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karenvideoeditor-blog · 2 months

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Where we are with AI, in March of 2024

We’ve seen the development of photo and video manipulation, from the earliest days of Photoshop up to now. This year, though, things are reaching the level we’ve all been concerned about – we can’t tell if important things we see are real. Soon, not even the experts will be able to tell, and anyone will easily be able to make any fake video they want.

Look at this image. Does it look real? Give the article a read.

When I first glanced at it, I didn’t even notice he had shirt sleeves and no shirt! Because I was focusing on his face and the smoke. That article explains some of the best ways to tell a photo is AI. But most notably, it says, “There are so many obvious signs this is AI, but most would miss them because they’re not part of the focus of the image, and since this is not a case where you think someone would be tricking you, you have no reason to analyze it that closely.”

A colleague who works on visual effects for movies shared this video created by OpenAI Sora.

youtube

He explained, “I work in visual effects. It is my job to make the audience fooled by what they are seeing. Those of us in the industry tend to see a lot of flaws that most people miss. We will soon be at a point where I won't be able to see the flaws.”

Puppies playing in snow is fun, and I’m sure many people look forward to infinite adorable animal videos! But of course, that’s not why you’re reading this. This is about AI videos of any person, place, or thing that your average grade-schooler will potentially be able to create. Month by month the software will get better and easier and cheaper, and AI photos have already started appearing ahead of the election, and supporters on both sides of any politician will be using them.

Could you tell that the two photos are fake? As a video editor, I could. But the first one was harder; I had to look for clues like the McDonalds smoking man photo. The worst part of these photos is what the person who created them said in defense:

“I’m not claiming it is accurate. I’m not saying, ‘Hey, look, Donald Trump was at this party with all of these African American voters. Look how much they love him!’ If anybody’s voting one way or another because of one photo they see on a Facebook page, that’s a problem with that person, not with the post itself.”

It’s bad enough that they didn’t care people were sharing those photos under the impression they were real. It will be worse when people are using this software to purposefully manipulate people’s beliefs and feelings to sway their vote, or worse, to fuel outrage and despair.

So, you know how you’ll go online on April Fool’s Day and your brain will be on ‘suspicious’ mode? Have you heard stories of real things that people didn’t believe because they happened on April 1st? From now on, that is how you need to calibrate your brain for important images and videos.

If a familiar face says something notable, out of character, or outrageous, if you didn’t learn about it from a reliable news source and you plan to tuck it away in your brain’s section of “things I believe,” you will first need to verify it. Viral photos and videos on Twitter and YouTube aren’t reliable, and you’re better off only getting your news directly from trustworthy sources like news channels. If you find something and want to verify it, use your search engine and key words, especially for strange, suspicious, or implausible quotes, and find a news website you can rely on. If it’s gone viral and it’s AI, it’s likely that the top results will be news websites debunking it.

Starting now, remember: Suspicious and outrageous things are false until proven true.

To sum up, here’s the News Literacy Project’s guide for vetting news sources:

Do a quick search: Conducting a simple search for information about a news source is a key first step in evaluating its credibility.

Look for standards: Reputable news organizations aspire to ethical guidelines and standards, including fairness, accuracy, and independence.

Check for transparency: Quality news sources should be transparent, not only about their reporting practices, but also about their ownership and funding.

Examine how errors are handled: Credible news sources are accountable for mistakes and correct them. Do you see evidence that this source corrects or clarifies errors?

Assess news coverage: An important step in vetting sources is taking time to read and assess several news articles from them, not just the one you clicked on.

Also, look for clues that you should avoid a website. They include:

False or untrue content

Clickbait tactics (melodramatic headlines)

Lack of balance (feels like it was written by a person who took a side)

Manipulated images or videos

State-run or state-sponsored propaganda

Dangerous, offensive, and malicious content

Stay aware and attentive, good luck, and let’s hope we can at least keep this dumpster fire in the dumpster.

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feralnumberfive · 3 years

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The Rewatch Academy: Episode 3 of Season 1

“Extra Ordinary”

I am in no way a good analyst so my little analysis and speculations probably sound a bit goofy or pretty wild and probably mean nothing at all. Everything I put into this post about each episode is purely what I noticed or thought, whether it's funny or serious. I will be making jokes, so please just leave it at that (in no way am I trying to make fun of an actor and or character!) I am also in no way saying I noticed this stuff first. This is just what I noticed while rewatching these episodes

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1x01 | 1x02 | 1x03 | 1x04 |

☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂

☂ First off I’d like to say that this is one of my favorite episodes of this season. It’s just soooo good

☂ The second comic book in the window features the Televator from the actual comics, so that has to be canon in the show! Also at the time that that second comic came out, Five had already left since we don’t see him on the cover

☂ It’d be cool if they actually printed Vanya’s book for fans to read

☂ Well Diego isn’t wrong when he called Hazel and Cha Cha animals because of their masks

☂ Honestly I feel Vanya’s struggle with chair placement. I’ve fortunately had the luck of playing in all three clarinet chair placements, but 1st chair is challenging. I personally found each placement very fun to play, especially 3rd, and I hope Vanya does too! (why am I talking like she’s real)

☂ Hazel talks about people living ordinary lives, but didn’t he live like that too at one point? How does The Commission recruit people? If they get ordinary people, do they wipe their memories of their previous lives?

☂ “Let’s see’em get out from behind their desks, get their hands dirty for once.” Well Hazel, Five does indeed do this even though he only had a desk job for a day. Still, he got to experience both worlds

☂ My mind is blanking on this, but how did Five get that cut on his arm? Was it from a bullet wound at Gimbel’s?

☂ Five must have a high pain tolerance to stitch his own wound but his bandaid probably wouldn’t stick due to the wet blood he slapped it over. Five sweetie you need a cotton pad and gauze for that one

☂ Wait, you’re telling me that The Umbrella Academy boys’ top uniform consists of a tank top, a white dress shirt, a tie, a sweater vest, and then the blazer? Someone asked Reginald what he wanted for the uniforms and he just said “Yes.”

☂ Five: *puts hands in pockets only to immediately take them out*

☂ Aidan almost sounds like he has an accent when he says “I'm done funding your drug habit.”

☂ Five’s so soft talking to his wife

☂ No Leonard, your bread and butter is being a creep

☂ Also, he thinks wood carving is embarrassing? If someone came up to me and showed me something they carved out of wood I would be so jealous cause it’s such a neat form of art

☂ Leonard saying that he carved wood, and in that case wooden figures, when he was a kid is a slight foreshadow of all of his tampering with his Umbrella Academy figures. He can make wooden figures but he’s also destroyed a handful of the Hargreeves figures

☂ “Never really did like The Beatles.” Well sir you’ve made me dislike you even more

☂ Vanya asking Allison if her siblings wanted her at the family meeting bugs me a bit. I absolutely get that she was literally left out of anything and everything that had to do with her siblings when she was younger, but Allison just asked her to come back home for a family meeting. Allison wouldn't have walked around looking for Vanya only to tell her that they were having a family meeting and that she wasn’t actually invited. Allison is including her in on a family meeting but Vanya is just in a bit of disbelief that she’s being included

☂ Ah yes, the only PTSD flashback for Five we see in the show! He looks so scared when he snaps out of it. I believe it was somehow triggered by the kids (I could be wrong) but do you think Five sometimes panics when he looks at himself in the mirror now since his body is the same age it was when he got stuck? Also it’s very subtle but when Luther opens the door, Five slightly jerks/flinches back. I wish we would see more of this in the show since it’s one of his major traumas

☂ “Does it matter? It’s Klaus.” Ouch! Well Five I hope you know that your siblings are somewhat thinking the same thing since they believe that you’ve lost your mind and are practically an old man crying “Apocalypse!”

☂ Five does an ever so slight huff and smirk when Luther tells him that the meeting at the Academy is important. He finds it a little funny but so frustrating in his mind that Luther doesn’t know what’s truly important

☂ Also I love that Aidan has to turn to the side so that he can keep it together after Klaus talks about his chocolate pudding waxing. Either that or he’s portraying Five as being frustrated and in disbelief. Also this is the first time I’ve noticed that he says “Ay, ay ay...”

☂ “We’re all you have. And you know it.” Oh Luther, you’re failing to see that that’s why he’s acting like this right now. He’s all frantic and crazed about trying to stop the apocalypse so that he can protect and save all that he has

☂ Five certainly is mad at Luther during his mini lecture. He’s clenching his jaw tightly and when he first speaks he hisses out the words through gritted teeth. He even called Luther by his number. He’s very impatient at this point and doesn’t care for Luther’s act of attempting to be a leader

☂ This is their first, and certainly not last, time watching Klaus go by in front of them doing something he shouldn’t be doing

☂ “You haven’t been home in a long time, Vanya.” Sir you were also just on the moon for four years. Yeah Vanya was away for a long time but Grace easily could have changed too during the four years you were gone

☂ How sweet, even though Five hasn’t really been home they want to include him in on the family vote :]

☂ I’ve noticed that in S1 that David really mumbles his lines. A lot

☂ I wish we got more flashbacks of the younger Umbrellas

☂ Diego my beloved mama’s boy ♥️

☂ It’s confusing as to which country TUA takes place in, but it’s really not supposed to be a specific one. It’s portrayed as being in North America, but you can see behind Cha Cha when she gets out of the car at the Academy the flag of the RAF, which Canada would have at a monument since it’s a Commonwealth country. At the same time though Delores came from Gimbels, which was a department store chain across the U.S

☂ The light above Five’s portrait is slightly crooked, which probably means no one has really been paying attention to it

☂ It makes me nervous that Klaus wipes bubbles onto his face. It looks like he got some in his eyes

☂ Ugh I love the whole scene of Hazel and Cha Cha walking around the Academy with “We’re Through” playing

☂ Diego: *has knives but instead chooses to punch and hit Hazel to try to make him let go of Allison”

☂ A rope-a-dope is a boxing tactic of pretending to be trapped against the ropes, goading an opponent to throw tiring ineffective punches. Diego sweetie Hazel wasn’t even trying to get you off of him all he was doing was choking Allison. The only person who got tired was probably you

☂ What’s the point in Diego yelling “Luther, go!” if he’s already going 💀

☂ Luther was there immediately when Hazel attacked Vanya. That means that Luther heard Vanya and was going to go get her to safety

☂ I will never stop signing my praise for the entirety of the “Sinnerman” fight scene(s). It gives me chills every single time. Easily one of the best scenes in all of the show

☂ Klaus must really have his music blasting if he can’t hear the gun shots right next to him

☂ I’ve always wondered if Allison actually registered in her mind that “The boy” is Five when Cha Cha says that’s who they’re looking for. Either she does realize that’s Five, is simply just angry that those two are looking for a boy, or registers in her mind that it’s Five through his superhero codename even though Cha Cha’s not referring to him in that way

☂ Diego is full on just standing in the background watching Allison get beat up by Cha Cha 🕴

☂ I love Diego’s little hand flap when he gets hit in the hand fighting Cha Cha

☂ Okay so I make everything about Five, but the whole Cha Cha fight scene with Allison and then Diego kind of scares me. Cha Cha and Hazel are both amazing assassins (they’re both probably right below Five) and neither Allison nor Diego could stop her by themselves. Could you imagine Five fighting one of his siblings? Especially with his spatial jumps? We already got a glimpse of his true combat skills when he fights Lila in S2. What a scary little old man

☂ “Vanya, get out of here!” Again, wanting to make sure that Vanya is safe and gets away. He even tried to go look for her

☂ Something I don’t really get about the Hazel and Luther fight is why doesn’t Luther just overpower him? Luther has super strength and on top of that he has giant muscles due to the gorilla DNA. Shouldn’t he be able to beat Hazel to a pulp? Maybe we have to consider that Hazel might have been altered by The Commission to be stronger and more durable, but they haven’t mentioned that in the show

☂ “Ah, you gotta cut down on that fast food, soldier.” What are you talking about Diego he literally just got off the moon two days ago aflksjfdk

☂ So Luther was too injured to jump out of the way of the chandelier but was able to push it up off of himself? 🤔

☂ I personally think that Luther’s body design adaptation for the show is really cool and that they gave him the perfect amount of bulk without making him look ridiculous

☂ This has been pointed out before, but cross-stitch foreshadowing, baby

☂ Again, Diego my beloved mama’s boy ♥️

☂ Well at least Diego thought about Vanya dying before thinking about his siblings dying because of her. The latter is ironic!

☂ The clock above Luther’s mirror reads approximately 1:30 am. Hazel and Cha Cha didn’t want to wait until morning

☂ I wonder how different it would be if Five was present at the Academy when Hazel and Cha Cha attacked. He probably would have surrendered himself to them, but it's fun to entertain the idea that he would go apeshit if he knew that they were harming his family in order to find him

☂☂☂☂☂☂☂

Feel free to comment or reblog with things you have noticed too!

#tra #the rewatch academy #tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #number five #five hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #hazel and cha cha

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leeus-writing · 3 years

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Aaahhh thank you!! Can I request a Sephiroth x fem reader trick or treat? SFW or NSFW, up to you! 😊

Sorry, this is late!

Tricks

“Y/N Did you really think a company-wide trick and treat was a good idea?” Your friend asked giving you a fed-up look.

You smiled enthusiastically, “Yeah, my department was tasked to keep morale up, I did the questionnaire and most people requested company-wide trick and treat… Though I can’t be sure that Reno of the Turks didn’t hack the system. Still, it won out and so we have to do it.”

“Yes well, I didn’t vote for a trick or treat,” Your friend muttered.

A member of HR suddenly ran through the door shouting, “Anne! The Turks…. Well, Reno is creating a disturbance!”

“Oh! for F*ck sake! Alright, Y/N I’ll catch you up,” Your friend spat before waving her hand at the person and followed them reluctantly.

You chuckle to yourself at your friend's outrage, before securing your witches hat on and grabbing your bucket. You had managed to blag yourself first place at the trick or treat night.

“I’ll see you later,” You call to your colleagues and head out.

Shinra HQ had really pulled out all the stops that year at Halloween. Cobwebs covered bannisters; Drone bats fluttered around the place. Some floors had dry ice seeping mist through the halls. Each office had made some kind of effort to decorate, of course there were some that couldn’t be bothered but others had gone in so heavily with the décor, you were sure it was going to take a week to take down the decoration.

You decided the first place to hit was the SOLDIER department, more importantly, 1st class. You had been harbouring a major crush for one certain silver-haired 1st class SOLDIER for a long time now, and dressed in your most sexy witches outfit, you hoped to make an impression.

You knocked on the door to the SOLDIER department and smile as Zack opens up. He had two antenna stuck on his head. You laugh a little.

“What are you dressed as?”

“Oh, our department has gone as Aliens this year,” He replied and looks her up and down then smirks, “you’re here to see Sephiroth aren’t you.”

You blush a little.

“Alright, SEPH!” Zack shouts “Come in.”

He steps to one side and you step in. The place had been decorated like a spaceship. SOLDIER’s walked around dressed as Aliens, you spotted Sephiroth chatting with Genesis and Angeal. He spots you and gives a small smile before getting up, saying something to Angeal and Genesis and walking over.

“Y/N Hello. I was told this… trick or treat thing was all your idea?” he asked with a small smile.

“Y…Yes it was,” You replied blushing a little tucking your hair behind your ear “Have you been out yet?”

He shakes his head “No, not yet.”

“Well… come with me!” You blurt out.

Sephiroth frowns a little before nodding “Alright…”

You smile a little at the unexpected acceptance of your unexpected invite. You’d been working on getting Sephiroth to warm up to you for a long time. It looked like tonight he finally had.

You both walked around the HQ building when Sephiroth suddenly took a detour.

“Where you are going!” you hiss.

He gestures to the Café which was yet to open, “We need tricks… I have a bone to pick with the Guards…” he said hopping over the counter.

You frown following him over as he fished around in the fridge, hooking out some eggs and shoving them in his pocket. He grinned and winked, pulling you close.

“What, Y/N, never had fun? I thought your job was all about fun,’ he laughs before letting you go.

You blush heavily and followed him, smiling a little. “Alright, what’s your plan?” you asked as you watch him pick up a bag of flour from the shelf behind you. A wicked grin spread across his lips.

“Oh, a few ideas. The guest station at their entrance needs dealing with first. How about you put on your cutest, most harmless witch act and I’ll cause a little mayhem when they’re distracted,” Sephiroth said, looking down at your chest. You blushed, all too aware of just how borderline your witches outfit was.

The night was still young, you had Sephiroth, a few bags of flour and quite a few eggs. Sure, Reno probably did rig the vote, but you were going to milk it for all it was worth.

Ao3

#Sephiroth #sephiroth x reader #final fantasy vii #ff7remake #ff7 #FF7R #Final fantasy sephiroth #halloween prompts #leeu writes

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dialovers-translations · 4 years

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Diabolik Lovers Haunted Dark Bridal [Character Popularity Poll]

The very first Diabolik Lovers Popularity Poll was conducted by Rejet and ran during the end of 2013, following the release of Haunted Dark Bridal for the PSP.

Total amount of votes: 9,960

1st ー SAKAMAKI SHUU (2731 votes)

“First place? What are you talking about? A popularity poll...? Not interested. More importantly...I’m gonna nap in my room for a while, so don’t wake me up...”

Fan comments

・I love Shuu-san because even though he is listless, he will show you affection when it really matters. Shuu-san, please don’t think of it as a hassle for once, and try to make yourself popular!!

・He seems uninterested in everything, but in the end, he shows his attachment only towards the MC. He becomes the only one she needs, which is exactly what is so charming about it.

・I love Shuu-san’s languid voice! I want to try ruffling his hair as well, but I’m sure he wouldn’t like that very much, lol. However, I want to make him see that kind of expression as well.

2nd ー SAKAMAKI SUBARU (2041 votes)

“Damn, women sure love this useless crap. This doesn’t really make me happy or anythin’...! Besides...Being chosen by anyone but you is ...Che! Nothing! You’re in the way so hurry up and get out of my sight!”

Fan comments

・Even though he’s usually violent, his flustered expression is very fitting for his age and extremely adorable! I was completely swayed by the kindness he shows once in a blue moon.

・The kindness he rarely shows up front made me swoon. I really like the scene where he chooses a well-lit place for the heroine and walks slowly to match her pace.

・I shed tears over all the feelings Subaru bears inside. They’re well concealed, but his kind side and youngest child-like demeanor are all so very precious! I couldn’t stop squealing over the gentle expressions he shows every once in a while!

3rd ー SAKAMAKI KANATO (1681 votes)

“...What did you come here for? Eh, sweets? I don’t need such a thing. You came to visit me, without even knowing what I really want...You truly are a fool. In that case...I’ll have to teach you. ...Now, come here.”

Fan comments

・I want to get sucked lots by Kanato-kun. (lolol) To show my gratitude, I’ll give you plenty of candy, okay? I love Kanato-kun. (lol)

・Whether it’s as a doll or whatever, I just want to remain by your side! I love you! For Kanato-kun’s sake, I don’t mind making as many sweets as he desires! The scenes when he suddenly bursts out in tears or throws a tantrum were especially nice.

・I love Kanato-kun’s tsun-tsun-yan-yan side! Both the scenes where he’s crying and the ones where he gets upset make my heart race!

4th ー SAKAMAKI LAITO (1332 votes)

“Just as I thought, Bitch-chan chose me, didn’t she? I’m happy, my Bitch-chan...Let’s ditch those other guys, and once it’s just the two of us, we can have a good time for hours or days on end. Nfu~ ”

Fan comments

・His erotic atmosphere is supreme! Also, the art on which he has taken off his hat looks so cool, it made my heart skip a beat! ❤️ Furthermore, that one CG where he sucks your blood is the best!!

・He’s a pervert but that’s exactly what I like about him. He’s a pervert but, no, he really is just a pervert. That’s what makes him amazing! Even though he’s a pervert! I love you! You pervert!

・I fell for how he can say all those erotic things and remain unphased. I want him to suck me dry. ❤️

5th ー SAKAMAKI AYATO (1289 votes)

“Oi Chichinashi. Letting yourself get distracted by other dudes like that, don’t ogle at any other guy but me! Seems like I’ll have no other choice but to thoroughly teach you that again. A severe punishment awaits, so brace yourself...”

Fan comments

・His voice and groans are so erotic, I love it! (lol) I get all flustered when he suddenly becomes gentle though...Ayato will forever remain my bias!

・Whether it’s his inability to trust, or how he’s a bit of a spoilt child and even his teasing side, I love it all! He found happiness through Yui, and I hope they will forever remain lovey-dovey!

・The contrast between Ayato-kun’s Do-S and Ore-sama personality and his love for takoyaki is just so wonderful, thank you very much! He’s both cute AND handsome, what’s up with that? I love him. The game was very fun as well! Every scene made my heart race! (^///^)

6th ー SAKAMAKI REIJI (886 votes)

“I am not particularly interested in winning over the hearts of many. Just a handful of people will do... ...Ah! No, it’s nothing! Besides, I already have my hands full with your training. Well then, hurry over to my room!”

Fan comments

・I was moved by how he would listen to humiliating orders and kept up with a lot of things for the sake of the MC, despite his naturally big ego. Personally, I was able to feel love the strongest (in this route) which was really nice!

・It’s very much like Reiji to refuse to admit his own feelings towards you! I felt like my heart would just burst at the kindness he shows near the end!!

・I can’t enough of how he looks very logical, yet has this dangerous and passionate side to him as well! Seeing him desperately fight to rescue Yui-chan was really cool...!

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #haunted dark bridal #ayato sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #laito sakamaki #shuu sakamaki #reiji sakamaki #subaru sakamaki #diabolik lovers translation #I found it really interesting to read the comments of the fans #so I decided to translate this old poll for you all #if you guys like this #I can do it for the other games as well #I think there's one for every 'main' game

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queenraiden · 3 years

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It's election time in Canada, again. Go vote!

So back in October of 2019, Canada re-elected Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister; however, with a minority (as in winning the most seats but not enough to cross the 170-seat majority threshold). Having a minority government means having to work with the other parties in order to get bills passed. If the opposition parties all vote against the ruling party on let's say the budget then it's off to an election.

But that's not the case here.

With the election that's gonna be happening September 20, 2021, what we have is a snap election, which basically can be called at any time, and usually when there's a chance that the election will give the ruling party a majority if not more seats. Considering that we're in the midst of a pandemic it'd be great if the election were held when it's supposed to (assuming pandemic is over by then) in October 2023 I believe, but that's not usually up to us but the people we elect.

So wait? What's the point of this?

My initial ramblings aside, my message here as with my previous one from the previous election time message is more or less the same:

GO VOTE IN THE ELECTION!

Why should you? It's so we don't have a worse situation than we have now. Also, if millennials and gen z combined make up the largest voting block, they have the power to turn the tide. Also, we're stuck with a first past the post system where if the vote is split between the Liberals and Conservatives in your riding, and one of the parties wins with not even 50% of eligible voters, that candidate for that party will win even though the rest of eligible voters who voted did not want them to win.

Think of being a group of 6 people ordering 1 pizza with a choice between pepperoni and plain cheese, 4/6 people are vegetarian, and out of the 4 vegetarians only one votes for the cheese while the other 3 don't care because they're not eating pizza. In the end, the group ends up ordering pepperoni and vegetarian who wanted pizza doesn't get any because they don't eat meat. The most sensible solution would be to order both the pepperoni and the cheese pizza, but that would only happen if we had proportional representation. So, if you want to have cheese pizza, which everyone can eat, make sure to vote or else you get no pizza.

Whom should I vote for?

If you have no idea which party to vote for, I suggest using the vote compass. All you do is answer questions and based on where you stand on certain issues you will be matched with a party that closely aligns to your values. It's quicker than reading each individual platform for Liberal, New Democrats (NDP), Conservative, People's Party of Canada (PPC), and Green (and certain parties like Bloc Quebecois and the newly-formed Maverick are regional parties you can ignore if they're not running in your area).

If it's your first time voting, I suggest not going with the candidate your parents are voting for unless you too also agree with that candidate. If you're voting as a new Canadian for the first time, I don't think I need to convince you to vote but definitely do take the time to see where you stand in relation to our political parties.

Regarless whether it's your 1st or 10th election you've participated in, keep in mind vote splitting. Think back to the pizzas and this time a group of 7 with 3 options instead of 2. Three people want pepperoni, 2 want cheese, and 2 want veggie deluxe. Because you have 2 people wanting the veggie deluxe instead of cheese, pepperoni still wins. It's risky to split the vote especially if you're left-leaning and don't want the right-leaning candidate to win, but who knows? You may have more than 1 right-leaning candidate and that might split votes as well.

Now that I know whom I'm voting for, how do I vote for them? I also don't want to catch/spread COVID-19

Polling stations will still be a thing, and you can vote there on advanced polling days, or on election day. You can also vote in advance at your riding's elections office up until voting day.

Can't get to the polls? Don't want the hassle of putting on a mask? Maybe you have COVID-19 and don't want to infect others? Maybe you don't want to catch it and spread it to others? Sign up for a mail-in ballot. All you need is a scanned piece of ID, the form filled out online, and within a week you'll get a small package of your ballot, instructions, and a few envelopes.

To find out things like where your polling stations are located, who your candidates are in your riding (and even what your riding is), the Elections Canada site is your place to go. It definitely has all the info you need for this and any future elections.

So, whether you like how the Liberals are handling the country or you want to see some change by voting for another party, just get out there and vote! You still have a voice and a vote in the election is one way to express yourself. Keep in mind that when you vote, vote wisely.

#politics #elections #canada #go vote #voting #undecided #vote #rant #information #canadavotes #cdnpoli #prime minister #elxn44

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kailedger · 4 years

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for all the YOI fanfic author, p.2

Oh wow, let me tell you, I really didn't expect the previous post on Russian culture to blow up ahaha (Here’s the link to it, in case you’re wondering: https://kailedger.tumblr.com/post/621351027189350400/for-all-the-yoi-fanfic-authors) But since it did, I decided to make a part two, sort of? It's not gonna be about mistakes in fanfiction, but more about things English-speaking authors don't mention simply because they don't know they exist.

I’ll give you the general info and then maybe throw some thoughts about how specific YOI characters would relate to that info in my personal opinion.

HOLIDAYS. We have a lot of those TBH, but I'll mention the most important ones - the ones for which we have official days off. I mean, yeah, you can find a list of those in Wikipedia, if you want, but it doesn't actually tell you the reality of things. I've already mentioned the New Year in the previous post, so let’s skip it.

23rd of February is the Defender of the Fatherland Day. It's actually for those who served in the army, but the tradition is to congratulate everyone who's male. Must have something to do with the fact that on 8th of March we have an International Women's Day, when we congratulate everyone who's female. Doesn't really make sense to me, since, you know, there are women in the army too. And a lot of men haven't served a day in their life, what the hell do I have to thank them for? (Here's an example: my dad used to be in the navy, submarine's captain actually, and every year when I congratulate him, he says something along the lines of "Why? There was no war conflict when I served". That's him being humble, but still, the point is there).

ANYWAY! We're not very big on celebrations of these two holidays, most of the time you just give a call to your respective male/female friends and relatives, give flowers to the ladies and just... enjoy your day off?

Next one is the May holidays. Those are usually on the 1-3 of May, the official name (as Wiki states) is "The Day of Spring and Labour". Honestly, no one uses it lol We just say "the first May holidays" (since we also have the second, that's how much we don't wanna work in May; kinda ironic the holiday is called "the day of labour").

You don't congratulate anyone on this day, usually you just have a couple of days off. If we're lucky, the weather would be nice and then people go to the countryside to have a (oh my god, this is gonna be a mouthful) SHASHLYKI. We'll get back to this thing, and you know why? Since if you want someone to embrace the real Russian culture, you would make them go to shashlyki, trust me.

The second May holiday is the Victory Day, and it's kinda... controversial in a way. It is a big celebration for the victory in World War II. Soviet Union suffered a lot during the war with the Nazi Germany, St. Petersburg was under the siege for more than TWO YEARS. And this holiday is both somber and happy since thanks to our ancestors we survived this hell and are now able to live in peace. The celebration is pretty big on official levels - there are military parades everywhere, concerts, people thank the war veterans (there are precious few of them left by now). When I was still in school, they made us visit those parades every year. Guess what? I've never been to a single parade since I graduated. It's not that I don't value the heroism of people who fought in WWII, it's that I think our government uses this holiday to brag how great we are (or, rather, THEY are), 'cause they haven't done anything worth of praise since 1945, which is... depressing, when you think of it. The ridiculous thing is the parade was canceled this year due to coronavirus, but GUESS WHAT? They've used BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to still have it on 24th of June. While the rate of people getting sick is still abnormally high. All because on the 1st of July we're having a vote on the constitution amendments and our government needs an extra boost in patriotism from our people (should I mention some of the amendments are homophobic? Yeah, it sucks).

Well... that was a rant completely offtopic lol. But, you know, this is the opinion of the most people below the age of 35. Also a huge problem here in Russia. Anyway, as I was saying. Used to be a really great holiday where we thanked the veterans and were reminded of the price they paid. Now it's just a sad excuse for the government to waste money sigh

So, a day off. Some fireworks, a hell lot of traffic problems due to parades. Not much else, if you're from the younger generation.

Same thing goes to the 12th of June. Officially a "Russia Day", but since up until the point I graduated from the uni I had summer holidays, I barely even acknowledged the holiday, cause I didn't have to study/work anyway. So like... I lived my whole life here in Russia, and I have no idea why we celebrate this holiday on the 12th of June. I can google it right now, but that kind of would contradict my point here lol.

The last one is on the 3-4 of November. I think it's called something like "Unity Day", but, again, no idea why. Most of the time we just call it "the November holidays" or even "fall holidays". Honestly, most of the time we just care about the days off, especially if the holiday is supposed to be "patriotic". (When I put it like this, we kinda sound like assholes. Probably cause we are lol).

Birthdays mainly depend on the specific person. I used to love my birthdays and it was a big holiday for me when I was a kid, but then I turned 18 and it kinda lost its charm. You still celebrate it, especially if the date is something like 30, 35, 40, 45 and so on. But it gets less and less exciting over the years. I gather my friends at home and just have drinks, my fiance goes to a bar on his birthday. Not very... celebratory, ya know?

So. YOI characters. ALL OF THEM would definitely celebrate New Year. They would probably send some congratulations on 23rd of February and 8th of March. It you think of the Russian rinkmates as friends, they can go the countryside together on the first May holidays, but not actually do anything on the Victory Day (Yakov may attend the parade since he’s from the older generation). Nothing specific to do on 12th of June or November holidays, most likely the rink would be closed, so, like, just a day off.

And now to the important stuff. SHASHLYKI. Oh my god guys, I’m so excited, cause this is one of those things that is AWESOME in Russian culture. And also makes most of the foreigners really confused. But it has some similarities with the American barbeque gatherings, I think.

First of all, many of us live in big cities (like I live in St. Petersburg for example), but we still have countryside houses. Sometimes it’s where our grandparents live, sometimes we buy it specifically. The thing is – we usually go to these places we call “dacha” to have some rest from the noise of the big city and enjoy the fresh air. Usually dachas have gardens, my mom is crazy about all this greenery stuff (I personally don’t see what’s the big deal with taking care of the plants, but I was told it comes with age ;D).

And to enjoy the experience even more we have shashlyki. It’s usually grilled meat (chicken, pork, whichever you prefer) and vegetables, but the process is what makes it really fun. Most families have their own recipes for marinated meat, you prepare it beforehand. Then, on the day, you make some snacks (salted pickles and fresh vegetables come to my mind immediately; pickles are like a must-have, it’s almost an obligatory food since it goes really well with vodka lol). While some of the people sit around the table, have drinks and catch up, there’s usually one person responsible for grilling meat. And this process is very important – it’s gotta be cooked on the brazier with actual flame (or, more like, coals). You put pieces of meat on a metallic skewer and then grill it (I think there’s the word “kebab”, but we usually use it to describe an entirely different meal, so, shashlyk it is). And let me tell you – having a freshly grilled shashlyk with some vegetables and a drink like wine (or vodka if you’re into it) is the best feeling in the world.

So you’re enjoying the fresh air, really tasty meal, have some drinks with family or/and friends. A pretty common thing (not for everyone, but I personally love it) is having someone play the guitar and sing songs around the campfire. The songs we sing are usually either stupid or old, and you would never just casually listen to those on your own, but when the time comes and you sit with the guitar, somehow EVERYONE knows the lyrics. The point is to have fun, not make a concert out of it :)

I actually think that Victor and the rest of the gang would at least try to give Yuuri (and other non-Russians, who knows) this kind of experience. I also headcanon someone (Otabek or maybe Victor himself) knowing how to play the guitar. But I wouldn’t trust Victor with the grilling, honestly, it requires a lot of attention, and… well… you all know what Victor is like ;D

And since we’re on the topic of music, let’s discuss it. Me and a dear friend of mine @clarie-foster, who also happens to be both Russian and a YOI fan, had a lot of headcanons on this.

What you need to know, is when it comes to music, here in Russia we’re pretty flexible. The popular music is the one you can here everywhere, it’s on European and American charts, like, I dunno, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Gaga etc. There’s Russian pop-music and, honestly, it sucks lol. Most of the time I listen to it cause it’s dumb and catchy. There are some good artists, of course, I can throw you a couple of name bands like “Ночные Снайперы”, “Сплин”, “Би-2”, but the songs are in Russian, and although the lyrics are pretty damn good, they’re kinda hard to understand if you don’t know the language (I mean, just reading the translation won’t give you the whole experience). And those bands are… depressing? In a way? Not that the songs are extremely dark or something, but you kind of listen to those in a melancholic mood. Me and one of my best friends used to go out on the balcony in summer, sit wrapped in a blanket and listen to those songs. Great experience, if a little sad.

BUT. There’s the old pop-music. We have some of those artists, who were really popular when my parents were young and somehow still popular these days. Their music is honestly average – the tunes might be catchy, the lyrics are mediocre at best, but… when you have a little bit to drink, you get in that mood, where you start singing those old pop-songs. And it’s not like listening to ABBA or, I don’t know, A-ha, since those are classic and still good these days. Russian pop-songs SUCK, they’re horrible, but somehow that is the best kind of music when you’re drunk.

I personally think Victor is one of those people who would totally jam to the old Russian pop. It’s funny, since most of it is from female singers (There’s literally a song from a Russian singer Irina Allegrova called “Go crazy, wild empress”, no kidding). I just can picture him so clearly being drunk and singing those old songs with abandon lol.

Mila would probably join him while laughing hysterically. Georgi too, since he’s a drama queen. And Yuri would make all kinds of disgusted faces.

Two facts which I have never seen being mentioned in fanfiction, which is really weird. So Victor lives in St. Petersburg, as we all saw from those last scenes in the anime (in the background you can see actual places from St. P like our sports stadium). And St. Petersburg is mostly known for two things: bridges and white nights.

WHITE NIGHTS OH MY GOD. I don’t want to go to deep into the details since I don’t really understand the nature of this thing (something to do with sun not really going down? I dunno), but in summer, especially in June and July it basically doesn’t get dark in St. Petersburg. I mean, the sun does go down, you can see the sunset and everything, but the sky stays like… white-grey, almost as though it’s midday, just cloudy. Like we’re in the middle of white nights right now, and the darkest hour is around 1 am, but even then it doesn’t really get dark at all. A lot of people from other cities and countries get confused by it, like, there was this time when Stephen Colbert was a guest on a Russian talk-show and he had a hilarious convo with the host. It was something like this: “So I’ve been in St. Petersburg for one day. It has lasted for 46 hours. Please tell me if the sun will ever go down, ‘cause I’m going crazy”.

For us common people white nights can get really annoying, if your curtains are not black-out, you can have a hard time falling asleep (since, you know, it’s too freaking bright outside). But it’s actually really great for late-night walks and is considered really romantic.

And, speaking of romantic, the bridges! What’s so special about those, you’d think. So St. Petersburg is built on the river Neva – it’s like really big, has a lot of tributaries and distributaries and flows through the whole city. Hence why we have tons of bridges.

And those bridges are drawing bridges, meaning they are separated in the middle by a special mechanism and are being lifted in the air so that the trade ships can pass underneath them. The most impressive one is the Palace Bridge – it’s one of the main sightseeing spots in the city. For most tourists it’s obligatory to visit St. Petersburg and see the drawing of the Palace Bridge. It happens at night, around the time of 1 am or 2 am. It’s really pretty, cause there are lights everywhere, you can see the ships passing by and the view of this huge structure being lifted in the air is really magnificent. Combine it with the white nights and you’ll have one of the most romantic dates you can have here in Russia.

(On the more realistic and depressing note: despite the drawing of the bridges being really beautiful, it’s SUCH a pain in the ass for the regular people. Like, because of the drawing you can’t really get from one side of the city to another. For example, I live in the northern part and if for some reason I couldn’t get to it from the center of the city before the drawing of the bridges, I’m stuck till like 4 or 5 am. Subway only opens at 6 am, and although we have a couple of bridges which never draw, those are on the outskirts of the city, so taking an uber and driving there would cost you a lot of money and also would take like and extra hour or so. Thankfully, the drawing of the bridges lasts only from April to October-November, while the ship navigation on the Neva river is possible).

Last, but not least, SOCIAL MEDIA.

So, like, Instagram is pretty popular in Russia and so is Twitter. But what people rarely mention is our own social media site – Vkontakte (www.vk.com, if you’re interested). It started to become popular in like… 2008, I think? Basically it used to be and knock-off from Facebook, even the color scheme is the same. It became more and more popular over the years, since Facebook was never really a thing in Russia (like, I had a profile there, but I’ve never used it). Now it’s like… if you don’t have a VK profile, it’s super weird lol. I communicate with most of my friends through it, since it has a lot of really cool features: chats, group chats, communities, music, videos and photos. It’s gotten so big that VK even hosts its own music festival each year with a lot of popular Russian artists.

Victor is a social butterfly, so he would definitely have a VK profile. So would Mila, Yuri and Georgi, I personally think most of their communication would be through it. Maybe they would even force Yuuri to create a profile, but he’s not really into social media much, so he wouldn’t really use it.

I think that’s it for now. Like I said, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, I would be happy to answer! ;)

#yoi #yuri on ice #yuuri on ice #victor nikiforov #viktor nikirofov #yuuri katsuki #victuuri #viktuuri #yuri plisetsky #mila babicheva #georgi popovich #and all this russia-related stuff

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onestowatch · 3 years

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Aidan Gallagher Has No Limits [Q&A]

Photo By Allan Zaki

There are many facets to Aidan Gallagher. On the surface, his scene stealing prowess as the co-star of The Umbrella Academy has catapulted him to an immense level of popularity on a piece of prime real estate amongst Hollywood’s brightest young A-List celebrities. But beneath the surface of this 17-year-old actor lies a multi-instrumentalist. An independent singer-songwriter who doesn’t seem to care about the mainstream attention that his music may garner in the future, only the substance for which it can bare. Musically, his original compositions like “I LOVE YOU” and “4TH of July” draw early comparisons to acoustic-pop artists like Jack Johnson and Passenger. While lyrically some of his introspective words jump off the paper as if they were indie pop-ballads written by singers like Jason Mraz or Aqualung back in 2003.

For Aidan Gallagher the musician, the year 2020 began with a sold-out show at the Troubadour in his hometown of Los Angeles, California. This live performance on January 6th was supposed to be his introduction to the tour life. In fact, a couple weeks later, he even announced that he would be playing a live set at SXSW in March. But…just as quickly as the Neon Lights Tour began, it came to an abrupt end due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although his first ever headlining tour has been temporarily delayed, it hasn’t stopped Aidan Gallagher from publishing fresh content for his listeners along with a series of new music videos.

There are many facets to the year 2020. On the surface the pandemic this year alone has derailed the plans of some of the world’s most talented independent recording artists. But when you’re an intuitive songwriter like Aidan Gallagher, times like these can provide the backdrop for some of the most emotional compositions that you may create.

We caught up with Aidan Gallagher to talk about his emotional subject matter, his dream collaborations and his future plans to balance his music endeavors with a budding acting career.

Ones to Watch: With all of the success that you've enjoyed over the course of the past two years, you've become one of the most recognized actors in young Hollywood. But now you're starting to get a lot more attention as a recording artist. In fact, you currently have four music videos that have garnered over 1 million views on YouTube. Those are very impressive feats to have accomplished without the support of a major record label. What was your personal goal when you first started releasing music? And are you happy with the reception that your music videos have received so far?

Aidan Gallagher: There was always less of a defined personal goal in terms of a release schedule other than just to make great music and put it out there and if people enjoy it, that’s really gratifying. I’ve always made music as a means of working out emotions and because it’s one of the most rewarding hobbies one can have.

Two singles that you've released this year are "I LOVE YOU" and "Blue Neon." Lyrically, they're both heartbreaking tracks that teenagers can relate to. But you also reference some introspective experiences that many adults in their 20s or 30s can relate to. What inspired the lyrics to these songs?

I've often found that the melodic structure and the micro-tonal characteristics of a riff are what inspire the emotional landscape of a song. When I hear music, I see colors and shapes and textures that I couldn't necessarily describe to another person. I let that imagery inform my emotional state and the subject matter of the song. The lyrics always coincide with this. Sometimes the lyrics relate more to the music than myself and other times they are stripped word for word from my own personal experience. Either way the lyrics always come from an honest place. I don't see how you could create anything of value without that.

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“4th of July" is a Folk song that pulls on the heart strings of your listeners. The date is very specifically addressed in your lyrics, so why did you choose to release the music video on August 1st instead of the actual day of July 4th?

Thank you! I’m really proud of that song. It brought together a lot of what I’ve been learning about music production and engineering. It gave me a chance to show what I can do. A lot of people have asked about the timing of videos and our team has found through the advice of some very wise music industry people and just trial and error that it’s best to release a listening only video first. I like the idea that people will listen to the work before they start dissecting the visuals. I want them to have their own interpretation and not necessarily the visual scenery I put on it.

Of all the musicians and bands that have released music videos in 2020, which ones have inspired your imagination the most, when it comes to creating your own videos?

I often find myself influenced by a variety of artists across musical genres. To give an example or two, I really love what Jacob Collier and Finneas are doing with their videos. But at the same time, some of my favorite videos are the ones that are stripped down, and the artist is just performing their song in a studio or on a stage. I think it puts a beautiful focus on the music and the emotional texture of the song.

The 2020 Blue Neon Tour was going to be your first heading tour, but it was cancelled back in January due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Can you tell us a little bit about what you had in store for this tour?

Well, I was lucky that I got a chance to kick it off at the Troubadour here in Los Angeles. Just that alone was pretty cool. I had a full tour planned to go around the country and then travel to international cities and do meet-and-greets with my fans and really connect. I was really looking forward to my first SXSW performance, so that was a really hard pill to swallow when they cancelled the festival. But all things considered, I’ve been incredibly lucky in my life and my little plans pale in comparison when you look at the state of the world right now.

How many songs have you recorded since the pandemic shutdowns began? And will you be releasing an EP or debut album anytime soon?

“I Love You” and “4th of July” were released this year but everything else I’m doing is currently in a state of flux. I’ve definitely got the songs but it’s a balance of finding the time to put into recording them. I have a large catalog that I’m really proud of that will be coming out one at a time as I can get to it. With (Covid-19) it’s really slowed down my ability to record because I have to engineer everything myself. With “4th of July” I had 3 different engineers on rotation come to my house to work so it kept me working on a strong schedule and we knocked it out fast. When (Covid-19) put everyone in quarantine I lost that team and schedule. We’ll get it back though.

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Who would your dream collaborators be for a full-length studio album and why?

Wow, I mean, if I was ever lucky enough to work with any of my idols, I’d be over the moon. If I got to collaborate with another artist for an entire album it would probably be on a production or writing level. I’d love to work with John Mayer, Finneas, Charlie Puth or Ed Sheeran.

If you could pick any film director to direct the first music video from your debut album who would it be and why?

Honestly, I don’t think in terms of music videos. I only think about music. Once a song is produced then I have the luxury to get into the ideas for a video. I do have some raw visual impressions in my mind of what the song means to me but it’s hard to say until the song is done. Though there are many film directors that I’d love to work with as an actor such as Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Damien Chazelle and the list goes on and on and on.

We heard that you're a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. Tell us about your work with the UN. What made you want to get involved with their efforts to stop Illegal wildlife trade? And why has it been so important for you to shed more light on the animal agricultural industry?

I can’t begin to tell you what a privilege it has been to be able to magnify my concerns about saving our planet through their channels. The environmental crisis is the largest and the most complex problem we face in the world. I have always wanted to use the platform I lucked into as an actor to showcase that. It all started with not being able to go surfing after a rain and that led to many realizations about carbon emissions and the role of the animal agriculture industry in those emissions. I don’t want to seem preachy to people or judge anyone’s choices, but I do want to spread awareness as I learn from the world’s top scientists. The truth is that if we don’t take aggressive action in the next few years, my generation isn’t going to have a viable future in a collapsed environment. The UN is calling the next ten years the "Decade of Action.” As individuals, there are a lot of small steps people can take that make a huge difference collectively such as “Meatless Mondays”, cutting down on single use plastic and cash voting for the environment with your daily spending.

You launched a five-part Q&A series on your YouTube channel back in September. Most of the questions from your fans were centered around your role as Number Five on The Umbrella Academy. Are you planning on creating any new content for your channel that primarily focuses on your musicianship and artistry as a songwriter?

I have a lot of plans for all kinds of content and ways to stay engaged with fans and it all makes me really happy. I’ve been doing music performances for my Patreon members every week, and music performing has always given me happiness. I bet a lot of performers are experiencing depression once they lost the ability to tour. Patreon brought back that happiness to me. Not every person who follows me is into my music, so it’s just for those who are and who would come to a show if I were touring in their city. I try to balance my time between the various things I’m passionate about; however, the past few months have really been about promoting the vote.

You play the guitar and piano. In addition to singing, producing and engineering. Take us back to the early stages of your timeline as a musician. Were you a self-taught musician or did you have instructors and mentors help you develop your skills?

Well, when you're first starting out you generally work on covers to develop your skills with your instrument while also making it fun. Once you can play the chords and you have an understanding of how your instrument works, you can learn things at your leisure. I started off taking lessons but eventually I stopped due to production and had to let my ear guide my learning. That's also when I started writing songs. I never took lessons for songwriting, I just watched YouTube. In particular I remember John Mayer’s seminar at Berklee College of Music to be a defining influence on my methodology for songwriting. As for producing and engineering, I'm completely self-taught and rely only on YouTube research and my own musical instinct to create.

Most of your songs could be categorized as Pop-Rock. What other genres of music would you like to incorporate into your sound?

I like all kinds of music, so I’m not necessarily trying to find a genre to incorporate but I guess you get influenced by whatever you are listening to. Genres are so blended these days, and I really think music operates on more of a spectrum than it does on individual categorizations of itself.

Who are your top five Pop-Rock artists/bands of all-time? And why?

There’s way more than five! But since 5 is my lucky number I’ll try to narrow it down but it’s not in any order. Also know that this list is characterized by how I define Pop-rock. My Chemical Romance, The White Stripes, David Bowie, Queen and Foo Fighters.

We noticed that you filmed season two of The Umbrella Academy in Toronto. How do you think the experience of living in that city helped shape you as a songwriter and artist?

I think in order to write about life you have to live life. At this point in my life, I don't at all consider myself worldly as I simply haven't lived long enough and because of that I find that a lot of my music is introspective, and my songs often feel like the places I've written them. By putting yourself in new environments, I think it pulls new ideas out of you. Travel broadens the mind.

Hypothetically speaking, if you had to choose between winning a Grammy Award as a solo artist or a winning Academy Award with the entire cast of The Umbrella Academy, which option would you pick?

Awards aren’t why I make music or act. I don’t think about them. I just love music and acting. Any part I can play in those fields brings me happiness and I'd love to experiment with the different aspects of those art forms. Initially I got into acting because I wanted to be a director. I also loved listening to music, but I had no idea I would be a musician until I started taking piano lessons.

What’s the plan for your music career moving forward? Do you plan to continue to release material independently or would you prefer to be signed to a major record label?

It was a hard decision, but right now it’s best for me to remain an independent artist as I’m growing my music and balancing an acting career. I had really exciting offers from major labels, but they all want me to drop acting and tour full time. I also really enjoy having creative control over my songs. For the past couple of years, I’ve mostly been writing and because of that, I’ve built up a huge catalog of music to produce when I get the time. After that I’m really looking forward to being able to perform more and on tour. For the time being, I’m really excited about catching up with what I’ve written so that I’ll finally be in a place where I can write a song and begin recording it the next day.

#Aidan Gallagher #Pop #Rock #4th of July #I LOVE YOU #Umbrella Academy

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quakerjoe · 5 years

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"Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?"

Chris O'Leary:

Before you pass my answer off as “Another Liberal Snowflake” consider that 1.) I'm an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and 2.) If you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?

Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.

A.) He lies. A LOT. Politifact rates 69% of the words he speaks as “Mostly False or worse” Only 17% of the things he says get a “Mostly True” or better rating. That is an absolutely unbelievable number. How he doesn’t speak more truth by mistake is beyond me. To put it in context, Obama’s rating was 26% mostly false or worse, and I had a problem with that. Many of Trump’s former business associates report that he has always been a compulsive liar, but now he’s the President of the United States, and that’s a problem. And this is a man who expects you to believe him when he points at other people and says “They’re lying”

B.) He’s an authoritarian populist, not a conservative. He advances regressive social policy while proposing to expand federal spending and federalist authority over states, both of which conservatives are supposed to hate.

C.) He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D.) His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E.) His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

F.) He couldn’t pass a 3rd-grade civics exam. He doesn't’ know what he’s doing. He doesn't understand how international relations work, he doesn’t understand how federal state or local governments work, and every time someone tries to “Run it like a business” it’s a spectacular failure. See Colorado Springs’ recent history as an example. The Short, Unhappy Life of a Libertarian Paradise And that was a businessman with a MUCH better business track record than Trump. We are talking about a man who lost money owning a freaking gambling casino.

G.) He behaves unethicaly and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

H.) He is damaging our relationships with our best international friends while kissing up to nations that do not have our best interests in mind. To his question “Wouldn't’ it be great to have better relations with Russia?” The answer is Yes. But it is RUSSIA who needs to earn that, who must stop doing the things that are damaging to that relationship, or we are simply weaker for it.

I.) He has never seen a shortcut he didn't like, and you can’t take shortcuts in government. “Nuclear Option, Remove the Filibuster, I’ll change the Constitution by Executive Order…Don…what happens when you remove the filibuster and the other side retakes the majority in the Senate? Suddenly want that filibuster back? What happens if you manage to change the Constitution by Executive Order and an Anti-2A President wins the next election?

J.) He behaves and has always behaved as an unabashed racist. Yes, I’ve seen your favorite meme that claims he was never accused of racism before the Democrats…Absolutely false. Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019 See the Central Park 5, the lawsuits and fines resulting from his refusal to lease to black tenants, the 1992 lost appeal trying to overturn penalties for removing black dealers from tables, his remarks to the house native American affairs subcommittee in 1993. The man sees and treats racial groups of people as monoliths.

K.) He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

L.) He speaks and acts like a demagogue. He sees the Legislative and Judicial branches of government as inconveniences, blows up at criticism no matter how deserved and actively tries to countermand constitutional processes, not to mention attempts to blackmail and coerce people who are saying negative things about him

M.) His choices for top positions, with the exception of Gen. Mattis, who is a gem, have been horrendous. A secretary of Education without a resume that would get her hired as a small town grammar school principal, A secretary of Energy who didn't know the Department of Energy was responsible for nuclear reserves, an EPA head whose biggest accomplishments to date had been suing the EPA on multiple occasions, an FCC head who while working for Verizon actively lobbied to kill net neutrality, and an Attorney General who thinks pot is “nearly as bad as heroin” and asked Congress for permission to go after legal pot businesses in states where it is legal. (There goes that great Republican States rights rally cry again, right? *Crickets*) An Interim AG after Firing his First AG who’s appointment is probably unconstitutional.

N.) He denies scientific fact. Ever notice that the only people you hear denying climate change are politicians and lobbyists? 99% of actual scientists studying the issue agree that it’s real, man-made and caused by greenhouse gasses. Ever notice that every big disaster movie starts with a bunch of politicians in a room ignoring a scientist's warning?

0.) He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is Thin Skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

P.) He still does not understand that the words he speaks, or tweets, are the official position of 1/3 of the US government, and so does not govern his words. He still thinks when he speaks it’s good ol’ Donald Trump. It’s not. It’s the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. You have probably spread a meme or two around talking about how no president’s every word has ever been dissected before…YES, THEY ALWAYS HAVE. It’s just that every other president in our lifetime has understood the importance of his words and took great care to govern his speech. Trump blurts out whatever comes to his mind then complains when people talk about what a dumb thing that was to say.

Q.) He’s unqualified. If you owned a small business and were looking for someone to manage it, and an unnamed resume came across your desk and you saw 6 bankruptcies, showing a man who had failed to make money running CASINOS, would you hire him? He is a very poor businessman. This is a man it has been estimated would have been worth $10 BILLION more if he’d just taken what his father had given him, invested it in Index Funds and left it alone.

R.) He is President. But he refuses to take a leadership position and understand that he is everyone’s President. Conservatives complain about liberals chanting “Not my President” while Trump himself behaves as if no one but his supporters matter.

S.) He’s a blatant hypocrite. He spent 8 years bitching Obama out for his family trips, or golfing, or any time he took for himself, and what does he do? He was already on his 20th golf outing in APRIL of his 1st year in office. He constantly rants about respect for the military, yet can’t be bothered to attend the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of a little rain. (And that excuse about Marine One not being able to fly in the rain is HILARIOUS.)

T.) He’s a misogynist. It's not really ok in this day and age to be a misogynist, but it’s not a huge deal if you’re a private citizen. It’s a pretty big deal if you hate half the people you’re elected to lead. The disdain for women seeps out of his …whatever…. and he just can’t hide it.

U.) Face it. In any other election “Grab Em’ By the Pussy” would have been the end of that candidate’s chances. Back in the 90’s I used to marvel about how Teflon Bill Clinton was. I no longer do. The fact that he managed to slip by on that is as much a statement about how much people hate Hillary Clinton as it is about what is wrong with politics in this country right now.

V.) He has one response to a differing opinion. Attack. A good leader listens to criticism, to different points of view, is capable of self-reflection, tries to guide people to his point of view, and when necessary stands his ground and defends his convictions. Any of that sound like Trump? His default is not to Lead, its’ to attack. Scorched Earth. The Jim Acosta reaction is a good example. There was no defense of his convictions when Acosta was asking him repeated questions about his rhetoric on the caravan. His response was to attack Acosta.

W.) He takes credit for everything positive while deflecting blame for everything negative. Look at him with the Stock Market. He’s been bragging about it since day one, and to give credit where credit is due, speculation on coming deregulation early in his presidency did fuel some rapid growth, but to pretend that it’s all him, that we’re not in the 9th year of the longest bull market in history and THEN, when the standard market volatility that deregulation inevitably brings about starts to show up? Yeah. Look at yesterday. Hey! Stock Markets losing because the Democrats won! Do I need to bring out the Stock market chart for the last 10 Years again?

X.) He emboldens the worst among us. Counter-protesters are slammed into by a car while countering actual Nazi rally, and the response is there’s fault on “Both Sides” The media is at fault for a nut job sending them and Donald’s favorite targets pipe bombs. The truth is not all Republicans, not all Trump Supporters are racist, fascist lunatics. Many are just taken in by the bombastic personality and are living in an information bubble made worse by the fact that they unfollow anyone and ignore any source of information that makes them feel uncomfortable. People on the left do that too. The Biggest problem the right has right now is that the worst of the Right is the loudest and the most in your face, and the actual right, especially the Freaking PRESIDENT needs to be standing up and saying No. Those are not our values.

Y.) He seems to think the Constitution of The United States, the document that IS who we are, the document he took an oath to support and defend is some sort of inconvenience. He demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of Constitution, from believing he can alter the 14th through executive order, to thinking The free exercise clause in the first amendment somehow supersedes the establishment clause (not that he really understands either) or that the free exercise clause only applies to Christians. Or his attacks on freedom of expression and the press. He repeatedly makes it clear that if he’s read them, he does not understand Articles 1–3, and that’s something he really should have before he took the job, because they’re not going away.

Z.) I’ll use Z for something I do blame him for, but the rest of us have to carry the blame too. Polarization. This country is more politically polarized than I can remember in my lifetime. Some of you who are a few years older than I may remember how it was in the late 60’s when construction workers in New York were being applauded for beating up hippies, I think it’s pretty close to that right now, but that was before my time. And he is the cause of much of the current level polarization, but also the result. It didn't’ start with Trump. We’ve been going down this road I think since the eruption of the Tea Party in the early years of the Obama Administration. I do hope the tide turns before it gets much worse because the thing that scares me more than anything is what if that keeps going the way it has been? "

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reading-writing-revolution · 4 years

Text

A person asked the question, "Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?"

Chris O'Leary:

Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.

C.) He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D.) His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E.) His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

G.) He behaves unethicaly and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

K.) He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

0.) He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is Thin Skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

//Meanwhile, I’m not a Liberal either, and I’m a veteran of 20 years with 13 deployments to combat zones.//

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iredreamer · 5 years

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So based on the diaries what are we to expect the events of the second season to be?

They’re married now, so this season ends on the the 30th of March 1834 [EDIT: before the edit I wrote 30th of April but it was the 30th of March, they took communion together on Easter]. In reality they exchanged rings, yes, but not on the same day they took the sacrament together, the rings exchange happened a month earlier (in February) and from that moment on they considered themselves married (Anne Lister completely gave herself to Ann Walker after the rings exchange, too bad we didn’t see it).

From now on there’s a lot of stuff that can happen, I’m gonna try to break it down and point out what I think are the important events that could be included in season 2.

1. Sinking the Walker pit. (which I guess is the one Anne started sinking this season). She hasn’t called it the “Walker pit” yet, so maybe we’re gonna see when she does and she’s gonna say it’s called like that in Ann’s honor.

2. Politics. In 1835 and 1836 she had quite a lot of troubles with her tenants because during the elections a lot of people refused to vote how she wanted them to vote, preferring to do their own interests that the ones of the landlords. I think this could be one of the main plots, I think the dialogue with Sowden in ep 1 was a sort of hint of what will happen, SS: “There’ll come a time when tenants throw landlords off land. You know that, don’t you?” AL: “Well, then, Sowden�� When the time comes, us landlords must make sure we give as good as we get.” Anne Lister did really have a similar conversation with Sowden in May 1835: “Sowden said that in some counties the tenants talked of turning off the landlords, instead of the landlords turning off the tenants. “Well!” said I “then we must make as good a fight as we can.” I can see season 2 exploring her relationship with her tenants and the struggles she had to face but also how she tried to manipulate the situation.

3. Public attacks. I hope we’re gonna get all the drama with the newspapers and the anonymous letters: January 10, 1835 > “Washington…pulled out of his pocket today’s Leeds Mercury containing among the marriages of Wednesday last: “Same day, at the Parish Church H-x, Captain Tom Lister of Shibden Hall to Miss Ann Walker, late of Lidgate, near the same place” I smiled and said it was very good - read it aloud to A- who also smiled and then took up the paper and read the skit to my aunt.” Anne later writes in her diary that, when alone with Ann, Ann said she did not like the joke. January 12, 1835 > “Marian came into A- and me at breakfast this morning with an anonymous letter from H-x, directed to “Captain Lister, Shibden Hall, Halifax”, containing extract form the Leeds Mercury and concluding “we beg to congratulate the parties on their happy connection”. Probably meant to annoy, but, if so, failure.” The announcement of the “marriage” also gets reprinted in February in the Halifax Guardian and the York Chronicle (basically everyone who knew Anne Lister and Ann Walker did read it, there are more extracts about this matter, the thing goes on for some time, even Mariana writes to Anne asking her if she saw what was written in the newspaper). This could be another main plot and it goes hand in hand with her political activity because it seems that these attacks were a way to intimidate her and scare her from exercising political power over her tenants.

4. The wills, the fights, the drama. The Ann(e)s start to write their wills and they also start fighting over it and over money. Anne Walker not always liked what Anne wanted and planned. One time Anne even writes that “A- snubbed me (before John) and silenced me and I hardly spoke again.” (then Ann apologized and they made up). They also fought a lot about Anne Lister not introducing Ann Walker to her (aristocratic) London circle. They visited a lot the Norcliffes, so maybe we’ll see Isabella (?) I hope.

5. The stone laying at Anne Lister’s Northgate Casino. The ceremony was attended by both Anne Lister and Ann Walker in September 1835. Ann Walker was the one to lay the foundation stone, in her speech she said “I’ve been requested by my friend, Miss Lister, to lay the 1st stone of the Casino…We hope and trust that the undertaking will prove an accommodation to the inhabitants of this town and neighbourhood.” Then Anne Lister made her speech and thanked Ann Walker. This whole thing was really important because it was basically a public acknowledgement of the seriousness of their relationship. I feel like this should absolutely be in s2.

6. The effigy rumour. Apparently someone burnt Anne Lister and Ann Walker’s in effigy in March 1836. There are not a lot of details about this in Ann’s diary, but it was an attack (like the newspaper marriage announcement) upon the Ann(e)s active “intrusion” in politics and coal-mining. The men in the business didn’t want to deal with two women, and so they tried to damage the power they (the Ann(e)s) held over the land and the people.

Other random things that happened and I’d like to see: Anne Lister reading bits from her diary to Ann; Anne calling Ann “Adney”; Anne going to visit Mariana and Mariana tempting her, Anne rejecting her and going back home to Ann (and them having great sex that night); the Ann(e)s playing backgammon and Ann “thrashing” Anne Lister over and over again; Ann taking away the keys of Anne’s study to make her come to bed earlier; Ann Walker consoling and calming Anne Lister when things were not going well with her sister; Anne taking care of Ann Walker when she wasn’t feeling well and all the great sex they had during this time.

More dramatic things that could be included: the death of Ann Walker’s nephew (March 1836); the death of Anne’s father (3rd of April 1836); Marian leaving Shibden; Aunt Anne’s death (October 1836).

Okay, there’s probably more, I’m sure there’s more and I missed something like the Ann(e)s “honeymoon”, some other little travels, Anne organizing Ann’s days, them being just domestic like every married couple, but anyway… these I think are the main events that we could see in season 2. Don’t know what time period s2 will cover, so I guess 2 years like the first one? There are a lot of things that could work as a season finale and as main plots.

#ask #anon #gentleman jack #anne lister #ann walker #real people: anne lister #real people: ann walker #me screaming about gentleman jack #anonymous #anne lister: tenants #real people: sam sowden #anne lister: politics #anne lister: walker pit #AL and AW: married life #AL and AW: casino #AL and AW: public attacks #AL and AW: problems

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theheaterishotjournals · 4 years

Text

10/14/2020

Today at work I got my shit done. Then hung out with my coworkers repairing a 34.5kV CB and that was fun, joking around with them. Talked to Jared about fishing. Worked with Angel on a crossword puzzle, we did well. I was too tired and, after asking Nevi, decided not to take the OT and just went home.

Daniel had made some crazy chicken, short ribs, and sweet peppers, all grilled. They were delicious! Then I, sigh. Talked to Ashwara and argued ‘cause I ain’t fucking voting for Biden. And he was like, that’s our political system now. And I was like, so I should be ok with voting for the OTHER rapist? Like, fuck the DNC. This system is broken. I’m focusing locally. And he’s like, you can do both. And I’m like, yeah, I am, with 3rd party. And then he was like, that’s worse. How? How are democrats any better when they keep pushing towards more and more conservative candidates?

I get so tired reading the news, especially reading Amy Coney Barret or w/e the fuck her name is and her desire to be a legitimate piece of shit. No birth control, reverse gay marriage, she’s down with voter suppression. Everything I read about her is hell. Reading about the environment is hell. Don’t talk to me like I didn’t fucking consider all this shit we’ve said EVERY YEAR. Vote blue no matter what, vote blue no matter what. You don’t want to fight? Fine, idgaf, why are you giving a fuck about what I’m doing? We all have our ways. I wanna go and risk my life ‘cause I don’t care about it. I’m sick of people telling me what to do and I’m sick of the DNC saying, hey. We’re the better choice. You know you have no choice. You want Trump?

Your vote isn’t going to change the DNC. So voting for Biden will? Like, what the fuck are you fucking saying? Fuck you. Fuck America. I love this country, I wanna see it get better but it sure as fuck wanna subjugate me. I love getting to live in CA and going to an Armenian neighborhood and get some kebabs, then the Korean neighborhood for some cold spicy noodles, then taco stands on every corner.

Don’t even get me fucking started on Harris. Forcing MTF trans people to stay in men’s prison. Is down with ICE. Biden has said ON HIS PLATFORM to give more money to the police? REALLY? IN THIS CLIMATE?

I am shit at memorizing stuff. I don’t remember all the stuff I read and researched that made me go, fuck this. Just because my recall is shit, doesn’t make me a fucking idiot. I am. But not for that reason!

How can you say ACAB and unironically vote for Biden and Harris? How?

Man I gotta stop talking about this shit. It’s making me mad.

Mad means I’m scared. Means I need to do something about it. I need to volunteer for a political org. I just gotta find a grassroot. CA liberals are fucking clueless but. Just me getting angry ain’t doing shit. I gotta find time but. Mental health first. I guess.

On another note, I started recording a let’s play of Yakuza 6 for my buddy Alex. It was a nightmare listening to it. My awful jokes. My awful everything. But I’m still happy I did it. I uploaded it and I will link it to her when I can.

Anyways. Yeah. I’m fucking mad. I’m living in hell and they tell me to vote not for old white man rapist 1st place winner but old white man rapist 2nd place winner.

I wish I didn’t get so mad at Ashwara but fuck. It’s too late. And I don’t disagree with what I said. I’m flipping mad and treating me like I’m being irrational is fucking insulting. After worrying day in and day out and doing all this research. I was fucking fuming.

Deep breath.

We cool, we cool.

self love time ~~~~~~

I am mindful of the home I live in and how it provides a safe and peaceful haven for me and my family. I feel grateful for...

My bed. My cats. Daniel. Working shower and toilet. Nice kitchen. Backyard to grow shit. Laundry hook up. Being near Asian food.

internet access so I can talk to my friends.

I love my friends so much. They all live so far from me. Japan, Virginia, Canada, Mexico. God. I daydream about hanging out with them in my living room and playing video games then cooking dinner together. But they’re happy where they are and I’m happy for them and I love them. I hope we can hang out someday.

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jacquelinep21 · 4 years

Text

(I wrote this email to my grandmother, aunt, and uncle last week and felt pretty good with how it turned out so decided to publish it here.)

Friday, May 1st, 2020

Coucou !

I’ve been wanting to write you for a while now, I even started a draft and wrote about ¾’s of it, had to stop to make dinner, and then never finished it. Maybe I was overthinking how I wanted to get the writing perfect when I should’ve just sent something to say hello, give you an update, and check-in that all was well with you. Mieux vaut tard que jamais.

How to describe everything and nothing that has happened since mid-March? Both on a personal level and on a “what’s the situation in France” level?

Personally, I’ve been cooking, both familiar recipes, and trying new ones such as Chickpea Curry, Mushroom-Stuffed Eggplant, One-Pan Wine Braised Chicken with Artichoke Hearts, Shakshuka, Spanish Tortilla, Roasted Red Pepper Cheese Toast, Peanut Butter Chile Sauce drizzled over broccoli and rice, Butternut Squash & Shallot Hash w/Poached Eggs, and a couple others. Let me admit, some were successes, others...will have to be adjusted and reattempted. Not to mention there are days when not having a dishwasher gets to be exhausting.

I still have multiple school projects that I have been working on, both group and individual. My classes were already supposed to end mid-April even before this all started, so it didn’t change much and most classes didn’t have any online classes, as the projects were more important and already put in place. I have three more to turn in before grades are due mid-May, and now the first part of my thesis is due one month later, at the end of June. Productivity has been difficult, as there are days that I feel like I need to do things for me, rather than sitting on my computer switching between reading the news and trying to do school work, but I’ve gotten a little better at it. My job, checking guests into apartments, and working in the office, is obviously non-existent, and likely will be until at least September, but because of the government's chômage partiel or temporary/partial unemployment of over 10 million people in France, I’m still getting 90% of my salary, which I am very thankful for.

What I have been doing for pleasure these days is listening to podcasts, my favorite being Spilled Milk, which I discovered in September when I was doing the grape harvest, a comedy show about food recorded in Seattle. I was taking a photograph or two a day with my dad’s 1984 Minolta 35mm film camera but ran out of film and can’t find a viable way to get more. I’ve been reading every day, finished two books so far, and have started a third. We’ve been watching movies and TV shows, such as Breaking Bad, the Jason Bourne trilogies, Charade, Star Wars, and others I’ve put off watching until now. Something I never thought I would do was a virtual dance/fitness classes but they have been a great source of dopamine and just physical movement. There are also weekly video chats with either Benjamin or I’s friends, which has been especially nice when we can reunite multiple time zones all in one call. My friend that works at Politico’s audio department asked if I’d be interested in recording an audio-diary twice a week as part of a project they’re working on of different people’s experiences during lockdown so I’ve been contributing to that (though not sure what’s become of the project so far). The most coincidental thing that has happened to me during confinement is changing the channel on the TV maybe the second week into the lockdown, as the Prime Minister’s press conference was ending (otherwise we hardly ever watch the TV), to a different channel only to see someone that looked vaguely familiar, and then see the street we live on. We soon figured out the people across the street we had seen filming once or twice were making a documentary on the lockdown. I contacted them after we finished watching the episode and they asked if I was interested in being interviewed. So that happened, haha. I don’t believe it’s possible to stream the episode outside of Europe so I’ve included the video here, it’s in English.

There are of course the daily musings outside the window to see what the neighbors across the street are doing or what is happening on the street below. Avenue de Saint-Ouen has calmed since this all began but it still is busier than I would’ve expected, both with cars and people, not resembling photos you may have seen of an eerily empty Paris. Sundays are the exception, when I can almost clearly hear what someone is saying on their balcony across the way, where the joggers' loud steps hitting the pavement echoes as they try to reach home before their 10am curfew, and the church bells ring telling us the time. The typical characters I can see on their balconies every day include the bald man that drinks his cup of coffee while smoking his morning cigarette, the retired man on the top floor that tends to his potted herbs that dangle over the balcony railing, or his neighbors that have two young boys that run back and forth. The weather has been clearer than any Parisian spring I’ve seen and the temperatures even got to the high 70’s last week but have now dropped and the clouds are back. We are allowed to walk for up to one hour within a 1km radius of our address, as long as we have a form, now available to download on our phones, filled out, otherwise there can be fines, though I have only seen police officers stop people twice.

So what is the situation in France right now? As of Thursday night, 24,376 people have died from Covid-19 in France, 26,283 people are currently hospitalized (551 less than the day before) and 4,019 are in the ICU (188 less than the day before). On May 11th, the lockdown will be lifted to a certain extent, but many restrictions will still be in place. Starting May 7th each département, kind of like a county, will either be classified red or green, depending on multiple factors, and this can change the severity of the rules after May 11th. Preschools, elementary schools, and daycares can reopen, on a voluntary basis by each family, so those in need that cannot do online learning and depend on the meals can return to school under certain hygiene measures. Public transportation will increase slightly but not back to the normal frequency, masks will be obligatory, every other seat must be left empty, employeurs are encouraged the adjust hours of employees that have to return to work to avoid rush hour, and that those not commuting to and from work should avoid public transportation during these hours. We will be able to leave the house without filling out a form, as long as it’s less than 100km from our address. Farther than this (62 miles) we will need to have a legitimate reason, such as professional or imperative family needs. No meetings, private or public, of more than ten people. Individual sports any time of day (currently in Paris jogging isn’t permitted between 10am and 7pm) but no team sports. Libraries and small museums may reopen while abiding by hygiene procedures. Parks may reopen but if considered dangerous, such as in Paris, they may remain closed. Most businesses can reopen, except restaurants, bars, cafés, large museums, movie theaters, concert venues, or theaters, while controlling the number of people in the business and customers may be turned away if they aren’t wearing a mask. Farmers markets may reopen as well. Malls may or may not reopen, depending on their size. Working from home is still strongly encouraged. The government hopes to test 700,000 people a week, though who can get tested isn’t clear. If you test positive you must self isolate for 14 days either at your residence or an allocated hotel, and teams of people will attempt to get in contact with those who may have been infected by said persons to get tested. An app is also in development to track this but is also highly controversial and will have to be voted on by parliament. Masks will be distributed by employeurs, by schools, to nonprofits for those in need, social action centers, and La Poste has set up a website where they can be bought, the government paying for part of the costs. The second phase in which things could change is June 2nd.

Voilà, I think that’s everything. I would love to hear from you when you can write back. Miss you and thinking of you.

Love,

Melissa

P.S. Some recent Articles/Blogs/Newsletters/Podcasts that are Paris related:

David Lebovitz's May 2020 Newsletter

When Cookies Fly and Other Tales of Staying Entertained During Quarantine

Lettre Recommandé: Notes from France by Lauren Collins

Podcast: Documenting confinement in Paris, checking in with the French psyche, May Day history (interview with the couple making the documentary that I was featured in briefly among other interesting things.)

The New Paris Podcast: Paris in Confinement

The Earful Tower Podcast: What does Paris look like in lockdown? (he has recorded several episodes about what has been going on, this is just a more recent one, light-hearted)

The Street That Still Offers Paris Hope

Denuded of Tourists, Paris Reveals Its Old Beating Heart

France 24's English Coverage of the France Lockdown (a great news outlet in English with a more French perspective of whats going on in France with articles and videos)

#spring 2020 #a letter from France #a letter from Paris #my personal writing #melissa ann #jacquelinep21 #quarantine cooking #recipes #may 11th #may 2020 #podcasts #Spilled Milk podcast #Paris #paris in confinement #confinement journal #lockdown life #le 11 mai #an american in paris

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prettygraceful · 4 years

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ok, i’ve been telling my dad this for months and i thought i’d finally share here. here is my dream scenario for when shadowhunters comes back (since i still keep hope that it will). and by that i mean what should happen- within realistic parameters- that i think would bring the show more general positive reactions, a larger fanbase, and stable success to ensure many more wonderful seasons. so we pick up shortly after where the epilogue left off- with the mains divided into the new york group and the alicante group- and they stay split up. this allows for 2 “A” storylines to run concurrently to allow for a wider audience to stay invested and more character dynamics to be fully explored, instead of shoved into rushed, very limited screentime “B” and “C” storylines. i’m thinking similar to daenerys and jon snow (pre s7) in GOT, aka equally important main leads.

clary remains the hub of the NY squad, as she’s always been. she is the favored female of the fandom, and this still honors the spirit of the books. alec becomes the hub of the alicante squad. he is the favored male of the fandom (tv time’s recent poll had him at more votes than the next 2 guys combined. he had over 700,000 while jace and magnus only had over 300,000 apiece. clary was at over 200,000). ok, we’ve got the chosen by logic “hubs” so let’s talk the “spokes”.

NY squad includes jace, obviously, and simon, izzy, maia. but instead of sizzy or saia, they slowly develop into a polyamorous throuple. this accomplishes many things: 1st, the shippers could make peace. 2nd, maia would have a solid link to who’s always been the center of SH: the lightwoods family. and 3rd, it could trim the fat, so to speak. instead of having supporting character wlw (heline, ollie, sam- all stereotypically characterized tv wlw, who only ate up screentime that should’ve gone to the downworlder mains imo) the wlw rep could be izzy and maia- already fleshed out mains. after spending time together resulting in unlocking some feelings, they could all get together since they both still care for simon too. now they’d have to be bi/ pan obviously- so no lesbian rep- but as a lesbian myself, i’m averse to the idea that every show has to “check every box”. quality over quantity. a trio of only POC is original vs just another wlw pair with 1 white person. as long as it was written properly, it could avoid bi stereotypes.

now the NY squad has all the different dynamic options to explore that this fandom seems to love (clace, climon, clizzy, claia, sizzy, saia, jimon, and jaia. and the jace/ izzy dynamic can finally get it’s dues!) and with a 3 POC to 2 white ratio, it’s better diversity than when things always revolved around the squad of shadowhunters in s1 thru s3. meliorn can join the fun sometimes. clary gets her powers back, but hopefully without the “mary sue” aspect. when the solution for everything was often just being shown new runes and drawing them, where was the earned achievement? (versus like when valentine was defeated, she did that!) generally, self-made heroes- rather than “born special”- are more relatable and inspirational. like arya vs daenerys- who was born able to hatch dragons in fire. she achieved so much, but without the dragons- like clary’s angel powers- none of it would’ve been possible. then again, i know daenerys is very popular, so my preference in hero types obviously isn’t universal. so either way, i guess.

on to the alicante squad (my personal favs)! magnus and luke have obviously already joined alec here, and they’re rebuilding the shadowhunter homebase to be an accepting environment. there has to be an actual lengthy, difficult power struggle here- an extremely prejudiced regime like the clave wouldn’t just topple overnight. maryse is here too and should be bumped up to be a main. then it’d be 4 women to 5 men as our mains- much more balanced. then 1 or 2 new lady characters could be introduced. let’s get some new blood on the show! and to appropriately fit into the already existing dynamic here, it’d be best if they were 30+ in age. (and hopefully they cast taller ladies, cuz aside from the mother roles- jocelyn and maryse- all of them have been 5′2″ to 5′5″ and it’s time to mix it up). they can develop solid friendships with our squad. also the parabatri needs to finally get it’s dues, since we’ve been robbed long enough. ok, and so with 1 shadowhunter, 1 downworlder, 1 sh turned dw turned sh again, and 1 sh turned mundane, there’s a lot of different perspectives here. and the new ladies could have their own unique perspectives as well. so it’d be very interesting for there to be problems they all must solve, but they each have their own ideas on how to go about it. thru compromise at times- and deferring to the one who’s perspective lends a better insight other times- they’d have innovative solutions.

to address why mizzy instead of either with clary, why the new women would probably not be wlw, and why the “hubs” are both white- it’s cuz the point of this post is me throwing in my 2 cents on what changes could be made- in the hands of new showrunners and now that we’re free of the book material- but is still possible, realistic, and viable given the way the industry machine works, and the demographic of this fandom. i’d also like to note that i just really want raphael and catarina gone, since they refuse to let magnus interact with them! they each only had 4 eps with him, yet they’re his “family”? it became beyond absurd! raphael= none in s1. 1 in s3. catarina= none in s1/ s2. only 1 in 3b- 3x22 doesn’t count cuz they didn’t talk at all. and for those who’d balk at alec being separated from jace and izzy, i say- have you never met adult siblings? it’s healthy, normal, and encouraged in society, that when siblings grow up, they go their own separate ways and live independent lives. forge their own paths. it does not mean they love their siblings any less. i have a sister, i should know.

in conclusion, the 2 separate squads would have their own adventures in the first 8 episodes of each half season. i think most everyone agrees that politically driven themes- dealt with symbolically thru this fantasy world- would make for better story arcs rather than just good vs evil (val, jonathan, lilith) all the time (esp since SH doesn’t have the budget to make fantasy elements very exciting). since there is a nice ratio of shadowhunters and downworlders in each squad, the set up for these themes would already be in place. and then much like any show that has divided storylines, at some point you’ve got to bring them all together. this could happen in the 9th episode. a wedding or holiday celebration or whatever. they could all sit around a giant table and have a feast and this ep could just be warm and fuzzy. lightwood family time- including magnus/ jace’s long overdue friendship- and a chance for them all to reconnect, until the last scene of the ep when some big bad guy dramatic problem could arise. then the final ep of the half season could be them all working together (as a whole or separately in smaller groups) to defeat the big bad (save the budget and the big fantastical sets/ creatures for the finales). end on an exciting cliffhanger. ta da!

#shadowhuntersedit #tagged to reach a larger audience #plz no one start drama #just sharing my thoughts #if you like it let me know :)#if not... oh well #meta #like i said this isn't my absolute ideal scenario either #seeing as alec/ izzy is #my 2nd fav dynamic on SH after malec #but overall i feel this would be best #ok i've reread and edited this post #like a billion times for over a week now #i'm not even kidding #so time to just post it already #here we go...

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yumapii · 4 years

Text

DREAM!ing 1st Anniversary Book [SENRI AND TAKAOMI]

{ a short story that came in the anniversary book, i just live and breathe these two so here i am )

a relevant photo btw - https://twitter.com/yumapiiii/status/1220017057711788035/photo/1

Senri: I’ve had enough!

// 10pm, my angry voice echoes throughout the dorm room. The source of my rage was what my roommate Shishimaru was holding in his hand -- the “American ☆ Big Burger” that was introduced on the cafeteria menu a week ago.

Senri: Will you give it a rest?! All you ever eat is hamburgers! Hamburgers for breakfast, lunch, dinner, hamburgers at snack time and even supper! No matter how delicious it is, that’s not normal!

Takaomi: What gives you the right to talk about other people’s eating habits, stupid rabbit. And stop eyeing my food, I’m definitely not giving you any.

Senri: I don’t even want a single bite! In fact, the room smells like hamburgers! Because of you, last night I had an awful nightmare about getting chased by a hamburger!

Takaomi: What, how lucky. Dang it, I want to see that too!

Senri: It was a NIGHTMARE! Besides, I don’t like the kind of meaty burgers that blockheads like you enjoy, I prefer them with more vegetables and a variety of stuffings! So you can take your blasphemous taste and bugger off!

Takaomi: What are you, an amateur? The main element of a hamburger is naturally the patty so what’s the point of interfering with it? The vegetables and the sauce and all the other toppings are only there as supporting roles.

Senri: Meaty burgers aren’t even in the trend. It’s all about the veggie patties now! Minus the pickles.

Takaomi: Isn’t that more blasphemous? In any case, the meat is the main star!

Senri: The veggies!

Takaomi: Meat!

Senri: Veggies!

Senri & Takaomi: Then we’ll settle this with a showdown!

Senri: If you lose, you can never eat another hamburger in front of me ever again!

Takaomi: Bring it on!

// And so the next day, afterschool, a fierce “Hamburger Showdown” started in the kitchen of the Shinonome Dorms. //

Senri: Hahaha! I have this contest in the bag, Shishimaru! Your hamburger freak lifestyle draws to an end today!

Takaomi: Keep your sleeptalk for when you sleep, stupid idiot rabbit! I haven’t been a Hamburger Connoiseur for over X0 years to take this from you.

// Donning their aprons, Senri and Takaomi start their preparations, as 5 students who had been dragged into being judges looked on in bewilderment. //

Yuma: For over X0 years… How old is Shishimaru?

Touji: Perhaps he means that metaphorically?

Shinya: I had intended to invite the first years to a soccer match afterschool but this is fun in its own way, right, Shigure?

Shigure: Don’t eat too much or you won’t be able to have dinner, eat in moderation, alright?

Minato: Hamburger~ I’m looking forward~

// Matching the same my-paced-ness of the judges, the two contestants also carry on with their preparations with incredible focus. //

Senri: When it comes to hamburgers, the buns are the most important part so I have some super fluffy buns ♪

Takaomi: Ha, amateur. Where’s the manliness in that?

Senri: Hmmmmm, say you’re the type to bring your girlfriend to a burger shop on a date, aren’t you? Poor dear, dressed well and put on makeup just to struggle with eating gigantic burgers.

Takaomi: Ah?! Makeup or whatever, the kind of girl I like will be the type who knows that the best way to eat a burger is by taking big bites!

Shigure: What are they talking about…

// Some time passes, and two burgers are presented in front of the judges. //

Senri: Tadah! Mine’s the “Usapyon Healthy Burger~ ❤”!

Takaomi: What a stupid name. But no matter, because my “King Of Hamburger” will surely win.

// Despite the air crackling with rivalry between the two, their completed products looked quite delicious. //

Touji: Then, I shall start with Shishimaru-kun’s burg-ah! This is delicious!

Yuma: I agree. The patty is thick and juicy, and the seasoning is great.

Touji: I can identify the barbeque sauce, but it also leaves a unique aftertaste.

Yuma: What a sweet taste… It’s simply delicious.

Takaomi: My secret ingredient is amazing, huh? ( I spread a layer of honey onto the buns. )

// Yuma and Touji nod deeply, it seems like they thoroughly enjoyed the burger. Shishimaru smirks at the outcome. //

Shinya: Then the rest of us will start with Senri-kun’s Usapyon Healthy Burger.

Shigure: Hm, it’s delicious. It’s packed full of vegetables, and there’s even sesame in the buns. It really lives up to the Healthy part of its name.

Minato: There’s something spicy mixed inside, I like it~

Senri: That spice is my secret ingredient ♪ ( Looks like I was right to add some spicy miso in there! )

// As Senri’s burger also received rave reviews, it was decided that the final judgement will be done by anonymous vote. //

Shigure: I will now proceed to count the votes.

Senri: I’m definitely going to win!

Takaomi: As if, it’s going to be my victory.

Shigure: The final results of the Hamburger Showdown between Nito Senri and Shishimaru Takaomi is:

Senri, 3 votes. And Takaomi, 3 votes.

Senri: Eh???

Takaomi: But there are 5 judges?

// “I decided to be a judge too.” Came a gentle voice, and all eyes turned to look in that direction. //

Senri: Hanabusa-senpai?! But when…

Yanagi: I got dumped by the Sweetie I was supposed to have a date with today so I ended up having time to spare.

Takaomi: You can’t just take part as you please, shitty bastard.

// Because of the unexpected draw, the glaring between Senri and Takaomi got more intense. It almost looked like they were about to truly fight. //

Yuma: To be honest, both burgers were delicious.

Touji: Agreed. If we were to score the burgers, it would undoubtedly have been the same score.

Yanagi: I don’t know the reason for the showdown in the first place, but what about trying each other’s burgers?

// Takaomi’s King Of Hamburger was placed before Senri, the boy fell silent.

Senri’s Usapyon Healthy Burger ❤ was put before Takaomi, the boy clicked his tongue loudly. //

Senri & Takaomi: …..

Shigure: It is part of the Shinonome spirit to be able to give your opponents praise where praise is due. Hence, whoever doesn’t eat the other’s burger is the loser.

Senri: What the heck is that?!

Takaomi: Fine, I just have to eat it, right?

// With faces of pure, unadulterated disgust, the two take a chomp of each other’s burgers. //

Senri & Takaomi: ! ! ( De-delicious! This is super good! ) ( To be able to make such a good burger, just what the hell is this dude?! )

Shinya: Ahaha, they look like they’re enjoying themselves.

Minato: They finished in no time~

// Senri and Takaomi abruptly turn towards each other and mumble in a small voice. //

Senri & Takaomi: Tell me, your secret ingredient.

Senri & Takaomi: Hah?! As if I would!

Senri & Takaomi: Stop copying me! ! !

Shigure: Now I’m sure both sides can accept the draw without objection.

Senri & Takaomi: I object! ! ! ! !

// The next morning--

As two voices simultaneously ordered hamburgers in the cafeteria, it is a mystery as to whether those two are in sync or not… //

Originally published: Dengeki Girl’s Style July 2018

#dream!ing #translation #1st anniversary book #nito senri #shishimaru takaomi #mochizuki yuma #harimiya touji #shibasaki shinya #hakka shigure #hanabusa yanagi

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borisbubbles · 5 years

Text

ESC2019 Preshow #02

02. ICELAND Hatari - “Hatrið mun sigra” SemiFinal 1, #13

youtube

The general sentiment towards Hatari appears to be polarized and I think this is a good development: Opinions on Hatari should never come without controversy! “Hatrið mun sigra” is loud and aggressive and taking an utter piss at the contest. 😍

Even I wasn’t fully onboard for a while. Mind, I have always liked “Hatrið mun sigra”, but it was a default favourite, since Friðrik and Hera were both terrible (seriously, how does one, let alone TWO, downgrade from Iconic Europulp to boring (and in Hera’s case, thin)!!! GTFO out, NOW!!!) and it being Iceland, I had resigned myself that one of them would win. Once I saw the live performance at the finale, my Hatari love hit full throttle and there rest is herstory.

ENTRY ANALYSIS

OOOOOOBVIOUSLY I love Hatari um HELLO??? Like, industrial punk BDSM extravanganza with a *KILLER* key change 😍 by nihilistic men who wander around aimlessly in mullets and blue tracksuits 😍 whose main goal is to bring forth of the end of capitalism and plunge the world into an utter dystopia 😍

“Hatrið mun sigra” is a SPECTACLE. The visuals, the yelling, the key change (Klemens’s voice is E V E R Y T H I N G), the casually manhandling each other in front of thousands of people <3 Naturally, a lot of people do not like it but I mean, weakness won’t be tolerated. Capitalism and Hatred won’t be defeated by tossing flowers at them!!!

Of course Hatari are the subject of many a misconception. “God they’re so fake, it’s a constructed persona!!” well, d’uh? What did you expect? That they spend their daily lives manhandling each other, dressed up in leather & chains or monotonously droning about how supermarkets are direct portals into hell? “They will ruin the integrity of the music contest and make everything political again” wait, WHAT??? A) of all when is Eurovision NOT fucking political, and B) of all, their *song* is the protest, you fucking moron. There is no better way of protesting than to get those you protest AGAINST to cheer for you!!! (Better than harassing people on Social Media, take note Roger Waters).

“Hatrið mun sigra” is not spreading hatred, it is the harbinger of what will happen IF hate is spread:

HATRED WILL WIN

AS LOVE DIES,

AND JOY ENDS,

FOR THEY ARE ILLUSIONS,

A HOPELESS PIPE DREAM

HATRED SHALL PREVAIL!!!

And I mean why not, in this post-brexit, post-trump, post-bolsonaro, post-isil dystopia of a world!! It’s a relevant message!!! Their intent is good, back up off them!!!

This is normally where I would place and NF corner, but I’m going to going to bother lmfao. Let me instead take you on the ~Entire Hatari Experience~ train, which matches (and trancends) the song in epicness. Every Hatari interview we get is a delight in its own right, so I’ll spend my bandwith on those instead. Challenging Bibi to a wrestling match, winner gets to set up a BDSM colony in the loser’s land 😍 Irritating the shit of their fellow Söngvakeppnin finalists by doing hammy shit like this

(Annoying Hera SO much she cannot resist mockingthem <3)

Or like the time they spent an entire VT matter-of-factly dismantling everything wrong with western society over an indifferent slice of cake (featuring my future ex husband (um he doesn’t know it yet (well he does *now* I guess)) Fannar Sveinsson)

youtube

Or fuck it, just this entire fucking interview lmfao

youtube

“We feel that the echoes of populism are growing ever more loudly” lmfao . Every Hatari moment is like watching a satiral sitcom unfold before our very eyes. They’re full of shit. They know it, you know it, I know it. And nobody (of relevance) gives a fuck that they are <3 It’s important to note here that Hatari have genuine respect for Eurovision though, unlike a certain someone. Hatari aren’t here to destroy Eurovision, but to enrichen it with their delightfully abrasive presence. I guess at the end of the day, Love truly is Forever And Everyone, y’all.

Qualification Odds: Guaranteed Qualifier.

The curse will finally be broken <3 I mean, it’s well deserved too, Hatari are probably the best Icelandic entrant since Yohanna (or since ‘Never Forget’if you purely count the studio versions of songs).

But first, a digression :o

Nomally, the fan community is divisible into distinct fanbases. You have:

- The Shippers who spin entire erotic fanfics about their fave contestants in the darkest dungeons of the innerwebs,

- The Fangirls who flick their beans at any conventionally attractive male,

- The Basics who love their bangers pre-packaged and ready-made

- The Fraus/Husbando’s for whom Eurovision is a family experience,

- The Eurosnobs who claim to watch Eurovision for music but are secretly the most shallow of them all

- The Casuals who tune in on Saturday night out of habit, mostly because their parents are Fraus

- The Silent Introverts, the young people who do not comment but lurk by the sidelines reading any articile they can get their hands on

- The Geriatrics, basically the older version of the introverts (usually due to technological impairment, rather than shyiness)

- The Junkies who live and breather Eurovision and talk about it hours on end (guess which demograph I fit in)

Bringing this up because most entries can be shoehorned into 2-4 demographs that will love it and usually one demograph which will not care about it.

Now, back on track with the actual analysis:

Hatari aren’t like most entries because because they both appeal and turn off members of every demograph, which I think is a fantastic quality in a Eurovision song. It’s good to be polarizing, because it creates an intense following that will result in a lot of televotes (and haters are irrelevant because you cannot vote against entries you hate).

I’ve mentioned in Duncan’s write-up that I’m not ~entirely~ feeling him as the winner and now I can reveal why: I have always had Hatari as my predicted winner, ever since they won Söngvakeppinin. Those who say they can’t are closing their eyes to the truth. Hatari follow the recent winners trend the closest of any entrant in this year: strong concept, stronger execution, colourful personalities, memorable gimmick and quickly turning in the social media darling of the season: just like every winner from Loreen onwards has. They can still get screwed out of the win by juries, but... Jamala and Netta aren’t exactly jury-friiendly entries and they were top 3 anyway? lol. Hatari *are* the natural favourite to win ESC. Mark my words, sheeple. Hatred SHALL prevail.

Projected placement: 1st-3rd in the semifinal. When they qualify, Hatari will finish 1st-6th CONGRATZ TO THE WINNER OF MY PRESHOW RANKING

Dropping the entry later today~

Link to the masterpost

#Eurovision #Eurovision 2019 #ESC2019 #Eurovision Song Contest #Hatari #Hatrið mun sigra

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myworld50 · 5 years

Text

A person asked the question, "Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?"

Chris O'Leary:

Before you pass my answer off as “Another Liberal Snowflake” consider that

1.) I'm an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and

2.) If you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?

Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.

C.) He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D.) His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E.) His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

G.) He behaves unethicaly and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

K.) He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

0.) He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is Thin Skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

*snagged from a friends wall:

#trump #politics #gop #politics trump #donald trump

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