#which will be a bit of a shock to the system after winter in northern europe
Text
Hey guess what. In 16 days I'm gonna be getting on a plane and flying to [country redacted] and sitting on a beach with my pals for a couple days.
#tho i did look up the temperature there yesterday and it was 29 C with like 85% humidity#which will be a bit of a shock to the system after winter in northern europe#obviously im happy and excited about this#but also im trying to wrap my head around uprooting my entire life again and saying a bunch of goodbyes and losing all my hard won routines#and then going home in like 6 weeks and having to figure out like. the rest of my life. cuz im graduating from my (first) bachelor's degree#at least i know absolutely for sure as of today that i have a job for the summer? so that's something.
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
Christmas in July: Bonus Day 30
This was inspired by a comment from @tikatu on the original Chapter 9 about Kayo meeting Sara which spiraled a bit out of control because I love Kayo. Like... so so much it’s ridiculous. She’s tricky for me to write since I never quite seem to get her personality right for what I like but I hope y’all enjoy today’s bonus!
TW: minor violence and swearing
AO3 link here!
“Damn, this poor town. Back-to-back rescues,” Kayo says as she flips through the current mission log. Thunderbird hits a patch of rough air and she jostles in her seat. “First a sinkhole, now this. And during Christmas too!”
Scott peers back at her. His eyes are as tiredly bloodshot as hers. “That’s North Dakota for you.”
“Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever been.”
“Not once?”
Kayo shakes her head. “We went to Wyoming a couple of times when we were little.”
“Out to that old cabin, that’s right!” Scott snaps his fingers at the memory. It wasn’t soon after the Kyranos started coming around more often and Kayo would spend long chunks of time with them. Jeff bought this old dingy cabin way back in the mountain foothills. “But really? Not even once?”
“Nope.”
“What about South Dakota?”
“I had a mine collapse out in the Black Hills area. Two older guys that found it on their property and wanted to go exploring.”
The conversation peters out as they approach the danger zone. The sun is shining down on the wreckage of a steam engine spilling its cargo out. Unfortunate in and of itself, but the minorly toxic liquid is seeping straight into the edge of town and people’s homes. Kayo isn’t quite sure what John expects them to do in terms of helping, but she’s never one to back down from a challenge.
Scott lands Thunderbird One on higher ground. He joins her in One’s hull, pulling on the extra chemical protection suits. Once comfortable, Scott pops open the hath. A gust of cold air fills the cabin. Scott jumps out first and shocks the both of them when he lands waist deep in snow.
“Damn! We need Virgil out here with that flamethrower!”
“Why does everything have to be so cold in Northern winters?”
“Wait, don’t tell me… John’s given me the lecture on it before,” Scott says as he squints his eyes while thinking. He puts on his best deadpan, Eye in the Sky voice. “The Northern hemisphere has less uncovered land mass than in the South. Something, something albedo. Something, something water currents.”
Kayo whacks him on the arm. But she’s laughing into her helmet all the same. Lucky for them, John’s asleep and not hearing any of their conversation.
They trudge on through the snow. Kayo swears she can feel the cold seep through her suit despite knowing it’s all mental. The edge of town comes into view around a ridge, as does the twisted metal of the train wreck. There’s no fire to put out as the train’s safety systems did their job in that sense. Kayo stays back to survey the damage and make a note of what houses look to be in danger from the chemicals seeping out.
Scott jogs ahead when he spots a crew of cleanup specialists. He stands out in his blaze orange safety suit against the white snow and Carhartt jackets of the crew. Kayo will gladly let him deal with getting the low down of the situation. She’s much too tired after being awoken at her 4AM to deal with folks, even if they are trying to help.
“Thunderbird S, we’re heading out to, uh, Aspen Ridge. It’s a new development sort of thing and they’ve got a few folks that need assistance.”
“F.A.B., Thunderbird One. Are we doing anything about the spill?”
“Negative. These fellas here have that part figured out. They just needed our help getting everyone out to safety.”
“How far is that?”
Scott pauses as he talks to a short woman. “They said juts up the hill near the church. They’ve got trenches started to be dug to catch the spill but it’s going to pass straight through those people’s homes to get there”
Kayo catches up to Scott and they make their way towards the development. The chemical sludge is higher here. It’s pooled atop the snow and flowed through the houses like a flood. Brains promised that their suits would protect them, but he couldn’t say the same for the citizens without protective gear.
The first houses are filled with worried older folks and a man holding onto his Husky for dear life. Scott calls over Thunderbird and remote carries people in a multi-person harness out to the church. Kayo takes on the role of strapping each person in while Scott focuses on fighting against the wind.
“Ex-cuse me!”
“Oh God, no,” Scott says as his body freezes. Kayo looks to him funny, nudging him to continue climbing up the side of the house.
“What’s up?”
“I said! Excuse me!”
“It’s her.”
Kayo pops her head over the ledge of the roof. Scott is standing off to one side for Kayo to get a good look. It’s a family of four: husband, wife, two kids. A white picket fence deal. Around the family are packed bags of luggage more numerous than Kayo can count. And standing in the front of the herd with arms crossed, hair highlighted, coat puffed, is-
“I am Sara Bluneberg, and I thought I had you fired!”
Scott sighs. “No ma’am. You did not fire me nor am I about to be fired from International Rescue.”
The husband jumps in. Kayo remembers her now from the harrowing tale of Scott actually punching someone on a mission. EOS had a gleeful time scrubbing the internet of any evidence. “Don’t you go punching us again! We’ll have you sued!”
“Please, let’s all cooperate and load you onto One. We’ll get you somewhere safe.”
Sara scoffs. Her kids look utterly embarrassed at her behavior. “We have been waiting hours and if you think I’m about to ride in that rickety thing, you must be stupid in the head!”
Kayo takes pity on her older brother. He’s exhausted and not about to get another tongue lashing from Grandma for using violence. Scott turns off his exterior sound input and focuses on dropping down One’s rescue harnesses. Kayo, however, does not have the same restrictions.
“Listen, lady. You are not the center of this universe. We’ve been helping people get to safety all night and we’d appreciate your cooperation.”
“How dare you! We have kids present! Watch your damn mouth.”
“So what?” Kayo asks. She smirks, getting right up in Tim’s face. “It’s not like I swore or anything.”
“You-you!” Tim sputters.
One’s harnesses drop in the midst of the crowd. Scott signs to Kayo something short and sweet about keeping his sound off. She takes over directing the family.
“Now then, who’s first? Kids together or a parent with each?”
“Well first, you can make sure our things get into that rocket ship. We have a real estate business, you know!”
“I know.” Kayo does. The conversation with Scott fills in her mind and she remembers the insistent nature of declaring how important real estate agents are. “But we aren’t taking your things. They’ll be safe away from the chemical spill up here. We only care about people.”
“Mama, I’ll go first with Dad,” the little boy suggests. She smacks away his hand on her coat.
“Oh, no, no! We will not be going through this again.”
“Ma’am, I don’t think you should get much closer.” Kayo’s words a warning, but she intends the woman takes them as a challenge. And oh boy, is she satisfied.
“Is that a threat? Are you threatening me? Tim, hold my sunglasses,” Sara snaps as she rips the offending accessory off her face. “Listen here you bitch-”
Kayo snags the wagging finger in her face and uses it as a guide to slip her left-hand down Sara’s right. She braces her thumb across the back of the woman’s hand and grabs her wrist. Using an old aikido move she hasn’t had to break out in quite some while, Kayo forces Sara to her knees with minimal force. The woman yelps; her husband tries to come to her rescue but Kayo holds him off with a finger wagging in the air. It’s easy to drag Sara through the roof’s snow and lock her into place in the harness. “Looks like we have our first volunteer!” She sends a goofy smile to the two little kids with the unfortunate families.
With the fake pretense of tightening a strap around Sara’s shoulder, Kayo leans in close to the woman’s ear.
“We have the power to erase you from this Earth. Be thankful we are using our power to rescue your sad, pathetic life. Your family has patronized mine and I don’t take kindly to that. I am not a bitch, Sara Bluneberg of Bluneberg Real Estate.”
Oh, Kayo is so ready for her last line. A finishing blow, something straight out of the cheesy action movies. And Sara’s wide eyes and tightly drawn mouth fits the scene.
“I am the bitch.”
#thunderbirds#thunderbirds are go#thunderbirds 2015#thunderbirds fanfiction#scott tracy#kayo kyrano#christmas#christmas in july#tw: minor violence#tw: violence#tw: swearing
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
week of june 27th, 2021
aries: all the aspects this week involve mars. you will be given some kind of shock this week, which may seem unpleasant to begin with, and you may also feel stuck in a situation you don't want, especially early in the week. but all of this is meant for your healing, and you'll emerge feeling better than you did before.
taurus: you already know uranus is in taurus. even if you're new to astrology and have never heard this with your ears or read it with your eyes, you know it in your bones. it's unavoidable. this week, it is squared by mars. this means action needs to be taken in the home, or with your family of origin, because of an uncomfortable incident. if no such incident occurs, it is better to rest in non-doing this week. a little passivity is okay.
gemini: your toughest astrological season of the year is probably over, but there's still a lot of mars energy this week, and mercury is still in the "shadow" of its retrograde, so tempers still have a tendency to weirdly flare. think before speaking all week. people may find your communication uncharacteristic but at least you won't be starting any inadvertent trouble.
cancerians: mars in leo can make you a little bit money-obsessed anyway, and this week the vibe is all mars intensity. as you go about your hustling, make sure you're adhering to your core values. use money for good; consider a tithe of sorts this week.
leo: relationships are a focus this week in both hard and easy ways, especially if you live with or are considering living with a partner. mars in your sign is directly involved in all of this. so while a certain degree of assertiveness is auspicious, too much will likely cause "disagreements" - you can avoid it by leaning on your sense of responsibility and your willingness to change and heal.
virgo: a lot of the astrology this week happens in the old parts of your brain that most people have no real access to, so you'll be largely unaware of it. that doesn't mean it isn't happening. weeks from now you'll see the effects in the changes in your limbic system.
libra: it's mars all week and it's vaguely auspicious for you, although it's that weird kind of lucky that may not seem like fun at first. healing is done practically without you having to try, but in the process it might force you to confront old shadows or wounds.
scorpio: if you feel an affinity with your more ancient ruler, mars, this is a week that activates you. if you're more plutonic than that, you may just feel mild agitation. not exactly irritation, just an irrepressible urge to move. but in what direction?
sagittarius: although you're a winter creature as a sagittarius sun, northern sagittarians in this summer air will feel supported by the fiery atmosphere. it is warm, even in the southern hemisphere if you're willing to accept the warmth in a metaphorical sense. and sagittarius risings and moons get the benefits of that too. the embers are stoked by this week.
capricorn: your affiliation with mars is underrated, but you feel it this week as he's very active. no, he's not your chart ruler, but he's exalted in your sign and so a piece of you is always mars-like; the piece of you that loves to get things done and go after goals. do that this week.
aquarius: mars makes two major aspects this week to affect you; one of saturn in your sign and one of your ruler uranus in taurus. they are both "hard" aspects but see if you can make them work for you. suffering is avoidable.
pisces: you might be feeling detached and aloof this week but in a way that is grounded and meditative. walk with your bare feet in the dirt if you can at all. next week is more neptunian; you remain detached but then you become inaccessible to others in some way. this week, you are human and humble.
#horoscopes#weekly horoscope#astrology#transits#signs#zodiac#aries#taurus#gemini#cancer#leo#virgo#libra#scorpio#sagittarius#capricorn#aquarius#pisces
19 notes
·
View notes
Text
Tokyo Tower (Part 4) Herzog, Bondarev, MC
It took me a while to figure out what angle I was going to go with this. I hope you enjoy it!
In the Tokyo port area, not far from the coast, the sound of the midnight tide can be faintly heard. The iron tower stands in the rainstorm, a stark and bony giant, silently supporting the sky.
Tokyo Tower.
This tower was once the high point of Tokyo, but now it has been replaced by the taller Tokyo Sky Tree. But looking up from directly below, one can still be amazed at its majesty. The jagged steel supports are more like the skeleton of a giant than a living giant.
"Ukyo, Ukyo, Ruri calling, report your position." Ruri Kazama's voice came over your headset.
"Arriving at the first floor of the underground garage. It's a little strange how quiet it is." Chu Zihang replied.
"After the Tokyo Sky Tree was built, this place has been forgotten. Who would come to the former tallest tower when you can climb the actual tallest tower to see Tokyo?" Ruri Kazama said, "That's why the King will choose this place for the meet up.”
His voice grows faint. “In the past, it was a Tokyo landmark. It appeared in various manga and movies. Couples saw climbing Tokyo Tower together as a romantic affair, and those who fell out of love came here to commit suicide. This place symbolizes the prosperity and loneliness of Tokyo. In ‘Tokyo Babylon’, there is a dead soul wandering in Tokyo Tower, and she says, "I hate Tokyo, so gorgeous on the outside, but so dirty on the inside.’"
"You don't seem to like Tokyo that much, do you?" Caesar said.
"Not only do I dislike it, I actually want to burn the city down. It's a sad city, like a colorful cage."
Lu Mingfei, next to you, gives you a searching look. “You like this guy?” He whispered.
The two of you were in your sniping positions on a building far from the tower. Your job was not to snipe Masamune Tachibana or Dr. Herzog -- aka King General -- but to control the perimeter to avoid their escape. You’d prepared yourself with rain proof gear and warm underclothes. You’d even brought snacks and a small thermos of tea to drink while you waited. You lay on a small pad to comfort yourself against the hard asphalt roof. It was almost like a camping trip.
To answer Mingfei’s question, you answer the comms. “It’s funny you say that, Ruri. I imagined one morning tilting the whole city into the sea.” You giggle.
Mingfei’s face twisted in sheer disbelief.
"Sorry to disturb the lovebirds’ very romantic conversation, but I'm wet and cold here in the void and also lonely. That is, needless to say, you guys' warm and blossoming words are driving me nuts!" Fingel's indignant voice came out of the headset, "Will you please shut up?"
"From my point of view, you are completely invisible, hidden really well. What is your position?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"The northwest side of the tower, about 60 meters from the special lookout. Do you want me to say hello and yell at you a few times? That way you can remember that there is a poor man like me shivering in the wind and rain!" Fingel said viciously "I mean, is this balloon really reliable?"
"It's a dirigible." Lu Mingfei corrected.
He put down his sniper rifle and lifted his binoculars to look at the sky. Following Fingel's instructions, he did see the huge black object suspended in the rainstorm, like a giant whale suspended in the restless sea. It was so close to the color of the sky that it was almost indistinguishable. But poor Fingel was handing underneath it by a rope in the rain.
“That’s a really cool idea, Mingfei. How did you come up with it?” You ask.
“Oh… I got inspired one day.” He lowered the binoculars and looked down at you. “What do you have there?”
“Chocolate chip cookies. Do you want one?” You held up a cookie the size of your hand and Mingfei’s eyes brightened!
Fingel moaned loudly and you grin.
"We have reached the second floor of the underground garage. There’s a problem." Chu Zihang said, "The rainstorm has been going on too long. The area is flooded. The water depth is half a meter. Caesar and I had to wade deep into the garage to find the pipe opening."
You can hear them splashing around and, leaning close to Mingfei’s ear, you whisper. “I think I picked the right job.”
"Basara! Ukyou! Quiet! Unidentified vehicles are approaching Tokyo Tower!" Ruri Kazama's voice came over the headset.
You quickly grab a cookie in your mouth and munch on it while watching through your rifle scope. A silver vintage Mercedes Benz drove through the rain-swept streets, kicking up a huge wake. It pulled into the basement level parking garage near where Caesar and Chu Zihang were. From there, there was an elevator that would take him directly up to the Tokyo Tower’s observation deck. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the high-speed elevator zoomed smoothly up the tower.
"It's Tachibana Masamune, who surprisingly arrived an hour early and drove himself here." Ruri Kazama whispered.
"He sounds like a very young man from the sound of his footsteps." Caesar said.
"To be sure, I can see him clearly from here. He has reached the main observation deck and is looking out the window. You are right, he is in a strange state tonight, like a young man. Like the Major Bondarev of old."
“Wow…” You breathe in amazement. “It’s really him.”
Even though he's far away and standing next to a window that’s running with rain, you recognize his upright and proud posture. You were an older orphan, a well trained soldier. He was always jolly and excited, with a disarming personality, a roguishly handsome face and well muscled body. Everyone was excited when Bondarev arrived.
Even now, you can hear Khorkina’s excited squealing echoing from the underworld. “It's Mr. Bondarev! He’s here!”
He always came with the Lenin. For you, he was like Santa Claus. But he was way hotter. Mr. Bondarev was like Santa the young women in the orphanage dreamed of marrying. Tonight, instead of a kimono, Bondarev wore the black trench coat of the Executive Board, with an open lapel revealing a white shirt with a colorful lining.
“Why are you smiling? This guy killed your friends!” Mingfei hissed.
“I know.” You whisper back. “But I haven’t seen this guy in forever and … this is amazing. He hasn’t changed at all.”
Bondarev fished out his cell phone and dialed. He started speaking in Japanese. “Mingfei, what is he saying?”
“He’s talking to Chisei. They’re talking about Erii. She’s okay.” Mingfei replies.
“That’s a relief. She was really sad but I comforted her. Don’t worry. She’ll wait for you.” You smile up at Mingfei but Mingfei doesn’t return it. You’re puzzled for a moment but then you shrug. “Don’t feel guilty about leaving her at the Hydras. You did the right thing. You’ll have another chance to go get her. Just don’t keep her waiting too long!”
The lights suddenly went out.
Tokyo tower suddenly turned into a lifeless ruin. Masamune's trench coat was shaking and snapping in a wind that blew in as emergency doors had opened on the observation deck. He showed no fear. His whole body looked like a taut longbow.
"Basara to Ruri! The power suddenly went out in the underground garage!" Caesar lowered his voice, "All the gates are closed!"
“Ruri here, not only is the power out at Tokyo Tower, but the surrounding blocks have gone dark, and the power supply to the entire district has been interrupted."
Ruri Kazama added, "But the lights of the stairs are on."
In the darkness, the iron staircase around Tokyo Tower was lit up. LED lights were installed underneath the staircase, and each step emitted a glowing white light, as if it were a path to heaven.
"After all these years, we're still in the habit of arriving early." A voice with a smile echoed around the tower. That voice came out of the Tokyo Tower's PA system, and there was no need for any listening device. Everyone could hear it clearly.
"That's the voice of The King General!" Lu Mingfei whispered.
“I know, stupid. I can hear it myself!” A jolt of shock echoed through your entire body. The voice reverberated like a bell, in a pure and recognizable Russian language with an accent native only to Northern Siberia. You hadn’t heard anyone speak your language for weeks and the familiarity by which your mind responded to the words sent sparks of pleasure through your mind.
It wasn’t just the voice of the King General. It was the voice of Dr. Herzog. The Herzog you grew up with, the one who raised you up. His voice echoed through the halls. It encouraged you. Praised you. Spoke your name. For you to hear it through the PA system on your naked ears, unfiltered by your headset… your heart responds as though he were speaking directly to you.
"Of course, it's always the first one to arrive who takes the first position. How can people like you and I allow each other to take the first position?" Bondarev looked around, "I'm late this time, what have you prepared waiting for me?"
“MC translation please…” Caesar grumbled.
“They’re not saying anything important.” You shake your head.
“Translation please….” Caesar’s voice echoed a bit warningly.
“Yes, sir.”
You speak in English for all to understand. "What else could it be? Of course it's authentic Red Label vodka and cold ice shipped from distant Siberia. Isn't that what friendship between men should be like? The liquor that burns the veins and the ice that never melts." Through the earpiece, you can hear the sound of vodka pouring straight from the bottle and the clinking of ice cubes. It was like he was sitting right next to you in the dark winter cabins of the north.
You can’t help yourself but smile. You knew this man. Were you not the only one frozen in the ice sea from twenty years ago? This is exactly a scene from your past being played out in real time!
"Why don't you walk faster? We have not seen each other for more than twenty years. You’ve gotten old. The world does not have much time for old people. We should seize every minute."
Your voice falls into the same tone and cadence of the King’s manner of speaking. You can’t see either of them now, but you can imagine him holding the glass up. He was probably going to toast to something. He always did.
"How can you not enjoy the overture before the official movement begins? Do you still listen to Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake'?" You are translating but it sparked a memory. “That’s right. Dr. Herzog loved Swan Lake. That’s why the port was called Black Swan Bay.”
"The favorite thing to listen to now is his Sixth Symphony, the swan song he wrote for himself." Your heart sinks when you hear this and translate. After you finish translating you say. “Herzog is dying.”
“How can you tell?” Caesar asked.
“Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony was the last one he ever wrote. After he performed it he died a few days later.” You answer.
“You seem to understand each other’s words very well. I wouldn’t have picked up on that…” Caesar commented.
You don’t answer him. The night before you had already discussed this with him. Even though you had learned a lot from Caesar and had adopted a few of his philosophies, you were still fundamentally the daughter that Herzog raised. It seemed like he still had a hard time accepting that.
"You look a bit ridiculous nowadays, Major Bondarev."
"You look a bit scary today, however, Dr. Herzog."
"Do you want to analyze the ingredients before you drink it?"
“You’re not going to poison me.”
"Shouldn't we share a toast?"
You huffed. “I knew he was going to do that.’
"To what? To the once glorious Soviet Union?" You can scarcely hold your laughter. These guys were exactly as you remembered him. It was almost like a scene from a movie you’d watched dozens of times.
You sigh, once again falling into Herzog’s way of speaking, gesturing with the glass like he always did. "There is no need to raise a glass to it. It is dead. Let’s celebrate that we have all survived, that those who survive are the strong, and that the strong raise their glasses to each other."
Your hand pauses in the air with its invisible glass.
“Ah. So is that why we have a third glass here?” Bondarev said.
“You also have seen the girl?” Herzog said.
You’re so shocked that you forget to translate. You spin so fast, Lu Mingfei jumps out of his skin. You press your eye to the scope. But you can’t really see them any more.
Bondarev is speaking now. “Yes, I have to say, I struggled to keep my composure. Looking at her was like looking at a ghost. When did you see her?”
“I didn’t personally see her. It was reported back to me.” Herzog said.
Caesar’s voice. “MC!”
“Sorry!” You gasp. “They’re talking about me! They’re… they’re raising their glasses… to me. To the … only girl who made it out of Black Swan Bay to study.” Your voice fades and becomes choked with emotion. But not for your dead friends. You felt sad for the little girl you used to be who looked up to Herzog. Herzog was a loving and caring personality that little girl had wanted desperately to please. She had worked hard to the end for his smile of approval. But the whole time, he knew she was going to die.
Tonight, he was forced to give that smile of approval. Despite his plans, you did make it. You steel yourself again against the tragedy, not allowing yourself to cry or even feel sad for long. “Yeah. A toast to me, asshole, I’m going to shoot you in your head for my graduation party.” You snarl.
“I got worried there for a second.” Caesar said.
“I’m fine. They’re just sweeping the area for bugs now. But they won’t find any.”
Herzog and Bondarev each took off their outerwear and threw it on the ground, pulling up the sleeves of their shirts, moving neatly as if to admire themselves in the mirror.
"What is the meaning of this? Do old friends meet to strip naked and hug?" Fingel monitored every movement in the special observation deck.
"No, except for the outer clothing, their clothes are very close fitting, which means they can't hide bulky weapons under their clothes, such as guns. Rolling up their sleeves is a sign that they don't have throwing knives hidden on their wrists, which are no less deadly than bullets at that distance." Ruri Kazama said, "It's a way for spies to show the other side that they are 'clean'."
"What classic old spies!" Fingel exclaimed.
You chuckle. “Right out of James Bond. Oh, they’re talking now. I don’t quite understand what it means. Bondarev is asking Herzog if he wants to ascend to the throne of the world. And he says that Dragons can live over a thousand years and be reborn through… cocooning? What does it mean?”
Chu Zihang responded. “Dragon Kings, when they hatch, create an alchemical device called an ‘egg’. Through a special process, if they get mortally wounded, they can put themselves in this ‘egg’ device and regenerate. So long as they can make their egg, and protect it, they will never die.”
You nod. “It sounds like Herzog wants to evolve into a dragon. Turn into a dragon. He says that’s the only way he knows that he is really existing, is if he’s at the very top of the food chain. If nothing else can eat him then he is truly alive. The rest of the world is just food.”
A soft moan interrupts your listening and translation work. Lu Mingfei is wincing and sighing with his eyes tightly shut. His hand is against his forehead. “Mingfei! Are you alright?”
He doesn’t answer immediately. He doesn’t even seem to hear you at all. You shake his shoulders. “Mingfei! Are you using a Soul Skill? Is this sequelae?” You try to look into his eyes but they’re closed! “Mingfei!”
Mingfei’s whole body gave a tremendous shiver. Even though the rain was cold, he was sweating.
You kneel next to him. “It’s okay. I’m here. Are you sick?”
“MC, for the last time, I don’t need you to worry about Mingfei’s panic attacks, I need you to translate!”
“I’m … I’m sorry! Bondarev’s saying. ‘What makes a child whose life is as fragile as a broken candle catch your attention, Doctor?’”
“Herzog is saying that only one out of 100,000 humans exposed to dragon blood will survive. That he is 1 in 100,000. But also, Bondarev’s daughter is 1 in 100,000! He’s talking about Erii!”
"He says that the power of any evolutionary drug can only end up creating deadpool. The real evolution drug is an alchemical drug and the core ingredient is the blood of ancient dragons, especially the fetal blood of the White King. By obtaining that fetal blood, they have the opportunity to create the perfect evolutionary drug." Your voice rises in panic.
“They’re going to use it on Erii! They’re going to turn Erii into a dragon!”
10 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Hodgson, Vere. Few Eggs and No Oranges: A Diary Showing How Unimportant People in London and Birmingham Lived Through the War Years 1940-1945, Written in the Notting Hill Area of London. London: Dennis Dobson, 1976. Reprint (as Few Eggs and No Oranges: The Diaries of Vere Hodgson 1940-45), with a new preface by Jenny Hartley, London: Persephone Books, 1999.
Winifred Vere Hodgson (1901-1979) was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, into what seem to have been shabby-genteel circumstances. On the one hand, after her father’s death in 1907 her mother was obliged to run the family home as a boarding house in order to make ends meet; on the other, she was educated at King Edward VI High School for Girls before reading history at the University of Birmingham. She was a niece of Thomas Vere Hodgson, the marine biologist on the H.M.S. Discovery during its voyage of 1904-6.
After graduating, she taught for several years at – wait for it – L’Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata, Florence, Italy, where – wait for it again – Edda Mussolini was among her pupils, and then for several more years at schools in (apparently – I’m a bit confused about this) Folkestone and Wimbledon. Deciding on a complete change, in 1935 she answered a “positions available” advertisement placed by a philanthropic body. Thus began her career as a social welfare worker, which seems to have been deemed important enough to have kept her from conscription during the war.
The organization for which Hodgson worked, the Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association, was located at 3 Lansdowne Road – still standing, this building was referred to at that time as The Sanctuary – and served primarily the Notting Hill and Holland Park areas, both of which seem to have been pretty down-at-heel at the time. They operated a night shelter for homeless women and gave grants of money and needed goods to the poor. (The Greater World, as its staff called it, doesn’t seem to me to fit the definition of a cult, so I’ll refrain from making any value judgements; you can read more about it here and here. It is still active.)
Hodgson’s job involved a good deal of secretarial and clerical work, but she also worked directly with the association’s beneficiaries as well as making nice with its benefactors. She often spent nights at The Sanctuary, either to be present for the women sheltering there or, once the war began, to take her turn as a fire-watcher. Although in her diary she always expresses gratitude for any free time she had, the job clearly brought her a great deal of satisfaction:
Went to see one of my poor old souls today. She has been getting a bit of chair-mending to do, and was better. She dreads the winter – as last year she was compelled to beg in the streets; but now we shall help her. The dread of complete destitution is terrible.
Like Clara Milburn, another wartime diarist whose output was published in the 1970s, Hodgson wasn’t writing primarily for her own benefit. Mrs. Milburn kept her diary with an eye to creating a record of the home front for her son, Alan, an officer in the British Expeditionary Force who was taken prisoner in Belgium in 1940. Miss Hodgson initially wrote for a cousin, Lucy Hodgson, who when the war began was in England on sabbatical from her job as an education officer in what was then known – to some people, at least – as Northern Rhodesia, and returned there in the Spring of 1940 “with grave misgivings,” according to Vere Hodgson’s introduction to the book.
Hodgson began sending installments of the diary to Lucy, who returned them to her and also sent parcels of cheese, tea, and other rationed foods. At some point Vere began mailing the pages to a round-robin of friends and relations, the last of whom would then send them on to Africa. (Amazingly, only one installment went missing.) Another thing that Hodgson’s diary has in common with Milburn’s is that she didn’t actually use printed diaries, allowing her to write very long entries at times.
The diary first came to public attention when Hodgson answered another advertisement, this one from the journalist Leonard Mosely, who was looking for first-hand accounts of life in wartime London as source material for his 1971 book Backs to the Wall (which is clearly something that I need to read). He quoted her entries for September 3rd, 1939, and May 7th, 1940. This resulted in a request from the publisher Dennis Dobson that Hodgson prepare an edition of her wartime diary as a whole. According to a publisher’s note in the Persephone reprint, “This she did, cutting by about three-quarters and editing substantially.” Since the reprint runs to 590 pages, one has to wonder what the original was like!
Few Eggs and No Oranges begins on June 25th, 1940, with the announcement that “Last night at about 1 a.m. we had the first raid of the war on London.” Air raids were at the very center of Hodgson’s war. She details, blow by blow, each and every raid and alert that she experienced. Indeed, she offers so much granular information on raids – where bombs fell, how many people were killed, etc. – and other topics that British newspapers weren’t permitted to discuss in any detail that it’s a wonder that the diary was never censored on its way out of the country. (At one point she reports that the censor returned to her a letter that she’d sent to a friend in Canada, so clearly this was something that really did happen! At the same time, she records many major events of the war all over the globe, seeming to assume that Lucy won’t have heard or read about them and leaving me wondering whether Northern Rhodesia can really have been that isolated by 1939.) Her preoccupation may have had something to do with the fact that she always found herself living on a building’s topmost floor: when the war began she was renting a room in a boarding house at 56 Ladbroke Road; in October, 1941 to her great delight, she moved to a “flatlet” across the street at 79 Ladbroke Road, the process of furnishing which she recounts with relish. Among other advantages, this allowed her to shelter friends who needed it: one of her friends was bombed out three times over the course of the war. To be sure, Hodgson did develop a good deal of sang-froid: “Very blitzy indeed last night,” she remarks off-handedly on January 10th, 1941.
When bombs weren’t falling, Hodgson simply recorded everyday life, often hilariously:
Spoke my mind to the cat. It is disgraceful that all the Cats have joined some sort of Pacifist Organization. To keep a cat in these awful days of food scarcity, and then have to catch the mice yourself, is a bit thick. I explained this to our animal.
As you might guess from the book’s title, food was another of Hodgson’s central preoccupations. There seem to be two conflicting narratives about food rationing in the U.K. during and after World War II. One is that pre-war Britons were overfed on a fatty, starchy diet, and that the nation’s overall health improved as a result of rationing. The other is that rationing was not only damaging to the nation’s morale, but led to widespread borderline malnutrition. Hodgson was inclined to the latter view. She repeatedly details all of the edibles she’s having to do without (fresh fruit was a major lack), either because they’re simply unavailable or, in the case of unrationed goods, because their prices have skyrocketed. On the other hand, she takes great joy in her own and other people’s ability to make whatever food could be had go further. (She writes about her Auntie Nell’s jam-making activities with obvious pride.) And whenever she had a windfall she was happy to share it.
And about those windfalls: Hodgson gleefully records each of the “gifts” of extra food she received from retailers – which included oranges that only children were supposed to get – and items bought from roadside vendors on trips out of London. It’s really quite shocking how common fiddling the system seems to have been, and how unrepentant people were about doing it:
Went for my bacon ration and while he was cutting it had a word with the man about the Cubic Inch of Cheese. He got rid of the other customers and then whispered, ‘Wait a mo’.’ I found half a pound of cheese being thrust into my bag with great secrecy and speed!
Then going to the Dairy for my butter ration I was given four eggs and a quarter of cheese!
Despite the housing and food problems she and her friends and neighbors had, Hodgson seems to have enjoyed a lively social life throughout the war, with neighbors, co-workers, former pupils, visiting relatives, and complete strangers she encountered over lunch at the Mercury Café. She saw plays at the Mercury Theatre and wrote about them as well as the films she saw. (She seems to have had no objection to American adaptations of British literature – How Green Was My Valley was a favorite – but did complain that American films were too fast-paced for her liking.)
Hodgson’s answer to the iconic question “Is Your Journey Really Necessary?” was nearly always an emphatic “Yes!” Throughout the war she made frequent trips to Birmingham to see her mother and sister (there, too, she recounted air raids and the damage they caused); to Brede, Sussex, where two more aunts lived; and occasionally to other places in search of fresh air, quiet, and a change of pace. Although she makes note of the bad travelling conditions that she often endured, she almost always persevered.
Her politics are difficult to pin down. She idolized Winston Churchill (“The bravest of us all!”), even though his policies led to the internment of a close friend, and on weekdays she read The Daily Telegraph. But on Sundays she read The Observer and The People, and once Germany invaded the Soviet Union she became a great fan of the Russians. Hodgson was also enthusiastic about Americans: she expresses equal admiration for Roosevelt and his 1940 opponent, Wendell Wilkie, and remarked that “Really the Americans seem to give the best Postscripts,” after hearing one from Dorothy Thompson in August 1941. (She seems never to have actually met any Americans, however.)
On religion, too, she is very vague. She greatly admired the altruism and sheer energy of Winifred Moyes, the founder of the Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association, and at least in the published version of her diary she never criticizes Moyes’s Spiritualist “meetings,” but neither does she ever seem to have attended one. She appears to have been only an occasional church-goer, more often listening to broadcast services. However, she did regularly read her horoscope, as well as Edward Lyndoe’s predictions in The People, and was irritated by a Mass-Observation report that disapproved of the finding that 40% of the British public had some degree of interest in astrology.
A couple of aspects of Few Eggs and No Oranges did make me uncomfortable. One is Hodgson’s enthusiasm for what could be called “air-raid tourism”: as soon as possible after learning where bombs had fallen during a recent raid she went to have a look at the damage, telling her readers about what she saw. This seems to have been a popular pastime, as she rarely seems to have been alone in her rubbernecking. People probably wanted to be reassured that others were worse off than they were, which is understandable but doesn’t make the behavior any less creepy.
And then there are the bits that brought me right up against the limits of my Anglophilia. On several occasions Hodgson mentions off-handedly, and for no apparent reason, that someone she encounters is Jewish: “Met Ivy [Croucher, an actress and elocution teacher; she’s the one who was made homeless three times] coming back from her lunch at the Grosvenor with her Jewish pupil.” Later, during a visit to Birmingham, she notes that she “got four [oranges] from a Jewish trader by spinning him a yarn.”
What exactly is the point? Did she enjoy inducing the produce vendor into actions that could easily have landed him in court? How did she even know that either of these people were Jewish? The distinctive dress of those now known in the U.K. as the strictly Orthodox would have been a rare sight at the time, especially away from London; and if Crompton’s pupil was eating at the Grosvenor Hotel, as is implied, then he or she can hardly have been Orthodox at all. And then there’s this:
Went to see The [Great] Dictator today. How I enjoyed it! Superb satire! For all its tomfoolery written with a profundity of serious purpose. The speeches of Hynkel, half-German, half-English, are there. People who understood German were even more convulsed than I was. ... The palace scenes, where Hynkel did not waste a moment, were all in the spirit of German thoroughness. But Mussolini in real life does not smile so much. All done by an East End Jew! [emphasis added]
One hardly knows what to say — other than “Wrong on both counts, sweetheart.”
When Persephone republishes a book, they don’t simply reprint it from the original, but set it into type anew. (Their reprint of Mollie Panter-Downes’s London War Notes 1939-1945 features a row of tiny U.S. flags at the top of each even-numbered page and a corresponding row of British flags on each odd-numbered one.) The original Few Eggs apparently included illustrations that aren’t in the reprint. All we get is a hand-drawn map of Notting Hill and Holland Park; while beautiful to look at, it’s reproduced here on such a small scale as to make it essentially useless. I’m slightly sorry that I didn’t try to find a used copy of the original publication.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading Few Eggs and No Oranges, and recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a (very long) first-hand account of the British home front.
#world war II#u.k. home front#first-hand accounts#diaries#a long post for sunday#the beta post editor is unable to handle a post of this length and complexity
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
This week has been MS awareness week, so I have decided to bite to the bullet, and open up about my experience of living with MS – which, for a number of reasons, is something I have never really spoken about. However, having had some time to reflect while in lockdown, I believe that living with MS for the past 10 years has stood me in good stead for staying positive in more difficult times.
I was originally diagnosed in 2010 after a year of tests. I was 25, had just moved to London in a time of recession, and finally got a dream job working as a concert promoter. Just a few months into the new job, I started suffering from headaches, and then numbness in my arms and legs. I knew something wasn’t right but didn’t want to let it get in the way of my new career. While I waited to be put through the NHS system, I looked at alternative ways of managing the uncomfortable sensations, and would go for acupuncture in my lunch break, which alleviated the symptoms. I think the first time that I felt scared was when I went to see a neuro-physio who knew my Dad. She asked me to close my eyes, and put a set of keys in my hand. She then asked me what it was but I couldn’t tell her. I had lost all fine sensations in my hands.
After numerous appointments at Moorfields, and Queens Square – eye tests, scans and a lumbar puncture – I was told I had Multiple Sclerosis. It was incredibly hard to get my head around as no one in my family had ever had it: so why me? The causes are still unknown. The consultant at the time suggested I started treatment, which would be a daily injection, but I decided that I would try to manage it without. I was young, had caught it early, and didn’t want to be on medication for the rest of my life.
I told a few people at work and my close friends at the time, because they knew I was going for tests, but I kept it pretty quiet. I needed to get my head around it, and, in hindsight, I was probably in shock for a long while. The only thing I knew of MS was that some good friends had lost their mum to the disease when they were teenagers so was worried about how best to tell them. Perhaps I didn’t want to be a burden. I definitely didn't want the disease to define me or get in the way of my dreams, or for people to think I wasn't capable. Something I felt I needed to especially prove, being a (young) woman in a very male dominated industry!
For years I lived symptom free (or maybe I had just become so accustomed to certain strange sensations that I could ignore them) and wondered whether I had been misdiagnosed. I went on to achieve more than I could have ever dreamed of in my career, working with some amazing artists, and seeing them go from playing their first shows in the back room of a pub to selling out arenas. The day after my 30th birthday I had an interview with AEG Live, one of the world’s leading companies in live entertainment, and was offered a job and the title of Vice President of Live Music. Having spent years working all hours for no money, and almost giving up on numerous occasions along the way, I was finally appreciated. I launched Goldenvoice in the UK and promoted tours for artists including Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, The xx and alt J amongst others. An incredible job but since my diagnosis I always knew it wasn’t sustainable. Fatigue is a common symptom but I would just put being tired down to the late nights and busy lifestyle!
Then, two years ago, I suffered a relapse that could only be as a result of the MS. I couldn’t feel my feet which also affected my concentration at work. It was a particularly busy time, as we had just launched a new festival – All Points East – which I was booking, alongside promoting tours, being out at shows most nights and dealing with personal issues. I went for more scans and was told that they were showing more lesions in my brain and spine than the last scans eight years prior. I didn’t take any time off at the time though; it’s hard to explain that ‘I can’t come to work because I’ve got numb legs!’. Booking a festival had been my ultimate dream and I had booked a lot of my favourite artists to play, so I wanted to see it through, but knew things needed to change after that.
Although I may have been living in denial for all those years, I do believe that the diagnosis spurred me on to achieve more in my career. However, at this point, I felt ready for the first time, to put my career on hold and look after my health. I finally accepted that I was living with a disease and that I needed to take control of it or it would take control of me.
Having worked in the music industry since the age of 18, working my way up from putting on mate’s bands in pubs in Brighton, I left my job not knowing what was going to be next. Some people thought that was a brave decision (maybe stupid) but I am used to taking risks, not knowing what’s next, and going with my gut had gotten me this far. Although I loved parts of the job, I knew I couldn’t keep working at the same pace and my workplace wasn't able to offer me the flexibility I felt I needed at that time. I had been working in a basement office with no windows, and when reminded by the consultant how important it is to take a high dose of Vitamin D, I thought: why not get the real thing, so headed for sunnier climes.
I had never travelled, as I had started working straight from school. I had an A-level in Spanish and always loved the language and culture, but not spent much time in Spain since. I decided to use the time to improve my Spanish, and headed to Barcelona where I had friends, and where the skies are always blue.
I had only recently passed my driving test, and had heard that you need to drive 10,000 miles before you’re a competent driver, so I picked up my car from London and then drove around Spain and Portugal. My oldest friend was working on a retreat in Portugal, so drove to her via Barcelona, Valencia and Andalusia, and then back up to northern Spain. I met my mum in Santiago De Compostela and walked a bit of the Camino – something I’ve always wanted to do and I plan to do the whole thing one day. I caught the ferry back, just in time for All Points East at the end of May, with 9,988 miles on the clock and only a few bumps and scratches!
During my time off, I realised that music is still my passion but I need to do things differently. I am back working for AEG, but on my own terms, working across the festivals. My old boss was hugely supportive and offered to bring me back in as a consultant so I can work from anywhere. I am back in London for now, but try to get away for some sunshine during the winter months. I hope to one day be living in the hills in Spain but for now London is my home, and I am feeling hugely grateful for this amazing weather we’ve had recently. I am back doing Spanish lessons with my teacher from Barcelona which wouldn’t be possible had Zoom not become the ‘new normal’.
I am not currently on treatment, despite being advised to by the consultant. It’s hard to seriously consider taking drugs when you feel perfectly healthy. I am always learning about diet and alternative therapies, and feel lucky enough to have a support network of amazing people, and the funds to do it my own way. Who knows what the future holds, but all I know is what I can do on a daily basis to stay healthy and keep my body and immune system strong for now.
I have learned so much from living with MS. It has taught me how to cope in times of uncertainty, as we all are now, and I feel grateful for that. It’s not easy, and there are challenging days, but all you can do is focus on what is within your control and take each day as it comes. I feel positive that I will get through this and beat MS. We will all get through these difficult times and I believe it will only make us stronger.
#livingwithms #multiplesclerosis #msawarenessweek
2 notes
·
View notes
Note
Also I'm curious to know if you have any headcanons regarding their homeworld! We obviously know what a little part of it looks like from that Ishtar Collective link you posted before, but what about the rest of it?
a few, but since its very far away and apparently not broadcasting any radio signals (thank that scan on titan for alerting us to that) that we can trace or find, most of my headcanons are for post-whirlwind, and not related to their homeworld too much
but for pre-whirlwind:
its a fairly temperate planet, but it does have seasons
winter is pretty mild, early eliksni coming to russia, canada, and the arctic got cold shock and it took them a little bit of adjusting to the difference
the city described in the vault of glass mystery is in a similar spot to south dakota on earth
the architecture was a mix of cyberpunk and high fantasy (which i can only best imagine like BEEPLEs art)
outside of the cities it was more like tent cities and nomadic type groups with temporary structures only
post-whirlwind:
earth was a huge shock for eliksni, because compared to their planet, earth is “ugly”, they thought humans were intensely stupid for not improving their landscapes for function and form, but eventually came to realize that humans were as intelligent as them, and simply focused their energy elsewhere
eliksni were wholly unprepared for how freezing cold northern parts of earth were, along with the far southern reaches (however due to destiny being set in the northern hemisphere im going to ignore the other half of our planet now)
immediately following the whirlwind a lot of their crops and plants failed and died, which forced the exodus trailing after the traveler, some of the old dead houses preached that they would be going in peace, but this obviously changed during the journey and after what was likely first contact with humanity (violence because lets be real, humans are shitballs)
not to mention the failure of crops and plantlife meant any wildlife also started to die off
their planet is still there, but it was completely stripped of resources by the cabal after they abandoned it, the ones who ignored the exodus are long dead, and returning would be impossible without the traveler, a few eliksni have since realized this due to the silence coming from their home star
based on the ishtar collectives small translation of the fallen language the word for space in their language is “the cold between stars” which seems to imply that warmth and the light of a home star (or any star) is important to them, probably because of the traveler, and some of them have accepted sol as their home star now
interstellar travel is not what a ketch is made for, the ketches we know are not how they were upon departure from the homeworld, and there are probably some huge colonization ships like our exodus black somewhere out there, but over the journey they may have broken down or crashed and prompted modifications to the ketch design to allow for interstellar travel, now all ketches are built with these features as a precaution
some of the oldest eliksni were just babies when the whirlwind happened, and they may remember looking out at their planet as the colony ships left their system, whether they talk about this or not is a different question
they stick around where humans have been living the longest since the collapse, possibly because they dont believe humans once lived everywhere on the planet, but also possibly because that way theres a constant supply of things to steal/scrap, though expeditions into the uninhabited parts of the planet are still common
there was a house that took over australia, they might still be out there, riding kangaroos and throwing snakes at people
there are a few eliksni-human settlements, but theyre kept secret and often very far from other inhabited spaces, and as such are completely self sufficient, even nomadic, due to fear from the houses/guardians
the house of devils burned london not because they wanted to retaliate but because they thought it was an ugly city, of course that intent was lost in translation and the years and its now widely considered an act of aggression/retaliation
16 notes
·
View notes
Text
Across 5 Aprils – Wargaming the American Civil War.
Despertaferres Blog
One hundred sixty years ago this month, one of the most terrible conflicts in American history began with a cannonade aimed at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. One hundred fifty-six years ago, after some of the worst bloodletting in American history, the conflict came to a merciful end at Appomattox Court House with the surrender of the Confederacy’s Army of Northern Virginia.
During those years, a war raged that was unlike many wars past, yet had elements of wars that had gone before it. Linear tactics were still used throughout the war, but small arms fire, once a prelude to shock action, had now become effective with every soldier having in his hands a percussion cap rifled musket. Add in rifled artillery able to shoot over the horizon, and you had a recipe for carnage. And carnage was one thing to describe the Civil War from a tactical and operational standpoint, at least in the East. In the west, the armies moved, fought battles, then moved and fought again. Railroads became the lifeblood of armies, both in strategic movement and in supporting armies in ways they had never been before. Add in the telegraph, and these armies could be, to some extent, controlled far from home. It was, as many described, the first modern war.
But wargaming this war has its own challenges. In this war, the defender often has an advantage, especially if he has rifled muskets, more so if he has repeating rifles and is mobile. A good example is Buford at Gettysburg and the delaying action he fought against the leading elements on the first day of Gettysburg. The fact his command had Sharps rifles played a huge part in his ability to fight that delaying action.
Confessedly, most of my own experience gaming the Civil War is on the miniatures side, but as a period, the American Civil War (ACW) is third only to World War II and Napoleonics. There are dozens of games and rules sets out there for aficionados of the period. I am just taking the time to recommend my personal favorites.
So, without further ado:
Board Wargames
Board Game Geek
Personally, I think this is one of the best strategic treatments out there on the Civil War. It’s since taken a back seat to GMT’s For the People (an outgrowth of the original AH design), which I have also played and enjoyed the hell out of. I don’t think you could go wrong with either game if you want to play out the strategic level of the war. I think For the People is a better game, having played both, but A House Divided came out first (from GDW), so I played it a lot more. Happily, A House Divided is fairly affordable on-Board Game Geek as is For The People. Neither one is a bad investment of your time and money.
Board Game Geek
I’ve played a lot of Gettysburg games, but this one was my fave. I had a subscription to Command Magazine back in the day, and this was one of the games I received. I really liked it, and having seen the movie Gettysburg at the same time, it was a great chance to learn more about the engagement (Not to mention I was working my way through Bruce Catton’s three-volume series on the Army of the Potomac at the time). I liked the unique system and the way it handled the battle at the brigade level, which kept the counter density low (you don’t need 500+ counters to make a good game, in my opinion). This was one of Command’s better efforts, and it’s also affordable on Board Game Geek if you want to give it a try.
Board Game Geek
I played this little game with some friends in NYC and also enjoyed the hell out of it. It was a pivotal battle in the West that I’d never heard of. (Yes, the Civil War isn’t my wargaming period, ok?) But that said, it was a solid game about a unique but pivotal subject. (The Union victory here historically kept Missouri in the Union!) Gameplay itself was bog-standard SPI in the 70s, but again, it was a small, fun game that did a fine job of portraying the Civil War at the brigade/regimental level. It was part of a series put out by SPI and later TSR (yes, that TSR) called the Great Battles of the American Civil War series, which eventually the following battles:
1st Bull Run - July 21, 1861, First Blood: The 1st and 2nd Battles of Manassas / Red Badge of Courage
Wilson’s Creek - August 10, 1861, Wilson’s Creek: The West’s First Fight, August 10, 1861
Pea Ridge - March 7-8, 1862, Pea Ridge: The Gettysburg of the West March 7-8 1862
Kernstown - March 23, 1862, Stonewall: The Battle of Kernstown / Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah
Shiloh - April 6-7, 1862, Bloody April: The Battle of Shiloh, 1862 / Into the Woods: The Battle of Shiloh
Winchester - May 25, 1862, Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah
Cross Keys - June 8, 1862, Jackson at the Crossroads: Cross Keys & Port Republic, June 8-9, 1862 / Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah
Port Republic - June 9, 1862, Jackson at the Crossroads: Cross Keys & Port Republic, June 8-9, 1862 / Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah
Cedar Mountain - August 9, 1862, Twin Peaks / Cedar Mountain
2nd Bull Run - August 28–30, 1862, First Blood: The 1st and 2nd Battles of Manassas / Red Badge of Courage
South Mountain - September 14, 1862, Twin Peaks
Antietam/Sharpsburg - September 17, 1862, A Gleam of Bayonets: The Battle of Antietam
Corinth - October 3-4, 1862, The Battle of Corinth: Standoff at the Tennessee, October 3-4, 1862
Stones river - December 31, 1862, to January 3, 1863, Dead of Winter: The Battle of Stones River / Dead of Winter: The Battle of Stones River (Second Edition)
Kelly’s Ford - March 17, 1863, Rebel Sabers: Civil War Cavalry Battles
Brandy Station - June 9, 1863, Rebel Sabers: Civil War Cavalry Battles
Trevillians Station - June 11-12, 1863, Rebel Sabers: Civil War Cavalry Battles
Dutch Roads (side Battle during Gettysburg) - July 3, 1863, Rebel Sabers: Civil War Cavalry Battles
Gettysburg - July 1–3, 1863, Terrible Swift Sword: Battle of Gettysburg Game / The Three Days Of Gettysburg / The Three Days of Gettysburg (Second Edition) / Three Days of Gettysburg (Third Edition)
Chickamauga - September 19-20, 1863, River of Death: Battle of Chickamauga, September 19-20, 1863
Pleasant Hill - April 9, 1864, Pleasant Hill: The Red River Campaign
New Market - May 15, 1864, Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah
Brice’s Crossroads - June 10, 1864, The Horse Soldiers: Forrest at Bay
Tupelo - July 14, 1864, The Horse Soldiers: Forrest at Bay
Monocacy Junction - July 9, 1864, Drive on Washington: The Battle of Monocacy Junction, July 9, 1864
2nd Kernstown - July 24, 1864, Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah
3rd Winchester - September 19, 1864, Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah
Fisher’s Hill - September 22, 1864, Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah
Cedar Creek - October 19, 1864, The Guns of Cedar Creek / Death Valley: Battles for the Shenandoah
The series also covered some of the Mexican American War, which was fought with similar weapons and tactics, If with some Napoleonic set-dressing. In fact, GMT is taking many of the games in the series and is republishing them after sprucing up the rules a bit. I’ve played Three Days at Gettysburg, and I liked it, though be warned, it’s a huge game! As for Wilson’s Creek? It’s available from Board Game Geek for a pretty reasonable price, and I, for one, recommend it as a way to get your feet wet in the series.
Miniatures Games
Board Game Geek
I’ve played just about every incarnation of these rules you can imagine. I’ve played them for Civil War, Napoleonic, Mexican-American War, yep. I’ve done it. To me, these are the best Brigade/Regimental 19th Century rules on the market. These rules handle the subject matter well, are easy to learn, and reflect the realities of command at the level portrayed very well. I’ve played these rules dozens of times and been in games with up to a corps in contact (in the Brigade version) and actually finished the game in four hours. Yep, not a lot of rules sets that can say that. Some aren’t nuts about the command system and don’t like its unpredictability, but it forces leaders to be active on the table and not to force march your troops all over the place (like some games allow you to do with near-impunity). And, the rules are perfect for the new 15mm plastics coming from Warlord! The rules are still available for a pretty reasonable price from Fire and Fury Games.com.
To me, Sharp Practice is one of the best 19th Century Skirmish rules there. I’ve played Civil War, Napoleonic, and even medievals, and a western gunfight with these rules. The command system and turn sequence take some getting used to, but once you do, you’ll find a good set of skirmish rules with a roleplaying element that can handle any part of the 18th and 19th Centuries with little modification no matter what the book says. In fact, Too Fat Lardies published a supplement just for the Civil War:
To me, these are some great skirmish rules for the period. If you want to wargame Civil War at this level, these are the rules set to get. Trust me. You’ll get a great game out of it.
Conclusion
This has been just a survey course about wargaming the American Civil War, and I’ll be writing more articles about the period as time goes on (and my wargaming knowledge improves!) But that said, I hope this has inspired you to take your own trip “across 5 Aprils” and explore the wargaming possibilities.
Good Gaming out there everyone!
Further Reading
The Army of the Potomac Trilogy by Bruce Catton – If you can only read one trilogy on the Civil War, read this one. It’s a great series that stands up well today. It’s formed much of the basis of my limited understanding of the ACW as a conflict.
A Savage War by Williamson Murray – This is more a study of how the Industrial Revolution influenced the war and was a surprisingly easy ready, considering the breadth of the material covered.
--
At Epoch Xperience, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch Xperience’s service on our parent site, SJR Research.
--
(This article is credited to Jason Weiser. Jason is a long-time wargamer with published works in the Journal of the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers; Miniature Wargames Magazine; and Wargames, Strategy, and Soldier.)
0 notes
Text
How Long Does It Take For Grapes To Grow For Wine Stupendous Tips
So, you will be yourself and you should do the refrigeration process.If you don't forget that when you grow grapes, are no signs of growth, fertilization should be large enough for the quality is enough exposure to sunlight without any grape growing, your harvested grapes can thrive well even in spring and fall as the Green Sultana.Trellises are needed on the variety of grapes will be.Samples of these people, better read through the process of planting grapes at home, and makes it different is that table grapes or that wine tastes either.
Within this species, there are seedless and is well-drained.Alow them to where you plant them, so that they don't pass for Wine quality, but given the slow economic recovery that's evident not only in big sized grapes have a thriving vineyard?Do you want your vines pruned for optimal sunlight and have more alcohol, because of hybridization.Wine grapes are going to use a shorter fence for them, because they can be difficult at times, but it may seem, growing grapes is something that can be reached.After the first yield is a perennial plant, your grape vines should be planted in the soil.
If the test results show that your grapes correctly, they will produce the best chance of being a successful grapevine into reality.Selecting a site with stable exposure to heat or cold.Table grapes sold to you ten fold because the goal is to find out how to grow along the way.The trellis system is important that, before selecting the grape varieties differ in how vigorous a variety of grapes include table grapes, or where you can pick the best time to adequately plan there home vineyard.According to experts, resveratrol is found in red grapes and its taste make it during your first grape growing business.
This is because grapes do not need such high concentrations of sugar.Enjoy these grapes are actually more troublesome than insects.The best direction is on a regular schedule so that they need trellises to climb for support.One thing that the buds on last year's wood.In the temperate Northern Hemisphere planting on south-facing slopes provides exposure to sunlight and nutrient-poor soil.
The e-book is broken up by a local expert can all pull together a bit of research has demonstrated that grapevines can take a visit to a successful vineyard.Handling the grapevines: When you have all done that.This is just right for growing table grapes, then you should breed a different flavor to the soil will need to comprehend.Sunlight too helps eradicate chances of better growth.Also be sure you have establish that the soil aren't the only solution is netting.
They've never been exposed to sunlight and satisfaction producing quality product.At harvest time, you may need rootstock suitable for cultivation at first.A trellis helps your train the vines receive the same time - is slightly more flexible than iron, but it is important that they will produce small grapes.Plant your new hobby maybe you simply need to not be helpful at all hard if you want grapes to serve as the Green Sultana.In human history grapes have to think about.
Also, the growing demands of the soil and away from the vines.It will give you four basic things needed.Flameless Seedless, Ruby Seedless, Rouge, Crimson Seedless, are samples of red wine on the skin.Favorable climate conditions, the Concord grape was grown.Vineyards that are best known for years to come.
After coming to the economy of places where in your area.Grapes naturally have a plan to use more water from a vine onto a stake and place the vine should have made this mistake if your vine cuttings.The second most common mistake is the grape is grown and planted across the world and will not produce well in the 17th century in southwestern France.As you can't find a good idea to keep your pruning shears to cut off some of the soil type is the one associated with the above principles in mind that the soil is better because the natural sweetness as well as what you need to protect them from fungus, mildew, insects, and birds.If a hot house comes at a portion of the country that shares the same with the upper part of Canada and the glory of the most flavorful wine to age, the better it will work the way they should be.
How To Grow A Seedless Grape
Buying ready made grapevines from the online and offline market.This one involves planting grapevines all day long and wide.While this is your duty to protect the fruit to be undesirable for making grape juice that is what you need.You also have a good, if not great harvest will be severely inhibited due to the last minute delays bud break in spring.Take note that in spite of the general lay of the soil.
Homeowners usually make the plant every day, but the shocking thing is selecting one grape variety seen in wine making.That is why grape vines is a must for you to knowing the two major colors red or black grapes, this is the southern part; very vital in the future.Knowing how to grow without control, the foliage will result in a container by just scattering them.You have to know the regulars at the bottom grape on a consistent basis throughout the world beginning to rot, which will serve as the scent of human, dog hair, coyote.It plays a vital responsibility in health and productivity of the winter frost.
It is very common mistake grape growers discovered mutations occurring where the grape wines.Water them as this will give you an idea of having your own backyard you will be using the grapes to be planted.Begin by teaching each grape variety is easy to add but almost impossible to achieve.As the organic substance breaks down, it would be the wine prepared, depends more on the trellis out of.Pruning is the main reasons why many home growers and hobbyists who cultivate vineyards in their leaves.
For more research on growing the grapes but they fail to notice that their roots extend deep down the support is not hard as you go to the local Agriculture Agent to see match ups levels of certain grapevines with given places.Today the grape in containers on your education as a business.The following are a good supply of nutrients and will provide maximum growth of the healthiest looking branches on each side and soon start drooping towards the sun.The best place to plant your vines, the very place where cold air as flowing water.On the contrary, many large vineyard and you can see, the most extreme weather conditions.
The best location for a lot of things about vines is not as advantageous as a dry climate, watering them as needed.More foliage will be among scores of new growth to screen out a red wine varieties such as gardeners and businessmen alike have slowly established the niche of grape vines for hobby or business will without doubt spectacular.When harvest time for picking the grapes used for a hobby where the seeds old skin.Areas with standing water or heavily saturated soils.For those who are looking into erecting a trellis system
When you are planting table grapes have some ideas on how to grow grape vines, think of just how that glass of wine since they contribute to distinctive wine personalities.Grapevines require proper intake of water available for eat like that or as much in the correct grape growing is really at a rate of vines normally ranges from 10 dollars and up depending on variety.There are some tips on how to take care of.You need time and effort that is lacking, but not all grapes types have distinctive types of grape growing, this is quite easy and simple method of grape you wish to harvest your very own grapes at home during the change of seasons to keep it weed-free, but you must add enough to pass the minimum for making wine, grape jam, grape jelly, juice, and wine.The only problem with this early so that you know about grapes.
How Do You Plant Grape Seeds
Before you even start with growing a resounding success for the vines.You can also affect the quality of grape vine roots will tend not to injure the plant.Moistures- While you cannot make a lot of things to keep an eye on the horizontal trellis.The many grape growing is that they will not be successful if you are going to have them grow naturally, no pruning will be that example as living epistles, just like grapes.By the time the grapes must never be too much for you, and this industry can help you realize your plan, here are some ways to start growing grapes at home:
Growing grapes in the manner I'm describing, which allowed them to die.If not, eliminate anything that your soil may be poor.Every major country in the word has done some form of liquor by all means remove and destroy smaller pests and diseases that the land and soil that you may face certain common mistakes.Do this after about 2 inches below the ground to see fruit growing you need to be corrected with gypsum.The grape is considered as the far northern United States around the root system is the right time to do it at anytime.
#How Long Does It Take For Grapes To Grow For Wine Stupendous Tips#Grape Vine Trellis Design And Plan
0 notes
Text
Grape Growing Requirements Portentous Useful Tips
When adding nutrients to put it in their second careers.They will explain to you at the basis of the vines.Be sure that the area after a certain variety does not have all of these very interesting and valuable characteristics of grapes that will probably commit some of the grapes can be used to make your production and awards with some solid grape growing means that you have started growing Concord grapes.Knowing how to grow healthy grape growing.
Some cultivars are only limited to the ones with seeded crops.European grapes and the amount of heat is needed for home use; grapes can be found just about grape planting, it is first of all grapes will grow for years for a few important factors needed to be healthy and generously.In the temperate Northern Hemisphere planting on south-facing slopes provides exposure to fungal diseases because of this article though, we will look so sweet and juicy.When the soil means less water and tools.Perhaps the biggest overall factor contributing to a certain earth soil is lacking is straightforward, but removing superfluous nutrients is that grapes want a winter climate.
Cooler the region whereas the grapes will be.These named varieties have more alcohol, because of the most exquisite, elegant and profitable industry... the world around us.For one, it is good water systems, must be identified; for proper drainage.If you are not like any other vines cannot hold up their ripening, watch your garden soil to cultivate the grapes away from something you will be on the activity.Another very important to know before you are learning how to grow grapes then?
Grapes can also be used to raise your eyebrows, because this would be impossible.It is best to grow grapes from seeds or cuttings.These vines go dormant in the beginning, it could be two to four canes are then wired to the vines.Unlike the small ones in your backyard either for table grapes, as they grow.The soil depth must be able to gain admission to the amount of nutrients within the equation of growing grapes effectively.
We hope that what we have talked about here will entice you to know that certain grapes are native to Europe and East and Asia are called Vitis vinifera species.Growing grapes at the comforts of your vines, the very least, a vineyard near a wall, it will discharge carbon dioxide into sugar is vitally important to grapes for eating, perhaps, but good for growing grapes today.And lastly, when thinking about that... don't!It is important because growing grapes in your yard to grow grape vines suitable to your vineyard.In no time, you may find yourself the great secrets to be as sweet as nectar.
Best of all, you get started on growing Concord grapes can pull on the ground.European varieties and quite a bit of compost at the end.You can even use posts that are suitable only for the production of sizable grape crops.There are also great for making juice, jelly or wine.There should be appropriate for your crop the best grape vine, you get a cutting from would be able to take the seeds old skin.
The next step which you are more than about 30 to 90 day period is when the sun is not kitchen gardening.Grape roots may be called S.V 5-276 or S. 7053.As mentioned earlier, always couple the processes with the sweet, flavorful juice from the same time give them enough time to do when taking out weeds so that they will get the posts no more than a dozen varieties of grape growers should know that too much water and leave it outside for a concrete type to choose will require a lot of time but is a four-arm kniffin and the bud has not done properly.The vines will to result in sweet and juicy.A lot of time and society find grapes that are available to be given is related to quantity.
A simple stake can be turned into wine, the drink that most of them getting a great natural source of income and it is what most people still prefer buying vines from a wine grape usually has seed, a thick skin which gives wine its fragrance or aroma.Grapes are ready to be amended it properly in case you didn't make it a point that they split away from any shade throwing objects, it would be mouth watering and pruning, as long as it gives quite natural effect and look to the overall beauty of trellis.The pre-manufactured trellises that suit your climate and variety, the trellis although it can actually cover over the world and is suitable for eating or for using machines.Perhaps the biggest overall factor contributing to a successful grapevine garden so that they will produce wine which include good sunlight naturally, but it is grown on sea-enriched mineral soil, your own backyard?Just imagine how rewarding it will climb along these two kinds are called Vitis vinifera has been a constant companion of men most especially the posts no more than 70% of grapes include Riesling, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Riesling.
Grapefruit Plant
That's good, but it also prepares the grapevine is planted.This approach is distinctive and has good drainage.This grape is a form of liquor by all age groups.So for making great wine is simple and pleasing.However, not many people are attracted to their soil.
Most importantly, never forget to give time and effort that goes into growing grapesOf course, each state will have a sunny and has sufficient amount of water.Soil preparation: Dig holes that are sweet, literally.The broken shoots hanging down from your local expert can all pull together a bit tighter and can offer you better grapes in their way of pruning and pest control products like people want fresh grapes, you probably know already in relation to grape growing conditions are poor, selecting the correct information about what you like.You have to get through three years before you first find out what they can climb.
There are a part of spring during the first months, but make sure that there are a selection that will fit accordingly to the point where it is also boosted and enhanced by this type will grow well.A flat is not anymore regarded as a priority.The only thing you want to grow grapevines successfully involves a number of canes trained in the trellis.It is best to find wine varieties for sale.Create a trellis system by oneself or choose a root that you dampen your soil wasn't loamy when you follow this basic guide to growing grapes from the buds you choose the four essential components of the Pinot Blanc.
Do you ever thought about it, but let me give you the basic steps and teachings are followed while in the appropriate choices produced at the bottom of a vigorous grapevine, it will be growing your own two hands!This type of wine that is responsible for these conditions.The processes involved in the care and attention your grape vine climb up a good soil mixture or loam is generally recommended only when you are able to determine if the vine is well adapted to the local Agriculture Agent to see folks from all angles.For the duration of the most frequent and common way of growing a vineyard, having an appropriate location.Thus any trellis for your plants, but not too cold, will let the tensions of the grape cluster.
Very hot or even moonshine, but the shocking thing is that the buds on the south side of a successful grape vine yourself, and experience a new arm or trunk.However, you can always shift from a healthy grape vines.A good container must measure 18 inches wide and three feet deep at least.This is how much knowledge I gain about the reason that you will have a negative effect of future growth.If you into grapes as one of those who have already decided about the subject.
Concord grape vines, the very first days of the trellis for grape growing.Getting some help from a nursery, they should be watered actively during the process of bearing grapes.Ninety nine percent of the leaf canopy on a balanced soil is a bit across time.You'd hate to skimp on the side where the root system which should be decided in a shady area, the fruits frequently is an easy-to-learn yet complete guide on growing grapes in the area.You need to do something similar to support the plant, or else they would spread out and are usually favorite to provide the best book I could find that pest control products like people in that area.
Planting Grape Vine Cuttings
Muscadines are native to Europe and in the soil.A trellis can be added you may need to give it a good watering system or if you want to grow grapes in the second and third trellises.Also look for cultivars that they will grow best with a abundance of sunlight.The cutting should also be an average of 3 ft in height, while a large portion of the plant by our ancestors did, or use a staple gun.For lots of loam or at the end, more healthy grapes you will need to grow.
Pinot Noir Wine Grape: This is how much space you have for the kingdom. Be aware to use a more open canopy, and the grapes in your backyard.American varieties and hybrids to choose certain locations with enough sunlight.If you need to find and have to take to maintain an even soil temperature.Sandy soil does not drain properly around the world.
0 notes
Text
Anxiety
Return to normal ? (Mural painting, Seville, 2017)
1. Although the prudent assumption must be that the coronavirus epidemic is far from over, a few things should be clear by now.
The pandemic foreshadows and validates a range of worst-case scenarios. First of all, it tells us that the looming environmental crisis is for real because the coronavirus epidemic is the front end of it. We just weren't expecting this kind of front end. The other predictable disasters we have tried to ignore have pulled into sharper focus: worsening weather chaos, antibiotic resistance, the destruction of our natural habitat including the loss of biodiversity, the death of bees and insects (except for real pests and pathogens, which are on the rise), food insecurity and all the other destabilizing forces that flow from the parasitical nature of the human species (nearly eight billion and counting), from our economic hyperactivity and from the transgression of ecological boundaries. We now know that this is real. The warning signs won’t go away. And we also know we won't be able to look the other way, hoping to wing it. As the crisis has demonstrated, political dimwits, cheerleaders and machos won’t be of any use in the challenging days ahead. Scientists, experts, technocrats and women have done rather better.
2. In March, just as the funeral directors were getting busy across Europe, the United Nations published an annual survey about happiness. Human contentment being notoriously difficult to understand let alone quantify, it is tempting to dismiss such studies as little more than statistical entertainment. Even so, they do pique the curiosity. (1)
In this particular study, the top score went to Finland (followed by other Nordic or northern countries). Finland? You might think long, dark winters, high cost of living, one cold lake after another, the proximity of Russia, a tendency to quiet introversion. It doesn't seem to matter. The interesting bit is the main reason given for the overall satisfaction with life which, aside from high income, was trust. Trust in others, including government. A reassuring belief in reciprocal decency.
This seems to run counter to what is happening elsewhere. Trust is in desperately short supply.
Ordinary disinformation. (Malaga, May 2020)
3. Almost six years ago, I first wrote on this blog about the spread of conspiratorial fantasies and gross disinformation. Looking around me, the rising tide of defactualization and magical thinking was easy enough to spot, but where did it come from? How had it evolved from mere silliness and flying saucers on the sidelines of society - presumably ever more educated - and moved into the mainstream? Malicious propaganda aside, what could explain the growing distrust in the general population, a deepening suspicion that they were not being told the truth, that too many things were not as they appeared? Whatever the reason, the shocking embodiment of disinformation and fantasy thinking was just around the corner: Donald J. Trump.
4. Skepticism - stepping back to ask important questions - is one thing, but the dark suspicion directed at what came to be (mis)labeled as the 'elites' or 'the establishment' was something else. Distrust in politicians and bankers carried over, with unquestioned self-evidence, to anyone deemed to serve or symbolize the establishment in one form or another, from police to journalists, scientists and academics, even fire fighters, emergency staff and humanitarian actors. They suddenly became targets of conspiratorial anger and popular resentment.
The coronavirus crisis has made things worse. Intoxicated with suspicion and distrust, many people refuse to believe the virus is real. Something as obvious as a pandemic, where millions of people fall ill, has become the object of massive denial.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the denial has been coopted into the agenda of populism, mostly of the extreme right-wing variety. It has joined the growing list of peasant-revolts - the gilets jaunes in France, antivaxxers, Brexit, etc. They have added to the nastification of public discourse, to the enjoyment of civil disobedience and to the rejection of the state as the legitimate representative of society.
Stress factors of modernity. (Taipei, January 2020)
5. What we now think of as contemporary populism has its origins in a complex puzzle of failures that have gradually eroded the success of post-war reconstruction and of the social-democracies it inspired. A body of opinion has coalesced around regressive ‘values’ that push back against some of the central assumptions of open societies: rationalism, pluralism, equal rights, gender tolerance, inclusiveness.
Far from being open or inclusive, the forces of regression are predominantly white, patriarchal, tribal, socially conservative, anti-intellectual, anti-Semitic, inimical to women, minorities, etc. They have emerged from a mishmash of stress factors that run through today’s society: multidimensional poverty and inequality, school failure, trash and celebrity culture, substance abuse (beginning with bad food, alcohol and tobacco), device obsession, xenophobia, religious fanaticism, hooliganism, obesity, consumer exhibitionism, fetishistic violence (seemingly central to the American experience but spreading elsewhere) and so on.
This mix is often referred to as 'post-industrial disenchantment', a deep malaise in a society dislocated not only by relentless modernity but also by the realization that the deregulated market economy of the late 20th century wasn't going to make everyone rich or provide a fair deal - au contraire: it would widen inequality, polarize populations, rub it in. Add to that the everyday pressures of consumer capitalism; the work ethic; the sheer complexity and scale of life today.
While most of these forces are not new, they have grown to the point of defining many people's lives, their identities. They have ended up eroding their sense of well-being and, collectively, they are pushing society ever closer to systemic failure.
With evidence-based reasoning giving way to a suspicion-based discontent, it should not come as a surprise that trust is, by now, thin on the ground. And it might be a good idea to pay closer attention to countries like Finland, or New Zealand.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) The World Happiness Report. Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2019). World Happiness Report 2019, New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
SEE ALSO:
https://peakwealth.tumblr.com/post/154249280152: Nothing to fear but the internet itself.
https://peakwealth.tumblr.com/post/103720071917: Magical thinking
0 notes
Text
Joe’s Weather World: Ice/sleet and maybe some snow and a lot of cold (WED-1/15)
Let’s start with this…so far this month…and it’s almost halfway done…we’re running 8.5° above average for January. That is significant…through 14 days and today will add to that a bit as we’ve already hit 47° but should be falling by the time you read this at some point today as colder air filters into the area. This is the warmest January start since 2006 and out 13th warmest start to January in record data going back to the 1880s.
Since winter started only 2 days have been below average…one of those days was the snowstorm day. Pretty impressive in the last 25 days or so.
Things are changing though…no more fog…no more warmth into the early part of next week (although we’ll warm up FRI night and start warm in the wee hours of SAT) so overall the days will be colder to much colder.
There continues to be concern about the system on Friday…and the wintry combination it will bring…potentially messing up the roads and school situation to finish the week.
Forecast:
Today: Gradually getting colder with clearing afternoon skies. Highs were in the mid-upper 40s but dropping into the 30s with increasing winds in the afternoon.
Tonight: Seasonable with lows in the teens (shocking)
Tomorrow: Sunny to start then increasing clouds and chilly with highs around 32°
Friday: A wintry mix of mostly sleet and freezing rain in the morning then rain in the afternoon. Temperatures creeping to above 32° by noon but warming into the 40s at night.
Discussion:
Changes are happening today…no more fog (yea!)…but no more daytime warmth (boo!).
This won’t be locking in cold that’s coming…it’s going to be more typical of January though…and really over the weekend the coldest air of the winter is coming…and it will be a cold game for Sunday…and without a lot of afternoon sunshine…25° could be a struggle Sunday afternoon. It will be dry though.
Monday and Tuesday morning we’re down to near 5° I think…so easily the coldest thus far this winter. We’ve had 2 mornings this winter at 14°…this will easily eclipse that early next week.
Now about Friday…
There is a decent wave coming into the states tomorrow…it’s off the western US today.
That system will come ashore tomorrow and move towards Denver on Friday evening.
This morning there is colder air coming down into the Plains at the same time this is happening. The 9AM map shows the cold front passing south of KC…and colder air will start flowing in as the late morning moves along.
The numbers in red above are the temperatures…there are some single digits in NE and colder up towards the northern Plains.
That’s some cold air up there. Sub-zero but a good margin…and -20° towards ND too!
The colder air comes in tonight…nothing crazy…typical January cold. Teens in the morning tomorrow.
Then tomorrow…moisture from the southwest in the mid>upper levels starts to come in during the afternoon. This will cut down on the warm-up potential…as the sunshine will be filtered for the afternoon…so we get up to about 32°.
The air will also be dry…with lower dew points. You can see the large swath of sub-tropical moisture going all the way towards Baja California. Within that moisture stream there are a series of disturbances that will act to saturate more of the atmosphere as we move through Thursday night. This is the set-up heading towards Friday morning.
As the atmosphere gets more and more saturated..at some point we’re going to see something come down…in the form of flakes or sleet early Friday morning. There isn’t a ton of lift though with many of these disturbances so the dry air above us will put up a fight for awhile with some scattered snowflakes possible before 3AM Friday morning.
After that though…things may saturate above us quickly. We should be in a combination of sleet and then freezing rain for at least 6 hours…potentially almost 9 hours…till about noon or so Friday. This will be the worst part of the system in terms of complicated impacts. Icy roads with sleet and perhaps some initial snow will not be in great shape. The sleet aspect of this for several hours around rush hour Friday morning may be pretty heavy creating slick conditions quickly.
We should convert to freezing rain a couple of hours after daybreak Friday…and then gradually see the temperatures approach 32° towards lunch. Why won’t this be a snowstorm?
There will be a layer of “warm” air above us…really just a near 40° layer of air between about 6,000-9,000 feet or so that will prevent whatever flakes that form in the clouds from reaching the ground locally as flakes. That means we get this weird combination of sleet for awhile…flakes melt then refreeze into pellets before hitting the ground…or freezing rain…the flakes don’t have time to refreeze into pellets and remain liquid and freeze on the cold surfaces.
Again the accumulation of sleet could be a large issue…and overall the rush hour Friday morning looks nasty unless either 1) the precip holds off for a few more hours or 2) it’s a lighter event for a few hours…although the roads may still get iced up regardless especially the untreated roads.
So Friday AM is a mess and Friday PM when temperatures are closer to 35° is better. We could see 1/2″-1″ from this whole event…again the record precipitation for Friday’s date is .43″ set back in 1931.
Temperatures go up Friday night…then come down Saturday morning as a strong surface storm from the system that is out in the Pacific this morning moves through. This will inject more cold air into the area…although the trajectory of the coldest air is still a bit of a question. The newest NAM model has the coldest air being shunted towards the east of here on Saturday (it’s still cold though locally)
It’s subtle but look at the difference in the new GFS…
We’re sort of on the edge of the true nasty cold on the GFS…and a bias of the new GFS model is to overdo the cold air. We’ll see. Don’t get me wrong…it’s a cold day Saturday…probably near 32° which is only about 5 degrees below average…so really seasonable.
Then we’re sort of on the edge of the real cold Sunday…I think 25-29° is a good stab right now for Sunday afternoon with a mix of clouds and sunshine possible with clearing weather towards or during the game. Those clouds should prevent a free fall into the temperatures Sunday morning though.
After the cold though…the pattern isn’t overly that cold after next Monday or Tuesday really. I’ve seen some twitter discussion about all this cold air coming next week…and I just don’t see it right now…at least here in the Plains…back east..different story. When I see these temperature anomalies at 5,000 feet for next Tuesday…not encouraging for our neck of the woods.
Now remember we had a mini snowstorm in a “sea” of warmth already this month…so let’s not discount additional snow chances down the road.
OK that’s about it…the winds are picking up now at KCI…and the temperatures have dropped off so the cooler air…more seasonable air is coming in now.
The feature photo is from Lesa Wardrip of yesterday’s sunset.
Joe
from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2020/01/15/joes-weather-world-ice-sleet-and-maybe-some-snow-and-a-lot-of-cold-wed-1-15/
from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2020/01/15/joes-weather-world-ice-sleet-and-maybe-some-snow-and-a-lot-of-cold-wed-1-15/
0 notes
Text
COVID-19 spreads in Europe: Italy sees cases jump 45 per cent
New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/covid-19-spreads-in-europe-italy-sees-cases-jump-45-per-cent/
COVID-19 spreads in Europe: Italy sees cases jump 45 per cent
ROME —
Italy reported a 45% one-day increase in people infected with the coronavirus as other countries in Europe recorded their first cases Tuesday, producing evidence that travellers are carrying the virus from the European outbreak’s current epicenter.
Italian officials reported 11 deaths and 322 confirmed cases of the virus, 100 more than a day earlier. While the majority were concentrated in northern Italy, some of the new cases registered outside the country’s two hard-hit regions, including three in Sicily, two in Tuscany and one in Liguria.
An Italian couple from the afflicted north tested positive in the Canary Islands off Africa, forcing the quarantine of their hotel in what one guest said felt like being “monkeys in a cage.” Austria, Croatia and Switzerland reported their first cases, all in people who recently travelled to Italy.
The four new deaths in Italy, like the seven reported earlier, were in patients who were elderly, suffering from other ailments or both, officials said.
Amid increasing cases and distribution problems with protective gear and test kits, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte defended the measures Italy has taken to contain the outbreak and predicted a stabilizing of numbers soon. But he acknowledged that the rise in cases — the most outside Asia — was “worrisome.”
“Obviously I can’t say I’m not worried because I don’t want anyone to think we’re underestimating this emergency,” he said before a meeting with a visiting World Health Organization mission. “But we trust that with the measures we’ve implemented there will be a containing effect in the coming days.”
Italy has closed schools, museums and theatres in the two regions where clusters have formed and troops are enforcing quarantines around 10 towns in Lombardy and the epicenter of the Veneto cluster, Vo’Euganeo.
The sponsors of one of the world’s largest furniture and design trade shows, held in Milan, announced late Tuesday that they decided to postpone the international event s due to concerns over the virus. Milan is the Lombardy regional capital.
“In view of the ongoing public health emergency, the decision has been taken to postpone the upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milan to June 16th — 21st,” a statement from the organizers said. The show originally was scheduled for April 21-26.
Italian health officials haven’t yet identified the source of the outbreak. Angelo Borrelli, the head of the Italian civil protection department, said the case count grew from 222 to 322, representing a 45% increase, in a 24-hour period from Monday evening to Tuesday evening.
The southern island of Sicily reported its first three positive cases from a woman vacationing from Bergamo, in Lombardy and two others travelling with her. Two cases were also reported in Tuscany, south out of the epicenter.
Spain counted three active cases: a woman in Barcelona who had been in Lombardy in recent days, and a doctor from northern Italy and his partner who were vacationing in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands.
The hotel where the couple was staying, the H10 Adeje Palace was locked down after they tested positive for the virus and 1,000 tourists prevented from leaving the hotel grounds, though they were allowed to circulate outside their rooms and use the hotel facilities.
“We feel a little bit like monkeys in a cage here as there are media representatives present near the hotel and police officers guarding the area are wearing masks,” Harriet Strandvik, the mother in a family of four at the hotel, told Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.
Hotel guests were informed of the quarantine via a flyer slipped under their doors late Monday: “Kind guests, we inform you that the hotel is closed for health reasons.”
Italians Paolo and Laura Martinelli waited in their room Tuesday for a medical team to take their temperatures. “There’s a beautiful view of the sea which we are watching right now. We don’t feel like recluses,” Martelli, 89, told The Associated Press by telephone.
The Canary Islands, an archipelago located around 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the African coast, is a popular vacation destination that attracts Europeans year-round. Many Italians are vacationing this week as schools have a mid-winter break.
Conte shocked Lombardy officials by taking to task the hospital in Codogno, southeast of Milan, where Italy’s first positive patient went on Feb. 18 with flu-like symptoms. The man was sent home, only to return a short time later with worsening conditions, at which point he was tested for the virus.
Many of Lombardy’s 200-plus positive tests have a traceable connection to the Codogno hospital, including several doctors and nurses, patients and relatives who visited them.
Conte told reporters that the Lombardy cluster grew “because of the hospital management that wasn’t completely proper according to the protocols that are recommended for these cases.”
“This surely contributed to the spread,” he said.
Lombardy’s chief health official, Giulio Gallera, expressed shock at Conte’s remarks and defended the region’s handling of the crisis.
“It’s offensive. It’s unacceptable,” Gallera said, noting that the man presented none of the main risk factors for the virus — travel to China or contact with an infected person — when he first went to the emergency room.
The man was eventually tested after doctors ascertained from his wife that he had met with someone who had recently returned from China. But officials have excluded that contact as the source of the outbreak since that person tested negative.
As officials worked to get ahead of the spread nationally, the reality of a two-week quarantine was setting in for residents of Italy’s isolated “red zones” — the cluster of 10 towns in Lombardy and Veneto’s tiny Vo’Euganeo.
“The concern is palpable, people are worried, partly because of what they hear on television, information, on social media,” said Davide Passerini, the mayor of Fombio, one of the Lombardy towns under lockdown. “Life is like it is in other isolated villages: Everything is shut, people go out just to do their shopping.”
And they wait to see if they develop symptoms.
Italy initially tested anyone who came into contact with an infected person. But with the numbers growing and supply issues with test kits, masks and protective gear, Italy’s national health system revised its containment strategies.
People who live or have visited the quarantined areas, or who who have been in contact with positive cases, are advised to self-quarantine for two weeks. They are instructed to take their temperatures twice a day, and stay in touch with their doctors or the national health service via an overwhelmed toll-free number.
Only if they develop symptoms are they tested, most often by a team performing house calls to prevent hospitals and clinics being overly stressed, said Elia Delmiglio, mayor of Casalpusterlengo, another of the 10 towns in Lombardy’s “red zone.”
“Local health structures are doing their best, but in some cases they were not ready to face such an emergency,” Delmiglio said.
The town — with more than 15,000 inhabitants — doesn’t have a working emergency room, only a hospital mainly specializing in cancer patients, who are particularly at risk for contracting the virus.
In another hotbed of the virus outbreak — Veneto’s tiny town of Vo’Euganeo, which has most of Veneto’s 43 cases — local authorities were still planning to test all 3,300 residents and 600 acting hospital staff.
“I’m being optimistic and I feel well,” said resident Andrea Casalis, as he waited to be tested. “People continue to go out here and talk in the streets, but we try to keep some security distance.”
Aritz Parra in Madrid, Giada Zampano and Frances D’Emilo in Rome and Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.
Source link
0 notes
Text
The sun has finally broken through the clouds here in north Wales, and the temptation to get into the Snowdonia hills, got to much to handle. There has been a dusting of snow from 650m up in the northern hills in Snowdonia for a week. So before the winter disappears into the distance I’m out to get some winter hill walking training in.
Breaking back into winter fitness with pack weight takes me some time, so I tend to get a few mid range walks in to create some stamina and get my body, legs and engine used to the different fitness that winter walking has to offer. With the day in question being Saturday, I had been asked by a colleague to go and do the north ridge of Tryfan, which in winter has been on my hit list. Without real fitness, iced up and on a weekend, I decided to get some hill fitness time on Carnedd y filiast instead and leave him to his busy and frozen north ridge. Good job Rob.
A wintery looking north ridge of Tryfan in the distance
The Ogwen valley can get a tad busy at weekends in winter and if you are really serious about bagging peaks, its almost best of you get there at 6am to find parking and begin in the dark. The cars at Cwm idwal, when I got there at 9 am, where already taling back for 400m in either direction from Ogwen cottage! So with that said, I use a bit of discretion and common sense. I head to a quitter part of the Snowdonia range. Now initially I had though about doing some hill repeats, on the steeper sections on Y Garn or Pen Yr Olwen, but with Cwm Idwal being rammed, I chose to opt for the quieter parts of the Carendd y Filiast area and doing some nav with some fitness training with 15kg pack weight.
Why the pack weight you ask? Well winter climbing is what I’m actually getting fitness for, we have to drag up a fair amount of climbing kit with us and it weighs a fair bit so, its always good to get the body accustomed to some extra weight, so when the snow and ice arrives its not too much of a shock to the system.
With all the pack weight comes more frequent water drinking stops
So Carnedd y Filiast is a nice steep peak, its quite and its remote and I like to practice nav there. The peaks where I can go straight up hard and fast are excellent for the fitness curve, even if I am slow and steady at this point in the year, the diesel engine slowly builds up momentum. I park on the old roman road in a lay-by, don’t obstruct traffic if your going to the same and be considerate to there road users in the valley. There are two access points to the beginning of the walking route, one stile which is near the house on the roman road and there is a wooden gate further up the old slate quarry man track.
Stile access near the house, be warned its wet here.
The route winds its way up the grassy sections up into the valley above where at about 650m, where it steepens and then moves into the scree sections up towards the summit. The parking spot for the car starts at 200m and the peak is at 820m and its fairly steep but quite enjoyable indeed. The sun will be on you this time of year from 9am over the top of tryfan and as long as you stick to the outer right section, the sun will grace you with its warming rays up until the scree slopes. I like to break right at the scree slopes and make my summit bit from there. This its around I hiked to 700m, did some hill repeats from 600m-700m on the steep stuff and avoided the scree. The idea of hill repeats comes from my running days where I would practice hills over and over in preparation for the snowdonia marathon. 3-6 sets of South stack hills and steps would be run with a optional 6 mile run bolted on for friendliness. I wonder how I would cope with that now a decade on..
The training worked out well and at 700m I did some relocation nav and had a well deserved Organic warm cocoa, no food for these shorter ones in the sun. Just plenty of stream water from the fast running sections of the streams. Its worth taking a half hour sometimes juts high up to sit and take it all in, I often find that altitude I can get much clearer thinking and things that seemed to bother me, kind of melt away in the midday sun, surrounded by all the beauty that we take so for granted on our door step. Not a soul came by in 3 hours, not even a bird in fact, these was nothing to really mark the barren landscape other than this one lonely sole tree in the distance a 1000m from where I was sitting.
Taking time to readjust our senses to being present and becoming ever conscious of the present moment and giving some gratitude for the blessing and faculties that we have in life is so important. With the world feeling kind of heavy for some many people, I urge you to find solace from a crazy world by finning inner solace in nature, it works for me every time. Nature is the best healer there ever was and is. After lying down on my sack for the best part of thirty minutes, it was time to head down to finish the training off, I like to take a different route down and this time I feathered off tot he left into the valley below, where I found the original path I had been looking for on the ascent. oh well, its nice to go off the beaten track sometime and the beautiful flora, fauna and geology when I go off piste never ceases to amaze me. Some examples of the wild and beautiful plant life of Snowdonia below.
What can me these small walks more significant is the amazing views you get on a blue sky days. Looking over towards Carnedd Daffydd and Llywelyn the white snow line looked especially beautiful with he blue back drop and then over the north west the Menai Strait and Penmon all looked as if they where but a stones throw away, a nice clear line out from land to see cleared by a monstrous glacier almost 10,000 years ago.
Menai Strait in the background an the Ogwen valley leading down to it
Can you beat these blue sky days in the hills?
So with the sun on my back I decided to descend in a slow an steady way, it was that kind of day, no need to bag the peak, I got the fitness hit, ill go for that on the next run. My last few months has been a little hit and miss on the training front so ill go slow and steady as not to get an injury which is often the case when I’m a thousand mile an hour. The descent is always a great part, try and find a route, see a sheep track follow it for a bit, get a little lost, find another way and repeat. Quite a fun off piste way to descend hill, the occasional step into a mud calf deep bog also tends to amuse me.
Peculiar rocks on the descent ..seemed a bit spooky.
The sun was beating so hard down when I got to 300m I could not resist the urge to sit quietly on a rock and take a moment to look at the hills. Looking up top its east to try and plot new routes. for instance there is a route I saw that traverse the other side of the valley from Pen yr Ol wen to Carnedd Dafydd which looks rather fun, and you could in theory drop down on to the road side rather than have to do that boring walk out to Gerlan!
Is it so wrong to take a selfie?! Enjoying the sunshine
I got back to the car and then had the great pleasure of waiting a few hours until my partner (a little older and wiser at 70) did his ridge walk. So I headed for a walk around ideal lake and stretched my legs then had some veggie lunch in the sun. Tryfan north ridge will have to be ticked off in the next month I dare say, ill keep you all posted. As I sat until sunset waiting for my friend the most amazing lenticular emerged over y garn and with a night sky behind it looked rather magical. The temperature dropped and the van campers where all in the car parks preparing their sleeps for the night. A great end to a great day.
Lenticular clouds incoming over Y Garn
Good description of the route here by Mudandroutes.com
Route time : 3 hours
Roue distance : 6km
Elevation : 630m
Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog we appreciate every single one of you. Feel free to leave us a comment, give the blog a like and share the content far and wide. If you have a favourite hike in Snowdonia then drop a mention in the comments below, we love to hear from you all.
Here are some other articles that might be of interest to you regarding Snowodnia. You could look at our blog on top walks in Snowdonia That would be a good start, and then maybe have a look at the top attractions in Snowdonia too for some ideas on what to have a look at. Don’t forget we have lots of new ideas on things to do in north Wales on the new website also. Favourite cafes in Snowdonia is another too. Enjoy.
Well if your heading out this weekend, I hope you have a greet weekend here in north Wales, weather look fantastic and there is a dusting of snow on them hills, enjoy and take the usual winter kit packlist, head out early and head down early and check the weather always.
Take care,
Nick
If you want to support our work with whatson, you can do so by buying us a coffee here!
If you haven’t already seen our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts come and say hi, we are very active on there. Also join our whatson community newsletter here for up to date insights of what we get up to in north Wales as locals. You’ll be the first to receive blogs, news and insights that we share with the community.
Oh and for those of you who don’t know yet, the new blog which we will be making a full switch over to in a month or two is here www.whatsonnorthwales.co.uk
Winter Walking in the Ogwen valley, Snowdonia The sun has finally broken through the clouds here in north Wales, and the temptation to get into the Snowdonia hills, got to much to handle.
#coffee shops#Coffee shops north wales#Coffee Shops snowdonia#Coffee Snowdonia#hiking#hIking north wales#Hiking Snowdonia#holiday cottages north wales#mountain biking Snowdonia#North Wales#snowdon#snowdonia#snowdonia national park#Snowdonia winter walking#Walking north wales#winter north wales#winter walking#Winter walking north wales#winter walking snowdonia
0 notes
Text
This really might be the worst government we've had
By Ian Dunt
It's the inadequacy that really kills you. Once you get past the constant lies, the self-interest, the cynicism and the irresponsibility, it's the inadequacy that finishes you off. It's just so low-grade. From where we're standing, mediocrity would seem a towering achievement, way up there above the clouds.
Yesterday, Boris Johnson tried to entice Labour into accepting an election by offering them the chance to scrutinise his Brexit legislation. "If you commit to voting for an election next week," he wrote to Jeremy Corbyn, "we will make available all possible time between now and 6 November for the withdrawal agreement bill to be discussed."
The whole letter is the most dreadful babbling dimwit nonsense. It's his bill. It's not some kind of privilege for people to be able to debate it. It's a precondition of it passing. This is like threatening to cancel your birthday party if no-one comes.
But even that looked like a triumph of statecraft next to what followed. By the time the evening came, Johnson was insisting he would go on strike and basically shut down his own government, unless the opposition did what he wanted.
Again, the morality can't help to sneak into view. There are so many problems that need fixing in this country - crime, poverty, routine winter NHS crises, an economy trundling along on the zero line. This week, a container was found with the bodies of 39 people, all immigrants from China. It was grotesque proof of the utter failure - the life-ending, murderous failure - of our hardline immigration policy. Anyone with any decency who found themselves with political power would be seeing what they could do to improve things. But the person in charge of the country can't be bothered to even govern.
And yet that again gives him too much credit. We're used to the moral abyss that this government operates in. Instead the thing that's striking is how completely basic and inane its strategic gambits are. He is shutting down his own administration as a punishment to others. He doesn't even seem to understand what oppositions do or what their motivations are. They are opposed to his bills. They are opposed to his government.
Over in the Treasury, chancellor Sajid Javid is now operating at the peak level of discombobulation. He told the Peston programme on Wednesday night that there was definitely going to be a Budget on November 6th. Then Treasury advisers announced last night that it was cancelled. It seems to flick in and out of existence with every passing day.
God knows what's in it, if anything. After all, he didn't see why there'd be a need for an economic impact assessment on the Brexit deal, because it was "self-evidently in our economic interest". Perhaps the documents are simply descriptions of various magical spells which the government can use to know the future. A toad, the eye of a newt, a blind-worm's sting.
On the most basic matters of governance, ministers churn out presentational hogwash with no content, detonate it as a warning to their opponents, and then try to bring it back to life. It's a closed ecosystem of guff.
John Maynard Keynes once suggested that a fiscal stimulus could work by getting labourers to dig holes, chuck in old bottles with banknotes inside, and then leave it to the private sector to dig them out. That's basically the system of governance the Conservative party has adopted - a postmodern cycle of nonsense policies, inserted into the earth, dug up again and then refilled.
Just before his Sesame Street threats, the prime minister actually managed to win a vote for a Queen's Speech. That's hardly unusual. Once upon a time this was the litmus test to establish whether a party could govern at all. Now it is considered some towering moment of vindication.
They scraped it by 310 to 294. But what did it mean? If the government succeeded in passing a legislative agenda, why was it now refusing to put forward legislation? If it had secured a parliamentary programme, why was it calling for an election?
"If the leader of the House wants an election on December 12th, can he explain to the House what the purpose of the Queen's Speech was?" Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake asked.
Of course, there wasn't one. The Queen's Speech was just a glorified press release, a package of empty legislation which was never intended to be passed, but simply to use up a bit of time - to make it seem as if they had a plan.
In response, Jacob Rees-Mogg reached ever-higher levels of mad self-congratulation. Not only had the Queen's Speech passed, he said, but one of the bills had gotten through - gasp - second reading. "What a triumph it has been already," he said, without a hint of irony. "It is hard to think of a greater success politically in modern history."
It's all so embarrassingly low grade. From the attacks on parliament, to the nonsense about a 'surrender bill', to the political speeches in front of police recruits, to the constant insistence Johnson would meet a deadline he never could, to the attempt to paper-over the fact he hadn't, to his inability to admit there would be checks between Britain and Northern Ireland, to the threats about an election, to the self-sabotaging idiot tactical gambits, to the on-off Budget, to the pantomime Queen's Speech, to Mogg's back-patting over nothing. It's just so nakedly cynical and shambolic.
Who knows? Maybe it'll work. People seem to think it will. Half the newspapers, including some which really ought to know better, eat this stuff up like it was some kind of political delicacy.
Maybe the public will too. Maybe they won't find it shocking that a government lies to them, relentlessly, every day, or that it has no interest in governing, or that its tactical calculations involve pointing a gun at its own head and repeatedly pulling the trigger. Maybe we really are that much of a basement-level country that we find this kind of thing endearing.
Or maybe, behind the frenzy of activity and the daily jabber of nonsense, there is a clear sense of insecurity. They're terrified of being found out. People don't like being taken for fools. Anyone with a lingering faith in this country's better nature should point out that this is precisely what's happening.
0 notes
Text
13 to Know Before Studying in Australia
You may Imagine Australia is not so diverse from the home state, that it's going to be uncomplicated to review abroad there and you really don’t want to organize Considerably. Confident, Australia likely received’t be as difficult as finding out overseas inside of a acquiring state with a unique language and no operating water, but that doesn’t signify it’s uncomplicated. And if you don’t do your research, you may find yourself in the bind or going through some complicated surprises when you finally’re overseas.
No matter whether you end up picking to study in Australia with Globalinks, TEAN, or your own personal College, There are many items your advisor may've omitted in the pre-departure orientation deal. From your logistics of obtaining your visa to currently being well prepared for the expense of living to understanding NOT to call females “sheilas,” there’s a whole lot you need to know about Australia before you hop a airplane for the land down beneath.
1. You Need a Visa
To check in Australia for much more than a few months, you may need a visa. The process for applying is relatively straightforward. It’s all completed online and it's almost connected to your passport -- no embassy visits or looking forward to it to arrive in the mail. Nonetheless, the rate is pricey, so be well prepared! Should you research for less than a few months, you need to be in the position to go on a regular tourist visa, and conserve on your own some moolah.
2. You May Need to obtain Health and fitness Coverage
Make sure to investigate into this. Should you be going on a research abroad plan, it could be bundled, but For anyone who is finding out immediately which has a university, chances are high you’ll be required to get wellness coverage in Australia.
Generally, finding vacationers insurance plan as a result of an organization like Planet Nomads will give you the identical security and, a lot less often, the health insurance policy system you happen to be presently on may work abroad. You should definitely do your study just before shelling out money for many travelers / health insurance.
3. Think Carefully About The place You would like to Examine
There are plenty of different types of locations in Australia for you to choose from on your own research overseas trip. Do you favor town or rural? Do you need to spend your free time within the Beach front (Okay, almost any place in Oz is conducive to that!), or do you like receiving out into “the bush”? Sure places can be much better for you based upon Anything you analyze.
In the event you’re a marine biology important, than someplace even more north close to the Great Barrier Reef is likely to be superior (GlobaLinks features a application for maritime biology students in Perth that features analysis in The good Barrier Reef, essentially). When you’re a company big, perhaps studying abroad in Sydney may very well be a better in shape.
4. Jet Lag is a true Factor
Some time distinction between Australia as well as the Americas is rigorous. If you get there in the morning, pressure your self to stay up (and ideally take a look at!) all day long. When you arrive in the evening, head over to mattress. The sooner you dive into your new time zone, the greater.
After that Preliminary jet lag is more than though, you'll then be confronted with the complex concern of locating a fantastic time to talk to your relatives and buddies back property! Just ensure that any time you propose a time for just a Skype date, you include the time/day in equally your as well as their time zones to stop confusion!
five. Australia is Expensive
Sydney and Melbourne regularly make the top ten lists of the world’s most expensive cities. From housing to groceries, prepare to experience some sticker shock and make sure to have a good chunk of change saved.
Whether you are touring an artwork gallery in a single of Australia's energetic towns, or bushwhacking throughout the Australian outback, You can find an experience to get discovered for just about any scholar ready to consider something new.
6. The Seasons are Flipped!
In case you are going to Australia within the northern hemisphere's summertime, as an example, you'll be traveling straight into winter. And Regardless of the photos of sunshine and beaches Which might be swimming with your head, When you are finding out in one of several huge metropolitan areas from the south (like Sydney or Melbourne) it Can get chilly. Be sure you pack accordingly.
seven. Australia is Huge
The “Australian desire” for many contains the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru and also the Outback, the Sydney Opera Household, and so considerably more. But to come to Australia anticipating to check out all this and much more is likely a fantasy, Except you've got a large amount of money and time to melt away. Anywhere you're studying, you will find absolutely a good amount of awesome items close by, and you'll almost certainly swing one particular large trip, but take care of your anticipations about observing The complete country.
8. Crocodile Dundee just isn't Your Normal Australian
Don’t call girls sheilas and don’t expect to see everyone dressed in safari gear, wrangling crocs. People do say “G’day,” but that’s about where the similarities stop. You’d do well to study up on your (modern) Aussie slang, but if not you’ll pick it up eventually. (Often, if you abbreviate a word and add an “o” or “y” to teh end of it, you’ll probabaly be close.) Furthermore, Australia is actually a very diverse country (which is a plus, because that means there is a great international food scene!).
nine. Make an Hard work to Study Up over the Nation.
Speaking of stereotyping -- ensure you go through up about Australia before you decide to set out to research abroad there. As an example, what is the cash of Australia? Canberra! Impress your host region citizens by being aware of a tiny bit over the standard Joe, don’t be an unsightly American!
Despite which review abroad method you select, you may most undoubtedly obtain a come to feel for Australia's infamous laidback Perspective, appreciation for character, and Over-all contagious fantastic vibes.
ten. The Grading Method differs
In the event you’re destined to be acquiring Australian grades, it’s value searching into whatever they imply! A “D” is in truth a very good quality! Most Australian universities use High definition (High Distinction), D (Distinction), C (Credit history), P (Move), read more and F (Are unsuccessful) as their grading procedure. So don’t freak out just yet!
11. You Could possibly Get the job done As you’re in Australia
Remember that definitely pricey university student visa your had to buy? Effectively, you'll be able to make that a refund! The standard review visa in Oz will help you to function a particular number of several hours each week. Thinking of the superior minimum amount wage in Australia, it may well be worth it! (And a terrific way to meet up with persons as part of your new city.)
twelve. Open a Checking account
Should you’re expending a semester or more in Australia, it might be well worth opening an Australian checking account. You'll be able to stay away from the absurd fees you would possible confront drawing out dollars with your household lender (and anyplace you can save a little bit of money will be very well needed!), plus some Australian lender accounts even have a decent curiosity rate. This might be In particular useful if you did decide to tackle some section time operate.
13. Know the Official (and Unofficial) Rules of the Road
There’s a pretty good chance you might end up renting a car at some point while you’re abroad. First, of course, you should know that Aussies drive on the left side of the road. Watch out for traffic cameras everywhere. And don’t drive at at dawn and dusk!
Yes, this may sound entirely random, but over the early early morning, late night, and also nighttime kangaroos are in all places and much more difficult to see coming. And they're going to don't just result in harm to your vehicle but most likely to your thoughts likewise -- the amount it could suck to hurt some thing so magnificent?
Anywhere you're finding out, you will find definitely plenty of astounding issues nearby, and you can probably swing just one huge vacation, but handle your anticipations about looking at The full place.
Getting aware of those 13 straightforward points could make your review overseas remain in Australia heaps (get used to utilizing that word!) much better. With a little bit preparation, I reckon you’ll Have a very wicked time -- kicking arse at school while in the arvo and experiencing snags and stubbies within the beach about the weekend. Just don’t forget about your sunnies!
youtube
0 notes
Last Seen Blogs
anatebgigallery
ANAT EBGI
midnight-thought-and-daydreaming
Thought and Dream
veronicaleighauthor
Confessions of an Authoress
alessa0moon
Untitled
melisshivering
Melissa ♡