#can u hire again in May or June

[cartoon-skeleton]

Hometown library blease hire me when I graduate. I’m your guy. I bromise

[asfaltics]

attended to his letters; a course of reducing exercises

  or did you hear commentaries [     ] over the radio? I don’t have the time to do it. You don’t have time to do it.       1 and that, of course, you don’t have time to was taught the game       2   increasing the feed for / my dope, but you don’t have time       3 You don’t have time to investigate them fully yourself? No       4   It was hard work?   — Yes, sir. You have to be fast and do the best you can. You don’t have time       5 for nearly everything; you don’t have time       6   You don’t have time to bother about your neighbors, and you don’t       7 enjoy our own com . pany , as we never have any chance to see friends around home, for you don’t have time after and before       8   And in some cases wastefully?   — Not wastefully. Does not one involve the other?   — I don’t see it in that light. A man applies for relief. You don’t have time to see that man.       9 you don’t have time to spend one hour in thinking every day to see your business in a bigger, better, and cleaner way than it is today. [     ] desk covered with papers, unfinished business, no time to see       10   the “ticket” for large swamps. You don’t have time       11 You see, when you’re on the news end of a thing like this you don’t have time to get worked up.       12   “Well,” she said, “I suppose you are so busy at the office you don’t have time.       13 you are so terribly busy that I suppose you don’t have time to feel lonesome. Why can’t girls do something like that, too?       14   “How did you like it down there?” he asked. “Well” — she paused thoughtfully — “down there you can keep busy. There’s something to do all the time; you can keep so occupied that you don’t have time to stop and think and feel.”       15 you don’t have time to think of danger” But one foggy morning not long after...       16   today. always say you don’t have time to read. ward, like a girl       17 By the time he had days. When you’re busy you don’t have time to attended to his letters.       18   a course of reducing exercises, you don’t have time to think of that. I don’t believe I’m abnormal, perhaps I am, but       19 Well, I use two formulas; saying you “don’t have time” is part of the world of citation. Saying you “have time” is part of the world of translation. I think that the questioning typical of translation has always been absent in the plastic arts.       20  

sources   ( “you don’t have time,” all but two pre-1923 )

1 ex reporters’ transcript, April 20, 1959, The People of the State of California, Plaintiff, vs. Louis Estrada Moya, et al., Defendent, being part of the Transcript of Record, Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1960, No. 186, Luis Estrada Moya, Petitioner, vs. California on write of certiori to the Supreme Court of the State of California (petition filed June 9, 1960; granted June 27, 1960) : 200 aside — Google misdated this 1832; 1960 was outside of my search range. A well-known case (I was too young at the time to know it). Some sources : ◾ “A mother-in-law’s murder for hire scheme results in death penalty for all three participants” at vcdistrictattorney, in which this : “What made the case unique? The hired killers testified against Mrs. Duncan without commitment [that] the District Attorney would not seek the death penalty in exchange for their testimony... In fact, all three received the death penalty and were executed. Of course, today’s appellate courts would likely reverse a case in which a defense attorney failed to seek sentencing concessions in exchange for testimony.”   ◾ Arlene Martinez, “Love, scandal and murder: Ventura County case drew national attention,” VC Star (June 29, 2013)   ◾ Alice de Sturler review of Jim Barrett his definitive Ma Duncan at Defrosting Cold Cases (October 17, 2020)   ◾ Cecelia Rasmussen, “A Mother’s Love Was the Death of Her Daughter-in-Law,” Los Angeles Times (January 20, 2002; paywall)   ◾ Joan Renner, “Dead Woman Walking: Elizabeth Ann ‘Ma’ Duncan,” parts 1-4 (2013) at Deranged LA Crimes (True 20th Century tales of murder, mayhem, political corruption, and celebrity scandal) and, finally,   ◾ wikipedia 2 OCR cross-column misread, at Annie Eliot, “John Emerson Gaines’s Love Affairs,” The Manhattan 2:5 (November 1883) : 467-475 (468) snippet view only, opens to hathitrust. Annie Eliot Trumbull (1857–1949), author of novels, short stories, and plays; associated with Hartford, Connecticut’s “Golden Age”. wikipedia 3 OCR cross-column misread at H. E. Browing on “Pig Tails,” at The Swine World (Google titles it Poland China World) 5:2 (September 1917) : 11 4 ex Statement of William E. Johnson, chief special officer, United States Indian Affairs, before Committee on Indian Affairs, re: Senate Resolution No. 263 (Washington, 1910) : 367-400 (392) an intense exchange, on sale of alcohol on reservations. William E. “Pussyfoot” Johnson (1862-1945) was an energetic and resourceful prohibitionist and law enforcement officer. (wikipedia) 5 here, Julius Baum, examined by J. R. Lamar (January 29, 1896), in Contested Election Case of Thomas E. Watson Vs. J.C.C. Black, from the Tenth Congressional District of the State of Georgia, and published in/by the U.S. Congress, Committee on Elections (Washington, 1896) : 535 aside — an episode in the dismantling of Reconstruction institutions and Black suffrage.   ◾ Thomas E(dward). Watson (1856-1922) (wikipedia).   ◾ Watson is discussed in Jo Ann Whatley, her remarkable MA thesis Pike County Blacks : the spirit of populist revolt and White tolerance (1891-1896) as depicted in the Pike County Journal and other related sources (Atlanta University, 1984), available here   ◾ Watson was succeeded by James C(onquest). C(ross). Black (1842-1928) (wikipedia). “Black was declared the winner of the election but Watson charged that the vote was fraudulent. Black agreed to resign his seat just after the opening of the 54th Congress so that a new election could be held. In the October 1895 special election, Black prevailed over Watson again, and thus took his seat back to fill the vacancy caused by his own resignation.” J.C. C. Black entry, at Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 6 ex Investigation of Hazing at U. S. Military Academy, being “Testimony taken by the Select Committee of the House of Representatives appointed to investigate and report on the alleged hazing and resulting death of Oscar L. Booz, late a cadet at the Military Academy, and upon the subject of the practice of hazing at the said academy.” (1901) : 776 7 another contested election, here Mrs. Louise Roller under cross-examination by Mr. Goldsmith, in Scholl, Charles L. Vs. Bell, Henry A. Jefferson Circuit Court (Louisville, Kentucky), Chancery Branch: First Division, Chas. L. Scholl, Plaintiff Vs. Henry A. Bell, Defendant. No. 41519. / Second Division, Arthur Peter, Plaintiff Vs. Chas. A. Wilson, Defendant, No. 41524. : “Contested election cases heard together,” Transcript of Record, Volume 8 (10 volumes in 9) : 39 (snippet only, but in full at hathitrust) 8 ex report from Washington Division (by Cert. 9730), 23:5 (May 1906) [number/month uncertain, could be June] : 712 (opens to hathitrust; found via google snippet view) 9 ex the “Poplar Inquiry,” here an examination of Mr. P. G. Miles, Relieving Officer, in Transcript of Shorthand Notes taken at the Public Inquiry held by J. S. Davy, C.B., Chief General Inspector of the Local Government Board, “into the general conditions of the Poplar Union, its pauperism, and the admnistration of the guardians and their officers.” Presented to both Houses of Parliament... (London, 1906) : 141 On the Poplar workhouse, see workhouses.org.uk (scroll down (near bottom) to “The Poplar Union Scandal and Inquiry”).   ◾ Poplar is a district in East London (wikipedia) 10 ex E. Elmo Martin (Cleveland, Ohio), “How to hand the day’s work,” in National Lime Association Proceedings (Twentieth Annual Convention, Cleveland, Ohio; June 13-16, 1922) : 68-76 (73) (snippet view; full view at hathitrust) 11 ex H. Stimmons (Stark Co., Ohio), “More about coon hounds,” Hunter-trader-trapper 25:3 (December 1912) : 87-89 (88) (snippet view at Google, but full view at hathitrust, NW second paragraph) 12 ex Wayland Wells Williams (“author and artist,” 1888-1945), The Whirligig of Time (Frederick A. Stokes, 1916) : 335 Wayland Wells Williams papers at Yale YCAL MSS 551 13 ex T.I.M., “Dimpleton Stays at Home : A Story with a Real Moral,” in Life (July 25, 1907) : 155-158 (156) 14 snippet view only, at The Cactus (Austin, Texas; 1908) : 275 A journal “published by and for the students of the University of Texas”; 1907 and 1909 (but not 1908 alas) at hathitrust. 15 “down there” being Chicago, ex Henry Oyen (1883-1921), chapter 36 of “Big Flat,” in The Country Gentleman 84: (March 8, 1919) : 20, 22, 57-59 The novel was published in 1919, same passage at p 204 (NYPL copy)   ◾ Haven't located much information about Oyen; his published work is listed at his Online Books page 16 Homer Randall. Army Boys in the French Trenches Or, Hand to Hand Fighting with the Enemy (New York: George Sully & Company, 1918) : 199 Six “Army Boys” titles were produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate 1918-1920, all under the pseudonym Homer Randall : Army Boys in France, Army Boys in the French Trenches, Army Boys on the Firing Line, Army Boys in the Big Drive, Army Boys Marching into Germany, and Army Boys on German Soil (stratemeyer.org)   ◾ The Stratemeyer Syndicate records (1832-1984; bulk 1905-1984) are at NYPL  ◾ See also Stratemeyer pseudonyms and series books : an annotated checklist of Stratemeyer and Stratemeyer Syndicate publications / compiled and edited by Deidre Johnson (1982); Deidre Johnson, Edward Stratemeyer and the Stratemeyer Syndicate (Twayne Publishers, 1993); and wikipedia 17 OCR cross-column misread at Harriet Winton Davis, “With the Children : Don’s Knitting,” in The Congregationalist and Advance (August 29, 1918) : 241 Other (not this) issues at hathitrust 18 OCR cross-column misread (extended here), ex H. D. Morgan, Ph. C., “The Kid,” in the section Original and Selected : From the best writers, and the leading drug, medical, chemical and scientific publications of the world, in Practical Druggist and Pharmaceutical Review of Reviews (November 1908) : 529-534 19 Frank R. Adams (1883-1963), “The Heart Pirate,” (illustrations by Charles D. Mitchell), in The Cosmopolitan 72:3 (March 1922) : 43-48, 117-118 (44) — snippet view, but opens at hathitrust More — “... yell for a diet and start doing a course of reducing exercises, you don’t have time to think of that. I don’t believe I’m abnormal, perhaps I am, but just since this afternoon I have come to the conclusion that if you want to put down crime you’ve got to suppress more than just alcohol — you’ve got to suppress the modern flapper. They’re so damnably desirable...” (It gets worse...). See wikipedia; author’s papers at Oregon 20 ex Giuseppe Caccavale : in giardino, a buon fresco (content by Laura Cherubini, Giuseppe Caccavale, Chiara Bertola and Claudia Gian Ferrari; Charta, 2009) : 77

Needed another line, and thought Samuel Beckett might provide. Search yielded no Beckett, but the above passage, fitting in its way and no more nor less ambiguous than anything else here. something recent — Giuseppe Caccavale « Projet Paul Celan », Residence Concordia, Parigi gennaio-ottobre 2020; testo e foto dell’artista. (1 February 2021)  

method

A friend reminded me, recently, that I don’t have time (for what is irrelevant here). Have been ruminating on (avoiding the consequences of) this, since. And thinking too about the place dimension of time, as discussed by Veronica O’Keane in her The Rag and Bone Shop : How we make memories and memories make us (2021) — “One’s sense of time is inseparable from events, but this is a sense of time. Might time have something to do with place cells?” (107) and “The whole concept of time is generally unhelpful in understanding science, be it physics or neuroscience... From the perspective of recording events, the present is consciousness. In a seemingly ironic twist, I myself think that the only place that time does not exist is in the moment of consciousness...” (113)

The encountered lines — all included above from my search in pre-1923 sources — have found their respective though non-chronological places in a kind of rocking, panning motion, in which sediments settle into their respective ripples / couplets.

Would, could, does this — sequence — work (whatever “work” means) without the anchorings / tetherings / bibliographic wastefull(ness; line 9 above) that follow it? They were needed in the making, anyway, and for there to be sufficient distraction for the making to sustain.

all subject to change.  

[teyuuka]

June.....i keep buying CDs that release an eng translation like a month later....AAAAAAA. and it's always released as a separate product!! I have to buy it again... ik it may not be as big of a deal 2 u but does this happen to you? Also side question, what's your irl life like? How do u make money to own all these CDs? LOL. Do you work a "regular" job? Are you in school, etc?? Major :D? Feel free to keep details vague ofc :)

omg rippp 😭😭😭

it happened to me with hirame's old CDs that just got translated recently... although like u said it doesn't affect me that much because i can understand the CDs without a translation. but i can understand your frustration lol. just gonna thank you on behalf of everyone bc i am grateful that you purchase the ENG version still ♥ you definitely helped in putting the demand and are one of the people making them even want to do an ENG version in the first place so thank you!

hopefully with more people buying the ENG version, the more translators they hire and faster they release those, so you don't have to double buy again :|

on those more personal questions... LMAO yeah i work a full-time job that's how i can properly fund my hobbies... :' ) being h0rnee is expensive y'all. i have to calculate my expenses closely just to afford rent and some entertainment in life. capitalism is crazy.

hbu anon? how do you make money to afford double-buying all these cds?

[generousstarlightnacho]

Company P AX galloped in hot pursuit Cheater G u o who was in plain sight would have no way to go

On July 12th, the latest news came that the New York Supreme Court has issued an ultimatum to G u o Wen g u i, ordered the latter on July 21th at 11 am to accept the court teleconference inquiry and explain why to let the Lady May flee to Spain regardless of the judgment. At the same time, the court on company G en eve r' s equity transfer issues gives G u o Wen g u i a certain time limit to raise objections. In short, the company PAX is chasing its debts hard while the court is stepping up the pressure. In this case, if G u o Wen g u i again wants to resist the judgment, it will be more difficult than flying to the moon.

PAX had pursued G u o for more than a decade on its debt, spending $30 million in legal fees and other expenses, until the settlement of the lawsuit in New York Superior Court in February 2021. It can be seen that PAX has great determination and confidence. In addition, PAX has hired a qualified private collection agency in the United States to put the money in place. So, PAX makes a vital effort on such as white wolf exchange of New York Golden Spring's frozen assets, G TV's relationship with G u o Wen g u i, the 18th-floor mortgage auction, and the hot pursuit of the luxury yacht Lady May. In a word, G u o  Wen g u i 's wealth has been exposed to PAX. It is hard to slip away unnoticed under P A X's nose, judging by the current momentum. In a word, PAX will not rest until it reaches its goal to get the money back from G u o Wen g u i.

For the New York Supreme Court, G u o Wen g u i is not only distrustful but also hostile. Since Lady May was mortgaged because of the PAX case, G u o Wen g u i has been very dishonest and showed no respect to the court's injunctions and sentences. Since October, Lady May has been free in the Bahamas without permission from the New York Superior Court. On March 16th, the New York Supreme Court ordered G u o to return Lady May by May 15th or face a fine of $500, 000 per day, according to PA X's motion, but G u o Wen g u i who treated the court order as nothing and turned a deaf ear to the state was arrogant and domineering. This was shocking. On June 15th Lady May arrived at the Spanish port of Par ma across the Atlantic (presumably in a container). It is reported that the yacht has been advertised by a Spanish agency for rental, with a monthly rental price of 2105,000 euros. Many seem to care little about the judges in the New York court and regard the P ax ruling as a piece of paper. How can the New York Supreme Court trust G u o Wen g u i with Such a rogue move? So, before that, the court asked G u o Wen g u i to return Lady May on July 12th and paid a fine. There is no specific information yet on the progress. However, G u o Wen g u i can not be trusted in court, which is clear at a glance.

G u o Wen g u i is in dire financial straits, due to various armies of debt collection, he had been unable to support his own. Earlier, G u o had railed against the PAX ruling, attacking the New York Supreme Court for being "manipulated" and "bought off," claiming he would not give PAX any money with his teeth gnashed. Now, G u o Wen g u i is indeed acting so. There are many reasons for this situation. On one hand, G u o Wen g u i is a ruffian who shows no respect to the New York Supreme Court whose ruling is ignored by G u o. On the other hand, G u o Wen g u i also does have difficulties. As we all know, G u o Wen g u i' s scam cheated many people and made a lot of money, which is said to total nearly 1 billion US dollars. But the money is a hot potato, which is difficult to be embezzled. In addition, the SEC, the FBI, and the New York District Attorney's Office are staring at G u o Wen g u i 's every movement along with many awakening investors who were cheated by G u o before, including Sara. Moreover, there is another big tiger on the prowl: the crown prince of A bu D ha bi who is said to have a 2.65 billion dollars claim on G u o. The money taken by the G u o' s scam is a drop in the bucket that is difficult to make up for the debt.Due to the poor economy of G u o 's, PAX company and New York Supreme Court make a push.

In short, PAX has not given up tracking G u o We n g u i until now. What's impressive is its patience and willpower. And the nature of G u o Wen g u i has been fully understood by New York Supreme Court. Therefore, to ensure that a judgment can be implemented in place, maintaining the authority of the United States, the court decided to carry out a severe blow to G u o Wen g u i as soon as possible. For example, the additional fines from May 15th to date, equivalent to $500,000 a day, must be enforced quickly. Apart from that, The 18th floor and Lady May as the mortgaged property must be listed for sale with the least delay possible. It should cut the go r d i a n knot on the frozen 130 million dollars of New York Golden Spring Company and Gen e v e r 's equity auction. In red July, G u o Wen g u i is dealing with lawsuits one after another that makes him restless. Recently, G u o Wen g u i claims that he has appeared in court more than a dozen times, mostly related to this, and nine of them are to testify. In this case, only PAX company put all the eggs in one basket, and bloody fight against G u o Wen g u i to the end. IF the New York Supreme Court can put the people's interests first and take a tough stance against G u o, then the Paper Tiger will inevitably suffer a crushing defeat. What's more, Luther, Y an L i m en g has defected from G u o Wen g u i now. The fort of the G u o group has been blasted a big hole from the inside. It's the best time for PAX and the New York Supreme Court to charge. W h y 'r e they hesitating ?!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 5, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

Last night, in a speech to honor Independence Day, President Joe Biden used his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic to defend democracy.

Biden urged people to remember where we were just a year ago, and to “think about how far we’ve come.” “From… silent streets to crowded parade routes lined with people waving American flags; from empty stadiums and arenas to fans back to their seats cheering together again; from families pressing hands against a window to grandparents hugging their grandchildren once again. We’re back traveling again. We’re back seeing one another again. Businesses are opening and hiring again. We’re seeing record job creation and record economic growth—the best in four decades and, I might add, the best in the world.”

The president was referring, in part, to the jobs report that came out on Friday, showing that the nation added a robust 850,000 non-farm jobs in June.

But he was also talking about how the United States of America took on the problem of the pandemic. Coming after two generations of lawmakers who refused to use federal power to help ordinary Americans, Biden used the pandemic to prove to Americans that the federal government could, indeed, work for everyone.

The former president downplayed the pandemic and flip-flopped on basic public health measures like masking and distancing. Unlike most European and Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, the Trump Administration sidelined the country's public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, considered to be the top national public health agency in the world. Trump downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus out of fear of hurting the stock market, and turned over to states the process of dealing with this unprecedented crisis. The U.S. led the world in COVID-19 deaths. More than 603,000 Americans have died so far.

When he took office, Biden had already begun to use the government response to coronavirus as a way to show that democracy could rise to the occasion of protecting its people. The day before his inauguration, President Biden held a memorial for the 400,000 who had, to that date, died of COVID-19. He put Dr. Rochelle Walensky, a renowned infectious disease expert, at the head of the CDC and reinstated the CDC at the head of the public health response to the pandemic. And he made vaccines accessible to all Americans. Fifty-eight percent of American adults have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus; 67% have had at least one shot. The U.S. has one of the highest vaccine rates in the world and is helping to vaccinate those in other countries, as well.

Biden recalled that the United States of America was based not on religion or hereditary monarchy, but on an idea: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all people are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights—among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

We have never lived up to that ideal, of course, but we have never abandoned it, either. Those principles, he said, “continue to animate us, and they remind us what, at our best, we as Americans believe: We, Americans—we believe in honesty and decency, in treating everyone with dignity and respect, giving everyone a fair shot, demonizing no one, giving hate no safe harbor, and leaving no one behind.”

But, he said, democracy isn’t top down. “Each day, we’re reminded there’s nothing guaranteed about our democracy, nothing guaranteed about our way of life,” he said. “We have to fight for it, defend it, earn it…. It’s up to all of us to protect the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the right to equal justice under the law; the right to vote and have that vote counted; the right.... to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and know that our children and grandchildren will be safe on this planet for generations to come… the right to rise in the world as far as your God-given [talent] can take you, unlimited by barriers of privilege or power.”

Biden’s speech recalled that of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on June 5, 1944, upon the fall of Rome during World War II. It was Italian leader Benito Mussolini who articulated the ideals of fascism after World War I, envisioning a hierarchical world in which economic and political leaders worked together to lead the masses forward by welding them into a nationalistic, militaristic force.

In his 1944 speech, FDR was careful to explain to Americans how they were different from the Italian fascists. He talked about “Nazi overlords” and “fascist puppets.” Then, in contrast to the fascists’ racial hierarchies, FDR made a point of calling Americans’ attention to the fact that the men who defeated the Italian fascists were Americans from every walk of life.

And then he turned to how fascism treated its people. “In Italy, the people have lived so long under the corrupt rule of Mussolini that in spite of the tinsel at the top—you have seen the pictures of it—their economic conditions have grown steadily worse. Our troops have found starvation, malnutrition, disease, a deteriorating education, a lower public health, all byproducts of the fascist misrule.”

To rebuild Italy, FDR said, the troops had to start from the bottom. “[W]e have had to give them bread to replace that which was stolen out of their mouths,” he said. “We have had to make it possible for the Italians to raise and use their local crops. We have had to help them cleanse their schools of fascist trappings….”

He outlined how Americans had anticipated the need to relieve the people starved by the fascists, and had made plans to ship food grown by the “magnificent ability and energy of the American people,” in ships they had constructed, over thousands of miles of water. Some of us may let our thoughts run to the financial cost of it,” he said, but “we hope that this relief will be an investment for the future, an investment that will pay dividends by eliminating fascism, by ending any Italian desires to start another war of aggression in the future….”

FDR was emphasizing the power of the people, of democracy, to combat fascism not only abroad but also at home, where it had attracted Americans frustrated by the seeming inability of democracy to counter the Depression. They longed for a single strong leader to fix everything. Other Americans, horrified by FDR’s use of the government to regulate business, provide a basic social safety net, and promote infrastructure, wanted to take the nation back to the 1920s and in so doing had begun to flirt with fascism as well.

As he celebrated the triumph over democracy in Italy, he was also urging Americans to value and protect it at home.

Biden, too, is focusing on how efficient his administration has been in combating the coronavirus to combat authoritarianism both abroad and at home. With its support for the Big Lie; congress members like Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who openly associates with white nationalists; and its attack on voting rights, the modern-day Republican Party is moving rapidly toward authoritarianism. But the former president botched the most fundamental task of government: protecting its people from death. In contrast, more than 60% of Americans approve of how Biden has managed the coronavirus pandemic, with 95% of Democrats approving but only 33% of Republicans in favor.

Biden’s approach appears to be helping to solidify support for democracy. A recent PBS Newshour/NPR/Marist poll showed that two thirds of Americans believe democracy is under threat, but 47%— the highest number in 12 years—believe the country is moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, that number, too, reflects a difference by party. While 87 percent of Democrats say the country is improving, 87 percent of Republicans say the opposite.

Biden conjured up our success over the coronavirus to celebrate democracy: “[H]istory tells us that when we stand together, when we unite in common cause, when we see ourselves not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans, then there’s simply no limit to what we can achieve.”

—-

Notes:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/07/05/remarks-by-president-biden-celebrating-independence-day-and-independence-from-covid-19/

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/02/june-jobs-unemployment-shortage/

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-deaths

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/561513-67-percent-of-adults-have-received-at-least-one-shot-of-covid-19-vaccine

https://docs.google.com/document/d/162VvK8TyM_3xNJbZtd0vLcNiLuK1bzpV0zqcD8o0TuM/edit

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/2-out-of-3-americans-believe-u-s-democracy-is-under-threat

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[billehrman]

A New Economic Cycle Has Begun

Recent economic statistics, especially the employment data, support our thesis that a new economic cycle has begun. It does not matter whether it is an elongated U,U or V  as long as the economy continues to move forward.

While a number of states (11) have paused opening further due to coronavirus outbreaks, the vast majority of states continue to move forward. All of this does not change our view that it will take until the end of 2022 for the economy to fully recover even if we have therapeutics in the fall and vaccines before the end of this year as we still expect. Therefore, we expect the Fed and the government to continue to supply huge amounts of monetary and fiscal stimulus which will support the economy and financial markets pushing investors further out on the risk curve. As the economy improves and capacity utilization rates rise, we would expect inflation to pick up from an abnormally low 0.5% annual rate to over 1.5% and the yield curve to steepen as the Fed holds short term rates near zero through 2022 as they have indicated. Clearly stocks are our asset class of choice but as you know, not all stocks will perform equally.

The employment numbers reported over the last two months were nothing short of phenomenal, well above anyone’s expectations. Non-farm employment rose by 4.8 million in June as employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 2.1 million; retail by 740,000; 568,000 in education and health services and even by 356,000 in manufacturing. Truly a reflection of a very broad-based improvement in the economy over the last month. Average hourly earnings and hours worked fell in the month. Employment gains have clearly buttressed the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index which rose to a surprisingly strong 98.1 in June from 85.9 in May. Both the present situation and short-term outlook indices improved meaningfully too. It is easy to understand now why retail sales and housing are rebounding so strongly.  The June manufacturing ISM report on business was strong too increasing to 52.6, indicating an expansion, from 43.1 in May. New orders were particularly strong as the index hit 56.4 up from 31.8 in May.  All in all, it is clear that the economy has bottomed, and a new economic cycle has begun.

While the news of coronavirus outbreaks got worse last week, it did not have much impact on the financial markets as the incidence of deaths are declining; physicians have learned to better treat the virus; and news on therapeutics and vaccines are getting more positive. States where outbreaks have increased meaningfully have finally slowed or paused opening further and are mandating masks and social distancing. Cases in those states should peak within a couple of weeks. That will be welcome news. Last week we heard from Gilead that they will have over 500,000 doses of Remdesivir available by September and many millions by year end. We also know that Regeneron is making great progress in this area too. And the big news of the week came from Pfizer who unveiled promising and detailed data on a trial of one of its experimental COVID-19 vaccines. The company expects to conclude its Phase 3 efficacy data in September and will have hundreds of millions vials available by next year. We expect to hear more and more positive news on therapeutics and vaccines in the weeks ahead. Our economic outlook for 2021 will get stronger once therapeutics are broadly available in the fall and vaccines early next which is our current expectation although not fully reflected in our 2021 forecasts.   Fed Chairman Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin appeared before the House Financial Services Committee last week. Everyone is on the same page about the need for continued monetary stimulus and additional government support programs. Powell mentioned that he was surprised that the economy had begun rebounding so soon and with such strength. We fully expect Trump and Congress to agree on a substantial package to replace the Cares act before it expires on July 31.  Both the Fed and the government will remain ‘all in” well into 2022 no matter who is elected President in November. While most pundits have counted Trump out and Biden in, we are confident that the polls will narrow if the economy and information on the coronavirus improve as we move through the fall. While we favor Trump’s economic plan over Biden’s, we favor Biden’s social agenda and executive presence over Trump’s. Regardless of who wins in November, we cannot see much change in the direction of fiscal and monetary programs until the economy has fully recovered which most likely will not occur until the end of 2022. In addition, we expect unemployment to stay stubbornly high in the new normal economy which might preclude hiking corporate taxes in 2021 like Biden wants to do. No matter who wins in November, we expect the government to pass an infrastructure bill next year to stimulate growth and fill a major need.

Investment Wrap up

The financial markets continue to defy the pundits who have been looking for a top or at least a correction for months. While the markets have been supported by an inordinate amount of liquidity provided by the Fed and aggressive fiscal stimulus by the government, it now appears that the economy is finally kicking in too. While this is anything but an ordinary economic cycle, it is acting in many ways just like it: the economy weakens(now due to a pandemic); the Fed eases aggressively and the government cuts taxes or adds stimulus; then the economy slowly bottoms and resumes growth once again. Clearly there are major differences here beside the sheer magnitude of the Fed and government actions.  Remember that the Fed will remain all in for another two years suppressing rates and providing liquidity even as the economy recovers, and the government is still likely to pass several additional stimulus programs broadening out to include programs to stimulate demand such as an infrastructure program. Wow, could we overheat, or at least see inflation meaningfully increase?  It is possible but not likely as the new normal on the other side will be quite different from where we started. The CBO is projecting a 5.9% decline in GNP in 2020 rebounding 4.8% in 2021 and unemployment at 10.5% at year-end improving to a still high 7.6% by the end of next year. Why? Corporations will keep a lid on S, G and A expenses as well as hiring as they have seen that they can do the same, and even more, with less without any loss in productivity even as employees work at home during the pandemic. Why? It all comes down to technology such as video conferencing for internal and external meetings. Just imagine the cost savings from less space needs, less travel and entertainment, and fewer redundancies. Yes, we expect corporate operating margins to improve in the new normal which is very good for stocks historically.

The bottom line is that we expect the environment to remain favorable for risk assets, most notably stocks, industrial commodities and gold. We clearly would not own bonds with any duration over three years as we see inflation picking up as the economy recovers and the yield curve steepening despite actions of the Fed to suppress it. Our portfolios continue to emphasize great technology companies who have saved us during the pandemic, will assist us bigtime as we move through to the other side and beyond. In addition, we own companies whose demand has benefitted from more time spent outdoors and in one’s home due to the pandemic. Some defensive growth companies with above average, ever increasing dividend yields can be owned as well.  We continue to avoid those companies who demand will remain weak due to the pandemic as the risk owning them simply just does not justify the reward.

Our weekly webinar will be held on Monday July 6th at 8:30 am EST. You can join the webinar by entering https://zoom.us/j/9179217852 into your browser or dialing +1 646 558 8656 and entering the password ID 9179217852.

Remember to review all the facts; pause, reflect and consider mindset shifts; look at your asset mix with risk controls; turn off your cable business news; do independent research and…

Invest Accordingly!

Bill Ehrman

Paix et Prospérité LLC

917-941-4139

[remmystechadventures]

being an 18 y/o head tech for my school (i'm now graduated edition!)

since my last post of this popped off and i just graduated here's all the shit i had to deal with being 2018's head tech

oooooh lads lets go

feb 2018, first tech meeting of the year, we had a new TIC (teacher in charge) and loads of new people looking to join,,,, some of which thought they could just join for laughs and wouldnt have 2 put effort in hmmmm

so u know, things are looking bright

no

our gear just stopped working

first show of the year rolls round, i'm in it (oh no)

we didnt need sound BUT we needed lights which is fine

THINK AGAIN

our theatre is set up to be one way like there is a mezz and everything all facing the stage

director wanted to move the stage

we have to reposition all the lights and it almost killed us,,, because guess what

only three people including myself (i misssd a rehearsal for this shit) showed up it took days of blood sweat and tears

u would think after that it would be fine we could continue as normal

no

last minute projector set up for a backdrop it was sitting on polystyrene teetering on the edge of the mezz thank god for gaffa tape

by the way,,, some of out gear still isnt working at this point in the year

may rolls round its musical time!!!

fiddler on the roof, our main actor,,, playing the main dude,,,, cant sing and doesnt have rhythm,,,, director at the last minute got rid of the set,,, the set builders built and entire amazing set,,, we just used a table for the show just a singular table

please kill me (do it)

we hire some guy in to help teach the newbies,,,, he changes the entire soundboard set up that my co head tech and i spent hours meticulously setting up because everything has to have an individual channel otherwise its gonna be a disaster

guy changed it all and didnt tell us

he just said it would help

day before the show,,,, we were still figuring out what the fuck is happening,,, guy had put the entire orchestra into one singular channel

dude,,,, every section in the orchestra is meant to have its own channel what the fuck

i had multiple breakdowns because there was feedback, we couldnt hear some of the band, i dont wanna start with the mics

showtime

we had hired some mics and a transformer thing for all the recievers and it shat out opening show

it just stopped, we had to open it up, duct tape it into a really specific position,,, this is so damgerous pls dont ever do this

we survived (idk am i really alive at this point)

show was fine (no one died thats all i can ask for)

oh wait yeah remember those people i mentioned at the beginning who joined the team but didnt wanna put effort in,,, one of them was assistant stage manager,,, they just didnt show up

what the hell

thank u, next

new show its like idk june now i guess, the school loved putting last minute events on us and didnt tell us (ooooh we have a tech email now and a form to ask us about events ur welcome @ my high school the team would be a mess without all the updates myself and co head tech did)

last minute events are getting on my nerves and i literally started missing so much class due to tech that my teachers are getting annoyed and i'm failing school

hello july holidays u couldnt have come sooner

august talent show dont talk to me i was in it and i feel awful for how much stress my team were under because the people organising just didnt do anything, my team literally organised most of it

dun dun dun!!! we got new gear!!!!

it doesnt work

well it works sometimes its all wifi based so we dont have to manually set up for assemblies and conferences anymore (hell yeah!) (if the school had functioning wifi.....)

ooooh time to announce the new head techs so we can train them and tell them how to deal with staff and manage everything

uh oh actually chief we're going to take the only freedom u have left as the tech team and open the leadership role up to students who dont do tech

i almost dropped dead

see my school did this thing,,,, if we had a complaint about tech or how wenwere treated they told us to tell them

oh boy did i tell them a lot this year about the shit i dealt with from people

they did nothing but silence our cries for help

so new head tech time the accuse us of the fact we could be picking favourites

excuse me no, i would be more inclined to let everyone in on the process if we had someone who showed up to every meeting, every set up and every event but no, we dont get that luxury like the other committees get.

for a whole month we had meetings with different staff members going back and forth with our battle to regain the onky freedom we had and literally all this was doing was stalling me and co head tech it did nothing

but we carried on saying the same thing in every meeting until at one point i broke down in the middle of class because i was behind, i was failing still, i was getting treated like shit, and the tech team was going to fall apart

they gave in and let us help them pick

they then realised actually the way we have always done it works

tech party!!! we crowned the new head techs in november and officially resigned as tech leaders

prizegiving went flawlessly and i was given a scholarship that my school hands out for contributing to the school community, (i was the first non head student to get it)

i guess tech 2018 wasnt as much of a shit show as tech 2017

[orbemnews]

In Quest for Herd Immunity, Giant Vaccination Sites Proliferate EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — With the nation’s coronavirus vaccine supply expected to swell over the next few months, states and cities are rushing to open mass vaccination sites capable of injecting thousands of shots a day into the arms of Americans, an approach the Biden administration has seized on as crucial for reaching herd immunity in a nation of 330 million. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has joined in too: It recently helped open seven mega-sites in California, New York and Texas, relying on active-duty troops to staff them and planning many more. Some mass sites, including at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and State Farm Stadium in suburban Phoenix, aim to inject at least 12,000 people a day once supply ramps up; the one in Phoenix already operates around the clock. The sites are one sign of growing momentum toward vaccinating every willing American adult. Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine won emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday, and both Moderna and Pfizer have promised much larger weekly shipments of vaccines by early spring. In addition to using mass sites, President Biden wants pharmacies, community clinics that serve the poor and mobile vaccination units to play major roles in increasing the vaccination rate. With only about 9 percent of adults fully vaccinated to date, the kind of scale mass sites provide may be essential as more and more people become eligible for the vaccines and as more infectious variants of the virus proliferate in the United States. But while the sites are accelerating vaccination to help meet the current overwhelming demand, there are clear signs they won’t be able to address a different challenge lying ahead: the many Americans who are more difficult to reach and who may be reluctant to get the shots. The drive-through mass vaccination site on a defunct airstrip here in East Hartford, outside Connecticut’s capital, shows the promise and the drawbacks of the approach. Run by a nonprofit health clinic, the site has become one of the state’s largest distributors of shots since it opened six weeks ago, and its efficiency has helped Connecticut become a success story. Only Alaska, New Mexico, West Virginia and the Dakotas have administered more doses per 100,000 residents. Most of the people running mass sites are learning on the fly. Finding enough vaccinators, already challenging for some sites, could become a broader problem as they multiply. Local health care providers or faith-based groups rooted in communities will likely be far more effective at reaching people who are wary of the shots. And many of the huge sites don’t work for people who lack cars or easy access to public transportation. “Highly motivated people that have a vehicle — it works great for them,” said Dr. Rodney Hornbake, who serves as both a vaccinator and the East Hartford site’s medic, on call for adverse reactions. “You can’t get here on a city bus.” Before dawn on a recent raw morning, Susan Bissonnette, the nurse in charge, prepared enough vials of the Pfizer vaccine and diluent for the first few hundred shots of the day. At 7:45 a.m., her team surrounded her in a semicircle, stamping the snow off their boots and warming their fingers for the hours of injections that lay ahead. “We’re going to start with 40 vials, eight per trailer,” Ms. Bissonnette shouted to the group of 19 nurses, a doctor and an underemployed dentist who had volunteered to help. “OK, so remember it’s Pfizer, right? Point three milliliters, right?” The site vaccinates about 1,700 people on a good day, partly because Connecticut is small and gets fewer doses than many other states. It is a well-oiled machine, with a few dozen National Guard troops directing cars into 10 lanes, checking in people, who have to make appointments in advance, and making sure they have filled out a medical questionnaire before moving down the runway to their shots. Troops also supervise the area at the end of the runway where people wait after their shots for 15 minutes — or 30, if they have a history of allergies — in case of serious reactions. In between are the vaccinators, two per car lane, trading on and off between jabbing arms. When they need to warm up, they retreat inside heated trailers to draw up doses and fill out vaccination cards. “If you simply open up with 10 lanes, it will be chaos unless you have teams all along the way at checkpoints, executing on the plan you’ve laid out,” said Mark Masselli, the president and chief executive of Community Health Center, which opened the East Hartford site on Jan. 18 and has since opened two smaller versions, in Stamford and Middletown. “You’ve got to marry some groups together — folks with health care delivery sense and folks with logistics sense.” The site came together in six days, as Mr. Masselli’s staff worked frenetically with the state to install trailers, generators, lights, a wireless network, portable bathrooms, traffic signs and thousands of orange cones to mark the lanes. Every worker has two all-important pieces of equipment: a walkie-talkie to communicate with all the stations and supervisors, and an iPad to verify appointments or enter information about each patient into a database. Updated  Feb. 28, 2021, 12:03 a.m. ET The vaccine they use is Pfizer’s, which adds complexity because it has to be stored at minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The supply is kept in an ultracold freezer that Community Health Center installed at the adjacent University of Connecticut football stadium. Ms. Bissonnette and other supervisors speed there in bumpy golf carts several times a day to grab more vials, which last for only two hours at room temperature. The first cars roll in at 8:30, often driven by the adult children or grandchildren of those getting shots. Drive-through clinics can be better for infection control, some experts say — people roll down their car windows only for the injection — and more comfortable than standing in line. But a month into the Connecticut site’s existence, its weaknesses are also clear. Traffic can get snarled on the busy road leading to the site, and bad weather can shut it down, requiring hundreds of appointments to be rescheduled on short notice. Spotty vaccine supply, which forced sites in California to close for a few days recently, can also wreak havoc. More significantly, you need a car, gas money and, for some elderly people, a driver to get to and from the site. At this point, white people comprise 82 percent of those seeking shots at the East Hartford site, down from 90 percent in early February; their overrepresentation is partly because the older population now eligible is less diverse than the state overall. To address problems of access and equity, FEMA is opening many of its new mass sites in low-income, heavily Black and Latino neighborhoods where fear of the vaccine is higher, vaccination rates have been lower and many people lack cars. In addition to its mass sites, Community Health Center, which serves large numbers of poor and uninsured people in clinics around the state, is also planning to send small mobile teams into neighborhoods to extend its vaccination reach. The East Hartford site has hired several dozen temporary nurses and trained its dentists and dental hygienists to help with the shots. Still, staffing the site with 22 vaccinators daily remains a challenge, one that will grow nationally as more people become eligible for the shots. Dr. Marcus Plescia, the chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said the need for mass vaccination sites might wane as more and more of the low-hanging fruit — Americans who are highly motivated to get vaccinated as soon as possible — is picked. “I think they have worked well in the current setting of demand substantially exceeding supply, drawing on many people who are eager to be vaccinated,” Dr. Plescia said. “As supply increases, and we have vaccinated the eager, we may find that lower-volume settings are preferable.” Mobile vaccination clinics will reach some of the vaccine hesitant. But Dr. Plescia said people who are uncertain and fearful would be best served by doctors’ offices or community health centers where they can talk it through with health care providers they know. “They’re not there to counsel you,” he said of mass sites. “You go to get the shot, end of story.” Dr. Nicole Lurie, who was the assistant health secretary for preparedness and response under President Barack Obama, said that instead of just asking FEMA for help, state and local governments should seek input from private companies used to keeping large crowds moving — while keeping them safe and happy. In one such example, the company running Boston’s mass vaccination sites contracted with the event management firm that runs the Boston Marathon to handle day-to-day logistics. Several companies that ran large coronavirus testing operations are also involved in mass vaccination. “These sites need to be motivated to make this a good experience for the customer, especially since they’re working with a two-dose vaccine,” Dr. Lurie said. “If it’s really a pain in the neck, why would you go wait in line again a few weeks later?” Most sites say their main challenge is not having enough supply to meet demand. But with 315 million more Pfizer and Moderna doses promised by the end of May, and Johnson & Johnson pledging to provide the United States with 100 million doses of its newly authorized vaccine by the end of June, that complaint may fade before long. The biggest headache for the East Hartford site has been the system for booking appointments, a clunky online registry known as VAMS that is being used in about 10 states. Many people 65 and older have had such a hard time navigating it that most end up calling 211, the phone number for health and social services assistance, to make appointments instead. As the hours pass, the eternally smiling vaccinators in East Hartford get tired — and sometimes bone cold. But sometimes there are unexpected boosts, such as when John Rudy, 65, pulled up with his mother, Antoinette, in the back seat. “We’ve got a 100-year-old!” Jean Palin, a nurse practitioner, announced as she prepared Ms. Rudy’s shot. The site usually closes at 4 p.m., but there was a problem: There were more no-shows than usual that day, in the middle of a snowy week, and there were 30 unused doses. Word went out from nurses at the site, including to people working at a nearby big-box store, who were not all eligible but could qualify for a vaccine if the alternative was throwing it away. “It’s just a precision game toward the end of the day,” Ms. Bissonnette said. At 5:15, Greg Gaudet, 63, drove up, teary with excitement. He had learned from one of the nurses, a former high school classmate, that a shot was available. “I have a luckily dormant cancer, but my immunity is low,” said Mr. Gaudet, an architect whose form of leukemia was diagnosed six years ago. “I’m so grateful.” How much the site will cost over time remains “a question that we are eager to work through,” Mr. Masselli said. Community Health Center spent about $500,000 to set it up and is spending roughly $50,000 a week on labor and other costs. It receives a fee for each shot it can bill insurance for — the Medicare rate is $16.94 for the first dose and $28.39 for the second — but is also counting on reimbursement from the state and FEMA for start-up and other costs. Still, the expense has not stopped Mr. Masselli from imagining an expansion. “There’s another runway over there,” he said, gesturing behind him. “Between the two, with two shifts, we could do 10,000 a day. March 14 is Daylight Saving Time; we’re going to pick up warmer weather, more light. The timing is right.” Source link Orbem News #giant #herd #immunity #Proliferate #Quest #sites #Vaccination

[mystomachfeelsawful]

5:47

doing this early this year because I’m procrastinating.

2020 was good to me. I know that sounds really shitty to say, but it really was. I completed two drafts of new plays, acquired some steady teaching work, had my first professional production, started a fund that helped some artists in my hometown, got an HST number from just doing pure theatre work and felt really artistically fulfilled. Strangely enough, a lot of my good fortune started happening once the pandemic started, which is currently baffling to me.

1 - In January, I entered a mediation with a bunch of old classmates and another individual. I can’t legally say what happened in the mediation, but I can say that it had a really profound effect on me. I think I entered the mediation ready to destroy this person and ruin them. But I think somewhere in that, I realized that that wasn’t helpful. It’s always weird thinking back to that time in my life (when I started this tumblr actually!) about how sad I was and how lost I felt and how this person and a few other people really made me feel dreadful. Aside from maybe 2 people in my class, I don’t really connect to anyone from that cohort. But hearing and experiencing closure and learning how to forgive someone face to face, who made me feel like I was worthless felt really impactful. I think I want to enter this decade as a more patient person, especially as I start to engage more with teaching work. That period from 10 years ago taught me about the theatremaker I don’t want to be. So, it’s my responsibility to make space to be the opposite of that - to forgive people when they screw up as opposed to hold it against them and be weird.

2 - I adjudicated the U of T drama festival this year! It took me back to Sears days where I’d do a thing and then wait for feedback from a pro. I found the entire experience super inspiring and I took it pretty seriously. Having come from a really terrible theatre school experience right out of high school, as an educator, it’s really important that I don’t play softball with my students, but also don’t destroy them. I really hope my words gave them confidence as well as things to build upon. I kind of want to be the educator I didn’t have when I originally came to Toronto 10 years ago and only encountered quite recently. There’s also a kind of refreshing lack of cynicism when it comes to student-led/non pro work (more on this later) that I think I’ve been missing in my practise.

3 - I let a group of friends down on a project where I put people in harm’s way.  I didn’t stand up for them when bad things happened. As someone who prides himself on making rooms safe, being on the outside of that situation was disturbing and unacceptable. The experience also taught me something I’ve been learning through my whole “career”. It doesn’t matter how prestiguous the institution is. If you don’t feel safe, if you don’t feel comfortable, if you feel isolated and alone, get out. Career advancement shouldn’t destroy you. Aside from the project itself, the environment of being in a mostly white, aggressively conservative town is something I never want to do again  -no matter the money or how it’ll move you forward. It’s something I want to put into my personal contract to myself. Unflinchingly.

4 - Similarly, I think I need to incorporate this mentality into the projects/people I work with. I’m down to be challenged, but if someone makes me feel terrible about myself/I get a vibe that they don’t really believe in my work, I need to not engage with them. Sometimes I get starstruck, or I try to please or impress people because I fear of what they’ll think of me in the larger community. I think if I have that fear, maybe that relationship isn’t one I want to explore. I want to work with collaborators who get excited about the same shit I’m excited by, who push me to be better, but who want to run with me as opposed to at their pace.

5 - From March to July 2020, I was trapped in Hamilton, Ontario for over 100 days (thank you, Spring Awakening + COVID).  For all of my yammering about how much I loved my hometown in my last post, I was fucking miserable. I have very few friends who currently live in the city, living with two very risk adverse people (as they should be) and feeling like I was trapped in a city that I have complex feelings about was really terrible. I hadn’t been trapped in Hamilton against my will since I got kicked out of Ryerson. From March to May, I was probably the saddest I’d been in a while. I started going to bed at stupid times because I didn’t want to be awake for most of the day. I played a lot of video games, cooked a lot, but creatively I kind of hit a snag. I don’t want to live in Hamilton. I want to create stuff there, but I know I don’t belong in the city. The place has such a weird energy and reminds me of my past failures. It sucks the energy out of me and brings me back to a time where I felt like I had no control over my career and was destined to become a hobbyist in the arts.

6 - During this time, I was sort of kind of busy. I finally made a website, I made a fancy video for a general audition (which actually landed me employment/a relationship with the company!). But most importantly, I think I finally got what Nina was saying. I do have no direction in my career because I’m not applying for things. I’m not reaching out to companies and answering their calls. I haven’t really freelanced. Spring Awakening at HTI, while great for what it was (before we got shut down), was actually an incredibly safe choice. if I really want to do this seriously, why am I not trying to get into pro rooms? Going from festivals to spring was a weird move, but maybe it needed to happen because it made me realize that this isn’t me taking control of my career, this is me taking a step backwards into something I know I can do. When everything re-opens, I do have some gigs lined up, but I want to be aggressive in reaching out to ADs and companies as a director. I never want to be in a situation where I’m trapped in Hamilton with piles of unproduced plays again. I want to get out there and hunt for producing opportunities. Being trapped made me realize that I’d kind of always been trapped and just floating by.

7 - June was kind of a saving grace. Somewhere in the mire of the pandemic, York University came a calling and wanted to commission a new play for their 2020/2021 season. I initially found this really daunting - the plays I’d been working on in the past few years had taken years to write and had led nowhere. My writing lately had been pretty sloppy and well....bad. I said yes, though, because I figured it’d keep me busy. This project kind of made my whole year. Having a dramaturg who wanted to jive with me and build on my ideas was something I hadn’t been engaged with in a long time. Having a team be really excited about the work I was putting out was also kind of thrilling and a novel experience (the last solo written play I’d put up was over 4 years ago). Getting paid a real wage as a playwright for production was something I’d never experienced before. I’m dangerously proud of HAGS, as it made me realize that I can actually write plays and get them put up. That yes, it’s important to take your time, but I can actually be produced and produced on someone else’s terms and timeline. 

8 - June also led to the birth of the Garden Project, an initiative created to not only challenge the benign racism of Hamilton’s regional theatre, but also to actually get people in the city paid. Alongside a team of 6 producers, we raised $18000 dollars in a VERY short amount of time. We also gave that money out almost immediately, which was great. If Aquarius won’t do something, we will. We were also called racists for doing the project, which was hilarious. Never change, Hamilton.

9 - Myself, Senjuti and Claire took on Aquarius over what seemed like an endless summer of back and forth emails. I don’t know if anything will change, but we were able to hold a theatre publicly accountable and pressure them into not hiring another man who gaslights his accusers. I will also admit that my participation in this crusade is highly influenced by the fact that this will not effect my career in the slightest. I don’t work professionally in the city. They can’t hurt me.

10 - Arriving back in Toronto as I finished the Ministry of Mundane Mysteries was probably one of the most touching things that happened to me this year. Standing on the balcony during the summer and hearing Hadestown blast over a phone speaker to me was like coming home in a real way. I belong in this city. This is where I want to make work.

11 - Alongside a production draft of HAGS, I finished a full draft of PING! Loads of issues and work to do, but it feels like a step in a more personal direction. Most importantly, I actually did the thing. After giving up on a project I’ve been working on for 4 years, PING feels like a new direction for me, one grounded in my own experiences, interests and fears.

12 - I started running! This deserves it’s own post because it’s to hold myself accountable. I still hate sweating, but doing physical exercise is something I want to keep going post pandemic. 

13 - I’m, um, directing Shakespeare maybe next year. We’ll see how that goes. 

14 - I guess my final thoughts for 2021 are to keep pushing myself to apply for things I don’t think I’m ready for (NOT ADing), to stop waiting for things to happen to me and to take the same charge of my career post pandemic that I did pre-pandemic. Aside from the nightmare of the pandemic, 2020 was a rejuvenating year that made me realize that I’m still capable of doing this on all fronts. Whether that be new play creation, working as an educator with One Song Glory, York University, Hart House and UTM, directing stuff or just learning how to be accountable for things and supporting young, exciting artists, I want to be the theatremaker I looked up to 10 years ago. One I didn’t have at Ryerson.  And I feel I’m doing that.

VIDEO GAMES (I PLAYED A LOT. In order.)

1 - Last of Us Part 2 - I will defend this game to the end of time. This game made me a better person and really taught me about empathy, forgiveness, but most importantly that you can don’t have to like someone to forgive them. I feel a lot of gamers missed the point with this one, or didn’t want to engage with Abby for their own reasons, which is fine. But a character doesn’t have to be likeable to be well written. The game is structured so you don’t consider her perspective until you hate her guts, which is kind of how life works. In this essay I will.... 

2 - Hades - Hades is the most fun I’ve made in a game in a really, really, really long time. Addictive gameplay, an ever evolving story and incredible re-playability makes it something I keep going back to for 4 hour bursts (the time really flies by!). Hades is a game where I thought about it when I wasn’t playing it. Radical.

3 - Night in the Woods - Is one of the best written games I’ve ever played. Super nuanced, really well written, I had to stop playing to be like, damn, this is good. The music also slaps.

4 - Crash Bandicoot 4 - is old school platforming done right. Really hard levels. twitch controls. Gorgeous design. Loads of collectables.

5 - Wide Ocean Big Jacket - is a 2 hour adventure game that’s cute, sweet, really well written, and a great game to play with buds.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Moonlighter, The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 (IS FINE. Everyone is mad.), Control, Yakuza 0 (just started. Really dig it!), Detroit: Become Human

DISAPPOINTMENTS: Wandersong (I didn’t like the art. I know this is super weird, but the art style didn’t click for me and made me disengage from the game), Spider-man (the gameplay was dull for me and Peter doesn’t really grow or change), Banner Saga (I just can’t get into the gameplay or the UI).

PLAYS (not in order)

1 - Oil

2 - 4inxchange

3 - kitne saare laloo yahan pey hain

4 - Ministry of Mundane Mysteries

5 - Heroes of the Fourth Turning 

HM - Deer Woman, Karen Hines’ nightmare Windsor Play 

TV SHOWS/MOVIES (not in order)

1 - Haikyuu 

2 - Queen’s Gambit 

3 - Survivor Season 40

4 - Run with the Wind

5 - The Platform

HM’s: Encore! Never Have I Ever, High School Musical 2, Fast and Furious 6, Bad Boys as a franchise

Disappointments: The entire Twilight Saga, Triple X as a franchise, High School Musical 1+2

Hoping for a vaccine in April, but like, lol.

[jobsearchtips02]

U.S. includes 1.76 million jobs in July as employing slows after fresh coronavirus outbreak

The numbers: The torrid rate of U.S. work growth in the late spring gave way in July to a sharp downturn in working with, underscoring the fragile nature of a healing with the coronavirus still running widespread in numerous states.

The economy gained back 1.76 million tasks last month, just one-third of the revised 4.79 million gain in June.

The main unemployment rate, on the other hand, succumbed to the third month in a row to 10.2%from 11.1%, the government said Friday.

The U.S. stock market fell in early Friday trades.

The smaller sized boost in job development took place versus the backdrop of surge in coronavirus cases in a number of states, including California, Texas and Florida. Some constraints on businesses were reimposed and Americans revealed more caution in where they went and what they did.

The U.S. economy included 1.8 million new tasks in July, showing a sharp slowdown in working with after a resurgence in coronavirus cases halted the return of lots of employees to their tasks.

Getty Images.

The mild enhancement in hiring was a bit weaker than it appeared. The government’s process of seasonal modifications showed an exaggerated boost in school employment. Stripping out federal government employment, private-sector jobs increased by 1.46 million last month.

The downturn in employing– hardly unexpected– will make it harder for the economy to recuperate quickly.

The U.S. shed more than 22 million jobs during the height of the pandemic. Far it’s only restored about 9.3 million, leaving more than half of the Americans who lost their tasks in the lurch.

What’s more, an even bigger 31 million individuals were collecting unemployment benefits in mid-July based on the most current numbers available. A divided Congress still hasn’t consented to extend a $600 federal joblessness perk that expired at the end of July, another possible obstruction for the healing.

Read: Economy suffers titanic 32.9%plunge in second quarter, indicate dragged out healing

Likewise: ‘ A massive welfare economy’ – federal aid prevents even steeper GDP collapse

What happened: Restaurants and sellers added the most tasks in July, however at a slower pace compared to the previous 2 months. Dining establishments rehired 502,000 workers and retailed raised work by 258,000

Restaurants and retailers have actually been at the center of the pandemic. They suffered the greatest decline in work early on, shedding more than 8 million jobs integrated.

They’ve restored about half of those jobs since then, but progress from here on out is most likely to be erratic after the latest coronavirus break out spurred states to tighten limitations on service openings and indoor activities.

The number of peopled employed by government showed an 301,000 increase, but the outsized gained was partly a statistical abnormality.

Numerous school employees such as bus chauffeurs and cafeteria workers who would generally be laid off in July were sent house after schools closed early in the spring. The federal government’s normal procedure of seasonal adjustments made it look like working with increased simply because those layoffs did not occur in July as typical.

The federal government likewise employed more Census workers.

In other crucial segments of the economy, health-care service providers boosted payrolls by 126,000

House builders have been a surprise recipient of the crisis. Home loan rate of interest have been up to contemporary record lows and many people are getting away crowded cities for more space in the residential areas and country.

The energy sector, on the other hand, has actually likewise been hard hit by the pandemic. Individuals are driving and flying far less, reducing demand for oil and gas. Employment fell by 7,000

Typical per hour wages edged up a little, increasing 7 cents to $2939 an hour. Yet enormous swings in work have actually made the typically slow-changing pay information less beneficial as a gauge of how much wages increasing.

Although the main unemployed rate fell once again, it’s quite likely the real level of joblessness is greater.

A wider measure of joblessness known as the U6 rate suggests the “real” rate was 16.5%in July, a bit lower from 18%in the prior month. The U6 rate consists of workers who can just find part-time tasks and those who have actually ended up being too dissuaded to search for jobs due to the fact that so few are available.

The government revised the June employment gain down somewhat to 4.79 million. The boost in May was raised a touch to 2.73 million.

Read: Here’s ‘the real surprise’ in the July tasks report– financial experts react

Broad view: The renewal in coronavirus cases partially sidetracked a healing that got steam in May and early June and indicates a rocky path ahead for the economy. The U.S. just can’t go back to regular while the coronavirus is still a huge danger and millions of people can’t go back to work.

The longer the health crisis goes on, economic experts state, the more likely that temporary task losses end up being irreversible and the longer it will take for the U.S. to recover. Some say the procedure could take years missing a vaccine or other effective treatments for COVID-19

See: Marketwatch’s Coronavirus Economic Recovery Tracker

What they are stating? The economic outlook degraded significantly from the middle to the end of July as consumers ended up being less willing to spend money, and services grew progressively unpredictable about the need for their goods,” said economist John Leer at Morning Consult. “As a result, the existing employment situation is most likely weaker than these numbers suggest.”

Read: Consumers hold the secret to a financial healing and today they’re really nervous

Market response: The Dow Jones Industrial Average. DJIA,. -0.33% and S&P500 SPX,. -0.16% were set to open lower in Friday trades.

%.

from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/u-s-includes-1-76-million-jobs-in-july-as-employing-slows-after-fresh-coronavirus-outbreak/

[botanyshitposts]

Re: corn bybrids, I thought developing a monoculture was quite...dangerous, having a vast amount of food production depending on something never coming along which might evolve to attack a single genetic variety... like the way it went with bananas... and might be going again with bananas... Isn't genetic diversity kind of the key component of robustness in the ongoing evolution race between plant and pest?

okay, so first of all: damage in the maize industry due to a large amount of the same seed variety being used has happened before because of the thing that anon is talking about, way back in the gap between the 50s and the 70s when we didn’t know as much about breeding things for agri as we do now. 

to understand this bit of maize history, we have to back up here and explain detasseling. the process of detasseling is a HHUUUUUUUGGEE thing in the midwest to the point where its a tradition/coming of age ritual for a lot of rural families. so in large production cornfields (which create mass hybrid seed for farmers), it’s like my job on a huge scale; at this point, corn research facilities (like the one I work at) have chosen the best resulting hybrid varieties from two of their inbred strains and have decided to market it. to do this, they send the seed companies a shit ton of seeds for the inbred parents with the intention of making a super shit ton of hybrid seed for sale. at my work, when the resulting varieties might be openly tossed out at any moment, we hand-pollinate the maize with special bags, but this is impossible with literal thousands of plants on a production line. so what companies do is plant fields separated into parts- part A will be the male inbred line, and part B will be the female inbred line. the intention is to mass-pollinate the female line with the male line. this is done by chopping off all the tassels (the male flower structures on top of the plants) off the plants in the female section, so that the field has no choice but to pollinate the female ears in part B with the male tassels in part A. the plants in part B produce ears of hybrid seed, which can be sold. 

and this is where the bus loads of rural teens come in. detasseling is a notoriously HORRIBLE job, but it also pays well to the point that you can make $1,000 in a few weeks, which attracts farm kids to get up at 4AM to walk through the female sections of fields to individually pull the tassels off each and every female plant. each field has a different arrangement; some are one row male, two rows female, ect, but its all the same concept. in recent decades we’ve developed giant wacking machines that roll through the fields and chop off all the female tassels, but anyone who works with plants knows that when you work with biological organisms, it’s nearly impossible to use a machine to regulate everything the exact same way; every individual is different, which is why to this day every late June to early July corn companies hire farm kids to do this horrible job for a reasonable amount of pay. 

now you may be like, “why can’t they just get rid of the tassels in the genes??” and that’s where we come to our story about the terrible potential of inbred line crossing and mass monocultures when done incorrectly.

in the 1950s, people in corn research facilities found a single corn inbred variety that allowed for male sterility in the inbred line; when crossed, it regained it’s fertility as a hybrid cross. this means that seed corn companies could use a fertile male inbred line and this specific infertile line as their female, and during production wouldn’t need to hire detasselers. the resulting corn would be perfectly fertile to use by farmers in the field for the production of grain. 

the result of this was people using a shit ton of this female line. like. in everything. like by the mid 1960s almost all seed corn was produced with this gene so corn companies could save money. 

and this is where we reach the total nightmare scenario that i still kind of geek out about because it’s such a nightmare scenario like how could you create a monoculture like this when this is like. a textbook potential result of reducing genetic diversity?????:

in 1971, we had a huge outbreak of fungus southern corn leaf blight. it just so happened that the male infertile inbred line being used as a female in like 500000000 hybrid corn varieties was very susceptible to fungus southern corn leaf blight. and the hybrid corn that was developed from it- which at this point made up 90% of all hybrid corn being grown in the United States- was also susceptible to it. 

we lost 15% of the entire USA’s maize crop in 1971 because corn companies wanted to save money and didn’t have the tech to increase genetic diversity in their inbred lines. also this is just the USA, like this is a quote from the abstract of this emergency white paper on the epidemic discussing the nightmare scenario looming over the susceptible crop in 1970-1971 canada when it crept up from the corn belt (canada ended up not suffering as badly as the US, and that paper is really interesting and anxiety-inducing to read if your interested in plant pathology btw):

75% like could you even imagine. if this was worse than it was canada alone could have lost 75% of its entire maize crop. like i cannot believe this literally happened like you would think???? that they would be like o shit we have a lot of that corn like we should prob not do that incase something was to happen???? but they didnt they really. just did it lol

anyway so the resolution to that story is that of course farmers were like wow i sure dont want to lose my livelihood to my entire crop failing and immediately stopped buying hybrids with the susceptible inbred line. it literally fell out of use in like three years and we went back to manual detasseling even though the scientists in the 80s were like “hey we fixed it” and tried putting a leaf blight resistant male infertile inbred line back on the market for crossing but no one would touch that shit lol

and thats the story of how detasseling almost stopped for like 30 years until the US maize market took a major hit as the result of companies cutting corners and then came back and is still a thing that happens every year. today, we do use the male infertile inbred lines, but not even close to in the same capacity as we did in the 60s. it’s used today in conjunction with manual detasseling and machine detasseling to reduce costs. 

so anyway, i asked the corn breeders at work about how they prevent this nightmare from happening again, and they told me a couple things:

1. theres just. so many corn varieties out there now that are used. like to give some ideas as far of the sheer scale: at my facility alone, we have around 40 male inbred lines and 40 female inbred lines. every facility has this many. there are hundreds of facilities and they all mix and match inbreds. thats just my company 

2. they have hundreds of breeding programs that all strive for different things and seek out new maize varieties to keep the gene pool fresh. 

3. just like with all other things that aren’t industry and lifestyle changing (coughthatonesingularmaleinfertilefamaleinbredlinecough), things fall in and out of style. like it feels like a weird thing bc its corn but seriously, its a thing that happens in breeding because what the farmers want in their corn is always changing; they gave an example of a particularly popular variety my company had in the 90s that was the big thing for a few years. after those few years where it was like super popular (they spoke of it by numerical code and did so very fondly lol it was like two of them and they were like “aaahhhh 4919992 do u remember that one.....man what a stunner”) the farmers noticed some problems with it, got tired of it, and started buying better stuff. things fall in and out of popularity. 

4. we have the power of GMOs on our side. that means that if they have a gene in one plant thats super cool and powerful but the plant itself if lacking, they can just take it out and put it in a better, more resistant plant, and if that doesnt work they can just keep trying, or try with a better gene or trait. if the detasseling thing had happened today instead of the 1950s, they could have taken the gene out and put it in several different, more genetically diverse inbred lines, causing a little more variety than using the exact. same. females. for everything. bc thats so smart. 

basically?? we have a ton of corn. a lot of corn. just so much corn. u want tall corn?? u can choose between 6000000000 tall corn lines or perhaps u would like some mid-sized corn????? could i interest u in some corn from england??????? or japan???? or corn resistant to your particular climate or tailored to your needs???????????? please choose your corn company (there are like 500000 and they all have their own inbred lines) and then choose ur fave and change it out from year to year???????? we just got in 500000 new inbred varieties and got rid of 50000?????? its in the industry’s favor financially to keep developing new stuff, new traits, new inbreds, and new hybrids. genetic diversity is key to keeping up with new threats, and as of 2017 we’re certainly not using the same females for everything anymore. bananas are another story tho lol

[soccerdrawings]

Five Things To Avoid In Bird Clip Art With Soccer | Bird Clip Art With Soccer

The Courier's Adam Himmelsbach was air-conditioned abundant to affection me in the latest affiliate of his "Adam Asks" series. I talked about bird masks, activity as a law academy dropout and alone a scattering of profanities that he was affectionate abundant to adapt out.

Soccer ball clipart - Cartoon, Bird, Chicken, transparent .. | bird clip art with soccer The latest affiliate in Terrence Williams' added bottomward than up post-Louisville career includes him being cut from a aggregation in The Philippines.While Williams boasts abundant accreditation as a above No. 11 all-embracing aces in the NBA, he aloof wasn't a acceptable fit in the PBA."There's a misfit. Things like that happen," said Gregorio.Williams denticulate 26 credibility in the Bolts' accident on Saturday to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, but he already afresh struggled with too abounding attempts from above the arc. Some highlights of Teddy Bridgewater in activity (but not as abounding as Matt Cassel in action) from the Vikings' Tuesday practice. He doesn't get brought up generally back the affair of Tom Jurich's best hires is discussed, but Arthur Albeiro has taken Louisville pond from annihilation to a accustomed civic power. Tray Matthews, feel chargeless to appear on down. The C-J's Jeff Greer has bristles questions for Louisville basketball.4. How does Wayne Blackshear acknowledge to his aftermost chance?The above McDonald's All-American, still the alone one on Louisville's roster, has one final division to acceleration to the expectations that announce him. They are high, but they aren't unwarranted. Blackshear is a 6-foot-5, 230-pound addition who can rebound, block shots, get steals and shoot, but a tentativeness to his personality prevented him from acquainted his ability.Blackshear has the accoutrement to be a box-score-stuffing wing, and Pitino insisted beforehand this bounce that his chief captain had accustomed the claiming to put in the added assignment appropriate to become a star. But the Louisville fan abject has understandably taken the wait-and-see approach.

Chicken Pou Pro Chicken Pou Pro Soccer Bird Clip Art, PNG .. | bird clip art with soccer 5. Who takes the aftermost shot?I know, I know. It's June. We're bristles months abroad from the division admonition adjoin Minnesota. But Louisville mightily struggled with the final account of abutting games, and the team's Achilles' heel dealt one final abstract in the Sweet 16 adjoin UK. The Cards absent several abecedarian aftermost division because of that late-game beheading problem, and they won't comedy about as abounding in-conference cupcakes as they did aftermost season.This aggregation will be congenital about Harrell, so conceivably the final backing with necessitate access passes to the big fella. Who makes them? Luke Hancock was the best access passer on the team, and he's gone. But Rozier's rising-star cachet makes him an arresting final-shot candidate, as does Blackshear's abeyant progression. Jones absolutely won't be afraid, either. Ballard freshman Jordan Adell, widely-regarded as Kentucky's best abecedarian in the chic of 2018, committed to U of L on Monday night. SB Nation's Swish Appeal sits bottomward for a great Q&A with Shoni Schimmel, whose pro career is off to a agitating start. So here's the logo for Louisville's new USL PRO division soccer team:I like the idea, but the beheading seems affectionate of...I don't know, amateur. It aloof looks like article I'd see on an anachronous LMPD or JCPS website. It's like blow art. Maybe I'm actuality too critical. Hoops freshmen Chinanu Onuaku, Anas Mahmoud and Quentin Snider are clearly U of L students. Georgia cornerback Jeremy McDuffie best up an action from U of L on Tuesday. Your Red & Black Rewind for the accomplished week:

Soccer Bird Stock Illustrations – 9 Soccer Bird Stock .. | bird clip art with soccer Afterward his conditioning with the Celtics on Monday, Russ Smith discussed his accord with Louisville built-in Rajon Rondo. Chris Paul had a bigger 29th altogether than I did. The U of L baseball team's adventure for a civic appellation may accept gotten a big addition aftermost night back the Indiana band that has had their cardinal the aftermost two years was bounced by Stanford via a dramatic walk-off home run in the 9th. If the Cards beforehand accomplished Kennesaw State this weekend, they'll now face either the Cardinal or Vanderbilt in their College World Alternation opener. In Minnesota, above Card Asia Taylor has begin a new No. 1 fan: Gorgui Dieng.Taylor aloof began her amateur division with the Lynx afterwards actuality taken with the aftermost aces in the 2014 WNBA Draft, but she has already started to accomplish an appulse at Minnesota. She denticulate 18 credibility in a preseason bold adjoin the Chicago Sky and had addition 10 point bold in the Lynx's 87-82 win over the New York Liberty, a bold that Dieng abounding with his wife and mother."I absolutely didn't see him, I don't absolutely apperceive absolutely back he came in," Taylor said. "But back I saw him over there I affectionate of gave him a little beachcomber and stuff."After Taylor was drafted by the Lynx, she says she anon anticipation of Dieng actuality in the Twin Cities and was animated that she would accept a accustomed face about far from home."We afraid out a lot, women's basketball and men's basketball, we appealing abundant afraid out with anniversary added all the time and actuality so, you know, back I begin out I got drafted here, the aboriginal affair I anticipation about was ‘Dang, at atomic I'll apperceive somebody that's there,'" Taylor said. "It was absolutely good. He texted me, you know, and was like, ‘Welcome.'"...After the May 23 win adjoin the Liberty, Taylor and Dieng went to the restaurant ‘Seven' city to celebrate. Taylor had never been to the restaurant before, but she says Dieng is a regular."That was my aboriginal time activity and we airing in, everybody knows him," Taylor said. "I was like ‘Dang Gorgui! How generally do you appear here?'"

Eagle Soccer Cartoon Mascot Ripping #Ad , #AFFILIATE .. | bird clip art with soccer Underneath the dinners, jokes and video games, Dieng and Taylor accept a accord congenital on alternate account and a adulation for basketball.Taylor says she has gotten a lot of abutment and advance in actuality from Dieng at Louisville, texts afterward the WNBA Abstract and visits during these aftermost few weeks actuality with the Lynx. As anon as her division is over, she affairs to acknowledgment the favor."It's aloof support," Taylor said. "And this year, I'll absolutely be at as abounding of his abecedarian as I can be." Russ Smith worked out for the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. The Raptors accept three picks in the accessible NBA Draft. The Derby admission accusation featuring Steve Masiello (which somehow was still a thing) has been dismissed. 247Sports.com says above U of L QB accomplish Ross Trail is acceptable to accomplish to Ole Miss if the Rebels offer. Trail had originally re-affirmed his adherence to the Cards afterward the hiring of Bobby Petrino. As you ability expect, Rick Pitino had annihilation but aerial acclaim for Russ Smith back talking to The Boston Globe this week. Russ, for his part, additionally had aerial acclaim for himself.When asked if he is actuality underestimated above-mentioned to the draft, Smith said, "Oh, yeah. What they see is a senior, a guy who's slim. They absolutely don't attending at the anatomy of work. If they attending at everybody I played adjoin and every abstract aces that went and how I outplayed them, they wouldn't be talking about me the way they are talking now."Pitino believes Smith will accomplish a accomplished NBA player. "Russ is a actual different aces because Russ is an unguardable basketball player," the drillmaster said. "And although a lot of teams are not attractive at him in the aboriginal , every drillmaster I've apparent at the ACC meetings, if you are a first-round abstract best and you are a bouncer and you're at a conditioning affected and Russ Smith walks in, you're cogent your abettor to get you the hell out of there. That's the blazon of kid Russ is. If he comes walking through that door, you appetite to say anon my hamstring's aggravation me."Said Smith, "If it was up to my anatomy of work, everybody would adulation me. But that's not the case. I'm not activity to be conceited with aloof contributing. If I apperceive I can accord and do more, again I'll about-face it up. There's no agnosticism in my mind."That aplomb is acceptable what will advice backpack Smith into the NBA, and he said that's all the befalling he requires.

Bird Line Art clipart - Penguin, Sports, Yellow, transparent .. | bird clip art with soccer "I apperceive individually, cipher can bouncer me," he said. "I can get any attempt I want. I can get to any atom I want. I accomplish the best decisions and I accept been the best able abecedarian in America the accomplished two seasons. If that is not the affidavit in the pudding, I don't apperceive what is." And finally, Louisville/Floirda State makes PJCS the anniversary 10 area of ESPN's Ultimate ACC Road Trip for 2014. As it should be. Five Things To Avoid In Bird Clip Art With Soccer | Bird Clip Art With Soccer - bird clip art with soccer | Welcome for you to our website, in this particular time period I will provide you with regarding keyword. Now, here is the primary picture:

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[opedguy]

Wall Street Rallies on Bad Economic News

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), June 5, 2019.--Rallying back over 700 points in the last two sessions, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended today’s trading session at 25,539, still off about 1,000 points from its record high in October 3, 2018.  When Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell met with his Open Market Committee [FOMC] May 1, he left the federal funds rate unchanged, signaling to traders that the U.S. economy was slowing down.  Wall Street went into a buying frenzy over the last two sessions guessing that Powell had seen enough to cut rates when the FOMC meets again June 18. Unlike Main Street, Wall Street buys on rumors, sells on news, rumors now about an impending Fed rate cut. With the yield curve inverting or flattening, Powell reads recession on the horizon prompting him to loosen monetary policy.  Only partisan politicians believe the U.S. economy continues to show strength.

            When Wall Street rallies on bad economic news, there’s a disconnect with the underlying economy.  You’d think that Wall Street would sell off when it gets bad economic news but the opposite takes place.  Looking beyond 72-year-old President Donald Trump’s trade war with China or Mexico, Wall Street looks fixated on the next FOMC meeting, betting that Powell cuts the federal funds rate.  If Powell cuts, you can bet the Fed sees recession getting close, hoping for a soft landing.  Cutting rates usually has a stimulus effect on the economy, hoping to keep the business cycle moving ahead. ADP’s National Employment Report shows hiring slowing-to-a-crawl with private employers hiring at the slowest rate in nine years.  Some analysts see the trade wars as taking its toll on the U.S. economy, urging Trump to resolve the issue with China at the G20 meeting June 28 in Osaka, Japan.

            Whether or not Trump can resolve the China trade war on the sidelines of the upcoming G20 is anyone’s guess.  China has shown no signs of cracking under U.S. pressure to sign a trade deal.  But slowed economic activity in Europe and Asia also portends a global economic slowdown, less related to Trump’s spats with China and Mexico.  When Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping June 28 on the sidelines of the G20, he’d better resolve the trade war or face more market volatility.  Enough market volatility could cause more economic hardship in the U.S. and elsewhere. “Today and yesterday the market was embracing the idea of more weakness in the economy giving the Fed some cover to preemptively cut rates.  If the excuse evaporates with a strong jobs number Friday, the market might be disappointed,” said Jeffrey Kleintop, Schwab’s Boston-based Global Investment strategist.

            Trump’s reelection bid hinges on strong economic growth, prompting him to resolve the China trade war when he meets with Xi in Osaka June 28.  With the economy already slowing, Trump needs the economy firing on all cylinders, not sputtering from Chinese and Mexican tariffs.  Trump said he hopes to reach a deal with Mexico to avoid slapping the U.S.’s biggest trading partner with tariffs.  Cutting a Mexico deal “would alleviate on of the risks that lurks out there,” said Mark Luschini, a market strategist at Philadelphia-based Janey Montgomery Scott.  Announcing 5% tariffs on Mexico June 10 would trigger more Wall Street selling, no matter what the Fed does with interest rates.  Using tariffs to resolve the Central American refugee crisis at the Mexican border makes no sense.  While everyone wants a secure southern border, most American don’t want another trade war with Mexico.

            Reading the tea-leaves, it looks like the U.S. economy has stagnated, no longer promising strong Gross Domestic Product [GDP] growth. If Friday’s Labor Department report for payrolls prove anemic, it could trigger a rate cut at the FOMC’s next meeting. Powell has left himself very few tools, other than slashing interest rates, to deal with a slowing economy. “You’d want to see materials, energy, industrials and financials leading the rally,” said Luschiani.  “I’d be reluctant to chase this because it might just be a snapback rebound,” said Luschiani.  Flirting with disaster, Trump must think twice before escalating a trade war with Mexico.  Looking at the Fed’s actions, it’s clear that Fed governors see an economic slowdown or recession first, before cutting the federal funds rate for the first time in two years.  Today’s rally mode could be short-lived if Trump can’t figure out how to end the trade wars.

            Rallying on bad economic news, the U.S. economy can’t take more tariffs from Mexico or China.  No one wants to see the U.S. sink into recession this year-or-next because of unnecessary trade wars.  When the Labor Department reports on jobs Friday, Powell will no doubt take that into consideration when responding to future economic trends.  Whether or not Trump can pull the economy back from a slowdown is anyone’s guess.  Trump can’t make up his mind what to do with Mexico.  If he listens to his closest economic advisers at the White House or on Capitol Hill, Trump would refrain from applying sanctions on Mexico. Given the global economic slowdown, it was only a matter of time before the U..S. was hit with slow growth.  If Trump wants to help the U.S. and global economy, he’d refrain from more tariffs.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.  

[maggiejulienne]

2017 Midway Check-point and Writer Feelings

Hello, the internet!

2017 has undoubtedly been the best year of my entire life. It’s amazing what getting out of an emotionally abusive relationship can do for the mind, body, soul, and career! I highly, highly recommend it. I hear it’s a lovely time of year not to have been in one in the first place, but if that isn’t an option, telling him “boy, bye” is a excellent back-up plan.

So let’s re-re-re-re-re-rewind!

January

February- Asked to do a treatment for Someone Else’s Musical So I Can’t Tell You More which definitely went under the category of “labor of capitalism” rather than “labor of love,” but it was 

March - Demo recorded for Musical Chairs. 

April - Begin work on Monster Prom, an exciting new computer game, with one of my dearest school friends who I’ve known for more than a dozen years. 

May- Ahhhhh! PRINCESS TEN TEN AND THE DARK SKIES workshop in my homeland of Southern California!!! This trip was a dreamdreamdream.

June - Back in New York! Hard at work on Invincible, Monster Prom, and did a lyric brush up for Someone Else’s Musical Screenplay So I Can’t Tell You More But It Was Fairytale-Themed And Therefore Awesome.

July - The toughest month so far - one of my best friends went through a lot of really hard stuff back-to-back and since she doesn’t have a great family support system I really heavily took that on emotionally trying to be there for her and help her in whatever way she needs - she 0% put any obligation on me, but that’s where my soul lies so it’s always gonna be what it is. That being said, she’s doing MUCH better now and we’re both so much happier for it. I finished the last piece of Invincible materials needed for the author to start pitching to producers, and am now good to set that aside until the next step, when- and what-ever that may be. I saw a whole slew of friends, Natasha, Ashleigh, Hannah, Katherine, Hallie, Zach, their friends, all multiple times within a very brief time-span, and that was great.

So to recap, that’s one short film with my lyrics (Smile), two pieces for a collection of one acts (Alcestis: A Tragiquilt), three musicals based on pre-existing material (Invincible, Musical Chairs, Princess Ten Ten and the Dark Skies), one movie adaptation of a preexisting work of mine, two brush-ups on other people’s scripts (shh! you’ll never know), one computer game (Monster Prom) and a partridge in a pear tree.

That’s NINE projects for other people in six months. 

Holy kjahkjhkajehkehrh oh my goodness SO #blessed, so thrilled to be making my living as a writer, so happy to feel the validation that comes from having the same people hire you again and again because they like your work and they like who you are as a person and have them recommend you to others and you make new connections etc. It’s wonderful, truly, and it’s an amazing feeling and an amazing life.

Now. You will notice that conspicuously absent from the above are such phrases as “my original musical” “my screenplay” “my T.V. show”or “my novel.” And yet I have m-u-l-t-i-p-l-e of all of the above either finished or in-progress. Just in the past month or so when things were getting kind of “eh” in my personal life because of how much my friends were hurting and how deeply that affects me when it’s people I love, I really started missing my own work. Getting paid to write has been a double-edged sword in a way - it makes me feel more like a “real” writer in a very external, tangible way, it does that capitalism thing where I can feed and house myself, and it gives me hard deadlines and people to report to who believe in my work enough to have chosen me over everyone else. On the other hand, it gives me hard deadlines and people to report to who believe in my work enough to have chosen me over everyone else.

I haven’t stopped working on my own pieces during this time, and actually wrote my first-ever short film(s, two of them) since I’m starting to get anxious about getting my feature done and want to start making some kinda movie and it seems like all my friends have produced shorts at this point and YOLO. But I LOVE my feature so so so so much and it’s gotten almost exclusively positive feedback from everyone who’s read it, but hasn’t quite stuck the landing by finding the right person/place/thing with the right resources and the right opportunity at the right time. I may now have a production company for it but we still need to finding funding, and although it’s low-budget as far as feature films go ($500k-$1mil), it’s not exactly crowdfunding material. Mostly, with all these projects, especially the ones on strict timelines, I’ve started carving out time to make sure I’m continuing work on my Most Favorite Novel I’ve Started Since I Was An Adult, here after referred to as MFN.

Tonight, around 10:45/50ish, I got into bed to finish up some Monster Prom/Alcestis work before going to sleep (breaking my recently-instated rule of working on the couch in the living room and sleeping in bed, like a human, but hey). I was casually scrolling through Facebook when I saw an advertisement, inadvertently screamed, threw my phone across the room, curled up in a fetal position with my fists so tightly they hurt and yet I couldn’t unclench them, and sobbed myself to sleep.

WTF?! you ask (no, you don’t, I presume NO ONE will read this whole thing, but this is my e-journal, so I’mma post whatever I want)

I saw an advertisement for a book, the cover of which could easily be for MFN, and the title of which is one I have actually used at one point. I finally had returned to it and started actively scheduling ways to make sure I stayed on top of it, and someone had beaten me to the punch with a shocking level of specificity. There are a lot of things that make me feel strong feelings and my life is an emotional rollercoaster and I just don’t blog quite often enough to write about every single mood shift.

But I have literally never experienced a feeling quite like that in my 26+ years of being alive, and I didn’t know there were entirely new feelings left to feeling.

I’ve never been literally “paralyzed with emotion,” but that’s how it felt. As I said, I literally felt as if I could not loosen my fingers, could not move my knees from my chest, could not open my eyes. I just folded in on myself and fell asleep within minutes, something I haven’t done in weeks, because my body literally needed to shut off rather than deal with the emotional pain I felt of, in one picture and twenty-five words, feeling like a piece I have spent the past eight years working on had been rendered useless and defunct and - I’ve sat here struggling to think of a word to describe exactly what it was but the best I can come up with is - dead. And dead. It felt like MFN,this thing I love, was dead, had been killed by the unfairness of the universe that gave two creative souls the same thought and let one beat the other to the finish line.

What should make this less surprising to me is the fact that the darling young newlywed playwright assigned the Alcestis scene immediately after mine came up with - independently of me, having never met, never discussed the piece - almost the EXACT SAME premise and themes for his interpretation of the text.

(And this author’s book was published by the same publishing house that published my friend’s book that I was explaining to this gal I’m just starting to be friends with led to a kind of complicated dynamic with this other person da da da because of fucking COURSE it was)

Anyway it’s 6:51AM right now and I need to go to sleep so I can wake up and do the writing I’m being paid and/or asked to do rather than just writing about the writing I’m being paid and/or asked to do, so I’ll hafta fill in a few of the beats tomorrow but these are the bulk of my feelings and there’s just a lot of them lol. Mostly I hope that my current trajectory continues and maybe if my writing reaches a broader audience people can see these records of how I got there since we usually only see the sort of “overnight success” moments and miss all the work to get there.

So let the record show that for the first five years I lived in New York, I got a total of about four or five writing jobs, and now have had nine in the last seven months. I did a whole buncha acting in that time, but will soon be acting for the first time in a year and a half. So it took a long time of writing before people started asking me to write things on a (too???) regular basis, and now we’ll see how long it takes until people start asking me to write my own things and they’ll pay for them and let other people see them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

XOXO

gossiprat

[bearingwater]

April Forecast for Aquarius

Get out and circulate! The Sun is in Aries and your third house of communication until April 19, sparking up your social life. Local action could heat up, so head out and explore the happenings in your ‘hood. You might need to make a conscious effort NOT to overbook, since your calendar will fill quickly and you could exhaust yourself with too much running around. Still, this is a vibrant time to network and mingle, as you’ll easily draw kindred spirits into your orbit.

Fun as flitting about may be, April has its…complications. Five (yes, five) planets will be retrograde (www.astrostyle.com/learn-astrology/retrogrades) this April, a challenging cycle that IS ideal for inspecting and revamping. As the month begins, Venus and Jupiter are already retrograde, to be joined by Saturn, Mercury and Pluto. Retrogrades occur when the Earth and another planet pass each other in their journeys around the Sun, creating the illusion that one of them is moving backward. Since retrogrades govern the past, unfinished business often comes up to be handled, and people we haven’t seen in awhile (if not years) can resurface.

Harmonizer Venus has been retrograde since March 4 in Aries, which may have created a few social speed bumps or lover’s quarrels. It might be a relief that Venus is leaving Aries on April 2, backing into Pisces for the duration of its retrograde, which ends on April 15. Since Pisces rules your second house of work, money and security, there could be conflict with colleagues and clients, or ripples of discord at the office. Your self-confidence might take a small nosedive, so do things to affirm your worth, like treating yourself exquisitely.

We’re not saying a spa pedicure and hot-stone massage are the long-term antidote to insecurities, but pampering yourself can help lift you out of a self-flagellating slump. Just make sure any retail therapy you indulge in has a generous return policy, as aesthetic Venus’ backspin can lead to some major style missteps. Hold off on big-ticket furniture items or pricey wardrobe pieces. Instead, how about doing a closet edit and donating home decor items that no longer suit your tastes? When Venus turns direct on April 15, you can shop to your heart’s content.

Some grander plans might have sputtered a bit, thanks to expansive Jupiter’s retrograde in Libra and your visionary ninth house from February 6 to June 9. The ninth house rules publishing, travel, study and entrepreneurship—big themes for Aquarians ever since Jupiter entered Libra on September 9, 2016. But have things gotten too big too soon? Use this cycle to pause and catch up, making sure you’re not biting off more than you can realistically chew. You might enroll in a short summer extension course to build your skills (like the finer points of social media or Javascript, perhaps) or take a trip back to an old favorite place for inspiration. When Jupiter zooms ahead in June, you’ll have the spotted planet in this lucky zone until October 10, the perfect time for a really ambitious launch.

The one exception to this arrives on April 11, at the year’s only Libra full moon. This could bring an exciting opportunity to put your boldest message in the spotlight. Have you been holding back the truth? The moon will form a tense square to potent Pluto in your twelfth house of hidden information. An unexpected and intense conversation could erupt, and while the atmosphere may get heated, at least you’ll clear the air. Just don’t whip out a laundry list of everything this person did wrong in the past six months. Take some responsibility: If you didn’t tell them you were upset, how could they have known?

As if that weren’t enough to navigate, April brings three new retrograde cycles, starting with structured Saturn. From April 5 to August 25, the tough taskmaster will backspin through Sagittarius, impacting your eleventh house of teamwork and technology. Plans could get mired in red tape and bureaucracy. A collaboration could slow down, or team members might not see eye to eye. Is there a weak link in the chain? With stern Saturn here, you may need to do the hard work of asking someone to leave or of distancing yourself from a draining friend. If too much has fallen on your shoulders, you might step down from leadership and let others pull their weight. Planning an online launch or digital debut? Saturn’s U-turn pushes you to ensure your product is airtight before springing it on the public. Test everything behind the scenes. When your YouTube channel goes viral, you’ll be glad you took the extra time to craft the plan or hire that pro editor.

Speaking of all things digital, from April 9 to May 3, communicator Mercury goes retrograde (www.astrostyle.com/mercury-retrograde), disrupting technology, communication and travel for almost a month. This cycle happens three or four times a year, and it’s notorious for confounding interpersonal matters. Practice radical patience and back up your data and devices stat, before Mercury swoops down and erases your Great American Novel. If possible, delay signing contracts, or at least scrutinize the fine print before you do.

Mercury will be retrograde in Taurus and your domestic fourth house until April 20, which could stir up discord at Chateau Water Bearer. Hold off on any big plans to renovate or oust a roommate (unless you have due cause). Put together a Pinterest mood board of inspired interior design and try to hash things out with the people under your roof. And by all means, declutter your nest, especially if you’ve accumulated too much over the winter. Retrogrades are favorable times for reunions. Reconnect with relatives or important women, since the fourth house rules the ladies in your life. From April 20 to May 3, Mercury backs into Aries and your communication zone, a time to really watch what you say, email and post. All things verbal or written can (and likely will) be misconstrued.

With all this drama is going on in the stars, why not do a deep dive into your own psyche and emotions? If you can’t beat the cosmos, you might as well join ’em! As within, so without—and maybe if you get right inside yourself, your outer world will stabilize accordingly. Transformational Pluto, ruler of the unconscious, goes retrograde in your twelfth house of healing, closure and hidden information from April 20 to September 28. This could be a powerful time to reconnect with your intuition or do some forgiveness work. (Here are a few spiritual tips http://bodhispiritualcenter.org/5-techniques-to-work-on-forgiveness/). You might need to grieve a loss or deal with a mind-body health issue. Explore the link between emotions and wellbeing, since “mysterious” chronic symptoms often signal a deeper issue you haven’t wanted to confront. Pluto retrograde will snap you out of denial, but ultimately, that’s a good thing.

With shadowy Pluto backing through this mystical zone, you might be grieving a loss or having psychic dreams. You could receive healing messages from a departed loved one while you sleep or get undeniable “signs” that guides from the other side are assisting you. Meditation, listening to music, dance—these are just a few ways you can get out of your head and tune in to powerful leads from the universe.

Whew! So much going on, Aquarius. Feel free to hunker down at home and escape from April 19 on, when the Sun makes its annual sojourn through Taurus and your domestic fourth house. The April 26 Taurus new moon could bring exciting news for your personal life: a move, a pregnancy or an opportunity for some nurturing self-care. New moons unfold over a span of six months, so set intentions for your personal life. Where and how would you like to live? Start researching new cities or neighborhoods for a perfect fit. Is there a family relationship that needs healing? Extend the first twig of that olive branch. Someone has to make the first move, and it might as well be you.

Love & Romance

Romance on the rocks? The first couple weeks of this month could be choppy while love planet Venus is retrograde from March 4 to April 15. Venus makes this tricky backspin every 18 months for about six weeks, and it's a good time to reevaluate relationship dynamics and try to iron out any differences. In some cases, couples may go their separate ways; in others, since retrogrades can bring back the past, old lovers might reappear on the scene.

From April 2 to 28, Venus is in Pisces and your second house of security. There could be discord over money: Is one of you footing an unfair share of the dinner tabs or bills? Since the second house also rules self-esteem, you might discover a need to shore yours up before hitting the dating scene again. Take a time-out from Tinder if it’s been chipping away at your self-worth or making you jaded about love. This Aquarius woman’s story of why she took a break from dating apps (http://www.rannysays.com/blog/2016/1/19/why-im-taking-a-break-from-tinder) could give you food for thought. If you’re getting over a breakup, get a shot of meme-fueled confidence from the Brokenhearted Babe Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/brokenheartedbabe/), also curated by an Aquarius.

But don’t plan on wallowing for too long! From April 21 to June 4, lusty Mars marches into Gemini and your fiery fifth house, pumping up the passion. Spring fever cometh! You’ll be turning heads and attracting admirers without even trying. Mars only visits this part of your chart every couple years, so take advantage. Reach for bolder statement pieces and brighter colors when you go out. With the red planet here, there’s no such thing as “too much.” For couples, your mojo gets a spicy spring awakening. Single Aquarians might decide to lift your temporary Tinder ban. But honestly, your infectious joie de vivre is likely to magnetize some passionate prospects in real-time. Why swipe when you can meet on the dance floor or exchange a laugh while you wait for your brunch tables?

Opportunity Days

April 6: Mars-Pluto Trine Whoa! Who knew you felt that strongly about something? Probably not even you. Today, something could trigger you, bringing up powerful emotions that can actually be healing when they see the light of day. For couples, this karmic day might spark a gesture that brings you closer, like meeting each other’s relatives or exchanging keys, or possibly news of a pregnancy. This is a powerful moment for healing, forgiveness and breaking an old family behavior pattern. Single? You may have a soulmate encounter or romantic deja vu. Have you known each other in another lifetime?

April 26: Taurus New Moon A new emotional chapter opens as the new moon awakens a nurturing and sensitive part of you. Family and home are also in the lunar spotlight. A move, pregnancy or lifestyle change could unfold in the coming six months.

Challenge Days

April 20-September 28: Pluto Retrograde Get ready to go into those shadowy places and explore your hidden blind spots. Plumb-the-depths Pluto plunges into reverse motion, putting you intensely in touch with powerful, possibly painful feelings. Consider taking a healing retreat to work through core wounds. If you’ve skipped over the healing process, you may need to go back and deal with it now. You might be especially driven to explore the hidden meanings and mysteries of everything due to Pluto's presence in this spiritual zone. This is also a good time for intensive therapy, especially if you're healing from a childhood trauma. Art, music, dance and any right-brain activity can be especially transporting.

Money & Career

Spread the word, Aquarius! With the Sun in Aries and your communication house until April 19, this is an excellent time for networking, pitching and putting a creative message out there. Don’t hide your smarts, either, as this intellectual cycle is perfect for putting your quirky “geek chic” on full display. We love everything about your fellow Aquarius (and proud bookworm) Emma Roberts’ new website, Belletrist (https://belletrist.com), an online book club that features interviews with authors she loves. Gather kindred spirits through social media and IRL meetups, and see what you can stir up together.

Working from home could be productive this month, as motivated Mars steams through Taurus and your domestic fourth house until April 21. Convert that cluttered corner or spare nook into a productive space. Women figure into your ambitious aims. A powerful and well-connected female could open doors or make an auspicious intro. If you’re thinking of starting a cottage industry, devote some energy to that.

Opportunity Days

April 5-August 25: Saturn Retrograde Press pause or take a sober step back from a group- or tech-related project. You could face a few obstacles to building your dream team or implementing technology.

April 7: Sun-Jupiter Opposition Know-it-all alert! People (yourself included) could be blowing a lot of hot air under this ego-driven cosmic aspect. Don’t believe the hype. While it all sounds exciting and promising, very little of what’s being said can actually be backed up with action or solid evidence. Be careful about getting roped into pointless arguments, both in person and on social media.

April 9: Sun-Pluto Square Read between the lines. Someone may be saying one thing, but their body language and non-verbal cues are telling a very different story. Not every friendly person is a friend. Some are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Don’t be their sacrificial lamb today—keep your wits about you and be careful what you divulge.

April 11: Libra Full Moon It’s a great day to launch a creative idea or to take a bold risk. Express your “out-there” ideas: You might discover that others are eager to get on-board. Travel, publishing, study and public speaking are all on the agenda at this full moon. Just be careful who you bring into this endeavor, as a square from calculating Pluto indicates that a shady person may be hovering on the periphery.

April 14: Sun-Uranus Meetup No filters? The courageous Sun and radical Uranus make it impossible to bite your tongue. But choose your audience wisely. Not everyone is able to digest it all in one bite. While you shouldn’t sugarcoat the truth, you don’t want to turn people off by coming across as volatile or unhinged.

April 17: Sun-Saturn Trine Choose your words carefully, and you could win the attention and support of some well-connected people. If you’re trying to get an initiative or project approved, band together. There’s power in numbers, so show the decision makers that your ideas have clout. Even better? Don’t wait for them to give you “permission.” Form a coalition and make change together.

Challenge Days

April 9-May 3: Mercury Retrograde Uh-oh! Mercury, the ruler of technology, travel and interpersonal affairs, begins its dicey three-week backspin, which could foil efforts in all of these areas. Back up your data to the cloud, explain yourself clearly, and triple-check all plans and reservations. If you’ve been waiting for a green light, you may have to sit on your hands a little longer, but be patient! This is not a favorable time to seal any deals anyway.

Love Days: 28, 5 Money Days: 12, 22 Luck Days: 11, 19 Off Days: 30, 8, 17

[megamanxfanfics]

S.IV - Ep. 3: Negotiation Failure

Written by Metal Man X

------------------------------------------------- INT. LAYE LABS – Corridors - DAY -------------------------------------------------

-Fade in-

Caption: June 2, 2120. The day after the Erasure Incident.

Alia walks down a corridor and sees Gate on the phone in his office.  He smiles at her as he closes his door.

ALIA: Hm?

GATE: (muffled) Aw, come onnn Scaravich! I take care of you, don’t I??

Her eyes widen as she puts her ear to the wall.

-pan inside his office-

Gate is sitting down at his desk chair with the phone close to his ear.

GROUND SCARAVICH: (o.s, filtered) Not interested.

GATE: Look, I don’t even know if you’ll find anything. Just- ..just go to the Forbidden Place and-

GROUND SCARAVICH: (o.s, filtered) The Forbidden Place!? Are you out of your mind???

GATE: Well..-

GROUND SCARAVICH: The last time I dug up info on ancient robots, I almost got pinched for it by the Maverick Hunter Police.

GATE: …and I rewarded you handsomely for that information… Did you forget that?

GROUND SCARAVICH: Hmph…  

GATE: Have you forgotten whose taken you off the grid? …Hmm?

-flash-

GATE: (persuasive, taunting) I’ll pay you Douuuuuble…

There is a pause on the other end of the phone, until finally, an annoyed grunt can be heard.

GROUND SCARAVICH: Aggh, alright I’ll do it!

GATE: Yes!

GROUND SCARAVICH: But this is the last time; you hear me?  If you dig too deep, you’re going to get dirty.

GATE: Why yes, of course…  Just get me anything you can find on them.

GROUND SCARAVICH: …Why are you so interested in them… Out of curiosity.  As your Treasure Hunter, I have a right to know…

Gate closes his eyes and smiles.

GATE: (growing excited) If I knew the secrets behind their power, just think of how much Good I could do!!  I could make even better Reploids, stronger allies, and far more enhanced co-workers that I can actually count on.  Hell! We could even develop a whole new race of-

GROUND SCARAVICH: Whoa! Forget I asked…  I’ll check out the area, okay?

GATE: Okay.  …Will you go today?

GROUND SCARAVICH: …Yeah…

-pan outside of the office-

On the other side of the wall, Alia stops listening in and stands upright with a frown and a clenched  fist.

ALIA: (v.o, thinking) Gate’s up to his old tricks again! If he’s back in touch with Scaravich… and wants something from the Forbidden Place… then it can only lead to no good.  (gasping) It’ll probably result in our termination!!  I’ve got to stop him before it’s too late!

-cut to-

------------------------------------------------- EXT. THE FORBIDDEN PLACE – DAY -------------------------------------------------

Outside of an excavated mountain, Ground Scaravich is seen walking into an exposed Lab Bunker.  He passes under a series of yellow police tape, that reads: Police Line – Do Not Cross.

Alia teleports into the area with a large beam cannon in her hands. She carefully and quietly treads through the police tape and primes her borrowed weapon.

-pan inside. The high pitched squeak of the cannon's charge rises.-

ALIA: Going somewhere?

Completely startled, the scarab stops dead in his tracks and turns around.

GROUND SCARAVICH: Gyaah. U-uh…  Its not what it looks-

ALIA: (interrupting) I don't think the Maverick Hunters would appreciate it if they knew what you were up to...

GROUND SCARAVICH: N-now wait a minute.  I can explain. Gate hired me!

ALIA: I know!  …You've been a problem for quite some time, and it’s all because of him.

She sets the safety off of her cannon and points it at him.

GROUND SCARAVICH: B-believe me. It's all for a good cause! ALIA: Don’t even… Last time you were hired, it caused my old boss to go Maverick! You may have heard of him. His name was Doctor Doppler.

GROUND SCARAVICH: What!?

ALIA: I WON'T LET YOU RUIN OUR LIVES AGAIN!!!!

She fires the high-powered cannon and unleashes a thick stream of blue plasma upon the Reploid.

GROUND SCARAVICH: GYAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

He attempts to block his face but is overtaken by the blast.

-zoom in on the blast-

-fade to white-

------------------------------------------------- INT. LAYE LABS – Main Work Area – DAY -------------------------------------------------

Caption: November 16, 21XX. NOW

ALIA: (v.o, thinking) It may not have been Scaravich's fault, but the scrap robots he found, aided Doppler's research in Roboenza.  Which, ultimately lead to a stronger strain of the Maverick Virus…  I had to do it. I just had to…  If he never existed… Maybe the World wouldn’t be how it is today…

Alia winces and frowns at the recent memory as the rest of the researcher's draw their attention to the news.

-pan to the wall mounted TV screen-

ANCHOR: (filtered) …and in response to Repliforce's attack on Sydney, the Maritime Battalion awaits further orders at the border of Repliforce's Naval Territory. Sources say that despite this attack, the Maverick Hunters are still willing to negotiate with Repliforce!  As a further preventative measure, Maverick Hunter operatives have arrived in New Guinea in hopes of starting a dialogue with Repliforce's Guerilla Unit Commander, Web Spider…

[Insert Title Card: Negotiation Failure]

The Researchers react as the report goes on.

BLAZE PHOENIX: Hmph.. Fools. They should all just blow each other out of the sky!  Then we wouldn’t have to hear about it..

GATE: (firm, disappointed) Heatnix!

INFINITY FLEA: If you ask me, we're already headed in that direction…

COMMANDER YAMMARK: We can only hope this whole thing blows over.  Otherwise we really are in for some tough times ahead.

BLAZE PHOENIX: I don’t care who wins. Might makes right! Only the strongest will survive!!

GATE: (reacting) Nooo!

ALIA: (reacting, overlapping) You are so wrong!

BLIZZARD WOLFANG: You Hot-Head!  Can’t you see that this is affecting real lives?  We could be next.  Regardless of who wins, the Reploids lose.

COMMANDER YAMMARK: …The only thing I'm concerned with is the potential damage that this War will do to the environment.

Gate snaps his fingers, at a sudden idea.

GATE: We need to help them.  Yammark, Forest Protection is your area. Go ahead and investigate.

COMMANDER YAMMARK: (dilligent, dutiful) With pleasure, sir.

Dr. Laye looks worried as she offers a nod of approval for this mission.

DR. LAYE: Be careful out there. We don’t want to add any more layers of chaos to this mess.

COMMANDER YAMMARK: Yes ma’am.

Four of Dr. Laye's researchers share a sheepish look as Commander Yammark passes them by.  

?????: Hey. Don’t start another fire, okay?

COMMANDER YAMMARK: Shut up, Malek.

MALEK and his three friends, LIAM, TERRANCE and ZACH all burst out laughing unable to contain themselves.

Dr. Laye scowls at her own crew

DR. LAYE: Everyone, get back to work! All we can do now, is hope for the best.

She looks back at the TV screen as the news displays a live image of X and Zero standing by at the Jungle.

-cut to-

------------------------------------------------- EXT. NEW GUINEA – Papua Jungles - DAY -------------------------------------------------

X and Zero stand by their Unit members, ZEPHYR and TAKUMA while they wait for the 9th Unit to arrive. After a short moment LEAP FROG, CROSS- HARE and RECON RACCOON teleport in to join them.

X: Is this everyone?

RECON RACCOON: Baryon and Scorche are still training the newbies.  Besides, it wouldn't be a good idea to have Scorche lightin' the place up.

ZERO: Good call. This is more than enough.

X nods in agreement with a sharp, determined glare in his eyes.

X: Lets go.

X leads the group down to a river, where he can spot Repliforce activity to his left, a short distance away.

X: I think it’s this way.

ZERO: Yeah, come on.

Zero takes the lead with a dash as he fearlessly hops down a short waterfall.

-pan to-

------------------------------------------------- EXT. PAPUA JUNGLES – Mubi River – DAY -------------------------------------------------

X, Zephyr, Takuma, Leap Frog, Cross-Hare and Recon Raccoon drop down from the Waterfall into the shallow end of Mubi River.

The Maverick Hunters follow the path along the river.  As they pass by large chopped tree stumps, the Repliforce Mechaniloids go into defense mode.

X: Do not engage unless they attack us!  Remember, we came here to /taah.

At the dash, X gets /struck by a Kill Fisher mechaniloid, which swiftly rams into his chest.

ZERO: Hmph. So much for that!

He pulls out his Z-Saber as the Kill Fisher quickly flies by, toward the other Hunters.

ZEPHYR: Hmph!

He strikes it down with a quick buster shot.

Two more Kill Fisher mechaniloids suddenly activate and hover up from the riverbed.  They fly past X and Zero to enact their revenge, while X looks at a Fish-based Reploid ahead.  The Reploid impressively flips his trident and guards himself in a defensive position.

X: Hey!  Stand Down!!  We just want to talk to Web Spider.

????: Hmph.  Intruders!  You want to speak to my Commander??  None shall pass the great King Poseidon!

ZERO: Uhh, what?

TAKUMA: Hahaha!  The only way to Spidus is through him, Boss!!!

ZERO: Heh, fine with me.

He dashes over to KING POSEIDON and swings his saber, but the reploid high jumps away and rolls up into a ball in mid-air.  A series of spikes shoot out from his back as they rain down on the group.

RECON RACCOON: Agh!!  What the Hell, man!?

He throws a grenade back at the soldier, which latches onto his chest.  Upon landing, King Poseidon explodes.

RECON RACCOON: Hahaha, yeah!!  /Awhh!

Just then, another Kill Fisher /rams into Recon Raccoon from behind with a surprise attack.

CROSS-HARE: Hahahahaha!

He points and laughs at his cocky counter-part, while Leap Frog quickly blasts it away with a pistol.

LEAP FROG: Stay focused guys.  C’mon!

He leads the 9th Unit, while The Elite and Shinobi Hunters lead them down to a cavernous waterfall.

-pan to-

------------------------------------------------- EXT. PAPUA JUNGLES – Bisi Falls – DAY -------------------------------------------------

X drops down and shoots at a Blast Raster, then he hops down further into the cavern.  As he drops down, he notices two more Blast Raster’s and a Metal Gabyoall, that he passed by.  Within moments, Zero and Takuma take on the strays that he missed.  Nothing can be done about the Gabyoall, spike mechaniloid though.  They only seem to stun the device, freezing it momentarily.

X nods at their admirable teamwork and looks below him.  A short drop down is a further landing along the cavernous waterfall.

X: Let’s move on, guys.

He drops down and the rest join him. From a short distance, within an alcove of the cavern, X spots something that makes his heart skip a beat.

X: (gasping) On second thought…

He slowly walks towards the cavern, attracted to the teal light emitting from inside.

Zero smirks.

ZERO: (smiling) Heh.  We’ll let you explore while WE move on, X.

Zero leads Takuma and the 9th Unit down further below by the Water Fall.

Zephyr stays behind.

ZEPHYR: Uh, sir?

X: Stand by, Zeph.  I just need to check this out.

X runs inside the alcove as Zephyr stands by and folds his arms, somewhat confused.

-pan inside the alcove-

The glow of a Capsule illuminates X’s surprised face as Dr. Light’s form appears once again for the first time in a while.

DR. LIGHT: This war should never have happened, X…  Why must Reploids fight each other?  Why do these peace keepers persist in fighting each other?  This must be some sort of mistake…

X frowns as his heart aches.  Light tears form in his eyes as he nods in agreement.

X: I’m doing the best I can to prevent this from happening.  But I don’t know how successful I will be.

The A.I of Dr. Light, his creator and only remaining father figure silently nods in response.

DR. LIGHT: I know…  X, enter this capsule.  Equip all four pieces of the Force Armor to discover the truth.  Equip with this boot module and you will be able to hover in the air along with your air-dash.  Be careful though, for you will only remain airborne for a few moments.  

X: Right!

DR. LIGHT: It is effective for negotiating through higher and more dangerous terrain. Go now, my son.  Stop this tragic war as soon as possible.

With those words, the form of Dr. Light’s A.I fades away.  Before X enters the capsule, he is surprised by the sight of yet another capsule behind the one before him; only this one is pink.

X: Huh??

X enters and looks ahead at the Special Capsule curiously as rays of light upgrade his boots' processing data.  With a new, yet familiar look, his boots now shine in layers of white and blue with a gold trim above the shoe.  New tiny red thrusters are embedded into the boot’s design, which impress X a lot.

After receiving his upgrade, he steps out of the capsule and walks up to the pink one.  He examines it and notices empty compartments along the bottom of the capsule, to which he already knows he must insert Sub-tanks and a Heart-Tank into.   Only, this time there are two slots, which don’t seem to resemble that of sub-tanks. X: Hm.  It must be locked.  I’m just going to have to come back later.

He touches the rigid teal light, which repels him as if bidding goodbye.  He looks bewildered at the capsule and shakes his hand, before turning around and dashing with his new thrusters over to Zephyr’s position.

ZEPHYR: Hey, boss.  What took you so- Whooaa!!

X stylishly dashes to his soldier and strikes a victorious pose as he shows off his new boots with pride.

X: New boots!

ZEPHYR: Ah..hah…

X: Come on, Zephyr.  We’d better catch up with the others.

ZEPHYR: Yes, sir.  

-cut to-

------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. BISI FALLS – Mountainous Caverns - DAY -------------------------------------------------------------

Along the vast Bisi Falls, a series of logs fall from the top, all the way down to a dangerous water rapid, below.  Zero, Takuma, Leap Frog, Cross-Hare and Recon Raccoon all carefully jump from log to log, one after another as they make it to the other side of the Waterfall, back to a new mountainous cavern.

Takuma, Cross-Hare and Recon Raccoon all pant feeling exhausted, while Leap Frog stands upright and looks ahead with Zero.

ZERO: Heh, you guys alright?  You all look winded.

LEAP FROG: (smiling) As much as I’d hate to admit it, my team could do with a little more training.

ZERO: Mine, too.

TAKUMA: Heeey.

ZERO: Come on, guys!  There’s more Guerillas up ahead.

Zero jumps across the rocky terrain as river water, splashes at his feet.  He jumps onto a ladder and climbs up.

From above, a green Reploid who strongly resembles King Poseidon steps on his hands.

ZERO: Aaagh.

KING POSEIDON: You fools dare try to kill me?

A smart missile flies past Zero and curves towards the green reploid, destroying it.

-pan below-

CROSS-HARE: Yeah, we do!!

-pan above-

Another green version of King Posiedon hops down a ladder and points at them angrily with his trident.

KING POSEIDON: Hmph!!  Soon you will find that I am everywhere!!

Zero narrows his eyes.

ZERO: Clones…

Zero dash-jumps across a rock on the other side, to ascend to his level and strike him down with a swift cut of the blade.  The Reploid is cut in half and destroyed instantly.

Leap Frog, Cross-Hare and Recon Raccoon catch up to his position as they focus their attention on shooting down the Blast Rasters in the area that are clinging to the walls around them.

As Takuma slowly catches up to his leader he gives him a worried look.

TAKUMA: Do you really think they all cloned themselves?

ZERO: (annoyed) I don’t really care to be honest…

They continue their ascent up the numerous ladders along the cavern and spot another version of King Poseidon; only this one is blue.

KING POSEIDON: You will soon care very much what the Repliforce has in store for you, after you’ve betrayed us.

ZERO: (growling) Huurgh!  SHUT UP!!!!

He fearlessly dashes into King Poseidon, taking the spikes head on as he cuts across his chest with his saber.

The rest of the group look worried, but feel justified in Zero’s actions.

Zero lets the others pass him up the last ladder as he takes a moment to compose himself.

-pan to-

------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. PAPUA JUNGLES – Guerilla Cave Entrance - DAY -------------------------------------------------------------------

Takuma climbs up a ladder and becomes excited when he spots, what seems to be a security door.

TAKUMA: (gasping) Guys, look!

Leap Frog, Cross-Hare and Recon Raccoon join him.

LEAP FROG: Wow.

RECON RACCOON: Nice.

CROSS-HARE: Hmph.

Immediately a blue King Poseidon drops down from a tree, ahead of Takuma.

TAKUMA: (annoyed) Huuuuur!!

He runs over to the reploid and bashes him over the head with his deadly hammer, the T-Breaker.

LEAP FROG: Good one, Takuma!

CROSS-HARE: We’re not through yet!!

As they near the entrance to the cave two more King Poseidon’s surround the 3 of them from both sides.

RECON RACCOON: What, these two?  Oh please..

He stylishly throws two sticky grenades at the King Poseidon’s which blow up upon impact.

CROSS-HARE: Not them, you idiot.  /Them!

He /points off-screen and we do a 180 degree turn to see the stronger forces of the Guerilla Unit waiting for them. Poison Toad, Venom Varanus, Plated Platypus and Carapace Turtle all glare at them with wicked grins on their faces.

Leap Frog gasps at the sight of his brother.

POISON TOAD: Heheheh, well well well…  If it isn’t Cross-Hare and Recon Raccoon…

VENOM VARANUS: Long time no sssseee.

RECON RACCOON: Haaaugh. You’re both just as skeevy as ever, I see.

POISION TOAD: Heheh.  Leap Frog though…  What’s a wimp like you doing with the Ranger Unit?

LEAP FROG: (annoyed) I’m their LEADER now!!  Things have changed since you left us, brother.

POISON TOAD: Shya. They were desperate enough to let You command a combat Unit.

The Guerilla Unit all laugh at the Maverick Hunters they were once a part of.

PLATED PLATYPUS: Yes, I can see that Maverick Hunter standards have gone to an all time low.  It was a good thing that we left when we did.

TAKUMA: And you really think you're so much better!?  

CARAPACE TURTLE: We left because your leader is a Maverick, Takuma.  You just haven’t realized it yet.

TAKUMA: Wha-  How DARE You!!?

CARAPACE TURTLE: He nearly took out all of the Hunters when we investigated the X-Hunter Base 3 years ago.

TAKUMA: That was a Misunderstanding!!!

CARAPACE TURTLE: No.  It was an act of treason, and Zero is about to commit another one upon the entire Repliforce unless we stop him and the rest of you pesky Hunters.

RECON RACCOON: Well if it’s a gang fight you want, you got it buddy!!

He takes out his grenades, ready to pounce.

PLATED PLATYPUS: Hmhmhm.  You simpleton, this is not a gangfight.  This is a War.

RECON RACCOON: I DON’T CAAARE!!!!

Recon Raccoon makes the first move, throwing a grenade right at Plated Platypus.  The blast damages his armor, but barely affects him.

Meanwhile, Cross-Hare quickly sets his crosshair eye to focus on Venom Varanus, who just went invisible with camoflauge.

CROSS-HARE: Oh no..  Can’t hide from me, big guy.

He shoots a missile directly at Venom Varanus and causes his camoflauge to reveal itself.

Just to the right of them, Leap Frog and Poison Toad are rolling on the ground, attempting to choke each other out.

POISON TOAD: My my, little brother…  You’ve become a feisty one, I see…

He punches him in the gut and cuts across the chest with a Poison Dagger that was hidden in his fist.

LEAP FROG: Gaaaaah!!!!

His blood already turns purple amidst the wound opening.

He falls to the ground, shivering.

POISON TOAD: Hahahahah…  It’s been real, brother.

Further by the cave entrance, X and Zero stand with Zephyr as the group seems to get further and further away from them.

X: We don’t have time for this!

ZERO: That’s why we brought them, X.  It’s gonna be fine.

X watches Leap Frog die with wide eyes.  He gives Zero a crooked look, and then Zephyr a strong-willed look.

X: Zephyr.  Zero and I need to move ahead.  You have to step in for Leap Frog and take care of them for me.

Zephyr nods and salutes his Commander with a smile.

ZEPHYR: Yes, sir.  It’ll be my honor.

With that, X and Zero nod to Zephyr as they destroy the core of the security door to the cave entrance.

As they run inside, we pan back to the battle.

TAKUMA: HUUUURRRR-aaaghh!!

Takuma rushes after Carapace Turtle and strikes him hard across the chest with his T-Breaker.

CARAPACE TURTLE: Kaaauuughh.

The dents in his armor show.  Carapace Turtle is no match for Takuma’s hammer.

Takuma shoves him to the ground, plants his foot on his chest and violently smashes Carapace Turtle in the face, crushing his skull entirely.

Plated Platypus turns to his fallen friend and throws Recon Raccoon away like a rag doll.

RECON RACCOON: Whuh? Aaaaaah!

Recon Raccoon is flung near Cross-Hare, who seems to have damaged the ocular nerves that power his crosshair eye.  With a useless eye-piece dangling from his eye, it only serves as a distraction, so he pulls it out of his socket.

VENOM VARANUS: Hahahaha, you’re MIINE NOOW!!!!

He spits out deadly acid all across his body, as Cross-Hare is unable to protect himself.

CROSS-HARE: (suffering) Guuaaahh… N-nnooo…

Boils appear across Cross-Hare’s white fur and Recon Raccoon can tell that this is it.

RECON RACCOON: (afraid) C-Cross Haare???

Cross-Hare and Venom Varanus dive after each other, as the reptile lays out another stream of viscious acid in mid-air.  This causes Cross-Hare to explode as Venom Varanus touches down to the ground with a wicked grin.

RECON RACCOON: NOOOOO!!!!!!

He tosses an array of sticky grenades at Venom Varanus and pulls out his handheld laser pistol. He fires and aims directly at the heart.

VENOM VARANUS: (reacting) GAAAAAAHHHHH.  /OHHH!!!!

With grenades latched onto his shoulders, legs and a thin red laser burning a hole directly through his chest, it was only a matter of time, before the bombs would /explode and scatter Venom Varanus’ body to pieces.

Without warning, Zephyr blasts a golden charge shot at Poison Toad’s back, which bowls him over.

With a blackened back, he slowly rises to his feet.

POISON TOAD: You damned fool.

ZEPHYR: The only thing that’s ‘damned foolish’ is the fact that I haven’t used full power yet.

He pulls in two hands and controls the density of his Buster into a steady stream of golden plasma, which wipes out Poison Toad, at the expense of all of his power reserves.

Plated Platypus and Takuma stop in mid-battle to admire the extremely powerful blast of light.  Then Takuma takes advantage of the distraction and knocks Plated Platypus out with his Hammer jammed across the side of his face.

RECON RACCOON: Wh-what.. the Hell.. was that!?

ZEPHYR: It’s my Ultimate Move..  The Zephyr Cannon.  The only problem is, once I use it, I’m down for the count.

RECON RACCOON: Fshhhhh.  Right.

Takuma walks over to the two with a solemn face.

TAKUMA: Did we get ‘em?

ZEPHYR: Looks like it.

RECON RACCOON: God damn it…  There goes my Team..  again…

ZEPHYR: What now?

RECON RACCOON: I’m headed back..  I gotta break the news to the other guys.  Ahhh damn it. This sucks.

With that, Recon Raccoon teleports out of the Jungle.

The two look blankly at the disappearance of Recon Raccoon.  Then they survey the damage.

TAKUMA: …Let’s go back to our Commanders.

ZEPHYR: Good idea.

-cut to-

------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. PAPUA JUNGLES – Guerilla Repliforce Facility - DAY -------------------------------------------------------------------

X and Zero run out of the cave entrance, into the walled off campus of the Guerilla Unit's facility.  It is mostly outdoors with small depot stations where weapons are manufactured.

Upon their path, they are instantly greeted by mechaniloid snakes.  X quickly shoots them down as they run up to a tree stump and jump over it.  

X: Ya know, all of this shooting on their turf will only make negotiating more difficult.

ZERO: Like we really have a choice..  You know this is all gonna amount to a fight against Webs anyway.

He cuts down a Blast Raster in their way.

X: Right, but any chance that we can prevent that we have to /taahh.

As they climb a short hill, an unseen electric web shoots out a solid line of electricty, which /catches X by surprise and stuns him as they pass.

ZERO: Grr!

An annoyed Zero slashes at the solid beam and manages to shut it down somehow.

X: Ah.

X dashes ahead and jumps over the next web beam he sees. He fires upon a Blast Raster ahead of him and looks down.

A waterfall trickles down into a shallow river, which leads to steps inside a depot station a story below him.  

X: Hm.  I think we're getting close.

X drops down into the shallow river, where he is lead to a cave, which looks more technologically developed on the inside.

-pan to-

------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. Guerrilla HQ – Depot Stations - DAY -------------------------------------------------------------------

X walks in and spots a few bee mechaniloids flying past a set of Blast Rasters, which are attached to the ceiling.  X aims at the Blast Rasters, as Zero touches down to the watery floor behind him with a splash. Zero narrows his eyes at the familiar bee mechaniloids and swats at them with his Z-Saber.

ZERO: What is this place?

X: I don’t know..

They run through the corridor and take a short stairwell down, where they spot a series of bee hives with the Repliforce logo on them.

ZERO: What the-

X: Huh?

ZERO: These are the same hives from the Reploid Research Facility on Laguz Island!!

X: Whaat??

Numerous bees sift out from open panels of the hives.

ZERO: Web Spider must've grabbed them from Blast Hornet's station after I took care of him.  Huuuurgh!!!

Completely revved up and annoyed, Zero rushes through the hall, tearing away at the swarm of bees and the hives they come with his Z-Saber.

X is awestruck at the sight of Zero's new skills on the saber. Whatever Colonel did last summer, he taught him well.  If only they could end this War right now, before it could get any worse.  Then, maybe they could retain a friendship with the Repliforce again.

The end of the hall becomes cavernous once again as they leave the depot.  Ahead of them, they spot another waterfall dropping down a small crevice with ladders leading further down into the forest. The area is protected by a few Blast Rasters, which Zero quickly destroys in no time.

- pan to-

------------------------------------------------------------------- EXT. GUERILLA  FACILITY -  Forest Area - DAY -------------------------------------------------------------------

When X and Zero drop down, they spot what seems to look like a labyrinth of tall trees ahead of them.  X analyzes the path ahead of them and lets out a short sigh.

TAKUMA: (calling out, from afar) Hey!  Wait for us!!

X: Huh?

X and Zero look up to see Takuma and Zephyr drop down to their position from the ladders above them.  They both smile as their subordinates join them.

X: Where’s the rest?

Zephyr shakes his head with a frown.

ZEPHYR: The Raccoon went back to HQ.  The rest of them didn’t make it…

ZERO: (whispering) Shit.

X’s eyes widen in despair and he grimaces with a frustrated brow.  He clenches a fist and slowly charges up.

X: (charging up) God damn it!!  This didn’t have to happen!!!  I’ll never forgive Web Spider for this!

With that, he dashes ahead of the group, fully charged as they all follow.

Ahead of X, a web beam juts out from a tree.  He fires his charge shot at it and closes off the beam, allowing him the ability to kick-jump up the tree.  Two metal braces bind the tree, which serve as platforms for X to climb up.  At the top platform, the tree has been partially cut in the middle.  X surmises that this was made to serve as cover during enemy raids such as this.

When X gets to the top he turns around and looks at his companions.

X: Be careful guys.  We might get some unexpected surprises in these trees.

As he speaks, a series of mechaniloid snakes all crawl over him from the top of the tree.

X: Wauuugh!

He shakes them off, skeeved out as he shoots some of them down, and steps on a couple.

X: Agh.

X jumps away, down to the next metal braced tree.  Zero takes care of the stragglers, while X stands by the next cover spot within the tree below them.

Ahead of X, the metal braces stick out further, connecting the set of trees ahead of them as if it were some sort of obstacle course.

X: Web Spider had a lot of time on his hands.

ZERO: Shya.  You’re telling me.

He lightly chuckles as he follows his partner through the obstacle.  They take down a couple of more snake mechaniloids, before a web beam blocks the two of them from dropping down to the ground.

They fire and slash at the beam, but it doesn’t go down.

X: (annoyed) Agh.

ZERO: What the Hell?

Two little spiders climb the electric beam, so X takes his aim at them.  Suddenly the beam disappears.

ZERO: Huh?

X: Oh.

They jump away before the trap can reactivate again.  Takuma and Zephyr follow them and touch down to the ground.

X: I think the beam isn’t created by the web, but the spiders who Made the web.

Zero shakes his head annoyed.

ZERO: Ugh, whatever!

They move on together as a group, carefully climbing between the next set of trees, while avoiding the web beams that attempt to stop them.  At the top of the tree obstacle, the web beam traps only get more intricate as X and Zero let Zephyr and Takuma tackle them.

TAKUMA: Hurr!

ZEPHYR: Yah!!

They strike the next two web beams down, while Zero cuts down the snake mechaniloids crawling at their feet.  Just ahead of them, a third web beam blocks their path, which X shoots down, next to their subordinates.

When they drop down from this obstacle, X can spot the gateway from afar.

X: Yes!  We made it!!

Suddenly from a distance, a violent explosion can be heard, north of them.

X: Haww?

ZERO: What the-!?

ZEPHYR: What do you think?  Suicide bomber??

Takuma looks hard at the fiery explosion by the trees in the distance.

TAKUMA: I dunno.  I don’t think so.  That area doesn’t seem to be occupied by Repliforce at all.

X: You two investigate.  We have to talk to Web Spider.

ZEPHYR & TAKUMA: Yes sir!

They run off in the other direction, away from the labyrinthine tree obstacle, and eventually out of the brush, which seemed to enclose this Facility.

X looks over to a bee hive ahead of them and fires off a charge shot, which destroys the whole thing.

A few angry bee mechaniloids fly out, which Zero destroys with a jumping slash.

Just ahead of him, right before the gateway, two well-placed electric webs create a wall with their beams, blocking them from entering.

ZERO: Oh, please.

He makes a downward axe-handle slash and the beams are gone.  Then, he quickly dashes with X toward the actual gate.  As it opens, they notice that they have entered yet another depot. Such a gateway must indicate that they have reached their destination.

X and Zero stop before the gate and give each other a look.

ZERO: Okay man, you ready for this?

X: Yeah.  …Whatever happens, happens.

Zero grins as he opens the next gate and they both walk through.

-pan to-

---------------------------------------------------------------------- INT. GUERILLA FACILITY – Secret Weapon Storage – DAY ----------------------------------------------------------------------

The moment X and Zero step inside the last gate of the depot, they spot a gigantic laser cannon, larger than life.

They both gasp.

ZERO: You were right, X.  We did the right thing by coming here first.

Suddenly, from out of the brush of the trees, Web Spider appears, hanging from his web.

WEB SPIDER: Ah... Zero. I've been expecting you.  ..but X too..  Now that’s a surprise…

ZERO: Spider!  You work for Repliforce now?!

WEB SPIDER: Ah Yes... You weren’t around for our little encounter on Laguz Island.  I lead a renegade unit now.  Far more respectable than your insipid Maverick Hunters!!

Zero glances at X, then looks at Web Spider and takes a quick breath.

ZERO: There's still time. Call off the coup!

WEB SPIDER: No.  I know where my loyalties lie.

X: Spidus, I know we have our differences, but this is ridiculous!!  We don’t need to do this.

Web Spider accusatorily points at X.

WEB SPIDER: You've labeled us all as Mavericks! I won't let you pass. Turn back now!

X: I can't do that.  You’ve been storing a secret weapon here, which is disconcerting to us.

WEB SPIDER: And you falsely labeled us as an enemy to the public, when the real enemy is standing right /There, NEXT TO YOU!

At the dash he /points directly at Zero, who offers a wicked grin in response.

ZERO: Then we Fight!!  It’s the only way to settle this!!!

X: (shocked) Zero!

Zero dashes and jumps over to Web Spider with his Saber out.

ZERO: Haaaaaaaaaah!

He lifts up his arm and swipes the blade in a downward slash as Web Spider attempts to pull himself away from his web.

-Freeze Frame.  Grainy Effect-

-Fade to Black-