#the After Rainmaker timeline

[kabii-kins]

The plaza thing didn't happen but HOLY SHIT I WISH IT DID.

[camelspit]

visibly clenching my jaw and shaking with rage. why are all the newer barbie movies trash.

[emiliosandozsequence]

what scifi media do you like?

OH ANON I HAVE SO MANY. i'm so glad you asked 💕💕💕 (tagging @gorydean too so she sees 💕💕💕)

gotta start first and foremost with the sparrow series by mary doria russell as my blog is basically just a shrine to it at this point. amazing book and definitely recommend it if you love found family, first contact, trauma, tragedy, and the abandonment of the faithful by g-d. huge massive trigger warning tho. everyone says the second book isn't as good as the first, but i completely disagree. i think they're bitg equally as good as each other; the second book just takes awhile to get to the most insanity inducing parts whereas the first one starts out strong with that and keeps going until the end of the story.

i would have more books to recommend, but i've only just started REALLY getting back into reading after several years of not reading as much due to a variety of reasons (mostly trauma and chronic and mental illness). that being said, i have an insane amount of films to give you to watch instead of books.

gotta recommend my all time fav film (or one of the two anyway), the fountain. most people...don't like this movie because they think it's hard to understand and doesn't make sense towards the end (i had to watch it several times to get it), but please please please watch it. it's a beautiful film both visually and plotwise as long as you give it a chance 💕

sound of my voice is softer in terms of scifi, but still definitely scifi. it's another film that lets you decide what to believe. it's also another film people tend not to like for whatever reason, but i think it's extremely well done and the ending is so 💕💕💕💕💕💕

cloud atlas. very much a story in the same vein as the fountain taking place over different timelines. another beautifully done story about how everything and everyone is connected throughout space and time. ofc my fav timelines are the ones with robert frobisher and sonmi-451. i do also recommend the book, but i liked the film better because of a few of the changes they made.

sunshine is one of my fav films ever and i've loved it since i was in high school and first saw it. it reminds me a lot of three body problem in the sense that antagonist (idk if i would exactly call him a villain even tbh) is using g-d as a reason for the things he's doing. there's a few deleted scenes i wish they'd kept in because it really emphasizes this, but even so, this film is gorgeous in so many ways.

i origins. if u can't tell already i'm a huge brit marling fan and i think this is one of her best stories. again: you get to choose what to believe and you really have to watch the whole film for the pay off, but it is so very much worth it. i think i've actually only ever watched this film once, tho idk why bc it's genuinely one of my favs.

looper is another film that idk why more people weren't into it. the setting is dystopian. i was trying to think of a way to explain it in a few short sentences like i have the rest of the films here, but it's one of those films also that i think going into it knowing nothing is better. the kid who plays the rainmaker is so fucking good too. he's not even 10, but he played that role perfectly.

elysium. EVERYONE KNOWS DISTRICT 9 BUT NO ONE KNOWS ELYSIUM. i stand by my opinion that this film would be infinitely better if diego luna were the main character instead of matt damon, but even so i really love this film. the score is gorgeous. also lmao we for real might be living in this universe soon if elon fixes up that space hotel he wants to do fucking rip

ender's game. the author is a homophobic and transphobic dickwad who actively gives his money to anti-lgbt organizations, so watch this for free if you can (and buy the books second hand), but i actually really enjoyed what they did with this film. a lot of people thought it was too rushed, but also like....ender's game is a very Dense book, so i understand why they did it the way they did it. also the score is amazing.

signs. another film involving g-d and religion seen through the lens of scifi and first contact. this film gets shit on a ton for reasons i do not know, but it's actually really well done. it scared the ever living shit out of me the first few times i saw it tho bc i did Not grow up watching horror.

knowing. another film involving g-d and religion seen through the lens of scifi and first contact (can you tell i have a type of film/media i like???). this film also scared the ever living shit out of me when i first saw it to the point i had to sleep with the lights on, but in all actuality it isn't scary at all (i was just 14 and had never seen a thriller before lol). i really love disaster films tbh, but this is one of my all time favs (next to greenland).

another earth i did not like when i first saw it. i thought the whole thing was kind of pointless and didn't make very much sense, but the more i've thought about it since then, the more i've understood it. funnily enough, i never watched it a second time, but it's brit marling, so i probably will eventually. again: definitely recommend.

lucy. listen i know this has scarlett johansson in it and none of us like her, but this film is good despite her. i thought it was going to be dumb as hell when i first saw it, but i actually ended up liking it so much that it's heavily inspired the next novel i'm planning on writing (a scifi space opera about a girl becoming g-d).

origami. okay this one is difficult to find and you WILL have to buy it if you want to watch it (trust me: i have searched FAR and wide for this film in any other place and vimeo is the ONLY place i found it; it's only $5 to rent on there tho), but it's so worth it. it's worth it. it's one of my fav films and i watched it purely because of francois arnaud and i'm glad i did. this literally is his best work imo.

ink is my all time hands down favorite film. idk if you would even call it scifi, but i love it so much i just wanted to talk about it. it very obviously had zero budget, but they used what little money they had VERY wisely and the result was this beautiful film. the story makes me sob every single time. actually it's quite similar to origami, so if you like one, you'll probably like the other.

tron: legacy is another film that people shit on and idk why. it has The Best religious imagery. like how are you going to top one of the programs falling to their knees in prayer as flynn passes by????? the whole thing seems to be a jesus/judas metaphor anyway and i'm crazy for that shit. gotta mention the score as always because daft punk knocked it out of the park (people shit on the score too and i really don't get why).

thelma. i watched this one a whim with a friend and i cannot recommend it enough. i feel like it was kind of popular on here when it first came out bc it's a sapphic film, but it's also just very good in general. i've seen people get super upset about it also bc their interpretation makes it lesbophobic (which is crazy to me but whatever.

melancholia. i did Not like this movie for the longest time, but then i watched it recently and finally Got it. i guess you really do have to be a certain level of depressed to understand this film, so if you're insanely suicidal and can barely function like me, then i recommend it. you will probably get some catharsis out of it like i did. it is a very Strange film tho.

the creator came out at the end of last year and it was so good. definitely my fav film to come out in the last few years and involves g-d, religion, and AI. the score also in this is great (everybody say thank you hans zimmer. again.). the ending makes me sob so much.

more that i love a lot, but not as much (apparently there's a character limit, so i can't explain why these are my favs too, but it's for similar reasons as above).

the matrix trilogy

the fifth element

snowpiercer

blade runner 2049

as for tv shows, i don't have as many, but i do have a few that i would highly recommend if you like any of the films above:

halo. again: everyone shits on this show, but the absolute TRAGEDY of it is the fanboys hate it bc they suck and are bigots and everyone else who would like it (LIKE MY MUTUALS) refuses to give it a chance because of its overall reputation, so i'm BEGGING YOU GUYS TO GIVE IT A CHANCE.

foundation. genuinely fucking good. so much of what the creators of this show have done to change the story has been for the better. i read the books and they were okay, but the show is so so good. idk when season 3 will be coming out, but hopefully soon (same for halo, which i actually like better than this show).

the oa. i will forever mourn what we could've had with this show. i can't even talk about it without getting choked up. this getting canceled really truly fucked me up.

castle rock season 1. technically a horror series, but this season is more scifi than horror, i think. everything really comes to a head in episode 9 iirc and that episode still makes me crazy when i think about it. i definitely need to do a rewatch.

firefly/serenity. you've probably heard this one recommended before, but there's a reason for that. it's really so good, but g-d and jesus hate me because it too was canceled before it could even finish ONE SEASON. thankfully there's a film that kind of ties everything together, but WE COULD'VE HAD SO MUCH MORE.

i tried to put in some movies that aren't talked about as much on here!! i also have several letterboxd lists dedicated purely to scifi, which you can find below.

holy holy holy (scifi (and other films) involving religious imagery or straight up just about theology

the sparrow cinematic universe (films that are either discussed in the sparrow or remind me of it or that i could see the main characters watching)

but it was my body. it was my blood. and it was my love. (films that i either genuinely believe could be based off of the sparrow or just remind me of it in some way)

per aspera ad astra (scifi films i have seen or heard of. this literally is every single scifi film i remember ever in existence so it's quite long)

also mainstream scifi that i recommend/am obsessed with

interstellar

dune series (wer'e talking about the books here; not whatever the fuck denis villenueve pulled with the films lmao)

district 9

annihilation/southern reach trilogy

ex machina

prometheus

pacific rim

arrival

event horizon

mad max: fury road

nope

mobile suit gundam series (mostly hathaway and g-witch tho)

star wars (mostly the prequel and sequel trilogies)

nausicaa of the valley of the wind

castle in the sky

inception

tenet

high life

aldnoah zero

hanna

real steel

86: eighty-six

this is so much longer than i meant it to be omg. anyway people do not call me the scifi queen for no reason.

[sawdusst]

Theft of a Crew (Coroika Pirate AU)

What's up fidget spinners we're doing another thing where I put characters in situations!!! :D (It's another poll-based story thing hooray!!!)

As per usual, here's the link to the main thread where you could read up on other things about the Pirate AU if you're new and you could also check out the other story I did before! :D

Once again this'll be a poll-based story, the results of the poll determining how the story will go.

Polls will be active for 24 hours, but I will still accept votes until the day after. If the poll closes before you could vote, please leave a comment under the chapter with your choice! I will not be accepting votes that are days late, however.

You can change your decision only once during that period of time. If you do change your decision, please leave a comment under the chapter and please let me know that you're changing your choice so I don't count the vote twice. Thank you :D

Polls may ask about external factors too, which is something I want to mess with a bit more. But, I think it would depend on how the story goes.

I'll still be posting infodumps alongside this :D Or at least try to (?) I'm honestly sort of running out of things to infodump about besides oddly specific situations-- but those might be more fun to write out rather than having bullet points. ANYWAYS--

Once again, the schedule might not really be consistent but I'll try my best to post 1 chapter a week.

I would also like to note that timeline-wise this would take place before The Rainmaker Heist. So with that being said, please look forward to the first chapter!!

I'll hopefully get writing on it and it should be up either this Friday or Saturday :] At least, that's what I'm hoping for :'D

ok thanks for reading byee!!!

[docgold13]

Isn’t the common line of thinking that “Wildstorm doesn’t work as part of the mainline DC universe” pretty damn stupid when characters like Superman and Shazam have coexisted for years within the same world as the Suicide Squad, Red Hood, Batman, etc. rather seamlessly? To me, those people always came across as the very same people who thought there weren’t enough quips and jokes in Reeves’ Batman

I'm unfamiliar with this discourse. So there are fans who feel the Wildstorm characters don't fit in with the main DC Universe? They dose seem a limiting opinion to hold. There is more than enough room for characters like Midnighter, Grifter, Rainmaker... the whole lot.

DC's continuity is a hot mess. But there can be positives to the inconsistencies... If a given story could benefit from the addition of a given character, just put that character in. Doesn't really matter if they're dead or from a different timeline or different whatever. These are all imaginary stories after all. The only confines should be what a creative team is able to come up with.

And I don't think Reeves’ Batman needed more quips and jokes... just a better adjustment to the aspect ratio.

[jimclassicstoycollection]

Transformers Legends (Japanese version)

Leader class

Jetfire

You’d think that I’d be covering the Siege version of Jetfire, didn’t you; but no. I don’t own the Siege version.

He just wasn’t a priority for me.

I got Jetfire from Ebay, for about $30 some time around September 2019, so thins is rough where I am in the timeline. He arrived around the same time as the Rainmakers, and Siege Skywarp.

This version of Jetfire is the Japanese version of 2014′s Transformers Generations toyline, however his weapons and accessories do not come with the vacuum metal red paint, and the’re all just red plastic instead.

Vehicle Mode:

I’m no jet expert, but Sky...I’m sorry, Jetfire’s jet mode is some kind of fighter jet with articulated wings, very similar to his G1 toy/ macros origins.

The jet is cast in mostly white plastic with red painted details. There are some black plastic for the boosters, some clear blue for the canopy, and I think the nose cone is a soft rubber.

it’s a solid jet mode. Everything’s holding together well, the wings move into position fine, it has minimal panel details.

The red paint is clean, and also simple, and I love the Autobot tampagraph on the nose cone.

Jetfire can be outfitted with all of his accessories in both modes; for the jet mode he’s got those awesome rocket boosters, add the guns to the wings and the fuselage and he’s ready for some mainframe combat. You can add the gun to the nosecone too, but I’m not a fan of that.

The canopy can open revealing some nice detail, however it’s all unpainted black plastic, but it’s a nice option.

I will say this; if you look at the jet mode from the ventral section you’ll see the faux chest canopy underneath and between the intake manifolds, and it’s pretty obvious what that part is.

I suppose you could make the argument that since Jetfire’s all about technological advancement that it’s a high powered scanner, or something. Maybe a deflector array?...He is a scientist and explorer after all...

Transformation:

Transformation can be a scary thing sometimes. Lots of the transformations requires moving limbs and large areas around on thin, possibly breakable plastic, and personally this is not the type of Transformer you can just mindlessly convert; I recommend taking your time, and being careful with it.

Robot Mode:

But you can’t argue with the end result; Jetfire looks amazing.

I love this robot mode, I’m really glad that I made bought this figure. He doesn’t exactly look like his G1 counterpart, but he also has that 21st century update to the figure.

Jetfire, stands tall, like any lead class figure should; this is back when the classification still meant something.

Now we do see that Jetfire has a faux chest while the real nosecone is part of his backpack, and maybe that was unavoidable, I don’t know. It doesn’t bother me too much, especially since the rocket boosters do a god job hiding it.

The toy also has a FIFTEEEN 5mm ports; that’s a pretty good amount considering this toy predates the Siege line. Some of these 5mm ports are on the guns which we’ll talk about more in a bit.

I love this head sculpt. It is such a good, and clean sculpt referencing ‘The Transformers’ Sunbow animation cartoon model. 

The head kind of reminds of a space helmet with the silver face sticking, and once you add the battle mask it completes that look just fine. I prefer the mask off to be honest, but depending on the posing or the scene I have no problem with it being on.

Obviously Hasbro and Takara were trying to make a modern representation of both Jetfire’s Marcros origins with his Sunbow cartoon animation model, and I think for the most they made it work.

I would say Jetfire has a decent range of motion:

Horizontal hinge at the head, swivel at the neck, swivel at thye shoulders, hinges at the armpits, elbow bend, NO WRIST SWIVEL, universal knees, thigh swivel, knee bend, and ankle tilt.

The toy is definitely missing any waist or torso articulation, or wrist swivels, but this is also an older figure, is still acceptable..

Accessories:

Jetfire’s weapons and accessories are mostly made of red plastic with some black paint in certain areas.

The booster rockets can be clipped to the back of the jet. The clip is one a swivel, and the boosters can either be positioned up or down. In my opinion I prefer to keep the boosters down. The booster also has two 2 out of the 15 5mm ports.

The pair of arm guns are red, hollow plastic with black paint, they’ll clip on any 5mm port, and each gun has a 5mm point as well.

There’s another pair of larger guns which attach to Jetfire’s legs. They are also hollow red plastic, with black paint at the barrels. And the they also each have a 5mm ports.

The hand gun made out of red plastic is a spring loaded missile launcher.

The missile launches pretty well , and has two 5mm ports on the sides of the  gun.

Last of the accessories is Jetfire’s battle mask. I think it’s a clear blue plastic painted white, silver and black. The mask heralds back to the old Macros toys, and it slides off and on the the heads sculpt pretty well. It’s a nice option.

My only complaint about the battle mask is that for the life of me I can’t get the toy to wear it while in jet mode. Every time I’m transforming the figure, the mask eventually pops off, and I’m not about to use a lot of force with a thin plastic mask, on a toy with thin plastic hinges; so I just don’t even bother keep it on.

Final Thoughts:

I know I’m late to the game here, but I’m happy to finally have this figure. I wanted this figure back in 2014 but never picked it up. I though I had missed my opportunity, but I managed to pick one up for a good price.

Since i don’t have Siege Jetfire I’m glad that I have this one.

It’s a fun, modern update (2014) to a classic character. In my opinion this mold still holds up, as long as you’re careful transforming him.

[mexcexchangenews]

MEXC Exchange Lists Rainmaker Games (RAIN) - Deposit, Trade and Hold to Win 80,000 USDT!

MEXC will list Rainmaker Games (RAIN) in the Innovation Zone and launch trading for RAIN/USDT trading pair. The specific timeline is as shown below:

Deposit & Withdrawal: Opened

RAIN/USDT Trading: 2022-01-10 10:00 (UTC)

Note: Prices may move greatly for projects listed in the Innovation Zone, please be cautious of the risks.

RAIN Deposit, Trading and Holding Contest - 80,000 USDT to be Won!

In order to thank RAIN community members for their support, the Rainmaker Games team decided to launch a Deposit, Trading and Holding Contest with 80,000 USDT to be won! The details are as follows:

1) Deposit and win a share of 10,000 USDT Giveaway

Activity Period: 2022-01-10 02:00 - 2022-01-13 15:00

Rules: During the event duration, users that deposit RAIN with a minimum net deposit of $50 worth of RAIN can share a 10,000 USDT prize pool. Prizes received by each user are proportional to the size of the individual’s deposit amounts during the event.

2) Trading Contest - Grand Prize

Activity Period: 2022-01-10 10:00 - 2022-01-13 15:00

Rules: During the event duration, users who achieve a minimum trading volume of 10,000 USDT for RAIN trading can stand a chance to win 22,000 USDT. Users will be ranked according to their total trading volume, rewards distribution are as below:

3) Trading Contest - Participation Prize

Rules: All RAIN traders with a minimum trading volume of 500 USDT for RAIN are eligible to share a 8,000 USDT prize pool. Prizes received by each user are proportional to the individual trading volume during the event.

4) Holding Event - Grand Prize

Activity Period: 2022-01-10 10:00 - 2022-01-14 15:00

Rules: During the event duration, MEXC will take a snapshot of each user’s RAIN balance at a random time every day. The top 20 users with the highest average holding amount of RAIN on MEXC will win a share of a 30,000 USDT prize pool.

5) Holding Event - Participation Prize

During the event duration, users who have an average RAIN holding amount of 500 RAIN and above on MEXC will split a 10,000 USDT prize pool in proportion to users’ individual holding amount.

Terms & Conditions:

Net Deposit = Deposit - Withdrawal; Valid Trading Volume = Buys + Sells.

Snapshots will only cover users’ RAIN in the Spot wallet.

Users participating in this event must complete the required KYC verification before the end of the event to be deemed eligible for the rewards.

Winner list and rewards will be announced and distributed within 10 days after the event concludes.

Users that ranked in the top 10 traders in the RAIN Trading Contest and the top 20 holders in the RAIN Holding Event are not qualified for the Participation Prize.

MEXC reserves the right to disqualify users that are deemed to be wash trading, illegally bulk registered accounts, as well as trades that display attributes of self-dealing or market manipulation.

This event was initiated by the Rainmaker Games official team, and the rewards are provided by the project party. All participating users are deemed to participate voluntarily. This event does not constitute any investment advice.

MEXC has the final interpretation right of this event.

Project Info

(This information is provided by the project team. Strictly for references only.)

Project Name: Rainmaker Games (RAIN)

Total Supply: 1,000,000,000 RAIN

Official Website: https://rmg.io/

Block Explorer (ERC20/BEP20):

https://etherscan.io/token/0x71Fc1F555a39E0B698653AB0b475488EC3c34D57

https://bscscan.com/token/0x6bcd897d4ba5675f860c7418ddc034f6c5610114

Telegram: https://t.me/rainmakergames

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RainmakerGaming

Medium: https://rainmakergames.medium.com/

Whitepaper

Project Brief Introduction:

Born from a world-class gaming guild, Rainmaker Games is now launching their global tech platform that brings gamers, guilds and games together. The platform is focused on enabling every player who wants an opportunity to join the play to earn ecosystem to do so, regardless of financial circumstance.

[lonawebb87-blog]

Insightful Information About Lona Webb Nevada

Deciding Whether to Go Legal

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In addition, a great company coach, especially one with a legal background, is a excellent sounding board to assist you in figuring out whether an issue is genuinely legal in nature, and if so, which type of attorney to keep. You would marvel how numerous issues appear legal in nature, however turn out to be organisation choices instead. So do not be rash when deciding whether to go legal!

Not All Lawyers Are Created Equal

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First, there is the main concern of whether your matter is civil or criminal in nature. Typically (and, fortunately!), the typical legal matter an entrepreneur will face is a civil matter. Hence, you will be dealing with a civil attorney (hopefully in more ways than one). Nevertheless, civil law is a huge umbrella. Typical little business matters may include incorporation, intellectual home ( patent, copyright, and hallmark ), contract drafting and enforcement, work or labor law issues, and so on. Thus, try to find an attorney that specializes in the area you need aid with. Don't be tempted to use your cousin, who is a domestic realty attorney, to assist you with a complex trademark problem. While this might be appealing in regards to saving money, it may (and typically does) expense you more money in the long run if the matter is not dealt with properly. Match the attorney to the problem, and you are on the ideal track.

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Cash Matters

If you have actually never worked with an attorney in the past, here are some basics of the legal occupation with regard to money matters. A lot of attorneys charge by the hour, so ask what the per hour rate is, and an price quote of the number of hours the matter might take. If the matter is little, or a typical one that the attorney manages typically, there may be a flat cost for the whole transaction instead of an per hour rate. Be prepared to pay a cost for the initial consultation, which is standard, however not a hard and quick rule. Sometimes, the attorney may need a retainer, which is cash that you offer upfront that the attorney works off of as the matter advances.

Something to consider is that law office are typically broken down into partners and partners . Partners are basically co-owners of the firm, while associates are workers, albeit high level expert ones. Who requires the highest rates? Generally, the partners. Hence, ask yourself if you truly require a partner, or can an knowledgeable partner deal with the matter. Do you require the very best litigator in the firm? Many times, the finest litigator may be an partner that is still active in the courtroom, as opposed to a partner that might be more of a rainmaker generating company for the firm.

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[bygonebetabites]

Looper

Capsule: I liked the first half, and then it went weird places.

As always, critique more than review, so spoilers after the cut.

My criticism of Looper is rooted in how it’s a funhouse mirror reflection of Terminator. To sketch out the premise- our protagonist is Joe, a Looper. Time travel will be/has been invented in the future, and is illegal. Future technology makes disposing of corpses impossible. So criminal organizations send folks they want dead into the past, where Loopers kill them, collect the silver ingots from the body, and dispose of the corpse. Eventually, the Looper kills their future self, tidying up the timeline (”closing the loop”), and getting a gold payday. They just know they’re going to get ganked in 30 years. That’s a cool premise, they explain it well, and there’s a lot of stuff you can do with that. And they do, in the first half of the movie: damage to present-day loopers is reflected on the future looper, so if a future looper escapes, they just start cutting pieces off the present looper. Eventually, Future!Joe (F!Joe) shows up, manages to not get killed by Present!Joe (P!Joe), and things start to go sour.

It takes them a while to get to the reveals, but here’s how the rest of it plays out: F!Joe’s wife was killed by the guys sent to kidnap him*. Most of the Loopers are getting retired/sent back to the past to be murdered by their past selves. This is because the up-and-coming crime lord The Rainmaker has decided to end the contracts of all the Loopers. So F!Joe is going to kill the Rainmaker as a child to prevent his currently dead wife from being killed. Dead Women as Motivation for Male Characters Counter: 1

*How does this work with the ‘impossible to dispose of bodies in the future’ thing?

Shenanigans in the present result in P!Joe stumbling across the isolated farmhouse of Sara. Sara has a kid named Cid. Cid doesn’t think Sara is his mother, because she gave him to her sister because Sara was living it up in clubs, etc. And then, whoops, her sister was killed, traumatizing Cid. Earlier, they introduced the idea that telekinetic powers exist, on a very limited scale. Sara’s stronger than average, but still limited to moving a lighter about. Cid is much stronger, and his trauma makes him push himself more. Which he does, whenever he sees a gun being pointed at Sara.  Dead Women as Motivation for Male Characters Counter: 2.

It turns out that Cid grows up to become the Rainmaker, because a looper (F!Joe) killed his mother (Sara).  Dead Women as Motivation for Male Characters Counter: 3.

But in the end, P!Joe kills himself, erasing F!Joe and saving Sara, preventing the Rainmaker from coming into existence. 

Okay - temporal shenanigans aside^ - you see why I draw parallels to Terminator? I mean, I’m not helping myself here, since I put all Linda Hamilton films in continuity, and the farmhouse could show up in Children of the Corn. But Sara + time travel + future savior child... It just cast the future savior as the apocalyptic event, and the temporal assassin as a selfish man, instead of an unstoppable cyborg.

^ So, the Rainmaker exists because F!Joe-B killed Sara. F!Joe-B exists because P!Joe-A killed F!Joe-A, which meant that F!Joe-B escaped when P!Joe-B tried to kill him. But F!Joe-B doesn’t exist unless the Rainmaker does, which he created... it’s a paradox that can’t have a beginning point, unless there’s a whole another set of circumstances that result in Rainmaker-A, who arises in the absence of Rainmaker-B, etc. Point is, I lost myself in their paradoxes.

It’s the same idea, but instead of fears of amoral technology, atomic armageddon and guerrilla warfare, it’s hard men making hard choices, society consuming itself and urban degeneration.

And it is really hard to follow up classics - especially when you also throw away Sarah Connor in favor of mangst. That’s my real complaint. Okay, so Sara’s love is what prevents Cid from becoming the Rainmaker. That’s good - not every female character needs to be strong in the action hero sense. But that’s not really how it’s presented. It’s ‘Sara’s death makes Cid into the Rainmaker.’ Don’t get me wrong - Sara is shown struggling with Cid’s tantrums, dealing with loneliness and loss of her old life, all the real struggles of a single mother. She throws herself between F!Joe and Cid to let Cid escape. She’s a good character - it’s Joe that bollocks everything up.

F!Joe is angsting about having to kill children (because he doesn’t know which one grows up to be the Rainmaker). P!Joe is a drug addict, and selfish goober. F!Joe’s wife is one who got him out the criminal life, and his addictions. Basically, the men of this movie are broken, and it’s apparently the job of the women to fix them, or keep them from breaking in the first place.

To quote the other Sarah: “Fucking men like you built the hydrogen bomb. Men like you thought it up. You think you're so creative. You don't know what it's like to really create something; to create a life; to feel it growing inside you. All you know how to create is death and destruction...”

In conclusion, Fuck the Patriarchy. Take responsibility for your own actions. STOP STUFFING WOMEN IN REFRIGERATORS. There are good parts, but they’re swimming in a sea of white man pain. And I am so done with that sea. I want to drain that sea and fling it into the sun. 

[skyovereuropeldkde]

Climate Chaos?

Welcome to the history of man-made weather. Global warming alarmists and climate scientists would have you believe that destructive weather can surely be blamed on rising CO2 levels while never mentioning the effects of daily weather experiments overhead. This weather modification and geoengineering timeline will now bring clarity to the climate change and geoengineering debate. As the media distributes pro-geoengineering propaganda in a political climate ruled by fear, the Lord’s of Weather (geoengineering lobbyist’s) suggest coating our skies with sulfur, aluminum, titanium, and diamond dust to block the sun and cool our planet. While acknowledging that Geoengineering Solar Radiation Management will alter rainfall patterns worldwide and likely kill people, the Lord’s of Weather ignore the cold hard facts: after 60 years of cloud-seeding, nobody has ever produced any proof of its efficacy. Billions of dollars are spent worldwide altering clouds with silver iodide and other chemical nano-particles despite the fact that cloud seeding likely does not work. Even worse, all of the separate cloud seeding programs worldwide could be altering our weather in dangerous ways where the butterfly effects of aggravated clouds destroy property and end lives, even the CIA is worried about weather warfare. Despite numerous lawsuits over weather modification activities, most losses are blamed on “nature” as there is little transparency or accountability.  With a cloud-seeding’s terrible track record, how could anyone support geoengineering SRM’s uncontrolled global weather manipulations. To make matters worse, Bill Gate’s geoengineering money is also funding Hurricane Hacking efforts blurring the lines between Geoengineering and Weather Modification. 

Geoengineering the sky has been a worldwide phenomenon since the start of commercial aviation. Ships and jet aircraft are covering our skies in man-made clouds.  Despite 60 years of jet planes making clouds, aviation-induced cloudiness, persistent contrails, contrail cirrus, and aerosol-cloud interaction are barely understood with today’s best supercomputers and are not properly accounted for in IPCC models.  The aviation industry knows this, and jet aircraft-produced contrail cirrus clouds are now being actively experimented on using two main concepts: doping jet fuel with sulfur and cirrus cloud seeding to melt these clouds away.  Contrail cirrus clouds trap heat and likely are a greater threat than CO2 so scientists are experimenting with jet biofuels and flight routing to engineer clouds that cool the planet. This active experiment goes on everyday, over your heads, with over 100,000 flights a day worldwide and zero accountability.

Space Weather Modification is also gaining more publicity.  When upper atmospheric nuclear explosions were banned back in the 1950’s, the U.S. military still hell bent on replacing our fickle ionosphere with something more reliable decided to dump millions of needles in space to create their own.  The West Ford Needles project failed, and to this day millions of needles can be found floating in space or buried in ice at our poles.  Next the military began using sounding rockets and satellites to create heavy ion clouds in space by dumping Barium, Strontium, and Sulfur Hexaflouride into our ionosphere.  Military radio technicians could heat these chemical releases in space with the ionospheric heater at Arecibo, Puerto Rico and “see” our ionosphere.  Today, the top ionospheric heater worldwide HAARP fires electromagnetic missiles into our Van Allen belts and scrapes out radiation using the “Christofilos Effect” learned back in the 1950’s nuclear blasts. Dubbed “radiation belt remediation” ionospheric heaters are sold to politicians and the public as a back up plan for Solar Flares or High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse attacks, however foreign governments are very concerned about the military capabilities of these ionospheric heaters, with the Russian government going as far as to say HAARP could “have a negative impact on the mental health of people populating entire regions.” Despite these dire warnings, the practice of heating chemical releases in space is just “a conspiracy theory.”

The weather modification and geoengineering timeline below was created to document the little known history of weather control. The contents of this timeline will be updated regularly. We encourage you to participate by submitting your rainmaking and geoengineering links, letting us know if corrections are needed, and sharing this page with your friends and family. Knowing is half the battle. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana

Thank you for visit my Blog ☢ ☠ ☢ 💉Skygazer 💨💨 ✈✈

[vsplusonline]

Inside a $5.7 bn deal: Coronavirus couldn’t logout Facebook & Reliance from “Project Redwood”

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/inside-a-5-7-bn-deal-coronavirus-couldnt-logout-facebook-reliance-from-project-redwood/

Inside a $5.7 bn deal: Coronavirus couldn’t logout Facebook & Reliance from “Project Redwood”

MUMBAI: “Can I catch up on some sleep just for a few hours,” was the first message Anshuman Thakur typed to a senior colleague around on noon right after he finished a media call with Ajit Mohan, Facebook’s head in India.

Thakur, a former telecoms rainmaker at NM-Rothschild-and-Morgan Stanley-turned-head of Strategy and Planning at Reliance, had been up on the phone since 4 am, fine tuning the final raft of documents hours before Facebook announced its strategic $5.7 billion partnership with Reliance early on Wednesday early morning.

A muggy Mumbai night coupled with the excitement of bringing home a deal that has been on the works for over a year made it equally hard to switch off totally in the final hours. And this was by far the most high profile deal of Thakur’s career. The fact that it was getting baked bang in the middle of a global pandemic had added to the complexity.

And truth be told Corona had tripped up the plans. Well almost.

Meet At Menlo Park Stands Cancelled Thakur was to fly to Facebook’s headquarters at Menlo Park along with his bankers, lawyers and colleagues on 16th of March to start crucial negotiating with his Facebook counterpart Raj Singh after the non-binding term sheet got signed in January.

A secret code name – Project Redwood — was also conjured up for the core deal team of around 30, perhaps in sync with its deep California connect. Just like Sycamore, Sequoia or Oregon Ash, Box and White Adler, Redwood is a popular tree to native California, home to Facebook.

The Silicon Valley poster boy last September also had expanded its corporate home spending a billion dollars with a 525,000 square-foot new swanky building building called MPK 21, that was designed by architect Frank Gehry to seat about 3,000 employees. The redwood forest in a courtyard and the 3.6-acre rooftop garden along with a tiered outdoor amphitheater akin to a botanical garden had etched deep resonance to many.

But suddenly the world was under lockdown. Skies were getting shut, borders sealed. The dreaded pandemic was everwhere.

Till then it was relatively smooth. Legal, tax dilligence had begun in full earnest by February under the watchful eyes of RIL old hand K Raja Ramachandran. Commercial deal was completed prior. By then, lawyers — AZB and Davis Poke for Reliance, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Hogan Lovells for Facebook had joined tax auditors PWC and the two lead bankers Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Reliance and their advisors at Morgan Stanley, led by Michael Grimes, their global co-head technology investment banking had opened up the data room around second week of March. From India, telecoms-media-technology banker Kamal Yadav was acting as the pointsman on ground but a face to face meeting was absolutely essential “to connect the dots and cross the tees.”

Thakur did not speak to ET for this story that was pieced together after talking to at least half a dozen people who were directly involved.

A Virtual Project Redwood The lockdown suddenly threw everything out of gear. “Only VCs were the way out,” said an official involved. The first such “virtual meeting” after the aborted March meeting took place around the weekend before Prime Minister Modi announced a nationwide lockdown on March 25th.

“The aim was to make the announcement by March 31st.” quipped another deal insider. “That did not happen but we are not far out either.”

Reliance too needed some good news. For seven years chairman Mukesh Ambani had been on a $100 billion spending spree expanding petrochemicals and building out the world’s largest 4G telecoms network. But a bloated balance sheet was becoming a headache. A deal with Aramco has been still hanging as is its $8 billion Brookfield InvIT transaction.

A new technology partner for Jio to leverage the commerce and retail backbone that Reliance was banking on to break the bank was the right medicine the doctor had ordered.

Preliminary discussions with Google had also taken place but the search giant wanted a chunkier trade and bigger rights. It fell through early on.

Zoom Calls & Blue Jeans What followed was weeks of intense dealmaking via video conferencing via Blue Jeans and Zoom in spite of the time difference between Mumbai and California.

“Manoj Modi would only come in to fill in the big strategic issues. Even on Facebook side, they would circle back with Zuk (Zukerberg),” said another official. “Once at around 8 am IST and again around 9 PM IST, we would regroup to thrash out the nitty gritty,” said officials in the deal team. “Afternoons would be relatively free or would wrap up outstanding issues.”

Even then, uncertainties on the global macro picture loomed ominously in the backdrop. Facebook was convinced about the long term strategic fit but “all of a sudden, discussions on valuations also included the impact of the lockdown on business, turnaround timelines what happens if the lockdown continues,” added another official.

Deal Dynamics Morgan Stanley had came into the picture in the second half of last year having missed out on the Aramco mandate. The Wall Street bank had advised Sony last year when Zee Entertainment was in play. That deal fell apart but Morgan got Sony to talk to Reliance to merge the entertainment business as well. That deal is also in the final laps.

But sources say Mukesh Ambani and Mark Zukerberg had initially toyed with the idea of a collaboration almost 14 months back. Gen Next Akash and Manoj Modi, Mukesh’s consigliere, were also part of the A Team to front the dialogue. Ajit Mohan’s appointment as an MD and Country Head in India, added heft to their presence and reaffirmed the commitment.

“No longer would anyone blame us for not investing enough dollars in India,” quipped an official. “This cheque should silence many.”

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[kansascityhappenings]

NASA estimates it will need $20 to $30 billion for moon landing

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WASHINGTON D.C. — NASA has touted its bold plan to return American astronauts to the moon for months by 2024. Now we’re starting to get an idea of how much it will cost.

The space agency will need an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion over the next five years for its moon project, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told CNN Business on Thursday. That would mean adding another $4 billion to $6 billion per year, on average, to the agency’s budget, which is already expected to be about $20 billion annually.

Bridenstine’s remarks are the first time that NASA has shared a total cost estimate for its moon program, which is called Artemis (after the Greek goddess of the moon) and could send people to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century. NASA wants that mission to include two astronauts: A man and the first-ever woman to walk on the moon.

The overall goal of the Artemis program is to establish a “sustainable” presence on the moon, paving the way for astronauts to return to the surface again and again. Learning to live and work on another world, Bridenstine said, will prepare them for NASA’s long-term mission: to put people on Mars for the first time in human history.

The $20 to $30 billion cost estimate is less expensive than some had predicted — though they’re not necessarily the final figures. Bridenstine acknowledged that spaceflight can be dangerous and unpredictable, so it’s practically impossible to settle on an accurate price tag.

“We’re negotiating within the administration,” he said. “We’re talking to [the federal Office of Management and Budget]; we’re talking to the National Space Council.” (The National Space Council is a recently revived policy development group headed by Vice President Mike Pence.)

“Once we come to a determination within the administration,” Bridenstine said, “we will of course take that over to the Hill and make sure that our members of Congress are interested and willing to support that effort.”

Will NASA get its money?

Winning over lawmakers, however, will likely be the most difficult part.

Pence announced in March that the Trump administration wanted to speed up NASA’s moon ambitions, and launch the first crewed mission in 2024 instead of 2028, the agency’s earlier timeline. That’s just five years away. And all the hardware that NASA needs is either delayed, way over budget or doesn’t yet exist.

So far, NASA has formally requested only an additional $1.6 billion for Artemis, which Bridenstine has described as a small “down payment” for the overall program.

Meanwhile, members of Congress have been after the administration for a total cost estimate and a detailed plan on how it will spend the money. Bridenstine will also have to win over Democrats who are already skeptical.

Critics also point out that NASA has poured billions of dollars into deep-space programs over the past 15 years, though humans still have not been back to the lunar surface since the final Apollo mission in 1972.

The Apollo program also happened in a very different political environment. It was during a bitter Cold War standoff with the Soviet Union, and the United States was in a mad dash to beat its enemy to the lunar surface. All told, the United States spent about $25 billion on the Apollo program, or nearly $150 billion in today’s dollars.

Some fear that NASA will end up diverting funds from its other programs, which include robotic exploration missions, Earth science and climate studies and other important scientific research.

“I will tell you my goal — and I’ve been very clear about this — is to make sure that we’re not cannibalizing parts of NASA to fund the Artemis program,” Bridenstine said.

And, he said he’s confident that NASA will convince Congress to get on board: “I think there is a strong desire. It’s bipartisan to explore, to learn, to understand the science and the history of our own solar system.”

Breaking down the budget

NASA and US taxpayers have already invested heavily in the rocket and spacecraft that will be used for the trip. But those projects have been routinely criticized. They’re years behind schedule and way over budget.

Space Launch System, or SLS, is the name of a gargantuan new rocket that promises to out-power any launch vehicle ever built and be capable of flinging people toward the moon or Mars.

SLS was once expected to cost about $9.7 billion and start flying in 2017. But NASA has already spent at least $12 billion, according to a recent Office of the Inspector General report, and it’s not expected to fly until next year at the earliest.

Similarly, Orion, the name of the spacecraft that will launch on top of SLS and carry astronauts out to the moon, is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Other hardware NASA needs that doesn’t exist yet: A small space station that will orbit the moon and serve as an outpost for astronauts, called the Lunar Gateway, along with a lander that’s capable of taking people from the station down to the moon’s surface.

These are not cheap projects.

Still, NASA’s expenses have been a drop in the bucket compared to many other departments. The annual Defense Department budget, for example, has reached $1.3 trillion per year. Health and Human services gets about $90 billion per year. And Homeland Security annually receives about $50 billion.

What it means for business

NASA isn’t the only organization talking about going back to the moon. The United States has a booming commercial space industry, and SpaceX, the rainmaker of the industry, has its own plans to build a giant rocket and fly tourists around the moon.

And NASA is paying attention: A significant chunk of research and development for the Artemis program will come from the private sector. It’s part of NASA and Bridenstine’s plan to lower costs and make space an entrepreneur-friendly environment.

“We’re going back to the moon, but we’re doing it entirely different than we did in the 1960s,” Bridenstine told CNN Business. “The reason we need commercial operators is because they can drive innovation if they’re competing on cost and innovation.”

NASA has long worked with corporate contractors. Boeing, for example, helped build the Saturn V rocket that powered the Apollo program. And these days, Lockheed Martin and Boeing are primary contractors for Orion and SLS.

But NASA’s commercial partnerships are different: The space agency wants private-sector companies to design, test and build technologies and then compete for lucrative government contracts. Essentially, Bridenstine says, NASA will become just another customer for companies in the business of space travel.

The space agency has already made it clear it wants to turn to the private sector to take care of lunar landers. Three small companies that build robotic landers were awarded tens of millions of dollars from NASA to drop cargo off at the moon. And startups such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which is building a crew-worthy lander called Blue Moon, are gunning for space agency contracts.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/06/14/nasa-estimates-it-will-need-20-to-30-billion-for-moon-landing/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/06/14/nasa-estimates-it-will-need-20-to-30-billion-for-moon-landing/

[grapsandclaps]

GRAPS AND CLAPS DOES ALLY PALLY PROGRESS

Hello again everyone and welcome to the story of Show 70 of the #100showyear which took me to the Christmas darting mecca of Alexandra Palace for Progress Wrestlings biggest show of the year - Chase The Sun.

But first of all it was the longer than usual travel down to the capital via trams, trains and tubes with the added entertainment of our group doing our best Pete Dunne impressions supposedly "Everything is mine" in a dour brummie accent.

Arriving in Wood Green before the 20 minute walk up Muswell Hill we took in a decent little pub called The Jolly Sailor or something to that effect and was greeted with very good beer prices for a London boozer - £3.60 for Coors, £4.10 for Wolf Rock and £4.60 for Blue Moon, the bar lady overheard of my liking for slices of orange in a pint of Blue Moon so out of kindness and service she sent her faithful bar assistant out to the local grocers for some oranges, low and behold a slice of orange ended up in my drink 😍.

Drinks done it was time to take the hike up to Ally Pally which on a nice day is a lovely walk to do with views of the London skyline to the left hand side of you which in the evening can be a fantastic sight to see. Arriving at Ally Pally it was time to find our seats which due to arriving an hour before the show started meant we were more to the back of row 11/12 with a central view, the set up was very much like the set up WCPW does with their seating in the aircraft hangar called Bowlers. Atmosphere wise it was much noisier than the previous years Brixton Academy show with it making it more accessible for people to mingle with their wrestling friends. The option to stand up at the back was there if you couldnt see anything from your seats which i took advantage of, but our Geoff stopped in his seat all night and seemed to like it there.

Pre show match was Chuck Mambo beating Spike Trivet in what i was told was a short affair but missable , because i had gone to get beer refreshments at the nearby bar before the main show had started.

Hop House Lager - £5, Fosters £4.80, Deuchars £4.50

Show started with a great video package to the familiar tune starter Started From The Bottom by Drake, and after the usual opening dialogue from Jim Smallman it was time to get on with the show with the visible ladders around the ring it was time to start with the Progress Tag Title Ladder Match with British Strong Style (Champions) vs CCK.

This was a fine opener with the early stages of the match based more around wrestling than using the ladders. Once the ladders came into play some cool offence was used including back suplexes on to the ladder, Kid Lykos being carried whilst on the ladder by Bate and Seven and then flung over the top rope to the Progress security below. The ending came when Brookes and Tyler Bate were fighting atop of the ladder with Bate being backbody dropped on to a raised ladder which was held on the ropes. With the prone Bate on the deck, Brooks climbed the ladder to grab the belts and your new champions - CCK to the satisfaction of the 2,500 strong crowd.

Next up it was a battle of Australia vs New Zealand with Womens Champion Toni Storm vs Dahlia Black. Again another good match here with both women having opportunities early on to take the upper hand, Toni Storm hit a piledriver on Black for a close 2 nearfall to the amazement of the crowd. The finish came when Black got crotched on the top rope and was prone to a nasty german suplex from the top by Toni who then proceeded to finish Black off with the match winning piledriver. After the match Jinny came in to attack Dahlia clamping Blacks previously injured leg in a chair and stamping on it, so it looks like it will be Dahlia vs Jinny for the near future leaving Toni Storm opponentless for the time being which is a bit strange.

Zack Sabre Jr was next for his mystery opponent challenge which was answered to a huge pop - i had goosebumps for this moment just wow by Marty Scurll returning for the first time since January where he was eliminated from the ThunderBastard Match but since being away from Progress has become a huge star thanks to his association with The Bullet Club - they are a huge cash cow. Anyways this match was another great match in the Sabre vs Scurll story lasting 20 minutes both guys going hold for hold knowing each and every step their opponent would make. Eventually Sabre Jr got the win with the bridging roll up for the 1-2-3, Scurll after the match then gave what looks like to be his farewell to Progress for good - make your own mind up on why, but Scurll is certainly someone who Progress could do with at the top end of the card once British Strong Style decamp to WWE.

Deathmatch time with perennial moaners about who is the rightful no.1 contender Jimmy Havoc vs Mark Haskins. I might be in the minority on my opinion here but even though it was a good match at times, i did feel the atmosphere went a bit flat here after following Sabre vs Scurll. It did have its moments with Haskins using The Death Valley Driver on Havoc off the stage through a table, many thumbtack spots and even Vicky Haskins getting involved passing a barb wire bat to Mark Haskins and then proceeding to walk off which was a bit head scratching, surely you stay there to help your husband lay the beatdown to Havoc. Havoc because of this took advantage winning with a barb wore assisted rainmaker for the win. Ok match but as explained bloody head scratching stuff with Vicky Haskins more the baddie in this piece than Mark Haskins. Seeing Ben and Chris at half time they uttered many a "Shit" "Crap" and "Fuck" about this match.

Back from half time it was time for a big announcement with Progress's big show in 2018 taking place at Wembley Arena, very ambitious as per ICW doing the Hydro. I think sleeping on my opinion from last night Progress will easily get 5/6k to the show but i am all of the worry that the boom of the UK scene can all come to a halt like that, hopefully it doesnt but with Progress they seem to have a great relationship with WWE at the moment so all looks rosy.

Three way Atlas action next with Champion Matt Riddle vs Walter vs Timothy Thatcher. Cracking hard hitting 3 way match with the basis of the action being Walter and Riddle hitting each other really hard with Thatcher playing the third wheel. There was one spot in this match which Progress have on their twitter timeline with a massive triple german suplex being performed - Riddle went flying nearly out of the ring, the finish came with Walter choking out Matt Riddle to get back his Atlas title which he lost in the States to Riddle. A new contender them came down to the ring to face off with Walter - it was ICW and WWE UK star Wolfgang to a decent ovation, dont get me wrong i think Wolfie is very good and provides a different challenge to the Atlas division but the WWE UK fingerprints were in the back of my head seeing this.

The 8 man no.1 contenders scramble match was next with Mark Andrews vs Damien Dunne vs Eddie Dennis vs Jack Sexsmith vs Strangler Davis vs James Drake vs Flash Morgan Webster vs Zack Gibson. Good action as you would expect with the 8 men involved, looking at the match beforehand i would have gone for a Morgan Webster or Zack Gibson win here with the probable Travis Banks win in the Main Event in hindsight but sadly i was wrong with regular no.1 contender Mark Andrews picking up the win here, don't get me wrong i think Andrews is fantastic to watch and is a great babyface but he is rivalling Mark Haskins for No.1 contender opportunities. After the match a shock heel turn here with Eddie Dennis turning in his FSU partner to the boos of the audience, i suppose FSU have done everything as a team in Progress and it brings a new side to Eddie that hasn't been seen in ages but so soon after The Riots split up this is now 2 long standing teams gone from the tag division.

Flash Morgan Webster i dont know where they go from here with him, another failed opportunity missed here for him.

Now The Main Event with Pete Dunne (Champion) facing Travis Banks for the Progress World Title. A very good main event here but one spot that did cheese me off a bit was a point where British Strong Style hit a Piledriver/Tyler Driver 97/Bitter End Trifecta and Travis kicked out at 2 which sounds as silly as it reads. That aside it was fantastic to see Travis Banks submit Pete Dunne to end the near year long reign of The Bruiserweight to a huge pop, this was the natural result that should have went down and it did. It now sets up fresh matches at the top of the card with Jimmy Havoc and Mark Andrews vs Banks but with Pete Dunne maybe gone for the moment it leaves a gap for a tosser at the top - maybe Webster/Brookes or TK Cooper when he returns but we will just have to wait and see.

Show done it was time to make the walk back down Muswell Hill to Wood Green and a stop off in the Wood Green Wetherspoons for some tea - Beef and ale pie for £6.99 and a pint for £2.18 all good quality fare. Sink it in £2.18 FOR A PINT IN LONDON!!!!

Overall a great show but with a couple of gripes as described above (The Progress Fan Forum Police Siren will be sounding haha!) but certainly betfer than Brixton last year. Was great to see a lot of the graps gang make the trip to Ally Pally and they were rewarded with a fantastic venue.

Next trip is to 53two in Manchester on Sunday for Futureshock Reloaded with the main evemt of Pete Dunne vs Soner Durson. #grapsandclaps

[thebibliomancer]

100 Days of Comics! 098/100: Stormwatch #8 (1994)

it is the ultimate reverse tallying of numerals

And with today’s selection from the box of scant mystery, we return again again again again to the 90s and again again again again to Jim Lee’s Wildstorm and Image.

As the comic starts Apache Stormwatcher Ripclaw is doing a solid for the San Carlos reservation Apaches and tracking down a runaway. And a crossover. Because the runaway is Sarah Rainmaker, from Gen 13. Or she will be from Gen 13. I’m not sure what the timeline here is.

And then some agents of the US government show up to take Rainmaker into custody.

Meanwhile, Stormwatch has their own space station with their own Danger Room Combat Training Center. And Jackson and Backlash are talking about a recent mission that miiiiiiiight have some repercussions. Basically Jackson left Stormwatch Prime for dead back in Kuwait and then when he found out they were alive, he defied orders to rescue them.

And the UN might be pissed about that. And Flashpoint definitely is pissed about being left for dead. And he’s definitely going to want revenge maybe.

But instead of yelling at Jackson over the Gamorra thing, the UN Council has a mission for him. He’s to take the team to the San Carlos reservation and help return Rainmaker home. Since the reservation is technically a separate political entity from the US, Stormwatch will be there by invitation. But you definitely might have to tangle with US forces.

And how well Stormwatch does on this mission will determine how council judges the Gamorra thing.

So Ripclaw and Rainmaker are fighting the US jetpack troops. And Rainmaker reveals her Storm powers. Stormwatch shows up and Jackson tells the US troops to step off.

We cut to the United Nations where a Mr. Smith basically blackmails the UN with information about what happened in Gamorra to get the UN to step back their support of the Apache tribe and surrender Rainmaker.

But first, some 90s fights. I have no connection or understanding of these characters so this fight means next to nothing to me. Ripclaw has sharp claws and he SHRIP!s people. There’s a big guy who is big and tanks blasts. And Jackson goes by Battalion and does the cool guy catch punch but whatever.

Whatever.

Whatever.

They beat the US forces and take Rainmaker back to her village. But when they get there a government car arrives. And with it Synergy of Stormwatch who tells Battalion that if they don’t give the girl up, the world learns that Stormwatch invaded Gamorra illegally. And then Stormwatch is finished.

So after all that fight I skimmed over, Stormwatch has to hand over a crying Rainmaker and I guess her family can’t do shit to stop it.

It is cool that we have a story where the US government is portrayed as the bad guys regarding how they Apache reservation and specifically stealing a girl from there. But after everything, Stormwatch fought the law and the law won.

It would have been unthinkable when the Comics Code was stronger and relevant. No portraying authorities as in the wrong.

Although specifically Stormwatch lost because of a no man left behind invading a foreign country without authorization move. So not really sure what the takeaway is. Don’t be in Stormwatch, maybe?