#it was with the ace and also the wheel of fortune. both upright. nine was reversed. which doesnt mean much for nine.

[forgotten-tragicomedy]

trying to get better with tarot. itll be going so well then boom. nine of swords jumpscare.

[celticcrossanon]

BRF Reading - 27th of August, 2024

This is speculation only

Cards drawn on the 27th of August, 2024

Question: Why are we getting articles about Prince William stopping The King and Harry from reconciling?

Note: I did this reading with all upright cards, so there are no reversals.

Note 2: The energy of this reading is of an extreme impatience. I could barely sit still and focus enough to type it up. The energy is saying 'I just want this done already' and 'make it happen' while it goes off and does something else. It is very distracting and makes it very hard for me to focus, so my apologies if this reading is not as in depth as it usually is. The energy is also giving me a headache, right across the middle of my forehead. Someone is tetchy and impatient and just wants this matter finished.

Interpretation: The King wants to reconcile with Prince Harry and restore him to his old position in the BRF. Prince William doesn't agree and won't support him.

Card One: Judgement

Judgement is a card of reflection, self evaluation, renewal, second chances, and forgiveness - and of judging people.

The energy of this card is of forgiveness. The King wants to forgive Harry, bring him home, and restore him to his place in the BRF that he lost when he decided to Megxit. He wants Harry back, either as a working royal or as half-in half-out. The message here is come home, all is forgiven, you will have what was taken from you.

Then there is the Prince William energy, which says, very bluntly, No. My brother did horrible things and I am judging him on that, He hasn't shown remorse, he hasn't asked for forgiveness, so there is no way I am welcoming him back as a working royal. He will be lucky if I even acknowledge him as family one day in the future.

This is the answer to the question. The King wants Harry back, he knows he needs Prince William's support for this to happen, and Prince William is saying No, absolutely not. I will not support this.

Card Two: The Moon

The Moon is a card of lies, deceit, deception, things not appearing as they are. It can also represent the mother and pregnancy with the rounded belly, especially in astrology. The energy of this card is that things that are hidden remain hidden if Harry comes back, i.e. we keep the surrogacies hidden and don't reveal his role in them. The Moon can represent emotions and driving people crazy, so that could refer to the emotional fallout from Meghan (and Harry's) bullying. Again, this is to remain a secret.

The clarifier for this card is the Wheel of Fortune. The King wants to restore Harry's fortune, restore his good name, and that means not revealing anything more of the horrible things he has done. Everything is to remain covered up and distorted.

The second clarifier for this card is The Nine of Pentacles, the single happy independent wealthy person card. King Charles wants his son to be happy and wealthy and single, and if that means burying past misdeeds, then that is what he will do.

Prince William is not happy about this at all. That is the energy I am getting for him - unhappiness.

Card Three: Three of Swords

This is the card of despair, heartbreak, grief, and separation. The King is very upset about being separated from Harry. He wants to be able to forgive his son and have his son back at home with him (I keep hearing the words 'where he belongs'). The card shows a King being killed by family members (his wife and her lover), so either The King wants this to happen before he dies or having Harry return is going to be a death knell for him, or both.

The clarifier for this was the Ace of Cups. This is a card of new relationships, renewed relationships, loving someone, pregnancy, and motherhood. It can also be a card of intuition and spirituality, which brings to mind the recent article about The King being willing to forgive Harry after taking 'spiritual nourishment' from religious leaders. This tells me that The King really wants to renew his relationship with Harry and he is very upset that Prince William is not supporting him in this endeavour.

The only Prince William energy I get from this card is that Harry is dead to him. He has been through the grief, the sorrow, the pain over Harry's actions and he has no desire to renew that relationship and be hurt again. It is over between them as far as he is concerned.

Underlying Energy: The Six of Pentacles

This is a card of charity and generosity, of giving material help and supporting someone.

The energy of this card is of forgiveness and support. The King wants to help Harry, he wants to have his son safe at home under his wing. The picture shows a beggar (Harry) kneeling before the King (Charles) and receiving money (money, shelter, support etc). The King wants to take Harry back and he wants this to be seen as a generous, loving, good thing to do, hence the articles about the spiritual virtue of forgiveness, the prodigal son etc - The King wants to be seen as a good person for doing this.

However, in the story, King Minos took the craftsman Daedalus in and supported him, and Daedalus helped his wife betray The King with a bull and that led to the Minotaur being born and all the trouble and terror that came with that. The energy from the card says that taking Harry back will have a similar disastrous effect on the BRF and on the UK.

This is supported by the clarifier for this card, the Tower. This is a sudden, unexpected event that completely destroys part of your life and leaves you to rebuild from the ashes. Taking Harry back and giving him want he wants (handing over the Pentacles) at this moment in time would be a Tower moment of epic proportions.

Conclusion:

The King wants Harry back in the BRF as a working royal or, at the very least, drawing and income from the crown and living in a crown property. He wants to give Harry back everything he has lost so he can have his son back. This includes keeping any secrets covered up that involve Harry, directly or indirectly, so his reputation can be restored and not damaged further. There is a very strong longing for his son coming through here.

To do this, The King knows that he needs Prince William's support, and Prince William is having none of it. Harry is dead to him. He has judged Harry, he is unimpressed with the result (pain and suffering), and he is not letting him back in the BRF to use and hurt them all again.

The cards also say that letting Harry return and giving him back his previous position would be a terrible mistake, something that will unleash a Tower moment on the BRF and the monarchy.

This is not a question of one son stopping his ailing and grieving father from performing an act of Christian virtue and forgiving and reconciling with his other son. That is the narrative that is in the press (more of less), and that is not what this is about. This is about not letting someone back into the family who has the potential to hurt and destroy them all. Prince William sees this and says No. The King wants it anyway and tries to sell it to the people so he can say yes. (imo).

[rosegoldwitchcraft]

How to use Playing Cards as a Tarot Deck

Practicing cartomancy with playing cards is a great option for those who need to keep their practice secret or don’t want to or can’t buy a tarot deck. This is by no means an exact equivalent to tarot, but is an easily accessible alternative! Also keep in mind that you could absolutely use playing cards to practice cartomancy using methods completely separate from tarot, but this specific technique is designed to mimic a tarot deck as much as possible.

A tarot deck has 78 cards, while a standard playing card deck only has 52. Therefore, you have three main options:

1. Use the basic 52-card deck (Minor Arcana only, Knights and Pages combined into Jacks)

2. Add in 4 cards from another deck (Entire Minor Arcana, duplicate Jacks)

3. Add in 26 cards from another deck (Entire tarot deck, duplicate cards listed later)

Here are the correspondences you can use for the suits. I have a post with more in-depth descriptions of each suit here.

✨ Wands // Clubs ♣️  

energy, passion, motivation, and enthusiasm 

🍷 Cups // Hearts  ♥️  

emotions, relationships, and intuition

⚔ Swords // Spades ♠️  

intellect, communication, conflict, and logic

⭐ Pentacles // Diamonds ♦️ 

material and physical world

If you choose to use the basic 52-card deck, the Knights and Pages will be combined into the Jacks (sometimes called Knaves). I promise this isn’t too complicated; just keep in mind that they both have a less developed understanding of their suit compared to the Kings and Queens, and will act with enthusiastically but a bit naively.

♣️ Jack of Clubs ♣️  

enthusiastic, confident, energetic, adventurous 

♥️ Jack of Hearts ♥️

emotional, imaginative, idealistic, introspective

♠️ Jack of Spades ♠️  

opinionated, curious, defensive, analytical

♦️ Jack of Diamonds ♦️  

practical, diligent, cautious, responsible

If you don’t want to combine Knights and Pages, you can add in four additional Jacks from another deck. Of course when you add in duplicate cards, you’ll have to differentiate them somehow -- marking them is probably your best option! This also is what you’ll need to do if you’re interested in reading reversals, as unlike tarot cards most playing card decks are exactly symmetrical and otherwise there’s no way to tell which way is upright. To keep the shuffling and card selection as random as possible, it’s ideal to use identical decks, or at least decks of similar sizes so they shuffle together nicely!

It’s certainly possible to practice cartomancy with just the Minor Arcana -- these 56 cards relate to day-to-day life, so are perfect for current, practical, applicable readings. However, there is a solution if you want to include the Major Arcana as well, as these are the cards that relate to the larger, more universal experiences. I’ve put together a list of Minor Arcana cards that hold similar meanings to the Major Arcana cards. 

The concept is similar to adding in the additional Jacks -- you’d add in these duplicate cards and mark them to identify them as the Major Arcana. These correspondences are entirely based on my own opinions and interpretations, so you should feel free to tweak this list based on what would work best for you -- hopefully this at least gives you inspiration and a starting point! I’ve included a brief description below each card pairing to hopefully clarify where I saw a connection!

0. The Fool // Joker OR Three of Wands/Clubs

exploring, leaving behind the security of what you know

I. The Magician // Eight of Pentacles/Diamonds

using resources to create results

II. The High Priestess // Queen of Cups/Hearts

open to your emotions/intuition

III. The Empress // Queen of Pentacles/Diamonds

nurturing, enjoying earthly pleasures

IV. The Emperor // King of Swords/Spades

systematic/logical structure and authority

V. The Hierophant // Three of Pentacles/Diamonds

working as a group, conforming

VI. The Lovers // Two of Cups/Hearts

unity, duality, harmony

VII. The Chariot // Eight of Wands/Clubs

movement, action, working towards a goal

VIII. Strength// Nine of Wands/Clubs

perseverance, patience, maintaining control

IX. The Hermit // Four of Cups/Hearts

contemplation, meditation, introspection

X. Wheel of Fortune // Two of Pentacles/Diamonds

balance, change and adaption 

XI. Justice // Seven of Pentacles/Diamonds

reviewing results and making a decision

XII. The Hanged Man // Four of Swords/Spades

resting, pausing, preparation, reflection

XIII. Death // Eight of Cups/Hearts

end of a cycle, a time of change and transition

XIV. Temperance // King of Cups/Hearts

compromise, balance, moderation

XV. The Devil // Eight of Swords/Spades

trapped, powerless, ignorance

XVI. The Tower // Ten of Swords/Spades

disruption, low point, need to rebuild from nothing 

XVII. The Star // Six of Cups/Hearts

healing, hope, seeking comfort after crisis

XVIII. The Moon // Seven of Cups/Hearts

confusion, illusion, fantasy

XIX. The Sun // Six of Wands/Clubs

success, victory, celebration

XX. Judgement // Ace of Swords/Spades

clarity, establishing truth, rebirth

XXI. The World // Ten of Cups/Hearts

accomplishment, harmony, fulfillment

My other original posts can be found here! 💖

[pastelbatfandoms]

H.R. Wells and Renee West Tarot Readings

Character Tarot readings for My Fic ‘Wells of Hearts

Possibilities Spread

..................8.............

..................7.............

.....6-C1.............6-C1...

4-C1...5-C1.....5-C2...4-C2

...................3....................

.....1-C1.............1-C2...

This spread is a double spread. It is where each will take you next in your book. Each side will be for the character you designate it for. Myself, I would use the left for the female and the right for the male.

Oracle Card- Earth School (Life Lessons,Soul Growth,Higher Learning)

1-C1. Significator Card for Character One (C1)- Six of Swords & The World  

(These two together  represent a moving on of turmoil and letting others help her,finally feeling comfortable in her own skin and like she has a place,meeting HR and establishing a long lasting and happy relationship with him.)

1-C2. Significator Card for Character Two (C2)- Two of Pentacles & Eight of Cups 

( The Two of Pentacles may represent a fledgling business that is struggling to get off the ground or stay afloat.-His Business with his partner Randol-the card also represents writers as well and HR has written a few books. The eight of cups represent him moving on from his Earth and fledgling business to something new and possibly better,trying to let go of bad financial descions and doing a little soul searching.)

3. Situation: This card will reveal the situation they are about to face.- 5 of swords R & 6 of cups 

(Eobard is definitely that past lover trying to wedge himself between Renee and HR and old wounds and memories are resurfacing. However 6 of cups could mean that Renee is comparing HR to Harry and Harry does show up again later on when her and HR are together. However Renee still feels secure,safe and cared for with HR.)

4. Character's outer response to situation. This is how they seem to feel about it.- Renee- The Empress with Eight of Pentacles & HR- 5 of Cups R and 4 of Wands 

(A lot of feminine energy with The Empress unlike The High Priestess that femininity is not just sexual but committed and loving as well. Despite everything Renee still feels loyal and trusting towards HR but must balance work with her relationship. Shouldn’t be that hard since they DO work together...

HR is still trying to let go of the past or what he did on his earth,the not really being a scientist,opening up to others will help and he needs to let go of feeling sorry for himself and be more intune with his creative side again. But once he does he will find not just supportive co workers and friends but a deep committed relationship as well,that scene when Savitar asks him “Still trying to find your place?” and HR answers with “I have found My place,it’s here,with these people.” comes to mind.)

5. Character's inner response to situation. This is how they feel about it or how it makes them feel. -Renee- 9 of Cups with 2 of Pentacles R  & HR- 4 of Pentacles with 5 of Wands R

 (Renee feels accomplished and self confidence like she can do anything atm but needs to make sure there is still a balance between work (As a hero and scientist) and relationships/play. (Her family,friends & HR)  

With HR I feel like his inner response may be about the relationship ( Self Sufficient, do not need the outside world to be happy,maybe more private)  or about him personally he may not have to worry financially anymore but that might make him more stingy,he might be more inclined to start his own business and do things his own way but might want to keep it more private and will be guarded and constantly on the look out for those trying to take away his happiness (be it work or new found family) reminding me of when he was on the run from Gypsy after breaking the Earth 19 time travel ban, H.R. also tends to hide his pain with humor or just ignore it completely but his walls come down around Renee,and Cisco,and he does not need prove himself anymore. Even though he still does.) 

6. Character's response to the other character's outer response. How does his reaction affect her? How does hers affect him? HR's Reaction- 10 of Wands with The Hermit. Renee's reaction- 9 of Wands with 3 of Swords R

(This sentence is very HR- Born with an inherent interest for adventure, novelty and travel he covered as much ground as he could and had a go at anything that caught his attention and imagination.- But so does this, especially once Reverse Flash takes Renee-  After the events of the Nine of Wands, the Man has almost gone into automatic pilot mode and can’t stop now even if he wanted to.  If we could see his face, it is for sure his teeth are gritted and his jaw set hard. It looks like it is all up to him.  It seems he is trying to push his way forward or through something and is experiencing resistance.  There may be blocks or obstacles he has to overcome before he is free to travel onwards.   HR may be a little confused as to how he managed to arrive at this stage and is aware that he may have made mistakes along the way. He may have chosen the wrong path here and there, got involved with the wrong people and said the wrong things. He also acknowledges that at times he got things right and when that happened life flowed pleasantly and easily. The Hermit is aware that he must now apply the knowledge and experiences to what he plans to do, his next move, and where he wants to go in life now. He knows that he cannot change the  past, but he can learn from the past. (Did Cisco not say almost the same thing to him?) 

Instead of always having to have company and people around him to make himself feel better HR needs to reflect on his own so he can mature and grow. 

Renee-  When referring to relationships The Nine of Wands would indicate that you are very wary of relationships and may indeed have been hurt in the past and possibly several times. Perhaps you have been looking for love in all the wrong places. It might be time to start afresh. Also to not be so negative and hyper sensitive, Accepting pain of the past and moving on. 

7. Where does this move the plot?- Page of Wands R with Wheel of Fortune R (These two are very Reverse Flash) 

8. Situation: This card will reveal the situation they are about to face. (if you want to use this to plot the book out, you simply repeat the layout.)"- 3 of Cups with King of Cups R 

(LOTS of wedding cards!  It can suggest a third person in a relationship and when upright this third person is welcome.-Harry! They do end up having a Poly relationship in a way-  moving from a period of drought in your love-life to having several potential partners to choose from all at the one time. If there has been a separation or falling out between partners the Three of Cups can symbolize a happy re-union. BUT with the king of Cups R ,could indicate things with Thawne are not over...  At worst, the reversed King of Cups can represent someone who is vindictive and has a talent for being able to punish others through emotional manipulation.  If this sounds like someone you have met in the past, you still have work to do in releasing yourself from his controlling forces.  “You belong to ME...” 

Oracle Card- Earth Pulsing (Slow down, connect with nature) 

Relationship Spread

********7***********8********

****1***2***3***4***5***6****

********9***********10*******

********11**********12*******

********13****15****14*******

1) What you are bringing into the relationship- Renee- 8 of Pentacles R (Seems more like HR when he lived on his Earth before he met Team Flash)

2) Where you are now, in relation to the other person- Ace of Cups (New beginnings, A budding relationship, Deep commitment) 

3) What you are hoping to get from the relationship- 8 of swords. So in other words she wants the opposite of this Gif >  

4) What the other person is bringing into their relationship with you- HR-8 of cups (Fulfilment, an Escape, a chance for them both to walk away from their emotional baggage and help one another.) 

5) What they are getting out of it- 10 of swords (letting go,dealing with his demons,change for the better,also I don’t think it relevant here,but the ten of swords is also a death card and HR does die... :(

6) What they are hoping to achieve/experience with you- 9 of pentacles (Abundance ,prosperity, independence, comfort and material wealth.)  

7) How you see the other person- 2 of swords.  It refers to someone who is harmonious and peaceful when it comes to dealing with different relationships and situations. However, they will have difficulty thinking if anything goes out of control. They tend to compromise a lot to avoid any conflict or argument.- If that isn’t HR!

8) How they see you- 3 of pentacles.  It represents someone who is an expert at work with a problem-solving bent of mind. Such people not only have excellent communication skills and practical experience but also work well as a team. They think in advance, surprising others with their innovations.- Yep sounds like Renee! Also sounds like Harry lol

9) How you saw him/her when you first met- Knight of cups.  He is a reformed and artistic person with a plethora of innovative ideas to offer. Since the knight is a youthful personality, he requires constant mental stimulation to avoid boredom. At the same time, he is friendly, intelligent, and highly-principled ready to communicate his feelings without hesitation. Passionate and Zealous.- I mean yeah that’s HR alright. 

10) How the other person saw you on your first meeting- King of pentacles. Honest,caring,supportive,intelligent and family oriented. 

11) Your own anxieties/unconscious fears- 9 of cups (To not have all her inner and outer happiness and all that she has worked for to fade away. For it to last.) 

12) The other person's anxieties/unconscious fears- 3 of swords (Their past coming back to haunt them,being seen as someone they’re not, A love triangle...) 

13) External influences upon you- Death R ( On the other hand, a relationship once thought dead and gone may be re-ignited.- Harry or Thawne.-  Something or someone you thought dead and gone in your past may have resurfaced, making you fearful and uneasy as your past comes back to haunt you--So Thawne. 

14) External influences upon the other person- Queen of pentacles R ( I’m thinking this represents how HR views Renee once she turns into Obsidian Storm and joins Legion of Doom. This change does not make him angry or slighted but rather sad and no longer caring about his own well being or taking care of anything.) 

15) Where the relationship will go- 9 of swords with King of swords R (Over thinking,depression, mentally exhausted but the situation maybe not as bad as it seems,solutions can be found as it is being manipulated from an outside source,although intelligent this person can be bested if you rely on your own quiet power and not be so indecisive.) 

[mastcomm]

The Rise and Sudden Fall of the Houston Astros

The Houston Astros took four years to mutate from baseball’s worst team to its best. But even at their lowest point, as they stumbled to a franchise-record 111 losses in 2013, they constantly emphasized their brand of ambition.

Everywhere they went that season, the Astros took an upright, game show-style spinning wheel for their clubhouse. Words like “leadership,” “trust” and “desire” filled the slots. So did an image of the World Series trophy.

It was a gimmick to encourage the players: Keep pushing the wheel in hopes of a breakthrough. The club soared to the pinnacle of the sport, propelled by an unapologetic desire to change the game, and won the franchise’s first World Series in 2017.

But on Monday, a scathing report by Major League Baseball exposed the Astros as cheaters, trashing their reputation, ousting their leaders and igniting the sport’s biggest scandal since the steroid revelations of the 2000s.

The shock waves have been seismic. Three managers and one general manager have lost their jobs: A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow of the Astros, Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox and Carlos Beltran of the Mets — all implicated in a brazen scheme to illegally use electronics to steal opposing catchers’ signs and tip off their own batters to what pitch was coming.

So a month before spring training, baseball is grappling with at least one tainted championship, a moral and practical quandary over using technology and unsettling questions about the credibility of the competition. On Friday, Representative Bobby L. Rush, a Democrat from Illinois, requested a congressional oversight hearing “to determine the extent to which this cancer has spread.”

For some, this kind of cheating is worse than using performance-enhancing drugs. Alex Wood, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers — whom the Astros defeated for the title in 2017 — tweeted on Thursday: “I would rather face a player that was taking steroids than face a player that knew every pitch that was coming.”

Wood helped the Dodgers win a World Series game at Minute Maid Park in Houston in 2017. In the rest of their home games that postseason, the Astros went 8-0, stealing signs and legacies along the way.

“The word that keeps popping into my mind is ‘unfathomable,’” said the veteran catcher Stephen Vogt, who played for the Oakland Athletics in 2017, in an interview on Friday. “Maybe that’s me being naïve, but you would never even think to do it. The integrity of our game is what we have, and now that’s been broken.”

Suspicions simmered before a rapid unraveling.

On Oct. 19, life was grand for the Astros. After leading the majors with 107 wins in the regular season, they clinched their second World Series berth in three years with a towering home run by Jose Altuve off the Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.

Yet almost from the moment that drive cleared the left field fence, the organization descended into chaos.

In the clubhouse celebration after that game, the assistant general manager Brandon Taubman gloated profanely to a group of female reporters about the Astros’ acquisition of pitcher Roberto Osuna, who had been serving a suspension for domestic violence when the team traded for him in 2018. The Astros compounded the problem by publicly denying the incident, another public-relations blunder for a team that had barred a credentialed reporter from its clubhouse in August to placate pitcher Justin Verlander.

Taubman was fired during the World Series, which the Astros lost to the Washington Nationals in seven games.

Houston’s ace starter, Gerrit Cole, joined the Yankees in December, signing a nine-year, $324 million contract. The Astros also lost Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Famer and team icon, who quit as an executive adviser after the team owner Jim Crane elevated his son Jared in the team’s hierarchy and demoted Ryan’s son Reid, who had been president of business operations.

But the worst news, by far, came on Nov. 12, when The Athletic published a story in which the former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers confirmed the team’s sign-stealing methods in 2017: Players decoded the catcher’s signals from a live video feed, then communicated the signal to the hitter by banging a trash can in the tunnel near the dugout.

Over the next two months, Commissioner Rob Manfred’s investigators interviewed 68 witnesses, including 23 current and former Astros players, and scoured thousands of emails, Slack communications, text messages and videos. Because the scheme was player-driven, there was no substantial email trace tying it to management, and Luhnow told investigators he had no knowledge of it.

Even before The Athletic’s revelations, the Astros had a reputation for using data analysis to find any small edge. They used video modeling and algorithms that could pick up tells from pitchers’ subtle movements, trying to determine which pitch would come next. That is legal as a form of pregame preparation, and while many clubs most likely do it now, the Astros were probably among the first to try to detect pitch-tipping with a computer rather than the naked eye.

But they also raised suspicions that they were breaking the rules. Some teams, including the Yankees, have sent suspicious Astros footage and images to M.L.B. over the past few seasons. Vogt, who now plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks, respected Houston’s hitters but sensed something shady.

“When you’d go to Houston, it always seemed like they were on pitches,” Vogt said. “As a catcher, when you see your pitcher execute a perfect slider down in the zone with two strikes and someone doesn’t even flinch at it, you start to get alarm bells going off in your head. I spent a lot of time wondering if I was doing something in my setup that would be tipping pitches to the other team.”

It was clear the Astros were doing something unusually effective. While power hitters generally strike out frequently — a trade-off for swinging aggressively — the Astros’ lineup has an extraordinary knack for slugging without whiffing. From 1910 through 2016, only two teams — the 1948 Yankees and the 1995 Cleveland Indians — led the majors in slugging percentage while also recording the fewest strikeouts. The Astros did it in both 2017 and 2019.

“I don’t want guys swinging at a pitch unless they can hit a homer,” said Dave Hudgens, then the Astros’ hitting coach, explaining the team’s philosophy in a 2017 interview. He added later: “If you go in with that mind-set, you’re not going to miss your pitch as often.”

Of course, it helps to know what pitch is coming, and the Astros’ scheme not only led to victories but also made their rivals look worse than they should have — possibly costing players money and jobs.

“Now you’re telling me that could have potentially shortened my career or sent me back down” to the minor leagues, Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger said in a video posted to YouTube, “because they knew what I was throwing when I was in their park?”

The Astros’ players have mostly stayed silent on social media since the revelations, but many rivals have not hid their anger.

“It’s time for the players involved to step forward,” the veteran reliever Jerry Blevins tweeted. “Take your lumps publicly. Your name is coming out sooner or later. Maybe there’s some integrity still in you somewhere.”

The ‘model organization’ created a firestorm.

The Astros were hardly the bullies of the league when Crane, the Astros’ owner, picked Luhnow as his general manager in December 2011. Crane, a former college pitcher who earned his fortune in shipping, plucked Luhnow from the St. Louis Cardinals, who had just won the World Series with many players Luhnow drafted as scouting director.

Some in the Astros’ organization were more enthusiastic about the hire than others. Luhnow, who has a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern and consulted for McKinsey & Company in Chicago in his pre-baseball career, overhauled the team’s scouting operations, emphasizing objective data over gut instincts. Somewhat symbolically, he removed the lists of every team’s 40-man roster from the walls of his office in Houston.

“One of the first things I did was ask them to take it out,” he said in an interview there, a few months after taking the job. “Depth charts are something that I can get online at the stroke of a button.”

Luhnow — who did not respond to an interview request for this article — inherited a team with the majors’ worst record and a poorly regarded farm system. A new collective bargaining agreement had made losing more attractive by providing the worst teams with the most money to spend on amateur talent, so the Astros unloaded veterans and prepared for a stretch of several painful seasons.

“The players couldn’t understand why the best 25 guys weren’t breaking camp with us,” said Dave Trembley, who coached for the Astros in 2013 and 2014. “We tried to develop those guys as best we could, we had early work every day, we’d come out and do fundamentals. But it was a tough situation trying to keep the players motivated knowing that they were pretty much aware of what the plan was.”

Even before the N.B.A.’s Philadelphia 76ers popularized it, the Astros used the word “process” as a euphemism for tanking — a strategy of fielding a threadbare roster to get better prospects and accelerate a rebuild. Houston’s attendance sank below 1.7 million, a 20-year low for a non-strike season, but Luhnow eagerly sold fans on his logic. The team’s supporters, in turn, embraced his bold vision to put the Astros at the forefront of baseball’s analytical and technological revolution.

“To me, there was nothing sinister about what they were doing; they were just on that leading edge and they wanted to show it off a little bit,” said the Texas Rangers broadcaster Dave Raymond, who was the Astros’ radio play-by-play voice from 2006 through 2012. “They brilliantly educated the fan base on what they were doing and how they were going about it. One of the most interesting parts of the process was how the fans really embraced the losing. They believed immediately.”

The results began revealing themselves in 2015, when the Astros earned a surprise playoff berth. But that season was marred by troubling news: The Astros’ database had been hacked by the Cardinals’ scouting director, Chris Correa, a former analyst for Luhnow in St. Louis.

Correa eventually pleaded guilty to five counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. His rationale for the crime, he said, was a suspicion that the Astros had stolen proprietary data from the Cardinals, an accusation the Astros denied.

In hindsight, that suspicion seems prescient. When the Astros were caught aiming a camera at the dugouts of the Indians and the Red Sox in the 2018 playoffs, Correa — who declined an interview request — could not resist commenting. “Guess who isn’t surprised?” he tweeted.

Baseball acted quickly to suppress that controversy, accepting the Astros’ explanation that they were simply playing defense against possible electronic spying by the Indians and the Red Sox. But the issue had flared before — as the Red Sox were found to have used an Apple Watch in their dugout in 2017 — and last fall teams took extra precautions with their signs, especially when facing the Astros.

In the World Series, the Nationals took no chances: Each of their pitchers took a card to the mound with five sets of signs he could switch to at any time, and all four of Washington’s wins came at the Astros’ park in Houston.

Sign-stealing has a long and colorful history in baseball, but the sport has clearly struggled to keep up with the potential for misuse created by the rapid spread of technology. M.L.B. officers monitor video replay rooms now — they did not do so in 2017 — and the league will most likely reinforce its rules with prominent signage in clubhouses.

But the Astros’ scandal has brought the issue to a crossroads: Should baseball run from technology to crack down on cheating, or lean into it? League officials are considering a ban on players’ looking at live video during games, yet they are also working on prototypes of electronic signs between catchers and pitchers, though nothing is considered close to game-ready.

Those will not be the only efforts to beat back the Astros’ influence. The M.L.B. players’ union hopes to discourage tanking in the next collective bargaining agreement, and the Astros’ model may already be losing its appeal. Most imitators have not seen the same results, and this winter’s robust free-agent market — after two slow off-seasons — seems to indicate that more teams are trying to be competitive.

The Astros should still be a force on the field this season, if their talent can overcome the organizational upheaval, the public skepticism over their achievements and the newfound awkwardness of their place within the players’ fraternity. In any case, the scandal has disgraced the dominant team of this era — and threatens to swallow up the game.

“None of us, if we looked ourselves in the mirror, would have said, ‘Wow, these guys are morally corrupt, these guys are cheaters,’” said one general manager, who requested anonymity to candidly discuss another team. “Let’s not kid ourselves, they were the model organization. But we know more now.”

David Waldstein and James Wagner contributed reporting.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/the-rise-and-sudden-fall-of-the-houston-astros/

[lorrainecparker]

Review: Panasonic AU-EVA1 4K Cine Camera

Panasonic’s $7,345 AU-EVA1 is a Super35mm single-sensor camcorder with a 5.7K Bayer-mask sensor, an EF lens mount, variable frame rates, and 14+ stops of dynamic range, recording on SDXC cards using log, HLG, and standard gamma renderings. Its compact, boxy body with removable rotating side grip is like that of the Sony FS5, but its images, menus, and touchscreen monitor make it feel more like a junior VariCam LT, with maybe a pinch of DVX200 added into the mix.

Two Things

Before we dive into the details, I should mention a couple of controversial aspects of the EVA1: there’s no EVF, and the camera uses an EF mount, not MFT or PL.

The EVA1 lacks the rear-mounted flip-up EVF commonly found on similar cameras and its 3.5” touchscreen monitor is equipped only with a sunshade.

EVA1 LCD with sunshade

Many buyers will want to add a loupe to the monitor or use a separate EVF.

EVA1’s use of a Super35mm sensor and Canon EF mount instead of a 4/3” sensor and MFT mount—Micro Four Thirds, as on Panasonic’s AF-100 and GH-series cameras—may seem like a break with previous Panasonic affordable-camera tradition, but it’s consistent with the VariCam line: the LT ships with an EF mount.

While existing MFT lenses can’t be used (or swapped between an EVA1 and a GH5), the larger S35mm sensor offers focal-length compatibility with standard cinema lenses (and format compatibility with standard cinematographer’s brains) and at least a one stop improvement in noise performance compared to the smaller sensor.

The EF mount opens the camera to the large and growing world of EF-mount lenses in both cine and still-camera flavors. If EF isn’t your cup of tea you can swap the mount for a Wooden Camera PL mount (Wooden offers the mount with an installation service in case you don’t have a collimator handy to calibrate flange focal depth).

Design

EVA1 body, unadorned

The EVA1’s body is reasonably compact for a S35mm camera with built-in recording at 5-5/16” × 5-1/4” × 6-11/16” (135mm × 133mm × 170 mm). The body alone is 2.6 lbs or 1.2kg; add side grip, top handle, monitor with hood, mic holder and battery for a 4.5 lb / 2.05 kg weight.

EVA1 with top handle, LCD, and Canon 24-70mm f/2.8

The operator’s side has a record start/stop button on the top bevel, up/down buttons for the three built-in ND filters (ND 0.6, 1.2, and 1.8), a broad and well-textured iris control wheel, and a three-position flip switch at the bottom. The switch determines what the smaller control wheel behind it adjusts: white balance, gain, or a user-selectable function such as monitor volume, shutter speed, or frame rate. Three big round user buttons, easily found by touch, echo those on the side of the VariCam LT (but lack that camera’s backlighting, sadly). Four smaller oblong buttons are arrayed behind them; they’re a bit more finicky to find sight unseen. Similar small buttons activate the MENU and let you EXIT the current menu level.

ND and IR filters in the EVA1, partially retracted. This is how the camera arrived; once power was applied they snapped into proper alignment.

Both control wheels let you push them in: the IRIS wheel switches between manual and auto iris, while the small wheel’s click selects the current menu item.

A LOCK switch lets you lock out your selection of side-panel buttons to prevent fumble-fingered activation. Two audio gain pots poke through a flip-open cover and can be twiddled with a fingertip while the cover is closed. Opening the cover lets you grab the knobs between two fingers, and exposes separate AUTO/MANUAL switches for each channel. A recessed flip switch at the bottom, just below a red power-on LED, switches the camera on and off.

EVA1 rear, port covers closed

The rear of the camera has two SDXC slots behind a flip-open cover. Each slot has a status LED: green for “OK to yank the card”, yellow for “this is the active card”, flashing yellow for “recording to this card; hands off!” Another assignable button sits below the slots, a red tally LED sits below it.

EVA1 rear, port covers open

There’s a full-size HDMI port behind a flip-open rubber cover. Another cover opens to reveal a USB port for the AJ-WM50P Wi-Fi dongle and one for “service”. Similar covers protect a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, BNCs for SDI out and timecode in/out, and a 12 volt coax power input for the supplied AC adapter.

Dual XLR inputs for mic or line-level feeds sit unprotected to the right.

Batteries dock in the center. The stock 7.3 volt, 5900 mAh battery nestles entirely inside the camera while larger-capacity batteries (8850 and 11800 mAh) protrude slightly. The camera’s cooling system vents through a grille just above the battery; a warm and gentle breeze wafts from the back of the camera, driven by a fan so quiet I had to struggle to hear it.

EVA1 right side without grip

The right side has the mount for the rotating side grip, and sockets for the LCD monitor cable and the grip’s control cable. There’s also a focus hook at the top.

The grip itself attaches with a bayonet mount and rotates through a bit over 90º when a thumb release is pressed.

EVA1 grip rotated fully back

EVA1 grip in upright position

EVA1 grip rotated fully forwards.

The contoured grip has MENU and record start/stop  for the thumb, another control wheel and a user-assignable button for the index finder, and a final assignable button on the inside where the middle or ring finger can just reach it. The grip is made of textured, hard plastic and has a padded adjustable strap.

EVA1 grip, top view

EVA1 grip, front view. User Button 9 is just visible on the inside, in front of the cable.

  The front of the camera has the EF-mount release button and another user-assignable button (there are nine total, scattered across the camera and grip) which triggers AWB by default. Dual built-in mics, a tally LED, and an ambient light sensor for auto-tracking white balance occupy a shiny panel at the top. A grille below the lens mount admits air for the cooling system.

Front view of EVA1

The EF mount is the standard bayonet-mount style used on still cameras, not the far superior positive-locking breech mount found on the Canon C500 and the VariCam LT. Bayonet mounts use spring pressure to keep the lens aligned properly, and heavy lenses or the force of a follow-focus or focus motor can move a lens in a bayonet mount, wobbling the image and possibly throwing off focus.

Fortunately the springs in the EVA1’s mount are the stiffest I’ve encountered. I hung a relatively heavy (3.67 lb / 1.66 kg) 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom off the mount with no support rods, and it showed no tendency to flex or wobble.

The top panel of the camera is well equipped with 1/4” sockets for accessories, and for the top handle, which mounts using uses captive knurled knobs.

EVA1 top panel

The top handle has two passive shoe mounts, 1/4” and 3/8” sockets, a mounting point on the right for a microphone holder, and three mounting points—front left, rear right and left—for the LCD monitor arm. A supplied shoulder strap threads through two lugs on the top handle if you want to rock it ENG-style.

EVA1 top handle

The LCD mount is simply a stubby rod, clamped in any of eight positions by its own knurled knob. The LCD holds onto that rod using a friction clamp with its own knob; the clamp allows the monitor to pivot on two axes, with click-stops at 90º angles.

You can orient the joints so that the monitor won’t pivot if pressure is applied to it, say, by the force of an eyepiece loupe pressed to one’s eye. However there’s enough flex in the plastic assembly that I’m leery of recommending such a thing, for fear of overstressing the assembly and breaking it off. Apparently I’m not the only one; Zacuto’s EVA1 Z-Finder loupe includes a metal exoskeleton to rigidify the rig and make it robust enough for the harsh handling viewfinders are subject to (the EVA1 Z-Finder is covered in part 3 of this review).

The LCD mount’s attachment screw is a standard 1/4”x20, and the monitor’s clamp fits any 15mm rod, so you can dig into your box of camera-support Tinkertoys and mount the display anywhere its 15” / 23 cm cable will reach.

LCD monitor mounted atop Zacuto EVF

The monitor is a 3.5” 16×9 resistive touchscreen like the one used on the DVX200. Like most resistive touchscreens takes a fair bit of pressure to activate, but it’s unaffected by moisture and it can be used while wearing gloves. A slide switch next to the permanently-attached cable lets you flip or mirror the image as needed for any orientation.

The baseplate of the camera has both 1/4” and 3/8” tripod sockets.

EVA1 baseplate

      There’s more in part 2 and part 3…

The post Review: Panasonic AU-EVA1 4K Cine Camera appeared first on ProVideo Coalition.

First Found At: Review: Panasonic AU-EVA1 4K Cine Camera