#which is a very common practice with extremely famous and busy public figures

[whiskeyswifty]

I've always found the whole "queer people should listen to queer artists" conversation bizarre, especially when it comes to Taylor, because I'm sure she herself would be flattered to learn that queer people are finding some sort of comfort/solace in their interpretations of her music – especially considering how loud she's been about her allyship in the last few years. The only real problem she would have (if we can even call it that) is if people were using that to make speculations about her personal life – which she doesn't like even when people do that with the MEN in her life.

The biggest popstar in the world advocating for and welcoming gaypeople with open arms is always going to be a big deal, no matter how much people try to underplay that and make it an exclusively het space. People have to accept that other gay people can like things that YOU, personally, think is boring or too cishet or whatever the fuck. Being gay is not a monolith, and gay experiences, just like every other human experience, are diverse! Who benefits from this kind of holier than thou snobbery anyway? (Feel free to ignore this lmao, I've just always found that kind of sneering and discourse annoying and lowkey homophobic, like "oh there is one right way to be gay and you're not it bc you like XYZ!!!" Fuck off. Anything can be about eating pussy if you try hard enough lmao)

i don't think you have to wonder about how she feels about gay people finding a connection in her music. she's been inviting countless queer people, including gay couples, to secret sessions and meet and greets on her tours for years. she performed king of my heart at a gay couple's engagement party as a surprise. she performed shake it off at stonewall. she has two male dancers dance to lover on this very tour. she clearly doesn't care if gay people relate her music to their life or find gay themes in it that they interpret their own way to their own experiences, at the very least. she's always been welcoming and encouraging of gay people to be a part of her fandom and relate to her art. the idea that taylor only wants people interpreting her music through the paparazzi photos the public has seen of her boyfriends or whatever is just homophobic bullshit for no reason other than their own bigotry and desire to keep gay people away from them. (long answer again trying not to clog people's dash lol)

insofar as the speculation about her life, idk what to tell you. people are always going to gossip and speculate, they've been doing it as long as human beings had language. a long time ago now it seems, she seemed to have accepted she would always have little control over it, and she logged off pretty much for good. which seems the healthiest way for her to carry on. the lavhaze bridge refers to that and how she just no longer really engages in media coverage of herself or social media gossip about herself. the prologue just recounts how pre-1989, particularly post-red, she discovered the darker sides of that gossip she doesn't like. her feelings about that gossip still remain true i'm sure, but you're discounting what immediately follows that section in the prologue, which says "But none of that mattered then because I had a plan and I had a demeanor as trusting as a basket of golden retriever puppies. I had the keys to my own apartment in New York and I had new melodies bursting from my imagination. I had Max Martin and Shellback who were happy to help me explore this new sonic landscape I was enamored with. I had a new friend named Jack Antonoff who had made some cool tracks in his apartment. I had the idea that the album would be called 1989 and we would reference big 80s synths and write sky high choruses. I had sublime, inexplicable faith and I ran right toward it, in high heels and a crop top." Which, if that's not clear to anyone out there, is her saying she learned through making 1989 to ignore the gossip and that all that mattered was her music and pursuing new sounds and creative experiences. she basically is saying "yeah it sucked to be called a serial dater, but 1989 helped me learn to refocus energy away from trying to control it and towards my creative output and creative relationships." which is something she has done several times when faced with struggles with the public, and will do again post 1989 into reputation.

that's a lesson everyone must learn in life at some point. you can't control what people say or what they think about you. but also it's not a crime to gossip, nor do most people who gossip mean any harm. people on this website even haven't ceased to gossip about her and speculate about things as intimate as her and joe's sex life while they were dating, pregnancy and abortions she may or may not have had, etc etc. even currently the fanfiction swirling around her and football man is incessant (some of it literal, blatant fanfiction being published shamelessly as books which makes me so embarrassed for them). it's just something people do to pass the time because life can be monotonous and dreadful, and i don't think it makes anyone a bad person for doing it. she's a public figure, and insists on being one and seems to enjoy many aspects of it, so it's just part of the territory she has reconciled with. people will project things onto her that they want to see mainly because they seek to recognize themselves in others in search of validation, but also every now and then because they want a villain to hate. most gossip will be benign ultimately, especially if it's not true, and some will be painful, especially if it is true, but like taylor does these days, if you don't like it, just ignore it.

[stuckinapatriarchalbullshitland]

PR stunt relationships - ɟ

🎶🎶 Guess who’s back, back, back? Back again, gain, gain 🎶🎶

Heeello, my babies! 🥰 How are you? I hope you’re all fine and that you’re staying strong since, as we knew and expected, they’re literally attacking us every day with these PRs. And today’s topic is precisely about this. PR-stunt relationships.

What do I know about- What do I know about love? Nothing. And that’s why it’s everything. Sorry, I had to 😅🤣. Shout-out to ‘What Do I Know About Love?’ by CC. No but, seriously tho. What do I know about a PR stunt relationship? Again, I’m not an expert on the subject. I know as much as you do, plus, maybe a little bit more due to my research over the years.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

PR stunt relationship, also known as PRomance, showmance, fauxmance (👈🏽 cover for celebrities who are both queer), and also as 🤫😂 ‘extremely camera-ready relationship’. I can personally define a PR as a work of persuasion. Picture PR people as shapers, as narrators, as storytellers, because that’s what they do. Whether it’s for protection, or to build or rebuild an image, or simply for promotion, they analyze the situation in order to create the best publicity/narrative/farce that benefits their client. They each have their own vision. Each of them has a plan that they sometimes tend to repeat with other clients because it works. Take as an example our friend Scooby Doo Sc**ter (Br**n), who is making it increasingly normal and common for his clients to use engagement rings as narratives.

A PR stunt relationship is nothing more than a PUBLICITY STUNT, as the word itself implies, aimed to get people and media attention. Publicists and celebrity management managers set up a fake public relationship to make fans and the general public believe it’s true. To give the couple more credibility, also friends, family, and artists friends of the couple get involved many times. To give you a practical example, let’s take PRen Tyren. They were at least 80% involved in each other’s lives.

Think about their birthdays and all the friends and families involved. Think about when Tymber even went to Graciela’s birthday, L’s great grandmother. Think about Tyres and brother Jauregui (who even made a song out of it with him). Think about L and Angel Gold (his sister). Think about L and Jailynn (his daughter). Think about The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, aka Tyren and, I think they were called Galsey? (Halsey and G-Eazy). Think even about Dinah who was part of the PR. I mean, you got it, right?

This type of business, whether involves the music industry, the film industry, the sports industry, etc., works this way for EVERYONE. They get at the same goal but with different tactics for each individual person, and they give a damn if in the meantime the person, their client, is bullied, or hated, or if they receive death threats, or if they start having anxiety problems, panic attacks, mental or physical health problems, etc. They don’t give a shit about their well-being in general. It’s just business to them. They’re just money with two legs. Can you picture a rolled-up dollar with two legs, can’t you? Good, because that’s what they are. Products. Products to sell.

There’s a very strict contract that both parties have to mutually agree on, and this contract is called a relationship contract. A relationship contract is a legally binding document for the duration of at least one year. It’s very VERY own custom-made because they write down what do they want to happen, then the duration (which can be extended) and the termination, and all the other things that each of them wants to include. The duration of a contract obviously varies from person to person and can depend on many things. But the main thing is that, it depends on the type of goal they want to achieve thanks to it.

For example, if the purpose is purely publicizing, such as the promotion of an album, or a movie, or whatever else, the relationship will last only for the necessary time that it takes to increase the interest of the public and indeed, to publicize the project. Another example could be when they want to hide the sexuality of one of the two people in the couple or both. Here, the duration of the contract could reach up to years, and could even lead to fake marriages.

We have examples of people who have done this to promote movies/sagas/franchises: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. We have examples of people who have done this to promote TV series: Blake Lively and Penn Badgley, Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse, Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush. We have examples of people who have done this to hide their true sexuality: Ricky Martin & Rebecca De Alba (for 17 motherfucking years), TS and.. and-and-and EVERYONE. We have examples of people who have done this to increase their notoriety, but then fell in love for real despite being super toxic for each other: Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. We even have examples of real couples who have been asked to go public to boost ratings and publicize their show more than it already was per se: Lea Michele and Cory Monteith. [Yes, my friends, even real couples do PR stuff for publicity purposes]

Celebs fake relationships for profits. Profits such as more fame, more fans, more acquaintances, whether they were made together or thanks to or of the ‘partner’ themselves based also on the industry fields to which they are part, more freedom in other aspects of their life, both work and private, etc., and of course, money. The money profit received varies. It varies according to the duration (especially if they’re many years), to what they’re supposed to do, such as how many times they’re forced to kiss (yes, guys, that also counts), to the amount of time they have to spend together, aka being seen together, etc. It also and above all vary, based on how famous they are, or if one of them is not famous at all, or if one of them is more famous than the other. It’s obvious that the more famous the person is, the more money they receive. Both parties benefit from it, but the person who ACCEPTED to do the PR is obviously paid more also based on the notoriety they have as I told you. Here we start with a minimum of $5,000 received per month. The figure can also reach disproportionate numbers with five/six zeros per year.

It’s enough to think that 75/80% of all famous couples are fake. They gain more attention and ultimately, more money, and at the same time, fans and GP can witness an exciting ‘love story’ filled with drama, gossip, rumors, mysteries, and if they decide to end their story on a negative note, even with the possible and eventual shade-throwing which in turn leads to more attention, more gossip, etc., etc. Exactly how the teams on both sides wanted. You have to keep in mind that teams have the power in this case. It’s the PR teams who hold the power over the media to control the narrative, and not the other way around.

There are also many factors involved to keep in mind. People involved. We have friends, parents, paparazzi, and all those other people the celeb team involves to make the story look as believable as possible. For example, you know when the media say it was a source who gave them the news? Well, that’s the truth. Think about it. Those sources and those insiders are really insiders because they’re part of the team. They are those people who work for them and who release information, whether true or fake, to follow the narrative decided for the plan. Speaking instead of another topic that I’ve noticed in many asks. Paparazzi.

I don’t know if you know how paparazzi usually work, but especially the old-fashioned stalker type ones, are not known to hold back, in fact, on the contrary, they go way too far beyond the limits. Some of them know where the celebrities might be based on how popular the location is (clubs, restaurants, etc., where celebs often go), or other times, they’re called by waiters, valets, drivers, etc., etc. It’s a pretty aggressive and competitive industry, and paparazzi do everything they can to get images of famous people to sell to a newspaper or a magazine or on Instagram. There are differences between those in the US, those in Europe, etc. Many are also easy to control since eight times out of ten, it’s an organized thing.

As we well know, most of the time, the paparazzi are told where to be and when, probably by the celebrity’s PR agency itself. It’s ALL for publicity. Publicity of any kind. To promote a movie if it’s an actor, to promote an album if it’s a singer, to be noticed if that person’s project was a flop, for fake relationships or to ‘cover’ the real ones if one of the two is in a relationship that is not seen in a good light and therefore doesn’t suit the public eye, or if one of the two or both of them are queer. Seriously, for everything. And so they have paparazzi following them around so it looks like they’re more popular than they actually are, and the celebrities who make me laugh the most are those who, after calling them, act like the paparazzi were following them everywhere, some even getting angry and taking it out on them.

But it must also be said that celebrities who really don’t want the paparazzi’s attention, make sure that this doesn’t happen. Unlike the ones who want them and even have them called. There are many celebrities who want their pictures taken because, as we also know, any publicity is good publicity. These celebrities know how it works and not only accept that the paparazzi are part of the business, but use them as a tool for their publicity. It’s just business for them and a new opportunity to look good in magazines. They want to be in control of their image and in this way, they have it.

Also, some brands pay celebs to wear their clothing or accessories while out and about, and those staged shots that look like candid of a celebrity leaving a restaurant or a store, actually have multiple purposes, namely: celebrity endorsement of the product, big check for the celebrity for wearing the item, collaboration between the celebrity and paparazzi to get nice shots that look natural and random from which the celebrity then selects the ones they prefers, and image sales for the paparazzi agency. Everyone gets paid and everyone is happy.

Another thing to take into consideration? Depending on the celebrity’s profession, even their own contracts. In the sense that most of their contracts involve fake relationships. It also depends on the image that the celeb has and whether they’re trying to hide their sexuality. From this, their contracts can include a minimum of two PRs, or five, or eight, or even one that lasts for many years. They can also state that the same person with whom the celebrity has already had a PR in the past, may be again in the future. I’ll give you a practical example.

Imagine yourselves and a friend as a celebrity, okay? You guys are singers and your friend is an actor. You’ve just signed a 3-album deal lasting 5 years (meaning you have 5 years to complete and release 3 albums), and your friend an 8-year movie saga contract (let’s imagine 3 movies). Now let’s imagine that there are clauses in both your contracts that also include fake relationships. Your contract has two, and your friend’s contract has five, including one with one of their co-stars. Both of you must, ABSOLUTELY, have the number of PRs chosen for you over the course of those years, otherwise, you’re gonna be forced not only to fight a lawsuit that you will lose because you haven’t respected the contract, but also to pay a penalty that can reach up to six figures.

Doesn’t this ring a bell? Now do you also understand why Ca*ren, and most of the other celebrities, are forced to have PR stunt relationships? Because they have to! Because it’s part of their contracts if they want to keep doing what they do. Many of them have a say. They can decide whether or not to accept the person chosen for them, they can choose a person themselves, they can negotiate something in return if they accept a person they didn’t want, etc., etc. But many have no say in it.

And speaking of our Camr*n, more specifically, our L, and Kris. Guys… All the comments I’ve read around… *help* 🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻

L didn’t invite Kris there because he’s her boyfriend. And it certainly wasn’t her the one who asked her dad to delete the post because she didn’t want her fans to start attacking her new boyfriend or because she wanted to protect her relationship. IT WAS ALL DONE ON PURPOSE. Mi*e posted the picture and then deleted it ON PURPOSE! Why? Because (L and Kris’ teams) wanted the fans to see the picture to speculate! They wanted the fans to start attacking him! They want people to talk about it!! Is that really that hard to understand or to believe? Welcome to Tyren 2.0, my friends. That’s how it started with Taco Delivery Symbol, or did you forget that too? Go read the timelines if you really don’t remember.

I’ve lost count of how many times they’ve put off releasing L’s album over the years. They’d finally decided, and then it was postponed AGAIN, but because of COVID. EVERYONE had to postpone their programs actually, but L’s album was supposed to be released 100% this year (in September, in my opinion). Her PR should have started earlier. This is the only reason we have only had hints of Crispy McBacon (I’ve already found so many nicknames for his transphobic ass, sorry but I just can’t help myself) over time. Because they have postponed several times! *And also because, in my opinion, they were still looking for an alternative. The choice had to be between a guy (him) and a girl.*

But hey, at least they have an excuse to make this PR more real, you know? I’m already picturing what she’ll say because we all know the script by now: “Kris and I’ve been dating for a while now. I’m a private person. My personal life is my personal life and I want to protect my shit, you know? I don’t like it when people judge my life choices and that’s why I’ve never talked about it before. And I’d like it to stay that way”. Picture me shouting a “SURE, JAN!” when that happens, also because we will then slowly have more and more of their content. Aww, I’m already picturing them playing fake lovebirds and talking to each other in Spanish IN FRONT of a camera, in a live or an Insta-story maybe? 🤮🤮🤮

And speaking of postponed programs…

This is my version of how things could’ve turned out for our oh so beloved IwanttobeknownMila. Keep these dates in mind. Shon Mentos: The Tour, started on March 7, 2019, and ended on December 21, 2019. The Romance Tour, was supposed to start on May 26, 2020, and end on September 26, 2020.

They could’ve released Shirt’s documentary around the beginning of the Romance Tour. They could’ve made them break up almost at the end of the Romance Tour. He would’ve completed the album now, to then releasing it in January or February almost simultaneously with Cinderella’s release.

Why all this? Simple, cross-publicity or cross-promotion or whatever you want to call it. Choke recently said that they’d initially finished filming at the end of his tour and that they had to cut out a lot of parts. And what does all this mean? That the original documentary was another one.

In my opinion, the original was supposed to about his life on tour and only a small part, sneak peeks about the creation of Wonder. Instead, thanks to COVID, they changed direction and made it all about his album. The reason why they had to cut a lot of parts, was to make room for the last few months and therefore to the completion of the album. Which is why I think they finished filming in September/October (if anyone of u knows more, please feel free to let me know).

Without COVID they could’ve released his original documentary more or less around the beginning of the Romance Tour. News, tabloids, and people would’ve talked about them, both for the documentary and for the tour of our Mila= cross-promotion. They could’ve made them break up almost at the end of the Romance Tour. The distance, the misunderstandings, and why not, even the pathetic excuse that Toilet Brush used now when ‘they were in crisis/on a break’, that is, that he hadn’t been opened and vulnerable with her. People would’ve talked about them, Shitmila fans would’ve rebelled and cry their eyes out, news and tabloids would’ve gone crazy for who would tell the story better= cross-promotion. He would’ve completed the album now, with half of the songs he already had (from 3 years) and that he’s using on this album, and a half with songs that would’ve been about his broken heart, to then releasing it in January or February almost simultaneously with Cinderella’s release. Do I need to say this? You can imagine what would’ve happened, right? And what would that have led to? Oh yeah. Cross-promotion!

But anyway, guys, it didn’t happen. Just as we didn’t get L’s album as we hoped. But try to remember one thing, okay? Tyren’s contract started because L needed a new male PR and then they flipped the cards around and continued for him AS AGREED initially. Shakerstoremila’s one, on the other hand, is only and exclusively for HIM. It’s centered on him and will continue to be on him until the end. There’s no point in asking yourselves why Paruparo does this and why Paruparo does that, okay? She HAS TO do it. It’s in her contract and she cannot legally break it if she doesn’t want to face the consequences HER HERSELF has accepted. The sooner you understand this, the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can wait for the end more calmly. It sucks, I know. But that’s the way it is.

I’ve never liked Shon that much in the past. I discovered his existence only and exclusively thanks to Paruparo (IKWYDLS). I’ve always seen him as too fake and with a huge ego. I first became aware of his giant ego during the interview they did in 2015 at The Late Late Show with James Corden. Indeed, I’ve always wondered how someone like Mila could be friends with such an egocentric person. But you know how it is, I just brushed it off because I simply didn’t care about him, and also because at the time (2016 when I officially entered the fandom) the IKWYDLS era was already over for a while. BUT, my first impression of him became very true years later when they started this ridiculous charade.

Not only is he self-centered and with a huge ego, he’s also one of the most fake people I’ve ever seen. Why am I saying this? Because although I don’t know him and consequently, I don’t know if he was already like that before he became famous, Shon is the typical empty celebrity without a personality that has become the role he was set to be in the beginning. The perfect product. They wanted to sell the good guy. The sensitive and different from the others (and that’s where the bullshit of being a ‘singer-songwriter’ came from). And since this idea in itself only partially worked, they made him work on his body so they could sell that too. To sell the unreachable good guy. Superman, as he defines himself 😂. The problem of Shawn and his team, is with people who have not stopped to just look at the fake goody to shoes image that they wanted and want to continue selling.

The way I see him, Shoe’s just a selfish kid. Everything always revolves around him. Everything is and must be about him. He lives to be loved. He lives for the attention. He lives for the approval of others. Everyone must necessarily like him. There’s no one else besides him. Do you know what he reminds me of? He reminds me of a child who asks his mom for attention. ‘Mommy, how did I do? You liked it, didn’t you? Was I good? I can do better if you want, I know I can do better’. I don’t even think he realizes he’s like that because he’s so full of himself and so clouded by himself. Oh and, you know what I’ve been realizing lately? Many of his fans really believe he grew his hair out because Paruparo asked him to (I’d never have believed this bullshit even under torture), but now more than ever I’m convinced that he did it to copy one of his obsessions for years, that is, Matthew McConaughey. My personal problem with this look of his is the fact that he’s now starting to look more and more like Jon Snow (any Game of Thrones fans like me here?), aka one of the characters I can’t stand the most of that amazing TV series. And this, is making me dislike him even more.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I hate him and that I consider him the devil. In fact, I think there’s a lot but A LOT worse than him out there. I really, REALLY, dislike him, but I don’t hate him. Do I follow him on social media? Yes, but only on IG. Did I listen to his music? Yes, but illegally, and I liked some of his songs because as usual, I distinguish the art from the artist. I’ve never bought his music, I’ve never streamed it, I’ve never gone to one of his concerts, and the only views I’ve ever given him are only for music videos (not even all of them) on YouTube and only because other channels can’t violate copyrights by taking and posting them on their own. Indeed, you know how I’m gonna listen to his album? Thanks to the YouTube channels of his fans who will post his songs.

But anyway. I’ve dwelt too much on #pleasenoticeme #pleaseloveme, I’d say that’s enough. I’m gonna conclude with my final thoughts on the main topic of my post, that is, the fake PR relationships. I wanna explain to u guys why a fake relationship like Shazam’s and our Mila’s is so obvious as PR.

A PR relationship MUST create doubt in people’s heads and MUST NOT look perfect at all. Why? Because otherwise people WOULD NOT TALK ABOUT IT. If it looked like a basic relationship, a common relationship, people wouldn’t talk about it because they wouldn’t find anything strange about it. They wouldn’t speculate, they wouldn’t look for clues, they wouldn’t watch every move. They wouldn’t be thirsty. They’d just get bored. Yes, there would be the initial boom of the ‘new couple’, but then everything would end and people would move on to look for something else to entertain them. The main point of a PR relationship is to make people speculate, and if people don’t constantly talk about it, then it would be all pointless because it would make no sense to create a fake relationship in the first place.

Way to stop this act or any other act? Stop giving them fucking attention! You want to talk about it, speculate, look for evidence, and make theories amongst you friends? Do it! That’s great actually. I do it myself. But fucking tagging them?? 🤨😒🙄

If all the fans who know the real TRUTH stop talking about it by tagging them, tweeting them, etc. their ‘story’ would end. Sure, their teams would try to create something to attract attention again, like a kiss or a scoop, but if ignored even then, everything would end immediately. Why? Precisely because they were unable to complete their task. And in that case, the two celebs would ‘break up’ with a big scandal that would still bring attention back to them, although in this case, the attention would FINALLY be on both celebrities in a singular way and no longer as a couple. The next goal would be for fans and media to find out ‘what happened’ and ‘why’, while for managers it would be to create a scoop on those questions that keep them talking about them, and if all goes well, maybe even get them ‘back together’, and so on, until they have a better idea. But, if they fail even then, even though they’ve not reached the date scheduled in the contract, they would ‘break up’ without any more surprises.

And that’s all for now, my fellows CS. Remember to hold on and to not lose hope. Be patient. And above all, try not to freak out and get very angry as soon as you listen to the album. We already know it’s all bullshit.

I’m sending you a virtual hug 🤗🤗 Always with love, F ❤️

[moveobjectsonblogs]

Zodiac Challenge

Welcome to the Sims 4 Zodiac Challenge!

This idea came to me in a dream after a month of um-ing and ah-ing over whether or not I should start my very own Sims inspired Youtube Channel.

This is also inspired by the Not So Berry Challenge over on my queen, lilsimsie’s page, since I recently started playing that myself and found myself engaging with aspects of the game I never used to before. 

SO, the Zodiac challenge... It’s a legacy challenge inspired by Zodiac traits*, aspirations and careers with a little extra spice to keep the story moving along.  

*Please keep in mind that this is not a direct reflection of Zodiac traits, but merely an inspired challenge based on some common information surrounding each sign and a need to make a workable legacy challenge. I love all you little start signs out there equally and I believe we all have some positive influences on society as a whole. 

Okay, okay, cut to the chase already. Here are the rules of the challenge: 

No excessive money cheats (freerealestate is acceptable, as well as moderate transfer of household fees when a sim moves out) 

You have full control over CAS for your sims/partners/children, however traits are to remain according to challenge 

The color attached to each generation/sign needs to be visible on all sim outfits as well as in household, but you can decide to what degree

You can create looks inspired by the signs, but again, you can decide to what degree 

Make it your own! Where a generation requires pack-specific traits, aspirations, careers etc which you do not own, please substitute and come up with your own unique spin on it!

If a skill, aspiration, or career is listed, the expectation is to MAX IT OUT!

Please tag me! I want to see your videos, characters and creations on this

Generation 1 - Aries / Red - The Go-Getter

You start out as a runaway teen, trying to make it in the Big City. You believe you have what it takes to be the next National Leader, and the City is the place to be! You have a quick temper and a fiery personality, so in order to appear calm in the public eye (everyone wants a piece of you!) you need to practice Wellness every day. You don’t have time for marriage, but your PR Manager advised you it would look good for your political career to adopt!

Traits

Hot Headed

Self-Assured

Ambitious

Aspiration

Leader Of The Pack

Career

Politician (Politician branch to become National Leader)

Skills

Charisma

Wellness

Additional Requirements

Reach Level 3 Fame

Must have no biological children, only adopt

Don’t have a good relationship with child/ren

Never marry

Never retire 

Generation 2 - Taurus / Dark Green - The Loving Nurturer

All your life you tried to get the approval of your always-too-busy presidential parent. You were pawned off to day-care, baby-sitters and after-school activities to fill your time and never knew what a parental figure or family time was. You were told to always appear perfect in terms of good grades, a good university degree and a stable career but in your heart all you ever wanted was love! You spend quality time with your children and your greatest pleasure is helping them grow and succeed in life. You believe in taking the time to grow your own produce in order to eat only the healthiest food and other sims would describe you as ~earthy~.

Traits

Foodie

Family Oriented

Romantic

Aspiration

Big Happy Family

Career

Freelancer (any branch you want)

Skills

Parenting 

Gardening

Additional Requirements

Marry your High School/University sweetheart

Have minimum 3 children 

Work part time in order to help children with meals & homework everyday

Generation 3 - Gemini / Yellow - The Open-Minded Adventurer

You loved your cozy (some would say sheltered) and unconventional upbringing with your earthy parent and many siblings; however, you want to see the world and all it has to offer for yourself! You love people, creativity and being busy and you want to see it all, try it all and be it all. Thanks to your loving mom, you were always made to believe you can be whatever you want in this world. You can never sit still. Due to that, you have many different careers, many different worlds you live in and many different lovers...You’ll try anything once!

Traits

Outgoing

Adventurous

Creative

Aspiration

Renaissance Sim 

Career

Any 3 (as per Aspiration)

Skills

Flower Arranging

Video Gaming

Fitness 

Additional Requirements

Have a love child before marriage 

Have 3 failed romances before marriage 

Move to 3 different worlds in lifetime 

Generation 4 - Cancer / Grey - The Intuitive Gossip

You want a nice and normal life, no surprises, everything as it should be and in the right order. You want to settle down, and live an uneventful life. But when do plans ever work out like that? You earn a university degree in something sensible, and you follow that route with determination; however, you’ve always been described as psychic by those who know you, and you always have the dirt on the town folk. Finally, late in your life you understand that this ability can bring in some serious cash. You switch to the social media career and always work from home to protect your identity from those who’s secrets you spill. Who would ever suspect you, the nerdy Brainiac who barely speaks up? xoxo, Sims Girl

Traits

Neat

Unflirty 

Materialistic

Aspiration

Academic

Career

Initially something connected to Degree, but switch to Social Media (Internet Personality Branch) in late Adult Life Stage 

Skills

Logic

Writing

Media Production 

Additional Requirements

Attend university (Business or History degree)

Change careers when in Adult life stage to Social Media Career

Always work from home

Marry for convenience and not love (not attracted to partner)

Have no relationship with child/ren

Generation 5 - Leo / Gold - The Romantic Star

Your life growing up was boring. Your mom and dad were the least romantic people ever and everything was cookie-cutter perfect (and devoid of any emotion) growing up. So, from a young age, you throw yourself into movies and get lost in the romantic, passionate and fairy tale aesthetic of it all! You move to Del Sol Valley straight after high school to try and make it as a big star and start your own fairy tale! But it turns out not all fairy tales are perfect, and you have to kiss a few frogs to find your prince/ss!  

Traits

Cheerful

Self Absorbed 

Romantic

Aspiration

World Famous Celebrity

Career

Actor/Actress 

Skills

Acting

Singing 

Additional Requirements

Move to Del Sol Valley straight after high school with very little money (10K max)

Cheat on 2 different partners

Date both genders

Generation 6 - Virgo / Beige - The Critical Perfectionist

Owing to your famous parent, you always attended red carpet events with the best food imaginable. Let’s face it, you always thought your taste was just a touch above everyone else. And when you’re good at something never do it for free! Your dream is to criticize others and earn a pay check for it.For you, life is about experiences, perfection and having something to show for it in the bank account. You want to wear and eat the finest things!

Traits

Perfectionist

Genius

Snob

Aspiration

Fabulously Wealthy

Career

Critic (Food)

Skills

Gourmet Cooking

Mixology

Additional Requirements

Marry a famous sim or a sim at the top of their career

Have a house worth over 100K

Have 1 child

Generation 7 - Libra / Pink - The Classy Advocate

You grew up in a very classy home, with only the finest things. You believe in the value of beautiful art, intellectual discussions and physical beauty. From behind the thick, gilded window panes in your childhood mansion, you always witness the injustices of the world and felt a calling to help those without a voice.

Traits

Materialistic

Art Lover

Outgoing

Aspiration

Party Animal

Career

Law (Any Branch)

Skills

Charisma

Violin

Additional Requirements

Attend university, join the debate guild

Marry a sim you find extremely attractive

Volunteer weekly

Own art pieces worth over 20K

Generation 8 - Scorpio / Black - The Beautiful Empath 

You’re a sweetheart deep down and you find beauty in all things physical. Where your parents saw beauty in materialistic things, you see beauty in yourself and others. You always dreamed of perfecting your own body as a testament to your intense passion towards your goals. You meet a beautiful partner along the way and together, you create a perfect image of love, beauty and emotional intensity.

Traits

Jealous 

Active 

Romantic

Aspiration

Soulmate

Career

Athlete (Bodybuilder career)

Skills

Fitness

Mischief

Additional Requirements

Marry a sim seen as extremely attractive

Have 1 child minimum and encourage active side (from toddler to teenager)

Go on a date night with your partner every weekend

Generation 9 - Sagittarius / Purple - The Traveling Spy 

You’re fun to be around and can never sit still. You’ve used this to your advantage to lure people into trusting you, and you have friends all over the world! Little do they know, you’re a secret agent with some top-tier missions to accomplish. Your passion for love and romance means you have a few slip ups and made some (unexpectedly great) mistakes along the way. You can’t ever be tied down. Keep it moving, blend in with the locals and you’ll never get caught!

Traits

Non-Committal

Adventurous

Cheerful  

Aspiration

Serial Romantic

Career

Secret Agent (Any Branch)

Skills

Comedy

Photography

Additional Requirements

Live in Mt. Komorebi and Sulani in lifetime – dabble in local culture and activities  

Have children from both of the above worlds with one of the locals

Never marry  

Generation 10 - Capricorn / Brown - The Idealistic Pragmatist

You’re smart – scary smart. You are a quiet, intelligent soul and you love to lose yourself in the mountains when life gets overwhelming. You approach life with military intelligence, routine and perfection and never thought you could meet someone who cracked through your tough exterior. When you do meet them, you marry them after the first few dates and start your family. Your partner adores you and your family and quits their career to take care of the large brood of kids and animals in your rustic, outdoorsy home.

Traits

Loner

Genius

Loves the Outdoors

Aspiration

Extreme Sports Enthusiast

Career

Military 

Skills

Pet Training

Logic 

Additional Requirements

Marry a spouse after a maximum of 3 dates

Have spouse quit job to raise children

Have 4 children minimum

Go Climbing/Hiking or do Snow Sports every weekend

Generation 11 - Aquarius / Blue - The Outspoken Activist 

You grew up with nature and animals taking preference over technology and humans. Therefore, you are sickened by the state of the world that humans have created and you decide to pursue a green future. You are all for eco living, off the grid lifestyle and conserving the environment for generations to come.

Traits

Vegetarian

Green Fiend

Creative

Aspiration

Eco Innovator 

Career

Civil Designer (Green Technician) 

Skills

Fabrication 

Logic 

Additional Requirements

Live in Evergreen Harbor (all 3 neighborhoods) and convert all to Green Eco Footprint

Live off the grid at least once

Adopt children and animals until household limit of 8 is reached 

Generation 12 - Pisces / Light Green - The Creative Overthinker 

You’re a dreamer and you want to heal everyone. Due to your parent’s ideals growing up, you want to make a difference... but you also want to create art and move souls. You tend to internalize your dreams and fears and as a result often feel misunderstood. You move around as a doctor trying to heal the world and as a result, love is last on the list of accomplishments.

Traits

Creative

Gloomy

Loner  

Aspiration

Painter Extraordinaire 

Career

Doctor 

Skills

Painting 

Baking 

Additional Requirements

Have no friends apart from future spouse

Gain fame through paintings  

Marry for the first time as an elder

Never have children

Live in all worlds through lifetime

[funkymbtifiction]

How the general public views types vs. How I *personally* view them

INTJ: Genius who’working on taking over the world or on curing cancer depending if they’re good or evil.

Me: Much more community-serving than the misanthropic stereotype thrown at them. Insightful idea people who actually want to make it happen. 

ENTJ: Definitely trying to take over the world, but most likely a ruthless CEO

Me: Not a ruthless CEO, but rather a bit more of a life coach. Doesn’t mince words but can be quite fun and inspirational under the right circumstances. My most enviable type because other than the nasty repressing of feelings, they are usually super well-rounded at seeing everything and adjusting accordingly. 

INFJ: Mystic, saint, wasn’t born but rather hatched from a pod in another dimension

Me: Essentially an ISFJ but with more of a spiritual/esoteric edge to them. Not concerned on focusing with your every day problems but rather the life path you should take. Incredibly smart but sometimes overshoot their ideals. 

ENFJ: Oprah/Bono

Me: Actually more over-dramatic than ESFJs but once you can get passed that, you can see how insightful they actually are. 

INTP: Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast

Me: I think the nerd stereotype is actually kinda true? Although they are often more (surprisingly) artistically inclined. Super smart, probably more than all types, but do indeed tend to be lazy. 

ENTP: Charming troll

Me: Heretic troll, except…..sometimes we kinda need that to put things back into perspective? Has this weird ability to constantly shift back and forth between being super realistic and day-dreamy. really good at giving advice, but go off and run with it before they go too far down the rabbit hole. 

INFP: INFJ but without the whole “wanna change the world’‘ thing. Because they’re too emo.

Me: The true ’'artists” of the MBTI family IMO. I do believe that most world-famous artists are actually ISFPs because A) They are more common and B) They usually know better than INFPs how to cater to a large populace. But I think INFPs are usually more unhinged artistic types, more difficult to comprehend but in a good way. Same as INTP though, they are subject to being lazy (sorry). 

ENFP: Any anime or manga character

Me: The ultimate SJW type (those stereotypes are true) but way more grounded, realistic and business savvy then they give themselves credit for.

ISTJ: Boring suit and tie guy, not openly racist/homophobic but probably is. His only wild side was a brief fling with the secretary

Me: Stick in the mud, judgmental, but surprisingly rebellious and artistic. Seen as the ultimate conformist but actually has their own thoughts and views of things, which believe or not,  can go against the popular consensus. 

ESTJ: Drill sergeant

Me: Way more fun and zany then people give them credit for (what with all that stiff authority figure stereotypes) but do indeed have a tendency to point fingers and tell you they’re right and you’re wrong. 

ISFJ: Mom who read 457 Danielle Steele novels

Me: Actually one of the more mysterious MBTI types. People love to lump them into the predictable “mom” or “nurse” category. But I find them to be sleeping rebels whom at anytime will do something that you’ll never see coming. Much more secretive than the stereotype suggests. When they snap, all hell breaks loose. 

ESFJ: Soccer mom if over 30, basic white girl at Starbucks if under 30.

Me: I believe to my core that they actually are the most well-meaning type. They really are the nurturers of this world and WAY smarter than people think (because socially smart is actually very much a thing and they have that in spades), but they simply struggle with boundaries, which is why they are often considered as being overbearing. 

ISTP: Car mechanic if held under low esteem, apocalyptic survivor if held in high esteem. Wishes “The Purge” would come true. 

Me: One of my personal favorite types. I love dark and uncalled for humor and they are one of the few types who actually get off on it. Super practical and helpful BUT yes, they have trouble taking accountability for their own actions, always blaming others, even the fricikn’ government for sh*tty things they do, and that does get annoying over time. The concept of personal responsibility seems to be lost on them. 

ESTP: Annoying jock/frat boy, passed out on booze every night

Me: The ultimate realists who don’t mince words. They are extremely inspirational leaders, but sadly don’t realize or don’t want to put their energy into it. By far the most popular people you will encounter and thus you will try to copy them, until you sadly realize their swag/sass in 100% natural whereas yours is probably forced. The unhealthy ones however will range anywhere from jerks to borderline sociopaths. 

ISFP: Chosen to defend the realm of Earth from the evil Aganor and his dark army,

Me: The true “rebels” of the MBTI. They simply do NOT give sh*t what you think. Tell them that jumping off a bridge is stupid and will kill them and they……will probably do it. Just to prove you wrong. But in all seriousness, these people balance the artistic and realistic like no other type. 

ESFP: “Like, let’s totes party! Like 4 realz!”

Me: Often portrayed as the least intelligent type, and that may be true if they are young, dumb and full of c*m, but most of the mature ones are so driven and business-focused that they make your typical ENTJ blush by comparison, BUT yes, they are often slaves to their values and can make dumb decisions just on the basis that they won’t cross a subjective line in their morals. Just like ESTPs, if you’re looking to boost your stock through appearance, they know how, but won’t be as much jerks about it.

SUBMITTED BY STEVE

[alexriehman]

Trip to Bronzeville

Recently I was able to tour the historic neighborhood of Bronzeville, located in Chicago’s south side.  Stretching from 31st Street south to Pershing Road and elapsing laterally from the lakefront westward to the Dan Ryan expressway.  This neighborhood cements its storied past during the Great Migration, a period of time in the United States, in which seven million African Americans emigrated from southern rural states to the urban cities of the north (Grossman, 2005).  Due to social differences the growing African American population was mainly independent from the existing Chicago population.  Thus an African American enclave was born, and the community created independent economic, social, and political functions.  These functions would generate the success that eventually led to the ‘Black Metropolis.’ The metropolis constructed by these newly immigrated African Americans was considered a city within a city, offering services that were turned off to many African Americans. 

Map of Bronzeville

Prior to the turn millennium, in 1998 the city named nine historic landmarks as significant to the once thriving Black Metropolis.  The nine named include: Unity Hall, the Chicago Defender Building, Sunset Cafe, the Eighth Regiment Armory, the Supreme Life Building, Victory Monument, the Overton Hygienic Building, the Chicago Bee Building, and the Wabash Avenue YMCA (Faye, 2015).  Of the previously listed nine landmarks, I was able to visit four on my visit of Bronzeville, and a few other sites that find historical significance.

I began my journey to Bronzeville at the intersection of 35th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.  King Drive once entitled Grand Boulevard was originally engineered as part of the Chicago park and boulevard system.  The park and boulevard system was designed to provide bicycle riders an enhanced transit system for greater ease around the city.  The park system also solved an issue of escape for city dwellers.  Prior to the implementation of the park and bike system, so commonly vital to the city today, those living in the city would retreat to cemeteries for green spaces (WTTW, 2010).  The park system produced and protected needed green space to the urban environment.  Standing today at the crossroads of King Drive and 35th Street are many historical sightings for onlookers to appreciate.  I was able to visit three significant sites at this intersection of the neighborhood alone, two of which the city deems significant to the metropolis.

The most obvious of the three sites was the large monument standing in the middle of King Drive.  Victory Monument is the large structure that stands honoring the accomplishments of the neighborhood’s military regiment for their service in World War I.  The Eighth Regiment, an all African American unit, provided heroic services for the allied forces during the Great War (City of Chicago, 2020).  The unit has a special claim as the final regiment to evacuate German forces from the Aisne-Marne reign in Belleau, France, prior to the Armistice (National Park Service, 2020).  The monument was dedicated on Armistice Day of 1928, and the soldier seen on top was added later in 1936.

Victory Monument

In relation to Victory Monument is one significant site I have passed many times and have paid little attention too.  Just east of Victory Monument, now where stands the Chicago Military Academy of Bronzeville, a public college preparatory academy.  The building this academy claims rights to today was once built as an armory for the first African American military regiment in 1915 (National Park Service, 2020).  The armory established a home for the Eighth Regiment, also commonly referred to as the ‘Fighting Eighth.’  The same regiment honored by Victory Monument.  This branch was designed to act as an infantry division for the Illinois National Guard.  As touched on previously, this legendary African American regiment is one of the nine defining sites of the Black Metropolis.

Chicago Military Academy, or once Eighth Regiment Armory 

The next landmark I was able to observe is one in which a nonobservant eye may miss.  While approaching Victory Monument if you are to look down on the walkway leading to the monument; stars can be seen, each inscribed, remembering a noteworthy individual to the neighborhood.  This landmark is the Bronzeville Walk of Fame, highlighting the most notable African American residents of the neighborhood.  I was able to witness four plaques, the first honoring Colonel Franklin A. Denison, the commander of the historic Eighth Regiment and also the Assistant Attorney General of Illinois.  The second person memorialized is Lieutenant George R. Giles, who is remembered as a hero of the Great War.  The following name enlisted upon the walk relates to another landmark during this excursion, more specifically the Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company.  The two men remembered are Truman Gibson Sr. the founder of the historic African American financial business, and his son Truman Gibson Jr. an influential civilian aide to the Secretary of War during World War I.  The final impactful person on the Walk of Fame is Major Robert H. Lawrence Jr. the first African American astronaut.  Although the five men previously listed all accomplished great accomplishments that the neighborhood holds intimately, the Walk of Fame includes many other important figures to Bronzeville.  The Black Metropolis was an economic and cultural haven for African American immigrating to the north, seducing the interest of many other famous professionals including Louis Armstrong, Ida B. Wells, and Bessie Coleman, just to list a few.  

Bronzeville Walk of Fame, Colonel Franklin A. Denison

As touched on previously Truman Gibson Sr. was the founder of the Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company.  Although Gibson Sr. has passed on the building in which his business inhabited still stands today.  Identified as one of nine landmarks with historical significance to the neighborhood, I was able to observe the building.  The extensive African American history found in Bronzeville can be witnessed through the Supreme Life Company, the insurance company was the first of its kind, being the first black owned and operated company in the north (City of Chicago, 2020).  It holds such significance in history because during a time of great racial tension, African Americans were turned away from common city lenders.  Because of this the Supreme Life Insurance Company was able to serve to a market that was untapped.  Once financing the expansion of the neighborhood, business and social functions boomed in Bronzeville, creating the isolated enclave renowned for its service to the African American community.  

Supreme Life Insurance Co. Building

Later in the day during my trip to Bronzeville, I walked east toward the lakefront, until I reached the Stephen A. Douglas Tomb.  Born in Vermont, and later journeying to Illinois to establish a practice of law.  Douglas would serve on the Illinois Supreme Court prior to his seat in the House of Representatives.  Although accomplished, Douglas may be most well known from his debates for the Illinois Senate seat in 1858 with at the time an unknown opponent, Abraham Lincoln (History.com Editors, 2018).  The two had a series of debates arguing the issues of the time, most importantly slavery and the potential practices of expansion for the trade.  Douglas would best Lincoln, and continue a third term as senator.  Bronzeville and Douglas find relation with one another as the land the neighborhood claims was once owned by Douglas.  In 1852, the senator bought seventy acres in Chicago, establishing an early University of Chicago, and even using part of the land as a Civil War camp that once housed Confederate prisoners of war (WTTW, 2010).  The tomb erected for Douglas is quite simple, with a singular slim tower, being surrounded by four pillars, each presenting a different word.  The four pillars list the words: eloquence, justice, history, and Illinois.  Transitioning to modern social issues, some members of the neighborhood view the tomb for Douglas as disrespectful to the African American community.  Because of his views on slavery, many believe the memorial symbolizes a man who did not envision equality for all.  Political issues aside, the tomb was fascinating to witness in person, and the ornate detail that can be appreciated only added to the experience.  

Tomb of Stephen A. Douglas

As the end of my trip approached I was encouraged to visit a landmark not far from the very university I attend.  The Overton Hygienic Building is well known from its pioneering owner Anthony Overton.  Anthony Overton was the founder of numerous business ventures, including Overton Hygienic, Douglas National Bank, Victory Life Insurance Company, Great Northern Realty Company, and a famous African American newspaper, The Chicago Bee (African American Registry, 2020).  Most significant to Overton as a businessman, is he was the first African American to establish a major conglomerate.  Overton built his fortune through cosmetics, specifically targeting the needs and complexions of the African American women.  The Overton business empire was incredibly salient to the growth of the neighborhood, and without Anthony Overton’s investment in Bronzeville the landscape may look vastly different than what stands today. 

Overton Hygienic Building

I would amalgamate all my experiences throughout my trip to Bronzeville as extremely mind opening.  During my trip I would find myself repeatedly caught off-guard by buildings that were deemed as historical landmarks, but structures I have glazed over without appreciation.  Being in my third year at the Illinois Institute of Technology, it somewhat pains me to learn so late of all the history the neighborhood has to present.  Incredible and something I found unique to the neighborhood were the numerous murals, artwork, and pictures scattered throughout, even the local Mariano’s displays photos along its windows of an early Black Metropolis.  Each of these artistic expressions displayed Bronzeville's historic past, honoring the African American community that built the neighborhood that survives today.  These expressions most importantly value and continue the African American culture that Bronzeville holds so dear to itself.  I would recommend anyone unfamiliar with the history of the neighborhood to explore how Bronzeville grew to the ‘Metropolis’ it once was; booming with African American focused economic, social, and political development.

Sources

African American Registry. (2020, January 01). Anthony Overton, Business Pioneer. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://aaregistry.org/story/anthony-overton-business-pioneer/

City of Chicago. (2020). Supreme Life Building. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://webapps1.chicago.gov/landmarksweb/web/landmarkdetails.htm?lanId=1431

City of Chicago. (2020). Victory Monument. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://webapps1.chicago.gov/landmarksweb/web/landmarkdetails.htm?lanId=1444

Faye, M., & Pugh, R. (2015, July 01). Chicago Landmarks. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://magazine.iit.edu/summer-2015/chicago-landmarks

Grossman, J. (2005). Great Migration. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/545.html

History.com Editors. (2018, August 21). Stephen A. Douglas. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/us-politics/stephen-a-douglas

National Park Service. (2020). Eighth Regiment Armory. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/chicago/c18.htm 

WTTW (Director). (2010, November 29). Biking the Boulevards with Geoffrey Baer [Video file]. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://video.wttw.com/video/geoffrey-baer-tours-biking-the-boulevards-with-geoffrey-baer/ 

Photos

All of the photos illustrated throughout the blog were taken by me except for the following images: 

Map of Bronzeville: 

https://oluduro.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/map.jpg 

Park and Boulevard Map : 

https://www.lakeviewhistoricalchronicles.org/2014/11/the-missing-link- diversey.html?m=1

Stephen A. Douglas  Tomb:

https://live.staticflickr.com/8597/15318378834_239bb14d4c_b.jpg

[theparanormalperiodical]

19 Spooky Things That Happened In 2019 - And The Links To Watch Them Happen!

365 days.

That’s as long as it takes to change the world.

This year, we saw Greta Thunberg take on world leaders, we bore witness to the Time’s Up movement flex its muscles, and we hit share on the first picture of a black hole. Oh, and your favourite blog was started!

And so, as 2019 draws to a close, chances are your Twitter feeds, your TV shows and your conversations will be crammed full of everyone’s own personal take on the year. On top of that, the final few days of the year will also be chock full of existential crises based on every resolution you failed to meet in the last 12 months.

(Until next year, driving licence...)

But regardless of the politics, and aside from those promises you swore to keep all-year-round, there are some events that simply go ignored. Like the spooky ones.

The ones about haunted baby monitors.

The ones about prophecies claiming this pope will cause the end of the world.

And the ones about the Loch Ness Monster’s Chinese cousin.

I wanted to change that. So, today’s article is going to take you through the 19 spookiest thangs that gon’ don’ went down in 2019.

For the last time this year: let’s get spooky!

#1 - A Nanny Cam Picks Up Paranormal Activity In Michigan (March)

It might sound like it’s fresh from the screenplay of some forgotten Paranormal Activity movie, but this tale has the evidence most ghost stories are scraping the bottom of the barrel for:

It may have seemed like a typical night for this Michigan-based family, but the usual practice checking on their child via the baby monitor took a turn for the terrifying.

The footage clearly shows a strange, transparent figure move in front of the crib, and the child watch it. But then, the baby cries, something that has been deduced to a sharp scratch found on its arm shortly after the incident.

An affliction from someone beyond the grave, perhaps?

Apparently so: the parents traced the history of their home back to a former tenant who committed suicide in the apartment.

Here’s the footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7cNDGk_loQ

#2 - Lorraine Warren - The Inspiration Behind The Conjuring Universe - Dies (April)

This year we lost a paranormal icon.

Lorraine Warren was one half of the ghost-hunting dream-team that investigated some of America’s - and even some of the UK’s - most haunted places and people.

The inspiration behind the ever-sprawling Conjuring universe, Lorraine was possibly the most famous and established medium in the world, using her gift to communicate with spirits entangled in cases such as the Amityville haunting, the Perron family farmhouse, and the Devil Made Me Do It court case.

Whether it's the silver screen bringing their stories to the fore, or their haunted museum, there’s no doubt that she was pretty damn awesome.

#3 - A New Haunting Is Sighted (And Filmed) At Myrtle’s Plantation (April)

Myrtle’s Plantation may already be haunted by the dark history of slavery in the USA, but it is also famed for its less metaphorical paranormal activity: haunted mirrors, the screams of dying Civil War soldiers, and a young girl sporting a green turban are just a few of the things to see and hear at this Louisiana tourist spot.

Yet despite being opened in 1796, only this year was a new haunting witnessed.

And filmed.

https://video.dailymail.co.uk/preview/mol/2019/04/25/6516021902273592342/636x382_MP4_6516021902273592342.mp4 

The story goes that a young couple were enjoying a romantic visit to the BnB - well, I say romantic, it’s a former plantation - and saw 3 pairs of small, ghostly feet scurry across the floor. When they reported this claim to the staff, it connected yet another dot regarding the paranormal portrait of the area.

It turns out that the ghosts of children are often reported by visitors and staff alike, whether it’s floral fragrances passing through the air, or being poked and touched by invisible hands. This aligns closely with claims that numerous children have died on the plantation as a result of Yellow Fever.

#4 - Zak Bagans’ Haunted Museum Is Temporarily Closed Due To Extreme Paranormal Activity (June)

When you gather enough haunted items together in one building, you expect some spooky-ass shit to go down, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened in June.

Zak Bagans - the mastermind behind hit TV show, Ghost Adventures - has his very own museum dedicated to the supernatural in Las Vegas, and had to shut down an exhibit citing danger to the staff.

Housed in this exhibit was ‘the Devil’s Wheelchair’, supposedly the chair David Glatzel sat in when exorcised as a part of the Devil Made Me Do It court case.

Concerns were first raised when a plug near the chair was yanked out of the wall by an invisible force, and a nearby door swung open in a similar fashion. Following this simple activity was an intensified level of activity which began to threaten the tour guides explaining the exhibit to visitors.

No less than 5 tour guides broke down crying for seemingly no reason whilst near the exhibit, and one even collapsed.

#5 - A Ghost Is Seen In The Love Island Villa (July)

This summertime TV hit might make the headlines for all the wrong reasons, but this story seemed to slip under the radar.

Joanna Chimonides, a rather controversial contestant from this year, claimed a blonde ghost visiting the sleeping contestants and bending over their beds was a common feature of their evenings.

It is what it is. (It’s a reference to the show, ok, I’m down with the kidz.)

#6 - Yet Another Sighting Of The Loch Ness Monster Is Reported (July)

The summer wasn’t just full of young men and women swanning ‘round Majorca “looking for love” - it was also chock full of sightings of Nessie.

Thanks to the warm, calm weather gracing Scotland in July, there was a spike in claims of seeing the beast as anything breaking the surface of the Loch was far easier to see. In fact, by the end of the month we’d had the 12th sighting of the year!

#7 - A Bar’s CCTV Catches A Ghost Doing, Uh, Ghost Things (July)

This year, the Idaho based brewery, Milner’s Gate, shot to viral fame having caught paranormal activity on its CCTV. The staff witnessed strange goings on in the dead of the night via their security footage, and uploaded it to YouTube to show what really happens after dark.

You can clearly see several barstools being pulled out from underneath a bar by an invisible force.

But someone could’ve been hiding underneath the bar, surely? Unfortunately, there was no space for them to hide.

Debate might still rage in the comments section of this YouTube video, but it is an interesting watch - whether you believe, or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKXT7Vz9T6k 

#8 - Hobo Hill House Gets Put On Airbnb (August)

Boutique hotels, country cottages, and cosy nooks in picturesque places tend to dominate the listings on AirBnB (AND drive up the prices). But taking in a coastal view isn’t the only option anymore: Hobo Hill House, a 109 year old house tucked away in Jefferson, bears the label ‘haunted’ instead.

Bought in 2017 by its current owners, this house supposedly features a variety of ghosts, and the resulting paranormal activity has amounted to the possession of the 8 year old daughter and their beloved family dog acting cray-cray. Within 7 months they’d got the hell outta there.

Most visitors cannot last the night.

#9 - Another Nanny Cam Sees Another Ghost (August)

It’s been a busy year for ghosts haunting and harassing small infants: in LA, a Nanny Cam app picked up movement of something unseen to the human eye. This brand used coloured splotches to indicate movement, and going by the human-shaped splotches by the crib, this suggested something - or someone - was shifting around the room.

However, the company behind the baby monitor cited poor setup and situation of the camera as the cause of this not-so-supernatural activity.

On top of that, anxious parenting of newborn babies is evidently a common cause of such claims. The debunking of this haunting continues…

#10 - Owlman Is Spotted Once Again - And Caught On Camera (August)

The Owlman of Mawnan Smith might sound like a crappy read you’d pull off a charity shop shelf, but it's actually a legend dating back to the 1920s. The original tale follows 2 teenage girls who saw a half-man, half-owl creature sitting on top of a church tower. The same year, another pair of teens saw the exact same thing.

But it was in the heat of this summer that Owlman struck once again. In August, a paranormal investigator captured footage - and a single photo - of what he claims is the Owlman. Yet beyond the classic blurry picture of something allegedly paranormal is the added experience of snapping the shot:

His team felt this surge of energy, and immediately sensed that this, uh, thing, was demonic. The camera then broke, and scratches soon appeared all over their bodies.

#11 - The Best Footage Of Bigfoot To Date Is Captured (August)

Yes, yes, I know.

Every other day someone is claiming to have witnessed and filmed the greatest evidence of the greatest monster and mystery this planet faces and omg guys drop everything and sub to my youtube channel look its not me in a gorilla suit i swear…

But this year, groundbreaking footage did indeed capture some crazy shizz.

Well, on reflection, ‘groundbreaking’ seems far-fetched for something that smells like yet another hoax. So, what do you think?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9750471/best-bigfoot-sighting-video-woods/

#12 - Pool Parc Asylum Is Closed Off To The Public (September)

North Wales is home to many things: gorgeous views, even more gorgeous accents, and a haunted mental asylum.

(These are a few of my favourite thingggggss.) 

Naturally, its a magnet to UK-based paranormal investigators who are in search for the next viral video. However, in the Autumn, the owner of the 200 year old manor discouraged visitors from touring the historic building, citing danger from the building’s structural integrity, and the increasingly violent paranormal activity that goes on inside.

Investigators typically witness strong activity, claiming stones behind thrown and bruises to the face are common occurrences for those looking to catch a glimpse of the supernatural.

#13 - The Chinese Loch Ness Monster Is Spotted For The First Time (September)

Is there room for 2 lake-based monsters on this list? Well, there’s gonna have to be.

This year a long, black creature was filmed swimming in the Yangtze, producing a viral video that all investigators of the mysterious seek. 

Was it simply a piece of material floating in the water? Was it merely an over-sized sea snake that was subjected to pollution?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4xRokjH2tkn 

Yet despite the debunking, this is not the first time a creature of similar stature has been seen in China. In 1987, a similar monster was seen in the Kanas lake, and 30 years later, a creature even raised its head out of the water, sparking yet another viral video.

#14 - The Haunting Of The Harper Family (October)

October - obviously the spookiest month of the year - had a spooky start with the Harpers, a family who finally uncovered the truth behind the paranormal activity they experienced in their house.

Their North Wales home has witnessed it all - and I mean it all. Banging noises echoing through the walls, the smell of rotten flesh wafting through the rooms, and items going missing are just a few of the most common occurrences the family have been subjected to.

But on top of that, the mother of the family even watched a small army in clothing and armour from a few odd centuries ago march past the house. This was the hint they needed to trace back their house to Flint Castle, a nearby historic tourist destination.

It is believed that their house is situated on the location of battles gone-by.

This was confirmed in October as footage picked up a large glowing orb floating through their living room. And if you look closely, you can even see a face in the orb.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/family-home-stinks-rotten-flesh-20763536

#15 - Major British Political Moments Happen On The Spookiest Days Of The Year (October, December)

Friday the 13th? Check.

The 31st October? Hell yeah.

It doesn’t get much spookier than that. Throw in some politics, stir 3 times clockwise, and say the magic words:

“Get Brexit done!”

Oh, just fuck off.

#16 - Paranormal Activity 7 Is Announced (November)

If you thought we’d seen enough of Katie and Kristi’s fucked-up childhood, then you were wrong! This year, yet another film was announced for release in 2021 cause why not drag out possibly the weakest series of film the horror genre has ever had to choke down.

As you can see I’m not pissed off, or confused by this decision at all.

Nope.

#17 - Elon Musk’s Spacex Satellite Livestream Captures Footage Of A UFO (December)

Livestreams of outer space are littered with claims of activity that go beyond the realms of our understanding. And it’s for this reason that aliens and UFOs make the headlines everyday based off this footage alone.

But it was this footage captured up in mid-December that was picked up by media across the world.

The livestream showed a white or silver disc-like object stream past a Falcon 9 rocket in a curved trajectory.

“Ah, yes, an upside down bowl flying through the sky - this isn’t news!”

Well, it kinda is, actually. It’s the curved bit that really got people talking; only an intelligently controlled being could make such a movement, sparking the speculations the supernatural revels in.

https://www.express.co.uk/a7b91874-827b-495d-b3cd-db25fe7f2976

#18 - Another UFO Is Spotted Above Las Vegas (December)

Only a few days before Christmas, a white orb was seen passing over Las Vegas, travelling at approximately 1000 miles per hour, and emitting blue and white lights. Not a sound was produced as it flew overhead.

This suspiciously silent craft is yet another sighting witnessed in Nevada, a hotspot for sightings of the supernatural and alien-kind. It is believed to be as a result of the proximity to Area 51.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1221270/UFO-news-aliens-Christmas-sighting-update-latest-las-vegas-Nevada

“Okay, so it’s yet another UFO sighting… But what’s so special about this one in particular?”

This footage was captured just after the release of official footage taken by the American Navy which shows a glowing UFO. The film shows the pilots stating that there were multiple UFOs there, rousing suspicion among those obsessed with conspiracy theories.

#19 - A Prophecy Claims The World Will End With This Pope (December)

We finish our round-up of the spookiest goings-on of this year with a prophecy dating back nearly 1000 years. Okay, yes, the Mayans seemingly predicted the world would end, like, every year, but this one bears some rather uncomfortable coincidences that can only confirm its potential reality.

And it all starts with this bloke called Archbishop Saint Malachy.

900 years ago, he travelled to Rome from Ireland to give an account of his affairs when he had a vision. He saw the 112 names of the future popes.

His prediction for the 111th - the former pope - was known as “Gloria Olivae”. The 111th pope is Pope Benedict XVI, and this fulfils the prophecy as the Order of Saint Benedict is the “glory of the olives”.

So, there’s a chance his predictions could be correct, right?

"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End.”

Our current pope’s father is called ‘Peter’, and despite moving to Argentina, he was born in Italy. 

This is a problem because it is firmly believed that this pope will resign in 2020. So, as our final pope, this means the world might end in 2020.

Great.

So - What’s Your Verdict?

Which event do you think deserves the top spot of totally-terrifying-thing-o’-2019?

And do you really think the world’s gonna end in 2020?

Fancy hearing about more spooky shizz in the new year? Then you best be hitting follow.

[bonpourlorient]

“The economy doesn’t exist. But you should pledge your life to protect it”.

Teaching a class on the concept of “economy”, I never expected my readings to suddenly become so relevant. Now that there are actual people pledging to sacrifice “their” (other people’s) lives on behalf of “the economy”, it might be useful to pause and reflect on this state of affairs from some readings from my syllabus: 

The economy

First, what is “the economy”. Timothy Mitchell famously notes that “the economy” is a recently new invention. Whereas the concept of economy, indicating frugality and thrift in the usage of resources,has a longer history, the idea of the economy, indicating a specific object of knowledge and a separate sphere of human action,is a relic of the early 20th century. What is new and unique about this object is that the economy was a sphere of social action, scientific analysis and political regulation that was:

a) internally dynamic: the economy has parts that all relate to one another. When “demand rises”, “supply” magically shifts to adjust, as if by decree of economists. 

b) inherently limited: both territorially, the “Turkish” economy etc. and conceptually; the economy as opposed to politics, or culture.  

c) statistically measurable: this is the oddest one. The economy is both the most readily measurable and yet the most “material” aspect of our lives. Rhetorically, the economy is both supposed to represent the most real and tangible part of everyday life. Yet at the same time economics is the social science that is most open to statistical analysis. 

Simply put, Mitchell had said that economics enframed the world. This is the reason why political phrases such as “it’s the economy, stupid” had any purchase on public imagination. You might think this is the language of economists and policy makers, but consider how the economy as a concept has made its way into everyday life. For example, even among those with radical leanings, it is possible to find people who still claim that “the left” ought to abandon ID politics and instead focus on “the economy”. 

Farewell to “the economy”

So that is “the economy”. Yet what is at stake in the news reports of people demanding “the economy” be opened back up, is different from Mitchell’s account. What is at stake is not “the economy” as an object of knowledge. After all, it might be possible to say that “the economy”, as an object of knowledge doesn’t capture the popular imagination in the same way anymore. It has become common place, for even major news outlets to repeat over and over again, what we already now: that figures like GDP, GNP, unemployment, inflation in and of themselves are rather bad aggregates that don’t really capture how ordinary people are doing. Yet Randy Martin notes, the role of the economists as sensible experts who are completely in charge has long since disappeared. It is not that economic experts don’t exist mind you. It is just that their expertise doesn’t seem to cohere in the same way. Already in relation to the 2008 crisis, Martin wrote:

“When frames, boundaries, partitions no longer do their work, the array of relations and practices they had organized and classified do not simply cease to exist, but they cannot add up in the same way. The world looks to be moving differently. It is tough to say where. The new queasiness would look much like the old, and the experts would continue on their way acting as if they still ruled the world (but, perhaps, for their own admission to the contrary).”

Such a situation sounds even more relevant now. Who actually gives a shit about the GDP now? Who believes the economists on TV? Do they not sound even less credible than the TV doctors? Have we not had an entire election cycle worth of news coverage, where major presidential candidates like Sanders and Warren openly derided the idea that stock markets and the GDP were good indicators for capturing people’s ordinary well being? Does the economy cohere as an object of knowledge?

The Economy and Fatalism

Strangely, that the economy no longer coheres as an object of knowledge, is not contradictory with the idea that we should sacrifice our lives for it. After all, whatever the economy is, it is not as an “object of knowledge” that people pledge their lives to save it. On the contrary, in a weird way the more fragile the economy becomes as an object of knowledge and expertise, the more sacrifice it seems to demand to sustain its coherence. 

Thus a presiding sentiment of "the economy” today, seems to be one of fatalism. Not only the feeling that markets are our only option (realism) but also, in a contradictory fashion, that we should actively risk our lives to ensure that they remain that way (fatalism). 

This sense of fatalism is perhaps even more obvious now, at a time when economists are busy trying to create a cost-benefit analysis that map onto the coronavirus. How many deaths are acceptable if we open things back up in May, June, July, tomorrow? This pervading, fatalistic phase of neoliberal ideology was in fact a possibility that existed from the very beginning. No one is more indicative of this tendency, than the simultaneously celebrated and hated arch neoliberal, Freidrich Hayek.

“The Economy” as a Supercomputer

Hayek was no stranger to the growing popularity of systems theory in his time. Although his most famous 1945 essay “The Use of Knowledge in Society” makes no reference to systems theory, his later works, such as the Fatal Conceit, published in 1988 makes several references to systems theory and cybernetics. What is more Hayek was in personal correspondence with other systems theoreticians such as the now famous Stafford Beer. It is perhaps some cruel irony that whereas Stafford Beer briefly served as an advisor to Chile’s socialist leader Salvadore Allende, Hayek briefly met the brutal military general that ordered Allende’s execution, Pinochet. 

And there is something incredibly fatalistic about Hayek’s work, that makes it relevant to understanding contemporary capitalism. This weird thing is the fact that for Hayek, the market is something like a computer. In fact it is a supercomputer, capable of a rationality that lies beyond that of any individual mind. This is not so much the efficient market hypothesis which states that the price of an asset reflects all available information about it. Rather for Hayek market rationality works, precisely because people remain ignorant of it. If the price of an asset falls, I need not inquire why it has fallen. Despite the title of his famous essay, what enables the efficiency of Hayek’s markets is not at all a rational or conscious process. It is not knowledge but rather ignorance that leads people to contest prices, to compete with one another.  

To be a bit more precise, what is at stake for Hayek is a peculiar view of market rationality and efficiency. The rationality of markets, is not that of a conscious faculty of individual minds. As historian of science Philip Mirowski observes, Hayek flips Freud’s schema around, whereby it is rationality that is a subconscious driver of human action, behind a façade of intuition and intention. Mixing references to evolutionary psychology, complexity theory and cybernetics, Hayek makes the rather odd argument that we are driven by a subconscious rationality that we neither understand nor control. 

This has significant consequences for how Hayek thinks about the market. In books like the 1988 Fatal Conciet, Hayek constantly derides the rationalist delusion that we can consciously organize social production by means other than the market. For Hayek it is the Soviets who want to transform rationality into a conscious faculty. The sense of knowledge, reason and organization secured through the markets, is instead spontaneous. The rationality of the market, as opposed to that of a soviet bureaucrat is collective, tacit, one might even say with some irony, “metastable” (a concept Hayek actually does use). 

In short, for Hayek, markets possess a kind of strange rationality that manifests order out of spontaneity. The catch is,  of course, this rationality can only emerge in market conditions. The kind of spontaneity that is required in other words, is that particularly controlled mode of spontaneity called “the market”.  Taken to its extreme conclusion Hayek reveals the circular and sinister core of the neoliberal conviction that markets are the most efficient mode of organizing social production. 

This has two important consequences for how neoliberals understand the world. First, to maintain market conditions, one must impart the values, institutions and dispositions that are generative of them, values and institutions such as individualism, the family, property rights and competition. Since market values are supposed to be internalized subconsciously, it turns out that tradition and religion are a much better way of transmitting them. Hayek writes, “We owe it partly to mystical and religious beliefs, and, I believe, particularly to the main monotheistic ones, that beneficial traditions have been preserved and transmitted”(Hayek “Fatal Conceit” 1988, 310). Even with all their superstitious elements, tradition and religion may be much more effective tools for preserving market rationality, than “the delusion” that the productive forces could be organized consciously. 

Reading Hayek makes it pretty obvious how the cooption of these archaic institutions such as the family, the state and private property are crucial for the social reproduction of neoliberalism. The idea that neoliberalism only sought to destroy all tradition seems less convincing from this standpoint. Some mixture of deterritorialization/reterritorialization, co-option/transformation seems much more accurate. In deed, Melinda Cooper explains in her book Family Values, that neoliberalism was in fact a counter-revolution that tried to counteract feminist radicalism of the 1960s and 70s. Rather than merely oppose institutions such as the heteronormative family, Hayek, Friedman and Posner often reflected on how it could become a more efficient mechanism for maintaining social welfare, off-loading the cost of social reproduction onto marginalized bodies. 

Second, if one takes Hayek’s conclusion seriously, markets not only organize knowledge and through this coordinate social production, they in fact give rise to a type of organization that would not be possible otherwise. It is not simply technically hard to organize production through means other than the market, it is in effect impossible. 

This sentiment is even present today. Listen to the Vice Chair of the US Federal Bank, Randall Quarles, speaking at a 2019 event, commemorating Hayek’s achievements:

“Important parts of knowledge will not even be generated except through our interaction with each other through the mechanism of the market. Trying to centralize economic decision making, then, is not just too hard to do as a practical matter. It would actually reduce the amount of information available to us as a society, by replacing those myriad individual interactions in a free marketplace… The price mechanism then, is not just a matter of economics – it is a matter of social and indeed civilizational progress.”

Trying to coordinate social production by means other than the market, is not only hard, it is actively against civilization.

Mirowski describes this as the “Hayek trajectory” that defines the development of famous economists from Alfred Cowles to Joseph Stiglitz. The entire branch of informational economics, Mirowski explains, with its commitment to exposing informational assymmetries and showing how in practice markets aren’t efficient, nonetheless hold onto the idea of markets being wholly rational as a theoretical facade.

“On this axis (the Hayek trajectory) information goes from being merely difficult to retrieve, to being partly inaccessible, to becoming finally so transcendent that no one can really know it” (Mirowski & Nik-Khah 2018, 74). 

Taken to its logical extreme, this line of thought raises the belief that markets are efficient into a religious conviction, since the efficiency of markets lies beyond what can be comprehended by our weak individual minds.There is “almost by definition no instrument available to test the proposition” that markets are efficient (Mirowski & Nik-Khah 2018, 71). The market is, in this model not unlike how we treat a blackboxed algorithm. Nevermind what the markets do, just trust that the output is efficiency. Thus one needs to trust that markets are doing their work while simultaneously staying vigilantly that one isn’t accidentally getting in their way.

And this combination is what makes market fatalism so dangerous – that markets are the only way we have of imagining collective existence (what Mark Fisher called capitalist realism) + we must be willing to pledge our lives to ensure that they remain that way, since what is at stake is civilization as such.  

[keeganstrf467-blog]

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Photo editing software

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[jeffreyizoi449-blog]

Photo editing software for beginners

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Latest news: Photo editing software for beginners to create photo montages

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[buzrushglobalcommunity-blog]

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Figuring out is extremely important to dealing with plenty of problems.Websites is an important powerful resource of information and knowledge to find nearly a single thing. But, often there is issues the place you aren’t able to get the solutions to your concerns. Your topic might call for nearby knowledge or specified expertise.

Luckily for us there are certainly web-sites to choose from which can not merely be employed to get individuals opinions and thoughts about a specified subject and may also will help you to in discovering industry experts in almost any professions. Herein get some perfect internet websites for you to talk to Question Answer Online.

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Question & Answer Website: https: //community.buzrush.com/

[deniscollins]

Neil Armstrong’s Death, and a Stormy, Secret $6 Million Settlement

What would you do if you were the administrator of the hospital where astronaut Neil Armstrong died at age 82 following complications from heart surgery and his family threatened to sue you for malpractice which would severely damage the hospital’s reputation, even though some doctors insisted the hospital was not negligent: (1) settle out of court for $6 million with a non-disclosure condition that the family would not mention the complaint or settlement in public, or (2) plead innocent and take a chance on litigation outcome? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

When Neil Armstrong died in a Cincinnati hospital two weeks after undergoing heart surgery in 2012, his family released a touching tribute addressing the astronaut’s millions of admirers around the globe.

“Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty,” they wrote, telling fans of the first man to walk on the moon that “the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”

But in private, the family’s reaction to his death at 82 was far stormier. His two sons contended that incompetent post-surgical care at Mercy Health — Fairfield Hospital had cost Mr. Armstrong his life, and even one expert retained by the hospital would find serious problems with his treatment.

The hospital defended the care, but paid the family $6 million to settle the matter privately and avoid devastating publicity, documents show. The hospital insisted on keeping the complaints and the settlement secret.

Mr. Armstrong had undergone bypass surgery in early August 2012, and his wife told The Associated Press afterward that he was “amazingly resilient” and was walking in the corridor. But when nurses removed the wires for a temporary pacemaker, he began to bleed into the membrane surrounding the heart, leading to a cascade of problems that resulted in his death on Aug. 25.

In a scorching July 2014 email to the hospital’s lawyers, Wendy R. Armstrong, a lawyer and the wife of Mr. Armstrong’s son Mark, noted that Mark and his brother, Rick, would soon be traveling to Florida to speak at a ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of the first moon landing.

“This event at Kennedy Space Center will receive national news coverage,” Wendy Armstrong wrote. “Rick and Mark have been solicited by several book writers and filmmakers for ‘information about Neil that no one already knows.’” The lawyer suggested that unless the parties reached a quick settlement, the hospital would be publicly criticized for giving lethally flawed care to one of America’s most famous and revered public figures.

The medical dispute and secret settlement, never before reported, comes to light days after the 50th anniversary of Mr. Armstrong’s moon walk drew a flood of nostalgic coverage celebrating his feat. The New York Times received by mail from an unknown sender 93 pages of documents related to the astronaut’s treatment and the legal case, including dueling reports by medical experts for the two sides. Some of the documents, though marked “filed under seal,” are publicly available at the probate court’s website, confirming that the documents received by The Times are authentic. An unsigned note included in the envelope said the sender hoped the information would save other lives.

The legal settlement adds a grim footnote to the inspiring story of Mr. Armstrong, who avoided the limelight and never cashed in on his fame. It also illustrates the controversial but common practice of confidential settlements in medical malpractice and other liability cases, which protect reputations but hinder public accountability. And it shows how the extraordinary renown of a figure like Mr. Armstrong can become a powerful hammer in negotiations.

A lawyer acting as a representative of Mr. Armstrong’s grandchildren in the secret proceedings, Bertha G. Helmick, vividly characterized the stakes for the hospital in a filing in probate court in Hamilton County, Ohio, where Mr. Armstrong lived.

“Any linkage of this health provider to the death of Decedent could irreparably and unfairly forever taint the business enterprise,” she wrote. “But for Decedent’s iconic stature in the history of mankind, it is unlikely that a wrongful death settlement in this amount, with disputed causation, would have been reached. No institution wants to be remotely associated with the death of one of America’s greatest heroes.”

Ms. Helmick noted that the settlement could be undone, and her young clients would lose their share of the money, if the agreement’s terms ever came to light. “If the existence of the wrongful death action and settlement are ever revealed by the parties to the agreement, the entire payment must be repaid in full,” she wrote. (The Times does not have the full settlement agreement.)

As they scrambled in 2014 to consult medical experts about the family’s claim, hospital officials fearful of fueling rumors about the astronaut’s death used “Ned Anderson” as a pseudonym for Mr. Armstrong.

On July 8, 2014, a hospital lawyer, Nancy A. Lawson, wrote to Wendy Armstrong with a blunt question: “Do Mark and Rick intend to discuss the wrongful death claim at the Kennedy Space Center if no settlement is reached by Friday, July 18?” The 45th anniversary gathering was to take place on Monday, July 21.

In response, Ms. Armstrong said that information about Mr. Armstrong’s hospital treatment and death might prove very lucrative to Mark and Rick if they benefited from a film or book project.

“Obviously, the information about this wrongful death claim would prove extremely useful to such projects, and the boys’ involvement would net a monetary gain far in excess of the demand that has been made for settlement,” she wrote. Wendy Armstrong’s original demand on behalf of the family was $7 million.

Records from the Hamilton County probate court show that the bulk of the settlement, nearly $5.2 million, was split equally between Mr. Armstrong’s sons, Mark and Rick. The astronaut’s brother and sister, Dean A. Armstrong and June L. Hoffman, each received $250,000, and six grandchildren each got $24,000.

His widow, Carol, who was Mr. Armstrong’s second wife, did not participate in the settlement. “I wasn’t part of it,” she said in an interview. “I want that for the record.”

When a reporter noted that she had signed off on the settlement in her role as executor of the estate, she replied, “I had no choice — it was either that or lose my job as executor.” Asked if that meant she had not approved of the claim against the hospital, she said, “I don’t think I can answer that,” saying she was subject to a confidentiality agreement.

Mark and Rick Armstrong, who served as consultants for the 2018 film “First Man,” which starred Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Wendy Armstrong, who acted as the family’s lawyer in the settlement, likewise did not respond.

In a statement, Nanette Bentley, a spokeswoman for the hospital group, told The Cincinnati Enquirer late Tuesday that the “public nature of these details is very disappointing — both for our ministry and the patient’s family who had wished to keep this legal matter private.”

Karen Armstrong, Rick Armstrong’s former wife, said, “We are all under nondisclosure agreements through the courts — everyone associated with the family is — so no one is allowed to say anything.”

James R. Hansen, an emeritus professor of history at Auburn University and author of the Armstrong biography “First Man” that became the basis for the movie, said he had been aware of the problems with Mr. Armstrong’s care “since very shortly after he died.” Mr. Hansen said he withheld the information from an updated 2018 edition of his book “out of respect for certain members of the family.”

“But I do believe that the whole story of what happened should be known,” he added. “His life story really isn’t complete until it is known, and even more importantly, the full story of his death may prevent similar tragedies in the future.”

Three expert reviews of Mr. Armstrong’s medical records — one prepared at the request of the Armstrong family and two for the hospital — provide an outline of what happened after he was admitted to Fairfield Hospital, in the Cincinnati suburb of Fairfield, with symptoms of heart disease. Records do not say why he or his family chose Fairfield, a community hospital that is part of a larger group of Catholic hospitals now called Bon Secours Mercy Health, rather than, for example, the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, a larger academic hospital.

After running tests, doctors at Fairfield decided to do bypass surgery immediately, timing some experts would later question. As a standard part of the procedure, doctors implanted temporary wires to help pace his heartbeat as he recovered.

But when a nurse removed those wires, Mr. Armstrong began to bleed internally and his blood pressure dropped. Doctors took him to the hospital’s catheterization lab, where an echocardiogram showed, in one expert’s words, “significant and rapid bleeding.”

There, doctors drained some blood from his heart, to prevent it from being pressed and hampered by the accumulated fluid.

Mr. Armstrong was then moved from the catheterization lab to an operating room. The records do not make clear what doctors may have done there, but he appears to have lingered for a week or longer before dying on Aug. 25. His family announced at the time that the cause of death was “complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.”

The expert reviews focus on the hospital’s decision to bring Mr. Armstrong to a catheterization lab rather than directly to an operating room when he began to experience complications.

“The decision to go to the cath lab was THE major error,” Dr. Joseph Bavaria, a vice-chair of cardiothoracic surgery at University of Pennsylvania wrote in a review conducted at the request of the Armstrong family.

Dr. Richard Salzano, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Yale Medical Center who reviewed the case for the hospital, saw the decision to bring Mr. Armstrong to the catheterization lab as “defensible” but “certainly riskier than taking the patient to the O.R.”

Dr. Salzano told hospital lawyers that after the bleeding began, Mr. Armstrong might have had a 50-50 chance of survival had surgeons reopened his chest in the catheterization lab, but that “the patient became unsalvageable on the way to the O.R.,” case records show.

Dr. Salzano declined to speak about the case. Dr. Bavaria did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Another doctor who examined the case for the hospital, Dr. J. Stanley Hillis, generally supported the way the case was handled, including the decision to treat Mr. Armstrong in the catheterization lab when complications arose.

“I know they asked me to keep it confidential,” Dr. Hillis, a practicing cardiologist in Indiana, said. “I just talked to them and gave them a brief opinion. He declined to comment further, stating he had only “vague recollections” of the medical details from five years ago.

Dr. Ashish Jha, a professor of medicine at Harvard University and a hospitalist who regularly cares for patients post-cardiac surgery, said he “largely” agreed with Dr. Bavaria’s conclusion. “These people should have gone directly to the operating room,” Dr. Jha said.

Dr. Jha, who was not involved in the case, reviewed the experts’ reports for The Times. “If someone has dropped their blood pressure substantially and this is a code blue, that means they are having life-threatening bleeding. I don’t totally understand why they went to the cath lab,” he said.

Dr. Jha also questioned the hospital’s original decision to perform the bypass surgery on Mr. Armstrong on an emergency basis.

“It feels to me like his death was wholly preventable,” he said. “It’s not completely clear to me he needed the cardiac surgery that he got. It was probably a borderline call, but sounds like he was rushed into surgery based on the notes.”

Dr. Craig Smith, the cardiac surgeon at Columbia University Medical Center who performed President Bill Clinton’s 2004 quadruple bypass, declined to speak specifically to Mr. Armstrong’s case, given that he had not seen the medical records.

He did, however, comment that a patient with the type of complications described in the expert reviews would not typically be brought to a catheterization lab for treatment.

“Generally, if a patient develops signs of bleeding inside the chest after pacing wires are pulled under observation, they would usually go straight to the operating room and usually survive,” Dr. Smith said.

[ulyssessklein]

How being in a band changes your life

The weird and wonderful realities of a life in music.

This article is not about how being a member of a band somehow elevates you to a god-like status, nor is it about how you’ll never have to work a normal 9-5 job again, or the copious amounts of sex and drugs you expect you’ll be served up every night of the week.

Instead, we’re going to look at the far less glamorous yet infinitely more realistic aspects of life in an aspiring band. It might not sound very rock ‘n’ roll, but it is precisely that – much less throwing TVs out of hotel windows than it is riding around in a beat-up van feeling hungry and tired.

Please note: we’re not trying to put you off. Live music is the gift that keeps on giving, and the highs of being in a band frequently outshine the lows. We just don’t want you to embark on your musical journey without knowing the facts – so here are the most important ones for you and your bandmates to bear in mind.

Evenings (say goodbye to leisure time)

A band needs to practice, according to Kurt Cobain, at least five times a week if the band ever expects to accomplish anything. Then again, he also said “practice makes perfect, but nobody’s perfect, so why practice?”

Somewhere between these two extremes lies the balance you and your bandmates will need to find – and it’s not going to be easy. Just as you treat studying for a master’s degree in your spare time or dedicating yourself to playing for your local hockey team as an unshakable regular commitment, so should you treat practicing for your band as something you just have to make time for. To put it another way, blowing off practice will make your education, team or band suffer.

This of course means that some sacrifices must be made. Enjoy going to the movies on a Friday night? Now it’s band practice. Meet up with your book club on a Wednesday evening? Band practice. Avid gamer? Not any more – unless it’s Guitar Hero or something. Now any spare time you have is going to be consumed by your band duties – most of which will consist of practicing and traveling.

To integrate yourself into your local music scene, you’re also going to have to dedicate time to going to other local bands’ shows, as well as planning your own. Not only is this common courtesy (it may prove difficult to persuade another local band to attend your show if you’re a no-show at theirs), but also a good way of getting recognized as a ‘regular.’

To put it plainly, bands who are seen to be making an effort to support their local scene are generally considered more deserving of support themselves – and if your face is known to the venue owners and promoters, you’re far more likely to come up in conversation when they’re looking for opening acts.

Social Media (get used to it, everywhere, all the time)

Have you ever been chastised for being on your phone too often? Well, whoever said that is going to realize they spoke too soon – now you’ll be glued to that tiny touchscreen 24/7.

Most bands these days use Facebook, as well as social media platforms designed to promote music on sites like Bandcamp, to attract attention for their project – so you’ll be receiving notifications from at least two sources now, and your phone may never be silent again. Unless you put it on silent mode, which we would strongly recommend doing sometimes.

To share the workload, you’re all going to need to up your social media game. If there are any technophobes in your band, or indeed any members who look down scornfully on the food-selfie-posting public, tell them to get a grip. Facebook may be a towering, omniscient, data collecting, freedom-sapping corporation akin to Sauron’s all-seeing Eye atop Barad-dûr, but, for the time being at least, it’s also one of the most effective advertising tools that your band can use to spread your message and get gigs.

Also consider setting up a band email account — and make sure you all check it regularly — to separate gig inquiries from your personal messages.

Exercise (or get injured)

You may not be the world’s most physical guy or girl, but until you’re rich and famous enough to have your own team of roadies to haul your gear around for you, it’s time to crack open the elbow grease – let’s just hope you’ve got the strength to open the jar. For those of you who don’t drive, this may be a good incentive to learn – you can just about carry around a guitar case and a practice amp, but once you start getting serious, you’ll appreciate some vehicular assistance. A helping hand doesn’t go amiss either – think of the poor drummer lugging around their cymbal stands and whatnot. When all hands are on deck, powerful bonds are forged.

You’ll also need to keep yourself relatively physically fit if you want to remain an active, engaging performer. You don’t want to be four dates into your tour and collapse into a sweaty heap onstage – or, worse still, risk a neck or wrist injury from enjoying the guitar too much. Again, spare a thought for your drummer, who’ll have their work cut out in ways non-drummers cannot comprehend. It’s like a 10k run in a 25ºC room.

New Community (and losing friends)

The live music game comes with a ready-made community of musicians, music lovers, gig promoters, venue owners, bar staff, roadies and other colorful characters – all of whom you’re going to be dealing with as part of a band.

If you’re a muso from a small town without much of a music scene, you may have been craving the day when you could strike up an interesting musical conversation with literally anyone in your immediate social circle. Well, as lovely as it may be to have that dream finally realized, you may also find yourself so inundated with music talk that you end up craving the simpler days of TV, video games or just nothing at all.

You’re going to need to find the middle ground between remaining focused on your musical ambitions and maintaining the relationships surrounding it, and taking a step back to regain a sense of yourself and protect your sanity.

This, of course, also means some of your pre-band relationships may start to get neglected, especially if you’re cutting down on non-musical activities. Unfortunately, this is pretty much par for the course – sad, but true. Just trust the fact that those of your friends and family who truly care about you and your ambitions will understand how important this is to you, and trust yourself to catch up with them when you can.

The truest friendships can be picked up where they were left off, even years down the line (though hopefully it won’t be quite that long).

Head Music (a blessing and a curse)

This doesn’t happen to everyone, but if you’re concentrating on perfecting the same set of 10-20 songs week in, week out, chances are you’re going to be bringing your work home with you. Particularly if it’s a newly written song that’s not quite there yet – don’t be surprised if, when you’re tucked up in bed at night, you hear that same verse fading in, begging you to show it how to bridge the gap between it and the chorus.

There are two ways of dealing with this: get up and try to do something about – not necessarily finish the whole song, just enough to feel like you’ve made progress; or train yourself to shut it out, and trust you’ll do something about it once you’ve had a well-earned rest.

There’s something to be said for either approach:

Leap out of bed every time you have the slightest inkling, and you’ll become a slave to it, unable to prioritize your own well-being over your obsession.

Ignore every little ear worm that tries to burrow its way in, and you’ll be left wondering if you let your best ideas escape you.

Allow yourself the odd 2am burst of inspiration, and your health shouldn’t be too affected. Side effect may also include: air guitar-ing, air drumming, and random outbursts of song.

The Public Eye (is judging your every move)

Sooner or later, being in a band means putting yourself out there for others to judge, whether it’s by playing onstage, appearing in videos or having a song played on the radio. Now, unless you ran for class president, or was a prominent figure in the drama society, you may not be used to public scrutiny, and may not know what to expect of it.

In a nutshell, people easily get jealous of the success of others, and this can manifest itself as negative, often unfounded, comments. These are not to be confused with constructive criticism, which is more likely to be given by fellow musicians, venue owners and veteran concert-goers who want you to do well.

Exposing yourself can be scary (what if you make a mistake? What if you get stage fright? What if nobody likes your song?) but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.

Even if you get a negative reaction after a gig, or get negative comments on a song you post online, all that means is that you’ve not reached your target audience yet. Be true to yourself, and be mindful of your own actions and comments and the implications they may have, and your confidence will start to grow – as will the public’s respect for you.

Sales and Marketing (are not the enemies of creativity)

You may think artistry and commerce have no business existing in the same lifestyle, and while the values are often at odds, they achieve their optimum levels of success when working together. Honest art validates hollow advertising, and smart business acumen helps channel creativity and is necessary to get your work out there.

You’ll be dealing with this on a much smaller scale to begin with, most likely by selling your own merchandise. It’ll be down to you to keep track of your stock, how to reproduce it in as cost-effective a manner as possible, and how to let your budding fanbase know of new stock as well as upcoming gigs, single releases, etc.

It doesn’t have to be overly complicated, and you won’t need an economics degree – in fact, you can find out all you need to know by reading music blogs and chatting to other local bands until you’ve put together a business model that suits you.

Money (What’s money?)

Once you’ve been bitten by the band bug, you can wave goodbye to most of your expendable income. Read any tour diary of an up-and-coming act and you’ll come across tales of eating nothing but beans and sleeping rough in the van just to keep fuel in the tank and strings on the guitars.

Any paycheck you receive from here on in will be divided between buying new equipment, maintaining your old equipment, the rehearsing and recording of your material, advertising your band (which includes the production of merch) and getting yourselves to gigs. There’s always going to be a new effects pedal, microphone or cymbal that you won’t be able to live without from the moment it catches your eye, and there’s always going to be a lead, a stand or a drum stick that gets damaged or breaks.

And, if you’re lucky, you might have enough left at the end to replace your holey trainers and beer-soaked t-shirt. But every last one of these responsibilities and sacrifices will be testament to your dedication, and serve as a reminder to you that you’re doing something that feels far greater than your own personal comfort.

This article was written by our friend Joe from Bands for Hire.

The post How being in a band changes your life appeared first on DIY Musician Blog.

[goldeagleprice]

Gustav Vasa took charge of Sweden

While more southerly European countries were starting to use larger silver and gold coins up in Scandinavia, it was still mostly pennies and local equivalents. This coin, a half ortug, was struck for Swedish King Charles II (now VIII), made in his seat of power, Abo, now called Turku, in Finland. (Photos courtesy Spink & Son, London, UK, www.spink.com)

By Bob Reis

There is a kind of temper of the times when similar kinds of things happen all over the place. I look at history a lot as part of my job. There are these general tendencies that develop over time and one day, in retrospect, things are obviously different. And then, occasionally, there are these pivotal periods of a few years when something changes, then something else, then more change, sometimes disorder maybe, then afterwards everything is different. Like you’re driving through the mountains in the rain and you come around a bend and there’s the valley with the big city in front of you.

The first years of the 16th century were like that.

I was reading Josephus, the first century historian of the Jewish people. He wrote about how the general concept of governance in the world was absolute personal dictatorship, that the desire for other people’s stuff was a sufficient justification for offensive war. Josephus pointed out that his religion had laws that treated everyone the same, king to beggar, and demanded that people treat each other nicely while other people had actual gods of meanness and cruelty.

Conflict between haves and have-nots has been going on at least as long as the start of the bureaucratic states around 6,000 years ago.

I’m thinking about why/how the European “thing,” maybe the word “outlook” is a reasonable way of thinking about it, came to dominate the world until this very moment. There is the scientific element of course, yielding better weapons, but I am thinking that there was also a political element. I’m going to go out on a limb and call it “me too-ism.” The idea that the boss is not absolute, that his (rarely her) personal will is the only relevant factor, that other people, the general populace, must be considered.

In 16th century Europe, a new power-wielding class had fully emerged and become practically independent of the old military noble structure evolved from Roman times. That was the merchants, united for lobbying purposes into guilds and leagues. Mercantile activity is by nature outwardly directed, where there are more opportunities, the old military noble outlook was defensive/offensive, and reasons for offensive activity were somewhat bound by the laws of the religion they happened to have, which happened to be Christianity, which prohibited predatory wars, wars had to be defensive only. Other religions, some of them, didn’t have that particular moral stricture, and to the Europeans it was often only a formal requirement that the war starter had to come up with a story of how the other side had caused an injury that had to be redressed, rather than just wanting to own that port or something.

Nobles, with their local tolls, were a problem for merchants, who would rather deal with one set of rules. Merchants tended to seek assistance for their enterprises from kings, who had a longer reach than local nobles. The kings, in response to the greater needs and larger budgets required of facilitation of trade, began to dust off the old monarchical concepts of infallibility, divine right, absolute authority. Nobles of course resisted the proposed reduction of their status but the flow of events was going in the direction of larger enterprises. Resistance was futile.

Let’s see some of what was happening in a certain year in the 16th century. How about 1521?

China was inward looking, the emperor was calling his reign Jia Jing. We know his coins but he was a recluse. China was corrupt and inward looking. India was fragmented. Iran, after centuries of foreign occupation, was unified under the Shia shah Ismail I Safavi, who, I found in my research, was a descendant on his mother’s side of Byzantine emperors. He, it turns out, was one of those modernizing absolute monarchs of the time, founder, in a sense, of “modern” Iran. Turkey, or, as known then, the Ottoman Empire, was ruled by Suleiman the Magnificent, another of those larger than life 16th century rulers. Who remembers anything about his father? But we remember Suleiman, if only by name.

In Europe a guy named Charles Hapsburg was simultaneously king of Spain and Holy Roman emperor. Under his auspices Cortez conquered the Aztec emperor in Mexico, acquiring thereby a big pile of gold to send back to Spain. 1521 is the year that Martin Luther came on the world scene. Francis I, in some ways as big a shot as Charles, was king of France, obtained an alliance with the Ottoman Suleiman in his struggles against Hapsburg. And of course in England there was Henry VIII, another of those hyper-famous figures of history. Quick, what did his very active father, Henry VII, do? But you know something about Henry VIII, don’t you?

Two years later, up in Sweden, on the edge of the wilderness, as it were (savage Finland to the east, beyond that darkest Russia), yet another of those great figures of history came to power. His name: Gustav Vasa.

And, before looking more closely at our guy Gustav, a quick note on some developments in social activities of the period:

• world-capable boats

• firearms in general use by organized militaries, in 1521 mostly cannons and special small units of small arms specialists, but in the “civilized” zone, from Ireland to China, there were guns on both sides of most conflicts

• printing

• double entry bookkeeping

• expanded use of credit and interest, leading to an increased need for tokens of trade, and therefore

• bigger coins and more of them

• better visual and plastic arts techniques

• I don’t know, maybe there was something about the change of fashion; European guys showing more leg

• but still, like in ancient Rome, the most popular public entertainment was executions.

OK then, in 1521 there are all these egotistical, talented, visionary, charismatic, ruthless kings in greater Eurasia: English Henry, French Francois, Spanish/Austrian Charles, Swedish Gustav, Ottoman Suleiman, Iranian Ismail, that’s six of them, all of them ruling differently than their predecessors, with larger dreams and new control systems. At least that’s how we’d describe it today. And we’re numismatists. They all made monetary reforms that resulted in new coins in new styles that we can collect.

Gustav Eriksson Vasa was born into a family of high nobility. His family was generally what could be described as anti-Danish and pro-Swedish independence. The king of the three Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway and Denmark) was the Dane, Christian II. Christian was known as a double-crosser in diplomacy, and was cruel. There was war. During a negotiation session Christian kidnapped the Swedish envoys, including Gustav. The story is he flipped all of them save Gustav, who escaped. That was 1518. Gustav would have been about 22 years old. Christian, meanwhile, won the war, for the time being. After the crowning of the Danish king several days of festive merrymaking were concluded with the seizure and execution of about 100 of Christian’s enemies, including Gustav’s father. This being Europe, a legal excuse had to be produced to cover political murders, most were convicted in kangaroo court proceedings of heresy.

Much of Gustav’s reform coinage featured his portrait. This is a silver 2 ore of Stockholm dated 1540. (Images courtesy of The Coin Cabinet Ltd, London, www.thecoincabinet.com)

Gustav pulled together an army and mounted a rebellion. Things went well for him and them. The Danish king was deposed in Denmark. The new Danish king failed to win the war. Gustav was elected king of Sweden in 1523. Further ventures occurred involving negotiations and maneuvers that produced an agreement with Denmark, with the Hansa city of Lubeck, supporter of Gustav, by 1524 the way was cleared, Gustav was crowned in 1524.

Immediately he got into trouble with the pope over naming of archbishops. Funny thing, that. All of a sudden these kings were all having problems with the pope, Henry VIII, etc. In Sweden there was a fair bit of that Renaissance “new thinking” going on. A popular priest got married. The Bible got translated. In the end Gustav told the pope: “Don’t worry about the Church in Sweden, I’ll take care of it.”

Sweden under Gustav went most of the way in reforming the church. But not all the way. They didn’t actually proscribe Catholicism. But church properties were seized, pretty much all of them, and put under crown control.

Some big noble donors were allowed to take their donations back, a team building strategy by the king. In most ways though the new political thinking tended to reduce the power of nobles, so it didn’t hurt to give a few power people a few crumbs. Oh, this is topical: big overhaul of the tax system, mostly taking the nobles out of the collection business and depriving them of one of their tools of oppression of their commoners. It was supposed to be a fairer system but there were winners and losers, and the overall take for most people increased. There was a big external debt to the backers of Gustav’s war of liberation to pay off.

Some armed rebellions grew out of perceived economic inequities, though of course, like everything else during the Reformation, there was a religious element. The peasants, mostly, as always, were conservative, and weren’t interested in being anything other than Catholic. Today we yell about stuff. Back then they stabbed each other. Neighbors, about whether to pray in Latin or Swedish.

Gustav’s big international preoccupations were the German Hansa business conglomerate and Denmark. The Hansa city of Lubeck had been a big backer of Gustav in his insurgent days and they had received in due course such extremely nice business conditions in Sweden as to positively oppress, annoy and keep down the natives. Gustav eventually worked out a deal with Denmark to diplomatically gang up on Lubeck and change its rules of engagement in Sweden, and, more importantly perhaps, its waters. Sweden was fully in control of its borders and economy.

No major foreign wars in Gustav’s time, only a bit of exploratory raiding in Russia late in his reign. Ivan the Terrible was the first “tsar of the Russias,” Gustav thought he smelled a potential adventuring conqueror. But Ivan didn’t do the Alexander the Great kind of thing, rather, he oppressed his people at home and wrecked the economy. Gustav nevertheless sent a few thousand troops into Russia to mess around. Russians tromped around in Finland. Nothing came of it. They signed a treaty agreeing to forget about it.

Gustav died in 1560, kind of in the middle of things, politically speaking. He is a George Washington kind of figure in Swedish history. They have him on the money there, or have until recently. And, like most of us can’t tell you much about what Washington actually accomplished in eight years of presidency, yet his, as it were, moral influence endures, so too with Gustav. His bureaucratic reforms have of course evolved over time, but the government and polity of Sweden trace the way they are back to the foundations he laid.

Gustav’s coinage, typically for the period, was varied. Outside of Scandinavia Europe had moved beyond small silver coins into standard gold coins and different sizes of silvers, including big ones. There was getting to be a lot more business. They needed more coinage to do it with. They were more and more using paper to indicate transfers, an idea they got from the Chinese by way of the Mongols. Gustav believed in progress, immediately started making larger silver coins.

There is a book that is usually quoted as a reference for “modern” Swedish coins: Sveriges Mynt 1521-1977, by Bjarne Ahlstrom. It was published in 1977, apparently hasn’t been reprinted. I found a PDF version online.

There are silver coins, undated, of the Liberation War period, imitating Danish coins, planchets cut with shears and usually squarish, in the name of Gustav Eriksson. They seem to be very rare.

The pre-reform coinage was all billon or silver. The basic denomination was the penning. The period 1523-1531 saw some messing around with exchange rates between billon and silver, essentially the billon kept getting its value lowered which had the effect of incrementally robbing the lower class people who used it. The billon Gustav coins were the fyrk of 4 penningar, and the ortug of 20. Then there were silver coins, the ore, call it a dime if you wish, and the gyllen (gulden) and its half, call it a heavy half dollar. At different times and in different places in Sweden the silver/billon rates varied by more than 100 percent, to the annoyance of businesspeople everywhere.

Pre-reform mints were Stockholm. Vasteras, Uppsala, Arboga, and Abo. The billon types were typically but not exclusively the royal arms of three crowns and a large letter, “G” for instance, for the king, or “S” for Stockholm. Traditional designs. The basic type of the silvers was a standing facing king, various versions of the royal arms on the reverse.

Like most European rulers of his era, Gustav believed in the civilizing power of art and put some of that progressive social vision into the coinage. This daler of Stockholm has a beautiful depiction of Christ as Salvator Mundi. (Photos courtesy Myntkompaniet / AB Philea, Stockholm, http://www.philea.se/)

The coinage reform of 1534 involved the introduction of the mark as a money of account, everything else fixed against it, and the daler. 1 mark = 8 ore = 24 ortugar = 192 penningar. 2-1/2 mark = a daler. Coins of 1, 2, and 4 penningar exist, 2 ore, 1/2 marks, 1 and 2 marks. Various types, most with portraits of the king, Mark coins and ores for use in Sweden. The dalers, halves, and quarters, were made ostensibly for the German trade.

Mints were Stockholm, Vasteras, Svartsjo (notable reverse type of Jesus as Salvator Mundi), and Abo.

There were square “klipping” coins struck in Svartsjo in 1543 and in Abo in 1556 and 1557. What happened in 1543? The Dacke peasant uprising was defeated. How about 1556? That was the middle of the Russo-Swedish war. I wish I had more time to research the klippings, which are usually, in the 16th century, emergency money of some kind. Doesn’t matter from a collecting point of view, they are hardly ever for sale.

I went looking to buy a Gustav Vasa coin for a month. I saw more than a few, many denominations and price levels. The most common were the 4 penningar, 2 ore, 1 mark, but there are expensive dalers showing up in auctions. With the exception of a few surprisingly cheap coins that got away, prices ranged from quite robust to outrageous. Multiple hundreds of dollars will get you some small coin in not too bad shape. Or you could wait to get lucky. I found a portrait 2 ore 1540, fine, not so nice, they wanted $1,000. I offered $250. They told me I could have it for $850, I declined.

What do I think about that? That Sweden in Gustav’s time was still mostly using foreign coins, and was mostly making their own coins as a kind of fiscal flag waving, “Look, we make money too.”

  This article was originally printed in World Coin News. >> Subscribe today.

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[douchebagbrainwaves]

COULD VC BE A BAD IDEAS FOR IN 13 SENTENCES

I'm not saying spoken language always works best. It works as a medium of exchange—can be anything that's rare and portable. How many little startups are Google and Yahoo going to buy, it wouldn't matter how much money you had. Bargain-hunting among investors is a waste of time. Then you've sunk to a whole new level of inefficiency. Jessica was its mom. How many even discover something they love to work on? So the test of a language were how good finished programs look in it. New York.

If they aren't an X, and the problems you understand best are your own. You can't decide, for example. Sex I believe they conceal because they'd be frightening, not because they want to. Having people around you care about what you're doing is an extraordinarily powerful force. Our greatest PR coup was a two-step process. The reason VCs like to invest in startups, and why startups do things that would make your friends say wow. Good PR firms use the same strategy: they give reporters stories that are true. So at dinner afterward we collected all our tips about presenting to investors. Is it higher in some areas than others? They're so desperate for content that some will print your press releases almost verbatim, if you want to inhabit. Tell yourself you can be as nice as you want, so long as he built something good enough to spread by word of mouth, he'd have a hyperlinear growth curve.

There's no way to untangle all their contributions. Every startup that isn't profitable meaning nearly all of them, initially has a certain amount of time knows not to default to skepticism, no matter what, they'll be more likely to think is that all? It's the same principle as incremental development: start with a simple prototype, then add features, but at every point have working code. Perhaps there's a rule here: perhaps you create wealth in proportion to their difficulty, we'd always take the harder one. It's natural for organizations to learn from mistakes. Don't start a company, why not start the type with the most potential? It's them you have to like making up elaborate lies. You have to show you're impressed with what you've read to feel productive. It was quite interesting to read. Perhaps the most important things to remember about divorce, one of the reasons Jane Austen's novels are so good is that she hates attention, but because authenticity is one of the most famous examples is Apple, whose board made a nearly fatal blunder in firing Steve Jobs.

Even the concept of Worse is Better.1 But because adults conceal their flaws from children. Writing software is a great way to solve b, but you weren't held to it; you could work out all the details, and even make major changes, as you finished the painting. So we concentrate on the basics. A related problem since it tends to obscure what trade really means. So no, there's nothing particularly grand about making money? At the other extreme you work at something till you make enough not to have to declare variables before using them, for example, does not begin by creating a design that he then imposes on the users, but by studying the intended users include the designer himself. In most places, if you asked random people on the street if they'd like to do most this second. Talking about that is like an actor at the beginning of his career telling his parents how much Tom Hanks makes. The world is—and the rest of the world. Their dislike of the idea is embodied in a company works together to create wealth, in the same way I write essays, making pass after pass looking for anything I can cut. The Airbeds just won the first poll among all the YC startups in their batch by a landslide.2

I've had an experience that convinced me otherwise: I spent several years living in New York the number of startup people around you. There is no manufacturing to confuse the issue. It's that it tends not to happen at all. Design doesn't have to be good at technology and to face problems that can be solved by it, because so long as you work hard at being a bond trader for ten years, thinking that you'll quit and write novels when you have enough money, what happens when you quit and then discover that you don't realize that. But in fact startups do have a different sort of DNA from other businesses. So difficult that there's probably room to discard more. But you can't get very far by trading things directly with the people who worked on it. Then you want to write out your whole presentation beforehand and memorize it, that's ok. In practice what happens is that the function of swearwords is to mark the speaker as an adult.

Whatever they are they're probably so far from the top that it would be ignoring users. Certainly Bill is smart and dedicated, but Microsoft also happens to have become its identity. In our startup, we erred on the ignoring side. Because the fact is, US public school teachers don't generally understand the stuff they're teaching very well. You'll end up doing something chosen for you by your level of commitment. A remarkable number of famous startups grew out of some need the founders had: Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google. The thought of giving a talk paralyzes her. Most hackers would rather just have ideas. Some ideas are easy for people who control a private company. I can cut. Now most of your people will be employees rather than founders.

The only way to decide which to call it a lie. Are you still in NYC? Not just founders, but investors too. Sometimes these lies are truly sinister, like a child molester telling his victims they'll get in trouble if they tell anyone what happened to Einstein: Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the conviction that much in the next 50 years as they did in the last several decades, with the aid of gravity, finds the hole in your roof. A lot of our energy got drained away in disputes with investors instead of going into the product. Make a soundbite stick in their heads. It's obvious how too little money could kill you, but is there such a thing as having too much? Remember what a startup is to focus on the goal of an essay should be to discover surprising things. And it did not seem to be to answer a question I don't know why it's so hard to discover what we like to work on managing investors usually depends on how sure you are of what you want to work for some existing company.

The thought of giving a talk paralyzes her. It's only when you're deliberately looking for hard problems, as a way to compress your whole working life into a few years later were billionaires. Start by picking a hard problem, and then thinking of the answer in the shower in the morning and go to a new set of buildings, and do things that are false. Your Hopes Up. It's not a good idea to get bought, if you fell and hurt yourself. In the first batch of startups we funded, in the same place they come from different sources. Viaweb one of our rules of thumb was run upstairs. Anyone who has used the web for more than a theoretical question, because it's painful to observe the gap between them. Think about your own. That sounds cleverly skeptical, but I think we should at least examine which lies we tell and why. The Suit is Back. Design usually has to be in control.3

Notes

The only reason you're even considering the other side of the canonical could you build this? These points don't apply to types of people thought of them material. A good programming language ought to be able to protect themselves. I started doing research for this is certainly not impossible for a reason.

Every language probably has to work like casual conversation. I was not in 1950 something one could do as a constituency. Later stage investors won't invest in so many still make you feel that you're not convinced that what you're doing.

The New Industrial State to trying to figure out what the US treat the poor worse than Japanese car companies, summer 2010. The ironic thing is, so presumably will the rate of change in their lifetimes. Brooks, Rodney, Programming in Common Lisp, though in very corrupt countries you may as well as a model.

[goldeagleprice]

Gustav Vasa took charge of Sweden

While more southerly European countries were starting to use larger silver and gold coins up in Scandinavia, it was still mostly pennies and local equivalents. This coin, a half ortug, was struck for Swedish King Charles II (now VIII), made in his seat of power, Abo, now called Turku, in Finland. (Photos courtesy Spink & Son, London, UK, www.spink.com)

By Bob Reis

There is a kind of temper of the times when similar kinds of things happen all over the place. I look at history a lot as part of my job. There are these general tendencies that develop over time and one day, in retrospect, things are obviously different. And then, occasionally, there are these pivotal periods of a few years when something changes, then something else, then more change, sometimes disorder maybe, then afterwards everything is different. Like you’re driving through the mountains in the rain and you come around a bend and there’s the valley with the big city in front of you.

The first years of the 16th century were like that.

I was reading Josephus, the first century historian of the Jewish people. He wrote about how the general concept of governance in the world was absolute personal dictatorship, that the desire for other people’s stuff was a sufficient justification for offensive war. Josephus pointed out that his religion had laws that treated everyone the same, king to beggar, and demanded that people treat each other nicely while other people had actual gods of meanness and cruelty.

Conflict between haves and have-nots has been going on at least as long as the start of the bureaucratic states around 6,000 years ago.

I’m thinking about why/how the European “thing,” maybe the word “outlook” is a reasonable way of thinking about it, came to dominate the world until this very moment. There is the scientific element of course, yielding better weapons, but I am thinking that there was also a political element. I’m going to go out on a limb and call it “me too-ism.” The idea that the boss is not absolute, that his (rarely her) personal will is the only relevant factor, that other people, the general populace, must be considered.

In 16th century Europe, a new power-wielding class had fully emerged and become practically independent of the old military noble structure evolved from Roman times. That was the merchants, united for lobbying purposes into guilds and leagues. Mercantile activity is by nature outwardly directed, where there are more opportunities, the old military noble outlook was defensive/offensive, and reasons for offensive activity were somewhat bound by the laws of the religion they happened to have, which happened to be Christianity, which prohibited predatory wars, wars had to be defensive only. Other religions, some of them, didn’t have that particular moral stricture, and to the Europeans it was often only a formal requirement that the war starter had to come up with a story of how the other side had caused an injury that had to be redressed, rather than just wanting to own that port or something.

Nobles, with their local tolls, were a problem for merchants, who would rather deal with one set of rules. Merchants tended to seek assistance for their enterprises from kings, who had a longer reach than local nobles. The kings, in response to the greater needs and larger budgets required of facilitation of trade, began to dust off the old monarchical concepts of infallibility, divine right, absolute authority. Nobles of course resisted the proposed reduction of their status but the flow of events was going in the direction of larger enterprises. Resistance was futile.

Let’s see some of what was happening in a certain year in the 16th century. How about 1521?

China was inward looking, the emperor was calling his reign Jia Jing. We know his coins but he was a recluse. China was corrupt and inward looking. India was fragmented. Iran, after centuries of foreign occupation, was unified under the Shia shah Ismail I Safavi, who, I found in my research, was a descendant on his mother’s side of Byzantine emperors. He, it turns out, was one of those modernizing absolute monarchs of the time, founder, in a sense, of “modern” Iran. Turkey, or, as known then, the Ottoman Empire, was ruled by Suleiman the Magnificent, another of those larger than life 16th century rulers. Who remembers anything about his father? But we remember Suleiman, if only by name.

In Europe a guy named Charles Hapsburg was simultaneously king of Spain and Holy Roman emperor. Under his auspices Cortez conquered the Aztec emperor in Mexico, acquiring thereby a big pile of gold to send back to Spain. 1521 is the year that Martin Luther came on the world scene. Francis I, in some ways as big a shot as Charles, was king of France, obtained an alliance with the Ottoman Suleiman in his struggles against Hapsburg. And of course in England there was Henry VIII, another of those hyper-famous figures of history. Quick, what did his very active father, Henry VII, do? But you know something about Henry VIII, don’t you?

Two years later, up in Sweden, on the edge of the wilderness, as it were (savage Finland to the east, beyond that darkest Russia), yet another of those great figures of history came to power. His name: Gustav Vasa.

And, before looking more closely at our guy Gustav, a quick note on some developments in social activities of the period:

• world-capable boats

• firearms in general use by organized militaries, in 1521 mostly cannons and special small units of small arms specialists, but in the “civilized” zone, from Ireland to China, there were guns on both sides of most conflicts

• printing

• double entry bookkeeping

• expanded use of credit and interest, leading to an increased need for tokens of trade, and therefore

• bigger coins and more of them

• better visual and plastic arts techniques

• I don’t know, maybe there was something about the change of fashion; European guys showing more leg

• but still, like in ancient Rome, the most popular public entertainment was executions.

OK then, in 1521 there are all these egotistical, talented, visionary, charismatic, ruthless kings in greater Eurasia: English Henry, French Francois, Spanish/Austrian Charles, Swedish Gustav, Ottoman Suleiman, Iranian Ismail, that’s six of them, all of them ruling differently than their predecessors, with larger dreams and new control systems. At least that’s how we’d describe it today. And we’re numismatists. They all made monetary reforms that resulted in new coins in new styles that we can collect.

Gustav Eriksson Vasa was born into a family of high nobility. His family was generally what could be described as anti-Danish and pro-Swedish independence. The king of the three Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway and Denmark) was the Dane, Christian II. Christian was known as a double-crosser in diplomacy, and was cruel. There was war. During a negotiation session Christian kidnapped the Swedish envoys, including Gustav. The story is he flipped all of them save Gustav, who escaped. That was 1518. Gustav would have been about 22 years old. Christian, meanwhile, won the war, for the time being. After the crowning of the Danish king several days of festive merrymaking were concluded with the seizure and execution of about 100 of Christian’s enemies, including Gustav’s father. This being Europe, a legal excuse had to be produced to cover political murders, most were convicted in kangaroo court proceedings of heresy.

Much of Gustav’s reform coinage featured his portrait. This is a silver 2 ore of Stockholm dated 1540. (Images courtesy of The Coin Cabinet Ltd, London, www.thecoincabinet.com)

Gustav pulled together an army and mounted a rebellion. Things went well for him and them. The Danish king was deposed in Denmark. The new Danish king failed to win the war. Gustav was elected king of Sweden in 1523. Further ventures occurred involving negotiations and maneuvers that produced an agreement with Denmark, with the Hansa city of Lubeck, supporter of Gustav, by 1524 the way was cleared, Gustav was crowned in 1524.

Immediately he got into trouble with the pope over naming of archbishops. Funny thing, that. All of a sudden these kings were all having problems with the pope, Henry VIII, etc. In Sweden there was a fair bit of that Renaissance “new thinking” going on. A popular priest got married. The Bible got translated. In the end Gustav told the pope: “Don’t worry about the Church in Sweden, I’ll take care of it.”

Sweden under Gustav went most of the way in reforming the church. But not all the way. They didn’t actually proscribe Catholicism. But church properties were seized, pretty much all of them, and put under crown control.

Some big noble donors were allowed to take their donations back, a team building strategy by the king. In most ways though the new political thinking tended to reduce the power of nobles, so it didn’t hurt to give a few power people a few crumbs. Oh, this is topical: big overhaul of the tax system, mostly taking the nobles out of the collection business and depriving them of one of their tools of oppression of their commoners. It was supposed to be a fairer system but there were winners and losers, and the overall take for most people increased. There was a big external debt to the backers of Gustav’s war of liberation to pay off.

Some armed rebellions grew out of perceived economic inequities, though of course, like everything else during the Reformation, there was a religious element. The peasants, mostly, as always, were conservative, and weren’t interested in being anything other than Catholic. Today we yell about stuff. Back then they stabbed each other. Neighbors, about whether to pray in Latin or Swedish.

Gustav’s big international preoccupations were the German Hansa business conglomerate and Denmark. The Hansa city of Lubeck had been a big backer of Gustav in his insurgent days and they had received in due course such extremely nice business conditions in Sweden as to positively oppress, annoy and keep down the natives. Gustav eventually worked out a deal with Denmark to diplomatically gang up on Lubeck and change its rules of engagement in Sweden, and, more importantly perhaps, its waters. Sweden was fully in control of its borders and economy.

No major foreign wars in Gustav’s time, only a bit of exploratory raiding in Russia late in his reign. Ivan the Terrible was the first “tsar of the Russias,” Gustav thought he smelled a potential adventuring conqueror. But Ivan didn’t do the Alexander the Great kind of thing, rather, he oppressed his people at home and wrecked the economy. Gustav nevertheless sent a few thousand troops into Russia to mess around. Russians tromped around in Finland. Nothing came of it. They signed a treaty agreeing to forget about it.

Gustav died in 1560, kind of in the middle of things, politically speaking. He is a George Washington kind of figure in Swedish history. They have him on the money there, or have until recently. And, like most of us can’t tell you much about what Washington actually accomplished in eight years of presidency, yet his, as it were, moral influence endures, so too with Gustav. His bureaucratic reforms have of course evolved over time, but the government and polity of Sweden trace the way they are back to the foundations he laid.

Gustav’s coinage, typically for the period, was varied. Outside of Scandinavia Europe had moved beyond small silver coins into standard gold coins and different sizes of silvers, including big ones. There was getting to be a lot more business. They needed more coinage to do it with. They were more and more using paper to indicate transfers, an idea they got from the Chinese by way of the Mongols. Gustav believed in progress, immediately started making larger silver coins.

There is a book that is usually quoted as a reference for “modern” Swedish coins: Sveriges Mynt 1521-1977, by Bjarne Ahlstrom. It was published in 1977, apparently hasn’t been reprinted. I found a PDF version online.

There are silver coins, undated, of the Liberation War period, imitating Danish coins, planchets cut with shears and usually squarish, in the name of Gustav Eriksson. They seem to be very rare.

The pre-reform coinage was all billon or silver. The basic denomination was the penning. The period 1523-1531 saw some messing around with exchange rates between billon and silver, essentially the billon kept getting its value lowered which had the effect of incrementally robbing the lower class people who used it. The billon Gustav coins were the fyrk of 4 penningar, and the ortug of 20. Then there were silver coins, the ore, call it a dime if you wish, and the gyllen (gulden) and its half, call it a heavy half dollar. At different times and in different places in Sweden the silver/billon rates varied by more than 100 percent, to the annoyance of businesspeople everywhere.

Pre-reform mints were Stockholm. Vasteras, Uppsala, Arboga, and Abo. The billon types were typically but not exclusively the royal arms of three crowns and a large letter, “G” for instance, for the king, or “S” for Stockholm. Traditional designs. The basic type of the silvers was a standing facing king, various versions of the royal arms on the reverse.

Like most European rulers of his era, Gustav believed in the civilizing power of art and put some of that progressive social vision into the coinage. This daler of Stockholm has a beautiful depiction of Christ as Salvator Mundi. (Photos courtesy Myntkompaniet / AB Philea, Stockholm, http://www.philea.se/)

The coinage reform of 1534 involved the introduction of the mark as a money of account, everything else fixed against it, and the daler. 1 mark = 8 ore = 24 ortugar = 192 penningar. 2-1/2 mark = a daler. Coins of 1, 2, and 4 penningar exist, 2 ore, 1/2 marks, 1 and 2 marks. Various types, most with portraits of the king, Mark coins and ores for use in Sweden. The dalers, halves, and quarters, were made ostensibly for the German trade.

Mints were Stockholm, Vasteras, Svartsjo (notable reverse type of Jesus as Salvator Mundi), and Abo.

There were square “klipping” coins struck in Svartsjo in 1543 and in Abo in 1556 and 1557. What happened in 1543? The Dacke peasant uprising was defeated. How about 1556? That was the middle of the Russo-Swedish war. I wish I had more time to research the klippings, which are usually, in the 16th century, emergency money of some kind. Doesn’t matter from a collecting point of view, they are hardly ever for sale.

I went looking to buy a Gustav Vasa coin for a month. I saw more than a few, many denominations and price levels. The most common were the 4 penningar, 2 ore, 1 mark, but there are expensive dalers showing up in auctions. With the exception of a few surprisingly cheap coins that got away, prices ranged from quite robust to outrageous. Multiple hundreds of dollars will get you some small coin in not too bad shape. Or you could wait to get lucky. I found a portrait 2 ore 1540, fine, not so nice, they wanted $1,000. I offered $250. They told me I could have it for $850, I declined.

What do I think about that? That Sweden in Gustav’s time was still mostly using foreign coins, and was mostly making their own coins as a kind of fiscal flag waving, “Look, we make money too.”

  This article was originally printed in World Coin News. >> Subscribe today.

  More Collecting Resources

• Are you a U.S. coin collector? Check out the 2018 U.S. Coin Digest for the most recent coin prices.

• Download The Metal Mania Seminar with David Harper to learn more about the metals market.

The post Gustav Vasa took charge of Sweden appeared first on Numismatic News.