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heraldshaka · 6 years

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Top Right: November 2013. Dear Journal, Its been a while so Im going to do a long update. Number one Dad is gone. Hes in prison cause he stole a boat, totalled two perfectly good cars, tried to kill mom in a drunken rampage and drunk driving. Honestly I say good ridance. Joel has a girlfriend now. Brooke WInn. I was pretty pissed for a while because she was the first girl I ever had a crush on and the first girl to give me her number. But after accidently seeing a picture of a conversation between them to (It seriously was an accident) I can see that she really likes Joel and Joel really likes her. As suspected now Joel has had his first kiss, date, and girlfriend. I’ve honestly wanted to do these things for a while largely out of curiosity but I decided to wait until I’m at least 15 years old. Speaking of age, I wrote a letter to my 30 year old self. Anyways my huge passion for the past year has been film making. Unfortunately I dont have the neccesary equipment nor a Job to earn some money but I think I want to do film making for the rest of my life. Me and Josh have been doing a lot of spear fishing recently but I am yet to kill a fish. Something I forgot to mention about Joel’s girfriend, another reason I’m not angry is because I decided long ago I would wait until at least 15 to start dating so I was never going to make a move but Joel did so It’s not like he stole her because she was nevermine. as of the rest of the family, Bria

Bottom left: is dating Thomas kreuser now, Josh is playing dating ping-pong with Lydia and its really mean. Lydia’s looking for something serious and Josh is a horn dog. Joel has a phone now and wont stop texting or calling Brooke. Josh, Bia and mom are rarely family interactive any more. Baylee still takes pretty much anything she can lay her sticky paw on but she is a bit more respectful. Jonah has becom “that little brother”., The kind you NEVER want around friends. Something applicable to all the little kids is that their absolutely disgusting and bossy. Brenna is pretty disobedient but still not as roudy as Jonah or Brooke. Brooke is even more annoying as she was. Whinnes about everything, disgusting, STILL craps her pants and is insanely disobedient. As for me, I’ve fallen in love with music and film making. I take most of the house responsibility. I try to keep it clean and in control but usually end up just hiding out in my bedroom when ever I get a chance. I don’t play much video games any more. Over the past year I have matured a lot but I can rarely noticibly show it because to all my friends I’m the funny guy which is usually fine but sometimes I really wish I could just open up. I got to the farmer’s market alot now and now Jesse is my best friend. He’s very funny, honest, trustworthy. Which I can truly respect and I can’t say yo pretty much any of my friends. Me and Josh work out now so thats cool. But stil I spend most of my time listening to music and thinking about filming.

Bottom Right: Christmas is in a month and a half and if I could get just one peice of film equipment I need to start I would be happy. There is nothing I currently want more than to start filming and directing videos. I’ve done some drawings which I’m a little bit proud of, but I’ve also thought up this big animated TV series. Like the next Avatar: The last airbender which is my favorite TV series ever. I was thinking about having three nations and one kind of secret nation. The protagonist is a young teenageer I haven’t thought up a good name yet but hafter his entire family is killed a few years before due to the war between teh three main nations, he sets out for revenge on the people, specifically everyone who was in that squadron who killed his family, he begin’s to learn the powers of one of the nations the ncomes upon a clue suggesting that the powers of each nation which are believed to be a birth right to only some people of their nation, can actually be learned by anyone. Throughtout the rest of his Journey he comes across a new companion of each nation and begins to learn each of the powers which are Light which is used by a peolpe of monks, Necrocity like using darkness or even the dead as weapons and Nature. The power of having control over living plants and sometimes even subdue animals. Theres a lot more to it that I’m not going to get into so I’m signing out for now.

Left: Nov, 2013. Dear Journal. Today I’m going to go very in depth about something I haven’t told anyone. Joel’s girlfriend, Brooke Winn. I REALLY like her. In my last entry I said it didn’t bother me anymore but it does. I know I said I wont even try to get a girlfriend until I’m at least fifteen and I stand by it. But yesterday she came over to our house for 6 hours right after she hung out with us at the market an I saw first hand how much they care about one another and they really do. But it sucks for me because I still really like her. Plus I met her first, got her number first and I still remember so much about her. Her birthday is in march, her favorite movie is Clockwork Orange, she’s a vegetarian because her brother dared her to do it for a few months and she just went with it after that, she likes Avatar and Pewdiepie just like me, she wants to go into the navy when she’s older, her favorite video game is League of Legends. Also without me, Joel and her might never have met. I remember all this and some more because for a while I kinda thought we had something special. Now shes dating my brother and I may never know if we did. Last night was the worst night of my life because I spent all night avoiding the girl of my dreams because shes dating my brother. Is it just a little crush that will blow away eventually? Maybe. but when I’m around her, when I read some of the things her and Joel say to eachother, it feels like a lot more than a silly crush.

Left: Dec 3, 2013. Dear Journal, well I have obtained some very shocking information. Whilst Joel was playing League of Legends he tabbed out to face book where he had been messaging Brooke Winn and I noted she said “I love you too.” As said before, I really like Brooke in more than a friendly way and I promised myself I wont try to get a girlfriend until I’m minimum 15. Probably not until I have my license but I can’t help but wonder “Did she ever have feelings for me?” Because I taught her how to dance, she gave me her number. The swing after we spent nearly 2 hours just talking and dancing. Obviously I never made a move but I always had feelings for her. It’s very possible that she was waiting for me to make a move and got impatient. That almost happened to Joel but he made a move and now They’re in love and I wonder “What if?” What if I made a move? Would we be dating now or would she have turned me down and then we’d be akward acquantices? I can’t help but wonder.

Right: Dec 14, 2013. Dear Journal, Today we have Brooke and Thomas over (Bria and Tom are dating) for this tree decoration crap and I realize its getting easier for me to be around Brooke Winn. I still have feelings for her but due to my resistance I can be a little easier around her. But it’s still pretty weird because Joel knows I like/liked her so we rarely get to talk Just me and her. And when we do its hard for me to think of a conversation topic because all I can think of around her is the fact shes dating my Brother! It sucks so badly especially beecause I do still like her and she is DATING MY BROTHER! Its a terrible feeling but one I’m going to have to live with. Part 2. Well I have concluded Dec 14 2013 and it sucks. Yesterday was cool but today I spent 3hrs at a parade. But is that enough? Oh no! Throughout that time I simply stood idly by while Joel and Brooke continuosly made out and cuddled throughout that time. Thomas hasn’t turned into a fag due to his relationship like Joel which is good so we hang out a good bit but it still ended with me as a 5th wheel.

#Journal #journaling #art journal #art journaling #original #original writing #notebook #notebooks #growing up #spilled ink #heartbreak #2013

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skymoonandstardust · 7 years

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Tom Hiddleston Confessing his love

anon asked: would you ever do a sequel to TH Falling in Love with You where he finally asks you out when he hears an interview on tv about you crushing on him. please and thank you

An: Thank you so much for asking for this anon-- I loved writing it and it was a great idea! also, I've gotta thank @fangirl-who-dreams again for getting me started on this tom hiddlston headcanon series.

So, obviously everyone and their neighbor knew Tom loved you-- but you didn't

you had a massive crush on him and had seen every single one of his movies.

It was a dream to work with him but you never thought or dared to hope that it would actually happen-- I mean, why would it?

Now you were a pretty good actress and had starred in tons of movies. you were practically a household name but you knew those things alone wouldn't justify marvel or any company giving you a chance to star with him and you didn't expect them to.

So you just about fainted when marvel approached you and asked if you would be willing to play a role in the next Thor movie.

It took all your willpower not to SCREAM YES OR GO RUNNING UP AND DOWN THE BLOCK SHOUTING THE NEWS TO EVERYBODY YOU SAW.

When you calmed down enough to form words you told them yes without hesitating-- it didn't really matter what the part was. it was in a marvel movie and you'd get a chance to meet Tom so you didn't care, anything would be good.

seriously, They could have casted you as boulder number three and you wouldn't complain.

when you find out exactly who you're going to be playing you just about died cause it was this character named Sigyn who was going to be Loki's love interest (and eventual wife as marvel tells you on the down low)

You have no idea how you're going to handle filming the movie and working so close with Tom without letting your crush slip-- but by some miracle you do.

FINALLY The shooting is done and now you're faced with a new challenging horror-- interviews.

You're dreading them because you've been lucky so far but you're almost sure that you're going to let something slip. . .

Months go by

It's about two weeks before the release of the movie and you've made it through plenty of interviews alright--- no spoilers leaked thankfully or crush secrets spilled and you've only got two more left to do.

Obviously on the day you're kind of nervous, right up to the moment you step on camera and the questions start.

The conversation's going fine and you've managed to doge two or three bullets already . . . and then you slip up.

It was a stupid accident really. it went something like this

"So, Y/N you must have loved working with Tom."

"Yeah. I mean, have you seen his face? do you know him at all-- of course I did!" you try to pass it off as lighthearted and kind of joking.

obviously most of them take it that way cause everyone in the audience and even the interviewer laugh but as soon as he asks the next question you know that the guy saw right though you-- or at least wasn't letting it go that easy.

"So does that mean there is something going on between you two? --cause if there is I can tell you it would be making tons of your fans happy-- including me."

You laugh and say "No" and kind of under your breathe you add "I wish. . ." you mean to say it to yourself but you were talking a little louder then you thought and the mike picked it up. . .so everybody ends up hearing.

As soon as you realize the mistake you want to take your words back, disappear or bolt off the stage but it's too late cause there's gasps and applause from the audience and the interviewer is smiling at you like he won the lottery.

When the noise finally subsides the interviewer immediately fires off another question "it sounds like you've got a little crush on him. . ."

Pushing aside all the humiliation and embarrassment you force out a chuckle "Guilty as charged. . . but can you really blame me?"

It's the interviewers turn to chuckle "No, no I can't-- and speaking of your crush we've got a little video that your friend Chris Heimsworth gave to to us when he was here last week where you talk about Tom."

You freeze for half a second and your heart stops cause you know exactly what you're going to see and hear cause you remember the conversation.

It wasn't hard to figure out cause even though you'd talked to Chris about your little heart problem it was the only time that he'd had his phone out-- but it had just been sitting on the table, you'd had no idea it was recording the whole time AND YOU'D EVEN TALKED TO HIM THE DAY BEFORE HE CAME ON THE SHOW CAUSE YOU REMEMBER TALKING TO HIM ABOUT HIS INTERVIEW COMING UP THE NEXT DAY.

-- Big as an Asgardian god or not, you felt like strangling Chris right then.

Still you smile and blush and live through the most humiliating two minutes of your life as the video plays on screen and you GUSH about Tom to the live audience and thousands across the country who are watching through their tv screens

In that moment you just hope and wish and prey with everything in you that Tom isn't one of them.

Once it's finally over with you answer the last three questions as truthfully and quickly as you can

It's five minutes later when he thanks you for your time, the two of you say goodbye and you walk off the stage filled with relief--- and nervous down to your very bones.

You're expecting Tom to call any second and ask if it's true or joke about the whole thing--- but you still jump about three miles in the air when your phone does ring.

It's Chris's name flashing on the screen though when you look and it takes you less then a second to answer and start chewing him out.

Your interview was at 2:30 and it's 3:00 now so you head over to the hotel you're staying in, relax for a bit, get dinner and settle in for the night.

Or you settle as much as you can when you're thinking Tom is going to call at any second.

You do get calls-- but every time you look at the phone it's not him and you kind of feel sad and relieved at the same time .

Eventually you've talked with every single marvel co-star and cast member--- except Tom.

It's 7:00 when you hear a knock on your door.

You leave the show you were watching and go peek though the peep hole already half knowing who you're going to see in the other side.

And you're right

It's him.

Theres a second of pure utter panic before you get yourself together and open the door.

Your heart melts when you see how nervous he is, just standing there sort of shyly with one hand behind his back (but you can see the edge of the bouquet of flowers peaking out from behind him despite his efforts)

You both let out greetings in low breathy voices then he pulls the flowers out and hands them over to you

"Sorry-- they might not be your favorite, but there wasn't much selection at the airport florist and I didn't have a lot of time before my flight left."

You answer him as you let him through and into the room "It's fine, they're perfect."

The two of you stand there In nervous awkward silence for a minute before you speak up again "Did you leave as soon as you saw my interview?"

Tom looks away for a second all shy and mumbles out just loud enough for you to hear "Well, Yes."

He looks back at you and keeps going-- more confident this time

"As soon as I saw your interview I knew I needed to come and see you-- I had to know if it was really true."

You can't form words right then so you nod once or twice before you're able to speak "It's true, I've had a huge crush on you since we started filming, before then really if I'm being honest."

You expect a lot of reactions-- anything from turning and leaving in disgust to laughing on your face.

what you don't expect is for him to smile, shake his head and chuckle a bit before nearly whispering "Good-- because I have a bit of a massive crush on you too." then gently, oooooh so slowly, taking your face in his hands and kissing you.

When you both finally break away, breathless and reeling, wide smiles on both your faces Tom says "I suppose I already got my answer but, would you like to go out on a date with me-- maybe this Saturday at 6?"

You smile, feeling on cloud nine and hardly believing this is happening

"I would love to."

1. The forevers: @a-sea-of-fandoms @a-sea-of-fandoms @thatbasicnerd4life @docharleythegeekqueen @imadeangirl-butimsamcurious @scarlettsoldier

Marvel girls: @a-girl-who-loves-disney @l4life @kenziecole-green @padfootsiriusorionblackthethird

Tom Hiddleston: @escapingthoughtsandsecrets

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louder-than-love · 7 years

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Ok so @killer-buzz-queen, @fajantas and @shadowscollide tagged me to do this thank you guys! 💜 1. Nicknames: Dani California, Jack Daniels, Hagrid theres other dumb ones 2. Gender: female I guess 3. Star sign: libra 4. Height: 168cm/1.68m/5'6" 5. Time: 00:23 as I am typing this 6. Birthday: October 10th 7. Favourite bands: Opeth, Death, Slipknot, RHCP, Big 4 of thrash, seattle big 4 of grunge, led zeppelin, the doors, pink floyd, audioslave, black sabbath etccc theres so many 8. Favourite solo artist: Nick drake, elliott smith, lana del rey, jimi hendrix, i also love the solo stuff of john fru, chris cornell and eddie vedder 9. Song stuck in my head rn: nearly forgot my broken heart by chris cornell 10. Last movie I watched: Pearl jam 20 11. Last show I watched: welcome to gravity falls 12. When did I create my blog: end of january 2017 13. What do I post: bands, music, music memes, relatable shit idk 14. Last thing I googled: and rhcp cox in sox picture to send it to a friend I'm crying 15. Do i have other blogs: a sideblog 16. Do you get asks: yeah 17. Why did you choose your URL: i started to hate my old one and then I listened to soundgardens debut album named louder than love and i was like thats it, this has to be my new url 18. Following: around 1800 blogs 19. Followers: 900 20. Favourite colours: black, red, purple, flannel (i watched a gravity falls episode earlier and wendy said her favourite colour was flannel, and I was like... well that's my fav colour too) 21. Average hours of sleep: 3-7 it depends 22. Lucky number: idk? 13 maybe 23. Instruments: trying to learn guitar 24. What am i wearing: an ugly-as-hell light blue print tshirt + adidas sweatpants, I look like a stereotypical homeless person 25. How many blankets do you sleep with: what a question I swear, 1 26. Dream job: John Frus hairdresser 27. Dream trip: all around the world 28. Favourite food: i'm not picky; if there's nl meat or pineapple in it then there's a huge chance that I like it 29. Nationality: kosovo-albanian 30. Favourite song currently: any song that is sung by chris cornell honestly Thanks again for tagging me, I tag @laynestaly, @jementic, @escalatorwalker, @makedeathmybitch , @fru-strated, @way-beyond-wildest-imaginations anybody else who wants to join

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moveslikekeithrichards · 7 years

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Chapter 1 of my thing for brofessor andy (tw there's sui and death and shit)

[put under a cut for length, feedback below] [very awesome tho def worth looking at if ur into spoopy shit]

Same old, same old. I sit down at the desk and get to work, typing up the data collected today. My colleague comes in, “Do you think they’ll ever let us out of here?”

I nearly rip my hair out. “How many times do I have to tell you? Never. They put us in here and they’ll never let us out for fear of spreading the virus.”

“Maybe after the war,” he says, shifting from foot to foot.

“They don’t tell us anything, the war could’ve ended years ago for all we know. And doesn’t it ever bother you?” My words are muffled by the hum of the cleaning robots sliding up the wall, disinfecting as they go. My voice turns to a shout to compensate. “The fact that we’re trapped in here for the rest of our lives. Sometimes the self destruct button is tempting …”

“You’d use the nuclear place to blow us all up? My son and me are here as well. If you want to off yourself, go ahead. But don’t bring me into it.”

“Not a bad idea,” I say, heading to the bathroom.

…

No pills, no rope. Nothing. The building’s too secure, no roof to jump off of. My hand goes to my chin to think, and my stubble triggers an idea. I grab my razor and sit on the edge of the bath tub and close my eyes. I take a deep breath. The scent of disinfectant fills and burns my nostrils. I lift the razor and bring it towards my arm.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

It sounds like bombs are going off all around me, even inside my head. Everything fades to black.

…

My eyes open and the lights are so bright. The walls are practically made of light. Something hard presses into the back of my head. “If you do not cooperate, you will be shot.” A guy in uniform says. I say nothing. “Are you aware of what your research is being used for?”

“No.”

“What were you doing when we bombed the lab?”

“About to kill myself.”

“Why?”

“They don’t tell me anything. They didn’t plan releasing me. I was nothing more than a number in their equations.”

“If you work with us, and give you your research, we can promise you freedom and citizenship here, though you will be a traitor to Russia.”

“Deal.”

I sit behind the counter of my dad’s record store, scrolling through the news on my phone as a record on the counter spins and Tom Petty drones on about free fallin’. Something about a new disease, World War III is still going on, a new Avengers movie is coming out. There’s no customers; there’s usually not at this time so I consider leaving earlier. The bell on the door dings, announcing that I’m trapped here for another hour. The man says he doesn’t need any help and heads up to the record loft. My attention returns to my phone before the bell dings again.

A woman walks in, and her face makes my stomach twist. There’s boils and pieces of missing skin. Her eyes have a glassy look. “Miss, are you okay?” I ask. Her mouth goes through the motions, but no words come out. I begin the chew on the inside of my cheek, a nervous tic I developed as a kid as the woman ascends the stairs. A few minutes pass and I hear a scream. I get up on the counter and slide over and make a beeline for the stairs. I head up, taking two steps at a time. The man is laying on the ground dead, bits of his skin missing. The woman’s face is covered with blood and the skin of the man and she lunges at me. I grab a record off the shelf and start hitting her with it, but it does nothing.

I use the record to shield my skin from her attacks as I walk backwards down the steps. I’m down and I run to the counter. The monster of a woman bumbles and trips her way down the stairs and should take twice as long to get anywhere. I go over to the record player and rip the stick with the needle off and start hitting her with it. She lets out a scream, but it’s muffled and distorted and sounds almost alien. The warmth of adrenaline courses through me as I hit her again and again, somehow being able to avoid her attacks. She falls to the ground after several minutes. I stomp on her head until I’m sure she won’t be a threat anymore. The effects of the adrenaline wore off, and I now realized the fact that I got attacked by a monster. It’s fucking insane.

I exit the store and hop into my car. I drive home much faster than usual. My eyes dart around, looking everywhere to see if there’s any more of those monster things in or beside the road. I’m too busy looking for them that I run a red light. Sighing, I slow down and keep my eyes on the road. They play tricks on me and several times I swear I see something out of the corner of my eye. Finally I arrive home, any later and I’m pretty sure I would have gone crazy. It’s late and everyone else is asleep so I immediately head up to my room. I shut and lock my door. I bulldoze the messy pile of video game and band shirts off my bed and into a laundry basket and crawl under the covers.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

Damn. I’m going to die.

I glance at my alarm clock. Midnight, and there’s scratching at my door. The thing that tried to kill me earlier used its nails to attack. And there’s scratching at my door. I’m going to die. Logic tells me I should get up and find some kind of weapon. My instincts have me paralyzed out of fear. Breathe. Gradually I move my arm. Down to the floor. My fingers make contact with the tennis racket under my bed and grasp it, preparing to fight off the intruder.

Meow.

It’s not even an intruder. It’s my dang cat. I get up and open the door and pet him. After this scare, there’s no way I’m getting back to sleep so I get dressed and head downstairs. I did my hair and makeup much fancier than usual, if I’m losing sleep I can at least look good.

About an hour before the bus arrives I sit at the kitchen table eating cereal and watching the news. “Due to an outbreak of a new disease, all schools in the district will remain closed,” So I’m all dolled up for nothing. “Experts say the disease is contained to the state and airports are closing in an effort to keep it that way. It’s recommended you stay indoors and avoid crowded places to protect yourself from the illness. If you develop an itchy red rash, seek medical attention immediately as that’s the first sign of the disease. Now onto the weather.” Somehow the peppy newscaster is able to make even a deadly disease sound alright.

I decide to not waste the day like I normally would. I go over by the front door and grab the leash and harness that are hanging up by my coat. I pick up my tennis racket and some balls and make kissing noises. My cat comes running and I put on his harness. He’s all black and could easily be mistaken for a dog. He’s huge. 30 pounds of cat, no fat. We head out to the backyard and decide to take the leash off. He could get over the fence, but I don’t think he wants to. I ready my racket and pitch a serve to the wall, the ball bounces back and I hit it again. This time I catch it instead of hitting it again because I feel an itch and need to scratch my back. My nails dig into the soft skin of my arm and it feels delightful.

“Hey, Lulu!” someone calls from behind the fence I just served a ball at. It’s my friend, Jakob. He scales over the wall like he’s done many times and his eyes travel up and down my body. “Skank,” he snickers, referring to my short tennis skirt. I roll my eyes and throw a ball at him. “Jesus. I’m not here to look at your ass, I’m here to talk about the fact that there’s a fucking zombie apocalypse happening.”

“No, there’s not. You’re so gullible. It’s just a disease making people crazy or something-” I’m interrupted by a scream.

“Welp, I’m out.” Jakob says before going back into his house.

A waterfall of purple leaves drooping from the willow tree in the yard block view of the neighbor’s yard. There’s nothing on any of the other sides, just forest. I pull back the ropes of leaves to look. My neighbor lies unconscious on the ground. I quickly put Salem back inside and jump the fence. The elderly woman has a huge boil on her face. I nearly throw up. It’s filled with some kind of liquid and I can see something small wiggling inside of it. I forget how to move for a minute, and then my body catches up to my brain and I dial 911. I reach down feel her pulse. She’s dead.

The paramedics come, ask me my name and if I know anything about her. I don’t. They put her into the back of the ambulance, and as the door close I see the boil pop, and she bolts up, her eyes glaze over.

Then, a guy who can’t be much older than me comes up. Despite his young age, he has some kind of uniform decorated with tons of badges. “What do you know about that lady?” he asks.

“Nothing.”

“Do you know anything about the ‘outbreak’?” The way he says outbreak sends chills up my spine.

“I was in a fight with one of the infected people.”

“Any rashes, itches?” I shake my head no. “Fever?”

“No, I’ve been totally fine.” He grabs my arm and yanks me away.

I slap him. “I don’t care where you’re taking me,but Jakob’s coming.” He’s completely unfazed by the slap and nods his head.

my dude, my bro, this is excellent, i love the way u add detailed description that one can picture easily without running on too long & also how u use subtle things like the narrators possessions to add character. i esp love the bit with the neighbor its such a quick thing but v nasty it sticks with u 10/10

the only thing thats bugging me is the inconsistency with indentation at the beginning of paragraphs/dialogue but idk if thats just something tumblr did? either way very awesome super cool concept u got going here & v easy to read too w/o being overly simple (not that theres anything wrong with simplicity)

#death #unsanitary #??#submission

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mikemortgage · 6 years

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GM plant closings will hit parts suppliers far and wide

TOLEDO, Ohio — The sting from a major restructuring at General Motors and its planned closings of five North American factories in the coming months is putting thousands of jobs at auto parts suppliers at stake, as well.

While GM expects nearly all its U.S. blue-collar workers whose jobs are being eliminated to have an opportunity at relocating to factories that are adding jobs, that won’t be the case for many in the supply chain who make parts, drive trucks, work in warehouses and keep GM’s plants operating.

For most of them, there is no safety net.

“There’s nowhere to transfer. They’ve got nowhere to go. They’re just out of work,” said Dave Green, a union leader near Youngstown where GM in early March plans to shut down its factory that makes the Chevrolet Cruze compact car.

GM’s labour agreements guarantee its workers transfer rights and relocation money, but that’s not true for the wide majority of suppliers, even where the workers are represented by unions.

“We’ve been lost in the shuffle,” said Brian Shina, who lost his supplier plant job when GM cut a shift at its Lordstown factory in May, months before announcing plans to close it. “We don’t have any leverage here.”

The dominoes already are starting to fall. A plant that makes seats for the Cruze and another business that does logistics and warehousing work for GM in Ohio will close in March, too. Just three years ago, those two had a combined 800 workers.

Green has compiled a list of more than 50 other businesses whose work is tied to the Ohio assembly plant. But it’s difficult to know how many could be forced to cut jobs because many do work for other auto plants and industries.

Despite varying estimates, some economists project that for every auto plant job that is lost, three or four additional positions are eliminated. Research shows that auto plants, and manufacturing in general, create more spinoff jobs than other industries.

“That’s the bigger part of this,” said Green, who plans on attending President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday at the invitation of Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, whose district includes the plant.

Trump, who has promised to revive manufacturing in the Midwest, has been highly critical of GM’s announcement, threatening that his administration was looking at cutting GM subsidies, including for electric cars. It’s an especially thorny issue for the president, who won over a surprising number of Democratic-leaning union workers during his first campaign.

There’s still a chance some of the factories targeted by GM could be revived during upcoming contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union, which has promised to fight the closures. Those include assembly plants in Detroit and Oshawa, Ontario, and transmission plants in Warren, Michigan, and near Baltimore.

Suppliers closest to factories that end up shutting down tend to be hit hardest because they’re usually more reliant on those plants than those farther removed with a broader customer base, said Albert J. Sumell, an economics professor at Youngstown State University.

Workers at a parts plant in Whitby, Ontario, walked off the job in January to protest GM’s decision to shutter its Canadian plant while another nearby supplier plant announced it will be forced to close.

Many of the parts that flow into the transmission plant near Baltimore come from other states, including South Carolina and Tennessee, and some are delivered from Mexico and Canada, said Guy White, a UAW shop chairman in Maryland.

“There’s all sorts of suppliers. It’s huge,” he said. “We get stuff from all over the world.”

Other jobs that are directly tied to the plant are more likely to be in jeopardy, including those who supply its machines or sort parts, White said.

Those who study the auto supply industry say it’s too early to know the full impact of GM’s transformation away from cars to focus on trucks, SUVs, and electric and autonomous vehicles.

Some suppliers expect to withstand the potential losses from GM because they have made moves to diversify their customer base in the years since the Great Recession rocked the auto industry.

Jamestown Industries, a small operation that supplies front and rear bumper covers for the Cruze, hopes its efforts to secure new business will allow its Youngstown plant to keep going.

The idea is to add work in warehousing, logistics, and packaging outside of the automotive industry, said Lawrence Long, the company’s vice-president of development.

But the plant is down from three shifts to one and now is poised to lose its biggest customer. Melissa Green, who has worked there 14 years, isn’t optimistic and making plans to switch to a career in nursing.

She’ll be able to go to school for free through a state program that assists laid-off workers but still will need another job once her unemployment benefits run out.

What also worries her is what will happen to the older workers who are just shy of retirement age.

“A lot of them don’t know what they’re going to do,” she said. “Hopefully they can find something because they have to survive.”

from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2SlhHx9 via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

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furiousconnoisseurcomputer-blog · 6 years

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Learner drivers, what litre is your car and how much do you pay insurance?

"Learner drivers, what litre is your car and how much do you pay insurance?

pointless answering without telling me the litre.... i wanted to see the price difference

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://insureinfo.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr

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Car insurance issue(s). Please share your experience and help if you can. Thanks?

My car caught on fire due to some electrical wiring, im fully comp, and have never claimed before. But sneaky as they are, they have told me that they do not cover electrical wiring faults, which has caused the fire. But the AA who towed my car in has catergorised it as fire damage. Surely they must cover the fire damage. I took it to a repair centre near me, and have asked them to have a quick check, and they also say its fire damage and what not, this has been procrastinated for so long by the insurance company, (claims company rather) that i can't remember what the repair centre has stated. Surely, fully comp covers something like this? THEIR engineers have said that there was no further damage to the rest of the car, but can i trust THEIR engineers? A full check up costs a lot, as they would have to take apart the car ( i believe? ) When i rang up the lady at the claims centre, she had no idea what case i was on, she literally said 'give me a moment to read up on your case' for me, thats a bit pathetic. While speaking on the phone with her not only was she rude, almost shouting at me (as i pressed on further ) . She told me she would send the company policy booklet to show that electrical wiring is not covered, and a letter stating the case was closed and in detail what the whole case is about. A week and a half has gone by (she said couple of days) This is the most annoying thing. She was rude, unhelpful, unwilling to help, and just taking the pee with the whole thing. I just find it sketchy that the letter has not been made, and no further actions or anything has happened (i have also opened another case about another incident - no info .. still) . I think they are just hoping i'd give this up as they are so unwilling to pay out. This is the reason I have insurance. Whats the point otherwise? Sorry for the long read. I have no idea what to do now, can i take it to a small claims court or talk to someone in the city council to further my case? Thanks""

Do I need to pay insurance on a SORN car?

Hi if i declare my car SORN (UK) do i need to pay insurance or MOT?

""Can you suggest a good,affordable health insurance plan?""

I am an adjunct instructor at two colleges in Michigan. Neither institution offers health insurance for adjunct instructors. For the last three years I have been getting health Insurance through a postdoctoral fellowship. Now this fellowship has come to an end, and I am in desperate straits. I have heart problems and I need specials medicationss for depression and attention deficit disorder.What do I do?""

Car insurance for married couple!?

Hey there! My wife and I both used to have our own car insurances until a few months ago when we decided to drop hers and add her to my policy to save some money. She got into an accident the other day; everyone's okay and it hasn't been determined who was at fault yet. I was wondering if this is going to affect MY driving record as well considering that we are sharing a car insurance policy? I realize that our premium might go up but I guess I want to know if the premium would go up even if we decided to get her off of this policy and find her a separate one with another insurance company. Do insurance companies look at which driver and which vehicle (we each have our own car) was involved in the accident or does it all just go by the policy number?

Teen car insurance (I NEED HELP KNOW!!!)?

I'm 16 year old and i want to get an car insurance for on my own policy separate from my parent how much would it cost if my car was a 2005 Ford Mustand Gt and i was leasing it out.

texas insurance journal

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/where-could-i-find-average-us-auto-insurance-daniel-franklin/"

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trogersracing · 7 years

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Weymouth 70.3 Race Report

Last race of the season, I had a number of goals coming into his race of varying ‘importance’ but the main goal was to put myself in a position to get a spot for the 2018 70.3 WC’s in South Africa. Outside of that primary goal my focus was to build on my effort in managing my bike power/effort to push the pace on the run knowing that it was a super flat (run) course.

Per my usual weekend race strategy picked up the rental car Friday evening and packed up the car Saturday morning. I didn’t have much in terms of a pre-race workout so planned on doing the short bike/run Saturday between race check-in and getting into our Airbnb. The drive down to Weymouth was uneventful and we made good time I had found a good parking spot and set up my bike for a bit of recon. One aspect of doing race weekends in this manner is that usually my food intake on Saturday is really bad, between the drive and running around checking in/dropping off bike and such I never eat/drink enough (or at nearly the ‘usual’ time). So I had vowed to do a better job of that this time and factored a lot more time and planning into activities around eating.

Once we arrived in Weymouth I went and checked in, which was an incredibly quick process, in and out in a few minutes. Back to the car to do a quick bike and run to shake out the legs. I basically rode down the boardwalk down what I thought was the race course (turns out I was going out the way back in), but oh well…. I knew the course had some good elevation gain but the hill I encountered on my way out made me pause… if it was all like this Sunday is going to be a LOOONNNNGGGG day.

After a quick ride, put the trainers on and did a couple quick minutes around Weymouth for my run, course looked flat and fast. Back to the car and Carly who had been hanging out went and did her run for the day while I took Bruno for a walk. I went over to attend the race briefing and was able to gain entry but after sitting there for 5-10 minutes someone asked me to leave (since I had Bruno). This was pretty frustrating seeing as we were both sitting quietly in the back not disturbing anyone but if they wanted me out I left. Oh well… I tried. We went back to the car and I used the time to get my race bags and bike ready to drop off.

Once Carly was back we walked down to the transition area and I dropped my bike and bags off and checked out the swim start/transition lines. Water seemed cold, but flat and while the runs to/from transition looked long it didn’t seem anything terrible (and at the end of the day everyone does the same course).

Even Bruno likes a good pub lunch.

We walked back into town and had lunch at a dog friendly pub. Was a good meal and I felt pretty relaxed about how the day had good. I was really pleased that I had (somewhat last minute) checked on Airbnb and found a place much closer than the hotel I had booked. So we headed a few minutes out of town and checked into our place. It was a great little cabin in a camper van lot run but some fabulous people. Had everything we needed and accommodated us with the dog. We spend the rest of the afternoon just lounging about the place relaxing. I used the time to finalize my gear for the next day and a last minute chat with Brad on bike strategy.

We grabbed an early dinner at the pub across the street (again dog friendly, I freakin love this country). Had a good dinner and was home and ‘in bed’ around 8. Its hard to fall asleep so early but after a day of running around it was nice to know I was sorted and ready for the race.

The sea was angry that day my friends….

Sunday morning came quick and we were out the door at around 5 (which was a solid 30-45 min later than it would have been had we stayed at the other place). We got down to the parking lot, and found a spot. I left Carly and Bruno in the car to relax in the warmth for a bit while I did my last minute checks. Bike was all set, powermeter paired and hydration/fuel aboard.

It was cold.

Carly joined me around 30 minutes before the race was to start and I suited up. It was quite cold and windy on the beach break and the chop seemed to be picking up. The nice flat bay i saw yesterday had disappeared completely. I wasn’t particularly worried about the swim but I knew the chop wouldn’t help my already poor swim. Thankfully, after standing on the beach freezing for what seemed like hours the pro’s went off. I found a good position in the 30ish area of the starting line and waited my turn. This was the first race I’ve been in where they let groups of six go at a time. As we watched the pro’s head off we saw the women’s field head sharply off course due to the waves and wind, it was a bit scary and good to have seen. It made me nervous for my sighting but helped me know where to aim to keep on a straight track.

And we’re off!!!!

When my wave was finally called the six of us ran down the rocky beach and dove in, finally…. warmth!!!! I’d say that the first 20-30 seconds of the swim was the best I felt for the next few hours. As a little backstory here…. over the last year of racing I’ve noticed that about 300-400 meters into a race I’ll need to burp. Usually its nothing major but it usually makes me feel a bit better and I continue on racing. Its never a show stopper, and not something I’ve ever really given any thought to. So…. about 200 meters into the swim I’m starting to feel it come on. The chop is rough and you have to find a good rhythm with your stoke to not get bogged down. As time moves on my chest gets tighter and tighter, well passed the time I’d normally burp. That, coupled with a few poorly timed waves and competitors I’ve gotten to a state of near panic. I feel as though I cant breath, I want to tear my wetsuit off. I actually pull up for a second and scan my head around looking for a kayak. I’m considering pulling out of the race. This lasts about 1-2 seconds before I snap out of it… or basically tell myself to suck it up. (likely not the best solution). I push forward, not feeling any better. Basically it feels like I’m swimming with a huge guy sitting on my chest, I’m getting slower and more panicked. Then… at about 600 meters in I burp… well vomit is a better term for what seems like minutes. Instantly….. Instantly felt better, chest was free and I could breath.

Around I rounded the first turn buoy and was no longer swimming into the chop but along side it. Pace quickened immensely and I started to reconsider my race. I knew I wasn’t going to have a great swim time but knew that others were in the same conditions as me. I was likely down some time due to the breathing but not out of the race. The goal was to be in position to get a roll down spot which I could still do. The remainder of the swim I tried to reengage the race and keep myself pushing to maintain my position.

Well that sucked….

Once back at the beach I knew I was back in the drivers seat with the swim done. I was proud of myself for staying in it and pushing myself to get through an incredibly mentally tough race experience. Running up a stone beach with froze feet is NOT fun. I tried to focus on getting my suit off and getting my legs and feet to turn over as much as possible to get some blood back in them. Every step felt like I was running on stumps, once in a while you’d get a sharp pain as you landed on a piece of gravel. It was not fun. Into the tent helmet and number out and on, wetsuit in. It always feels like I end up spending more time checking my bag to make sure I didn’t miss anything than actually taking out or putting things into it…. always second guessing myself. Long, cold run to the bike and I’m off.

I can still hear my teeth chattering….

The day before I had picked up toe covers and arm warmers for the bike. While I opted not to put the arm warmers on in T1 but already had the toe covers on my bike (thank god) I skipped the arm warmers. Instantly my feet started to warm up and felt better though it took me a while for my arms and upper body to really feel 100%. I took a couple of quick hits of water and tried to establish a good cadence out of town. Brad had given me some cues for the bike section so I tried to keep those in mind as I managed the race. A bit of where the hills were, how much to push over the goal power or when to hold back.

Werk it.

The first 8 miles was a bit of uphill and then rolling as we headed away from the beach. Some nice roads through sleepy towns in and out of hedges. However, at mile 10 at the bottom of a hill went to pedal and nothing. Chain had come off! Fuck! If this was going to happen all day it was going to be a long race…. I was furious. A quick stop and was sorted. However, in that 15-25 seconds I was stopped it seemed like hundreds of people passed me. Not what you want when you going for place not time in a race….. Luckily my luck held the rest of the race and no more drops. With every race I love my Dimond a bit more, I’m still getting used to the bike and being comfortable at speed but I’m smiling the entire time.

With about 30 minutes to go in the bike I’ve caught up/or caught (I cant recall which) Andy Greenleaf. I raced against him (which is to say he won) Exmoor last year. So I figured one of two things, either he was having a total shit day and I’m fucked or I’m having a good day and still very much in this. I don’t recall passing many people over the course of the bike but by the time I’m with him I realize theres not many other people around us (good). The sun is now out and its starting to warm up. I’m glad that I was prudent with my energy and hydration early on in the bike and have been taking a chew every 10-15 minutes and over the bike worked through just over two water bottles with my personal chemistry mixture of Nuun and Precision Hydration.

Pulling back into town I feel good. While my bike time isn’t going to set records I held good power and given the elevation gain turned in a good time. I felt ready to go for the run. Back into T2, bike on the rack and running to the bags feet were again pummeled by the gravel on the pavement…. brutal. Helmet off, shoes on and I’m off. The run course was a three or so lap course so I knew I had about one lap to gauge where I sat in the lineup.

Likely thought: ‘Why do I do this to myself?’

I quickly saw the pro’s and a few AG’s that I recognized but couldn’t put an exact number on where I was. I knew to be a lock for the championships I needed to be 4th, 3rd would really seal the deal. After that I was betting on a roll down space which was a risk. I pushed hard the first lap, setting a good pace and trying to pick off some people while the course was still a bit open. By the time lap two started I had no idea who was in front or behind me and the course was getting busy. I kept the pace up, looking down at my watch trying to stay right around the 6:05-6:15/mile.

Kill me, just kill me now. (Also, the dude behind me looks fantastic.)

Turd dog.

By lap three the course was chock full, and having seen the turn off to the finish chute 3 times before I was desperate to get there. About halfway through my final lap I caught the lead female pro which I took as a hopeful sign of my own time. I kicked it up a final gear for the last half mile and put in a good surge to break free of anyone that might have been running just behind me. I’m not one to want to leave something to the last minute so always try and drop someone before we get to the finish as I know people always find some extra gas to sprint in. Its nice to end the argument before it begins.

Always look like a pro finishing. Pro photography credit to Carly.

Yeah, its that good.

A couple quick corners and I’m on the finish chute, line ahead, I over the line and check my time 4:31, a few minutes faster than my abysmal Staffordshire time. I’m not feeling good about my chances at this point. However, a quick scan around and I catch that Harry Palmer in the finish area with me. We chat as we walk back to the post race area… he’s won his AG… so maybe I have a chance yet! We walk back to the food area and relax for a few minutes. We chat about the race and our season as we try and give our bodies a chance to catch up and our minds to come down from the race. Its nice to sit a talk to someone for a few minutes after the race, when racing its just your thoughts… planning, strategizing, reminding yourself to push. Its nice to just shut that part of the brain off (or let it rest) for a short bit and just shoot the shit without prerogative.

After a bit of time there I head out to find Carly, she and Bruno were excellent cheerleaders (as always) and bore great news, I had finished 3rd in my AG! This was awesome, though I knew the results weren’t final. Someone could still finish faster than I or even worse I could be DQ’ed for some reason. I got changed and we went to get some lunch as we waited for final results. We knew that to make the roll down we’d have to stick around so we relaxed and had a great lunch while we killed time. It appeared that my 3rd place held so I knew I accomplished my goal!!

I’m not ashamed at all.

nor of this…..

Awesome bike, awesome day.

A long…. long… award session later I finally claimed my WC token and we made our way back to London. It had been a long day but it was great to walk away from the race (and the season) with a solid final result. It was a tough race, made tougher by the panic during the swim and the dropped chain. While neither of these issues would have cost me the race (or them together) the mental impact of having to deal with those in a situation where one wants a positive outcome is tough. You have to remain checked in and focus on your goal. I knew that despite a few moments of less than ideal conditions would not offset the months of training and preparation I had put into the race. I moved beyond those quickly, focused on what I could control and continued to push. I’m glad I did and the reward I received.

A huge thanks goes out to Carly (and the turd dog) for being the best cheerleaders, sherpas, photographers and race day enthusiast a guy could ask for. Bring on 2018!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Strava Legs:

Swim: 32:41

Bike: 2:32:03

Run: 1:21:03

Weymouth 70.3 Race Report was originally published on Rogers Racing

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andsotheadventurebeginsblog · 7 years

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Slaying Demons on the Autumn 100.

I sit here 5 days after completing the biggest physical challenge of my life to date with sore shins, suspected stress fractures, and a totally renewed sense of calm. I did it. I ran 100 miles in under 24 hours.

The night before the race I meet up with Dave, who is glorious, and we go and get some dinner and drink way more wine than any real athlete would even consider healthy. I feel calm. Nervous but calm. Tomorrow I do the thing I love doing the best. After fractured sleep we get up, eat and get to the village hall where the race goes out from. There are a LOT of men here. A lot. There are many people I admire, there are women that have run literally hundreds of 100 mile races, there are men who have done it in under 14 hours there are ultra legends and there is me.

Me standing here in a semi trance, feeling sick and feeling excited and unable to worry about my broken mental state because I have to achieve this. I get my number from Lou - a friend of mine from the online running group I am a part of. She is wonderful and gives me a hug and tells me how excited she is for me. I tell her I’m scared. Because I am. Then at 10.10am on Saturday the 21st October I take the first steps on a 200,000 step journey to running 100 miles. I chat to people, I try and hold my nerve and keep it slow. The pack thins out and it’s very slippery underfoot. My legs feel heavy and I realise I am not enjoying this at all. It’s fairly lonely on these runs. You get people that want to chat and people that definitely don’t. At the first aid station I meet Dan Barrett - he’s so lovely and kind to me. I wonder why. We’ve only met a few times. After 12 miles I bump into someone I met running Bournemouth Marathon - he remembers me - we exchange pleasantries and on I go. I’m really not feeling this today. I am 13 miles in and bored and already tired. This doesn’t bode well.

I get to the 25 mile mark in 5 hours. All on time. All as planned. I didn’t like that leg. I get my drop bag and get changed into a new long sleeve top and have a couple of sandwiches. I feel tired and slightly out of it. I feel a bit hopeless and lost. I get confused as to what I need and what I don’t. I try and do the change over as fast as possible and get out for the second leg. I leave my mobile charger and battery pack in my drop bag. I am an idiot. I am not strategising. It seems like SUCH a long way. I have 75 miles to go and I feel rubbish.

I get my headphones out and put on a podcast. The second leg is better - more forest and the ridgeway is beautiful. Theres technical paths weaving through forests and Kites soar over the fields. These are the trails I love - I feel like I am finally starting to get into my stride, but Storm Brian is on his way and he brings rain and 50mph wind that squalls across the open fields and makes the trails into wet wind tunnels. I nearly get blown over a couple of times but I feel stronger. I have fuelled properly. I love sandwiches. At the 37 mile turnaround point are kids in halloween costumes helping with water. They remind me of my nieces and nephews and make me smile. For the first time I know I will finish this. I’m on the way back. The way back to Goring village hall, to my beloved sister who is pacing me for the next 25 miles. It’s getting dark, I get my head torch out but the route is fraught with obstacles in the shape or tree roots and holes and I fall over twice - once into a patch of stinging nettles - once in a puddle. Classy. My phone runs out of battery. No music. My watch is dying - no mileage or time. I manage to catch up with the guy in front about 3 miles from the halfway point and we chat - he’s lovely and time flies by.

The village hall comes into view - another 5 hour leg. Right on time. And I see my mum and her husband and my sister and three of my best friends who have come to surprise me from London. I double take. WTF. What the hell are they doing here?! I am overwhelmed with love and joy but I don't think it shows. I am in a trance like state. They have come all the way from London to see me for nothing more than a few minutes as I hastily try and get changed and get nutrition sorted. That’s amazing. I can’t tell them how much it means to me. It’s so above and beyond I can’t fathom it. My mum looks a bit worried - my sister is very excited. My friends are warm and cuddly and drunk and I love them. I get changed, I get a hot meal I say thank you and then me and my sister are out, back out into the night. It is 8.20pm. I have been running for 10 hours and I have run 50 miles.

I’m walking as fast as I can trying to guzzle down my dehydrated pasta meal, trying to ignore the tell tale warnings my legs are giving me that I’ve run a long way. I have done this part of the route before. But in the daytime. Night is a totally different game. The ridgeway is exposed and it’s so windy and pitch black. The light from my head torch confuses me. We are running head on into the wind and it’s soul destroying. My sister is brilliant - she has fresh legs and bags of enthusiasm and I feel bad I can’t keep up with her. I am stuffing my face with as much food as I can but I’ve started to feel sick and tired. And then come the hallucinations. I can see people laying by the side of the road in the foetal position. My sister comments on the beautiful horizon. The beautiful horizon is actually a fence. I dodge things crossing the path in front of me - but there is nothing crossing the path in front of me. We get to an aid station at the top of a hill. It’s in a Luton Van because otherwise it would just blow away. I get coffee and snacks and a cuddle from Lou - plus the personal goodie bag she’s prepped for me that includes the all important mini bottle of jagermeister (I am a pro athlete). 4 Miles til turn around point so we press on - my sister is talking to me about everything and anything. We listen to music and start talking utter nonsense. Then we see the turnaround point adorned in lights but we can’t work out if we’re hallucinating or it’s real. Its 11pm. We are knackered.

A quick coffee then back down the ridgeway with the wind at our backs - it’s like a totally different night. The wind makes all the difference and now the stars are out and its very beautiful. We listen to Foo Fighters. We sing along. We’re trying to stay awake and running. We come across a huge puddle. This wasn’t here on the way out. Shit. We’ve gone the wrong way. It’s so dark and so hard to work out where we are. We retrace our steps and get back on track - we lose about 15 mins but I am determined to get back to the village hall. If I can get back there I can do the final leg. We come in at 2.45am. The last leg has taken 6 and a half hours. I have now run 75 miles.

I hug my sister and send her on her way back to my hotel to sleep. It’s now that I pick up my final pacer Lee. Lee’s pretty experienced when it comes to these huge distances and I trust him implicitly. He knows I am knackered. He knows I am confused and does his best to help as I grab my newly charged watch and some food and spare batteries and get changed for the 4th time. We set out along the Thames Path to Reading at an OK pace but now my legs have started to hurt. My shins are burning. I take some codeine and try and get through it. Lee is a dream and a nightmare. In doing his job as pacer, he becomes the single most important and annoying person in my life. He is making me eat. He is making me drink. I don't want to eat. I get pretty angry with him but he’s having none of it. I eat sandwiches, I drink water and coffee. We keep pushing forward. We’re breaking it up by running and walking but the walking breaks are getting longer and longer and I know I have to keep a 14 min mile pace to break 24 hours. We get to the aid station, quick turnaround and then back out into the dark only to find another aid station a mile down the course. Hang on. It’s the same aid station. We’ve come round in a fucking circle. How the fuck have we done that? Nevermind, on we go. Lee is so chirpy, shouting encouragement at the other runners who say nothing back or just grunt. I imagine they would punch him if they had the energy. It’s 4am and I am running through Reading. I am talking to the swans and ducks, I’m telling Lee his music choices are shit. And then we get to the turnaround point. It’s up some stairs. SOME STAIRS.

I grab a load of fruit and eat about 7 pieces of watermelon - the sugar and gels are making me feel terrible and I am just craving fruit. We head back out. We head back to the village hall for the last time. Its is not about 6am. Birds have started to sing and the end is in sight. Lee is doing a great job of working out times and how fast we need to go to make it sub 24. He keeps telling me I am 10th woman but I don’t care. I just want to finish. Then at about 7am it happens - the sky breaks and the sun begins to come up. It’s another day. I have to finish. I am in a lot of pain and Lee is still making me eat. We are walking and running and walking and running and I am using Lee’s poles because my legs hurt so much. We get the the aid station 4 miles from home. We zip in and out. I am on the way home.

The last 4 miles were such a mix of emotion. I knew I was going to do it, and everything hurt. My skin hurt. My eyes hurt. My legs hurt. I was very quiet but inside my head was raging. I had a little cry. I walked on ahead of Lee and had a little cry, I think with tiredness more than anything else. Those miles dragged and dragged and everyone we met along the way - the early morning fishermen and the people walking their dogs had a different distance to tell us… “Just 3 miles left” “it’s only a mile!” ARGH!

The one thing I won’t ever forget though, is the feeling that I had beaten the Demon. The Demon that tells me I am not good enough and riots through my head an stomach. That fucking Demon was beaten. Of course there are others in there but the big one was gone and I know I can beat them. I realised the extent of what I had done 3 miles from the end. I am strong. I can keep going physically and mentally.

When I came into the hall and saw my mum, when my sister ran down the last part of the path to meet me, when I saw how proud they all were of me, the Demon was beaten. 100 miles. 23hours 35 minutes. The Demon was beaten.

I am so happy to finish. I am so happy. My adrenaline is high and I pose for the pictures and get undressed and everyone helps me and I am so glad, and I put on my one piece and I step outside. I am shaking and I have to sit down because I think I might be sick. My mum comes with my things and puts me in the car like a baby. She helps me upstairs at the hotel and I just get in bed and curl up, all grubby and sweaty. I find a note form my sister which tells me how proud she is. It makes me cry so much because I love her so much and I am so proud of her.

I just want to sign this off with a thank you to everyone that helped me on this particular journey - my Mum and her husband Jim for their unwavering support. My sister, Janey Wise for her support and pacing and being the best friend and biggest inspiration I could ever ask for. The wonderful David Harvey for his time and patience and training and being brilliant (#withyoueverystep). Lee Stuart-Evans for his advice and pacing and force feeding of an angry toad (me). Tom, Abi, Amy and Lauren for trekking out to see me for 2 mins on a cold October night - thank you, I love you. Lou and Dan from the BBR group - thanks for all your support and encouragement at the aid stations.

This story does not end here.

TBC

#ultrarunning running mentalhealth runner ultra Autumn100

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leagueofawesomedudes · 7 years

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Week 7 Preview:

Welcome to the week 7 iteration of the preview written by the Squads’ southern-most member. While I begin to write this, I am struggling to come up with fresh humor to throw at you all. So this preview might be like TJ’s version of a marathon, I’ll only do half it. Although, If I put in half as much effort as solden has put into getting laid lately, then this thing will be longer than Sam’s sweet clean meat after seeing Jared as Han Swolo. Ive rambled long enough so we should probably slide into this weeks matchups like Holla slide into Robins boats, head first.

Matchups:

G-reg 3rd Leg vs The Brady Bunch

So after 3 years of not changing my name from the generic name given, I decided to switch it up. Why not name my Team after Greg. Gotta rep the 7th floor crew while we still can and Greg was about as reliable as Joe Thomas. Hadn’t missed a regular season game in 9, yes 9 years. So next year I’m naming my team after a player Sam’s team, that’ll fuck him over. Now, with Aaron Rodgers going down, G-regs third leg doesn’t have much left to stand on. But after numerous trade inquiries, a new QB will take over and its none other than Big dick Mitch. I square off against Doug this week. Doug is 3-3, that’s such a Doug Record. Doug certainly has some talent on his team, we’ll see if Kareeem Hunt can continue to over perform. Dez will prolyl have a solid game against SF, and Brady will put up numbers against Atlanta, So this one looks to Be in the Shady Bunch’s favor but I cant bet against myself.

So G-reg will show the Brady Bunch his third leg and will come home with a win. In the end, everything is a dick measuring contest anyway. Unless you’re TJ, and you always fall back on the hole big balls thing.

3rd leg>1 shade of grey

Jon SnOBJs vs Crows before Hoes

I’m not sure why Paul named his team this. Are you that big of a Crowell fan? If so, don’t tell TJ. I’m somewhat disappointed pot stirrin paul has been fairly silent this week. Of all weeks, it’s time for a little stirring to get Chads vein popping, as well as the one on his forehead. Going through the rosters this week I noticed one anomaly. Paul not only has one black QB, but he has two. For that reason, I pretty much have to pick team BJ. Team No Bj, is looking thin this week too. A team that once looked like it could catch more balls than Pauly on a Friday night, now just isn’t the same. With the news that Chad is going to start two tight ends and neither is named gronk, jimmy, or martellus, that has made this decision just a little bit harder. But since much of fantasy is due to luck and not managerial skill, which Sam has been proven the last 3 years, I will pick Chad. Despite him starting two tight ends, the only tight end Chad is interested in, is Paul’s.

Jon SnOBjs > Pauls tight end

Hollas Heavy Hitters vs The injured Reserve

I expect big things out of Matty Ice this week going against a weak Patriots secondary. Congrats to Holla for having one of the best looking guys in the NFL according to the research we did at Paul’s, Eric Decker. But Choll has Amendola, also highly ranked. Starting any player who plays the browns is always a good move, its even better if you can start two like Holla, Decker and D. Walker. Across the board, Holla has good matchups, Shady is even going against a weak Tampa D. I’m not sure if either of these managers drafted their teams, set their lineups, or even read this preview. I do however know Holla Bee-bopped and hopscotched around Athens for HC. Casey got in huge trouble from the old lady for being the vicinity of another female while in Athens. And Doug still has a 401K. Got a bit off track there, but so has Sammy Watkins who is one of Cholls wideouts. I continue to expect big numbers out of the rookie Fournette as well as Jordan Howard as the Bears ease in the Pretty Boy Assassin. I think this one goes to Choll despite Hollas favorable matchups. But who knows, even a broken clock is right twice a day, unless you’re Paul who never knows if its right.

Choll Sauce>Guy appreciates Robin’s boats

2 Gurleys, 1 Cup vs Aint EZ being Breesy

To start on a positive note, at least both of these teams are named after players who are actually on their teams. I mean anyone who wants to see a fucked up video should watch the 2 girls 1 cup video. I assume Sam watches it daily. This is a tough one though. I’m torn between hoping for a tie and Sam losing by the smallest margin possible on Monday night. And it’s actually very possible since he is starting captain kirk who plays on MNF this week. But on the flip side, Solden has been firing shots the last few days about getting this preview out so I kind of want him to lose too. I guess as the saying goes, you cant have your cake and eat it too. But I don’t like cake, so Ill have my cake and do whatever I want with it. Outside of Brees and Gronk, Soldens team is weak. Sam is down to Bell and Gurley and a bunch of average guys . So who knows. Both teams being 3-3 makes this a pretty even matchup. But I would be remise if I didn’t remind Sam that I may have one of the worst teams in the league now that ive been battered by injuries harder than Zeke punching his GF, that I beat you. I did my part to ensure you don’t get lucky one more time. But just like Sam on a Saturday night, solden won’t close on Monday. Sam will roll over Solden Harder than his hard part this week. Speaking of your part. If you invested the $25 per month you spend on your haircut, you’d have nearly $150,000 by the time you are 65. Just sayin.

Pussy Repellent > skinny Solden

Julio Tones vs Little Diggs

Speaking of hair, TJ is now the face of Just for Men. That’s a slippery slope bro. Once you start you cant stop. Is Dre into the mustache rides? she must be cuz i see no other reason to deal with that facial hair. TJ is obviously going through a lot of changes lately so we should be nice. He has a girlfriend, ran a marathon, and took action on a hairline that is running from his forehead faster than him running that marathon. So really this matchup is of the haves and have nots with regard to hair that is. Ive been pretty outspoken over the years on my feelings about Derek Carr and more recently Zeke. I really don’t like overrated players. Too much credit is tossed around in a game that is so reliant on the rest of the team and play calls. TJs team reminds me a lot of one of my favorite sayings: Big hat, no cattle. I really like little Diggs Team which is something I haven’t said yet today. He has studs top to bottom, even his bench is stacked. I am not sure how many of these guys you drafted or how you got them, but damn. Now it looks like there is quite a few guys who are dinged up on your roster so that could set you back more than you set Solden back the night you played video game till 930 before going out. Cuz the girls you meet at 930 are definitely your best bet at getting laid.. As I write this I got the message from Chad in the Group me about how much he is enjoying the preview. If only I had more time to tear part him and his jeans that are just alittle too tight I would. I hope casey pees in your bed right before you bring home one of those sculped lesbos.

Little Diggs drags sack on Julio Tones this week.

Little Diggs>Julio Tones

As we head into the weekend, I hope to see you all soon. Im sure chad is getting geeked up for Thursday night football, his least favorite version of the NFL but he’s a football guy so he has to watch it. I hope all of you who went to the jets game rather than come down to Homecoming had fun watching a former Browns QB shred us on a shitty team. I know chads little pecker got hard when he saw the snow started flying in Athens. You guys totally made the right decision.. Its too bad Jared isn’t in the league anymore. Theres some solid material on him. Oh well, his girlfriend probably wouldn’t let him read this anyway. But thanks for reading this far if you did. If not I’m not surprised, I know none of you can last this long.

-Snowman

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samanthasroberts · 7 years

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Sticky fingers: The rise of the bee thieves | Brett Murphy

The Long Read: Bees have become a billion-dollar business. But who would try to steal them?

The bees crawled up the thiefs arms while he dragged their hive over a patch of grass and through a slit in the wire fence he had clipped minutes earlier. In the pitch dark, his face, which was not covered with a protective veil, hovered inches from the low hum of some 30,000 bees.

The thief squatted low and heaved the 30kg hive, about the size of a large office printer, up and on to the bed of his white GMC truck. He had been planning his crime for days. He knew bees how to work them, how to move them, and most importantly, how to turn them into cash.

He ducked back through the fence to drag out a second box, Johnson Apiaries branded over the white paint. Then he went back for another. And another.

The Diablo Grande foothills edge the western side of Californias vast Central Valley. During the day you can see rolling pastures and an endless quilt of farmland. But at night, it is so dark that you are lucky to see your hand in front of your face. The thief thought there was almost no chance that a motorist would pass by, let alone one who would notice him.

Jerry Phillips, a night manager for the areas water provider, spends his nights zooming between pump stations in the foothills. He knows every farmer and cowboy on the hills eight-mile stretch, including a local beekeeper named Orin Johnson. Johnson, who had been hit by bee thieves before, liked to alert potential witnesses. If you see anybody in there in the middle of the night, he had told Phillips, it aint me.

Sure enough, Phillips saw someone on his way down the parkway that night. He quickly phoned the nearby golf resort, which has its own roving security detail on the hill.

After the thief loaded the ninth hive, he sat behind the wheel, with the drivers-side door open. The truck was far from full, and there were almost 100 more boxes behind the fence for him to choose from. That meant a lot of money. The exact value of a hive is not standard it depends what you do with them but nine hives can bring in about $5,000 in just one year. And they are worth considerably more in the hands of a capable beekeeper who can maintain them season after season.

Suddenly, a wall of white light hit the thief from behind. He froze.

A security guard stood next to his patrol cars spotlight, keeping his distance. The guard, whose name was Dre Castano, inched forward, wary of being ambushed. He thought there was no way just one guy had got all of those big boxes into the truck on his own.

The thief climbed out of the car and turned into the light. He stood there alone, his eyes glazed over and sullen. Maybe a drunk driver, Castano thought. He asked for the mans ID.

Pedro Villafan, 5ft 2in tall, and 46 years old. He lived 20 minutes south, in Newman, another little town at the base of the foothills. He looked flushed, half-asleep. But he kept calm and answered Castanos questions. Yes, those were bees. No, they were not his. No, he did not work for Orin Johnson. Yes, he was stealing them.

Castano, surprised by Villafans immediate confession, put him in ziptie handcuffs and walked him to the backseat of his patrol car. Less than 45 minutes later, at about 3.40am, Johnson pulled up to the scene, now lit red and blue. A sheriffs deputy had just arrived, as well. He asked Johnson to identify the bees and sign an affidavit committing to press charges.

The suspect wants to talk to you, the deputy said to Johnson, motioning to his cruiser. Do you want to talk to him?

Johnson walked over and poked his head through the window.

I made a huge mistake, Villafan started.

Of course you did, Johnson interrupted, trying his best to remain composed.

I shouldnt have done this, the thief said. All my bees died.

These are strange times for the American beekeeper. In California, the centre of the industry, members of this tight-knit community find themselves enjoying an economic boom while trying to cope with environmental turmoil. And now theyre dealing with a new kind of criminal: the bee rustler. Every year, at the height of pollination season in the spring, dozens of nighttime thieves nobody knows exactly how many break into bee yards all over California to steal hives.

Farmers depend on bees, but they do not keep their own it is too costly, too time-consuming and too painful. So, they lease their pollinators from the commercial beekeeping industry, a fast-growing, national trade that underpins American agriculture.

About a third of the countrys beekeeping operations, known as apiaries, are in California, more than the next four states combined. It is a $1.8bn trade nationwide, driven by roughly 1,500 apiaries, which own 95% of the countrys bees. (About 60,000 hobbyists keep the other 5%.)

It was only recently that beekeeping became big business. For most of the 20th century, American beekeepers were primarily honey manufacturers. In order to manufacture good honey, they sought out open space where their bees could forage. Johnsons father knocked on farmers doors all over Stanislaus County for decades, often with his son in tow, looking for land away from humans and other bees. His proposition: my bees pollinate your crops, your crops feed my bees. They squared the deal with a handshake and a case of honey.

So it went for decades. But little by little, high-value crops such as pistachios, walnuts and mandarin oranges began to take up larger swaths of land all over Central Valley. The beekeepers realised that there was money to be made in pollination growers needed bees and were willing to pay rental fees, as if investing in airborne fertiliser. Once crops bloom, bees scatter skyward in a mushroom-cloud formation before darting for nectar in the open buds; grocery shopping, as one beekeeper described it. As they fly around, each bee grabs pollen from one tree and sheds it at another, exponentially boosting the number of leaves, flowers and nuts.

Brent Woodworth tends to his bees. Photograph: Brett Murphy

From the 1980s on, commercial keepers supplemented their honey business by renting out their bees at $25 per hive for a single, month-long bloom. A large-scale beekeeping operation would have thousands of hives (in addition to producing honey in the autumn), bringing in money from crop pollination: cherries, watermelons and everything in between. Small outfits such as Johnson Apiaries did not have to worry much about uncertain honey sales any more. There was more than enough opportunity to make up their revenue in the spring.

Commercial beekeeping was honest, sustainable and relatively free of competition, but not exactly a business others raced to join.

Then, in the early 2000s, two things shook up the industry. First, the world discovered almonds. Thanks to global demand, particularly from Asia, the nut has taken over Central Valley, nearly doubling its hectarage to 370,000 since 2005. California produces more than 80% of the worlds almond supply today. The boom brought with it an unprecedented demand for pollination. With bees, an almond tree produces 70% more nuts than without. Bees, one almond grower told me, are as important as water.

Second, the bees started to die. During the 2006 winter, beekeepers reported losing anything from 30% to 90% of their hives to disease, an unprecedented amount compared with previous decades, in which losses hovered around 10 or 15%. (The average death toll has since levelled to just under 30% each year.) Even Johnson, a second-generation keeper with honey in the blood, finds boxes and boxes of dead colonies every winter,and has to scrape out the crusted nectar and tiny corpses.

What became known as colony collapse disorder a lethal combination of disease, drought, land loss and pesticide use brought the industry to its knees, forcing hundreds of keepers, unable to maintain their hives through the cold winter, out of business.

But those who weathered the storm have benefited from simple economics: the national supply of bees fell, while demand for pollination has since quadrupled alongside almond growth. This year, almond farmers paid $180 to rent a single hive. And every half-hectare requires two hives.

The surge in bee rental prices in the valleyover the last decade has brought with it an unsettling rise in thefts. In 2015, poachers stole more than 1,700 hives and those are just the thefts that were reported. Last year was the first time anyone had actually counted, but beekeepers and law enforcement both say that the crime is becoming increasingly common. For small beekeepers such as Johnson, a few dozen hives going missing just before spring can bring ruin. Worst of all, everyone knows that the heists are inside jobs.

New keepers enter the industry hoping to cash in on the pollination boom and it is they who often end up becoming the chief suspects in bee robberies. They sign contracts in the autumn, lose their hives to disease in the winter, then steal to make back the difference in the spring. People are trying to meet their obligations at our expense, one recent victim told his local paper, after thieves made off with $100,000 worth of hives. Theres no doubt in my mind it was another beekeeper.

The seasoned, generational, conference-attending beekeepers trust one another. They drink beer and eat donuts together. They loan each other hives and equipment. They even share trade secrets, such as recipes for artificial pollen supplements. They were here long before the almond boom, and their sons beekeeping is a predominantly male industry will carry on their apiaries long after.But the Central Valleys beekeeping fraternity believes that a growing number of opportunists are now entering the business.

They get desperate, said Dion Ashurst, who is the president of the state beekeepers association. And they go out and do stupid stuff. A fourth-generation beekeeper and repeat victim, Ashurst called them fly-by-night criminals who may understand the ins and outs of beekeeping, but are not of the community. Another keeper and recent victim called them the industrys misfits and neer-do-wells.

Now thousands of hives are vanishing, taken with alarming precision and coordination at the very time their owners need them most.Every winter, more and more legitimate keepers, struggling to keep their bees alive, have woken to find their yards emptied and their livelihoods in sudden and serious jeopardy.

That Villafan was even caught is remarkable. Thieves in the Central Valley rarely end up in handcuffs, let alone face prosecution. Witnesses do not drive by often. At 42,000 square miles, the area is vast and isolated, yet still connected by freeway arteries helpful to thieves looking to make a fast getaway. With the right equipment, know-how, and a buyer already lined up, stealing hives is easy. A truck full of bees boosted at midnight in Stanislaus can be unloaded in a Kern County orchard, 200 miles away, by the morning.

The state beekeepers association offers a reward for anyone who helps catch a thief. The security guard who accosted Villafan in January 2015 got $1,000, although the sum can be as high as $10,000. The association likes to address the issue in its monthly board meetings. Minutes from one session last year read: An attempted hive theft in San Luis Obispo, but the thief dropped the hive and got stung a lot, leaving the hive where he dropped it. Law enforcement is after this thief!

Detective Rowdy Jay Freeman a backyard beekeeper himself drives out to meetings, conferences, bars and bee yards to meet the keepers. Hunting down bee thieves is a frustrating job, given the dearth of evidence. Where dozens or even hundreds of humming boxes sit one day, there are nothing but tyre tracks in mud the next, said Freeman. There are no witnesses out there in the country. In three years investigating rural crime, Freeman had not caught a single bee thief.

But that changed this year when he got a tip two counties south. Jacob Spath, a young beekeeper short on his contracts after a tough winter, had backed a flatbed truck into a bee yard and made off with 60 hives. Two days later, Spath was negotiating prices with a broker, when a friend of the victim spotted the boxes, recognised the name, and called the police. Freeman arrested him that week.

Now the district attorney is looking to make an example of Spath by charging him with grand animal theft, a felony that carries a much higher possible sentence than ordinary grand theft. Spath pleaded guilty in April and could serve three years in prison possibly more, depending on the judges valuation of the bees. The specific penal code only mentions large animals, including horses, goats, cows, mules, sheep, hogs and boars. This will be the first time in the history of California that someone is charged with grand animal theft for stealing bees.

In 2015, rustlers stole more than 1,700 hives and those are just the thefts that were reported. Photograph: Brett Murphy

Most thieves share Spaths modus operandi: steal a truckload of hives, drive them a few counties away, chisel the label off (or gut the frames completely and burn the box), then rent them out to almond farmers or brokers. Bee brokers typically help connect large, out-of-state keepers with farmers in the Valley. They tend tobuy wholesale, and ask few questions about the bees origins.

Half the industry is built on handshakes with the farmers, one beekeeper told me, millions of dollars every day without a single paper signed. Beekeepers try to look out for themselves and each other. A select few hire private security guardsor install expensive GPS chips in every hive. Others hide cameras in their yards or make nightly rounds in their trucks. Most simply brand every single piece of equipment with their name, number and a unique registration code in the hope that a friend may recognise their name if boxes go missing.

But none of that does much good after they have been taken and gutted. And the law only goes so far.Beekeepers are often forced to do their own sleuthing.Last year, Joe Romance, of Kern County, went to move 128 hives out of one of his bee yards,only to find them missing. There was talk around town about a beekeeper holding meetings in a coffee shop, selling half-price hives to almond growers. Romance, posing as a farmer, went to the mans house and found something like an automobile chop shop inside a warehouse. Three men were cracking open hundreds of boxes, removing the frames inside and assembling new hives.

Another beekeeper, Brent Woodworth, rented a small Cessna aircraft and flew it three hours in search of his $30,000-worth of stolen hives, his eyes trained on the tiny square specks below, looking for his specific bright yellow lids. It takes a thiefs constitution, Woodworth told me last winter while we ate lunch in his truck and gazed out on his bee yard, which was home to about 3,700 roaring hives. Some ballsy people, Ill tell you. He grabbed a bee off the radio and gave it a flick. Stealing from somebody is just about as bad as it gets. I think its just the worst thing you can do to a man.

Orin Johnson is 68, with an impressive belly and a mess of white hair. In 1969, he came home from Vietnam with two Purple Hearts, a bum eye and a blown eardrum. He went to night school on the GI Bill, participated in the free love, Woodstock era, married that pretty girl Patti from his apartment building, and went back to work at the telephone company Pacific Bell for almost two decades as a dial-up technician before taking over his fathers hives.

He thrived for years after returning to the bee life, maintaining the old accounts and finding plenty of his own. With some 500 hives and no employees, his operation is relatively small, but profitable. He stuck it out through a national tracheal mite epidemic in the 1980s; through a flood of Chinese honey that crippled domestic sales in the 1990s; and, so far, through the bee plague of the 2000s. Its a tough road to hoe, he told me once, no doubt about it.

More than a year after he caught the thief stealing his bees in Diablo Grande at 4am, Johnson and I left the wood furnace in his warehouse where tools line the walls, sawdust fills the air, and a keg of beer waits in a fridge draped in mardis gras beads and old photographs and headed into the foothills for a routine spot check. When we got there, sunlight smacked the clearing where his hives stood in the grass, each airborne bee a dark freckle on the sky. We put on veils and walked through the boxes.

Johnson in the workshop where he makes and mends his hives. Photograph: Brett Murphy

Johnson gave each hive a gentle lift with his bare hands. His hands are baseball mitts, swollen and dirt-stained, skin cracked at the knuckles and nails. (On a busy day, he can get stung 50 or 60 times.) With each lift, he measured the weight of the honey inside: too light and the colony is weak and underpopulated, too heavy and the hive is overcrowded and the bees may end up abandoning it entirely. Johnson marked the light hives with a dry cowpat so he would know which to feed with sugar syrup later. Every now and then, he paused for a moment and leaned his good ear towards a hive, squinting through the veil. A strong hive hums deep like an engine. The weak ones are faint, almost a hiss. Others, completely silent. The dead hives got two cowpats.

Every beekeeper in the country stares down at boxes and boxes of dead hives each year. Since 2006, the industry has scrambled to repopulate bees quickly enough to match the devastating yearly mortality rates temporary solutions for a long-term problem. Johnson guesses that he usually loses about 30% of his hives right around the industry average. Keepers spread out the survivors, splitting hives by artificially introducing new queen bees, as well as medicine and protein supplements. Its pretty much like feeding them McDonalds, Johnson said.

Beekeepers tend to shrug at media reports about the mysteries of colony collapse. They know the causes of declining bee health, as industry insiders refer to it, and what has created todays hostile environment for their colonies. Its more difficult to keep bees alive and healthy today than its ever been, said Gene Brandi, president of the American Honeybee Federation. One major problem is overgrazing. The pollination boom has invited droves out-of-state beekeepers that compete for the dwindling forage land.

Bees need good nutrition to stay healthy and to fend off disease, which is often introduced by humans. Farmers constantly experiment with new pesticide sprays that can choke baby bees before they hatch. The hive is more of an organism, the individual bee more like a cell, said Katie Lee, a researcher at the Bee Informed Partnership. And every new airborne chemical can threaten those cells.

But the majority of scientists and keepers agree that the most pernicious threat to bees is the varroa destructor mite. It arrived in Florida in 1987 and spread fast. (Honeybees, an invasive species themselves, arrived in the late 17th century.) In a TED Talk from 2014, beekeeper John Miller called varroa a dirty needle that transmits deadly diseases like a mosquito. In the video, he flips a slide to show baby bees covered in ticks. Its really hard to kill a bug on a bug, Miller says, pausing for effect. But if we dont, were going to lose our bees.

On 7 January, 2015, four days after they met in Diablo Grande, Johnson and Villafan were together again in Stanislaus County court. Annette Rees, a rising star in the district attorneys office who handles the countys most violent cases, happened to be in the courtroom as the magistrate read out the charges. A 487, the penal code for grand theft. Beehives. Rees raised an eyebrow.

She approached Johnson in the hallway after the hearing. He told her that this was fourth time his livelihood had been stolen out from under him. They caught the first guy in 2003. He had gutted Johnsons colonies, moved the bees to his own boxes, and then tossed Johnsons shattered hives into a riverbed and he got off with only a misdemeanor. Rees did not want that to happen this time, so she asked to represent the beekeeper. Plus, she told me, it was a nice departure from the rapes and murders.

The preliminary examination was held on 27 March. Villafans public defender tried to have the charges reduced to a misdemeanour. He argued that his clients remorse about the crime and his record of good behaviour should warrant some leniency. I believe he was crying and stressed out about it, the lawyer told the judge, citing Villafans flushed face under the security guards spotlight. And him not sleeping a few days, you know, shows me he was extremely nervous and was unsure that he wanted to do something like this.

Rees was not buying it. This is an agricultural valley, she told the judge. Almonds are a huge part of our agricultural history and industry, and bees are critical for pollination of the almond trees. These were pollinating bees.

The beekeepers are already fighting the colony collapse disease, she continued. And to have someone simply go in the middle of the night, cut a fence, and make off with someones bee colonies is a very serious offence. We take it very seriously, especially, here in Stanislaus County.

On a working day, a beekeeper can be stung up to 60 times. Photograph: Brett Murphy

The judge maintained the felony charge of grand theft (stealing anything worth more than $950). On 12 May, Villafan signed a plea deal with the court: 120 days in prison,with restitution to Johnson, and community service afterwards.

After weeks of trying to reach him, Villafan called me on the phone one night, and agreed to meet in person. A few days later, I met with him at a Starbucks in the city of Turlock, California.

Villafan was waiting at the end of a long table, his hands around a cup. He smiled to greet me, but frowned when I took out my notebook. He asked why I cared about his story, his side of things. Its all in the police report, he said.

I was interested in what had happened in the minutes and days leading up to that night in Diablo Grande, I told him about anything I could not read in the public record. Ill tell you one thing, he finally said, and thats it. I scooched forward in my chair.

I was doing an investigation about why the colonies are dying. He said his public defender never let him make the case in court, but scientific research was the motive. I was short of bees because I was trying to buy bees, but nobody wanted to sell at that time. And the ones that I did have ran out.

He told me he had lost his factory job and decided to start a career in pollination. But first he wanted to determine if colonies were, as the news said, dying out at an alarming rate. I finished my research, Villafan continued. All the stuff that they say about bees dying and the stuff like that, thats not true. Theyre not dying because of whatever. If no one knows why theyre dying, then theyre lying. Thats like the mafia. You know beekeepers, maybe they want to keep the prices high.

On a warm afternoon in late July 2015, a few months after Villafan had been sentenced, Johnson made the rounds through a couple of bee yards in Diablo Grande, where he had come across one too many dead hives. He called up a friend and fellow beekeeper, Bob Renested, who breeds queen bees and sells them for about $20 each. Queen breeders are more common further north, but Johnson needed roughly a dozen that day. With enough care and the right maintenance, a beekeeper can take a single queen and build a full, 30,000-member hive over the course of a season. The keeper slowly introduces frames of unhatched baby bees and adults, who will mate with the queen to produce the colony.

Renested told Johnson to come on by, and that there was beer in the fridge. About 30 minutes later, they sat in the shade beneath Renesteds carport. Johnson had a beer can in his hand and a wooden crate by his feet, about the size of a lunch box, where 12 bees wiggled inside individual shelves. A crate of queens looks like a model building, each bee inside a flat of its own, no larger than a thumb.

Renested told Johnson that he was selling just two more queens today, and then he was done breeding for the season. A man had pre-ordered just two bees.

Then Renesteds phone rang. He told the buyer to come around back and headed off to his warehouse to grab the queens, leaving Johnson by himself.

A short man with square features walked around the corner. Johnson stood up and out of the shade to greet him. He cocked his head to the side and squinted hard at the buyer, who quickly darted his eyes to the dirt. Silence for a moment.

Whats your name? Johnson asked, incredulous. He doesnt always trust his bad eye, after all.

Pedro.

Pedro what? Still not convinced.

Pedro Villafan.

Johnsons voice climbed a couple octaves and he let out a burst of breath. You know me, dont you Pedro?

Villafan nodded. Johnson waited another awkward beat for him to answer the obvious question.

Well? Johnson finally yelled. Why arent you in jail?

Villafan had agreed to serve his time that August. (In the end, he was released on parole after 48 days. Its literally a slap on the wrist, Annette Rees said later. All that time and effort, its kind of disheartening.)

Renested returned from the warehouse and handed Villafan two tiny shelves, a single long, dark bee in each; no yellow stripes on them. Villafan paid the man while Johnson looked on. There stood the thief who, for Johnson, represented so much trouble and heartache and not just for himself, but for every beekeeper who has come across an empty patch of grass where his hives once buzzed.

Yet Johnson was not angry, or even worried.He just saw another outsider trying to break into the industry, maybe not a neer-do-well, but by no means part of the card-carrying club.

I hope those are for your bees, Johnson said.

Yes, came the reply. They are. With that, Villafan turned and walked away, disappearing into the valley.

Follow the Long Read on Twitter at @gdnlongread, or sign up to the long read weekly email here.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/10/06/sticky-fingers-the-rise-of-the-bee-thieves-brett-murphy/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/sticky-fingers-the-rise-of-the-bee-thieves-brett-murphy/

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bernicefitcpt-blog · 7 years

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My first Sprint Triathlon Experience

I could probably count on one hand how many times I trained for each sport event leading to the weeks that I put on that tight one piece. Not that I didn't take the training seriously, but that's what my time allowed for me to do. Just so freakin' happy that I did finished my first triathlon event.... AND LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! ... And gotta love those automatic PR's: 1:31:33

Morning of :

SETTING UP:Found a spot in the 2nd row of the racks next to a Brazilian lady #55 who looked like she knew what she was doing, and another nice lady named Brenda who helped me a ton! First, she did mention to keep a narrower space for myself in case someone wanted to come next to me. So i did. Then another lady came super close to my front tire with her stuff. She looked a little more nervous. And even Leanne, the lady who checked me in came by and said hi to me! She said she's been doing tri's since her late 20s and she’s now 60! You go mama! She looked like early 40s. Dang, I wanna me like that! So i'm feeling super NEWBIE status and I'm here looking like a lost child haha. I asked Brenda if theres a certain way she sets up her transition area and yup! Makes sense. Place it in the order you'll be using it.

Heres a pic of it:

Here are some things I wish I knew: Bring something I could step into to rinse my feet. Maybe a stool would help? Have my phone ready to go on my bike. Stretch your hamstrings and hip flexors with the ball and foam roller more. And a huge thing: having a running belt! Since i knew i had to run with my number on me, I took my lululemon fanny pack strap and attached my number to it. Brenda was the one who told me I didn't need to put my number on yet as I was practicing putting my pins on haha. So thank God i had that. Or else I would be fidgeting with it.

SWIM:

Training: Thinking back to my first time ever competitive swimming event at the Honolulu Triathlon (Sprint - 750m), it made me want to practice this more than anything else. I really thought this might be the hardest part for me during the actual race day. The last time I had am actually in person swimming lesson was when I was like 5? Lol so, I read my books (usually the most confusing bc I need to visualize everything), watched some YouTube videos, and observed swimmers as I went to Palolo Valley Swimming pool. After discovering this pool that was only 5 min from my gym, I went a total of 3 times to practice on my swim! Each time I would do at least 600m, just to practice harder than my actual race length. One time I got 700m in the 40 min I decide to swim. You don't realize how much of a workout swimming actually is! One of the biggest lessons I learned is to STAY CALM. In the midst of putting my body in a mild hypoxic state where you're not breathing as you normally would. "THE BREATH IS SO IMPORTANT" - seriously cereal! As a Yoga teacher and personal trainer that starts with talking about the breath and diaphragmatic breathing, I realized that without this, we are nothing! Well, not nothing, but we are more likely to get anxious and if so consistent, could lead to depression! No good!

Anyway, back to the swim training! I also swam in open water like twice only, but next time think I should do more because the ocean water vs pool water is like night and day difference. From the breathing technique to just the extra resistance you get from the thickness of the water, current, and waves, I'll definitely be swimming more in open water. Elenor, the nice older lady who's retired from doing like idk 20 or 40 ( i just know a lot lol) of triathlons, she said the same thing, especially 2 days before the race which was the last time I swam to train.

Day of:

Favorite part!! (Surprisingly!) I was probably most excited for this because I saw how working on my technique since the HNL TRI has worked for me!! As I jumped into the water to swim to the buoys to start, i started feeling a little like "sea sick." Never felt that before going into a swim. We had 3 min to swim to the buoys bc i was on the 2nd heat! (Go orange swim caps! Pink would have matched me but i wouldve had to be doing the relay. Lol i would mention this bc my color theme was black, grey, and bright pink haha) Ran into fewer ppl this time at the start. Thank God! Being kicked in the face and swam on my legs isn't a joy. Mma in the water anyone? Haha During the swim, I was just focusing on breathing technique and continuing to swim without stopping. OH! and making sure i was swimming in a straight line to my destination. I was actually done in what felt to me was a quick 12 min and 44 seconds. I still had energy to run barefoot to the transition area! Yeeee! Haha

TRANSITION: should have not messed with my phone and trying to put it in my ziplock bag to put in my back pocket haha. Oh well. Lesson learned! I will need to get one of those bike phone things. Also my bluetooth didn't connect to my phone and fitbit. But i put my phone and fitbit on for my bike and run.

BIKE

Training: I purchased my bike only like at the end of July from a guy that didn't need it anymore for super cheap in comparison what they normally go for. Thanks facebook marketplace! Lol! So i was told to get clips for the pedals and to get specific tri shoes. Went to the Bicycle Shop first to let them check my bike out. Turns out that my tires were extremely flat! I get one of these . I rode it for 3 miles before that around Kapiolani park to just get used to it. Also used for maybe only 2 miles at Lanikai. Felt normal to me, but hey... what do i know! I felt so accomplished just doing that! Went to Boca Hawaii to get those. I had no idea that i actually had to put the clips on the bottom of the shoes. Learned a lot from the chick who didn't even bike but helped me to pick out the shoes and clips. It was then i realized this is not going to be a cheap sport. $120 tri shoes, $55 clips. Then i checked out the biking gear. Got myself my tri one piece. The girl (forgot her name)told me ppl like it bc it gives less room for drag or something like that. I got the small so it was skin tight. Plus i thought maybe i would lose weight if i trained more. $150. Thankfully i got the friends of Boca discount.

Brought myself to Ko Olina to practice with my clips. I was told by a friend and also the girl working at Boca. "Yah. You're going to fall." And me in my head: “Nah. I know how to ride a bike.” Best believe, put on clip in for the first time. Then BOOM. Fell over on the side i put my one clip in! Even the Ko Olina security asked me if I was ok. Haha. Felt super comfy with it. Riding fast is fun! Just my butt hurts after a while sitting. Did 3 miles that day too. The next time i biked, ran, and swam at Ala Moana it wasn’t that far. My last time practicing riding was half the course of the actual. Went to Kahala area to diamond head and around Monsarrat. Learned I shouldn't stop when charging a hill. Had to test out my gears and go on a hill. One of the scariest parts for me is trusting all the cars around me to not run me over. Single lanes for a car and bike freak me out. I now know how a biker feels with cars speeding up next to him or her. Im like 1. Don’t fall 2. Don’t fall. 3. Don’t get hit. Thank God for helmets! Thankfully i didn't fall or get hit this time. Lol!

Day of: I learned so much!! Felt fast from my swim and ready to bike like a wild woman lol. Took long deciding whether to put my phone in my back pocket in a zip lock or int pouch. Big no no bc it cost me some time! Kind of slow getting my clips in the bike after reviewing some of the footage Rich uploaded of me. But once i was off, I was off! They had huge blue signs with black arrows which showed me where to go. One of the most challenging parts was avoiding the potholes on the road in the quick turns in the neighborhood. Here's the bike path:

My favorite part of biking was riding down the hill on kilauea ave. I figured out to change my gears on the hills which wasn't so bad dafter all. It actually felt faster than 46 min. The hardest part was going up Monsarrat. I'm so glad that we had the whole road to ourselves so we don't need to worry about getting run over. Cops blocked traffic every time they would see a bike coming. I was so glad to come to the finish line and see Rich there recording me and cheering. I slowly got off my bike because the inside of my thighs and upper hamstrings were done. It felt like i was coming off a long ride off a horse.

RUN:

Training: i would practice a slow jog after practicing on the stationary bike to "condition" my legs. This was not nearly enough to simulate how it would actually feel on race day but what did I know! I never biked more than 6 miles outside. Only about 14 miles inside on a stationary bike then to a .7 to 1 mile jog walk. Nope! Not like it!

At the transition: I put my Lululemon socks on, already had my number on from the bike transition, and put on my favorite Hoka running shoes. Put on my Lululemon Visor and BAM! I was off!

Day of: i haven't hurt that much starting a jog/run. To motivate me, the little girl who was 11 old passed me up with her mom! At first, i passed her but maybe into the first mile i felt soooo uncomfortable. I felt restricted so i unzipped the front of my one piece tri suit. Ahhhh... homer simpson status?! Lol Just wanted to get to the finish line but enjoying my last few moments of my first tri! When I ran, i felt like I could think more clearly. Talked to myself a lot to motivate myself. What was going on in my head?! Thought about how grateful I was to God for giving me these abilities to do a triathlon"Are you pushing yourself the most you could!?" I sped up. All the way to the finish line. Pretty much a sprint with my legs hurting already. Saw Rich yelling, and BOOM! Didn't slow down til I was past the finish line! At the end, i went to the booth to get my shirt - which was my medal. About 10 minutes later I saw my friend Milli and then about 20 minutes later I saw my brother, mom, sis in law, baby nephew, and their dog. It was so great to have them all there!

After: In about 30 min to 45 min I checked the scores. It said I placed 3rd. So during the awards, they called my age group (25-29 yo) and the 3rd place winner. It wasn’t me! So I thought, it’s okay. I didn’t place. Then they said on the mic, “In 2nd place, Bernice Aurellano!” I was pretty shocked. Came home with a cool successory too! Earrings! Check it out:

Definitely doing it again. Actually, just signed up for my next triathlon sprint this coming Sunday! Excited to see what my body, mind, and spirit are capable of doing this time around. To the Ko Olina Race we go!

Picture of my fam afterwards:

The traditional FINISH LINE photo! LOVE LOVE LOVE the feeling of getting through to the finish line!

Check out this awesome Video - posted on instagram @BerniceFitCPT and Youtube - created by my love, Rich!

youtube

Until next time.... I’ll tell you about my 2nd experience!

Aloha,

Bernice

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jimdsmith34 · 7 years

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WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: Fargo

The transition from big-screen to small-screen isnt an easy one to navigate. For decades, television networks have attempted to cash in on the name-recognition of hit movies to create a “sure thing” television series. Few have been successful. For every M*A*S*H or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there are far more Ferris Buellers Day Offs, Gung Hos, or Casablancas. Fargo is an exception to the rule.

Created by Noah Hawley, who is executive producing FX’s X-Men series Legion, the anthology show is the ultimate tribute to Joel and Ethan Coen’s unique style of storytelling in that it contains dozens of nods and references that Coen aficionados will instantly recognize, yet easily stands on its own as a one-of-a-kind accomplishment. Like much of the Coens’ work, including Fargo itself, the series is best described as a black comedy, but its also got elements of horror, drama, and sci-fimaking it a space where anything can happen.

Populated by the same oddly accented, seemingly-good-but-perhaps-slightly-simple kind of characters that made the movie Fargo so memorable, and quotable, both seasons of the TV show have focused on what happens when an everyday person accidentally stumbles on a crime. In Season 1, that everyday person is pretty much anyone who walks into the path of Lorne MalvoBilly Bob Thorntons pitch-perfect sociopath who might be fun to have a beer with. In Season 2, its a young coupleEd and Peggy Blumquist, played by Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunstwho get embroiled in a crime war when they try to cover up what any normal person would consider an accident.

Because the show is so densely packed with nuance, storylines, and characters (not to mention a dream list of actors, including Martin Freeman, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Oliver Platt, Adam Goldberg, Glenn Howerton, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Stephen Root, Jean Smart, Ted Danson, Bokeem Woodbine, Brad Garrett, Nick Offerman, Kieran Culkin, and Bruce Campbell as Ronald Reagan), its hard to give much detail without giving too much away. It’s better you watch for yourself, particularly before Season 3which features Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Carrie Coon, David Thewlis, Michael Stulhbarg, Jim Gaffigan, and Ewan McGregor playing two charactersdrops in the spring. Heres how to binge-watch Fargo. (Go Bears!)

Fargo

Number of Seasons: 2 (20 episodes)

Time Requirements: While dedicated binge-watchers could easily complete both seasons in a single weekend, Fargo is the kind of show that deserves a digestion period. Its so nuanced and layered that it can sometimes take a minute to connect the dots of the storyand because of that, watching just one to two episodes per night is ideal. Stick to a single hour, and youll be done in less than three weeks. Opt for two episodes per night, and 10 days will have you caught up and ready for Season 3.

Where to Get Your Fix: Hulu (Season 1), Amazon, iTunes

Best Character to Follow: Because it’s an anthology series, theres little character crossover from Season 1 to Season 2. As such, were going to cheat a little here and give you two charactersone for each season. Though Deputy Molly Solverson (Tolman) does Frances McDormand’s Marge Gunderson proud as an eagle-eyed detective, its sociopath Lorne Malvo (Thornton) in Season 1 that makes the story tick. Hes very much a nod to No Country for Old Men’s Anton Chigurh, in that youre never quite sure what his motivation isif theres any motivation at all. Hes brilliant and calculating, but can change personas in a flash and, even when hes acting psychotic, theres something oddly charming about him. It’s the kind of role that’s exactly in Thornton’s wheelhouse, and made more interesting because he embodies it.

When it comes to actors of a certain age, few can play the good guy as believably as Patrick Wilson, which allows his character, Lou Solverson, to bring a bit of calm into what is an out-of-control power struggleboth between two criminal enterprises and two competing law enforcement departments. But whereas Solversons character stays true to what we first see him to be, its Kirsten Dunsts Peggy Blumquist that gets to have all the fun (well, from an acting standpoint) in second season. Shes a young wife who is tired of living in the pastthough she doesn’t seem to live too much in reality, either. Still, flightiness and all, its hard to not to be charmed by her transformation from stuck-in-a-rut townie to self-actualized badass. Even though she makes all the wrong moves, shes still always able to see the positive. Both Dunst and Wilson received Golden Globe nominations for their rolesas did Thornton, Tolman, Freeman, and Hanks in Season 1and all for good reason.

Seasons/Episodes You Can Skip: For shows with smaller episode counts, we often advise against skipping any… before pointing out the weakest one or two episodes. Fargo is that rare series that truly does not waver in its quality. Plus, each episode is packed with information and forward movement in terms of the narrative, so it also requires your full attention. Sure, there are a few episodes that we can (and, in just a second, will) point to as standouts, but there’s not a single episode you should skip.

Seasons/Episodes You Cant Skip: If you want to start with just a single season of Fargo, you can really start with either one and not be lost. (Though its good to start from the beginning.) Because its an anthology, each season is a self-contained unitthough the stories are connected. In fact, it’s one of the few series that makes going back and watching the whole thing a second time a great ideabecause youll pick up on references in both seasons that you hadnt noticed the first time around. Which is a long way of saying: Dont skip a single episodeespecially these…

Season 1: Episode 1, “The Crocodiles Dilemma” You simply cannot watch (or understand) the first season of Fargo without watching its first episode. It starts out very similarly to the moviecomplete with a (fake) disclaimer that the events depicted within the show are all truewith a long stretch of snowy highway and a death. It introduces us to the main antagonist, Lorne Malvo (Thornton), plus bored insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Freeman), anxious police Deputy Molly Solverson (Tolman), who is trying to figure out why a man wearing only boxers would be frozen to death in the middle of a field, and single dad/cop Gus Grimley (Hanks), whose frightening encounter with Malvo sets the story in motion.

Season 1: Episode 4, “Eating the Blame” A flashback gives us some insight into how Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt)who Malvo is protecting from being blackmailed but blackmailing at the same timebecame the Super Market king of Minnesota. Grimley, struggling with the fact that he made a huge mistake by letting Malvo go when they first met, comes face-to-face with him a second time and isnt about to make the same mistake again. At the same time, Malvo uses his one call from jail to continue his campaign against Milos, and has roped Don Chumph (Glenn Howerton), a personal trainer and wannabe blackmailer, into helping him.

Season 1: Episode 6, “Buridans Ass” Recent widower Lester Nygaard, who Solverson suspects of killing his wife, slips out of the hospital to point the finger in another direction, while Malvo continues to torment Milosgetting Chumph to do the dirty work, then finding a way to cut him out of the plan. Solverson and Grimley join forces to try to get to the bottom of whats going on, but find themselves lost in the midst of a white-out with near-fatal consequences.

Season 1: Episode 9, “A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage” Its not a year later and much has changed for the main characters, but Solverson still isnt satisfied as neither Nygaard nor Malvo is behind bars. A chance encounter leads Pepper (Key) and Budge (Peele)whose reputations have been sullied and now have a lot to proveto Solverson, who shares her theory of what happened the previous year and gains their trust and support. Meanwhile, Nygaard runs into Malvo in the most unexpected of places and, feeling emboldened by a new life, decides to grow a backbone. Bad move.

Season 2: Episode 1, “Waiting for Dutch” Season 2 takes us back to 1979 with what seems like an entirely new cast of characters, until we meet State Trooper Lou Solverson (Patrick Wilson), the father of Molly, who is a crossover character from Season 1 (where he owns a diner and is played by Keith Carradine). Here, he finds himself in the middle of a war between two crime syndicatesFargos Gerhardt family and a group of badasses (Woodbine and Garrett) from Kansas City. As in the first season, an everyday couplebutcher Ed (Plemons) and hair stylist Peggy Blumquist (Dunst)find themselves in the middle of this war when Peggy accidentally hits the youngest Gerhardt with her car and, rather than call the police, tries to hide the evidence.

Season 2: Episode 6, “Rhinoceros” The Blumquists many bad decisions have come back to haunt them, as Ed has a price put on his head and is nearly killed when his butcher shop burns down. But Peggy, who Sherriff Hank Larsson (Danson) suspects is “a little bit touched,” sees this tragedy as a chance to self-actualize and start a new life. Reality sets in when Ed is arrested, and a couple of Gerhardts show up at her house. Karl Weathers (Offerman), the towns only lawyer, arrives at the police station (barely standing) to help Ed out, but it turns into a standoff with the Gerhardts demanding the return of their man, and that Ed be sacrificed.

Season 2: Episode 8, “Loplop” Having captured the leader of the Gerhardt gang, Peggy seems to be adjustingand even enjoyinglife on the run, with a hostage in tow. But, much to Eds dismay, the Gerhardts dont seem all that concerned with getting their man back, so he makes a call to the Kansas City guys to see what he can do. At the same time, the police are on their trail.

Season 2: Episode 10, “Palindrome” One wouldnt necessarily say that either season of Fargo ends on a “happy” note, but after much bloodshedand at least one UFO sightingthe war between the two crime factions seems to have come to an end. And Solverson can come home to his wife, Betsy (Cristin Milioti, who is wonderful) and daughter Molly (here played by Raven Stewart) and contemplate the future. The one that, if you watched Season 1, you already know.

Why You Should Binge: With so many popular series currently in their tenth or more season (see: The Simpsons, Greys Anatomy, The Big Bang Theory), its nice to be reminded that economy can be a good thing. The TV-watching world is catching on to that, as anthology series like American Horror Story have been gaining in popularity. Bottom line: Why spend 266 hours watching all of Criminal Minds when you can watch one of televisions very best crime series in less than a week?

Best Scene”Pepper and Budge on the Scene”:

Given the huge cast of characters, plus the various storylines in each season, choosing a “best” scene is damn near impossible. Lorne Malvo transforming into Pastor Frank Peterson when he’s being questioned by the police is what makes Thornton a one-of-a-kind performer. But one of the things that makes Fargo different is the truly innovativeand cinematicapproach it brings to television. Yes, weve heard this “cinematic” argument for many other shows, many of them deserving of what might be the highest compliment. But Fargo takes it to the next level; its regular use of split screen gives the viewer a birds-eye-view on everything thats happening (one camera might show whats happening in the front of a house, while another shows the back) and also provides a visual metaphor for what’s happening in the story (a split in the screen might indicate a fracture in a relationship).

In one of Season 1s most breathtaking moments, what could have been a gore-filled scene instead took a more subtle turn where the violence is heard and fully understood, yet not seen, giving the viewers imagination a workout. Its bookended by the comedic influence of Key and Peeles FBI agents Pepper and Budge, who always seem to get distracted at the very moment their jobs require undivided attention.

The Takeaway:

Albert Camus was fond of pointing out the absurdity of life, and famously that, “Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. And maybe that’s what gives us our joy for living, because the only thing that can defeat absurdity is lucidity.” No, thats not a lazy way of ripping off another writer in an attempt to summarize the seriesbut it could very easily serve as the show’s tagline. In fact, Camus even gets a couple of direct shout-outs in Fargo, including a second season episode titled “The Myth of Sisyphus.” Anyone familiar with that 1942 essay knows that its essentially a metaphor for the futility of life and the lack of control we truly have over what happens to ourselves and the people around us. And that the only way to combat the seeming pointlessness of it all is to embrace whatever challenges come our way and accept them as the path thats been laid out for us.

In the land of Fargo, strange things happen. Bad things happen. Tragedy strikes. There are deaths, and there are births (though the former far outweighs the latter). There are moments of sadness, and laugh-inducing incidents. And through it all, the series enormous cast of characters weather the challenges and persevere (well, the ones who live to tell the story at least), as they move forward and prepare for whatever life has in store for them next. Stated more simply: Thats life.

If You Like Fargo, Youll Love: If you haven’t seen the 1996 Coen brothers’ movie upon which the series is based, that’s your first mistake: Fargo the series perfectly captures the darkly comedic tone of Fargo the movie, which was nominated for seven Oscars (including Best Picture) and won two (for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay). Its about a sad-sack car salesman who hires some guys to kidnap his wife in order to get some money from his father-in-lawand its small-screen sendup is full of subtle nods and references. (Jos Feliciano, anyone?)

On the small screen, its really not hyperbolic to say that Fargo has sort of created its own genre. Which isnt to say that it doesnt share elements with some other series: Like Breaking Bad, its a look at what happens when seemingly “good” people suddenly find themselves on the other side of the law; the two shows also share a very precise type of pacing where the story unfolds in a way that keeps you guessingand watching. So it stands to reason that it shares a lot of the same characteristics (plus one Bob Odenkirk) with Better Call Saul, too.

For sheer strangeness and creating a world in which anything can happen, Twin Peaks is yet another kindred television spirit.

source http://allofbeer.com/2017/08/07/wired-binge-watching-guide-fargo/ from All of Beer http://allofbeer.blogspot.com/2017/08/wired-binge-watching-guide-fargo.html

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adambstingus · 7 years

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WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: Fargo

Fargo

Number of Seasons: 2 (20 episodes)

Where to Get Your Fix: Hulu (Season 1), Amazon, iTunes

Best Scene”Pepper and Budge on the Scene”:

The Takeaway:

For sheer strangeness and creating a world in which anything can happen, Twin Peaks is yet another kindred television spirit.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/08/07/wired-binge-watching-guide-fargo/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/163896384312

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