#nt: poison/affection

[qb-sketch]

Rhythms x JSaB, but it’s JTTNS AU this time. Tree to tree communication.

And the 2-for-1 Rhythms taking a walk or somethin

[tsunagite]

Poison AND÷OR Affection in Phigros now!!

[dustedmagazine]

Dust Volume 6, Number 8

Angel Olsen

Now half a year in the pandemic, we’re starting to see the emergence of quarantine records, whether in the trove of reissues hastily assembled to stand in for new product or home recorded projects made with extremely close friends and family or albums that are conceived and written around the concept of isolation. Music isn’t real life, exactly, but it lives nearby. And in any case, it’s still music and can be good or bad whether it’s been unearthed from a forgotten box of tapes, recorded at home without collaboration or side people or technologically gerry-rigged so that distanced partners can work together. So, as long as you all are making music, we will continue to listen and find records that move us, as the world burns all around. This edition’s contributors included Patrick Masterson, Andrew Forell, Tim Clarke, Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Jonathan Shaw, Justin Cober-Lake and Ray Garraty. Enjoy.

+ — #playboy (Deluxe Edition) (self-released)

#playboy (deluxe edition) by +

One of the most genuinely confounding records I’ve heard this year comes courtesy SEO-unfriendly artist + aka Plus Sign fka Emanuel James Vinson, a Chicago rapper, city planner and all-around community activist who spends his time helping with the city’s Let’s Build Garden City initiative when he’s not making music (which is frequent, by the way — take a look at the breadth of that Bandcamp discography). The concept with #playboy, originally released in April but deluxed in late May, is simple: Two kids find a music machine called #playboy in their basement and start tinkering with it. Its childlike whimsy is conveyed in the song titles (“Getting the Hang of It,” “Wake Up Jam (Waking Up)”) every bit as much as it is in the music, with occasionally grating indulgences, the odd earworm and a brief appearance by borderless internet hip-hop hero Lil B that makes perfect sense in context; the kindred spirit of that community-building cult auteur is strong here. You may wind up loving this record or you may wind up hating it, but I can promise you this: You’ll be thinking about it and the artist behind it long after it’s over.

Patrick Masterson

 Actress — Mad Voyage Mixtape (self-released)

I once suggested Darren Cunningham mucks about with his music because he can’t help himself. That was about six years ago on the occasion of his purported “final” album Untitled; with the benefit of hindsight, we can see he was (like so many others, to greater or lesser consequence) just pulling our leg with that PR. Hell, he’s released two albums worth of music in July alone: The first was the mid-month surprise LP 88, which follows in the vein of his acclaimed high period as an often brilliant, occasionally frustrating patchwork of submersible beats best played at high volume with a low end. The second came at the end of the month in an m4a file shared the old fashioned way on a forum via Mediafire link, nearly an hour and a half long, and per the man himself, “All SP-303, sketchbook beats, recorded this past week [the first week of July] straight to recorder or cassette.” It feels very much like a homespun Actress mixtape and is probably best thought of as livelier accompaniment to 88 but, even still, there’s no noticeable drop in quality — once Actress, always Actress. If headier lo-fi beat tapes are your beat, this will slot comfortably in line.

Patrick Masterson

  bdrmm - Bedroom (Sonic Cathedral)

Hull five-piece bdrmm play a satisfyingly crepuscular version of shoegaze on their debut album Bedroom. Ryan Smith, his brother Jordan on bass, guitarist Joe Vickers, Danny Hull on synths and drummer Luke Irvin combine the widescreen sound of Ride with a cloak of gothic post-punk. Like the late, lamented Girls Names, bdrmm find a sweet spot where atmosphere and dynamics either build to euphoric crescendos or bask in bleak funereal splendor. Bedroom seems deliberately sequenced from celebration to lament. “A Reason To Celebrate” evokes Ride at their most anthemic, the tripping staccato driven “Happy” summons the spirit of The Cure of Seventeen Seconds before the pace drops for the second half, the songs become quieter and darker as the band finds a more personal voice. “(The Silence)” is an ambient whispered wraith of a thing, “Forget The Credits” impressively mopey slowcore. bdrmm don’t always transcend their influences, but this debut is an atmospheric treat if your taste runs to the darker end of the musical buffet.

Andrew Forell  

 Circulatory System — Circulatory System (Elephant 6 Recording Co.)

Circulatory System by Circulatory System

Nearly 20 years after its initial release, the excellent eponymous debut album by Will Cullen Hart’s psychedelic chamber-pop band Circulatory System gets a long overdue vinyl reissue. While his previous project, the undeniably great Olivia Tremor Control, tended to lean more towards classic psych-pop’s traditional tropes — hard-panned drums, loads of disorientating tape effects, wonky harmonized vocals — Circulatory System taps into something utterly uncanny. Both Signal Morning (2009) and Mosaics Within Mosaics (2014) have their moments, but this is front-to-back brilliant, conjuring a sublime atmosphere of reflective estrangement. The music is a thick, grainy soup of shimmering instrumentation, from the eerie (“Joy,” “Now,” “Should a Cloud Replace a Compass?”) to the joyful (“Yesterday’s World,” “The Lovely Universe,” “Waves of Bark and Light”), but part of the album’s magic is the way everything flows into a seamless whole. As is vinyl’s tendency, the rhythm section really comes alive here, the fuzz bass and tom-heavy drum parts booming out, with plenty of vivid details in the mix swimming into view. A worthy reissue of an essential album.

Tim Clarke

 Cloud Factory — #1 (Howlin’ Banana)

Cloud Factory #1 by Cloud Factory

Cloud Factory, from Toulouse, France, overlays the serrated edges of garage pop with a serene dream-pop drift. It’s an appealing mix of hard and soft, like being pummeled to death by pillows or threatened gunpoint by a teddy bear. “Amnesia,” for instance, erupts in a vicious, sawed off, trouble-making bass line, then soars from there in untroubled female vocals. Later, “No Data,” punches hard with raw percussion, then lays on a liquid, lucid guitar line that encourages middle-distance staring. None of these songs really up the ante with memorable melodies, sharp words or that intangible R’NR energy that distinguishes great punk rock from the so so. Not loud, not soft, not great, not bad. Cloud Factory resides in the indeterminant middle.

Jennifer Kelly

 Entry — Detriment (Southern Lord)

Detriment by Entry

Nuthin fancy here, folks. Just eight songs — plus a flexing, fuzzing intro — of American hardcore punk. Entry has been grinding away for a few years now, and Detriment doesn’t advance much past the musical terrain the band marked off on the No Relief 7-inch (2016). That’s OK. The essential formula is time tested: d-beat rhythms, overdriven amps and Sara G.’s ferocious vocals delivering the necessary affect. That would be: pissed off, just this side of hopeless. Detriment sounds like what might happen if Poison Idea (c. 1988) stumbled into a seminar on Riot Grrrl; after everyone got tired of beating the living shit out of one another, they’d make some songs. “Selective Empathy” is pretty representative. Big riffs, a breakdown, and more than enough throaty yelling to let you know that you’re in some trouble. You might recognize the sound of Clayton Stevens’ guitar from his work with Touché Amoré — but maybe it’s better if you don’t. This isn’t music for mopery. Watch out for the spit, snot and blood, and flip the record.

Jonathan Shaw  

 Equiknoxx — VF Live: Equiknoxx (The Vinyl Factory)

There’s nothing like a little roots music to get you through the sweltering summer heat, and this early July mix by Gavin “Gavsborg” Blair (half of forward-thinking Kingston dancehall unit Equiknoxx) was a personal favorite of the past month for hitting that spot. The group tends to throw curveballs at the genres it tinkers with, and Blair’s mix highlights why they’re so good at it: The crates run deep. Spanning everything from legendary producer and DJ Prince Jazzbo to in-house music fresh out the box (e.g., “Did Not Make This For Jah_9” was released in late May), Blair sets the mood and educates you along the way. Like everything else these cats do (and that includes the NTS show — support your independent radio station!), it’s hard not to give the highest recommendation.

Patrick Masterson  

 Ezra Feinberg — Recumbent Speech (Related States)

Recumbent Speech by Ezra Feinberg

Knowing that Ezra Feinberg is a practicing psychoanalyst, it’s tempting to read meaning into the name of his second solo album. But be careful to think twice about the meaning you perceive and ask yourself, is it the product of Feinberg on the couch or your own projection? His choice to name one of the record’s six instrumentals (there are voices, but no words) “Letter To My Mind” certainly suggests that there’s an internal dialogue at work, but the music feels most like a layered deployment of good ideas than an exchange of intrapsychic forces. The synthesizers shimmer and cycle like something from a mid-1970s Cluster record, resting upon a pillow of vibraphone and electric piano tones, which in turn billow under the influence of undulating layers of drums. Feinberg’s guitar leads are bright and pithy, like something Pat Metheny might come up with if he knew he was going to have to pay a steep price for every note he played. Ah, but there I go, projecting an implication of adversary process where there may be none. Might it be that Feinberg, having spent a full work week immersed in the psychic conflicts of others, wants to lay back on the couch and exhale? If so, this album is an apt companion.

Bill Meyer  

 Honey Radar — Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years (Chunklet)

Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years by Honey Radar

Jason Henn of Honey Radar has a solid claim at being his generation’s Bob Pollard, a prolific, absurdist songwriter, who tosses off hooky melodies as if channeling them from the spirit world. His least polished material glints with melody hidden beneath banks of fuzz, whispery and fragile on records, but surprisingly muscular in his rocking live shows. This 28-song compilation assembles the singles, splits, EPs and bonus tracks Henn recorded for Chunklet between 2015 and the present; it would be a daunting amount of material except that it goes down like cotton candy, sweet, airy, colorful and gone before you know it. Like the Kinks, Henn has a way of making strident rock and roll hooks sound wistful and dreamy. In “Lilac Pharmacy,” guitar lines rip and buck and roar, but from a distance, hardly disrupting Henn’s placid murmur. “Medium Mary Todd” ratchets up the tension a bit, with a tangled snarl of lick and swagger, but the vocals edge towards quiet whimsy a la Sic Alps; a second version runs a bit hotter, rougher and more electric, while a third, recorded at WFMU, gives an inkling of the Honey Radar concert experience. A couple of fine covers — of the Fall’s early rant “Middle Class Revolt” and of the Monkees rarity “Wind-Up Man”— suggest the fine, loamy soil that Henn’s art grows out of, while alternate versions of half a dozen tracks hint at the various forms his ideas can take. It’s a wonderful overview of Honey Radar so far, though let’s hope it’s not a career retrospective. Henn has a bunch of records left to make yet if he wants to edge out Pollard.

Jennifer Kelly

 Iron Wigs — Your Birthday’s Cancelled (Mello Music Group)

Your Birthday's Cancelled by IRON WIGS

As an adjective, “goofy” had gotten a bad rep in hip hop. Anything that is unusual, inventive and not in line with “keeping it real” is immediately stigmatized as goofy, weird, nerdy and bad. Iron Wigs is goofy but hold the pejorative connotations. Chicago representatives Vic Spencer and Verbal Kent team up here with Sonnyjim from the UK to do some wild rhyming. They collaborated before, but Your Birthday’s Cancelled is a complete, fully fleshed project, masterfully executed from start to finish. Instead of the usual gun busting you get a fist in the ribs. Instead of drug slinging, a blunt to activate your rhymes. Each member of the group has a distinctive delivery which makes you to listen carefully for every verse, no skipping. It’s a relief to listen to rap artists who don’t pretend they’re out in the streets while they’re at home enjoying a favorite TV series. The standout track here is “Bally Animals & Rugbys” with Roc Marciano dropping by for a verse.

Ray Garraty  

 Levinson / Mahlmeister — Shores (Trouble In Mind)

Shores by levinson / mahlmeister

Jamie Levinson and Donny Mahlmeister’s Bandcamp page indicates that they’re based in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago. This goes further towards explaining their association with Trouble in Mind Records, which is located in the same county, than their music, which brings to mind something much further north. The duo’s music is mostly electronic, with modular synthesizers setting the pulse and sweeping the pitch spectrum while lap steel guitar adds flourishes and a shruti box thickens the textures. The album is split into two, with each track — one is named “Ascend,” the other “Release” — taking up one side of a 50-minute cassette. The first side trundles steadily onwards, and the second seems to bask in a glow to that never totally fades. Since there’s no “Descend,” it’s easy to imagine this music sound tracking a drive into the Canadian north, the journey unspooling under a sky that never darkens, its progress towards Hudson Bay unhindered by other traffic or turns in the road. Perhaps that’s just one listener’s fantasy of easy social distancing and escape from the present’s grim digital glare into a retro-futurist, analog dream. But in dreams we’re free to fly without being seated next to some knucklehead with his mask over his eyes instead of his mouth, so dream on, dreamers. This tape is volume one of the Explorers Series, Trouble in Mind’s projected program of limited edition cassette releases.

Bill Meyer

 Klara Lewis — Ingrid (Editions Mego)

Klara Lewis’s latest recording shows a narrowing of focus. Previously she seemed to be trying ideas and methods on for size, investigating ambient electronics or hinting at pop melody without completely committing. Given the approach to music modeled by her father, Graham Lewis of Wire and Dome, she probably does not feel the need to do just one thing, and that’s a healthy angle if one wants to stay interested and flexible. But there’s also something to be said for really digging into an idea, and that’s what she has done here. Ingrid is a one-track, one-sided 12.” Burrowing further into one-ness, it is made from one looped cello phrase, which gets filtered and distorted on each pass. The effect suggests decay, but not so much the gradual transformation of a William Basinski piece as the pitiless abrasion of a woodworker going over a plank with sander. The combination of repetition and coarsening hits a spot closer to one that Tony Conrad might reach, and that’s an itch worth scratching.

Bill Meyer

Luis Lopes Humanization 4tet — Believe, Believe (Clean Feed)

The cruel economics of contemporary creative music-making favor an ensemble like Humanization 4tet. At a minimum, the filial Texan rhythm section of Stefan and Aaron Gonzalez (drums and bass respectively) and Lisbon-based duo of Rodrigo Amado (tenor saxophone) and Luís Lopes can each count on having the other half of a band on the other side of the Atlantic. But any project that’s on its fourth record in a dozen years has more going for it than the chance to save on plane tickets. For the Portuguese musicians, it’s an opportunity to feel an unabashedly high-energy force at their backs, as well as a chance to drink from a deep well of harmolodic blues. And for the Gonzalez brothers, it’s the reward of being the absolute right guys for the job; it has to be a gas to know that the heft they put into their swing is so deeply appreciated. While Lopes’ name remains up front, everyone contributes compositions, and everyone gives their all on every tune.

Bill Meyer  

 Joanna Mattrey — Veiled (Relative Pitch)

Veiled by Joanna Mattrey

This solo CD, which closely follows a collaborative cassette on Astral Spirits, is only the second recording with Joanna Mattrey’s name on the spine. But Mattrey is no newcomer. The New England Conservatory-trained violist has been playing straight and pop gigs for a while. If you caught Chance the Rapper on Saturday Night Live, Cuddle Magic with strings or a host of classical gigs around New York City, you’ve seen her. But if black dress and heels gigs pay her bills, improvised music nourishes her heart. And if sounds raw enough to scrape the roof of the world nourish yours, this album is new food. The premise of Veiled is finding veins of concealed beauty concealed, and that search impels Mattrey to tune her viola to sound like a horse-haired Tuvan fiddle, clamp objects to the strings and blast her signal through some satisfyingly filthy amplification. And whether it’s a slender tune or a complex texture, the reward is always there.

Bill Meyer

  Angel Olsen — “Whole New Mess” single (Jagjaguwar)

Everyone processes a breakup differently (though, to be fair, that’s probably less true now than ever). For Angel Olsen in 2018, it meant retreating to The Unknown, a century-old church in Anacortes, Washington, that Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum and producer Nicholas Wilbur made into a recording studio. What ultimately came from those sessions was All Mirrors, but Whole New Mess is a chance to revisit that album (fully nine of these 11 songs are ones you’ve heard before; only the title-track and “Waving, Smiling” are new) in a more intimate framework — just Angel, a guitar, a mic and her reverberant heartache. The most cynical view to be taken here is that it’s a stopgap capitalizing on people’s vulnerability amid a pandemic quarantine, but it could also be a corrective for the bloat of All Mirrors, a record I listened to once and haven’t thought about since. Late Björkian excess doesn’t suit her nearly as well as the light touch delivered herein, and your interest will similarly hinge on how much Whole New Mess sounds like the old one.

Patrick Masterson   

 Ono — Red Summer (American Dreams)

Red Summer by ONO

Ono, the long-running noise-punk-poetry-protest project headed by P Michael Grego and travis, tackles the Red Summer of 1919, evoking the brutal race riots that erupted as soldiers returned from World War I. During that summer, conflicts raged from Chicago to the deep south, as white supremacists rioted against newly empowered returning Black veterans and an increased number of Black factory workers employed in America’s northern factories. Ono captures the violence—and its links to contemporary race-based conflicts—in an abstract and visionary style, with travis declaiming against an agitated froth of avant garde sound. “A Dream of Sodomy” lurches and rolls in funk-punk bravado, as travis declaims all the nightmarish scenarios that haunt his nocturnal hours, while “Coon” natters rhythmically across a fever-lit foundation of hand-drums, mosquito buzz and flute. “26 June 1919” wanders through a blasted, rioting landscape, sounds buzzing and pinging and roaring around travis’ fractured poetry. “White men, red men, Manchester town, send ‘em home, Oklahoma, send ‘em home, in a Black man house, send ‘em home, send ‘em home,” he chants, ominously, vertiginously. The center isn’t holding, for sure. The disc closes with the uneasy truce of “Sycamore Trees,” where steam blasts of synthesizer sound rush up and around travis’ vibrating, basso verses about meeting under the sycamore trees, a metaphor like the blues and gospel and nearly all Black music is full of metaphor about reuniting in a better place. Powerful.

Jennifer Kelly

 Julian Taylor — The Ridge (Howling Turtle, Inc.)

Singer-songwriter Julian Taylor does the little things well. That's not to say that he doesn't do the obvious things well, too, on his latest release The Ridge. His easy voice fits his songs, letting autobiography come with comfortable phrasing. As a writer, he tends toward the straightforward, avoiding extended metaphors or oblique references. The title track considers a particular form of life, and Taylor sticks to the tangible, singing about the stable, “Shovel manure, clean their beds, and prepare the feed for the day.” Taylor's songs make sense of the immediate world and relationships around him, but they avoid woolgathering. The album feels a bit removed from the current climate, but that's no complaint when Taylor's developed a welcoming place to visit. It isn't always easy here, but it's always companionable.

But back to those little things. Each song has carefully detailed orchestration and production. The record goes down easy whether tending toward James Taylor, Cat Stevens or something closer to country, and much of that easiness comes from the precise placement of every note. Burke Carroll's pedal steel, for instance, never exists for its own sake, but to serve the lyric that Taylor sings. The album contains enough space to feel like a rural Canadian ridge, with details drawn into to support Taylor's direct stories. The Ridge could easily go unnoticed (unobtrusiveness not being a highly rewarded trait), but its subtlety and care make it worth taking your boots off and sitting down for a minute.

Justin Cober-Lake  

 Various Artists — For a Better Tomorrow (Garden Portal)

For A Better Tomorrow by Various Artists

Compilation albums loom large in the American Primitive Guitar realm. Takoma, Tompkins Square and Locust all had larger ambitions than merely offering a sampling of wares, and to them, Garden Portal says, “hold my beer. I’ve got some collecting and playing to do.” For A Better Tomorrow started out as a Bernie Sanders fundraising endeavor. But when Bernie bailed and COVID-19 came on the scene, Garden Portal pivoted to support Athens Mutual Aid Network, an umbrella organization that coordinates aid to the underserved in this trying time. But in addition to good works, there’s some good work going on here. Not all of it is guitar-centric, but even the tracks that aren’t are close enough to the strings and heart template of the aforementioned parties to merit consideration under the same rubric. Joseph Allred’s been ultra-productive recently, so it’s actually helpful to be reminded of the spirit that infuses his playing by listening to it one track at a time. Rob Noyes’ “Diminished” takes the listener on a deep dive into the construction of sentiment and sound. And Will Csorba’s Pelt-like blast of fiddle drone, “Requiem for Ociel Guadalupe Martinez,” will put your hair up high enough to make that self-inflicted quarantine do a bit easier to execute.

Bill Meyer

  Various Artists — The Storehouse Presents (The Storehouse)

The Storehouse Presents by The Storehouse

The coronavirus pandemic put the brakes on many things. You doubtless have your own list of loss, but for the proprietors of The Storehouse, the catalog of things kissed goodbye directly corresponds to their endeavor’s inventory of reasons to be. Over the past few years, the Storehouse has invited audiences out to a West Michigan farmhouse to enjoy a potluck meal and a concert played by some musicians of note. If there had been no lockdown, listeners could have enjoyed the Sun Ra Arkestra last April. Instead, no one’s playing, and no one’s getting paid, so the Storehouse has compiled this set of live and exclusive studio tracks to sell on Bandcamp in order to benefit the musicians and the Music Maker Relief Foundation. The cause, is good, but so are the tunes. Want to hear Steve Gunn and William Tyler in sympathetic orbit? Or Joan Shelley pledging her love? Or the first hints of Mind Over Mirrors’ new direction? Step right this way, preferably on one of 2020’s first Fridays.

Bill Meyer

 Z-Ro — Rohammad Ali (1 Deep Entertainment / Empire)

On one of his previous tracks, Z-Ro admitted that he’s basically just writing the same song over and over again (that’s how meta he is now, writing songs on writing songs). While he exaggerated a bit, he was not that far from the truth. In the last half dozen years he’s been writing the same three or four songs in various combinations, reconfigurations and forms. Rohammad Ali follows the same template: haters hate him, but he’s OK and is counting his money. Multiply this by 17, and here is the album. Despite this self-cannibalizing (lots of poets did that), Z-Ro with every new album sounds fresh and far from tired. The self-repeats just fuel him. Rohammad Ali has only one rap guest, and it’s Shaquille O’Neal whose rap career didn’t jump off in the 1990s. A lack of guests only proves that Z-Ro can self-sustain without support from the outside. The only thing from the outside he needs is hate.

Ray Garraty

[icangothedistancee]

CW: Toxic relationships and emotional abuse

I wasn’t sure whether I should post this or not but I think it’s important to tell these kinds of stories and acknowledge them. It’s important to share experiences so other’s know they aren’t alone. I wrote it last summer when I was just out of a toxic relationship and I kept it hidden since. At the time writing it was a form of therapy for me, but reading it brought back too many memories. I’m not completely healed from this experience, but I am SO much better and reading it now I’m able to see how far I’ve come since. It’s important to talk about abuse and how it affects you rather than suppressing it. Talking about it is a huge part of how I get better every single day. This isn’t my whole story, but this is part of it:

Did I ever tell you

that I cried myself to sleep most nights? Either I was alone because you left or you acted like I was poison, as if touching my skin would leave you burned.

I tried as best as I could to wrap my arms around my body. I wished my mind and my arms would be comforting enough. I wished I could keep it all inside my head without feeling like I was going to burst, but it seeped through the cracks and I didn’t have enough hands to catch it on my own.

Did I ever tell you

You made me feel like there was nothing left and then you pulled me in again and again making me feel like I needed to stay.

You let me ride on the memories of the highs. Addicted to them. The only thing I had to hold on to when my mind was screaming that I didn’t deserve to be in this world.

I stopped crying and numbness took over. I was a vessel for my body but I didn’t really exist.

I was no one.

I took care of you, I took care of me, I took care of everything.

My eyes looked bruised.

Although it was from exhaustion, from anguish, from the constant aching in my heart and in my body.

I never knew what to say when people asked me if I was okay. I would just tell them I was fine.

Did you know that? Did you notice?

Remember when you told me you hated my friends? The people in my life tried so hard for you and you stepped all over them and I let you.

You refused to let me meet your friends or your family and being seen in public with me was shameful. I felt disgusting. I thought I wasn’t worth being seen.

Remember when you were supposed to come home because I needed you and instead you left for days? I waited. You drank alcohol and did cocaine and stayed up all night.

So I got a bottle of wine to drink alone and then I smashed it and I cried. I’m embarrassed to admit it. It sounds stupid. You’d call me dramatic, wouldn’t you?

Empty promises

Vacant heart

You took my pride, my happiness, my confidence.

You took me away from myself.

You made me feel completely worthless. You made me feel like I deserved the vulgar words you used on me.

F*ck you

C*nt

B*tch

A**hole

‘Are you fucking stupid?’ You would scream.

I was always wrong. My thoughts, my feelings didn’t matter.

Nothing you said ever followed through.

When I was sick you told me it was too much so I pretended my pain didn’t exist, yet I still cared for you. You took advantage of my empathy because you knew you could.

Did I ever tell you that I’m afraid of everything now? I’m afraid of noises and shadows and loud voices and swaying tree branches.

My body shakes now. I can’t stop making my own hands bleed.

Did I ever tell you that I have nightmares?

Nightmares of your face, of your words, of your voice? Nightmares of you still trying to convince me that I’m worthless. That I deserve nothing.

Your feelings were the only ones that mattered. You’re selfish. You ignored my hurt. You never took responsibility for your actions and you probably never will. It took you finding someone else and fucking them in MY bed to admit this to myself because I was terrified of you.

That’s the only thing I want to thank you for because that finally gave me the courage to leave.

[stevecoleridge-posts]

Day 6 ..Friday          Struggling .. which is why i did nt see the news or spend time on Social Media yesterday..          I thought it would be a breeze and after a little concentration id have it down .. but no , even the first part…known as lumpedy lump was proving tough , because of the triplet  walk up from the V to the 1.. and i think thats the part Jimmy Reed himself is playing…   If you ve read previous episodes you will know i refer to Honest I Do….the song.   Im learning it on a You Tube lesson , now a lot of people who think of themselves as pros , seem to think there s some sort  of stigma ro learning stuff on You Tube, but i know a French guy , of Spanish descent , who is a really hot Flamenco guitarist who has mastered nearly all the Palos , and all on You Tube  They are right, if you dedicate yourself to different songs at the same time, but it s like working form home…you need time and discipline ..and take the lessons very slowly and don’t move on till you can play it 20 times with your eyes shut..preferably standing up .. then move on up. Yesterday  was the first time i managed to do this.   There is a different tone on Social media today .. angrier , more prone to blame others, more censorious…and on one group forum i saw they were going to ban Humour..well , i don’t personally know the Group leader.. but it does nt take much imagination to know she s not someone you d want to be quarantined with.    The only thing to fear is fear itself.. well i certainly don’t think that applies in this situation, quite the reverse, the more frightened we are the less we will venture forth on errands that are not strictly necessary..i was on my way out the door , literally, when my mobile rang…it was the charming woman from the bank.. she d got my message .. id gone way over my limit.. which was why i could nt withdraw funds…She , and i won’t name her, is working from Home and sorted it all out on her laptop..no need for me to go to town..      Is nt that great?..well , I thought it was..and a good thing too,as she has not been provided with any masks..and we are talking about a Bank..if they cant get basic stuff like that no wonder the Government  are nt testing people .. they don’t have the wherewithal…it is nt as though this has nt been on the News everyday since December the something.    .I remember listening to Radio Four as i was driving through Slough, in December,… don’t ask … the M4 was closed..and i was listening to a woman in Wuhan describing how her parents were dying in the Street.. that really got my attention.   It did nt seem to get the attention of the people in charge here however, as when the inevitable arrived nearly three months later , they had done nothing to prepare for it.   The Spanish Disease is politics, it creeps into every corner of life and spreads its poison , a bit like you know what,..and in the past when people got fed up with their venal politicians there was a Military Coup , and then they realised maybe life was better before with democracy … and the cycle starts again. This model has been exported successfully to Latin America.. with the possible  exception of Mexico. and Costa Rica   Its all very well for us stodgy Northerners with our bad weather , to criticise, but Sun affects people,and when things are good they seem so much better  in the Sunshine..but something about Sunny weather produces Volatility, and an @ i won’t fix the roof as its not raining @ World View… and Italys  colossal death rate is the price to be paid .. not that it is nt sunny in China..or South Korea..but they do a lot more than just fix the roof..and to put  it down to Confucianism .. well  maybe best not to start on that.   Australia will be interesting, they have lots of sun , but its a pretty organised place ..and i don’t see them making this sort of Balls up.. also they have the experience of natural disasters,,and pulling together, and will not let Politics interfere…any country that had leaders with  names  like Abbott and Costello doesn’t waste too energy on petty politics.  The Current Classic example of petty minded, spiteful, pointless,  negative ,oppurtunism , is the  attempt on social media and what sup groups to denigrate the Royal Family organising people to rattle saucepans at a given time, because apparently the current King s father had a rather large amount of money in a Swiss Account..well, it was Saudi Money , not money stolen from the Spanish taxpayer, unlike the billions stolen by the previous administration , the PP .The idea for this stupidity was inspired by the Custom of applauding the Medical profession every night at eight o clock.. an excellent morale boosting , bringing everyone together kind of gesture..well everything has its opposite and this is an excellent way to breed more discontent and fracture an all ready pretty fractured society.. it beggars belief and you really have to have lived here to see these Barca Madrid  idiocies at first hand.   Barca Madrid is a term used to describe the divide and conquer ,us and them , attitudes that have stopped Spains progress since the collapse of their Empire, culminating in the most vicious Civil War in recent European History, and one would have hoped  that after 40 plus years of Democracy it would have disappeared , but sadly, like in the USA and a lot of other democracies , it seems to be on the increase.The anger on Social Media which results from the claustrophobic frustration of a lockdown will hopefully not boil over into something with unpleasant political consequences, which would be very sad , as after Francos death and the adoption of constitution that is the envy of many countries, Spain was a beacon of hope in the last quarter of the 20 th century… how the mighty are fallen .. one hopes not.. SPANISH LOCKDOWN DAY  7   Slept really well , but then  I remember reading that people on Death row sleep 16 hours a day so possibly not a good sign.   Last Night i watched the Spanish news ,on the main channel and things are looking up , relatively speaking, in the sense that testing has arrived ..someone, or some country, has sent several thousand, or may be half a million test kits.. which is obviously excellent news , and testing in  Galicia is going full steam ahead. There was the obligatory item about a vaccine..which I think one can take with a pinch of salt. .Military erecting field hospitals next to various main hospitals…the eight o clock applause of medical staff…all in all well put together not too desperately pessimistic, and generally not as disheartening as Facebook.. afterwards i felt like some light relief so we watched eleven episodes of 2 and half men,  in Spanish ,to cheer ourselves up before going to bed.   ..   Today i decided to live a normal day .. if such a thing were possible , so , after taking Tina for a walk i got the Old TV and DVD working and put on Marty Schwarz s Intermediate Blues Guitar Course part one…and it started raining .. so that was encouraging as it took away any temptation to venture outside.. except for firewood that is.   I worked through the course without rushing , but also without too much pausing , as i d done those lessons before, and all that repetition of Honest I do  is paying off..   On going outside for firewood i could not ignore the noise of the generator that kicked in yesterday evening, as we ve had not Sun for several days, so i decided to fill it up with diesel, and see how much 15 hours constant running had used,only half the 20 litre can to fill  up the tank…but was it full to begin with?..anyway it s very rare to have 4 days without sun , so even if it did use  13 euros of diesel  Im not going to freak out as that was expensive diesel.. and I’m entitled to use the cheaper stuff .Of cause i spilled Diesel over my hands , and shoes , and when i spent a good 5 minutes trying to wash the smell out i realised this was the ultimate anti virus test.. so i will leave a bowl of Diesel outside every time i go to town and use that as first part of the disinfection process , yet another excuse not to go to town.    My neighbour M.  rang and suggested i look at his scheme on Facebook to institute Food Deliveries , so one does nt have to go to the Supermarket in person  and infect and be infected… a good idea of course , but like so many , i don’t see it happening…I pointed out several objections , lack of drivers, expense, one would need a sort of Uber program which will probably not be ready for a year .. etc..and the Supermarkets are making so much money i doubt they need this sort of input.I promised to look at it later , which I will , as Lunch was ready.   We ve run out of  Bread ,Oranges and Chocolate, Aurora has broken a nail and the nail bars are closed till further notice…but otherwise  we can probably get through till Monday without suffering too much ..on the other hand Monday is probably the worst day to go shopping..Im toying with the idea of going to the small Supermarket, at 8 am Sunday morning, and hopefully having it to myself , as i cant face the idea of a queue. I know English people are supposed to love queueing but i must be an exception, and queuing nowadays is a High Risk Activity.    The Sun is out and i did one of the jobs from a month old to do list… pumping the water out the flooded pump room , it all went very well , and i felt  very worthy , and now , with the Sunshine it s time for a walk , with Tina , of course.   I return , feeling optimistic .. and the phone rings, i assume it s my neighbour asking if I’ve read his article.it isn’t , it s C another near neighbour, with some very bad news .  The police are in Quarantine…and the Army will soon be here. No Tobacco..as they will close the Tobacconist.  A completely different ball game  I rang M, and gave him the news…I f he d had  a kalashnikov  he d have been checking the magazine  I rang another neighbour  F, whose office is next to the Police Station , to warn him. .When the Rumour , comes to your Town , It Grows and Grows, Where it Started No-one Knows…*Robbie Robertson   I rang my source in the Town Hall G…no , it s only one cop , and he has nt got the results yet..   I rang M  again…he had spoken to his friend who is a Guardia Civil .no , it was nt a Cop it was a Guardia Civil..he also told me the Cuban woman who cleans houses had been stopped, by the Police and they checked the receipt for her shopping    I rang the first neighbour and corrected the original story        I opened Facebook .. and there was the original story , which had started a firestorm of comments along the likes of whats your source? etc as though we were in the Watergate hearings, not only that,  the people reading the story imagined it referred to Mojacar , not Carboneras , and were all frantically ringing the Police Staion , The Town Hall and each other to see if it were true.    The tones of the respective comments went from shrill outrage that anyone should suggest such a story without due documentation , to fear , to I knew this would happen, all these irresponsible idiots .. blah blah   It began to increasingly resemble an episode of Dads Army with a false alarm about a German Landing.., which Facebook does anyway    There is the Captain Mainwaring..@While i was out today making sure everyone was behaving themselves i saw these irresponsible panic shoppers,  and these people walking around without a good reason @     The Fraser .. We Re Doomed     The Air raid Warden…Its all the fault of the Ruling Class, and rules are rules etc     Jones ..Dont Panic... in a tone of complete hysteria    Pikes mother…Be sure to wear your gloves , motorcycle helmet , hazchem suit, mask..galoshes, .Do you have your hand sanitiser , all clothes must be burnt on reentry etc     By this time Auroras original alarm had been replaced by hilarity, as she was sitting by the fire hearing one side of these conversations..     I went out for some more wood and we relaxed by watching a Documentary about the Boeing 737 MAX..complete with simulation in the Pilots cockpit    The best part was the CEO of Boeing trying to justify his 30 million Dollar salary at a Congressional hearing..…i wondered what the Shareholders thought about that , i know what the victims families thought , as they were being interviewed and did nt sound too impressed

[thereturnofthedirtyblog]

Viewpoint - Crossing the line 👩🏼‍💻

I have a lot of those that follow this blog and I do know many don’t agree with what we do here. That is perfectly fine. We all don’t have to agree about Ghost Adventures TV show or the crew. Of course this blog was born over a year ago to continue a conversation about Zak’s “habits” in girls. We call it like it is and that is a “shit show.” However, there are certain things here that are never compromised: Being respectful of each others viewpoints, respecting the crew’s families (I.e. this blog shut down all day when Zaks father passed away), never condoning violence, self harm, and telling anyone to harm themselves. I turned off the “anonymous” feature because of the hate that was in my inbox day after day telling me to “kill” myself or something in that vain. If you have to tell someone to do that then you better look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if that is really who you are. 

So the reason why I am writing this is because of something so disturbing I just couldn’t stay silent. If at all you agree with this then contact whoever you want to get this across to TC or GA leadership. There have been some Yelp reviews of the Zak’s Haunted Museum that have not been positive posted on another blog and I have re-blogged them. One review in particular seems to have been sent probably from a “reader here” that was negative about a performer that now is a “satanic consultant” for Ghost Adventures who is also a performer at the haunted museum. Why am I not saying his name? I don’t want to give him any notoriety from my blog nor will I post the screenshots (I have them and will give if necessary to leadership). I never really cared one way or another about him since he isn’t my cup of tea so each their own. He has a certain niche that many just don’t find cool but that should be okay right? 

What I have a problem with is his posting of the Yelp Review along with her picture yesterday. Does he have a right to disagree with her review? Sure, but why just hers? I thought it would have simmered down but today he did another post that has her profile, and now it has crossed the line into followers calling her a c*nt, and whats worse is the “consultant” for the Travel Channel Ghost Adventures show and performer at Zak’s haunted museum stated this about the Yelp reviewer:

1. She is a joke and a pathetic person.

2. She should probably just drink poison and do the world a favor.

This has crossed the line into someone that I would never want working for me or being involved in my show if I was GA. If he was joking then that is in poor taste and does he not realize that there are many that are reading those comments and seeing this behavior. Suicide hits close to home for me, my family, and many of the bloggers here. It isn’t funny and it is not a joke. If he was in my company he would be FIRED period. I wouldn’t want anyone like that representing the company. 

A word of advice to the person. You are a “brand” and prior to these endeavors a small one. Now you are part of a bigger “brand” and most of all Zaks brand. You need to clean up what you post and write in media because you will affect their “money” now. If Zaks money ever gets negatively impacted then you better pray to whoever you need too. A “brand” would have had the museum reach out to her and try to understand her viewpoint. I have seen many change ratings of Yelp reviews this way. Why Zak doesn’t have anyone at the museum fielding these reviews is shocking and bad business. Another would have been understanding that many coming to museum do not know who Zak is let alone YOU as well. Be better than this!

You can roll your eyes about me saying this but what if Zak or any of the crew said that to someone in their media comments? Would you condone that? -TDB

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call 1-800-273-8255 📞

There is also a Lifeline Chat feature as well. 

💻

[fierceawakening]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/08/europe/germany-poison-sandwiches-scli-intl/index.html

It may be a bad idea to post this at all, but... I wanted to present it to those of you who were baffled by the empathy discussion as an example of why I was convinced by research like Hare’s on sociopathy. 

(NB: I am not claiming Hare is right here; I’m personally still convinced he was pointing at something but you guys have done a good job of offering reasons it’s not as clear as he says it is, some of which seem to me to be borne out in studies. I’m offering this as an explanation of why people might be swayed, as I was, by arguments that to you guys are obviously obscenely bigoted.)

Here’s the (brief) explanation of Klaus’s motive for smearing poison on his coworkers’ sandwiches, making them ill to the point of organ failure and coma:

Klaus O refused to speak during his trial and the motive for his actions is still unclear.

However, a mental health expert for the prison service told the court that the defendant wanted to see how the poison would affect his colleagues, like a scientist performing tests on a rabbit, according to RTL.

And here is Hare describing conclusions drawn from research on "psychopaths” describing how their brains’ function seems to differ from NT controls:

Another psychopath in our research said that he did not really understand what others meant by "fear." However, "When I rob a bank," he said, "I notice that the teller shakes or becomes tongue-tied. One barfed all over the money. She must have been pretty messed up inside, but I don't know why. If someone pointed a gun at me I guess I'd be afraid, but I wouldn't throw up." When asked to describe how he would feel in such a situation, his reply contained no reference to bodily sensations. He said things such as, "I'd give you the money"; "I'd think of ways to get the drop on you"; "I'd try and get my ass out of there." When asked how he would feel, not what he would think or do, he seemed perplexed. Asked if he ever felt his heart pound or his stomach churn, he replied, "Of course! I'm not a robot. I really get pumped up when I have sex or when I get into a fight." 

Laboratory experiments using biomedical recorders have shown that psychopaths lack the physiological responses normally associated with fear. The significance of this finding is that, for most people, the fear produced by threats of pain or punishment is an unpleasant emotion and a powerful motivator of behavior. Fear keeps us from doing some things-"Do it and you'll be sorry"-but it also makes us do other things-"Do it or you'll be sorry." In each case, it is emotional awareness of the consequences that impels us to take a particular course of action. Not so with psychopaths; they merrily plunge on, perhaps knowing what might happen but not really caring.

Which seems to indicate it’s not a choice but a neurodivergence. And then:

In order to survive both physically and psychologically, some normal [sic] individuals develop a degree of insensitivity to the feelings and plight of specific groups of people. For example, doctors who are too empathic toward their patients would soon become emotionally overwhelmed, and their effectiveness as physicians would be reduced. For them, insensitivity is circumscribed,  confined to a specific target group. Similarly, soldiers, gang members, and terrorists may be trained-very effectively, as history has proved over and over again-to view the enemy as less-than-human, as an object without an inner life. 

Psychopaths, however, display a general lack of empathy. They are indifferent to the rights and suffering of family members and strangers alike. If they do maintain ties with their spouses or children it is only because they see their family members as possessions, much like their stereos or automobiles. Indeed, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that some psychopaths are more concerned with the inner workings of their cars than with the inner worlds of their "loved" ones. One of our subjects allowed her boyfriend to sexually molest her five-year-old daughter because "he wore me out. I wasn't ready for more sex that night." The woman found it difficult to understand why the authorities took her child into care. "She belongs to me. Her welfare is my business." She didn't protest very much, however-certainly not as much as she did when her car was impounded, during the custody hearing, for nonpayment of traffic tickets.

Again... not saying this is correct, or how he should be describing anything. Just offering this as an example of why some NTs are looking at you funny.

Could be you thought you said “emotional contagion doesn’t affect me much, but that’s irrelevant to daily life most of the time” and they’re thinking you said “I’m indifferent to your suffering” and therefore going EEEEEEEEEK.

[olivarrhhhh]

Something to be said about stigma. Benzos (considered drugs of addiction, yet alcohol remains legal) compared with alcohol are superior in terms of both harm potential (including social harm) and medical efficacy, meaning lesser side effects and greater therapeutic outcomes (a cleaner, less groggy buzz). BZs are pharmacologically healthier than alcohol. Long term and short term memory loss and Parkinsonism from chronic use? Yeah and? You seen how chronic alcoholics go down? That shit is pharmacologically a barbiturate with multi organic toxicity, I mean it’s literally carcinogenic... Alcohol and barbiturates (the shit that killed wounded soldiers at pearl harbour in ww2) have the same binding site on the GABA-A receptor (share their mechanism of action) because they are both full agonists of the GABA-A receptor. overdose leads to diaphragm paralysis, coma and death. high potency. alcohol poisoning claims many victims, like barbiturates did before benzos. Now, benzos are only partial agonists at the GABA-A receptor, and have a different binding site, and can only affect change in receptor conformation up to 100% of the receptor's natural ability to respond to agonists and open the chloride ion channel on that neuron thereby resulting in a dampening of the central nervous system, in which GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter. This calms the mind. A drug is a substance that upon entering the body, changes the way the body works. Sugar is consequently a drug. Furthermore, the dose of a substance dictates whether it be a poison or a medicinal agent. In terms of therapeutic benefits from any drug there is a fine like between therapeutic and toxic effects. Prejudice is all. Or, like Hamilton Morris once said, pharmaceutical prescriptivism - drug biases inherent in our culture. Like Tupac said, it’s a white mans world. Well. That’s why only drugs white people use are legal. Opioids in pill form. Tobacco. Alcohol. Look what happened when they tried to prohibit alcohol lmao. Well it ain’t working for opium, cannabis or cocaine neither, and the original reason for the criminalisation of these substances is racist and archaic. Law enforcement turn a blind eye (at Ayers Rock, Uluru NT) https://www.instagram.com/p/CK7j6DGhoX1/?igshid=1bogzenk16s9m

[tsunagite]

I was suppose to finish this like 4 days ago but I got distracted by a particular game

Anyways, uniforms of the Guest Reception. Something something for even grounds in fights (since with someone like Glaciaxion, who generally wears armor bc of the whole “exploring winter wastelands” stuff, it might be a bit unfair). And also because sometimes, I’m just lazy to draw a character’s clothes.

The only exception who doesn’t have to wear the uniform is Distorted Fate bc… yeah.

[perfecttimemachinestranger]

Scritches, part 4

Part I  Part II Part III 

Summary: Even fearsome demonic beings need to enjoy a few simple pleasures in (after-)life. For Krennic, one of them is scritches. (1950 words, sfw fluff)

Characters: Angel!Krennic, Demon!Lyste, Demon Squad Anon

 For some background, or simply more of the ‘charming’ Angel!Krennic, see @imperialgradients’ Necroholocron!AU masterpost

You awoke to the sound of a blood-chilling scream. Director Krennic was standing in front of you and Lyste, with his arms raised and his fingers bent, showing off his claws in a classic monster pose. His wings were standing right out and demonic hissy growl came from his throat. The reason for this display, the crewmember your bunk had been reassigned to, cast a panicked glance at him and ran.

“There,” he declared contentedly, slapping imagined dust off his hands as he folded his wings. “That commoner dared attempt to touch you.”

“Oh no,” you groaned. The poor woman had probably just wanted to help by making sure you didn’t fall asleep at your post. “Please don’t do such things! She’ll fetch someone higher up and I’ll be in so much trouble.”

“Whatever deplorable reinforcements she may muster will not encounter you here. Up!”

You scrambled to your feet, standing to attention with the broom at your side. Little Lyste opened one beady eye, then yawned and went back to sleep on top of your uniform tunic.

“You will accompany me,” Krennic stated after a casual inspection that involved correcting your pose and straightening your cap. The lack of tunic went without comment.

He looked pleased, and even hummed a little as he started walking. You followed him, three steps behind, which treated you to a fascinating view of not only his flowing cape, but his wings. They were erect, further accenting the director’s elated mood. “May I ask where we’re going, sir?”

“You may.”

“Where?”

“Officers’ mess in section 1445.”

“Pardon me, sir, but I’m not allowed in there.”

“As my escort, you are.”

To your surprise, you weren’t only allowed to take up post just inside the door, but mostly left alone in spite of the ridiculous broom and your incomplete uniform. You were even offered a delicious soft drink by a cadet, whom you highly suspicioned was a fellow member of the demon squad.

The director was in his true element. He drank with everyone, and there were many offers. He made a striking figure and was in an animated mood, always the centre of attention in any group he found himself in. Studying him, you really got it – it had indeed been silly of you to imagine this being having any need of help from you.

Suddenly you saw him veering away from his present company with a glass of dark wine in his hand. “Try this,” he told you in an almost friendly manner. “It’s an interesting vintage.”

“Sir, I shouldn’t, if I’m to be useful to you.”

“Taste it,” he said and curled his lip, showing off a perfect fang. “The corpse may have decided to poison me.”

Even the small sip made you cough and sputter, aghast that the Governor would resort to such methods. “You’re right! It tastes awful!”

“Slightly metallic, with a note of tar?”

You nodded. “Do you know this poison?”

“I am very familiar with it.” He took the glass back and took a sip, then licked his lips. “A delicious vintage. Completely wasted on the untrained palate.”

Being untrained in this sense suited you perfectly, but it was not to be.

“Now this,” said the director. At a lift of his chin and a tilt of his head, the bartender handed him a glass of liquid amber.

Your tongue curled already at the mention, anticipating the burnt, bitter taste of brandy, but when Krennic’s gloved hand put the glass to your lips, you opened your mouth and drank. Mercifully, one sip was enough to satisfy him. Your throat burned, but pleasant warmth was gathering in your belly and you were beginning to feel just a little bit dizzy. Straightening your back, you took a harder grip around the broom stick. “It’s okay,” you reported. “Not tampered with as far as I can tell. Sir!”

“The cadaver is growing lax. How disappointing.” He took a healthy swig of the brandy, closed his eyes in bliss as he seemed to swirl it around in his mouth, and then turned back to his companions.

During the evening, your thoughts wandered between watching the director with fascination and wishing you were one in his merry company of officers, and staring at the far wall or the ceiling and hoping he’d like to go somewhere else soon. Even if somewhere else was just a deserted corridor with a hard floor.

Then, suddenly, the people in the room parted and an enraged Krennic came striding towards you with clenched fists and flitting wings. Your heart was near stopping.

He was beautiful in that moment, terrible and all-consuming, as if the impending impact would inevitably terminate you and you would be glad for it. Then, a fraction of a second before he bore down upon you, darkness lifted from his gaze and he smiled. It was a tiny thing, just the ghost of a smile, but it was enough. The moment he crashed into you, you were not afraid. You were pressed against the wall, and then you had a little more space, but his hands held your head in a vice-like grip and he bent his neck, and his lips –

The kiss lasted only for a moment and it left you breathless, as if he had sucked all energy out of you.

“Why?” You couldn’t help asking, your voice an astonished whisper. “Why did you do that?”

He waved his hand dismissively towards the room and now you were suddenly aware of the cheering around you. “They… they dared que-question my au- whatever. I need a drink.” As if having second thoughts, he turned around, pinned you with his gaze and slurred, “You din-nt mind.” Turning back again, he shouted for more drinks.

You groaned. Once the tasting duty was over, you had begun to sober up, while Krennic was by now unsteady on his feet. Still, it was true. You hadn’t minded that weird kiss the slightest. Even considering his fangs, and knowing he had only done it because he was drunk and riled up by some stupid bet. You sniffed the air. The potent scent of his cologne seemed to linger where he had touched you. A scent of credits and class it was, far beyond your level.

Later, as the crowd thinned out, the director’s companions leaving or falling asleep in a drunken stupor, your desire to do either of those became stronger. Krennic eventually lifted his head from the counter, looked around dazedly and then staggered to you. He put a hand on the wall for support, then lifted his head and breathed alcoholic fumes into your face before he spoke.

“I’ll... I’ll tell you something.”

“Yes, of course.”

“This-s very ‘mportant.”

“Okay.”

“You,” he said, pressing a sharp claw into your chest while he fixed his strange eyes on you, “you have no idea what they call the skeleton’s office.”

“No, sir.” You had a pretty good idea, actually.

“The Grand Moffice!” He burst out laughing, fluttering his wings and slapping his thighs, thankfully in no state to notice your lack of reaction. Nor did he appear to be in a state to rise on his own accord. You leaned forward and put your right arm around his waist, while he flung his left over your shoulders.

“Take me home,” he declared imperiously, then snickered. “No moffice today… today… eh.”

Half-dragging the drunk director to his quarters was an exhilarating task that only succeeded thanks to a petty officer who saw your predicament and came to your aid. She also happened to know the exact location of Krennic’s room, much needed knowledge as the demon himself, when asked for direction, often couldn’t be bothered even to open his eyes.

The director’s quarters were impressive. So much space, and huge viewports in every room. The design was simple, and furnishing much more minimalistic than you’d think would be his taste. There appeared to be no personal items, and very little in the way of belongings at all. The impression was almost of a place raided, but perhaps Krennic just care much about owning things, at least not in this form. The dust that covered most surfaces seemed to confirm this.

His bed was luxurious beyond imagination, broad enough for three people at least, and when you carefully deposited your burden on it, it didn’t creak, but gave way smoothly. You sat down in an effort to arrange the already half-sleeping director’s limbs more comfortably, and felt how your own exhaustion engulfed you. If only you could stay!

“Undress me,” came a haughty command given in a surprisingly clear voice. “I won’t sleep in boots.”

As soon as you had pulled them off, the next order came.

“Cape.”

You took the garment and reverently put it over a chair, recalling with fondness what an excellent blanket it made. Next went tunic, socks and trousers, until Krennic was dressed only in boxers. The old blaster scar on his shoulder was nothing you hadn’t seen the likes of already, but the inverted cross shaped scar on his front chilled you to the bone. It was just a thin line, but there was something malicious about it. It just had to be from when he was made into a demon. A sudden feeling of affection came over you, a strong wish to protect him, whether he needed it or not.

A loud snore interrupted your thoughts.

Asleep on his belly, Krennic looked innocent like a child. You stroked his hair fondly, something he’d seldom let you do when awake, then gave him a couple of long, deep scritches between his wings.  You wondered if being a demon felt very different from having a human body. Perhaps you could ask him in the morning, unless it would be considered rude. Maybe demons didn’t care to talk about their previous lives.

With so much space available, you decided to ignore the voice inside your head that said your place was outside. You lay down but sleep wouldn’t come. You shouldn’t be there. With a sigh, you rose from the bed and went to the door. Wait, what was that? A purring sound, familiar by now.

“Lyste? Are you here?”

A soft shape touched you and you jumped. The purr was interrupted by peals of laughter. Shaking your head fondly, you set out for the main door again, only to find it blocked by the smaller demon.

“Let me out,” you whispered. “Please! I shouldn’t be here.”

Nothing helped. Small form aside, Lyste was strong and you found yourself physically unable to get past him. It didn’t exactly help that he behaved as if your struggle was only for fun.

“Okay,” you finally told him. “I give up. I get it. You want me to stay, but for what reason I can’t imagine. I need sleep so badly.”

Lyste whimpered and his ears drooped adorably. Then he pointed towards Krennic’s bedroom.

“In there? You can’t be serious.”

Lyste clenched his jaw and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking very serious indeed.

“Okay, okay.” You tiptoed back, and found the larger demon sleeping like before. The bed was so spacious; your presence couldn’t possibly disturb him.

Lyste pulled insistently at your trousers, then your shirt. Off with them. Yes. At this point, you’d do anything for a chance to get some sleep. A final glance at the smaller demon confirmed that this was what you must do. With a sigh of pleasure, you lay down, flat on your back, too sleepy to think about protesting. You felt rather than saw the blanket being placed over you. Then, sweet, heavenly darkness.

[vixianna]

But Where’s the Uniquely Ace Experience?!

I’m in a mood and so I’m writing another post. Whoops!

There is a line of argumentation in discourse that I see which is particularly toxic and based on a lack of intersectionality(much that discoursers on both sides swear they understand it, I tire of a bunch of white teens and twenty somethings using womanist language with no actual understanding of the meanings behind it).

The idea that there needs to be a “uniquely” ace experience of oppression that only happens to ace people and no one else. This deals, obliquely, with my last post about oppression causing disproportionate though not unique impact to oppressed groups, but is not that point in entirety.

Oppression is the same. The specific manifestation of an oppression idea maybe change shape, but the root of the plant will be the same. There is no uniquely oppressed experience. All oppressed groups get different versions of the same basic ideas.

I’ll give you an example:

Conversation therapy is a near constantly used example of LGBT+ oppression. And it’s true! That is a manifestation of oppression. Do you know what type of oppression it is? Marginalization. The removal of the group from society, or the obliteration of the group. The purpose of conversation therapy is to obliterate deviations from the straight cis norm. This takes many forms(from psychological, to institutionalization, to physical abuse), but is ultimately, as correctly ID’d by many discousers, about obliterating gayness/transness/biness/ect..

Other Autistic people have spoken about the similarities of conversation therapy to ABA, and I won’t go into too much detail here.(they were crafted by the same person actually). The purpose of ABA is to train autistic children to behave in a way that is allistic. It focuses on “extinguishing”  autistic behavior in order for them to appear allisitic. They do this through various means(psychological, though typically physical abuse and even institutionalization). The purpose of ABA, as correctly ID’d by many Autistic folks, is to obliterate autisticness. It is to make them appear Allistic.

Both LGBT+ people and disabled people are working with systems that are in various forms of Marginalization(the capital “M” I’ve been using to mean purposeful attempts to force out or even eradicate these groups from society itself).

Do you know who else suffered from something intended to obliterate their group through means that didn’t involve direct death? Indigenous tribes. There was a long period of time where Native children were kidnapped off reservations, placed into boarding schools, and forbidden from learning/practicing/using their culture. The explicit purpose of those schools was to “civilize” them. To make them no longer Native. They did this through psychological abuse and physical violence, and the boarding schools themselves were institutionalization.

The purpose of all three of these examples is indirect genocide. I use this to mean the destruction of a group not through death/mass murder. The individual people are still alive, but their culture, personhood, identity, individuality, ect. has been obliterated.

A lesser form of this takes place in modern society against black people. Blackness, as a culture and its artifacts, are so severely discriminated against(from our dialect-AAVE- and names to our clothing and hair style), that the affect is to suppress the transmission and expression of blackness. To express blackness often directly results in Marginalization(being banned from school, fired from work, attacked or assumed threatening). The purpose of this is to extinguish blackness as a culture(though not as a racial class that can be exploited.)

Oppression is the same.

Discoursers talk about sexual assault, corrective rape to be exact. They say it’s a lesbian exclusive experience(which isn’t true, it happens to LGBT+ people in general, not just lesbians but...). The root of the purpose of this violence is to “fix” LGBT+ people to straight through violence(oh wait this is just conversation therapy through sexual violence isn’t it? Yes.). 

This isn’t even a uniquely LGBT+ experience though. 

Native women(and black women slaves), were explicitly targeted for sexual assault for the express purpose of producing children who were more white. They kidnapped NDN women for the explicit purpose of enacting genocide against various tribes through raping their tribe white. (for black women it was about making more “useful” mixed children for the white owners to exploit.) They used sexual violence for the express purpose of obliterating a group(this is more genocide btw.). 

Oppression Is the Same.

Discoursers talk about the appropriation of LGBT+ struggles, words, phrases, symbols. This is true. This is also a type of oppression called Cultural Imperialism.(one form of Cultural Imperialism.) I shouldn’t even have to spell out how this happens to PoC, like, cultural appropriation is a big thing in terms of racial axis of oppression dynamics. 

Oppression Is The Same.

There is no “uniquely” LGBT+ experience with oppression that doesn’t have the an analogue in other oppression axis. “The closet” is “passing for white”. “Explicit Marginalizing Legislation” is “Separate but Equal” or “Slaves can’t learn to read or write.” Various forms of social violence all happen to oppressed groups at disproportionate rates to their norm group.(Disabled people are physically and sexually assaulted at rates far far above NT & able-bodied people. Black people are shot by the police at rates far exceeding white people. LGBT+ people are poor and homeless far more often than straight people. Women are poorer and more likely to be stalked or killed by an intimate partner than men.) 

What you’re looking for, what you should be looking for when you are talking about oppression isn’t a unique special only happens to your group experience. But violence, poverty, psychological damage, marginalization, ect. that accrues disproportionately to your group. 

To do otherwise ignores that oppression has the same poisoned root even if it’ll take on slightly different shapes. 

Oppression Is The Same

[stevecoleridge-posts]

The Great Spanish Lockdown

..not quite . working from home..

Day 6 ..Friday

       Struggling .. which is why i did nt see the news or spend time on Social Media yesterday..  

       I thought it would be a breeze and after a little concentration id have it down .. but no , even the first part…known as lumpedy lump was proving tough , because of the triplet  walk up from the V to the 1.. and i think thats the part Jimmy Reed himself is playing…   If you ve read previous episodes you will know i refer to Honest I Do….the song.   Im learning it on a You Tube lesson , now a lot of people who think of themselves as pros , seem to think there s some sort  of stigma ro learning stuff on You Tube, but i know a French guy , of Spanish descent , who is a really hot Flamenco guitarist who has mastered nearly all the Palos , and all on You Tube  They are right, if you dedicate yourself to different songs at the same time, but it s like working form home…you need time and discipline ..and take the lessons very slowly and don’t move on till you can play it 20 times with your eyes shut..preferably standing up .. then move on up. Yesterday  was the first time i managed to do this.

There is a different tone on Social media today .. angrier , more prone to blame others, more censorious…and on one group forum i saw they were going to ban Humour..well , i don’t personally know the Group leader.. but it does nt take much imagination to know she s not someone you d want to be quarantined with.

   The only thing to fear is fear itself.. well i certainly don’t think that applies in this situation, quite the reverse, the more frightened we are the less we will venture forth on errands that are not strictly necessary..i was on my way out the door , literally, when my mobile rang…it was the charming woman from the bank.. she d got my message .. id gone way over my limit.. which was why i could nt withdraw funds…She , and i won’t name her, is working from Home and sorted it all out on her laptop..no need for me to go to town..      Is nt that great?..well , I thought it was..and a good thing too,as she has not been provided with any masks..and we are talking about a Bank..if they cant get basic stuff like that no wonder the Government  are nt testing people .. they don’t have the wherewithal…it is nt as though this has nt been on the News everyday since December the something.    .I remember listening to Radio Four as i was driving through Slough, in December,… don’t ask … the M4 was closed..and i was listening to a woman in Wuhan describing how her parents were dying in the Street.. that really got my attention.   It did nt seem to get the attention of the people in charge here however, as when the inevitable arrived nearly three months later , they had done nothing to prepare for it.   The Spanish Disease is politics, it creeps into every corner of life and spreads its poison , a bit like you know what,..and in the past when people got fed up with their venal politicians there was a Military Coup , and then they realised maybe life was better before with democracy … and the cycle starts again. This model has been exported successfully to Latin America.. with the possible  exception of Mexico. and Costa Rica   Its all very well for us stodgy Northerners with our bad weather , to criticise, but Sun affects people,and when things are good they seem so much better  in the Sunshine..but something about Sunny weather produces Volatility, and an @ i won’t fix the roof as its not raining @ World View… and Italys  colossal death rate is the price to be paid .. not that it is nt sunny in China..or South Korea..but they do a lot more than just fix the roof..and to put  it down to Confucianism .. well  maybe best not to start on that.   Australia will be interesting, they have lots of sun , but its a pretty organised place ..and i don’t see them making this sort of Balls up.. also they have the experience of natural disasters,,and pulling together, and will not let Politics interfere…any country that had leaders with  names  like Abbott and Costello doesn’t waste too energy on petty politics.  The Current Classic example of petty minded, spiteful, pointless,  negative ,oppurtunism , is the  attempt on social media and what sup groups to denigrate the Royal Family organising people to rattle saucepans at a given time, because apparently the current King s father had a rather large amount of money in a Swiss Account..well, it was Saudi Money , not money stolen from the Spanish taxpayer, unlike the billions stolen by the previous administration , the PP .The idea for this stupidity was inspired by the Custom of applauding the Medical profession every night at eight o clock.. an excellent morale boosting , bringing everyone together kind of gesture..well everything has its opposite and this is an excellent way to breed more discontent and fracture an all ready pretty fractured society.. it beggars belief and you really have to have lived here to see these Barca Madrid  idiocies at first hand.   Barca Madrid is a term used to describe the divide and conquer ,us and them , attitudes that have stopped Spain s progress since the collapse of their Empire, culminating in the most vicious Civil War in recent European History, and one would have hoped  that after 40 plus years of Democracy it would have disappeared , but sadly, like in the USA and a lot of other democracies , it seems to be on the increase.The anger on Social Media which results from the claustrophobic frustration of a lockdown will hopefully not boil over into something with unpleasant political consequences, which would be very sad , as after Franco s death and the adoption of constitution that is the envy of many countries, Spain was a beacon of hope in the last quarter of the 20 th century… how the mighty are fallen .. one hopes not..

[mohanmekap]

We live in a world where our personal computer acts as our consorts and hence the responsibility of their security falls squarely on our shoulder. In the ever-changing world of global data communications, inexpensive internet connections and fast-paced software development, security is becoming more and more of an issue. The situation aggravates because no computer system can ever be secure as hackers and crackers coming up with new ways to interpret and alter your data-even as you read this. The rising popularity of computers has caught the attention of hackers. By the time you are doing with these writing, you will know the ins and outs of computer and personal computer security and above all in this write up I will reveal about the most brilliant and up-to-date antivirus utilities, so you assist and always be one stop ahead of such Cyber attacks.

The year 2011 was remarkable. For people who make their internet security top priority, they will remember it as a year full of events that exposed our internet security vulnerabilities and made us wonder how safe we are using the web. In this write up I will reveal about an antivirus which is more than capable and it can sustain the dean and rustle of the world of internet and make you feel safe ahead and secure all the way throughout. There is the new wave of social attacks on the user from all angles- via social media accounts, email accounts, game providers.

VIPRE is GFI Software’s security solutions line. VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 does not slow down my personal computer. It is light on system resources. It changes the performances to perform at its best by blending and coalescing anti-spyware and antivirus together in each other company into a single exclusive ace strong enough to knock down and overwhelm all malware that are swimming in the internet. It is consistent and the reality that unlike other antivirus programs you would not even notice and perceive the existence of VIPRE is running campaigning to save your personal computer all the time. VIPRE has worked to function to reduce many pop-ups that are disturbing the user while working with the personal computer. Malware detection protects and prohibits unauthorized scripts from web pages and the website that infects. VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 is popular around the world;It is being actively used by 50 million people spread across 165 countries, speaking in 15 different languages.

The installation, signature updates took about 14 minutes on my Windows XP SP3 fully updates test personal computer. The full scan took about 48 minutes and later the other scan took about 20 minutes with optimized scan, it scans and detect safe programs and that is why the latter scan time reduces. It is high on performance. I have been using the previous version of VIPRE® Antivirus 2011 and now the newer version, both the versions are excellent in scans, the newer version is more with speed and both versions have almost similar interfaces apart from the increase of speed in the newer version and this matters the most for the user.

The customization in the advance menu is easy, though something can do most of the work from the basic menu, and it is fast and easy to handle. In the test system, it affects this with malware;It installed easily on that test system and then detects all the sample malware I have put in the test system. In the rogue security software detection test other wise known as scare where VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 able to detect all theses scare ware and remove it easily and clean the system and bring it back to perfect situation.

It also catch any active malware that is hugely affecting the memory system, and that is why in this way it keeps your system running fast by stopping all the memory-based malware. VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 also can contact the cloud to get it back the relevant information related to any new and advanced malware. In this way, it can get more than needed information about any suspect or threat from the cloud. As usual its web protection is nice and safe as it will stop all the malware sites from any web browsers or mail clients you use easily , the list get updated with every updates and from here any new malware sites can block and also white list and black list can generate from here. In rootkit test all the rootkit samples block by VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 and it performs more than satisfactory.

It proves in overall personal computer security VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 is best and way ahead among it competitors. It is one of the smartest and lightest antivirus out there; it does not affect the system at all and from previous versions it reduces 15 percentages of boot time and which is appreciable and 10 percentages of program load time. It had no impact on the web browsing and computing browsing time and also its web blocked while blocking any suspicious, malicious web pages it has none such impart on the computer. The initial installation is thirty mega bytes and the subsequent updates after you put the registration key into the antivirus dashboard are of well over two hundred mb. The task bar sign of VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 is different and the different color of it shows the various status. Blue shows the antivirus is idle and all the other system services and active protection are running smoothly, yellow shows the warning icon. Red shows that the service is not running. By hovering the mouse over it you can know the status of your antivirus, you can also right click and open it to know the exact status of it and from here you can start and shut down the antivirus.

I try to overtake its task master with some specialized software but happily Vipre said access denied and blocking that nasty ware and it shows that this program can protect itself and also important computer processes and this needs in case any such remote attack on your computer through open ports. In the Pcf lank’s Exploits Test VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 firewall successfully defended the system. It is full proof. I use several virus files from Eicar.org, a virus testing site and VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 successfully defended all these with no hesitations. Then, I use Spycar.org to test spyware module and VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 performs magnificently and it does stops all the nasty spyware and keep my test system clean and unaffected.

Every month, close to 3 million new viruses and malware menaces bring into existence. With VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 your PC is kept safe and defend from danger or injury or loss. It fights back your digital experiences from identity thieves, spammers, hackers, root kits, zombies. Internet worms, browser hijacker, phishing, spywares, spam, mouse trapping, network threats, hidden data and cyber criminals without decelerating your personal computer experience.

VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 shields, assists and defends your computer from danger, injury, destruction, or damage from viruses and malware and your personal and fiscal data and entropy ‘from bready eyed despiteful malevolent poisonous online menaces . It detects, amends rectifies and repairs viruses, spyware, root kits, bots, Trojans and other malware by way of single exclusive brawny, hefty and powerful anti-malware engine.

It has advanced elevated boosted anti-rootkit technology that determines, determine, detect and encounter blotted out, concealed enshrouded, hidden out and veiled processes, threats, modules, services, files and alternate data streams (ADS) on user systems . It affords and commits an eminently high geared function on the personal computer security surety. VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 uses boosted forward looking technology in an orderly and efficient manner to scan big mass of data and information responsively quick and fast manner with least possible carrying into action functioning encroachment consequences. It supervises assist and shields from danger against malware threats and menaces, in real time. It gets the strategically advantages by leveraging multiple detection catching methods including heuristics, behavioral analysis and traditional signature based technologies to break down , canvass and dissect malware antivirus, anti-phishing email security.

Its protection includes intensive examination testing all inclusive and all-encompassing protection, shelter and security against email viruses and phishing scams, with direct command with authority support for Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail and any email program that uses POP3 and SMTP.

VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 includes the functions of responsibility of remote device scanner that self scans removable drives and files for threats and menaces.

System essentials and necessities:

Your personal computer must confirm to accompanying prerequisites in order to run VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 in an effective and efficacious manner.

Sustainable Operating Systems:

Windows XP SP2+ (32- & 64-bit) Windows 2003 Server SP1+ (32- & 64-bit) Windows Vista, Vista SP1+ (32- & 64-bit) Windows 7 (32- & 64-bit) Windows Server 2008+ (32- & 64-bit)

Installation is not defended on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4, Win 2000, XP with SP1 or older, Macintosh or Linux computers.

1 GHZ Computer with 512 MB of RAM (memory) and 300 MB of usable free space on your hard drive.

Other requirements:

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher

Internet access for definitions updates (broadband advocated)

2x CD-ROM if you are having the CD transported to you

Point 3 is prerequisite requirement for online download transfer of data.

Confirmed Email Clients: (Enforces to Email Protective Cover)

Microsoft Outlook 2000 or fresher , including Outlook 2013

Outlook Express on Windows XP

Windows Mail on Windows Vista

Other email products that use SMTP/POP3 for corresponding messages including Windows Live Mail, Mozilla Thunderbird and galore of other mentioned supported email clients.

SSL and TLS security certification protection protocols confirmed and defended Microsoft Outlook and Windows Outlook Express.

Detection of Trojan viruses

A Trojan virus seems lawful beyond the boundary, but once it gains into the computer wreak havoc. When you click on a Trojan program, it looks like the program does not start up. It can change the appearance of your computer or it can make it look like some weird programs or it can make you personal computer slower, it can destroy significant files from your computer and can stop any important process from running. VIPRE recognizes, distinguishes and describes the behavioral prominent attributes of Trojan viruses and barricades and catches them before they can damage, hurt and injury your personal computer.

VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 can discover, detect and observe fiscal malware and password stealers popularly known as key loggers. They intrude into your fiscal books and records and hack your online banking accounts and other entrusted private security information. These develop by password stealers to steal money from your bank accounts. It is an astonishing fact that VIPRE Lab make cognitive processes and recognizes and processes 50,000 new malware samples per day, in some other days it crosses about well over 100,000 samples distribution and looking thoroughly these kinds of malware to secure your passwords and fiscal information.

Internet worms infect many broadband connected computers with remote-controlled software. An Internet worm works differently than viruses. Worms spread via networks and consume bandwidth. If you have ever wondered why your network is slow, a worm could infect your computer. They will have many malicious effects, such as causing server to crash, rendering a user’s files unusable or creating a backdoor to track a computer. Worms takes the reward of the existing essential constituent part of the computer that is holding the file sharing operations or transfers the data and files from one place to the other or to another computer.

The major problem with it it can copy the files repeatedly and thus it can store huge data on your hard drive and this can have huge impart on system resources and with a due course of time and course it can shut your computer down by overriding the memory part and this is huge as within you can lose essential data and other elements hat is building into your computer. It can steal your information and personal details and then send it to your friends and it can have the capacity in the long run to send bad messages in the name of yours to your friends. VIPRE closes internet works by shutting down their processes that admittance to your personal computer before they can inflict damage upon your personal computer.

VIPRE implements non-encroaching, incursive, invading and non trespassing approach in malware spotting and detection and it is of superior quality in performance and higher ranking and super ordinate than many other leading anti-virus products. While scanning, you can work or play on your computer without breakdowns, disruptions, and intermissions. You are always safe from any such malware and your personal computer and privacy stay secure and safe within your personal computer.

If you have used VIPRE before they must acquaint you with that how it is easy to download and install and the entire process of installation is easy even a twelve-year-old can install it. It is significant to remove any such antivirus or spyware programs before installing this software. In my case, I have removed Microsoft Security Essentials and Super anti-spyware before installing this on my system. VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 comes with anti-spyware so I have removed the free version of super anti-spyware from the system. Please be sure to remove all the antivirus software before installing VIPRE. VIPRE makes a strong and vivid impression. It scans more quickly and has a better detection rate. CPU and memory usages are virtually nothing;The CPU remains at the original state and almost zero memory usages nothing to mention about and that why VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 wins the race because of its excellent memory management.

The principal screen has bold buttons and visible. When you go for advance tab navigation, then it opens with a separate window. Its interface is simple and genuine and definable and you can easily navigate and get to know which task is to perform and in which manner. The installation process is being made excellent by cutting down non-essential processes;It is just like a process at work. It does stresses the statement of fundamental facts or principles and from which other rules can drive and arrive into. No need to reboot after installation process;It installs with some sensing artificial intelligence default settings that help you protect you right from the start.

The technical support is of very high quality and in each of the links mentions about tech support and its support is fantastic and wonderful with very helpful help and this is nearly makes this product a winner all the way. A good tech support means a happy and glad customer and with it go the customer relations it can attribute which to its maxim in the long run in building a brand to the level of success. Tech support is free and even the virus removal and this is the most surprising and excellent part of VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 as some other big names in the similar industry charges hefty prices for virus removal and this is really surprises many. Immediately after the installation, virus updates start, and this makes this software more secure because of this attribute. The user interface comprise protection status, last and next scan times, subscription expiration date, it displays these in the beginning of the screen, from here you can enlighten the scan or download definition updates.

There are two most noticeable extra features and both are relating to the personal computer security, those are PC Explorer and the Secure File Eraser and with it you can keep your computer more secure, with PC Explorer you can inspect if any such malware processes are running and with Secure File Eraser you can delete not so deleted file completely and in this way your personal computer stay healthy and secure. VIPRE’s PC Explorer is better coordinated and engineered to perform a daintier task that Windows Task Manager. With Secure File Eraser, when you delete with it, it erased permanently so in a manner it secures your privacy as with any such of data recovery software these recoveries, unlike Windows delete functions which stays at Recycle Bin and then also it recovers using data back up software.

This is significant as with some forensic software and spyware data once deleted with computer delete system can recover but once data deleted with Secure File Eraser, it cannot recover and it is great for privacy and data security especially when you are dealing with passwords and other related information regarding fiscal and other data management. It repeatedly overwrites the old space to ensure maximum data erased from the hard disc drive. I this way, it ruin the concerned data, spoiled and destroyed.

No gamer mode requires for VIPRE as it relies on speed, accuracy with true value and dependability and for this while you are playing the game on your personal computer, it does not lag even in its present form and that is why the simplicity that matters with it and that is why it wins many hearts for its outstanding achievements. Because of its large amount of research and processes concerning the Internet, even most modern malware stays outside from your personal computer if you have installed VIPRE® Antivirus 2012.

VIPRE® Antivirus 2012, the latest version has any more improvements than the previous versions with nice integration and cooperation among different modules and it is getting faster in terms of operation, detection capacity, malware catching and also boot time loading. It is a brilliant choice for securing your computer. The software is proactive and prevents me from downloading any such malicious files. The interface is simple, and it is bold and all the categories within the interfaces can be legible and workable to its maximum. It has a very strong antivirus engine; it has fast on demand scanning and its on access protection is brilliant and does not consume memory; it has a brilliant email filter integrates with your default medium and keep safe from all the malicious and spammer contents, browsing protection scans and checks your downloads for security and it scans removable drive for threats, it is a brilliant, versatile, simple and honest antivirus with smartness attached to it. It does not slow down your personal computer even when scanning.

There is also an option to reduce the priority of the scan, and with this you can reduce the load on system resources further by implementing this feature. Automated scheduling of virus scan cancels if your net book or laptop with VIPRE® Antivirus 2012 installed is on battery and they highly appreciate this feature. Its active protection delivers and performs the real time monitoring and also protection against known and unknown malware threats ‘. Active Protection works inside the Windows kernel (the core of the operating system), watching for malware and stopping it before it executes on your system. Uniquely designed to reduce the computer frustration by using the next generations technology coupled with high powered anti virus and spyware engines it does performs exceedingly well faster boot times, the few pop up, and a broad-range of detection and remediation of viruses, Trojans, worms, and spyware.

Unlike older antivirus programs that have bolted on anti-spyware or antivirus modules to their existing software, they design VIPRE to optimize overall performance by melding antivirus and anti-spyware together into one, the single, the powerful tool. This combination of technologies gives you high performance software that doesn’t slow down your PC, is low on system resources, and makes it easy to protect your PC from the bad guys.

With its next-generation technology, VIPRE means powerful protection against today’s highly complex malware threats. No more sluggish PCs, system slowness, and resource headaches of older antivirus programs!

VIPRE is in a league of its own with antivirus software;VIPRE is one of the best antivirus programs today.

This article dates back to the year 2012.

[beeawaregoldaward-blog]

Bee Aware - Essay on Honey Bees

I wrote this essay about honey bees, and what is happening to them, as a part of my Girl Scouts Gold Award. Writing is my original work, with added quotes and information from cited sources.

Olivia Strittmatter

Mr. Holloway

DE English

6 April 2018

Bee Aware

The honey bees are dying. Between April 2016, and April 2017, beekeepers lost an average of 33% of their honey bee colonies (University of Maryland). In the past decades the honey bee population has been declining due to causes such as pesticides, diseases and climate change. Without the honey bees the environment will suffer; every aspect of life will be damaged if the Earth loses its top pollinator. There are many ways that honey bees can be helped, and there are many hazardous chemicals and altering practices, in order to help the bees regain their numbers. Honey bees are one of the most important factors in the environment, and without them the ecology of the Earth would be impacted in such a way that would harm every living thing. Honey bees are vital for all life - they pollinate a vast majority of both wild plants as well as most commercial crops; now they are dying at alarming rates; luckily there are things that everyone can do in order to help save them, such as reducing the use of pesticides, and planting bee-friendly plants.

Honey bees are one of the most important animals in the entire world. They pollinate most of our plants, especially crops that are grown, and eaten, worldwide. Bees pollinate a vast majority of the crops that people eat worldwide; a few of these foods include: apples, avocados, oranges, almonds, broccoli, and carrots. Without the honey bees mankind would lose around 70 of the 100 crops that feed 90% of the world (Sass).

Honey bee colonies are very important to commercial agriculture. Approximately half of the honey bees in the United States are used in California to pollinate the almond crop, which produces over $2.3 billion annually (Fox News). Honey bees and blueberry farmers also have a symbiotic relationship, this means that they both benefit each other. By working together the blueberry farmers get their crops pollinated, and the beekeepers get paid per hive, per week, and the bees can produce blueberry honey. Without commercial beekeepers, agricultural facilities could predict a 50% decrease in their crops produced (Weber).

Bees are shipped into agricultural areas from all over the United States in order to pollinate the crops being grown. The colonies are rented out by mass-producing agricultural facilities, and are moved from farm to farm. One month the hives could be pollinating almonds, and the next month they could be pollinating apple trees. When honey bee colonies are packaged and shipped, they will lose over 10% of the colony in the process. Overall, the transportation of honey bee colonies is harmful to the individual colonies, but it is beneficial to the crops, farms, and the economy. Do the benefits of colony rental for commercial pollination outweigh the negative impact on the hives?

Bees keep the economy buzzing. The crops pollinated by the bees produce over $30 billion in revenue each year (Woody). The honey they produce also earns over $150 million each year (Fox News). Honey bee hives are expensive to own and maintain, but, according to Sokanu, people who professionally pollinate commercial agricultural facilities - earn between $33,840 and $119,530 every year. They also produce honey, but that market is not as big as the pollination market. Keeping honey bees in areas with certain crops, such as blueberries, will produce honey that will have a different flavor than honey produced in an area that grows apples. Every year honey bees produce over 161.8 million pounds of raw honey, which is valued to be over $7 million (Bee Spotter). This is all beneficial to the economy, because it boosts it, allows for more money to be circulating, and for more money to be earned and spent.

Crops that do not need to be pollinated by bees include: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, bananas, and plantains. Corn, rice, and soybeans are very prominent in many cultures across the world, and if the honey bees go extinct mankind would still have access to those, but they alone would not be able to sustain the world, with the global population soaring to over 7.6 billion people. Bananas and plantains don’t need any pollination, because they grow from bulbs, or rhizomes, so those would also still be important, but again, they alone cannot sustain the world’s population.

“Domesticated” honey bees are not the only crop pollinator though, lots of “native” bees live in and around agricultural areas. Many small-scale farmers rely on these native bees to pollinate their plants. Native bees also fertilise a majority of native plants, as well as neighborhood, and backyard gardens. These native bees are not affected by Colony Collapse Disorder the way that managed honey bee colonies are.

Honey bees also pollinate many wild plants. They fertilize over 90% of native, wild plants (Sass). Without the bees these plants would not be able to reproduce and spread their seeds, and a majority of them would eventually die off. Native plants dying off would negatively impact the environment by reducing the amount of water that can be absorbed into the ground, which can leave to more frequent and severe floods.

Humans benefit from honey bees because, to start, without them there would be no natural honey, no bee pollen, and no beeswax. Also without honey bees humanity would lose the native plants, which 90% of are pollinated by honey bees (Sass). The honey bees pollinate so many of the crops that humans eat, that if the honey bees go extinct it could be expected to lose 70 of the top 100 crops that feed 90% of the world (Sass). Everything that honey bees give to the world, and to people, are a major part of the economy as well, bringing in millions of dollars to all parts of the economy.

The honey bees are dying off at alarmingly fast rates. In the past decade beekeepers have seen over a 30% decrease in their colonies annually (Grossman). The top killers of honey bee colonies are Colony Collapse Disorder, American Foulbrood, European Foulbrood, and pests such as varroa mites. Even relatively smaller problems are still making big impacts, such as inexperienced beekeepers, and bee nucs and packages that are poor in quality.

Pesticides are a major killer of honey bees, especially systemic pesticides. Systemic pesticides are poisons that are coated on seeds, and are intended to kill soil-dwelling insects such as grubs, worms, and mole crickets. These pesticides then grow into the plants, and can be passed up the food chain, and into creatures such as the honeybees. The pesticides are intended to kill pests that will eat and/or harm the crops, but they end up harming animals who are beneficial to the crop and the environment. This is why honey bees are so impacted by it; because the poison is part of the plant by the time it is ready for the bees. Pesticides can also be linked to disorders such as Colony Collapse Disorder, American Foulbrood, and European Foulbrood.

CCD, more commonly known as Colony Collapse Disorder, is a phenomenon where a majority of worker bees disappear and leave behind a queen, food, and a few nurse bees. This usually happens over the winter, and no dead bees are found inside the hive; they’re just gone. Over the last few years though beekeepers have seen a slight decline in the colony deaths due to CCD. Over the past few decades the average hive loss due to CCD was at 28.7%, and recently that percentage has dropped to 23.1%. Causes for CCD can include Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, Nosema Apis, varroa mites, pesticides, stress, inadequate environment, poor nutrition, and bad management practices.

Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, also known as IAPV, is a virus that spreads genetically through the 9487 nt RNA. These are defective RNA genomes of the virus that are recombining into hairpins and stem-loop structures. As far as current studies have shown, this virus only affects honey bees.

Nosema Apis is a form of microsporidian, which are small, unicellular parasites. These parasites are two types of fungus, that have only been found to infect honey bees. The two fungus types are Nosema apis (N. apis), and Nosema ceranae (N. ceranae). N. ceranae appears to be more dangerous to honey bees than N. apis, because it attacks the cells in the bees’ guts and kills them faster. Bees that are affected could have trouble digesting food for their entire lives, and they cannot produce royal jelly from their hypopharyngeal glands. Queens who are affected by this parasite do not lay eggs, and will have a much shorter lifespan.

Varroa mites are external parasites that attack both the adult honey bees, and the brood - the honey bee larva. They drink the blood of the adults and the brood, especially drone brood; this will cause a shorter bee lifespan, and newly hatched brood may emerge with deformities, such as missing legs and/or missing wings. Varroa mite infestations can be treated relatively easily if caught early enough. One way to treat them is by applying vaporized oxalic acid once a week for three weeks, this will significantly lower the amount of mites in the hive. Another way for treating small infestations is to dump powdered sugar into the beehive, and allowing the bees to clean the sugar, and mites, off of each other.

American Foulbrood, also known as AFB, is a bacterial disease of the bee brood. This fatal, spore-forming bacteria only infects the honey bee larvae, and typically kills it in the pre-pupal stage. This infection can, and will eventually, kill the entire hive because it kills a majority of the brood, leaving less and less adult honey bees until there are none left.  It is not a highly contagious disease but the spores can transfer between hives through beekeeper practices, such as sharing equipment between hives. Adult honey bees will not contract AFB, but they can spread it to other hives through natural processes such as hive robbing. AFB is incurable, and the only way to end the spread is to destroy the colony as well as the hive they were living in, because the spores can remain viable for over 50 years (Bee Aware).

European Foulbrood, or EFB, is a bacterial disease that impacts the bee brood. It can be caused by an increase in stress on the colony, such as changing weather, malnutrition, or movement of the hive. The EFB infection begins when the larvae ingest Melissococcus plutonius, the bacteria; it is ingested from contaminated nurse bees, who were contaminated by removing dead brood. These nurse bees then feed the larvae and spreading the contaminant. The infecting bacteria competes with the larvae for the ingested brood food, and will eventually starve it to death. Symptoms tend to be noticed in Spring, and can be noticed because there are many more foraging bees than nurse bees, and the larvae aren’t being fed as much as they need to be, so they starve to death. The infected larvae will turn into a semi-fluid state, and will change from pearly white, to yellow and brown. EFB is highly contagious and will remain viable for many years in honey, wax, and on beekeeper equipment; it will also be transmitted to other colonies through hive robbing. (Bee Aware and Bee Informed).

Certain pesticides cause more damage to the honey bee population than others. Neonicotinoids are one of the most commonly used pesticides in agricultural facilities, and have been linked to honey bee deaths. In recent studies it has been proven that neonicotinoids do not outright kill the bee colonies, but instead it requires long term exposure to the chemical in order to kill. The chemicals impact the queen bee especially, which can cause a decrease in egg laying, and eventually wipe out the hive (Dengler). Another dangerous pesticide, Imidacloprid, was declared by the EPA to affect bees. The study showed that if the “imidacloprid at levels above 25 parts per billion - a common level for neonics in farm fields - they suffer harm.” (Philpott). Since then the EPA has restricted and limited the use of imidacloprid. A third bee-killing pesticide that could potentially be allowed to be used is thiamethoxam. It recently was considered by the EPA to be sprayed on 165 million acres of US farmland. This pesticide damages a honey bee’s homing abilities and impairs flight. Simone Tosi, Giovanni Burgio, and James C. Nieh performed an experiment in which it was proved that these results “provide the first demonstration that acute or chronic exposure to a neonicotinoid alone can significantly alter bee flight. Such exposure may impair foraging and homing, which are vital to normal colony function and ecosystem services.” (Tosi, Burgio, and Nieh).

Climate change is also a big factor in the decrease in the global honey bee population. As mentioned earlier, climate change can bring stress to bee colonies, which can lead to disorders and diseases, and harm the hives. It has been shown that in Poland, the honey bees are “responding to changes in climate by advancing the date of their first winter flight - the wakening moment after winter... is attributed to increasing temperatures” (Greenpeace Research Laboratories 27). The changes in the climate will impact how the bees interact with the sources they pollinate. According to the Greenpeace Research Laboratories, “Recent analysis has suggested that between 17% and 50% of pollinator species will suffer from food shortages” because of the alteration of time periods where flowering plants are blooming. These scientists have predicted that these alterations may cause the extinction of some pollinating species, such as honey bees, and some flowering plants that they pollinate. They also conclude that climate change “may also lead to “the large-scale extinction of interactions which are responsible for a key ecosystem service, that of the pollination of plants”” (Greenpeace Research Laboratories 27).

Honey bees possess enough genetic variability to potentially survive minor climate changes, it is not know how they will be impacted in the long run. It is shown that their genetic makeup, as well as the information known about how they deal with diseases, and their behavior that they have the possibility of evolving to live in a variety of climates, even as they change over time. The world cannot lose the genetic variety of the honey bee though, and must take precautionary measures to preserve and protect that, or there is a good chance that the bees will die-off because of one disease or one giant ecological change/disaster.

Another reason why the honey bees are dying, and spreading diseases rapidly, is because of unexperienced beekeepers. Inexperienced beekeepers tend to have “double the winter mortality rate when compared to professional beekeepers” (Jacques). Jacques’ study also showed that professional beekeepers had minimal signs of disease and pests, while inexperienced and/or hobbyist beekeepers had heavy signs of varroa infestation, and bacterial infection. A pan-European epidemiological study showed that the best way to combat die-offs from unexperienced beekeeper colonies is to educate the “newbees” and promote disease control (PLOS).

Nucleus colonies, otherwise known as nucs, are small bee hives that come with 4-5 frames of preexisting honeycomb, honey, brood, and a functioning queen with workers and drones. These are prefered to start off with, because they already have a base set up, and can continue building and growing once set up in a real hive. Packaged bees are another option for beginning hives. These bees come in a wooden box with around 3,000-10,000 honey bees - workers and drones - inside, and a queen (The Honey Company). These bees have no basis and must build all of their comb from nothing; this makes it harder for them to start out, and they have a higher chance of failure. With the increase in popularity of hobby beekeeping, honey bee nucs and packages are needing to be produced at a much higher rate than they should be. This causes the nucs and packages to be lower in quality, and risk the rapid spread of disease and parasites all over the country.

Individuals can help save the honey bees though, through numerous, and easy, changes. The biggest change that a person can do, is to educate themselves and others on how much the honey bees do for us, and how much humanity relies on their services. Reading books, research papers, scientific journals, and news articles on honey bees is a great way to expand your knowledge. Education does not just include the general public, education includes educating novice beekeepers, agricultural companies, and the governmental authorities. Public education can range from teachers giving brief presentations on honey bees and what is happening, to larger-scale events such as nationwide movements on the honey bee epidemic. An easy way to educate yourself and the community is by spreading the knowledge that honey bees are not out to sting people. Bees are vegetarians, so they do not chase after people, because they have no interest in people, unless they are protecting their hive. When honey bees sting someone their stinger is pulled out, and it pulls out a majority of their internal organs with it.

Local beekeepers can mentor people interested in beekeeping, so that they can gain the knowledge they need before they buy their own honey bee colony. Educating beginning beekeepers can reduce the amount of colonies that die due to inexperience, and lack of knowledge. For more experienced beekeepers they can look into local classes on how to use sustainable practices with their colonies. Some sustainable practices include: producing numerous other nucleus hives, catching swarming colonies, and reducing use of bee-medications and chemical treatments (Connor).

Quitting use of chemicals and pesticides in personal gardens, and on lawns can be a big step to helping the honey bees regain their footing. Some examples of these harmful pesticides include clothianidin, aldicarb, and carbaryl (Stokstad). Toxic pesticides can be replaced by natural pesticides like vinegar, chrysanthemums, pepper, garlic, onion, and essential oils (Kusby). These replacements are safe for the environment, and are bee-friendly; this means that they will not harm the honey bees, or damage the ecosystem.

A third easy way to help the honey bees is to plant bee-friendly plants in personal, and/or community gardens. Bee-friendly plants are plants that flower for relatively long periods of time, produce a lot of flowers, and produce a large amount of nectar. Some examples of these types of plants include lavender, white clover, california lilac, heather, bell flower, sage, and many more (Bee Friendly). Another way to plant bee-friendly plants is by planting a Bee Garden. Bee Gardens can create many more areas for honey bees to flock to in order to collect nectar and pollen.

Large-scale and small-scale corporations and companies alike can also help to save the honey bees. A big way to reduce the massive die-off is by reducing the amount of CO2 that is being released into the atmosphere. Increased amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere is a major contributor to Global Climate Change, and in turn, is leading to the increase of cases of Colony Collapse Disorder.

Another way that corporations and companies can help save the honey bees is by reducing environmental depletion. Large companies, such as construction companies that build developments, destroy huge amounts of forests and other natural lands in order to expand cities and the suburbs. By destroying these areas, the honey bees are being forced to move into cities and suburbs, and this greatly reduces the food available to the honey bees. Also, cities and neighborhoods that are more densely populated usually means that there are more chemicals in the area, and these chemicals can contribute to Colony Collapse Disorder.

Large companies and corporations can also spread knowledge and information about honey bees. In 2014 Honey Nut Cheerios and Burt’s Bees joined together and started a movement called Bring Back the Bees. In this Honey Nut Cheerios took Buzz, their honey bee mascot, off of the front of their box, and instead replaced it with a white outline in the shape of Buzz with the words “Bring Back the Bees” near him. In boxed labeled like this there was a free packet of bee-friendly seeds for the buyer to plant. In 2014 they claim to have given out 1.5 billion wildflower seeds to consumers (Cheerios). In this movement, Burt’s Bees, a cosmetics company, claims to have planted over 5,000 wildflower seeds for every special edition of lip balm for the Bring Back The Bees annual campaign (Burt’s Bees).

The government can help by passing more legislation banning and restricting the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Certain pesticides and fertilizers are especially toxic to honey bees; examples of harmful pesticides that are commonly used are clothianidin, aldicarb, and carbaryl (Stokstad). A major pesticide that is used by large-scale agricultural corporation are neonicotinoids, and if the United States government could severely restrict use of these, the overwinter deaths of honey bee colonies would reduce within years.

In countries where the government has banned neonicotinoids, such as Germany, the rates of bee diseases are less prevalent than countries that still allow neonicotinoids (Morelle). While there is scientific proof that neonicotinoids are harmful to honey bees, some countries, such as the United States, are approving of the use of these toxic chemicals. The United States government has approved of the use of neonicotinoids on the grounds that “the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had relied on “flawed and limited” data, and its green light was unjustified given the “precariousness of bee populations”” (Pearce). The European Commission has recently done a large-scale experiment on 2,000 hectares across European countries to test the impact of neonicotinoids. The study showed the seeds covered in neonicotinoids had many negative effects on managed honey bees as well as on wild honey bees, and that neonicotinoids could be a major contributor to Colony Collapse Disorder (Morelle).

The United States government could do much more to minimize the nation’s participation in Global Climate Change. The USA is the only country in the world that is not a part of the Paris Agreement, which is a global organization that is working together to battle global climate change. If every single country was working together than it would be easier to work together to find a way to save the Earth, and in turn, to save the honey bees. Climate-related disadvantages for pollinators would include food shortages, and a decrease in overall honey bee populations.

In the past few decade honey bees have been dying off at alarming rates. These massive die-offs are caused by all sorts of factors, some include: Colony Collapse Disorder, American Foulbrood, European Foulbrood, parasites, pesticides, and climate change. People all over the world need to take action to save these hard-working creatures, and in turn, save the world. The honey bees do so much more for humans besides provide honey, and if the honey bees are lost, many agricultural crops will also be severely affected. Without the honey bees over one-third of crops would go unpollinated, and would not be able to produce food. In order to save the honey bees individuals, corporations, and governments alike much work together to protect and preserve this 90-million year old species or risk losing human lives as well.

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By Dr. Mercola

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have been shown to cause biological damage and even cancer, but exactly how does this happen? In this interview, Paul Héroux, Ph.D., a researcher and professor of toxicology and health effects of electromagnetism at the faculty of medicine at McGill University in Montreal, helps answer that question.

Originally trained as a physicist, he eventually ended up studying electrical power transmission lines, the topic of his Ph.D., and in the course of working for a power utility, he started investigating the health effects associated with the fields emitted from power lines.

“I got involved in biology, followed courses in medicine and became, so to speak, a different person from what my supervisors initially would have expected me to be,” he says. In time, he became a specialist on the effects of magnetic fields on the human body, and joined the Faculty of Medicine to help protect health and the environment.

Types of EMFs

Broadly speaking, EMFs include electric, magnetic and radio frequency fields. While the literature tends to discriminate between low-frequency fields, high-frequency fields, microwaves, electric fields and magnetic fields, all of these have certain commonalities that allow you to lump them together, at least in terms of their biological action. 

“It's true that frequency influences the effects,” Héroux says, “but basically … I could, using an electric field or a magnetic field, produce the same effect in a cell. Most higher frequency signals have enough low-frequency components to have a lot in common with low-frequency components.

The practical aspect of this is that usually the fields have an effect maybe in one application, but they are mirrored in other applications as well. There's a type of great unifying view that you can have about these fields.”

Nonthermal Effects Matter

It’s important to realize that the damage EMFs cause has nothing to do with thermal effects. At typical exposures, EMFs do not create heat, which has been the telecommunication industry’s main defense and argument for the safety of cellphone radiation. However, hundreds of researchers have in fact noted biological effects both at low and high frequencies.

“Covering the whole spectrum, there is no doubt that there are biological effects,” Héroux says, adding “There’s no doubt there are substantial health effects that we have been experiencing for a long time, and that have been increasing our health bills. Initially, I got into this field because a power utility asked me to design an instrument that would measure electromagnetic fields on the workers. I designed a dosimeter that was a very successful unit.

After that, I imagined maybe this would be followed up with basic work on the biology of the phenomenon, but obviously, the utility was not very interested in that. Essentially, about at that time, I went to McGill University … and started to do research. I had a student in the lab who was working on the toxicity of metals, who came to me one day and said, ‘Why don't you give me a subject that would be a little more spectacular than the toxicity of metals?’…

This student started to work on magnetic fields. The results that came out of these experiments were quite spectacular. The effects were very, very strong. From then on, I felt I could not ignore this and that I had to bring this to the attention of the world.”

What they discovered was that even small levels of magnetic fields, such as 60 Hertz (Hz), can have drastic effects on cancer cells in culture. Research published as early as 1985 showed quite clearly that these fields were also able to suppress metabolism. Some 15 years later, Héroux duplicated those results, and was able to determine the mechanism behind it.

You’re in Potentially Hazardous Fields Most of the Day, Every Day       

In the research Héroux and his student did on cancer cells, using a field of 60Hz, effects began around 20 nanotesla (nT), which is 0.02 microtesla (mT) or 0.2 milligauss (mG),1 and were fully developed around 50 nT. At levels over 160 nT, magnetic fields have also been shown to affect sperm production — and male fertility declined by about 50 percent between 1973 and 2013. Recent research2 also reveals prenatal exposure to power-frequency fields can nearly triple a pregnant woman’s risk of miscarriage.

These are environmental fields that most people spend a majority of their time in. Based on my own measurements, a vast majority of people never actually leave these fields; they remain in them continuously. Simply living in a home wired for electricity makes it difficult to avoid these fields — unless you take remedial action, such as turning off your circuit breaker at night. As noted by Héroux:

“Our environment is essentially filled with these disturbances to our metabolism. From the point of view of industry, this is wonderful because this contamination, being evenly spread and present everywhere, becomes the new normal. In other words, if you don't want to be caught [poisoning] the population, expose them all at the same time so that there is no reference population.

Sam Milham, whom I recently interviewed on the topic of dirty electricity, did some amazing investigative epidemiological work showing radical differences in disease prevalence between rural and urban populations between 1900 and 1950. Once that rural population became electrified, their disease rates converged with the urban ones, to the point that they are now near-identical. “I strongly believe that to be one of the most important observations of this century,” Héroux says.

Mechanism of Action — How EMFs Cause Harm

The mechanism of action proposed by Héroux involves the enzyme ATP synthase, which passes currents of protons through a water channel (similar to current passing through a wire). The protons have to go through about 20 molecules of water to get through this channel. ATP synthase is extremely ancient and common to all living systems. It basically generates energy in the form ATP from ADP, using this flow of protons.

Magnetic fields can change the transparency of the water channel to protons, thereby reducing the current. As a result, you get less ATP, which can have systemwide consequences, from promoting chronic disease and infertility to lowering intelligence. Héroux explains:

“When you impair the flow of protons to ATP synthase, you increase mitochondrial membrane polarization … If you increase the polarization of the mitochondria by 14 percent, you will have a 70 percent increase in the reactive oxygen species coming out of complex one, which is the leading edge of the oxidative phosphorylation chain.

Essentially, my explanation is that by physical action on water, you can change the transparency of the most critical enzyme in the human body, modulate the amount of ATP, increase the escape of electrons from complex one; thereby explaining practically all of the observations related to EMF. Of course, the moment ATP is perturbed in a cell, there are calcium signals being emitted all over the place, because calcium is possibly the most critical intracellular messenger.”

EMFs Triggers Massive Oxidative Stress 

Although slightly different from Martin Pall's work, which shows that EMFs activate voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) in the outer membrane of the cell, it is consistent with increased oxidative stress and decreased ATP.  Pall believes that when activated by EMFs, these VGCCs open up, allowing for a massive influx of calcium. This excess intracellular calcium and associated calcium signaling are responsible for most of the biological effects we see.

Héroux is not convinced that low fields can substantially alter the behavior of VGCCs or the behavior of calcium ions in solution. He believes it’s not calcium ions that are being directly acted on. Rather, what’s being acted on are electrons and protons, which are far more sensitive to magnetic fields. Still, the outcome is the same. In a nutshell, what we’re talking about here is the creation of excess oxidative stress, which in turn can damage cell membranes and proteins, and break DNA bonds.

It's not the energy in the electromagnetic frequency that catalyzes this process, rather it’s secondary damage from the oxidative stress EMF triggers. According to Héroux, a lot of the free radical detoxification reactions involve the transfer of protons, and EMFs not only increase free radicals but also reduce our ability to get rid of them. Héroux explains:

“The energy of the field itself is irrelevant, in a sense. The idea that you have to reach ionization potential [such as an X-ray] to create [damage] is totally wrong. You create damage because you're leaking electrons out of the phosphorylation chain. Perhaps more significantly, by altering metabolism and the production of ATP, you are confusing the programming of metabolism that has been developed over the last 2 billion years.

Our species can evolve and is successful in great part because we were successful at generating large amounts of ATP. If you touch that, you're going to have disturbances of metabolism that will occur over chronic exposure, which will result in increased rates of diabetes.

That is probably true for all types of electromagnetic radiation, be it power frequency, AM, FM or television signals. All of these have in common the property that they have fields that can affect these charges. The view that these electromagnetic fields are innocuous to biological systems is simply wrong.”

Killing Cancer Cells With Magnetic Fields

While much of Héroux’s research has revolved around validating the mechanisms of action, he’s currently trying to design a technique using low frequency magnetic fields to kill cancer cells. “If I can do this in vitro, in a powerful way, then this should be transferable fairly easily in animals,” he says. “In the past, we were able to kill cancer cells within one day or two, simply by selecting the correct magnetic field.”

Héroux believes this strategy should work on most cancer cells, but he’s only tested the ability to suppress metabolism in two different types of cancer cells so far. Cancer cells have the peculiar characteristic that they have crests of very high demand for ATP, meaning at a certain point in their development, they require very high amounts of energy to keep thriving.

By suppressing ATP synthase, which produces 80 to 90 percent of the ATP in a cell, the cancer cell is not going to be able to survive. And, as mentioned, suppressing ATP synthase is what magnetic fields do. “If you add a little glycolytic suppression in there, this [cancer] cell will have practically nowhere to go,” he says. If this turns out to be a viable strategy, it would likely be a far safer alternative to ionizing radiation or radiotherapy currently used.

Certain fields also have other beneficial uses. Pulsed fields have been successfully used to help regenerate bone, for example. PEMF devices also use either electrical or magnetic pulses.

“The first people who looked for biological stimulation were using electric fields, but magnetic fields have substantial advantages because they penetrate the body fairly easily compared to electric fields,” Héroux says.

“Usually, [PEMF devices] are designed to enrich in bandwidth the signal that is going into the biological system, because they are meant to alert … biological systems that change is needed. Having pulses creates a wide bandwidth that solicits a lot of biological systems simultaneously.”

Practical Mitigation Strategies for Daily Exposures

As mentioned, it’s very difficult to get below 40 nT (0.4 mG) indoors, and even at this level ATP synthase is being suppressed which, again, produces oxidative stress. So, what can you do to mitigate this kind of exposure?

“I think the damage is serious to cells and is extensive. I believe, like Milham does, that cancer rates have been influenced by these chronic exposures … [T]he International Agency for Research on Cancer … confirms a connection between childhood leukemia and fields of, say, 100 nT. So, if you have children, make sure they are not exposed to high magnetic fields a lot of the time.

In other words, make sure their beds are not near a baseboard heater. If you can, get an inexpensive instrument and make sure your young children are not at three- or fourfold risk of leukemia because of this uncontrolled agent that we have in your houses.”

As a general rule, magnetic fields are typically associated with electric fields, so if you have an electric cord coming out of your wall or a transformer (i.e., a charging device), you'll have pretty high magnetic fields in addition to electric fields, and you’ll want to minimize both. Cellphone chargers, for example, are not grounded, which massively worsens the field, and you don’t reach relatively safe levels until you’re about 3 feet away from the charger.

As noted by Héroux, most all portable charging devices are designed to be very light and compact, and do not have any kind of electromagnetic shielding. This allows them to leak power, and for the devices they’re powering, power leakage is not very important. “It's an engineering design based on the false information that these fields spewing into the environment don’t matter,” he says.

So, to avoid excessive exposure, charge your electronics in an area of your home as far away from where you spend most of your time as possible. Also make sure your cellphone and tablets are in airplane mode, and do not have Bluetooth or Wi-Fi activated, when not in use. For additional remedial action steps, please see “The Importance of EMF Remediation in the Treatment of Chronic Disease,” and “The Real Dangers of Electronic Devices and EMFs.”

EMF Mitigation Is an Important Health Consideration

The evidence that EMFs cause harm is both clear and convincing, and we all need to take precautions to protect ourselves. Héroux also believes we need to do more to convince engineers to take the matter seriously and design devices and technologies that offer better protection. “Ultimately, we will have to convince them that these fields are dangerous,” he says. “Otherwise, it will always be an individual effort, which will be very difficult to sustain.”

Alistair Phillips, an electrical engineer who runs Power U.K. in England, is currently in the process of contacting a number of companies that make plugin transformers (device chargers) to create a grounded, shielded version. They just don’t make them anymore, but they certainly can. We can go back to the old ones.

If there’s a demand, as I hope to create through these educational efforts, companies will start to produce them. So, it’s really just a matter of creating awareness, and continuing to ask manufacturers for grounded and shielded devices. Hopefully, this and my many other expert interviews have inspired you to take action to protect your health, and the health of your loved ones.

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