#this person wants you to vote for NOT cesare! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ntdev · 4 years

Text

Coronavirus and apple

There were explosions at washington D.C, new york, many places from cesar soyar(bomber). Tim cook and his team bribery to cesar to set explosives to kill hate people like hilary house, joe biden. They(tim cook as segregationist, hilter, isis leader, whistleblower, witch hunt) and team, and lisa jobs, and jimmy lovine and ming chi kuo, and Tanya Van Court(goal setter founder) El Chapo, and stepheny humphery(philly tech expert), TBWA\Media Arts Lab(apple commercial company), nancy t devlin(808 braeburn ter. 215-429-9964/[email protected], lansdale, pa) bribery to Cherif Chekatt(terrorist) to kill french people. They bribery to russian federation agency, paul manaport, and wikileaks, robert mueller, michael avenatti and isis, and Maria Butina, michael flynn, and Natalia Veselnitskaya(russian lawyer) for Trump election in 2016. They TOLD MICHAEL COHAN TO LIE TO CONGRESS ABOUT MOSCOW PROJECT. There were BIG COLLUSIONS between russia and 2016 election. They bribery to saudi arabia to kill Jamal Khoshoggi at the Istanbul. They told terrorists to kill black people(niggers) at nairobi hotel complex in kenya. They told covington catholic students(racists) with trump hat to mock native americans. They bribery to Cherif Chekatt(terrorist) to kill french people. They bribery to russian federation agency, paul manaport, and robert mueller, isis, and Maria Butina, michael flynn, and Natalia Veselnitskaya(russian lawyer) for Trump election in 2016. They bribery to north korea dictator kim jung un to kill otto. They bribery to sacramento police to kill stephon clark because he is black person. They bribery to terorists to kill new zealand people. They bribery to people in Buenaventura, Colombia to send cocaines with dried fruits to newark. They bribery to two terrorists to kill asshole people in netherland. They bribery to michael sanchez to take a photo of jeff bazos and girlfriend. They bribery to centeral america people to send cocaines to u.s. They bribery to police officer doug cole to kill suspect because suspect is black(niger). They bribery to James Alex fields to kill and injured asshole people. They bribery to Yujing Zhang to hack all info. They bribery to isis and arson to burn notre dame cathedral because they hate catholic. They bribery to isis to set bombs to attack asshole sri lanka people. They bribery Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos to kill asshole people in colorado. They bribery to shooter to kill asshole people at san diego synagogue. They bribery with isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to kill people around the world. They bribery to iran president to attack stupid people at u.s embassy in iran. They bribery to isis to kill tourist at egypt. They bribery to suspect to kill people at virginia municipal center. They bribery to isis to put poison on three tourists' alcohol drinks on dominican republic. They bribery to Ashiqui Alam to blow up time square and kill people. They bribery to pilot to kill asshole people in time square. They send envelope with poison sarin to kill people at facebook hq, snapchat, and twitter, instagram. They set explosives near the florida shopping center to kill people at plantation in florida. They are working with Jeffrey Epstein to take picture of naked underage girls. They bribery to islamic extremist Shabab to kill people at somali hotel. They are working with russia to hack your info from faceapp. They bribery to cia and iran solders to hijack uk oil ship Stena Impero. They bribery to Santino William Leagan(shooter) to kill people at garlic festival in gilroy, california. They bribery to shooter(Patrick Cruisius) to kill people at walmart and El Paso mall in el paso, texas. They bribery to shooter Connor Betts to kill people in Dayton, Ohio. They bribery to Larry Griffin to set rice cooker bomb to kill people in new york city. They bribery to Rodolfo Montoya to kill people inside marriott hotel. They bribery to Pacifica High School boys to salute like Nazi and sing german song. They stoled google self driving tech and gave it to uber. They gave alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication with terminal aspiration of gastric contents to kill Tyler Skaggs. They bribery to shooter(Seth Aaron Ator) to hijack u.s mail vehicle and kill people at Odessa, Texas. They set a fire inside the boat to kill people at santa cruz island, California. They bribery to Thomas G Kaizer(bomber) to set explosives at monmouth county, New Jersey. They bribery to Jared Black(driver) to injure Kevin Hart because Kevin is negro. They(u.s spies) are hacking informations from russia and rest of the world. They bribery to iran to attack saudi arabia oil facilities and raise gas prices in the world. They bribery to suspect to kidnap Noema Alaverz Perez at new jersey. They bribery to Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani to sabotage airplane at the miami airport. They bribery to Ali Hassan Saab to attack new york city, empire state building, and washington dc. They bribery to Trump and Ukraine president to talk about Hunter Biden. They bribery to Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani to kill asshole american people. THEY HATE AMERICAN PEOPLE. But Shokin, who was voted out of office by Ukraine’s parliament, was looking into Burisma Holding, an energy company that gave Hunter a seat on its board. Burisma paid Hunter as much as $50,000 a month. Shokin’s replacement Yuri Lutsenko, continued the investigation into Burisma and concluded there was no evidence of wrongdoing by Joe Biden or his son. News reports, based on an intelligence community whistleblower’s account of the phone call, said Trump stalled nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine to pressure Zelensky to open the probe into the Bidens. Trump has admitted talking to Zelensky about the Bidens, but said he held up the aid because he believed that European countries were not paying their fare share of Ukraine’s defense, denying there was a quid pro quo. They bribery with Rudy Guiliani and Igor Fruman, Lev Parnas, and Marie Yovanovitch for campaign schemes. THERE WAS A Quid Pro Quo FROM APPLE. Tim cook(whistleblower) and team bribery to Alexander Vindman defys the White House to testify about Trump's Ukraine call. They bribery to u.s military to kill Iran general Qasem Soleimani because he is asshole sand monkey. They bribery to iran military people to shoot down Ukraine plane. They bribery to saudi crown prince to hack Jeff Bezo's iphone. They bribery to pilot to kill kobe bryant and daughter. They bribery to chinese people to sell live bats and snakes illegally at wuhan, china so all around the world have coronavirus. Piece of garbage apple stoled ipad, ios, and iphone names from many companies and their software copied from different companies. Iphone design copy from sony phone and htc phones. Vertical camera is from windows phone(lumina950). Apple stole Animoji trademark and features from tokyo's e- monster. They stoled facetime software features from Virnetx, so they pay 440 million dollars to Virnetx. Apple stoled biometric sensor from Valencell. They stoled modem tech and gave it to intel. They lied about iphone, ipad, and ipod, macbook, and imac, apple watch screen size, pixel count and they are cheating benchmark scores for all apple products to u.s congress, fcc, and cia, fbi, and world. Apple card is hacking your info from russian hackers. They don't support metoo movement and they are doing sexual intercourse with co workers(women), underage girls, and many celebrity as melina trump, kim kardashian, kaitlen jenner, nicole richie and many actresses to lick their wet pussy while they are having sex on the bed like Harvey Weinstein and they have a sex with men while they suck men's dick like Jerry Sandusky. They rub the all apple products screen from men's asscrack and women's bloody tampons. They rub airpod from men's asshole/dick, and women's bloody tampon. All apple users will get ebola, measles, and std, hiv around the world. They sell marijuana, cocaine, pot, weed, heroine, and heshish, opium, AMPHETAMINE, METHAMPHETAMINE, and crystal meth. They always make jokes about gay and lesbian people like what is called lesbian with viagra? Batteries Why was the queer fired from the sperm bank? A: He was caught drinking on the job. They are very to burn stonewall inn in greenwich village at new york city. They want to kill lgbtq people entire world. They are biggest racist in the world. They say lynch to black people, honky to white people, and sand monkey to middleeast people, chink to asian people, say spic to hispanic people. They hate all religious people such as jewish, catholic, christian, buddism, muslim to kill all people around the world. They are making hydrogen bomb and atomic bomb to destroy white house, capital hill, and supreme court. They always say to foreign people to go back to their country. Russian hackers are hacking ur informations from email, facebook, and snapchat, instagram, myspace, twitter, credit card number, and phone number, apple pay, apple tv, itunes account on all apple products. All apple products have coronavirus and ebola. They will ban around the world. All apple products are exploding like atomic bomb. All apple products are Data-Stealing Malware Attacks from russian hackers. THEY HAVE A LOT OF ISIS VIDEOS ON EVERY APPLE PRODUCTS. This is 1000% true info. They always write racist, religion, terrorist comments on point view project, facebook, snapchat, and instagram, twitter to entire world. Do not listen to Tim cook, team, and lisa jobs, and jimmy lovine and ming chi kuo, retail stores around the world. They always LIE to you. This is too shame to company and them.

2 notes · View notes

pbby-org · 5 years

Text

36th NCBD: Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC Keynote Address

36th National Children’s Book Day Mundong Payapa para sa Kabataang Malaya Keynote—Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC

Greetings to our National Artist for Literature, Virgilio Almario; the Chair of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Icon of the Universe, Margie Moran; the CCP Vice Chair and Artistic Director, Chris Millado; the Chair of the National Book Development Board, Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz; the Chair of Museo Pambata, Nina Lim-Yuson; the Philippine Board on Books for Young People Chair, Tarie Sabido, and its Secretary General, Ani Rosa Almario; and the Director of the National Library, Cesar Gilbert Adriano. Distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues in the academe, ladies and gentlemen: Magandang Umaga po sa inyong lahat!

While exiled in Dapitan, Jose Rizal in 1895 described his experience in a sober disposition with resigned serenity and undiminished hope. When I consider our political landscape today, I must admit I am tempted to greedily appropriate these lines for myself (and here I quote a few lines in its Filipino translation):

Gabi’y bumubulong sa gitna ng sindak at pagkaligalig, At sa dagat nama’y bughaw’t lunting apoy ang pasilip-silip; Pagngiti ng araw’y payapa na naman ang buong paligid, At mula sa laot, yaong mangingisda ay napagigilid, Sugod na ang lunday at ang mga alon ay nananahimik.

* * *

Yaong pananalig na ibig ko sanang makitang kumislap Sa dakilang araw ng pangingibabaw ng Isip sa lakas; Kung makalipas na itong kamataya’t labanang marahas, Ay may ibang tinig, na lalong masigla at puspos ng galak, Na siyang aawit ng pananagumpay ng matwid sa lahat. Aking natatanaw na kulay-rosas na ang magandang langit [!]

One might ask why Pepe even bothered to write? Was it his mother egging him or Josephine? Was the motivation from within or was there pressure from without? Was he driven by altruism or was it pure ego? In his essay ‘Why I Write’, George Orwell names four motives for writing: (a) sheer egoism or the desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death; (b) aesthetic enthusiasm or the perception of beauty in the external world or in words and their right arrangement; (c) historical impulse or the desire to see things as they are; and finally (d) political purpose and here I quote Orwell’s own description of his motivation:

What I have most wanted to do… is to make political writing into an art. My starting point is always a feeling of partisanship, a sense of injustice. When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art’. I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing. But I could not do the work of writing… if it were not also an aesthetic experience. Anyone who cares to examine my work will see that even when it is downright propaganda it contains much that a full-time politician would consider irrelevant…. The job is to reconcile my ingrained likes and dislikes with the essentially public, non-individual activities that this age forces on all of us.

And so today we gather to celebrate National Children’s Book Day. Compulsive bibliophiles and impassioned pedagogues are welcome. Anyone who sincerely love and respect children must share in our jubilation. During the early years of the K to 12 reform, when we were rolling out the MTB-MLE program ‘like a woman in labor, gasping and panting’, we were confronted with the huge problem of the lack of original stories in the mother tongue that could be used for the primary grades. What we had were translations of the usual publications in English and Filipino. But while these old-time favorites were great stories and classics in their own right, they did not speak the language, culture and traditions that were familiar with the first-time readers. We found the solution by appealing to our public school teachers to gather oral traditions and to document original stories from the local communities. When I went around our primary schools a year or two later, I found much joy and pride in the teachers’ presentation of original stories from the localities in a big book version authored and illustrated by our own teachers. By now, there must be hundreds of original stories out there in the field and used in the classrooms obviously requiring some editorial intervention but definitely ready to be harvested into an anthology of original Filipino stories in the mother tongue.

We encountered the same problem when DepED shifted to local history as the starting point for Araling Panlipunan. Since most barangays or municipalities do not have adequate publications on their local histories, it was close to impossible to get any essays or resources on local heroes and community chronicles. Our DepED teachers again came to the rescue and did their own share in compiling articles and pictures and sources so students could begin to know the Philippines and the world with their hometown as anchor for their historical journey. Would anyone have the discipline and the patriotism to gather those materials and work with our teachers and the local communities to further develop the collection into a serious publication?

In our celebration today, we especially welcome our esteemed writers and chroniclers, essayists and poets, novelists and biographers, illustrators and artists, publishers and editors. We are rolling out the red carpet to those who are gifted—nay, compelled—to write because they have a story to tell, or a lie to expose, or history to be recorded, or beauty to be captured. Do not worry if egoism gets in the way, for that will eventually sort itself out. But write as though it were your life-blood. Write as though this nation’s very existence lies on the tip of your quill. This nation is in search of its soul and you cannot allow money or politics or armaments to continue to dangle their empty promises or to resurrect the ghosts of yesteryears. In the words of Carlos P. Romulo, the might of your pen may yet bring every Filipino to discover that: “The seed I bear within me is an immortal seed… It is the insignia of my race, and my generation is but a stage in the unending search of my people for freedom and happiness.”

I must warn you though: if you wish to take your mission seriously, then have courage! Pepe and many others during his time were martyred because they dared write. In another era and cultural milieu, the same fate befell an eminent scholar and a genius of translation, William Tyndale, who translated the Bible directly from Hebrew and Greek into English. Referring to the English language while comparing him to William Shakespeare, Hannah Bowers writes:

Tyndale was burned alive in a small town in Belgium in 1536. His crime was to have translated the Bible into English. He was effectively martyred after fighting against cruel and eventually overwhelming forces, which tried for more than a dozen years to prevent him from putting the Word of God into his native language. More than any other man he laid the foundation of our modern language which became by degrees a world language. His legacy matches that other pillar of our language – Shakespeare, whose genius was in imagination.

From an era when books were unavailable, the first printing press has revolutionized the landscape and made books available to ordinary people. That may yet be the most critical challenge for us in the Philippines. Fast-forward to the 21st century, we find that access to digitized resources has become a real game-changer in our world. In fact, by the end of 2017, there were already 4.2 billion internet users representing 54.4% of the world’s population. It was the same year when Thomas Friedman, writing in the New York Times, took note of a critical moment of history that is now irreversible:

And so it came to pass that in the winter of 2016 the world hit a tipping point…when we realized that a critical mass of our lives and work had shifted away from the terrestrial world to a realm known as “cyberspace.” That is to say, a critical mass of our interactions had moved to a realm where we’re all connected but no one’s in charge.

After all, there are no stoplights in cyberspace, no police officers walking the beat, no courts, no judges, no God who smites evil and rewards good…

That seems to me like a mirror image of what is happening in the country today where news—or rather, fake news—is written by trolls and boosts and bots who rule in this era where populism is deified and where surveys and polls and votes of the majority stir the pot of violence and division. As the movers and shakers add chaos to the confusion, the thinkers and visionaries are nowhere to be found. I long to hear the voice of our poets and writers and artists where the nation’s soul resides.

Well, the truth is that the gains of the 3rd industrial revolution has become a real affliction for me as there are moments when I truly long to go on self-imposed exile into an island with no wifi connection and where I can get my downtime from viber and instagram and whatsapp… watch sunsets, smell flowers, sip Barako coffee and simply turn the pages of a good read under the shades of a century-old Narra. Iyan na siguro ang bunga ng aking pangangarap ng gising para sa isang Mundong Payapa para sa Kabataang Malaya! If we were to give every Filipino child that “downtime” to seek that which “only the heart can see rightly” by offering them the stories that can only come from our forebears and can only be told and written by Filipinos, then we would certainly have the joy of creating a nation for our children which the other Pepe, surnamed Diokno, dreamed of:

A NOBLE nation, where homage is paid not to who a person is or what the person owns, but to what the person is and what the person does. A PROUD nation, where poverty chains no man to the plow, forces no woman to prostitute herself and condemns no child to scrounge among garbage. A FREE nation, where men and women and children from all regions and with all kinds of talents may find truth and play and sing and laugh and dance and love without fear. A JUST nation… where poverty, ignorance, and hunger are attacked… every breadwinner, a job… every farmer, a land… every family, a home… and everyone, a steadily improving quality of life. An INDEPENDENT nation, which rejects foreign dictation, depends on itself, thinks for itself, and decides for itself… An HONORABLE nation where public powers are used for the public good… where leaders speak not only well but truthfully and act honestly; a nation that is itself and seeks to live in peace and brotherhood with all other nations of the world.

On this 36th National Children’s Book Day celebration, with the might of our pens and courage in our hearts, let us proclaim this truth and claim it as our very own. Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

#NCBD2019 #National Children's Book Day

1 note · View note

technicallycleverdetective · 5 years

Note

2018?

Thanks anon! You have chosen my favourite year!

- Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente - Ermal Meta & Fabrizio MoroObviously the song that defined my year would be number one :D What a journey I went on with this song. I remember seeing the performance on the last night of Sanremo and thinking, “well, it certainly grabs your attention”, but I didn’t really grasp it until I saw the translated lyrics and then I cried like a little baby. I’d never voted in Eurovision before, but I voted for them repeatedly and I hope I contributed in getting them to the top 5. It’s such a special song :)

- Mall - Eugent Bushpepa, Albania2018 was the year Albania took Eurovision by storm, but leading the charge was Eugent Bushpepa and this freaking amazing song! Unlike NMAFN, I never actually looked up the translation, and I’ve never needed it because the sound is more than enough. I think Eugent had the best voice in the contest and even though I can’t speak a word of Albanian, I still love to listen to it and shriek unintelligibly along with him.

- You Let Me Walk Alone - Michael Schulte, GermanyGerman Ed Sheeran, perhaps, but it’s hard not to be affected by this song. I’m sure most people wanted to give their parents a hug when it was over, and I desperately hope that it will be a long time before I have to relate any further than I already do.

- Nova Deca - Sanja Ilic & Balkanika, SerbiaIs this what they call a guilty pleasure? One problem, I don’t feel guilty :) It’s so unusual and beautiful to watch and to listen to, with the country’s own language and an ethnic twang, an old man playing the flute, one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen and the bald man’s cloak which I want so badly. There’s really nothing to complain about.

- Nobody But You - Cesar Sampson, AustriaHe has such a great voice and the gospel trimmings elevated it beyond the usual love ballad. 2018 was also quite low on easy-listening songs that wouldn’t send me to sleep, which made me especially grateful for Austria. Apparently the juries agreed with me.

- Higher Ground - Rasmussen, DenmarkI loved the song, the staging and the whole Viking feel of it. For years, it felt like Denmark were sending fun, silly songs and then Higher Ground felt much more like something that represented their country. I loved it from the first hearing.

- Fuego - Eleni Foureira, CyprusI didn’t like this at first, but it really won me over. It’s catchy as hell and Eleni is such a queen, a diva and totally confident in her skin, and yet still seems to be an easy-going and friendly person.

- Under The Ladder - Melovin, UkraineAfter Jamala, I would have been happy for Ukraine to send anything with a bit of oomph, but Melovin’s Jekyll and Hyde look and unique vocals were especially enjoyable. I don’t think anyone has ever included a burning piano with more style. My own regret is that they changed the performance from the national final, which I really liked. I thought the vampire coffin was a bit on the nose.

- My Lucky Day - DoReDos, MoldovaNo-one could follow Epic Sax Guy, but these guys did a fine job. Their song is so happy and they had the best staging of the contest. My mind boggles at the amount of rehearsal required to get all of the timings right. (That being said, I disagree with them placing ahead of Albania.)

- When We’re Old - Ieva Zasimauskaite, LithuaniaThis is a song that you either find boring or moving. I was in the second group.

3 notes · View notes

phroyd · 6 years

Link

These Fucking Irresponsible Conservative Whack-Jobs! - Phroyd

The sending of package bombs to prominent Democrats and other high-profile figures this week was accompanied by a disturbing phenomenon. Baseless conspiracy theories, once confined to the fringes in the wake of violent acts, leaped with shocking speed into the mainstream discussion of the attacks.

A surprisingly large number of figures from the conservative establishment — commentators, radio hosts, a Trump family member, and other pro-Trump figures — shared, liked, hinted at, raised questions about or otherwise endorsed an evidenceless theory that this was a “false-flag” attack — one that was staged to advance the political goals of the very people it seemed intended to hurt (in this case, Democrats).

But the FBI’s arrest of a suspect Friday pointed to the hollowness of these claims, raising questions about why they were voiced on such a fraught issue in the absence of evidence. The bombs were not “hoax devices,” FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said Friday. The suspect, 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc, “appears to be a partisan,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. And images circulating of the suspect’s van, which was plastered with pro-Trump and anti-Democrat imagery, and what wasbelieved to be his social media feed, painted a portrait of a distinctly right-wing ideology.

The devices were addressed to former president Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), former attorney general Eric. H Holder Jr., and liberal philanthropist George Soros. Most of the packages had the office of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) as the return address.

In the fever swamps of misinformation and hoaxes on the Internet, the evidence presented on Friday did little to quell the conspiracy mongering. But would the more-established conservative figures who had spread these conspiracy theories admit they made mistakes?

Actually, most continued to dig in.

Ann Coulter, conservative author and commentator

Conspiracy theorizing: “From the Haymarket riot to the Unibomber, bombs are a liberal tactic,” she tweeted on Wednesday after CNN offices in Manhattan were evacuated when one of the bombs was found there.

Friday: Coulter did not back down from her statement, appearing to pivot instead to what appeared to be racially charged barbs about her belief that people of “immigrant stock” are more likely to engage in political violence. “I don’t make predictions, I cite history,” Coulter wrote in an email Friday to The Washington Post. “Sorry, not all immigrants are going to be Democrats.”

Rush Limbaugh, conservative radio host

Conspiracy theorizing: On Wednesday, Rush Limbaugh suggested that a “Democratic operative” was more likely to have sent the devices than a Republican. “Republicans just don’t do this kind of thing,” Limbaugh said. “You’ve got people trying to harm CNN and Obama and Hillary and Bill Clinton and [Florida Rep.] Debbie ‘Blabbermouth’ Schultz and, you know, just, it might serve a purpose here.”

Friday: Limbaugh, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to his radio station, appeared to continue this line on Friday. “Two weeks out, a bunch of bombs start showing up in places that the media can then say that they are being received by ‘Trump targets?’ ” he said on his show. “I’m sorry. I didn’t fall off the turnip truck ever, and certainly not yesterday, and the world of October Surprises coupled with all the other realities I just exposed, and I think it only makes sense to be suspicious and demanding of proof for whatever we’re gonna be told.”

Michael Savage, conservative radio host

Conspiracy theorizing: Savage had said of the bombs Wednesday that there was a “high probability that the whole thing had been set up as a false flag to gain sympathy for the Democrats,” and as a way to distract from the migrant situation in southern Mexico, according to the Guardian.

Friday: Savage, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to the administrators of his website, continued to sow doubt about the line of information coming from the authorities about the bombs.

“Michael, your description yesterday of the guy they’d pin (maga hat, confed flag,etc) sounds right on the money💰 Only thing you didn’t envision was a van slathered in pro-Trump images. Once again you were correct!,” he retweeted.

And a follow up: “MAN AND VAN LOOK LIKE CREATED BY HOLLYWOOD,” he wrote.

Lou Dobbs, Fox Business television host

Conspiracy theorizing: On Thursday, Dobbs wrote: “Fake News — Fake Bombs. Who could possibly benefit by so much fakery?” Dobbs later deleted the tweet.

Friday: Requests for comment sent to Fox News and Fox Business representatives were not immediately answered.

John Cardillo, right-wing media personality

Conspiracy theorizing: “Investigators need to take a serious look at far left groups like #Antifa when investigating the bombs sent to [liberal philanthropist George] Soros, Obama, and the Clintons,” Cardillo wrote on Twitter this week. “These smell like the false flag tactics of unhinged leftists who know they’re losing.” He later deleted the tweet.

Friday: Cardillo continued Friday to find ways to blame Democrats and absolve conservatives of responsibility for the package bombs. He tweeted that “far left” officials in Broward County, Fla., were to blame for Sayoc’s actions, given his prior criminal record. He said that Sayoc registered as a Republican only in 2016. And he said the “MSM” — mainstream media — ignored the story of how Donald Trump Jr.'s wife, Vanessa, was taken to the hospital after opening an envelope full of suspicious white powder.

[Trump Jr. says his wife is ‘safe and unharmed’ after opening letter containing unknown substance]

Geraldo Rivera, Fox News correspondent

Conspiracy theorizing: Rivera said Thursday that he believed “that this whole thing was an elaborate hoax.”

“I believe that those bombs were never intended to explode. I think those bombs were intended to further divide the American people,” he said. “Maybe it was a wretchedly incompetent bomber who didn’t know how to make a bomb, that never studied the Internet . . . someone who wanted to embarrass President Trump, somebody who wanted to affect American political life. It could have been a Russian invention."

Friday: Rivera is notable for being the only conservative out of this group to admit he was wrong. He said that the reason he had previously conjured up the theory that the bombs were a false-flag operation was that he “outsmarted” himself.

“Actual alleged perp 56-year old #CesarSayoc,” he wrote, “a middle-aged, rabid, extreme right winger w a troubled past & long criminal record.”

Bill Mitchell, conservative radio host

Conspiracy theorizing: “These ‘explosive packages’ being sent to the #Media and high profile Democrats has Soros astro-turfing written all over it so the media can paint the #GOP as ‘the dangerous mob,' Mitchell wrote on Wednesday. “Pure BS.”

Friday: Mitchell, who did not respond to a request for comment sent via Twitter, continued to sow doubt about Sayoc’s political motivations, hinting about a conspiracy afoot but providing no evidence.

“So many things about this Cesar guy do not add up,” he wrote on Twitter. “If he is #MAGA, why would he send these fake ‘bombs’ to Democrat Congressional Leaders 2 weeks before the midterms and disrupt our winning momentum? It makes no sense. That means there is something else here.”

Candace Owens, right-wing activist

Conspiracy theorizing: “I’m going to go ahead and state that there is a 0% chance that these ‘suspicious packages,’ were sent out by conservatives,” she wrote on Wednesday. “The only thing ‘suspicious’ about these packages, is their timing. Caravans, fake bomb threats — these leftists are going ALL OUT for midterms.” The tweet has since been deleted, but was screengrabbed by other users.

Friday: Owens did not respond to a request for comment sent to the conservative advocacy group for which she works, but she did not appear to have tweeted further about the issue.

Donald Trump Jr., President Trump’s eldest son

Conspiracy theorizing: On Thursday, Trump Jr. reportedly liked a blatantly erroneous all-caps tweet that claimed that the bombs were fake and “MADE TO SCARE AND PICK UP BLUE SYMPATHY VOTE.”Friday: Trump Jr. continued engaging with partisan tweets. He retweeted Rivera, who had noted that Sayoc’s criminal history predated Trump’s political career and liked a post that railed about the “Left’s violence, intimidation, & mob tactics.”

Abby Ohlheiser and Avi Selk contributed to this report.

Phroyd

#conservative #media #lies

28 notes · View notes

michaelgonzalesleader-blog · 5 years

Text

Forget the hype, Dallas blacks, Hispanics bonding

Don't believe the hype about the black and Hispanic community at odds with each other, said representatives from at least two civil rights groups. A joint meeting, held at the Non Profit Community Center by the Dallas branches of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Hispanic Leadership Forum, was designed to show that a true bonding of the black and brown community is real and getting stronger.

"This is something special," said Derrick Bowman, president of the Dallas SCLC. "Today marks the opportunity to let the world and this city know that blacks, browns and whites can actually come together and dialogue to get things done."

With Dallas being a majority minority city, where the black and Hispanic population combine to outnumber the Anglo segment, it makes sense for the two minority groups to forge partnerships with each other, as well as with the Anglo population to form a true triethnic front, said Michael Gonzales, chairman of the Hispanic Leadership Forum.

"When we look at 66 percent of the citizens in Dallas being African Americans and Hispanics and that over 90 percent of our school district is African American and Hispanic, we have more in common that unite us than issues that divide us," Gonzales said. "We realize the trends of the way things are going. I believe we can do things better together. We are the majority."

According to statistics quoted by Gonzales, blacks and Hispanics make up 27 percent of Dallas' purchasing power, or $41 billion and comprise more than 70,000 businesses collectively. That represents a power that needs to be recognized and distributed more into their own respective communities.

We are contributors," said Gonzales. "If we can have the passion to develop the W [Hotel and Victory Park], Deep Ellum and Uptown, where's our passion to develop Fair Park and Oak Cliff?

Bowman said both the SCLC and HLF are also working together to dispel the myth that the two groups are in strong discord and unable to collaborate on worthy projects.

"The perception is that it's not happening," Bowman said. "We're showing that both ethnic groups can actually come together. It's a progressive as well as an aggressive attempt."

Bowman, Gonzales and Mayor Tom Leppert all took questions from the audience to address critical issues that both communities share, along with injecting how to bring solutions that will help move blacks and browns forward. Affordable housing became one of the topics.

"About 60 to 65 percent of blacks and Hispanics still live in apartments, therefore, we cannot create wealth," Gonzales said. "You see gentrification occurring where you had traditional affordable housing for Hispanics and African Americans."

Leppert said Dallas showing itself as a diverse and harmonious city among their ethnic groups presents a good image that will better attract individuals and businesses to desire to move here, giving Dallas a competitive edge.

"There are a lot of persons who want to see their cities, counties and countries succeed," Leppert said.

Two recent similar issues regarding the renaming of streets and buildings after people of color arose with both African Americans and Hispanics, where Gonzales and Bowman crisscrossed their support.

Gonzales and HLF are fighting to have Industrial Boulevard renamed after late Hispanic civil rights and labor activist Cesar Chavez. A strong majority of the public actually voted in favor of the renaming through a city-sponsored poll taken last month, part of the Trinity River Corridor redevelopment plan. Several city council members downplayed the poll results and backed out of going through with the renaming, which upset many in the Hispanic community.

Segments of the African American community were displeased at the last DISD school board meeting, when the board defeated the proposal to name the administration building after former longtime school board member Kathlyn Gilliam. The vote was defeated 6-3 with the three African American members being outnumbered by both the white and Hispanic trustees.

"Where are the [city structures named] after African Americans and Hispanics?" Gonzales said. "We know their [whites] history, but they don't know ours."

An attempt to end "economic segregation" was discussed. Gonzales spoke of several African American and Hispanic businesses that are "viable and have the competency to repay loans, but in many cases, these banks will not loan them the money."

In 2003 Dallas' black and Hispanic contractors associations signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly go after prime contract dollars.

"We want to demystify the illusion that blacks and Hispanics don't want to work together, he said. "We want to meet with Corporate America and develop a master plan."

That also pertains to the future redistricting of city council seats, which will take place after the 2010 census count. It was speculated that up to nine of the 14 seats could be black or Hispanic populated, 5-4 one way or the other.

In crime and public safety, Leppert said the city council has approved a budget where the police department will add 200 new officers a year. Gonzales and Bowman committed to help the city with strong code enforcement and to bring a convention center hotel to the city.

"With the leadership of SCLC and the Hispanic Leadership Forum, we can show from the top that these two groups are willing to come together," said Bowman. "Then, when we do this, our kids and grandkids can show that we can work together."

1 note · View note

rosarenn · 6 years

Text

I fucked up and I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself

I haven’t done any “storytelling” yet on this blog, because, generally, I don’t think it’s necessary. Generally, I think the story can be a distraction from the work that needs to be done: the deep emotional work of grieving, the cognitive work of belief change, the behavioural work of state management. Generally, I think the story can keep us stuck in the past - the brain can’t distinguish reality from something that is vividly imagined, and we can play that video over and over and over again, obsessively. We can end up going around in circles.

But telling the story is important. It’s a way to externalise our thoughts. It helps give order and structure to our thinking. And it creates an opening, an opportunity for the people who care about us to offer emotional support. If we keep it all to ourselves, if we carry that burden alone, we miss out on the opportunity for true intimacy that can only come from vulnerability.

I have many stories, but there is one in particular. It’s a tragedy. In my mind, it’s such an awful story that for years I didn’t give myself permission to share it with anyone. It’s too sad, too painful, best not to burden anyone else with it.

I believe this, along with focusing on the horror of the circumstances, is why seven years later I still have unresolved grief.

That’s a euphemism if I ever saw one. “Unresolved grief” sounds so tame. My heart was shattered into a million million pieces, the video replays in my head as vividly as the day it happened, and the vortex of rage and misery and regret and sheer agony has not abated in the slightest. But yes, unresolved grief.

Recently, I gave myself permission to tell this story. Equal parts Richard Grannon’s coaching and Pete Walker’s books inspired this shift. But because I’ve denied myself the right to tell this story for so long, it’s a bit garbled. It’s disorganised. I go off on tangents and lose track of the story I’m telling.

So I’m going to tell it here. As an exercise. As a step in my grieving process.

Now that I’ve been evasive and mysterious for 350 words, this is a story about a dog. The dog dies at the end, so if you’re sensitive to that, please don’t feel compelled to read it.

My first act of independence, when I moved out of my parents’ homes and in with my shitty boyfriend, was to foster a dog. Not just any dog, but a pit bull. This was important to me: I live in a place where pit bulls are banned, and I felt (and still feel) that this was unfair and unjust, that these dogs were simply misunderstood. Scapegoated, just like me. And because of the ban, the only way I could legally have a pit bull was by fostering, with the idea that they would eventually be adopted outside the area of the ban.

I did my research, picked a rescue, and poured my heart into the application. Having never had a dog before, what I lacked in experience I would make up for with enthusiasm. I remember binge watching Cesar Millan and poring over 100s of pages of research on dog food.

Then Olive arrived and she was perfection. A petite white pittie, with an adorably pink spotted belly, and a big brindle spot around her eye. Spotted bat ears and a baby underbite. A wrinkly velveteen forehead and comically expressive eyes. The most food motivated dog I’ve ever met and sharply intelligent, if you had a treat for her you were the only one who existed in the world at that moment. She was desperate to please and would start offering up tricks unprompted: maybe you want me to sit? maybe you want a paw? She was full of energy but was just as happy to cuddle on the couch, and if you left the room she was coming with you. Yes, even if you were going to the bathroom. If we were in separate rooms she would split her time between us, moving back and forth to check that her people were OK.

She didn’t care much for other dogs, though she made a few doggy friends. She was skittish at loud noises and pulled like mad on leash. She hated the muzzle that she was required to wear by the ban - even though it was pink to match her toes. Still, she let me put it on. Just as she let me put on the hated winter boots that protected her delicate skin from the winter salt, and the hated winter jacket that kept her exposed tummy from freezing.

I called her the princess and the pea, because only once did I ever see her lay down on the carpet: if there was laundry on the floor, she was curled up in the laundry; if there was a pillow on the couch, she was curled up on the pillow; if there was a pillow on a blanket on another blanket on a pillow on the bed, well, you know where she was. The one time she laid on the carpet was when everything else had been moved out - and even then she found a sunbeam to curl up in.

She learned that if she hopped into the tub and scritched at the drain, one of us would usually come over and turn on the tap so she could drink fresh running water. She learned not to cross the invisible line separating the living room from the kitchen, and would skitter to a stop even if she was chasing a ball and it rolled past. She learned to put herself to bed in her crate when she was tired, and to wait patiently (read: drooling-ly) to be given permission to devour her food.

She was an endless source of joy and love and energy, and I loved her with all my heart.

But she was the only bright spot in my life at that time.

This isn’t a story about the ways in which my shitty boyfriend was shitty. This isn’t a story about my mother using guilt and shame to control me. This isn’t a story about the immense pressure I was under studying engineering, working, cleaning, cooking, taking care of everyone except myself and the debilitating depression and anxiety I was suffering. All these things played a part in what happened next, but I don’t want to focus on them here.

We decided to move. (Read: I was shamed and guilted by my mother and my boyfriend into moving). The problem was that the condo we moved into didn’t allow dogs. I justified it by telling myself that Olive would get adopted any day now, and that anyways, this was exactly the type of reason why I had decided to foster rather than adopt. So we moved, and Olive went back to the rescue.

Despite giving them plenty of notice, the rescue didn’t have a spot for her, so she was kenneled for a while. She picked up kennel cough along the way. That alone was enough to leave me feeling extraordinarily guilty, but my hands were tied with the condo. And it gets a lot worse from here.

Olive went back to a foster family who had previously fostered her. They loved her but it was not a good fit - they had two dogs of their own, and while Olive got along with one, she didn’t get along with the other. They also had a fenced yard, something we’d never had in our cheap apartment. For a while it seemed to be going well, with Olive playing with her doggy friend and getting to spend so much time running around outside, off leash and without her hated muzzle.

Rolling in the grass, chasing her friend, digging up the yard. She could even climb trees: she would jump straight up, at least ten feet in the air, into the Y of a big tree in the centre of the yard, and come down later covered in sap. We could even visit her sometimes: I remember the moment when she would notice us, and it was instant recognition. Then it was all sloppy kisses and tail wags and a joy you could feel.

Then one day I got the call: Olive had jumped the fence, and she’d gotten into a fight with the neighbour dog. Everyone was OK, there were only minor injuries. But the rescue had decided to kill her.

I know I’m supposed to say “euthanise”. I know I’m supposed to say they “put her down”. I know I’m supposed to pretend it was a painless death, but it fucking wasn’t. I saw it with my own eyes and no one will ever be able to convince me that she didn’t die in agony. Because I saw it.

I begged. Of course I begged. Suddenly, I could see what a mistake I’d made. Suddenly, there was nothing more important in the world than saving my baby girl. I was going to drop everything, adopt her and move outside the area of the pit bull ban, dedicate myself to getting her the training she needed, do everything in my power to keep her safe and to ensure she never ever had cause to get into another fight - but they didn’t want to hear it.

A committee of people dedicated to saving the lives of pit bulls had voted and decided that she would die, and I was powerless to stop it. I even began to plan how I would kidnap her and go on the run - knowing full well it was illegal and they could send the cops after me - but the other foster told me to drop it, to accept it, that I was making things worse by fighting it, and that got to me.

To this day I still don’t know if I made the right choice.

I was there when she died. We’d spent the afternoon together, playing, spoiling her rotten, giving her all the food she’d always wanted but wasn’t allowed to have. When we went to the vet, he spoke to us gently, gave her a muffin to eat, and put in a stent so that she wouldn’t have to die in the back alone. When it was time, he gave her the single shot that killed her and I saw the look of confusion and pain in her eyes, I saw her sway and go limp and collapse, and I saw the life drain out of her.

Please if anyone reads this, please take away just this one thing: if you ever euthanise an animal, demand two shots: one to put them to sleep, one to kill them. They will tell you that you don’t need the first because it’s a painless death. I promise you, it is not.

I have her ashes. I have a few hairs I collected at the time with half a mind to get a DNA portrait made one day. I have an imprint of her paw we’d made in playdough once upon a time. I have some photographs and some videos. And of course, I have my memories.

I think one of the worst things about losing a dog is that most people don’t understand. They think it’s a small grief because it wasn’t a person. You don’t get a funeral. You don’t get bereavement leave. You don’t get bombarded with cards and flowers and casseroles. People don’t call or visit or tell you they’re sorry for your loss.

The one bright spot in my life was extinguished and I was supposed to just get over it.

It’s hard to put into words how I’ve suffered over this. I was - am - furiously angry. I’ve spread the blame around - the rescue, the foster, the government, society, the condo board, my mom, my boyfriend, and of course, inescapably, me. If I hadn’t agreed to move. If I’d kept sight of what was important. If I’d stood up for myself. How could I have been so stupid? so short-sighted? so limp-willed? How could I have abandoned her like that?

Of course, now I know how. Over two decades of training had led up to that moment. But before that moment, the only one who had ever been hurt by it was me. And I’ve never managed to let myself off the hook for it.

I read somewhere, in a book about grief I’d flipped through at the book store, that sometimes, when we lose someone in a traumatic way, we put all our focus on the circumstances of the death. The how and where and when and who and why. The sense of injustice, the horror, the deep sense of guilt, of helplessness, of powerlessness. And these powerful emotions, I think, can keep us hooked. In the same way that endlessly replaying the video, replaying the story can keep us hooked. Reliving it again and again, torturing ourselves.

The book asked a simple question: Would your loss be any less if your loved one had died in different circumstances?

And of course the answer is no. Resoundingly no. Earth-shakingly no. A light went out in my world, and even if she had died of old age twenty years in the future, it would have been - and is - a tremendous loss.

So every time this video starts to play in my head, I gently take myself by the hand and say, yes yes yes, I know, it was terrible, and I know you feel so angry and so sad and so upset, and you have every right to feel that way. But also, do you remember the moment you first met her?

Usually, this helps me focus my grieving on what I’ve actually lost, rather than get sucked down the vortex of the story. It has its own weight, its own pull, its own gravity - I can’t always escape it, but I try my best. I think this is how I move my grief forward, so that maybe one day I will resolve my grief, whatever that actually means.

If I was going to summarise this story, I would say:

I loved a dog. But I gave her up willingly. Then when she was in trouble, I couldn’t protect her and now she’s dead.

I fucked up and I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself.

I had to write 2400 words to discover that that, really, is the essence of this story.

2 notes · View notes

lazyfartbouquet-blog · 6 years

Text

Read It For The Pictures 28: Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Annual 2018, by a Buttload of Creators

NK: Hello and welcome to Read it For The Pictures, the comic book Blog where we read it for the pictures! I’m Neil Kapit, and with me as always is the man voted Spiciest Shrimp on the Barbie in the Mr. Australia competition ten years running, Dave Clarke! How you doin’ Dave?

DC: Doing good cos we’ve got a special one on his week. We’re talking about special anthology issue for a long running beloved property

NK:You mean Action Comics 1000?

DC: Of course not that may actually bring in some readers. I’m talking about power rangers annual 2018

NK: This comic by Boom Studios was drawn by Artists: Marcus To, Patrick Mulholland, Dylan Burnett, Hyeonjin Kim, Simone Di Meo Writers: Kyle Higgins, Caleb Goellner, Anthony Burch, Adam Cesare, Becka Barnes, and Alwyn Dale. Though I haven’t been reading the new Power Rangers comics, I dunno, there’s a lot to compete with in Action Comics 1000. I mean, we learn the origin of the car on the cover of Action Comics 1 back in 1938. THE CAR!

DC: Sadly this book doesn’t have anything quite so needlessly banal, though it is chock full of confusing continuity.

NK: I thought that was the sole providence of Marvel and DC. Explain.

DC: The reason I thought to pick this is I picked up the 2017 annual on a sale a few weeks ago. It was a bunch of one of stories with weird artists and was pretty great. This however seems to not only setting up an event in the main title, but also building off lore in main title and is involving characters from 5 different unrelated seasons of the show.

NK: So I only ever saw the first Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers as a kid, then matured to real adult comics like X-Force and Bloodstrike, and thus only understood who the characters were in the first chapter by Higgins and To. And for the rest, I had no idea who all these colorful yet ultimately indistinguishable characters were running around and fighting. For one solemn moment I learned what it was like to be you, listening to me.

DC: Yes folks, this is the episode I’ve been threatening to do for ages where I nerd out about Power Rangers Thank god they don’t make Metal Gear comics.

NK: I am pleased to note that even though there's six different artists here, there isn't nearly as much tonal whiplash as I'd expect. Since this is a collection of short stories that all tie together to set up the "Shattered Grid" crossover, it's important that they maintain cohesion, even across different eras and universe. Aside from inevitable questions like "who the fuck is the guy with the dog's head", I wasn't lost in terms of basic narrative flow

DC: That’s one of the stranger things about it, to my eyes at least, is how conventional each of the artists are. At least compared to this in last years annual: So how much did you get of the “plot”, such as it were.

NK: TLDR: Drakkon, the Green Ranger Tommy’s evil parallel universe counterpart, is going across different worlds stealing different artifacts of power from different sets of teenagers with attitude. And other than the Power Rangers SPD sequence, they all end with “To Be Continued In Shattered Grid”, because that totally makes me feels as though this $8.00 comic was a justified purchase,

DC: Yeah I didn’t look at the price tag before picking this one.

NK: Well I've got you paying for a lot of shittier comics over the course of this project, so this is karmic payback to me.

DC: Seeing as I’m now firmly in the having to defend this position I think the cartooning in the RPM section is pretty solid. Ninja Steel section also does some very nice environment shots.

NK: It did break the common problem with licensed comic artists doing painfully obvious photo references of the actors and actresses. Not many of these actors are big-time celebrities, notwithstanding my shrine to Johnny Yong Bosch (which is much more for his anime dubbing work), so I can see why they'd do it from scratch. Still, if I knew who any of these guys were, I guess I'd feel their personalities were captured?

DC: I guess the reason this annuals exists is that whatever interdimensional epic they have planned for the main title doesn’t give enough attention to characters outside the core cast and this is a way to do that. That being said I still think they should just do an RPM title and not tease us like this

NK: And your other pick for this week was "Hunt for Wolverine", another extra-priced special that was a prologue for a larger story and did even less to advance its own plot ( flashback to Wolverine's funeral, then fight scene over Wolverine's grave, then the X-Men finding out Wolverine's not actually dead). So...bullet dodged?

DC: What can I say, I have expensive terrible taste :P I did actually start reading the Power Rangers B-title and it’s really good, so chances are I will eventually be catching up with this story. Can’t imagine I’ll have much luck in getting you to join me.

NK: I feel like this isn’t entirely fair to the multiple artists and writers, because there wasn’t anything notably bad in this comic, each one did the impressive task of setting up their respective Rangers’ unique world, and they managed to synchronize with each other surprisingly well. Other than Marcus To (the first artist, who’s done work for the Big Two) I didn’t recognize any of the names, perhaps owing to Boom Studios having less pull to get star artists, even for small part of a book this pricey

DC: Weirdly I thought the first part was the weakest art wise, though it was the most just friends hanging out and chatting. Besides this panel.

NK: It does capture the dynamism and meticulous choreography of the low-budget Sentai footage that they imported from Japan to fill out half of the Power Rangers show.

DC: I have this theory that the Power Rangers, like the Justice League, are very hard to make look good because they’re all different bright colours. The exception being the original mmpr team because black is more flexible a colour than green.

NK: Pistols at dawn, sir. They also have white as a unifying color though.

DC: You use a tonne of neutral colours to break up the brighter primaries though.

(Art from Go Go Power Rangers #2, art by Dan Mora and Raul Angelo)

NK: OK, I've got a lot of love for Dan Mora after he worked with Grant Morrison on Klaus, so I may have to check this out

DC: Ohh.. and as great as the cover art for this annual was it features Super Samurai Red, Time Force Pink and Dino Charge Blue, who don’t appear in this issue. That’s what it needed: more teenagers with attitude.

NK: They could've brought in the 2016 movie Rangers, for the three of us that loved it.

DC: This shattered grid event isn’t over yet.

NK: Fingers crossed for autistic Billy.

DC: One final thought on this annual and Power Rangers in general: Power Rangers is everything that grant Morrison wanted the DCU to be. Constant variation on a few archetypes (see the three Batman arc, Batman inc, superman 1,000,000), always doing completely new things with the formula while also being reverent to the legacy of the franchise, never stopped being primarily for kids and completely impenetrable to newcomers. Whether you take that as a compliment to Power Rangers or an insult to Grant Morrison is up to you

NK: Also yes.

#power rangers #sentai #boom studios #graphic novels #comic books #neil kapit #dave clarke #art #illustration #how to draw

9 notes · View notes

while-my-tardis-gently-weeps · 6 years

Text

Eurovision 2018 - Initial Impressions

So, with the pre-parties getting into full swing, I thought I’d note down my impressions of each of the songs, as well as general comments on each semi-final.

SEMI-FINAL 1

Azerbaijan: Aisel – X My Heart 5/10 Luna moon me unimpressed. Given that this is Azerbaijan that we’re talking about, it’d probably qualify anyway, even with the 1st semi being such a bloodbath, but god I hope not. This is as generic-Eurovision as it gets, complete with the cringe-worthy, nonsensical lyrics.

Iceland: Ari Olafsson – Our Choice 1/10 To be fair, Ari’s got a good voice, but the only thing that will save this song is to make him sing in Icelandic so that most people don’t understand what on Earth he’s saying. If I thought “luna moon me up” from Azerbaijan was bad, then this song just made that sound positively Shakespearean! Watching it for the first time, this gave me a serious case of the creeps and made me want to run for the hills. It’s almost as if Iceland gave up after last year and just went. “not voting for me despite me sending quality songs, will you? Well then here’s the blandest thing imaginable, see how you like that!” It’s just as well Iceland got the dreaded #2, it’s not like it’s got a chance anyway. Better luck next year.

Albania: Eugent Bushpepa – Mall 8/10 Rock entry, and in Albanian no less! I really like this since the get go. He’s got an excellent voice and seem to work well live too, so I definitely look forward to seeing his performance in Lisbon!

Belgium: Sennek – A Matter Of Time 10/10 Aaaand Belgium delivers a quality entry that’s slightly out of the left field again! I knew I could trust you, Belgium. So far, this has been my #1 overall. I had high hopes for it ever since Laura was announced and I listened to the two songs she posted on her youtube channel, and A Matter of Time definitely met those expectations and more. She’s a good singer with an unique voice, and the song is dark and atmospheric but sleek and stylish at the same time. With the right staging, she’ll be ready to slay.

Czech Republic: Mikolas Josef – Lie To Me 7.5/10 This is quite modern for Eurovision and a total earworm. I’m a bit undecided about it to be honest, but I enjoy it for the most part. I suppose it will really hinge on his delivery on stage, but for now it doesn’t strike me as the cold, soulless, off-a-production line kind of pop that usually turns me off.

Lithuania: Ieva Zasimauskaite – When We’re Old 8/10 I’m feeling a bit devastated by this running order, which probably just destroyed any chance of my girl Ieva qualifying to the final. This is a lovely little song that soothes the soul like a warm cup of cinnamon-spiced tea in the winter. There’s a quite kind of magic to her voice as well that sells the genuine emotion behind the song so well. Her live vocals need a bit improvement, imo, but judging from her recent performance at Riga she’s definitely working on that and getting better. Sandwiched between two high energy fan favorites in an already tough semi though, I’m worried that her song will end up being the bathroom break instead of the slow but charming respite.

Israel: Netta – Toy 9/10 If someone looked up the word “grower” in my personal dictionary, they will see a picture of Netta next to it, along with a link to the MV for Toy. I have to admit, I hated this song on first listen and was completely baffled by how Eurovision fans got behind this, and so quickly too. I was convinced that this was a hot mess that would drop faster than a lead balloon. Well, here I am, placing this in my top five and happily eating my words. This song is catchy as hell and has a way of getting under your skin and into your mind and never letting go, and that’s exactly what happened to me. It’s so clever in how it carries the central message of women empowerment as well, demonstrating with style how a song like that don’t have to involve power ballads and grand-standing divas, and that one can just have fun with it in the mean time.

Belarus: Alekseev – Forever 7/10 This song, for me, is a tale of two songs. I love the final studio version of the song as well as the MV, but what I’ve seen of his live vocals so far leave me less than impressed and I shudder at the horrendously overdone staging, with the LED suit and everything going on in the background. If Eurovision were based on studio versions alone, this would have been in my top ten, but as it stands right now unless they change the staging and Alekseev shows improvement in his live vocals, I’m of the mind that this song will get left behind, especially since it has Israel and Estonia as neighbors in the running order.

EDIT: I found a much more recent live performance in Yekaterinburg while I’m still working on the rest of the post, and his live vocals show much improvement, which made me a lot more confident about Belarus’ prospects. I’m still a bit worried about it being stuck between two big favorites though.

Estonia: Elina Nechayeva – La Forza 9/10 This is glorious. As a (very) casual fan of opera and a huge fan of stellar vocals, this ticks all of my box in just the right way. If I were to have a complaint about this song though, it’s the fact that the song lack a true climax and a direction it’s building to. Elina commands the stage with that hell of a voice though that you’d hardly notice. This is definitely not the usual Eurovision fare and that, particularly with the genre being what it is, might work against it, but I’m hoping that the jury and the voters at home will be sufficiently wow’d by her vocals that the fact that this is a pop opera piece and not something they might normally listen to cease to matter.

Bulgaria: Equinox – Bones 5.5/10 I don’t know if it’s because I had too high an expectation for Bulgaria after the last two excellent years, but this song just falls completely fat for me, and repeat listens doesn’t seem to improve my regard (or lack thereof) for it one bit. If anything, I’m turned off by it more and more, what with the hype still surrounding Bulgaria and its entry. Let’s hope the staging change my mind.

Macedonia: Eye Cue – Lost and Found 4/10 I don’t know, people seem to like this but for me this is one of the forgettable ones that have me going “how did this one go again?” before the song even finishes playing. It’s fine enough, but it makes my attention wander.

Croatia: Franka – Crazy 6.5/10 It’s fine, I suppose, but it’s nothing impressive. I’m sorry, but everything about it screams safe and middle of the road for me.

Austria: Cesar Sampson – Nobody But You 7/10 This feels like a pleasant-but-safe entry much like last year’s, and all but screams middle of the road, just like last year. But with how Nathan Trent charmed his way into my favorites list during pre-party season, I think it’s way too early to count Austria out yet. With his effortless vocals and the right amount of charm, Cesar might still lift his song into contention for the finals yet.

Greece: Yianna Terzi – Oneiro Mou 9/10 Epic ethno-ballad for the win! I certainly wouldn’t say no to #Athens2019 even if this isn’t my overall favorite. This is beautiful, atmospheric, and has the chance of being truly spectacular with the right staging. I’ve only seen the studio version, so I can’t comment on her live vocals, but I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed for this one and hoping that she delivers on what the studio version promises.

Finland: Saara Aalto – Monsters 9/10 This has the potential to blow up into a huge banger. The song is powerful and just the right kind of anthemic for Eurovision fans to get behind. I really hope Finland ups their game with the staging and styling though because the national finals one rather came out on the wrong side of left field and something like that just won’t cut it for the big leagues. All the best to Saara and Finland!

Armenia: Sevak Khanagyan – Qami 9/10 Armenia took the plunge this year too in sending a song entirely in Armenian, and Sevak, being such a stellar vocalist, is definitely the guy to take that risk with. He’s one of the strongest male vocalists this year and that definitely shows in how he delivers this song and its artistry and ethnic charm. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing this live and I hope he kills it in the semi and carry the song to a high finish in the final.

Switzerland: Zibbs – Stones 7.5/10 This is quite a bop with an excellent beat, but I’m not sure this song will cut it in this semi, unfortunately enough.

Ireland: Ryan O’Shaughnessy – Together 4/10 I guess this is better than last year’s...? That isn’t saying much though. The only thing going for it seem to be the gay romance going on in the MV, but even that feels like a cynical ploy to score points with fans. The female supporting vocals also make it feel like the very definition of incongruous, with the mixed message they’re sending out.

Cyprus: Eleni Foureira – Fuego 3/10 This irritates me to no end, and the fact that people I’ve come across seem to like it only exacerbate things for me. Objectively I guess it’s inoffensive in that generic Eurovision way, but there’s just something about this song that just rubs me the wrong way.

SEMI-FINAL 2

Norway: Alexander Rybak – That’s How You Write A Song 6/10 I have to admit, I had quite the soft spot for him because his victory in 2009 was what introduced me to Eurovision. That said, where do I even begin with this song? This is the furthest thing from his excellent Fairytale, and more closely resembles a kindergarten sing-along. There were quite a few songs I preferred over this one in the Norwegian national finals too, and I’m not sure if I’ve gotten over their losses yet. When it comes to Rybak himself though, you can’t deny that this man has charm in spades and total command of the stage, and he definitely knows how to work his audience. With a better song we might have been able to have #Oslo2019, but alas...

Romania: The Humans – Goodbye 7/10 This is quite a pleasant song, if a bit dated. I really enjoy the instrumental backing as well, with the strings and everything. When it comes to this year’s rock selections though, this isn’t exactly the best (or even the best in this semi).

Serbia: Sanja Ilic & Balkanika – Nova Deca 5/10 In any other year, the ethnic element and use of traditional instruments would have captured people’s attention and help them forgive a lot of the song’s faults, but with more nations taking risks as a response to Portugal’s win, I don’t think that strategy works nearly as well, if at all, this year. And they’re not even the best Balkan song in this semi, unfortunately.

San Marino: Jessika feat Jenifer Brening – Who We Are 2/10 Sorry, I prefer the Norwegian “Who We Are” that sadly got left behind in nationals. She’s got a nice voice, I’d give her that, but the song sounds like two different songs thrown together, and not in a good way. The dancing robots are the only things going for it, really.

Denmark: Rasmussen – Higher Ground 8/10 I always wonder if I’m being too soft on the Nordic entries because of personal biases, but I’d like to think I’m fair even with my soft spot for them. This song, when it comes down to it, isn’t that spectacular and the lyrics can be iffy at times, but nonetheless I find myself enjoying it. Part of that is probably the viking aesthetics. the atmospheric staging, as well as the general musical theatre aura to the whole package.

Russia: Julia Samoylova – I Won’t Break 3/10 This is another one that makes me go, “I know they’re going to qualify for simply being Russia but please, please find a way to stop that from happening!” Granted, this is worlds above last year’s aborted entry, but then again it doesn’t take much effort to achieve that particular feat. I don’t know if it’s her diction, her vocal techniques, or a mixture of both, but her vocals is grating.

Moldova: DoReDos – My Lucky Day 6/10 This is one of the songs that I think might become a grower for me. I almost discounted it entirely at first, because the first performances and videos I’ve seen of it were nothing short of disastrous, with the low quality making the whole thing seem cobbled together with tape and some loose strings. With the official music video out and the performance in Riga showcasing them live though, I’m slowly warming up to it, though this still feels rather like Hey-Mamma-lite to me.

Netherlands: Waylon – Outlaw In ‘Em ???/10 Okay, I don’t know what I think about this song. Or rather, I do, but my thoughts don’t condense into a neat score that I can put on it. Objectively speaking, this is a spectacular song with a genuine spirit to it. Emotionally speaking though, what makes it great also makes it unlistenable for me because I loathe country music as a genre. So, my rational self will be cheering if, or rather, when this advances to the final with a respectable position, but the other parts of me will be lamenting the fact that I have to sit through this again for the final. So, I guess it’s best of luck to Netherlands, see you in the finals, but I wish you came with a mute button...?

Australia: Jessica Mauboy – We Got Love 7/10 It’s a good song, and even without having seen her live I already get the feeling that she probably has great energy on stage. The song itself is fun, but ultimately safe and inoffensive. It will most likely qualify, but I think it needs something more to go further in the finals. Maybe if there’s a killing part like Dami Im’s song in 2016...

EDIT: I promised myself I’d finish this post before watching the London Pre-Party, but that didn’t exactly happen. So, yeah, she absolutely killed it with her stellar vocals, infectious energy, and charm. If she keeps her momentum, then Australia’s more than good to go.

Georgia: Iriao – For You 7/10 In any other year, I’d appreciate this a lot more, but alas, 2018 isn’t like any other year. I commend them for their choice to keep this in Georgian, and the vocals on this song are quite impressive as well. But, the fact is, with so many other songs with ethnic elements to compare it to, it doesn’t stand out as much as it should because the simple truth is that whatever this song does well, there’s another song that does it even better.

Poland: Gromee feat Lukas Meijer – Light Me Up 7/10 This is a great song to rock to at a beach party or on a long road trip. But, the thing is, I’m not exactly partial to beach parties. Or road trips. Or anything else summer-y really. So while this is certainly easy to listen to and enjoyable while it’s on, it’s not exactly something that incites passion in me.

Malta: Christabelle – Taboo 8/10 This song definitely has a kick to it, and I mean it in the best way possible. I love the song both for the song itself and the message of mental health awareness that it conveys, and I definitely appreciates that it manages to carry its message without being preachy. The staging seems to be coming along quite well already judging from the national finals (despite technical difficulties), and I’m definitely keeping my eyes on this one to see how it evolves on the big stage.

Hungary: AWS – Viszlat Nyar 9/10 The story of my journey with this song is a bit like a mixture of my experience with the Netherlands’ and Israel’s entries. I appreciated this song from the very beginning on an objective level, but personally I’m not much of a fan of heavy metal so I was having a hard time really enjoying it despite my eagerness for it to advance to the finals and do very well. Unlike Waylon and his country piece though, heavy metal is a lot less offensive to my personal tastes, so I was able to appreciate it more and more on a personal level as well with repeated listens, to the point that I now consider it one of my favorites of the year, both objectively and subjectively-speaking. I’m a bit worried that the juries will penalize it for its genre, but hopefully it will win over enough televotes, especially those from the younger generations, that it will go through anyway.

Latvia: Laura Rizzotto – Funny Girl 7.5/10 I like this song for its quirky yet catchy nature, but what really captivated me about it was the aesthetics of its MV. I do think they will benefit from a staging that is in line with the MV, with a theatrical, film noir feel to it.

Sweden: Benjamin Ingrosso – Dance You Off 5/10 I could have probably been able to tell this was the Swedish entry going in blind. This is all the well-produced slickness that we’ve come to expect from Sweden, but without the energy, soul, and the extra je nais sais quois that put Heroes or Euphoria in a different league. But hey, at least this isn’t nearly as robotic and worthy of trigger warnings as last year’s, which can only be an improvement. And, as a side note: enough with the brown-haired, reasonably attractive young white men, Sweden! I know you can do something different. ...Right?

Montenegro: Vanja Radovanovic – Inje 8.5/10 It’s going to be tough going right after Sweden. But, this song is so different that hopefully that won’t matter too much. This is one of the (many) ethnic entries this year that actually stood out to me. There’s something hauntingly Balkan about this song, and Vanja Radovanovic delivers it expertly. I also like how the song builds itself up to the rising chorus. Anyway, I’m not entirely confident about its chances, but I sure hope to see this one in the finals.

Slovenia: Lea Sirk – Hvala, Ne! 6.5/10 I have to admit, this one is a bit of a guilty pleasure. The song isn’t anything too special and can definitely be said to be repetitive, but still, I find myself digging the beat despite myself.

Ukraine: Melovin – Under the Ladder 8/10 I didn’t rate this song at all when I first heard it, but having seen his performance at the national finals, I’m beginning to warm up to it more and more. I’m still kind of trying to figure the song out, but whatever it is there’s something about it that kinds of grab you.

ALREADY QUALIFIED

Portugal: Claudia Pascoal – O Jardim 8/10 This is quite magical and atmospheric, capable of evoking one’s imagination with the song alone. With the right staging, this will become something truly captivating.

France: Madame Monsieur – Mercy 9.5/10 France does it again and makes it into my top three for the second year in a roll. The song is unassuming at first, but then builds into something beautiful, tender, and clever. The use of double entendre to convey the central message lends the song a sense of universality despite it being sung entirely in French, which will definitely make a difference in Lisbon because they don’t need the fancy LED or special staging elements to help non-Francophones in the audience to understand what the song is trying to say.

Germany: Michael Schulte – You Let Me Walk Alone 8/10 Huh, Germany actually managed to surprise me. It’s a nice and comfortable ballad, and I mean it in the best possible sense. What makes all the difference this year with Michael Schulte’s “You Let Me Walk Alone” is how heartfelt and genuine this song is, and that, I hope, is what will make a difference and propel it to the left side of the scoreboard. Not to throw any shades, but I very much prefer this to any paint-by-numbers “pseudo-ethnic” pieces that might arise solely as a response to Salvador Sobral’s win.

Italy: Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro – Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente 10/10 This is easily my top three, but I’m a bit hesitant to put my support behind without seeing the staging, because we all know how last year’s Italian-language song with a deep message turned out. The fact that they said they’re going to display the lyrics during the performance give me hope, because one of my favorite things about the music video was the way they showed the lyrics in a variety of different languages. But either way, this is poetic and powerful, and something of pure quality like all of Italy’s entries lately.

Spain: Amaia & Alfred – Tu Cancion 7/10 This comes as a surprise to no one, but this year’s Spanish entry is worlds better than last year’s. At first glance, it’s just the run of the mill saccharine love song, but once you pay attention to it there something genuine about it that grabs your attention despite that. This is not really something I usually rate, but I’d be lying if I say I didn’t enjoy it a lot.

United Kingdom: SuRie – Storm 5/10 Definitely not my favorite in You Decide by a long stretch, but I can’t exactly argue the point that she gave the best performance of the night. She’s a great singer and performer, but the song itself is rather...lacking. So, let’s hope the BBC still knows what it’s doing in terms of staging because this song definitely needs it if the UK has an hope of not finishing bottom five. Then again, SuRie might surprise us yet. She already made a more than respectable performance out of this song once already, after all.

Who I want to qualify:

SEMI-FINAL 1: Belgium, Israel, Albania, Czech Republic, Greece, Armenia, Finland, Estonia, Balarus, Lithuania

SEMI-FINAL 2: Denmark, Moldova, Australia, Malta, Latvia, Ukraine, Netherlands, Hungary, Georgia, Montenegro

Who I think will qualify:

SEMI-FINAL 1: Belgium, Israel, Albania, Czech Republic, Greece, Armenia, Finland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan

SEMI-FINAL 2: Norway, Sweden, Australia, Russia, Netherlands, Hungary, Moldova, Ukraine, Malta, Poland

#eurovision 2018 #personal opinion subject to a lot of change #i mean this time last year some of the songs that ended up as my favorites weren't even making beeps on my radar #like at all #so this is more for me to jot down my thoughts at this stage before they change drastically based on pre-party performances and rehearsals

12 notes · View notes