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SCA: The Society for Creative Anachronism

2008.05.16 20:14 SCA: The Society for Creative Anachronism

Recreational mediævalism. An unofficial subreddit for folks associated with the Society for Creative Anachronism, but not an official organ of the SCA, Inc.
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2023.06.08 20:24 richyung223 [FS][USA] [email protected]@ D3rby, R!CK OW3NS, B0tteg@ V3net@, D3N!M [email protected], L3V!S, ERD & MORE

Sup fam. Clearing out my closet. I am 5'11- slim build & the majority of the things fit me. I just have too much shit and need to reduce the size of my closet. PM me if you have any questions. **PAYPAL INVOICE ONLY**. I will ship out friday or sat the latestMost current vouches Current vouches Old Vouches Prices include shipping on the east coast ADD + 5 for clothes and 8 for shoes for west/central USA shipping Each pic has a tag. Im too lazy to get new vouches but I've been selling for like 4+ years. Shipping is included & shipping on the west coast is extra -
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PLEASE COMMENT THEN PM
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2023.06.08 20:20 jimbobbypaul Ranking the Top 131 FBS Programs of the Last 40 Years: 78. Navy

Main hub thread with the full 131 rankings
Anchors aweigh, my boys, anchors aweigh
Farewell to foreign shores, we sail at break of day, of day
Through our last night ashore, drink to the foam
Until we meet once more, here's wishing you a happy voyage home
Navy is one of the oldest football programs in the country, having fielded their first team in 1879. With that comes a history of excellence, as it should with the Navy, who as a program is top 25 in all-time wins for FBS schools, has 2 Heisman winners, and a national title in 1926. Quarterback Roger Staubach, known as “Captain America”, was the winner of the 1963 Heisman and is an NFL Hall of Famer, the only QB in history to achieve both feats.

Best Seasons and Highlights

1. 2015: 19. Navy: 11-2 (25.276) 2. 2019: 19. Navy: 11-2 (24.894) 3. 2009: 28. Navy: 10-4 (13.712) 4. 1996: 28. Navy: 9-3 (8.642) 5. 2013: 42. Navy: 9-4 (7.584) 6. 2004: 31. Navy: 10-2 (6.282) 7. 2010: 41. Navy: 9-4 (4.625) 8. 2016: 47. Navy: 9-5 (3.576) 9. 2008: 44. Navy: 8-5 (3.107) 10. 2006: 42. Navy: 9-4 (2.051) 11. 2014: 53. Navy: 8-5 (-0.393) 12. 2005: 45. Navy: 8-4 (-2.572) 13. 1997: 51. Navy: 7-4 (-3.492) 14. 2007: 57. Navy: 8-5 (-4.937) 15. 2012: 61. Navy: 8-5 (-5.454) 16. 2003: 62. Navy: 8-5 (-7.845) 17. 2017: 64. Navy: 7-7 (-9.488) 18. 1984: 62. Navy: 4-6-1 (-12.294) 19. 1985: 59. Navy: 4-7 (-16.923) 20. 2011: 78. Navy: 5-7 (-18.345) 21. 1995: 67. Navy: 5-6 (-20.772) 22. 1999: 77. Navy: 5-7 (-22.534) 23. 2021: 93. Navy: 4-8 (-24.879) 24. 1990: 83. Navy: 5-6 (-25.375) 25. 2022: 101. Navy: 4-8 (-25.436) 26. 1993: 90. Navy: 4-7 (-34.187) 27. 2020: 111. Navy: 3-7 (-34.632) 28. 1998: 92. Navy: 3-8 (-36.294) 29. 1989: 85. Navy: 3-8 (-36.349) 30. 1983: 92. Navy: 3-8 (-38.305) 31. 1988: 90. Navy: 3-8 (-38.616) 32. 2018: 110. Navy: 3-10 (-42.027) 33. 1994: 93. Navy: 3-8 (-43.185) 34. 1986: 97. Navy: 3-8 (-46.615) 35. 2002: 109. Navy: 2-10 (-51.419) 36. 1987: 99. Navy: 2-9 (-52.186) 37. 1992: 100. Navy: 1-10 (-54.324) 38. 2000: 108. Navy: 1-10 (-56.258) 39. 1991: 105. Navy: 1-10 (-56.694) 40. 2001: 114. Navy: 0-10 (-60.702) Overall Score: 11207 (78th)
No conference titles? Navy’s bad! Kidding of course, they didn’t have a chance to win any as an independent until 2015 when they joined the AAC. As you can see on the list above, Navy’s clearly had some bad years, with a whopping 14 seasons of 3 or less wins. To make up for it, they’ve achieved some remarkable highs for a service academy, with 11 finishes inside my top 50. A 10-2 season in 2004 narrowly misses out on Navy’s top 5 seasons because of their 107th ranked strength of schedule that year. Despite some remarkable QB play in recent years from Keenan Reynolds and Malcolm Perry, the 2 consensus All-Americans are both from RB Napoleon McCallum in 1983 and 1985, who finished 6th and 7th in Heisman voting in those years, respectively. Speaking of Keenan Reynolds, he set the NCAA career record for rushing TDs in 2015, accumulating 88 in his 4 year career.

Top 5 Seasons

Worst Season: 2001 (0-10 overall, Independent)
Navy gets a pass for 2001. 2 weeks into the season, the September 15th game against Northwestern was cancelled shortly after the 9/11 attacks. The Army-Navy game was more than a game this year, with President George W. Bush taking part in the on-field coin toss. Army prevailed 26-17 on the day. Navy LB Brian Stann ribbed that Navy only got pregame visits from President Bush and Senator John McCain, while Army received an impassioned speech from General Norman Schwarzkopf. The game finished off a stressful year for Navy, who fired head coach Charlie Weatherbie after an 0-7 start. On-field lows were a 7-70 loss to Georgia Tech, a loss to 3-9 Tulane, and of course the Army-Navy Game. Navy hired Paul Johnson for 2002, who’d turn around the program for good. If you’re an MMA fan, you probably recognize Brian Stann who I quoted above. Stann went on to become a successful UFC fighter and commentator, joining Fox Sports after his retirement from MMA in 2013.
5. 2013 (9-4 overall, Independent)
A season with many highs. A 3-1 start included a 41-35 win over Indiana and 28-10 over Air Force. After losing 2 straight to strong Duke and Toledo teams, Navy went 5-1 the rest of the regular season, only losing 34-38 to a Notre Dame team that finished in the top 25. Wins included 24-21 over Pitt, 58-52 in 3OT over a San Jose State team coming off an 11-2 year, and 34-7 in the Army-Navy Game. A perfect ground game of 366 rushing yards against Middle Tennessee in the bowl led to a 24-6 win to finish 9-4 in Navy’s second to last season as an Independent. QB Keenan Reynolds (more on him later) threw for 1000+ yards with 8 TD 2 INT, but most importantly ran for 1346 yards and 31 TD, setting an NCAA record for rushing TDs in a season by a QB. Reynolds also ran for 7 TD against San Jose State, an NCAA record. Outside of Reynolds, longtime New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona was also on this team, and didn’t have a bad snap all season long.
4. 1996 (9-3 overall, Independent)
Even for as bad as 2001 was, Charlie Weatherbie’s teams had their moments. A 5-1 start featured 3 wins over Power 6 teams: 10-6 over Rutgers, 64-27 over Duke, and 47-18 over Wake Forest. That set up a Shamrock Classic game in Ireland between Navy and Notre Dame. A 54-27 win for Notre Dame set a record for the longest winning streak over an annual opponent at 33 games. Unfazed, Navy won 3 more straight including a nice 36-26 win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta. But even so, Weatherbie’s teams…left a lot to be desired. Navy watched their 21-3 lead over Army evaporate by the end of the game, stopped at the goal line twice for a 28-24 Army victory. To be fair, this was one of Army’s best teams of the past few decades, and they finished ranked #25. Navy rebounded to beat Steve Mariucci’s Cal team in the Aloha Bowl 42-38 to finish 9-3. Navy OC Paul Johnson left to become Georgia Southern’s head coach, and would go on to perfect the triple option at Navy from 2002-07 and institute it at Georgia Tech from 2008-18. WR LeBron Butts (no relation to the basketball player) had 14 catches for 179 yards and 2 TD.
3. 2009 (10-4 overall, Independent)
Oh look, one of my all time favorite players, QB Ricky Dobbs. Dobbs was a steady work horse all season. He only averaged 3.6 yards per carry, but had the 3rd most carries in the nation with 315 and ran for 1203 yards with an NCAA QB record 27 TD. The record wouldn’t be broken until 2013 by Navy’s own Keenan Reynolds. Dobbs led a steady offense combined with a great defense (19.4 PPG allowed), leading to Navy’s 2nd double digit win season since 1905. Navy had a chance to tie #6 Ohio State with 2 minutes left, but their 2 point conversion attempt was returned by OSU for 2 pts themselves, making the final score 27-31. A 14-27 loss two weeks later to Pitt turned out to be another quality loss, with Pitt going on to finish 10-3 and #15. A 10-4 final record included wins such as 16-13 over 8-5 Air Force, 38-35 over 8-5 SMU, 13-10 over Wake Forest, 17-3 over Army, 35-13 in the bowl over 8-5 Missouri, and the pièce de résistance, 23-21 over #19 Notre Dame in South Bend. Previously on a 43-year losing streak to the Irish heading into 2007, this was now the 2nd time in 3 years Navy had beaten Notre Dame, previously unthinkable.
2. 2019 (11-2 overall, 7-1 American)
After Keenan Reynolds left for the NFL, the QB position had big shoes to fill. Following a stopgap 9-5 record in 2016, 2017 arrived. Zach Abey took the majority of snaps, but Malcolm Perry was too talented to keep off the field, far and away the best athlete on the team. Perry had a monstrous year with 9 starts at slot back and 3 at QB, rushing for 1182 yards and 11 TD on 8.6(!) YPC, and was the team’s 2nd leading receiver with 13 catches for 303 yards and 2 TD. Perry started 5 games at QB in 2018, but dealt with injuries en route to a 3-10 season. That led to a mysterious 2019, with Navy picked 5th in the 6-team AAC West Division.
A 2-1 start showed potential, with a 42-10 win over East Carolina and close 23-35 loss to one of the conference favorites in Memphis. A 34-25 win over an Air Force team that would finish 11-2 showed Navy was back to their winning ways, with a real chance at a bowl as long as Perry stayed healthy. Navy reeled off blowout win after blowout win, eventually getting up to #23 before losing to #16 Notre Dame 20-52. Now at 7-2, Navy still had a shot at making the AAC title game. Perry showed up big against #25 SMU, rushing for 195 yards and throwing for 162 in a 35-28 win. After beating Houston 56-41, Navy just needed Memphis to drop one game, but the Tigers won out to make the AAC title game at 11-1. Navy played Army in the last game as usual, and Perry WENT NUCLEAR. He didn’t throw a single pass, rushing for 304 yards on 29 carries with 2 TD in a 31-7 win. In the bowl against 8-4 Kansas State, Perry again went for 200+ on the ground, winning 20-17 on a last second FG. Navy finished the year #20 in the country.
Perry went off all year long, winning AAC Offensive POTY with 1084 passing yards 7 TD 3 INT with 2017 rushing yards and 21 TD on 6.8 YPC. Perry legitimately was one of the quickest athletes in the country, if you watch his highlights he looks like a quicker but slower Kyler Murray. Because of this he was drafted in the 7th round by the Miami Dolphins as a WR, and has caught 9 passes for 92 yards and 1 TD in the NFL.
1. 2015 (11-2 overall, 7-1 American)
2015 was a magical year not just for Navy fans, but for college football fans following Navy. QB Keenan Reynolds was the darling of football, and went down as arguably the greatest option QB in college football history. Reynolds became one of football’s biggest stories as Navy kept winning throughout the year, starting 9-1 with wins such as 33-11 over 8-6 Air Force, 29-17 over 8-5 USF, and 45-20 over #13 Memphis. Navy got as high as #15 in the nation and was one of the favorites to earn the Group of 5’s spot in a New Years 6 bowl. After a loss to Houston the dream ended, but they still had the Army-Navy game to tend to. The game earned its biggest rating this century with a 5.1 overnight, mostly due to Reynolds’ star power. Reynolds finished 5th in Heisman voting, and when he wasn’t invited to the ceremony, people protested and lobbied for changing the invitation rules. A 44-28 win in the bowl over 8-4 Pitt capped Navy’s first ever 11 win season, and their highest finish in over 50 years at #18.
Navy announced the retirement of Reynolds’ #19 jersey after the season, joining a short list of Roger Staubach (12), Joe Bellino (27), and Napoleon McCallum (30). Navy’s 36 wins in Reynolds’ 4 years tied the class of 1909 for the most ever by a 4-year Navy squad. Reynolds finished as the NCAA’s all-time leading rushing TD leader with 88. In 2015 he threw for 1203 yards 8 TD 1 INT with 1373 rushing yards and 24 TD. This was the 3rd straight season he finished top 5 in rushing TDs in the country. He earned 3rd Team All-American status, won the AAC Offensive POTY, and won the James E. Sullivan Award given to the most outstanding collegiate or Olympic athlete in the United States. After the season, he was drafted in the 6th round by the Baltimore Ravens, the first Navy QB drafted since Roger Staubach in 1964.

5th Quarter

What do you remember about Keenan Reynolds and that 2015 season? How about Malcolm Perry? Who was the better passer, runner, and overall player between the two? Is Reynolds the greatest option QB of all time, even over Tommie Frazier? What other Navy moments/games/plays/players do you remember? How does Navy look to fare in the upcoming seasons? Does Ken Niumatalolo get enough credit in the college football media for what he’s done at Navy? What else is on your mind about Navy?
If you appreciate the effort, please consider subscribing on substack!
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2023.06.08 19:57 theMezz Why a local man was court-martialed for saving Lafayette's life

https://www.timestelegram.com/story/news/history/2023/06/08/mohawk-valley-history-lafayette-owed-life-to-augustas-amos-parke70299078007/
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1825, 198 years ago
A tearful reunion
You can't miss Amos Parker. He is well over six feet tall. Some say closer to seven. Many say he was the tallest soldier in the American army during the Revolutionary War.
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This week, the now 63-year-old Parker enters Shepard's Hotel on Bagg's Square in Utica (really the Bagg's Hotel, but the name was changed while Abraham Shepard owned it from 1825 to 1828). Parker is determined to meet the hotel's distinguished guest, the Marquis de Lafayette.
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In 1777, while the Revolutionary War was raging, the then 19-year-old, tall, red-haired Lafayette left his home in France and joined the American army in its fight to win for the American colonies their independence from Great Britain. He fought in many battles and, in 1781, commanded troops in Yorktown, Virginia, when British Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army to Gen. George Washington, just about ensuring an end to the war and an American victory.
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On the night of January 30, 1948, Utica firefighters fought one of the most spectacular fires in the city’s history. Flames roared through “The Long Block” on the west side of Lower Genesee Street, between Oriskany and Whitesboro streets. The 3-alarm blaze was fought in temperatures 30 below zero. Seventeen firefighters were injured and 11 businesses damaged. Losses were estimated at $400,000.
Now, 44 years later, the 68-year-old Lafayette is back in America, touring the country as a guest of its grateful citizens. This week, after visits in Rome, Oriskany and Whitesboro, he enters Utica triumphantly via the Rome Road (today Lafayette Street). After a big celebration, he is in his hotel room, resting before continuing his journey east.
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Suddenly, there is a knock on the door and in walks the very tall Amos Parker. At first, Lafayette is puzzled, but then Parker begins to relate an incident that occurred at the Battle of Yorktown.
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As the fighting there raged, Lafayette ordered 25 of his men — including Parker — to remove a fence so that Lafayette could lead his soldiers through the breach. "Once you remove the fence," Lafayette shouted, "allow me and my men to ride through the opening. Do not fire your weapons!"
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More:Utica's Conkling leading figure at 1880 Republican convention: Mohawk Valley history
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More:Utica Independent Infantry Company prepares for war: This week in Mohawk Valley history
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More:Later known for illustrations, Saturday Globe began without: Mohawk Valley history
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The fence was removed and Lafayette and his men began to ride through. Suddenly, Parker spotted a British sniper aiming his rifle at Lafayette. Before the sniper could fire, though, Parker raised his musket and shot him.
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Unbelievingly, an aide to Lafayette had Parker court-martialed for disobeying Lafayette's "don't fire your weapon" order. He, of course, was acquitted when it was learned that by disobeying the order, he had saved Lafayette's life.
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Now, in a hotel room 44 years later, Parker and Lafayette relive the incident. They embrace and (a historian later wrote) enjoy "a heart-tugging event and weep" in each other's arms. (After the war, Parker settled in the town of Augusta in southwestern Oneida County and died there in 1842 at age 80. He was buried at the Parker (Augusta) Cemetery at the intersection of Augusta-Solsville Road and Anderson Road. A blue and yellow state marker there reads: AMOS PARKER, TALLEST MAN IN AMERICAN ARMY. SAVED GEN. LAFAYETTE'S LIFE. PRESENT AT THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. BURIED HERE.
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1923, 100 years ago
Record at UFA
A class of 210 students receive diplomas at Utica Free Academy (UFA), the largest class ever graduated in the school's more than 100-year history. The Right Reverend Charles Fiske, bishop coadjutor of the Central New York Episcopal Diocese, addresses the students: "Why has the city of Utica paid for your education? … It expects to receive from you a return for its investment. You owe the community repayment for this debt. Not in money, but in service. You are expected to exercise a high standard of living, put forth an honest effort to make your neighborhood a better place to live and accept public calls of duty to serve your community with its charities and efforts to improve the public well-being."
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1948, 75 years ago
Utica in novel
Carl Sandburg, noted poet and historian, completes a novel that contains a chapter on Utica and the Erie Canal. He was in Utica a year ago to collect material for the novel: "Remembrance Rock."
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1973, 50 years ago
GE contract
The General Electric Aircraft Equipment Division in Utica is awarded a $1.3 million contract for a computer system for the Viking Orbiter, which will explore Mars in 1975.
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1998, 25 years ago
Morrisville celebrates
The village of Morrisville celebrates its 150th anniversary. It was incorporated in 1848 and named for its founder, Thomas Morris. He settled in the area in 1797 and built a house on the corner of today's Main and Cedar streets. His father, Robert, was a Founding Father from Pennsylvania, who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
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Civita M. Allard, a registered nurse and an associate professor in the Health Services Department at Mohawk Valley Community College, receives the college's "alumna of merit" award.
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In American Legion baseball, Utica Post defeats Parkhurst Post, 13 to 3, behind the pitching of Chris Donalty (a four hitter) and the hitting of Eric Miller (3 hits, 2 RBIs). Meanwhile, Whitestown beats Lee, 6 to 4, behind the hitting of Jason Englehart, Mike Antanavige, Bernie Martin, Brent Wengert and Matt Maine. Steve Rice has two hits for Lee.
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The Genetaska Club of New Hartford elects Ellen Boerger as its president. Other officers include: Peg Mullin, vice president; Barbara Reinshagen, recording secretary; Sue Maher, corresponding secretary; Joyce Ebensperger, treasurer; and directors Joyce Goggin, Ada Ruhm, Ellie Lampert and Barbara Weaver.
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2013, 10 years ago
Pro hockey returns
Utica, after many years without a professional hockey team, has one again. The Utica Comets are in the American Hockey League, a minor league affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League. They will play in the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Robert Esche, a former goalie in the National Hockey League and president of the Mohawk Valley Garden, will operate the team. Mayor Robert Palmieri says the move fits in with his vision for a revitalized Bagg's Square and Harbor Point development. "What a great day for the city!" he says. "The emotion is overwhelming."
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The Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame inducts Stan "Buddy" Evans, longtime baseball coach at Rome Free Academy and college football official; Bill Holowaty, originally from Mohawk, longtime baseball coach at Eastern Connecticut State University; Ed Wadas, a "super" supporter of local athletics and called the "candy man" for giving out candy at local games, especially in Whitesboro, Oriskany and New York Mills; and Tom Wells, multi-sport coach at New Hartford schools, especially known for his highly successful swim teams.
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Bobbi Jo Kahl is approved by the town board in Remsen as as the town justice.
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In American Legion baseball, Roberts Post defeats Whitestown, 3 to 1. Nate Palmer, a senior at Holland Patent High, strikes out 18 and gets the win. He is supported by the hitting of Kinsey Williams, Nico Ramos and Austin Mann. Whitestown's Jared Muraca pitches well, allowing only five hits.
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Trivia quiz
Next Sunday is Father's Day. Let's celebrate with a tough question. Name the man who was the son of a U.S. president and also the father of a U.S. president. If you can't name him, at least name the two presidents. (Answer will appear here next week.)
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Answer to last week's question: Richard Nixon was president when, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin first walked on the surface of the moon after landing in the Apollo 11 lunar module.
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This Week in History is researched and written by Frank Tomaino. E-mail him at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).
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2023.06.08 18:42 PhraseComfortable843 Launching Prestige Park grove in Coming Days - Prestige Apartments in Kadugodi, Whitefield

Prestige Park Grove is a futuristic pre-launch residential project in Whitefield, East Bangalore. The Township project by Prestige Group is on 78 acres of prime land. The layout offers 1,2 & 3 BHK luxury Apartments. It also hosts 3 & 4 BHK premium Villa. This Prestige launch is a key to fine living.
The project is a symbol of comfort and luxury. Thanks to diligent drafts and plans. Homes are ample and well-lit. The sizes scale between 600 - 1800 sq. ft. in area. The Vaastu concepts ensure good vibes and aura.
Park Grove includes wide internal roads and pedestrian trails. Parks and gardens are essential parts of the design. The open areas are curated with lush terrains and quads. The project is awaiting approval from RERA Board and is expected to launch in June 2023
Whitefield is a popular locale in East Bangalore. Top IT firms and Tech Parks besets Park Grove. The project prevails near top schools and hospitals.
Whitefield is the IT helm of the city. The area hosts nifty housing projects. The upcoming Purple metro link is a commute booster.
Prestige Group is a reliable real estate brand. It operates in the top cities of India. The firm ensures superior quality at the best prices.
Key Dates:
The Address of Park Grove New Township by Prestige Construction is Chikkanahalli Road, Whitefield, near Station Rd, East Bengaluru, Karnataka Pincode - 560067.The IT boom in the country foreran the growth of Whitefield, which belongs to Urban Bangalore. A quiet zone on the outskirts of Bangalore turned into a vital suburb in the late 90s. The structure of the International Tech Park began this locality's makeover. Large MNCs like Wipro, TCS, and SAP moved to Whitefield. This shift brought in a massive influx of new residents. The distance to the proposed Metro is just 3.1 km, and ITPL main road is just 5.1 km from the project location.
All major real estate firms have established their projects in the area. Several new projects are lined up for launch. The area's physical structure is evolving with many new development works. Social infrastructure is also rising, with good hospitals, schools, and malls in the area.
The Prestige Park Grove Township specifications are inclusive of quality structures and fittings. It includes an RCC structure, vitrified flooring, wooden main doors, and suitable electrical and plumbing fittings. The net size of the site is 72 acres and hosts 3600 plus apartments and 82 villas. The flats are sized as 1, 2, 3, & 4 BHK units priced between INR 50 L – 3.5 Cr.
Live in an address of affluence that ensures the best lifestyle for you and your family. The project opens doors for bright homes filled with daylight and fresh air. Life here is bountiful with the richness of nature amenities all around.
The Vaastu-compliant homes are designed for luxury and comfort. The flexible floor spaces allow you to choose a home within your budget. The apartments are spaced apart perfectly to provide absolute privacy.
A fine assemblage of modern amenities and utilities lets you relax and rejuvenate. More than sixty lifestyle amenities and a Central Club deliver a perfect leisure destination. From Convenience stores to the gym, crèche, mini- theatre, and Clinic, every service is just a walk away from your home.
Wellness and fitness come in handy with an array of sports and health amenities. Take lengthy laps in our large swimming pool. Play a game of volleyball match with friends and family. Have a carefree ride on the cycle tracks. Staying happy and healthy can never be so easy.
The grand clubhouse is packed with facilities for events and recreation. The spacious banquet hall is just right for family gatherings. Party Terraces are quick hangout spots for weekends. Unwind and recline in the saloon. Laze around in the café.
Safety and fun go hand in hand in the wonderland zone for kids. The play area is filled with exciting play sets and gaming apparatus.
Heal your mind and soul in the grove of nature. The forest-themed open spaces are curated with a cluster of trees. The flourishing gardens, vehicle-free stretches, and water features are vital parts of these outdoor boundaries.
Commute and connectivity are best experienced from your home now. The project location places you at the helm of the social network. Work hubs, shopping malls, schools, and hospitals are all within the projects’ ambit.
Cherish the fun and amity of community events. Endure the virtue of urban niceties within the premises as you lead a life of happiness of bliss.
submitted by PhraseComfortable843 to Prestige_Properties [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 18:40 FinanciallyConfusing School List Help Please! (3.92 and 522)

Hi all! I would greatly appreciate any advice or insight on my school list. With how much luck goes into getting anywhere, my list is currently 45 schools. I’m not sure if I should cut down any schools, especially if they don't take too much out of state people or if my application doesn't fit what the school is looking for. I preferably would like to stay east coast, but as you can tell by my list, I'm willing to move if I must. In terms of pre-writing secondaries, I'm going to first focus on the schools I like then move from there. Not sure if 45 schools is just way too much. Thank you in advance!
Stats: 3.92 cGPA, 3.92 sGPA at a T30 school; 522 MCAT (131/127/132/132).
ORM, NJ resident with strong ties to NY, low SES and first generation
My personal statement revolves around having to help out at my parents small business and watching them develop health issues as working class individuals. I'm really passionate about working with lower SES populations.
Research: A total of about 5000 hours, with 2000 hours anticipated.
Clinical: A total of about 820 hours, with 200 hours anticipated
Non-clinical volunteering: A total of about 370 hours
Leadership: About 750 hours, with 300 anticipated
Hobby (and kind of leadership): 2000 hours as an artist (also mentioned a leadership position in an art related club at university)
Shadowing: 110 hours with a pain management physician, anesthesiologists, a pediatrician, and cardiologists.
LORS: I have a committee letter which contains letters from two science professors, one non-science professor, one PI, and one physician (who I shadowed and worked for).
School List:
"Safety" (I know there is no such thing as a safety and I might get yield protected):
  1. Albany Medical College
  2. New York Upstate Medical University
  3. Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
  4. Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
  5. Drexel University College of Medicine
  6. Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
  7. Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Target:
  1. Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
  2. Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
  3. SUNY Downstate
  4. Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
  5. New York Medical College
  6. NYU Long Island School of Medicine
  7. Hackensack
  8. Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
  9. Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
  10. Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
  11. Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
  12. Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  13. University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
  14. Georgetown University
  15. Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
  16. Tufts University
  17. George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
  18. Emory University
  19. Unviersity of Colorado School of Medicine
  20. University of Virginia School of Medicine
Reach:
  1. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  2. Yale School of Medicine
  3. Cornell
  4. NYU Grossman School of Medicine
  5. Columbia University
  6. Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
  7. John Hopkins University School of Medicine
  8. Harvard Medical School
  9. Washington University in St. Louis
  10. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
  11. Boston University
  12. Duke University School of Medicine
  13. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
  14. Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
  15. Northwestern University (Feinberg)
  16. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
  17. University of Chicago (Pritzker)
  18. Case Western.Reserve University
submitted by FinanciallyConfusing to premed [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 18:31 redditduk [MegaList] SG Gigs & Music Concerts: Mid June (9 - 22 Jun 2023)

June 9 Update: Tiny Moving Parts 13-jun cancelled. 12-14 June reddit boycott. Bonus 24-jun-only listing will be hosted off-reddit soon.

9-Jun Fri

 
 

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22-Jun Thu

 

Ongoing maybe not music

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2023.06.08 18:11 Thertch Return of the Obra Dinn Makes a Short and Mediocre Story One of the Most Engaging Narrative Experiences of All Time (Spoilers)

It only took about half an hour or so, and Return of the Obra Dinn had its anchor hooked into me so deep there was no escape. This is the type of game which doesn’t just pull, but rips you in with a harmonious approach centred around two main ideas:
One – its structure, and two – how progression is gated.
On the second point, it is a rare type of game whose very progression is untethered from any higher-level mechanical input, but instead occurs entirely within your own mind. This is a concept which is so rarely pulled off well, that the notable success stories in this domain (namely Return of the Obra Dinn itself, and the Outer Wilds) have become modern cult classics.
Conventional is the last thing Return of the Obra Dinn can be called. What I find absolutely fascinating about this game is how it uses all the unique elements in its toolset to tell a grossly engaging story with a book-like quality, and has done so with minimal dialogue and practically zero text. I want to dissect what makes this game ‘special’ so to speak. How the solo developer, Lucas Pope, has done the impossible and made a more than worthy game in the wake of Papers Please.
Against all odds, the game manages to make what is honestly a fairly mediocre story by contemporary standards, one of the most engaging, satisfying and enjoyable narrative experiences of all time which is far stronger than the sum of its parts.

A quick preface so I don’t ruin anyone’s life:

This is one of those games you can only play once. I’m spoiling the hell out of the game here. For anyone who hasn’t played the game, and you think there’s even a 0.1% chance you’ll play this one day, go away. I don’t want you here. In fact, look at yourself in the mirror until you can change that to 100%. I’d love to write something that would convince people who haven’t played to actually play, but by the one-and-done nature of the game, that would not be easy. Instead, you have to take it on blind faith and just play it. No game is for everyone of course, but I think at least tyring this game is for everyone.
…
So now that it’s just the cool kids, let’s do it.

Come on, mediocre is a bit harsh right?:

Maybe it is. However, I don’t think the strength of the game is the narrative itself. The writing is tight, the most common characters on the ship, the Obra Dinn, are generally believable and fleshed out, but I don’t think there much being said in the narrative proper. Essentially, a ship is delivering for the East India company. It turns out that a group of Formosans (a republic within current day Taiwan which existed very briefly during when the game is set, an insanely niche yet accurate addition I have to add) were transporting a supernatural seashell. Someone else tries to steal this, which incites various sea monster attacks of the Obra Dinn. Most of everyone gradually dies. The sea monsters eventually stop attacking, and the remaining survivors turn on each other for various reasons. Then finally, the captain of the ship kills his fellow shipmen in self-defence, and finally himself in the wake of the loss and destruction. There’s not really much in the way of character development, not really much meat to make a layered story. But hey, that’s actually totally ok, because that’s not the point of the game. This is a simple enough story, and the structure of the game around this story elevates it to heights that shouldn’t be possible, but Lucas Pope pulls it off.

Structuring a detective story – not so elementary my dear Wattson:

The story told in this game is structured as a non-linear story. The non-linear concept is key to Return of the Obra Dinn. We’ll get back to why, but at the surface, its not overly interesting. This is pretty much the standard format for how the minor narratives of detective stories (that is, the story of the mysteries themselves) are structured. Think about your classic Sherlock Holmes mystery, or even a standard L.A. Noire crime (if you let me be a bit reductive for a moment):
  1. Introduction to the conclusion of the event (someone was robbed and murdered in an alley!).
  2. Looking for clues to figure out what happened (the person was shot).
  3. Investigation of characters peripheral to the event (interviewing the suspects, one of the suspects has the victim’s watch).
  4. In a minor twist mid-narrative recontextualises the story thus far (the watch guy was framed, and it was his twin brother the whole time).
  5. The wise, pretentious detective recounts the story in chronological order, and everything clicks into place finally.
Essentially, the basic structure is a story told in reverse chronological order. This is what allows the mystery to remain tense and exciting the whole way through. For many, the satisfaction of a good mystery is in trying to solve the mystery alongside the detective protagonist, and the catharsis of the final reveal. Especially if you’ve been particularly observant and picked up the clues earlier than the overarching story delivers them.
A weakness with this mode of mystery structure in a standard story is that the audience doesn’t always share the ‘ah ha!’ moment of the protagonist. Sometimes this is by design to subvert expectations, but in the cases where it’s not, it can lead to a disappointing mystery. In the medium of video games, this can become a particular issue where a disconnect is much more dangerous. I mentioned L.A. Noire before. This bridges the gap somewhat as the win state of the game hinges on correctly solving cases. So, you’re incentivised to go beyond just passively consuming the mystery, but to actual solve the mystery. Ultimately though, these stories can just be played without any conviction if the player is getting bored or confused, and the detective roleplay element is lost.
Return of the Obra Dinn is almost a direct solution to this problem, and works as a much better detective game, at least, than something like L.A. Noire or a Sherlock Holmes game. (For reference I love L.A. Noire, I would never say it’s a bad game, pls forgive me for my transgressions Team Bondi, I miss you). Return of the Obra Dinn has almost the same structure in its overall narrative as the 5 points I mentioned above. But in this case, the main narrative is focused on the mystery of the ship, the Obra Dinn. The linearly paced present-day story has little of the game’s focus. It is thus fundamentally non-linear, and this is what gives it the detective mystery feel. This non-linearity is felt throughout every fibre of the game though, as its not just a reverse recount of a mystery story, but instead, the game mechanics for exploration itself has you travelling through time non-chronologically. So you’re there piecing together the mystery, travelling from the conclusion to the beginning through time itself, like a true detective, but in a meta way.
This is combined with the physical progression the player (i.e., the insurance auditor) makes through the game. You have to go deeper into the ship, downwards, to progress through the mystery. So, you travel from recent events to events further in the past as you simultaneously travel deeper into the ship, the whole while travelling deeper into the mystery itself. It is an excellent way to sell the feeling of solving a mystery with pacing alone.
And about that pacing. The bulk of the story could be told upfront in a linear way, with all the details present in a full playthrough, in probably about 10 minutes. But you solve the mystery of everyone’s death one by one and are drip-fed exposition for the story of the Obra Dinn over about 10 hours instead. You feel like you know all 60 people who served on the ship personally by the time you’re done, and you walk away with an investment in the narrative few other games in the mystery genre could even fathom achieving.
Ultimately the reverse-order solution gives sense of constant discovery. Exposition is rarely direct, and instead is embedded in the discovery process itself.

Gate my progression Daddy:

So, the pacing and structure of the game is fantastic, and tuned just right to sell the detective mystery narrative and feel. That is only half of the story though as the progression system of the game is so unique in the wider landscape of video games.
Mechanically, the game is dead simple. You walk around and watch scenes of the deaths of people on the Obra Dinn. You then have to deduce, by clicking some boxes, what each person’s name was, what their fate was (usually death), and who was responsible for their fate. Sounds simple, but the game makes a lot of this very obscure for most of the fates. You therefore figure out the fates only through your own deduction. You are the one who must investigate the scene. You are the one who interprets the evidence. You are the one who must recontextualise new evidence to understand the mystery. No one is there to do this for you. Most importantly, to ‘progress’ you must fill in the fates yourself. All of these processes occur in the mind, it’s a logic puzzle at its core, but one which mimics the process of roleplaying a detective. The exposition is the gameplay here, where understanding the mystery of the Obra Dinn is what progresses the narrative, and thus the game. The “guess 3 to reveal whether you’re correct” system (mostly) prevents cheese as well, leaving everything up to deduction.
This is all unlike L.A. Noire, which is less logic, and more about trying to quantify how scrunched up someone’s face is. L.A. Noire is also more mechanically demanding with combat and gunplay as well, decoupling progression even further from pure deduction. In Return of the Obra Dinn, one’s brain is constantly firing to process the logic – with very little stimulus. So much of the game takes place in the mind, not on the screen.
A lot of people say this game makes them feel like a genius. The deep connection between game progression and narrative is exactly why. You discover the story through your own logic, and in order to finish the game, you necessarily need to have successfully completed the logic puzzles of the game (the fates). So, you feel like a genius for simply pursuing the core gameplay loop. Additionally, player agency over the experience of the story (specifically over the non-linearity of time) creates a sense of immersion and fuels the desire to uncover the mystery and thus the narrative.
So, the structure of the game makes puts the events of the game in such a way that you fill in the detective roleplay. This so powerfully synergises with the gameplay systems themselves that you have this narrative experience so encapsulating, very few games come even close to competing. There is one last thing which sells the experience.

Muh’ immersions:

The game could have perfect pacing, a perfect narrative structure, a satisfying logic progression system, but that doesn’t mean you’ll want to keep playing the game. You have to be invested in the moment-to-moment presence, since a lot of what you’re doing is walking around and looking. That’s why the meticulous attention to immersion, and to the details within the worldbuilding are a crucial part of the game. Return of the Obra Dinn is a wonderfully immersive game, whose immersive qualities blend together with the non-linear structure to not just pull, but rip you into the games narrative and world.
I mentioned before that the game has a book-like quality. What I mean by this is that the mind does so much ‘fill in the blanks’ throughout the game. This is in large part due to the 1-bit art style. It cements a wonderfully unique identity to the game which makes it instantly recognisable, but more importantly it allows the game to play out as if every frame were an intentionally designed piece of 1-bit artwork. The simplicity of the low resolution and the binary colour presentation means your mind fills in a lot of the gaps. It kinda feels halfway between reading a setting in a book, and seeing a setting realised on film or in a photorealistic render. Because your mind is doing a lot of the heavy lifting, your enveloped in the world. This extends so brilliantly to the sound design, especially when you’re below deck. The creaking of the ship as it bobs in the water. The sound of waves crashing out in the infinitely encompassing ocean. The the moments of silence which briefly fill in the in-betweens as you process the mystery around you. It ground the player in such a strong sense of presence.
Before each ‘scene’ in the game where you experience someone’s death, the screen is blank except for captions of the words spoken by the people in the scene. Your mind ignites with imagination as the soundscape tells its own story alongside. Then, the scene arrives, and it’s static. No animations. A picture might tell a thousand words, but they tell 1000 different permutations of 1000 words, and no two interpretations of events in Return of the Obra Dinn’s death scenes will every be perfectly identical. It a balanced dichotomy of explicit visual and auditory presentation with enough missing information to execute the book-like quality of its presentation.
At the same time, everything in and on the ship is believable, and this is in no small part to the immense research Lucas Pope did to have accurate attention to detail. The ship design, the crew structure, the geography of the ship’s voyage. When you go to check after the fact, it is all impressively accurate (with the exception of the number of people on the ship, Pope has mentioned he had to cut the realistic number down to 60 so he could actually finish making the game). It might not quite fit here, but I absolutely have to shout out the soundtrack as well. It sounds like someone was told “this organ is on fire, you have 3 minutes to play its final piece, go”. It gives a sense of grandeur to the wider narrative and world. I’m astounded that a generalist like Lucas Pope has such refined skills across his disciplines that everything from the gameplay to the art design, to even the soundtrack, which he did so himself, are all of such high quality. It clearly helps in executing such a precise creative vision like that in Return of the Obra Dinn.

Conclusion (lucky I didn’t make my critique non-linear):

What a follow up to Papers Please. I think Papers Please was a more popular game in general, and in interviews, Lucas Pope has said he actually prefers Papers Please himself. However, Return of the Obra Dinn shows this is not a one-hit-wonder situation. I think both games work well for different reasons. Having single name authorship on games is very rare, and Pope has earned his title here as a video game auteur in my opinion.
Despite the simple narrative in the game, every single aspect of game design comes together to pull of the ‘more than the sum of its parts’ effect. In particular, the game is trying to sell a detective roleplaying experience. It is not the plot or story itself, but the non-linear narrative structure in harmony with the mental meta progression, and sharp immersive qualities of the game which hook you in. You always want to figure out the next three fates. You always want to understand the mystery with an insatiable curiosity. You want to pin everything on the captain.
Executing a game like this clearly isn’t an easy task. While simple on the surface, a lot of creative design has to come together from different disciplines of video game development. It might not be an overly popular subgenre (exploration-focused logic games), but I think there’s a reason so few exist beyond the explanation of demand. It’s hard to weave together an intricate world which is paced in such a way that the player is engaged from beginning to end. It doesn’t take much to shatter a link in such a long chain.
I don’t really know of many other games which exist in this category. I mentioned The Outer Wilds, which has a similar mental- and logic-gated progression grounded in in-game discovery. I know The Case of the Golden Idol operates similarly to Return of the Obra Dinn, but I haven’t played this myself so I can give any input here. What I can say is that for me, Return of the Obra Dinn stands tall and proud in a small list of exceptional games of detective progression systems by virtue of a breadth of expert design.
submitted by Thertch to truegaming [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 17:32 orangutangle2089 [35] [M4M] [BST] [PC] – Looking New Dads/Dads to be only

Hello!
I'm a 35 year bloke who has a few close friends locally, but due to adulthood doesn't always get as much socialising in as he should, so looking for other folks to chat to!
I'm due to be a first time Dad in September. As part of the pregnancy support I've been given a few bits, but it's honestly not a lot. One of the suggestions was to download Dadapp, which I did aaaaand.... I'm in a complete deadzone for support. Literally the only thing it suggested to me was Andy's Man Club - which I'm not knocking, great group - but I was expecting something a bit more Dad specific. Not saying I need support, but it's never bad to be surrounded be people in the same boat as you in life.
I've put UK in the title, however I'm happy to chat with people in the same timezones. I'm also quite keen on text chatting (I only tend to hop into voice chat when pre-arranged whereas text I can pickup at breaks in work and such, probably a by product of growing up with MSN Messenger!), so if we do anything like turn-based gaming, I'm also not against friends from further away communicating in that way.
I like small, tight-knit groups, so I'm ideally looking for maybe 3-4 people, as this also fits a lot of games too. I'm not interested in massive Discord servers - I mention this because I always seem to get at least one message from someone trying to get me to do an interview for their Discord server, which feels unnecessary, uncomfortable, and not really how I tend to start actual friendships. Feels more like an induction to me. I'm also not great in giant groups, I prefer smaller, more focused groups.
Here are some multiplayer games I currently have installed:
I play all of them casually, so sorry I can't be your 4th elite team member in PUBG, not least because I've accidentally died getting out of the vehicle at speed more times that I'd like to admit.
I have 1800+ games on Steam, so the above is by no means exhaustive or even fully representative of my interests. Previous games I’ve been sucked into include Minecraft, 7 Days to Die, Vermintide, Unreal Tournament… the list goes on. I also have an active interest in retro gaming and use RetroArch/RetroAchievements a lot.
I don't tend to buy a lot of new games as most of my spare change goes in babyfund now, but I am subscribed to the Humble Monthly and do occaisionally pick up dirt cheap deals.
Outside of gaming, my other hobbies are:
I mostly use Steam for gaming, and Discord for chatting. I'd be looking for probably one evening a week, maybe sometimes two. Ideally you'll be similar to me - this'll be something to do one night after work to unwind, and have a chat and a laugh. No egos, no tryhards. I have a Discord area if needed, it's tiny and pretty much only used for idle chat and arranging Blood Bowl tournaments.
If interested drop me a message and lets go from there!
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2023.06.08 17:26 lyridsreign [AETHER][MIDGARDSORMR][FC][LFM] JOIN AZURE INFINITUM! A Growing, Global, Inclusive, Active, Organized, and Friendly Community Awaits You! Welcoming Players Of All Experience, Availability, & Play-Style!

We are Azure Infinitum
Visit us at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/)
You may have seen us in the Aether data center's party finder during our weekly events, or may have seen our recruitment shouts around the realm in-game in Midgardsormr, but there just isn't enough space in those places to really explain everything wonderful about what our Free Company and community is.
Azure Infinitum is an LGBTQ+ friendly community, and welcomes players of all experience level, play style, and availability. We're a warm home with a balance of online players, weekly optional activities, and flexible ranks from our membership, to our support & leadership categories. We have a 24/7 Support Team, a Councilship that governs each tier, seasonal events of our own, and many resources between the games we support and online services.
Who We Are
We are an established 9-year old community who's home is in Midgardsormr Server of Final Fantasy XIV. We are a structured, well-rounded, welcoming, friendly, and organized community that hosts daily events (check out our calendar: https://azureinfinitum.com/events/ ) that provide opportunity for members to excel. We work to provide an arena and opportunities to establish strong bonds and camaraderie between our members. As a community we are driven, we carry each other forward, and we are proud.
Our Name & Philosophy
Learn more about our global community here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/aboutus/)
Learn more about our FFXIV Free Company here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/ourffxivfc/)
Azure Infinitum means "Azure/Blue Infinity or Infinite Blue/Azure" and there is some mythos behind the name that stems from our guild-wide philosophy of kindness, freedom, vigilance, diversity and activity. We promote positive fellowship among members in an organized guild, with our sights open to our unending endless skies, full of possibility and success together.
Our motto is "As Free As The Azure Sky!" which stuck well when our FC was restructured from an old guild in 2014 as Azure was founded, and it was first shouted as we looked out at a clear blue sky above. has continued to be our electric victory as we continue to snowball in success and activity, our members soaring high through the Azure Sky, flying together!
Ranks
Click here to learn more about our community ranks: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/ranks/)
Our community has an organized ranking structure beginning with Members who comprise the majority of the roster. Scouts are our support team of Members who've stepped up to more officially support the FC, some work on obtaining a future leadership rank. Lieutenants and Officers comprise the proud Azure Council, a diverse group of players of different specialties and services to the FC, making up lower and higher tier leadership, seeing over the Scouts and the FC weekly events, aside from being admins. The FC Infinitum Master oversees all and leads the Azure Council and the company forward while always keeping the heart and vision of the community alive and in sight. Currently we are re-assessing ranks in the free company, giving more support permissions and duties to our Scouts, while the current council operates as a small team of Lieutenants lead by the FC Master.
Everyone Welcome and Who Fits Best
We have an open door policy. Whether you're casual, a returning player, a veteran, or a newbie, we have a vast array of players in our member roster. Our weekly schedule is organized and provides an array of activity for players of most levels, however we like to ask players who're pretty new or under the level cap, to be extra vocal about their needs while they're still unable to attend some daily events or higher level content that most of our weekly lineup focuses on. We want everyone to have as much fun as possible and have the most success. We find that most players enjoy Azure Infinitum, many have stated that they subscribed to FFXIV much longer than they ever would have imagined after they have been around in our community, as they've gotten involved and experienced all that we offer.
Our FC keeps a daily schedule (see here: https://www.azureinfinitum.com/events/) of events that are hosted by permitted Scouts and Council ranks, these range from 8-man and 24-man raids and map parties, to WT journal groups and trial clear parties or farms, and more- and attending anything isn't mandatory at all here. We're happy to have you, and its up to our members how much they'd like to get involved. Attendance is optional! There's never any stress to attend FC functions.
Savage Raiding Statement
We find that some hardcore raiders looking for free companies just to join their statics who don't already have one, might not fit well if savage raiding is their only or greatest focus, because traditionally Azure does not have a Savage Static, but focuses more on allowing members to organize their own groups and also provides resources to do so. Despite not supporting an official static for the FC, we hope that hardcore raiders enjoy the wealth of our community's wealth of harmony and overall fun, and that everyone may take initiative to seek out or build a raiding static within our community if they are interested, as opposed to missing out on experiencing Azure. Depending on the content season, we may have an Unofficial static lead by a leader, and routinely offer limited time Savage-learning events that may run for a number of months.
Rules and No Drama Policy
Please take a moment to look over our Rules Page at (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/rules/), we find that rude individuals and people who create drama are the outsiders here that don't fit well. We know its a big page, so at least visit the General Rules section before joining.
Recruitment Care & Activity
People of Azure Infinitum are often if not always good natured players who found their way to our community looking for a place with structure, friendliness, organization, and great activity, or they've been scouted during recruitment drives and have been well screened. Its a place where one can be social and attend everything, or relax in the background and enjoy the services and facilities of being in an active, organized, and friendly FC. We actively recruit periodically to assist with upkeep of community activity levels, and to meet new comrades. A community that closes recruitment can be doomed to stagnation. Its normal for a community to have an inner core of die hards who log in daily regardless of content releases, and also have an outer core of individuals that range from those with less availability to those who check in during Patches. This is why we take extra care in keeping the fresh blood flowing into Azure, cautious recruitment, and support our active model by always staying welcoming and sometimes running recruitment campaigns and other services. Like this ad!
Handling Online Drama
Because we keep a no-drama policy and have a strong communication network, it is leadership's ultimate priority to handle any issues that may come up as soon as possible, and most people appreciate our problem solving which has inspired many other communities. Between our Support & Leadership ranks, we use a number of report and resource channels to handle situations, and perform problem solving protocols & tactics to fairly address issues as possible. Drama is inevitable at some point for any online community, so its important to have a large and strong list of moderators (currently around 60!) and a council of leaders (15+) to quickly handle any problems. Luckily, we don't have a lot of drama, but we're always very well equipped and very prepared. Our community has been commended by game staff in the past for our methods, and we have worked with the FFXIV Special Task Force to ensure as much safety to our community as achievable. It should be stressed that it is up to our membership to report to GM's in-game, and to Azure Leadership should any issues or concerns come up. Its also highly recommended that our members appropriately document evidence that can be used to help us assess situations and make proper decisions. Documenation such as screenshots of harassment is a great example! Our members online safety is greatly important to us and is a number one concern of our leadership team. Our Rules Page at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/rules/) describes a bit more in Chapter 3, including other entries on avoiding/ignoring trolls, playing while intoxicated, depression, and more.
Our Philosophy
We believe in our community and its people, how far we can go, how much we can do for each other, being an experienced community who's core values are positive fellowship, formation of bonds, and indomitable unity.
Azure Infinitum tightly grasps success and masters a casual and lucrative weekly play schedule while inspiring motivation and providing avenues for further success, friendships, and camaraderie among all who freely fly together among our Azure skies.
Founding on the principles of intricately forging a generally drama-free experience with keen leadership and a zealous and mighty membership, Azure has striven to guide and support many hundreds of players through every era of Final Fantasy XIV.
With an illustrious history, company lore, impressive statistics, and a model that is adaptable and blessed with innovative ability, Azure Infinitum claims a dominant presence of excellence and player growth that is possible in our community and extended services.
Estate Organization
We have the entire set-up at our estate, from gardens for members and Krakka Root production (free for members' chocobos), to our stables, nicely uniform clean lawn with hangout spots that are popular, with crafting stations, all available NPCs for simple mats and repairs, cut-scene viewer, toybox, triple-triad board, a fully operational and geared fleet of airships and subs, and our Azure Infinitum Assembly Chamber on the top floor for our meetings where announcements are made at our Grand Assemblies. Check it out if you like at Mist Ward 7 Plot 1.
We also have an organized form of gathering for weekly events in the yard, places to relax, food that is always available on tables at our Cellar, and hold a lot of special events and social games at our Hall. We're also conveniently located next to a Market Board and a Retainer Bell outside of our estate.
Communication and Extended Azure Services
We have multiple services of which none are mandatory, but we provide being (azureinfinitum.com) where our Forums, Event Calendar, News, Company Meeting Summaries, Seasonal Merch Giveaways, Contests, Rules Page, and more take place and can be found. We also have a popular and active Discord Server.
We also have a Facebook Group, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Steam Group, (Look us up! Or visit: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/socialmedia/) and Linkshells like our Infinitum Alliance LS for contact and aid from our allies if needed, our Azure Hunters LS for Hunters, and our Azure Industry LS which connects our members to our inner crafting/gathering community for newbies to pros.
Also worthy of mention is our big Company Meetings in-game, known as Azure Infinitum Grand Assemblies. Even though we have several avenues that keep people connected, our live assemblies gather the FC in unity where announcements are made first, and all proposals, ideas, and more, can be decided together live with the Azure Council present.
This network ensures a lot of information and communication gets around and has been exceedingly useful to us.
More On Events
One part of our reputation that often precedes us is our event crafting and hosting.
First, let me make sure its clear that attendance is never mandatory, but those who can make use, when possible, of what we provide each day, benefit from our events each week.
Since our beginning, traditions like our Thursday Treasure Thursdays events have run each week. Our weekly line-up presently begins on Tuesdays post-weekly reset, and consists of Raid Tuesdays, Wondrous Wednesdays (WT Journal Parties, often doubles as Trial Clears and Pony Drops), Treasure Thursdays (Endwalker's timeworn maps with groups of 8 doing up to 3 rounds of maps allowing for up to 24 maps ran), 24-Man Tuesdays (full pre-formed Azure 24-member alliances are made and raids are cleared, will be returning upon the release of EW's 24-man), Super Azure Slayer Sunday (our weekly meetup to do all sorts of PVP content be it Rival Wings or Frontline), and Monstrous Mondays (helps clear the current and previous patch extreme trials).
Special, Seasonal, and Quarterly Events
More info here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/azureday/)See the latest event news & more at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/news/)
We also have what we call Special and Quarterly Events. These types of events are Weekend-Long-Events that usually consist of a theme or celebratory social events we craft. During these events we hold big Riddle Races, Costume/Glamour shows and contests, 3-Story Mansion Maze Races, Speedrun Dungeon Races, Hide and Seek games, Custom Quest Events, Discord events like Cards Against Humanity nights, Comedy events, PVP Tournament Circuits, and more.
Our Special and Quarterly events are Azure Day Weekend (Takes place 3 times a year across a weekend, celebrates the FC), Azure Summer Festival (3-days at the end of August in partnership with Child's Play, raises money for children in long-term care, anniversary of historic FC event called the Lunar Rebellion), Anniversary Azure Day (a big weekend event in November that celebrates our Founding), Azure Day Saint's Wake (celebrates Halloween/All Saint's Wake), Azure Starlight Day (celebrating Starlight Day/Christmas/December Holiday Season), Azure Grand Melee and Duel Tournaments (PVP Circuit series crowning our PVP Champions) and more.
Azure Day Weekends
If you've been around our server you may have heard of our Azure Day Weekends. Our Azure Days take place quarterly as mentioned just above, with four evolved editions called Azure Summer Festival, Azure Day Saint's Wake, Azure Starlight Day, and Anniversary Azure Day. With Azure Day Weekends and related events traditionally occuring quarterly our members are always excited to see the next big weekend of crazy and fun social games, and our showering of the free company in gil and prizes galore. We go all out when we celebrate the free company, and Azure Days are another way we find for leadership to give back to the community. 2023 and beyond is now host to additional seasonal Azure Day events!
We're always giving our members a chance to have fun, win big, and make some great memories in the in-game family we've become. Something fun is always on the horizon in Azure.
Community
I almost can't stress enough how friendly our community is. We have a vast variety of members from hardcore gatherers and crafters, social butterflies, chill veterans, experienced raiders, level grinders, support teams, PVP aficionados, mechanic specialists, and mentors. We're also very friendly to all casual players as well and we keep an open door so long as recruits are always aware that we have a no-drama tolerance here.
​Evolution into a Gaming Clan & Network
Plans are in the works and foundations are being laid that is slowly turning our community into a larger gaming network, with our first established Azure Wing with regular occurring activity being founded in Monster Hunter World, this has led to a successful Destiny 2 clan and more. Becoming a member of our Discord and/or Free Company now means access to things like our huge discord, Azure Wing membership in other games, and being able to join in on any of our other activities in the general community. Azure Network as its being called at the moment, is growing with an all-new website and community features for playing together across Final Fantasy XIV and to Azure Skies beyond!
Activity
We rank high as one of the top FC's in Worldwide Activity on lodestone, and have for a long time. Most of our players are divided between the US East and West Coasts, members in East and West Canada, and a few outside the US or in EU or Aus zones. Because we do have an activity policy (mentioned below) we keep a standard flow of people, and have crowds in the early morning, late morning, early afternoon, afternoon, evening, and late night crowds.
Elitism isn't our style. Our community boasts a broad range of characters, great personalities, the proud, and also some silly goofs. But elitism isn't welcome, no matter how successful we are or how large we grow. We're always welcoming towards fresh faces interested in joining our guild, and the in-game activity ranges between 30-60+ online at once during prime time hours, sometimes around 70+ on patch days, and usually always with half the roster logging in throughout a 24 hour period, and around 15-30+ during the night.
Activity Policy
We ask that our members do not go missing without logging in for more than 60 days straight. If we hear word from someone or have some kind of decent excuse, we place our members on our On Vacation rank, which lasts presently until 90 days have passed. Exceptions are made for military deployments, hospital stays, financial issues, disability/health related issues, moving, or other reasons that might fall on a case-by-case basis.
All members not heard from in 60 days (roughly 2 months) or currently 90 days (roughly 3 months) are discharged. We allow 3 joins to Azure Infinitum in total, but exceptions can be made due to reasons listed above. If removed for inactivity, or you've left our FC for another reason and haven't already joined 3 times, you're always welcome back, but please remember, we are not a revolving door.
Keeping our roster full of members who have been online and presently play the game actively ensures an active environment for our players who play often. It also keeps our credits and clerical processes balanced across our network, and allows space for new faces to join our big happy in-game family of comrades.
How to Join
Quick Instructions here for joinin us in FFXIV & more: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/howtojoinazure/)
If you are interested in joining our Azure Infinitum free company, please register an application at our site and/or FC in-game. You can also seek any of our Scouts, Lieutenants, Officers, or the Master of Azure Infinitum in-game and ask for an invite. You can find their names on the roster page at our website.
If you read everything on this page, you are awesome, and you should let anyone you talk to who recruits you know that you read everything on this page which will greatly expedite your invitation to join.
If you have any questions whatsoever feel free to send a /tell in-game to me or any of our Scouts or Lieutenants listed on our official roster here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/freecompany/9232519973597911137/membe
You can also message us at our FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AzureInfinitum
Discord here: https://discord.gg/azureinfinitum
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Main Site: https://www.azureinfinitum.com/
submitted by lyridsreign to FFXIVRECRUITMENT [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 17:07 TheCloudFestival The Null

The Null
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https://preview.redd.it/vpnf67nq7t4b1.jpg?width=7016&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7be466b7796df0a6bb51951245a99d2708f773e
Inspired by Bir Tawil, Terra Nullius, or The Null (formerly Romney Marsh) is a promontory of around one hundred miles square of semi-arable marshland on the south-eastern coast of England that is formally neither owned nor administered by any nationstate.
Following Edward III of England’s defeat of Philip VI of France at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, the English crown took control of the French port of Calais and its immediate environs, whereupon it became known as the Pale of Calais. Instrumental to England’s burgeoning wool trade and controlling shipping through The Channel, the English monarchs retained dominion over the Pale of Calais until it was suddenly seized from Mary I by Francis, Duke of Guise, in a daring and unforeseen attack. The 1559 Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis established that England would return Calais to France, yet the French monarch would not gain aegis over the highly desired Channel Islands (Les Îsles Normandes), their bailiffs choosing to remain loyal to the English crown.
During the Napoleonic Wars of the C18th and C19th, England, or Britain as it had now become, fought desperately against France’s navy for control of The Channel. From decades of war Britain had become increasingly paranoid, building ever more elaborate defences along the south and east coasts to repel a potential French invasion. In 1804 English Lieutenant-Colonel John Brown convinced Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger that Napoleon’s forces could successfully invade Romney Marsh, using it as a bridgehead to push into Sussex and Kent. He proposed that the entire promontory be surrounded by a watercourse, allowing it to be more easily defended and granting safe passage to ships through a new inland waterway. In 1809 the scheme, dubbed the Royal Military Canal, was completed.
The timeline diverges in 1813, when Napoleon, realising that his Spanish puppet government was ailing fatally due to constant guerilla attacks assisted by the British, made the decision to divert his efforts towards definitively seizing control of The Channel, thus isolating Britain and ending their counter-offensives on the Iberian Peninsula.
The plan was only partially successful. The sudden influx of French warships into The Channel overwhelmed the coastal defences of southeast Kent, leading French forces to occupy the Romney Marsh, although being held back from advancing further inland by the Royal Military Canal’s fortifications. Taking advantage of the distractions caused by an encroaching invasion into British territory, the French navy besieged and took control of the Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, Brecqhou, and Herm. However, with French naval forces now largely exhausted, and Napoleon racing eastwards to direct his troops at the Austrian border, the British statesman and naval officer, Arthur Wellesley, commanded the naval battle of the Strait of Dover in March 1813. Against all expectations the British managed to land an occupying on the French mainland and retook the long lost Pale of Calais.
Following a disastrous attempt to defeat the forces of the Sixth Coalition during a bloody struggle to retake Paris, Napoleon surrendered following France’s defeat at the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube in March 1814. His forces decimated, the Iberian Peninsula and Austria now firmly outside of his control, and the Coalition’s stalwart retention of Paris forced Napoleon to concede. However, the Sixth Coalition had not fared much better, with Napoleon’s tactic of fighting several simultaneous fronts exhausting their manpower and resources.
Much to Britain’s chagrin, Austria-Hungary was chosen as the Coalition partner tasked with the official drafting and formalising of the treaties that would end the decades of conflict. Desperate for a swift resolution, and unimpressed with Britain and France’s bickering over the historical status of the Channel Islands and the Pale of Calais, Austria-Hungary sought a compromise position. Britain and France would simply retain control over land militarily occupied during the conflict, with the Pale of Calais going to Britain, and the Channel Islands awarded to France. Any further territorial disputes between the two nations would be adjudicated through previous treaties and legal precedents. Thus in April 1814, under immense pressure from their Coalition partners, and realising that any further fighting would be futile and ruinous, Britain and France signed the Treaty of Amiens.
Yet a mistake had been made. Due to war exhaustion and poor communication, all parties had overlooked the fact that at the time of signing the Treaty of Amiens, French forces still occupied Romney Marsh, albeit having moved to encampments at Dungeness at the Marsh’s far south-eastern corner to await transport back to the metropole. This technicality, although minor, caused France to now own Romney Marsh as far as the Royal Military Canal.
Noticing the mistake too late, Britain vehemently petitioned France and the Coalition partners with increasing ferocity to remove French territorial claims from mainland Britain and the Channel Islands, which it correctly argued were free agents who chose to associate under the British Crown, and were not in fact technically considered British territory. France contested that it would be happy to acquiesce to such demands if Britain was willing to relinquish control over The Pale of Calais, reciprocating Britain’s demand to release back into their control their own occupied mainland territory. However, they argued that the Channel Islands, not being mainland territory, would not be part of any treaty renegotiation deal.
Britain and France now faced a deadlock. If Britain wished to retain control of the Pale of Calais, it had to abide by the Treaty of Amiens, which awarded control of Romney Marsh and the Channel Islands to France. If France wished to retake control of the Pale of Calais, it had to abide by the previous Treaty of Cateau, which awarded control of the Channel Islands to the British Crown.
The unfortunate participant in this deadlock was the Romney Marsh. With both Britain and France continuing to contest the conflicting treaties of Amiens and Cateau, it became a piece of collateral wanted by neither party if they wished to successfully renegotiate the relevant treaties regarding mainland territorial claims. If either Britain or France dropped their claims, Romney Marsh would definitively fall under the aegis of one party or another. However, since neither party would acquiesce, Romney Marsh became trapped in a technicality of falling under the aegis of neither Britain, nor France.
It was officially Terra Nullius, Nobody’s Land, or ‘The Null’ as it became known to the residents of Kent and Sussex who border it. Despite the passing centuries, the dispute has never been officially resolved.
submitted by TheCloudFestival to worldbuilding [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 16:35 BeckyBee_ Questions and Answers with Assistant Game Director, Adam Whiting!

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the amazing questions you’ve submitted for our Q&A with Assistant Game Director, Adam Whiting. We’re delighted to have received so many. So many, in fact, that we couldn’t possibly have taken so much of Adam’s time to answer them all – maybe we’ll have to do a part two one day soon.
We sat down with Adam this week and got some answers for you. We’re sure you’ll be happy with what Adam did manage to answer; he’s really gone above and beyond for this one.
Here’s a few words from Adam:
“I really appreciate all the kind words for the studio, we’ll be sure to share them with the rest of the team. It was also nice to see some familiar faces from over the years – thank you for remembering me and saying hello! It’s always a pleasure interacting with our wonderful community, and we look forward to doing more things like this in the future.”
And with that, we’ll dive into the Q&A. Enjoy!
/EVERYWHERE Community Team

Life as an Assistant Game Director at Build A Rocket Boy

Q: Hi Adam! Thank you for participating in this, it's so great to see the relationship Build A Rocket Boy has established with the community!
  • What are your daily tasks as Assistant Game Director, and what would you say is the aspect of game development that you give the most importance to? (Game mechanics, narrative, visuals...)
  • What are your favourite games and how do you think they influenced you when working on EVERYWHERE oand MindsEye?
Keep being awesome! – From u/NestorSite
A: Well, thanks to you as well NestorSite, it’s exciting for me to get to talk to you all about what we have been working on (finally!) and we really care about our community and are delighted to get to share more info.
As Assistant Game Director my day can vary greatly, and each day presents new challenges and opportunities to help progress the project. Primarily in Game Direction we are ensuring that all the teams are aligned on the bigger picture and goals of the project. Historically, this has been working mostly with Design on the core game mechanics and systems, but now we are at a point where a lot of the design work is complete, its more about checking progress, playing the game every day, and making sure everything is trending correctly.
It's hard to pick an area that is most important as what makes games development special is how it’s a convergence point for most of the artistic and engineering disciplines we know of, and all of them contribute to the whole, so they are all equally important (plus I would hate for any of our teams to feel like I had any favourites 😉). That being said, games are primarily meant to be fun, so I am particularly passionate about the core mechanics. We want our players to have a great time in EVERYWHERE and MindsEye – though each of these have their own specific requirements that present interesting challenges and drive all our departments to push the boundaries of their respective areas of expertise.
I’ve given a lengthy answer about my favourite games elsewhere so I’ll try and keep this short and point you in the direction of that, what I would say though is that generally we don’t look at other games in particular when working on the design of EVERYWHERE though it’s impossible not to be influenced by the things you have enjoyed (such is the nature of art).
Q: Hey Adam! Could you tell us what is the most challenging task you had to face in the last few years? – u/Gab1024
A: Hey Gab, thanks for your question!
One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced throughout the project has been building the team – building an exciting, ambitious, and new type of project is a huge challenge but building the company in tandem has been very tough as we’ve always aimed to bring the quality talent that the project requires. That can be tough when you are trying to attract talented devs, who, in many cases, can choose where they work. They are often choosing between established studios and established projects which can be very tempting. However, we’ve been very fortunate and have built a team of very talented and experienced devs (with a healthy dose of people fresh to the industry) who are really delivering on the ambitions of the project, and we are all excited for you all to see and play the game as soon as possible.
Personally, one big challenge for me was the whole Gamescom experience – I never thought I’d find myself on stage with Geoff and talking in front of so many people, especially having grown up watching countless game announcements and reveals, it was both terrifying and extremely exciting though pretty far from my natural environment behind a PC in a studio 😊
Q: Hiya, I’m curious if you started out in another role in the gaming industry that led to being a Director? - Thanks, u/voodoolady94 xx
A: Hey voodoolady – unsure if your name is a Ween or Hendrix reference but either way, I like the handle!
I started in the industry, as many people did, in Quality Assurance. QA is a fantastic starting point for two reasons; Firstly, it isn’t a role that requires a lot of specialised experience to get started. In fact, one of the key things we are always looking for with new QA roles is a passion for gaming, strong attention to detail and good communication skills – don’t get me wrong it can be very intense and challenging working in QA but if you have a genuine passion for making games it can be highly enjoyable and rewarding working in part of a team that is so intrinsic to releasing any quality project. Secondly, everything in every game needs some form of QA support – meaning that you are exposed to every department/facet of games development which can be really useful for finding what you like and what you are good at. Often you can naturally progress into a more specialised role that can lead to moving to another team entirely (or becoming a stalwart experienced QA that will always be in demand within the industry) – there are countless examples I can think of from across my career where people have gone from QA into writing, AI coding, concept art, audio design – pretty much every department has someone within it that started in QA.
My personal journey was rising through the ranks of QA to a QA Supervisor and then moving towards Production before eventually moving to Game Direction – and I’m honestly still learning and growing every day as I get to interact with truly exceptional and talented people who are each extremely knowledgeable and experienced in their own areas. Each interaction is an opportunity to learn and grow, and if you approach the industry with that spirit, you will definitely do well.
Q: How hard is it to turn your game ideas into reality with the help of developers, how do you explain to them what's on your head in terms of game direction? – Thanks, u/vassirbl. From Morocco.
A: Hey vassirbl, thanks for taking part!
This is a really interesting question and one that is hard to answer directly as it depends on the idea – some things can require just a few lines of code, some can require multiple teams working in tandem to bring it to life – and that is part of the challenge with games development, something that seems quite straight forward might be really challenging to manifest. On the flipside, sometimes something that may seem to be really complicated and taxing can actually be done very quickly and efficiently.
The thing I’d say about this is that having ideas is one thing, everyone has ideas and I believe everyone is creative, but in a position like games direction it isn’t always about throwing around big ideas – you need to have a vision for what you are wanting to make and achieve and you need to ensure that your ideas are in service of that vision and are supplementing/augmenting/enhancing the direction of the game. You aren’t always making a game for yourself and your own niche interests, you are in service of the vision and trying to ensure that there is congruence between what is going into the game and what the game is trying to achieve.
In terms of explaining things that can often be more straight forward than it might seem, you are interacting with people who aren’t just gamers, they have made gaming their passion/vocation so you are speaking about the game in a similar way to when speaking to a friend about a game you are both playing together – and generally if the idea is good then it's going to generate some excitement. Then you are in an ideation process where the person you are talking to, often someone who is passionate about an areas of games development (their discipline), will then have some suggestions for flourishes and tweaks that can help improve the idea. This is really important because you want the game to be as good as it can be, and there is no silver bullet that magically makes a game feel special, fun or unique, normally its countless little tweaks and adjustments and suggestions from everywhere within the studio that create the end result which hopefully is something that feels like it has been made with love, care and attention. You can’t fake that or even articulate what it is that makes a game feel like that, but you feel it when you play a great game and that is what we are always striving to achieve.
Q: I was waiting for this because I'm on the mailing list. I appreciate this. Hello Adam. I guess my question is what is one of your favourite things about being an Assistant Gaming Director at Build A Rocket Boy? – u/EducationalCook9570
A: Thanks for signing up, EducationalCook, really pleased to get to answer your question so thanks for taking part.
It’s really hard to pick one particular thing but over the years I’ve been asked some variation of this question and my answer generally is the same – it's getting to work with such an amazing team of wonderful and talented people who are giving their all in service of the same common goal – making EVERYWHERE and MindsEye the best possible game(s) they can be.
When I was growing up gaming was still a bit of a niche hobby so anyone I met that was a gamer was instantly a friend, someone I could share my passion with, and now I get to spend most of my time with people like that – it's truly a blessing and I feel fortunate every day I get to interact with all of my wonderful colleagues.
Q: Howdy Adam! Most people will ask about the game, but for a Q&A it's really about the person. So here are my questions.
  • Were there moments where the development struggled? If so, how did this affect you?
  • Now the last ones might be too personal buuuut, is pineapple on pizza justifiable?
Thx in advance for answering these questions. I really hope you do. – u/MikaStr0L
A: Hey MikaStr0L, thanks for your question(s)!
I wouldn’t say there were any parts where development struggled but along the way there are always challenges to overcome, the main one for us was building a company at the same time of building a brand new and exciting project.
Generally speaking though, if things aren’t going quite as planned I try not to let it bother me – though that can of course be hard when you feel very personally invested in something – but I’ve found that it doesn’t help to let the negative feeling linger and instead try and push on, games development – like life in general – doesn’t always go according to plan but you just have to focus on solutions and moving forward and not let things hold you back. If you can do something about an issue, then deal with it and fix it, if you can’t do anything about it then move on and try not to let the negatives/setbacks hold back progress in other areas.
Now the truly important question… I must admit that I am not a fan of pineapple on pizza, although I do like pineapple generally, I’m more of a pepperoni kind of guy 😊
Q: Hey Adam, first, let me say I admire the work you all do a lot. Not only you guys at BARB, but also in the whole industry. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on MindsEye and EVERYWHERE.
  • Working within the QA part for many years, was it difficult the transition to a different role? Would you say it was a positive change?
  • Do you think EVERYWHERE and other games/experiences with a similar concept are the future of gaming?
Thank you and I hope you keep succeeding at your career, can't wait to play both projects’ you guys have been working on. 💙 – u/Fabry06
A: Hi Fabry, thanks for taking part and for your kind words and sentiments. I’ll start by saying that I also admire the work that takes place industry wide – the games industry is full of amazing and talented people who are all helping to further this artform we all whole dear forward, and I believe we are only just now realising the potential that video games can achieve.
I would say that transitioning from QA to another role felt very natural, even in my current position I’m still playing the game all the time and entering bugs, they might not be as well written as they once were but once you’ve cultivated a QA mindset it is not easy to turn off (this can make me a very boring person to watch play in my spare time as I’m always poking and prodding games to see what might happen…). I would say it was also a positive change for me personally but everyone's path in the industry is different and you kind of move with the tides and get swept up in a project and who knows where you end up within it – I always took the approach of wanting to be helpful/productive/useful in furthering the ambitions of the studio and the project and have always been happy to do that regardless of what that entails (in the very early days I was building PCs and writing design docs as well as doing QA work, whatever was required).
I do think that EVERYWHERE is a new type of project, but one that isn’t entirely unfamiliar, there are probably aspects that you recognise and some that are a bit different, I think the way everything ‘fits together’ is quite elegant and hasn’t been done before. The industry in general though is continuously evolving and I think that’s what makes it an exciting thing to be a part of. I do feel that the way people are consuming entertainment has fundamentally changed within the past decade and I believe that EVERYWHERE is a reflection of that – perhaps games in general are a bit to beholden to established paradigms and ways of doing things in ways that I think we aren’t.

About EVERYWHERE and MindsEye

Q: What is the inspiration to create EVERYWHERE and MindsEye, and why did you decide to make them two different games? – u/Zgangstas
A: Hi Zgangstas, thanks for your question.
This is a really interesting question and I think this is part of the magic of games development, when you are ideating/experimenting in the early stages of a project you can happen upon some magic that can alter the way you approach things, even if the vision has remained the same throughout perhaps the way to achieve it evolves.
I think that one of the main things we always wanted to do was create a space where players were in control, where they could be who they want to be and have the experiences that they wanted to have – but then as experienced game devs there is a natural inclination towards curating an immersive experience that captivates and enthrals players – this was a tricky thing to balance and trade off and I think ultimately it lead us to our current path.
EVERYWHERE is a space where players are in control, where they can build, share, compete, and explore in numerous different ways – and MindsEye is where we can construct an immersive and cinematic experience – with shared DNA between the two so we aren’t reinventing the wheel constantly, and we are at the place where we are now where work on one project is benefitting the other and vice versa.
So, I guess the true answer is that they both demanded to be different game organically through the course of development and we pay attention to what the game is telling us and let that guide us.
Q: Hi Adam, there’s the audience that fantasize on stylized and cartoonish games and the ones that are focused on realistic, story-driven experiences. How challenging is it to deliver the best game as possible to both audiences, and how confident do you feel about the shape those two games are in? – u/Treyboss2001
A: Thanks for your question Treyboss.
I think as you say there are probably distinct audiences for both, some that prefer or only enjoy one style or the other, but there are others (like me!) who enjoy both stylised and realistic games – often depending on my mood.
It may seem challenging to be constantly shifting gears between them both but ultimately, it’s more natural than it may seem. They have very distinctive and different requirements and demands that make decisions intuitive – though careful thought and consideration is required for each.
However, the way we think about it internally is that we get to have our cake and eat it, we aren’t locked in to one style or gameplay type, which can be fun and refreshing – perhaps you hit a creative roadblock with one and you can move on to the other and come back with a fresh perspective to the original issue you were having. Projects of this scale can often take many years to make so not being too locked in to just one thing is a blessing.
In terms of the progress we are making, I have to say that I am constantly delighted – either one project is delivering something new and wonderful or the other one is (often both at the same time!). Now we are getting to show people them both for the first time I’m truly humbled by the very positive reactions we are receiving.
Q: Hello Adam from the Build A Rocket Boy team. What was the original plan when EVERYWHERE was being developed in lumberyard engine and back when yah were using the lumberyard engine what were the challenges and roadblocks?
Keep being awesome Adam. - u/Lonelyfades
A: Thank you Lonelyfades, I will do my best!
I think back when we first started with this project the industry was quite different, the game engine landscape in particular was very different. We always had lofty ambitions for this project and at the time Lumberyard seemed to be the only engine that could deliver what we needed to even scratch the surface of what we wanted to accomplish. Since then, things have progressed somewhat and now we are in UE5. I believe UE5 is clearly the cutting-edge technology that we need in order to deliver the best possible results.
That is the strange thing with life and games development, sometimes an old decision was the correct one at the time even if it is not correct for right now, and even things as disruptive as engine swapping is ultimately worth it if it unlocks the creative potential you are aspiring towards.
I think this is ultimately a tribute to our core strength as a developer which is our unwillingness to compromise, we are eager to undertake difficult or even painful changes if it helps move the needle closer to where we want it to be.
Q: Hi Adam, so something I was confused about, is EVERYWHERE and MindsEye the same game? Or is it a game within a game? – u/Jozza141
A: Jozza thanks for asking your question and I am happy to try and relieve your confusion.
EVERYWHERE and MindsEye are distinctly different, but also inextricably linked. One way to think about it is that EVERYWHERE is ultimately a platform for games, entertainment, and different types of fun – and MindsEye is a story-driven, action-adventure game that could reasonably exist on its own but is enriched and elevated by its connection to a larger social space. A connection that I believe is deep and meaningful. The possibilities are endless and there’s so much to share, but we will reveal more when we are ready.
Q: Both u/iPeluche and u/Bobby_Boy301 had some questions about PC vs Console release. Why has BARB opted for the separate release between PC and Console. And does this mean Console won’t get the same treatment as PC after release?
A: I don’t think we are completely locked into this type of approach; we want to do that which makes the most sense for both projects whilst also working within the constraints of their paradigms.
PC is certainly a very open and creatively liberating space in which to operate, sometimes key innovations in gaming take place on PC because of its open nature and I think this is an example of that.
Rest assured we are passionate about both PC and Console development, and we would always aim to ensure parity between both releases of either project – platform holders permitting.
With all that being said, I would look forward to future announcements as we are very pragmatic as a company and always move forward in a direction that makes sense both for us and for our players.

Advice for aspiring Game Developers

Q: Ok, ok, here goes:
What advice do you have for those aspiring to pursue a career in game development?
What excites you the most in terms of future game development and where do you think the industry is headed? – u/RazorDarkness
A: Thanks for your question RazorDarkness.
My biggest advice for anyone trying to pursue a career in games development is to always remain humble, this is the cross section for all the artistic and engineering disciplines we have in media, as such it is impossible to be an expert at all things. You are always going to be working in a team and you are always going to be relying on your peers to achieve whatever it is you set out to achieve. So always keep your eyes and ears open and try to absorb as much knowledge and information as you can so you never stop learning. The moment you think you know it all is the moment you become a dinosaur and you will be immediately surpassed.
My second big piece of advice is to never lose sight of why you are making games in the first place – I often keep some mementos on my desk from favourite games and things that inspired me as a child to keep me grounded, as even on the hardest of days I can take a step back and realise that I’m getting to do something that I’ve loved my entire life and despite its difficulties my overriding feeling is always gratitude that I’m even able to earn a living doing something I love.
Q: Hello Adam!
First, I really hope you and your team are getting enough sleep after all the hard work you guys put into these projects. I just want to say on behalf of the EVERYWHERE & MindsEye Community, we really appreciate all of you that are involved with these two major projects, and also sending much support to every single one of you on this journey!
But my question is ... Where do you see yourself, the team, and everyone over at BARB in the next 10 years after both games are officially out? – u/TheRealRocketBoy
A: Well thank you TheRealRocketBoy – your support and encouragement means a lot, excited for you to get to enjoy the fruits of our labours!
This is a great question – I see us still working on this project, both aspects of what we are doing have far reaching plans and if all they all work out, we’ll still be working on both – and we aim that this will be in tandem with our community and players.
What things will look like at that point though I have no idea, EVERYWHERE in particular isn’t the kind of game we want to prescribe to people, it's something we want to further improve and refine in collaboration with our players – indeed the launch of EVERYWHERE will truly just be the beginning and I know that the creativity of gamers will always thrill and surprise so I think we are going to go on a wild ride together and I can’t wait to see where we end up.
MindsEye on the other hand… well who knows where in space or time we may be with that story by that point… I could write down on a piece of paper now a phrase for where MindsEye will be in year 10 and whilst it would almost certainly hold true, how we get there, and the specifics would surprise even me, I’m sure!
Q: Hey Adam, appreciate you taking the time to do this Q&A!
You have a great name! I may have a bias though as I'm also an Adam. In my spare time I've been creating a game design document for a game I'd love to create. This document has been growing and expanding over the past couple years. Ideally, I have aspirations of becoming a creative director for a development studio but have no experience working in the gaming industry (I'm a project manager in the residential construction industry).
Given your experience in the industry and your current position as BARB's Assistant Game Director, what advice would you give someone such as myself about how I may go about potentially pitching my design documentation to a studio and ultimately becoming a creative director? Do you personally feel as though people aspiring to become involved in the gaming industry need to start in an entry level position? Or perhaps there are alternative pathways to achieving such goals?
Thank you! Well wishes to you and everyone at BARB! – u/EndgameEmporium
A: Hey EndgameEmporium!
I admire your enthusiasm and you clearly have a passion for games which is something you want to hold on to as it will always keep you right and steer you correctly.
That being said I think there are two ways to head in if you want to be a creative director – firstly you can go down the studio route – however keep in mind that games are big expensive things to make, and it would be pretty remarkable for someone to have an idea so strong that a studio would trust in and fund it. Generally speaking I think going down this path would require you joining a studio and working your way up, and in particular showing a willingness to work towards someone else’s vision and showing that you can see the big picture when it comes to games development, then you will get creative opportunities with an established project or studio to show what you can do and from there more and more creative freedom until you are able to pitch your idea. With that path you may very well find that working with other creative brief’s and visions can be both challenging and rewarding, as essentially they are ‘creative restraints’ you are operating within and learning to work within these restraints will teach you how to be economical and efficient with your designs and ideas (sometimes a good idea can cost millions of dollars and sometimes a great idea can be brought to life with existing resources, the latter is where the magic really is, and will make you very popular to work with!).
The second path to take would be to try and build out a vertical slice or gameplay prototype or concept yourself, with that I would try and refine your idea to its core components, understand what things fundamentally you need for another person to be able to experience or understand your idea, and go from there. If anything, EVERYWHERE might be the perfect thing for you as empowering the great creative minds of the next generation is something we are very passionate about and you may be able to bring your idea to life with ARC-ADIA.

Emerging Technologies in Gaming

Q: u/Main-Department9806 and u/Dirty_Worka had some interesting questions about AI. Adam, as AI learning and functionality accelerates, what’s your read on the level of disruption we should expect with regards to game development? And do you think we can leverage AI such as ChatGPT into games, for example, so that NPC’s dialogue could be vast and ever changing?
A: I think that AI is going to fundamentally change the way in which we interact with the world and each other, it's going to be a transformative technology over the coming years and every industry and sector will feel it.
In terms of game development, we can see how this might play out already, things like ChatGPT etc. will streamline and accelerate the game development process exponentially – this should hopefully lower the costs and requirements for making larger projects. This could mean many more larger and ambitious games that are taking more risks emerge as they won’t be as expensive and time consuming to create – instead of a lot of talent being funnelled in to a few large studios and creators it will allow us to go back to an older style of games development where a small team with a big idea has some chance of bringing it to fruition without having to compromise on the scope/scale.
From the consumer perspective yes, I think we will soon have realistic interactions with NPCs where we can really build deeper and more personal connections with the characters we interact with in these virtual worlds, possibly even allowing us to alter how events and stories may play out, maybe in the future the way I play a story driven game may yield entirely different results and a different ending to how your story may finish – and maybe these aren’t just branching paths but completely different forks in the road we are creating dynamically – maybe then watching each other player story games has value beyond the personality/skill of the person playing.
I think this something that games developers have always wanted to have access to, a future where we can create entire worlds that feel unique to the individual because the way you are experiencing it is unique to you, in the same way that each of our journeys through life are unique and different even though we all inhabit the same world within the same physical universe.

Off-Topic

Q: Hey Adam, first I would like to thank you and the team for the great effort on EVERYWHERE and we can't wait to play what you're working on.
Second, my question is what's your favourite game (or games) of all time (excluding games you worked on). - u/Punisher_27
A: Firstly, thank you for your kind words, Punisher!
Secondly, what a fun question! I’m going to end up kicking myself later when I realise I missed something but here are a few of my faves from a lifetime spent playing video games:
Mario 64 – it is tough picking one Mario game as he’s the reason I got in to games (playing on my parents imported NES at the age of 3 changed my life!) but something about Mario 64 is just so magical and wonderful, the first time effortlessly moving through a 3D world, the joyous nature of the gameplay and the level design, I just adored this so much and despite later entries (e.g. Galaxy) being more refined and objectively better this is just such a special game I don’t think it's possible to calculate the impact it had on the industry and on entertainment when it first came out.
Quake 3 – I have probably played this more than any other game (with the possible exception of World of Warcraft) but this was my first foray in to the world of online games and that was a life-changing moment, realising that no matter how good I got there was always someone out there better… well that was a challenge I duly accepted and I have met many wonderful friends I hold very dear to me along the way across many different online games but this was the one that really blew me away
Bloodborne – I do adore the whole Soulsborne franchise(s) and as a game dev I really admire how FromSoft do things their own way and stay true to their artistic vision. I can’t think of a game that is more harmonious and congruent than Bloodborne, every pixel/sound is working in perfect harmony with each other, and the end result is something truly staggering. If I could wipe my memory and play one game over and over again and recapture the same feeling I had when I first played it, it would be Bloodborne.
Final Fantasy VII – I was queueing outside Electronics Boutique the day this came out, the first FF game to get released in Europe and I’m so glad we didn’t miss out on this one (though 6 was great and we had to import that…) – I can’t put into words what it was like encountering Sephiroth for the first time thinking I was at the Shinra HQ to complete the game and then the world map opens up and my mind was so utterly blown I couldn’t believe my eyes. As for Aerith/Aeris – well… aside from the fact she was the group healer… I was just floored; I didn’t realise how potent games were at eliciting an emotional response until that scene and I doubt any game could ever have that impact again.
Street Fighter 2 – when this first came out it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before – encountering at an arcade machine it's what the “cool older kids” were playing and its always retained that allure, this was a game that was cool and badass. The way you compete against others in fighting games has a certain purity to it that I just love, and I sorely miss having arcades to go to as they were a staple in my life growing up and there was always a great fighting game a community would build around. Getting to have the SNES version that was as close to arcade perfect as we could fathom at the time was a real joy as well and I guess this is widely regarded as the beat ‘em up that started it all and with good reason, because it did!
Q: Hey Adam and the community team, hope you're all doing well!
  • Are you a cat or a dog person? xD
  • When the game was announced in 2017, Everywhere was only the working title of the game. Why did you keep the name? What were some of the suggestions?
Thanks in advance! – u/thewhitewolf35
A: Hey thewhitewolf! Thanks for your fun questions 😊
I am definitely a dog person, I’ve grown up with dogs my entire life and despite being fond of cats I just adore dogs – quite a few people in the office have them and I am always happy to meet them, and due to my lifestyle I am not really able to be a good and responsible dog owner right now so I am very grateful when I get to interact with any of the BARB doggos. 😊
EVERYWHERE has always been called such and I think we liked the title straight away, I think it speaks to the potentially unlimited nature of what we are trying to achieve and we want this to be a game that anyone can play, wherever they are as I think we see games as more than just ways to spend your time, they are ways to connect and socialise and learn from each other – but even more than that they are a way to share experiences and that spirit of creativity has always been our guiding star with the project.
Q: u/MightyMax_1988 would like to know more about what you do in your free time. Do you like retro consoles such as Sega Master System, Sega Genesis (mega drive), Super Nintendo (snes)? And do you like the movie Ready Player One?
A: Hey MightyMax! I am always happy to talk about my hobbies 😊my friends often wish I would shut up about them!
In my free time I do enjoy watching team sports, specifically football (lifelong Nottingham Forest fan) and I adore the NBA (big Lakers fan) and live sports are a good way to stay connected to my friends and are something I always try and make time for. I also try and stay on top of the latest greatest TV Shows, Movies and Anime (just finished Ted Lasso which I thought was such wholesome fun and I also recently finished an anime called Chainsaw Man that was just… exhilarating!).
In terms of games I’m a lifelong gamer so I’ve had every console (apart from the NeoGeo…) over the years (even a VirtualBoy), though I would say that I don’t really do much retro gaming these days as I struggle to keep up with all the modern games coming out, and I think I prioritise online gaming as it helps me stay connected to my friends so I’m always playing something with them and then trying my best to play the cream of the crop of single player games (currently trying to finish off Octopath Traveller 2 so I can move on to the new Zelda!).
And yeah, I liked both the book and the movie Ready Player One – I love a good mashup of different IPs and art-styles, I really enjoyed Wreck It Ralph for the same reason, and anything with lots of pop culture references makes me happy (even stuff like Scott Pilgrim etc.).
Q: How bad were you at Quake? – u/tyj
A: I was so terrible I had to go to tournaments and captain the UK RA3 team… it was a tough time 😊 but back then when I told people I thought Esports would be played in stadiums for millions of dollars people thought I was an idiot… I’m so delighted to see how things have ended up and really excited that future generations can actually become pro gamers as a viable path in life – how far we’ve come!
Q: Also, what’s your favourite colour? – u/voodoolady94
A: Another question from the voodoolady…. Well, this one is an easy one and I can be uncharacteristically succinct.
Pink, my favourite colour is pink 😊
submitted by BeckyBee_ to EverywhereGame [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 16:34 letsavenge [FH5] Winter Information Thread - Series 21

Hello everyone! We are halfway past Explore the Horizon. I've been enjoying the pathfinder challenges quite a lot, what's been your highlight of Series 12? Hope you all are having a great week!  
A ??? is available for completing the Super7 this week.  

Forzathon Shop

The Forzathon Shop ends on Jun 15th, 2023 @ 14:29 (UTC).  

Festival Playlist Rewards

Hot Wheels Events - 7 Points

Exclusive to Hot Wheels Owners; the respective Academy Rank must be unlocked. Not Required for Season Rewards, Series Completion, or the Min, Meet Max Achievement.

Rally Adventure Events - 7 Points

Exclusive to Rally Adventure Owners; required for you to be Horizon Badlands Champion. Not Required for Season Rewards, Series Completion, or the Min, Meet Max Achievement.

Forzathon Weekly Challenge - 5 Points

Earn 80FP for completing the weekly challenge, double if you own La Casa Solariega. Must be done in sequence to count.

Forzathon Daily Challenges - 1 Point Each, 7 Points Total

Each challenge is open for 7 Days from 2:30PM UTC* of the start day. Earn 10FP per Challenge, double if you own La Casa Solariega.

Seasonal Events - 30 Points Total

The reward listed for Seasonal Championship events requires you to place 1st against at or above the Highly Skilled Drivatar difficulty setting; the Trial requires Unbeatable difficulty and is accessible after entering the Hall of Fame.  

Challenges - 10 Points Total

Monthly Events - 2 Points per Season (8 Points per Series)

Explore The Horizon With Enhanced Photo Mode And Pathfinder Challenges  
FH5 Release Notes: May 23rd, 2023  
submitted by letsavenge to forza [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 15:58 Inkman80 Anyone use the tracking app AfterShip?

I've used this app for a long time, but this recent package from China is either just a glitch, or my knife has been actually bouncing back and forth between the east and west coast. New Jersey to LA 3x now? This has to be wrong right?
submitted by Inkman80 to chineseknives [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 14:07 dreftzg [Daily News] Orient Star Is A Skeleton At 1/5 Of The Price Of A Zenith, Bremont Releases Third Watch For The Williams F1 Team, Accutron Spaceview Gets First Major Update And The Vaer G5 Meridian Is A Flier GMT Watch Below The $1,000 Mark

It's Thursday and let's just get straight into it - make sure to check out the Vaer, interested in your thoughts.

What's new

1/
Orient Star Will Sell You A Skeleton Watch At 1/5 Of The Price Of A Zenith
Just the other day I wrote about the Zenith Defy Skyline Skeleton, a wonderful skeletonized watch. It’s modern, it shows off a legendary movement, but it will also set you back a bit over EUR 11,000, which is a lot of money, no matter what budget you are shopping in. What if there was an a more affordable option out there? Maybe it didn’t have the super high end finishing of the Zenith or a legendary movement, but it looked just as cool and cost less than a fifth of the Zenith? Well, say hello to the Orient Star Avant-Garde Skeleton.
Orient started out in the 50s and has been part of the Seiko Epson Corporation since 2009. Orient Star, however, is the higher-end of the brand, which in 2016 shocked the market with a skeletonised model. Orient Star was known for their classical watches, so this was a huge departure. They updated it once in 2022 and are now introducing two new Avant-Garde Skeleton models as part of its Sports Collection with an automatic movement and a 60-hour power reserve.
The two models differ in the case material - you can have them in stainless steel or black plated steel - but they share the case specs. 42.3mm wide and 12.4mm thick, with a water resistance of 100 meters and bezels with hexagonal screws. The steel model has a combination of brushed surfaces with Sallaz mirror finishings (comparable to Grand Seiko’s Zaratsu polishing), adding accents and emphasising the solid metallic feel of the watch and bracelet.
Composed of two layers, the upper and lower plates of the dial are distinguished by different colours and finishings. The upper plate holds the luminous indices that project over the movement, and the lower plate is designed to protect the upper plate from shocks and deformation. Like the earlier model, the dial features a power reserve indicator at noon, a small seconds counter at 6 o’clock and a view of the balance wheel with its silicon escapement. The hour and minute hands are wider, sportier, and treated with luminous material.
Powering the Orient Star Avant-Garde Skeleton is the automatic, in-house calibre F8F64. Decorated with Geneva stripes, the partially openworked base plate reveals the bright blue silicon escapement peeking out just to the left of the small seconds and it’s rated at +15/-5 seconds per day, with a 60-hour power reserve. The stainless steel model comes with a steel bracelet; the black-coated steel watch on a black Cordura Ballistic nylon strap.
The retail price is EUR 2,000. Looking at photos of the watch, I’m not sure it lives up to that price. I would love to handle one live. However, this looks close enough to the Zenith, which is EUR 11,000+.
2/
Saint Laurent Redesigns The Cult Girard-Perregaux Digital Quartz Watch, Gives It Black Ceramic And PVD Titanium
While Girard-Perregaux is most known for their higher end Swiss mechanical watches, at one time they were pioneers in the era of digital watch. Back in 1971, it made waves with the Caliber GP-350, a quartz movement that set the universal market standard for frequency. Following that was the Caliber 395 and that’s the movement that GP put in the Casquette, an unusual watch even at the time - it was a black geometric hunk on your wrist that displayed the time at the push of a button on a tiny screen on the front facing side of the watch.
The Casquete came in three materials, Makrolon (which was a black composite), stainless steel and gold plated. It was only made for two years - 1976 and 1978 - and during that time 8,200 pieces were made. The original is still a desired item among collectors, which GP recognized and did a recreation of the watch last year. While remaining fully retro, the reissue is powered by the vastly more efficient GP-03980 that displays hours, minutes, seconds, the day and the date, the month, the year, a chronograph, a second time zone, and a secret date.
Now, there’s a new version of the Casquete, one redesigned by Saint Laurent Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello for the Saint Laurent Rive Droite line. Vaccarello gives the watch a radical upgrade in materials, as the case is now made out of black ceramic and black PVD-treated grade 5 titanium. It’s sleek, it’s retro, chunky and dramatic, all the things Vaccarello is known for.
The watch is released under the Rive Droite imprint, a series of objects that are sold exclusively in two stores located in Paris and LA. This means that it will also be available exclusively at Saint Laurent Rive Droite stores in Paris and Los Angeles, as well as online via the official Saint Laurent Rive Droite store, in selected countries only. That, combined with the fact that this will be a limited edition of only 100 pieces, means you aren’t very likely to see one in the flesh. Which isn’t that much of a shame because I’m not sure it would be easy to justify the $6,700 price tag.
3/
Bremont Releases Their Third Limited Watch For The Williams F1 Team
Formula 1 racing is an incredibly expensive sport. It was, at least, until 2021 when the organization implemented a budget cap of about $135 million. It’s still expensive, yes, but before the cap teams were known to spend up to half a billion dollars per year to push as hard as possible to win championships. The money for this endeavour comes from Formula 1, the organization, but this is just a small amount distributed to every team. The rest has to be raised from sponsors, and raising $135 million from sponsors is not easy.
Because of the high costs of the sport, the sponsorships are equally as high. It is estimated that the cheapest sponsorship is $1 million per year, an ammount that doesn’t get you a lot - surely doesn’t get you a sticker on the car, and it’s rumoured that Rolex is paying up to $50 million to be the official timing partner of the organization. So, I was pretty shocked three years ago to see that Bremont, the independent British watchmaker, sponsored Williams, the legendary British racing team, to a tune high enough to get a prominent sticker on the car. I had no idea Bremont was doing that good. Good on them.
To mark this sponsorship, Bremont has already created two limited edition watches and is just now releasing the third. Since both companies are very British, it’s no surprise that they are doing so just a month before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. It’s the Bremont WR-45, a limited-edition chronograph that is inspired by this year’s Williams Racing F1 car, the FW-45.
The watch has Bremont’s signature three-piece “Trip-Tick” construction, it’s made from stainless steel with a black DLC finish and measures 43mm in diameter by 16mm-thick, with 22mm lugs and an overall lug-to-lug profile of 50mm. Despite the fact that the crown and pushers that operate the chronograph don’t screw down, it has a 100 meter water resistance. Unlike previous Bremont Williams Racing watches, the dial fitted to the new WR-45 is black to match its case, and it has a tri-compax configuration and a date window within the 6 o’clock sub dial. The white register at 9 o’clock features a light blue hand and serves as a running seconds indicator for the time, while the other two sub-dials are fitted with white-finished hands. Additionally, the hours counter features a thin three-color ring in light blue, dark blue, and white surrounding its perimeter, and this serves as a subtle nod to the official colors of the Williams Racing F1 team.
Inside the watch is the brand’s Caliber BE-53AV automatic chronograph movement based on the proven ETA/Valjoux 7753. It has a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) while offering users a power reserve of approximately 56 hours, while the rotor has been skeletonized to look like the wheels of the Williams F1 car. The watch comes on a black two-piece alcantara strap.
This will be a limited edition of 244 pieces and every watch is accompanied with a genuine wheel nut taken from one of the Williams Racing cars. It’s priced at $6,595.
4/
The Accutron Spaceview Gets First Major Update With Spaceview Evolution, But Keeps The Very Cool Electrostatic Movement
Accutron is one of the most familiar names in watchmaking. This Bulova model participated in the space race and was, reportedly, narrowly pushed out by the Omega Speedmaster to be the official NASA watch that will be worn on the moon, but the Bulova Accutron remained a beloved watch by many astronauts and was used in space. That’s why it was a bit puzzling when Bulova in 2020 decided to spin of the Accutron into its own brand. But the puzzle was put aside when Accutron introduced the gorgeous Spaceview 2020 with an open-worked dial and inspired by the original 1960s Spaceview. Now Accutron is introducing two new models called Evolution that do exactly that - evolve the Spaceview.
Just like the 2020 model, the Spaceview Evolution watches are housed in a 43.5mm polished stainless steel case that is 15.9mm thick. Where it differs from the previous model is in the movement. Not the movement they use, but rather the orientation of the movement - the entire thing is shifter 30 degrees, moving the crown to 2 o’clock, giving the watch a completely new look.
Accutron currently offers two versions of the Spaceview Evolution timepiece. One with a smoke-gray open dial, darkened metal outer ring, silver-toned hands, and a matte-black alligator strap. The other also includes a smoke-gray open dial paired with a silver-toned outer ring, metallic blue hands, and a shiny blue alligator strap. Both straps are genuine American alligator and are finished with double-press deployant clasps.
Inside the Spaceview Evolution watches is Accutron’s proprietary electrostatic energy movement. Essentially, the movement is home to twin turbines that rotate at rapid speeds with the motion of your wrist. Those turbines are located between two electrodes, which serve to capture the electrostatic energy created by the turbines and send them to an accumulator. The stored energy in the accumulator then powers two motors: an electrostatic motor (a world’s first) that drives the gliding seconds hand and a step motor that drives the hour and minute hands. The duo of motors are synchronized via integrated circuits and provide an accuracy rating of +/- 5 seconds a month.
The movement also has a power-saving mode, which kicks into gear after five minutes of inactivity with the second hand automatically halting at 12 o’clock. Although the seconds hand stays in place, the watch will continue to keep time as the hour and minute hands continue to move. To stop the power-saving mode and reactivate the seconds hand, you simply have to swing your arm up and down for about five seconds.
The Accutron Spaceview Evolution watches are priced at $3,950 and are available immediately for purchase.
5/
The New Vaer G5 Meridian Is A Flier GMT Watch Well Below The $1,000 Mark
At the moment, my favorite GMT movement is a highly modified Miyota 9015 which the microbrand Arken calls the ARK-9015DT and uses in their Alterum. It’s a crazy movement that works unlike any other GMT movment. Rotating the hands clockwise moves the entire handset, including the GMT hand, as well as both AM/PM indicator discs. However, moving the handset in the opposite direction will lock the GMT hand and its corresponding AM/PM indicator (left of the dial) allowing you to set the time difference between your local and home times. This means you can set the minutes to any time and just rotate the hour hand.
Other than that movement and, obviously, in house ones, there seems to be a consensus that it’s hard to beat the recently introduced Miyota Cal. 9075 movement which is an affordable option for those who want a “flier” or “true” GMT, which allows for an independently adjustable local 12-hour hand. And this exactly has been a request from millions of collectors and watch enthusiasts. The movement also allows microbrands like the LA based Vaer to slap these movements into watches that look great and are really affordable.
Vaer’s most recent watch is the G5 Meridian GMT and it’s an intresting proposition. At first glance, the G5 looks identical to their G7. That could be because it comes in a 39mm stainless case without a crown guard and 200 meter water resistance or the fact that they come in pretty much the same four colors - two models with black dials and either red/blue or black/blue bezels, along with an all-black PVD variant, plus a third stainless steel option that is fitted with both a green dial and a green bezel. However, while Vaer’s G7 GMT is a Swiss-made timepiece powered by the Sellita SW330-2 and priced just above the thousand-dollar mark, the Vaer G5 Meridian GMT is an American-assembled version that runs on the Japanese Miyota 9075.
The watch comes on two different straps or bracelets that connect to the 20mm lugs with integrated quick-release springbars. Since the G5 GMT was designed to be used in the water, a black FKM rubber tropic strap is the standard included configuration, as it is the most water-friendly option available for the model. For the secondary strap/bracelet option, buyers have the option of either a simple NATO or a nylon single pass strap — or opting for one of the premium leather straps or stainless steel bracelets in Oyster and Jubillee designs.
The official price of the Vaer G5 Meridian GMT is $799 or $849 if you opt for one of the premium strap/bracelet options. That’s a fantastic price that gives you more functionality for a traveler.
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On hand - a selection of reviews

1/
Review Of The ProTek Series 1010, The Official Watch Of The United States Marine Corps
2/
Hands-on With The The Delma Shell Star Titanium That Sheds Both Size And Weight
3/
In-Depth Reveiw of The Horage Lensman 2 Exposure — A Watch With A Photographic Cheat Sheet
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Watch Worthy - A look at an offbeat, less known watch you might actually like

The RZE Aspirare launches the brand into yet unexplored waters
Up until now, RZE have been quite conscious of their case sizes pleasing the majority of modern collectors who prefer conservative diameters. Their largest watch was the now-discontinued RZE Valour Chronograph at 42mm, with the sold-out Fortitude coming in second at 41mm. The new RZE Aspirare is bullish with its 44mm diameter, and untamed with a 53mm lug-to-lug that will absolutely demand some bravery to wear if you don’t have large wrists. Although the RZE philosophy has catered to the adventurous, the Aspirare is designed to be their most rugged project yet.
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People loved the Seiko Alpinist giveaway! That's why I'm doing a new one. This time, we're giving away four Hamilton Khaki Field Automatics in a color of your choice. Head on over to the newsletter if you would like to enter.
If you would like to receive some additional watch-adjacent content, as well as this news overview, every morning Monday-Friday in the form of a newsletter feel free to subscribe. However, there is absolutely no need for you to subscribe, as all the news from the newsletter is posted here. It is only if you want to receive a couple of daily links that are not strictly watch-related and want to get this news overview in your inbox.
submitted by dreftzg to Watches [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 14:04 KKshilling The Difference Between Self-Employment and "Normal" Jobs

The Difference Between Self-Employment and
​
https://preview.redd.it/21t2gqp1bs4b1.png?width=1292&format=png&auto=webp&s=6d858c15bebc9b0eb3ea93788c2ae1805f0754b7
Imagine a 10-story Manhattan residential apartment building, in which each floor is nicer and more opulent than the last.
The ground floor is home to the cheapest apartments: studios with iron bars over the windows, leaky faucets, and the occasional rat or three. Sure, it’s habitable, and the hot water (occasionally) works, but it’s far from desirable.
As you move up to the second and third floors, the rodents disappear, the iron bars are removed, the plumbing is secure, and your bedroom, which is separate from your living room and kitchen, now has enough room for a queen mattress and a full-sized desk. It might not be your dream home, but it gets the job done.
On floors 4-6, your checkerboard floor tiles are switched out for hardwood, an in-unit washer and dryer replaces your weekly commute to wash your clothes, and your kitchen and living room are finally separate entities. (In most of America, these things are “normal.” In New York, an in-unit washer and dryer is a status symbol.)
Floors 7-9 bring beautiful views of the city, access to a balcony or deck, a dining room that fits a table for eight, a small home office, a living room that can hold dozens of friends, and one of those showers where the water pours directly from holes in the ceiling, like a waterfall for folks who don’t live anywhere near nature.
And then we have floor 10, the penthouse. Your floor has its own elevator that other residents can’t access. Your living room, grand piano included, has an unobstructed view of the East River, and it’s plenty big enough to host a cocktail party for 100 of your closest friends. Your floors are made of marble, your bookshelves are full of novels that you’ll never read (but still look impressive), you have one of those televisions that retracts into the floor on command, and you don’t have to lift a finger in the kitchen, because your chef handles the cooking for you.
Can you tell I’ve been apartment hunting this week?
So where will you reside? Well, that’s up to fate. Now imagine that you have two choices:
Choice A: you have a 10% chance of living on floors 2 and 3, an 80% chance of floors 4-6, and a 10% chance of floors 7-9. You are guaranteed to avoid the dredges of the ground floor, but you’ll never reach the penthouse either.
Choice B: You have a 20% chance of living on the ground floor, a 20% chance of landing in the penthouse, a 55% chance of landing anywhere between floors 2 and 9, and a 5% chance of sleeping outside the building altogether. Maybe you become Jay Gatsby, maybe you ask Mr. Gatsby for money on the corner, or maybe you end up somewhere in the middle.
Which choice do you make?
In 2023 in the United States of America, you have two options for employment:
1) Working for someone else
2) Working for yourself
Critics of traditional employment exclaim, “You’ll never get rich unless you own equity in your work; you have to be your own boss. A salary is no way to reach the top 1% of wealth in the US.”
Critics of self-employment cry, “It’s far too risky to strike out on your own. Sure, there are some success stories, but you will probably crash and fail.”
Both parties believe they are right, and both parties leverage countless data points to support their positions. But both parties are missing the point.
The key isn’t that one form of employment is objectively better than the other. The key is that the distribution of outcomes that accompany different employment types varies.
In the example above, the probabilities of living in different apartments weren’t simply an arbitrary test of your risk tolerance. They serve to highlight the range of outcomes you can expect from different career paths.
Allow me to explain with yet another analogy.
In finance, we use derivatives called options to place leveraged bets and/or hedge our portfolios against downside moves.
The two simplest options are “calls” and “puts.”
You can buy a call option to bet on a stock going up by a certain date. If the stock price increases enough before the option’s expiration date, you will make a lot of money. If the stock doesn’t increase enough by the expiration date, the option expires worthless. You can also get paid upfront to sell call options on stocks that you already own, but you will be obligated to sell those shares at the option’s strike price if the stock price increases past that point, capping your potential gains.
Buying a put option gives you the right to sell that stock at a certain price, no matter how far its price has fallen, allowing you to hedge against declines. Meanwhile, selling a put option obliges you to buy that stock if it falls below your option’s strike price, opening you up to risk if a stock performs poorly.
There is one particular options strategy known as a “collar,” where you sell call options on stocks that you own and use those proceeds to purchase matching put options. This strategy got its name because it “collars” your portfolio: you are protected from downside moves, but your upside is limited thanks to the calls you sold to pay for the insurance.
Mark Cuban famously used a collar to preserve his wealth after selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo for billions right before the Dot Com bubble crashed.
A traditional, salaried job is a collar: the cost of protecting against downside risk is limited upside.
Think of your entry-level salary at your first job in corporate America as the second floor of the building, and your total comp as a high-level VP or director as an apartment on the eighth floor.
Your worst possible outcome, a career that fails to advance, still pays well enough to cover the basics. Meanwhile, a home run career pays handsomely, but it won’t propel you to the upper echelons of wealth. Like Mark Cuban’s Yahoo shares, your career is collared. The potential upside and downside outcomes are range defined.
Working for yourself, on the other hand, is like purchasing call options. If you succeed, the upside will outperform the “normal” career by a magnitude, but if you’re wrong, no one is there to save you. The cost of admission for unlimited upside is the potential for absolute failure. Maybe you become a millionaire, maybe you go bust. Who knows.
Of course, neither path is an all-or-nothing pursuit. There’s nothing wrong with allocating a small portion of a well-diversified portfolio to some more speculative call options, and you certainly don’t have to quit a well-paying job to go all-in on last weekend’s late-night Eureka! moment. In fact, the prudent move for someone looking to start their own thing is to launch it while they’re still working, that way they don’t need the money immediately.
If a stock does well enough, it can still generate insane returns for you despite initially being a small part of your portfolio. If your side hustle takes off, it can still generate life-changing money for you as well, without you having to give up your day job along the way.
That being said, I love a good casino trip, so we’ll stick with the call options. It is just betting on yourself, after all.
https://preview.redd.it/33mak3a5bs4b1.png?width=1226&format=png&auto=webp&s=d08defb5bc33f4a24b4a04290867764a793f5f25
submitted by KKshilling to buildindia [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 13:59 Ecstatic-Quit-2263 Runwal Dombivli East: A Haven of Modern Living in Dombivli's New Construction - Runwal Gardens

Dombivli, a city located in the Thane district of Maharashtra, has witnessed significant growth in recent years. Known for its rich cultural heritage and vibrant community, Dombivli has become a sought-after residential destination for many homebuyers. Among the various residential projects in the area, Runwal Dombivli East stands out as an exceptional choice for those seeking a modern and luxurious lifestyle. With its state-of-the-art amenities and prime location, Runwal Gardens offers a perfect blend of comfort, convenience, and natural beauty.
Situated in the eastern part of Dombivli, Runwal Dombivli East is a Dombivli new construction project that aims to redefine the concept of contemporary living. Spread across acres of lush greenery, this meticulously planned residential complex boasts a range of housing options to suit the diverse needs and preferences of potential buyers. From spacious apartments to elegant villas, Runwal Gardens offers a plethora of choices for homebuyers looking for their dream home.
One of the key highlights of Runwal Dombivli East is its strategic location. Dombivli is well-connected to major parts of Mumbai and Thane, making it an ideal place for those who commute for work or education. The project is in close proximity to the Dombivli railway station, ensuring easy access to the suburban railway network. Additionally, the upcoming metro line will further enhance the connectivity of the area, providing residents with a hassle-free commuting experience.
When it comes to amenities, Runwal Gardens leaves no stone unturned. The Dombivli new construction project boasts a range of world-class facilities designed to cater to the needs of every member of the family. For fitness enthusiasts, there is a well-equipped gymnasium, a jogging track, and a swimming pool where they can stay active and rejuvenate. The project also features beautifully landscaped gardens, a children's play area, and a dedicated space for indoor games, ensuring that residents have ample options for recreation and relaxation.
The apartments at Runwal Dombivli East are thoughtfully designed to maximize space utilization and provide a comfortable living experience. The homes are built with high-quality materials and feature modern interiors, providing a perfect blend of style and functionality. With spacious living areas, well-appointed bedrooms, and contemporary kitchens, these apartments offer an ideal abode for families to create lasting memories.
Safety and security are paramount at Runwal Gardens. The Dombivli new construction project is equipped with advanced security systems, including CCTV surveillance, intercom facilities, and round-the-clock security personnel, ensuring a safe and secure environment for residents. Additionally, the complex has a well-maintained infrastructure, including power backup, ample parking space, and efficient waste management systems, enhancing the overall convenience and comfort of the residents.
Runwal Dombivli East is surrounded by a host of social and civic amenities. Renowned educational institutions, healthcare centers, shopping malls, and entertainment options are in close proximity, ensuring that residents have everything they need within reach. The project also provides easy access to parks, recreational areas, and nature trails, allowing residents to enjoy a serene and healthy lifestyle amidst the bustling city life.
In conclusion, Runwal Dombivli East in Dombivli's new construction project, Runwal Gardens, presents an exceptional opportunity for homebuyers to experience modern living at its best. With its prime location, luxurious amenities, and thoughtfully designed homes, this project is a testament to the commitment of Runwal Developers in creating exceptional living spaces. Whether you are a first-time homebuyer or looking to upgrade to a better lifestyle, Runwal Dombivli East offers a perfect blend of comfort, convenience, and luxury that is sure to exceed your expectations.
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2023.06.08 13:53 nicoleflesher Shop Quality Second-Hand T-shirts Now!

Introduction

In a world increasingly conscious of the environmental impact of fast fashion, the concept of buying second-hand clothing has gained significant traction. Second-hand shopping allows us to reduce waste, support sustainability, and uncover one-of-a-kind fashion treasures. Among the vast array of second-hand garments, t-shirts stand out as versatile essentials that can elevate any outfit.
If you're someone who values both style and sustainability, you're in the right place. In this comprehensive guide, we will take you on a journey through the world of second-hand t-shirts. From where to find them and how to choose the best quality, to styling tips and frequently asked questions, we've got you covered. So, without further ado, let's dive in and explore the wonderful world of second-hand t-shirts!

1. What Makes Second-Hand T-Shirts a Great Fashion Choice?

Second-hand t-shirts offer a plethora of benefits that make them a smart and stylish fashion choice. Let's take a closer look at why shopping for second-hand t-shirts is worth your while:

1.1 Sustainable Fashion: Embrace Eco-Consciousness

The fashion industry is notorious for its negative impact on the environment, from excessive water consumption to harmful chemical usage. By opting for second-hand t-shirts, you actively contribute to the reduction of textile waste and the conservation of precious resources. You become part of the sustainable fashion movement, taking a stand against the environmental damage caused by fast fashion.

1.2 Unique Style: Stand Out from the Crowd

If you're tired of seeing people around you wearing the same mass-produced clothing items, second-hand t-shirts offer a refreshing change. Each vintage or pre-loved t-shirt carries its own story and character, enabling you to express your individuality through your wardrobe choices. You'll find one-of-a-kind prints, retro designs, and even band tees that are no longer in production, making your style truly unique.

1.3 Affordable Prices: Budget-Friendly Fashion

One of the most appealing aspects of shopping for second-hand t-shirts is the affordability factor. With prices significantly lower than retail, you can snag high-quality garments at a fraction of the cost. This opens up endless possibilities to expand your wardrobe without breaking the bank. You can embrace fashion experimentation and explore different styles without worrying about overspending.

1.4 High-Quality Finds: Timeless Durability

Second-hand doesn't mean second-rate. In fact, many vintage and pre-loved t-shirts were made with superior craftsmanship, resulting in better quality than some mass-produced options. By carefully selecting your second-hand t-shirts, you can find timeless pieces that withstand the test of time. Investing in high-quality garments means you'll enjoy their durability and wearability for years to come.

1.5 Ethical Consumption: Support Charitable Causes

When you purchase second-hand t-shirts from thrift stores or online platforms, you often contribute to charitable organizations. Many second-hand retailers partner with local charities, allocating a portion of their sales to support meaningful causes. By shopping for second-hand t-shirts, you become a part of this charitable cycle, promoting social welfare through your fashion choices.

2. Where to Find High-Quality Second-Hand T-Shirts

Now that we've established the many advantages of shopping for second-hand t-shirts, let's explore the various places where you can find high-quality options. Whether you prefer the thrill of treasure hunting in physical stores or the convenience of online platforms, there are plenty of avenues to discover unique and stylish second-hand t-shirts.

2.1 Thrift Stores: Uncover Hidden Gems

Thrift stores are a treasure trove for second-hand fashion enthusiasts. These stores often receive a wide variety of donated clothing items, including t-shirts. Take your time to browse through the racks and explore different sections to find hidden gems. Don't be afraid to try on different styles and sizes, as you never know what might catch your eye. Thrift stores offer an element of surprise and adventure in your quest for second-hand t-shirts.

2.2 Online Marketplaces: Convenience at Your Fingertips

The digital age has revolutionized the way we shop, and second-hand fashion is no exception. Online marketplaces provide a convenient platform to explore a vast selection of second-hand t-shirts. Websites such as eBay, Depop, and Poshmark have thriving communities of sellers offering unique and high-quality garments. You can easily filter your search based on size, brand, or specific design preferences, making it a breeze to find the perfect second-hand t-shirt from the comfort of your own home.

2.3 Vintage Boutiques: Timeless Charm

If you're looking for a more curated and specialized shopping experience, vintage boutiques are the way to go. These boutiques carefully curate their collection of second-hand clothing, ensuring that each piece meets their high-quality standards. Vintage boutiques often have a unique ambiance, transporting you to a different era as you browse through racks of meticulously selected t-shirts. While the prices may be slightly higher than thrift stores, you'll be rewarded with exceptional quality and an unparalleled sense of nostalgia.

2.4 Clothing Swaps: A Community Experience

Clothing swaps have gained popularity as a sustainable way to refresh your wardrobe while fostering a sense of community. These events bring together individuals looking to exchange their pre-loved clothing items, including t-shirts. By participating in a clothing swap, you not only acquire new additions to your wardrobe but also engage in a meaningful exchange that promotes sustainable fashion practices. Check local event listings or organize a clothing swap with friends to explore this eco-friendly and socially interactive way of finding second-hand t-shirts.

2.5 Local Charity Shops: Fashion with a Cause

Local charity shops, often run by nonprofit organizations, offer a unique opportunity to support a cause while shopping for second-hand t-shirts. These shops rely on donated clothing items, and the proceeds from sales are used to fund various charitable initiatives. By shopping at a local charity shop, you can contribute to the betterment of your community while finding hidden fashion treasures. Keep an eye out for special events and sales hosted by these shops for even greater savings and a chance to discover unique second-hand t-shirts.

3. Selecting High-Quality Second-Hand T-Shirts

Once you've identified the ideal shopping locations for your second-hand t-shirts, it's important to know how to select high-quality garments. While the variety and uniqueness of second-hand t-shirts are part of their appeal, you want to ensure that you're investing in pieces that will withstand regular wear and remain in good condition. Consider the following factors when assessing the quality of second-hand t-shirts:

3.1 Fabric Quality: Feel the Difference

The fabric is a key indicator of the overall quality of a t-shirt. Opt for t-shirts made from natural fibers such as cotton or linen, as they tend to be more durable and breathable. Avoid fabrics that feel thin, flimsy, or excessively worn out, as they may not hold up well over time. When examining the fabric, pay attention to any signs of pilling, fading, or stretching, as these could indicate lower quality.

3.2 Construction and Stitching: Look for Attention to Detail

Inspect the stitching of the t-shirt to gauge its construction quality. High-quality second-hand t-shirts will have neat and even stitches, with no loose threads or unraveling seams. Double stitching or reinforced seams in areas like the shoulders and collar contribute to the overall durability of the garment. Additionally, check for any signs of repairs or alterations, as these could affect the structural integrity of the t-shirt.

3.3 Color and Print Condition: Assess Wear and Fading

Examine the color and print of the t-shirt to determine its condition. Look for vibrant colors that have maintained their original intensity, as excessive fading can indicate repeated washing and wear. Pay attention to any cracks or peeling in the print, as this may affect the visual appeal and longevity of the t-shirt. While some signs of wear are expected with second-hand clothing, it's essential to ensure that the t-shirt's overall appearance is still appealing and intact.

3.4 Sizing and Fit: Find the Perfect Match

Finding the right size and fit is crucial when purchasing second-hand t-shirts. Sizes can vary between brands and eras, so it's essential to try on the garment or carefully assess the provided measurements. Look for t-shirts that have a comfortable and flattering fit, with the desired level of looseness or snugness. Keep in mind that alterations can be made if you find a t-shirt with excellent quality and design but slightly off sizing.

3.5 Odor and Cleanliness: Fresh is Best

Before making a purchase, take a moment to assess the odor and cleanliness of the t-shirt. While minor odors can often be remedied with washing, strong or persistent smells may indicate issues that are difficult to remove. Ensure that the t-shirt is clean and free from stains, as heavily stained garments may be challenging to restore. While minor imperfections can add character to second-hand t-shirts, it's important to prioritize cleanliness and freshness.

4. Styling Second-Hand T-Shirts with Panache

Once you've found the perfect second-hand t-shirts to add to your wardrobe, it's time to unleash your creativity and style them in unique and fashionable ways. Second-hand t-shirts offer endless possibilities for creating versatile and on-trend outfits. Here are some styling tips to help you make the most of your second-hand t-shirts:

4.1 Dress It Up or Down: Versatility at Its Finest

One of the greatest advantages of second-hand t-shirts is their versatility. They can effortlessly transition from casual daywear to chic evening ensembles. Pair a vintage band tee with high-waisted jeans and sneakers for a laid-back look, or tuck a fitted second-hand t-shirt into a midi skirt and add heels for a more sophisticated vibe. Experiment with different accessories and outerwear to transform your second-hand t-shirts for any occasion.

4.2 Layering Magic: Add Dimension and Interest

Layering is a fantastic way to add depth and visual interest to your outfits. Combine your second-hand t-shirts with cardigans, blazers, or denim jackets to create stylish layered looks. You can also experiment with different lengths and textures to create a dynamic ensemble. For example, layer a cropped second-hand t-shirt over a longer, flowy blouse and pair it with skinny jeans for a trendy, bohemian-inspired outfit.

4.3 Knots and Tucks: Emphasize Shape and Style

To give your second-hand t-shirts a fresh and modern twist, try knotting or tucking them. A simple front knot at the hem can instantly add a touch of style and create a flattering silhouette. Alternatively, tuck your t-shirt into high-waisted bottoms to define your waistline and achieve a polished look. These small styling techniques can elevate a basic second-hand t-shirt into a fashion-forward statement piece.

4.4 Print Mixing: Unleash Your Creative Flair

Don't be afraid to mix different prints and patterns when styling your second-hand t-shirts. Experiment with contrasting colors and textures to create unique and eye-catching combinations. For example, pair a striped t-shirt with a floral skirt or layer a plaid shirt over a graphic tee. Mixing prints adds an element of playfulness and individuality to your outfits, making your second-hand t-shirts truly stand out.

4.5 Accessorize with Flair: Complete the Look

Accessories play a crucial role in enhancing your second-hand t-shirt outfits. Add statement necklaces, oversized sunglasses, or a wide-brimmed hat to elevate your look. Don't forget about belts, scarves, and handbags to add a pop of color or texture. The right accessories can transform a simple second-hand t-shirt into a stylish ensemble that reflects your personal style.
submitted by nicoleflesher to vintageclothings [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 12:16 TheGeekyZoologist Jurassic World: The Hegemony of Biosyn (JWD rewrite) - Act IV (1/2)

Acts I to III are available in my previous posts. This act is the longest of all and thus, I've been forced to divide it into two posts. Make sure you're comfortable. Enjoy your read!
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Act IV: The Clouds Burst (1/2)

Maisie's evasion
While Ramsay is secretly covering them in the control room, Wu and Theo enters Katia Lesser's lab and with Rod Drummond's unexpected help (he's tired of working for Biosyn and intend to get out of the valley), they neutralize the scientist and frees Maisie from her cell. They then cross the other secret labs within Biosyn's Citadel and we several interesting elements:
- Dissected animals are seen in one of the labs while others are suffering medical experiments.
- In one of the sections, there are ten rooms. Nine of them are empty and in the tenth one, there are nothing but locusts, which surprise Theo. However, Drummond points out they don't exactly look like ordinary locusts (they're only slightly bigger than modern locusts. They could even be portrayed by real locusts (a bit enlarged by visual tricks) if this was a film) and noticing Wu's guilty look, the two men and Maisie realize he had a role in their creation). But he doesn't have the time to give explanations about those locusts.
- Another room has a window which overlooks a large dark bunker-like hall. In its darkness, they glimpse the shape of a large theropod with raised dorsal spines and crocodile-like scutes but when he sees the creature a bit more clearly, Drummond says something like "Those idiots made their cheap Godzilla knockoff!", recognizing the creature from the short film he mentioned to Wu in the Drinking Confession scene. He calls the mysterious theropod an "Ugly bastard" and a perversion of real dinosaurs.
After the labs, they head for the metro station just as planned but due to his lame leg (in TRQ, it was pierced by one of the Indoraptor's claws), Wu can't go with them and decides to stay in order to win some time for them. He and Maisie have a last look/exchange, with the teenager finally showing Wu some genuine respect and gratitude. Wu gives Theo a flash drive, urging him to send its content to Guillaume Vuillier of the WDMC as it contains the evidences of a scourge Biosyn intend to release soon. They separate, with Wu going in the opposite direction.
While the guards are chasing Wu, Maisie, Theo and Rod enter the metro and picks one of the stations on the eastern side of Auronzo (actually one of the observation towers). The metro leave the Citadel, following the valley loop. However, the metro system was badly designed and it can only follow the loop in a clockwise direction, forcing them to make a considerable detour and waste precious minutes.
Wu is soon caught and Dodgson's arrival in the control room prevents Ramsay from further helping the fugitives. Seeing one of the metro heading east, Dodgson has it stopped halfway of its journey and orders the guards to go inside the tunnels and bring back Maisie. Aware that Wu betrayed him, Dodgson takes a tablet and activates a certain Prometheus protocol.
Underground, Maisie, Theo and Drummond are forced to leave the metro and they try to find an exit before the guards can catch them. They find a door on the side and breaking it, they enter another smaller tunnel. However, the ground is slippery and they fall, descending further down into the darkness.
When the guards sent in the tunnels tell Dodgson that they lost Maisie, the CEO has a fit of anger.
The old amber mines
After their fall, Maisie, Theo and Drummond discover that they're in the old amber mines, which Biosyn exploited until their depletion, and search for an exit. Drummond also mentions that the valley's underground is like a cheese and that he wouldn't be surprised if some tunnels lead outside of the valley, which would explain all the incidents which occurred in the past year. During their crossing of the mines, they find several human skeletons or remains. It's implied that it's all the undesirable people who trespassed into the valley (governments' and rival companies' spies, anti-Biosyn activists...).
Should the giant temnospondyl be scrapped from the frozen lake sequence, it's probably going to be included here, as there are underground rivers and reservoirs by the mines.
Aviano Air Base
At Aviano Air Base, at the very gates of the Alps, Jessica Bigelow boards a US air force helicopter which takes her to Auronzo.
Prometheus Protocol
Wu is brought to Dodgson, which shows him a screen. Wu is aghast as it's a Twitter feed with the following hashtag #MadScientistWu, which is trending. Dodgson then explains that he had a file containing evidences of Wu's ethical misbehaviour (his work on the Indominus and Indoraptor, and especially the use of human DNA in their making ..) be made and ready to be sent to the media at once should he betray him. His reputation being destroyed for good, Wu breaks down and Dodgson orders the guards to bring him to Dr Lesser's lab and put him in Maisie's cell. Several characters (Ramsay, Pellegrino, Chapman, Everett...) watch Wu being led away by the guards.
With Mia Everett being nearby, Dodgson declares that Biosyn shouldn't have accepted a single InGen employees within its ranks has they have been nothing but traitors and burdens, before announcing to Mia he finally decided to pull the plug on her research program, as her rival and his team have much more promising results and shall be soon covered in glory.
Raiding and Betrayal
While the afternoon reaches its end, Owen, Dougal and Kayla end up near one of the Sanctuary's seven observation towers. There's no one inside and Kayla suggest entering it to raid some of the supplies it contains. She also tells her two companions that there is a metro station beneath each of the towers, stations connected to the Citadel by the tunnels. Thinking they could infiltrate the Citadel by those tunnels, Dougal agrees with her plan and the trio enters the tower and steal the needed supplies but a drone has spotted them. Just as they are about to follow the tunnels, they notice flashlights, those of incoming Biosyn guards. They climb back to the top of the tower but a security vehicle parks in front of the building and other guards step out of it. Surrounded, the trio prepare for a siege inside the tower but just as the guards are about to enter, Kayla points her weapon on Dougal's head and tells Owen to drop his or his colleague dies.
From the nearby forest, Claire witnesses the capture of her two colleagues and watches the Biosyn Security vehicle taking Kayla and the prisoners to the Citadel while the sound of helicopters approaching can be heard.
The board arrives
The helicopter(s) transporting Biosyn's board of directors lands on the Citadel's helipad and its passengers (which include Nathan Quinn and Zoe Murdoch) are welcomed by Dodgson and Ramsay.
Obstinacy
At the same time, Jessica Bigelow is brought to the Citadel and asks to see Dodgson but Murdoch stands in her way, claiming he's very busy. The CIA agent insists and Dodgson finally listens to what she has to say. But he wants to carry on with his event whatever happens, but reassure her as for Biosyn's most important research: They're already on a hard-drive in his office.
The cells
We cut to Owen and Dougal as they are locked up in a cell in the Security HQ. Kayla is standing outside, next to Pellegrino who's interrogating the two men about their mission and Claire's whereabouts. The smuggler reveals to the two WDMC agents that powerful friends suggested to her to let herself be arrested by the Italians as they expected they'll use her as a Trojan horse. She adds that there's nothing personal, she's just thinking about herself. While Pellegrino carries on with her questions, Kayla leaves the Security HQ and meets Bigelow by its exit (telling the audience that Kayla's powerful friends are the CIA). She asks her about their next moves and the CIA agent answers that the two of them will leave the valley with Dodgson and his escort. Back in the cell, Owen and Dougal hope Claire will succeed.
Unleashed dragon
As she's nearing the Citadel, Claire is spotted by a patrol of mercenaries or a drone. They chase after her and in her flight, she ends up in an enclosed part of the Sanctuary with several paddocks and cages. Several of them contain animals and it's implied that it's where Biosyn keeps those it just acquired or bred before releasing them in the valley. One of the cages contains a tyrannosaur and just as the mercenaries are about to catch her, Claire releases the predator and the mercenaries panic, triggering the rex's attack. It kills them before turning towards Claire, who's crouched and not making a single move. The rex sniffs her lengthily and Claire notices it's the animal she saw the day before, which left the droppings she used to mask her scent... The rex leaves Claire alone and disappears in the woods, heading north while Claire heads in the opposite direction. On the way, she sees a mysterious large theropod (she and the audience have visual obstacles which prevents them from clearly seeing it but we know it's the one from the bunker under the Citadel) being transported towards the western part of the valley.
In the besiegers' camp
While the sun is setting, a meeting is held in one of the besiegers camp's tents. Among the attendees are Vuillier, Nyamu, Viscontini, the leader of the Carabinieri Colonel Orlando Pasolini, and those of the Italian and Austrian Special Forces (and Pazzi through videoconference as he's still in Rome). They're talking about Biosyn's defenses and forces, the species which might be encountered in the Sanctuary, eventual negotiation strategies, the WDMC agents' mission, the grey guards who are in the valley and currently heading to the Citadel... Argument breaks out as some (like Pazzi) advocates for an immediate offensive, to surprise Dodgson and prevent him from fleeing or preparing some nasty surprise, while others want to wait until dawn, to let time for the grey guards and the eventual surviving WDMC agents to accomplish their mission in addition of avoiding sending men in a valley full of deadly animals in the dark of the night. Pazzi is for an immediate offensive and gives his blessing to colonel Pasolini.
Worried about the fate of his agents, Vuillier contacts the grey guards, which are already heading to the Citadel, following a path in the uplands.
The US spies
From a nearby wood, some people are seen spying the camp and northern entrance of Biosyn's lands. We cut to a meeting room inside the CIA's headquarters at Langley where Gibbon and his colleagues just received news that an offensive is about to start at Auronzo. Some ask the head of the DSD news about his agent inside Biosyn's Citadel.
Open the gates
Bigelow, with Ramsay's help, is trying to persuade Dodgson to cancel the event, take the hard-drive with the key research, and secretly evacuate Auronzo before ordering the control room to open the gates and let the Italian authorities in. While those would be searching through the Citadel, they would leave the area by the mountains before heading to a secret safehouse. Dodgson complains that the only help the US government sends is her but she mockingly retorts that the US won't risk a war with Italy and Austria just because of him and that had he been more careful, all that mess wouldn't have happened.
Watching footage of the besiegers' camp, Dodgson finally orders the opening of the northern gate. He and Ramsay then go to the auditorium, where Biosyn's board and other important figures are waiting for the CEO.
The convoy
Believing Dodgson finally surrendered, Colonel Pasolini and most of his Carabinieri enter Biosyn's lands while the Italian and Austrian Special Forces remain in the camp. After passing by the mercenaries (who were ordered by Dodgson to stand down) and the airstrip, the convoy enters a narrow pass through the mountains, the same one through which the hunters were brought to the Sanctuary.
Chips
In the Citadel's auditorium, Dodgson begins his presentation with a speech about how dinosaurs and other de-extinct animals were used since InGen first cloned them. At the same time, all the non-essential employees are gathered in the cafeteria and locked there by the mercenaries on his orders while others are deployed in some of the Citadel's most strategic locations (the control room, the labs' entrance...)
Meanwhile, the Carabinieri convoy has entered the Sanctuary and following the main road to the Citadel, they pass by the lake seen in A bed in the trees scene and several animals, including predators, which do nothing but watch the convoy. Drones are seen flying above the Italian vehicles. However, just as the Citadel is visible in the distance, the convoy stops when the first vehicle notices that a fallen tree is lying across the road. While it's quite large, said tree is still light enough to be moved by a group of people and with a lot of effort. Colonel Pasolini orders for a certain number of his men to get out and move the tree out of their way but while they start accomplishing their task, the Carabinieri feels the ground trembling beneath their feet and they and those still in the vehicles see ripples in the water puddles along the road. A racket starts to be heard in the woods on both sides of the road and in the distance, trees can be heard being jostled or even falling. Aware that large dinosaurs must be nearby, Pasolini orders his men to get back inside the vehicles and to the last in the convoy to return to the last crossroads and search another way to the Citadel. But just as said vehicle turns around, a tree falls across the road, larger than the one ahead of the convoy. The latter is now stuck between the two fallen trees and when they see human silhouettes running away from the one behind the convoy, the Carabinieri realize that they've fallen into an ambush (hearing the Carabinieri's communications on the radio, Vuillier and Viscontini wonder what treachery Dodgson has planned). Meanwhile, the drones have returned over the convoy and the racket in the woods gets closer and closer and the people in the convoy glimpse three large necks rising from the forest: argentinosaurs, charging argentinosaurs. Frightened at such a sight, the Carabineri are struck with fear and just as the sauropods are about to burst out of the forest at any second, a dreadful booming sound (similar to that of the orcs horns in Battle of the Five Armies; or the reapers' sound from the Mass Effect series) comes from speakers on some nearby elevation and in response, the sauropods let out a deafening bellow heard across much of the Sanctuary. Before they can take action, the Carabinieri are attacked by the argentinosaurs and their suite of small predators.
In the control room, Pellegrino witnesses the attack through some drone visuals and is wondering how it happened. She orders the technicians to send a signal in the sauropods' brain chips (during the Inspection scene at the beginning of the story, Pellegrino explain to the group that the Sanctuary animals are chipped) in order to make them stop but when they try to send the signal, the get an error notification, and one of the technicians say that either the chips fried and are driving the animals mad, or they were hacked. Pellegrino then asks to deactivate the aerial defense system to let the besiegers fly their helicopters into the valley but she's told that some program recently inserted prevent them from doing that for the entire duration of the prenstation. Powerless, the head of security watches the argentinosaurs crushing vehicles and men under their feet, and their suites of small predators harassing them. She's even more surprised when a few Ankylosaurus (first glimpsed in the news montage when the report talks about "tailored dinosaurs". Compared to those from the fossil record and those made by InGen, those Ankylosaurus are bigger and more high-legged, giving them enhanced mobility. Design-wise, it's basically the one from the actual JW films, albeit perhaps more intimidating) join the fray. Having suspicions, she head for the auditorium.
After learning that Pasolini and his Carabinieri fell into an ambush, an offensive is launched against the walls of Biosyn lands. Vuillier and Viscontini watch the Italian and Austrian Special Forces engaging the mercenaries defending the walls by the airstrip. They hope they'll soon make a breach so they can reach the convoy before it's too late (they know they can't send helicopters due the pterosaurs acting as the Citadel's aerial defense).
In the valley, one of the Carabinieri notice that the animal isn't acting on its own will (it's seen blocking its movements for a short moment, like someone resisting to a possession) and even seems in pain.
We cut to the auditorium and his observation is confirmed, with Dodgson explaining to the board of directors that thanks to chips (originally designed by Mantah Corp but Dodgson being Dodgson, he doesn't mention that and instead give the credit to the team rival of Mia's), they can control the animals like puppets. He precise that while the chips work well on some animals, trials have failed with others (like the raptors). On the auditorium's giant screen, various diagrams and footage of trials are seen.
We then follow another POV, that of technicians inside a command centre-like room. The technicians are sitting in front of monitors and each of them is seen typing on keyboards, giving instructions to the argentinosaurs' and ankylosaurs' chips (on the monitors, the audience can notice that they give names to each of the animals. For example, the three Argentinosaurus are named Brontes, Steropes, and Arges; after three of the cyclops from Greek Mythology). Through their drones or even micro cameras attached to the dinosaurs, they see the Carabinieri fleeing northwards while some of the Italians retaliate to the attack by shooting on the dinosaurs. But their weapons are ineffective against the argentinosaurs' hide and the ankylosaurs' armours. On the order of a mercenary officer, the technicians send a second wave of animals.
The speakers make once again their awful booming sound, exacerbating the animals' aggressiveness, and the second wave emerges from the forest. Before the scene cuts, we see it's made of, among other things, a Gigantoraptor (named Jabberwocky on its controlling technician's monitor), a couple of Quetzalcoatlus, probably some medium-large theropods like Allosaurus or Carnotaurus, a Biosyn Triceratops, and maybe even some Hyaenodon/sabre-toothed felid (depends on which will appear in the fighting pit in Malta) and Gigantopithecus recently imported to Auronzo. Many of those new attackers wear armor pieces comparable to those of police and military dogs or horses.
In the auditorium, the giant screen ends up showing the battle occurring in the valley. Dodgson's audience gasps when they see the drones' footage. One of the board members ask: "It's from a video game? Right?"
NOTE: I fear that there might be too many animals and different species involved in the battle. The mandatory ones are the following: Argentinosaurus (maybe have more than three individuals? The Brontes-Steropes-Arges trio could be seen charging abreast, evoking from afar a single three-headed gigantic beast) and their suite, Triceratops (which will illustrate itself soon and show how it's different from InGen's trikes), Gigantoraptor (in order to have a faster and more agile creature in the lot), and another player foreshadowed in earlier scenes (you'll know which when we'll return to the battle).
Sneaking into the Citadel
While battle just broke out further west, a Biosyn guard posted by a large gate carved at the base of the mountain near the Citadel spots a hooded silhouette under the trees: Claire. She retreats into the darkness and as a huge reward has been promised to anyone who would capture Vuillier's she-wolf, he runs after her. However, just like the colleagues she killed the day before, she lures him into an ambush and neutralizes him. She then steals his uniform and badge, and use the latter to open the gate, entering in an underground corridor, large enough to allow the transportation of large animals like the mysterious big theropod she glimpsed earlier. She follows it towards the Citadel.
Unbeknownst to her, the grey guards have also started their infiltration in the Citadel, by walking down the slopes behind the central tower. After neutralizing the few Biosyn guards positioned there, they enter the garden around the tower. In the latter's shadow, they split up in four groups, each heading into different parts of the Citadel:
- Cesare, Olivares and another are tasked with entering the labs.
- Perez, Al-Damiri and a third team member must take over the control room at the top of the tower.
- Chapuy and two others are tasked with searching the archives under the tower and preventing anyone from destroying the documents.
- Massoud, Kapakas and Papadopoulos must find the cells and free the WDMC agents if they're there.
The Battle of Auronzo
Following the road, the retreating Carabinieri reach the Valley's main river and the bridge the convoy crossed on the way just a few minutes ago. However, a controlled animal charging from the other side of the river prevents the first Carabinieri from taking it and they are forced to cross the cold waters of the river itself (it's thigh-deep at best) while the controlled animals are right on their heels. Several Carabinieri get killed during the crossing while some of their colleagues are cut off from them and must escape into the woods on the southern side of the river. Luckily, the controlling technicians didn't notice them. Once Pasolini and his remaining men are all on the other side of the river with the few vehicles they could have gotten out of the ambush site, the controlling technicians have their animals stopped just at the edge. A last animal codenamed Quasimodo arrive on the battlefield, a large Biosyn-made predator which visually, looks like a perversion of the real animal which makes up its base genome: It's the monstrous theropod from the bunker, an Acrocanthosaurus whose DNA was spliced with that of other animals, including crocodile (due to the croc fetish of some Biosyn executives) in order to be bigger and more "Monstrous and cooler-looking" than InGen's Acrocanthosaurus (yes, it's just JWD's Giganotosaurus with a different name). The apex predator makes his way through the other animals, which are seen looking at him with fright (in case of the smaller species) or irritation (in case of the Argentinosaurus and the other megaherbivores) but still controlled, they can't run away or fight it. As they're not controlled by the chips, the members of the Argentinosaurus' suite are showing aggression and one of them dares to attack him, but Quasimodo just grabs it in the air and eats it, discouraging the others from attacking as long as the sauropods won't. Quasimodo then stops in front of the bridge and looks at the Carabinieri on the other side. Confronted to this surreal sight, Pasolini don't know if they shall continue their retreat northwards or wait and hope for reinforcements' arrival.
While the animals are eerily standing still by the river, Dodgson exposes an idea to the board: They will bred new animals which aren't in their official catalogue, secretly release them in various parts of the globe, create "controlled" incidents and then get contracted by governments to capture the animals (capture which will be very easy with the chips, barely an inconvenience...) and send them to Auronzo. Biosyn will be both the disease and the cure, getting profits from this endless cycle of incidents and capture and obtaining absolute control on genetic power while their remaining competitors will die one by one. Basically, they'll soon become the equivalent in the Bio-engineering world of the British East India Company, something InGen aspired to be before crumbling. The CEO adds that his friends within the US government are already very interested by this technology.
Hidden in a technical room right behind the auditorium's stage, Pellegrino heard Dodgson bragging about controlling the animals. Realizing that he's so mad that he is slaughtering her fellow countrymen just to sell a technology, she takes a potentially fatal decision.
Back at the camp near the airstrip, Viscontini tells Vuillier that someone within the Italian government must have warned Dodgson, explaining how he got the time to do his nasty preparations. As the Special Forces just defeated the mercenaries guarding the northern entrance of Biosyn's lands and took the airstrip, Vuillier and Nyamu join them, asking for a weapon and climbing into one of their vehicles, refusing to stay safely in the camp while their friends and colleagues are in danger of death within the valley.
The speakers let out a third blast and hearing it, the few Carabinieri south of the river turn towards its origin. They see the speaker and an movable antenna on a nearby ridge and are aware that it must have something to do with the animals' unnatural behaviour. They rush towards it, hoping to save their comrades.
Irritated by the third blast, the controlled animals stamp and growl/bellow for a moment, before their controlling technicians orders them to move forward, as they were ordered to crush the Carabinieri before the arrival of their allies. While the other animals cross the river, Quasimodo the monstrous Acrocanthosaurus takes the bridge, accelerating his pace little by little before roaring and dashing on the Carabinieri. Aware that they'll be all slaughtered within a few minutes if they just stand there, Pasolini ordered to his men a few moments before to scatter in every direction and flee as long as possible in order to win time while the remaining vehicles will be either used to carry a maximum amount of men to the nearest shelter (could be the Hunting Lodge) before coming back and picking up those they can. Pasolini volunteers to stay on foot.
While flying between the speakers and the river, one of the drones spot the Carabinieri left south of the river. Noticing those troublemakers, the controlling technicians recall two of the animals from the battlefield (probably one of the Argentinosaurus and the Gigantoraptor).
On the other side of the river, the rest of the controlled animals have started attacking Pasolini and his men. The argentinosaurs charge through the forest and crush the Carabinieri like ants while their predatory auxiliaries harass them; the trike basically acts like a giant version of the boar from Australian horror film Razorback, charging, goring with its horns, and cutting off limbs with its sharp beak; Quasimodo devour several of the Italians... Colonel Pasolini ends up killed by one of the creatures and his death ruins the morale of his men who are about to rout.
Meanwhile, reactions among Dodgson's audience are varied:While some are captivated, others are not sure what to think about using the Carabinieri as guinea pigs, and one or two are disgusted. Nathan Quinn has a neutral attitude (he's interested by the technology but even if he strongly disapproves the actual demonstration and the bloodbath, he doesn't show it) while Ramsay avoid looking at the screen.
Hearing one of the Argentinosaurus bulldozing its way through the forest behind them just as they are about to reach the speakers and the antenna, the other Carabinieri start to run but during their race, they are surprised by the Gigantoraptor when it kills one of the Carabinieri, acting a bit like an oversized terror bird. They are forced to climb into a tree near a cliff's edge in order to escape it, with even another of the Carabinieri sacrificing himself to let the others climb high reach its targets, the Gigantoraptor tries to climb on the tree but to no avail, as it's too big. However, the tree bends and ends up uprooted under its assaults. Our characters are now hanging on an horizontal tree which will probably soon fall if the theropod keeps kicking it under its controller's command. They can't escape by one end as the Gigantoraptor is waiting for them and to make matters worse, the Argentinosaurus appears below the cliff and it can raise its head almost high enough to grab our characters. They can't escape.
Sneaky as a viper
After passing by the entrance of the large bunker where the monstrous Acrocanthosaurus was contained, Claire decides to pass by the vents after hearing some guards.
The Goblins of Nublar
During their journey through the amber mines, Maisie, Theo and Drummond stumble upon a lone Pectinodon. Remembering what he said earlier about the network of tunnels and its potential exits leading out of the valley, Drummond realize that the Pectinodons, and not the raptors, were involved in several of the external incidents (including the one from the Prologue). As he had to capture some of those creatures in a post-apocalyptic Nublar for Mills and Wu while he was part of Wheatley's mercenary company, Theo warns his companions about the danger of those animals. Maisie remembers having seen babies of those animals in the manor's basement along all the others Mills sold in his secret auction. The lone Pectinodon let out a series of calls and soon, an entire pack threatens our protagonists.
Ensue a scene where they have to repel them (Drummond tries to use the portable horn he has in his bag in order to scare the pectinodons but they're not impressed) and flee. However, Theo is bitten during that scene and his two companions notice this during a brief moment of respite. Maisie hopes they could perhaps find some cure but Theo answers that while one exists, they won't reach it in time. He adds that the venom will drive him mad (as seen in JPTG and mentioned in TRQ) and turn him into a danger for them. While his mind is still clear, he give Wu's flash drive to Maisie, has farewell words with her, asks Drummond to take care of her, and then runs back to where they came from, intending to win some time for them. While Maisie and Rod flee, Theo stands in the tunnel, preventing the pectinodons from going any further. He battles them to the death, taking several to the grave with him. An alternative could be him attracting a maximum of pectinodons in a room where he either provokes a crumbling, either a flooding, something that kills Theo and his attackers.
Finding a ladder, Maisie and Drummond follows it and climb out of the mines, narrowly escaping the pectinodons. They are back to the surface, somewhere in the northern part of the valley, not far from the dam. The palaeontologist then takes the traumatized teenager to the nearest tower, where they rest and resupply for a time.
Turning the Tide
Just as hope seems lost for the Carabinieri in the western part of the valley, a group of Shantungosaurus steps out from the forest and when the speakers on the trailer let out another blast to infuriate the controlled Gigantoraptor and Argentinosaurus nearby, the hadrosaurs, pissed by the sound made, attack the speakers and in the process, destroy also the antenna which sends the signals to the controlled animals' chips.
Freed of the mercenaries' control, the animals stop for a moment and most being scared by the gunshots or having no interest in killing the humans in front of them, just leave. However some like the Triceratops or Quasimodo carry on with their attacks due to their natural instincts but when the Special Forces finally arrive from the north, they hesitate and after being intimidated by the newcomers, they retreat and disappear in the forest' darkness. The surviving Carabinieri start to rally to their allies.
Witnessing the shift in the situation, Dodgson is frustrated and leaves the auditorium, tasking Ramsay with trying to reassure the board. He calls Bigelow, telling her to meet him at his office. On the way, the CEO is cornered by Pellegrino and some of her men, mostly Italians, who point their pistols on him. The head of security tells Dodgson he's under arrest and orders him to cease this madness and surrender to the authorities. However, the putschists are surrounded in their turn by Dodgson's bodyguards and some mercenaries, and all except Pellegrino are gunned down. While she is neutralized and taken to the cells, Dodgson hurries to the Citadel's central tower. By the entrance of his office, Bigelow and Kayla are waiting for him. They enter his office and Dodgson starts cleaning his computer and putting his most precious belongings in a bag, including the hard-drive with Biosyn's most important research. The CEO also orders some men to destroy the archives.
At the top of the tower, Isabella Perez, Sherif Al-Damiri and their companion reach the control room and while they're securing it, Vincent Chapuy and his two comrades have to fight the men sent by Dodgson to the archives. Perez orders the technicians to deactivate the aerial defense system and the pterosaurs are seen moving away, letting the Special Forces (accompanied by Viscontini) fly to the battlefield. A couple of their helicopters go directly to the Citadel, engaging the mercenaries defending it.
While the dead or wounded Carabinieri are taken off the valley before the scavengers show up, the others regroup and with the Special Forces' ground forces, march to the Citadel where they intend to soon end the battle. Vuillier contacts Cesare, asking him about his progress. Cesare and his two companions haven't yet entered the labs, as Dodgson deployed seasoned mercenaries and not simple guards at their entrance, offering a hard resistance.
While the Citadel's defenders are engaged with the Special Forces dropped by the helicopters, Armand Massoud, Angelos Papadopoulos and Lydia Kapakas enter the Security HQ and free Owen and Dougal after a small fight with the gaolers. Pellegrino is also freed. The Raptor Whisperer asks one of the gaolers where Victoria is. She's in the kennels, in the lower levels. While Owen rushes to the kennels, the three grey guards, Dougal and Pellegrino head for the atrium.
Running out of time (his computer is having some issues), Dodgson sends his last forces to the Citadel's atrium, where a shootout occurs. With the cafeteria no longer guarded, the non-essential employees try to break out. Meanwhile several Biosyn guards drop their weapons and surrender when they see Pellegrino collaborating with the besiegers.
Dodgson's joker card
The defenders lose ground and as they are about to be caught between the Carabinieri, the Italian and Austrian Special Forces, the Massoud-Kapakas-Papadopoulos trio and Pellegrino's followers, one of the Biosyn guard calls for a ceasefire. The fight stops and Dodgson appears on top of the stairs which lead to the main courtyard. Bigelow, Kayla and his bodyguards are with him (while Ramsay is seen arriving from the Auditorium) and Dodgson has his bag with him. Seeing the CIA agent, the trio of grey guards hurls threats and insults at her, declaring she'll pay for Digby who died in Malta because of her treachery.
Dodgson look at his enemies: Vuillier, Nyamu and Viscontini down in the atrium, standing in front of the Carabinieri; the grey guards, Dougal and Pellegrino on one of the floors. He talks to them, congratulating them for taking the valley from him, before adding that they won one battle but not the war. Just as he is about to get arrested, he unveils his joker card: Should he be imprisoned or killed, his agents abroad have the order of releasing the content of nine containers he sent across the globe: Swarms of genetically-modified locusts designed to eat every crop but Biosyn's (a montage show trucks carrying the same containers as those seen in the airstrip. They park in the countryside of the following regions: US Midwest, India, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Egypt, China, Argentina, Australia, and Germany). Should the locusts be freed, they would trigger a global famine, with people being forced to turn to Biosyn if they want to eat. Even if Dodgson doesn't leave Auronzo alive, Biosyn will have a future as it will be the only entity which could ensure mankind's survival in this apocalyptic scenario.
New attackers
Meanwhile, three helicopters arrive from the opposite side of the valley. At first, it's believed that they are others Special Forces helicopters but as no one on the besiegers' camp ordered them to head for the Citadel, some try to contact the oncoming aircrafts, to no avail. Fearing some ill shift in situation, Vuillier suggest his allies to take cover. One of the besiegers' helicopter tries to intercept the trio of helicopters but they shoot it down and it crashes in the eastern part of the valley, near one of the observation towers. Everyone in the atrium is surprised, including Dodgson, and rushes to shelter while two of the helicopters fire missiles in several of the Citadel's key locations, including the atrium, the helipad (destroying the board's helicopters) and the cafeteria, and spray the control room (Perez is hit while one of the technician accidently release the animals contained in the kennel when he falls dead head first on his console. The freed animals not only include Victoria but also dilophosaurs among other things). After that, they distract those of the besieging forces and attack the Citadel's defenders. Many casualties are inflicted among the besiegers and Biosyn employees.
Dodgson regains consciousness just after the attack, which killed his bodyguards and projected Bigelow and Kayla away. Next to him, Ramsay is still unconscious. He sees the third helicopter of the attackers landing in the courtyard and debarking a squad of armed men who directly rushes to the laboratories. As soon as they're gone, Dodgson grabs his bag, wakes Ramsay up, and takes advantage of the situation to escape, towards the nearest elevator. He chose one of the lower levels, that of the garages. The elevator blocks itself halfway and the two Biosyn executives must force their way out while chaos has taken over the rest of the building.
submitted by TheGeekyZoologist to JurassicPark [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 11:34 NoSeaweed1699 GeekShare Black Cat Acrylic Controller Holder

GeekShare Black Cat Acrylic Controller Holder
Another GeekShare product with kitty elements is here, as there is a lot of feedback from fans wanting more Xbox accessories, and now GeekShare is progressively fulfilling the fans' wishes.
Although this time is not Controller Skin, is also an adorable and practical XBOX accessory.
🔗Black Cat Acrylic Controller Holder
https://preview.redd.it/gy2kqr7hkr4b1.jpg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65ac476eb5d9e8f99edaa2b8af8c7b40d5513492
As its name suggests, it is made of acrylic, so it is not easy to damage.d The whole is black, a black cat, from the front, is a kitty lifting the front paws, if put your controller on it, it is more like a cat is holding up your controller without complaint~
https://preview.redd.it/fpjzj2eikr4b1.jpg?width=1223&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=efc432ff602faa5c040b4f6d563f429a2ee3acae
From its tail can see it is in a good mood and is willing to do the thing for you.
Well, the reality of the kitty is not so obedient, when I hold them, staying in my arms softly is expressing their love for me!
https://preview.redd.it/rz2belxjkr4b1.jpg?width=1005&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dde508f826214a69a2a4226dd8943b4eecfb5a5f
Fits most modern and retro game controllers, such as PS4, PS5, Switch Pro, Xbox One, Xbox Series X S, etc. If you are a kitty maniac, come and buy it!
submitted by NoSeaweed1699 to GeekShare_group [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 11:29 aleandgamer New order from kitgg - AC Milan and Real Madrid retro jersey

New order from kitgg - AC Milan and Real Madrid retro jersey
Took 26 days in total to Italy. The Real Madrid jersey is very thin but I think that's how it's meant to be.
submitted by aleandgamer to brfans [link] [comments]

2023.06.08 09:59 A_horse_a_piece77 "Yesterday's Soccer Mom Is Today's Domestic Extremist": A Guide To Surviving The Culture

Author and conservative commentator Peachy Keenan is sick and tired of yesterday's soccer mom being treated as today's "domestic extremist", in public discourse by media gatekeepers and government officials alike—and all the while parents are sheepishly and too easily abdicating their natural role as captains and defenders of the household.
https://twitter.com/KeenanPeachy/status/1666121050567110656
https://preview.redd.it/kdnwwyvt1r4b1.png?width=790&format=png&auto=webp&s=7afed3bdff34a513a8b78f22fe5e37368066ecad
"They like to make us, the normal people, the moms and dads of America into extremists. But if you look around it's pretty easy to see who the real extremists are," Keenan told Harris Faulkner on Fox prime time Tuesday night. https://www.foxnews.com/video/6328922595112
She is calling for a back to the basics while writing from deep behind 'enemy lines': southern California. "Parenting is not a game. There is no do-over. You are all that stands between your small charges and the roiling storms ahead—and the band of purple-haired nonbinary pirates that’s about to storm the deck."
Keenan has written a new handbook of sorts, or a practical guide to winning the culture war and protecting your family from the ravings of "Childless weirdos have taken over every institution we look to for guidance on how to raise good citizens..."
You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Domestic-Extremist-Practical-Winning-Culture/dp/1684513529/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Domestic+Extremist%3A+A+Practical+Guide+to+Winning+the+Culture+War&s=books&sr=1-1
Keenan holds nothing back in the following blistering commentary from her book [emphasis ZH]:
It has become only too clear what this absence of parental authority has wrought. Truly insane people have taken over the American education system, Big Pharma, and Big Tech. They know the best way to reach the Final Solution of the American family is to focus on young, impressionable minds. We are enjoying the fruits of their labor now: an explosion of teen depression and suicide, an epidemic of children who are confused if they’re boys or girls, and an incredible 40 percent of Gen Z reporting that they are some letter in the ever-expanding alphabet soup known as LGBTQ+.
https://preview.redd.it/q8pbczeb2r4b1.png?width=722&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb9352ba054a4f428fe4c11fad712f52188e5bfc
https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1666257317120323585
Who are the real extremists?
The below is an excerpt from Domestic Extremist: A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War, by Peachy Keenan, with permission of the author. The book is now available from Regnery.
https://www.regnery.com/9781684513529/domestic-extremist/
* * *
You had a baby? Look at you—you’re the captain now!
Or are you?
The words on a poster taped to a teacher’s classroom door at a New Jersey public school expose the precarious corner American parents have been painted into. “If your parents aren’t accepting of your identity, I’m your mom now.” The poster featured a drawing of a mama bear tending to her bear cubs, who are each painted the color of a different LGBTQ flag.
Parents, I have bad news. You’ve got competition. Someone posted a job listing looking for a new authority figure in your house, and they hired everyone who applied. Lots of other adults, most of them unpleasant strangers, would like to raise your children for you—or at least get your children to hate you.
This may already be happening—and you’ll be the last to know! All your hard work to keep creeps, perverts, and kiddie-sniffers away from your kids may get reversed in an instant when you’re not looking.
Some parents are okay with this. They can barely handle “adulting” themselves and are thrilled not to make any tough parental decisions. Abdicating their natural role as master and commander of the household is lazy, but it’s a defensive posture. They live in terror of accusations from other parents of “closed-mindedness,” or worse, being a prude.
American parents have either forgotten their innate, God-given authority over their household or surrendered it in the face of relentless pressure over many years from the outside. Just as millennia of trickling snowmelt can hollow out mighty granite mountains and turn them into canyons, a half-century of unchecked influence by feminists and far-left progressives have chipped away at the role of parents in their children’s lives. What is left is a barren wasteland, a valley of shadows, where mothers and fathers have been reduced to nothing more than the oldest dependents in the house.
Your job as a parent is not easy, but it’s simple: feed, nurture, love, and protect. In the face of life-and-death danger—say, an escaped tiger or an ax-wielding lunatic—probably 100 percent of parents would risk their lives for their children, even die, without hesitation. So why are so many reluctant to defend their children from less obvious, but equally dangerous, scenarios?
You can tell when you’re about to be trampled by elephants. It’s trickier when the trampling is invisible and being committed by a young teacher with peace stickers on xe/xer’s car. I’ll grant that having pro- nouns in your bio is not quite the same red flag as cruising a playground in a car with no door handles on the inside, but it’s still a red flag parents need to fear.
People who manage to produce offspring are too often seduced into voluntarily surrendering their authority over them. They allow various “experts” to hold sway over their kids. Exhausted and confused, they willingly hand their kids off to the local public school teachers’ unions, the DEI struggle-session facilitators, the storytelling drag queens, and the sex-education consultants who arrive at school with teaching props, including wholesome kid-friendly items like dildos and anal lube.
Above: School hangs poster that says, \"I'm Your Mom Now\"
https://sanzi.substack.com/p/school-hangs-poster-on-the-door-that
They all share a common goal: to dilute your authority and increase their own. They aim to groom America’s children from birth to become compliant consumers of all they wish to sell them: bespoke genders, any-term abortion, strictly enforced racial hierarchies, a lifetime of therapy, prescription drugs, and whatever political and social ideology they choose to upload into their brains.
God forbid you are the only parent at your school who keeps your fifth grader home on Share Your Favorite Sex Toy Day. What will people say?
Allow me to remind you gently: it’s your job to steer the ship, avoid icebergs, prevent scurvy, and stave off mutinies. Parenting is not a game. There is no do-over. You are all that stands between your small charges and the roiling storms ahead—and the band of purple-haired nonbinary pirates that’s about to storm the deck.
Sexualized Early and Often
Imagine being the only one at the PTA meeting who stands up and objects to your second grader studying detailed diagrams of adult genitalia, or your middle schoolers instructed on how to grant consent to anal sex. (These are real sex ed guidelines introduced in New Jersey public schools in 2020.)
Your choices are stark: assert your authority over your children and get called a bigot or go along with the madness and let them take your child to places you don’t want them to go.
How bad is it? Bad enough that Tiara Mack, a “reproductive justice advocate” and “child sex educator” running for state senator in Rhode Island tweeted this in 2021: “Really excited for the house sex ed bill hearing later today. Teaching comprehensive, queer inclusive, pleasure-based sex ed was a highlight of my time teaching.”
This is who wants to talk to your six-year-old about how to “pleasure” themselves and their partner!
The first step in any cult, or any abusive relationship, is to get the victim to sever ties to their outside friends and family. Maybe you’ve seen this happen to people you know. They suddenly change their phone number, delete their social media, and have a new friend now—one that has them spellbound. Once children come to believe their mom and dad are clueless bigots and racists who are holding them back from being who they are, the cult leaders own them.
Government-run public schools have accomplished “regime change” in America and transformed us, slowly, from a society centered around the family, where the schools work for the parent, into a society centered around government employees, where families are required to supply the raw goods for the teachers’ unions to mold as they see fit.
Year after year, their assembly lines have been left unsupervised to churn out freshly minted graduates. These graduates move on to college, where their high school indoctrination is hardened and polished by professors. The end product is a citizen who will go to his grave believing a set of Ministry of Truth–approved lies: “whiteness” is intrinsically evil, abortion is health care, there are dozens of genders, America was founded on racism and must be dismantled, marriage is oppressive and bad for women, children hold you back, and unchecked sexual “exploration” with a variety of partners of every gender is the surest path to emotional happiness.
Sane people have a terrible choice to make: exercise parental authority over what their children are taught and risk financial ruin, social blackballing, and permanent cancellation—or allow their kids to be turned against them.
When a teacher or government official replaces the parent as the ultimate authority in the child’s life, all bets are off. Educators know that any adult with the authority to influence a child has the power to expose said child to any radical or extreme ideas they want.
To them, you are the extremist if you don’t think young children need to learn about sex and gender dysphoria yet. You are the extremist if you question a teacher or school administrator’s choice of books to read or lessons to teach. You are an extremely racist extremist if you’d rather not force a five-year-old to feel bad about the color of his skin and apologize for it.
In California, students in middle school can ask their school to change their names and genders in the school computer system, and the school is not permitted to inform the parents. The school authorities and the teachers are legally allowed to conspire with eleven-year-olds in sixth grade to induct them into a cult and keep it secret. Literally “it’ll be our secret,” a classic groomer move.
These government educational bureaucrats may not drive window-less vans and carry dirty magazines and candy bars to lure young boys (although let’s be honest, some do), but they are even more dangerous. Any parents who send a child into an environment like this, either knowingly or blindly, are forfeiting their authority over their kid.
The Regime’s child-catchers are prowling the locker rooms and cafeterias looking for lost, confused pre-teens to cart off to Pleasure Island, where they can get transformed into donkeys without their parents’ consent.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney is working on a new version of Pinocchio where he asks the Blue Fairy to turn him into a real girl.
Parental Surrender
Too many sentient adults seem to simply wait for a new update to the operating system to decide what to do with their kids. They unquestioningly accept the Current Parenting Thing, the rancid gruel served up as “education” at the local public school.
They surrender their kids to the authorities, in all their forms: teachers, principals, pediatricians, drag queens reading stories, social media influencers, YouTubers, Disney, Netflix, TikTok, the Kardashians—anyone who is credentialed as a “kid expert” or “important” now holds more sway over American kids than their own mothers and fathers. “Who am I to tell my kids how to behave, or what to learn, or how to think about the world? I’m just a random person who had a baby. I made plenty of mistakes in my life. How can I possibly ask my children to obey me?”
This is why we can’t have nice things. This is why healthy toddlers were kept in COVID masks for two years while they sat in sandboxes alone, outside, in rain or sleet. This is why you see massive brawls happening at middle schools, where kids punch their own teachers. This is why children are indoctrinated into the cult of trans, coached and groomed to say their pronouns, to switch genders, to explore various “sexualities” and “identities.” This is why mothers pimp out their own children as “drag kids” and put little boys in princess dresses and post the photos on Instagram while thousands of likes wash over them.
This is what abdicating the parenting throne looks like. Childless weirdos have taken over every institution we look to for guidance on how to raise good citizens, and no, I’m not talking about Catholic priests.
It has become only too clear what this absence of parental authority has wrought. Truly insane people have taken over the American education system, Big Pharma, and Big Tech. They know the best way to reach the Final Solution of the American family is to focus on young, impressionable minds.
We are enjoying the fruits of their labor now: an explosion of teen depression and suicide, an epidemic of children who are confused if they’re boys or girls, and an incredible 40 percent of Gen Z reporting that they are some letter in the ever-expanding alphabet soup known as LGBTQ+.
Everywhere, in every way, the fertile, fallow minds of children are being terraformed by people who identify as “fur baby” parents.
I wouldn’t let fur baby parents walk my dog, let alone educate my eight-year-old.
Authority Atrophied
This is why you must exercise your parental authority early and often. You must speak up!
“No, I don’t want you to ask my teenage son if he’s comfortable with his gender during his doctor visit.”
“No, you can’t wear your sister’s Elsa dress to school today, because boys don’t wear dresses, now get in the car and never ask me that again.”
“No, you can’t buy those shorts that display the entire lower half of your rear end.”
“No, you can’t have a TikTok account, and if I find it on your phone, say goodbye to the phone.”
Parental authority makes you the heavy in the house and the bouncer at the door. Pull on your big boy pants and lay down the law, or the law is going to lay down all over you.
Peachy Keenan is author of Domestic Extremist: A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War.
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2023.06.08 09:59 A_horse_a_piece77 "Yesterday's Soccer Mom Is Today's Domestic Extremist": A Guide To Surviving The Culture

Author and conservative commentator Peachy Keenan is sick and tired of yesterday's soccer mom being treated as today's "domestic extremist" in public discourse by media gatekeepers and government officials alike—and all the while parents are sheepishly and too easily abdicating their natural role as captains and defenders of the household.
https://twitter.com/KeenanPeachy/status/1666121050567110656
https://preview.redd.it/078zp8gv1r4b1.png?width=790&format=png&auto=webp&s=f57ec8ab475fb228079af0757d6b906c49ec1b8a
"They like to make us, the normal people, the moms and dads of America into extremists. But if you look around it's pretty easy to see who the real extremists are," Keenan told Harris Faulkner on Fox prime time Tuesday night. https://www.foxnews.com/video/6328922595112
She is calling for a back to the basics while writing from deep behind 'enemy lines': southern California. "Parenting is not a game. There is no do-over. You are all that stands between your small charges and the roiling storms ahead—and the band of purple-haired nonbinary pirates that’s about to storm the deck."
Keenan has written a new handbook of sorts, or a practical guide to winning the culture war and protecting your family from the ravings of "Childless weirdos have taken over every institution we look to for guidance on how to raise good citizens..."
You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Domestic-Extremist-Practical-Winning-Culture/dp/1684513529/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Domestic+Extremist%3A+A+Practical+Guide+to+Winning+the+Culture+War&s=books&sr=1-1
Keenan holds nothing back in the following blistering commentary from her book [emphasis ZH]:
It has become only too clear what this absence of parental authority has wrought. Truly insane people have taken over the American education system, Big Pharma, and Big Tech. They know the best way to reach the Final Solution of the American family is to focus on young, impressionable minds. We are enjoying the fruits of their labor now: an explosion of teen depression and suicide, an epidemic of children who are confused if they’re boys or girls, and an incredible 40 percent of Gen Z reporting that they are some letter in the ever-expanding alphabet soup known as LGBTQ+.
https://preview.redd.it/8qucazob2r4b1.png?width=722&format=png&auto=webp&s=e2798bd1cdba17e1eb875dad8784bb2893bc2330
https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1666257317120323585
Who are the real extremists?
The below is an excerpt from Domestic Extremist: A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War, by Peachy Keenan, with permission of the author. The book is now available from Regnery.
https://www.regnery.com/9781684513529/domestic-extremist/
* * *
You had a baby? Look at you—you’re the captain now!
Or are you?
The words on a poster taped to a teacher’s classroom door at a New Jersey public school expose the precarious corner American parents have been painted into. “If your parents aren’t accepting of your identity, I’m your mom now.” The poster featured a drawing of a mama bear tending to her bear cubs, who are each painted the color of a different LGBTQ flag.
Parents, I have bad news. You’ve got competition. Someone posted a job listing looking for a new authority figure in your house, and they hired everyone who applied. Lots of other adults, most of them unpleasant strangers, would like to raise your children for you—or at least get your children to hate you.
This may already be happening—and you’ll be the last to know! All your hard work to keep creeps, perverts, and kiddie-sniffers away from your kids may get reversed in an instant when you’re not looking.
Some parents are okay with this. They can barely handle “adulting” themselves and are thrilled not to make any tough parental decisions. Abdicating their natural role as master and commander of the household is lazy, but it’s a defensive posture. They live in terror of accusations from other parents of “closed-mindedness,” or worse, being a prude.
American parents have either forgotten their innate, God-given authority over their household or surrendered it in the face of relentless pressure over many years from the outside. Just as millennia of trickling snowmelt can hollow out mighty granite mountains and turn them into canyons, a half-century of unchecked influence by feminists and far-left progressives have chipped away at the role of parents in their children’s lives. What is left is a barren wasteland, a valley of shadows, where mothers and fathers have been reduced to nothing more than the oldest dependents in the house.
Your job as a parent is not easy, but it’s simple: feed, nurture, love, and protect. In the face of life-and-death danger—say, an escaped tiger or an ax-wielding lunatic—probably 100 percent of parents would risk their lives for their children, even die, without hesitation. So why are so many reluctant to defend their children from less obvious, but equally dangerous, scenarios?
You can tell when you’re about to be trampled by elephants. It’s trickier when the trampling is invisible and being committed by a young teacher with peace stickers on xe/xer’s car. I’ll grant that having pro- nouns in your bio is not quite the same red flag as cruising a playground in a car with no door handles on the inside, but it’s still a red flag parents need to fear.
People who manage to produce offspring are too often seduced into voluntarily surrendering their authority over them. They allow various “experts” to hold sway over their kids. Exhausted and confused, they willingly hand their kids off to the local public school teachers’ unions, the DEI struggle-session facilitators, the storytelling drag queens, and the sex-education consultants who arrive at school with teaching props, including wholesome kid-friendly items like dildos and anal lube.
Above: School Hangs poster on the door that says, \"I'm Your Mom Now\"
https://sanzi.substack.com/p/school-hangs-poster-on-the-door-that
They all share a common goal: to dilute your authority and increase their own. They aim to groom America’s children from birth to become compliant consumers of all they wish to sell them: bespoke genders, any-term abortion, strictly enforced racial hierarchies, a lifetime of therapy, prescription drugs, and whatever political and social ideology they choose to upload into their brains.
God forbid you are the only parent at your school who keeps your fifth grader home on Share Your Favorite Sex Toy Day. What will people say?
Allow me to remind you gently: it’s your job to steer the ship, avoid icebergs, prevent scurvy, and stave off mutinies. Parenting is not a game. There is no do-over. You are all that stands between your small charges and the roiling storms ahead—and the band of purple-haired nonbinary pirates that’s about to storm the deck.
Sexualized Early and Often
Imagine being the only one at the PTA meeting who stands up and objects to your second grader studying detailed diagrams of adult genitalia, or your middle schoolers instructed on how to grant consent to anal sex. (These are real sex ed guidelines introduced in New Jersey public schools in 2020.)
Your choices are stark: assert your authority over your children and get called a bigot or go along with the madness and let them take your child to places you don’t want them to go.
How bad is it? Bad enough that Tiara Mack, a “reproductive justice advocate” and “child sex educator” running for state senator in Rhode Island tweeted this in 2021: “Really excited for the house sex ed bill hearing later today. Teaching comprehensive, queer inclusive, pleasure-based sex ed was a highlight of my time teaching.”
This is who wants to talk to your six-year-old about how to “pleasure” themselves and their partner!
The first step in any cult, or any abusive relationship, is to get the victim to sever ties to their outside friends and family. Maybe you’ve seen this happen to people you know. They suddenly change their phone number, delete their social media, and have a new friend now—one that has them spellbound. Once children come to believe their mom and dad are clueless bigots and racists who are holding them back from being who they are, the cult leaders own them.
Government-run public schools have accomplished “regime change” in America and transformed us, slowly, from a society centered around the family, where the schools work for the parent, into a society centered around government employees, where families are required to supply the raw goods for the teachers’ unions to mold as they see fit.
Year after year, their assembly lines have been left unsupervised to churn out freshly minted graduates. These graduates move on to college, where their high school indoctrination is hardened and polished by professors. The end product is a citizen who will go to his grave believing a set of Ministry of Truth–approved lies: “whiteness” is intrinsically evil, abortion is health care, there are dozens of genders, America was founded on racism and must be dismantled, marriage is oppressive and bad for women, children hold you back, and unchecked sexual “exploration” with a variety of partners of every gender is the surest path to emotional happiness.
Sane people have a terrible choice to make: exercise parental authority over what their children are taught and risk financial ruin, social blackballing, and permanent cancellation—or allow their kids to be turned against them.
When a teacher or government official replaces the parent as the ultimate authority in the child’s life, all bets are off. Educators know that any adult with the authority to influence a child has the power to expose said child to any radical or extreme ideas they want.
To them, you are the extremist if you don’t think young children need to learn about sex and gender dysphoria yet. You are the extremist if you question a teacher or school administrator’s choice of books to read or lessons to teach. You are an extremely racist extremist if you’d rather not force a five-year-old to feel bad about the color of his skin and apologize for it.
In California, students in middle school can ask their school to change their names and genders in the school computer system, and the school is not permitted to inform the parents. The school authorities and the teachers are legally allowed to conspire with eleven-year-olds in sixth grade to induct them into a cult and keep it secret. Literally “it’ll be our secret,” a classic groomer move.
These government educational bureaucrats may not drive window-less vans and carry dirty magazines and candy bars to lure young boys (although let’s be honest, some do), but they are even more dangerous. Any parents who send a child into an environment like this, either knowingly or blindly, are forfeiting their authority over their kid.
The Regime’s child-catchers are prowling the locker rooms and cafeterias looking for lost, confused pre-teens to cart off to Pleasure Island, where they can get transformed into donkeys without their parents’ consent.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney is working on a new version of Pinocchio where he asks the Blue Fairy to turn him into a real girl.
Parental Surrender
Too many sentient adults seem to simply wait for a new update to the operating system to decide what to do with their kids. They unquestioningly accept the Current Parenting Thing, the rancid gruel served up as “education” at the local public school.
They surrender their kids to the authorities, in all their forms: teachers, principals, pediatricians, drag queens reading stories, social media influencers, YouTubers, Disney, Netflix, TikTok, the Kardashians—anyone who is credentialed as a “kid expert” or “important” now holds more sway over American kids than their own mothers and fathers. “Who am I to tell my kids how to behave, or what to learn, or how to think about the world? I’m just a random person who had a baby. I made plenty of mistakes in my life. How can I possibly ask my children to obey me?”
This is why we can’t have nice things. This is why healthy toddlers were kept in COVID masks for two years while they sat in sandboxes alone, outside, in rain or sleet. This is why you see massive brawls happening at middle schools, where kids punch their own teachers. This is why children are indoctrinated into the cult of trans, coached and groomed to say their pronouns, to switch genders, to explore various “sexualities” and “identities.” This is why mothers pimp out their own children as “drag kids” and put little boys in princess dresses and post the photos on Instagram while thousands of likes wash over them.
This is what abdicating the parenting throne looks like. Childless weirdos have taken over every institution we look to for guidance on how to raise good citizens, and no, I’m not talking about Catholic priests.
It has become only too clear what this absence of parental authority has wrought. Truly insane people have taken over the American education system, Big Pharma, and Big Tech. They know the best way to reach the Final Solution of the American family is to focus on young, impressionable minds.
We are enjoying the fruits of their labor now: an explosion of teen depression and suicide, an epidemic of children who are confused if they’re boys or girls, and an incredible 40 percent of Gen Z reporting that they are some letter in the ever-expanding alphabet soup known as LGBTQ+.
Everywhere, in every way, the fertile, fallow minds of children are being terraformed by people who identify as “fur baby” parents.
I wouldn’t let fur baby parents walk my dog, let alone educate my eight-year-old.
Authority Atrophied
This is why you must exercise your parental authority early and often. You must speak up!
“No, I don’t want you to ask my teenage son if he’s comfortable with his gender during his doctor visit.”
“No, you can’t wear your sister’s Elsa dress to school today, because boys don’t wear dresses, now get in the car and never ask me that again.”
“No, you can’t buy those shorts that display the entire lower half of your rear end.”
“No, you can’t have a TikTok account, and if I find it on your phone, say goodbye to the phone.”
Parental authority makes you the heavy in the house and the bouncer at the door. Pull on your big boy pants and lay down the law, or the law is going to lay down all over you.
Peachy Keenan is author of Domestic Extremist: A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War.
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