So. I saw this picture. He looks so soft and huggable. Therefore my brain spat this out. Obvi I love chubby grump Bucky who can F U C K

Rating: Explicit

Word count: 2, 623 words

Synopsis: Bucky is having a mid-life crisis at 100 something years. His girlfriend is an aggravating little angel shit who doesn’t understand why. Cue pool time and ripped blonde superheroes making poor Bucky extra grumpy.

Tags: Chubby!bucky, avenger!reader, size difference, age gap (twenties and technically late thirties), pnv!sex, daddy kink, Bucky’s hating ass internal dialogue, the reader is a slut for the extra Fluff, pwp, fluff and smut, him Jealous, and Big, I tried to make it humorous heehee

Poolside blues

It was hot. Bucky sucked on his popsicle angrily, sulking under an umbrella. He wore his t-shirt even in the blazing heat. Bucky grimaced at the cloth sticking to his skin, pulling at the fabric with a huff. He didn’t want to run around shirtless when the likes of Steve and Thor were basking in the sun— the golden gods they were.

So Bucky sucked on his popsicle, his fourth one already. He flexed his metal fist, cursing it for being such an eye sore. The assassin was convinced his body had it out for him. Mess of a shoulder, ropey bullet scars, and way too much extra weight he didn’t ask for. Bucky stared down at the soft flesh adorning his midsection, lips twisting into a frown.

Hydra had royally fucked his metabolism up, serum or not. Add a plethora of mood stabilizers and Bucky looked like a damn chipmunk hoarding up for the winter. His girlfriend thought it was cute, cooing and pinching his fleshy hip. Bucky did not think it was ‘cute’. He’d never been like this in his over-extended life. Soft.

He’d held thick muscle since the serum and kept that up at the least. The brunette worked out religiously to rid himself of that extra pudge. Now he was jacked with the stupid layer over it— making him feel like a bulky lummox. Therefore if he was going to sweat to death by the pool, so be it.

Bucky’s icy eyes flickered to his best girl playing around with Thor in the water. She giggled and batted at the blonde god while he picked her tiny frame up. The brunette’s eye twitched while gripping his popsicle stick until it crushed. His girlfriend was too cute for her own good, often drawing attention from the other sex.

“Are you just going to drill holes in them with your mind or get in the pool?”

Bucky glared at his oldest friend. Steve smiled down softly, big hands on his waspy waist. He grumbled, “I’m fine. Punk.” The blonde teased, “That’s why your shirt is soaked then huh? Go get in the water you’re making me miserable looking at ya.”

“Nope,” Bucky shot back, popping the ‘p’.

Steve sighed and dove into the huge pool. Bucky pouted efficiently from the side-lines. Thor had his stupid blonde hair and stupid white teeth and stupid washboard abs. His girlfriend appeared in his line of sight, her brows knitted in concern. Bucky attempted to not stare at her perky tits— nipples peaked under her blue strappy bikini.

She hummed, “I can feel you drowning in self-pity over here. Why don’t you get in babe?”

He was staring at her tits now, he didn’t care, not really. Bucky shrugged, “You have fun I’m fine over here. Thor is waiting.” She narrowed her eyes up at him, pushing back damp hair. Bucky licked his lips, holding the woman’s glare.

In a swift motion she launched onto the concrete.

Clambering up she swayed toward the grumpy man, droplets running down her tight body. Bucky took in the view, getting lost in it really. He could watch her all day and sometimes would. The assassin grunted as she plopped onto his lazily spread thighs, soaking him. Bucky hissed, “What was that for?”

The coolness of her skin felt amazing. He willed himself to not pop wood in front of the few teammates milling around. His girl leaned over, breasts about to spill, and pressed against his padded chest. She simpered, “Buck, c’mon, you know no one around here cares. You’re perfect.”

Bucky snorted, “To you, maybe.”

She frowned and lightly slapped at his shoulder, lips pouting. Bucky hated when the pretty thing pouted— he somehow would up doing what she wanted in the first place.

Every. Single. Time.

She ran a finger down his chest, big eyes begging, “Get in the pool, please? You look so upset over here and that makes me sad.”

Once again Bucky lost to her feminine wiles, groaning out a strained ‘fine’. Her mouth split into a toothy smile, cheering, “Yay!” He rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm. Sometimes Bucky forgot she was a little over ten years his junior. If one took off the cryogenically frozen periods. She hopped back into the water, eyes eagerly flickering to the side.

Bucky hauled himself up and reluctantly peeled off his dark shirt, revealing his pale skin and soft parts. He willed himself to not curl into a ball or run away screeching. Steve wolf-whistled, sending an embarrassed flush across the brunette’s full cheeks. He barked, “Knock it off Rogers!”

Sam, as always, had ESP for people flustering Bucky. He shouted from the grill, “Looking thick my man! Whole slice of beef!” The assassin was convinced he was going to self combust, sliding into the water to cover himself up. His girlfriend snickered when Bucky resurfaced from his shame dive, splashing his face.

He frowned down at her, the spitfire raising a brow in challenge. Bucky slung her over a thick shoulder, hand across the backs of her thighs. She laughed and kicked, playfully squirming. Bucky had half a mind to leave a mark on her ass, show the Asgardian who she really belonged to. She stopped thrashing and murmured, “If you do not stop being jeal-“

The assassin cut her off when he dunked under the water. She spluttered and cursed at him, Bucky laughing, “Sorry sweets, what were you saying?”

“Put me down or I’m ripping your hair out!,” she howled. He chuckled and slowly let the angry avenger down. She shook her head, flicking the sensitive skin below his belly button. Bucky winced and gaped petulantly— horribly trying to block of the feeling of jiggle. The woman latched back onto him, pressing a feathery kiss to his bearded jaw. With a dirty smirk, spirits lifted, Bucky led them to the shelf in the deep end.

Sitting back he groped at her ass under the water, earning a squawk and another slap in return. She whispered angrily, “Stop that! Not in public!” Bucky grinned dumbly, eyes flickering to her perky chest. He apologized, saccharine sweet, “Sorry baby, you’re just so pretty I couldn’t help myself.”

Tony Stark and Natasha approached the pool, him lowering his sunglasses at the pair. Stark sipped his drink and loudly observed, “Horndogs at it again. Barnes you’re a nasty old man, you know that?”

Sam sniped, “They call him Bucknasty for a reason!”

Bucky’s temples throbbed with annoyance. He shouted at Sam, “No one calls me that but you! Bird brain!” He needed to scoop the girl up and take off— now. Steve was howling with laughter, hand slapping his chest, Thor smiling in confusion. She turned and grinned at Tony, “He’s my nasty old man.” The woman laid an exaggerated kiss on his cheek. Stark pretended to gag and situated himself in a lounge chair. Natasha’s lips quirked up, green eyes sparkling with amusement.

Bucky rumbled quietly, “I’ll show you nasty if you keep it up acting like that in my lap.”

Her tits bounced when she inhaled sharply, shit-eating grin falling from her face. Bucky lecherously grabbed another handful of ass for example. Her voice quavered when she weakly replied, “Very funny Buck. Not in front of everyone!”

“I’m not being funny. Seeing you getting flipped around by the blondes has me feeling…some type of way.”

Bucky was proud of his updated lingo, courtesy of the sexy trembling thing in front of him. She huffed quietly, squirming minutely on his thick thighs. “Jesus Christ, they’re all going to know when we both leave.”

“I think Clint complaining about us being loud all the time lets the team know what the deal is,” he smoothly pointed out.

With another harsh look Bucky regretfully watched her get out of the pool. Now he had to walk in front of everyone without a safety blanket again. He briskly climbed out after her, keeping his eyes focused ahead. Tony complimented, “Looking yoked there Barnes, trying to bulk right now?”

Bucky wanted to hiss at the billionaire like a feral cat. He felt like he’d been bulking for months. Just not allowed to cut— so sayeth the metabolism. He grabbed a towel and threw it around broad shoulders, aggravated with how his belly was on display. She was toweling her hair off.

“C’mon then you beast,” she snickered.

“Beast?,” he echoed.

Bucky hauled her up again, the smaller one yelping. He snatched his sweaty shirt up and carried her to the elevator. She sarcastically questioned, “Do you always have to carry me around like a caveman when you get jealous?” Bucky grunted in agreement, thumbing at the soft skin of her thighs.

She said, “You do know I only think about you, like, all the time.” Bucky couldn’t help but let his heart skip a beat. Still he whinged, “I don’t know why when there’s all these… ripped guys hanging around.” His girlfriend scoffed and rolled her doe eyes. She remained quiet on the walk, ensuing quiet ride up the elevator, and the remainder of the trip to his rooms.

Deposited on the bed she informed Bucky, “No matter how many times you shrug it off, I think you’re really hot. I like a little fluff on my men.” The brunette shook his head, crawling onto the covers. He muttered, “I don’t. I follow you around like some goddamn oaf.”

She pinched his cheek, grinding out, “You’re a little soft and I happen to enjoy you fucking me into the bed. Stubborn mule.” Bucky’s dick twitched at her words, grabbing an ankle to pull her closer. She continued matter-of-factly, “It’s also nice to have my big scary boyfriend behind me. It turns me on.”

Bucky peered at her, face set in suspicion. She ran a hand down his side, finishing it’s path at the laces of his swim trunks. Her face was cutely set in determination, deft hands untying the shorts. The assassin groaned low in his throat as the cloth fell down, exposing his aching cock. He climbed out of them and threw the shorts across the room.

Bucky eyed her up, watching her cheeks heat at his gaze. He gently positioned himself between her legs, pointedly keeping his weight off to her chagrin. Bucky sealed his watering mouth over a covered nipple, sucking eagerly. She whined and flexed under him, thighs wrapping around his hips.

“Ah! Buck!”

Her long lashes fluttered when his other hand untied the strings on the top. Bucky eased off the flimsy fabric, whistling lowly at her full tits. He nipped and flicked his tongue on a peaked bud, tweaking the other. She cried out, rutting up against his heavy cock.

Bucky’s lips split into a grin when he realized she was also untying her bottoms with shaky hands. He pulled off a nipple and teased, “That needy for it, huh?” She yanked off the offending fabric with a nibble at his jaw. Bucky would purr in contentment if he could. Until the nip at the flesh under his chin— which granted he has always had but still didn’t appreciate it.

He grumbled and lightly swatted her ass with a grimace. She mused, “You’re so hot. Honestly. I wish you would believe me Buck.” The assassin ignored her comment, instead sucking marks on her collarbone. She writhed underneath him, the wetness of her pussy sliding against him. The woman whimpered, hands holding his cheeks insistently, “C’mon and fuck me, please daddy.”

Bucky almost exploded, came back, just to explode again into a puddle of goo. She wanted to play like that today. He gripped her hips with low moan, eyes traveling up the expanse of skin. His girlfriend’s chest heaved, eyes darkly glazed. Bucky growled, “Y’want me to fuck you? Shouldn’t daddy finger you first?”

Huff. She shook her head no, dragging the molten slick across his need. Softly she begged, “C’mon daddy please, want to feel the stretch, need you.” Bucky’s eyes rolled in sheer desire, nudging the blunt head of his cock against her opening. He slid in with a curse, eyes clenching shut.

She was snug as always around him, pulsing and seemingly sucking Bucky in. The woman whimpered, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders. She gasped, “So big, fuck daddy, don’t stop!” Bucky was not going to stop unless he magically disappeared.

He braced an arm beside her pretty flushed face to get leverage. With a lewd smack Bucky clapped his hips into her, enjoying the wanton whine. The brunette pulled back to give another roll of his hips, moaning lowly. He got into the rhythm he knew she liked— slow but forceful. Bucky smiled down, cooing.

“You’re so pretty babygirl, taking me so well,” he emphasized with a deep thrust. She clawed at his shoulders, pressing sloppy kisses to his throat. Wide eyes met his, her breathing, “No you’re pretty.” Bucky narrowed his lids, apparently his girl wanted to be a little shit.

“I don’t understand why you won’t let me- shit! Daddy!,” she cried out with a smile, “Compliment you!” Bucky picked her legs up and hiked them higher, driving his hips into that silky-soft spot. He grunted in pleasure as she arched and yanked at his hair, mouth hung open with punched out ‘ah’s’.

Bucky rumbled, “I don’t like it- fuck sweets so tight- because it’s exaggerated!” He was panting with exertion now, reveling in the tell-tale slaps of skin echoing. The petite Avenger under him whimpered when Bucky hit her g-spot dead on, tears pricking her eyes. Bucky kissed a droplet, murmuring sweet nothings.

“Keep fucking me daddy, I’m gonna hah- cum!,” she wailed. Bucky urged, “Yeah babydoll, want you to, c’mon need it.” He thumbed around her clit, breathing into her lax mouth, swallowing up those broken keens. She sobbed his name into the kiss, clawing and scrabbling when she clamped down on him. Bucky’s eyes rolled up at the pulsing and gush of slick, fucking her through the orgasm.

His baby’s loud keens turns into little whimpers as he kept thrusting into her tight body. She quavered, “Cum in me please daddy!” The woman nipped along his jaw again, rubbing at his flexing ass. Bucky felt his lower belly tighten, a swirling fog gathering in his brain purely driven by need. He growled, “I’m gonna fill that sweet pussy up, you want that from Daddy, huh?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Ask and one shall receive. Bucky felt his balls draw up and he came with an embarrassingly slutty groan. He drooled onto her neck, gasping through the brunt of his body emptying into her wet heat. She cooed, “Oh, so good, ah thank you daddy.” Bucky collapsed halfway onto his girlfriend, still firmly snug inside.

She rubbed a trembling hand across his bloodied shoulders, serumed body already working on knitting the claw marks back up. Bucky simply breathed, unable to come up with intelligent words. His brain had probably shot out of his dick. She maddeningly caressed his, ugh, love handle.

Bucky groaned, “Stop it.”

She retracted the touch and rasped, throat bruised from yelling, “One day I’m going to convince you Buck. Perfect as you are.” Bucky snorted, “We’ll see about that.” He softened at her lithe hands pushing his sweaty hair back, grinning like he’d hung the moon. He murmured, “You’re going to be the death of me.”

She giggled and cuddled up like a damn koala. Bucky didn’t truly mind, albeit she may be delusional and think overweight one hundred year old former assassins are sexy. He was glad he’d been able to find the loon, all his to boot. Bucky shook his head in amusement, the feeling of her sharp teeth on his chin again, him starting to protest.

i found this very interesting, especially as a woman who has cheated death several times, came away from it disabled, and is now fiercely determined to live independently into old age, child-free (in this case, the relevance of that being the context of having no children to assist me with care or basic function as i age).

however, this is also important for all women, because being able to carry fitness (and by fitness i refer to the ability to complete everyday tasks and basic mobility without extreme difficulty or injury) into old age is a topic that affects us as a sex with some growing urgency.

statistically, we know (or should, by now) that women cannot depend on male partners/family members to care for us in times of illness or crisis, and that also goes for caring for us as we age. they leave. they shirk. they hope we’ll just die and relieve them of the burden of caring for us.

and even if male partners are not a factor, aging women ARE seen as a burden–to our families, to our friends, to our loved ones, to our doctors, to our governments, to our societies. having children or a partner or family members or friends does not necessarily guarantee that they will assist you in your old age.

so it is of utmost importance that we as women educate ourselves on how to stay as physically independent as possible as we age. here is an excerpt of the article that describes why i think this is so important:

"Think of the Centenarian Decathlon as the 10 most important physical tasks you will want to be able to do for the rest of your life. Some items on the list resemble actual athletic events, while some are closer to activities of daily living, and still others might reflect your own personal interests. I find it useful because it helps us visualize, with great precision, exactly what kind of fitness we need to build and maintain as we get older. It creates a template for our training.

I start by presenting my patients with a long list of physical tasks that might include some of the following:

1. Hike 1.5 miles on a hilly trail. 2. Get up off the floor under your own power, using a maximum of one arm for support. 3. Pick up a young child from the floor. 4. Carry two 5-pound bags of groceries for five blocks. 5. Lift a 20-pound suitcase into the overhead compartment of a plane. 6. Balance on one leg for 30 seconds, eyes open. (Bonus points: eyes closed, 15 seconds.) 7. Have sex. 8. Climb four flights of stairs in three minutes. 9. Open a jar. 10. Do 30 consecutive jump-rope skips.

The full list is much longer, with more than 50 different items, but you get the idea. Once they’ve read it, I ask them to please select which of these tasks they want to be able to perform in their ninth, or better yet 10th, decade. Which ones do they choose?

All of them, typically. They want to be able to hike a mile and a half, or carry their own groceries, or pick up a great-grandchild, or get up if they fall down. Or play 18 holes of golf, or open a jar, or fly somewhere on a plane. Of course they do.

That’s great, I say. You’ll make that kid’s day when you pick her up like that. But now let’s do a little math. Let’s say the kid weighs 25 or 30 pounds. That’s basically the same as doing a squat while holding a 30-pound dumbbell in front of you (i.e., a goblet squat). Can you do that now, at age 40? Most likely. But now let’s look into the future. Over the next 30 or 40 years, your muscle strength will decline by about 8 to 17 percent per decade—accelerating as time goes on. So if you want to pick up that 30-pound grandkid or great-grandkid when you’re 80, you’re going to have to be able to lift 50 to 55 pounds now. Without hurting yourself. Can you do that?

I press the issue. You also want to be able to hike on a hilly trail? To do that comfortably requires a VO2 max of roughly 30 ml/kg/min. Let’s take a look at the results of your latest VO2 max test—and guess what, you only scored a 30. You’re average for your age, but I’m afraid that’s not good enough, because your VO2 max is also going to decline. So you can pull it off now, but you likely won’t be able to do it when you’re older.

On it goes. To lift a 20-pound suitcase overhead when you are older means lifting 40 or 50 pounds now. To be able to climb four flights of stairs in your 80s means you should be able to pretty much sprint up those same stairs today. In every case, you need to be doing much more now, to armor yourself against the natural and precipitous decline in strength and aerobic capacity that you will undergo as you age.

Eventually, my patients get it. Together, we come up with a list of 10 or 15 events in their personal Centenarian Decathlon, representing their goals for their later decades. This then determines how they should be training. In the end, most people’s Centenarian Decathlons will probably overlap to a degree. Someone who enjoys stand-up paddleboarding, for example, would perhaps choose “events” focused around building core and cross-body strength. But she will likely be training the same muscle groups as I am doing for archery, and maintaining a similar degree of stamina and balance.

The Centenarian Decathlon is ambitious, no question. A 90-year-old who is even able to board a plane under her own power, let alone hoist a carry-on bag, is doing extremely well. But there is a method to the madness. These individual tasks are not out of reach. There are octogenarians, nonagenarians, and even centenarians right now who are running marathons, racing bicycles, lifting weights, flying airplanes, jumping out of airplanes, skiing the Rocky Mountains, competing in actual decathlons, and doing all sorts of other amazing things. So all these events are within the realm of possibility."

Galladrabbles: 100

Wow. Guys. 1 year of galladrabbles.

It's... I've been in somewhat of a mental health crisis. @galladrabbles and this amazing shameless community has just .. yall are wonderful, and amazing, and here's a drabble as sappy as this prologue. I'll get back to sugar and hooker eventually

~~

Years and years ago, Ian remembers watching a video where a bunch of centenarians gave advice on how to live a long and happy life.

It had stuck with him, because it was funny as all hell. Stop giving a fuck, drink wine, sex.

Check on all fronts.

Sure, his joints creaked and he didn't breathe as well as he used to, but he went for walks around their facility with Mickey.

"Happy 100th!" The head nurse said at breakfast, Mickey in his wheelchair and Ian with his cane.

They smiled, both over a century old, neither going anywhere yet.

Self destructive wickedness arrested, convicted, and gaoled...

with kidnapping little boy

ordered to suffer

life sentence without parole. The deadly scourge of one obsessive/compulsive disorder

nearly left me starving to death.

Anorexia nervosa absent bulimia nadir of onset diagnoses schizoid personality disorder severe social anxiety still legion I aire behavior which agonizingly elicited slow suicide

courtesy self starvation

maelstrom within psyche of self as prepubescent lad

(particularly devastated immediate family members)

as emaciation pitted existential revulsion from unseen

wuthering heights betook courtesy yours truly

teased, hectored, and called “professor,”

when riding the school bus

nearly wrung death knell

annihilating fragile entity christened Matthew Scott Harris

with peremptory imprimatur yielding covalent bond to life

readily obvious to kith and kin

via zorro like signature per profound perilous depressive psychological state.

Now - at about

three decades plus six years from attaining rank of centenarian

perfect 20/20 hindsight

offers supreme advantage from swift current near drowning alluded earlier when das scribe juiced thwarted leapfrogging from pollywog tad metamorphosed

to witness puberty, whence devastating emotional crisis tripped, trilled,

and tricked aborted

natural healthy development

chronological denouement demise

jump/kick started

theorizing numerous educated guesses

within mind of

middle progeny and sole sol

(of the both late father and mother

Boyce and Harriet Harris) respectively

why he willfully hurtled his flesh at light speed

down the abyss toward death.

Literal and physical lightness of being

manifested within nooks and crannies

prior to full blown symptoms

to eliminate sustenance

drawing the curtain on brief residence

way before high noon of life.

Metamorphosis from boyhood

kindled burning man

found solace in attempting

to keep at bay of pigs hijacked

natural cycle, which seminal

transformation grieved me

to pine for nostalgic childhood’s end (albeit one fraught with romanticism)

vengefully interpreted attempt

to halt dead in the tracks intervention of mother,

whose nursing experience helped fend off passive attempt

to promulgate passive

silent plan to fruition.

She whipped various nutritious concoctions in the blender

to ensure minimal essentials to this, I readily admit) famished body

in conjunction with applying vital supplements into

one or the other skeletal

gluteus maximus

thru fuel injection,

which submissiveness to acquiesce, and bare bony buttocks

to receive iron injections

did absolutely nothing to squelch death wish.

I inexorably did buzzfeed

hashtagged eating disorder to go on a deadly hunger strike,

which essentially constituted declaration of independent control

despite horrendous craving for food jabbed innards like a pike

bifurcated psychic division

to live ousted coeval death wish goal

to seize yore reminiscent blissful, (albeit fictional) childhood over flooded self made damned dike

engaging, engendering, engineering

propensity to catapult yours truly into abysmal emotional hole

and way before the invention of Facebook, I mentally clicked like

to surrender mailer daemons all of me healthy development stole.

Imprimatur indelibly etched decades after bout with passive exit from life

crimp on psycho/social skills plus stunted physical growth cuts like a knife

affecting mental health with panic attacks and anxiety although existence

considerably less riddled qua debilitating symptoms

(such as vertigo, racing heart, profuse sweating, nausea, irritable bowels)

relying on the following prescription medications: BUSPIRONE HCL 15 MG TABLET

CLOMIPRAMINE 50 MG CAPSULE CLONAZEPAM 0.5 MG TABLET

FLUOXETINE HCL 40 MG CAPSULE

GLYCOPYRROLATE 2 MG TABLET

PRAZOSIN 1 MG CAPSULE PRAZOSIN 5 MG CAPSULE

RISPIRIDONE 1 MG TABLET

ROPINIROLE HCL 1 MG TABLET.

To add insult to injury yours truly also gifted

courtesy split uvula

but did little to ameliorate

the writer of these words

suffering brickbats as scape goat, whereby severe adenoidal vocalizations

allowed, enabled, and provided an easy target viz black barbs poised to strike, hurled,

and bullied me by peers.

Up until I entered six grade

(at Henry Kline elementary -

a one classroom per grade school)

classmates bullied, derided,

and feigned to hammer -

jabbing leering, nasty pimping ragout as a rule

which boyhood self of mine availed

a perfect bullseye target

with combination of diminutiveness,

being painfully quiet,

essentially remaining mum the entire day except when called upon

to answer question thence utterance emanating between lips

produced and emitted

a strong nasal sound to boot

grist for the mill

sans malice meted, mimicked, and mocked mashup

of mine warped congestion

ah, twas only by a fluke conversation,

whence speech pathologist

informed my parents about

The Lancaster cleft palate clinic,

where oral an examination

revealed minor birth defect

identified as a submucous cleft palate,

which explained the severe pinched twang

somewhat mitigated by wearing

a removable prosthetic

fastened with clasps to upper teeth

whereby a makeshift miniature

plastic protuberance closed the gap (at the expense of practically gagging me)

so air would be prevented

passing thru my button nose,

and thus gentle and soft as a shutterfly

shunted air out oral opening

though congenital defect disallowed

returning merchandise back to sender nor could blame be affixed

at either father nor mother

who both harbored the genetic mutation

now such admissions

re: aforementioned impediment allows,

enables and provides boasting rights if in a mood temper

any curiosity or satisfying a rumor whispered down the alley whence I said “ah”

left nagging nincompoops

as if pie hole filled with a gobstopper.

Pluto in the houses

Pluto in the first house:

1)Straightforwardness, lack of cunning.

2)A seething volcano of passion,its powerful energy requires a splash in sports, psychological training,public and theatrical performances.

3)You may have an unusual gift for influencing other people,and you may also be strongly influenced by powerful people who you later imitate.

4)Such people have a very deep and slightly bold look.

5)Predisposed to infectious diseases,but recovers quickly.

Pluto in the second house:

1)Pragmatism and organization – if the business doesn’t bring income,quit and start a new one.

2)Can be jealous or greedy.

3)It has several sources of income.

4)You can either completely reject material desires and possessions or you can be completely caught up in possession, possessiveness, and accumulation.

5)They accept the fact that the world is not perfect,but they will try to change it a little.

Pluto in the third house:

1)There may be toxic siblings.

2)When bad aspects can give fear of criticism.With good aspects,a person can give good advice.

3)There are abilities for public speaking or a good education.Can talk loudly.They can be implemented in the field of literature, science,journalism,folk medicine,and esotericism.

4)With bad aspects,speech defects are possible:bad diction,stuttering.

5)He should be careful when traveling,because there is a risk of dangerous situations on the road,especially when traveling by car.

Pluto in the fourth house:

1)A person likes to change everything in the house,often make repairs,update the home.

2)There are disputes "who is stronger" between family members,parents among themselves. If Pluto is hit - incomplete family.

3)It can achieve great success if it becomes engaged in science,research activities in the field of parapsychology,occultism,esotericism or magic.

4)In the last decades of life,such a person can become seriously rich.

5)The defeat of the planet inclines to an open protest against conventional values and a strange distance from society.

Pluto in the fifth house:

1)Great position for actors.By attracting the attention of others with one appearance,a person shows the world not himself,but the role that he considers successful for himself,reincarnating in the right image.This creates difficulties in their personal life,because they fall in love not with him,but with the created image.

2)Their children are strong-willed,talented,and brilliant.But the person treats them strictly.

3)As a boss,it requires discipline and obedience.He manages other people's money better than his own.

4)Such a person may love gambling and take a lot of risks.

5)It is extremely important to learn to find a balance and harmony between courage in actions and caution.

Pluto in the sixth house:

1)With good aspects,human health is often strong,and a strong immune system allows you to survive epidemics,disasters,and natural disasters.

2)Emotions and mental health are directly related to physical health.

3)This position of the planet can bring great changes in the profession.

4)Tend to work too hard,so it's easier for them to work alone and with their own schedule.

5)He has a very good intuition,which is sometimes frightening.You may have prophetic dreams,visions.

Pluto in the seventh house:

1)A stricken Pluto in the 7th house is always an indicator of partner violence.

2)Karmic lesson-to take into account the interests of the partner, to recognize a loved one as an equal.

3)The desire to hide everything personal from prying eyes.

4)A life partner may be attracted to them from a different cultural and social environment, and therefore significant efforts will be required for mutual adaptation on both sides.

5)This aspect favors psychologists, lawyers, and judges.

Pluto in the eighth house:

1)Increased ability to self-renew. Contribute to the self-transformation of collective activities.

2)A person is connected with global financial processes.Can be a banker,a big businessman,a nuclear physicist,engage in genetic engineering,resuscitation.

3)The body is adapted to rapid recovery of strength and structures, and therefore this aspect is often found in centenarians.

4)At critical moments, such a person shows special perseverance and ingenuity.(with good aspects)

5)May indicate a public death.

Pluto in the ninth house:

1)It gives a thirst for knowledge,hard work,great efficiency,but also idealism,deep piety,intuition and the gift of premonition.

2)Such a person often has to completely change their cultural or religious orientation.

3)The defeat of the planet inclines to a limited worldview,a lot of prejudices and an unwillingness to listen to the opinions of other people.

4)Higher education will give them a good job abroad.

5)Truth and justice are most important.

Pluto in the tenth house:

1)Success is always associated with crisis working conditions,which you need to prepare for in advance.

2)The best areas of application of the potential will be military affairs,politics,medicine in the field of surgery,gynecology,and the police.

3)He can become the idol of the crowd and the idol of the masses,gaining fabulous popularity and unlimited authority.

4)Such a person has many ideas and is endowed with eloquence.

5)Such a person is well experienced in life's difficulties.

Pluto in the eleventh house:

1)By expanding the circle of communication, the native is approaching success.

2)Stricken Pluto in the 11th house pushes the wrong choice of environment and colleagues.A planet without aspects often symbolizes loneliness.

3)Such a person can be a successful dynamic leader of a creative team.

4)Good trading and sales skills.

5)Your lovers don't have to be beautiful, they don't have to be athletic or graceful.They may be gentle or gracious, but they are more likely to be ruthless and very emotional.

Pluto in the twelfth house:

1)Fear of water,heights,relationships,and fighting dark forces.

2)This person can play the role of the invisible man:he sees and hears everything,but he is neither seen nor heard.

3)Free profession,or work in closed institutions:prisons,camps,hospitals,nursing homes,and other similar institutions.This often indicates work in security agencies,intelligence,counterintelligence,or membership in secret lodges,groups,or societies.

4)They like to sleep more than stay awake.

5)Gives the most severe karmic tests(secret enemies,accidents,betrayal).

Here is a motivational story to share with you.

A 103-year-old woman has recovered from the novel Coronavirus in Kentucky. Virginia Harris, a centenarian from Kentucky, tested positive for the Coronavirus in mid-March after experiencing fever and nausea, reports WJBF. Harris' family felt very heartbroken when knew that she had Coronavirus, because Harris had to go to the isolation centre alone for treatment. It's not as though she hasn't lived through interesting times. Born before the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, she lived through that and the Great Depression too. But when she encountered COVID-19 at her age, she knew she was in the fight of her life. "I was so sick I thought I was going to die," Harris said. "It took me a while to make it, but I did the best I could." Some would say Virginia's love for her family and her faith helped her fight through. Virginia credits nurses at for caring for her, and her family for their support. Family members said they hope Virginia Harris' story will give hope to others sickened in the pandemic. “If she could get through it at 103, you would feel most people can get through it if they took care of themselves and did what they're supposed to do," said Virginia's son, Doug.

No matter who you are, don't give up. As long as there is hope, the crisis will be overcome. Just like the old granny in the story, even though she is very old, she still keeps an optimistic mood to face it. She used the support of her family as her motivation to overcome her illness. I believe you are also moved by her story. Therefore, you also can definitely get through this crisis, as long as you persevere, maintain an optimistic mood, and think of the person who loves you. 

Come on! :) You are not alone. I am with you.

source: 14 News 2020

An excerpt from the speech of Patrick Campos, co-curator of Scenes Reclaimed, on the opening reception of the exhibition last 3 August:

"More than just an occasion to celebrate, however, the exhibit, Scenes Reclaimed, looks back at the last half century of Philippine cinema through the lens of CCP’s first fifty years. A teenager, Cinemalaya, celebrates the beginning of her entry into adulthood and a centenarian, Philippine cinema, her gratefulness for a full life, but in midlife, we do an accounting, at times face an intense period of crisis of purpose and identity, assessing the paths we have taken and rejected, what we have done right and, if we are wiser, what we have done wrong, and at our golden year, perhaps decide to keep on the same or change directions.

Our curatorial team is thankful for the opportunity to do just that, to help us who care about Philippine cinema reflect on the meaning of CCP’s golden year, of how CCP has served as venue and avenue for thinking about Philippine cinema’s meaning and direction through the years, and of how, through the lenses of the Cultural Center, cinema and nation are helplessly intertwined.

Walking around the exhibit space, you will see outlined the development of CCP’s interaction and intersection with cinema from its Marcosian period through the post-EDSA period to the twenty-first century, moving parallel to the history of Philippine politics as it is embodied as visual culture.

When we were putting together the exhibit, we noticed that a lot of young people, including high school students, visited the exhibits here, so we employed a simple test. We asked if each text, image, object, and their juxtapositions could clearly inform and educate the millennial, who has only known digital cinema and who has little sense of how far we have come in our cinema history. This act of context-building, of putting each element within a fifty-year historical context, is especially important today when context seems to disappear in the virtual din and we are mostly left with depthless information. Isang panahon ng pulitika at kultura na pinipiga at tinatanggalan ng konteksto at lalim ang kasaysayan.

At the same time, for those of us who have been closely following events unfolding or for us who care to look deeper, the exhibit was conceived spatially and conceptually to bare contradictions, demonstrate contestations, visualize dialectics, and, hopefully, spark conversations. The design of the space and every element in this exhibit is discursive, providing multiple perspectives or angles on how to enter an ongoing conversation.

We have gone far, yes, but have we gone in the right direction? Have we been rallying around the same call for independence? Have we paid attention to our history enough not to repeat its tragedies? What new possibilities have emerged that allows us to pursue new futures? These are but some of the questions we hope we could ask altogether."

Scenes Reclaimed may be viewed until 24 September, Tuesday, at the CCP’s Bulwagang Juan Luna (CCP Main Gallery). Exhibit viewing hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm. Hours are extended until 10pm on days with evening performances at the CCP Main Theater. For more information, contact the CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division, Production and Exhibition Department, at (632)832-1125 loc. 1504/1505 and (632)832-3702, mobile (0917)6033809, email [email protected] or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.

“I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy. Because they know what it feels like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anybody else to feel like that.”

-Robert Williams, Beloved Comedic Star

(July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014)

August 11th marks the anniversary of 4 years since Robert Williams tragically left this earth. This was an awakening for some, a sign that everyone struggles, including someone who achieved stardom status and a recognizably grand reputation for making people laugh all over the the world. Films starring Williams, such as Aladdin, Jumanji and Mrs. Doubtfire, were some of my favorite childhood classics.

So why did Williams make the decision to commit suicide? He seemed like one of the happiest comedians on the planet.

Let me give you a little bit to chew on: Real comedy is the pursuit of truth. The truth can make people uncomfortable, depressed even when their satirical stand-up becomes too much of a reality. But when it comes down to it, Robin Williams had a caring, kind, and gentle soul. And in his case, it is not a classic suicide but rises many important aspects about it that are often missed.

Most often, suicide is the result of untreated mental illness such as depression or anxiety – and while that sounds simple enough, the reality is that suicide is actually very complex.

What leads someone to ultimately take their life doesn’t always neatly fall into the box of “mental illness”. After Williams’ death, we learned that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease just three months prior.

The autopsy confirmed that he had Lewy body dementia. Being diagnosed with a chronic illness is a huge risk factor in the choice to end one’s life. Additionally, diseases that affect the functioning of the brain obviously have profound effects. His wife adamantly states that depression did not kill Robin, but it was “one of let’s call it 50 symptoms, and it was a small one.”

A large amount of suicides, especially in older populations, are preceded by severe health diagnoses or the deterioration of the brain as. If we’re only looking for depression or anxiety as symptoms to point to potential suicidal ideation, we miss an entire range of individuals at-risk for self-harm.

For suicide loss survivors:

This can also affect you. When the majority of literature points to depression being the sole cause of suicide, loss survivors can feel guilty that they didn’t “see it” – they didn’t notice the anguish, pain or darkness that loved ones experienced. It’s easy to blame ourselves for overlooking this, or not being good enough to help them.  

We must remember suicide is complex, that it’s not always so easy to explain why someone takes their life--so give yourself a break! You can’t take blame or responsibility for someone else’s illness.

When the news of Robin William’s death first broke, heartfelt images of Robin’s character, Genie, from Disney’s Aladdin spread around the internet. In the movie, Aladdin uses his final wish to set Genie free from the lamp. Aladdin gently exclaims, “Genie, you’re free!”This touching sentinment behind this trend was that Williams’ was longer suffering from the pain of this world. That he, like Genie, was free. As touching as the image is, it sent a dangerous message to others who were hurting: that death was a way out, a sort of “freedom”. Perhaps this viral sentiment was part of the reason why suicide rates increased by 10% in the four months following Robin’s death. Redudantly, I remind you that it is complex. It can affect anyone, from children as young as 5-years-old to centenarians, from any continent or culture, from rags or riches. It is most often caused by a storm of risk factors and can never be simplified to one reason.

His death highlights so many things worth noting:

Anyone can struggle with deep hurts, darkness, and anguish.

We must be vigilant to check in on our loved ones, even if they hide behinn their humor and their smiles.

We must take care of every part of ourselves – our mental and emotional wellbeing, our physical health, our social connections, and our spiritual dimension.

Death is not an escape or a way out.

If you’re hurting for any reason, or if you’re concerned about a loved one, reach out today. Call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Send a text to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line or chat online at ImAlive.org or CrisisChat.org.

-Erin & Alexa

Regular Segment: Favorite stories [July]

I have not done this for a long time since I was not able to work from home right away when the pandemic began. [See previous segment here]. For sure, there were several interesting stories that I missed in the past four months, but I’m glad I now have access to these real-life tales. 

From a 105yo gym buff, to a new compere crush, to a public marriage proposal, to a 95yo optimistic coronavirus patient, to inspiring reports on world changers, and hilarious programs, here are my favorite news items/comperes/programs/interviews/callers this month! 

The Project, Three

This is a 30-min evening TV program in New Zealand with the tagline ‘News Delivered Differently’. In as much as I find monitoring TV programs difficult--and any New Zealand content harder than usual--I am amazed that the fusion of these two would turn out to be my favorite! As their tagline suggests, this show is not the usual info-overload TV bulletin. They have fun regular segments including Daily Dose, where they feature three funny random videos from the internet, Scenes of New Zealand, where they showcase interesting photos of the country, and Whip Around where they send three comperes in different attractions across NZ. Their comperes (Kanoa Lloyd, Jesse Mulligan, Jeremy Corbett and Josh Thomson) are fun and bubbly. Plus, they have rotating guest panelists, who are usually comedians. It’s just a breath of fresh air. This program has a counterpart in Australia, shown on Channel Ten. They interview many interesting people, not just politicians. Which leads me to my next item.

Interview with Shaun Robinson, CEO, Mental Health Foundation.

You can read more about this in the article entitled “Mental Health Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson explains why bipolar disorder can be hard to see”

Before the interview, there was a report on Kanye West being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. West broke down when he spoke about abortion during his campaign, and it was not his first public meltdown. His wife Kim Kardashian said West is a genuine person but he might say things that can get misinterpreted. Selena Gomez, Russell Brand and Mariah Carey also spoke about experiencing the same disorder. And Jimi Hendrix even wrote a song about it. Mulligan said Robinson is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and Robinson shared his story on how he reached out to people. Robinson said BPD is experienced differently by everyone who has it. He said for him, it was mainly depression and anxiety dispersed with occasional highs, while for others, it is more on the mania. I find it inspiring that he turned his struggles into something that can help other people. I salute all people who break the stigma on mental illnesses. He found success, he is now a CEO, and not just of any company, but of an entity that raises awareness on mental health.

Favorite host: Jesse Mulligan

He is my compere crush this month! Yes, from The Project. For sure you are not surprised. I mean, look at him, would you believe he is already 44!? In the past segment, the compere I featured was Jules Schiller of ABC Radio Adelaide because of our shared love for books and the Carpenters. Now, I’m featuring Mulligan. I don’t have much reason regarding our similarities, though, it’s just that I find him so handsome and he has an amazing personality haha. And obviously, I am just one of his several fans. Here’s a tribute written by one his stans.

Interview with Whangarei couple Lisa Grey and KJ Stowers.

This interview from The Project is about Stowers’ wedding proposal to Grey in the middle of Auckland traffic. He asked the question from a billboard! 

But aside from I’m a hopeless romantic, the reason why I included this in my favorites Grey says she had a near-death experience two years ago and she thanks Jesus for saving her back then so she can reach this day. I’m amazed with how the Lord orchestrates events in our lives, as He prepares us to meet the people we have not met yet, be it future friends, future community we will help, or future partner in life. We just never know what God exactly has in store for us, all we know is that all those things to come are surely for our good. We just need to keep the faith and rely on Him, and live at the center of His will. So, uhm, Lord I am still believing for my Christ-centered marriage a decade from now (haha ehem) I used to say I will meet Mr 2024, but 2024 is too soon so let’s make it another decade haha. Anyway I might not stop talking about lovelife so let’s move on to the next item.

Interview with Gary Martin, Chief Executive, Australian Institute of Management WA. 

This one is from 6PR. Its compere, Oliver Peterson, said ABC Chair Ita Buttrose has remarked that Millennials lack resilience and need hugs for reassurance. Martin said making a comment like that is not helpful and even insensitive, since people are experiencing a pandemic right now. What struck me the most was when he said “Millennials are more open to talk about their mental health problems and people confuse that with lack of resilience.” That’s very true. Isn’t it our strength that we can speak up about things that used to be hidden decades ago? There is still stigma on mental health today, but it was much worse back then. People could not speak up and had to keep it all to themselves. Just because we are open about it now does not make us lack resilience. In fact, it just shows how resilient we are because we bounce back despite all these struggles. Also, it’s just never good to generalize. There are people who lack resilience both in our and their generations. It depends on the person, not on their birth year. Anyhow, I find it interesting that the ABC has no article about this. Ha! Afraid to go against their Chair, perhaps.

News: Those with mental illness or disability are being supported by assistance dogs amid the pandemic, helping to save lives. Miracle Assistance Dogs is the only charity of its kind in NSW, but they can't keep up with demand due to the lack of resources. MAD is now calling on the Federal Government to offer a lifeline.

Interview with Josh Nanai, Jawsh685. 

This is from The Project as well. Nanai, a Manaroa High student, collaborated with Jason Derulo and their song under Columbia Records was a number one hit in the UK. Derulo discovered the tune of Savage Love from Nanai's Jawsh 685 TikTok account. Nanai said he was surprised people liked the beat and people like Jennifer Lopez and Jimmy Fallon even danced to it! I was just smiling as I was monitoring this. My favorite part was when he said he has 16 friends who are proud of him, but he wants them to pursue their dreams as well. That’s a healthy friendship when you push each other up and inspire one another to make dreams happen. :)

Report on Trikes NZ

This one’s from The Project as well. Gosh! I must really love that program haha. I am touched with how Trikes NZ Manager Brian Gilbert is helping thousands of people embrace their freedom by giving mobility to those who could not walk. He has been designing custom trikes for people living with disabilities around the world. Luke Larnder, who is diagnosed with cerebral palsy, received a custom trike with the help of the Master Foundation. Dell has given Gilbert an XPS laptop for the change he is making. 

Caller Russell and his dad, Vic Cornell

Last week, I monitored an emotional caller on ABC Radio Melbourne named Russell who said his father called him to say goodbye. His dad has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is already 95yo. Russell ordered his dad to beat it. Rafael Epstein, the compere, interviewed Vic Cornell days after. Cornell urges fellow patients to fight the coronavirus. He also said he is a Carlton fan and he watched games at Princes Park. Days later, Carlton coach David Teague who gave a shout-out to Cornell! I mean it’s just touching to hear stories like this, of positivity in the midst of crisis. Vic was really ecstatic to hear the coach of his favorite team talking to him. I am really rooting for Vic to beat the disease. It is really different when you know the stories of each person, you’re reminded they are not just numbers. They are real people, someone’s loved one. I hope every case right now recovers.

105yo caller from Melrose

She said her secret is she just takes each day as it comes. It’s that simple but it hit me.

Last but not least, the 105yo gym buff!

Betty Kerr still works out each day until now. I feel embarrassed I am not working out when I am just a quarter of her age haha. As you can see, I am fond of stories involving centenarians, mostly because that is my dream for my Dad as well, that he lives for over 100 years (Amen In Jesus’ Name!)

So there, these are my favorites for July! Which one is your favorite? 

Stay safe and God bless always :)

PS I sourced the photos from the articles, which are all linked here. 

365NEWS NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES FOR SUNDAY 23RD JUNE 2019

365NEWS NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES FOR SUNDAY 23RD JUNE 2019       *PUNCH* Desperate Nigerians exploit gay, outcast claims, BHaram war to seek asylum in Europe, US, Canada Community conspiracy landed dad in life jail Surviving daughter of freed centenarian prisoner After rains of herders attacks, traumatised victims contend with more hardships in Taraba IDP camps God raises bad leaders sometimes to teach people a lesson Ituah Ighodalo Giving construction jobs to foreign firms akin to importing poverty-Muftau Salawu Lightening the cost of governance burden on govts lean resources How we curbed corruption, increased revenue by 500% Lagos FMC Ndume not a rebel, confers credibility on Lawans victory Adeyeye Its a waste of time to attend varsities for certificates to get jobs Naallah, KWASU VC My friend wasnt allowed into a Dubai club for wearing jalabia Kemen W Law allows gov, others to buy off official cars when leaving office Dankwambo AG Government by the people Bello has failed because he didnt prepare for governorship Audus son Ogun indigenes bemoan attacks by soldiers, miscreants Army raids Ogun community for arms Abdulrazaq certificate: Claimant alleges police intimidation National Assembly poll: Wabara to head PDPs probe panel Women set for court over 35% representation US trains Lagos pupils Ibadan elders honour Ajimobi Decongesting Lagos ports, FGs top priority Osinbajo ACF backs FG on almajiri Troops kill 42 ISWAP terrorists in Lake Chad *VANGUARD* Bolt goes bigger, unveil corporate trip package EDO Crisis: If I were Governor Godwin Obaseki Abia secure ' Speaker Suspected criminal disguises as madman to rob residents Ondo gets $37m World Bank loan to upgrade health centres World Hydrography Day: Navy develops first indigenous navigational chart Marry me, or I die, says lady arraigned for breach of peace 3-month-old baby is youngest survivor of sexual abuse out of 4,514 Gov Bello condoles, assures family of Ibrahim Linco of Gov't support Photos: Osinbajo, Sanwo-Olu, Bala Usman tour Apapa traffic Daura zonal pilgrims office begins orientation for 137 intending pilgrims Ocheje, Kogi APC chieftain, dies at 69 2019 AFCON : Mahrez concerned about unknown quantity Kenya Residents, traders protest indiscriminate location of gas stations in Ondo Gbajabiamila receives rousing reception from APC members at Lagos airport DPO, girlfriend arrested over death of housemaid in Katsina State Kogi Guber Poll: Tenants don't dislodge landlords, Bello replies Seidu Ogah Osinbajo heads to U.S, meets Pence Oshiomhole showingu bias, needs to hear from all parties before taking sides ' Obaseki's aide Kalu expected to be fit for Guinea You have to be a successful artiste manager before you can make profit ' TinnoStiles Breaking: Ighalo's strike rescue 3 points for Eagles in AFCON opener Bollywood channel 'StarLife' debuts on StarTimes *THE NATION* Running with the vision! Visually impaired gospel artiste tasks church leaders on support NAHCON constitutes task force on visa violation Lagos to clerics: help spread road worthiness campaign to followers Niger tasked to re-introduce monthly environmental sanitation Kidnappers hideouts, arms discovered in Nige r Two suspected robbers mobbed to death in Delta Navy to operatives: Shun drugs, embrace regular exercise AGRA to double the income of 20m small farmers in Africa Teenager strangled to death in Delta Journalists to benefit from $150,000 award Were ready for insurgents, bandits Airforce chief Buhari commissions erosion and flooding project in Kebbi How to mitigate fraud and corruption in Nigerias Public Procurement Process Court stops Bauchi factional speaker, deputy Lets make music together! Masari, Safana bag heroes award in Katsina Obaseki to Oshiomhole: Youre biased, hear from all sides before taking sides Federal Cabinet: Imo APC chieftains advise Buhari Gbajabiamila seeks cooperation to better Nigeria Cracks in PDP over probe of Senators, Reps Edo hands of fellowship Intrigues in states as govs battle to form cabinet *THISDAY* Improving Foreign Capital Flow to Economy How Govt Policies Stifle Small Businesses Airtel Enters Nigerian Stock Market Nigerias Infrastructure Deficiency Makes Businesses Suffer Walking The Talk on The Almajiri Conundrum INECs Embarrassingy Rigmarole, Somersault on Server A Mission in Disarray When Ghanaians Turn the Table against Nigerian Investment Falcons Beaten by Germany, Crash out of World Cup Betway Boosts G12 Academy with Football Equipments FC Bulmaro Lagos, Tops Group A1 Nationwide League One Lagos Opens Viewing Centres for 2019 AFCON LSSC Hails IWS Day Nursery on Sports Fiesta Getting Nigerian Passport with Tears NBA: No Part of Nigeria is Safe We Killed 47 Terrorists, Captured Others, Claims Nigerian Army Flooding Forces Air Peace Flight off Runway at PH Airport Fayemi: Policy Somersault Crippled Education System No New Passport without National Identification Number, Says NIS Resolve OML 25 Dispute in Seven Days, Wike Tells Parties Pipeline Explosion Kills 10 in Rivers Okara, Literary Icon, Buried in Yenagoa ACF Declares Support for Overhauling of Almajiri System *THE SUN* Credible Election: FG must hand off funding of INEC 'Anglican Bishopu Gov. Dickson berates politicians for disconnect with people I shed tears whenever political leaders take oath of office ' Gen. Temlong Moving Nigeria forward: Apply Aburi accord, agbakoba advises buhari There's no way power'll return to Southwest in 2023 ' Prof Awuzie, Ex-Asuu Boss Next level: Balarabe musa tackles Buhari 2023 Brightest chance for igbo presidency ' chekwas okorie Imo guber: Action Alliance withdraws from election petition tribunal Play for honour of motherland ' Buhari charges Super Eagles FIFA WWC: Super Falcons crash out, lose 0-3 to Germany Just In: AFCON 2019: Super Eagles beat Burundi 1-0 Buhari to Super Eagles: Go get 'em, you have our support BoI woos maritime operators, disburses $82m for ships repairs, procurement Anambra bizman urge industrialists, CEOs to handover business to youths Nigerian student emerges winner in UN competition Gunmen kill 72-year'old community leader in Anambra Police uncover kidnappers hideout in Niger, arrest seven Soldier, 42 others killed as MNJTF deals heavy blow on ISWAP terrorists group Ondo Police arrest two suspected armed robbers Scores die in pipeline explosion in Rivers NYSC, Delta partner on skills acquisition PFN hails court ruling on open preaching in Kaduna Hand hygiene *GUARDIAN* Xtralarge Farms launch Agritech City, digital currency African cinema 2.0 Over two billion people suffer 'hidden hunger' globally N30,000 Minimum Wage: Backlog of pensions, salaries bog down Southeast governments Firing Adedayo and dilemma of hateful, polluted polity Another trophy will be ai fine way to say goodbye, says Mikel Rep members endorse Oyekoya for Deputy Minority Whip Air Peace plane overshoots runway at Port Harcourt Airport Ijaw group seeks monarch's forgiveness over land dispute Igbo are paying for not voting APC' Orji Kalu *DAILY TRUST* Buratai's Strange Blame Games Bauchi: A story of 1 House, 2 Speakers How much money do we need for a political revolution Pity the country that is outwitted by an oxymoron Re: Investigation: Under government school feeding programme Fedpoly Ekowe unions threaten indefinite strike over salary shortfall NUC approves 36 new courses for Dutse Varsity 45 schools participate in iRead Initiative Literacy competition in Osun Ways to reduce consumption of sugary drinks Iron may not improve fertility ' Study MNJTF kills 42 ISWAP members, destroys gun trucks Sickle Cell: 'Why genotype tests give wrong results Curing hunger by castingi out demons Elegy for Muhammad Mursi, president of Egypt I want to be Nigeria's first female airline owner ' Aisha Ja'e Sokoto: How PDP-backed Achida emerged Speaker Ikoku: The good, ugly sides of Rivers' spare parts market Super Eagles edge Swallows in Group B opener as Super Falcons crash out of World Cup 2019 Charity Shield Polo: Rubicon, 5th Chukker, Haske & Williams emerge champions Underdog Scone Polo wins Cartier Queen's Cup Indian Cricket League: Abuja Warriors take on Abuja Badshahs in final Tennis stars storm Abuja for CBN tourney 16-year-old Atthaya Thitikul breaks course record for lowest round *TRIBUNE* DPO, girlfriend arrested over death of housemaid in Katsina Buhari orders probe into Rivers deadly pipeline explosion Pipeline explosion rocks Rivers; casualty figure unknown, Police say 30 things President Buhari promised Nigerians in second term *LEADERSHIP* Power: Hail Mary Today, Candle Light Tomorrow Certificate Forgery: PDP Candidate Loses Appeal Against Kogi Lawmaker INEC Denies Resignation Of ICT Director Party Withdraws Suit Challenging Imo Guber Election At Tribunal U Jibrin's Wand In The Emergence Of Dogara, Gbajabiamila Intrigues As Akeredolu Reshuffles Cabinet As Fayemi's Tenure Bolsters NGF EU Post-election Assessment And Matters Arising Issues As Governors Sack LG Chairmen Tambuwal: Consolidating On Sokoto State Assembly Power Play In Edo Speaker's Emergence Bwari Residents Commend FG's Free Medical Service CDOWA Donates Food Items To Orphanage In Kogi Kwara: Hope Rises For Industrialisation Kogi Gov Tasks NYSC Members On Discipline PenCOM Sensitises Prospective Retirees On Hitch- free Retirement Osinbajo Leaves For US To Meet With Vice President Pence Oil Firm Wants Lawmaker Prosecuted Over Land Dispute Water Hyacinth Invade 70 N/Delta Communities ' IYC Masari Wins Best Governor Prize In National Politics Republic Of Guinea Embraces AFRIMA 2019 World Presidents Who Were Entertainers Cybercrime Destroying Our Youths ' Falz *BLUE PRINT* Dalung hails Super Eagles AFCON victory against Burundi, consoles Super Falcons AFCON 2019: Buhari watches as Super Eagles pick three points off Burundi #Live: Ighalo to the rescue as Super Eagles open 2019 AFCON account with victory over Burundi #Live: Game over for Super Falcons as Germany triumph, progress to World Cup quarterfinal Pipeline explosion: 3 confirmed dead in Rivers, fire still raging The world is hungry! #Live: It's Germany 2-0 Super Falcons at half-time' World Cup knockout game on! MJTF troops kill 47 ISWAP terrorists in Lake Chad Island, military base Breaking: Tragedy averted as Air Peace plane overshoots runway amidst heavy downpour #Live ' World Cup Knockout: Oshoala drops to bench, Kanu makes Super Falcons X1 vs Germany ' match kicks 4.30pm *BUSINESSDAY* Is Nigeria Ready for Medical Marijuana Addis Ababa: An ideal getaway from boisterous city life Eyes on Buhari on gender-balancing in next cabinet/appointments 2019 election petition: All eyes on the Judiciary When CAN hosted Sanwo-Olu at Gbagada, Lagos Nigeria is not yet ripe for state police -Onyebueke Study identifies barriers to breast cancer treatment in Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa Takes fromFood and Beverage West Africa Fair, 2019 On Lagos'renewed efforts at tackling gridlock Nigeria needs visionary fathers, says Amos Fenwa *SPORTS* 100 caps and opener for Popp as Germany marches on - CNN 16-year-old Atthaya Thitikul breaks course record for lowest round - Daily Trust 2019 Charity Shield Polo:j Rubicon, 5th Chukker, Haske & Williams emerge champions - Daily Trust 2019 NHL Draft Results: Team-by-Team Grades for Notable Picks - Bleacher Report 300 Wrestlers For Gov Dickson Wrestling Classics - Leadership 30th Racehorse Dies at Santa Anita on Last Weekend Before Track Closes - Bleacher Report 4-Star LB Prospect Derekl Wingo Commits to Florida After Decommitting from PSU - Bleacher Report Afcon 2019: Nigeria were lucky to score against Burundi ' John Obi Mikel - Goal AFCON 2019: Rohr Pleased With Eagles' Winning Start Against Burundi - Complete Sports AFCON 2019: Super Eagles Beat B urundi 1-0 - Leadership *GOOD MORNING* Read the full article

Mine psyche riddled with dybbuk

Thru emerging adulthood awareness awoke

within noggin of average baby boomer bloke

catastrophization toward risk taking I evoke

positive growth experiences throughout vast

number of orbitz around sun never kickstarted,

nor linkedin with potential livingsocial folk,

thus omniscient cosmic consciousness I invoke

diametrically contradicting atheism haint no joke

where self important

fulsome mortals indistinguishable

among bobbing flotsam and jetsam squarely sponging precious resources

off the pants courtesy Mother Earth

heartily rooted in narcissistic strength,

whenever necessary razing mighty oak destroying other flora

unwittingly insidious effects

industrial revolutions triggered global warming

and abomination, brutalization, cannibalization

demolition, eradication, ruination...

on the upside twenty first century

environmental activism did provoke.

Courtesy solitude yours truly

proffers poetic obscurantist blatherskite

discombobulated clishmaclaver will delight

expressing how me courage didst take fright

puncturing since boyhood head to toe height

housing crotchety, fidgety, impiety bent knight

impossible mission to summon bravado might

thus, I figuratively slunk within analogous shell (think “Peter Peter

Pumpkin Eater nursery rhyme”)

avoiding testing comfortable autozone outright

trumpeting unconvincing lame duck excuse quite -

begetting, drafting, fielding, heralding, jump- starting, loosing, notching another psychological mischievous sprite.

I submissively succumbed opportunistically, meekly, heroically, and dutifully attest

to surrender once plagued narcissistic self

to beastly merciless beck and call behest

all the while actualizing, envisioning,

and imagining outlook as if afflicted

with dissociative identity disorder,

whereby manifested spirit housed in my chest

spontaneously showing up as unwanted guest.

Twas deadly scourge

of one obsessive/compulsive disorder

anorexia nervosa absent bulimia - nadir

of onset sans quasi schizoid behavior,

which agonizingly slow suicide

by self starvation

mailer daemon maelstrom within mine psyche,

when yours truly prepubescent lad

(particularly devastating

to immediate family members)

as emaciation pitted existential revulsion

from unseen wuthering heights

nearly wrung death knell

annihilating me fragile entity

with peremptory imprimatur

yielding covalent bond to death

readily obvious to kith and kin

via zorro like signature per profound

perilous depressive psychological state.

Now - at about one score

plus seventeen years

from attaining rank of centenarian

perfect 20/20 hindsight

offers supreme advantage

from said aforementioned psychological crisis

within mind of yours truly

middle aged progeny and sole sol

mine father and mother respectively

hypothesizing numerous educated guesses

why he willfully

hurtled his flesh at light speed

down the abyss toward his demise.

Literal and physical lightness of being

manifested within nooks and crannies

prior to full blown symptoms

to eliminate sustenance

drawing the curtain on brief residence

way before high noon of life

metamorphosis from boyhood into man

found solace in attempting

to keep derrière at half moon bay

natural cycle which transformation grieved me

to pine for nostalgic childhood’s end,

(albeit one fraught with romanticism)

vengefully interpreted attempt

to halt dead in the tracks

intervention of mother,

whose nursing experience

helped fend off passive attempt

to promulgate passive silent plan to fruition.

She whipped various

nutritious concoctions in the blender

to ensure minimal essentials to this

(I readily admit) famished body

in conjunction with applying

vital supplements into

one or the other bony gluteus maximus

thru fuel injection,

which submissiveness to acquiesce

and bare my buttocks

did absolute zero banishment

to squelch death wish.

I inexorably overcame eating disorder

to cease going on deadly hunger strike,

which essentially constituted

a declaration of independent control

despite horrendous deprivation regarding voracious craving for food

stuffing innards like a pike

bifurcated psychic division to live

ousted coeval death wish sans goal

seize yore per reminiscence of blissful

childhood over-flooded self made dike

engendering propensity to catapult

over abysmal emotional hole

and way before the invention of facebook,

I mentally clicked like mental health

to fight the mailer daemons

that part of me healthy development stole.

life in the west...(3) -  see it as aberrant and broken, you see it as the normal course of events....

There are two Pauls, one european and one american, one died the other will. Let's begin with the american one... We were sitting a bookshop cafe, holding a few hours over lunch to speak, to renew our acquaintance. We talked about everything, meetings, friends, politics, science. [He said for me, the things that interest are socialism, nationalism and integralism all of which allow for a collective subject and a morality that goes beyond utilitarianism.] We were always skirting around the edges of the discussion that was the ontological difference, the crisis of being that would always separate us, and yet not... He said I know - you and I disagree. I think anything can become political; you think everything already is. I see it as aberrant and broken, you see it as the normal course of events.... Dialectics, he said, it’s all dialectics and fuzzy logic to you.  In that phrase “I see it as aberrant and broken, you see it as the normal course of events.... “  The ontological chasm is revealed. For he believes that it is possible to imagine a society that isn’t broken, whereas for me deep in the fuzzy sets I think rather that no matter what the society is like, being will always remain unbearable[...broken... ] In a sense the difference is  delineated/exemplified by the fact that these two almost old men, one in his sixth decade, the other in his seventh decade became rather surprisingly friends.  Shortly after we met, we immediately and continuously began to study everything, all the rather strange and fantastical details amongst which we found ourselves, a peculiar ontological gesture to understand why why why. From every knot in the wooden floor of the cafe,  every blemish in the polished concrete floor, the hiss of the Essence of the espresso machine, to the rhizomic grass growing in the crevices of the walled courtyard to the rear of the cafe, the tree growing in the corner, to the last slither on the stairs, scuff marks, mud, the Saharan sand in the air and steadily coating the vehicles. This was all a neo(now almost)secret  preparation for the continuation of the friendship. The bizarre decadence of the hospital club sipping vodka late at night over burgers. (Who could imagine me there?) The insanity of friendship. Beyond this the detailed examination of the others desired objects means little, the surprising curves and angles of the body, the folds and warm limits emerging from the laughter.  It must be so unless the opposite is true and we'd rather be sitting drinking margaritas and whiskey sours than returning to  rooms on opposing sides of the city and suburbs. When he arrived in the city he had put a small, crackling record player between the desk and the door, he turns the room into what passes for a home for a denizen of the liquid  modern, A place he can curl up in his private space and breathe more easily; on evenings when he took men home, on evenings spent in front of the machine, (which changed into expensive digital equipment later) and in front of the machine with a growing circle of friends, whose conversation gave his depressed soul hope, sometimes when laughter filled the now bigger space he wondered what it was like to be a father. A grey parrot living in a large cage, did he ever let it out to fly around the room or local sky ? paul, paul, paul  it cried. The parrot outlived him and remained long after he left.

And then the European one... The woman across the room whose elegance speaks of casual wealth, is standing by the bar talking to the owner - he looks like an interested man. A course or two of small dishes arrive as we watch them go outside to stand beneath the arbor and dream of smoking cigarettes together in the half-light, she laughs smoke and he smiles as if happy.  We were amongst the last people to leave, we often were in those days. They were still together sitting on stools eating the additional food he'd ordered. It was raining outside.  Everything begins with the anomaly of our latest meeting in Brussels.Soho, [ah Brussels] which leads to an investigation of practice and place, theory being possible across the divergence that had appeared, we ate bowls of pasta and light beer or wine. It was a fine spring day and we had come across a serious break in the network of our worlds, which happens even though  it is becoming extraordinarily overcrowded with humans and their things (and what isn't their things?). Although nobody ever actually says anything, we wonder if we are the only ones who have noticed, but wonder in our joint madness if we dare say anything of this.  How did that multiplicity of lines become political ? (does he speak of this in france and belguim?)  We look across the square between the greyness of the bark of the London Plane trees,  with drinks in our hands. (PL is drinking grappa whilst I sip shots of vodka, we are old friends, originally meeting in small political groups, three or four decades ago. Both gradually coming to exist in the dialectic of fuzziness.) And yet we recognize that it is meaningless for no one ever goes in amongst the trees, it is a conspiracy that cannot be broken. There is no way out. Between us there is an  insufficient breakage of place and practice.  We agree to stop the writing project, the ontology is cancelled, closed, papers end up in drawers, electronic files and diagrams vanish, the project ends. We are still trying to speak though its increasingly difficult. People move in, establish themselves and remain in stasis, not only unable to leave the place but actively prevented from doing so whether it is the desire to appear in the limelight,  the economy of enslavement or a gay parade which runs a thread of conspiracy through the streets, still there and concealed behind their self-importance like a broken desire.  [...]  Occasionally as we walk through a square with a dozen multi-centenarian trees we notice something else, a sudden stillness of place, a recess where we notice that the trees are waiting for us to vanish. (The buildings crumble into ruins, the now empty courtyard transformed by the growth of trees...) We walk down a side street to another Portugese bar to have a few final drinks. Through the window of the bar I can see a block of luxury flats entered through a metal gateway set in a tall archway, which masks the perfect crime of their existence. All we need do is accept the invitation and we will live entirely on the surface and avoid the mystery of the break which would allow us to know what is happening. Either that or  we will become part of the scenery, like the denizens of the luxury flats entering and leaving through the gates, we will become the story, perhaps even the final solution. And yet in the conspiracy of secrets that is us, we arrive back at the break which leads to an interrogation of place and practices.

These discoveries  are a becoming part of the physical world and perhaps as we walk uphill later  passing through the fallen leaves and thistles, the sound of owls and foxes around us, we'll become different.  Whatever, we are unable to separate the two, even our friends find it difficult, even impossible to separate their images of the difference between the american Paul and I. For them dialectics and fuzzy logic are the same as aberration and broken, and we have no idea how to explain the difference as they continue to work so hard at destroying the planet. This is hidden from them in the bracelets and the clothes they wear, which are always fashionable and thus spectacular. We love their earrings, their muscles and pens hanging from the edges of their finary, their silk shirts iridescent in the... Becoming does not begin from an act as banal as removing one's clothes, its a constant, an endless movement from detail to detail, from an Italian restaurant to a Spanish bar in Soho,  from a transitional jacket to a warm leather coat,  from the swish of a stocking to the warmth of a thigh, to the sound of a heavy page being turned, despite this the connection remains, connecting across the plane of being, constructing a networked world together for a few moments... (Tomorrow he will be flying to Australia via Tokyo or Hong Kong, to vanish into finitude.  [...] Did he speak of this to others before he died on the edges of the pacific? Did his mother and family fly in from the americas ?). In those full moments when the mind isn't taken up by fear and worry, but instead just covered with pleasures, when only the drinks in the Spanish bar of interest, when only the challenge of the ontological differences is of interest,  when there are no obligations but the semiotic exchanges between friends, then we will return to the unanswerable questions, there is a room behind you that is roped off, the lights dimmed. Later you arrive home, switch on the light and the question remains there waiting. She is a a a asleep upstairs.  

[ I am reasonably certain I will never go to Lisbon, the only aspect of Portugal that will come into my life now are humans who have migrated here for economic reasons, which is the only reason anyone moves anywhere]

In Brussels with PL leaning against a richly lacquered bar in the empty University Club. All the students and lecturers absent, vanished during this long holiday weekend.  The bartender is there so that someone is in front of you as you drink. Not a therapist, or someone who can be said to care even at an abstract level nor even as an idiot might appear to. They looks at us with smiling indifference, intercepting our gaze across the bar so that we cannot scan the bottles for something strange and interesting to drink. But whilst she or he pours wine and other drinks into our glasses, PL and I talk with her/him about things, the locality, what's interesting and so on, for they speak perfect english, and we speak imperfect english. She/he has no name, no identity at all, when she says her name all we here is the 'saaaaan'. Only the fact that she is other, that we cannot grasp what the difference is and neither can we understand what the idea of it should be, which means we cannot separate her from the role she is playing, and this enables us to live with who we are.... which is why, from something related to vanity, we spent an evening in the University Club drinking with bartender rather than the people who had been expecting us, at a meeting which was raided. When we were alone we reminisced about driving people across borders,  deep into western europe when we were young. Writing almost meaningless notes into the small tablet, we allow ourselves to appear out of the emptiness of the bar - out of something, making nothing - like the bartender dreaming of becoming something else. In the early evening ending up in his house. The house is full of things. Heaped surfaces,  busy walls,  window sills with things balanced on them, a plant on his office window, overloaded bookshelves that are dust traps, in the secondary library plastic crates filled with books. Only these are inventoried. Most things are related to the work we have carried out over the decades, the four or five decades of our adult lives. There are books that I/he often pauses to reflect on as he exists in the various rooms of the house,  these books link the very different activities of our lives.  The piles of unread books, unlistened to music have grown in the pandemic. The lack of others in the house over the past three months has been the strangest thing of all, he says. Instead the communication technologies so beloved of the spectacle have turned into essential items of everyday life.

It was all the american Pauls fault […]  In the evening we sit in one of the booths its the cocktail hour and is one of the quiet times in the bar. Yet as we sit in the alcove beneath the hanging tapestry, at one of the movable tables designed to let the more common overweight drinkers to slide out of the alcove - or even to enable tapas or drinks to be passed around and shared, we realize suddenly that their are others are close by on adjacent tables, couples who find themselves suddenly embedded in our life stories, as we are in theirs, all part of the same chaotic uncertain universe, as are all our  singular destinies. Whilst the young couple to the right are at the beginning of things, a certain carefulness in the way they speak... [-Jasa, han var det. Men i somras holl forbibindelsen pa att ga isar. - Ja. Falk fick veta att Hedlund brukade besome Ulla och da  blev han tw .... Men det ordnade sig sa smaningnom. - Vad anser a a.  Nn.    ni om er vaninnas forsvinnande ? - Jag kan inte forklara t.qwnnqnwwjj.   new yyy The - Hedlund kanner ni ju          W.   A.  W.   W.  ....- Har ni nagr fotograpier av Yytt Lundgren och Hedlund ?] In the Hospital club we talk of the work that is to be done.  Let us draw up a list, an inventory of exceptional places that will not reveal their qualities so much as interrogate them, forcing them to speak. We hope that as words slowly emerge the places lives will be recognized and acknowledged, the end of networks being drawn out by our post geo-philosophical moment, no longer binary connections between geo-local nodes on the network but instead entanglement.  As we walk down the narrow street that parallels the main road we find our ideal refuge, where we can stop panicking like a lost city dweller with a broken semiosis system and relax.  Then we set off again, sitting like a nomad sipping coffee with slices of sausage keeping our eyes open as we look for details, it is only as we sit that we realize that we are getting somewhere, eventually standing and walking, our footsteps echoing on the pavementssss... A last coffee and we part, he heading off to a hotel and a flight, W in a cab towards Tottenham and I walking to the north wondering at how difficult it was to speak, one foot  going in front of the other.  I couldn't get drunk that night I often wondered why. I drink a margarita whilst he drinks a whiskey sour, an espresso perhaps. He explains that "I'm going to Moscow for a conference on digital governance in September, flying in from a stopover in Singapore." A strange goodbye. Did anything explain why he became increasingly right wing over the last few years  of his life ? It was never clear why things being aberrant and broken caused that rightward shift. We couldn't go to the funeral, the funeral rites passed us by as most do. The London memorial service was avoided, music, drinks and memories best avoided. It would have been as Michaux described it like being a  body stretched out on "a sea of clouds".  The cacophony of noises that were our shared space rumble on, buses changing gear, diesel engines (courtesy of Max) revving up,  horns shrieking, police and ambulance sirens, planes growling, the overpowering sound of church bells ringing... the furnace heating up. All that is left is the dust of memories.  Where did the ashes go? What happened to the cat ?

He reached the  point on the hill where he can turn right or continue up the gentle slope, he takes the longer route towards home. He continues and takes out 'The Hegel Variations' from his jacket pocket which he had  been reading in the cafe,  and starts to read a few pages as his feet touch the road, listening to bird song between words. The occasional crunch of loose gravel that spills out of the driveways [...] walking along the pavement on the lane he passes the Nigerian Woman who is walking two Dachhunds, "nice weather no coats on the dogs again", he says interrupting the sentences on language.  (He will see her again as he turns right into the house). He walks on musing about how the understanding of a Left and Right Hegel proposed here is philosophically applicable to most decent philosophers. The first of the gardeners looks at him as he passes. He reties his left lace on the bench. More gardeners, the machines they use grumble in the sunshine. One gardener is blowing beech leaves and mast husks out of the garden onto the road. A Red Kite circles over the Close, looking for food, perhaps, he cannot tell. A section of pavement is being re-tarmacked  in front of number 8. He walks around the close anti-clockwise circumnavigating the woods, reading again, thinking of Darwin and Hegel... The european Paul is sitting in the garden, his left foot encased in a dark blue plastic cast. Tea?  he asks in a long convoluted sentence. Sipping tea and eating fruit cake they/we talk of crises. The ontological difference is small - for us its "Dialectics, it’s all dialectics and fuzzy logic.  In that phrase “We see it as aberrant and broken and also we see it as the normal course of events..."  Their histories are close... differences can sometimes be circumvented / all narrative is annihilated.  Living in a pandemic makes him feel nostalgic for these moments.”

[In memory of PS who died in January 2020]

Must-Reads of the Week

The Friday Breeze

Want to read the best and most provocative stories from the week? Welcome to the Friday Breeze, where we compile them all — so you’re set with your weekend reading.

While you, loyal reader, wait for a wonderful new permanent Friday Breeze writer to start breezing, welcome to this week’s rundown brought to you from St. Louis by me, Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber.

I’m sadly here to inform you the news is … still bad. So bad, in fact, that “doomscrolling” — the act of not being able to escape your smartphone feed of misery — was examined by The New York Times.

And that’s because all you need to know about the current state of the coronavirus can be aptly summed up in renowned infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell’s latest piece for Stat, titled “How to Fix the Covid-19 Dumpster Fire in the U.S.”

The Week’s Latest

But to be more precise: New coronavirus cases in the U.S. shattered a single-day record with over 75,000 Thursday. That number of daily cases has more than doubled since June 24. Deaths from COVID-19 are rising yet again while hot spots across the Sun Belt continue to flare. The Center for Public Integrity uncovered an unreleased federal document saying 18 states are in the “red zone” for COVID-19 cases and should consider stricter protective measures.

And as outbreaks strain lab capacity nationwide, some people are waiting seven or more days to get test results, hobbling potential containment responses. Now, the CDC is urging people to not be retested.

The Friday Breeze

Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

Masks, Schools and Tony Fauci

Mass mask confusion continued to drive the week, with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over her mandatory mask order. Later, he urged all citizens to wear masks for four weeks — but said he would not support a mandate. Meanwhile, Georgia hospital workers are sounding the alarm and attempting to send patients out of state as hospitals fill up. Across the country, more than half of states have issued mandatory mask orders at this time. And this detailed map of just who is wearing masks in the U.S. is worth your time.

The sharp divide over back-to-school plans for those in public and private school came into focus (private schools have the money to hire their own epidemiologists!), all while Bloomberg reported the percentage of cases of children and teens with COVID-19 is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention postponed releasing further guidance on how students could safely return to school this week. That follows previous complaints from President Donald Trump, who said on Twitter the CDC’s initial recommendations were too tough. Or, as White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday, “The science should not stand in the way of this.”

The big distraction of the week had to be the attacks on the reputation of America’s favorite scientist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He withstood a White House attack on his credibility, led by Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, in an op-ed in USA Today — one that USA Today has since said “did not meet its fact-checking standards.” To his credit, Fauci called to “stop this nonsense” and focus on the coronavirus. For more of a deep dive on the ongoing fireworks, check out this week’s amazing-as-usual episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast. And never forget that Fauci did manage to sneak in this InStyle digital cover with some killer shades and he read a college kid’s thesis on the side during his tenure.

Speaking of op-eds, here’s one worth reading. Larry Hogan, Maryland’s Republican governor, wrote an op-ed about how he felt the Trump administration left his state to fend for itself amid the pandemic. Best part: how he and his wife, who was born and raised in South Korea, were able to secure half a million tests by going outside of the federal response, tapping into her contacts and then protecting them from the feds with the state National Guard.

The disappearance of public data from the CDC website created another firestorm this week. While the data has been restored, it’s another chapter in the saga of tension among the CDC, the administration and public access.

Pocket Change

The insurer UnitedHealthcare posted its most profitable quarter — EVER — proving that, yes, you can get rich during the pandemic. Meanwhile, hospitals face the harsh reality of a surge colliding with their plans to resume profitable elective surgery.

And, no, you won’t be getting on a cruise ship anytime soon — the “no sail” order from the CDC has been extended through September 2020.

Long Reads and Graphics Worth Your Time

Racial inequities in COVID exposure, treatment and care persist at every level, as this piece zeroing in on East St. Louis shows. And this week, over 1,000 employees of the CDC sent a letter to its head calling out systemic racism within the agency.

I still can’t stop thinking about this profile of Lorna Breen, an ER doc who took her own life after becoming overwhelmed not only by the coronavirus crisis but by an exacting medical culture.

These New York Times graphics stress how drug overdose deaths hit a new high in 2019 — many worry the coronavirus is exacerbating their continued rise.

Finally, What’s Abuzz

In case you didn’t have anything else to worry about, mosquitoes are flying into the blind spots of health departments overwhelmed with COVID-19. The CDC is buzzing with concern, as Anna Maria Barry-Jester and I reported yesterday as part of our Underfunded and Under Threat series with the AP.

And for a speed round, these guys tried really hard to hand out free masks at Huntington Beach, California; the inside tale of how a Qatari prince had USC at his beckoning takes many a turn; and you just may have been using hand sanitizer wrong this whole time.

Try to lay off the booze, folks — experts say it’s only supposed to be a drink a day. Also maybe, just maybe, think about staying away from the bars altogether.

If we have a football season — a big IF — here’s what the “mouth shield” helmets would look like.

Plus superhero heartthrob Henry Cavill somehow spent his quarantine staying swole AND learning how to build computers?

But our favorite British superhero might just be Tom Moore, newly knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. The centenarian captured the world’s heart after raising millions for British health care workers by walking laps in his garden with his walker.

Must-Reads of the Week published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

Must-Reads of the Week

The Friday Breeze

Want to read the best and most provocative stories from the week? Welcome to the Friday Breeze, where we compile them all — so you’re set with your weekend reading.

While you, loyal reader, wait for a wonderful new permanent Friday Breeze writer to start breezing, welcome to this week’s rundown brought to you from St. Louis by me, Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber.

I’m sadly here to inform you the news is … still bad. So bad, in fact, that “doomscrolling” — the act of not being able to escape your smartphone feed of misery — was examined by The New York Times.

And that’s because all you need to know about the current state of the coronavirus can be aptly summed up in renowned infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell’s latest piece for Stat, titled “How to Fix the Covid-19 Dumpster Fire in the U.S.”

The Week’s Latest

But to be more precise: New coronavirus cases in the U.S. shattered a single-day record with over 75,000 Thursday. That number of daily cases has more than doubled since June 24. Deaths from COVID-19 are rising yet again while hot spots across the Sun Belt continue to flare. The Center for Public Integrity uncovered an unreleased federal document saying 18 states are in the “red zone” for COVID-19 cases and should consider stricter protective measures.

And as outbreaks strain lab capacity nationwide, some people are waiting seven or more days to get test results, hobbling potential containment responses. Now, the CDC is urging people to not be retested.

The Friday Breeze

Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

Masks, Schools and Tony Fauci

Mass mask confusion continued to drive the week, with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over her mandatory mask order. Later, he urged all citizens to wear masks for four weeks — but said he would not support a mandate. Meanwhile, Georgia hospital workers are sounding the alarm and attempting to send patients out of state as hospitals fill up. Across the country, more than half of states have issued mandatory mask orders at this time. And this detailed map of just who is wearing masks in the U.S. is worth your time.

The sharp divide over back-to-school plans for those in public and private school came into focus (private schools have the money to hire their own epidemiologists!), all while Bloomberg reported the percentage of cases of children and teens with COVID-19 is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention postponed releasing further guidance on how students could safely return to school this week. That follows previous complaints from President Donald Trump, who said on Twitter the CDC’s initial recommendations were too tough. Or, as White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday, “The science should not stand in the way of this.”

The big distraction of the week had to be the attacks on the reputation of America’s favorite scientist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He withstood a White House attack on his credibility, led by Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, in an op-ed in USA Today — one that USA Today has since said “did not meet its fact-checking standards.” To his credit, Fauci called to “stop this nonsense” and focus on the coronavirus. For more of a deep dive on the ongoing fireworks, check out this week’s amazing-as-usual episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast. And never forget that Fauci did manage to sneak in this InStyle digital cover with some killer shades and he read a college kid’s thesis on the side during his tenure.

Speaking of op-eds, here’s one worth reading. Larry Hogan, Maryland’s Republican governor, wrote an op-ed about how he felt the Trump administration left his state to fend for itself amid the pandemic. Best part: how he and his wife, who was born and raised in South Korea, were able to secure half a million tests by going outside of the federal response, tapping into her contacts and then protecting them from the feds with the state National Guard.

The disappearance of public data from the CDC website created another firestorm this week. While the data has been restored, it’s another chapter in the saga of tension among the CDC, the administration and public access.

Pocket Change

The insurer UnitedHealthcare posted its most profitable quarter — EVER — proving that, yes, you can get rich during the pandemic. Meanwhile, hospitals face the harsh reality of a surge colliding with their plans to resume profitable elective surgery.

And, no, you won’t be getting on a cruise ship anytime soon — the “no sail” order from the CDC has been extended through September 2020.

Long Reads and Graphics Worth Your Time

Racial inequities in COVID exposure, treatment and care persist at every level, as this piece zeroing in on East St. Louis shows. And this week, over 1,000 employees of the CDC sent a letter to its head calling out systemic racism within the agency.

I still can’t stop thinking about this profile of Lorna Breen, an ER doc who took her own life after becoming overwhelmed not only by the coronavirus crisis but by an exacting medical culture.

These New York Times graphics stress how drug overdose deaths hit a new high in 2019 — many worry the coronavirus is exacerbating their continued rise.

Finally, What’s Abuzz

In case you didn’t have anything else to worry about, mosquitoes are flying into the blind spots of health departments overwhelmed with COVID-19. The CDC is buzzing with concern, as Anna Maria Barry-Jester and I reported yesterday as part of our Underfunded and Under Threat series with the AP.

And for a speed round, these guys tried really hard to hand out free masks at Huntington Beach, California; the inside tale of how a Qatari prince had USC at his beckoning takes many a turn; and you just may have been using hand sanitizer wrong this whole time.

Try to lay off the booze, folks — experts say it’s only supposed to be a drink a day. Also maybe, just maybe, think about staying away from the bars altogether.

If we have a football season — a big IF — here’s what the “mouth shield” helmets would look like.

Plus superhero heartthrob Henry Cavill somehow spent his quarantine staying swole AND learning how to build computers?

But our favorite British superhero might just be Tom Moore, newly knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. The centenarian captured the world’s heart after raising millions for British health care workers by walking laps in his garden with his walker.

Must-Reads of the Week published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

Must-Reads of the Week

The Friday Breeze

Want to read the best and most provocative stories from the week? Welcome to the Friday Breeze, where we compile them all — so you’re set with your weekend reading.

While you, loyal reader, wait for a wonderful new permanent Friday Breeze writer to start breezing, welcome to this week’s rundown brought to you from St. Louis by me, Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber.

I’m sadly here to inform you the news is … still bad. So bad, in fact, that “doomscrolling” — the act of not being able to escape your smartphone feed of misery — was examined by The New York Times.

And that’s because all you need to know about the current state of the coronavirus can be aptly summed up in renowned infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell’s latest piece for Stat, titled “How to Fix the Covid-19 Dumpster Fire in the U.S.”

The Week’s Latest

But to be more precise: New coronavirus cases in the U.S. shattered a single-day record with over 75,000 Thursday. That number of daily cases has more than doubled since June 24. Deaths from COVID-19 are rising yet again while hot spots across the Sun Belt continue to flare. The Center for Public Integrity uncovered an unreleased federal document saying 18 states are in the “red zone” for COVID-19 cases and should consider stricter protective measures.

And as outbreaks strain lab capacity nationwide, some people are waiting seven or more days to get test results, hobbling potential containment responses. Now, the CDC is urging people to not be retested.

The Friday Breeze

Want a roundup of the must-read stories this week? Sign up for The Friday Breeze today.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

Sign Up

Masks, Schools and Tony Fauci

Mass mask confusion continued to drive the week, with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over her mandatory mask order. Later, he urged all citizens to wear masks for four weeks — but said he would not support a mandate. Meanwhile, Georgia hospital workers are sounding the alarm and attempting to send patients out of state as hospitals fill up. Across the country, more than half of states have issued mandatory mask orders at this time. And this detailed map of just who is wearing masks in the U.S. is worth your time.

The sharp divide over back-to-school plans for those in public and private school came into focus (private schools have the money to hire their own epidemiologists!), all while Bloomberg reported the percentage of cases of children and teens with COVID-19 is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention postponed releasing further guidance on how students could safely return to school this week. That follows previous complaints from President Donald Trump, who said on Twitter the CDC’s initial recommendations were too tough. Or, as White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday, “The science should not stand in the way of this.”

The big distraction of the week had to be the attacks on the reputation of America’s favorite scientist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He withstood a White House attack on his credibility, led by Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, in an op-ed in USA Today — one that USA Today has since said “did not meet its fact-checking standards.” To his credit, Fauci called to “stop this nonsense” and focus on the coronavirus. For more of a deep dive on the ongoing fireworks, check out this week’s amazing-as-usual episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast. And never forget that Fauci did manage to sneak in this InStyle digital cover with some killer shades and he read a college kid’s thesis on the side during his tenure.

Speaking of op-eds, here’s one worth reading. Larry Hogan, Maryland’s Republican governor, wrote an op-ed about how he felt the Trump administration left his state to fend for itself amid the pandemic. Best part: how he and his wife, who was born and raised in South Korea, were able to secure half a million tests by going outside of the federal response, tapping into her contacts and then protecting them from the feds with the state National Guard.

The disappearance of public data from the CDC website created another firestorm this week. While the data has been restored, it’s another chapter in the saga of tension among the CDC, the administration and public access.

Pocket Change

The insurer UnitedHealthcare posted its most profitable quarter — EVER — proving that, yes, you can get rich during the pandemic. Meanwhile, hospitals face the harsh reality of a surge colliding with their plans to resume profitable elective surgery.

And, no, you won’t be getting on a cruise ship anytime soon — the “no sail” order from the CDC has been extended through September 2020.

Long Reads and Graphics Worth Your Time

Racial inequities in COVID exposure, treatment and care persist at every level, as this piece zeroing in on East St. Louis shows. And this week, over 1,000 employees of the CDC sent a letter to its head calling out systemic racism within the agency.

I still can’t stop thinking about this profile of Lorna Breen, an ER doc who took her own life after becoming overwhelmed not only by the coronavirus crisis but by an exacting medical culture.

These New York Times graphics stress how drug overdose deaths hit a new high in 2019 — many worry the coronavirus is exacerbating their continued rise.

Finally, What’s Abuzz

In case you didn’t have anything else to worry about, mosquitoes are flying into the blind spots of health departments overwhelmed with COVID-19. The CDC is buzzing with concern, as Anna Maria Barry-Jester and I reported yesterday as part of our Underfunded and Under Threat series with the AP.

And for a speed round, these guys tried really hard to hand out free masks at Huntington Beach, California; the inside tale of how a Qatari prince had USC at his beckoning takes many a turn; and you just may have been using hand sanitizer wrong this whole time.

Try to lay off the booze, folks — experts say it’s only supposed to be a drink a day. Also maybe, just maybe, think about staying away from the bars altogether.

If we have a football season — a big IF — here’s what the “mouth shield” helmets would look like.

Plus superhero heartthrob Henry Cavill somehow spent his quarantine staying swole AND learning how to build computers?

But our favorite British superhero might just be Tom Moore, newly knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. The centenarian captured the world’s heart after raising millions for British health care workers by walking laps in his garden with his walker.

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/friday-breeze-health-care-policy-must-reads-of-the-week-july-17-2020/

I’ve been an emergency department nurse in Charlottesville, Virginia for almost ten years now. I’ve dealt with heart attacks and strokes. I’ve dealt with gunshot wounds and opiate overdoses. Domestic violence and human trafficking. I’ve delivered babies in the parking lot and held the hand of centenarians as they took their last breath. Hell, I’ve even had to deal with honest-to-God Nazis, which is not something I ever thought I would have to say at any point in my career.

But the coronavirus pandemic is, by far and away, the biggest crisis I’ve ever faced. Being the “tip of the spear” of essential workers risking our lives to protect our neighbors from the effects of COVID-19, and fighting to keep our country going - alongside retail workers, EMTs, housekeepers, farm workers, firefighters, postal workers, journalists, respiratory therapists, truck drivers, and all of the other “essential workers” who - isn’t something any of us thought we were signing up for. We didn’t take our jobs to be “heroes”…  but we’ve stepped up as well as we can.

And, thankfully, most of you have stepped up, too- way more people than we anticipated! In the absence of a vaccine or effective treatment, the best thing we can do to keep each other safe is to make sure the virus doesn’t have a host. I understand the sacrifices that has entailed for so many people. While staying at home may not feel like being part of the fight back against COVID, it’s what has saved us all. Without you- the couple who cancelled their wedding and held their ceremony virtually, the parents who are desperately re-learning how to FOIL again, the retired folks who can only see their grandkids from a distance, the folks at food banks and community organizations helping support those struggling to get by- our hospitals would be overwhelmed, and hundreds of thousands of more people would be dead in the United States of America right now.

But there are other folks out there, who’re convinced that it’s not actually your hard work and sacrifice saving the day- it’s all just a hoax. A liberal conspiracy to tank the economy and keep Donald Trump from being re-elected. That people need to step up and “liberate” their states. Or, if it is really a problem, it’s those dirty New Yorkers that have a problem; a problem for someone else. They want America “re-opened” immediately, damn the costs.

I have just one request for these people.

Please stop asking us to die for your convenience.

Because that’s what you’re doing. Let’s be clear- the majority of you chucklef**ks advocating for this “re-open immediately” shit, weighing the pros and cons of quarantine, are locked down safe in a McMansion somewhere. You’ve got no skin in the game- except possibly via your broker. Your anger is about as transparent and genuine as the Brooks Brothers Riot.

The “essential” workers out there holding everything together? Anything that goes bad falls directly in our laps. You might be lucky enough to skip out on getting sick, but we’re going to risk our lives to deal with all the repercussions of the inevitable surge in COVID cases that will follow. And it’s not a theoretical risk we’re facing; a half-dozen of my colleagues here in Virginia, all firmly in the “young” category, have tested positive and learned firsthand what this virus can do to the human body.

And one of the biggest failures in all of this is “assuring” younger folks that they’re “safe” from this. Bullshit. Not only are these young people brought to their knees for weeks, there is real concern about what the long-term consequences of contracting COVID are, with the potential for permanent lung, liver, and heart damage from even non-hospitalizing cases. What’s the socioeconomic and emotional cost of 30 year olds with chronic, life-long problems we usually only see in 80 year olds?

And when things go bad, they go bad faster than I’ve seen since I worked in Pediatric Acute Care. Adults aren’t supposed to “go off a cliff” when their medical condition gets worse. It’s supposed to be gradual. You’re supposed to have time to get ready. Not go from “alright, we’re getting ready to discharge you” to “oh my God, we need to intubate this patient NOW” in a matter of an hour.

…

(more at the link)