#and have spent about 500 out of 1000 pages | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ohblackdiamond · 1 month

Text

the story of mandate (conclusion)

Part I is here. Here is the completely signed magazine.

I went to a Paul event thanks to my dear friend @elrohare and I was a woman on a mission. This was my holy grail, my twelve labors of Hercules, my ultimate sacrifice of good sense, my Mandate, if you will. Paul is a man of constant sorrow who's seen trouble all his days. Paul had not known trouble until he saw my face again a mere two months after his last time.

Unlike Gene, who will randomly set a date to hand out his crap for hilarious prices, Ace, who will appear at any 500-1000 seater across the country and balefully advertise his meet and greets onstage, and Peter, who will roll out of bed every six months for a horror convention, Paul does his events at Wentworth galleries across the country. Paul is basically like Pokemon Red's Porygon. You can get him, but he'll take everything you have.

I was prepared. I had done the legwork and the paperwork. Part of my purchase included an autographed item. (Please note that this is not nearly the entirety of the, uh, Paul Stanley Experience, if you will-- this is only the Mandate aspect of it. There was more!)

Paul remembered both of us. "It's been awhile."

"Yeah, couple months, since February, yeah." I'm actually sort of not shocked he remembered us since neither of us look like typical KISS fans. There is also a very large height difference between us, so we are distinctive. We talk. I manage some conversation, some of which is sort of funny. But I'm not here to provide Paul with wit and candor. I'm here for Mandate, which he has already by that point seen the back of even with me trying to cover the naked men in the tub with my phone. He has already also seen the front of it, with its doodled-on-by-Gene cover. He has seen it open, because I had to set it down in order for us to take our picture together. He has probably spent the whole rest of our conversation leading up to this determining what to say to the lone weirdo that has not given him RARO, his solo album, his other solo album, the KISS comic book (mint condition), or various and sundry other KISS collectibles.

He has hit on it. He gestures to the president of Wentworth who is, incidentally, the one that's borrowing my phone to take our pictures. He comes closer as Paul shows him the magazine, along with me.

"Gene drew on it [the front cover of my copy]," I say.

"Mandate... this is the very first magazine we were ever in." (Peter said the same thing in his first book. They are both technically incorrect, but far be it from me to correct Paul Stanley on things that happened before I was born-- and to be honest, knowing what I know about how slow it could end up being to go from writing a feature for a monthly magazine to it actually being published, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they'd done the magazine some months prior to it being on the shelves).

"Our manager at the time said he could get us into a magazine. We didn't know it was a gay magazine. I mean, whatever you're into, but... ["I wasn't," basically, though I don't know if he said those two words specifically]....." as he flips, completely needlessly, through the pictures, sort of slowly, until he gets to page eight and page nine, where all three of his bandmates have signed in black Sharpie. "Of course, they blew me [the photo] up. ... And Gene drew on it."

I finally manage to pipe up.

"Yeah, Gene texted you about it, purportedly, anyway...."

"Yeah, he did."

"He did? Really?"

He looked like he was weirdly thoughtful. Well, sounded like he was. Maybe even a little bit amused. I had a hard time looking too hard at him while this was going on, and I found myself looking more at the naked men he was flipping through. But I had my plan and I would not be too distracted. I had brought my own black Sharpie, since I knew he had a penchant for signing in silver (this is because his Wentworth artwork always comes with an inscription on black paper that he writes on in silver). The Sharpie was right there and, possibly because he was keenly aware of my level of distress at the thought of Mandate being signed in a different color, he obediently took it and signed it and shut it, and handed it back to me. My smile could've broken through my dimples.

Triumph complete. Thank you, @elrohare for again allowing me the pleasure of coming with, and I was glad to plus-one and for once, return the favor.

Thank you, Mr. Paul Stanley of KISS. And thank you to Peter, Gene (especially Gene!), and Ace. I hope Mandate gave you all an unexpected blast from the past, and I really wish I'd told Paul that Peter quite appreciated the ass on the guy on the front cover. Maybe next time.

#kiss the band #paul stanley #peter criss #ace frehley #mandate magazine #gene simmons

31 notes · View notes

tranquil-slaughterhouse · 2 years

Text

Well, it's been two years since Hazbin Hotel entered my life. Time to reflect on how my experience with it came to be.

It's a long one btw.

I have to confess that without Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, I would've abandoned this blog (and only mode of social media) some time after Steven Universe and SPOP ended.

Back then with a minuscule number of followers (around 69 at the time) in mid 2020 I thought for a long time that if I reblogged art which had a few notes it wouldn't have made a difference compared to popular users reblogging the same art. I was also reluctant to reblog popular fanart back in the day because if my very few followers had possibly seen and liked/reblogged said art why should I bother doing so? Back then I was attempting to make shitposts, plot guesses, and new episode titles & summary reports and hope that people would see and like it.

But back when there was drama surrounding Hazbin Hotel and its creator (which still persists to this day sadly) I initially stayed away from it, worrying that I may end up possibly liking it and have feelings of shame and fear (from people who would be surprised and pissed if I talked about it in a positive way on their dash). But the urge to see the pilot grew more and more stronger every day (especially when during that time I was enjoying Thundercats Roar as a guilty pleasure). So one day I decided to check the video and judge it for myself.

And it pulled me in.

Its world, aesthetic, characters, and humorous lines & moments got my brain working like crazy to imagine which demon would do this and what happens when a sinner did that and how society in Hell (especially comparing Pride to the other rings) and Heaven would be like in a regular day.

Initially it became my guilty pleasure but gradually it became my unashamed fixation, with Angel Dust as my main blorbo. And when it came to reblogging art I first had the Hazbin posts set to private and sandwiched between SPOP fanart before deprivatizing them when they're in the second page of the blog (or close to it) so it wouldn't shock followers. But then one day I decided to just reblog them out in the open (nowadays it's just queuing them) no longer having the fear of shame looming over me. It also led me to reblogging fanart of other blorbos (mainly Aaravos and Horde Prime). Being in a small fandom on this site with the fanart-reblogging along with the memes and incorrect quotes and other shitposting I've made relating to the Hellaverse (and The Owl House the next year) slowly but surely I gained new followers (and even mutuals) which made time spent on this blog worthwhile. I'm almost back to the 420 follower mark as of this writing.

And in two years I've went from 5 posts in drafts to 1000 in 2020 to 2000 in 2021 to 7000+ this year! Packed with fanart. Some popular while others haven't reached the 100 (or 500) note mark.

So in a span of two years I went from an insecure nobody to at least a somebody who's somewhat still insecure. All thanks to Hazbin Hotel.

So thank you @vivziepop , for your work. Can't wait to see what the future brings for your two shows. But I'll be patient. Get well soon on your break.

#hazbin hotel #helluva boss #vivziepop #we love you vivziepop #weloveyouvivziepop #long post

6 notes · View notes

tomreview · 11 months

Text

Resurgence 2.0 Virtually unknown

Revealed: Secret Resurgence 2.0 Strategy That "Re-Creates" Our Pay For quite a while As a matter of course for a very long time

It's Making Us $1000 Day to day Latently,

This is The way You Can Reproduce

Our Progress In Only 30 Minutes*

Mechanized Framework - NO TECH Abilities - NO Difficult WORK

The quickest results you've at any point seen...

For all intents and purposes obscure, spic and span strategy with full preparation...

Working faultlessly in 2023 and then some...

No Tech Abilities Required

Straightforward Mechanized Plug In Cycle

Works for the two amateurs and experienced advertisers...

Everything necessary is 30 minutes to make Resurgence 2.0 ready...

Obtain results or we'll give you each penny back happily

Indeed, I Need Resurgence 2.0!

Internet Marketer Mike Rizzitiello: "Don't skip this. Really. I honestly believe that these strategies are the quickest and easiest to implement I've seen thus far. With this information, anyone can make money online!"

Dan Khan

Web Advertiser

"Resurgence 2.0 is a progressive item that will fix all your web showcasing issues. I always had trouble growing my list and earning commissions prior to Resurgence 2.0. Yet, presently, Resurgence 2.0 has sped up my development by multiple times and permitted me to arrive at new levels in my web promoting vocation. Very grateful to James and Imprint for this astonishing item!"

One of the few items that I highly recommend to my clients is Luther Landro Internet Marketer Resurgence 2.0. Imprint and James' strategies are not difficult to carry out for amateurs and have 6-7 figure potential for experienced advertisers.

I've been able to increase the monthly sales of my online business to more than $100,000 thanks to the Resurgence 2.0 strategies.

The evidence is in the pudding. Can you imagine receiving notifications like these?

Listen, I understand how awful it is to log into your affiliate account.

as well as observing the dreaded zeros.

Particularly after you've worked really hard, and put away huge amounts of cash.

It can really take a toll on you. What if there was a way to completely change that? What if there was a way to wake up to your account full of affiliate commissions? You’re about to find that way. We use it ourselves to earn $500-1,000 or more per day. Dear Overworked Marketer, I don't know who you are, but I can guess why you came to this page.

Allow me to ask you…

Is it true or not that you are still watching out for a method for bringing in cash on the web? Do you need to do it or could something go wrong?

I get it… It's normal to have individuals depending on you.

Kin, Guardians, Cousins, Dear Companions.

So I comprehend how critical it is for you to begin bringing in cash on the web...

Hello, it's

Mark Barrett and James here…

It wasn't so much that quite a while in the past when I was in a comparable situation as you.

attempting to make money online by trying what seems to be everything.

I had three kids and a wife to feed, and I was desperate to get things moving. I also lost my job and needed money quickly!

I still remember like it was yesterday when I was fired without notice: "Mark, due to some budget cuts we are unfortunately having to lay you off."

I almost leaped out of my skin.

I was out of a task and had vast bills coming in…

My home loan

My vehicle installment

My boat installment

My Visa installment

I needed to take care of my desperate circumstance...

So I Admired The Web For

WAYS Of bringing in Cash On the web

Despite the fact that I made a couple of commissions to a great extent, it was offset by colossal promotion costs.

So basically, I spent $1,000 to earn $200.

What a defeat!

Nonetheless, I did not give up. I had to find a way to work for my wife and children.

However at that point out of nowhere, I found something extremist...

The Insane Part?

It was so easy that a 10-year-old could set it up in 30 minutes with little effort and no technical knowledge.

I pinched myself at times, thinking I was dreaming.

But it was true—I had cracked the code to online earning.

I Was Shocked By The Outcomes and

Let My Companion James Test It Out…

Just to ensure this was certainly not an irregular accident, I showed my buddy James the strategy.

He put it into action in 30 minutes, when in reality it only took him 20 minutes.

This happened the following day.

BANG! $408.09 In Commissions

I need to clarify that James had never brought in any cash online before this. He is a complete and utter novice. This indicated to me that I had access to something powerful.

Now let's get to the big issue at hand: Are you wondering, "Can I Do This Too?"

Well, you can, yes.

Since you're going to get to the very strategy that we're utilizing…

The very straightforward technique that for all intents and purposes no one knows about.

Remember that it doesn't get any easier than this, so virtually anyone can make it work. All that is required is to follow the straightforward procedure we use every day. What's the Best Part?

You Won't Need…

Costly Techniques

Chatbots

Google Promotions

Bing Promotions

Facebook Promotions

Tedious Techniques

To Spam Web-based Entertainment

To Make Recordings

The magnificence of this technique is that it includes nothing intricate or costly,

also, that is the reason it works like gangbusters...

*YOUR TURN*

Enact The Resurgence 2.0 Technique With...

3 Basic Advances

PICK A Demonstrated Proposition

We'll show you our demonstrated technique for finding winning member offers, and how to get supported regardless of whether you're a novice

Shoot IT WITH TRAFFIC

Essentially follow the means we show you to begin getting traffic to your connections

Unwind and ENJOY*

This is the tomfoolery part... when individuals start to see your offers.... there's nothing else for you to do... simply pause for a moment or two and partake in the benefits.

RINSE & REPEAT (OPTIONAL) Repeat the three steps and continue banking This Could Be Your... AFFILIATE ACCOUNT *These results were obtained directly from the Resurgence 2.0 method. You’ve Come To The Right Place At The Right Time... I don't know about you, but it's a pain to miss out on anything.

to miss out on investing in Bitcoin or Ethereum while others succeed... Unfortunately, success is largely due to luck and timing. The good news? You have done precisely that; you have discovered the same strategy we use to earn $500 to $1,000 daily with little effort.

To make money online, you'll never need anything else. which, in turn, enables you to lead a life of tranquility—one in which you are not required to live on a limited budget. At the point when I need to purchase something, I can get it.

Isn't that how you want to live your life?

Now is your opportunity to do just that...

0 notes

selfdefensegearco · 7 years

Photo

Check Out This Fantastic Post Just Published on https://selfdefensegearco.com/personal-protection/why-incremental-improvement-of-defensive-handguns-is-important-and-why-it-isnt/

Why Incremental Improvement of Defensive Handguns is Important and why it isn’t.

It seems that someone in the IT department at Academy Sports clicked publish instead of draft on the sales page of the yet to be released new handgun: The Smith & Wesson M&P M2.0. The very likely possibility that S&W has revamped their flagship automatic has the interwebs a buzz with anticipation. Of course, no one is really sure about anything as there has been no announcement from Smith & Wesson and the leaked information from Academy’s sales page was vague. But that won’t stop everyone from beaming with anticipation. I like a new handgun just as much as the next gun enthusiast especially when the pistol touts improvements that will increase the performance of the gun. So a major revision is a good thing, right? As with most product introductions, there doesn’t seem to be much that is revolutionary with the new M&P. Instead the changes seem to be evolutionary. So what’s the big deal? Efficiency When dealing with a spontaneous violent attack efficiency is important. We want to solve the problem of the attack with as little time, effort and energy as possible. The faster we end the attack, the less likely we are to experience the negative consequences of violence. We would be silly to ignore the fact that the efficiency of our tools can help us to respond more efficiently. The M2.0 from S&W shares major characteristics with its predecessor the M&P 9. It’s a 17 round striker-fired gun and I’m guessing it will use the same reliable M&P magazines. According to the listing and congruent with the new S&W Shield in 45 ACP the grip has a new enhanced and more aggressive texturing. Improving the texturing on the grip of the M&P is a good thing. Humans have a natural tendency to grip our tools fiercely. It is how we have survived dangerous situations against foes for thousands of years, by holding on to our fighting tools. Improving the grip surface to make it easier to hold on to only makes sense and has the potential to be a solid improvement in efficiency in a violent encounter. Another area that is potentially being improved is the trigger. A decent trigger is an important part of a defensive handgun. The trigger needs to be pressed straight to the rear without disturbing the gun. A good trigger can make that easier to accomplish especially since the trigger press is an unnatural part of using a gun for defense. An improvement in the trigger press and in the texture of the grip have the potential to increase the efficiency of your handgun and that is a good thing. You see, selecting the most efficient defensive handgun is a choice that you can make long before you are ever involved in a violent encounter that could have an impact on the outcome of the event. The right defensive handgun can improve your chances long before the altercation. There is no doubt that is the case. At the same time, you have to ask yourself, “Is the cost of investing in a new gun worth these incremental upgrades?” For most folks I say that the answer is no. Assuming that a new M2.0 is going to cost you around $500, I think that money could better spent if your goal is improvement. For $300 you could find at least a day of quality defensive shooting instruction (maybe even 2) and the remaining cash could be spent on 1000 rounds of 9mm. Think about how much stronger your grip and how much smother your trigger press could be after the investment of some training and time on the range in serious practice. I think that resources invested in ammunition and instruction can have a more significant impact on the outcome of a violent encounter than the incremental changes in the M&P series pistols. Invest your resources on improving you, not your handgun. Over the course of years the evolutionary changes that we see regularly in defensive handguns can really add up to revolution and that is a great thing. The difference between a semi-auto in 1975 and its current day descendants is great and can’t be ignored, but I will also argue that an individual that was dedicated to training with that 20th century blaster for 40 years would be a force to reckon with regardless of the gun in their hand. Sometimes there are revolutionary changes in the defensive gun world. Chasing incremental equipment improvements is fun because you get to hold something new in your hand, however, if you really want to own something new, invest in yourself. Instead of buying the newest whiz bang gun spend your money on training and practice. When you consistently invest in your abilities it will become incredibly clear how trivial short term evolutionary changes in handgun design are when it comes to defensive use. -Paul Carlson The post Why Incremental Improvement of Defensive Handguns is Important and why it isn’t. appeared first on Personal Defense Network.

0 notes

arcticdementor · 3 years

Link

[This is the fourteenth of many finalists in the book review contest. It’s not by me - it’s by an ACX reader who will remain anonymous until after voting is done, to prevent their identity from influencing your decisions. I’ll be posting about two of these a week for several months. When you’ve read all of them, I’ll ask you to vote for your favorite, so remember which ones you liked. If you like reading these reviews, check out point 3 here for a way you can help move the contest forward by reading lots more of them - SA]

What went wrong in the 1970s? Since then, growth and productivity have slowed, average wages are stagnant, visible progress in the world of "atoms" has practically stopped - the Great Stagnation. About the only thing that has gone well are computers. How is it that we went from the typewriter to the smartphone, but we're still using practically the same cars and airplanes?

"Where is my Flying Car?", by J. Storrs Hall, is an attempt to answer that question. His answer is: the Great Stagnation was caused by energy usage flatlining, which was caused by our failure to switch to nuclear energy, which was caused by excessive regulation, which was caused by "green fundamentalism".

…

Before reading this book, I thought flying cars were just technologically infeasible, because flying takes too much energy. But Hall says we can and have built them ever since the 1930s. They got interrupted by the Great Depression (people were too poor to buy private airplanes), then WWII (airplanes were directed towards the war effort, not the market), then regulation mostly killed the private aviation industry. But technical feasibility was never the problem.

Hall spends a huge fraction of the book on pretty detailed technical discussion of flying cars. For example: the key technical issue is takeoff and landing, and there is a tough tradeoff between convenient takeoff/landing and airspeed (and cost, and ease of operation). It’s interesting reading. But let’s return to the larger issue of nuclear power.

Nuclear power started off well; “the cost of nuclear plants was decreasing by about 25% for each doubling of capacity in the 50s and 60s”. Then, in 1977, Jimmy Carter established the Department of Energy. Costs immediately skyrocketed, and never came back down. It’s hard to briefly convey the regulatory issues because it’s death by a thousand cuts.

…

Why is regulation so crippling? The public is wrongly terrified of nuclear energy, but they shouldn’t be. Radiation killed 0 people at Fukishima; the radiophobic evacuation killed >1000 (“Some 1600 of the evacuees died from causes ranging from privation in refugee camps (notably loss of access to health care) to suicide”), and the tsunami/earthquake killed >10000. Hall quotes an estimate from the Guardian that Chernobyl - by far the most serious nuclear disaster - killed “approximately” 43 people.

Why are people so terrified? Hall says we were a victim of our own success from World War II. Before the War, America was an individualistic nation. Then came the Depression, the New Deal, and most of all the War. America won the war with a “completely centralized bureaucratic government structure” - and it was a huge success. And for a while, that worked: the generation forged in the war had a “cooperative “same boat” spirit” that “[made] the centralized corporate structures work.” But then it didn’t. Hall blames the hippies:

“The Baby Boomers—my generation—split into two cultures which, as far as I can see, not only didn’t agree on values but which fundamentally couldn’t even understand each other. Ask any Boomer what was the greatest, most pivotal event of 1969. Half of us will say the Apollo 11 moon landing. The other half will say Woodstock. Both sets, hearing the other’s opinion, will emit an honestly uncomprehending “Huh!?!?” From the Fifties to the Seventies, the average American followed the lifecycle of Sinclair Lewis’ Babbitt from conformity and cooperation to non-conformist rebellion in a search for personal meaning. The corporate state worked with the cooperating, self-sacrificing Greatest Generation. It didn’t work so well with Aquarians.”

His theory, basically, is that the next generation - the Baby Boomers - got spoiled. Automation had come into its own, and people didn’t need to struggle for survival anymore. America was on top of the world, and there weren’t enough real challenges to work on. But people need challenges. So they made some up.

Hall says the most damaging strain, still common today, is “green fundamentalism”, the idea that human agency over nature is fundamentally bad. An early example is Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, which got DDT banned on the grounds that it was causing cancer; in reality the cancer increase was from smoking, and from technology improving living conditions (the healthier you are, the more likely you’ll survive long enough to get killed by cancer). “The Green religion has essentially superceded Christianity as the default religion of western civilization, especially in academic circles”. Hall is dismissive of climate change, citing an estimate that it will cost only a few percentage of GDP by 2100 even in the worst case. (This is something that always confused me; there’s such a big gap between quantitative economic estimates of climate change and qualitative ones. My impression is the quantitative ones are way too optimistic. Hall does not agree with me). Anyway, he says, climate change is all the more reason to embrace clean nuclear power and flying cars (highways use a lot of land; if flying cars replaced highways, that land could be returned to nature).

The upshot is there is strong intellectual skepticism about increasing energy usage. As government has taken much more centralized power, “we have let complacent nay-sayers metamorphose from pundits uttering ‘It can’t be done’ predictions a century ago, into bureaucrats uttering ‘It won’t be done’ prescriptions today.” As a result, “a lot of inventiveness and engineering resources got shifted from doing new things, and doing things better, to doing the same old things, usually not as well, but using less energy.” Our machines use less energy, but they don’t work any better. Is single-mindedly improving efficiency really the best use of our time? And anyway, the efficiency gains - while real - are basically on the same trendline as they were before all this regulation. The difference is that we used to have efficiency *and* more energy every year; now all we get is efficiency. The twin tragedies are that so many talented people went into activism instead of engineering, and that the activism was so often opposed to progress.

…

Hall blames public funding for science. Not just for nanotech, but for actually hurting progress in general. (I’ve never heard anyone before say government-funded science was bad for science!) “[The] great innovations that made the major quality-of-life improvements came largely before 1960: refrigerators, freezers, vacuum cleaners, gas and electric stoves, and washing machines; indoor plumbing, detergent, and deodorants; electric lights; cars, trucks, and buses; tractors and combines; fertilizer; air travel, containerized freight, the vacuum tube and the transistor; the telegraph, telephone, phonograph, movies, radio, and television—and they were all developed privately.” “A survey and analysis performed by the OECD in 2005 found, to their surprise, that while private R&D had a positive 0.26 correlation with economic growth, government funded R&D had a negative 0.37 correlation!” “Centralized funding of an intellectual elite makes it easier for cadres, cliques, and the politically skilled to gain control of a field, and they by their nature are resistant to new, outside, non-Ptolemaic ideas.” This is what happened to nanotech; there was a huge amount of buzz, culminating in $500 million dollars of funding under Clinton in 1990. This huge prize kicked off an academic civil war, and the fledgling field of nanotech lost hard to the more established field of material science. Material science rebranded as “nanotech”, trashed the reputation of actual nanotech (to make sure they won the competition for the grant money), and took all the funding for themselves. Nanotech never recovered.

Flying cars didn’t have the same issues; they were being developed privately. But regulation doomed them. Harold Pitcairn was almost successful in developing a flying car, but then in World War II the government nationalized his helicopter patents (they promised to give them back after the war, but reneged) and he spent the rest of his life in court. He won, 17 years after his death. Bruce Hallock had a promising design, but he sold a plane to a missionary group in Peru and was arrested as an “arms trafficker”. Robert Fulton had a successful prototype, “however, Fulton’s financial backers had become discouraged with the seemingly endless expense of meeting government production standards, and they withdrew their support.” Molt Taylor “was actually in serious negotiations with Ford as late as 1975 to have the Aerocar mass-produced. The monkeywrench was thrown into the negotiations by the FAA and the DOT. Taylor already had an airworthiness certificate for the Aerocar, granted by the CAA (predecessor of the FAA) after a delay of 7 years from its first flight. He claims that the agencies turned thumbs down on the Aerocar ‘because everybody would have one, and we couldn’t handle the [air] traffic.’ Airplane regulation has only gotten stricter: “The entire F.A.R. / A.I.M., which every airman is responsible for knowing, is 1085 pages long. At least it was in 2013; a new one comes out every year.” So in the end, we have none of these technologies. No flying cars, even though they were prototyped almost a hundred years ago. Some nuclear energy, but crippled, aged, feared, and hated. 3D printing, but no nanotech. No level 5. Because the state needs legibility, and progress is not legible. The bureaucratic incentives are to calcify. If no one does anything new, no one will do anything wrong.

…

The book is 550 pages long, so there’s a lot I didn’t cover. I thought the political/social analysis was its weakest aspect, basically a strongly worded but conventional version of the libertarian case against regulation, although I appreciated the detailed examples of how regulation harmed flying cars and nanotechnology (And I’ll admit I haven’t heard the libertarian case against funding science before!). I’m more convinced than ever that not embracing nuclear power was one of humanity’s worst mistakes (partially because I’m more afraid of climate change than Hall is). I found the book most valuable as a statement of “definite optimism” - a concrete vision of attainable yet extraordinary technological progress. I recommend it on that basis.

#read the whole thing #book review #where's my flying car?#j storrs hall #substack

6 notes · View notes

partly-cloudyskies · 3 years

Note

1, 12, 16, 18 + one I didnt pick but you secretly want to talk about

This has run long so I’m putting it under a break. Some thought about my current writing projects, an old abandoned project and, uh, word counts below!

1) Welp I got three WIPs:

This is How We Grow: My first real attempt to fully commit to the heightened romance and emotion of an idealized pastoral setting but sometimes there are shadow monsters plus this also acts as an excuse to see more of Soup’s weblena art.

The Longest Shadows: A future fic where Lena becomes a badass shadow witch and Webby learns that the McDuck legacy is a complicated thing rather than the unalloyed good that she unthinkingly embraced as a youth (Yeah how you doin season 3).

The Glass Factory: A Maebea NITW AU where Mae and Bea find and cling to each other out of a shared sense of alienation as they bear witness to an economically depressed city in its final moments before the shockwave of gentrification turns it into something unrecognizable and hostile (YES I’m still working on it!!)

12) A dumb line from an old WIP... there are so many abandoned projects that are like, two chapters and then a separate file full of quotes that I thought were cool and then I never looked back on them again. I’m sure those hold up. Let me check my old writings folder...

OH NO. I have it and I hate it but I’m going to post it anyway:

Detta rises over the Blackfuse mercenary as he struggled with the debris crushing him. Short even for a goblin, she looms over him like a Titan contemplating the fleeting life of mortals. She raises one hand, closed in a fist that sparks and howls with the wind.

“I’m gonna put a hurricane in your skull. See what it does to your brain.”

FOR CONTEXT, this is an old WIP from, like, 2016. It was a World of Warcraft fic that I REALLY wanted to write. It took place during the Panderia campaign and was set entirely in Bilgewater Harbor, an island city of goblins that is almost entirely empty in-game but I always liked its chaotic design. It was about Detta, a goblin Shaman who had given up adventuring and became a freelance problem solver in Bilgewater. She had a Storm Elemental she named Dizzy who she used as a secretary. One day Korkron troopers loyal to Hellscream bursts into her office and tells her they want to hire her to track down a criminal. Tozz, one of the troopers, is assigned to stay with her to make sure she stays on task. Eventually they would find the criminal only to learn he’s a Twilight’s Hammer cultist who had been in Orgrimmar instructing Hellscream’s forces on the secrets of Dark Shamanism and Hellscream was hiding this by killing everyone involved. You can take it from me that it was VERY lore compliant while filling in the spaces that the game devs had left CRIMINALLY underdeveloped and was going to be a dramatic story in the vein of film noir, with intrigue and divided loyalties and shifting motivations all on the eve of war and rebellion and WoW DESERVED to have better story than it did and you know what I’ve decided that is actually a brilliant line and I am PROUD of it and --

You get the picture. Next question!

16) Hm... this is a question that I don’t really have an answer for because all worldbuilding is good worldbuilding if you ask me. I think the thing about worldbuilding is that a good 90% of it doesn’t make it to the page and we kind of struggle with that because if you have all this research material then you might feel compelled to splash it all out on the page so you’d have something to show for all the time you spent. But that’s not what it’s for, it’s so that you have something to refer to when you need it. It’s the big part of the iceberg no one else gets to see. So maps? Spreadsheets? Research? None of it is ridiculous. All of it is good.

I guess the most of it I’ve ever done was for the novel that I wrote. I had a lot of material for that. I drew a map and I even tried to keep it to scale by sketching it out using travel route lines in Google Maps. I guess that is a little ridiculous, but I’ve no regrets.

18) I hate title and I don’t really spend much time on them. I certainly don’t keep track of how many titles I come up with before settling on one. I tend to be direct, I think.

Glass Factory is called Glass Factory because there’s a glass factory in NITW and my story takes place in an art studio. There’s an art studio in Alexandria called the Torpedo Factory, and that and its surroundings is what inspired that story, so Glass Factory. ez.

Longest Shadows is about legacy, the shadows cast by Scrooge and Magica and how Webby and Lena fall under those shadows. Plus it’s Lena so there’s almost a 100% chance any story with her has some kind of shadow reference in the title. So that’s that.

This is How We Grow was probably the most agonizing of my recent WIPs in terms of title. I think it’s a little clunky. But it’s about the two main characters growing and it’s... there’s farming. Plants grow. So... uh, that’s it. I might not be a huge fan of the title but I’ve never considered changing it. Never look back, when it comes to titles. That’s my motto.

Now for a question of my choosing...

14) I can knock out 500 words pretty easily on a good day, like on a real good day I can do a 1000 in half an hour. I’ve had times where I got an idea in the morning, wrote 2000 words about it, edited it by lunch and posted it by evening. But good days are few and far between and mostly I just put in a paragraph or two where I can.

I used to be very obsessive about word count. Like, I still look at it today but now it’s just like “oh, that’s how many words are in this file, okay”, but years ago I practically lived by it. I think part of it was me chasing that NaNoWriMo dragon, which was something I used to be pretty focused on. Now that I’m older I wonder if NaNoWriMo actually helps or does more to hurt aspiring writers. I mean, it’s not like there’s any external consequences to falling short but when you’re young and you’re looking to commit yourself to something, it sucks real hard when you inevitably fall short and it can be discouraging.

These days I’m more in a “what’s important is that you’ve written something” frame of mind. It doesn’t matter if it’s four pages or it’s literally a single word. I’ve had single word days. And it’s okay! It’s okay to write a single word. Progress is progress, when it comes to writing. Now, if I look at the word count, it’s because a chapter I’m in is running longer than I would have liked and maybe I should consider splitting it in two or something because I am the kind of person who likes the idea of a uniform amount of words per paragraph thank you very much. Beyond that, I don’t pay word count much mind and I think I’m a happier writer for it.

So yeah!

4 notes · View notes

nurturinglives1 · 3 years

Text

“Helping someone is not a social cause, it’s our responsibility"

Nurturing lives is a volunteer based organization started on 1st November 2018 that aims at providing help to the lesser fortunate people of our society. Started in Mumbai by Mr.Dhruman Gohil it is currently expanded in 5 major cities Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. In the last 2.8 years over 1200+ volunteers nationwide helped the NGO to successfully complete 45+ major events and projects.We at Nurturing Lives always think that what matters more to them is the time that the orphans or the old-age people spend with us.We have collaborated with 20+ organizations over the years that helped us grow exponentially.

Our motive is to bring smiles to the people of India and help the needy in whichever way possible.

We executed our first event at Sharda Ashram on the joyous occasion of diwali with the orphan kids in 2018. We spent time with them, danced with them and enjoyed ourselves throughout. These kids will always be close to our hearts. Over the years, the time that we spent together at orphanages and old age homes really motivated us to do even better for society .We visited Shanti Daan Ashram, provided them with daily necessities to the organization. Meeting the deaf people was an eye opener for us. Our next event was at the Good Samaritan mission where we distributed food parcels to the dying destitutes who were left on the road by their families. Their stories and journey really inspired us. Some of the more organizations that we collaborated with in 2019 are Little Sisters of the Poor ,Vatsalya trust, Vivekanand Bala Ashram.

We provided essential commodities, food, medicines and also interacted with the people. The joy after seeing them smiling was priceless. We also organized a book distribution project in the month of august 2019 wherein we collected used notebooks, unused pages and bound them into a new book which helped the kids at the Ashram. Later in the month of February 2020, we took a one-month long project where we aimed to feed 500+ people across the streets of Mumbai. There were 8 different locations and we provided them with food twice a week. The food was homemade and collected from the needy which also helped their business. Our volunteers really enjoyed the whole experience right from packing the food to distributing them. The names of the people who funded our project were written on the packets for complete transparency

In April 2020 when covid hit us and destroyed the lives of many people, our willingness and motivation to help the less fortunate did not stop. The poor sections of the society were the most affected by covid and hence we aimed at providing them help. We created awareness through our social media and did our first covid project by providing masks to 100+ security guards, workers, maids and also spread awareness regarding the same. We also started a fundraising campaign in the month of July and the funds collected were used to provide daily essentials to orphanages and old age homes all over Mumbai.

There was a shortage of medicines, food and daily essentials during the month of August in most of the ashrams due to the pandemic that spread worldwide, hence we helped them by providing the required supply of medicines and daily essentials. Our first project in Pune was the distribution of masks and soaps to 100+ construction workers and their families

We organized many food distribution drives at the end of 2020 and the volunteers helped us in achieving the goal.

We also went to Ashrams to talk with the old age people as they were alone and had no one visiting them due to covid. We Had a soothing conversation at the ‘Angel care foundation’ and we really got emotional after the long talk. In the month of October 2020, we conducted a short live session with Hariom Sunny (chief smile officer) on the importance of sharing happiness in orphanages.

Mr Sunny Nagpal is the co-founder of education which has spread its wings in over 11 cities he has spent seven Golden years under the leadership of Dr Kiran Bedi where he executed an early leadership model for children in slums impacting over 15,000 families. This helped the people understand the value of volunteering and made them realize the importance of volunteering at NGOs from a young age. The second event at Pune was completed successfully by providing daily essentials and toys to the kids at survey sarvesham Seva Sangh.

At the end of the second year of Nurturing Lives, we achieved a milestone when our article got published in the newspaper of Mumbai and Pune. This year too we celebrated Diwali at Seva Sangh Ashram by distributing homemade Diwali snacks with them and dancing and singing and hearts outs.

Collaborating with Navjyoti India Foundation was one of our major projects in the year 2020. Navjyoti India Foundation was founded by doctor Kiran Bedi in 1987- a child education program was started in Delhi with an aim to ensure your continuity in the schooling of slum children's “A mission to educate the underprivileged”. We were excited to be a part of this program and educate as many children as we can. This was our first project in Delhi. We started with an English course for standard 6th to 10th and the kids were very eager to learn with us. We also came up with a virtual Mumbai tour for the slum children who were a part of the Nav Jyoti project as a way to end our project in a happy and enjoyable way. The kids were very happy which eventually made our project successful.

As the chill in winters ranges, we decided to organise a blanket distribution project where we collected old and used blankets and handed them over to the people on the streets of Mumbai. As this event was a major success we also came up with a clothes distribution drive for the homeless and orphanages and distributed over 1,000 clothes to the needy across Mumbai and Nashik. “It's not about how much we give, it’s about how much love we put into it.

In the month of April we came up with our largest "Project Ekasaathe"; a Sanskrit derivation that preaches about being "all together".

With the same belief at heart, we at Nurturing Lives had come up with the idea of the 'Ekasaathe', a prospective social media transgender awareness campaign in April 2021. Upholding this very perspective that needed to be changed, our team began the two-month work of shaping the whole campaign right from jotted down points on the paper. Hundreds of stories on the internet that needed a voice; we went through them all, every single one strengthening our resolve to bring this campaign to life a little more. Through an extensive hiring program across platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and combined with the efforts of all members, we were overwhelmed to be joined by 1000 volunteers from all across India, each one eager to contribute and join hands. With such an amazing triumph on our table, the campaign soon went off the ground on our official social media handles for the whole month of April, spanning across 15 posts and 90 different stories; each one of them meticulously covering a different aspect. A true miscellany of positivity, hope, love, trust, coordination and dedication. In addition, not a single rupee was spent throughout the process; another small achievement only adding more to the belief that indeed, sometimes even a strong motive is all that is needed to trigger a life-sized change. We reached 1 million people through this project which was all we needed. We thank every single Volunteer from the bottom of our hearts, who joined Nurturing lives in the past 2.8 years, who made the dream of "Nurturing lives''' a reality and gave us the strength and the will to contribute more for a better world through means of such events in future. We collect funds through which food parcels, daily essentials and medicines are bought for the underprivileged! In these 2.8 years, We have expanded to 5 major cities throughout India and we're currently impacting a lot of people nationwide! And we're only able to do what we're doing because of generous people like you! Help us raise funds so that we can continue to help the less fortunate.

Let's watch one movie less or eat at home instead of ordering food from outside and donate that amount for someone's better future. Even a small donation will go a long way!

We need your help to reach more people.

Thank you so much for your valuable time!

#Nurturinglives1 #social work #help #humanity #charity #helpingIndia #ngo

3 notes · View notes

nurturinglives · 3 years

Text

"Helping someone is not a social cause, it's our responsibility"

Nurturing lives is a volunteer-based organization started on 1st November 2018 that aims at providing help to the lesser fortunate people of our society. Started in Mumbai by Mr Dhruman Gohil it is currently expanded to 5 major cities Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad.

In the last 2.8 years over 1200+ volunteers nationwide helped the NGO to successfully complete 45+ major events and projects. We at Nurturing Lives always think that what matters more to them is the time that the orphans or the old-age people spend with us. We have collaborated with 20+ organizations over the years that helped us grow exponentially.

Our motive is to bring smiles to the people of India and help the needy in whichever way possible.

We executed our first event at Sharda Ashram on the joyous occasion of Diwali with the orphan kids in 2018. We spent time with them, danced with them and enjoyed ourselves throughout. These kids will always be close to our hearts. Over the years, the time that we spent together at orphanages and old age homes really motivated us to do even better for society. We visited Shanti Daan Ashram, provided them with daily necessities for the organization. Meeting the deaf people was an eye-opener for us. Our next event was at the Good Samaritan mission where we distributed food parcels to the dying destitute who were left on the road by their families. Their stories and journey really inspired us. Some of the more organizations that we collaborated with, in 2019 are Little Sisters of the Poor, Vatsalya trust, Vivekanand Bala Ashram.

Check details of each and every event that we have conducted.

We organized many food distribution drives at the end of 2020 and the volunteers helped us in achieving the goal.

Watch the session here!!

In the month of April we came up with our largest "Project Ekasaathe"; a Sanskrit derivation that preaches about being "all together".

With the same belief at heart, we at Nurturing Lives had come up with the idea of the 'Ekasaathe', a prospective social media transgender awareness campaign in April 2021. Upholding this very perspective that needed to be changed, our team began the two-month work of shaping the whole campaign right from jotted down points on the paper. Hundreds of stories on the internet that needed a voice; we went through them all, every single one strengthening our resolve to bring this campaign to life a little more. Through an extensive hiring program across platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and combined with the efforts of all members, we were overwhelmed to be joined by 1000 volunteers from all across India, each one eager to contribute and join hands. With such an amazing triumph on our table, the campaign soon went off the ground on our official social media handles for the whole month of April, spanning across 15 posts and 90 different stories; each one of them meticulously covering a different aspect. A true miscellany of positivity, hope, love, trust, coordination and dedication. In addition, not a single rupee was spent throughout the process; another small achievement only adding more to the belief that indeed, sometimes even a strong motive is all that is needed to trigger a life-sized change. We reached 1 million people through this project which was all we needed. We thank every single volunteer from the bottom of our hearts, who joined Nurturing lives in the past 2.8 years, who made the dream of "Nurturing lives''' a reality and gave us the strength and the will to contribute more for a better world through means of such events in future. We collect funds through which food parcels, daily essentials and medicines are bought for the underprivileged! In these 2.8 years, We have expanded to 5 major cities throughout India and we're currently impacting a lot of people nationwide! And we're only able to do what we're doing because of generous people like you! Help us raise funds so that we can continue to help the less fortunate.

Let's watch one movie less or eat at home instead of ordering food from outside and donate that amount for someone's better future. Even a small donation will go a long way!

We need your help to reach more people. Make a Donation by clicking here.

#social #socialwork #nonprofit #helpingothers

1 note · View note

mediaeval-muse · 3 years

Text

Book Review

The Wolf in the Whale. By Jordanna Max Brodsky. New York: Redhook, 2019.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Genre: historical fiction, magical realism

Part of a Series? No

Summary: A sweeping tale of clashing cultures, warring gods, and forbidden love: In 1000 AD, a young Inuit shaman and a Viking warrior become unwilling allies as war breaks out between their peoples and their gods-one that will determine the fate of them all. "There is a very old story, rarely told, of a wolf that runs into the ocean and becomes a whale." Born with the soul of a hunter and the spirit of the Wolf, Omat is destined to follow in her grandfather's footsteps-invoking the spirits of the land, sea, and sky to protect her people. But the gods have stopped listening and Omat's family is starving. Alone at the edge of the world, hope is all they have left. Desperate to save them, Omat journeys across the icy wastes, fighting for survival with every step. When she meets a Viking warrior and his strange new gods, they set in motion a conflict that could shatter her world...or save it.

***Full review under the cut.***

***Mild spoilers in the plot section.***

Content/Trigger Warnings: rape, sexual assault, racism, misogyny, blood, violence, infanticide, slavery

Overview: I’m not an expert on Inuit culture, so if there are any Inuit, Indigenous, or scholarly reviewers out there who can speak more about the representation in this book, I highly recommend listening to them over me. (I am, however, a medievalist, so I can speak to the Norse elements in this book, if desired.)

The Wolf in the Whale is the kind of book that I have wanted for years; one that pushes back against the colonial gaze and gives us a perspective on Vikings from a non-European point of view. Unfortunately, I’m not entirely sure if this book did that for me. Brodsky (from her own research note) is not Inuit herself, though she does detail her research process and seems knowledgeable about some aspects of Inuit culture. Combined with some storytelling elements that she included in her tale (such as rape and misogyny), I feel somewhat conflicted about how to rate this book, even as I appreciate what it was trying to do. I think for me, personally, The Wolf in the Whale didn’t do as much interrogation into gender identity as it could have, nor do I think making Inuit spirituality/religion fit into Norse mythology entirely rejects a colonial point of view. I did, however, appreciate the premise and the writing, so I’m giving this book a 3.5 star rating.

Writing: Brodsky’s prose is very literary in tone, and I thought that Brodsky wrote with an easy balance between telling and showing. She uses neither flowery language nor sparse descriptions, and it was easy to visualize what was going on without feeling like everything was being spoon-fed to me. I also think the sentences flowed well and the pace was generally appropriate, and I found it easy to keep reading, even though this book was around 500 pages long.

This book is, however, written in first person, which I personally don’t care for because first person can make some descriptions seem awkward. Brodsky manages to sidestep a lot of awkwardness by using a more literary style, reigning in some emotion to make it feel as if the POV character is retelling their story from a future, detached kind of mental state. So props to her for that.

Plot: The Wolf in the Whale follows Omat, an Inuit girl who is raised as a boy, as they struggle to ensure their family’s survival. Over the course of the novel, Omat encounters food shortages, divine conflicts, and strangers (including other Inuit, Indigenous peoples, and Norsemen), and the majority of the latter half of the book is spent following Omat as they search for their cousin, Kiasik, who has been kidnapped by Norsemen.

In general, I think the structure of the plot worked well. Brodsky divides her book into sections that reflect different conflicts in Omat’s life, and I think the events unfolded in a logical way. I also really enjoyed the valuation of stories (especially when Omat and Brandr, a Viking, bond over storytelling) and the magical realism that gave Omat a connection to the spirit world. I furthermore appreciated that Omat’s story was one of Inuit contact with Vikings; as a medievalist, I’ve studied sagas that this book is loosely based on, and I appreciate the fact that Brodsky represented the Vikings not as heroic explorers, but colonizers and slavers.

I did not, however, enjoy the fact that so much of this book seemed to revolve around misogyny, and I got a weird sense that even though Omat is our POV character, Norse mythology seemed to take center stage when the Vikings showed up. First, the misogyny: I can’t speak to the accuracy of the Inuit stories about their gods and goddesses, nor can I say for certain if Inuit peoples have strict prohibitions against women doing men’s work and vice versa; thus, I can’t say whether the numerous stories about rape or the taboos that Omat is punished for violating are accurate or exaggerated. However, I think I can say that Omat needed to have a much more defined personal journey that didn’t revolve around her disdaining women’s work or being sexually assaulted. As a girl raised as a boy, Omat is incredibly anxious about being perceived as a hunter and a man - to the point where they express a lot of disgust or shame at being seen wearing women’s clothes or doing women’s work. I think there’s a way to explore Omat’s gender anxiety without denigrating the role women play in Inuit culture, as without women’s work, everyone would die. To be fair, Omat does learn to appreciate women’s roles over time, but I think that process needed to be more gradual and punctuated with plot points where a woman’s skill or knowledge proved to be valuable.

I also do not think there needed to be so much sexual assault (or threat of sexual assault). While I do think Brodsky showed Omat to be affected by her rape, and there’s a nice moment towards the end where Omat addresses all the rape that their goddesses have endured in their stories, I also think the constant threat of sexual assault was a little much. Again, I can’t speak to whether Inuit culture expects women to essentially be sexually available for their husbands at all times and able to be “loaned out” to other men, but I think I can say that as a female reader, I was tired of Omat being threatened to be raped all the time, by Inuit and Viking alike. I would have preferred that Omat come to view their stories in a new light after their assault, and that Omat form bonds with other women who straddle the line between male and female (such as Freydis and Loki, despite their antagonism) in order to grow as a person without a concrete binary gender identity.

Now for the Norse mythology stuff.

***HERE BE SPOILERS.***

While I did like the magical realism that made Omat’s spirituality feel real, I think actually speaking to Norse gods themselves pushed this book from historical fiction to fantasy for me in a way that felt jarring. Also, I think that Brodsky put a little too much value on Norse mythology to the point where it became validated over Inuit spirituality towards the end. To explain: Omat learns in the book that Inuit gods are actually the Frost Giants from Norse culture, and while I get that Brodsky was trying to make all religions fit into one cosmic system, it felt like she wasn’t so much rejecting colonialism as much as she was imposing it. I didn’t like the fact that Inuit gods being Frost Giants meant that Norse myths are real and Inuits have to fit into Norse cosmology, not the other way around. Moreover, Omat is responsible for bringing about Ragnarok, which means that the big mythological battle is between Inuit and Norse gods. While all the gods are reborn, so to speak, after the battle, only the Norse ones speak to Omat, which felt a little unfair.

Characters: Omat, our POV protagonist, is a compelling character in that they have interesting strengths, flaws, and personal challenges. As a girl raised as a boy, Omat struggles to find an accepted identity within their culture, while also getting in trouble for pride (especially when they try to “prove” that they are a man). I liked that Omat was so interested in stories and connected so strongly with the spirit world, and I found their courage to be admirable. I did have some problems with Omat’s utter shame at all things feminine; as mentioned above, I think the acceptance of women’s work and a female body could have been a good character arc, but I think everything was too mired in misogyny to be powerful.

Brandr, a Viking and Omat’s ally-turned-lover, was admirable in that he rejected a lot of the violence of Norse culture and learned to see Omat as a capable, formidable leader. It was a little strange to me, however, that Brandr seemed to offer Omat what their people could not: acceptance of their gender-fluidity. It seemed like almost a critique of Inuit society, though to be fair, Norse people also expressed a lot of misogyny and homophobia in this book. I hated the fact that Brandr was revealed to have raped 3 women prior to meeting Omat, and while it’s good that Brandr realizes how wrong he was to do that (even though his culture told him that it was expected of a Viking), I think he got off far too easy.

Supporting characters were interesting in that they were heavily flawed. Kiasik, Omat’s cousin, struggles with his affection for Omat and his envy of them, leading him to make some decisions that open a rift between the two. Freydis, the legendary leader of the Viking expedition, is determined and harsh, which is fine since she is a major antagonist, but I would have preferred more commentary on gender roles when Omat saw her inhabiting male and female roles. Various Inuit characters were also interesting, such as Omat’s grandfather and adoptive mother, who support Omat in their personal journey. Issuk and his family were hard to like, since Issuk is a braggart and a rapist and his band does little to stick up for Omat.

TL;DR: The Wolf in the Whale has an exciting premise and does well with its magical realism. Moreover, it is well written and clearly has good intentions; however, misogyny and Euro-centric/colonial biases still creep up and detract from the valuation of the main character’s Inuit culture.

#book reviews

3 notes · View notes

kieraelieson · 4 years

Text

Dollhouse

G/t 42/100

Masterpost

••^*^••

Dollhouse

••^*^••

(Continued from 4,5,6,11,12,13,15,23,38, and 39. Roman can now get around a bit. He still has a splint on, but he has some makeshift crutches and can move around with them a good bit. Virgil is now back in his own room, and Patton is very happy that everyone seems to be getting along.)

“You want what?”

“I want a dollhouse. And other supplies.” Roman said.

“What for?” Virgil asked.

Roman crossed his arms as much as he could while holding onto crutches. “Does it matter?”

“Well, kinda. If I’ve got to be the one to buy it.”

“Well, I don’t want to tell you.”

Virgil frowned, but it was more confusion than annoyance. “I mean, I guess.”

Roman pushed while he was ahead. “I found one when you let me on your computer, and I want that one.”

Virgil’s frown deepened, but he pulled up the page on the laptop. “Oh. Well, it’s not that expensive. Yeah, I can get it for you. I just… never would have imagined you’d prefer a dollhouse to—“

“I said I don’t want to tell you what it’s for.”

“So you don’t want to live in it?”

“No.”

Virgil squinted suspiciously at Roman.

“Gonna need glasses if you keep that up,” Roman muttered under his breath, turning around to leave.

••^*^••

The dollhouse arrived. And soon after came the supplies. Roman started work immediately. He knew his skills, and what he could and couldn’t do with a leg still in a cast. So he began with pulling out all the ‘wallpaper’ and started painting the walls.

He took the fabric he still had, and cut and sewed it into rugs. He made curtains for the windows, and made curtain rods out of a toothpick and the ends of a popsicle stick, painted, of course.

Roman painted the outside of the house as well, though that was more difficult. He was a good painter, though he’d never in his life had as much opportunity to practice as this.

Patton helped as much as Roman would let him, and got more and more excited about the house every day.

It took several weeks to finish, and by then Roman was able to put a little weight on his leg, as long as it was still in the brace they’d made.

Roman waited until Patton was asleep, and went to find Virgil. Virgil was never asleep first.

“Virgil?”

“Hmm? Oh. Hi, Roman. Need something?”

Roman sat down on Virgil’s bedside table. His jaw was clenched tight, and he could barely open it to speak.

“The house is finished.”

“Yeah, I saw. It looks amazing.”

Roman swallowed heavily. “I’ve seen on your computer, and you could probably take it, and a few of the outfits I made, and sell them for anywhere between $500 and $1000.”

Virgil’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything.

“I want you to take the money and let Patton go. I-I know I’ll have to stay here. And what could $500 compare against a life anyway? But it’s a start, and I’ll do more. Once my leg heals I’ll be able to do it faster too.” Roman felt tears building up, and he kept talking, trying both to convince Virgil and to not let the tears fall.

“Roman, Roman, hey. Calm down.”

Roman scrubbed at his face angrily. “What’s calm about this?!” He growled out.

“Roman, I promise, I’m not holding either of you here. Anytime you want to leave, you can leave.”

“Yeah, and you’ll keep saying that right up until we actually try to leave!”

“No, I mean it. You can leave tomorrow. You can leave right now, if you want. I’ll miss you, but I won’t come after you. You can sit in that wall my whole life, and if you want me to ignore you and leave you alone I will. Or you can leave completely, and I won’t try to stop you.”

Roman’s guard against the tears broke. “You can’t do this! You can’t give and give and not expect anything back! It’s not how it works, I don’t believe you!”

“I have gotten paid back,” Virgil said. “I get to talk with you and Patton every day. You’re my friends. And if I ever even thought about money, that house would over and above pay back every cent I’ve spent on the both of you. You don’t owe me anything.”

“I-I don’t— I can't—“ Roman covered his face with his hands.

“Roman, I promise, you don’t owe me anything.” Virgil repeated.

“Why?” Roman asked, his voice cracking horribly, even in only one syllable.

“Because you’ve already paid me back more than enough just by staying and being friends with me.”

Usually, Roman would’ve made some kind of ‘are you that desperate for friends’ joke, but this was not a usual situation. “But I wasn’t your friend. I’ve been scared of you this whole time.”

Virgil’s face fell. “I’m sorry.”

Roma pounded his fist on the dresser. “You didn’t do anything!”

“Maybe not then, but I can now. Roman, would you want to be friends with me?”

“I don’t know.”

Virgil’s face fell again. “That’s alright. I can leave you alone.”

••^*^••

The next morning both Roman and Patton were gone. It was lonely, and far too quiet. Virgil almost wished he had never promised all he had the night before. But, since he promised, he didn’t look for them, and he didn’t knock on the walls. But he left the makeshift home they had made in the corner, just in case.

It was three days later when a voice called his name.

Virgil spun around to see Roman standing on the kitchen counter.

“I— if you’ll still have me, I think I would like to be friends with you.”

“Yes.” Virgil said, while his brain was still stunned.

Patton rushed out from a hiding place. “Yay! I knew you two could get along!”

••^*^••

Logan’s niece was having a birthday shortly. And if he was going to bother with a present he was going to get a good one.

Finally he saw it. Even just from the first picture the superior quality was evident. He clicked on the listing, and with every picture he was further convinced that the $800 asking price was an insult to the artist who had made the dollhouse. Some of the details on the walls must have been painted with the tiniest brush, and were painted in rooms small enough to barely allow for a hand to move, much less paint so accurately. He bought the dollhouse, and the clothes that came with it.

When it arrived, he couldn’t help but take a closer look. He didn’t care much for dolls, but this was simply incredible. He would be very curious about how it was done.

And then he saw something. He had to use a magnifying glass to see more clearly, but then he was sure. There were impossibly small fingerprints on the curtain rods.

Logan looked up the person who had sold the house.

Virgil Storm.

He would have to find a way to pay Virgil a visit.

#g/t #my own work #sanders sides #sanders sides g/t #100 gt #gt

95 notes · View notes

selfdefensegearco · 7 years

Photo

Check Out This Fantastic Post Just Published on https://selfdefensegearco.com/personal-protection/why-incremental-improvement-of-defensive-handguns-is-important-and-why-it-isnt-2/

Why Incremental Improvement of Defensive Handguns is Important and why it isn’t.

0 notes

chocochipbiscuit · 4 years

Note

For the writer ask meme, 1, 2 and 11? Assuming they haven't been asked already!

1. Favorite place to write.

At the kitchen table, where I’m away from the TV but can still get a cup of tea if I like!

2. Favorite part of writing.

I already answered this here, but I like my answer enough I’ll just C&P it! :D

The actual act of writing, those rare moments when I know exactly what I want to say and it pours out of my head and seeps into words like water poured on rich soil. It’s very much a flow state; it doesn’t happen as often as I wish it would, but I’m trying to train myself to better accept it when it comes and to give myself opportunities to make it come. It’s when I’ve been thinking or feeling about something for so long that I already have the images and emotional beats ready to go. It doesn’t mean that what I write is free of flaws, but it feels emotionally true and genuine, so I just try to polish that emotional core of honesty.

It doesn’t happen every time I write (and the amount of time I’ve spent agonizing over first drafts should make that very evident!) but it’s that first rush of creation where I feel like I’ve managed to condense a billion beautiful possibilities into something that feels true to me.

11. Describe your writing process from scratch to finish.

I originally answered this here, but I was rather melancholy and whiny about it that day, so I’m adding on to it!

Get idea. Daydream about it. Write down ideas. Let ideas mull for days, weeks, years in some cases. Cry a little. Cry a lot. Finally sit down and go ‘okay, NOW I’M GONNA DO IT.’

More seriously: shortfic is easier because I can just take an idea and run with it. I know myself, and I can type 500-1000 words an hour when I have a solid idea. If it’s not solid, then I need to work on brainstorming and figuring out what I want to happen.

Longer stories, I usually make a bullet point outline of ideas, scenes, emotions, inspiration, etc because I want to have the ideas firmly gelled before I sit down and start writing, otherwise I know I’m likely to write myself into a corner or just stare at the page. I try to consciously work on my ideas by reading or listening to things related to the topic at hand, but I rarely start writing until I have a solid outline in place.

All of that’s just writing. Revisions are a whole ‘nother beast.

I don’t actually cry as much as I made it sound in the original post, though I do definitely get whiny!!!!

I also wanted to add: in my bullet point outlines, I try to list out the characters, the events/things I want to happen, and the emotions/tone I’m aiming for in each scene. It helps me juggle larger casts, keeps my plot on course, and refines the emotional beats.

Thank you for asking, I had fun! :D

(The ask meme is here, for anyone who wants to play. Feel free to reblog even if you don’t send an ask :) )

#meme things #ask meme #choco answers #quandary-peak

5 notes · View notes

dgsagasblog · 3 years

Text

How to Lead the Herd by Becoming an Instagram Influencer

Introduction

If social media has emerged as the most sort-after platform around the world for reaching out to people in the 21st century, social influencers have become pivotal characters in taking social marketing and social selling from micro to macro level. Social media influencers are the ones who are hugely popular on a particular channel or across platforms with a high engagement rate and follower base which can be from 1000 to over a few millions. From styling inspiration to travel ideas, from realizing fitness goals to product reviews- the common social media users look up to the influencers for recommendations and inspirations. Social influencers may be classified into different segments based on their number of followers- for instance, a Nano influencer may have followers in the range of 1000-5000, while a Macro influencer has followers over 100,000 mark.

How Brands are connecting with the Instagram Influencers

Brands are identifying prospective Instagram influencers from their specific niche and connecting with them to endorse their products or services either directly or indirectly. As per the current trends, brands are inclined towards connecting with micro-influencers with their niche audience rather than celebrity influencers. While celebrity influencers have a higher number of followers, not every follower or fan connects or relates with them on a personal level. The idea is to partner with an Instagram Influencer or a band of them who can relate with the brand or the specific product. So, when followers see the influencer using, recommending, or reviewing the product or service it will be much more acceptable. Data says 78% of marketers chose Instagram posts as the chosen medium for influencer marketing while 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations before buying a product.

Source: bigcommerce.com

Here are some statics about social media influencers if are aspiring to be one of them:

In the last five years, brands have collaborated with social media influencers across channels to generate awareness, and influencer marketing grew from an ancillary marketing tactic to a $5-10 billion dollar industry.

19% of marketers have spent $1,000 – $10,000 per year on influencer marketing in 2020, while 18% are spending between $100,000 – $500,000 per year.

89% say ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other marketing channels

With over 1 billion users and a fast-growing network of influencers churning out millions of sponsored posts each year Instagram ranks #1 for the most important and impactful channel.

Micro-influencers with around 100,000 followers or less may expect to earn $100-$500 per Instagram post

Macro-influencers are people who the general public is more likely to know of like national players, film personalities or rock stars, they tend to have more than 100,000 followers, but this figure can be far higher. They can command $5,000–$10,000 per Instagram post

Social media mega influencers tend to be global, household names. They can command an astronomical 10,000+ per Instagram post

(upgrad.com, bigcommerce.com, digitalmarketing.org)

Here are a few tips and trips that you should follow in order to become an Instagram Influencer

Discover and Play your specific Niche

Becoming an Instagram influencer is not an overnight phenomenon. You must build your presence gradually, capturing the interest of followers by sharing meaningful videos, encouraging followers to like and re-share your posts. Reflect on what sets you apart from others; ask yourself why people should be interested in your content- and work towards displaying your skills effectively. If you have a talent or passion- display it effectively with each of your posts. If you are an actor show your acting chops in short reels. If you are a foodie or a food enthusiast display food pictures with interesting insights on your capture. You can be a fashion designer or a travel blogger- bring what you are good at the forefront so that others are hooked on what you have to say or show. You can be a fitness coach or an artist, a fashion designer, or a travel blogger- whatever is your vocation or talent bring it to the front and build your Instagram community that in turn increases your authority.

Create Interesting Captions

Users want more out of the influencers they follow than a pretty photo and a short caption. Pictures may say a thousand words but your opinion on the picture or a video is what sets you apart from the others. Use your perspective. If you have the gift for words, you can spice up the most mundane of pictures to become trendsetting posts. There are a few things to keep in mind when writing your captions. The first is, that when scrolling on Instagram, you are not supposed to see an entire caption without pressing “more.”

So ideally the partial caption should lead to more incredibly important content. That first line needs to be eye-catching enough to scroll-stop and to encourage users to click and read. Some examples of this might be:

The ultimate guide to…

5 things you need to know about…

The best restaurants in…

The best Instagram spots in…

Source: later.com

Be Consistent

If you are aiming to be an Instagram Influencer you will need to be consistent on the network. Ideally, you should plan a schedule and stick to it. If you are planning to post on alternate days of the week or five days at a stretch – follow that schedule so that your followers know what to expect. Plan and work on the content beforehand so that your posts are not rushed and display meaningful and interesting content. An ideal way to connect with the audience is to show up on Instagram Stories as often as possible; this will definitely generate interest in what you are doing on a day-to-day basis and enhance your fan base. Another way to engage with the audience and maintain regularity is content repurposing. If you already have popular videos on YouTube and Tiktok or a Facebook post that has done exceptionally well – you can repost on Instagram for superior content and follower engagement.

Connect with your Audience

Becoming an Instagram influencer is an uphill journey. Apart from posting on the social platform, you should also be interacting with your audience as much as possible. Posting on Instagram reels is a great idea to connect with your audience as is hosting a fun contest on the platform with interesting giveaways. Start a conversation and engage with your followers, comment on other’s posts, reply to comments. Make statements and share opinions, the more you engage, communicate and connect with your audience on a regular basis the more they will relate with you. Remember a band of loyal followers on Instagram will multiply your popularity and grow your influence

Follow Trends

The whole concept of following trends in Instagram is to connect with people and be discovered by a wider audience. Look out for trending hashtags and try to associate them with your niche. You can follow, comment and engage with trending hashtags and create posts relevant to them. The idea is to reach out to the bigger forum at the same time staying connected to your niche audience. Using niche hashtags will bring a highly targeted audience – they will drive quality engagement on your profile. The more you trend the chances of featuring on the explore page will get higher. The explore page is a recommendation engine that shows trending content on Instagram for your specific niche. It’s an algorithm based on your Instagram history, the type of content you follow and watch there.

Later.com

Why Should Brands want to associate with An Instagram Influencer?

Once you have established yourself as an Instagram Influencer of any level with a well-defined audience, brands will want to reach out to you for association or endorsements. However, if you are a Nano or Micro Influencer you will have to look out and pitch to brands for partnership based on your specific niche or fan following. Based on the nature of the Influencer you are, brands may want to associate with you to fulfill various targets- Brand Awareness, Education, SEO Authority, Social Following, Damage Control, User-Generated Content (UGC), Trust Development, and Sales Increase.

medium.com

Conclusion:

In the recent past, social Influencers have been able to make a significant impact in brand campaigns across platforms and especially over Instagram. More and more companies are opting for Influencer marketing as the tribe of social influencers grows by leaps and bounds with over 1 billion monthly active users (MAU’s) globally on Instagram alone. If you enjoy connecting with people, like what you do, and have an unapologetic approach towards life then you can aim to be a social influencer. From celebrity actors to stand-up comedians, from brand reviewers to fashion bloggers to the occasional social rebel- whatever be the niche an influencer can expect love, fame, and adulation on the social media platform for doing the things that they love to do. The key to Instagram influencer success is to network yourself among the infinitely vast audience and connect with the right band of audience. Once you become an influencer the kind of popularity you can garner and the type of remuneration you can earn is limitless. All you need to have is patience and the will to be aggressively consistent. Source — https://dgsaga.com/blog-how-to-lead-the-herd-by-becoming-an-instagram-influencer/

1 note · View note

promptsforthestrugglingauthor · 5 years

Text

Aaaaaand three years later...

Hello friends! This morning I discovered that three years have already passed from the first time I completed a draft of my major WIP, The Left Behind.

(Look! Evidence! Social media is occasionally good for something! And, yes, I do tragically still use Facebook)

I’m a bit shocked it’s both already and only been three years. I’ve grown incredibly as a writer in the meantime. I’ve also barely begun on the third draft at this point. So, I thought that it just might be nice to put a little something of self-reflection and a note of the journey so far. Maybe because it might help some of you guys to see how I do things (although I don’t fully recommend following my process) and also to be able to remember in the future what the hell I actually did once the memories are inevitably blurred. I’ll, of course, put all that babbling under this lovely little read more so I don’t consume your dash!

Alrighty! So, draft one:

Armed with a few pages of scattered half-development over the series of a few years, I had very little plan. I’d spent a majority of my recent writing producing fanfiction, primarily one-shots, and had never completed more than three, maybe four full chapters in one piece. To say a full novel seemed out of my reach was an overstatement. I’d tried to write The Left Behind once or twice before, and had set it aside for a number of reasons; it felt dry and cliched, stiff and melodramatic (and of course it did! I was all of thirteen when I’d dreamt it up, and most of the media I consumed and adored was edgy and over the top and coarse, but for some reason when it was my creation, it was stale). On a quick bit of passion and a late New Year’s Resolution, I set about to take another crack at it.

I changed the opening scene for what must have been the third or fourth time, finally willing to allow myself to part from previous conceptions of what I had to include, because it had been in my original plans. Realizing I didn’t have to be trapped by my past ideas was refreshing; this was one of the major things I learned through this draft, one I still remind myself to make peace with often.

I nearly quit after the fourth chapter, because I didn’t like the way it was going and I felt frustrated with where it was going. After complaining to a few family members (also recreational writers), I was able to digest a piece of advice I’d heard over and over; don’t edit until you’re done. This doesn’t work for everyone, but it let me write without being hung up on my story. It let me change my mind mid-draft and simply write with the change as though it had never occurred, simply leaving a consistency to repair for the next draft. Or, as I like to always say “It’s a problem for Later Me.”

Draft one took me roughly nineteen months to complete. It was an astounding feeling. The story was bare, inconsistent, and totaled 50,000 words and change. But it was amazing. It still is amazing, really. I managed to write most of it between classes, often in 200 to 500 word bursts.

I didn’t really get back to working on The Left Behind again for another five or six months.

Which leads us into draft two:

To be frank, I consider draft one an extended outline...especially considering that I simply never finished an outline. My “outline” is more of a semi-organized word/idea vomit, and sheet of story related jargon. My intention for draft two was to bulk the story up, establish more consistency, and polish my style, themes, and plot. Having already managed one draft, I assumed that a second one would be a quick endeavor; surely, I only really took so long because I was learning! Right?

Wrong.

One of the major things I learned in draft two is an unshakable truth: I’m never going to be the writer who churns out thousands of words in one sitting. I charted my word count every single day during draft two, and there were probably no more than 10 days where I wrote over 1000 words in general, let alone in The Left Behind. I agonized over it for a bit, but I’m pretty much over it by now. I carefully craft my words, so of course it’ll take long. It’s like a tapestry, a long, intricate work that needs time to do right.

Of course, I’d be a liar if I said draft two isn’t riddled with flaws.

But it is so much better. The overall writing style finally felt like a decent balance between internal monologue and imagery and storytelling. Some of the lines I wrote are truly beautiful and powerful and inspiring. I read it back and there are only a few scenes or moments or phrases that I find disengaging and lame.

Draft two took me twenty-two months to complete, and clocked in at over one hundred thousand words. It also made me feel some incredible euphoria for months straight when I truly hit my stride, which, naturally, led to an aching burnout once I forced myself to take a break from it.

I’m frankly still recovering from it, and from the depressive spell I had in the meantime. I can’t properly determine how much time passed between drafts, because I kept attempting to pick up draft three and failing to do much actual work.

Which brings us around to draft three:

Draft three is in progress. I’ve figured out my best method for re-outlining: an in-depth re-read of the previous draft, a variety of notes per chapter, a collective overall list of desires for the next draft, and a lot of index cards to scribble plot points on, so as to better move around and reorganize and remove them. (I’ll be making a larger post about this eventually! Just going to give myself more time to get further acquainted with editing and all first)

I’m learning how to edit. I’m starting to understand that my major problem with editing and outlines is the visual clutter of it all, and I’m working around it. I’m loving polishing words and themes and characters. I was primarily going to focus on cutting my word count a good deal, but I’ve decided to throw that out the window in favor of making a great story. As it turns out, my prior draft’s word count is actually even a bit short as many similar novels go, which brings me comfort!

I left the story alone for too long, and returning to it is a breath of fresh air. It truly feels like part of my soul is back. I don’t know if it’s because my depression is getting better, or if my depression is getting better because of it. Either way, I’m glad. And I’m excited. I can’t wait more than anything to share with you guys that the work is complete and ready to be published. I can’t wait to mark my calendar, to finally say that I’ve did it and to keep doing it. (It’s a four book series, so there’s not an option of giving up anyhow aha!)

So it’s been three years. I’ve learned a done a lot. Some writers may have done much more in that time. Many have done less. That’s okay with me. I really, truly believe that The Left Behind is something big, something breathtaking. Hopefully it won’t take too many more years to be able to prove it to you all.

#emmy talks about herself #emmy babbles about herself #the left behind #writing update #reflection #writing process #tw depression #depression mention #long post

81 notes · View notes

kingscourtphotographer · 4 years

Text

Lucky 13

August 31, 2019

Thirteen is not usually considered a lucky number, unless you are an aviation buff, and you are attending the 13th annual Battle Lake Gathering of Airplanes (BLGA) at the Battle Lake Airport, in Battle Lake, Minnesota (Identifier 00MN) also known as the Tribute to Gerry Beck.

I’ve attended and photographed many fly-in’s and airshows, and this is both of those, but it takes place at a small grass airstrip in the lake’s country of western central Minnesota and has grown into a pretty spectacular event. The BLGA is held every Labor Day weekend on Saturday from 10AM until 2 PM to commemorate the renowned warbird rebuilder, Gerald “Gerry” Beck, known to most of his friends and even his wife Cindy, and daughter Whitney as “Beck”.

This was my second year attending and photographing this event and it was an amazing experience once again.

The 2019 Fly-in was the largest of the 13 yearly events so far, according to Patricia “Pat” Kostelecky the coordinator of the event. There were 82 aircraft and at least 500 people, attended including many who are heavily involved with war bird rebuilding and restoration, such as Casey Odegaard of Odegaard Aviation and the Fargo Air Museum, Warren Pietsch of the Dakota Territories Air Museum in Minot, ND, Ron Fagen of Fagen Fighters Museum in Granite Falls, MN, all must see locations if you like old war birds.

The initial Battle Lake Gathering of Airplanes, 14 years ago, had 10 people and 3 airplanes. The Fly-in was planned to gather support to try and save the Battle Lake Airport. The local community was contemplating closing it due the operating cost, not seeing the benefit of the small strip and hangers to the area. Gerry Beck and friends were trying to show how much revenue it generated for the town and surrounding areas and to raise funds to keep it open. The Becks had purchased a local lake home mainly due to the closeness and convenience of the Battle Lake Airport. Even though it was a small grass airstrip, with just a few hangers, it allowed he and many other pilots who spend their summers at lake homes and cottages in the area, to fly in for the weekend from Minneapolis and other parts of Minnesota, North and South Dakota and even farther away.

So, Gerry Beck, a renowned warbird restorer and founding member of the Fargo Air Museum, was a key supporter involved in the planning of this initial event. It just so happens that he was sick the day of the event, and couldn’t attend, then by the time the 2nd year of the event was planned, he had been killed in an accident in the 2007 EAA Air Venture in Oshkosh Wisconsin. From then on, the yearly event was also a memorial airshow to Gerry as well as the gathering of vintage and modern aircraft. It remains a gathering of friends and a fund raiser for the airport as well.

Gerry was well known for his vintage plane restoration business in Wahpeton, called Tri-State Aviation, which grew out of a crop-spraying operation. Gerry completed several of his own full restorations and participated on many others. These restorations of Warbirds included P51 Mustangs, an F4U Corsair, a TBM Avenger, a Hawker Sea Fury, and a Mitsubishi Zero. The rebuilding and restoring of planes led them on many “Family Vacations” looking for just the right parts for these historic planes.

Gerry Beck was born in 1949 in Guelph, North Dakota. From the Tri-State Aviation’s Gerry Beck Memorial Page: Beck discovered a love for aviation after becoming involved in skydiving during his college years at the University of North Dakota. He graduated from UND with an Industrial Arts Degree, and while teaching high school in Grand Forks, North Dakota, he continued his path in aviation by obtaining a private pilot’s license and rebuilding his first airplane.

In 1974, he founded Tri-State Aviation, Inc. (TSA), an aerial spraying and aircraft maintenance firm located in Wahpeton, North Dakota. During his agricultural aviation career, Beck developed, or contributed to the development of, numerous items that enhanced pilot and aircraft safety and efficiency within the agricultural aviation industry.

Before becoming interested in, and specializing in warplane building, Beck developed several crop-spraying innovations that are widely used today. These innovations include a special spraying boom incorporating an airfoil shape instead of round tubes.

Beck’s funeral at the Fargo Air Museum had hundreds in attendance, and the large turnout for the funeral was a testament to Beck's abilities as a warplane restorer and advocate, and the closeness of the community of enthusiasts.

The first thing to strike you about the Battle Lake Gathering of Airplanes, and to make it such an amazing event, is the camaraderie of those in attendance. The next is the wide variety of aircraft and being able to walk among them up close and personal.

It’s rare to see one Beechcraft Stagger wing at a small-town fly in, but there were 2 of them this year��s BLGA. One, the yellow N985SW, is owned by Warren Peitsch, mentioned earlier, who was a very good friend of Beck. According to Whitney Beck, it was a surprise arrival since the plane was Warren’s latest project. Several people said he had finished just a week before the event and was making its maiden long flight after restoration. The plane was in like new condition and a highlight of the show.

Some other notable airplanes, among the many rare and vintage aircraft and the number of war birds in attendance, were; several T-6 Texans or Harvard’s as they are known abroad, the ‘310C’ Vought F4 U Corsair owned by Cindy and Whitney Beck, rebuilt by Gerry Beck and flown by John Sinclair, the TBM Avenger T83, flown by Brad Deckert, the P51 Mustang, Boomer, flown by Tim McPherson, several Boeing PT17 Stearman Trainer aircraft and a Marine Corps T34 Mentor. Also notable among the rare aircraft were 2 Belanca’s, a 1972 and a 1973 model 17-30 and 31, a 1950 Piper PA18, several models and years of Van’s RV aircraft including Gerry Beck’s own RV4 that Whitney and Cindy Beck both confirmed as Beck’s favorite airplane to fly. Whitney even said, “That when asked, her father would pick the RV over all the warbirds and other aircraft he had flown as his favorite to fly due to its nimble handling and ability to get to the small airport at Battle Lake in 15 minutes from Wahpeton’s Harry Stern Airport, the home base of Tri-State Aviation.” She said that he loved being able to pull it out of the hanger by hand even with his bad knees.

Other interesting aircraft were a 1959 Downer Belanca, a 1980 Rupp Roger Starduster biplane, a 1961 DeHavilland Beaver complete with floats, and a 1946 Fairchild 24W46 Argus.

With 82 planes at the event there were too many to name, but there were also many Cessna and Piper Variants as well as a Carbon Cub and Aviat Husky to name a few.

The Legacy of Gerry Beck – From the Tri-State Aviation Gerry Beck Memorial Page.

Beck openly shared his knowledge and his passion for aviation. He encouraged and assisted others, willingly spent time with people of all ages who exhibited an interest in his endeavors, participated in airshows and aviation events, and was instrumental in the formation of the Fargo Air Museum. Gerry’s vision was to build a second wing on the museum, to house restoration projects complete with rivet stations, audio WWII vignettes, welding and aviation basics.

Beyond aviation, his philanthropy was evident in every aspect of his life as he gave tirelessly of his time, talents and dreams. He was a visionary, a thinker with an undaunted, steadfast, positive outlook. Beck’s legacy will be the indelible mark he left on the many lives he touched worldwide.

Many antique aircraft perform at today’s airshows and races worldwide were directly touched by Gerry Beck or Tri-State Aviation. ‘The Restorers’, is an hour-long documentary film about warbird and vintage aircraft restorers and the planes they resurrect from the graves of history… In the snows of North Dakota, we find two of the best warbird builders in the world in Gerry Beck and Bob Odegaard, builders of Mustangs and a rare Super Corsair respectively. ‘The Restorers’, is available to view at https://www.hemlockfilms.com/the-restorers-season-1,

If interested in finding out more about Gerry, there is also a great article with photos of the builds in Warbird News by Matthew Mc Daniel, written in 2016, about his projects including his P51’s, F4U Corsair, Zero, and Hell Diver Rebuilds. http://warbirdsnews.com/tag/gerry-beck

Gerry was also involved in the making of the movie “Thunder over Reno” which featured Bob Odegaard’s Super Corsair.

I knew Gerry in passing due to being a volunteer at the Fargo Air Museum for a time, and having a passion for vintage aircraft and warbirds. I am also an avid aircraft photographer, and this event is unique in that you can see, and be among, all these wonderfully restored aircraft from a very close distance. All the planes are marshalled on the ground, but you often have to be aware of taxiing airplanes when moving around the parked aircraft to look at them.

To say this is a close-knit community of aviators is an understatement. It’s more like a family gathering where the public is invited to partake these beautiful flying machines. Many of the participants have been attending since the first annual event.

So, if you decide to go to the 14th annual event on Labor Day weekend 2020, check Facebook for the event “Battle Lake Gathering of Airplanes” on the Midwest Airshow, Fly-in and Flight Club group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/MNFlightClub/. Make sure to bring $5 for the Raffle fund raiser for the airport and a few dollars for lunch, fly-in or drive in, but make sure to get their early to get a spot and ensure they don’t run out of food (2019). There might be 1000 people there next year and over 100 aircraft on a small grass strip in western central Minnesota. Enjoy the view on landing as you will be coming into this airport over the lake and watch the wind, it can shift on you. Hope to see you there.

The information for this article was gathered from interviewing Cindy and Whitney Beck, Pat Kostelecky, Kreg Anderson and Todd Weber a former employee of Odegaard Aviation as well as several articles in local newspapers, one written by Robin Huebner and published in the Grand Forks Herald. Also, with information by Gary Renier, and from attending the event, as well as the Tri-State Aviation website.

Thanks to Gary Renier, a friend of Beck’s and a Battle Lake area summer resident who led an aviation photography event at my first show in 2018 for the Fargo Camera Club. Gary, a former Optometrist in Fargo, ND, is also heavily involved with Aircraft photography being a volunteer at the Commemorative Airforce Museum in Arizona, and former Fargo Camera Club President.

It is my very distinct pleasure to write this article and get to know these wonderful people a little better.

Gordon Court

Owner,

Kings Court Creative Photography.

#Kingscourtcreativephoto aviationphotography isap_aviationphoto isap_aviationphotography gerrybeckmemorialflyin kaydet boeing b75n Stearman i

3 notes · View notes