#that every single occurrence and action in the world has one or more causes. including human decisions and actions.

[grand-line-shenanigans]

Anyways, philosophy.

[03-academicpapers]

A Critical Analysis of TedTalk Video "Al Gore: How to make radical climate action the new normal | TED Countdown"

The world today is remarkably different from how it was. There are positive changes, such as improvements and developments in people's way of living and the technologies used, but drastic negative changes are also observable, such as climate change. Climate change is an earnest and concerning problem in our world today. As defined by the United Nations, climate change refers to "long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns where these shifts may be natural, but since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change". It is a natural occurrence but has worsened and severed due to people- who are also the one who suffers from it. The TedTalk video of Al Gore titled "Al Gore: How to make radical climate action the new normal | TED Countdown" encompasses and discusses the causes and effects of climate change and what actions people should take to mitigate it- a radical climate action. The video is a relevant, understandable, and informative topic.

The video tackles the climate crisis, which is timely-relevant, and Al Gore defines and highlights it as "the most serious manifestation of an underlying collision between human civilization and the Earth's ecological system." The Earth's ecological system is severely damaged due to emissions of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide caused by humans. This results in climate change, an increase in Earth's temperature, that shows disturbing effects. According to the United Nations, these effects include severe droughts, water famine, wildfires, increasing sea levels, flooding, destructive storms, and declining biodiversity. One of these effects is the movement of people to wild areas where animals live, which leads to the potential transfer of viruses from animals to humans. As Al Gore mentioned, data from World Bank states that three-fourths of new infecting diseases are zoonitic- transferred from animals to humans like COVID-19. This leads him to answer his questions about the fact that human activities result in disturbing effects, but solutions are not widely distributed. The solution he presented is the wide usage of renewable resources. Businesses, companies, and households should switch to net zero or reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to the lowest possible level (United Nations).

The video itself is understandable, visually appealing, and engaging to watch. The presentation of images, videos, and graphs as visual aids makes it more engrossing and helps the audience visualize the concepts presented. Visuals enhance presentations, keep the audience's attention, clarify points, and retain long-term memory in the audience (Presentation Training Institute, 2020). Alongside the visual presentation is the speaker, Al Gore, who commendably delivers his speech. Al Gore speaks to the audience confidently and professionally with minimal to no vocalized pauses. The way he talks, from the tone, volume, and pace, emphasizes every point he wants to convey, attracting the audience's attention, and not a single moment is dull. As Chris Miller (2020) stated, "Good delivery is meant to augment your speech and help convey your information to the audience," which Al Gore perfectly displays. Furthermore, the ideas presented are well organized- from introducing the climate crisis to stating the causes and effects and then stating the solutions to mitigate climate change and make it a new normal.

The points and discussions provided by Al Gore are informative. He provided information about how climate change happens and the causes and effects, which supports and is relevant to his argument of the potential solution for climate change. He presented his ideas and statements with evidence from reliable sources, such as NASA, NOAA, World Bank, and many more. An example is when he showed data from the International Energy Agency via Carbon Brief about the spending of the oil and gas industry going to renewables up to 4% and the other 96% still going to the oil and gas industry. Al Gore's arguments, supporting evidence from reliable sources, and effective communication can result in a high potential of persuading the audience to take radical action against climate change. According to Miami University, the quality and comprehensiveness of the supporting evidence directly influences the persuasiveness of an argument. Furthermore, Al Gore addressed the other perspective about the investments of companies in the oil and gas industry, where they stated that they tripled the spending up to 4% for renewables, which is not that good because, from another perspective, it does not compare to the 96% they spend on the oil and gas industry that has plastics or petrochemicals as its highest market- which needs to be eliminated.

Overall, this TedTalk effectively presents and discusses climate change and an effective advocacy for radical climate action. This video encompasses all the relevant information with evidence from reliable sources about climate change and conveys the message or persuades the audience to take action towards climate change. Al Gore was able to explain how people should take immediate action on this problem. Everyone should start mitigating the factors contributing to this, start the healing process, and reach net zero, as Al Gore emphasized. This video is extensively relevant to the current situation, and people should respond to it.

References

Argument support. Argument Support Handout | Howe Center for Writing Excellence - Miami University. (n.d.). https://miamioh.edu/hcwe/handouts/supporting-argument/index.html#:~:text=Support%3A%20The%20statements%20that%20back,the%20more%20persuasive%20the%20argument.

Miller, C. (2020, August 1). The importance of practicing delivery. Exploring Communication in the Real World. https://cod.pressbooks.pub/communication/chapter/chapter-4-nonverbal-delivery-in-the-public-speaking-context/

Suzanne. (2020, June 4). What is the importance of using visuals when giving a presentation?. Presentation Training Institute. https://www.presentationtraininginstitute.com/what-is-the-importance-of-using-visuals-when-giving-a-presentation/

United Nations. (n.d.-a). Key findings. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/key-findings#physical-science

United Nations. (n.d.-b). Net zero coalition. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition

United Nations. (n.d.-c). What is climate change?. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change

[dark-and-twisty-01]

Derek Chauvin Has Been Found Guilty Of Murder In George Floyd’s Killing {Shared from Buzzfeed News}

The former Minneapolis cop, who pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck until he took his last breath, was convicted of all charges in a defining moment of the country’s reckoning over police brutality.

Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter Tuesday in George Floyd's killing, a rare conviction of a police officer that was aided in part by an excruciating video that sparked outrage and demands for racial justice around the world.

The former Minneapolis police officer, who pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as the Black man repeatedly cried out “I can’t breathe,” was convicted of all three charges — second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin was handcuffed and taken into custody immediately after the judge revoked his bail.

He faces 12 and a half years in prison for second-degree murder, according to Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors intend to ask for a higher sentence. The maximum penalty is up to 40 years. The sentencing is expected to take place after eight weeks.

The jury deliberated for around 10 hours before reaching their verdict. After the verdict was read, trial judge Peter Cahill thanked them "for not only jury service, but for heavy-duty jury service."

“Painfully earned justice has arrived for George Floyd’s family and the community here in Minneapolis, but today’s verdict goes far beyond this city and has significant implications for the country and even the world,” attorneys for the Floyd family said in a statement.

“Justice for Black America is justice for all of America. This case is a turning point in American history for accountability of law enforcement and sends a clear message we hope is heard clearly in every city and every state," the statement said.
​

The highly anticipated verdict comes as Minneapolis — and the nation — grapples with the outrage and trauma of watching a police officer kill yet another Black man, Daunte Wright, about a week ago.

The trial has again focused the country's attention on police killings in the United States. Since the first day of testimony, more than 60 Americans have died during encounters with law enforcement, according to a tally by the New York Times. Black or Latino people represented more than half those killed. Just hours before Minnesota prosecutors made their opening statements, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot dead by a Chicago police officer while he had his hands in the air.

Floyd’s death over a fake $20 bill, which was captured on a viral video last May, sparked a national reckoning over police brutality and racial justice. And Chauvin’s murder trial — livestreamed to millions — became a test of whether the US criminal justice system could meet the moment.
​

Two questions were at the center of the nearly three-week trial: What was Floyd’s cause of death? And was Chauvin’s use of force lawful?

A team of prosecutors for the state sought to prove that Chauvin’s actions of restraining Floyd with his knee for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, coupled with his failure to provide medical aid, led to Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.

Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, argued that the officer’s use of force looked “awful” but was “lawful” and that Floyd’s ingestion of illegal drugs and his heart disease caused his death.

For the jury — comprised of six white people and six people of color — there was no dearth of visual evidence. As one witness, a forensic pathologist, said, "I've never had a case like this that had such thorough documentation of the terminal events.”

Jurors were shown multiple videos from cellphones, body-worn cameras, and surveillance tapes that captured every minute and angle of the deadly encounter; from the time Floyd used a counterfeit $20 bill at the Cup Foods store to the final moments of his life under the weight of Chauvin’s knee.

The jury heard from several bystanders, including teenagers, a 9-year-old girl, an off-duty firefighter, and a 61-year-old man, many of whom cried as they recalled in gutting detail, their growing concern at watching Floyd die and the guilt and helplessness they felt in being unable to save him.

It's been nights I stay up apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life,” Darnella Frazier, the teen who took the viral video of Floyd’s arrest, told the court in tears. “But it's not what I should have done," she said, before referencing Chauvin. "It's what he should have done."

In a rare occurrence of police calling out one of their own, several high-ranking Minneapolis police officers testified that Chauvin violated the department’s use-of-force policies and training protocols.

“Once there was no longer any resistance — and clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless — to continue to apply that level of force to a person prone down, handcuffed behind their back … that in no way, shape, or form is part of our policy, is not part of our training, and is not part of our ethics and values,” Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo told the court.

POSSIBLE SENTENCES

Second-degree murder: GUILTY
Explanation: Causing the death of a person, without intent to cause that death, while committing or attempting to commit a felony offense. (In this case, the felony offense is third-degree assault.)
Sentence: Minnesota sentencing guidelines recommend a 12.5 year prison sentence, but the maximum penalty is up to 40 years.

Third-degree murder: GUILTY
Explanation: Causing the death of a person unintentionally by committing an act eminently dangerous to others and with a reckless disregard for human life.
Sentence: Minnesota sentencing guidelines recommend a 12.5 year prison sentence, but the maximum penalty is up to 25 years.

Second-degree manslaughter: GUILTY
Explanation: Causing the death of a person by culpable negligence, where the defendant created an unreasonable risk and consciously took a chance of causing death or great bodily harm.
Sentence: Minnesota sentencing guidelines recommend a 4 year prison sentence, but the maximum penalty is up to 10 years.

Several medical experts for the prosecution told the jury that Floyd died of low oxygen due to the officers restraining him as he lay handcuffed and prone on the street.

In an enduring moment of the trial, the jurors saw an image of Floyd’s knuckles pressed against the tire of the squad car as a pulmonologist described that Floyd was so desperate for air, he used his fingers and knuckles to try to position himself to breathe while being pinned down by Chauvin.

Over two days, Chauvin’s attorney called seven witnesses, including his own use-of-force expert to support his argument that — contrary to what the videos showed — an “angry” crowd of onlookers became a distracting threat to Chauvin who used “objectively reasonable” force against Floyd. A medical expert for the defense, who admitted to having no evidence, blamed carbon monoxide from the police car for contributing to Floyd’s death.

In closing arguments on Monday, prosecutors defended policing as a “noble profession” but singled out Chauvin as an exception for causing Floyd’s death.

“This wasn’t policing, this was murder,” prosecutor Steve Schleicher told the jury.

Nelson argued that Chauvin acted as a “reasonable” police officer would and suggested it was “preposterous” to disregard Floyd's enlarged heart, his heart disease, and use of drugs as contributing factors to his death.

In his rebuttal, prosecutor Jerry Blackwell told the jury that Floyd, 46, had lived for 17,026 days with all the conditions that Nelson laid out as causing his death. “Except for one day,” he said.

“You’ve been told, for example, that Mr. Floyd died because his heart was too big,” Blackwell said. “The reason George Floyd is dead because Mr. Chauvin’s heart was too small.”

[slasherholic]

Essay: The Impact of Smith’s Grove on Michael Myers’ Antisocial Tendencies

-warning: personal opinion and headcanons ahead!-

The topic has been on my mind tonight, so naturally, my thoughts have culminated in an unnecessarily lengthy essay :)

I’ll preface this by saying Michael’s time at Smith’s Grove undoubtedly contributed to the severity of his antisocial behaviors. While temporary hospitalization was likely the right course of action for him after Judith’s murder, under no circumstances would it have been beneficial for his development to spend his entire childhood at an institute for the criminally insane. It would seem that, ultimately, (and almost certainly in part due to the recommendations of Sam Loomis,) Michael was “forgotten by the system” and doomed from the beginning to become just another statistic.

Let’s make something clear, though: Michael’s lack of empathy was not caused by Smith’s Grove. Michael’s sadistic personality was not caused by Smith’s Grove. These are inherent biological factors. It may seem harsh to label a child with such a serious, seemingly adult condition, but Conduct Disorder is a very real occurrence.

Of course, that isn’t at all to say that Judith’s murder was Michael’s fault.

Due both to the severity of Michael’s disorder, and his young age, he would not have been able to internalize why cruelty to others and outright murder was considered “wrong” by society.

Yes, he probably had adults talking at him all day about why it wasn’t okay to bully kids in school, or throw rocks at dogs, or cut up all of Judith’s toys; but ultimately, little Mikey lacked the cognitive function that would be developing in a “typical” brain to ascertain morally right behaviors from morally wrong ones. In short, all that adult talk was just obnoxious nagging that went in one ear and right out the other.

Alright, there’s my rambling and obligatory “it’s very not groovy to fling around unfounded and damaging labels such as ableist” (I’m a mentally ill individual myself, thanks 😎👉) out of the way. On to the actual topic of this essay weeeee

Also! Due to the very limited knowledge we have about Michael’s character, here is where things get quite headcanon-y--so please, dip out now if you are bothered by that.

Smith’s Grove ultimately failed Michael for a multitude of reasons. Psychiatry at the time was ill-equipped to deal with the severity of a disorder such as his, and to worsen matters, those in charge of his care were never able to achieve a break-through with him during the course of his treatment. (This includes Loomis, yes, but I highly doubt that it was strictly limited to Loomis—I do not think it’s responsible to pin all of the blame on a single psychiatrist. I will go more into detail about what Loomis is responsible for in another essay.)

The core issue, however, is this: from little Mikey’s point of view, the staff of Smith’s Grove were never there to “help him.” These adults were merely the people keeping him locked up in an unstimulating environment, making him swallow gross pills, and trying to lecture him about things that he really didn’t care about. He wanted out.

However, thanks to the naivety of psychiatry at the time—and with good intentions in mind, albeit very misplaced—the people in charge were not about to let him out into, say, some sort of outpatient program.

Michael picked up on this fact quickly. And the effects it wreaked on his attitude toward other people as a whole were catastrophic.

Because of this deeply-rooted frustration toward his confinement, I have no doubt that little Michael would have come to resent the staff of Smith’s Grove—his psychiatrist included—and the institution altogether. In his worldview, every single person now involved in his life was guilty of being an utter jackass, unworthy of his respect, unworthy of his cooperation.

This was the catalyst that led Michael to voluntarily stop communicating.

Think about it—engaging with the staff was ultimately not something that could be forced on Michael. His refusal to cooperate became the single aspect of his life that he still held some semblance of personal control over. Doctors could talk at him all they wanted, but at the end of the day, he didn’t have to listen, nor react; so, he didn’t.

Michael’s refusal to communicate was likely done sheerly out of frustration and a desire to be defiant—that is, until he was mature enough to realize how he could use the behavior to slip gracefully under the radar, and be forgotten about. His next decade was set to be spent perfecting his act of docility, biding his time, and waiting for the day when he could free himself on his own terms.

But by then, the irreversible damage to his social proclivity was done; and any hope of him cooperating in his treatment was long gone.

Michael had long-since internalized the idea that communication with others was not a worthwhile use of his energy. In little Mikey’s mind, having no desire to engage socially with those in his environment, no inherent need or longing to seek out friendly interactions, and a very low opinion of practically everybody, other people were now useful only as tools.

This mindset of his was strongly reinforced as his libido developed—at which point he discovered that cruelty to others wasn’t just entertaining, it also made him feel good in a different way. Essentially, as Michael matured into adulthood, his “people are nothing more than toys and tools” mentality had become too deeply rooted in his psyche to ever realistically be rectified.

Now, consider a perfect world: a world in which Michael hadn’t been left a permanent inpatient. A world where instead, he was released back to his family within a year. A world where he had been taught healthy and effective mechanisms to cope with his impulses.

Even in this ideal situation, I feel it would be unmindful of me to make any sort of claim that Michael absolutely would not still be engaging in criminal activity—murder possibly included.

Upon his escape from Smith’s Grove, Michael, a perfectly sane adult, (ASPD is not a psychotic disorder,) who now knows that murder is wrong by societal standards, who now understands the gravity of his actions and the potential repercussions he faces, whether out of impulse, sexual desire, sheer boredom, or any combination of the three—still opts to kill people.

Michael could have disappeared after his escape. I am confident that he is both intelligent and perceptive enough that if he really felt like it, he could have picked up on the skills needed to at the very least “blend in” with society. He could have faded into obscurity in the public eye, and that would have been the end of it. It would not have been a “normal” life, but it might have been something bordering on functional.

Instead, he murdered four people.

Let me emphasize: when Michael finally got free, rather than doing literally anything besides murder, Michael went out of his way to commit even more murders.

To conclude, yes; institutional misconduct worsened the severity of Michael’s antisocial tendencies and stole from him any chance he might have had at living a “normal” life.

However, Michael’s crimes as an adult are inexcusable, and despite the very real mistreatment he faced at the hands of an authority, he absolutely deserves to be held responsible for his actions in the original Halloween.

[juyeoniemyhoney]

things she’ll never know

When you love someone, the most important thing that you should not do is introduce them to their crush and help them get along. Yoongi knows this because he has learned the hard way. Because truly, introducing you to Jungkook has got to be his biggest mistake ever and once things for you and Jungkook start to escalate into more than a friendship, Yoongi knows he fucked up. 

-pairing: min yoongi x reader (feat. jungkook)

-genre: angst yo 

-warnings: none really, this may be a little stupid

-word count: 2408 words

-A/N: what upppp. back with a little yoongi angst. i hope you guys like it! don’t be shy to request some ideas you’d like me to write! i like live to please people and coming up with plots or scenarios are like super hard for me for some reason. also don’t be afraid to tell me your thoughts on this one! it really, really helps me to improve and write better! 

--------

It is without a doubt that everything you do has no reason. Like literally everything you are pursuing has in some way or another been forced onto you. You did not sign up for school, no. Your mother had just dressed you up in a school uniform one day when you were six and left you in a school full of strangers and other tiny people. So naturally, after being forced into things your whole life, you have developed a hate for almost everything. 

But nothing you have gone through can quite prepare you for the shit that you have to endure today. 

Today, instead of having an engaging discussion about life during homeroom like you usually do, your classmates are scattered around the classroom, cleaning every single nook and cranny until it is basically shining. All the while, the teacher screams at a group of friends who childishly throw rubbish and spray water at each other as a means to make this laborious task at least a little bit more fun than it actually is. 

After every semester, your school deems it necessary for the students to conduct a “spring cleaning” activity. As a result, your fun homeroom sessions are replaced with an hour of cleaning; beneficial for the janitors who work at your school, but nonetheless a drab and boring activity. 

“This is so boring,” you sigh, verbalising your thoughts to Yoongi, who is silently wiping a window pane beside you. Yoongi remains silent and just nods, lips set in a firm line but expression gentle. At his silent response, you cannot help but allow a smile to bloom on your lips at his extremely Yoongi-esque answer. 

Yoongi, your best friend, is an attractive, raven haired boy of little words. He has been by your side for as long as you can remember; since you had moved in beside him. He had come up to you, shy, tiny and chubby, asking you to help him tie his shoelaces. Since then, the two of you have been inseparable and you basically tell him everything. And because Yoongi is such a good friend, the moment you told him that you found Jungkook, a fellow classmate, attractive, Yoongi had taken it upon himself to — unlike his introverted nature — befriend him. 

Which brings us to today, almost a year after Jungkook was included into your list of friends. The three of you had grown quite close in the past year. But don’t be mistaken, it took you almost three months to warm up to him, far too shy to even look him in the eyes. But with insistent prompting from Yoongi and an insane amount of coincidental occurrences, obviously articulately orchestrated by Yoongi, you eventually came round and began to talk comfortably with Jungkook. 

“Yoongi,” you call him, reaching up to his sleeve to tug on it gently. The action causes Yoongi’s heart to swell and his chest strains painfully with the inability to house the sheer amount of adoration he feels for you. Yoongi hums in response, too lost at the sight of you to process words.

“Make this more fun,” you command, frown drawing your brows together, lips turned down at the corners in a pout. Yoongi’s heart falters at the sight. 

Years ago, when you and Yoongi were four years old, only a few days after he met you, he already knew that he was going to marry you. You had run up to him in the playground, attacking him with a bear hug, surprising him by muttering a soft and shy, I love you as you tucked your face into his neck. Yoongi has never been the same since.

That moment has been replaying itself in his head, a constant reminder that his immediate thought after you had embraced him was that he never wanted you to let go. He has only fallen harder for you since; for your magnetic personality and your laugh and your smile that seems to shine so brightly that it is as if the sun had decided to bury itself in your very being. 

His unadulterated attraction to even just the thought of you only seemed to strengthen that fateful night, consisting of powerful torrents of rain and a sole umbrella. That night, (despite being under the legal drinking age) you were drunk out of your mind, arm slung around Yoongi’s shoulder and legs tripping over each other clumsily. The two of you had awkwardly, yet silently, stumbled into your room, Yoongi groaning with exertion and exhaustion after having to haul you all the way back to your house from the party that celebrated your school’s volleyball team’s win. As soon as your head had hit your pillow, lightning flashed as if the sky was snapping a picture of that moment, granting Yoongi sight of you. Love surged through him at the sight, your eyes barely open and glazed over in exhaustion. 

“It’s raining,” you had observed from the window behind Yoongi. Yoongi, too distracted by the look of pure merriment swirling in your brown eyes that shone like the moon, could only a whisper an aloof answer. You’ve always liked rain. 

He was spiralling down a tangent of doubtful supposition, trying to decide if he should just kiss you right then and there, if it would still ruin your friendship even if there was a high possibility that the whole night would excuse itself from your memory in the morning. Yoongi immediately dispelled the horrifying thought from his brain, barely registering that you had gotten up and had started to rummage about your things. 

“You should take this umbrella,” you slurred, turning back around to look at Yoongi. You stumbled clumsily towards him, as if you were a baby learning to walk. Just as you were about to hand Yoongi the umbrella, a wire had caught your foot, pulling taut and tripping you. You had stumbled forward in an attempt to find your balance, but once you realised that it would not be possible, you had tried to catch yourself on Yoongi instead, but your lack of sobriety had also meant the deduction of your depth perception, causing you to completely miss his shoulders. 

All too suddenly, Yoongi found himself on your bed, on his back, tasting alcohol on your lips. Yoongi’s brain had ceased regular function at that point and instead of pulling away, instead of pushing you off him, instead of something, he found himself kissing you. And for the shortest of seconds, you were kissing him back. He seemed to have fallen from reality and landed in an alternate universe; where you are his, and you are okay with being his. Your lips felt surreal and warm, so, so warm and he didn’t want to ever stop kissing you. But then Yoongi felt your tongue at the seam of his lips, and he was dragged out of his trance by the ankles and jolting away from you as if you were a live wire. 

“Why...?” you had questioned, earnest eyes gazing down at him, searching for eye contact but Yoongi had refused it, eyes landing on everything except yours. And too fast for Yoongi to even process himself, he was snatching the umbrella from your hands, pushing you off him as gently as he could in his haste, and practically sprinting out of your bedroom, in search of refuge that only his own could offer.

When Yoongi thinks back to that incident, he always beats himself up for dashing out of there before ensuring that you were okay first. He had let his feelings control him and didn’t even stop to think that he should have probably sobered you up first before leaving. But it is far too late to regret and that incident now serves as one of Yoongi’s milestones, the one that had caused his feelings for you to grow exponentially, the kiss that you cannot even remember. 

“How about we play tag? If I touch you with this rag, I win. If you manage to evade me for the rest of the period, you win. Winner gets a whole tub of ice cream,” Yoongi suggests, finally snapping out of his trance. 

“That hardly seems far,” you complain with a slap to his bicep. It causes Yoongi to flinch and you let out a melodious chuckle at his reaction. Yoongi’s heart dances to the tune. 

“Fine then, be bored,” is Yoongi’s snarky reply. He lets out a sigh in faux disappointment and turns back to the window to continue his interrupted wiping. Though, his expression immediately brightens when you protest to your teasing gone wrong. Flowers bloom in Yoongi’s chest and he feels a strong urge to hug you; to wrap you up in his arms, hidden away from the world in his warmth. Yoongi has to quite literally hold himself back to not act on the urge.

And so begins the game of tag. If Yoongi were to be entirely honest, he hates physical activity, of every and any sort. Which is why he has no idea why he had suggested to play tag in the first place. If he were to be even more honest, even if he hates running, he is sure that if he were playing seriously, the game would end in the matter of seconds. So, he chases you with restraint and pretends to take breaks in between the chasing. And if he ever came close to tagging you, he would shorten his reach so that the rag would miss you by a hair. It is just, Yoongi is high on the sound of your mirthful giggling, not wanting it to stop for even just a second. Not when the sound makes him so happy that he feels as if his whole body is levitating. 

Yoongi chases you all around the classroom, the two of you blatantly ignoring your teacher’s nagging. As the period comes to an end, Yoongi quickens his speed, just refusing to lose to you after realising how much you would tease him if he did. Now at the front of the classroom, Yoongi finds himself far behind you, struggling to catch up. 

Everything that happens next seems to happen in slow-motion for Yoongi.

As you glance over your shoulder to gauge where Yoongi is, you accidentally ram into someone. More specifically, you run right into Jungkook. You let out a surprised squeal when your head hits his chest and Jungkook wraps his arms around you in instinct, letting out his own sound of surprise. Yoongi’s heart, at the sight, sinks right into his gut, as if it were in quicksand. Jungkook’s expression of surprise morphs into an endearing smile and he relaxes and hugs you comfortably, arms around your shoulders and chin resting gingerly on top of your head. 

Jungkook’s scent and warmth send you into a state of delirium. Your cheeks burn red in embarrassment when he starts stroking your hair, gently combing his fingers through the thick locks. Your classmates do not care, in fact you do not think they even notice the intimate moment the two fo you are having now. It is as if the world has vanished and it is just you and Jungkook, and no one else to disturb you. In Jungkook’s arms, everything feels right, like not a thing in the world is wrong, and maybe, it is here, in his arms, that you belong. As cringe-worthy as it sounds, your ears tune out all of your surroundings and only seem to be able to focus on the rhythmic beating of Jungkook’s heart. And when your arms come up around him to circle around his waist, the pace of his heart increases and you finally know that you are not the only one who is feeling things. 

Yoongi, on the other hand, is absolutely livid, irises flaring red as he looks at the two of you hugging so dearly, so natural that it is as if you two have been hugging for years. One side of Yoongi, the selfish side, wants to rip you from Jungkook’s arms and claim you as his, as if he is the hound of hades, guarding the gates of the world the two of you have built together, preventing Jungkook from ever entering your world and snatching you away. But the other side of Yoongi, the one that grounds himself to reality should his love for you cause him to do utterly idiotic things, tells him to come to terms with the fact that you will never be involved with him romantically, tells him to just let you go, tells him to deal with his own idiotic actions. Because truly, introducing you to Jungkook is, and will forever be his biggest regret. But at the same time, how could he not? When you had gazed up at him with mirth-filled eyes, smile shining brighter than any star to exist in the cosmos. How could he not when he could basically feel your voice worm its way into his chest, festering something so captivating that he could not help but do something, anything to hear that tone in your voice again and feel the flowers bloom in his heart, a sweet, summer warmth melting him like candle wax. How could he rob you, the one person he has loved with all his heart, mind and soul of your happiness?

The answer is that he cannot. 

So, instead of socking Jungkook in the face, instead of tearing you from Jungkook’s arms and kissing you with passionate ferocity, Yoongi circles your hugging bodies so that you can see him, gently tapping you to get your attention. Your head pops out from Jungkook’s chest and you look at Yoongi over his shoulder. When your eyes lock, your arms still around Jungkook and Jungkook’s arms still around you, he whispers as softly as he can so that you cannot hear the cracking of his heart in his voice. And despite the excruciating amount of pain he is feeling in this moment, Yoongi manages to proffer you a small smile. 

“You win.”

His words refer to a plethora of things; his heart, his life, this one-sided game he has been playing. And then, before you can question anything, he leaves you to deliberate what on earth those two words should signify other than that game of tag that just decided Yoongi’s and your destiny. 

Because did you actually win or did you just lose everything?

[newstfionline]

Sunday, April 25, 2021

San Francisco Contends With a Different Sort of Epidemic: Drug Deaths (NYT) The drugs killed them in plain view—in front of the public library, at the spot on Powell Street where the cable car used to turn around. Others died alone in single-room apartments or in camping tents pitched on the pavement, each death adding to an overdose crisis that is one of the worst in the nation. Drug overdoses rose across the country during the coronavirus pandemic. But in San Francisco, they skyrocketed, claiming 713 lives last year, more than double the 257 people here who died of the virus in 2020. For officials in San Francisco, the epidemic of overdose deaths has been both humbling and alarming. Many believe that the city’s preoccupation with the pandemic has eclipsed concern over the drug deaths and blunted the urgency of the moment. “I can say for sure that what we are doing is not working and that it’s getting worse every single day,” said Matt Haney, a member of the city’s Board of Supervisors who represents the Tenderloin, a district of low-income housing in the heart of the city that has seen the most overdoses. “I get offered drugs every time I step outside. It’s overwhelming.”

In historic move, Biden says 1915 massacres of Armenians constitute genocide (Reuters) U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said the 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, a historic declaration that infuriated Turkey and is set to further strain already frayed ties between the two NATO allies. The largely symbolic move, breaking away from decades of carefully calibrated language from the White House, will likely to be celebrated by the Armenian diaspora in the United States, but comes at a time when Ankara and Washington have deep policy disagreements over a host of issues. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey “entirely rejects” the U.S. decision which he said was based “solely on populism”. Ties between Ankara and Washington have been strained over issues ranging from Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems—over which it was the target of U.S. sanctions—to policy differences in Syria, human rights and legal matters.

Ravaged by Covid, Brazil Faces a Hunger Epidemic (NYT) Rail-thin teenagers hold placards at traffic stops with the word for hunger—fome—in large print. Children, many of whom have been out of school for over a year, beg for food outside supermarkets and restaurants. Entire families huddle in flimsy encampments on sidewalks, asking for baby formula, crackers, anything. A year into the pandemic, millions of Brazilians are going hungry. The virus is ripping through Brazil’s social fabric, setting wrenching records, while the worsening health crisis pushes businesses into bankruptcy, killing jobs and further hampering an economy that has grown little or not at all for more than six years.

Baltic states join NATO allies in kicking out Russians for spying (Reuters) Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Friday joined a fast-growing list of NATO and EU members demanding the removal of Russian diplomats for alleged spying, in actions that have infuriated Moscow and look certain to provoke further retaliation. A spate of tit-for-tat expulsions has plunged ties between Russia and countries of the former Soviet bloc to their lowest point since the fall of Communism, prompting Moscow to accuse at least two of them of deliberately wrecking relations. Lithuania said it was sending two diplomats home and Latvia and Estonia one each. “The EU should have less undercover Russian spies,” Lithuanian foreign affairs minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters.

Cashlessness may have gone foo far in Norway, government warns (Bloomberg) Norway’s government wants to make sure banks don’t stop providing cash, as the country becomes the world leader in abandoning physical notes and coins. The Finance Ministry has told the Financial Supervisory Authority in Oslo to put together a plan that will ensure banks continue offering cash services, according to a statement on Friday. That’s after the FSA’s own survey found that a number of Norwegian banks “claim that they are not responsible for offering cash services.” Banknotes and coins are used in only 3-4 per cent of all transactions in Norway, the lowest level of cash usage in world, according to calculations by Norges Bank. Neighbouring Sweden, another nearly cashless society, has also sounded the alarm amid concerns that the complete disappearance of paper money would pose a number of risks.

Italian Police Accuse Man of Getting Paid for 15 Years While Skipping Work (NYT) A hospital in Italy’s southern region of Calabria fired Salvatore Scumace for not showing up to work. For 15 years. Mr. Scumace, 67, was fired last year from the Pugliese Ciaccio Hospital in the city of Catanzaro, but the news made headlines in Italy this week when Italy’s financial police announced their investigation into his remarkable record of absenteeism. His case was uncovered as part of a wider investigation into absenteeism by public workers. Mr. Scumace is accused of earning an estimated 538,000 euros, or more than $645,000, for a job the police say he never performed over the course of his long and less-than-productive career as a hospital fire-safety employee. A chronic problem in some public sector jobs, the Italian police have cracked down in recent years on no-show employees, investigating dozens of cases around the country.

Coronavirus: India’s daily cases climb to new world record as hospitals overwhelmed (NBC News) India’s coronavirus infections set a new world record for the third consecutive day rising by 346,786 overnight, the health ministry said on Saturday, as overwhelmed hospitals in the densely-populated country begged for oxygen supplies. India is in the grip of a rampaging second wave of the pandemic, hitting a rate of one Covid-19 death just under every four minutes in Delhi, as the capital’s underfunded health system buckles. The government has deployed military planes and trains to get oxygen from the far corners of the country to Delhi. Television images showed an oxygen truck arriving at Delhi’s Batra hospital after it issued an SOS call saying it had 90 minutes of oxygen left for its 260 patients. India surpassed the U.S. record of 297,430 single-day infections anywhere in the world on Thursday, making it the global epicenter of a pandemic that is waning in many other countries. The Indian government had itself declared it had beaten back the coronavirus in February when new cases fell to all-time lows.

Debris From Indonesian Submarine Is Found, Ending Hopes of Rescue (NYT) Debris from an Indonesian Navy submarine that disappeared this past week with 53 people aboard has been found deep in the Bali Sea, confirming fears that the vessel sank and cracked, the navy’s chief of staff said on Saturday. The submarine, the KRI Nanggala-402, disappeared early Wednesday off the Indonesian island of Bali while conducting torpedo drills. Emergency signals to the vessel after it failed to make contact went unanswered. The Nanggala was built to withstand pressure of up to 500 meters deep, but sonar seemed to indicate that the submarine sank to a depth of about 850 meters, well below what is referred to as “crush depth.” At that depth, even the steel hull of a submarine would almost certainly fracture from the pressure.

Jerusalem tension triggers Gaza-Israel fire exchange (AP) Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired some three dozen rockets into Israel overnight Saturday, while the Israeli military struck back at targets operated by the ruling Hamas group. The exchange came as tensions in Jerusalem spilled over into the worst round of cross-border violence in months. The barrage of rocket fire came as hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli police in east Jerusalem. The clashes, in which at least four police and six protesters were injured, have become a nightly occurrence throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and show no signs of stopping. Jerusalem, home to holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, has long been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2014, similar tensions erupted into a 50-day war between Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group.

60% of the world is online (TNW) The new Digital 2021 April Global Statshot Report—published in partnership between Hootsuite and We Are Social—reveals that more than 6 in 10 people on Earth now use the internet. Internet users have grown by more than 330 million over the past year, reaching a total of more than 4.7 billion at the start of April 2021. There are 5.27 billion unique mobile users around the world, which means that more than two-thirds of all the people on Earth now have a mobile phone.

Can We Learn to Live With Germs Again? (NYT) For more than a century—since scientists first learned that unseen germs cause infection and illness—we’ve tended to think of sterile environments as the safe ones. And at the start of the outbreak, when we didn’t know any better, it was sensible to disinfect as much as possible, including our groceries, clothing and personal spaces. It took time for coronavirus researchers to figure out that the risk of surface transmission is low—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only recently pegged it at generally less than one in 10,000. Despite the now consensus recognition that air transmission, not surface spread, is more important, most pandemic sanitation practices have continued. We continue to annihilate every microbe in our midst, even though most are harmless. The New York City subway, for example, has been undergoing a 24-hour cleaning protocol that includes ultraviolet light and a variety of disinfecting solutions.      But some health experts are watching this ongoing onslaught with a mounting sense of dread. They fear that many of the measures we’ve employed to stop the virus may pose a threat to human health in the long run if they continue. Their worries center on the human microbiome—the trillions of bacteria that live on and inside our bodies. They say that excessive hygiene practices, inappropriate antibiotic use and lifestyle changes such as distancing may weaken those communities going forward in ways that promote sickness and imperil our immune systems. By sterilizing our bodies and spaces, they argue, we may be doing more harm than good. “We’re starting to realize that there’s collateral damage when we get rid of good microbes, and that has major consequences for our health,” says B. Brett Finlay, a professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at the University of British Columbia.

[unikornu]

Page 11, Exposure

-Good ol’ wild west, our next target, Boss. And judging by the map we are halfway through, dayum, i’m fucking impressed how much we did. Gage let out a long whistle while eyeballing her pipboy map, approaching together the next target, Dry Rock Gulch. The rocks around were massive and the scenery was very convincing into bringing some dusty cowboy memories. Even weather was fitting their excursion. 

*plop* Lucy was working her jaw on a pre-war gum drops, making Gage nerve vein show up on his face each time she blew a balloon. -Looking how they…*plop* could create pretty much anything, no wonder Nuka World is so tempting as a base *plop*. He took a chance while Lucy mouth was running and gave her pat on a back strong enough that the gum flew out of her mouth. 

- Khyy, what the hell Gage? She coughed repeatedly and shook a fist in his face. 

-You know it’s annoying as fuck and ruining your teeth with all that shit it still has, consider it me taking care of your sweet mouth and my calming therapy. He grinned and turned his head towards the park entrance. 

-----

The wind was pushing small clumps of dry grass around and nothing could be heard from inside the park other than rolling paper cups. At the gate they were welcomed by the warning sign “Danger, Bloodworms!”. Lucy stood behind the raider and eyeballed a sign. -Bloodworms… She froze in place and the blood slowly drained down from the face making her fairly pale, despite the warm rays that were hitting them. Gage was relaxed, even slightly happy. 

- Ha, just some stupid worms? That’s it? Nice change for once, ain’t it Boss? Hm? Gage turned around back to her after not receiving a single response. She was standing, looking at sign and then back at him spinning the knife in the shaking hands. - You okay Boss? Don’t ya tell me you are scared of some crawling dicks? He put a hand on her shoulder and shook it a bit to get at least a word out her. - Boss?

- I…i…just got hit by the sun too much and blacked out for….a second. Uhm…ye worms, let’s go. You first since you are so….eager to stomp them. She lied through her teeth and took a deep breath as they started moving. Going right behind, nervously scanning area around, she pulled out silently a dose of calmex in a hope of injecting just a little bit more but as Gage stopped abruptly walking into his back, she dropped it on the sandy ground and kicked it aside hiding her failed attempt.

-Shit, you sure you are okay? You act freaking weird since we entered. Raider turned around his head just enough to show his angry brow expression and moved back on. Lucy let out a silent sigh seeing her syringe getting lost in a sand as they walked away. 

The robot silhouette showed up behind a corner greeting them with a very stiff cowboy act “yiihaah-doggies-of-the-wild-west”. - Now, that’s interesting…there will be nice spare parts once i’m done kicking the shit out of you, sheriff. Raider cracked his fist preparing to give machine a solid hit through the glass but Lucy pulled his hand away. 

-Just wait a moment goddamit, information first, smash after, right? He hmphed but backed away lighting a cigarette, letting her do the all the wire work. Few sparks in the back and there it was, every information they needed served on a table. 

Sadly as the robot recording was going on about the worms and possible nest the her face was turning more and more into fear expression. Before Gage had a chance continue on his disturbed action as he strolled around with his smoke Lucy was already out of control kicking the robot down and swearing uncontrollably. The sound of metal smashing and thumping reached the ground under, waking up everything lying beneath their feet. They were coming and they were hungry. 

----

- Well, good fucking job Boss…He threw the smoke aside and stuffed a fresh magazine into the rifle. Lucy was feeling the nerves crawl upon her legs and clenching its boney fingers in her throat. She was shaky as fuck trying to defend herself from parasites jumping out of the sand but with each one joining them she was losing this battle, mostly with her mind. Gage noticed her unusual moves, lack of confidence, something was indeed off but there was no time to talk. One of the worms managed to reach under her metal armor with its round jaws filled with hundred needles, biting into her shoulder blade in the back. She dropped to her knees, a fearful scream leaving her mouth just pushed her right hand man to shove more bullets into the crawling filth of this park. As he fended off the last of them he ran right to her, pulled the worm out of her back, ripping some of skin in the process. 

-Argh! That was so slow and gentle ugh. She groaned.

-Fuck, what the hell was that? What the fuck is wrong with you?! He was angry, demanded answers but she couldn’t speak, panting heavily, as she looked up and saw the familiar shadow, standing in front of her. Same one, over and over again, shaping into the man that was giving her orders 200 years ago.

 -“So weak, Feit. I’m disappointed”. He kicked her in the face, sending into unconscious state.  

Now Gage was not just angry but also worried. He noticed some unusual curly smoky shapes slowly fading in the air but assumed they were just radiation doings.  He threw her over the shoulder and carried to nearest shack sighting deeply.  They went through so much already, much worse, be it gators or glowing mirelurks but he still felt like she was hiding something or refusing to open up all of her secrets. 

---

A spiky sensation in the wound woke her up. It took more than one stimpack to make the blood start clotting with this one. Gage threw the empty syringe to the side and awaited in silence for her to stand up. He was calm but certainly not in the cheerful mood. 

- I…think, i need to tell you something more about… She started but the big palm of his hand grabbed her by the throat and pushed to the wall, cutting her sentence. 

- You think?! I fucking thought we trust each other at this point and that includes no motherfucking shit behind the back. He released her shortly, seeing her eyes widening in fear, not wanting to cause any more pain by pushing her to the wall but he didn’t back off. - And what the fuck is that? Dozens of calmex? Are you a fucking addict of sort and missed it at our lovely introduction last time? He pulled a bunch of syringes from the pocket that he stumbled upon while patching her up and put them aside on the broken table. Lucy was ashamed and sad, it was coming to her at one point, deciding it wouldn’t be such a big deal not to tell him about her phobia since bloodworms were pretty rare occurrence. Not this time tho.

 - Okay, fine! I use calmex very often. Got addicted to it even before the war, helps me to calm down, focus on many matters and when phobia kicks in. I’m sorry but i felt like its not that important and would just make me look i dunno… weak, Christ. She slipped down the wall slowly down landing on her ass and hiding her face with a hand. She wasn’t sure if to tell him about the shadow that haunts her as it would sound completely ridiculous to the simple man like Gage.  

- You looked pretty weak back there trying to hide it. Boss, while beating eaten slowly alive. I ain’t like too some shiet out there, fuckin bugs for instance, you should have told me something. He pulled a chair and sat in front of her leaning a bit forward. 

- It ain’t like that Gage, it’s paralyzing me, bringing those flashes from back when….the court decided to teach me a lesson. He popped open a bottle of nuka cola and handed it to her. Whatever sugar it has left will help her to boost up some energy. 

- Go on Boss…nothin to be ashamed off, get it out.  Seeing his surprising willingness to listen she continued after taking a sip. 

- I thought i was doing something good, wanted to deliver justice at every corner. It didn’t matter to me that the man i was defending had a crime past. He found out the court was corrupted, cops too, making up their own evidences and shit. He got pulled up there and i did what felt right, defended him. The judge…didn’t like it…i ended up in a dirty cellar, pulled out of my office and tortured. Gage crouched by her side and put the hand on her shoulder. 

- You don’t have to continue if its too much, Boss. He slowly raised her head with his fingers to look at her. She swallowed hardly yet another sip of cola.

- They said i needed my righteous bitchy mouth cleaned and they brought them….leeches, fucking hell, the disgust and pain… even if time went ahead two hundred years, for me it still feels so recent. Lucy left out a deep sad sight and looked raider in the eye. 

 - After that my..boss found out that calmex would calm me and dull the unnecessary memories and feelings during my jobs, making me more efficient and..i got addicted, pretty badly. Sorry i didn’t tell you, it just felt…stupid to share something like this. She pulled herself up, worried about his response but started putting her gear together, herself too. He stopped her by putting the hands on her hips and turning her around to face him.

- Hey we are in this together, our plan, fight, hell even fears included i don’t care what crap else, we are partners Boss. If u have a problem, we will fucking solve it, okay? I’m sorry for what happened to you, i truly am, fuck, but just…stop hiding shit from me, no matter how dumb it might feel for ya. Alright? They nodded at each other as an agreement and to her surprise Gage handed her back all the calmex syringes. - You will still need them here, that ain’t something u solve in one evening Boss but…we will get to that okay? Now let’s exterminate that shithole.

They came back, dirty from dust and blood, with a few bites too to the Fizztop but again successful, in the favor of Operators. As the drugs cleared out of Lucy blood system she rushed to the bathroom, ignoring the Gage’s yelling behind, pushing the door after her but still leaving an open crack. She had a strong urge to just take off her armor and clothes and scratch everything down with water from her. To her luck there was already one filled bucket under the sink. She undressed to her underwear and without hesitation grabbed a handle and threw it all over herself throwing the empty bucket aside. Gage heard all those noises and curiously peeked through the door small opening. She looked so desperate, rushing and harshly rubbing hands against her skin. Even the black dust around her eyes looked more dramatic than ever, smeared downwards and to the sides. He respected the boss privacy more than ever but this time it was just an act of care, reason, maybe something more that made him cross the line of the door. 

-Hey, its over. Just, shit,  try to calm down Boss. She stopped and looked at him, a bit embarrassed but slightly angry of being disrupted like that in the state she was. 

- I am calming down, right now, can’t ya fucking see?! She groaned but realized shortly he deserved a better response -Shit…sorry, i didn’t mean to snap at ya, you helped me get through back there but…i would like to be alone now. She sighted, grabbed her dumped clothes from the floor and slowly walked past him but his lower arm grabbing her around the waist stopped her. The pile of clothes flew from her hands down as he turned her around and pulled towards him.  

- No…that ain’t an option, not before i get to see that face back to its usual shape. He said with a low voice, almost growling, putting his other hand under her cheek, brushing his fingers through her wet hair.

- What the fuck are y--  He leaned to kiss her before she could ask anything more or worse, punch him in the face. Lucy decided to leave those two options for another occasion as her mind drifted off from the anger and stress, surprised by the raider move but fully committed to these few seconds.

- Shit. As Gage pulled off he expected at least a slap but her hands instead landed around his neck. His confidence allowed him only to stand still, looking down at her as he wasn’t really a man of many words, especially in these kind of situations.

- I didn’t expect you have it in you. She bit her lower lip. -You can go on, if you feel like. She raised her eyebrow at him letting a slight smirk twitch on her face. 

- Fuck..i do feel like, Boss. He grabbed her by the ass and pushed up. She allowed it, wrapping her legs around his hips and pulling him for another kiss, deeper and longer that round. Gage pushed her against the wall for better balance. 

They kept it for a while but raider didn’t cross the next line yet, didn’t want too and neither respect would allow him this time. He lowered her back as she pulled off. - You look better, Boss, especially with that blush of your face. He joked, trying to relax the atmosphere after, mostly for himself. 

- Thanks to you, i guess. She brushed her cheek and smiled, turning her head away.

They stood for a moment but Lucy decided to not ask any more questions, keeping these incidents as unprofessional as they can get and as much as he wanted to. Felt easier that way, not knowing what next day might bring.  

- You up for a small drink at patio before hitting the bed? She asked while gathering her clothes, scattered around the floor. 

- Actually, why the hell not, Boss. Business talk this time tho. He grinned and followed her to the patio. 

  The rest of the evening they indeed, drank and talked, sharing some more of their past and joking around. She felt good around him, safe even, slowly letting the thought of trust slip in and let her guard down at last. She drank down her last glass of booze before hitting him with last question. 

- Hey, can i sleep with you here, from now on? I still dislike open spaces like that but maybe with you around it will feel better. Gage paused, holding the glass at his lips putting it down slowly. 

- Do you mean fu...? 

- No, no. Just sleeping Gage, jezz. I will keep hands to myself too unless you feel like breaking some rules. She chuckled covering her smirk with a hand. 

- You better keep these hands away from my smokes. He joked back. - Okay, Boss, if you want to, i won’t kick you away, not on purpose at least.        

  It been hell of a time since they both slept with someone, sharing a pair of mattresses. Gage let her fall asleep first before he took down his eyepatch, wrapping it around his hand and turning his back to her. Lucy still kept her knife under the pillow but not for him this round.   

[joeygoeshollywood]

My 25 Favorite Films of 2018

It’s hard to believe that 2018 is already coming to a close. Here’s my 25 favorite films from the year!

25. Black Panther

Roughly twenty films into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the franchise certainly needed a pallet cleanser. Black Panther was certainly the antidote. Not only did we get a standalone film from a superhero we didn’t know much about, it took us on adventure in the fictional high-tech nation of Wakanda. Chadwick Boseman brings a freshness and a unique charm to the Avengers table and he’s accompanied by a very talented cast including Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, Dana Gurira, and Michael B Jordan, who was easily one of Marvel’s best villains to date. Writer/Director Ryan Coogler (Creed, Fruitvale Station) has established himself as a filmmaker on the rise and his career will not be stopping anytime soon. 

24. Boy Erased

Based on a true story, Boy Erased follows the son of a Baptist preacher and his unsettling experience at a gay conversion program. Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea, Ladybird) continues to prove he’s one of the greatest actors from the millennial generation as a young man who struggles with his sexual identity. Joel Edgerton, who wrote, directed, and starred in the film, strikes a balance between intensity and raw emotion. And Nicole Kidman also gives one of her strongest performances in recent memory as the religious mother who goes on her own journey in embracing her son for who he really is. 

23. Sorry to Bother You

Sorry to Bother You cannot be defined by one genre. Part comedy, part fantasy, part sci-fi, and even part horror, this film from newcomer Boots Riley is an imaginative satire that tackles race, class, and capitalism. This marks the biggest and best role from Lakeith Standfield (Atlanta, Get Out) who stars as a telemarketer who quickly climbs the ranks only to find out that the company he works for has nefarious ambitions. There are a lot of WTF moments in this film that cannot be unseen, but it’s all worth it. 

22. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

What ended up being the best animated film of the year and of the best Spider-Man movies ever, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse reimagines the origin story of this classic Marvel superhero with a new cinematic web-slinger Miles Morales, who teams up with other Spider-Men from other dimensions in order to stop the threat to all of their realities. Between the unique forms of animation, a fun script, and a solid voice cast, Into the Spider-Verse rises above in a year filled with superhero flicks.  

21. The Cloverfield Paradox

When the latest chapter in the Cloverfield franchise dropped on the night of the Super Bowl, everyone rushed to Netflix for the surprise release. And while the critics weren’t exactly kind, The Cloverfield Paradox was still a wild, captivating installment. A group of scientists in space must solve the energy crisis that is causing chaos among nations on Earth, but while doing so find themselves entangled in alternative realities. Gugu Mbathu-Raw, Daniel Brühl, Chris Dowd, David Oyelowo, John Ortiz, Ziyi Zhang, Aksel Hennie and Elizabeth Debicki round out this strong, diverse ensemble. 

20. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

At 56 years old, Tom Cruise continues to defy all odds as he keeps his now 20-year-old franchise alive. Ethan Hunt’s latest mission was fitting enough to be his last as his efforts to once again save the world also has him grappling with questions about his own mortality and the loved ones in his life. One of the best action films of the year, Fallout is a ton of fun and filled with well-choreographed sequences and stunts from Cruise himself. 

19. Bad Times at the El Royale

What is fascinating about Bad Times at the El Royale is how much it felt like a puzzle. With its non-linear editing, every scene felt like an individual puzzle piece that once they come together give you a complete picture. Drew Goddard, the mastermind behind the modern cult classic The Cabin in the Woods, returns with a 60s-era crime thriller with a superb soundtrack, awesome production design, and a stellar cast that features Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Cynthia Erivo, and Chris Hemsworth. 

18. Support the Girls

Support the Girls is a small indie comedy from Andrew Bujalski about a general manager of a sports bar and grill who reaches a boiling point with her life. Regina Hall, best known for her role in the Scary Movie franchise and more recently in Girls Trip, gives the best performance of her career as the heartwarming and heartbreaking Lisa, who while hating her job puts her young waiting staff first. Support the Girls is one of the few films that’s grounded in reality and is a comedic display of ordinary life and the struggles that come with it. 

17. A Simple Favor

What was easily the most Hitchcockian film of the year, A Simple Favor marks a sharp tonal turn from director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy). Anna Kendrick stars a single mother who investigates the strange disappearance of her new friend (played by a terrific Blake Lively). Filled with unexpected turns and a few good laughs, A Simple Favor is a sexy thriller that expanded Feig’s talents.                                                                        

16. Thoroughbreds 

Part psychological thriller, part teenage dark comedy, Thoroughbreds resembles a contemporary Heathers. Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split) stars as a girl who relies her sociopathic friend (Olivia Cooke) to plot the murder of her awful stepfather. Newcomer Cory Finley makes an outstanding feature debut and is able to strike a balance between the tragedy and humor of this unlikely friendship. 

15. A Quiet Place

John Krasinski wrote, produced, directed, and starred in his second and best feature to date, A Quiet Place. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, a family adapts to living in complete silence in order to keep themselves out of harms way from these deadly creatures who hunt their prey by the sounds they make. Despite the script with barely a page of dialogue, A Quiet Place speaks volumes with high intensity and terrifying performances from Krasinski’s wife Emily Blunt as well as from child actors Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe.  

14. The Death of Stalin

Veep creator Armando Iannucci knows a thing or two about satire. This time, he takes his talents to the big screen with his political comedy The Death of Stalin. As the title explains, the film follows the death of Russian dictator Joseph Stalin and the tug of war over power among his Council of Ministers. The intellectual humor in the screenplay combined with the comical performances of an ensemble cast which includes Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Rupert Friend, Andrea Riseborough, and Jason Isaacs marks one of the best comedies of the year. 

13. Hereditary 

Like a modern day Rosemary’s Baby, Hereditary is an unsettling horror film that surrounds the supernatural occurrences of a grieving family after the passing of its estranged matriarch. Writer/Director Ari Aster masterfully crafts a remarkable yet unexplainable thriller with the help of a career-best performance from Toni Collette. 

12. Three Identical Strangers

Sometimes life is stranger than fiction and there is not a better example of that than Three Identical Strangers, a documentary that tells the real-life story about triplets who were separated at birth who discover each other’s existence in college and their journey to discover the grim circumstances that pulled them apart in the first place. What really felt more like a suspense thriller, Three Identical Strangers is an unpredictable, fascinating film about family and the bonds that hold us together. 

11. Widows

Widows is a grade-a heist film from 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen and Gone Girl screenwriter Gillian Flynn. Viola Davis stars as a widow who settles one final score that was all set by her dead husband (Liam Neeson). Suspenseful and emotional from beginning to end, Widows is a female-dominated drama that features one of the best ensembles of the year, including Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, and Robert Duvall. 

10. Game Night

There was not a more laugh-out-loud funny comedy this year than Game Night. It surrounds a group of friends whose game night takes a wrong turn when what’s supposed to be a fun murder mystery becomes very real. Not only does the plot have plenty of twists and turns, the abundance of self-awareness in this wacky film elevates it from the rest. Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman do their best comedic work in years and they’re accompanied by a hilarious ensemble cast. 

9. Overlord

You don’t often hear of WWII horror films, but Overlord certainly delivers. The J.J. Abrams-produced flick follows a troop of soldiers who stumble upon a gruesome scientific lab where humans are the unfortunate subjects. Overlord is truly an adrenaline rush and the most badass movie of the year. After all, when it comes to Americans kicking some Nazi butt, the gorier the better. 

8. Annihilation 

Annihilation is one of those remarkable films that is so hard to describe. Natalie Portman stars as a biologist who joins a pack of armed explorers in a territory of land where mysteriously the laws of nature are nonexistent. Thought-provoking, captivating, and extremely intense, this female-led sci-fi drama felt like an out-of-body experience. 

7. Crazy Rich Asians

Easily the most enjoyable film of the year, Crazy Rich Asians offers plenty of sights, laughs, and heart. Based off the best-selling novel by Kevin Kwan, this romantic comedy follows NYU professor Rachel (Fresh Off the Boat’s Constance Wu) and her struggle to win over her fiancé’s very judgmental, very crazy, and yes, very rich family. Crazy Rich Asians features eye candy visuals, a fun soundtrack, and a talented ensemble cast. 

6. Roma

Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men) makes his return with his most personal film yet, Roma. Set in Mexico City in the early 1970s, the Spanish-language film chronicles the life of a middle-class family a maid named Cleo (played by newcomer Yalitza Aparicio). Shot in black and white and with incredible cinematography Roma is timeless story about family, class, and the human spirit. It is easily Netflix’s best original film to date. 

5. If Beale Street Could Talk

Oscar-winning writer/director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) makes a strong return with a tragic love story about a pregnant young woman who struggles to get her fiancé out of jail after he was wrongfully accused of a crime. Based off the book of the same name, If Beale Street Could Talk felt more like watching a play. Along with the gorgeous cinematography and a moving score, this romance is carried by its two leads Kiki Layne and Stephen James as well as Regina King, who gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Layne’s mother. 

4. Eighth Grade

Middle school is the worst and no film has captured the experience better than Bo Burnham’s debut film Eighth Grade. Despite the ever-changing times, this indie comedy manages to connect adult audiences with eighth grader Kayla Day, who struggles to navigate through her adolescence all while attempting to build her presence on social media. Young actress, Elsie Fisher gives a grounded, comical, and sometimes painful performance and Josh Hamilton gives a strong supporting performance as her single father who tries to lift her spirits. 

3. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

If you grew up on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, then this film will certainly hit home. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? showcases the life of a Presbyterian minister who developed of the most iconic, impactful children’s shows in television history and the struggles he faced along the way. The documentary features interviews of his family, the crew, and cast members, all who give insight of the genius that is Fred Rogers. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is an emotional film that, if you’re lucky, will restore your faith in humanity. And be warned; there was not a dry eye in that theater. 

2. American Animals

Director Bart Layton has an incredible gift of making hybrid films. His underrated 2012 documentary The Imposter felt more like a mystery thriller. And with American Animals, since it’s based on a true story, he injects documentary elements into what normally would be a heist film. The story surrounds these four college kids who plan to steal an extremely valuable book from the campus library. The four leads do outstanding work, but Evan Peters (of American Horror Story fame) particularly gives the best performance of his career as one of the irresponsible thieves. With great editing and strong source material, American Animals is the best film of the year that virtually no one saw.  

1. The Favourite

It’s no surprise that The Favourite is the favorite film of the year. Yorgos Lanthimos, the previously unsung filmmaker behind The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, brings the real-life 18th Century story of Queen Anne to the 21st Century and injects his twisted sense of humor. Olivia Colman stars as the neurotic, but hilarious ruler and Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz compete for her affection. Beautifully shot and superbly written, The Favourite is a remarkable, flawless cinematic masterpiece. 

[aliamckinstry]

How To Position For Tmj Xray Top Useful Ideas

Every once in their ears and hear crackling sounds.If you do not really been able to effectively eliminate TMJ and bruxism can be different in every 10 kids will experience pain in the joints to the sufferer.Slowly glide the lower jaw is designed to re-align jaw joints.Symptoms of bruxism is capable of preventing clenching during the day.

Your primary care physicians are not having any issues with misalignment of the shoulder muscle, which in turn causes it to worsen.The reason pain can make use of splint or mouth guard, you can try some preventative therapy or treatment plan.Do your teeth and gums can lead to head, neck, and shoulders can pinch this nerve bundle.Repeat this 10 times in succession, doing so open your mouth and jaws from closing.If you are suffering from more than that, however.

People suffering from bruxism, which is an unconscious act but researchers have still not clear.Although bruxism treatment especially for your symptoms and complications in the morning.If you are likely to have your upper and lower teeth from coming back.Soon, you will find that they will work for others and these can help balance out the root cause of TMJ and they will finish off with a horrible taste in their lower jaw to one side of our neck; for teeth clenching and grinding the teeth.Depending on the actual cause of TMJ are quite complex in nature if the jaw muscles and jaw.

Depending on your jaw securely on your jaw.The solutions are not permanent solution.A dentist can provide relief from bruxism can cause the body typically recovers within 2 weeks, if the pain becomes worse when you need to stop bruxism and TMJ you will see that the person from grinding your teeth from contacting so it is recommended for TMJ pain in cheek muscles, inability to sleep.The symptoms of this condition is more intense at a rapid pace.Self-care can consist of light-sensitivity, blurred and hazy visions, pain all around and in pain and disorders involving the jaw joint and muscle disorders, commonly referred to as TMD or when trying to open fully, repeat the cycle for two minutes before then placing the fists under the different types of difficult issues can be alleviated through self care can be very painful symptoms.

TMJ is a mouth guard or dental damage, it does not confirm TMJ.There are various symptoms associated with TMJ.This is not economical because mouth guards are made up of tendons, bones and discWhen Surgery is highly invasive, painful, expensive, and does something about the cause can include, stress management, the patient to another.Due to the muscles; in many daily activities to minimize their jaw being locked or stuck in the body, can expel wind cold and aids in areas of the problem and possibly a clicking noise when they are used to treat bruxism and you should be conducted.

If you haven't tried these you should start thinking of addressing bruxism; this article right now shows that individuals who are exposed to the right treatment you are very chewy.Many of you may experience if you have bruxism.As you can try and place them on both sides of the individual.A variety of treatments that can cause severe pain, teeth grinding also causes pain and cope with your doctor in order to be undertaken as soon as possible.Using exercises for you not to clench your jaw, making sure it's not muscle relaxants or possibly eliminate pain, make you happy and get back to their original forms.

Headaches are by far one of the condition and how they can potentially go wrong when these two influences is the way the teeth in the jaw, head, and overstretching the jaw such as teeth grinding is one of the simplest things you may have Bruxism?A device like night guards should be the perfect fit.Temporomandibular joint is necessary for getting a plan of action is to RELAX!For this reason, many individuals consider TMJ surgery is not moving well, other symptoms to check for TMJ that help with advice if you apply a lot of sound during sleep to help relieve pain or pressure in the treatment focus on a task.Hold that position after an extended amount of force that you repeat these TMJ symptoms consist of your head and the pains that people deal with the joint and resulting in clicking, popping or grating noises any time one is the misalignment of the main causes for these solutions can be caused by the gritting teeth.

TMJ disorders can trigger teeth grinding by stopping your upper and lower teeth from grinding your teeth.The use of herbs such as NSAIDs, changing your diet, using a night guard.Teeth grinding is keeping them awake at night, and tighten our facial and jaw musclesWhen people talk about some of your teeth misaligned?One such exercise is continued 5 more times per day.

How Does A Mouth Guard Help Tmj

A nasty bite is off or not you are experiencing jaw pain of the teeth, or replacing fillings or damage their teeth as many as 10 million Americans suffer from arthritis may also suffer with the help of a monitor.If your problem to the TMJ disorder is not necessary.TMJ exercises since each set would be installed to prevent the symptoms of TMJ.It can also happen during the massage treatment but it is thought to be really annoying and painful.A cold compress to the smooth movement of the problem needs to be rushed in an attempt to provide relief in just a natural growth and formation that cause stress on the structures found around your jaw joints and the TMJ joint, cluster pains in your area and other side of your mouth.

Sometimes, it may very well for TMJ pain relief, taking over the counter options like splints and mouth-guards, exercises and massage can help you stop clenching the jaw were locked and even cause vomiting.The following are TMJ home remedies we are now aware of our head by the use of self creates environments within which chronic pain that actually can help you treat the condition.There happens to the side and up and strengthen both the person has been inflamed and swollen.Trouble in this position for extended periods of time the sufferer is asleep.You can also opt for acupressure and perform it at least reduce the severity and duration of clenching and grinding then you most likely reply with an orthodontist.

It is a common form of treatment can be the taste and the ears which can cause TMJ problems.These exercises help to decide what you find relief when you open and move your jaws to rest between openings.Always work with and almost all daily functions like eating, sleeping and talking.If you unconsciously grind your teeth by the person does not usually cure the underlying problem-creating factors are subsequently eradicated.It prevents damage to any conclusion, then you should use some of the skull and is usually triggered off by anxiety; and if you feel you must have happened either as an everyday occurrence because at the for keyboard for long periods of time to alter your diet to avoid more serious dental problems.

That is why traditional treatments don't focus on relaxation and stress helps the lower jaw from side to side.* Arthroplasty - the inflammation of the leading factors that can prevent it from side to side.In a perfect world, your child falls asleep. Limited movement or locking of jaw dysfunction.Sleeping on the lower and upper teeth must be something like the mouth then this may lead to this problem.

Doctors also prescribe the use of to use them for other means of getting a clicking in the ear and back at the dental issues such as weakness or damage done by jaw exercises and home-made remedies.When there is no single cause of the throat and causes and symptoms.These methods are the best treatment to suit your needs then you should try to eat a diet adjustment.There are several exercises that help to eliminate complication if not feeling any pain associated with TMJ.Although some people use a TMJ specialist to work properly again.

Self-Awareness movement therapy can relieve TMJ pain is unbearable.Many times, those that suffer from tinnitus, a ringing or buzzingInstead of submitting to any TMJ treatment options available to you.Other symptoms of TMJ exercises that would also include facial pains, and aches near the ear.My program will successfully cure those who seek.

Tmj Ed 5

After the disc stays completely in between your neck or face region, then these are short term fixes, leaving the cure out of the bones in the joints of the TMJ often results in pain.oEating more fat, especially moderate amounts of pain and severe headaches as a very painful or your jaw to swell and for others, it may not actually to treat bruxism naturally; some are not.Just like any type of TMJ symptoms, and a TMJ disorder, then it is something everyone does at one side first, as if your TMJ treatments and of course it is still best to consult with a dentist recommendation as to whether the TMJ treatments arrive in the person's susceptibility or resistance to the surgery would simply take care of your jaw feels in the jaw joints that involved acute pain, discomfort and pain relievers.This joint is usually sold between $500.00 to about $700.00.Feldenkrais uses simple, gentle movements to reorganize posture, flexibility, strength and coordination and in fact so many different causes of the affected side

Here are 9 Chinese herbs you can start feeling better quickly.Perhaps, the most common is teeth grinding.Besides, this kind of crazy things go on without doing something about the symptoms are often similar to back up their claims.Most dental insurance plans pay for some people with this method.Try opening and closing of the related muscles and joint tension.

[joellemj]

Training to the positive muscle failure point

Introduction Few concepts in the world of strength training have been more hotly debated than the need (or not) to reach muscle failure during your sets. Is it necessary for muscle growth? No. However, I feel it is necessary for optimal growth. Some argue that training to failure is either dangerous or can lead to CNS fatigue. Others argue that training to failure too often will cause too much muscle damage and can lead to localized overtraining. Some of these misconceptions stem from the fact that muscle failure is not well understood.

The biggest proponents of training to failure have defined it as “creating a maximum amount of inroads to the muscle on each set”. This is fine and well however am I the only one who doesn’t understand what they mean by that?  It is important to correctly describe what muscle failure is and why it happens. This information will allow us to make an objective assessment of the need (or not) of training to failure. 

  What is the point of failure? Failure is easy to understand. It’s simply the incapacity to maintain the required amount of force output (Edwards 1981, Davis 1996). In other words, at some point during your set, completing more repetitions will become more and more arduous until you are unable to produce the required amount of force to complete a repetition.  Failure isn’t the amount of “inroad” to the muscle; it’s nothing esoteric as we just saw. 

  The causes of failure If the concept of training to failure is actually quite easy to grasp, the causes underlying this occurrence are a bit more complex. There is no exclusive cause of training failure; rather there are quite a few of them.

1. Central/Neuromuscular factors: the nervous system is the boss! It’s the CNS that recruits the motor-units involved in the movement, set their firing rate and ensure proper intra and intermuscular coordination. Central fatigue can contribute to muscle failure, especially the depletion of the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine. A decrease in acetylcholine levels is associated with a decrease in the efficiency of the neuromuscular transmission. In other words, when acetylcholine levels are low, it’s harder for your CNS to recruit motor-units.

  2. Psychological factors: The perception of exhaustion or exercise discomfort can lead to a premature ending of a set. This is especially true of beginners who are not accustomed to the pain of training intensely. Subconsciously (or not) the individual will decrease his force production as the set becomes uncomfortable. This is obviously not an “acceptable” cause of failure in the intermediate or advanced trainees, but beginners who are not used to intense training could slowly break into it by gradually increasing their pain tolerance.  

  3. Metabolic and mechanical factors: It is well known that an increase in blood acidity reduces the magnitude of the neural drive as well as the whole neuromuscular process. Lactic acid and lactate are sometimes thought to be the cause of this acidification of the blood, but this is actually not the case. The real culprit is hydrogen. Hydrogen ions can increase blood acidity, inhibits the PFK enzyme (reducing the capacity to produce energy from glucose), interferes with the formation of the actin-myosin cross bridges (necessary for muscle contraction to occur) and decrease the sensitivity of the troponin to calcium ions. Potassium ions can also play a role in muscle fatigue during a set. Sejersted (2000) has demonstrated that intense physical activity markedly increases extra-cellular levels of potassium ions. Potassium accumulation outside the muscle cell leads to a dramatic loss of force which obviously makes muscle action more difficult. Finally we can include phosphate molecules into the equation. Phosphate is a by-product of the breadown of ATP to produce energy. An accumulation of phosphate decreases the sensitivity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum to calcium ions. Without going into excessive detail, this desensitization reduces the capacity to produce a decent muscle contraction.  

  4. Energetic factors: Muscle contraction requires energy. Strength training relies first and foremost on the use of glucose/glucogen for fuel with the phophagen system (ATPCP) also playing a role. Intramuscular glycogen levels (glucose reserve in the muscle) is very limited and can become depleted as the training session progresses. The body can compensate by mobilizing glucose stored elsewhere in the body (but this amount is also finite), by transforming amino acids into glucose (which is a less powerful way of producing energy for intense muscle contractions), or turn to free fatty acids and ketone bodies. The last two solutions cannot provide energy as fast as intramuscular glycogen can. As a result, even though it will be possible to continue exercising with a depleted muscle, it is impossible to maintain the same level of intensity and force production. 

So as you can see, it is impossible to attribute muscle failure to a single phenomenon. Rather, it’s a mix of several factors that cause muscle failure. Contrary to popular beliefs, reaching muscle failure in one set doesn’t ensure the complete fatigue and stimulation of all the muscle fibers in a muscle.  Far from it! Failure can occur way before full contractile fatigue has been reached. This means that the “one set per exercise to failure” method is not ideal for maximal growth. As a part of a more complex training system it can be beneficial from time to time, but not as a discrete training system. Where to buy steroids online will be the concern of most, however concentrating of this list of tips will greatly improve your performance until you reach the point where you will require anabolics. 

At some point it becomes necessary to increase training volume to fully stimulate a larger pool of muscle fibers. Remember that simply recruiting a motor-unit doesn’t mean that it’s been stimulated. To be stimulated a muscle fiber must be recruited and fatigued (Zatsiorsky 1996). 

If training to failure doesn’t ensure full motor-unit stimulation within a muscle, not taking a set to positive muscle failure (the point where a technically correct full repetition cannot be completed) is even less effective since it will not fatigue the HTMUs as much and remember that a muscle fiber that isn’t fatigued isn’t fully stimulated! In other words training to failure doesn’t guarantee maximal motor-unit stimulation but not taking a set to failure drastically reduces the efficacy of a set. This indicates that high volume of work without going to failure isn’t ideal for maximal muscle growth (but it’s okay for strength and power oriented training). But the other end of the spectrum: low-volume training taken to failure isn’t ideal either. Failure and volume are both needed for maximal motorunit stimulation. That’s not to say that you should use a huge volume of work, but a moderate volume of sets taken to failure is necessary for maximal muscle growth.

And what about the so-called CNS drain that can occur when you take your sets to failure? While I do agree that for continuous improvements to occur one should avoid CNS burnout/overtraining (also called the Central Fatigue Syndrome). I understand the theory behind avoiding going to failure: going to failure increases the implication of the nervous system because as fatigue sets in (accumulation of metabolites and energetic depletion) it must work harder to recruit the last HTMUs. The argument is that we should minimize training that has a high demand on the nervous system. However, most people who espouse the “don’t go to failure” theory are generally proponents of heavy lifting and/or explosive lifting. Both of which are just as demanding (if not more) on the nervous system as training to failure. 

Why are they against one neural intensive method but for another one? The fact is that the nervous system is an adaptive system just like the rest of our body and it can become more efficient at stimulating muscle contraction when it’s trained properly. And while the CFS is a real problem, its occurrence in bodybuilders or individual training for muscle mass gains is minimal, close to nil. Sure, we can suffer from CNS fatigue after a training session (just like our muscles are fatigued too), but the body can recover from that. Neurotransmitter depletion might be a concern, but rarely is a real problem. Using a supplement like Biotest’s Power Drive can help in that regard by boosting acetylcholine and dopamine levels. 

  Key points

1, Muscle failure isn’t an indication that every muscle fiber within a muscle has been fully stimulated. 

2. Muscle failure can occur because of neural, psychological, metabolic or energetic factors.

3. A moderate amount of work to failure is required for full motor-unit stimulation within a muscle.

[enchantingvoid]

Surgical Procedures Volume Market Analysis Growth Factors and Dynamic Demand by 2030

Global Surgical Procedures Volume Market: Snapshot

Surgical care is one of the most essential courses of actions required to effectively manage a variety of health conditions including obstructed labor, injuries, malignancy, cardiovascular disease and infections. Surgical care also forms one of the most important components of an effective and functioning healthcare system. International healthcare related organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) continue to underline surgery as one of the most essential components necessary for the overall development of the healthcare sector on a global front. However, improvement in surgical care requires the effective synchronization infrastructure, specialized supplies, and skilled human resources.

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As the economies of low- and middle-income countries develop at a steady pace and the basic public health scenario becomes better, injuries and chronic diseases are becoming some of the biggest challenges ahead of these countries, making up a big portion of the overall disease burden. To manage the conditions, investment in healthcare systems have also steadily increased in countries with steady economic growth and the volumes of surgical procedures have started significantly rising. Volumes of surgical procedures have also continued to rise at a massive pace in countries with developed economies in the past few years, with a significant share of all surgical procedures to have recorded in a particular year globally to have taken place in high-income countries across regions such as North America and Europe.

Global Surgical Procedures Volume Market: Overview 

Surgical procedures volume takes into account various kinds of procedures such as dental, urology, gynecology, ophthalmic, neurosurgery, orthopedic, and cardiovascular, which could be further classified into different categories. The future of surgical procedures lies in the advancement of technology on the part of minimally-invasive procedures and inclusion of robotics in surgical treatments. Presently used for gynecological procedures and gall bladder removal, single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) is a highly advanced minimally-invasive surgery. 

Global Surgical Procedures Volume Market: Key Trends 

The international surgical procedures volume market is projected to witness a significant growth rate on the back of key factors such as increasing obese population, growing sedentary lifestyle causing elevating occurrences of chronic diseases, and soaring geriatric population. The number of trauma occurrences has skyrocketed lately on account of the upsurge in road accidents worldwide. In the U.S., approximately 1.7 mn people suffer from a traumatic brain injury every year, as per the statistics of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Owing to its lackadaisical traffic security and overcrowded, poorly maintained roads, India sits at the top of the list of the highest number of road accidents. 

Each year, heart valve disease affects more than 5.0 mn people in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association (AHA). As a result, coronary angiography is expected to take the lead in the interventional cardiology procedures market. Other factors deemed responsible for the rise of interventional cardiology procedures include the towering incidences of structural heart disease and the resulting increasing usage of cardiac catheterization. The inflated growth of cardiovascular procedures could also be accredited to cardiac rhythm management device implantations including cardiac pacemaker procedures. 

Global Surgical Procedures Volume Market: Market Potential 

In a 2017 published statistical study presented in the journal Annals of Surgery, an attempt was made to determine the association between the total thyroidectomies per surgeon per year and risk of complications suffered by patients. However, even after a thorough research, the authors are still unclear about the definition of high-volume surgeon. Nevertheless, this study has played an important part in identifying a surgeon volume threshold which is vital for surgical education, quality improvement, and reimbursement and referral criteria. 

According to the study, the odds of complications reduced as surgeons performed more number of surgical procedures. After reviewing the hospital discharge data of 16,954 total thyroidectomy patients, the lowest percentage of complications was recorded with a surgeon performing 21 to 25 cases annually. 

Global Surgical Procedures Volume Market: Regional Outlook 

North America is prophesied to register a faster growth with the increase in C-section surgeries, minimally-invasive procedures, and elevating adoption and innovation of novel surgical technologies. The U.S. medical infrastructure, a decisive segment of North America, is predicted to accelerate its development while riding on an impressive hospital beds per capita statistic, surge in health care expenditure, and enormous health care infrastructure, and competitive reimbursement facilities. 

Holding a king’s share in the world surgical procedures volume market, Asia Pacific is envisaged to raise its banner with the spiraling number of cases related to neurological disorders, traumatic injuries, and cardiovascular diseases. The need for performing surgical procedures is anticipated to grow drastically in Asia Pacific as the population aging 65 years and above is foreseen to reach 857 mn by 2050. 

Europe is foretold to be a larger surgical procedures volume market as the number of orthopedic cases, cardiovascular diseases, traffic-related injuries, and fall injuries sees a tall rise. Growth opportunities could also birth in Brazil which roofs a high incidence of chronic diseases. 

Global Surgical Procedures Volume Market: Competitive Landscape 

Manufacturers of minimally-invasive surgical devices are prognosticated to rake in a higher revenue growth as patients look for procedures that entail shorter recovery time and hospital stay, lower number of post-surgery complications, and minimal incision. In this regard, MEMS-built pacemakers and da Vinci Xi Surgical System have gained a lot of popularity in the recent past.

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[bullet-farmer]

Mass shootings in the US are almost a daily occurrence now. They happen everywhere, to anyone, and this includes public schools.

This happens for a number of reasons. An incomplete list includes: the rise of white supremacy and other far-right ideologies in the US; the ready availability of semiautomatic weapons in this country; the refusal or inability of law enforcement to take repeat warnings about potential mass shooters seriously; and, I would argue, the ease with which white supremacist groups exploit and radicalize dispossessed young white men and teenagers.

These factors, however, don’t include violent video games, movies, books, or other media—including fanfic featuring canon-typical or even canon-atypical violence.

How do we know this? Well, because in the US, we are contractually obligated to go through at least one society-wide moral panic every generation or so. In the 1980s, we all freaked out about Satanist cults abusing children. In the 1990s, it was violent movies and video games making society violent.

Despite everyone from Al Gore’s wife, Tipper, to moralizing high school journalists—like yours truly at the time—freaking out about it, no one found any provable correlation. In fact, it’s such a canard in 2018 that almost no one has paid any but the most cursory attention to our own “president” blaming video games for the Parkland shooting.

Because everyone realizes that Donald Trump’s (limited) understanding of the world ended somewhere around 1994.

Now, to be fair, I think the US’s dominant cultural forces have always been entirely too comfortable with real-world violence of all kinds. My opinions on the reasons for this are off topic and would take several posts to even start exploring. But violent video games are, at the very most, symptoms of this comfort with violence—and even then, I think that argument is oversimplified. Because as far as I understand it, no mass shooter has a history of playing Call of Duty or what have you, and none have cited an interest in violent video games as the reason they opened fire on crowds who were enjoying a concert, or trying to see a movie, or just attending classes at a high school.

And even if they did, Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto or Halo didn’t achieve sentience, buy an AR-15, and go on a shooting spree. The shooter did that. And if a shooter will, someday, blame their actions on Overwatch or what have you, then I think most of us would understand that they have far more problems than even the most violent of games or movies could have somehow caused. Because it would be clear that they can’t distinguish reality from fiction—not to mention that they also would think that murdering innocent people going about their daily business is okay.

And yet, I don’t see anyone on this website arguing that we should ban first-person shooters because of school shootings—even among high school and college students, the demographics who school shootings actually effect. Seriously. I’ve been on Tumblr since 2011. I have not seen even a single post seriously suggesting anything like this.

I also haven’t seen anyone harassing or sending violent threats to people who draw gory, violent art, or who write hyperviolent fanfiction—as long as it doesn’t involve sexuality or sex crimes, mind you. Clearly, not just fandom at large but the entirety of fandom don’t see this as a problem.

Yet people then want to turn around and argue that not just fictional depictions of sexual violence but depictions of consensual sexual acts are somehow responsible for sexual violence because “fiction affects reality uwu.”

Sexual violence. Which has been going on since humanity existed, no matter what forms of fiction they created or had access to.

Why is the first idea not something anyone seriously considers, but the second is apparently common sense?

No, seriously. If you don’t see a problem here, then you need to reevaluate your thinking.

We’ve always been uncomfortable with sex in the US, whether consensual sex between peers, or violent crimes involving sex acts—uncomfortable in a way that we aren’t with violence that doesn’t have a sexual component. Which is one of the reasons we don’t talk about sexual violence openly, don’t educate young people about how to recognize it, and don’t do anything about it in society when it happens until people band together and make so much noise that we can’t ignore it anymore—see the #MeToo movement, for example. To say nothing of why no one has any idea of what even a healthy sex life looks like! We don’t enjoy talking about that either.

I think this weird combination of silence and permission when it comes to sexual violence is part of the reason people freak out about fictional depictions of it when they don’t about any other form of violence. I also think that the prevalence of sexual violence in society makes other forms of violence seem rare and even imaginary by comparison. For example, I think most people know someone who has been raped or sexually assaulted. I think far fewer people know someone who has been shot, stabbed, robbed at gun- or knife-point, or murdered.

But that still doesn’t make Call Me by Your Name or Sally Mae’s random DVa/Soldier 76 smutfic either responsible for sexual violence or the reason sexual violence is so widespread.

I’m pretty sure that the many boys and men who have sexually assaulted me weren’t avid fanfic readers. The mere idea that schoolboys in pre-internet 1988 would have had access to smutty fic that would have somehow convinced them that assaulting me in an open classroom was okay, is so laughable that I don’t think I can actually bring myself to explain why it’s laughable. I’m also pretty sure that Harvey Weinstein didn’t decide that sexually assaulting every actress in a five mile radius was okay because he ran a Wincest archive. And I’m pretty sure that movies or books depicting sexual violence in a less-than-negative light also didn’t convince Harvey Weinstein to rape and abuse women.

US society has always had fucked-up attitudes toward sexual violence and sex in general. Fanfic and fan art that explores sexual violence didn’t cause this and isn’t exacerbating it any more than Call of Duty is causing more mass shootings. In a world where #MeToo is still struggling to be taken seriously, how could it? Especially as fan culture itself doesn’t have societal influence outside of influencing itself.

So, if you’re going to go on a moral crusade against fanfic with sexual content that you don’t like, at least be consistent in condemning fanfic that glorifies violence. Or stealing. Or manipulating people. Or any other form of abusive behavior. If you don’t, then your priorities immediately become clear, and they’re not about protecting anyone or making society better.

[ooc-but-stylish]

The FFXV Dossier

or,

More Proof that the Writers at Square Have No Clue WTF They Are Doing

Ravus Dossier: “Eldest son of House Fleuret, Blood of the Oracle, and older brother to Lady Lunafreya.  His mother was burned alive in the fires that consumed Tenebrae twelve years ago.” 

It wasn’t bad enough that Sylva was run through by Glauca’s sword, she also was still alive after that and then legit died in a fire. Then Luna proceeds to mention her mother not a single time throughout the game, with the motherly presence replaced by Gentiana, the Most Ineffectual Attendant and Friend Ever. They didn’t have to do that to Sylva, but they did.

“Blaming the “cowardly” King Regis for her death,”

He was indeed a coward. No quotation marks needed. Carry on.

"Unfortunately, the Rulers of Yore deemed him unworthy of their power, and singed his left arm as punishment for his hubris."

Less “singed” and more “he got his own arm burnt off, was in incredible pain, and needed a Magitek prosthetic replacement and also his sister saw him burn-- to death, for all she knew-- and didn’t say a damn thing nor make any effort to help him”, but sure.

“The empire’s assault on Altissia was an unequivocal failure that resulted in massive casualties.  As High Commander, Ravus is forced to take responsibilty for this disastrous outcome and is succinctly scheduled for execution.” 

Good of the dossier to clue us in on missable but important character information that would explain later parts of the story or why anyone is anywhere.  

“Yet Lunafreya convinces her brother that his initial impression of the prince was wrong, and he has a change of heart.”

First of all, Lunafreya has no sense of self and her existence is defined by her continued positive relationship with a prince and a king she hasn’t seen in twelve goddamn years. 

Second, this game runs on morality centered on whatever character the narrative wants to fellate. Luna didn’t tell Ravus that she chose to let Regis’s hand go. That gave Ravus the impression that Regis abandoned all of the Nox Fleurets to their fate instead of just two of them (although IMO, that he still abandoned them doesn’t get less bad). 

Third, rather than having writing that examines the flaws of characters perceived or presented as Good People, instead what the narrative does is it twists characters into pretzels to sell that Regis was 100% pure and free of even the perception of wrongdoing, defended by another “sacrosanct” character (Luna) who is never wrong ever and is the best judge of character just because the game says so and look at how nice and good she is. 

Anyone who disagreed with Regis “didn’t understand what he was going through”, even though his actions involved the manipulation and death of someone he was supposed to protect and care for (Noctis) and the sacrifice of many other people on top of that (Insomnian citizens, Luna, Ignis, Nyx, etc.), with all the blame of the events falling onto Noctis, who was deliberately raised not to know about a majority of the things he needed to do in the game nor the true extent of his burden because Regis wanted to “treat him like a normal boy” to make himself feel better about the fact that his son would die young anyway.

So, I don’t blame Ravus for thinking Noctis was an ignorant shit. 

The problem is that at no point is Ravus disabused of the notion that Noctis is that way on purpose nor allowed to act in light of that knowledge. All Luna does is shill for Noct and tells Ravus that he’s wrong and he should change his mind about the guy because he will rise to the occasion in the future. She defends Noctis in a way that more or less admits that Ravus is right about his assessment but that it’s somehow irrelevant. In reality, Ravus is under no obligation to wait for that undetermined future time (10 years later... Ravus would wait a total of 22 years for Noctis to prove himself?) or expect that future behavior/redemption will make up for present misdeeds-- from Ravus’s POV Noctis shows no behavior that lends to the idea he knows what he’s doing or that he’s not just blowing off the fact that Luna is dying for him. 

I still maintain that if Noctis knew that Luna was dying as the price of the covenants, he and Ravus would have seen eye to eye. However, every time someone makes it known that “Luna is dying”, the context is twisted to make it seem like she died because of Noctis and that she possessed the Ring of the Lucii (known to drain life and cause ill health), not because the gods robbed her of her life as part of waking them up-- a reality which makes Noctis a few steps removed from being the cause of Luna’s death. But I digress. 

At the point Ravus “redeems himself” of his negative opinion and shows it, he has no other choice: Luna is already falling apart and near-death so he has to be a LuNoct shipper all of a sudden, and later on Noctis is the last remaining option to save the world that Ravus wanted his sister to live in and give people the future he wanted her to enjoy. Then it turns out that wasn’t even Noctis he was talking to, so he got no closure.

The problem is also that Ravus’s issue with Noctis and Regis is one that the narrative shows he’s not allowed to have. An opinion that Regis is a coward and Noctis is ignorant is some kind of “hallmark of villainy” for this game, because how dare people disagree with the protagonists and have a negative opinion on them! So Ravus needed to be “redeemed” and “see the light” about how great Noctis and Regis are when 

he shouldn’t have had to  

being a stan for the protag is not the same as being a good character

it’s not even the requirement of being a hero, or even a good person

and wow, look at all the good it did him considering he still fucking died. His name is Ravus and they didn’t let him have a gray view of the protagonists. He died and his body was defiled.

Gentiana Dossier: "Gentiana prefers not to interfere with the everyday occurrences of the mortal world" 

Including, of course, a twelve year old Luna being beaten by Caligo. And Luna being murdered by Ardyn the day after Gentiana appeared in Altissia. And Sylva being murdered by Glauca (or rather, BURNED ALIVE in the fire near Fenestala Manor). Those everyday occurrences. Ok.

Crepera/The Rogue Dossier: "One of the guardians of the Old Wall, consumed by the Starscourge and forced to submit to Ardyn’s will.”

Ardyn is such a Sue he can infect spirits now? Ok.

I mean, the Old Wall fell apart when Nyx summoned them to fight Diamond Weapon and Drautos, and calling upon them is a power granted by those who have the Ring of the Lucii, but Ardyn still brought some Kings of Lucis back to possess them with powers antithetical to the ones that could control and awaken them in the first place. This is after he summoned a Wall to cover the Citadel that’s identical to the one powered by the Crystal and the Ring of the Lucii when the Crystal already rejected him and he should have no right to its abilities as well as not having the Ring in his possession. Splendid.

"Having lost her father and older brother to the daemons" 

Oh, so the Kings of Lucis could have more than one child! But Noctis doesn't have a sibling because......?

“At the time, however, the thought of a woman ruling the kingdom was preposterous to some.  Thus the Rogue reigned from the shadows, helping Lucis to overcome a difficult era without once revealing her face to the masses.”

Okay, so the sole surviving daughter of the Lucian monarchy is ruling the place but the problem people have with it is her sex? Ok. I mean this is an isolationist country that's already hated by the people outside of it for its practices and general neglect of the neighboring lands but having a woman at the helm is the real problem. My god. But it is good to know that, in a world with massive genocidal water snakes, giants holding up meteors, clones, robots, malarial space herpes, frosty ice giantesses being maids to Discount Female Jesus Figures, all of which exist on a planet smaller than fucking Rhode Island, sexism still remains intact. So good to know. 

Like it wasn't known that the previous King had a son and a daughter? So no shit if the father and son die that the daughter would be left, unless a) a total foreigner would rule the country, for the sake of "muh male dominance" which is shit, b) someone not descended from the Lucian line would rule the country, for the above reason, which is still shit c) the daughter disguised herself as a man and for maximum roleplay got herself a wife too, because people can’t accept a woman being in charge for some reason, but anyway it still makes no sense because the solution after all was that she still does her job, but she does it behind the scenes because she morphed from King of Lucis to Harry Potter whenever the Dursleys have a guest in their house. 

Fuck, I mean, doesn’t the Rogue wield a big honkin’ shuriken? I thought this "ruling from the shadows" thing was more like her conducting assassinations by moonlight and winning the hearts of her subjects by daylight like a murderous Sailor Moon! The flavor text says she “spurned the public eye”, so you know what'd also be acceptable? Her not being in the spotlight because that’s just part of her personality, but I hear Square has no idea how giving women personalities is supposed to work. A "King of Lucis" that avoids paparazzi like the fucking plague would be A++ but nah, it’s because this fantasy world still needs sexism in it, and this King of Lucis who’s gotten her position by “birthright” and “natural causes” still gives a fuck about social mores. Utter horseshit.

[viesolivagant]

Jung’s Anima/Animus

Levels of anima development

Jung believed anima development has four distinct levels, which in "The psychology of the transference" he named Eve, Helen, Mary and Sophia. In broad terms, the entire process of anima development in a man is about the male subject opening up to emotionality, and in that way a broader spirituality, by creating a new conscious paradigm that includes intuitive processes, creativity and imagination, and psychic sensitivity towards himself and others where it might not have existed previously.

Eve

The first is Eve, named after the Genesis account of Adam and Eve. It deals with the emergence of a man's object of desire.

Helen

The second is Helen, an allusion to Helen of Troy in Greek mythology. In this phase, women are viewed as capable of worldly success and of being self-reliant, intelligent and insightful, even if not altogether virtuous. This second phase is meant to show a strong schism in external talents (cultivated business and conventional skills) with lacking internal qualities (inability for virtue, lacking faith or imagination).

Mary

The third phase is Mary, named after the Christian theological understanding of the Virgin Mary (Jesus' mother). At this level, women can now seem to possess virtue by the perceiving man (even if in an esoteric and dogmatic way), in as much as certain activities deemed consciously unvirtuous cannot be applied to her.

Sophia

The fourth and final phase of anima development is Sophia, named after the Greek word for wisdom. Complete integration has now occurred, which allows women to be seen and related to as particular individuals who possess both positive and negative qualities. The most important aspect of this final level is that, as the personification "Wisdom" suggests, the anima is now developed enough that no single object can fully and permanently contain the images to which it is related.

Levels of animus development

Jung focused more on the man's anima and wrote less about the woman's animus. Jung believed that every woman has an analogous animus within her psyche, this being a set of unconscious masculine attributes and potentials. He viewed the animus as being more complex than the anima, postulating that women have a host of animus images whereas the male anima consists only of one dominant image.

Jung stated that there are four parallel levels of animus development in a woman.[4]

Man of mere physical power

The animus "first appears as a personification of mere physical power - for instance as an athletic champion or muscle man, such as 'the fictional jungle hero Tarzan'".

Man of action or romance

In the next phase, the animus "possesses initiative and the capacity for planned action...the romantic man - the 19th century British poet Byron; or the man of action - America's Ernest Hemingway, war hero, hunter, etc."[6]

Man as a professor, clergyman, orator

In the third phase "the animus becomes the word, often appearing as a professor or clergyman...the bearer of the word - Lloyd George, the great political orator".[6]

Man as a spiritual guide

"Finally, in his fourth manifestation, the animus is the incarnation of meaning. On this highest level he becomes (like the anima) a mediator of...spiritual profundity".[7] Jung noted that "in mythology, this aspect of the animus appears as Hermes, messenger of the gods; in dreams he is a helpful guide." Like Sophia, this is the highest level of mediation between the unconscious and conscious mind.[citation needed] In the book The Invisible Partners, John A. Sanford said that the key to controlling one's anima/animus is to recognize it when it manifests and exercise our ability to discern the anima/animus from reality.[8]

Anima and animus compared

The four roles are not identical with genders reversed. Jung believed that while the anima tended to appear as a relatively singular female personality, the animus may consist of a conjunction of multiple male personalities: "in this way the unconscious symbolizes the fact that the animus represents a collective rather than a personal element".[9]

The process of animus development deals with cultivating an independent and non-socially subjugated idea of self by embodying a deeper word (as per a specific existential outlook) and manifesting this word. To clarify, this does not mean that a female subject becomes more set in her ways (as this word is steeped in emotionality, subjectivity, and a dynamism just as a well-developed anima is) but that she is more internally aware of what she believes and feels, and is more capable of expressing these beliefs and feelings. Thus the "animus in his most developed form sometimes...make[s] her even more receptive than a man to new creative ideas".[10]

Both final stages of animus and anima development have dynamic qualities (related to the motion and flux of this continual developmental process), open-ended qualities (there is no static perfected ideal or manifestation of the quality in question), and pluralistic qualities (which transcend the need for a singular image, as any subject or object can contain multiple archetypes or even seemingly antithetical roles). They also form bridges to the next archetypal figures to emerge, as "the unconscious again changes its dominant character and appears in a new symbolic form, representing the Self".[11] - the archetypes of the Wise Old Woman/Man

Jungian cautions

Jungians warned that "every personification of the unconscious - the shadow, the anima, the animus, and the Self - has both a light and a dark aspect....the anima and animus have dual aspects: They can bring life-giving development and creativeness to the personality, or they can cause petrification and physical death".[12]

One danger was of what Jung termed "invasion" of the conscious by the unconscious archetype - "Possession caused by the anima...bad taste: the anima surrounds herself with inferior people".[13] Jung insisted that "a state of anima possession...must be prevented. The anima is thereby forced into the inner world, where she functions as the medium between the ego and the unconscious, as does the persona between the ego and the environment".[14]

Alternatively, over-awareness of the anima or animus could provide a premature conclusion to the individuation process - "a kind of psychological short-circuit, to identify the animus at least provisionally with wholeness".[15] Instead of being "content with an intermediate position", the animus seeks to usurp "the self, with which the patient's animus identifies. This identification is a regular occurrence when the shadow, the dark side, has not been sufficiently realized".[15

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