—if I can get back I will…

Lisa: Todd, leave this line open…are you still there?……

Lisa: (dials the phone..) Hello, FBI, my name is Lisa Jefferson, I’m a telephone supervisor for GTE. I need to report a terrorist hijacking of a United Airlines Flight 93….Yes I’ll hold.

Goodwin: Hello, this is Agent Goodwin.. I understand you have a hijacking situation?

Lisa: Yes sir, I’ve been talking with a passenger, a Todd Beamer, on Flight 93 who managed to get to an air phone unnoticed.

Goodwin: Where did this flight originate, and what was its destination?

Lisa: The flight left Newark New Jersey at 8 A.M. departing for San Francisco. The hijackers took over the plane shortly after takeoff, and several minutes later the plane changed course – it is now flying east.

Goodwin: Ms. Jefferson…I need to talk to someone aboard that plane. Can you get me thru to the planes phone?

Lisa: I still have that line open sir, I can patch you through on a conference call…hold a mo…..

Todd: Hello Lisa, Lisa are you there?

Lisa: Yes, I’m here. Todd, I made a call to the FBI, Agent Goodwin is on the line and will be talking to you as well.

Todd: The others all know that this isn’t your normal hijacking. Jeremy called his wife again on his cell phone. She told him more about the World Trade Center and all.

Goodwin: Hello Todd. This is Agent Goodwin with the FBI. We have been monitoring your flight. Your plane is on a course for Washington, DC. These terrorists sent two planes into the World Trade Center and one plane into the Pentagon. Our best guess is that they plan to fly your plane into either the White House or the United States Capital Building.

Todd: I understand…hold on……I’ll…….I’ll be back..

Lisa: Mr. Goodwin, how much time do they have before they get to Washington?

Goodwin: Not long ma’am. They changed course over Cleveland; they’re approaching Pittsburgh now. Washington may be twenty minutes away.

Todd: (breathing a little heavier) The plane seems to be changing directions just a little. It’s getting pretty rough up here. The plane is flying real erratic….We’re not going to make it out of here. Listen to me….I want you to hear this….I have talked with the others….we have decided we would not be pawns in these hijackers suicidal plot.

Lisa: Todd, what are you going to do?

Todd: We’ve hatched a plan. Four of us are going to rush the hijacker with the bomb. After we take him out, we’ll break into the cockpit. A stewardess is getting some boiling water to throw on the hijackers at the controls. We’ll get them….and we’ll take them out. Lisa, …..will you do one last thing for me?

Lisa: Yes…What is it?

Todd: Would you pray with me?

They pray: Our father which art in Heaven

Hallowed be thy name,

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive our trespassers,

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory

Forever…..Amen

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…

He makes me to lie down in green pastures

He leads me beside the still waters

He restores my soul

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for His name’s sake

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…..

Todd: (softer) God help me…Jesus help me….(clears throat and louder)

Are you guys ready?……..

Let’s Roll……………………

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wakeupflawless · 3 years

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#7 and #11 please. Bring on the angst.

College Brio!!!!!!!!!!

They go through the same line at security. Rio’s flight isn’t for another four hours, but he came with her anyway.

The day had been a blur of packing, moving and driving, she had so much on her to-do list she was able to force herself to forget that they’d be separating by the end of it all. But now - as she toes off her shoes to step through the x-ray machine, holding her hands up and feeling silly - the reality of the situation crashes down around her. She barely hears the TSA agent saying “please step out for me.”

Beth watches Rio go through next with that casual confidence of his. The TSA lady, who’d grumbled and groaned at every other passenger, actually smiled at him and called him “sugar.”

And she’s not jealous of a middle aged TSA worker. She’s not crazy. But she knows in Los Angeles there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of much younger, much prettier girls calling him pet names. It’s LA. The land of models and celebrities and the rich and famous. Her name would be lost to him, especially once he starts playing for the Dodgers, because every girl wants a hot baseball player, and…

“You good?” Rio asks, eyeing her knowingly as he grabs their carry-ons off the conveyor belt. Beth blushes, she’d let their bags just sit there as she stared off into the distance.

“Yeah,” she chirps, snatching her converse and lacing them up around her feet. “Let’s find my gate?”

Rio rolls their luggage toward Gate A. Her plane hasn’t even arrived yet, that’s how early she is, but better safe than sorry, right?

It seems like just yesterday Rio had plopped his lanky frame down next to her in their English 15 class - the class every freshman has to take - even though there were several empty seats around her.

“This seat taken?” he’d asked with a knowing grin, not even waiting for her to respond, just grabbing his laptop out of his backpack and setting up camp at the small desk.

She bitched and moaned about “that annoying asshole who insists on sitting next to me!” almost every day to her roommate. Until one day, about a month into the semester, Ruby cut her off with a huff. “I swear to God, Beth. If you don’t just fuck this dude out of your system....”

And well, Ruby is a wise woman. That’s all Beth has to say about that. Because a week later Beth and Rio were banging like bunnies on every surface of their respective dorm rooms. And the library. And classrooms. Even in an (empty) 300 person lecture hall. Right in front of the giant projector.

They were inseparable the past four years. English was the last class they’d shared together, because of their wildly different majors (Rio in business and Beth in fashion) And Beth had her fair share of Student Council duties, while Rio was the star center fielder for the school baseball team. But they always made time for each other. Sometimes Beth would sit in the bleachers and watch his practices as she sketched out some designs. Sometimes Rio would attend a “student body” meeting just so he could watch Beth command the stage.

But college ended in the blink of an eye. And Rio had been drafted by the Dodgers (the freakin’ Dodgers) and Beth scored an entry level designer job at Tory Burch in New York. She’d probably spend most of her time getting coffees for higher-ups than actually designing, but it was a start.

So here they are. Sitting at Gate A in the Detroit Airport. The clock ticking on her flight to JFK. After all those years together they’d never been at a loss for words. Always found something to talk, discuss or argue about. But they’re silent now. Sitting in the uncomfortable blue chairs, Rio’s arms slung around her shoulder.

They watched a movie on Rio’s iPad, laughing at the funny moments, frowning at the sad. But neither really paid attention.

At boarding time Beth stands up, rolling her shoulders back, double- checking her ticket for the millionth time. She won’t cry she won’t cry she won’t cry -

“Hey. This isn’t goodbye.” Rio says, the water works begin.

She sobs into his chest all the way til they call Group 9 - her group - and Rio has to usher her to the counter. The American Airlines agent gives them a sympathetic smile, scanning Beth’s ticket.

She’s the last to board the flight, the doors closing right behind her. She presses her face against the small airplane window, tears rolling down her cheeks. She listens to their song over and over on repeat. Tennessee Whiskey. It’s cliche. It’s every couple’s favorite song. But she doesn’t care.

When she touches down in New York the tears have stopped. She texts Rio when she lands, but it doesn’t go through, he’s on his own flight. But he’d sent her a message.

About to take off. Love you always.

---Two Years Later---

There’s a knock at her door. Beth groans. It’s eight in the morning. On a Saturday. She flips over, burying her head in her pillow.

The knocking persists.

She groans. Flinging her covers off and marching the six steps it takes to get from her bed to her front door (studio apartments are just the best) Whoever’s on the other side of the door is about to get an eyeful, because she’s wearing a thin cami and tiny sleep shorts. Her apartment’s AC just keeps dying, and summer in the city is hot.

She doesn’t even check the peephole, just rips the door open with a huff.

It’s Rio.

Her annoyance evaporates and the remnants of sleep clear from her eyes. She squeals, positively flinging herself into his arms. He laughs, catching her easily.

“What are you doing here?!”

“You always answer the door dressed like this?” he asks with a playful raise of an eyebrow, pretending to look all concerned.

She giggles, pressing her lips to his in a flurry of kisses. Their next visit wasn’t supposed to be for another three months.

“I got you a present. Had to deliver it in person.” Rio says, carrying her inside the apartment.

He sets her down, slinging the backpack off his shoulder and grabbing something within. Beth watches him with a stupid grin, still recovering from the shock of seeing him.

He pulls out a baseball hat.

A Yankees cap.

“What- what’s this?” she asks, her mind not catching up.

But then he smiles, slow and big. And Beth realizes.

“No way. No way. The Yankees?”

“I’ve been traded.” he informs her. “It ain’t official yet, but the paperwork is done.”

Beth screams. Neighbors be damned. She tackles him onto the bed, pressing kisses all over his face. Soon tears are leaking down her cheeks.

“Don’t cry.” Rio thumbs away the wetness on her cheeks.

Later, Rio shows her his new contract. Beth stares at his phone, jaw dropped.

“That’s… that’s a lot of zeroes.” she stutters.

Rio grins. “I ran to LAX as soon as the deal went through. Had to tell you in person.” He looks around her tiny apartment. “Start boxin’ up your staff, mami. Time to get a bigger place.”

“Together,” she whispers.

He nods. “Together.”

#prompts #Brio prompts #I'm weak for baseball player Rio #and college brio #angst with a happy ending bc i'm a simp :')#no edits just vibes

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randomrainman · 3 years

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why the american campaign in afghanistan was destined for failure, and other strange stuff.

Our campaign in Afghanistan which began on October 7, 2001, dubbed “Operation Enduring Freedom” for some peculiar and uniquely American reason, was doomed from the very beginning, and most of the blame for the failure is ours.

Pictured: A group of Afghans rest near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. (Photo: me)

So why did this happen in the first place?

Detailing the entirety of Afghanistan’s tumultuous 19th- and 20th-century history here would an arduous (and, ultimately, pointless) task, but, put succinctly, the USA and Afghanistan’s eastern neighbour, Pakistan, were instrumental in the initial development of the Taliban as a viable militant organisation and major player in Afghanistan.

Pictured: a Soviet soldier takes cover near Herat, Afghanistan. (Photo: AP/Jacques Langevin)

The Soviet Union embroiled itself in a bitter conflict in Afghanistan from 24 December 1979 until 15 February 1989. Through Pakistani intelligence services, the CIA, in its anti-commie fervour, armed and funded anti-Soviet resistance groups, collectively known as mujahideen (which is Swedish for “turboprop plane”, or maybe just Arabic for “those engaged in jihad”). Spirited resistance and brilliant guerrilla-style tactics by the mujahideen, which included future prominent Taliban figures such as Haibatullah Akhundzada and Mohammad Omar, led to the eventual departure of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in what has been termed (perhaps ironically, considering our current situation) “Russia’s Vietnam”. At least 562,000 Afghans perished in the Soviet-Afghan War, and millions more either fled the country or were internally displaced. This conflict also likely directly contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Pictured: Former Representative Charlie Wilson (D-TX) with a group of mujahideen. Wilson championed a veritable Cyclone of bullshit. (Photo: Wikipedia/unknown author)

As a civil war further ravaged Afghanistan, the Taliban, founded in 1994 by Islamic cleric (mullah) Mohammad Omar, emerged as the preeminent force amongst the mujahideen. Backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, the Deobandi Islamist group quickly made territorial gains and captured Kabul in 1996, brutally murdering former President Najibullah to punctuate their conquest.

Under the newly established Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban regime went right to work in establishing stringent shari’a law over the territories they subdued, barring women from education and work, suppressing ethnic and religious minorities, and outlawing music and TV (which, with the exception of the last thing, should sound familiar to anyone familiar with our own history).

A certain Usama bin Laden (UBL), who founded the terrorist organisation al-Qa’ida (literally “the base”) in 1988 during the Soviet-Afghan War, funnelled resources, to include arms and foreign fighters, into the mujahideen resistance effort in Afghanistan through his Maktab al-Khidamat. Though the organisation provided little in terms of overall impact on the war, it boasted a backing of both Pakistan’s ISI and Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Presidency, and was later absorbed into al-Qa’ida.

Having had his Saudi citizenship stripped and amid mounting pressure from Saudi Arabia, the US, and Sudan, bin Laden opted to return to Afghanistan in 1996, where he would forge an alliance with Mullah Omar. Omar’s Taliban regime provided a suitable, ahem, base of operations for bin Laden’s burgeoning global terrorism aspirations, and Pakistan provided continued funding and manpower for the Taliban and its al-Qa’ida allies up until 2001.

Pictured: Ahmad Shah Massoud and a group of mujahideen in the Panjshir Valley, 1984. (Photo: Jean-Luc Bremont/AP)

Ahmad Shah Massoud, a guerrilla commander who famously repelled Soviet occupying forces from the Panjshir Valley, became a leading figure in anti-Taliban efforts. Massoud, along with Abdul Rashid Dostum, a polarising yet powerful ethnic Uzbek warlord, formed the United Front (commonly referred to as the Northern Alliance). Instead of the Pashtun-centric approach utilised by the Taliban, Massoud sought to incorporate Afghanistan’s numerous ethnicities under the United Front’s umbrella.

Despite the Northern Alliance’s clear opposition to the Taliban and ostensibly having prior knowledge that radical elements were at play, the United States provided zero backing to the resistance efforts. Massoud himself addressed the European Parliament and warned of an imminent attack, and also expressed the need for US aid in combatting Taliban belligerents.

Two days prior to the September 11 attacks, the highly revered Massoud prepared to give an interview to a pair of Arab TV journalists, and it would be the last thing he did, as the “journalists” detonated a suicide bomb fashioned out of a TV camera, which was apparently stolen in France. The "Lion of Panjshir” was buried in his home village of Bazarak, Panjshir Valley, with hundreds of thousands of people in attendance.

Pictured: The World Trade Center’s Twin Towers erupt in flames after airliners hijacked by al-Qaeda operatives crash into the buildings. According to conspiracy nutjobs, these planes and their passengers never existed, and instead flew into a wormhole and into a parallel universe. (Photo: Silva/Reuters)

Following 9/11, then-President George W. Bush threatened the Taliban regime and demanded that they deliver al-Qa’ida leaders in Afghanistan to American authorities, an undertaking they promptly decided to never do. Naturally, Bush came to shove, and a joint resolution that somehow declared war on the very concept of terror was issued.

The United States also finally decided to team up with the Northern Alliance at the onset of OEF in October 2001. Fortunately, it paid off; the Taliban regime rapidly disintegrated after being bombed into the Bronze Age. Despite having effectively vanquished the Taliban, the US failure to capture or kill UBL at Tora Bora likely protracted the conflict into the behemoth bumblefuck we currently recognise.

We did manage to finally kill UBL on May 2, 2011, but stayed in Afghanistan for another 10 years, because stuff. In 2018, then-President Trump ordered a drawdown of approximately 7,000 troops, and in February 2020, US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban vice emir Abdul Ghani Baradar signed a peace agreement. In July of this year, we abandoned Bagram Airfield, our biggest base, virtually overnight, and did not bother informing the Afghans, which I’m sure made them extremely happy.

Pictured: The mountains near Bagram, Parwan province, Afghanistan. (Photo: me)

The Taliban resurgence into power was equally swift and met surprisingly little resistance: on August 15, 2021, the Taliban took Kabul and cemented its authority. This version of the militant group the NATO coalition and pro-Western Afghan forces soundly defeated in 2001 made promises to uphold women’s rights and to maintain an inclusive government, though the killing of at least three at a protest in Jalalabad, amongst other things, probably does little to reassure critics that their takeover is a positive turn of events. That said, far-right and neo-Nazi elements are, in fact, celebrating the Taliban’s seizure of power for some depraved Nazi-exclusive reason. It must also be noted that, on multiple levels, the evangelical brand of Christianity possesses significant overlap with the Deobandi Islamist stylings of the Taliban credo.

Pictured: President Joseph Biden discusses Afghanistan at the White House, Aug. 16, 2021 (Photo: AP/Vucci)

As of late, we have frequently underestimated the capabilities of enemy combatants, and the conclusion of our campaign in Afghanistan is no different: President Biden hugely miscalculated the Taliban’s competence in retaking the nation, citing the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces’ (ANDSF) strength in numbers and superiority in armaments and materiel. Following the takeover, he even went on to blame the ANDSF’s lack of resolve as a reason for the US-backed regime’s collapse. While technically true, it also fails to take into account Afghanistan’s nature itself. In reality, Afghanistan, in contrast to a central federal government such as that of the United States, is very splintered, factional, corruption-ridden, and largely fiercely independent and self-governing, especially amongst Pashtun tribes. It’s as if Piru and Crip sets spread out over an entire country ... and over several centuries.

Pictured: “NAYBAHOOOOD!” ... now take away the colours, replace every clothing article with shalwar kameez, and turn it up to a cosmic scale, and you have Afghanistan. (Photo: unitedgangs.com)

An additional blunder was approaching the campaign as one would a conventional conflict, something which clearly does not apply to a place as plagued by lawlessness as Afghanistan. There are largely no clear enemies (or friends, for that matter), and trying to distinguish friend from foe is akin to stabbing a warbling mass of sentient Silly Putty or the weird black goo from Prometheus. The United States will almost always win in terms of sheer might and overall warfighting acumen, as we are skilled in both conventional and asymmetric warfare, but what can you do when you have no idea who the enemy is? When the enemy is willing to “wait it out” indefinitely? Sure, we could literally blow everyone up, but, last I heard, wholesale genocide is a generally frowned-upon activity.

Calling Afghanistan even a Pyrrhic victory seems like an overstatement when you examine the initial mission, our successes, and the final result. Sure, we got UBL, which was supposedly the entire point of the invasion, but if so, why did we choose to remain for another ten years, wasting a metric asston of resources in the process? To build a nation? To soothe our collective ego?

Pictured: Workers construct a road in Afghanistan (Photo: AP/Rahmat Gul)

If one is to build a nation, it requires a decent understanding of and a rapport with the people groups with whom you are dealing. It is not enough to simply install people who share your particular leanings and instruct them to do what you would do. It is certainly inadequate to provide arms, training, and funding to people and expect them to do your bidding when shit hits the fan. This sort of thinking also indirectly implies that we possess some kind of moral authority over the nations we invade. While our post-war influence has proved positive in some places (Japan, South Korea, Germany, etc.), it does not mean that we should be building nations in every place in which we set foot, especially in a place so volatile and tribalistic as Afghanistan.

I have communicated with a few individuals who insist that President Biden’s withdrawal was too hasty, or that we should just remain in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future. As much as I am typically revolted by former President Trump and his frequently incoherent word salads, he was right about this particular matter: “The only way they last is if we’re there. What are we going to say? We’ll stay for another 21 years, then we’ll stay for another 50. The whole thing is ridiculous." Yes ... yes, it is ridiculous to prop up an institution that will collapse instantaneously in our absence.

I am no fan of former Senator Ron Paul, and especially Alex Jones and InfoWars, but Paul is almost completely correct in making this statement. Ultimately, a militaristic approach to dominance does not pave the way for longevity. While it is virtually impossible (and infeasible) to return to a 1930s-era isolationist policy, repeated and extended global conflicts only serve to deplete American resources, even if war profiteers have much to gain from it.

Pictured: barbed wire fencing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. (Photo: me)

Ultimately, rather than rushing pell-mell into unknown and dangerous situations, it is important, especially in this time period, to examine why things went wrong to avoid embroiling ourselves in additional catastrophic and unwinnable debacles such as our Afghanistan conflict. This is a time for self-reflection, rather than outrage.

|the kid|

#Afghanistan #afghan crisis #afghan peace talks #Taliban #US military #USA #crisis #humanitarian crises #Pakistan #international relations #foreign relations #war #Middle East #Pashtun #world affairs #creative writing #Clayton Jones Images #intelligence #CIA

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knitcrate · 3 years

Text

Letter from our CEO

I would like to begin by saying thank you to the many people who have written in via email, through our DMs, or on social media expressing their support, understanding, and compassion as KnitCrate navigates this situation. Whenever we receive one of those messages, we share it internally with the rest of the team, and it helps boost morale and remind us why we enjoy being a part of this community. So again, THANK YOU.

The situation over the past year has been, well…to say it has been messy would be an understatement. The lack of inventory being in stock (particularly in the last 3 months), delayed shipments, and customers understandably being more budget-conscious with the uncertainties of the pandemic have all strongly impacted our sales as a company. We have been doing whatever we can to overcome it. One of the biggest challenges we’ve dealt with as a company during COVID-19 has been our supply chain, both with getting the yarn to our warehouse for kit assembly and for production of the yarn in the first place.

Issue 1: Logistics of receiving the yarn

There are two main problems affecting companies who rely on importing/exporting goods these days.

The first is that, due to COVID, there are less commercial flights. Almost all commercial flights carry the passengers up top and cargo down below. With less commercial flights, there is less opportunity to transport cargo. This causes a backlog of cargo sitting at the airports. For example, we paid our mill in mid-March to try to get what should have been the April yarn now in March (paying it a month ahead of what was planned in our budget), at which point they sent the cargo to the airport in Lima. The cargo sat there for over a week because of the backlog of other cargo waiting to be put on a plane. The airline finally delivered 3 pallets to the US on March 30th. The remaining 9 pallets arrived today on March 31st. Customs wouldn’t let us pick up the first 3 pallets until the other 9 arrived, because they wanted us to pick up the order in its entirety. We finally got clearance to pick it up earlier today.

The second issue companies are facing are capacity constraints at the ports, whether airports or ocean. All ports worldwide are working with far less employees than they were before the pandemic, which causes massive delays in being able to process shipments. This affects us with our large inbound orders but also with shipments to our international customers, as packages sometimes sit at customs in your countries for what may seem to be an eternity.

Issue 2: Production of yarn at the mills

Because of the volume of yarn we are now ordering monthly, we have to contract with our mills 12+ months in advance. For example, as of today, all yarn orders through March 2022 are already contracted. Why the long 12-month lead time? The mills need this amount of lead time to plan their own raw materials purchases and production schedules, not just for our orders, but the orders of all their clients. Every month, we pay our mill at the time of shipment, they proceed to ship the yarn to us. Under normal circumstances, it takes a shipment by air only 1-3 business days to arrive, clear customs, and be delivered to our warehouse. Outside of a worldwide pandemic, this is not usually an issue. The mills have plenty of time to produce yarn and deliver it the first week of each month when we need to assemble your kits and ship to you.

However, the COVID pandemic has complicated things. Both of our main mills in Peru and Italy have had periods of time where they outright closed due to government restrictions on non-essential businesses to help combat the spread of COVID in their respective countries. For example, in April/May of 2020, our Peruvian mill was closed for two months and that left us without yarn to send out in May. Due to the lead times required and the fact that most mills worldwide were (and still are) facing similar issues, looking for alternate yarn was nearly impossible. Thankfully, our team was quick on their feet and we put together a fun dye-it-yourself project using undyed yarn from our Dyer Supplier business.

During this first quarter of 2021, our Italian mill, who was originally supplying yarn from December through February, has been facing stringent lockdowns and closures in response to the recent increase in COVID cases in Italy. This disrupted their ability to produce yarn and has resulted in part of the January yarn and all of the planned February yarn not being delivered. We were horribly disappointed about this, but despite our best efforts as well as the mill’s, the production needs could not be met. Thankfully, our Peruvian mill has been able to come back online with a more regular schedule in the past few months, and we have been working with them to get yarn delivered now that was originally meant for a later month.

While this is a solution to the inventory needed for crate shipment, it presented the company with a new problem. We had to fund the purchase for this yarn outside of our budget and available funding, which has been difficult during a challenging and financially straining year. This is why we have been forced to issue a credit, as opposed to an outright refund, on those purchases. It would be impossible for the company to do both - issue a refund for all those orders at one time while allocating funds to pay for yarn ahead of time.

***

Does this situation absolutely suck? Yes. It absolutely sucks. Am I sorry that this is happening? Of course. Business owners who give a damn about their business, customers, and employees do not set out on a mission to disappoint customers or give a less-than-exceptional experience. It is more heartbreaking to me than I can explain. But we aren’t dealing with normal times. We are doing what we need to do to get the company through this temporary situation to keep delivering yarn each month, keep our team members employed, and continue to be the business so many of you have grown to love.

Unfortunately, this also means streamlining how we offer products to you as well as increasing prices. When we took over KnitCrate in mid-2016, the kits ranged in price between $45 to $65 USD. We lowered those prices significantly to $24.99, including shipping & handling, that same year. We have kept prices there since then, even though shipping costs and wool prices have skyrocketed over the past 4-5 year period. Keeping our prices that low could not continue indefinitely. We had plans to introduce these price increases later in the year, but this situation has forced us to accelerate those changes. However, even at the new prices, we still feel there is superb value for the yarn you are receiving. Moreover, you still have access to the member discounts in the shop which gives you even more value.

I am hoping that most customers know us well enough to understand that we aren’t trying to pull a fast one or go Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde on you. We would never turn into a completely different company who is out to take advantage of you. However, we recognize that these sudden changes and issues have understandably raised concerns. Among them, there have been concerns raised about the products and website that we would like to clarify:

Our Terms and Conditions have not changed since 2019 and our Privacy Policy hasn’t changed since 2017.

We will continue to include 2 skeins per crate for the traditional membership and 1 for the sock membership. The “1+ skeins” wording previously seen on the website was updated back in 2019 when we tested featuring 1 skein of ultra-luxury base in the months we featured Citrus Squeeze and Titmouse. We subsequently sent a survey to our customers asking how they would like us to approach this in the future. The answer was that the majority preferred two skeins, and so we have featured at least two skeins ever since and will continue to do so.

We had seen some comments regarding extras no longer being included in kits. Please rest assured that extras will continue being a part of your kits.

Member Central discounts, Double Down discounts, etc. will continue. These are some of the key benefits of being a member and will continue to be so.

I have come across some hard-to-read comments about how KnitCrate is going out of business or won’t be around in 2 months. Are we going through a tough situation? Yes. That is no secret. Are we disappearing in 2 months? No. Like I said above, the yarn is contracted out through March 2022 with our Peruvian mill. This mill has already come back online and is working with us to push every month contract up by 30 days. We are working overtime and making the necessary changes to get things back on track and get the shipping schedule normalized again.

Ultimately, whether KnitCrate, or any company for that matter, stays in business or not is always in the hands of the customers. Companies can die for many reasons, but there are two overarching reasons.

The company cannot deliver a product the customer wants. The company created a product the customer wants and is willing to pay for, but the company cannot access or deliver it to the customer.

The company cannot get customers. The company developed a product a customer doesn’t care for and isn’t willing to pay for and they go out of business.

As a company, we have predominantly been battling Reason #1 during the pandemic and are actively working on solutions within our team and with our partner mills to address the supply chain issues. Given that our Peruvian mill was able to finish the April yarn by mid-March and ship to us early, we are looking forward to working with them on the future orders already contracted as we bump up each of those months. Going forward, we will not be pre-selling yarn on the shop. Yarn will only be listed for sale once it has been received into our warehouse, quality controlled, and counted. We understand that this may upset some customers who liked the ability to reserve the yarn by pre-buying it, but it is a necessary action.

That leaves us with Reason #2, and this is entirely in your hands as a customer. We offer great products, great value, and fair prices not available in most places. In fact, I encourage anyone who has been a member with us for a long time to look at the yarn they have purchased through us over their lifetime as a customer, either through the kits or in Member Central, and tally up the savings they have earned. I don’t know many other places that can enable you to save on quality yarn as much as KnitCrate.

When it comes to business, the customer is always in charge. You vote with your dollars whether any company you buy from, including KnitCrate, stays in business or not. This is not new, though. This has always been the case, ever since we took over the company in 2016, and will always be the case. We have had to make some tough decisions during a temporarily very sh!tty situation. We made those decisions in order to stay alive and keep delivering yarn to you at affordable prices long into the future. If you will have us, we will be here working to bring you yarn with great projects at great prices.

Thank you for your support. We hope you stay well and keep stitchin’!

- Rob and the KnitCrate Team

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dsghnzda · 3 years

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seymour-butz-stuff · 3 years

Link

Erik Prince, the former head of the security contractor Blackwater Worldwide and a prominent supporter of former President Donald J. Trump, violated a United Nations arms embargo on Libya by sending weapons to a militia commander who was attempting to overthrow the internationally backed government, according to U.N. investigators.

A confidential U.N. report obtained by The New York Times and delivered by investigators to the Security Council on Thursday reveals how Mr. Prince deployed a force of foreign mercenaries, armed with attack aircraft, gunboats and cyberwarfare capabilities, to eastern Libya at the height of a major battle in 2019.

As part of the operation, which the report said cost $80 million, the mercenaries also planned to form a hit squad that could track down and kill selected Libyan commanders.

Mr. Prince, a former Navy SEAL and the brother of Betsy DeVos, Mr. Trump’s education secretary, became a symbol of the excesses of privatized American military force when his Blackwater contractors killed 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.

In the past decade he has relaunched himself as an executive who strikes deals — sometimes for minerals, other times involving military force — in war-addled but resource-rich countries, mostly in Africa.

The DeVos family seem to be in a perpetual race with one another to be the biggest scumbag of all time.

During the Trump administration, Mr. Prince was a generous donor and a staunch ally of the president, often in league with figures like Steve Bannon and Roger Stone as they sought to undermine Mr. Trump’s critics. And Mr. Prince came under scrutiny from the Trump-Russia inquiry over his meeting with a Russian banker in 2017.

Mr. Prince refused to cooperate with the U.N. inquiry; his lawyer did not respond to questions about the report. Last year the lawyer, Matthew L. Schwartz, told The Times that Mr. Prince “had nothing whatsoever” to do with military operations in Libya.

The accusation that Mr. Prince violated the U.N.’s arms embargo on Libya exposes him to possible U.N. sanctions, including a travel ban and a freeze on his bank accounts and other assets — though such an outcome is uncertain.

The report raises the question of whether Mr. Prince played on his ties to the Trump administration to pull off the Libya operation.

It describes how a friend and former business partner of Mr. Prince traveled to Jordan to buy surplus, American-made Cobra helicopters from the Jordanian military — a sale that ordinarily would require American government permission, according to military experts. The friend, Christiaan Durrant, assured officials in Jordan that he had “clearances from everywhere” and his team’s work had been approved “at the highest level,” the report found.

But the Jordanians, unimpressed by those claims, stopped the sale, forcing the mercenaries to source new aircraft from South Africa.

A Western official, speaking to the Times on the condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to discuss confidential work, said the investigators had also obtained phone records showing that Mr. Prince’s friend, Mr. Durrant, made several calls to the main White House switchboard in late July 2019, after the mercenary operation ran into trouble. The Western official said it was unclear whom Mr. Durrant sought to contact, or if he got through.

Contacted through his Facebook page, Mr. Durrant declined to comment and referred to a statement he issued to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last September. “We don’t breach sanctions; we don’t deliver military services, we don’t carry guns, and we are not mercenaries,” it said.

The sheer breadth of evidence in the latest U.N. report — 121 pages of code names, cover stories, offshore bank accounts and secretive weapons transfers spanning eight countries, not to mention a brief mention of a Hollywood friend of Mr. Prince — provides a glimpse into the secretive world of international mercenaries.

Libya began to fracture a decade ago, when the violent ouster of the country’s longtime dictator, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, set in motion a political crisis that splintered the country into armed factions, many eventually supported by foreign powers hoping to shape the destiny of the oil-rich North African nation.

Eastern Libya is now in the hands of Khalifa Hifter, the powerful militia commander whom Mr. Prince agreed to support, according to the report, as the country was wracked by fighting in 2019.

A one-time CIA asset who returned from exile in Virginia after the fall of Mr. Qaddafi in 2011, Mr. Hifter rapidly established himself in the eastern city of Benghazi as an aspiring strongman who was determined to blast his way to power if necessary.

In his late 70s, Mr. Hifter has relied for years on the United Arab Emirates for funding, armed drones and a range of powerful weapons, according to successive United Nations reports. More recently, Mr. Hifter has also received backing from Russia, in the form of mercenaries with the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group that has become an integral part of his war machine.

In April 2019, Mr. Hifter launched a blistering assault on the capital, Tripoli, but formidable obstacles stood in his way, including newly arrived troops from Turkey supporting the U.N.-backed government. So Mr. Hifter turned to Mr. Prince, the U.N. investigators found.

At a meeting with Mr. Hifter in Cairo, 10 days after the start of the campaign to seize Tripoli, Mr. Prince made his pitch for the $80 million mercenary operation, the UN inspectors revealed.

Four days later, Mr. Trump publicly endorsed Mr. Hifter, reversing American policy towards Libya and supporting the assault on Tripoli.

But the mercenary operation turned to disaster just months later.

No sooner had 20 mercenaries arrived in Benghazi in June 2019 — Britons, Australians, South Africans and one American — than they became embroiled in a dispute with Mr. Hifter, who accused them of failing to deliver promised American-made Cobra helicopters, the report found. Tensions rose and, on June 29, the mercenaries bailed out of Libya by boat on an arduous 40-hour journey across the Mediterranean until they reached safety in Malta.

But key elements of the mercenary mission — a cyberwarfare team that arrived separately and several attack aircraft — remained in Libya, the report said. And the fleeing soldiers of fortune left behind a long trail of paperwork that eventually led U.N. investigators to Mr. Prince.

A PowerPoint presentation shown to Mr. Hifter and reproduced in the report lists possible “high value targets” for assassination, including Abdulrauf Kara, a major commander in Tripoli, and two other Libyan commanders who hold Irish passports, suggesting the mercenaries were ready to hit European Union citizens if necessary.

A welter of contracts detailed in the report show how Mr. Prince moved three aircraft into Libya at short notice, transferring one for a nominal sum of $10.

There are also hints of a certain self-regarding bravado inside the group.

The report said that on a trip to Jordan, Mr. Durrant, the friend and former partner of Mr. Prince, used the cover name Gene Rynack — close to Gene Ryack, the cowboy pilot played by Mel Gibson in the movie “Air America,” about a CIA airline that smuggled drugs and weapons during the Vietnam War.

In fact, Mr. Prince knows Mr. Gibson and hosted him in Abu Dhabi for a couple of days in 2013, said Gregg Smith, a former marine who worked with Mr. Prince at the time.

Mr. Prince has been angling for military business in Libya since 2013, mostly through Mr. Hifter, the report says. In 2015, Mr. Prince supplied the Libyan commander with a private jet, owned by the Hong Kong-based Frontier Services Group company led by Mr. Prince, and which Mr. Hifter used for travel to meetings in Egypt and across the region, the report says.

That same year Mr. Prince pitched the European Union on a private military force to patrol Libya’s borders and combat illegal migration. The Europeans declined.

To the outside world, the mercenaries claimed to be working on a geological survey or an oil and gas project. The report says that Bridgeporth, a British survey company then owned by Mr. Prince, was used to manufacture cover stories — just as the company had been used as cover for previous mercenary operations in South Sudan and Uganda.

Travis Maki, an American pilot who once worked for Bridgeporth, told U.N. investigators that he flew one of Mr. Prince’s planes into Libya just before the operation. The plane, a Pilatus PC-6, had previously been used by Mr. Prince during his Blackwater days, and is the same model used by Mr. Gibson’s character in the movie “Air America.” In Libya, it had been fitted with powerful optical sensors that made it a piece of military equipment, the arms inspectors concluded.

In an email, Mark Davies, the chief executive of Bridgeporth, denied the company’s aircraft were used for anything other than surveys, and said that Mr. Maki had not worked for the company since 2018. Mr. Prince's Frontier Group, which once invested in Bridgeporth, no longer held a stake in the company, he added.

Mr. Prince has faced accusations of violating international law before. In 2012, U.N. investigators accused his antipiracy force in Somalia, the Puntland Maritime Police Force, of “the most brazen violation of the arms embargo by a private security company.”

Whether he will face sanctions as a result of the accusations against him, though, is highly uncertain. Mr. Prince can no longer rely on allies with the Trump administration to protect him. At the same time, a senior diplomat at the U.N. said, the Biden administration may be reluctant to penalize an American for breaches of the arms embargo when others are guilty of far worse.

In October, the European Union imposed sanctions on Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, a wealthy Russian businessman known as “Putin’s chef” for his close ties to the Wagner Group mercenaries fighting in Libya. But Mr. Prigozhin gets only a fleeting mention in the latest U.N. report — perhaps because investigators, blocked by Russia, struggled to build a case against the Russian businessman.

On the other side of the fight, the report identifies Turkey — an ally of Libya’s internationally backed government — as a major violator of the arms embargo.

The big question about Mr. Prince left unanswered by the U.N. report is who funded the $80 million mercenary operation he is accused of undertaking.

“He’s been linked to the Trump administration, the Emirati leadership and the Russians,” said Wolfram Lacher, a Libya expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “For me, the question is who is tacitly backing him?”

Analysts and Western officials said the U.A.E. was the most likely foreign funder of the mercenary operation Mr. Prince is accused of launching. The report points out that the mercenaries had offices, bank accounts and shell companies in the Emirates. Moreover, the powerful ruler of the Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, has longstanding ties to Mr. Prince and is probably Mr. Hifter’s most important foreign backer.

Last year, the U.A.E. poured tons of weapons into Libya in blatant disregard for the arms embargo, even as Sheikh Mohammed traveled to Berlin for a major peace conference on Libya, where he posed with European leaders.

As with previous U.N. investigations, the Emirates refused to cooperate with requests for information about the operation involving Mr. Prince and the mercenaries.

“They have yet to respond,” the report noted.

#Erik Prince #Betsy DeVos #Trump #dark money #the real deep state

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cecilspeaks · 4 years

Text

162 - “Alpha”

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Fear makes the heart grow louder. And death makes the heart grow flowers. Welcome to Night Vale.

Amelia Anna Alfaro was always the best at everything. On the day she was born, she was named the healthiest baby at Night Vale General Hospital. The doctors had never seen a healthier baby. “What a healthy baby,” they said from behind a bullet proof two-way mirror, as they operated the robotic arms that carefully held the infant aloft. The doctors high-fived each other, missing slightly. The trick, by the way, is to keep your eye on the other person’s elbow. That or glue high-powered magnets to each person’s hand. And all of the nurses cheered from dozens of feet down the hallway, where they were playing with a standard Tarot deck, common in most neonatal units. This cheering was unrelated to Amelia’s birth. The nurses had drawn the ten of swords, which is everyone’s favorite card. It features a relaxed man receiving acupuncture by a river.

Amelia learned to walk at 4 months, and to talk at 6 months. She read Plato’s “Republic” for the first time at age 4. She taught herself German and began to write sonnets in that language at age 7. At age 10, she won her first engineering competition after designing a concrete canoe that could float even on the most turbulent water. There is no body of water in Night Vale, so she had to prove her work using a software she wrote that generated three-dimensional models to corroborate her advanced mechanical physics formulas. She even won the state spelling bee five years in a row, from ages 9 to 13. Her streak was only broken when the spelling bee was canceled, after the sponsors lost their dictionary.

Amelia was always the best, and her mother knew it. Her mother was proud of her daughter, or rather, her mother was proud of herself for producing such a daughter. Or rather, she was proud of both, in a way that was difficult for them to untangle. Amelia’s mother was named Yvette. Yvette could not afford much for her daughter. She worked long hours to earn the respect of her bosses, which (-) [0:04:32] her promotions and larger paychecks, but Yvette had hit the glass ceiling. She did not want this limitation for her daughter. Her daughter would need to be smarter, more talented, and more driven than she. Yvette wanted Amelia’s value to the world to be so great that no one could deny her success.

Yvette recognized Amelia’s specialness and pushed hard to make her even more special, signing Amelia up for athletics and adult learning classes and piano lessons. Amelia sometimes pushed against this. “Mother, I don’t want to” was met with, “But you will, Amelia.” “Why?” was met with, “Because I said so.” “I hate you for this” was met with, “You will love me for it later.”

Begrudgingly, Amelia fulfilled her mother’s wishes. It wasn’t because she understood her mother’s motivation to secure her child a better life, nor was it because Amelia did not have the stomach to fight back. No, Amelia did it because it all came so easy. She was a black belt, a sharp shooter, an academic decathlon champion. She wrote her first novel at age 12, it was called “A Golden Age for Parachuting”, in which an all-Jewish female parachute team wins Olympic gold in 1936 Berlin in front of Adolf Hitler. In the publisher’s rejection letter, the editor said the novel was “immaculately written, however parachuting stories are out of vogue. Do you have anything about magical baseball players?” Amelia did. It was a novel called “One Last Swing for the Tuesday Boys”, but she had written it in German and did not have time to translate the “Dienstag Jungen” manuscript, because she was currently taking a course on bird husbandry.

Yvette enrolled the teenage Amelia in night classes at the community college, where she took English 113, “Sonnets are for lovers”; structural engineering 212, “Buttress is a funny word”; and meteorology 301, “Clouds y’all, amirite?” She earned all As and scores for college credit before she even graduated high school. None of these challenges were difficult for Amelia. She was the best at everything.

But her life was not perfect. Because of the voices. It was the voices that made life hard for Amelia. From birth, she heard the constant chatter of dozens of people. None of the voices spoke directly to Amelia, they just talked and talked about their lives, and Amelia was afraid of the voices and what the voices might imply about herself. She found solace in puzzles, crosswords, nonograms, acrostics, cryptics, Sudoku, which I think is the one where you have to catch a bunch of marbles with a lever operated hippopotamus. Her mother hated Amelia’s puzzle vice. If she caught Amelia doing puzzles, Yvette would make Amelia go practice archery or write poetry or at least listen to classical music. Amelia’s favorite was Van Cliburn’s masterful 1961 record of Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto nr 13: Knuckles on the Black Keys”. When she was thinking through the solution of a puzzle, the voices did not speak to her. All was silent. It was her only time of peace. It was the only time her body could rest and curl up comfortably into her own thoughts. Anything that took her away from her logic problems including music, no matter how soothing, invited the voices back into Amelia’s thoughts.

Amelia was accepted to several top colleges across the country, including MIT, Stanford, Rice and The University of What It Is, but she wanted to stay near her home town and her family, so she went to State. Hey, that’s where my brother-in-law went! Go State! [chuckles] Ahem. She was elected the youngest president of the student body ever at age 17, and graduated valedictorian two years later. Her friends, her professors, her mother all knew the world was Amelia’s. She could become poet laureate or a senator or a supreme court justice or a quantum physicist. But she became none of those. This is not to say Amelia was not successful or that she amounted to nothing. It is to say, the semantics of success were her own and no one else’s. Amelia became an air traffic controller. The voices never told Amelia to become an air traffic controller, they were never that specific. The voices did not tell her to do anything, they simply talked about first dates, about apartment hunting, about their grandmothers’ improved health, about a bad movie they sort of loved. None of the voices talked directly to her, it was simply as though she overheard conversations from lives lived somewhere else. Other people and their quotidian hopes and worries and interests. She tried seeing therapists and psychiatrists. She tried medication to stop the voices, but nothing worked. Eventually she decided they were not harmful voices and that she was not dealing with schizophrenia. She simply heard people talking at all hours about all things, having nothing to do with her. And they never told her to become an air traffic controller. Amelia chose her own career, her own path. Others though the reason was that it was the fist job opportunity to present itself for her. Maybe it was her admiration of aircraft, maybe a moral sense of serving humanity through public safety and comfort. In fact, it was none of these reasons. But it should not be surprising to know that Amelia was very good at air traffic control. She was calm, clear, and efficient. The Night Vale international airport, although when Amelia started it was just a commuter hub, has never had a high volume of plane traffic and almost all of those are departures. There are very few arrivals. My husband Carlos, he’s a scientist and he is also very good at his job, tells me that it’s impossible to have far more departures than arrivals, but I told him, not everything has to make sense all the time.

So, in some ways, air traffic control in Night Vale was easier for Amelia than just about any other class or job or task she’d ever attempted. It appeared from the outside to be far below her capabilities. She held that job for 20 years, even taking over as president of the Night Vale chapter of air traffic controllers’ union. In 2004, she was featured in the cover of “Afformative”, a monthly trade magazine for air traffic controllers. The headline of the article was “You’re cleared for success”. In 2006, she was asked to deliver the keynote speech at the annual Roger Con, a conventional for air traffic controllers and fans of air traffic control. It’s a huge deal, held every year in Orlando. People dress like their favorite airline pilots and wait in long lines for autographs from top flight attendants. There are even panel discussions about everything from the best textiles for seat cushions to secret first class meal offerings. Amelia was the best at what she did. She probably would have been the best poet laureate or senator, but this was the path she chose. She chose this path because of the voices, not from what they said, but what they didn’t say. When Amelia was in the control tower, when she was communicating with captains and co-pilots and navigators, her head was clear. All was silent. It was like those many nights, sneaking a copy of the crossword from the newspaper on the kitchenette and solving it by flashlight under her covers. She became an air traffic controller to be by herself, to become her own person. Her mother was disappointed, but loved her in spite of it. Her professors were let down, but still had many fabulous of their greatest student. Her friends were just happy she was happy.

Things changed on June 15, 2012, when Delta flight 18713 made radio contact. In her tall tower, at her tiny airport, in the middle of a vast desert, in the middle of the American Southwest, an airplane appeared on Amelia’s radar. It was carrying 143 passengers and 6 crew members and was flying from Detroit to Albany over the great lakes of the American Northeast. It appeared briefly, the green dot blinking in and out of existence like the sun glinting off a water ripple. It was almost unnoticeable. But everyone noticed it. Later, Amelia was the only one who admitted to noticing it. The radio transmission was equally brief, a surge of static and only one word, difficult to discern but she heard it. “Alpha” was the single word. The letter A in the Nato alphabet. It was garbled, so maybe it wasn’t that word, maybe it was some more adult variation of “Oh fudge”. Alpha. Oh fudge. It was unclear. Amelia requested identification of the aircraft. She requested further communication, but nothing came. As soon as it had squawked, it had gone silent. But while the radio communication was silent, the voices were not. On June 15, 2012, upon hearing a word that sounded like “alpha”, these myriad conversations returned. No one else in the tower could hear them, but Amelia Anna Alfaro could. And for the first time in her life, she began to speak back to them. Everyone else in the tower could hear that. The voices did not cease. The voices continued for days and days and Amelia tried to talk back with them. As one voice said: “I have an interview on Monday,” Amelia would ask “for what job” or if a voice said, “We went to Palm Springs on vacation,” Amelia would say, “Did you also travel out to the Salton Sea?” But over and over, no response. The voices did not affect the quality of Amelia’s work, but it did affect the perceived quality of her work, and her colleagues became uncomfortable with and distrusting of Amelia.

A month later, Amelia heard that word again from one of the voices. “Alpha”. The same voice that radioed in June. But upon hearing it again, she realizes that they didn’t say “alpha” at all. What they said, coming up.

But first The weather.

[“Skinchanger” by Skeptic skepticdeath.bandcamp.com]

The voices said “Alfaro”. The word had been truncated just as the airplane’s appearance in Night Vale had been truncated. The voice saying the word was the captain of the aircraft, and he had been trying to tell Amelia something. The pilot was trying to tell Amelia that he knew her, had always known her since her birth. He didn’t know how he knew her, just that he did, and he wanted to tell her he had found her. And she should find him. “Where are you,” Amelia asked the captain. “No Where,” the voice said. “Did you land?” Amelia asked. “Yes,” the voice said. “Were there injuries?” Amelia asked. “Minor,” the voice said. “Do you hear the other voices too?” Amelia asked. “Yes,” the captain said. “I’m with them right now. Find us, Amelia.” “Where are you?” Amelia asked again, louder, more scared than before. “No Where,” the voice said, not like the vague concept of in no place but No Where, two words capitalized like the name of a specific place. Amelia felt a tap on her shoulder. It was another air traffic controller. “Uh, boss wants to see you, Amelia,” they said. But Amelia did not go to see the boss. She knew. She knew her time in the tower was done. She grabbed her belongings and walked to the elevator, out across the tarmac to a shuttle to a parking lot and into her car, and no one saw her again. Her friends said she always talked about going back to school to get an advanced degree. Maybe she went to Stanford. Or Rice, or The University of What It Is. Other friends said she had lost all touch with reality, talking to people who were not there, and maybe her mother checked Amelia into the Night Vale asylum.

Yvette says Amelia knew too much, that agents from a vague yet menacing government agency had been to their house and that Amelia must have been taken to a secret location. Representatives from the National Safety and Transportation Bureau in Washington, DC, came to Night Vale two months ago to investigate the disappearance of flight 18713. They are on an undercover mission inside the Night Vale asylum right now, on a tip from Sheriff Sam, to discover more clues into this mystery. Perhaps Amelia is in there too. But I don’t think so. I think she went to find the plane. I think the voices were the passengers on Delta 18713. I think she set out looking for them. Perhaps wandering the desert, the great No Where, to find the people who had been a part of her life since birth.

Amelia. Anna. Alfaro. was always the best at everything. And if anyone will find the plane, she will.

Stay tuned next for our new investment advice show “Billionaire Roulette”.

And as always, Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: Love means never having to say “you’re a werewolf”.

#welcome to night vale #wtnv transcripts #episode 162 #alpha

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queenmylovely · 4 years

Text

Joyeux Noël

Summary: Gwilym lee x fem!reader. Will this perfect Parisian vacation with Gwil ever come to an end?

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: fluff, angst, cussing, Rick Steves and Marie Antoinette are mentioned

A/N: This is my gift for @local-troubled-writer for @dtfrogertaylor Thank God It’s Christmas event 🎄 I’m so anxious/excited for you to read this, and I hope you enjoy it! This is my first time writing for Gwil, and although there’s not a ton of dialogue and stuff, I hope his loving nature really came through in the story! I hope you all like it, and any feedback including likes, replies, reblogs and asks are greatly appreciated! Especially replies, messages, and asks are super helpful for my writing ‘cause I get to hear what you think! Remember to check out all the awesome stuff everyone’s creating for tgic!!

Masterlist

(from left: Champs-Élysées, Palace of Versailles, Eiffel Tower, Gwil, Parisian Christmas market possibly at Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, & gardens at the Palace of Versailles)

🌲🌲🌲

Going to Paris during the Christmas season had been a dream of yours for a while. It was always shown as so pretty during the holidays in movies and on TV, and there was no lack of influencers and celebrities in your Instagram feed posting amazing pictures of themselves there over the years. So, when Gwilym told you that he had the entire month of December free and that he wanted to take you somewhere before going to spend Christmas with your family, you immediately suggested Paris. Luckily, Gwilym thought it was a great idea and agreed right away. The two of you booked for the 15th through the 21st, making sure to pack well for the weather, but leave enough room in your suitcases for any souvenirs or gifts you would bring back.

The lead-up to the trip was filled with excitement, and the night before the flight, you could hardly sleep. As Gwilym tried to fall asleep, you kept waking him up for different little things that you should pack or that you were excited for in Paris. Every time he would remind you that “you have indeed already packed that,” or that “yes it is all very exciting,” but quickly tried going back to sleep. Finally, you settled down and fell asleep after he held you in his arms tight enough so that you couldn’t get up and check on your suitcase and had no choice but to fall asleep with him.

The flight was of course early and very long, but neither you nor Gwil were able to fall asleep on the plane. You hoped that you wouldn’t end up being too jet-lagged when you first got to Paris. After a layover or two, the plane landed in Paris at 8:00pm local time. The two of you got a cab to the airbnb you were staying at and immediately crashed in the bed. Which meant that you woke up promptly at 5:00am, much earlier than either of you would’ve, but it did mean you got to go have fresh, warm bread at an actual French bakery, an experience totally worth the lack of sleep.

While you had researched and suggested a bunch of places you wanted to go to while in Paris, Gwil, ever the planner, had been the one to make it into an itinerary. So, you were on a strict schedule each day. The first day was exploratory since you were staying in the 8th arr., about a block away from the Champs-Élysées. You walked up and down the famous avenue, stopping in chic boutiques, visiting the Champs-Élysées Garden, stopping in cafés when you got hungry or wanted a hot drink, and finishing the day out at the Arc de Triomphe. The entire lane leading up to it had been strung with lights that gave it the perfect atmosphere for the holiday season and made for some great photo opportunities too.

_____

The next three days were spent going to different Christmas markets, including Le Village de Noël at Les Halles, Abbesses Christmas Market at Montmartre, and the Villages de Noël at Champs de Mars and La Défense. All of them were similar, but each one had something unique that you hadn’t seen at any of the previous ones, and every one had its own special atmosphere that couldn’t be replicated.

Your fifth day there was spent almost entirely at the Louvre. Normally, an entire day at an art museum might’ve become a little boring, but Gwilym seemed to know a little something about every exhibit and display you went to and managed to keep things interesting the entire time. It wasn’t until more than halfway through the museum that he let it slip that he had listened to all of Rick Steves’, of Rick Steves’ Europe fame, audios about the museum on the plane ride over. It was still pretty impressive that he had managed to retain all of that information and deliver it interestingly, but he said that as an actor it had been a breeze.

For your last stop before going back to the apartment, you went to the Eiffel Tower, feeling the magic of Paris and the holiday season wash over you.

The sixth day started with a fantastic brunch at a nice restaurant and then you went shopping, trying to find the more hidden locally-owned shops off the beaten path. You went back to the airbnb with many bags, successful in finding gifts for everyone on your list. Then, you got all dressed up because you had booked tickets to see a production of The Nutcracker Ballet. You had dinner at a fancy restaurant and then went to the performance. The dancers were amazing, as were the lights, music, and sets that made the whole thing a magical experience and the perfect cap to your week in Paris.

The two of you went to bed early on that last day, ready to get up in time to pack up, have a quick breakfast, and make it to the airport with plenty of time before your flight. It had been an amazing week, but you were excited to go back home to see your family. That is, until you woke up the next morning to a message from your airline stating that all flights out of Paris were canceled due to an inversion that covered the entire city and trapped the fog in the air so there was zero visibility for pilots during take off and landing. There was no word on when the airports would be open again because it all depended on the weather.

“Oh my gosh, Gwil, what are we going to do?” you asked him after reading the message to him off your phone.

“I don’t know, darling. Maybe it will just be closed one day and we can fly out tomorrow,” Gwilym replied hopefully. “I’ll reach out to the airbnb host and ask if we can extend our accommodations. You should call your family and let them know what’s going on.”

Gwil walked to the other room so that you could make your call without interference. You called your mom and let her know the situation, and that you would keep her apprised of any updates. She told you to make the most of your extra day in Paris and not to worry too much about the flights. You would get home eventually, and no one was going to hold the weather against you. After thanking her and telling her to tell the family that you love them, you hung up, and went to join Gwilym in the other room.

“What’d your mum say?” he asked as you walked in.

You joined him on the couch and leaned your head on his shoulder, “She just said that they understand and it’s not my fault. She told me not to worry too much and just try to enjoy another day in Paris.”

“She’s a smart one, your mother,” Gwil commented and you nodded.

“What about our host?” you asked.

“Well there’s good news and there’s bad news. The bad news is that they already have people booked for later today. But the good news is that they have another place in the area, and they’re going to give us a discount, you know, in the holiday spirit,” he told you, rubbing his hand up and down your arm soothingly.

“That is mostly good news. Well, should we get up and pack our stuff? Isn’t check out in an hour?” you suggested, moving to stand up.

Before you could stand fully, Gwil pulled you back down, hugging you closer to him, “Just five more minutes of relaxing on the couch, and then we’ll get up, yeah?”

“Fine, but just five minutes,” you acquiesced, settling back into him.

True to your word, after the five minutes were up, you made Gwil get up with you and pack up all of your things. Luckily, it only took about half an hour, giving you plenty of time to do some last minute tidying up of the place. The two of you left and immediately went to the new airbnb, not wanting to have to carry your luggage around the city.

As soon as you got in the door, you noticed that this apartment had been decorated all-out for Christmas. The last one hadn’t been, for unknown reasons, but it felt good to at least be in a decorated apartment so close to Christmas. It had lights everywhere, little Santa figurines, garland, and even a medium-sized fake tree that was decked out with more lights and ornaments.

Once you set down your things in the bedroom though, you got another notification on your phone from the airport.

“Shit!” you cursed after reading it.

“What’s wrong?” Gwil called from the other room, jogging lightly to see what was up.

“The airport is officially closed for the next two days, and there are warnings past that. We’re stuck here for sure until at least the night of the 23rd,” you explained, feeling your voice getting shaky with worry and stress.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Gwil said, pulling you into a comforting hug. “I’m sure it’ll all work out.”

“I just-- just really want to spend Christmas with my family and you all together. It’s not going to be the same without all of them. No offense,” you added quickly, not wanting to make him feel unappreciated.

“None taken, love,” he said with a laugh. “I know you’re very close with your family. I’m looking forward to spending the holiday with them too.”

Gwil just held and comforted you for a bit and then he spoke up, “I’ve just had an idea. You know how we wanted to go to the Palace of Versailles but it didn’t fit in the schedule? Since we know we’ll be here all day, why don’t we take the train out there tomorrow?”

“That sounds perfect. You always know how to cheer me up,” you responded, pulling back from the hug and going on your tip-toes to give him a sweet kiss.

“It is my most solemn duty,” he said with a mock serious face before breaking into a grin and laughing. You joined his laughter, feeling much happier and more relieved than when the day started.

The rest of the day was spent doing a quick grocery shop to get supplies for the next two days and then on a walk to get acquainted with the different neighborhood you were staying in. It was called Ternes and was just outside of the Champs-Élysées, and as such was a bit more residential and less busy. There were still lots of cafés, shops, and people around though.

The next morning, you took an early train to the Palace of Versailles. The grounds themselves were gorgeous covered in snow. Not to mention the actual palace. Growing up, you had read a princess book about Marie Antoinette, and it was wild to see where she had actually lived. Each of the rooms was so decadently ornamented with the finest fabrics, furniture, and paintings. It was like stepping into a painting or history book, it was almost a surreal experience to see it all. This time, it was you explaining things about Marie Antoinette’s life to Gwilym, with his rapt attention.

The train ride back was sleepy and relaxed. The two of you had an early night, falling asleep cuddled up under the blankets.

The next morning, the morning of the 23rd, there was yet another update from the airport: no flights until Christmas day. The news left you a bit of a wreck, and you spent a tearful hour being comforted by Gwil. You facetimed your family to tell them once you had collected yourself and they offered love and promises that the holidays weren’t completely ruined and that you would all see each other soon.

After the call, Gwil suggested that you take a nice, hot, long bath in the tub that the apartment had in its ensuite. As luck would have it, your wonderful hosts had provided a couple different bath salts, bubble bath, and even a bath bomb for free use. Gwilym ran the bath for you and told you to get in and relax while he went to pick up all the food the two of you would need for the next two and a half days. He wanted to stock up a bit since most places would close early on Christmas Eve and not be open at all on Christmas.

You got in the bath and let the hot but not too hot water and pleasing scents wash the stress right out of your body. It was like a big detox of all of the negative feelings that had been pervading your mind. By the time Gwilym was back, you were practically falling asleep in the bath, but his yell of “Honey, I’m home!” pulled you from your doze. You got out of the tub and dried off, pulling on a silk robe you packed with you, and by the time you made it into the kitchen, Gwil had already unpacked and put away all of the groceries.

“I could’ve helped you with those, you know. We have an equitable relationship,” you said with a smile, greeting him with a kiss.

“I know, but I thought the sooner those got put away, the sooner we could move onto… other things,” he said with a sly smile, holding you close to him in his arms.

“Yeah? What other things?” you asked coyly.

“Mmm, well I guess I’ll just have to show you,” he responded, slowly undoing the tie to your robe.

“I guess you will,” you said, letting your robe fall open and then grabbing his hand and leading him into the bedroom, giggling along with him.

_____

Waking up on Christmas Eve tangled up with Gwil in a comfy bed wasn’t a bad way to wake up. The day’s itinerary was mainly to drink hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies on Netflix, some of which you watched in French with English subtitles since there weren’t enough English ones to get through the whole day. There were food breaks every now and then, but most of the day included some snacking. For dinner, the two of you did your best to recreate the fondue you had had at that fancy restaurant. It didn’t quite melt smoothly, but it was still tasty enough to eat enough to feel a little sick.

With all of the yummy food and warmth and cosiness that you two had conjured up over the course of the day, you ended up falling into a food coma around 9:00pm and passed out for the rest of the night.

The Christmas morning wake-up was something different. You woke slowly, first with your nose, as weird as that seems. In your dream, you could smell your brother’s cinnamon rolls baking, but as you woke up, you realized that couldn’t be true. But the smell was still there. You were in Gwil’s warm embrace, but you could actually smell the cinnamon rolls. Your eyes opened slowly to see Gwilym looking down at you with a soft smile.

“Morning, darling,” he said, kissing your forehead lightly.

“Morning,” you said quietly, your voice still not quite awake. “Is that-- what am I smelling?”

Gwil chuckled in response and then answered, “I may have gotten the recipe for cinnamon rolls from your brother. They’re in the oven now.”

“What? How? When?” you asked confusedly.

He laughed for real this time, “Well, when you took your bath, I called your brother back and got the recipe from him. It took some convincing, but he agreed that it would make you happy so he finally sent it to me. Then I bought everything while you were in the bath and put it all away before you could see it. I was planning on staying up late to make them last night, but since you fell asleep at 9:00, I was able to be in bed by 10:30, so thanks for that. Then I got up about half an hour ago and put them in the oven. Does that answer all of your questions?”

“I guess it does. All except for one,” you replied.

“Oh, what’s that?” Gwil asked genuinely surprised.

“How did I get so lucky to be with a guy as amazing as you?” you said with a grin before capturing his lips with yours.

Once he pulled back from the kiss, he said, “Alright, shall we go check on those cinnamon rolls?”

The morning was wonderfully lazy, filled with eating the warm cinnamon rolls, warm cups of tea, and a little gift exchange. Both of you had picked up little things for each other in the Christmas markets. You had gotten Gwil a leather bound notebook with a French filigree designed burned onto it. He had gotten you a delicate necklace with a fleur-de-lis pendant, France’s crown’s symbol.

Right after you finished giving each other your gifts, you got one last update from the airport. This time, it actually made you smile because it said that you were booked for a flight in three hours. The two of you packed up quickly and headed to the airport. The atmosphere in the airport was one of relief since everyone was going to reach their destinations soon. Everyone was much kinder than usual and luggage check then security was a breeze compared to normal. In no time, you were seated together on the plane.

Gwil took your hand in his and said to you excitedly, “Just think, in less than 24 hours, we’ll be celebrating the holidays with your family!”

You grinned along with him. You couldn’t wait.

🌲🌲🌲

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creativity-is-rebellion · 4 years

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Top 10 Favourite Movies I Have Seen (So Far)

How to Make an American Quilt (1994)

I’m not sure exactly why, but I have always had a thing for intergenerational movies that go back and forth in time, which I think that this movie does superbly. You get to know each of the character’s backstories, and it is also a coming-of-age film where the main protagonist must choose a path and be happy with the one she goes down. This was a film I would watch again and again as a teenager when I was sad (movie marathons were always the cure for my blues back then). More recently, there are other reasons why this movie appeals to me; I can relate to Finn’s thesis-writing (I know it’s frustrating and easy to distract yourself from), and I can also relate with her dilemma in choosing what kind of future she will have. Also, Winona Ryder can do no wrong. Winona forever.

The Joy Luck Club (1993)

Another intergenerational film, I think it does a great job of juxtaposing the difference between parents who immigrate to another country and their children who do not really understand the sacrifices they have made to actually get there, which can cause rifts and divides. It does this specifically with the Chinese culture in mind, which is fascinating in its own right, and quite different to the US, which is where they immigrate to. The daughters who try to understand their mothers are able to bridge the divide when they are able to empathise with where their parents are coming from, by the parents telling them tales of their origins. My favourite character is hands-down Ying-Ying St. Clair, whose backstory is definitely the most tragic. In China, Ying-Ying was happily married to Lin-Xiao (Russell Wong) with a baby boy in China until Lin-Xiao abuses her and abandons her for an opera singer. Overwhelmed by her depression, Ying-Ying begins to dissociate and accidentally drowns their baby son in the bathtub during one of these episodes, which haunts her ever afterwards. Years later, she has emigrated to America and suffers from trauma of her past, worrying her new family, including her daughter Lena. When she is able to get Lena find her voice and to leave her own abusive husband, Harold. I have nothing but love for this film, which breathes life into Amy Tan’s equally beautiful novel. This film adaptation does the novel proud; It’s well-acted, well-told, and simply just heart-warming.

Sinister (2008)

I love myself a good horror movie, and Sinister flips the script by starting out as a crime mystery before going bananas and introducing Mr. Boogie (or Bughuul), a pagan demon who manipulates the lives of children, having them kill their families, until he can consume the child's soul. Ethan Hawke, who both directs and stars in this film, does a phenomenal acting job as washed-up crime author Ellison Oswalt, who moves his family into one of the homes which was the scene of one of the ‘crimes’, where a whole family has been massacred and one child is missing. It isn’t long until he finds a bunch of 8mm tapes in the attic, which represent the equivalent of snuff films, detailing previous family massacres occurring elsewhere. Seriously, some of these 8mm tapes are both difficult but strangely thrilling to watch, due to their haunting quality. It takes him a while before he becomes aware of Bughuul, who he discovers hiding in the corner of one of the tapes, and who he is able to get to know about with the help of a rookie cop and a professor. The ending is also a delicious twist, and indicates the inevitability of not being able to escape evil. Seriously, it’s a must-watch, as it breathes rare new life into the tired horror genre.

Insidious, Chapter One (2010)

Another worthy 21st century horror addition, the Insidious franchise (especially the first film) delivers some great twists, and creates a rich universe way beyond any ordinary haunted house or child-plagued-by-demon trope, by introducing some genuinely scary characters (The Lipstick Demon, Doll Girl, and the Bride in Black, anyone?!), and also introducing The Further, a dark and timeless astral world filled with tortured dead souls and nightmarish spirits. I love the twist that the end of this movie delivers, and also the appropriate jump-scares throughout. It is yet another horror movie that breathes life into a somewhat tired genre. 10/10, I highly recommend this movie, even if The Lipstick Demon looks kinda like Darth Maul, lol.

Reality Bites (1994)

Although it’s kind of aged badly, due to advancing technology, this movie was one of the first to introduce the idea of reality television, whilst also capturing the zeitgeist of Generation X, with it’s rather nihilist message about life after college, and the trials and tribulations of growing up. Some of the characters (especially Lelaina and Troy) are self-indulgent, immature, intellectually snobby and navel-gazing, but you root for Lelaina to succeed because she is played with enough sympathy by the amazing and incomparable Winona Ryder that we believe she deserves better. This is one of the reasons I hate that she ends up with Troy, even if he is the broody bad boy we are all expected to swoon over. Seriously, he treats Lelaina so badly that I just want to punch him in the face. It also has some great side characters, like Vicky, who works at The Gap, but is scared to find a real job, and Sammy, who is gay and afraid that he may have HIV. It is also relatable for me as a Millenial who graduated from university when the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) hit, making it complicated to find a good job, mirroring the recession that these characters graduated into. I love that it talks about pivotal Generation X issues, as well as universal issues that encompass growing up and moving into adulthood. Also, again, Winona forever.

Candyman (1992)

Candyman is a horror film that subverts horror movie expectations whilst still managing to deliver some great scares. Being set in the long-gone notorious Chicago housing projects Cabrini Green, a name synonymous with vice, violence and murder, and a place which instils non-supernatural horror in an individual all on its own, tells the story of thesis student Helen, who is researching urban legends, and through her participants, she learns the story of Candyman, a vengeful rendition of the classic Bloody Mary, who will split you from groin to gullet with his hook for a hand if you say his name five times in the mirror.

The people who recount this legend go on to recount a notorious murder that has taken place recently in Cabrini Green which has been attributed to Candyman, and Helen chooses to investigate the claim. Helen rationalises that the residents of Cabrini Green use the legend of Candy Man to cope with their stressful daily lives. Before visiting Cabrini Green, Helen and her research associate decide to test the theory by saying ‘Candy Man’ five times in a mirror, but nothing happens, at least not yet. In real life, the murder rate in Cabrini Green peaked in 1992, the same year that Candy Man was made. Candy Man himself (played with great aplomb by the legendary Tony Todd) doesn’t show up until around 44 minutes into the movie, but when he does, he steals the show with his dangerous charisma.

In total, Candy Man subverts 3 horror rules: Number one, that you need to have a high body count to keep audiences engaged. By doing so, it stretches out the tension for as long as it can. Number two, there is a Black antagonist. There were some issues addressed by Black critics that this depiction played into some racist stereotypes, such as the idea that Black people need a White saviour, that Black people are especially superstitious, and that Black men prefer to pursue White women. But one could say that Candy Man is more a depiction of the White fears associated with Black poverty, and specifically, White Liberal fears that Black poverty can’t be helped, despite their best efforts. Helen doesn’t mean any harm (some may even call her an ally), yet she dies anyway.

By making the antagonist Black, the film becomes about so much more than just visceral horror, it is about societal, racial and historical horror as well, albeit told from a White perspective. It also plays into the fear that Black people, through no fault of their own, could be killed for no reason at all but panicky neighbours. Finally, number three, this film is more sad than scary; sadness tends to be the most common negative emotion that I experience, so I am drawn to movies that have something to say about it. The only reason Candy Man gives for wanting to kill Helen is that she demystified him, which seems pretty petty and vindictive. She is also supposed to resemble his long-lost love that got him killed in the first place. When Candy Man kills the psychiatrist in the movie, it is literally the only on-screen proof we have that Candy Man isn’t just a figment of Helen’s imagination. Candy Man, like my most favourite horror film, The Shining, begs the question: Are there really supernatural elements at play here, or is the main character simply going insane? Phew, this was more than I planned to write, but I guess this film is complex enough to warrant it. See it for yourself.

Final Destination (2000)

As time wore on, the Final Destination franchise became more well-known for its gruesome deaths (and tired plot) than anything else, but the first addition was a fresh take on the inescapability of death, and the vengance Death Itself may take if you screw with his Design. The first 15 minutes of the film are truly thrilling through the main character Alex’s premonition, and the wait after the gang have been kicked off the airline for the plane to blow up without them on board. Seriously, that scene gave me aerophobia more than any Air Crash Investigation episode. What follows are some truly twisted, macabre domino-like deaths that prove that Death has a wicked, dark sense of humour. That every character in this franchise dies eventually is kind of disappointing, and definitely places Death in this franchise as possibly the most diabolical villain in all of the horror genre (move over, Jason and Michael and Freddy). The mysterious undertaker played with delightful maliciousness again by Tony Todd adds to the mystery of understanding Death’s Design. and the reality that no matter what the survivors do, Death will eventually come for them, really adds to the overall hopelessness and nihilism of the whole situation. The way that the last film of the Final Destination franchise, which is really a prequel to the first film, rounded out the franchise really well, and provided a twist as good as the original film was epic. If you are going to watch any of the films in this franchise, I cannot recommend the first and last film enough.

Now and Then (1996)

I love this film more for the cheesy, feel-good memories of my childhood it gives me. Christina Ricci is also one of my all-time favourite actresses (I absolutely loved her as Wednesday Addams), which just bolsters this movie in my eyes. Thora Birch does a good job as well. But seriously, I can pop this movie on any time and it’ll just make me instantly happy for a simpler era. Even if I wasn’t born in the 60′s or 70′s, there is a lot to relate to about bridging the gaps between childhood and the inevitable teen cross-over. I mean, who didn’t have seances in graveyards with their friends as a 12-year-old girl? No-one?! Just me then. OK. Ahem. I think my favourite character was hands-down Gabby Hoffman’s Sam, who is trying to cope with her parent’s divorce in a town and time when divorce is unheard of. I like that her grown-up character played by Demi Moore is a successful writer, and is also the narrator of the entire movie. If you want to watch a truly feel-good movie that promotes feminist ideals, this movie is for you.

IT: Chapter One (2017)

Since I watched the 1990 TV miniseries in 1992 at the tender age of 7 (my parents never monitored what I watched - which sometimes led to some gnarly nightmares), I have been waiting for a worthy remake. I, like most of the aficionados that watched the miniseries, loved Tim Curry’s rendition of the demonic entity of IT, but weren’t quite happy about the spider ending. If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. You may be asking why I haven’t included Chapter Two that came out this year (2019), and the reason is, despite Bill Hader’s wonderful performance as the grown-up Ritchie, a cameo by Stephen King himself, and more screen-time for Bill Skarsgaard’s scary clown, the ending here was also disappointing. IT’s true form just doesn’t seem to translate well onto screen. It was adequate. Meh. Anywho.

IT Chapter One, however, is awesome. Instead of jumping back-and-forth in time like both the mini-series and the book did, it focuses on the well-acted ‘Loser’s Club’ as kids, and is truly scary like this story should be. The bully Henry Bowers is truly sociopathic, and Bill Skarsgaard as IT truly nails the fact that IT is so much more than just a killer clown. The death scene with Georgie at the beginning of the film is quite subversive and daring, as it actually shows you the death of a child in all its gory detail. My verdict? Watch the first with gusto, but do not expect anything great from Part Two. Part Two has to exist for continuity, but the first film outshines the second installment in every way possible.

Lady Bird (2017)

For an Indie sleeper film, this story is fantastic as both a coming-of-age film and a depiction of separating from your parents and becoming your own person. Ladybird’s mum is overprotective, and Ladybird needs to break free, whilst also trying not to cause a permanent rift. She’s a different kind of gal, sensitive, intelligent, artistic, and so not meant for a dead-end small town. Her transition toward independence is extremely relatable to me, as I grew up with an over-bearing, interfering mother myself. Also, it’s set in 2002, the year I graduated, with adds to my feelings of nostalgia. It’s the relatablity of Ladybird that makes it so re-watchable to me. I grew up in a dead-end town, was creative and different to my peers, and went to a fancy private school that I didn’t fit into as well. So Ladybird is a cinematic delight as you see her progress to something more hopeful in the future. A must-watch.

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bountyofbeads · 4 years

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Boeing Employees Mocked F.A.A. and ‘Clowns’ Who Designed 737 Max https://nyti.ms/36J0UIg

Breaking News: Boeing employees mocked the FAA and bragged about getting it to approve the 737 Max with little new training for pilots, internal documents show.

“This airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys." Boeing employees mocked federal rules, talked about deceiving regulators and joked about potential flaws in the 737 Max as it was being developed, internal documents show.

Boeing Employees Mocked F.A.A. and ‘Clowns’ Who Designed 737 Max

The company expressed regret at the embarrassing communications it sent to investigators on Thursday, which included a comment that “this airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys.”

By Natalie Kitroeff | Published Jan. 9, 2020 | New York Times | Posted January 10, 2020 |

Boeing employees mocked federal rules, talked about deceiving regulators and joked about potential flaws in the 737 Max as it was being developed, according to over a hundred pages of internal messages delivered Thursday to congressional investigators.

“I still haven’t been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year,” one of the employees said in messages from 2018, apparently in reference to interactions with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The most damaging messages included conversations among Boeing pilots and other employees about software issues and other problems with flight simulators for the Max, a plane later involved in two accidents, in late 2018 and early 2019, that killed 346 people and threw the company into chaos.

The employees appear to discuss instances in which the company concealed such problems from the F.A.A. during the regulator’s certification of the simulators, which were used in the development of the Max, as well as in training for pilots who had not previously flown a 737.

“Would you put your family on a Max simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn’t,” one employee said to a colleague in another exchange from 2018, before the first crash. “No,” the colleague responded.

In another set of messages, employees questioned the design of the Max and even denigrated their own colleagues. “This airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys,” an employee wrote in an exchange from 2017.

The release of the communications — both emails and instant messages — is the latest embarrassing episode for Boeing in a crisis that has cost the company billions of dollars and wreaked havoc on the aviation industry across the globe. The Max has been grounded for nearly 10 months, after the two deadly crashes. A software system developed for the plane was found to have played a role in both accidents, and since then the company has been working to update the system.

There is still no indication when the Max might be cleared to fly again, as the company and regulators continue to discover new potential flaws with the plane.

The messages threaten to further complicate Boeing’s tense relationship with the F.A.A. Both the company and agency indicated Thursday that the messages raised no new safety concerns, but they echoed troubling internal communications among Boeing employees that were previously made public.

In several instances, Boeing employees insulted the F.A.A. officials reviewing the plane.

In an exchange from 2015, a Boeing employee said that a presentation the company gave to the F.A.A. was so complicated that, for the agency officials and even himself, “it was like dogs watching TV.”

Several employees seemed consumed with limiting training for airline crews to fly the plane, a significant victory for Boeing that would benefit the company financially. In the development of the Max, Boeing had promised to offer Southwest a discount of $1 million per plane if regulators required simulator training.

In an email from August 2016, a marketing employee at the company cheered the news that regulators had approved a short computer-based training for pilots who have flown the 737 NG, the predecessor to the Max, instead of requiring simulator training.

“You can be away from an NG for 30 years and still be able to jump into a MAX? LOVE IT!!” the employee says, following up later with an email noting: “This is a big part of the operating cost structure in our marketing decks.”

Requiring simulator training can be costly for airlines and even after the crashes, Boeing told the F.A.A. it was not necessary. It was not until Tuesday that Boeing said it would recommend simulator training for pilots who fly the Max.

Boeing on Thursday expressed regret over the messages. “These communications contain provocative language, and, in certain instances, raise questions about Boeing’s interactions with the F.A.A. in connection with the simulator qualification process,” the company said in a statement to Congress. “Having carefully reviewed the issue, we are confident that all of Boeing’s Max simulators are functioning effectively.”

“We regret the content of these communications, and apologize to the F.A.A., Congress, our airline customers and to the flying public for them,” Boeing added. “The language used in these communications, and some of the sentiments they express, are inconsistent with Boeing values, and the company is taking appropriate action in response. This will ultimately include disciplinary or other personnel action, once the necessary reviews are completed.”

The messages outraged several lawmakers, who saw a disregard for safety and broader problems with the culture at the company.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, said in an interview that he would push for new congressional hearings to question Boeing leadership about the “astonishing and appalling” messages.

Boeing said that it notified the F.A.A. about the documents in December and that it had “not found any instances of misrepresentations to the F.A.A. with its simulator qualification activities,” despite the employee’s comment about “covering up” issues with the simulator.

Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the F.A.A., said in a statement that the messages did not reveal any new safety risks.

“Upon reviewing the records for the specific simulator mentioned in the documents, the agency determined that piece of equipment has been evaluated and qualified three times in the last six months,” Mr. Lunsford said. “Any potential safety deficiencies identified in the documents have been addressed.”

Mr. Lunsford added that, “while the tone and content of some of the language contained in the documents is disappointing, the F.A.A. remains focused on following a thorough process for returning the Boeing 737 Max to passenger service.”

The relationship between Boeing and the F.A.A. has been a complicating factor for the company as it works to persuade international regulators that the Max is ready to fly. Last month, Boeing fired its chief executive, Dennis A. Muilenburg, whose optimistic projections about the plane’s return to service created a rift with the regulator.

Stephen Dickson, the new chief of the F.A.A., has struck a more assertive tone in public comments about the Max, urging his employees to ignore outside pressure to quickly lift the plane’s grounding and telling Boeing that there is no set timetable for the Max to return.

In a meeting with Mr. Muilenburg last month, Mr. Dickson told the company not to make any requests of the regulator and to instead focus on completing the paperwork necessary for regulators to evaluate the update.

Last year, Boeing disclosed internal messages from 2016, in which a top pilot working on the plane told a colleague that he was experiencing trouble controlling the Max in a flight simulator and believed that he had misled the F.A.A.

“I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly),” the pilot, Mark Forkner, said to his colleague, Patrik Gustavsson.

Boeing did not inform the F.A.A. about the messages when the company first discovered them, waiting until about two weeks before Mr. Muilenburg was set to testify in front of Congress to send them to lawmakers. The conversation, which took place before the Max was approved to fly, angered key F.A.A. officials, who felt misled by the company, according to three people familiar with the matter.

After the congressional hearings, Boeing moved Mr. Gustavsson out of his role working on the certification of new planes

On Thursday, Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon who is leading the House investigation into the development of the 737 Max, called the newly released messages “incredibly damning.”

“They paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews and the flying public,” he added, “even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally.”

**********

Live Updates: Ukraine Gets ‘Important Data’ From U.S. on Iran Plane Crash

President Volodymyr Zelensky initially said the possibility that the flight had been shot down, killing all 176 onboard, “cannot be ruled out but is not currently confirmed.”

Here are the latest developments:

Ukraine and U.S. Discuss Plane Disaster

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday morning Washington time after he requested that the United States and other Western countries release the evidence that a Ukrainian passenger jet that crashed shortly after takeoff in Iran had been shot down.

Mr. Zelensky said in a post on Facebook early Friday that the possibility that a missile had downed the Ukraine International Airlines plane on Wednesday, killing all 176 aboard, “cannot be ruled out but is not currently confirmed.”

Hours later, Mr. Zelensky’s spokeswoman said the president had met with U.S. Embassy officials in Kyiv and received “important data that will be studied by our specialists” and later in the day he spoke with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

American and allied officials said on Thursday that they had intelligence that surface-to-air missiles fired by Iranian military forces shot down the Boeing 737 minutes after it took off from Tehran, headed for Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

The jet crashed hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles at American targets in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the leader of a powerful branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and was bracing for a possible American response.

Mr. Zelensky has pledged to get to the bottom of what happened, cutting short a trip to Oman immediately after the crash and dispatching a team of 45 Ukrainian experts to Tehran.

On Friday, Mr. Zelensky made it clear that Western governments, allies in his country’s conflict with Russia, had not initially shared the evidence that led them to believe that the Ukrainian jet had been shot down by Iran.

“The version that a missile hit the airplane cannot be ruled out, but currently cannot be confirmed,” Mr. Zelensky wrote in the post, before his call with Mr. Pompeo.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain both said Iran had probably shot down the plane by accident. President Trump said he suspected that the downing of the plane had been the result of “a mistake on the other side.”

An American official told The New York Times that the United States had a high level of confidence that a Russian-made Iranian air defense system had fired two surface-to-air missiles at the plane.

The crash of the Ukrainian jet has presented Mr. Zelensky, a 41-year-old comedian who swept to a stunning victory in the presidential election last spring, with the most urgent crisis of his short tenure.

“Our goal is to ascertain the undeniable truth,” Mr. Zelensky said in his statement on Friday. “We believe this is the responsibility of the whole international community before the families of the dead and the memory of the victims of the catastrophe.”

The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office issued a public request for help from Canada, seeking information from intelligence agencies about a possible missile strike.

Iran Denies Plane Was Hit By Missile

Iran has maintained that there was no evidence that the plane was struck by a missile and doubled down on that assertion on Friday, despite western officials pointing to intelligence suggesting the passenger jet was accidentally hit by a missile.

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization chief, Ali Abedzadeh, speaking during a Friday news conference, urged caution and said that nothing could be determined until the data from the black boxes was analyzed and said statements made by other nations were politically motivated.

But, he added, what could be said was that the plane had not been hit by a missile and was likely on fire before it crashed. He also urged nations with intelligence on the crash, namely the United States and Canada, to share that information with Iran.

“We cannot just give you speculation,” Mr. Abedzadeh said in footage televised and translated on Iranian state television. “So far what I can tell you is that the plane has not been hit by a missile, and we have to look for the cause of the fire.”

Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the Iranian investigation team, said during the same news conference that it could take more than a month to process the data recovered from the flight recorders and that the investigation could take up to two years. He also noted that Ukraine, France, Canada, and Russia have all said they are willing to assist Iran with the data extraction, and Tehran will send the black box to one of these countries if it fails to retrieve the data.

Normally, Iran has the capacity to download black box data, but Mr. Rezaeifar said that since the devices had been damaged, it would be difficult to extract information.

“We need special software and hardware which are available in our country, but if we fail to extract the data due to the damages of the black box, we will get help from other countries,” he said.

The black box will begin to be evaluated on Friday, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported, “to assess and check whether it is possible to reconstruct and analyze the information inside the country.” State television aired footage that it said showed the two black boxes that were recovered from the crash site.

Video appears to show Iranian missile striking plane.

Footage verified by The New York Times appears to show a missile fired from Iranian territory hitting a plane near Tehran’s airport, the area where a Ukrainian jet crashed on Wednesday.

As investigators work to determine an official cause of the accident, the video offered new clues about the crash, which came hours after a violent confrontation between Iran and the United States.

A small explosion occurred when what appears to be a missile hit the plane above Parand, a city near the airport, but the plane did not explode, the video showed. The jet continued flying for several minutes and turned back toward the airport, The Times has determined.

The plane, which by then had stopped transmitting its signal, flew toward the airport ablaze before it exploded and crashed quickly, other videos verified by The Times showed.

Visual and audio clues in the footage also matched flight path information and satellite imagery of the area near where the plane crashed.

Crash Could Open Rift Between Ukraine and Allies

The aftermath of the plane crash in Iran has the potential to open a fresh rift between Ukraine and its most important Western allies.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has already turned into an unwilling player in United States domestic politics as a result of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign seeking assistance in the 2020 presidential race. Now, he is stuck in the middle of an even more volatile American crisis: the conflict with Iran.

On the one hand, Mr. Zelensky needs Iranian cooperation to deliver the full-fledged investigation of the disaster that he has pledged to his public. On the other, Mr. Zelensky needs the data collected by Western intelligence — not to mention his continued reliance on Western support in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia.

“He could end up in a situation of being caught between two fires,” said Oleksandr Danylyuk, Mr. Zelensky’s former national security adviser, who resigned in September. “It’s a very complicated situation.”

Mr. Zelensky was caught flat-footed on Thursday when American officials went public with intelligence findings about the crash, and it was clear that the United States and its Western allies had not briefed Kyiv.

On Friday, American and Ukrainian officials raced to dispel any appearance of a rift. But Anatoliy Hrytsenko, a former Ukrainian defense minister, said that any recalcitrance from Western countries would create suspicions in Ukraine that they were using the tragedy as a cudgel in their conflict with Iran.

“Western leaders must give us these intelligence findings,” Mr. Hrytsenko said. “If we assume the worst and they don’t do this, then a big question mark arises: Is this really about determining the cause of a plane crash or is this now geopolitics?”

France Will Be Involved In Crash Investigation

France’s aviation investigation authority said on Friday that it had been invited by Iran to take part in the investigation into the crash of an Ukrainian plane near Tehran this week.

A spokesman for the authority, known by its French acronym B.E.A., or Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses, said France was getting involved because the jetliner’s engine had been designed by CFM, a joint venture between GE Aviation, an American company, and Safran Aircraft Engines, a French one.

“No further assistance has been requested at this point in time,” the spokesman said, adding that Iranian aviation authorities were the lead investigator in the case.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s foreign minister, did not say on Friday whether the country had proof that the jetliner had been shot down by Iranian missiles, but said that France was “available” to help with the investigation.

“Before the speculation, we must establish the truth in conditions of utmost transparency,” Mr. Le Drian told RTL, a French radio station. France, one of the signatories of the Iranian nuclear deal, is now trying to salvage it by acting as a go-between for Iran and the United States.

Anton Troianovski, Megan Specia, Aurelien Breeden, Melissa Eddy, Christiaan Triebert, Malachy Browne, Sarah Kerr and Ainara Tiefenthäler contributed reporting.

*********

Internal Boeing documents show employees discussing efforts to manipulate regulators scrutinizing the 737 Max

By Ian Duncan, Lori Aratani and Michael Laris | Published January 09 at 11:14 PM EST | Washington Post | Posted January 10, 2020 |

Instant messages and other internal Boeing documents revealed Thursday show company employees discussing efforts to manipulate U.S. and international safety regulators.

“Yes, I still haven’t been forgiven by god for the covering up I did last year,” said a 2018 message.

Another exchange between Boeing employees, from August 2015, closes out with this: “I know but this is what these regulators get when they try and get in the way. they impede progressw” [sic]

In 2017, a Boeing employee wrote: “this airplane is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys.”

The documents were released by Boeing to congressional investigators probing how the company’s 737 Max jets were certified by the Federal Aviation Administration as safe before two crashes that killed 346 people.

[Read the documents on website]

The communications “paint a deeply disturbing picture of the lengths Boeing was apparently willing to go to in order to evade scrutiny from regulators, flight crews, and the flying public, even as its own employees were sounding alarms internally,” said Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

At issue in some of the messages was whether simulator training should be required for pilots flying the Max. Boeing went to great lengths to prevent such a requirement, in part because it would be costly for its customers, company documents show.

On Thursday, Boeing said in a statement: “These communications do not reflect the company we are and need to be, and they are completely unacceptable.”

The company added that it had “not found any instances of misrepresentations to the FAA in connection with its simulator qualification activities, and we remain confident in the regulatory process for qualifying these simulators.”

The FAA said it had reviewed the more than 100 pages of documents and “our experts determined that nothing in the submission pointed to any safety risks that were not already identified as part of the ongoing review of proposed modifications to the aircraft.”

The messages underscore how important to Boeing financially it was to avoid simulator training for the Max.

In one November 2015 message, the 737 chief technical pilot, whose name is redacted in the documents, said failing to get computer-based training for one system “is a planet-killer for the MAX.”

In a March 2017 message, the chief technical pilot wrote several of his colleagues to “stress the importance of holding firm that there will not be any type of simulator training required.”

“Boeing will not allow that to happen,” the pilot wrote. “We’ll go face to face with any regulator who tries to make that a requirement.”

In another email chain, from June 2017, the chief technical pilot forwarded to Boeing colleagues messages in which he persuaded an airline, which is not identified in the documents, not to require simulator training on the Max.

“Looks like my jedi mind trick worked again!” the pilot wrote. “These are not the droids you’re looking for.”

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said “these communications suggest a troubling disregard for safety among some at Boeing and raise questions about the efficacy of FAA’s oversight of the certification process.”

In a shift Tuesday, the company said that it is recommending that pilots undergo simulator training before they resume flying the 737 Max. The FAA, which will have the final say, said it will consider Boeing’s recommendation.

The messages released by Boeing also show employees voicing concerns over deficiencies with a Max simulator. “Would you put your family on a MAX simulator trained aircraft?” one employee wrote in 2018, before adding: “I wouldn’t.”

Regarding the simulators, the FAA said “any potential safety deficiencies identified in the documents have been addressed.”

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groundtoairofficial-blog · 5 years

Photo

Because someone needs to start it, here we are: I'll introduce myself!

My name is Liv Mruck and I'm one of the two admins of this page.

Keiran, the other admin, will post his introduction aswell.

Both of us share the great passion of cars, planes and flying. So we thought: Why dont we create a page and share our passion, memories and experiences? 15Min later, this page was created. I also created a page for Instagram and Tumblr. If everything goes right, we may create a website.

Point is, you should get to know us a bit. Everyone hates reading so we did a little Q&A.

If you're not into smalltalk Q&As scroll down, I'll talk about my memories, experiences etc.

Q: How old are you?:

A: I'm 20, soon 21 and fully grown up. ;)

Q: Are you male or female?

A: I'm a female.

Q: Where are you from?

A: I live in Berlin, Germany but plan to move to the UK in the next 3 years.

Q: Do you have pets?

A: Yes! I have two amazing cats. Both are female and love cuddles.

Q:Which sports do you like?

A: I'm into soccer and iceskating.

Q: Do you have tattoos?

A: No, I never liked them on me but I want to get a little tattoo of a Cirrus SR22 on my wrist. Ops!

Q: What kind of music do you listen to?

A: Depends on my mood.

Q: Do you travel a lot?

A: Yes. And no. I didnt travel for a half year now. After my passport is done I'm looking forward to fly around Europe.

Q: Do you have a favorite City?

A: Thats hard to say, but I'd say Miami it is!

Q: Do you have favorite movies?

A: of course! Need for Speed and Sully are my favorites!

Q: Do you work? If so, as what?

A: I'm a butcher and a saleswoman.

That's the smalltalk Q&A. If you have questions, never be scared to ask me!

Now lets head to the interesting part about Cars!

Q: What car(s) do you own?

A: I own a 2006 VW Fox. Nothing special. But I'm planning to get a GT86 or Audi S3 Sedan.

Q: What is your dream car?

A: The Mclaren P1. Its my favorite car ever. I'm a Mclaren kind of girl!

Q: Where is your passion from?

A: I cant really remember. I loved cars since I'm born I believe. When I was 5 or even younger, I was able to name all the cars in my neighborhood. My dad loved working on his cars and I tried to help. Welp.. tried. I had around 200 toy cars and loved them all. I always cleaned them, named them and took care of them. Safe to say they were my babies.

Lets head to the plane themed Q&A....

Q: Where is your passion from?

A: As already stated, I loved cars from the beginning. I liked planes too and often visited the airport with my parents, but it really kicked in after my flight from Dusseldorf to Moscow with an Aeroflot A319 or A320. I was seven years old and everything was so amazing and beautiful. The uniforms of the crew, the sounds, all the tech-stuff, the view from above. Then it made CLICK in my head and I was into planes and flying. My parents took me often enough to DUS (Dusseldorf airport) and when I was like 10 or so, I went to the airport every weekend.

Q: Do you have a favorite plane and Airline?

A: Yes, of course. Although it isnt just ONE airline and plane, haha...

I really love the 737-800 or 737MAX8. GA wise, the Cirrus SR22 is my favorite. They are sooooooooooooooo cute... lol!

Favorite Airline is a tricky question. For hopping around europe I personally love Ryanair, For longer flights I prefer Swiss and for longhauls I prefer United Airlines.

(If you're interested, this is my Flightdiary account: https://my.flightradar24.com/LivMruck# )

Q: Talk about your travel memories.

A: Well, since I was 12 I dreamed about the USA. But my parents hated the US and flying in general. As a student i had a little job and flew around Europe. Like, Amsterdam and Vienna with Easyjet, Brussels with Ryanair etc. When I finished school with 16, my mom gifted me a daytrip to Istanbul for around 300€. She wasn't wealthy and I appreciate it still so much. I flew from Berlin Tegel to Munich and from Munich to Istanbul. Both on the same plane: Lufthansa A321 in the Star Alliance colors. (D-AIRW). And back from Istanbul to Zurich and from Zurich to Berlin TXL with Swiss, also the same plane: Swiss A321 HB-IOH)

After another ''tiny'' daytrips finally my dream came true! I booked some flights for under 150:

Berlin to Madrid with the Iberia Express A320, Madrid to Frankfurt with the gorgeous LATAM 787-9 and back from Frankfurt to Berlin with an Airberlin A320. The 787 always has been one of my favorite widebodies and it was pure joy to fly on one.

This was 2016. Remember my dream of flying to the US?

Yes... 2017, when I turned 18 in march, I was still an apprentice and really didn't earn much. I saved 200€ every month and booked my flights to the USA with a bonus I received. I saved a lot in the end and booked two domestic flights.

..October 2018: My dream came true. I packed my bags, my mom drove me to Berlin Tegel in the early morning. She hugged me and told me to take care of myself. After dropping off my bag and answering a few questions to the staff about my bag I already sat in the waiting area. My plane already arrived but only the nose was visible... a few moments later, I walked down the aisle and found my seat. Only one really nice girl in my age sat next to me and I had the best view ever of the wing of our United B763..ever?

Long story short, I arrived at EWR, waited some hours, took my plane to Miami. Spent 2 days there, took the train to Fort Lauderdale, took a Soutwest 737 to Orlando, spent some hours at the airport and flew back to Miami inside an American Airlines B763. When this journey ended, I took the Swiss 777-300ER back to Zurich and changed planes quickly to an A320 of Swiss which took me back to Berlin...

I'll post the whole story of this trip here for sure!

The last question: Are you a pilot? If so, what do you fly?

A: No, I'm not. But I really want to do my PPL. I look forward to it!

That's it. If you just read all of this: Thank you, really. Its just the start of our little page/blog and I really hope that we can deliver some good stuff for you!

-Liv

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hitoritravels · 5 years

Text

☆Japan Trip 2019 Day 1 Part 1: RE:Start☆

こんにちわ、ひさしぶり

...erm hello it’s been a while. Nearly a year and a half if I’m not mistaken.

It’s been...one heck of a year. 2018. I took a first step that was beyond my wildest dreams. And it only got more...wondrous. I met a longtime friend for the first time for an unforgettable night. I broke out of my shell and had the pleasure to meet and play Pokemon with people I had never met and they were some of the nicest people I had ever met. I got to meet the man who helped me feel a little less misunderstood in the world and tell him how much his work has helped me. And cried into his shoulders I even got to see a childhood hero sing right in front of me and sing a song that just...carries a lot of emotions for me.

It was something. Last year.

But it wasn’t all roses

I started to...fall back into bad habits. Old patterns started to show up again. I started hurting those that were just trying to help. Making decisions I knew would make me unhappy. Starting to choose to be lonely rather than be alone for my own good. Making the wrong people happy.

But I fought on. Because shortly after I returned from my last trip, it was decided that I would be returning to my happy place. The place where I took my first step. A place where all of my dreams came true and more. It was decided that I, along with some friends, would be returning to Japan for Spring 2019. For some of them it would be an exciting first time: they had never been so it was going to be something memorable. For others, it was a chance to try out things that they missed out on last time. And in part it was the same for me as well.

But it was more than just that. For me, it was the next step. It was time to see if I really had made any meaningful progress. If I had really changed for the better in any way since the last time I was here. It was...as odd as it is to say, a reality check.

And so despite a rough few months leading up to the trip, the time finally arrived. It was time to take off and return to Japan. Let’s a go-go~★

Popplio is ready to take off★ Prepare to see my friend more than once as he is my partner on this ride this time ^_^

...is what I’d be saying if we actually took off at that time Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑)

So unfortunately as soon as we boarded the plane, it was announced that the plane had broken down in some fashion. They tried their best at fixing it on the spot but sadly it just did not happen. So we had to leave and it was announced that our next plane would arrive five hours later at soonest. This made a lot of people disgruntled and at the time I wasn’t bothered by it. Oh boy was that a mistake in retrospect.

At any rate I had planned on eating the lunch provided on the plane but since that didn’t happen, we were all given basically free lunches by the airline a la discount coupons that basically covered full meals from pretty much all of the surrounding restaurants. So I ate, played some Pokemon Platinum (starting Piplup was a...mistake? I don’t know I’ll let you know as I make more progress) and eventually, despite the chaotic scramble, we were all boarded and ready to take off for Japan.

Ok this time for sure. I hope >_<;

Our...dinner? Breakfast? Time was a super messed concept for me at this point. being up for practically 16+ hours and running off of...maybe one nap. Send help x_x

But eventually, we made itttttttt

I did it! I made it to Japan! Things can only start getting better from this point on!

...and again, if only things were that easy =x

So let’s start off with something I realized the moment we landed: my lodgings were fairly far away. Like about an hour or so away from the airport. I had stayed with them previously so I recalled that they had curfew hours. Knowing that, I started to change over my SIM card that my favorite recommended to me and my other friends so that I would have data in Japan so I could contact my lodgings and tell them that I’d be running late.

Turns out the SIM card was not. I repeat. NOT. Compatible with my phone. No fault of anyone’s really, my phone and the SIM card just didn’t play well. Everyone else had a grand time with the SIM card so if you’d like to have a nice simple SIM card, delivered to your house prior to your travels, not to mention coming with a bunch of free boons, why not give it a chance? It was a shame it didn’t work out but now it’s all water under the bridge so all is well ☆

I immediately start panicking. It was around 11 PM, I’m still in line for customs, I have no immediate access to data (and therefore directions), the vast majority of all of the places selling SIMs and Pocket WiFis were closed, and even if I rung up directions, by the time I got out of airport customs with all of my stuffs, I would basically be catching the last trains the whole entire way until I got to my lodgings at approximately 1 AM.

Basically I needed access to train maps right away and I needed to not miss any of the trains I needed to catch. Otherwise I’d be out of luck.

Push came to shove and I decided to start roaming on my phone. It was a costly option but dammit this was an emergency and I’m on vacation. I have money to burn. Sort of. >~<

I hastily called up maps, navigated my way from the metro up to the Skytree line, and with the luck of the Gods, the stars aligned and as I started to make my way to the last train, I was told by a friendly officer that the last train I needed to catch was stalled for just a few minutes just to accommodate for any remaining stragglers. I thanked the officer and rushed my butt up the platform to a completely packed train. Running up the platform with no room to comfortably squeeze in, I thought to myself “screw it”, hauled my luggage, used it as a means of opening up space (and since this is a normal affair for Japanese subways, they immediately made enough space for me and my luggage, bless) and I was able to get onto my last train in time. I also managed to get in touch with the Manager of my lodgings and he told me he’d be up waiting since he was still expecting customers to come in anyway. Super blesss.

I pull into a familiar sight. Nisharai station. The last time I was here it was all unfamiliar territory. Now walking down those steps felt like re-visiting an old friend, and despite being in a rush, I still had enough time to really be in the moment. I was back.

After getting setup at my lodgings and quietly putting my stuff away, I sadly realized that I had no chance to really have dinner. Plus I was still fairly tired at this point so I quickly hopped into the showers and hit the hay. It was a very long day. But in the end I made it. I’m back in Japan. And it was time to start going down a very long list of personally important things that I wanted to do get to this time around

Good morning Nishiarai. It has been a long time my old friend★

Despite everything I didn’t sleep very well. A combination of jet lag and a general sense of fatigue that just wouldn’t go away no matter long I slept had me...groggy at best. Nonetheless, I somehow pulled myself out of my slumber; after last night’s mishaps, I was ready to make up for all of it. I was going to give myself the right start that I was hoping for since I got here. So after ordering myself my pocket WiFi from EConnect (bless their hearts they are amazing), I knew what the first thing I was going to do was. It was one of my more fonder memories from last time and this was going to mark the start of a good day

Kohikannn★

For this trip, I decided that I am going to try out more coffee places this time around. Kohikan really surprised me last time and opened my world to just how delicious properly made coffee could be and I was looking forward to seeing what some of the other coffee shops in Japan had to offer. But more on that later~

After having a nice hearty breakfast and a delicious cup of coffee, my next stop would be a Lawson Mini-Stop. Which is basically a Lawsons but smaller? I couldn’t quite tell you the difference to be honest. But at any rate my reason for visiting one is because....

How do I work this darned thing

This is Loppi. Long story short, the convenience store chain Lawson has a system where you could order tickets for a variety of events: concerts, sports games, cultural events, you name it. As long as you’re able to navigate the Lawson website or the Loppi terminal, you could place your order, input some information and a confirmation pin, print out your ticket, pay the price printed on the ticket, and voila: you have yourself a ticket to the event you wanted to attend☆ Sadly my reading skills were not yet at a point where I could confidently navigate the terminal but thankfully there was a dummy option of scanning a given QR code (which I had) and that made it all the more easier to get my ticket. A ticket for what was probably one of the most important and memorable nights of my trip.

Last year I went to go see MAMY live, one of, if not my most favorite Japanese band out right now. This year, the stars aligned and I was given the opportunity to see not one but two of my favorite bands live: SECONDWALL and AliA. When this live was announced I could not believe my eyes and while making reservations wasn’t easy, I still made the attempt: I wasn’t going to miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime

To be honest, once I had paid for the ticket I felt a huge sense of relief: I really wanted to have the opportunity to see the stars in my sky once more and have the chance to tell these people just how important their music was to me. Now all that was left to do was hope that everything would turn out fine on the day of the live. Now with that burden off my shoulders, I took off with a hop, step and jump towards my next stop☆

Last time I was here I made a memorable visit to Kiyosumi-Shirakawa on a whim and it was arguably one of the more memorable and important parts of that trip. I had however had after the fact that it was known for housing some fairly top notch coffee shops, and so I decided to try one of them out and see what it was like. But I there were also a few places I wanted to visit first, so it was time to get back to what I loved doing best

Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Park, right next to the gardens! What led me here (aside from the scenery) was....

Volbeat! This is one of the more odd regionals, currently only available on the East Hemisphere. Now to find some Farfetch’d and Zangoose★

There was a school trip happening around the main area. I didn’t stick around long so it wouldn’t be awkward

Snack time~★

After walking around the park and playing Pokemon GO for a bit, I wanted to revisit the gardens to see if any seasonal flowers popped up this time around (there was nothing the last time I was there; unsurprising considering that it was winter when I last visited =x)

Pretty flowers!

As always this place is beautiful☆

There was a bit of an early/late hanami going on here? There was surprisingly less sakura in here than I expected

Our water denizens! Also every black spot in that last picture is a tadpole. There were A LOT of tadpoles

A brave turtle majestically posing

Later days Kiyosumi Gardens! Until we meet again~★

As tradition calls for, I...relaxed and reflected in this garden for a bit. While I didn’t hit as much of a “eureka” as I did last time, I came to realize that despite all of my recent setbacks that maybe...I was a bit on the right path. I remembered what it was that made me happy and however heavy the burdens may be back home, I should not lose sight of what’s important to me and continue to try for what makes me happy in a meaningful way. Being here made me happy in a meaningful way. Changed me for the better. I had come this far: not just by taking the first step but also thanks to the support of my most precious friends and family that have been there for both of my happiest and saddest moments. I remembered what drove me to come here in the first place and how it resulted in me meeting one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever had the pleasure to encounter.

A singer who upon hearing her voice, hearing her sing...inspires me to get up and try again. And again. And while that may not be the deepest reason out there, music has been a very important part of my life, expressing everything I never could. Expressing my happiness where words failed and expressing my sadness when it was too hard to say anything.

And that’s a lot of the reason why I travel halfway across the world, to visit Japan: to meet the people whose music have helped me so much when nothing else could. To meet the people that inspire me, tell them how amazing they are and...maybe try to see and understand what inspires them to be the the way that they are

To hopefully tap into some of that inspiration and...someday hopefully become someone that can help and inspire others in a meaningful way. At least what’s I hope for (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵) ☆

Feeling a little more peaceful inside, it was time to move forward. For now it is time for coffee! But that part of the journey is best saved for a different time. There’s quite a bit more from that day to share so I will save that for a different time

Until then,

See you next time ☆

#Hitori Travels #Japan

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