text:
the gift of giving - It shouldn't be saved for the holidays
A TV commercial recently caught my attention. It highlights the song "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Mind. It caught my attention because a) I instantly recognized the song and b) it was a new rendition of the song. The vocalist in the commercial sings it slow, and somberly while playing a piano. He's also performing it at a homeless shelter.
The song is used for the commercial to help bring home the point - don't forget about those in homeless shelters, rescue missions, or halfway houses after the holidays are over. I agree whole heatedly with the commercial because the holidays seems to be the time where people really focus on helping others because its the time of giving.
Around Thanksgiving a lot of people may venture out to Soup Kitchens to lend a hand serving Thanksgiving dinner to those who normally wouldn't have much to eat. During Christmas I saw so many Toys for Tots boxes in store windows. There were jacket drives, and many organizations asked for a donation at the checkout counter for different organizations.
After Christmas and the New Year hits, the promotion for all of these organizations stop. This is also a problem. People don't stop going to homeless shelters or soup kitchens because that is their day to day reality until they get that stroke of luck or get that situation where things can turn around for them. Some Soup Kitchens can even get overrun with volunteers around the holidays that they would have to turn some away.
Don't get me wrong, it is great that people do give to others around the holidays, but it should expand all year long. I'm the type of person who puts others first and will give and give even if it comes back and blows up in my face. Trust me, it has, numerous times. My generosity has been taken advantage of, even in some past workplaces or professional settings, but i still like to give my time to others because I know not a lot of people have as much as I do.
In 2017, I supported three different organizations in various different ways. The first is the Food Bank. I created a program at the library I used to work at called Canned Film Festival. It is a play off the Canes Film Festival, because I think I'm funny, and I thought it would get the point across. Movies would be shown at the library every week and we'd encourage food donations be brought in through the week for the local Food Bank.
Then there was the Out of the Darkness Walk in Oct 2017. It was sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Their goal is to bring awareness to various opportunities to prevent suicide and drop suicide rates in the US by 25% by the year 2025. All the money raised for the walk goes towards educational tools and research. I walked for the friends and people I know who have been affected by suicide and reached my goal of $50 in donations.
Finally, my biggest project I've ever done. I held a Little Hats, Big Hearts donation program at my library for Dec 2017. We were to collect knitted/crocheted red hats for newborn and premature babies. I even set up some side programs to get people to come out to the library and just knt/crochet as may hats as they could. These hats are to be passed out in Feb 2018 in recognition of American Heart Month. Donations were collected from Dec 1 - 20th 2017, and in total w got 84 donations.
After the success of the LH, BG program, I got a drive to do more. I've been looking at other organizations that could receive knitted/crocheted donations so I can send donations to them both involving work and my own time. Some I have found include: Project Red Scarf (create red scarves to be included in a care package for foster kids who aged out of the system and head to college), Project Linus - create blankets or a 7x9 square to be made into a blanket and sent out to children, and Warmth for Warriors - knit/crochet black hats for deployed troops, to name a few. I love knitting and I love helping people so I found a way to combine the two.
There are various ways you can give back to others who are facing misfortunes. Start with a google search or talk to a friend/coworker for some ideas. Or look towards you family to find something that means a lot to you.
There's something for everyone. All it takes is that one person to make a difference for someone.
Why I stopped writing for a year
As the title suggests, I stopped writing for a year. From Nov 2016 - Nov 2017. When I say writing, I mean own works aka "originals". I have consistently put out fan works in the past aka "fan fiction" and no, it is not anything like 50 Shades of Gray, which unfortunately put a bad light on fan fiction but I'll speak about that in a later post.
For those that don't know, fan fiction are stories fans write of a show, movie, cartoon, anime, you name it. The characters are from the media source but the situations are up to the fans. The stories can be Canon Divergent, Alternate Universe, a Slow Burn, or Slice of Life to name a few. Don't worry, if you're confused by any of those words, I have the definitions of them down below at the end of this post.
I got into fan fiction in middle school but really got into it around high school and college. It is a way for me to get my writing out there and see how people respond to my description and writing style. I see it as practice for my own writing with instant feedback. I started to get into writing in middle school, save for a few comics I tried to make as a kid while I was really into anime/manga like Sailor Moon and Digimon.
I think it was around high school that I started to have goals about becoming a published author. English courses were always pretty easy for me with the exception of analyzing novels. I didn't do as well on those components as I could have because I had to read the books and being forced to read and analyzing novels takes the fun out of it, in my opinion. But, I'm digressing. Whenever there was an assignment to write a chapter for a book. or write your own Canterbury Tale, or something along those lines, I was ecstatic.
Anyone who is a writer or dreams of becoming a writer has head "write the story you want to read". That soon became true for me. As I got older, Young Adult stories just weren't doing it for me anymore. I think it's because they all revolve around relationships, as if that's the only thing going on in a teenager's life. Eventually, I got tired of reading the same clichéd thing so in my spare time I began to write what I wanted to read. I wanted friendship stories more than romantic relationships, I wanted a different take on high school stories. I just wanted something different.
In Oct 2016 a family member passed away. She was my biggest supporter when it came to my writing. In fact, I'm pretty sure she was the first person to support my writing. Whenever I mentioned wanting a writing career I was asked if I wanted to be a journalist or inquired about what real job would I have while I worked on becoming a writer. But, this family member never questioned me, she just said to do what I wanted and to send her a copy of anything that I published.
I stopped writing any original work because I knew that when I get something published, she wouldn't be around to get a copy. She wouldn't be around to hear the good news. She wouldn't be around to continue to push me to do what I want to do. Working on my originals would make it more real that she's actually gone.
The year off gave me time to think about what I want out of my writing. It helped me reflect on the stories I've written, the stories I want to write, and the stories I would like to read if someone else were to write them. Next month is NaNoWriMo aka National Novel Writing Month. The overall goal by the end of the month is to have written a novel or 50,000 total words. Save for last year I participate every year.
This year I can't wait for November to come to get started. I missed the creative process. I missed creating my own world and my own characters. I missed google searching baby names to come up with that perfect name for my character. I missed looking up idioms to come up with a punny title. Plus, i have too many ideas floating around in my head that are fighting to get out.
I now have the excitement back to work on my originals like I do with my fanfiction. I can't wait to see what my characters have in store for me. And maybe, just maybe, one of them will be named after my family member.
Fanfiction Definitions
Canon Divergent: a story that does not follow a specific plot or choice from the original media. Example: Sirius Black re-appears on the other side of the veil.
Alternate Universe: a story taking place in an alternate universe. Example: Lord of the Rings taking place in modern times.
Slow Burn: a story that takes a ridiculously long time to get the two main characters to become a couple, and numerous hints and angst filled moments are shown along the way.
Slice of Life: a story that follows the characters through every day life ie going to the grocery store, dealing with bills, doing laundry at a laundromat, or going to school/college.
Two Pair; Chapter 2
"Van-nah! Open the door so I can at least try and get ready! I still have to do my hair and you and I both know it takes a while." Mickey Powers continued to slap her palm against the bathroom door. She then heaved a sigh and leaned against the wall, plotting her sister's murder. "You've been in there for forty minutes!"
"Your hair is in braids, Mickey, you don't need to do anything with it," was the curt reply. "I, on the other hand, need to be in here so I can make sure I'm perfect."
Mickey's upper lip curled. "We're going to school, not a beauty pageant." Though considering the amount of parents of students who were designers, it wasn't a far off statement. "We've been in school for two weeks, there's no one that you need to impress."
"You always have to dress to impress, Mick," Savannah replied. Her voice was muffled and Mickey knew it meant she was still putting on her makeup. Nowhere near close to finishing her morning routine. "That's what Mom always says."
Speaking of which…Mickey turned on her heel. She stomped down the hardwood floor of the long hallway until she reached her mother's massive bedroom. It was practically a wing of the house all on its own. "Mo-om!" she called.
Mickey's voice echoed along the scaling the walls and high ceiling of her mother's bedroom. Sunlight filtered through the skylight that had been strategically placed by the interior decorators her mother lived by giving the pristine white room a golden hue that warmed her. When she was young, Mickey used to go to her mother's room and curl up on the window seat to read, bathed in the warm sunlight while watching her mother gracefully move back forth getting ready for the day.
Almost as if she were dancing to a beat Mickey tried and failed to understand. It was funny how quickly things changed.
Stepping over the threshold, Mickey found her mother sitting at her large vanity mirror, putting on makeup. What is it with this family and makeup? As it was, she didn't use more than foundation, mascara, and a little bit of eyeliner. But Savannah and her mother went the extra-extra mile. Mickey resisted the urge to roll her eyes and then cleared her throat to get her mother's attention.
"Mom, tell Savannah to get out of the bathroom so I can get ready for school! She's been in there for almost an hour!"
"Don't bring me into it Mickayla," Her mother replied airily. She brushed blush on her medium brown cheeks with a quick twist of her wrist. "You've been arguing over this practically since you were born." Dallas Powers set her brush down on the attached oak table and gracefully—first moving one leg then the other—shifted to face her daughter. "Besides, it's your girls' bathroom, it's your problem. You can work it out, can't you?"
Mickey pouted, placing her hands on her hips. She tucked her locks over her shoulder and stuck her bottom lip out as far as it could go. Dallas had always been a sucker for her daughters' pouting, even though they were getting older and it didn't work as well, there were still times where she gave in.
This was not one of those times. Dallas chuckled to herself then tucked her own share of braids behind her ear. "What are you wearing to school today, honey?"
"If you're wondering whether or not it's that dress that you picked out, don't even think it," Mickey said. She raised her chin defiantly.
"It'll really help me get my name out there," Dallas said. She dropped her hands into her lap and smiled charmingly at her daughter. That worked almost as much as the girls' pouting, but more so considering it was used to try and make something boring sound fun. "And it'll be really cute on you."
"Is that supposed to be sarcastic?" Mickey tried not to smile.
"No, it's the truth."
Mickey watched her mother for a moment then looked away. She could feel herself starting to weaken. Her mother's charming smile was synonymous with her power stance. Hands on her hips—or folded—and lifted chin, shoulders rolled back to make her stand more firm. The same pose that became her signature; on every billboard that showcased a new release of her fashion line, magazine covers, photoshoots, there had to be at least one shot of the charming smile and power pose. It also usually meant that Dallas was going to get her way.
This time it was to get Mickey to wear the clothes Dallas had specifically designed for her. Most girls would jump at the chance for an entire wardrobe designed particularly with her in mind. And while Mickey loved her mother and was grateful her mother thought of her enough to do so, fashion wasn't really her thing but fashion wasn't her thing. Honestly, she felt her mother wasted it on her. Though, Mickey could admit, it did make things easier when they were invited to awards shows and had to get something new. No one else would be wearing a dress or other outfit that was made specifically for her and girls came up to ask, waving their checkbooks and pens, ready to write out whatever amount to get one for themselves.
And who wouldn't like to have a personal stylist? To be able to wake up and already know what to wear, what would accentuate their personal style and have people talking about it for days? Mickey could hardly go online without her social media pages blowing up with people commenting on her outfits from candid photos that had been placed on the internet? Was she so self-indulged and snobby that she obsessed over it? Absolutely not. But it could be a good mood lifter on a bad day.
Dallas Powers was the biggest fashion designer in all of Ashburg—all of California if she were honest. But to Mickey, she was only known a 'Mom'. Dallas only wore what she designed and nothing else. Along with creating outfits for her daughters, she designed clothes for major fashion retailers, starting with a line for women and teenage girls before recently shifting to men and teenage boys. So far social media was blowing up over the recent images that had been released.
Noticing the expression of discomfort on her daughter's face, Dallas held up her hand. "Sorry, I know you don't like 'cute'. Cute are for puppies and kittens. You'd look beautiful."
Mickey smiled.
Her mother continued to tease her for the time she was eight and she had gone on a rant of hating the word 'cute'. It was like, as she equated it now, watching others declare their love to someone else on Facebook, of which she wasn't so keen on as well. Not that she wasn't happy her fellow students were in happy relationships, but to see it every day? Her newsfeed didn't need to be filled with random nonsense like that when there were more entertaining things to read.
The latest was a freshman who was putting up post after post including the details of her father's ongoing legal battle against Atlantic Records. Chances are it was going to be removed due to confidentiality agreements, but getting the inside scoop on one of the media's most watched cases was the best. Getting it before everyone else was even better.
Especially when it came to news of her favorite bands. Not many people knew of the connections that could be made with the inside scoop unless you knew the right people. And thanks to her mother, she knew the right people.
"I want to be myself, to dress the way that I want to," Mickey said.
Dallas turned back to the mirror. Mickey watched as she brushed back her hair, leaving a few strands to frame her beautiful face. Mickey had once said that her mother's face was so perfect it was hard to look at straight on. Though she could only hope she became just as beautiful, confident, and successful as her mother was. As much as she valued her independence, she was as proud of her mother's success.
"You know everyone would want to see you and Savannah in matching outfits," Dallas stated. Mickey adopted a look of pure horror. Being twins there was always people who expected them to dress similarly every day. And others who continued to ask—and demand—that they say something in unison and wonder how much of them were identically. Marketers and publicists enjoyed it even more and tried to push them into it as much as possible.
Every now and then, if it was something she really liked, Mickey didn't mind and would be the first to suggest wearing the same thing. But she was fifteen now, and with college looming closer—as their teachers continued to say time and time again—Mickey wanted to have some more independence and originality.
Savannah must've felt the same way as she said, "Puh-lease! Mickey wouldn't be able to pull that look off no matter how hard she tried," to announce her presence. Savannah Powers walked into room with her green eyes glued to her phone. "Even if we are twins."
"Thanks for the compliment, sis," Mickey said dully.
"No problem." Savannah offered a taunting grin.
Mickayla and Savannah Powers, commonly known as Mickey and Vannah, were the most non-identical identical twins ever. Due to their differing interests and activities they were commonly mistaken to be fraternal—from those that didn't understand fraternal twins were only made by being two separate eggs fertilized by two different sperm. They had studied twins enough to know everything biological about it. However their similarities showed in their enjoyment of celebrity gossip, reality shows, and 80s music.
"I'm going to go get ready," Mickey said. She started towards the door, looking at her watch. At this point she wouldn't have time to take a shower. "Then I'm leaving."
"Where?" Dallas demanded, the sharpness in her voice causing her daughter to stop on a dime.
She's never this way with Savannah, Mickey was almost sure it was because she wouldn't dress like a china doll that her mother held a tight reign over her. Their public image was always so important to her and as of late it was getting worse.
"To go to school?" Mickey looked at her mother as if she were crazy. "The only place that I can go at this hour without being stopped and questioned by the police or paparazzi." She took a deep breath and added, "I was going to ride my bike."
Dallas reached up and rubbed her eyebrows. "Mickey, you know how I feel about that," she said. Standing up, she shifted away from the vanity though she made no move to clean up the small mess she created; that was a job for their trusted maid, Geneviève. Dallas kept her eyes locked on her eldest daughter. "I don't want you-"
"Fine!" Mickey interrupted.
She would do anything to keep from having to hear the 'reputation lecture' again. To say that Dallas cared about what people thought of her was an understatement, she obsessed over it. That's what happened when you lived so close to Los Angeles and was as successful as Dallas was; everyone wanted to know everything about their lives. Did she like having money and being able to do what she wanted? Sure. Did she like having so much media attention? Not so much. Not when her every move was scrutinized.
Not when she would wear an older pair of jeans and a shirt and the gossip sites would question if they were running out of money. Hadn't people ever heard of washing machines? Was it so hard to imagine the rich and famous to actually do their clothes and re-wear them?
"I'll go in the limo, but only if you drop me off a block away from the school," Mickey compromised. "And I'll wear what you made for me, but I choose the day to wear it." Anything was better than nothing. And they were getting better a compromising. Things didn't always go Mickey's way but at least they talked about it now.
Savannah sighed impatiently. "Can we just go?" She tapped her watch with her long French-tipped nails. "I have to work on a new piano piece and the practice rooms always the first to be taken."
"We mustn't keep her highness waiting," Mickey said. She gave an exaggerated curtsey before going back to her room to get ready. There wasn't enough time to take a shower so she just pulled her hair back into a ponytail, fastening it with a large blue ribbon. She was packing her backpack when Bradley, their butler, walked into her bedroom.
Mickey smiled as he gently cleared his throat to call attention to himself. He had been working for the Powers for as long as Mickey could remember. Honestly, he was probably the only one in the house that Mickey felt close to. The maids kept their heads down as they did their jobs, cleaning silently and efficiently. The other butlers only spoke to her when spoke to, believing it was better to keep their familiarity as low as possible.
But Bradley was different. He was the first of the team that Dallas had hired, and was there for every moment of the girls' lives. It wasn't long until he was like a father to Mickey. He was the only man in her life that could fill that role. He gave her advice when she needed it, listened to Mickey's good days and bad days, and gently admonished her when the time came. He was in no danger of being fired for it, but was also very aware to not overstep Dallas' discipline boundaries.
"The limo is here for you Miss. Mickayla," Bradley declared formally, his arms behind his back.
Mickey pulled her backpack over her shoulders, making sure it didn't wrinkle her vintage band t-shirt and matching vest. "I've told you a million times Bradley, you can just call me Mickey." His eyes shone when Mickey stuck her lower lip out in a pout. "Please?"
This was a conversation they had nearly every day. And as with every other time Bradley said, "That would make our relationship a little bit too familiar." He leaned towards her and whispered conspiratorially, "But I'll do my best." He held out his arm, waiting for Mickey to leave the room first.
She left the room and hurried down to the limo, sliding across the buttery leather seats as she did so.
"Finally," Savannah sighed. Her eyes were still on her phone.
Mickey didn't bother to reply. They didn't talk to each other much on the way to school unless there was some sort of a scandal or gossip they missed from the night before. Not that they didn't want to talk, but that they used that time to catch up on things. Savannah listened to the radio and talked to whomever was on the other end of the phone.
Mickey, on the other hand, put her headphones in her ears and blasted Paramore as she pulled a book out of her backpack. She always read to pass the time on the way to school. It took her mind off of things, giving her the chance to feel like a normal teenage girl and not one who was constantly watched.
Like she had a good relationship with her mother and they were extremely close. Because the truth was, the moment Dallas came into money and the society that came with it, Mickey lost her.
Two Pair; Chapter one
.:Chapter One:.
Outside the open garage the world was just waking up as the sky became tinted with a pink and purple ombre, light from the sun barely peeking over the horizon. As the new day started and the rest of the world slept, Reagan and Ronan Jacoby took advantage of the picturesque early morning to partake in dawn patrol.
At least, Reagan was actively participating. As she sat in the early morning lineup of those waiting on the perfect wave to ride Ronan sat on the beach with her ever present camera in hand. Even from where she sat on her short board, far from the beach, Reagan noticed each and every flash that erupted from the camera. A little piece of light magnifying against the dark water.
Pulling at the neck of her wetsuit, Reagan watched as the sun started to rise higher and higher, she probably only had time for one more wave before heading in to get ready for school. But judging by the older men and other teens her age that patiently waited in the lineup before her, Reagan guessed it would take too long.
Besides, her feet were starting to turn cold. She had put up a big fight against wearing them to her dad the day before, emphatically stating that she would lose her grip on the board. But, as usual, he was right. As far as she knew as long as he had been on the police force he probably had seen someone's feet freeze while staying out in the ocean for too long. There had been plenty of stories he used as a warning for her and her sister.
Not enough to listen all the time, but enough.
After gently punching her surfboard in disappointment, Reagan lay down and pulled her feet out of the water. She pivoted her board so that she could paddle into shore. Ronan was waiting for her with a big red beach towel when Reagan arrived, which she eagerly wrapped herself up in.
"You didn't want to try one more?" Ronan asked.
Reagan shook her head, dark hair plastering against the side of her face. She imagined she looked like a drowned rat. There were plenty of pictures around the house after her competitions as proof. "I was this close to landing the rodeo flip and as usual school gets in the way."
"The waves weren't that great anyway, sis. I'm sure you'll get it soon." Ronan lifted the bulky camera that sat around her neck, knocking out the earbuds that were almost ever present in her ears. They landed in the sand between them, blasting the latest rock hit. "And besides, I got some good shots."
"I'm sure they're great, Ro," Reagan said, falling into step with her sister as they walked up the beach towards the bus stop. She sighed. "But I've been trying that trick for weeks now and I still can't get it."
"Well, if you force yourself you're just going to get worse," Ronan commented. She placed her hands on her hips. "I know you didn't manage to land anything today, but you're just psyching yourself out."
Reagan bobbed her head back and forth, twisting her mouth to the side as she thought about it. She had been putting a lot of pressure on herself after the competition she had entered last week. Those girls seemed to have been able to improve quicker than she had. She had placed well, but it still wasn't something she was ready to brag about unless she could land the rodeo flip more than a few times. Reagan was sure she would have gotten it if she weren't risking the bus back to the neighborhood. It was one of the few times she hated that neither of them had their license.
"You'll get it," Ronan said. She reached up and pushed her purple strand of hair out of her blue eyes, chuckling when Reagan did the same movement at the same time, but with her red strand of hair.
Being twins Reagan and Ronan had become susceptible to the common questions and trappings of being a multiple.
How do you tell each other apart? They were color coded since birth; with Reagan's color being pink and Ronan's color being yellow thus dictating everything that was bought for them to be specifically in those colors or an off-shoot of the color. Then when they were young enough to make their decisions of their own desires, Reagan switched hers to red and Ronan switched hers to purple. Despite having the same shoulder length dark hair and standing at the same height, Ronan was bestowed with a mole on her chin and birthmark on her forehead, while Reagan had a birthmark on her left knee. On the other hand, their laughter and voices, though similar, were slightly different.
What's it like to be a twin? The same as being a single person…considering they didn't know anything about not being a twin. The quickest answer was being born with their best friend at their side.
Who's the oldest? Reagan was born five minutes before Ronan and used it to her advantage as much as possible…though it always backfired in her face when she questioned "Why do I have to do it?" where Ronan would then say, "Because you're the oldest". And that was that. . It was an injustice, not to mention the strange sort of responsibility that was thrust upon her shoulders at differing moments. Was it her fault she was born first? For all she knew, with what little space they had in the womb, Ronan had pushed her out just to get some space. People always said that babies played together while they were in the womb, no one knew it could have potentially been a war for dominance.
Do you fight a lot? Not very much but that didn't mean there weren't odd moments of bickering every once in a while. In the Jacoby household there were fights over very small and petty things. The biggest repeat offender being who got into the bathroom first, though the runners up in competitions were who got to use the 'good bowl' for cereal, who got to ride shotgun, who got the bigger brownie for desert, and who was the one to go first when they had a driving lesson. Just about anything could be turned into a not-quite-serious argument of equality.
Can you feel each other's pain? Typically that responded in a light laugh, a short story of the only time they had managed to do it—if it weren't an outright lie—and say that it was impossible. However that question was then followed up by 'can you tell what your sister is thinking?' where a random guess would be the answer.
What amused them and others the most were the times where the twin girls would move or say something in the same way at the same time, creating some sort of a stereo effect that would result in surprised laughter.
Arriving at the house Reagan sighed as she gently laid her surfboard against the wall of the garage doing her best not to scratch it. It was more valuable to her than the most sought after jewelry. Then she picked up the large beach towel that lay across her shoulders and used it to her body free of the ocean water and sand that stuck to her skin.
Ronan then called the first shower as the girls tramped into their house being careful not to drag sea water and sand all over the immaculate flooring of the kitchen. Their father set aside the garage and accompanying laundry room to collect their water and sports gear to finish his endless battle of combating piles of sand that managed to sneak its way inside. Their maltipoo puppy, Zack, greeted them at the door, lifting up on his hind legs tail wagging at high speeds and licked at their hands.
"Sorry, Zack, you know the vet said you're going on a diet," Reagan said as she scooped him up in her arms. "I don't think licking away all of the dried saltwater is going to help much." She giggled as his tiny tongue flicked over her chin and she headed towards her room to get her clothes out for the day.
Along the hallway she passed a portrait that held her sister and her father and stopped to smile at it, as she did every day. Though their family was small with only the two of them and their father, Elijah Jacoby, she wouldn't trade it for the world. Seeing her father stick his fingers up behind their heads in bunny ears always made her laugh. Neither she nor Ronan had noticed it when the picture was being taken the last father's day.
As Reagan glanced at the photo, her mind wandered to her mother which was strange in itself as she didn't particularly dwell over the woman she didn't get to know before she was out of her life.
For as long as she could remember it had always been herself, her sister, and their father and it was all she wanted, she loved her life. But then there were the vulnerable moments where the mysterious woman managed to creep in; late nights when she couldn't fall asleep, when she got her period for the first time and had to call her father at work, Mother's Day…holidays were always some of the harder days to get through.
During polite conversation, once the topic that they were indeed twins passed, someone would mention her, question how their mother managed to carry twins to term, or their father would suddenly fall silent and look off into space remembering a time the girls didn't know. It helped their father was just as good of a mother as he was a father and the missing spot in their lives diminished in size.
Not completely gone but small enough not to notice.
Reagan went to their room and dropped Zack onto the ground, picking up her phone. She navigated to her MugShot profile, one of the biggest social media networks she and her friends were using, and checked the notifications. A few handcuffs—she smiled seeing some of her predictions of new relationships coming true, some new pictures posted, and a comment on a status she had followed the day before.
The usual.
But then a colorful image caught her eye as she recognized a member of her school's cross country team as the headliner for the article. Grinning, she clicked into the article, hoping to read about the win her school had at the latest meet but the longer she read, the lower her jaw dropped.
"What?" Ronan shouted over the running shower water.
"They mixed up our school names again! They said that Ashburg Arts was the team that got the state record at our last meet!" Shaking her head, Reagan continued to scroll the news article, hoping Ashburg Academy's name would pop up somewhere. "I mean, sure, they can probably afford the steroids as many rich alumni they have donating to their school, but we get our wins with hard work."
Reagan continued to look through her phone, checking out the scores of her favorite sports teams before becoming sucked in to Flutter, catching up on the musicians, actors, and athelets that had posted the night before, then catching up on her classmates. Her buzzed in her hand as a text came in.
Tristan: We'll be there in a half hour, Nic needs to get to school early.
Reagan: No worries, already up anyway.
Tristan: Never thought I'd see the day you willingly get up early for school.
Reagan: For the beach, actually. We can't all be overachievers like you. See you when you get here.
Putting her phone away, Reagan glanced at her watch then sighed heavily when she noticed how much time had passed and the shower water was still running. Must be payback for how long I spent at the beach this morning. Picking up her clothes, Reagan walked over to the bathroom door and banged her fist against it, causing the hinges to shake, rattle, and roll. As she continued to knock the surrounding walls trembled and quaked in danger of knocking photos to the floor.
"How much longer are you gonna be in there?" she shouted. "I have to get dressed!" Reagan pressed her ear against the door, trying to hear the water over the blood pounding in her ears.
Receiving no response, she let out a sigh then alternately slammed both hands on the door with the repeated chant, "Ro. Ro! Ro-your-boat!" On the last few swings she missed and whacked her hand against the hinge of the door, scraping her knuckle. Sticking her finger in her mouth, Regan pictured herself hitting the door and realized how ridiculous she must have looked. It wasn't like she hadn't locked Ronan out of the bathroom; but in her defense, nothing was better or more relaxing than reading in a bubble bath after a long day at the beach.
Finally, Reagan got a reply—albeit an exasperated one—from her sister as she heard the nickname that had been given to her since first grade. "How long have you been waiting to use that one?"
"About as long as I've been standing in the hallway," Reagan said. She crossed her arms. "I thought about going to get Dad's taser, too. But I thought that might be overkill." She smiled; sure it was evident in her voice. "Though it'd be a good way to be an only child again. Those first five minutes were pure bliss."
"Like you even remember them. Besides, Dad took his taser to work with him and if you used it on me it'd be considered assault and you'd go to jail!"
"Not if it's my first offense," Reagan corrected.
Of all of the lectures, warnings, and explanations her father had given her and Ronan over the years, it was ways of getting out of trouble that seemed to stick with her the most. Then again, there was nothing better than the camaraderie and familial closeness she got from the Ashburg Police Department. They practically grew up there and had gotten to know the rest of the officers and detectives as their own family.
Especially the day before.
She and Ronan had been complaining, once again, about not having even their permits and Nic, fed up, pulled his car over to teach them a few things about driving. It had gone well at first, but then pulling onto the highway where the speed limit increased and drivers' patience seemed to decrease at the same time, soon resulted in consistent swerving along the roads that caught the attention of the Highway Patrol. Once the officer saw Reagan, who was driving at the time, didn't have a permit the four were brought back into Ashburg and directly to the police station.
"Great," Nic sighed, crossing his arms impatiently as they sat in chairs in the lobby. "Mom's going to kill us."
Tristan eyed his twin brother warily. "What do you mean 'us'? I was the one that said it was a bad idea in the first place."
"Well, you couldn't have imagined this was the way Nic would've landed you two in jail," Ronan said. She teasingly elbowed Tristan in the ribs. "You've been saying he's your downfall for years, you should've seen it coming."
"Besides, this is nothing," Reagan agreed with a calm wave of her hand. "If anything they're just going to give us a warning and let us go." Her calm demeanor then changed into that of slight panic when the police sergeant walked over and announced, with an amused grin, that the girls' father was going to get them and to 'not move a muscle'. He also couldn't help but add he was glad he wasn't the teens sitting in front of him and to tell their father to 'go easy on them'.
"Can we stay in jail instead?" Reagan pleaded.
When their father had arrived he sent Nic and Tristan on their way, but not before sternly reminding them how dangerous it was to drive without a permit or license, how stupid their decision had been, and demanding that his colleagues stop snickering behind him because it 'wasn't funny'.
Of course Reagan could see he was trying his hardest not to smile either. It wasn't the first time he had to bail them out of trouble and probably wouldn't be the last. "At least we keep you young," Ronan piped up.
Now, instead of giving Reagan a clever quip in response Ronan conceded and said, "Whatever. Hold on." Before turning the shower water off.
Reagan's attention turned back to the bathroom as the door opened and an avalanche of steam followed her sister out of the bathroom. Casually, Ronan ran a fluffy purple towel over her hair as she exited the towel in a matching bathrobe.
Reagan faced her sister with a raised eyebrow, which Ronan mirrored perfectly. "Did you really think that I would go and get Dad's taser?" Reagan asked. There were a lot of things she joked about with her father's profession but assault wasn't one of them.
"You've done worse things," Ronan remarked. "Miss. You-have-to-listen-to-me-because-I'm-the-oldest. Don't think I've forgotten the time we took Dad's car for a joyride."
"So I'm creative," Reagan defended. The rest of the precinct had given them a hard time about that one, too. And while the girls had ended up grounded for a month after that, she knew it was a bit reluctant. They both remembered their father's infamous story of his first joyride with his father's car. Unfortunately he didn't like Reagan's adding that he was just leading them by example. "I like to have fun. That's not a bad thing."
"You get bored easily."
"That too." A light sigh escaped Reagan's lips and she turned her attention back to her sister. "I hate it when you do that, Sis."
"Do what?" The corners of Ronan's mouth twitched into a smile.
"Prove me wrong. Especially because you're younger than me."
"I know." Ronan beamed. "That's why I do it."
Regan sighed once more, lowering her voice. "Did he even come home last night?"
"I don't think so," Ronan replied with a frown. She reached up and scratched the back of her head. "I stayed up as long as I could. I think he might've slept at the office again."
Reagan nodded and slipped into the bathroom. It's the only place he seems to be nowadays.
What we've been up to: Two Pair; Chapter one re-write
So, for those of you that have seen the post on our Facebook page it is November. Or. as those in the writing world know it as, National Novel Writing Month. This month we're not officially participating but are using it to get ahead in some of our works as well as to set time aside and work on some previously written things.
This time around Jess announced she'd work on Two Pair and the blog post with the finished product of the first chapter is now up. We please ask for some feedback, in particular of pacing and characterization. Thanks!
Read here to see updates on our writing and what's going on in our lives.
Two Pair


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2017 Results – Race results will be available here during the event and will be published as soon as possible after each stage.
2015 Results – Race results will be available here during the event and will be published as soon as possible after each stage.
Kerry Group Rás Mumhan is an ecologically friendly event. To minimise our effect on the environment the main system for distribution of results is on the web. A small number of paper copies of the results only are printed each day.


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The Storm Lake Times
Birthday's & Bridal Showers
Mayor Pete understands rural Iowa, but South Bend may consume him
Published Wednesday, July 10, 2019
BY ART CULLEN
Don't count South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg among those willing to overlook the Midwest. Barack Obama won Iowa, Indiana and Ohio, and Buttigieg thinks he can do the same to become America's first openly gay President.
The 37-year-old Afghanistan War veteran sat down for a 40-minute interview with The Storm Lake Times on the Fourth of July, before the Big Parade, and raced out to join an NBC News live interview from Chautauqua Park before the fire trucks sounded.
South Bend isn't so different than Sioux City or the Quad Cities — an old manufacturing town dealt a gut punch over the past half-century trying to recover. It is Janesville and Kenosha. It is Youngstown and Scranton. It is even West Bend, Iowa, another place that time and political power largely forgot. The coastal-centric media is trying to figure us out.
"It's like we're some exotic species out here," Buttigieg remarked.
He hopes a rural-rust belt message can resonate as the nation is at the end of a half-century economic and political epoch that started with the conservative revolution of Goldwater and Reagan suggests a major turn. He believes it can be seen clearly in agriculture and rural America, losing money on moribund export markets and giving up its natural resource base in the name of higher corn yields.
Mayor Pete says climate change is the top issue, and that agriculture can lead the way to a solution.
"My message is: We need you," Buttigieg said. "We have a problem to solve, and rural America could be a huge part of the climate solution."
He offered a fact: The carbon output of the entire global transportation system can be offset by soil capture with better land management.
Buttigieg understands the promise of sustainable, or regenerative agriculture, and he fully appreciates how climate and trade policies have hammered the Midwest. Farmers should be paid for environmental stewardship, he says, and we should massively ramp up research and deployment of soil- and water-saving practices as land uses rapidly change amid extreme weather.
"Food security is worth the investment," he says. "We don't have it all framed up yet, but we have to commit major resources."
He also understands how important immigrants are to hard-pressed places. Like Storm Lake, South Bend has grown in population only because of immigrants. He is the son of an immigrant from Malta.
"The President says we are full. We're not full. We have enough pipes and fire stations in South Bend for another 30,000 people. Detroit is not full. And neither are rural communities. Yet immigrants remain under attack.
"The truth is, if the President wanted to he could bring about the change these places need. But he is making it a crisis. If we don't solve these rural problems, well, a country just can't go on that divides itself like this."
He is smart, a Rhodes scholar. He is young, at 37. He is raising lots of money and is somewhere in the top tier of candidates in Iowa. He understands the state's politics. He was steadily rising, and then one of his police officers shot and killed a black man who reportedly was approaching, or charging, the officer with a knife. All the details are not known. But it blew up in his face, with the victim's mother shaming Mayor Pete on national TV.
He said that his answer to the shooting during the debates — that the buck stops with him and he failed — is "not good enough."
"It's anguishing because it goes so much deeper," Buttigieg said.
South Bend is an exurb of Chicago. The same police and race problems that plague the Windy City permeate Gary, Elkhart and South Bend. Buttigieg says he is trying.
"But we're not there yet. America is not there yet," Buttigieg said.
At that his staff had to end it in time to make the parade. No doubt he hopes Iowa will show enough patience that a voice for the future can survive the early winnowing process. A lot will happen in South Bend in the meantime. How he manages it will help determine whether he has what it takes for America to turn that corner that any Iowan should see is upon us. Mayor Pete does understand what is going on in the Midwest better than most other candidates, but its circumstances might consume him.
Art Cullen
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Jacobson Emphasizes Importance of Succession Planning at LIC's CEO Conference
CHICAGO – Succession planning is a vital component of a comprehensive talent strategy, yet many insurers are neglecting to make it a priority. Abbie Fleming, assistant vice president and managing director of The Jacobson Group, will discuss the importance of succession planning, as well as its best practices, at the Life Office Management Association's Life Insurers Council CEO Forum in Alexandra, Virginia.
Joined by Stephen Lang, president of Lang Consulting, LLC, Fleming will share the current state of the industry's talent landscape, along with top considerations for a well-thought-out succession plan. The presentation will take place from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 27.
"As Baby Boomers retire and executive-level positions become vacant at increasing speeds, it's important for organizations to have solid succession plans in place," said Fleming. "Our session will provide an overview of the process as well as the questions leaders should ask as they plan for the future."
As assistant vice president and managing director of Jacobson, Fleming manages C-level, vice president and other executive-level searches for clients from all sectors of the insurance industry. She facilitates and drives all aspects of the executive search engagement, serving as primary point of contact for clients, and guiding the recruiting team's efforts internally.
For more information on the event, visit https://www.loma.org/Events/Conferences/2019/LIC_Meetings/LIC_CEO_Forum—Summer.aspx.
About The Jacobson Group:
The Jacobson Group is the leading provider of talent to the insurance industry. For nearly 50 years, Jacobson has been connecting organizations with insurance professionals at all levels across all industry verticals. We provide an array of services including executive search, professional recruiting, temporary staffing and subject matter experts. Regardless of the need or situation, Jacobson is the insurance talent solution. Further information is available at jacobsononline.com
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Legacies of War: Joint seminar
Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute event Thursday 17 May 2018
Date: Thursday 17 May 2018, 17:00 – 19:00
Location: Leeds Arts Humanities Research Institute
Part of the Legacies of War project.
Rebecca Ball (University of Wolverhampton) will present on 'Birmingham clapped her hands with the rest of the world, welcoming the signs of peace': Childhood in Birmingham, London and Greater Manchester during the First World War'.
Laura Boyd (University of Leeds) will discuss 'Images and Reception of Non-Combatant Men in France and Britain during the Great War'.
LHRI - Seminar Room 1
See all Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute events
Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute - Thursday 23 January 2020
Exploring locality in the context of suicide risk: implications for research and policy
Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute - Thursday 6 February 2020
Speculative Lunch: Leeds Animation Workshop


Foster e Rocco is the collaboration of two friends Adam Foster & Lincoln Riley who have undertaken a project to make the wines that they want to drink; approachable, accessible and above all food friendly. Having spent many years working in restaurants as sommeliers both individuals understand the role food and wine plays in uniting people through engaging their senses.
A desire to create wines that are appealing yet interesting to the modern Australian food and wine lover and a mutual respect for the versatility of both the Sangiovese grape and Rosé style helped shape the Foster e Rocco project to produce a selection of hand crafted wines.
Fiano is an old grape dating back to the Roman and possibly Greek days of viticulture in the hills behind Naples (Campagna). Following the success of Italian red grape varieties in Australia, Fiano is one of the Italian white varieties that is planted. As it is new to Australia, there seems to be a fair bit on experimentation in wine making with many different styles of wine being made. So it is hard to say whether there is any typicity in the Foster e Rocco Fiano.
What must be said is that it is a damn good drink! It tastes like it is unwooded but does see a small proportion of new oak for a short period. The beautiful freshness is due to the tangy acid. It makes the wine look so alive. This wine is certainly gluggable!


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Types of investments
Lloyds Banking Group (LON: LLOY), Britain's biggest mortgage provider, will acquire a minority stake in loyalty app Bink, according to a report by Sky News for an undisclosed amount that may run into millions of pounds. It was also not known how much the transaction valued Bink.
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Eligible customers in over 70 countries can now access decentralized finance services through crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN). Holders of the DAI stablecoin issued by Makerdao may earn attractive yields on their coin.
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Alternative Investments/AI: WisdomTree Launches Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Fund (WTAI)
WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ: WETF) announced Thursday the launch of the WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Fund (WTAI) on the CBOE. The passively managed ETF will track the WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence & Innovation Index. Charging an expense ratio of 0.45%, the fund will offer investors exposure to businesses primarily involved with the theme of AI and innovation.
Venture Capital: Rapid Grocery Delivery Startup Flink Raises $750M
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Artificial Intelligence: Chinese AI Company And IPO-Hopeful SenseTime To Land Up On US Blacklist
In protest against human rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, the US is likely to place SenseTime, the Chinese AI company, on an investment blacklist, the Financial Times reported Thursday. Washington will take the action against SenseTime on Friday, on the occasion of Human Rights Day, and alongside similar steps against a host of other countries, sources familiar with the matter told the FT.
FinTech: Mambu Scores Largest Private Fundraise For A Banking Platform
Mambu is valued at more than $5.3 billion after $266 million Series E raise. SaaS banking platform Mambu raised €235 million (about $266 million) in a Series E round led by EQT Growth that valued the company at €4.9 billion post money (~$5.3 billion). The funding marked the largest ever financing round for a banking…
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The metaverse is catching on fast with stories of plots of virtual land selling for millions of dollars and digital artworks getting snapped up for tens of millions of dollars. The metaverse is, as simply defined by Facebook: "A set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren't in the same physical space as you."
Venture Capital: Israeli Fintech Tipalti ("I Handled It") Nabs $270M At $8.3B Valuation
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It's old, but it's not old fashioned, we're talking about a beautiful love affair between a pen and a piece of paper. Getting our thoughts into writing takes us back thousands of years in history, whether you're a poet, or a sketcher, a writer or just busy in general and like to tick off your to do's… there are no expectations, just a blank piece of paper.
Whilst we're writing online most of the time, we have to admit we're a little bit stationery addicts too and love paper in all its forms… But where does this story leads us? Well, when it comes to a matter of choice, we can certainly help. Created for modern people, Mishmash has come to the rescue!
We're all compelled to talk about minimalism and the power of design and that's exactly what Mishmash stands for. Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes, enhanced by the simplicity of their products and uncluttered design. In the words of its founder Beatriz Barros, Mishmash is 'designing tools to empower the most creative minds', and with a little help from the marketing expert Ricardo Barbosa this university project from Matosinhos started in 2015.
Today they've been invited to produce notebooks for the Guggenheim New York, there are numerous models, adapted to different types of writing. 'I am leaning' is a 30º degree ruled paper notebook that was specially made for those who 'bend' while writing. Isn't that cool? The brand also provides a high level of custom-made stationary, ranging from textures to binding, hard versus soft covers.
You can purchase their products through their online store or in and selected stockists around the world. In Lisbon, Mishmash is available at Icon.
So above all…let's keep it simple!


text:
Sojoez 18A (ook: 18a of 18-1) was een Russische bemande ruimtevlucht uit 1975. Deze missie had als doel te koppelen met ruimtestation Saljoet 4. De Sovjet-Unie gaf deze vlucht geen officieel Sojoeznummer, aangezien de vlucht een voortijdig einde kende. De hierop volgende en wél geslaagde vlucht kreeg het officiële nummer 18 toegewezen.

Russische ruimtestations
De Russische ruimtevaart legde veel nadruk op het gebruik van ruimtestations. Alhoewel enige lanceringen daarvan fout afliepen, beschikten de Sovjets toentertijd bijna constant over een functionerend ruimtestation. De Sovjet-Unie onderhield een regelmatig systeem van ruimtevluchten naar hun Saljoets. Deze vlucht was de tweede naar Saljoet 4. Het was de bedoeling dat de bemanning van Sojoez 18A gedurende twee maanden in het station zou verblijven.

Bemanning en gewicht
Voor deze vlucht kozen de Russen als bemanning een duo, dat reeds eerder een gezamenlijke vlucht maakte. Deze bestond uit gezagvoerder Vasili Lazarev en boordwerktuigkundige Oleg Makarov. Zij maakten samen hun eerste vlucht aan boord van Sojoez 12 om de technische verbeteringen aan de capsule, na de rampzalig verlopen vlucht van Sojoez 11, in de praktijk te beproeven. Lazarev kwam overigens pas bij zijn derde poging door de kosmonauten-keuring. Het vaartuig had een diameter van 2,20 m en een lengte van 7,50 m. Deze Sojoez woog 6830 kg. Ofschoon vele missies in deze begintijd haken en ogen kenden, had de gelijknamige draagraket de overtuigende reputatie van betrouwbaar werkpaard. Echter, op 5 april 1975 kreeg diens conduitestaat een geduchte knauw.

Verloop van de vlucht
Sojoez 18A werd gelanceerd op 5 april 1975 om 11:04 uur UTC met behulp van een Sojoez-draagraket vanaf Bajkonoer. In eerste instantie leek er geen vuiltje aan de lucht en verliep de start voorspoedig. De eerste trap werd op gebruikelijke wijze afgestoten en ook de tweede deed normaal zijn werk. Nadat die was uitgebrand moest deze eveneens worden afgeworpen. Maar dit keer, op T+288,6 (288,6 seconden na lancering) en het bereiken van een hoogte van 145 km, ging het mis. Bijkomend nadeel was dat de ontsnappingstoren in dit stadium van de vlucht reeds was afgeworpen.

De Sojoez-lanceerraket maakte gebruik van explosieve bouten om de verbinding van de derde trap met de tweede te verbreken. Dit geschiedde door zes relais, maar door onverwacht heftige trillingen ontploften drie van de ladingen voortijdig. Sojoez 18A vloog door terwijl de tweede trap er nog aanhing. Toen ontbrandden de motoren van de derde trap. Door dit grof geweld raakte de tweede trap alsnog los, echter tijdens de luttele seconden die dit in beslag nam raakte de raket volledig uit koers. De kosmonauten zagen de zon uit hun zicht verdwijnen maar kregen de tijd niet om zich te verbazen; de rode lamp "Storing in raket" flitste aan en de alarmsirene weerklonk. De neus van de raket boog af en wees omlaag. Sojoez 18A dook naar de grond.

Op T+295, dus ruim zes seconden later, merkten de ingebouwde veiligheidssystemen een ontoelaatbare afwijking van het verwachte koersverloop op. Automatisch begon een voorgeprogrammeerde noodprocedure. Omdat de ontsnappingstoren reeds was afgestoten, benutte Sojoez 18A zijn eigen motoren om zich los te maken van zijn draagraket en de bemanning in veiligheid te brengen. Vervolgens scheidde de landingscapsule zich van het werkcompartiment en motorgondel en viel naar beneden. Doch het feit dat de Sojoez op het moment van separatie reeds richting het aardoppervlak vloog had een akelig effect. De berekende verwachte g-krachten tijdens deze manoeuvre bedroegen 15 g, maar in deze situatie stonden de kosmonauten aan aanzienlijk hogere krachten bloot. Het maximum dat ze moesten verwerken was 21,3 g. Gezagvoerder Lazarev, zelf Doctor of Medicine, verwoordde het zo: "...We ervoeren een drukkend en onplezierig gevoel van g-krachten. Deze werden snel groter en waren veel sterker dan ik verwachtte. Een onzichtbare kracht drukte me in mijn stoel en vulde mijn oogleden met lood. Ademhalen werd hoe langer hoe moeilijker...". Ze waren sterk genoeg om hun ribben te breken en beide kosmonauten hadden last van zwart/wit-zien en kokervisus.

Geland, maar waar?
De remparachute ontplooide zich voorbeeldig, hoewel ook deze aan grotere krachten blootstond dan waar hij oorspronkelijk voor ontworpen was. Na een ultrakorte vlucht van 21 minuten en 27 seconden maakten Lazarev en Makarov een behouden landing, echter hun beproeving was nog lang niet ten einde. Een Sojoez is bolvormig en het onfortuinlijke tweetal plofte neer op een helling, waarna hun capsule omlaag rolde. Er groeiden bomen op de helling, waar hun parachute achter bleef haken en geen moment te vroeg, het was op slechts luttele meters van een 150 meter diepe afgrond. De sneeuw reikte tot hun borst en de temperatuur bedroeg slechts -7° C. Haastig openden de kosmonauten hun overlevingspakket met winterkleding en vroegen zich af waar ze neerkwamen. Op hun oproepen tijdens de afdaling ontvingen ze geen antwoord. Hun koers in aanmerking genomen was het zeer wel mogelijk dat het tweetal zich in China bevond en dat betekende slecht nieuws. In die jaren onderhielden de Sovjet-Unie en de Volksrepubliek absoluut geen warme betrekkingen. Hun vluchttraject bracht hen in de buurt van Sinkiang, waar een jaar eerder de bemanning van een Sovjet helikopter per abuis landde en prompt gearresteerd werd door Chinese militairen. Voor alle zekerheid verbrandde Lazarev daarom enkele militaire documenten. In werkelijkheid landden Lazarev en Makarov in het Altaigebergte bij Aleysk in Zuid-Siberië op een positie van 50° 50' N 83° 25' O, ruim 200 km ten zuiden van Novosibirsk, in de Sovjet-Unie.

Redding
Lokale bewoners zagen de capsule naar beneden komen en kwamen nieuwsgierig een kijkje nemen. Tot hun opluchting hoorden de kosmonauten dat ze Russisch spraken. Korte tijd later nam een reddingshelikopter contact met ze op en bevestigde dat ze in Rusland waren, maar door het moeilijk begaanbare terrein bleek het nog lastig genoeg om de mannen te bereiken. Oorspronkelijk wilde men een medisch team omlaag sturen, maar dit stuitte op een veto van de gewonde Lazarev (zelf een ervaren parachutist). Hij vond de risico's voor het reddingsteam in deze omstandigheden onaanvaardbaar groot. Een ladder vanuit een helikopter bleek te instabiel. Een ander reddingsteam meende de situatie beter in te kunnen schatten dan Lazarev en zag vervolgens een lawine op zich afkomen.

Ten slotte zette een helikopter een gids in de buurt van het duo af, waarna ze enige tijd later werden opgehaald door een andere helikopter.

Volgens Vladimir Sjatalov hielden beide kosmonauten geen nadelige gevolgen aan de landing over, maar dit bleek al spoedig in strijd met de waarheid. Om geruchten te ontkrachten dat ze zouden zijn omgekomen tijdens een crash, kreeg het tweetal de opdracht om een potje American football te spelen met een paar Amerikanen, teneinde de buitenwereld te bewijzen dat ze nog leefden.

Makarov kwam er redelijk goed vanaf en maakte later nog meerdere ruimtevluchten, maar Lazarev liep vrij ernstige interne verwondingen op. Hij herstelde hier niet volledig van en vloog nooit meer als kosmonaut.

Trivia
Gewoonlijk ontving een kosmonaut na iedere vlucht een bonus van 3000 roebel op zijn normale salaris, maar dit keer betaalde de leiding deze niet uit. Lazarev en Makarov weigerden echter om zich hierbij neer te leggen en met succes. Op persoonlijk bevel van Leonid Brezjnev kregen beide onfortuinlijke kosmonauten alsnog wat aan hen toekwam.

Bemand ruimtevaartuig
Sojoezprogramma
Ruimtevaartincident of -ongeluk

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A Fordite Pendant is framed in sterling and is highlighted with a citrine gemstone. It is suspended from a handcrafted Argentium silver and commercial sterling chain with a commercial citrine toggle clasp. 18" long. Pendants is 1 1/2" in length. Fordite is also known as Detroit Agate ". Not really a stone, but the build up of paint overspray found in car manufacturing.


text:
Public Health & Policy > Opioids
House Panel Member Threatens DEA with Subpoena
Agency raises legislator's ire by failing to provide info on opioid 'pill-dumping'
by Shannon Firth, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today October 25, 2017
WASHINGTON -- A member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee threatened to subpoena the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over a request for documents on opioid "pill-dumping" in West Virginia.
The DEA's response to provide the documents to the committee was deemed "unacceptable"and "inexcusable." Specifically, the committee demanded to know why, after 6 months, it hadn't received the names of companies involved in pouring an excessive volume of prescription opioids into rural parts of West Virginia. For example, in the town of Kermit (population 400), 9 million hydrocodone pills were distributed over a 2-year period, according to an article in the Morning Consult.
"This is a very basic question: Who are the suppliers?," said committee chair Sen. Greg Walden (R-Ore.). Walden issued the subpoena threat.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) took Neil Doherty, deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Diversion Control and the DEA witness, to task, stating "I'm going to recommend that we bring the wrath of this committee down on DEA."
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the committee's ranking member said he agreed "with everything [Walden] said."
But Doherty assured the committee that the DEA would "make every effort whatsoever to respond in a timely, timely fashion."
The committee also highlighted concerns that the "Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act," a bipartisan bill passed in 2016 and signed by former President Obama, may have hampered the DEA's ability to combat the opioid crisis. According to an investigation by the Washington Post and "60 Minutes," the legislation made the standard for freezing drug shipments from "imminent danger" to the community to "a substantial likelihood of an immediate threat."
Asked repeatedly whether the law should be repealed, Doherty declined to respond in specifics. "We'd be more than happy to work with Congress ... to ensure that we have the most updated and applicable tools to attacking the opioid crisis," he said.
In addition to the DEA, committee members also heard from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, about what is, and isn't working, to manage the problems of opioid abuse and addiction.
In an opening statement, Gottlieb said that some of the strategies for attacking the crisis might not be popular with healthcare providers, such as mandatory education or restrictions on provider's prescribing. Educational programs should be "short, targeted and focused," he said, rather than a 3-day training session.
The commissioner also outlined steps that the FDA is taking to expand access to treatment for opioid abuse and addiction:
Research on label changes such as the inclusion of an indication for medication-assisted treatment for every person who overdoses
New guidance to product developers to "promote the development of new addiction treatments," which would include "non-abstinence-based endpoints" ( complete recovery would not necessarily be required as an outcome)
Promote existing FDA approved therapies that help curb addiction in conjunction with counseling and other psychosocial supports
Increase awareness around the effectiveness of medication-assisted treatments, and fight the stigma around such therapies
Gottlieb also said plans were in the works to implement other label changes on the duration of treatment for medication-assisted treatment.
"Clinical evidence shows that people may need treatment with medication for long periods of time to achieve a sustained recovery. Some may even need a lifetime treatment," he said.
As for the social stigma around evidence-based therapies for treating addiction -- suboxone, methadone, naltrexone -- it "reflects a view some have that a patient is still suffering from addiction even when they're in full recovery, just because they require medication to treat their illness," he said. This can prevent people struggling with a substance use issues for achieving their recovery goals, he added.
"We should not consider people who hold jobs, re-engage with their families, and regain control over their lives through treatment that uses medications to be addicted ... committee members, we need to embrace long-term treatment with proven therapies to address this crisis," Gottlieb said.


text:
Predator Films »
Topic: Arnold talks about The Predator
Author Topic: Arnold talks about The Predator (Read 42690 times)
Stealth_Hunter
Quote from: Original Predator on Apr 30, 2017, 05:13:26 PM
People to this day (as some posts on this board show) wanted a "Dutch" sequel or story line at least for another movie or two. There is nothing "wrong" with that.
For as much as I wanted that too...I understand the reality of the situation now too much time has passed, the window is likely closed...to tell that story (unless you really wanted to dig deep and fill in the gaps, which Black and Fox don't seem to want to do...which is fine).
I wish everyone had this perspective. But the thread displays more of a "they don't care about what 'most fans' want" argument; a notion I find invalid.
Which is the "struggle" for the fans that wanted the "Dutch story"...the reality is we still want it. We love the Predator, the creature that he is...think he's awesome etc...the fans that want the Dutch-story, don't disregard the Predator...so the "struggle" is moving on...seeing this creature, this could have been story...this big missing peice in the franchise...never coming to be...and "us" having to jump on board with the direction this thing is now going.
Sounds like a dramatic "struggle" of not getting what one wants which becomes petulant by holding today's filmmaker accountable for what didn't happen in 1990.
Keep in mind Alien had worn out the Ripley story...so those fans are allowed to say "okay let's do whatever now". New Universe, new story, this that..."we're good on the Ripley stuff...we got that thing A-Z...we can move on and out..."
Dutch-Predator fans...never got to do that. And it's left a sour taste in our mouth to this day.
And there is nothing "wrong" with that.
Yeah there's nothing inherently wrong with being upset and struggling to face the reality of where the franchise is. I don't think that is the debate. I see something wrong with using baseless claims to say why the decisions being made today aren't proper, especially since fans don't all want Arnold in a central role.
Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Apr 30, 2017, 07:34:22 PM
You can have both.
It comes at a high cost in 2017, unfortunately. Arnold isn't the same in the eyes of audiences.
Because people like going on journeys with characters. Whether it's Ellen Ripley, Indiana Jones, Roland Deschain, the Fast and Furious gang, or Harry Potter, myself and others like investing in characters.
Agreed, that's why I'm looking forward to the new characters Shane is bringing to life.
According to you, Alien was about the character, Predator was about the creature. Look at where that got each franchise.
Though I disagree with you about Predator not being about characters, I don't think the success/failure of its franchise all came down to that one aspect. There's budgets, writing, directing, competition, star power, etc. Plus it's debatable whether following Ripleys journey was even a good thing at all. I found Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection to leave the franchise in a terrible state.
Tell me which one was more successful.
The one that introduced new characters, new storylines and new ideas?
« Last Edit: Apr 30, 2017, 08:45:46 PM by Stealth_Hunter »
BishopShouldGo
I didn't say Predator was about the creature. I said in my post ACCORDING TO YOU.
Say what you will about A3 and A4 but they still brought in tons of money. More than P2 and P3.
And at least Alien had Aliens. Predator never had its Aliens.
Big mistake to not follow Dutch back in the early '90s.
I actually didn't say that, that was Hudafuk. But you used that logic as a basis for your argument. If you don't believe in it, then you don't believe in the argument. So we would be in agreement there.
Low points in the franchise can't be fixed by the extra money studio execs made. And I'm not arguing what should have happened in 1990, I'm arguing what should happen now. Arnold doesn't boost box office results now.
Agreed. And now Alien has Prometheus and Covenant. Movies that didn't need Ripley and introduced new characters and new storylines. It is a good call.
Agreed. But we can only move forward now.
Sure. Ok.
Original Predator
Nothing "dramatic"... about "the struggle" (lol, it does sound funny) just saying there is a reason there is a "catch" when it comes to fully embracing the current state and near future of Predator. Black is not accountable to me or any particular fan...I'm not ignorant enough to think that. I'm also fully aware of what Fox wants, which will drive what Black does...
It seems to be a theme tho, that if those in the "Dutch-Pred" camp, don't fully say "awesome!" and run around like a kid in a candy store to this new Pred movie, that they are somehow flawed or "wrong" etc...
Which is not the case. Believe it or not I'm pro "Dutch-Pred" but will support Black, his movie, and root for the characters he's chosen.
Nothing "dramatic"... about "the struggle" (lol, it does sound funny) just saying there is a reason there is a "catch" when it comes to fully embracing the current state and near future of Predator.
Ah I see what you mean. The feelings are justified but I don't think all actions (of some here) fueled by those feelings are. Comments like "Shane doesn't care what fans want," "Shame on Black," "cheerleading brings nothing but crap to the table," and "Predators flopped because Arnold wasn't in it" are just ignorant for reasons already explained.
Black is not accountable to me or any particular fan...I'm not ignorant enough to think that. I'm also fully aware of what Fox wants, which will drive what Black does...
You don't think Black will be making the film he wants to make?
Arguments are thought out, explained, and discussed here. If you say people are "somehow" wrong it's probably because certain arguments make more sense than others. I don't think anyone is ever just deemed wrong and it's left at that. But if you're asking me to not call people's logic flawed, you'll have to be more specific on which arguments those are. I really don't see any "kids in candy stores" who think this will be a guaranteed hit, though. Just people who are optimistic and others who can't see a behind the scenes set photo without calling a kid "smug" and "pathetic."
Believe it or not I'm pro "Dutch-Pred" but will support Black, his movie, and root for the characters he's chosen.
I'm a pro "Dutch-Pred" guy too in that I like Dutch and wish we had sequels with him. But what good does it do to dwell on what could have been in 1990 when it's 2017 right now?
Lieutenant Mike Harrigan
All I'm saying is that Arnold turned down Pred 2 to do Total Recall. This was a "Dutch" story to begin with. Not a Predator story...Not what it's morphed into today.
People to this day (as some posts on this board show) wanted a "Dutch" sequel or story line at least for another movie or two. There is nothing "wrong" with that. For as much as I wanted that too...I understand the reality of the situation now too much time has passed, the window is likely closed...to tell that story (unless you really wanted to dig deep and fill in the gaps, which Black and Fox don't seem to want to do...which is fine). Which is the "struggle" for the fans that wanted the "Dutch story"...the reality is we still want it. We love the Predator, the creature that he is...think he's awesome etc...the fans that want the Dutch-story, don't disregard the Predator...so the "struggle" is moving on...seeing this creature, this could have been story...this big missing peice in the franchise...never coming to be...and "us" having to jump on board with the direction this thing is now going.
That is a post i can agree with. Glad you posted this. I've always wanted to see Dutch comeback and now is probably the last chance to get it before Arnold retires from acting.
Please get Arnold!
SpeedyMaxx
We'd all love to see Dutch. Shane Black would love to use Dutch. But I don't fault Black for not writing the movie around Arnold who is what, in his 70s? This is a new start for the franchise and needs new leads. Arnold was supposed to have a plum role going forward should the film succeed. If he chooses to be a part of it I'll be thrilled and I know Shane Black would be as well.
I serve the Justice that dwells in me
Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on May 01, 2017, 03:49:33 AM
Highly Seconded!!
What kind of role was he supposed to have that gets bigger in sequels? Nothing but some sort of tactical adviser comes to mind.
Quote from: overthere on May 01, 2017, 11:11:52 AM
That's what I was wondering once I found that out too.
He's not getting any younger. So you'd think it would be a now or never thing. Do the whole-lead-A-team bit now, and fill in the back story at the beginning of the movie. But for Arnold to show up with 5 mins left...(he'd be 71 by the time the scene happens via the release next year), add 2-4 years for the next Pred movie that he's sposed to be in....and he's now 72-75...yikes.
If anything, have him in the beginning of the movie....to "retire" and transition his team to a new leader (Holbrook) vs. the original plan...(Have some sort of scene where him and his team are at some retirement "party" so to speak...after a mission...etc...then maybe he shows up in the last 5 mins of the movie....for a final death blow, or to "help" with the final "death blow.."... drop a last line...then be done).
« Last Edit: May 01, 2017, 02:54:49 PM by Original Predator »
There's loads of different ways to include him for sure: I always liked the "Ripley" idea where tells the team who are sent to deal with it that they have "no idea what you dealing with here."
But he was pretty unequivocal: he wants a big role or no role - which is a shame as you'd have thought he'd be up for a bit of fan-service. But I think we can all agree - as awesome as it would be - he doesn't need this movie. Indeed, he doesn't need any movie, only those that he chooses to do.
I bet he's lying and deliberately having us believe he's not a part of this movie so the surprise is bigger.
Hope springs eternal - that'd be ace if it pans out to be true!
Yeah that would be cool. Someone who they call in to train the troops.


text:
#if !defined(WIN32)
#include <sys/stat.h>
#endif

#include <osquery/filesystem.h>
#include <osquery/logger.h>
#include <osquery/tables.h>

#include "osquery/filesystem/fileops.h"

namespace fs = boost::filesystem;

namespace osquery {

namespace tables {

#if !defined(WIN32)

const std::map<fs::file_type, std::string> kTypeNames{
    {fs::regular_file, "regular"},
    {fs::directory_file, "directory"},
    {fs::symlink_file, "symlink"},
    {fs::block_file, "block"},
    {fs::character_file, "character"},
    {fs::fifo_file, "fifo"},
    {fs::socket_file, "socket"},
    {fs::type_unknown, "unknown"},
    {fs::status_error, "error"},
};

#endif

void genFileInfo(const fs::path& path,
                 const fs::path& parent,
                 const std::string& pattern,
                 QueryData& results) {
  // Must provide the path, filename, directory separate from boost path->string
  // helpers to match any explicit (query-parsed) predicate constraints.

  Row r;
  r["path"] = path.string();
  r["filename"] = path.filename().string();
  r["directory"] = parent.string();
  r["symlink"] = "0";

#if !defined(WIN32)

  struct stat file_stat;

  // On POSIX systems, first check the link state.
  struct stat link_stat;
  if (lstat(path.string().c_str(), &link_stat) < 0) {
    // Path was not real, had too may links, or could not be accessed.
    return;
  }
  if (S_ISLNK(link_stat.st_mode)) {
    r["symlink"] = "1";
  }

  if (stat(path.string().c_str(), &file_stat)) {
    file_stat = link_stat;
  }

  r["inode"] = BIGINT(file_stat.st_ino);
  r["uid"] = BIGINT(file_stat.st_uid);
  r["gid"] = BIGINT(file_stat.st_gid);
  r["mode"] = lsperms(file_stat.st_mode);
  r["device"] = BIGINT(file_stat.st_rdev);
  r["size"] = BIGINT(file_stat.st_size);
  r["block_size"] = INTEGER(file_stat.st_blksize);
  r["hard_links"] = INTEGER(file_stat.st_nlink);

  r["atime"] = BIGINT(file_stat.st_atime);
  r["mtime"] = BIGINT(file_stat.st_mtime);
  r["ctime"] = BIGINT(file_stat.st_ctime);

#if defined(__linux__)
  // No 'birth' or create time in Linux or Windows.
  r["btime"] = "0";
#else
  r["btime"] = BIGINT(file_stat.st_birthtimespec.tv_sec);
#endif

  // Type booleans
  boost::system::error_code ec;
  auto status = fs::status(path, ec);
  if (kTypeNames.count(status.type())) {
    r["type"] = kTypeNames.at(status.type());
  } else {
    r["type"] = "unknown";
  }

#else

  WINDOWS_STAT file_stat;

  auto rtn = platformStat(path, &file_stat);
  if (!rtn.ok()) {
    VLOG(1) << "PlatformStat failed with " << rtn.getMessage();
    return;
  }

  r["symlink"] = INTEGER(file_stat.symlink);
  r["inode"] = BIGINT(file_stat.inode);
  r["uid"] = BIGINT(file_stat.uid);
  r["gid"] = BIGINT(file_stat.gid);
  r["mode"] = TEXT(file_stat.mode);
  r["device"] = BIGINT(file_stat.device);
  r["size"] = BIGINT(file_stat.size);
  r["block_size"] = INTEGER(file_stat.block_size);
  r["hard_links"] = INTEGER(file_stat.hard_links);
  r["atime"] = BIGINT(file_stat.atime);
  r["mtime"] = BIGINT(file_stat.mtime);
  r["ctime"] = BIGINT(file_stat.ctime);
  r["btime"] = BIGINT(file_stat.btime);
  r["type"] = TEXT(file_stat.type);
  r["attributes"] = TEXT(file_stat.attributes);
  r["file_id"] = TEXT(file_stat.file_id);
  r["volume_serial"] = TEXT(file_stat.volume_serial);

#endif

  results.push_back(r);
}

QueryData genFile(QueryContext& context) {
  QueryData results;

  // Resolve file paths for EQUALS and LIKE operations.
  auto paths = context.constraints["path"].getAll(EQUALS);
  context.expandConstraints(
      "path",
      LIKE,
      paths,
      ([&](const std::string& pattern, std::set<std::string>& out) {
        std::vector<std::string> patterns;
        auto status =
            resolveFilePattern(pattern, patterns, GLOB_ALL | GLOB_NO_CANON);
        if (status.ok()) {
          for (const auto& resolved : patterns) {
            out.insert(resolved);
          }
        }
        return status;
      }));

  // Iterate through each of the resolved/supplied paths.
  for (const auto& path_string : paths) {
    fs::path path = path_string;
    genFileInfo(path, path.parent_path(), "", results);
  }

  // Resolve directories for EQUALS and LIKE operations.
  auto directories = context.constraints["directory"].getAll(EQUALS);
  context.expandConstraints(
      "directory",
      LIKE,
      directories,
      ([&](const std::string& pattern, std::set<std::string>& out) {
        std::vector<std::string> patterns;
        auto status =
            resolveFilePattern(pattern, patterns, GLOB_FOLDERS | GLOB_NO_CANON);
        if (status.ok()) {
          for (const auto& resolved : patterns) {
            out.insert(resolved);
          }
        }
        return status;
      }));

  // Now loop through constraints using the directory column constraint.
  for (const auto& directory_string : directories) {
    if (!isReadable(directory_string) || !isDirectory(directory_string)) {
      continue;
    }

    try {
      // Iterate over the directory and generate info for each regular file.
      fs::directory_iterator begin(directory_string), end;
      for (; begin != end; ++begin) {
        genFileInfo(begin->path(), directory_string, "", results);
      }
    } catch (const fs::filesystem_error& /* e */) {
      continue;
    }
  }

  return results;
}
}
} // namespace osquery

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub