#but it is now a very prominent and widespread feature of the extreme left too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

journeysintowebcomics · 7 years

Text

Worm LiveBlog #4

UPDATE 4: Dreaded School Days

So, last time Taylor decided not to take any credit for Lung’s capture, given how dangerous that’d be, and returned home, where her father was worriedly wondering why she had left the house at midnight. He decided to talk with her in the morning. Let’s see if that happens!

This second arc is called ‘insinuation’, which, unlike Gestation, tells me absolutely nothing. I don’t know how it’ll fit in anything. Maybe by the time I finish the second arc I’ll know.

The narration is back to first-person in Taylor’s point of view. She wakes up almost three hours after going to sleep. She must feel awful! And indeed, she does. It’s never easy to wake up when you sleep for so little. ‘I made myself change into sweats and walk down to the kitchen sink to wash my face, fighting to keep awake’ You know, if someone tells you it’s possible to get used to sleeping just a couple hours...that’s a lie. One can’t get used to that, trust me, I tried. Taylor, you’re going to have a very tough time if you don’t sleep at least six hours, that much is guaranteed.

Once her father descends into the kitchen, Taylor describes him in terms the narration had already used last time. Yeah, he’s not an attractive man. ‘As he entered the kitchen, he looked surprised to see me there. That’s just the way my dad always looked: constantly bewildered. That, and a little defeated.’ You’re so going to find out he has reasons to be bewildered, Taylor...and ‘a little defeated’ is an understatement. It seems to me that just like Taylor has been keeping silent of how bad the situation is for her, he’s also trying not to show how defeated and angry he feels. That’s very human. Happens very often.

Taylor’s Dad starts being doting, not showing anger or hinting he knows Taylor left the house last night. Instead he shows interest in Taylor’s glumness. Good way to start the chain of thoughts that’ll lead to a certain topic. “You know, you could go back to bed, sleep in for another hour or so. You don’t have to go on your run.” He’s right, but given how that may be unusual – Taylor strikes me as the kind of person that sticks to the training no matter what – accepting the proposal would be like hinting she was outside doing who knows what. She’s not going to take the suggestion, is she?

Nope, she doesn’t. She also doesn’t suspect Dad knows about her nightly escapade, since Dad throws these hints rather often, apparently. ‘I wasn’t sure if he’d worry more or less if I told him about my powers.’ He’ll worry more, that’s for sure.

Dad changes the topic to someone he knows at work, a man named Gerry who turns out will join a villain’s troops. That’s how bad the situation is in the docks. Dad seems to be safe, given his job, but I’m not sure if he’d be the kind of person that’d be a henchman if suddenly he found himself unemployed. What’d Taylor think?

‘Über and Leet were local villains with a video game theme. They were pretty much as incompetent as villains could be while staying out of jail. They barely even rated as B-list.’ They sound like dorks. Chances are they won’t be mentioned ever again. This topic of conversation fails, so Dad decides to go straight for the jugular and stop beating around the bush: ‘“I heard you come in late last night,” he said.’. Taylor manages not to react like her hand got caught in the cookie jar, simply nodding and biting her French toast. She proceeds to show she hadn’t thought not even for a second that Dad would find out she had left: “I just couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t get my thoughts to settle down. I got out of bed and tried pacing, but it didn’t help, so I stepped outside and walked around the neighborhood.” For three hours. Dad won’t believe it not even for a second, even if Taylor does have nights when she can’t sleep.

He doesn’t get confrontational or angry, instead sounding conciliatory in what must be an attempt to get Taylor to tell him the truth. ‘“What’s going on, that has you so anxious you can’t sleep?” he questioned me’.

It’s depressing that Taylor has a credible excuse here...but it works, mentioning school worked. That makes Dad stop asking questions. Honestly, by this point I think Taylor’s father is the character I feel the most sympathy for. He’s supportive and seems to me like a good person, and there’s this difficult situation he’s dealing with regarding his daughter...and it’s bound to get worse. I’m going to be extremely surprised if Danny doesn’t find out about his daughter’s powers before the climax of the story. I just hope he’ll be okay.

Parenting happens: no getting out of the house in the middle of the night. Taylor may need to start leaving through the window, I suppose. Dad sees that Taylor’s hair shows signs of having been in contact with fire, to which Taylor suggests it was done with the stove. That...that could work? “Stove, maybe?” That’s not going to fool him, but then again: it isn’t like there are any good excuses that could work. I can’t think of a single alternate explanation. You were doomed to give a lame explanation no matter what, Taylor! But yeah, that was it. End of chapter.

There was less confrontation than I thought there’d be, but now that I think about it, it makes sense. Danny wants to trust Taylor and doesn’t want to damage his bond with her, so he tries not to pressure her. Of course he’d be as mellow and cautious as he was. He did his job as a parent by placing restrictions regarding leaving the house in middle of the night, but didn’t try to delve too deep into Taylor’s life. He behaved in a way that fits his characterization.

Not that it means the chapter was meaningful in terms of pushing the story forward, but that’s forgivable. I think that showing he made a token effort is good enough to warrant this chapter’s existence. If this was a book, I think the editors would have asked Mr. Wildbow to integrated this chapter into the next, but yeah, I’m aware it isn’t a book.

Let’s continue to the next chapter. Insinuation 2.2. It’s now a normal day. Taylor returned from her run, made sure she wouldn’t faint out of fatigue in middle of the school hallway, and went to class. As expected there are bound to be consequences for skipping two classes and not presenting an assignment – consequences Taylor dreads – so she tries to not to think about it and instead focus in the one class she’s good at. She was one of the few that was good at this. ‘A good three quarters of the people in the room were computer illiterate, being from families that didn’t have the money for computers or families that didn’t have much interest in the things, so they practiced typing without looking at the keyboard and had lessons in using search engines.’ Hohoh, a paragraph that reminds me this was written like in 2005 or 2006, give or take three years! Computers definitely weren’t as widespread back then. I remember only like half of my class had computers at home, me included. Nowadays it’s unthinkable a student doesn’t have a computer or at the very least a smartphone with lots of functions, but by the time this story seems to be located at, computers were certainly a privilege more than anything else. Can you believe that was just a decade ago? A decade ago my school still had a class that taught us how to use a typewriter. Technology sure advances and spreads fast!

There’s a reason for Taylor to talk about how good she is at computers, and it is because that means she has time to search information. ‘The go-to place for news and discussion on capes was Parahumans Online. The front page had constant updates on recent, international news featuring capes.’ I wonder if Lung’s capture is notorious enough to have a paragraph or two in the international news. ‘From there, I could go to the wiki, where there was information on individual capes, groups and events, or to the message boards, which broke down into nearly a hundred sub-boards, for specific cities and capes.’ Given how simple and doable that sounds, I’d be willing to bet anything that this wiki is now reality...based only in the content of Worm, of course. Taylor starts the search for information about the villains she met the night before.

Tattletale is a mystery, which I find amusing given her name. Grue has a bit more of information. He sounds like a relatively average villain, although the scale of his crimes grew once he had this team. He also can generate darkness, which fits what I was told Grue may mean. Other than that, he’s still somewhat of a mystery. Bitch is different, though. ‘Rachel Lindt had never made any real attempt to hide her identity.’ She was homeless and kept running around every time a hero or the police tried to catch her, but then she joined the group and she’s not on the run anymore. This reminds me I have no idea how her power works. I hope to see more detail about that later, just curiosity, heh. So, it all started when she demolished the house she had been at, and she has been on the run since then, defeating or evading teams and heroes trying to catch her. Quite a notorious villain to have in the group! There’s nothing about Regent, he may be a new villain.

That’s all there’s to learn right now about the group that soon may be Taylor’s new partners. The lack of information makes Taylor be in worse mood than before, so she does her work and returns to searching information. It’s Lung’s turn! ‘I looked up Lung on the wiki, which I had done often enough before, as part of my research and preparation for being a superhero. I’d wanted to be sure I knew who prominent local villains were and what they could do.’ Yeah, Taylor was very well aware of Lung’s notoriousness yet she wasn’t afraid to fight him and his gang. That’s brave. Extremely dangerous and almost goes horribly wrong, but it was brave nonetheless. Lung spends his time recruiting other gangs, siphoning the resources to his group, and throwing them once he was done. Everyone who is Asian in this city is destined to be contacted by this gang. Guess having a superpowered juggernaut like Lung as leader has a lot of perks when it’s about recruiting and “appealing” to people.

His lieutenants Oni Lee and Bakuda have some information too. Oni Lee ‘could teleport, but when he did so, he didn’t disappear. As he teleported, his original self, for lack of a better term, would stay where it was and remain active for five to ten seconds before disintegrating into a cloud of carbon ash. Essentially, he could create another version of himself anywhere nearby, while the old version could stick around long enough to distract or attack you.’ Five to ten seconds? That’s much less than I thought. I had supposed Oni Lee’s copies wouldn’t live for long, but I didn’t think it’d be for so little. Not that it matters. After all, he not only copies himself, he copies everything he has...bombs included. ‘there was an (sic) report of him holding a grenade in his hand as he repeatedly duplicated himself, with his short lived duplicates acting as suicide bombers.’ Combine that with Bakuda and effectively, they’re a scary duo. Lung is as good as free, I think.

Speaking of Bakuda, there’s information about how she held a university hostage. Her description brought to mind Dr. Insano, for some reason. Must be the goggles. Hmmm...you know something I noticed? There’s no mention about she being a Tinker. I thought these classifications were public knowledge, it sounded like it could be, but looks like it isn’t widespread enough for it to be in the wiki. Nobody else Taylor checked had such classifications, either.

Back to Lung. There’s a section about Defeats and Captures. ‘According to the wiki, Lung had apparently suffered a number of minor defeats at the hands of various teams, ranging from the Guild to the local teams of New Wave, the Wards and the Protectorate, but consistently managed to evade capture until last night.’ Is that so? Huh. Well...I was aware Lung was so strong he had evaded capture, but I thought defeats were extremely uncommon, with that power of his. Taylor and the villain band must have done something nobody else had done. If I had to guess, maybe it was the part when she targeted his eyes. That can’t have been pleasant at all. Lung is currently awaiting trial, and Armsmaster has all the credit for his capture. Word sure got out fast!

Hahaha, now I wonder if Armsmaster himself logged in the wiki and edited the page. What better way to claim credit?

By all rights, I should have been angry that Armsmaster took the credit for the fight that could have cost me my life. What are you talking about, Taylor, don’t be like that! You knew this’d happen. But no, she isn’t angry. She’s excited and wants to brag that Lung’s capture was possible thanks to her. Heh, now that’s something anyone can relate to. Happy that her actions last night led to something great, she consults the forums and messageboards to see what people’s talking about it. Looking for some ego stroking, Taylor? Not that you don’t deserve it!

Instead she found some rather worrying stuff. ‘I was given pause by one post that asked whether Bakuda could or would use a large scale bomb and the threat of potentially thousands or hundreds of thousands dead, to ransom Lung back.’ Personal opinion: yes, she could. YES, she would. Taylor tries to ignore that, telling herself it won’t be her responsibility is it happens, it’ll be something experienced heroes will deal with. Thanks for staying out of danger’s way, Taylor.

There’s one last person Taylor wants to check about: herself. Now that’d be surprising! She started her activities last night, it’d be too soon for anyone to add information about her, unless Armsmaster did it, that is. Of course he didn’t. There are no results at all...except two. One is for a villain in the UK, while the other...well, the other is something she should see, yeah.

Subject: Bug

Owe you one. Would like to repay the favor. Meet?

Send a message,

Tt.

Well well. Hell-o, Tattletale! Fancy meeting you in the Internet. Something like this had so little chances of working, yet it did. Lucky Tattletale! People in general are clueless regarding the meaning of this contact attempt, but the message got to Taylor and that’s what matters. Will she take the message?

The very short plot summary I know points to ‘yes’.

This was a neat chapter of worldbuilding. It’s always nice to have more information about the world and its inhabitants, and it’d be a good point of comparison to see the little there was about the villains and what Taylor may think of them once she knows them better. Hmmmm...I do wonder how Tattletale and the rest thought would be good to repay the favor, though. Just the offer to let her join the group? Or could there be something else besides that? That shall be seen soon, I suppose!

Next chapter starts with the computer class ending before Taylor can take a decision regarding the message. Well that’s good, that means she’ll have some time to think if she truly wants to reply to it. Sooner or later she’ll have to be in that villain team, but that doesn’t mean it’s 100% sure she’ll reply. The class ends and Taylor goes to Professor Popular’s class, much to her chagrin. Madison is there and she’s continuing the bullying. ‘I spotted a puddle of orange juice on the seat, with the empty plastic bottle lying just underneath the chair.’ What’s up with the wasteful attitude, Madison? Seriously. Of course what’s important here is that Madison continues the bullying. With some luck the day will end without Taylor being tormented any further.

Since the actual task involved people getting in groups, Taylor decides to approach Mr. Gladly to get a new textbook since the one she had was soaked with grape juice, and goes to join ‘the leftovers’ Boy does that sound familiar. Taylor dives into the world of homework, having done hers, and introduces her partners with a paragraph for each one. Hm. Does this mean these Sparky and Greg characters will appear later as well? Greg gets distracted and doesn’t work at all until one of Madison’s friends joins late and is forced to join their group.

When Taylor finally manages to get Greg to read her work – Sparky is...sitting around and doing nothing, I suppose – he gives the work to Julia, who tosses it to Madison. Oh boy, tell me this isn’t going where I think it’s going. As if Taylor needed more reasons to hate school and the so-called popular people.

Thankfully for Taylor, it doesn’t go where it could have gone – ruining the homework and leaving Taylor without work to present. Instead she takes credit for it, which is...just a tier below that in terms of bad behavior. Greg was the one who needed to do the presentation for the group, it turned out Sparky was pretty much doing nothing because he really was half-asleep, and Julia obviously didn’t want anything to do with them. Madison managed to gain praise with Taylor’s work, and overall...overall this was once another horrible class for Taylor. Ugh. I feel really bad for Taylor here, seriously. I’m surprised by the amount of self-control she has. I think a lot of people would have sent a fire ant or two to bite Madison by now.

Taylor suppresses her powers with all the concentration she has and follows Sparky’s example until the end of the class, when Mr. Gladly calls for her. “I have something of an idea of what goes on in my classroom. I don’t know exactly who, but I know some people are giving you a pretty hard time.” Well kudos to you for taking the initiative and calling for Taylor to come to you, Mr. Gladly! He proceeds to number a few of the incidents Taylor has been affected with. Madison seems to have smeared glue on the desk and chair a few weeks ago, and then there’s the incident at the start of the year. “I asked you after the glue incident. I’m asking you again. Would you be willing to go to the office with me, to talk with the principal and vice principal?”

Come on, Taylor, take it! It’s...it’s not bound to be of much help, given how in fiction and many times in real life this doesn’t tend to work, but the part of me that wishes figures of authority were more trusted wishes she accepted Mr. Gladly’s offer. So...so of course she doesn’t, mostly because Mr. Gladly makes no promises and she has no proof Madison and pals are the ones doing it all.

“Great. So they might miss a few days of school, and only if I can prove they were behind it all… and whether they get suspended or not, they feel a hundred percent justified in whatever else they do to the rat for revenge.” She is right about that. If there are no consequences at all, all it’ll cause is that Madison and company will stop doing it to Taylor’s face and will take subtler and anonymous ways to torment her. Taylor would still know those three are the likely culprits, but she’d have even less proof. On the other hand... “If you want things to get better, Taylor, you have to start somewhere.” On the other hand, Mr. Gladly is right about this. It’s a starting point. It’s not likely to work, but it’s a start. Look, in this situation there was no way to win, that’s for sure. The best anyone could hope was to pick the option that had the least disadvantages and potential to hurt her, and honestly, which one of these two is the one that’d make her suffer the less? I don’t think that has an easy answer.

Taylor doesn’t see it that way and decides to not say a thing. She goes outside the classroom and stumbles upon Emma, her two henchmen, and half-dozen additional friends more. Welp. I dread what’s going to happen.

...but that’ll be for the next time. I fear what may happen to Taylor, though. I really do. I hope she’ll be okay and, well, that she won’t suffer much.

...

...but this wouldn’t be considered a dark story if nothing was going to happen to her, so I’m sure it’ll be awful.

Next update: three updates

#worm #worm liveblog #book liveblog #liveblog #story liveblog

18 notes · View notes

tipsoctopus · 5 years

Text

Leeds, Norwich, Bristol City, Coventry: Who else makes up the perfect Premier League?

There was a recent all-too-brief trend on Twitter that saw fans compile their perfect Premier League table and this is brought up now, after the event, because presently the Championship is topped by Leeds United and Norwich City, two clubs who featured prominently in these fantasy top flights and duked out a thrilling clash on Saturday.

Three more popular choices – Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, and QPR – are also currently in contention to return to the promised land which means that come August we might be three closer to having our dream twenty, a list that varies from person to person but really not to any great extent.

We pretty much all want Leeds back for example and this despite the club retaining a hated status across rival fan-bases even in extended exile. Forest too was included virtually across the board on Twitter and they are hardly the darlings of the over-forties nor a ‘big club’ in 2019.

Breaking down the reasoning behind these selections reveals four overriding factors shared by one and all. Firstly there is a club’s fan-base to consider; the bigger the better. Then its stature is important with history playing a big part too. Lastly – and perhaps most obviously – the popularity or unpopularity of the club in question is key and interestingly either extreme works. Clubs that prompt mild apathy have no place here. This is a dream Premier League remember.

You may have noticed that only three reasons have so far been given. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the fourth very soon but before we do let’s stay with Leeds United and compare them to, say, Huddersfield Town to illustrate how the other factors come to the fore.

The Terriers are undoubtedly a popular club, with a large number of us admiring how they’ve managed to established themselves among the elite in recent seasons. Alas, in this instance unpopularity trumps popularity and their Yorkshire rivals massively win out. This can best be explained by the posing of a simple question: Who would you rather your club face this weekend? Huddersfield or Leeds? Which fixture would elicit the most enthusiasm?

Most would surely plump for the Elland Road giants and not only for the passionate antagonism implied. Stature comes into it also, with Leeds possessing a greater standing than Huddersfield even if the latter boasts an illustrious and proud history of its own.

Rightly or wrongly, Leeds are regarded as being a ‘proper’ club with ‘proper’ fans. Huddersfield are too, only less so. So a fan-base scores highly and history does too but pales in importance to stature. Being widely disliked meanwhile only helps a club’s cause.

Yet all of this is nothing to nostalgia, the fourth and most meaningful criterion when compiling a perfect Premier League. Let’s be honest, that’s why Norwich are so prominent and I really do mean prominent: having ploughed through so many of these lists I can safely say that the Canaries featured in every single one.

Is their widespread inclusion due to their fan-base? Of course not: Norwich have a mainly localised set of supporters who are perfectly harmless and keep themselves to themselves when not barracking Ipswich. Is it their stature then? Again, that’s a definitive no. With all due respect the East Anglia club cede to most in this regard and the same goes for their historic achievements that amount to two League Cups.

What Norwich does have going for it however, crucially, is that they were one of the founding members of the new, shiny Premier League and what’s more they have yo-yoed up and down since 1992. This means they were likely involved at the highest echelon when the person who compiled each list was a child; when they would stay up to watch Match of the Day in their pyjamas and it would be a magical world. When, in short, football was so very special.

A vote for Norwich City then is a vote for pure nostalgia.

That certainly explains their presence below, in my own personal top twenty; an assortment of clubs so utopian I would happily scrap relegation and see them fight among themselves forever more.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham

The top six is sacrosanct and rightly so, with their huge supporter base and inherent grudges. Take away any of this sextet and the Premier League would be a little more rational and reasonable. Who wants that?

Everton

Unlucky not to be grouped with the automatic six, the Toffees are top flight mainstays with a fan-base as chippy as they are loyal. A credit to the division.

Newcastle United

Never less than a soap opera Newcastle’s bestowment of entertainment doesn’t begin and end with their off-the-pitch travails. On it few clubs have given more classic games and unforgettable moments. Throw in their legion of fans too and it’s a no-brainer.

Portsmouth

A toss-up between Pompey and Southampton as sadly there’s no room for them both. The inhabitants of Fratton Park win out because – in the best possible sense – they are tremendously mad.

Aston Villa

The Holte End. Three or four captivating – and at times underachieving – sides since the early nineties. A central location that makes it manageable to get to no matter where you live. Villa are wasted in the Championship.

Norwich City

Third place finishers in the inaugural Premier League campaign the Canaries soon after mined the leagues below, only surfacing a handful of occasions since. Who can’t be enamoured however by their unerring ability to get thrashed out of sight by the big guns only to then show resilience the following week. Then there’s the kits which oscillate between gorgeous and minging.

In fact the only consistent thing about them is a stoic insistence on playing decent football regardless of manager. That will do for me.

Fulham

One of the most beautiful grounds in the world and a strong contender for the most likeable London club.

West Ham United

Entrenched in local pride the Hammers are the very definition of a ‘proper’ club. Also score bonus points for so often taking great delight in bloodying the nose of the establishment.

Brighton and Hove Albion

You can’t have a vibrant and absorbing Premier League without a south coast derby and once again the Saints narrowly miss out. This time it’s by virtue of location, with an away day – or more accurately an away weekend – to Brighton always a highlight on the calendar.

Leeds United

On spying *cough* my rival colours a supporter outside Elland Road recently drenched me in expletives despite being old enough to be my great-great-granddad. Never change Leeds, and hurry back. We’ve missed you.

Coventry City

Residents of the top division for 35 consecutive years the Sky Blues deserve to be here on merit. That’s before we get to the fans and the despicable treatment they’ve endured courtesy of owners you wouldn’t wish on a worst enemy. The Coventry faithful warrant inclusion. They’ve earned it the hard way.

Nottingham Forest

The traditionalists’ choice and let’s face it there is always room for sentiment when it involves a two-time European Cup winner.

Bristol City

Admittedly a left-field pick but why waste the unique opportunity of creating a brand new Premier league model without finally giving the south-west the big club it justifies?

QPR

A compact, electrifying ground that evokes an elaborate Subbuteo set-up plus a compendium of flawed but occasionally brilliant sides. That equals full membership. Additionally, any side supported by Nick Cave and Pete Doherty is hard to omit.

Sheffield Wednesday

Ace fans who turn up en masse no matter the division. The Owls have also graced us with some fantastic ballers, particularly in the Chris Waddle era. A welcome addition.

from FootballFanCast.com http://bit.ly/2MNPBpb via IFTTT from Blogger http://bit.ly/2SoIEQE via IFTTT

#FootballFanCast.com

0 notes

fadingfartconnoisseur · 7 years

Text

Key West, You Are My New Favorite

I remember back in 2011 when my friend Chris and I were on the bus from Luang Prabang back to Vang Vieng in Laos. We had left Vang Vieng earlier than we had wanted in order to stay with our friends; now that everyone was going their separate ways, we could go back and party some more.

WE COULD GO BACK AND PARTY SOME MORE.

And we giggled like maniacs the entire six-hour ride back. We would look at each other and just start cracking up. My god, we even wore our VANG VIENG – IN THE TUBING shirts for the bus ride. Knowing that the party of all parties lay ahead of us.

Chris and Kate in Vang Vieng, because THIS PICTURE NEVER FAILS TO MAKE ME LAUGH. Oh, Chris…if you only knew that was car paint and it wouldn’t come off for days…

Times change. Vang Vieng is no longer the bacchanal that it once was, and my personal tastes in travel have changed as well.

But there are still destinations that make me giggle.

Vang Vieng made me giggle at 26. Prague made me giggle at 20. Las Vegas made me giggle at 23. San Pedro, Guatemala, made me giggle at 30.

And Key West made me giggle at 32.

Welcome to Key West

“Everyone here looks like Guy Fieri,” I whispered to Cailin. Similar to our earlier stops in the Keys, it seemed like everyone was tanned, bleached, spiky, or all three. But one thing was for sure — people were here for a good time.

Oh yes, Key West is a party place. Mostly for people older than us — while there were a handful of visitors in their twenties and thirties, I found most visitors to be 40+ and especially 50+. And the crowd was very white.

See that waving group on the top right? That’s the demographic, right there.

So if you’re in your twenties or thirties, don’t go expecting to meet lots of people around your age. You might meet some, but I wouldn’t plan on it. You’d probably be better off going to Las Vegas or New Orleans for a younger party crowd.

Key West has historically been a very LGBT-friendly destination, but I was surprised at a few things. First of all, while there were plenty of gay travelers and gay couples visiting, I didn’t see a single sign of affection or PDA between a same-sex couple. I also didn’t see a single gay bar or group of gay travelers, which seemed unusual.

Secondly, there were T-shirts for sale everywhere that read “I’M NOT GAY BUT $20 IS $20.” Kind of like the “UP THE BUM NO BABYS” shirts of Kuta, Bali. (There were also a lot of Trump-friendly shirts — “SPEAK ENGLISH OR GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY,” etc.) It surprised me that vaguely homophobic apparel would be so widespread in a prominent LGBT travel destination.

Now — take this all with a grain of salt. I’m a straight cis woman; I’ve never experienced the difficulties LGBT travelers face and I’d never claim to speak for the LGBT community. And perhaps I was obtuse and walked by a ton of gay bars without noticing.

But I will say this: don’t expect Key West to be like Fire Island or Provincetown or San Francisco, where tons of gay couples walk around arm-in-arm and nobody bats an eye. It may be different at different times of year. But if you’re gay and planning a trip, Florida Keys Tourism has an LGBT travel resource site here.

The Beauty of Key West

Key West is such a beautiful city and the buildings blend together beautifully. One of my favorite things to do was just walk around the town and check out the homes.

Here are some of my favorite shots:

Are you in love with Key West already or what?

Yes, there are some taller buildings, but they tend to be outside the town center. That’s why you’re best off staying in a small guesthouse in one of these traditional buildings.

Sunsets Are Life

Every night, the waterfront and area around Mallory Square come to life just before sunset. They call it the Sunset Celebration — the streets are live with performers and food and booze vendors as everyone gathers to watch the sun go down.

Cailin and I see bright green slushies from a wagon parked by the water. “What is that?”

“It’s The Green Thing!” the bartender announces with pride. “I invented it twenty years ago! Here, I’ll pour you a sample.” He pours us an extremely generous serving into a spare glass.

We sip the sample, our lips turning green. It’s fabulously strong, tasting of rum and limes. We order two.

“Can I try?” asks a forty-something man behind us.

“Um. Okay,” I say, handing him my glass and internally screaming, Why are you giving some stranger your drink, McCulley? You should have ovaried up and told him no!

(“Why did you give it to him?” Cailin asks as soon as we’re away from him. “I DON’T KNOW!” I exclaim. “It was a sample! What’s the etiquette for samples?!”)

Green drinks in hand, we make our way down to the greatest show of all — THE CAT MAN.

Imagine a French dude with long white hair performing “magic tricks” with a collection of cats and then lifting their tails and screaming into their butts. That’s the Cat Man, and his Key West show is famous! Whatever you do, make your way over to see the Cat Man’s show.

(No pictures because he doesn’t permit them — but you can check out his website here.)

Key West Sightseeing

Key West has plenty of places to explore if you’re into sightseeing. We didn’t go on a major tourism binge, but we did check out a few of the biggest sites.

First of all, Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West and you can visit his home. The Sun Also Rises has been my favorite book since I was 17, so visiting his home was a must for me.

You can see his typewriter. And a portrait of him painted, in Cailin’s words, “when he was young and hot.”

Most famous, however, are the Hemingway cats. The cats are descendants of Snow White, a white kitten given to Hemingway by a ship’s captain. The cats are polydactyl, or six-toed, a trait that has lasted down many generations.

Crazy cat lady Cailin made a new friend.

Across from the Hemingway House is the Key West Lighthouse. It’s 88 steps to the top…

…and you get a great view across the island.

Just down the street from the lighthouse is the Southernmost Point. It’s the furthest south point in the continental United States — only 90 miles from Cuba.

It’s fun to stand further south than everyone else there and know that you personally are the southernmost human in the continental US!

Foodie Fun — And Key Lime Pie

Key West is a casual place, and most of the dining options here are open, welcoming, and unpretentious.

Tons of my friends and readers told me we had to go to Blue Heaven — and wow. I fell in love with it the moment we walked in.

Ramshackle tables were set up outside. Two guys were playing guitars on stage and making jokes throughout.

All the seats were taken, so we headed to the bar for a drink.

And the bar was hopping, even as early as noon. (This was a pattern I noticed throughout the Keys — you can always find somewhere to drink.) Also, how great is that HELLO sticker in the background?

Key lime pie was had, of course. This wasn’t one of my favorites, though — the meringue seemed lazy to me. Too overly done. It’s supposed to be messier than that.

If you’re looking for something more upscale, head to Mangoes for dinner.

And they had one of my favorite cocktails: the watermelon margarita.

(Fun fact: Cailin is always getting me to say “watermelon margarita” out loud because it’s one of the few phrases I always say in a Boston accent. She then asks me what I put my clothes in and I say “drawer” without pronouncing the last two letters and she finds it hilarious.)

Other standouts: crab cakes made with macadamia nuts; a conch sampler featuring ceviche, chowder, and fritters; and a Caribbean-style steak frites with yucca fries.

Mangoes has both a traditional key lime pie and unorthodox key lime pie on the menu, so we went for the offbeat choice: made with mascarpone and a ginger-graham cracker crust. After trying several varieties of key lime pie all over the Keys, this was a nice detour.

The gingery crust was fabulous, though I do prefer the tart traditional filling.

And if you want even more famous key lime pie, head to Kermit’s. I found their pie filling to be a bit too on the mousse-y side, rather than gelled, but I really loved their frozen key lime pie on a stick, dipped in chocolate!

Boston Reunion on a Sunset Cruise

Sunset cruises are one of the most popular activities in Key West. For our second night, Cailin and I decided to join a schooner cruise with America 2.0.

“Everyone here is already loaded,” I whispered as we boarded the boat. It was true — we were the only ones under 40 and while we were sober, about 90% of our fellow passengers had clearly already been drinking.

We set off into the late afternoon sunshine, welcomed by our smiling crew. Oh, and they filled our glasses at the earliest moment possible and kept us topped up. For me and Cailin, it was rosé all day.

At this point, I should mention that a large percentage of passengers were decked out in Red Sox and Patriots gear, toasting to Tom Brady and the Super Bowl win the week before.

Yes. We had found the Massholes.

“I’m warning you,” I told Cailin. “Between the open bar and the Massholes, I’m going be speaking in the thickest Boston accent ever in about an hour.”

And once they found out I was from their home state, too, we became the best of friends.

“TO TOM BRADY!” we cheered, toasting each other. “GREATEST OF ALL TIME!”

To be honest, Boston’s crazy sports culture is a major reason why I left the city in the first place. I got tired of sports dominating every conversation and not being able to talk to a guy in a bar, ever.

That said, now that I no longer live in Massachusetts, I love running into that culture on the road. Go figure.

Also, the Massholes told me that Gronk (the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski) was in Key West at the moment. I had to text my dad: “GRONK IS IN KEY WEST. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!”

So yes. We drank a lot of wine. We gazed at another beautiful sunset. We got back on shore far more inebriated than when we got on board. Our new best friends took us to an Irish pub (because Boston). And before you know it, guess who jumped on stage for a Guinness-chugging contest?

I came in last place. Cailin did much better than me.

That is probably all that should be said about that evening (except later we got hot dogs and in my addled state I was wise enough not to eat the bun, which I’m pretty sure didn’t even matter if I was chugging bloody Guinness earlier that evening).

So. If you’re looking for a party, Key West is definitely the place. I’m really glad we got to have a party night there!

Where We Stayed — Not Your Average Hotel

First things first: accommodation in Key West is surprisingly expensive. Prices often exceed what you would pay in New York for a similar property. And because it’s a small island, there’s a limited amount of inventory (though we did meet some people camping on Stock Island, the next island over).

Even so, you want to be in the center of town in Key West. The town is such a beautiful place and it’s so nice to be able to walk home instead of tracking down one of the pink taxis that dot the town (there’s no Uber or Lyft).

There is, however, a much more economical option that doesn’t sacrifice on style or amenities: the Not Your Average Hotel. Cailin and I were comped two nights here but even if we weren’t, this would be one of the best priced options in town.

Many of the private rooms are set up dorm-style, with up to three sets of bunk beds and an ensuite bathroom. The rooms are customized and beds can be converted into kings if you’d like. The rooms are relatively simple, but the bunk beds do come with their own cubbies and reading lights, like nicer hostels, as well as lockers.

On the grounds, there are three swimming pools and two jacuzzis. We found the crowd to be a bit younger than most Key West visitors, which was nice. Starbucks coffee is available 24/7 and they have a pretty decent continental breakfast, as well as happy hour specials from the bar.

Best of all, it’s in a central location, a short walk from Duval Street, the waterfront, and most area attractions. And there is a wonderful juice bar next door called Date and Thyme (I love that name!). They make a lovely beet juice if you’re like me and like to pretend you’re drinking blood.

The Not Your Average Hotel was great and I would absolutely stay there again. See Essential Info for pricing information.

The Takeaway

Would I go back to Key West? HELL YES I WOULD! Just tell me when! I can be at Newark Airport in 30 minutes and they fly direct on United!

Seriously, I would go back to Key West for an escape from the cold northeastern winter. I would love to bring a group of girlfriends, especially for something like a bachelorette party. Cailin and I talked about having another blogger girls’ getaway here, like we did in Mallorca in 2015. And I would love to return for Fantasy Fest, Key West’s racy Halloween celebration.

I would probably not come back to Key West during one of my sober months.

Because when I think of Key West now, I invariably start to giggle. I know how fun this place can be.

Essential Info: As much as I loved Key West, I found activities and especially accommodation to be very expensive. For that reason, you might want Key West to be a brief component of a longer trip, though I do wish we had stayed for three nights.

Rooms at the Not Your Average Hotel start at $152 for two, $161 for three, $170 for four, $186 for five, and $196 for six in low season. Those rates are generally about 50% more in high season.

For more Key West hotels, check out rates here.

Our sunset cruise was with America 2.0 and costs $85. The sailing lasts two hours, offers a variety of passed apps, and is open bar with beer and wine available. The staff keep your glasses filled!

Admission to the Ernest Hemingway House is $14 and includes an optional 30-minute tour. Please be respectful of the cats and don’t antagonize them. Admission to the Key West Lighthouse, along with its museum, is $10.

Street parking in Key West is common and you can park in the same spot for up to three days for free. We took this option. There are also parking garages. Neither Uber nor Lyft is available; grab one of the pink taxis instead. Better yet, stay in a central location so you don’t need to get a ride.

Don’t visit Key West without travel insurance. If you get sick or injured while in Key West, which can happen even if you’re careful, travel insurance will protect you and your finances. I use and recommend World Nomads.

Many thanks to Florida Keys Tourism for supporting this part of our trip. We received a press pass and received two nights’ comped accommodation at Not Your Average Hotel, a comped meal at Mangoes, a comped America 2.0 booze cruise, and free admission to the Hemingway House and the Lighthouse. Everything else was at our own expense. All opinions, as always, are my own.

Have you been to Key West? Is it your kind of destination? Share away!

via Travel Blogs http://ift.tt/2mtpXrD

#IFTTT #Travel Blogs

0 notes

theliberaltony · 3 years

Link

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

In his inaugural address, President Biden described America as in the midst of an “uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.” His invocation of a civil war and the American Civil War was provocative. It was also accurate. There is no formal definition of an uncivil war, but America is increasingly split between members of two political parties that hate each other.

In the same speech, Biden warned of the dangers of “a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism.” This too was accurate. Biden was delivering his address exactly two weeks after a group of supporters of then-President Trump, riled up by his false claims about voter fraud, stormed the Capitol to try to overturn the results of a free and fair election, an act of political extremism and domestic terrorism carried out by at least some people who believe in white supremacy.

Biden didn’t explicitly say that the extremism, domestic terrorism and white supremacy is largely coming from one side of the uncivil war. But that’s the reality. In America’s uncivil war, both sides may hate the other, but one side — conservatives and Republicans — is more hostile and aggressive, increasingly willing to engage in anti-democratic and even violent attacks on their perceived enemies.

The Jan. 6 insurrection and the run-up to it is perhaps the clearest illustration that Republicans are being more hostile and anti-democratic than Democrats in this uncivil war. Biden pledged to concede defeat if he lost the presidential election fair and square, while Trump never made such a pledge; many elected officials in the GOP joined Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results; and finally, Trump supporters arrived at the Capitol to claim victory by force. But there are numerous other examples of conservatives and Republicans going overboard in their attempts to dominate liberals and Democrats:

Republican officials at the state level have engaged in a sustained campaign to make it harder for liberal-leaning constituencies, particularly Black people, to vote.

GOP officials have used aggressive gerrymandering and attempted to manipulate the census-taking process to ensure GOP control of state legislatures and the U.S. House of Representatives, even if Democrats are winning more votes.1

Trump supporters and conservatives have threatened not only to physically destroy institutions they view as hostile to conservative causes, such as CNN, but to kill or injure prominent Democratic politicians, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. And, in attempts to intimidate liberal protesters, these conservatives sometimes show up at Black Lives Matter demonstrations wearing military gear and brandishing extensive weaponry.

Trump, conservative lawyers and most Republican members of Congress tried to disqualify the election results in some swing states, which would have in effect invalidated the votes of millions of Americans, particularly Black people and residents of large urban areas. And, as mentioned earlier, that effort culminated in an attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

State-level Republican officials have tried to criminalize the types of protests organized by liberals who support Black Lives Matter and oppose the expansion of oil and gas pipelines. In fact, conservative lawmakers in Missouri and other states are considering provisions that would limit legal liability for people who drive into protesters blocking traffic.

State-level GOP officials have limited cities and other localities from enacting policies meant to reduce the spread of COVID-19, essentially preventing elected officials in cities (usually Democrats) from taking measures to save the lives of their constituents.

GOP officials at the state level are engaged in a broader effort to preempt laws passed in Democratic cities, meaning that mostly white GOP state legislators elected in conservative, rural areas are often determining education, economic and other policies for heavily Democratic cities with large numbers of people of color.

We could also compile a long list of anti-democratic and hostile actions taken by Trump himself against Democrats. At the top of that list would be his attempt to coerce the Ukrainian government into announcing it would investigate the Biden family — essentially a scheme for Trump to use the power of his office to tilt the upcoming presidential election in his favor.

It’s important to be specific here, however. Many of the most aggressive actions against liberals have been taken not by Republican voters but largely by Republican officials, particularly at the state level.

“Many Republicans do not accept Democratic governance as a legitimate outcome” of elections, said Thomas Zimmer, a history professor at Georgetown University who is writing a book about political divides in America. “America is nearing a crisis of democratic legitimacy because one side is trying to erect one-party minority rule.”

Gretchen Helmke, a political scientist at the University of Rochester who studies the state of democratic governments around the world, said, “There is a marked asymmetry between the two parties,” with Republicans more engaged in “playing constitutional hardball and taking actions that are still within the letter of the law but [that] may violate the spirit of the law or common-sense ideas about fairness and political equality.”

Those types of actions are much harder to find on the Democratic side. There is no campaign by Democratic elected officials to disenfranchise white evangelical Christians, a constituency that overwhelmingly backs GOP candidates, just as Black voters overwhelmingly back Democratic candidates. There was no widespread, systematic attempt by Democratic officials four years ago to disqualify the votes that elected Trump or to spur Democratic voters to attack the Capitol to prevent the certification of his presidency. While the left-wing antifa movement has violent tendencies, it isn’t an organized group — nor is it aligned with Biden or Democrats. And at least right now, national security experts describe right-wing violence as a much bigger danger in America than any violent behavior from the left. In an October 2020 report, the Department of Homeland Security called violent white supremacists the “most persistent and lethal threat in the Homeland.”

And, of course, Democrats did not embrace an anti-democratic figure like Trump as their standard-bearer. There are no Democratic politicians in Congress implying that conservative politicians are such dangers to the country that they should be killed.

“The GOP is a counter-majoritarian party now, every week it becomes less like a ‘normal’ party,” said Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University who has written extensively about the radicalization of the Republican Party. “The GOP has to make it harder to vote and harder to understand what the party is all about. Those are two parts of the same project. And it can’t treat its white supremacist and violent wings as extremists who should be isolated because it needs them. They provide motor and momentum.”

“The GOP has radicalized (and is still radicalizing) on its willingness to break democratic norms and subvert or eliminate political institutions. Don’t expect restraint where you’ve seen it in the past,” said Charlotte Hill, a Ph.D. candidate at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, who conducts research on election and voting laws.

Because of this deep conservative antipathy for the liberal version of America, Joanne Freeman, a professor of history and American studies at Yale University, has compared the state of America today to the 1850s, right before the U.S. Civil War.

“Mass violence in Congress seemed possible in 1850. Now, 171 years later, it’s in the national mindscape once again. And for good reason. The echoes of 1850 are striking. We’re at a moment of extreme polarization when outcomes matter, sometimes profoundly,” Freeman wrote in a recent essay in The New York Times.

“The Republicans,” she continued, “whose ironclad grip on the Senate has dominated the federal government, feel entitled to that power and increasingly threatened; they know they’re swimming against the demographic tide in a diversifying nation. They have proven themselves ready and eager for minority rule; voter suppression — centered on people of color — is on the rise and has been for some time. And some of them are willing to protect what they deem right with threats of violence.”

To be sure, only a very, very small fraction of conservative Americans participate in acts of domestic terrorism. Most rank-and-file Republicans would likely describe themselves as opposed to individualized acts of racism (a workplace not hiring Black employees, for example) as well as systemic racism and white supremacy. Most Republican voters are not directly participating in moves by GOP officials to make it harder for people of color to vote. And there are a lot of Republican elected officials who have not tried to have the 2020 election results disqualified or promoted laws and rules to make it harder for people of color to vote.

At the same time, Republican voters have stuck with the party despite its recent shift toward move overt and aggressive anti-democratic behavior. “This stuff seems not a deal-breaker to the vast majority of Republican voters,” said Zimmer.

Susan Hyde, a political scientist at University of California, Berkeley, who studies democracy and democratic backsliding both in the U.S. and abroad, said that Republican voters tolerated the party’s anti-democratic tendencies because the party’s elites signaled that it was OK to do so. “Republican politicians have been lying to their own voters, and they need to stop doing that if we are going to have peace,” said Hyde, who was referring specifically to the false belief among a large bloc of Republican voters that Trump won the election.

The war is not completely one-sided, however. Liberals and Democrats are trying to enact what amounts to an equality agenda — to create a new America where LGBTQ Americans can openly participate in any institution; women can join and lead any institution; and women, Black people, Native Americans and other traditionally marginalized groups can have as much power, wealth and representation as the shares of the population they represent.

Through legislation, lawsuits and other means, liberals and Democrats are pressing this agenda aggressively, over the objections of conservatives. Same-sex marriage has been legalized, and transgenderism has been effectively normalized. Liberals are trying to outlaw the death penalty while trying to enshrine into law the right to use marijuana. They are pushing for a dramatic rethinking of American institutions, including the church and the police, and in some ways a rethinking of America itself.

And liberals and Democrats, believing that their equality agenda is right and just, increasingly cast those who oppose it in very negative terms like “racist” and “sexist.” Views held by even many Democrats a decade ago — opposition to same-sex marriage and skepticism that racial discrimination is a major barrier to Black advancement in America — are now sharply criticized. These criticisms are at the root of conservative complaints that American culture is too “politically correct” or that those who dissent from the liberal view must be “canceled.” And in some instances, liberal pressure does result in conservatives being denied platforms: Twitter suspended Trump’s account, for example, and Simon and Schuster canceled a book deal with Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.

Of course, some conservative behavior, like trying to make it harder for Black people to vote, probably should be both shamed and called out as racist. That said, it’s important to understand that some liberal and Democratic policies will require conservative Christians in particular to live in a changed America that they simply do not wish to live in. And the liberal focus on ideas like systemic racism and white supremacy has left many conservatives feeling that their individual behaviors and choices are being unfairly cast as racist.

Conservatives “are reacting to something real,” said Zimmer. “Their version of ‘Real America’ — a white, Christian America — is under threat. Republicans are convinced they are waging a noble war against the demise of ‘Real America.’ Conservatives think their backs are against the wall.”

“[On the left] there is a demand for more redistribution and laws and programs that help some people and not others,” said Vasabjit Banerjee, a political scientist at Mississippi State University who studies political conflicts. For example, he described Black Lives Matter as a “form of status redistribution,” that might be threatening to non-Black Americans because the movement’s goal is to, in effect, make Black people truly “full citizens” in America, equal to white Americans.

Reflecting on the actions of both sides, you can see why conservative attacks on liberals are much more problematic than the inverse. And that’s why it is hard to imagine Biden being able to unify America or end this uncivil war — his side is not the one feeling most aggrieved and taking anti-democratic, even violent, measures to win.

In his inaugural speech, Biden said, “We have learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”

He didn’t quite say why we had learned that democracy is precious, why it is fragile, or who or what it had prevailed against. But the reality is that some Republicans in America are so intent on defeating liberals that they are willing to erode America’s democracy, or even end it, along the way to victory.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Perry Bacon Jr.

0 notes