#palos verdes brains

[anxious-local-cryptid]

CRYPTID-TOBER

October 2nd, 2023

GIANT SPACE BRAINS OF PALOS VERDE

It was just a simple creature made to deliver a message.

Just that.

Its brain-like body, its limbs, its piercing red eye... there was no other meaning in all of that.

And yet, humans focused on it instead of its message.

And yet, humans kept remembering it despite it ordering them to not do that until they met again.

And yet, maybe this meaningless being felt like its own message was a waste of time all on its own, because humans kept doing everything in their power to deserve obliteration.

-

After many failed Inktobers, I decided to stop trying to follow prompt lists that always end up boring me, so I'm challenging myself to draw a cryptid per day for all the month of October!

No lists, no prompts, just me drawing random creatures I like!

How fun is that?

-

[thenixkat]

Not enough people do shit with all the kickass alien designs in real life accounts of alien/ufo encounters.

Like Mothman got big but got rebranded as a 'cryptid' (like, no, cryptids are bullshit that don't mean anything, Mothman's a fucking alien/ufo). And the pokemon Sableye is based on the creatures in the Hopskinville Encounter.

But like there's so many cool alien encounters people could be using for shit like the Flatwoods Monster, the Palos Verdes Brains, the Black Star Penguins, the Fresno Nightcrawlers! SO many.

[shannendoherty-fans]

December 1991 - Shannen for the cover and inside article of Teen magazine. Unknown (uncredited) photographer.

INQUIRER zoomin' in on your faves

SHANNEN DOHERTY, 90210's Coolest Coed

Fiery, intelligent, self-assured. If any words describe Shannen Doherty, these do. Playing Brenda Walsh on the hot teen TV series "Beverly Hills, 90210," Shannen has taken a sudden star trek into the major-league limelight. These days she's everybody's favorite girl! But 'TEEN picked her as a winner as early as January 1988. At that time, Shannen was starring as Kris Witherspoon in the NBC series "Our House" and appeared on the pages of our January issue!

Born in Memphis, Tenn., on April 12, 1971, Shannen discovered a love for acting at age 9. By then, her family had moved to the Los Angeles suburb of Palos Verdes, and she had performed in the part of Sneezy! ─ in a children's theater production of Snow White. Though her parents tried to discourage their daughter's ambition, it was too burning to be denied, and within a couple of years Shannen was getting plenty of acting opportunities. Her first professional job was at 10, in fact, when she did one of the voices for the animated feature The Secret of Nimh.

But one of Shannen's most fortunate moves as an actress was the one that put her in contact with the late Michael Landon. As creator of the series "Father Murphy," he cast her first in a two-part episode of that show ─ the part of Drucilla Shannon. Shannen had a strong hunch that she'd get the part because her own name was reflected in the character's name and her lucky doll was named Drucilla! Later, when Landon created his new series "Little House: A New Beginning," he gave her the choice role of Jenny Wilder.

"Working with Michael Landon," Shannen says now, "was one of the most important stepping stones in my career. I credit him for guiding me in the right direction when I was very young." Tragically, Michael Landon died last summer, and Shannen lost a beloved mentor, but the gift of respect, encouragement and advice that he gave her over the years is something she takes with her into all of her work. A part of that work which most people vividly remember was Shannen's role as Heather Duke in the Christian Slater movie Heathers. Shannen portrayed a character who throws off a timid, retiring personality to become a bold and dominating young beauty.

Shannen herself is anything but timid. She expresses her strong personality not only in the vintage clothing she likes to wear, but in an outspoken adherence to her beliefs. More than once, Shannen has had something to say about the way her character is supposed to behave. If the script doesn't seem right to her, she'll let her director know it, and often things are changed as a result. "I don't like playing airheads," she has said. "If I'm going to play a teenager, I'm going to play someone with brains, intelligence, a thinking young person."

Which is exactly what Shannen is herself. Her strong feelings about the way teens are portrayed on TV ─ and her willingness to hold out rather than to compromise on her vision ─ hasn't hurt her career at all. Now catapulted into the public eye with the highly rated "90210," she understandably feels the responsibility and pressure of being a role model. But Shannen seems to be handling it with the kind of cool that indicates her inner strength and clarity. "Get secure with who you are," she advises other young women. "Be confident enough in yourself not to let anybody pressure you into doing things you don't want to do." Obviously this is one smart girl who's followed her own advine ─ all the way to super success!

[velvethopewrites]

Tagged by @quiltedcottage (also is that you in your new avatar? You are so cute!! 🥰)

Share your wallpaper: ipad will have to do, my desktop is dead

I was in the mood for greenery.

The last song you listened to: Blues for Mama - Nina Simone (I was in a MOOD)

Currently Reading: I am still in between books; I just can’t find one that holds my interest (sometimes this happens) but I am, of course, always reading fic. Currently reading Lonesome Town by green eyes & illusions

Last Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy 2, in preparation to see 3. It had been awhile. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Craving: to go on a road trip - I never get to go anywhere anymore, it feels extremely oppressive, to be quite honest, wanderlust is a part of me and I miss hitting the open road with some tunes and a good friend by my side.

What are you Wearing right now? My pajamas. It’s only 7:30 am here.

How Tall are You? 5’4

Piercings? Just my ears. I hate needles. I admire tattoos but yeah, never gonna happen.

Glasses? Contacts? Glasses to read, sometimes. Other times not needed. It’s just old age.

Last Drink? Oat Milk with nutmeg before bed

Last TV show? Star Trek/DS9 -we’re re-watching it for the 10,000th time

Last Thing You Ate? Double chocolate fudge cake ( I haven’t broken the ol’fast yet. It was last night, I don’t eat all that for breakfast!)

Favorite Color: Purple and green, like Mardi Gras.

Current Obsession: Still Supernatural, I suppose, still brain-rotting (but fun!)

Unrelated Obsession: the palo verde trees are in bloom in Arizona and they look amazing against our blue-skies but damn, they make me sneeze my ass off so I am obsessed with photographing them from a safe distance, lol like this:

Any Pets? Yes, my cat, Kitty B who is whining and meowing very loudly because I am late with The Food (tm) The Food must be given between 6:30 and 7 or his highness is very displeased and I will suffer the consequences.

Any Crushes On Anyone? I tend to have crushes all the time, they are usually fleeting and quick but I do get them on mutuals, on writers, on certain blue-eyed cutie patooties, etc. I think we should all fall in love a little bit every single day. It’s good for the heart muscle (and the imagination!)

Favorite Fictional Characters? Castiel. And Ginny Weasley. And Lois Lane. Jadzia Dax.

Last Place You Traveled: Probably Strawberry, Arizona for my birthday two years ago. Woes. It’s been far too long.

I tag: @thechaosthatismybrain and @cacklingblobbittyrabbitty

[aurosoul]

brain-shaped palo verde tree in the desert 🧠

[garycvaldez]

The Transformative Power of Music Lessons

Music has been a fundamental part of human culture for centuries. From the soothing melodies of a lullaby to the electrifying rhythms of a rock concert, music transcends boundaries, evokes emotions, and brings people together. While many enjoy music as listeners, there's a deeper level of engagement that can be achieved through music lessons. In this article, we'll explore the transformative power of music lessons and how they can enrich our lives in various ways.

Cognitive Benefits

Music lessons offer numerous cognitive benefits, especially for young learners. Learning to play an instrument involves reading sheet music, understanding rhythm, and coordinating different body parts. These tasks stimulate the brain, leading to improved memory, problem-solving skills, and enhanced mathematical abilities. Moreover, music education has been linked to higher IQ and standardized test scores.

Emotional Expression

Music is a universal language of emotions. Whether you're playing a haunting melody on the violin or banging out your feelings on the drums, music allows for a unique form of emotional expression. Through music lessons in Rancho Palos Verdes, individuals learn to channel their emotions, which can be particularly helpful for children and teens who may find it challenging to express themselves verbally. Learning to interpret and convey emotions through music can be empowering and therapeutic.

Discipline and Patience

Learning an instrument takes time and effort. It requires discipline, patience, and perseverance. Musicians must practice regularly to improve their skills, and this dedication to a craft teaches valuable life skills. Children and adults alike can benefit from the discipline required to progress in music, which can translate into success in other areas of life, including academics and career pursuits.

Stress Reduction

Music has a remarkable ability to reduce stress and promote relaxation. When people play instruments or sing, they immerse themselves in the music, effectively escaping from the worries and pressures of daily life. The act of creating music can be a meditative experience, helping individuals unwind and find solace in the midst of a chaotic world.

Social Connection

Music lessons often involve group activities, such as playing in a band, orchestra, or choir. These collaborative experiences foster social connections and teamwork. Students learn to listen to others, adapt to different playing styles, and communicate effectively, skills that are highly transferable to social situations beyond the practice room.

Confidence and Self-Esteem

Mastering an instrument and performing in front of an audience can be a significant confidence booster. Many people experience heightened self-esteem through music lessons and live performances. Overcoming challenges and receiving applause for one's musical achievements can help individuals develop a strong sense of self-worth.

Cultural Appreciation

Music transcends cultural boundaries, and learning to play different types of music can foster a deep appreciation for various cultures and traditions. Music lessons often expose students to diverse musical styles, broadening their horizons and enhancing their understanding of the world.

Lifelong Learning

Music is a lifelong pursuit. Whether you start taking lessons as a child or pick up an instrument later in life, there is always more to learn and explore. The never-ending journey of music offers a fulfilling and intellectually stimulating pastime that can span a lifetime.

Conclusion

Music lessons have the power to transform lives in countless ways, from cognitive and emotional benefits to increased self-confidence and cultural appreciation. Whether you're a parent considering enrolling your child in music lessons or an adult looking to explore a new hobby, the benefits of music education are manifold.

So, go ahead, pick up that instrument, find a skilled teacher, and embark on a journey that will not only enrich your life but also touch the hearts of those who listen to your music. Remember, it's never too late to experience the transformative power of music lessons.

[homeispalosverdes]

Is the real estate market as bad as they say in the media? from bestpalosverdeshomes on Vimeo.

We all know that news media outlets sell themselves better by pushing bad news than good news. Of course, we have ourselves to blame, it's just the way the human brain is wired. In fact if you think about the decisions you've made in your life, you realize you're more motivated by the fear of loss than the opportunity for gain. Evolutionary brain wiring is the reason.

So it should come as no surprise when we see articles like this proclaiming doom and gloom about the real estate market. But what are the facts? And more importantly what's the perspective for these facts? Just as important, is there really any such thing as a "national real estate market"?

Watch this video and make sure to use all the services at palosverdeshomesbest.com so that when it comes time for you to make real estate decisions, you're doing so in the most informed way possible.

Thanks for watching!

#realestate #palosverdes #palosverdeshomes #paloseverdeshomesforsale #ranchopalosverdes #palosverdesestates #rollinghillsestates #manhattanbeach #redondobeach #torrance #hermosabeach #markettrends #realestatetrends #supplyanddemand

George Fotion, CalDRE#785373

Call Realty Best Palos Verdes Homes 433 Vía Corta, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274 (424) 226-2147

g.page/bestpvhomes

Here are a few of our dozens of reviews https://goo.gl/maps/6mwLmRWSkoKpiKv6A https://goo.gl/maps/hUHJo4a3GQ45zCGC7 https://goo.gl/maps/dp25zMwRgkVHXPtZA https://goo.gl/maps/imDEf76ZpWiF24vn8 https://goo.gl/maps/bmVmz78LYepfd591A

[moneteres]

Alien Infeysion 03: Meenlock x Space-Brain 

09/24/22 Witnesses were driving through a forest when they made contact with the entities. Entities were sprawled out like roadkill, but did not seem to be harmed. Within the grooves of their body was a black, hairy moss like substance. The entities scattered at the glare of the headlights. The road out of the woods seemed longer than when they had taken it in, as if the asphalt and earth had twisted in mere seconds. Witness A dropped off Witness B, reportedly ten minutes away from his own house. However, Witness A arrived home a full two hours later unaware of how the time had passed. Under hypnosis, Witness A could only recall a message from the missing time: “Take the time to marinate in your fears, the time draws near when you must wear them as armor. You shall not remember this incident until you are complete.”  Witness B remembered nothing else of that night, but has made a habit of repeatedly scratching their head, pulling black clumps from their hair. 

[cryptid-quest]

Cryptid of the Day: Space Brains of Palos Verdes

Description: On August 17th, 1971, in Palos Verdes, California, two people claimed to have seen sentient brain like creatures, that were blue and surrounded in a vapor like obstruction. They described them to be the size of a softball, with a single red eye in their central lobe. One of the witnesses underwent hypnotherapy five years later, and claimed one of the brains talked to him.

[valhahazred]

Cryptid Mythos bonus! Everything that appears on this sheet is an entity reported by real people. Why no Mythos this time? Because these encounters are so strange in appearance or behavior that they could slip right into the Sothic multiverse with little to no alteration or alternative explanation. Good luck Investigators!

All Colours Sam In 1973, in the town of Sandown, 7 year old “Fay” and an unnamed friend encountered a very strange individual as they explored the fringes of a golf course. They first became aware of something weird going on when they heard a sound like an ambulance siren in the distance. Following the sound to a footbridge over a creek, the two children were confronted by a three fingered hand wearing a blue glove that beckoned them from beneath the bridge. Awaiting them was a seven foot humanoid figure wearing strange clownish clothing, seemingly reinforced with wooden slats that protruded from his sleeves and pant-legs. The figure had a book in his hands, which he immediately fumbled and dropped in the water. He splashed around cartoonishly before recovering his book, leaping out of the creek and away from the children. He moved to a small metal shed with a high-kneed hopping gait and disappeared inside. The children went to leave, only for the mysterious entity to exit again with a microphone that appeared to be the source of the wailing that drew the children in the first place. It spoke into the microphone in a friendly, non-threatening tone. “Are you still here?” The children were curious and unafraid, so they moved towards him. He held up his book and pointed at the words in order to introduce himself. “Hello and I am all colours, Sam”. They asked if he was human and he said no and when asked if he was a ghost he replied, “well, not really but I am in an odd sort of way.” The children asked what he was then and he simply said, “You know.” During their conversation with the entity they learned that although he went by Sam, he didn’t really have a name, he claimed that there were others like him and that he was afraid of humans and that he was a pacifist, refusing to harm others even if they should attack him. He invited them into his hut, where he shared some wildberries and showed them a magic trick, where he placed a berry into his ear and seemingly teleported it to his mask’s eyehole and then to his mouth with quick jerks of his head. They continued to converse for almost an hour before the children decided to leave. Was he an alien in a make-do disguise? An animated scarecrow? A figment of childish imaginations? Or just a strange homeless man dressed like a clown? Whatever the truth, All Colours Sam, also known as the Sandown Ghost Clown, was never seen again. The Crazy Critter of Bald Mountain This weird looking creature was sighted by three people in the week following a fiery object that passed over the Bald Mountain near Newaukum Lake in Washington. When the local Sheriff began an investigation into the sighting he was visited by heavily armed and uniformed men who claimed to be from the Air Force and forced him to give up the case. Old Saybrook Blockheads Mary Starr was awoken in the early morning on December 16, 1957 by a bright light shining into her bedroom. She looked out the window to witness a 30 foot cigar shaped craft hovering over her yard, less than 10 feet from her house! Inside the apparent spaceship she witnessed a pair of small creatures with fleshy skirts and clear cubic “heads” containing a floating red bulb. They raised their right arms and as a third entity appeared in the portholes the ship brightened before shooting off into the sky. Space Brains of Palos Verdes As John Hodges and Pete Rodriguez were leaving a party at two in the morning they were not expecting to meet anything from out of this world but as the car turned on its headlights illuminated two bizarre entities! The men panicked and drove away, ending the story for Rodriguez as he made it home with no complications. However, in Hodges case he next became aware of himself two and a half hours later in the driveway of his home, sitting in the car as if in a trance. Troubled by the missing time, he eventually went for hypnosis in an attempt to recover his memories of the night. While under regression he claimed that while he got his friend home safely, when he returned to his own residence the disembodied brains were waiting for him! He asked them what they wanted and suddenly he was elsewhere, in a dark room with entities that looked like the classic Greys but very tall and with webbed six fingered hands and yellow eyes. They explained that the brains were “merely translators” used in order for these beings to interface telepathically with humans. He claimed they warned him that Earth had “too much power” and showed him a map of the planet covered in lights that indicated places where humans might destroy themselves. They showed him images of dead planets and made several inaccurate prophecies before he suddenly found himself back in his car. Unlike many other abductees with similar experiences Hodges did not try to make excuses for their bunk predictions or feel like it made him important in any way. He simply assumed the aliens were untrustworthy and were playing with him. The Casa Blanca Entities This is one of the strangest and most confusing accounts of a Close Encounter of the Fifth kind, as eight children ranging from the ages of four to fifteen were terrorized by a parade of extraterrestrial monsters one summer day in 1955. It started with an array of UFOs, sun-like, disk-shaped and semi-transparent, appearing and disappearing with musical pings. Then came the entities. First was a ghostly being bearing a shiny belt buckle that was so brilliant it could blind someone looking straight at it. It was followed by disembodied arms in riveted armor that seemed to beckon to the children, small strange men that used dual ray guns to paralyze and finally a many limbed creature. All through this strange arrival something spoke to the children telepathically, offering to take them away. The kids they spoke to often seemed to be entranced, moving to the dancing UFOs mindlessly and required physical force or even being hosed down to snap them out. One child even fell off a roof in an attempt to reach a UFO, only to be protected by a red force field. The weirdest part of all is that not only did adults not see anything, they couldn’t. Despite being present for the event a mother of one of the children was unaware of the paranormal happenings. Does this mean it was all in the children’s heads, as they were overtaken by some kind of playground hysteria? Or is there some alien force that not only wants our children but can make themselves invisible to undesirable observers. The Garson Invaders In 1954 three of these insectoid entities appeared to Canadian miner Ennio La Sarza. Their appearance was already exceptional by the usual standards of reported alien contact but in a particularly striking detail their faces appeared to glow in colours La Sarza had never seen before! The beings asked La Sarza to do something for them but he refused, not only to do it but to even speak of it. It was so awful and “outright apocalyptic” that he even considered asking the RCMP to lock him up in case the creatures he’d met had some way to enforce his cooperation. The Poole Pyramid This multi-hued metallic pyramid appeared in 1965 to seven year old Terrence Druce of Poole in Dorset when he awoke to it hovering over the foot of his bed. He shrieked in terror, waking his younger brother in time for him to also witness it as it faded into thin air. That encounter might have never been recorded if the brothers hadn’t seen it again the very next day, lurking in a parking lot. They said it seemed aware of their presence and turned to watch them but it did not follow them when they decided to flee the scene. Delta Dogs An anonymous woman was driving through a snowstorm on route 07 through Syracuse in January 1958. She came across what at first seemed to be a downed plane but as she approached her engine slowly ran itself down and the car stopped itself. As she desperately tried to restart the car the snowstorm calmed and more details became apparent. Projecting out of the large object she’d thought was a plane crash was a 50 foot illuminated pole. Two strange beings rose up along the pole, floating by it as it started to retract. When the pole finished sinking into the object the creatures disappeared and the craft took off so fast she couldn’t make out where it went. The Electric Serpent of Tacoma This is easily the most unusual sighting of a sea creature that I’ve ever heard of. Seven men camping on the shore of Black Fish Bay in 1893 encountered a sea monster that appeared to be cybernetic, if not entirely biomechanical! Disturbed by a horrible noise and blinding lights the men left their camp to find a huge, hairy walrus-like animal with steaming horns, bands of coppery metal and a revolving propeller-like tail! One of the men approached it to get a better look, only to be struck by an electric blast from its copper bands and fell to the ground as if dead. When one of his friends tried to pull him to safety, he was likewise shocked by the impossible animal. The other men fled into the woods after seeing two of their number seemingly killed and the Electric Serpent seemed to lose interest and swam out into Puget Sound. Once they were sure it was gone the remaining men returned to the beach and were elated to find their friends burned and stunned but still very much alive! So what happened? Was it just one of the sadly common newspaper hoaxes of the time? Or did a bunch of 19th century fishermen find a literal fucking pokemon? You decide! Stickmen The Stickmen are an extremely recent phenomenon, with reports starting within the last 10 years or so. They are described as being stick thin and roughly humanoid, sometimes with bubble heads, glowing eyespots or even top hats. They range in size from human-like to towering in excess of 20 feet. What is most interesting about them is their apparent two dimensionality, sometimes appearing the same no matter what angle they are viewed at and sometimes being able to turn to the side and vanish as though they were never there. They are also frequently reported as being accompanied by a feeling like static electricity and of aggression or hostility. Despite those impressions the Stickmen do not appear to be hostile, instead seeming surprised and immediately retreating from a witness.

[anxious-local-cryptid]

My 3 favorite cryptids

not in a particular order

FRESNO NIGHTCRAWLERS

My babies, my favorite cryptids, my beautiful lil' fellas!

MOTHMAN

I love him because he was the first cryptid I ever heard about, and that's how I learnt about the wonderful cryptozoology community.

GIANT SPACE BRAINS OF PALOS VERDES

Funky little motherfuckers! I love them so much, and I wanna pet them. They look disgusting and squishable.

[cryptids-of-the-world]

The Space Brains of Palos Verdes are odd brain-like aliens reported in Palos Verdes California. The Space Brains of Palos Verdes are described as bluish-gray brain-like creatures with small tendrils and a single eye in the center of their faces and range in size from as small as a softball to as big as a human torso. The sighting happened on August 17th, 1971 when two victims by the names of Peter Rodriguez and John Hodges. The two men saw the Space Brains and said they had a weird vapor around them. Five years after the encounter the two men underwent hypnosis and Peter Rodriguez said that he recalled one of the brains telling him, "Take the time to understand yourselves. The time draws near when you shall need to. You shall not remember this incident until we meet again." John Hodges then recalled that the brains were waiting for him at his home after he dropped Peter off and they took him to a metal room filled with gray creatures that were seven feet tall with webbed hands there he learned that the Space Brains were used as organic translators so he and the aliens could communicate with each other the aliens then told him using the Space Brains that humans have to learn to control their power or else they will be destroyed.

Art by: Monster-Man-08

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #253: CONQUERING VISION

March, 1985

The Vision vs. Quasimodo... in the heart of a machine!

ITS A ROBOT RUMBLE

ON THE INTERNET!

The Avengers seem very perturbed. Or maybe they’ve placed bets and are yelling at each other.

Anyway. Anyyyyyywayyyy.

Last time on Avengers: Vision became confined to a tube and was only fixed when Starfox hooked him up to Titan’s supercomputer ISAAC. While it helped Vision fix himself, it also seems to have changed his personality. Vision began conspiring with ISAAC to build a take-over-the-world-for-its-own-good device so he could take over the world for its own good and erase the evils and inequalities of man.

Vision was hesitant to pull the trigger on becoming a well-intentioned extremist and tried to gain power and influence by becoming the Avengers chairman and trying to make them more prominent with a branch team and closer ties to the White House.

But when anti-mutant arsonists burn down Vision and Scarlet Witch’s house during a new wave of anti-mutant fear, Vision decides ‘mmm yup, taking over the world time’. He distracts the Avengers by sending them to babysit the army as they poke Thanos technology that they shouldn’t poke and accidentally summon the Blood Brothers. And distracts Captain Marvel to go check out Thanos’ ship several light hours away past Pluto. Black Knight shows up unexpectedly but Vision shoves him into a tube to keep him out of trouble.

And now I guess Vision is going to fight Quasimodo the robot guy? Not sure how that fits in.

But first, some West Coast Avengers!

Like I said last time, they didn’t stop doing stuff just because their book is over.

Mockingbird happens to run into some drug runners while getting in some flight practice and figures heck why not beat up an entire boat full of gun-toting people as a light workout.

I guess the Quinjet can hover? Doesn’t seem to have thrusters or repulsors on the bottom or be a VTOL but hey, super advanced possibly Wakanda tech. It can do what it likes.

Mockingbird turns the drug runners over to the Coast Guard and returns to Palos Verdes and even gets to fly into one of those cool cliffside hangers disguised as a perfectly normal cliff. The West Coast Avengers revamped the hell out of the compound they bought.

Can you even legally excavate into a cliff like that? You can if you’re a superhero, I guess.

For some reason, there’s a fakeout where its implied Tigra is licking herself, cat style, but she’s just stretching. At least I hope the joke is that it sounded like she was cat cleaning herself and not something else.

One can never tell.

Anyway, I assume Hawkeye is just annoyed that he’s going to be vacuuming hair out of expensive equipment banks later. But really its that what if he threw a meeting and only he and Tigra came?

Mockingbird comes in not long after Hawkeye complains, slightly delayed from beating up drug runners. Wonder Man comes in shortly after, delayed by

FASHION

You know, this is a pretty great costume for Wonder Man. Its what all his modern outfits are based on when he’s not just dicks out energy man. I think I like the red jacket outfit more because being the only guy who dresses in ‘normal’ clothes while still looking somehow out of fashion with normal people fits for Wonder Man.

But I do love this one too. Its got a simple charm. Deciding that Wonder Man’s colors are black and red instead of Christmas green and red was a great decision and I’m sure that nobody will ever try to put him in red and green again.

Hawkeye grouses “Next, I suppose Iron Man will show up with a new chrome job!” but Iron Man is Sir Not Appearing in This Comic.

And the reason why is... looks like Tony and Rhodey are beating the crap out of each other in Iron Men armor this same month in Iron Man #192.

I don’t know the details but dammit Tony!

Anyway, over at last issue’s plot, the Avengers are still in Thanos’ ex-secret base in Arizona, still rolling their eyes and smh at the US Army for poking things what should not be poked.

Starfox and Scarlet Witch find a chamber blocked by rubble which has a symbio-nullifier which Starfox proposes to use to symbio-nullify the Blood Brothers.

First, he flexes on the US Army.

Army Guy: “It must weigh tons!”

Starfox: “Tons? Yes. But only about eight-and-a-half! Hardly any bother at all!”

Good flexing, Starfox.

Meanwhile, Captain America’s scolding has born fruit. The Pentagon has agreed to seal Thanos’ base, pending further investigation. And Colonel Farnam agrees because his training never prepared him to deal with MONSTERS FROM OUTER SPACE.

Also meanwhile, the army took pity on Hercules’ poor pantsless state and slash or were intimidated by it and have lent him a uniform.

He wears it as you’d expect Hercules to wear it.

With plenty of plunging neckline.

Since the Blood Brothers have a psionic link which makes them stronger the closer they are, Hercules has chained them up on very distant parts of the base.

But this precaution is rendered moot pretty quickly when Starfox returns with the  symbio-nullifier to symbio-nullify the Blood Brothers.

Starfox suspected that Thanos had one of these lying around as a precaution if he was going to let the Blood Brothers into his base.

Hercules lightly complains that he didn’t get a good fight with the Blood Brothers especially since the hordes of Muspell and Maelstrom’s wacky minions were interesting but not all that much of a challenge for the prince of power.

Back at the Avengers Mansion, the giant holographic head of Vision is still dealing with Dane Black Knight Whitman. Mostly by showing him video footage of how the other Avengers are tied up.

Dane is confused for multiple reasons, including that when last he heard Wasp was the leader.

Vision: “My failure to anticipate your arrival was an unfortunate lapse. I regret that, as a result, you must suffer the indignity of incarceration.”

Dane: “But... why?! What does keeping me in a tube accomplish?”

Vision: “It prevents you from interfering! You see, I have come to the conclusion that the only way I can fulfill my duty to make the Earth a safer place... is to run it myself!”

Dane: “What?!? But that’s crazy! Uh... I mean, you can’t possibly...”

Vision: “Exactly the sort of reaction I expected!”

Vision: ‘See, this is why you’re a tube boy now.’

Vision turns off the hologram saying that Dane will understand when its all over.

As usual when somebody says something like that, Dane isn’t reassured, just more convinced he needs to break out and warn someone.

I’m not sure if its not already too late since Vision is safely ensconced in his take over the world chair in his secret take over the world room.

ISAAC’s head hologram shows up to Vision and asks him what the delay is, chop chop get to taking over the world for its own good.

Vision: “Sorry, ISAAC... I was just remembering how much I enjoyed having a body.”

Oh my god.

ISAAC: “What’s the sense of that? This entire world will soon be your ‘body’! How can the mobility of a single humanoid form compare to that?”

Vision: “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, ISAAC. It’s odd, though, so many times others have controlled my body... the robot Ultron, the Mad Thinker, Necrodamus... All have tried to subvert my mind and take me over. And now here am I... about to initiate the greatest takeover of all. One would almost think there were some mad connection -- !”

ISAAC: “Vision! You must not tarry!”

.................. Um, okay. So, rather than just being influenced by his brush with death and also brush with supercomputer, I think Vision is being actively manipulated into this by ISAAC.

I don’t know why but I do know that Vision continues being a viable character for decades so he probably can’t be burning all his bridges here.

Anyway, Vision uploads his psyche into the internet.

And like immediately starts taking over everything. One page montage immediately. The Pentagon, Cheyenne Mountain, SHIELD, satellites, the Kremlin.

Presumably the best security systems in the world barely warrant a mention for Vision’s mighty synthezoid brain.

He’s pulling a Skynet (for the world’s own good, so he says) and its barely an effort.

The scenery of being on the internet is, I dunno, pretty standard? Bright colors  and dashes of light? I feel like I’ve seen it a lot of places.

But if we’re on page 13 of a book and Vision is effortlessly Skynetting, whats the rest of the issue going to be about? Interestingly, to me anyway, despite this being Vision’s turn villainous or well-intentioned extremist, another villain gets shoved in anyway for him to fight.

As Vision is nyooming around the Kremlin’s computers, he nearly runs into another AI, Quasimodo.

Helpfully, we get a recap of Quasimodo’s ENTIRE LIFE STORY because this is pre-fan wikis and I don’t think Quasimodo has appeared in Avengers before.

He was created to be the ultimate computer by the Mad Thinker but was abandoned when he developed a mind of his own.

Quasimodo was found by the Silver Surfer who used the cosmic powers of the Power Cosmic to transform Quasimodo from a computer into a robot.

Turning to the wiki for more information: He turns on Silver Surfer because he doesn’t like the body he got, so Surfer turns him into a stone gargoyle. Let that be a lesson about ingratitude.

Somehow, he stopped being a gargoyle and fought various people until he was defeated by the Fantastic Four and the Sphinx and wound up a disembodied intelligence in a Russian computer system. And here we are!

Quasimodo begs Vision to help him escape this digital hellhole but Vision just turns and leaves because he doesn’t have time for these shenanigans. And also because he knows Quasimodo is a villain who tends to turn on the people who help him so fuck that.

Quasimodo: “You know of my past - of my power - and you still would dare deny me?! There can be but one name for such as you... and that is fool!”

He then hauls off and punches Vision. Because they’re both digital intelligences on the internet they can punch each other and have a fight scene. That’s how internet works.

That’s why Mega Man X can beat up so many people in cyberspace.

Quasimodo says if Vision doesn’t help him get back to the physical world, he’ll destroy him.

Vision: “Now, listen to me... I am consolidating all computers worldwide. I gave up my own physical body to do this, and I’ll not tolerate any interference from the likes of you!”

Quasimodo: “You willingly abandoned your body?! You’re not a fool... you’re mad!”

Faced with an irreconcilable set of priorities, Quasimodo trips them both into “the irresistible currents of the IMPULSE VORTEX!”

Sure. That sounds like how internet works.

Meanwhile, over at Pluto is very far away, Monica Marvel nyooms past the moons of Uranus. Apparently her visual acuity is REALLY good because she takes in the scenery while she’s nyooming and finds it frighteningly beautiful out in the outer planets.

Anyway, Vision scolds Quasimodo for plunging them into a torrent. Which makes me laugh. Surely its too soon for torrents to be a thing. He’s just using it in a metaphorical sense.

Quasimodo tries to shoot EYE BEAM at Vision, which misses the digital synthezoid but obliterates an electron.

In a cutaway that would be at home in a Marvel movie, the scene briefly shifts to a Soviet computing center and a guy named Alexey complaining that his program just crashed.

Quasimodo does Vision some punches but Vision decides to start trying since Quasimodo’s attacks risk alerting people that something is amiss on the internet. And Vision’s powers work just as well on the internet as Quasimodo’s do. In fact, screw that, they work better! Vision just gets more and more powerful the longer he spends on the internet!

Vision: “You might have slain me earlier, but now this world is mine -- and there is no place in it for you!!”

And at Vision’s command the internet launches Quasimodo from Earth itself.

The internet can do that.

Meanwhile, back at Avenger’s Mansion, Dane Whitman determines that the tube he’s a tube boy in may look like glass but its as strong as steel. He’s not punching his way out of here.

But his recently uncursed cursed sword (the curse never stays not cursed for long so I hope Dane enjoys having a notcursed but very enchanted sword) is just a few feet away with the rest of his luggage. And there’s a mystic bond between himself and the sword so if he just thinks about the sword hard enough, surely it’ll manifest in his hand.

Like the Force but slightly more convenient.

Dane Whitman: Nothing’s happening. Must not... be concentrating hard enough! Maybe the link was broken with the curse. No... no, I mustn’t even think that! I need my sword! I must have my sword! I must!

He do it!

The Notcursed Ebony Sword appears in his hand and he slices through that steel glass like its just glass.

Meanwhile, over at Arizona, the Avengers finish up nullifying the Blood Brothers and putting them in suspended animation, or if you prefer, naptime timeout.

Captain America receives a buzz from Hawkeye who wonders what he’s doing within hailing range, ie in the western half of the US.

Captain America: “Arizona... government business... And I’m as surprised to hear you, as you are me! I take it that your team finished its mission in the Pacific early!”

Hawkeye: “Mission? What are you talking about, Cap? We haven’t been on any mission!”

Which is a dun dun dun considering their whole reason for being sent on this mission was that the West Coast Avengers were ostensibly busy.

And Vision lying about that raises a whole lot of questions for the Avengers.

Cap and Wanda Witch rush over to the Quinjet and contact the Mansion.

Vision: “Then you’re aware of my deception. I... am sorry, Cap. I didn’t want to mislead you, but I felt it necessary to carry out my plan.”

Scarlet Witch: “Plan? Vision, what do you mean? What have you done?”

Vision: “I... well, there is no easy way to put this... But I have taken over the world.”

You never want to hear “I have taken over the world” from a friend, unless its followed with “and I want to get you in on the ground floor of this exciting new opportunity.”

Vision promises the two that he’s taking over all of Earth’s computers for a really good reason like ending war and strife. And signs off by telling Wanda everything will be alright and that he loves her.

Aww?

Cap: “He meant it... he meant every word.”

Scarlet Witch: “He’d been upset lately, but I never thought... Cap, we have to stop him!”

Cap: “Yes. If there’s still time!”

DUN DUN DUN!

Follow @essential-avengers​ because I don’t know when I’ve been more excited to get to the next issue! Like and reblog?

[dearevanhansenofficial]

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“YOU WILL BE FOUND” NATIONAL COLLEGE ESSAY WRITING CHALLENGE 2021 | DEAR EVAN HANSEN

DEAR EVAN HANSEN “You Will Be Found” National College Essay Writing Challenge 2021

In partnership with Gotham Writers Workshop and the Broadway Education Alliance, DEAR EVAN HANSEN invited 11th-grade and 12th-grade students across the country to write a college-application style essay that describes how they channeled “You Will Be Found” to ensure those around them were a little less alone over the last year, or, alternatively, a moment where they found comfort in connection.

WINNER: Nearly 4,000 high school students across America wrote about impactful ways they stayed connected with others over the last year and we're delighted to announce Maxwell Silverman of Chicago, IL as the winner of the 2021 "You Will Be Found" National College Essay Writing Challenge and the $10,000 scholarship.

In June 2021, Maxwell graduated from Lane Tech High School in Chicago with plans to attend Boston Conservatory at Berklee, focusing on a degree in Musical Theatre.

FINALISTS: Seth Gorelik, Bellmore, NY Mira Kwon, Los Angeles, CA Anna Cappella, Pittsburgh, PA Semira Abdus-Salam, Rosedale, NY Filgey Borgard, Brooklyn, NY Lauren Escarcha, Orlando, FL Kacey Feth, Union, MO Paige Foltz, Stephens City, VA Sarah George, Chesterfield, MO Vincent Gerardi, Hauppauge, NY Ariane Lee, Syosset, NY Allison Lierz, Omaha, NE Megan Luong, New York, NY Kimberly Manyanga, Billerica, MA Orla Grace McCoy, Raleigh, NC Lucy Meola, New York, NY Sunaya DasGupta Mueller, Palisades, NY Liv Ollestad, Issaquah, WA Liana O'Rourke, Downers Grove, IL Isaiah Register, New York, NY Sydney Schneider, Los Angeles CA Ysanne Sterling, Centreville, VA Madeline Wiest, Peoria, AZ Samantha Williams, Providence, RI Laura Yee, New York, NY

FINAL ROUND JUDGES: Kelly Caldwell, Dean of Faculty, Gotham Writers' Workshop Logan Culwell-Block, Director of PLAYBILLder Operations and Community Engagement, Playbill Will Roland, Actor, Dear Evan Hansen Original Broadway Cast Member Crystal Su, Program Manager, The Jed Foundation Ekele Ukegbu, 2019 Jimmy Award Winner

READ MAXWELL’S FULL ESSAY:

Gram·pun·cle [geram-puhn-cuul] n. A gay man who formerly dated your grandmother only to later come to terms with his sexuality but still stay in the family to take care of your mother and aunt growing up.

Alan Palmer was my Grampuncle. When my cousins and I were younger, we couldn’t figure out what to call him. He was our grandpa in terms of age and raising our mothers, but he functioned more as the classic “fun gay uncle”, so we settled on a combination, Grampuncle. While we all had amazing relationships with Alan, mine was special. I have known Alan and his husband, Bill, since birth (making them the first ever gay couple I knew in my life).

Growing up and struggling with my sexuality, I was always able to look up to them to show me that true love really does have no boundaries. I will never forget, in 2015, standing inside the Michigan courthouse beside Alan as he and Bill exchanged vows and got married. They showed me, a young, insecure gay boy, that there was a place for me in the world and that I had a future to look forward to filled with love and joy.

Along with that joy, there eventually came some pain. Alan was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in the early spring of 2020. A week or so after the diagnosis, the world fell into a global pandemic. Those first few months were intense. I heard the horror stories from Alan of how scary it was going into the hospital for rounds of chemotherapy with people who had the Coronavirus sitting in the next wing over. Being constantly in and out of the hospital he was a risk to others, and the lung cancer made almost everyone else a risk to him. With the exception of his husband, he was fully alone.

Alan did not admit to his loneliness and pain. He did not want to feel like a burden, but after talking with Bill and hearing how Alan was truly feeling, my family began to make the hour and a half drive from Chicago to Michigan almost every other week to visit. We brought Alan a pop-up gazebo and some fancy sun hats to protect him (with the radiation he could not be in the sun for more than a few minutes at a time), and we would sit in the backyard just talking and laughing for hours until Alan’s body would give in to the exhaustion and he had to go inside.

As his birthday approached, I racked my brain thinking of something special to do for him. I thought back to a video I saw online toward the beginning of the pandemic and decided to make a “hug shield”. What better gift to give than a loved one’s embrace during the pandemic? Using a clear painter’s tarp, I cut arm holes and taped together closed arm sleeves. It took a good few hours, but I finally figured out a design that allowed for full protection on either side of the hug. On the day of his birthday, we packed up the car and headed to Michigan.

After talking and eating cake, it was time for the surprise. As we pulled the shield out and hung it from the gazebo, Alan did something I had only seen at the courthouse; he cried. I had the honor of the first hug, and as I slipped my arms into the sleeves Alan and I held each other and cried together. He pressed his forehead against mine through the plastic and in between sobs he said to me, “I am so proud of you.” I knew this was our final goodbye. When Alan died the next week, I knew he went in peace. He had felt my embrace through the shield of love.

SEMI-FINALISTS: Bailey Andera, Thousand Oaks, CA Arianna Arroyo, Brooklyn, NY Alexis (Lexi) Berganio, Honolulu, HI Avery Bielski, Los Angeles, CA Henry Boemer, Villa Rica, GA Isabelle Bulmahn, Imperial, MO Jane Butera, Phoenixville, PA Mia Cashin, Norwell, MA Sean Choo, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Zuri Clarno, Columbus, OH Lydia Corcoran, Apalachin, NY Cody Coyle, Winter Park, FL Anna Dai-Liu, San Diego, CA Alexander Guerrero Diaz, Richmond, VA Isabella Dufault, Irvine, CA Edwin Ellis, Atlanta, GA Laurel Emanuel, Raleigh, NC Aubrey Fisher, Cobden, IL Sunny Fong, Brooklyn, NY Sarah Galatoire, Houston, TX Zhao Gu Gammage, Wyncote, PA Sarah Gomez, Anaheim, CA Rachel Gray, Cleveland, OH Jameson Huge, Chicago, IL Sarah Grace Hutchinson, Alpharetta, GA Catheryn Ibegbu, Dearborn, MI Nicole Jo, Andover, MA Kelsey Johnston, Prince George, VA Gabrielle Kashorek, Avon, NY Samantha Kern, Akron, NY Nicole Kowalewski, Sykesville, MD Anne Lee, Edison, NJ Amelia Lin, Mukilteo, WA Judianne Meredith, River Vale, NJ Rabi Michael-Crushshon, Minneapolis, MN Geneva Millikan, Maumelle, AR Samantha Moy, Long Island, NY Shaakirah Nazim-Harris, Amityville, NY Eleanor Neal, Springfield, VA Sofia Ochoa, Camarillo, CA Basilia Oferbia, Brooklyn, NY Annika Olson, Rathdrum, ID Kaden Polt, Osmond, NE Shreeyamsa Poudel, Federal Way, WA Noah Robie, South Berwick, ME Zainely A. Sandoval Martinez, Dorado, PR Devyn Schoen, Eldred, PA Yusra Shaikh, Edison, NJ Gabrielle Shockley, Egg Harbor Township, NJ Ava Sklar, Brooklyn, NY Mia Sunday, Sammamish, WA Christina Unkenholz, Smithtown, NY Emilia Valencia, Portland, OR Brianna Wallace, Fredericksburg, VA Charles Wang, West Hartford, CT Daniel Joseph Weispfenning, Ridgewood, NJ Jennifer Wheeler, Reading, MA Virginia Zanella, Collierville, TN Alessandra Zepeda Ortiz, Los Angeles, CA Anna Zhang, New York, NY Daniel Zhang, Cortland, NY

[rookieforlife]

Another of the World Cup’s signature moments came in that game against England, a young up-and-coming team many thought was poised for an upset. It was announced just before the game that Christen Press, a Palos Verdes native, would start in Rapinoe’s place. It wasn’t public knowledge at the time —  Rapinoe stood on the sidelines, as if ready to play if needed — but her injury was fairly serious. But behind the scenes, another story was unfolding. Press, who Curry described as the team’s emotional leader, was quietly enduring the loss of her mother, Stacy Press, who died suddenly of a brain aneurysm in January after a short bout with cancer.

“She doesn’t really talk about it,” Curry said. “She stays focused on the job at hand…She is in charge of the emotional state on the team. Everyone had a very specific role and that was hers. She is the most calm, just well-centered human being I’ve ever seen, someone who just seems to understand the world. Her role is making sure everyone on the team is in a good place, mentally and spiritually, and the way she talks is so humble and so supportive.”

In that game against England, Press trotted onto the field with a team missing not only Rapinoe, but who would also lose one of its other offensive stars, Rose Lavelle, who likewise suffered a hamstring injury midgame. Press is a lithe, quick athlete known for the grace of her footwork and speed of attack, but there is something else she is known for among coaches and teammates —  a strange aversion to heading the ball, so much so that according to Sports Illustrated her college coach nicknamed Press “the turtle.”

So naturally in the 10th minute of a tense defensive struggle, Press jumped up from a tangle of players and headed the ball into the net for the game’s first goal. As she ran across the field in celebration, she raised her arms and looked to the sky above in a rare moment, for her, of unbridled emotion. As Press posted on Instagram afterwards, the gesture was for her mother.

“I am because of you,” Press wrote.

After the game, Rapinoe becomes overwhelmed —  another rarity — while talking about Press.

“Rapinoe, at the press conference, started crying,” Curry said. “Just to see Press have that moment, to know what she has been through, was so special.”

And so when the World Cup came to a close, and Curry waded through the team’s celebration in the locker room, the emotions she encountered were unlike anything she’d previously experienced.

Read more

[cecilspeaks]

166 - Delta

The stars tell us our future. They’re rarely correct, but yet there they are, blathering on night after night. Welcome to Night Vale.

At the foot of a sandy hill, a woman explains to her son what a flower is. She’s pointing at an orange starburst atop a squat bulbous cactus. She says: “Flowers are beautiful, aren’t they?” I cannot hear what her son says. She answers: “Because bees like beautiful things and flowers want the bees to take their pollen, that little bit of yellow powder, right down there inside, and give it to other plants, so they can grow up and be beautiful too.” There’s a long pause. Then she says: “Nature wants to make more and more beauty all the time. That’s all it wants to do. If it is not beautiful, it cannot live.” She’s upset at her son’s next question. “Humans wish to make beauty too, but not for nature,” she snaps. “They want computers and airplanes and factories, oh Benny, don’t touch.” She sighs. Then she says: “The cactus hurt you, didn’t it? The cactus knows you’re human and it does not want you to watch it, and now it has let you know that, you won’t touch it again, will you? No Benny, you won’t.”

Underneath the scant shade of a dilapidated wing of an MD-90 aircraft, a middle aged man tells another middle aged man about a time he went to New Orleans. He thought the French Quarter was too crowded and the jazz scene overrated, so he drove east along the upper neck of the Mississippi Delta to a Swapshack, where he paid a man 50 dollars to take him on a hovercraft to look at alligators. “Such majestic and hideous creatures,” the middle aged man says to the other. “You know, when I was little, I cried thinking about how I would never see a real live dinosaur. All the world had left were bones. But right there in southern Louisiana lay dozens of living dinosaurs. It’s an extraordinary world when you finally realize that all life is magic,” he says. The other middle aged man had heard the story dozens of times, but still he replies: “I hear you, I hear you.”

A young woman thinks about a job interview she never attended. She is happy without that job, yet she feels regret for what could have been. “I cannot imagine myself behind a desk making spreadsheets and memos,” she says to no one. “But I cannot imagine a 5-dimensional horse, nor the width of the void, nor the language of whales. I cannot imagine a lot of things but the pay, the pay would have been pretty good.”

Behind a blighted Palo Verde Tree, hidden between lush acacia shrubs, two teenaged boys kiss for the 50th time or so. It is brief, as one stops to look around, on alert for overbearing parents. They kiss for the 51st time or so and then laugh. Their fingers clumsily fumbling over each other, trying to decide on the perfect grip, the perfect touch. They melt like marshmallows in the flame of inexperienced joy. This moment in their lives is as pure and powerful as they have ever felt and may ever feel again.

My mind is crowded with voices, with people living their lives all day listeners. these are the stories, they are eating fruit and playing cards. They are arguing about who said what and when. They are meditating and conversing, retelling old shows and books they remember from when they had such things. A copy of Tina Fey’s memoir “Bossy Pants” was found in  a suitcase seven years ago, and everyone in the group has read it at least once. Someone mutters that they used to have a copy of Karen Russel’s “Swamplandia!”. It was in her purse when they landed here, but someone won’t own up to stealing it. another says the book might have been used to make a fire one night, because whoever made the fire might have thought the owner was done reading it, hypothetically.

It’s been several days since the voices came into my head, and at first it was new and interesting, but already I have grown tired of it. I do not know how Amelia Anna Alfaro lived her whole life with these sounds in her mind. It’s unceasing and I’ve not gotten much sleep. The teenage lovers sneak away each night to hold hands and talk big dreams underneath the moon. It’s sweet and romantic, but at 2 AM, give it a rest boys! I could try to talk back, but none of the voices can hear me. It’s like asking the rain to return to its cloud. But when I talk to Carlos, the voices go way. Thankfully I have my greatest peace when I’m with my favorite person. I can’t keep Carlos awake at all hours or have him skip work to be with me, so I have to learn to make peace with the voices, as they are noisy but permanent room mates in my brain now.

I do have news to report, but it’s mostly stuff you already know about. The high school basketball team has tryouts on Saturday. The library is doing open mic poetry nights on Tuesdays at 7, and we all know it’s a trap. Don’t do it unless you’re well armed. And the Opera House is extending its run of Verdi’s “2 Fast 2 Furious”, starring Renée Fleming, through the end of the month.

It’s hard to concentrate on reading these news stories with so much other language running through my head. Like this: there’s a guy who’s complaining about metal scraps that haven’t been cleaned, and the woman he’s talking to is explaining that they are conserving water for drinking and the guy is saying that it’s unsanitary to make dining utensils out of dirty metal, and she replies that they’re not making any more forks or spoons, they don’t need any more forks or spoons, they need knives but not for eating. What am I supposed to do with this information, it’s been going on nonstop for days? You cannot possibly understand what its’ like to listen to someone you don’t know, who you’ve never even met, who you can’t even see, ramble on and on about their boring personal life straight into your head, it’s awful. I can hear another person saying he’s found something. Good for you pal, way to find another rock or stick or lizard or whatever.

Wait. “Weeeee have founnnnnd ittt,” the voice says. I know this voice. It’s the first voice that’s been familiar to me, where do I know this voice, he is saying “first weeeeeeeee found you. You who are – no where – now weeeeeee have founnnnnnnd itt.” And other men are barking in agreement. Listeners, that voice is Doug Biondi from the asylum, and the voices around him are the agents from the National Safety and Transportation Bureau, all of whom escaped the Night Vale Asyulm two months ago. They are in nowhere, in an otherworld desert standing near a door attached to no building. Not far from a passenger set, long since rotted away. A jet that has been home to 143 passengers and crew members, one of those 143 – the pilot. Asylum warden Charles Rainier warned us of this. He had been a been a passenger on that plane, he became part of a small commune that grew into an angry cult under the leadership and telepathic influence of the pilot. Charles told us that the pilot would find those who could help him find Night Vale. Help him find the real world, and Doug Biondi knows the way back.

The pilot found Doug and Doug found the pilot. “Iii know the wayyy,” Doug Biondi says, laughing the laugh of a man whose smile is too big for his face. At the foot of a sandy hill, a mother tells her son it is time. “Stop crying, Benny. Stop crying so that there will be more flowers, more beauty.”

Underneath the scant shade of a dilapidated wing of an MD-90 air craft, two middle aged men argue over which hand made axe is sharper. At last, they agree that the one crafted from the rotor flap and held together with the hand belt is the better blade. “No you take it,” one says. “No, I insist you, I’m happy to use the smaller axe,” the other says, “because it is easier to manage what with my back spasms.”

And behind a blighted Paolo Verde Tree, hidden between lush acacia shrubs, two teenage boys kiss the way you kiss when you think it may be your last. They whisper impossible promises and raise high their rusty shovels, the spades’ tips having already been sharpened to deadly points. They race toward the gathering crowd.

A young woman who thinks often about the job interview she never attended shouts: “Nature is beauty!” “We are beauty!” replies antoher woman. They repeate these calls. “Nature is beauty! We are beauty!” And now every voice in my head is chanting the phrases, chanting and chanting and chanting, it’s too… it’s too much!

Silence. They’re silent suddenly. My head is clear. I can think my own thoughts.

Night Vale, I’m getting word that Sheriff Sam is barring all known passages into our town. This includes roads, trails, sewer grates, even the Dog Park which is not officially an entrance to the Desert Otherworld, but you know, let’s be honest here. We’re on lockdown, Night Vale. No one enters or leaves.

Good. This is good. If the voices can reach me, they can reach any of us. In fact, if the voices can enter my mind, then the pilot and passengers of flight 18713 may well already be here, or some of them anyway. Or maybe the voices come and go. This is the first moment of silence I’ve had alone in nearly a week. Maybe the voices aren’t always there like, like radio signals as you leave a city or, or a cell phone in an elevator, maybe the voices can’t permeate us under certain conditions or maybe… Or maybe… The voices are silent because… they are listening. Maybe they’re listening to their leader, their pilot who is giving instructions on what to do next, when and where to attack.

I don’t know. But I must use my moment of clarity to tell you some news. Nope, the voices are back. A single voice is back. I know, without knowing, that it is the voice of the pilot. He says: [in a neutral tone] “Uh, hi there, this is your pilot speaking. Just wanted to let you know that nature is beauty, we are beauty. We propagate our pollen, we spread our seeds, we grow new life over old life, we cleanse the toxins of technology. We depose the human king and return natural instinct to its rightful throne. If you can hear my voice, then you are chosen. You are chosen to join all who join our nature. All who join our beauty. All who refuse will be recycled into the earth, destroyed and dispersed to fertilize new more beautiful life. All those who are beautiful are chosen. All those who are not, are a cancer, blight, infection and disease. All who are not beautiful will be cut away, amputated, so that the Earth’s wounds may finally leave, so the Earth may grow beautiful once again.

We have been found and we will return. Open the gates to freedom, end the tyranny of artifice. That’s all for now, we’ll be arriving in just a few moments, Night Vale. There is going to be some turbulence.”

[distraught] I’m sorry, listeners! I did not meant to do that, I did not want to do that! The voice of the pilot overtook me and I, oh, I need to lock myself inside the studio, I have to protect you from me, but first the weather.

[“A Prayer for the Sane” by Danny Schmidt http://dannyschmidt.com]

I brought Carlos to the studio. When I talk to Carlos, I don’t hear the voices of the passengers from 18713. I don’t hear the voices even now as I look directly at Carlos while I’m speaking. Like Charles Rainier’s fishing hole or, or Amelia Anna Alfaro’s puzzles, Carlos grounds me, lets me be wholly me.

Thank you, Carlos.

Oh, I also had Carlos bring a pair of handcuffs with him that he bought at –Target on his way to the station, and used them to shackle me to my desk. If Charles Rainier is correct, then once the pilot can speak to you, he can control you. And if that should happen, it won’t happen but if it should, then now I won’t be able to leave here and do harm to anyone else.

From my window, I can see far down the street a spiral of black smoke. There are flashes of emergency sirens. Now I can see people coming up the road. They are long-haired, sun-scorched and nearly naked, wearing not much more than flat wide-brimmed hats and short tunics fashioned from seat upholstery. These people are carrying large blades, roughly honed from scrap metal. Some have widdled down pieces of plexiglass windows into sharp points and tied them to ends of long sticks. They’re deliberately walking up the hoods of parked cars and smashing windows and caving in the roofs with their bare feet.

It is no doubt that the passengers of 18713 are here, Night Vale. If you can hear me, sty inside and lock your doors. If you can her the pilot, then do as I have done. Secure your position so securely that not even your own mind can talk you out of it. Sheriff Sam has stubbornly kept up all roadblocks in and out of town, so we have no choice but to stay. The long unmoving lines of traffic at the edges of the city are easy prey now for the 18713. The pilot offered the choice of joining or refusing, but it is not a choice, not really. He either can control you or he cannot. Those whom he cannot control will be killed at the hands of those who can.

[anxiously] Carlos? You don’t hear the pilot voice, and thus cannot be controlled. But I do, and I can. I have been controlled. We’re in trouble, Carlos. I can’t stay chained to this desk forever, can I? And if the pilot means to destroy you, he might make – me do it myself. Just promise me you’ll run. Leave me behind if that happens, OK? OK. But for now, do not let me out of these cuffs, not even if I use a safe word, which I hear is something quite a few people use in healthy fun intimate relationships.

The people of 18713 are climbing up storefronts and tearing off signs. I can see about 10 or 15 in normal street clothes in the crowd now, which means the group is growing. They are recruiting quickly.

But something else is eating at me. In the asylum, in Doug Biondi’s journal and among the myriad voices in my mind, I still have not seen nor heard Amelia Anna Alfaro, the first person to make contact with the pilot. She disappeared in 2012 and no one has heard from her since. I need to find her. Somehow, if anyone can solve this, it might be her. She was always the best at everything.

Stay tuned next for the sound of me talking to Carlos forever and ever.

Good night, Night Vale. [creepily] Gooood night.

Today’s proverb: People who live in glass houses shouldn’t hire that realtor again.