#5 remaining carry on fans! assemble!

[vebokki]

simon and baz still live in my brain. now what

#5 remaining carry on fans! assemble! #taking creative liberty in the form of not making baz roger smith gray..whoever said vampires can't have melanin lets have a talk #carry on fanart #simon snow series #simon snow #baz pitch #tyrannus basilton grimm pitch #snowbaz #can't stop drawing art for ships three people care about...thinks. im crazy but im free

[ask-de-writer]

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SUBMARINE! 1812 an Alternate History

Chapter 6 : KRAKEN

(Part 1 of 5)

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

5462 words

© 2023 by Glen Ten-Eyck

All rights reserved.

This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

TUMBLR EXEMPTION

Blog holding members of Tumblr.com may freely reblog this story provided that the title, author and copyright information remain intact, unaltered, and are displayed at the head of the story.

Fan art, stories, music, cosplay and other fan activity is actively encouraged.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

KRAKEN-

Anchors were dropped with a rattle of heavy chain, followed by the hiss of heavy cable through the hause-pipes as the hooks sought and found purchase in the bottom of Hampton Roads. We were home at last.

The seaman beside me was precariously standing on the rail of the Maryland, one hand on a line for balance, the other waving enthusiastically at the small boats approaching from shore. “I got me more than two thousand gold Continentals in prize money to blow,” he confided to me. “I’d ha’ stayed out longer, iffin’ I was the Commodore. We chewed ‘em up and spit ‘em out so good.”

“Indeed we did, though I was one of those who said that we should return,” I replied.

“So why’d we come back? You got the inside skinny?”

“Only part of it. If it helps any, even Commodore Marks shared your view. We had two attack boats damaged in loading accidents there at the last. Shark lost her mast and a tackle failure caused Polliwog serious damage to rudder and diving planes. We had not the facilities to refit the Shark. Still, we were willing to continue, with altered raising tackle. There was something in that last messenger packet’s dispatches that changed The Commodore’s mind. What that was I do not know.”

“What’s up? Green Jackets in boats is turnin’ back the harbor boats...” The shrill of the bosun’s pipe sounding assembly interrupted him. He leapt nimbly down to the deck and ran aft with the rest of the crew. Commodore Marks was standing on the poop deck, ready to address the crew.

“Men,” he cried, “you have done what no nation has ever done before. You have humbled the Beast of Britain on her home seas. Even the least among you has enough prize money to buy a decent farm. Our holds bear a secret and that secret is the rocket, nothing else. If any man or woman questions you about other weapons or even the submarine boats, what do you do?”

There was a pregnant pause, followed by one man saying, “Report ‘em!” Suddenly the whole crew caught it. “Report ‘em!” they thundered as one.

“That’s right! Report ‘em! There are no submarine boats! Anyone who says that there are is a liar! An arrested liar at that! It’s rockets that sent the Brits to the bottom! Is every man here clear on that?”

“Aye, Sir!” they responded.

“Signal man! Clear the boats to approach us! Bosun Harding has the harbor duty assignments. Those not on harbor duty may go ashore and God go with you.”

Bosun Harding read off a dozen names and was met by as many groans of disappointment.

The many small boats swarmed like a gaggle of geese about our ships. Many were carrying liveried servants from great houses, and at least as many more were carrying ladies. They all were bearing invitations to come to parties being held in the honor of our deed. The servants wanted officers, or at least the highest ranking men that they could get for their master’s “rocket parties.”

The ladies were mostly less discriminating. They were there to invite any man that they could get to come to their ‘parties.’ Some of those parties were very private and some were open invitations from the brothels of Norfolk.

One boat cut through the swarm and all made way for it. It bore the ensign of the Office of the President of the Continental Congress. Riding stiffly erect, in his fine coat of green broadcloth with red and gold trim, was the President’s personal aide, my grandfather, Tall Bear. He had three eagle feathers in his braid. The bosun piped him aboard.

In spite of his age, he climbed the ladder easily and swiftly gained the deck. That he saw me in his brief glance about the deck, I was sure, but he went straight to the Commodore and they went into his cabin. Whatever the discussion was, it was brief. They emerged moments later, and he strode gravely across the deck to me.

He looked me up and down, quietly. “You have done well. We have read every dispatch and all of your letters too. It would appear that all of your devices have done as well or better in real action than we had hoped.

“Your mother, Sun on the Cloud, misses you. Also your sister, Cornflower, wishes you to meet her new husband.” Here he at last grinned and clapped me on the arm and thrust a letter into my hand. “Harvest Moon wants to see you, too. Most urgently. When are you two going to settle down together?”

“I don’t know, Grandfather. When the war permits. I, too, wish to see the forests and lakes of home. I will come home as soon as I can find the time. I have missed you all.”

“It will have to wait a bit longer. I bear an invitation from your Uncle, President Arnold. All of the principal officers and you submariners are to go to Philadelphia for a special reception at the Presidential Mansion. Something big is in the wind. That is all that I can say about it here.”

“May I come with you, Grandfather?”

“I fear not, Tecumsah. I have a number of errands to accomplish yet. I will not get back in time to be at the fete. Smollet will be there.”

“Mister Smollet! I haven’t seen him for ages! What is new from his workshops?”

“I cannot say. I am sure that he will tell you himself. You two always did understand each other better than any two men ought. Now, I must go.” With that, he strode across the deck to the ladder and the bosun piped him off the ship.

To be continued

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#Submarine! 1812 Chap 6 #Part 1 of 5) #Science Fiction #Alternate History #Written by De Writer

[dwellordream]

“Women of quality did not simply plunge with abandon into the fashionable world. Instead, they walked a fine line between the imperatives of conspicuous display and the pervasive moral critique of such display. This balance depended on a notion of appropriate levels of consumption and fashion, a flexible concept that left room for different levels of spending or display in different circumstances, but which also carried strong moral overtones. Women could justify their choices on the grounds that they were appropriate for a given situation, but there was no single level of consumption appropriate for all women – even all elite women – at all times. 

It was even possible for one woman to hold two contradictory views depending on her circumstances; it was common, for instance, to criticize the ubiquity of French fashions, yet the same women who complained about such fashions often avidly sought them out. This behavior should be taken not as hypocrisy but as a reflection of the widely varied connotations that appropriate consumption could bear, from lavish display to self-conscious unfashionability. The self-creation that fashion made possible – and that didactic authors so feared – provided a means for women to tailor their public display to particular audiences.

But because “appropriate” consumption varied in different circumstances, it was a tool for contesting as well as displaying status. This possibility became particularly marked during the early eighteenth century, when the court ceased to perform its traditional function of providing leadership in fashion trends. Without this traditional leadership, decisions about fashion devolved on to members of the Quality themselves. While there were unquestionably individual women who helped set particular trends, and while designs from France were in widespread demand, there was no single source for determining fashions in dress, much less for setting appropriate levels of consumption in other areas.

The center for all fashionable consumption in Britain was unquestionably London, with the London Season increasingly prominent in the lives of the British elite. Membership in the Quality was impossible without participation in metropolitan culture. This trend is visible in female correspondence, which frequently condemned unfashionable life away from London. In 1717 Lord Strafford’s sister remarked that she shared his wife’s reluctance to live permanently at his Yorkshire estate, for “A Lady must be a strange dragell tale creature” to enjoy such an isolated life. 

The worst insult Lady Catherine Clarke could employ against the “Muscovite Ambassadress” was that “by the fantasticalness of her dress I did conclude she was a country lady who pretended to give a mode.” Even other major towns were not immune from criticism. As the Duchess of Queensberry wrote from Edinburgh in 1734, “I have not mett with any one in this Country who doth not Eate with a knif [sic]; & drink a Dish of tea . . . my girle & I have been at an assembly mighty happy she, & I much amused by the many very extradinary [sic] fashions.” 

Two years later Henrietta Knight wrote to the Countess of Hertford, complaining about life in rural Hampshire in similar terms: First of all, know there is but one book in the house and that is the Farrier’s Guide; – there is but one picture, and that is a rose and crown stained upon the window. . . . The gentlemen are booted at 5 in the morning and remain so all day. . . . One of the ladies stays at home and looks after her family, the other does nothing at all, or rides a-shooting or setting; and I stay at home out of complaisance and am idle through necessity. …When I mentioned the having drawn the story of Antiochus in a fan (which story I was obliged to inform the company of), I was answered, “What! a married woman employ herself in drawing love stories?” Upon which I immediately changed the discourse to a pudding.

…When Lady Rawdon moved to Ireland after her marriage, she claimed to be remarkable there for her taste and fashion. Because her husband’s previous two wives had both died about the same time after getting married, she noted with some amusement that all of Irish society was now waiting for her to drop dead as well, especially since her artfulness in arranging her jewelry made her look quite wealthy. “The effect it had with the Irish girls,” she commented, “was that they were perpetually engaged with the ends of their fingers or the sticks of their fans calculating how many remaining months I had to reign, each one proposing herself for my successor.”

Their alleged reaction combined ignorance, rudeness, and raw greed. No native Irish woman could live up to the standards of wealth or fashion so effortlessly achieved by Lady Rawdon – or at least so she believed. Yet even women who so self-consciously identified with fashionable, cosmopolitan culture did not necessarily reject the values expressed in moralizing literature that attacked this culture. The concept of appropriate forms of fashion and consumption could be used by women of the beau monde to evaluate others and to justify their own decisions; moreover, the idea linked decisions in these areas not only to status but to morality. 

Failure to conform to appropriate standards revealed a basic moral failure, while conformity indicated virtue. Recognizing such judgments enables us to avoid the oversimplification of Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption, without tying us to an equally rigid alternative. Competitive display was certainly an important factor in aristocratic women’s perceptions of fashion and consumption, and they had a strong investment in demonstrating their wealth and status through lavish purchases, but it was not their only consideration. 

The presence of a widespread discourse condemning indiscriminate consumption and fashionability as trivial or even dangerous meant that women of quality often sought to portray themselves as embodiments of moderation. The language they chose reflected and shaped their decisions about consumption, as they dealt with their own income levels, their families’ status claims, and the very different circumstances presented by, say, a grand occasion at court or a day at a country retreat. 

Just as no woman lived her life exclusively in one social situation, neither was there simply one way of understanding appropriate consumption. The conflicting pressures from competitive display and the moral critique of fashion meant that this was always a contested issue. Concern about French fashions in particular was visible in many aristocratic women’s writings. These women were at the center of the debate over luxury and nationalism that was so strong in eighteenth-century English society; as we have seen in Chapter 2, critics used nationalistic language to attack English women’s devotion to French fashions. 

Yet fashionable society continued to visit France, and English women there often chose to adopt local dress. In 1737 the Countess of Coningsby informed her sister that she had spent a morning in Paris surrounded by local tradespeople, whom she employed to put her “exactly in the French fashion.” Others imitated French dress but criticized the French themselves. The Duchess of Montagu wrote to her husband from France that despite her efforts to make herself “as French as I could,” she could not bring herself to pack on the heavy makeup they wore, and she found their hairstyles ridiculous. Yet, she said, “in this manner they sit and talk all at a time, of the beauty of their dress; indeed, I believe they are the most ridiculous people in the world.”

French fashions were even more heavily criticized when they appeared in England. After visiting Tunbridge Wells in 1750, Lady Jane Coke noted that a woman who had been brought up in France was the current toast, although “she is entirely French, so much so in her behaviour that such an awkward Englishwoman as myself would think her rather odd than pleasing.” But there was no escape from French dominance. “As for fashions,” Lady Jane acknowledged at another time, “according to English custom we follow the French Ambassadress.”

…Nor did women of quality always indulge in indiscriminately lavish consumption, even when they might seem to have free rein. When the Countess of Hertford described her husband’s dress for a royal review of his local militia in 1722, she noted with equal pride that he looked spectacular and that the silver fringe on his waistcoat was recycled from his wedding waistcoat, “so fresh that it passed for new and was much better because it cost nothing.” Such recycling of clothing was common even among the nobility.

Mourning also frequently brought out women’s practical side. In 1712, Lady Strafford wrote to her husband that she had delayed getting new livery for her servants since she believed her brother-in-law was about to die of smallpox, which would require putting the staff into gray clothes. Faced with the need to wear mourning at court, Dorothy Dyves similarly sought the most efficient use of her available resources. She wrote to her aunt asking whether it would be appropriate “instead of buying a white tabby, having a white and gold for the Birthday, and after that day, take the coloured lining out and wear it for mourning, which I think will be very genteel and agreeable.”

Those fashions and diversions – such as hoop petticoats, gaming, and plays – that were considered particularly morally dubious were the most problematic. Mary Delany praised her sister for disliking large hoops, remarking of herself, “I keep within bounds, endeavouring to avoid all particularities of being too much in or out of fashion.” Although Lady Elizabeth Ramsden admitted that quadrille was a fashionable pastime, she felt uncomfortable about its moral implications. “I cant think it either a very useful or commendable way of spending one’s whole time as I find many do,” she wrote, insisting that she avoided it as much as possible. Yet, she concluded, “if one absolutely refuses it one must not expect ever to be let into any body’s house.” 

In 1714 Countess Cowper recorded in her diary that she had refused to engage in high-stakes gambling at court, which they rallyd me for, but I told my Mistress [the Princess of Wales] I playd out of duty and not inclination & having 4 Children no body woud think ill of me if for their sakes I desir’d to save my money. When I did not do any thing that was mean dishonest or dishonourable to do it, for which she commended me, & said she thought the Principal duty of a Woman was to take care of her Children.

Two decades later, Lady Irwin also found herself fearful for both her “conduct and fortune,” when she was instructed to gamble as part of her duties as a Lady of the Bedchamber to the Princess of Wales – but she obeyed nonetheless. After Mary Delany went to see a performance of Colley Cibber’s sentimental comedy The Careless Husband, she strove to articulate a justification for her decision: “I should like to see a play once a month, as when well chosen I think they are a rational and pleasing entertainment even for old people who have health and spirits to go, and who frequent no other public places.”

Cibber’s play was hardly an example of the lewd theater attacked by most social critics, yet Mrs. Delany was uncomfortably aware that all plays could be seen as morally suspect. This ambiguity toward fashion, marked by a sense of the importance of appropriate levels of display and conformity to social norms rather than the simple glorification of ostentatious wealth, typified the attitudes of many women of quality toward all forms of fashion and consumption, and provided the discursive framework through which they presented themselves to a variety of audiences. It also formed the basis of their evaluation of others’ levels of consumption, and often served as a reference point for their approval (or disapproval) of an individual’s personal character. 

Naturally, in many instances these women considered the display of wealth and finery as appropriate, particularly for rites of passage or public events such as births, funerals, and coronations. Lady Irwin wrote approvingly of a celebration given for the Prince’s birthday in January 1733, which featured “96 dishes; beans, peas, and all the rarities that could be thought on” – a reflection of the luxury of out-of-season produce. For her first appearance after her marriage, at a royal birthday, Lady Anne Strafford wore a set of diamond jewelry and a velvet gown heavily encrusted with diamonds and gold trim.

…The didactic writers’ distinction between outward fashion and inward virtue was thus rendered more complex, even among women who chose to use the moralists’ language. How a woman wore her clothes was as significant as the apparel itself. In 1713, Lady Dupplin admired her brother Lord Harley’s new bride at her first appearance at court: “there was a vast Court every body wished her joy & great staring at her you may be sure but she went through that fatigue with all the ease that could be & none could make a finer figure, her Clothes & lace extreamly fine & well Chose.””

- Ingrid H. Tague, “Consumption and Fashion.” in Women of Quality: Accepting and Contesting Ideals of Femininity in England, 1690-1760

#georgian #history #english #fashion #class #ingrid h. tague #women of quality

[hadeschan]

item # K22C26

RARE Pra Somdej Nua Pong Gradookphee, Pra Archan Nuu, Wat Pho Tatian, Pim Taan Jet Chan. A Buddha amulet with figure of Buddha seating on a 7 tiers platform, made from holy powder blended with human ashes and powder and fragments crushed from human bones after cremation. The human remains were taken from unclaimed bodies of casualties who were killed in World War II by a greater number of bombs dropped on Bangkok in BE 2484 (CE 1941). Those bodies were piled up at Wat Pho Tatian, and Pra Archan Nuu had his kindness to arrange proper funerals for them. This type of human bone amulet was intentionally made for saving people from bombing raids and hardship. This amulet has a trace of Chinese red lacquer coating, and it is peeling off through time.  Made by Pra Archan Nuu of Wat Pho Tatian (Wat Pra Chetupon Wimon Mangkhalaram), Bangkok from BE 2484 onwards.

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BEST FOR: You will NEVER be alone EVER, the spirits are with you everywhere you go. They are following you all the time. They watch your back, they protect you, and your family and prevent danger. They blinds people who are going to harm you. They cast magic charm and love spells on people around you. Pra Somdej of Pra Archan Nuu signifies continuous growth and multiplication in wealth, money luck, and good fortune. Wealth Fetching, Maha Larp (it brings lucky wealth), Metta Maha Niyom (it makes people around you love you, be nice to you, and willing to support you for anything), Maha Sanay (it turns you to Prince Charming in the eyes of women/men), Kaa Kaai Dee (it helps tempt your customers to buy whatever you are selling, and it helps attract new customers and then keep them coming back, Klawklad Plodpai (it pushes you away from all danger), Maha-ut (it helps stop gun from shooting at you), and warning of danger. Ponggan Poot-pee Pee-saat Kunsai Mondam Sa-niiat Jan-rai Sat Meepit (it helps ward off evil spirit, demon, bad ghost, bad omen, bad spell, curse & black magic, doom & misfortune and poisonous animals). And this amulet helps protect you from manipulators, backstabbers, and toxic people. And Baihuay, the spirits of the dead may tell/give hints of winning lottery numbers.

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The Buddha amulet with a bas-relief of Buddha seating on a 7 tiers platform, the 7 tiers represents Pariha Niyatham Jet, the 7 conditions of welfare.

The seven conditions of welfare preached by the Buddha to the Vajjians to be followed is important in evaluating the Buddhist approach to statecraft. When once the Buddha was dwelling in Rajagaha. On the hill called Vultures Peak’ Ajatasattu, the king of Magadha, desirous of attacking the Vajjians, sent his chief minister, Vassakara, to visit the Buddha and tell him that he (the king) was going to attack the Vajjians. Vassakara there upon went to the Buddha and exchanged greetings and delivered the message just as the king had commanded him. Ananda was standing behind the Buddha and fanning him. When Vassakara was explaining the kinds’s message, the Buddha in the course of the conversation, inquired of Ananda whether the Vajjians were living up to the Seven Conditions of Welfare (Satta aparihaniya dhamma). Ananda answered in the affirmative. They were:

1.They hold lull and frequent public assemblies.

2.They meet together in concord, irise in concord and carry out their undertakings in concord.

3.They enact nothing not already established, abrogate nothing that has already being enacted, and act in accordance with the ancient institutions of the Vajjians as established in former days.

4.They honor, revere and support the Vajjian elders and hold it a point of duty to listen to their words.

5.They do not take away by force or abduct women or girls belonging to their clan and detain them.

6.They honor, esteem, revere and support the Vajjian shrines whether in town or country, and do not allow them to fall into disuse.

7. They fully provide right1'ul protection, defense and support for the arahants among them, so that arahants from far away may enter the realm and therein live in peace.

In accordance with the first, the members share the responsibility to be present when the assembly is convened to discuss the day-to-day events of the confederacy. While annotating the second, whenever there is an issue of an uprising in any part of their territory, whether in a village or in a frontier province, all agree to go there to punish the culprits. In this way all are united and help each other in times of need.

While discussing the third condition, it gives a description of their judicature found in any democracy in the world today. The Vajjian judicial system consists of seven successive stages. Legal procedure is carried out, for example, levying the death penalty, by the following levels of judiciary:

1.      Chief Minister of justice

2.      Voharikas — judges appointed to try cases of a particular nature

3.      Sutradharas — well versed in past, present and future legal enactments

4.      Atthakulikas — members of families in the legal profession

5.      Army commander

6.      Viceroy   

7.      King

 In the end the offender is convinced of his own responsibility for the offence committed lay him. This legal procedure ensured the growth of the Vajjian kingdom.

With regard to the fourth condition of welfare, it is to be emphasized that even though born as royalty, those who disregard the law, the king and the elders, are doomed to failure and decline. If they do not associate with the elders because of their stubbornness, they would not get an opportunity to learn the traditional wisdom in regard to statecraft and the people's welfare.

The violation of the fifth is also grave. As revealed in many a Jakata story, kings were notorious in wielding their power to take away girls from their parents’ custody and also wives by putting their husbands to death under false charges. The abduction and retaining of women and girls by force would naturally lead to chaos and those affected families would eventually flee to frontier villages and would rebel against the state.

With reference to the sixth, the gods do not protect those who neglect the long standing rites and rituals not showing respect for them. Consequently, although they are incapable of making people sick, they are capable of prolonging their ailments. When those deities are honored and propitiated, they in turn look after those evotees properly and see to their early recovery from their sicknesses. They also assist them to be victorious in war. It is clear that deities are not capable of making people either unhappy or happy, but they do have the ability to be instrumental in lessening both sufferings and happiness influencing a man‘s life. At the .same time it is to be home in mind that, of retributive actions done in their previous lives, some results are sometimes extremely happy and vice versa even if they have resorted to evil.

With regard to the last condition, trees must not be felled in the vicinity of monasteries. Abstention from hunting and using hunting dogs and not allowing fishermen to fish in the ponds and lakes in the monastic surroundings are considered to be rightful protection, defense and support.

These seven conditions of welfare have been enunciated by the Buddha himself in a previous occasion when the Buddha was at Sarandada Cetiya in Vesali, to be followed for the well-being of the republic. The Buddha advised the heads of states to be virtuous and rule their kingdoms righteously by maintaining law and order.

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PRA ARCHAN NUU OF WAT PHO TATIAN (Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan), living before BE 2495 (CE 1952)

Pra Archan Nuu was originally from Surin Province. Pra Archan Nuu was a Kuy ethnic minority (in Thai called Sùay)

The Kuy are found in a region of mainland Southeast Asia roughly between the Dangrek Mountains and the Mun River, straddling the borders where Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos meet. The majority, over 80 percent, live in Thailand in the provinces of Surin, Buriram, Sisaket, and Ubon Ratchathani.

After entering monkhood for years in Surin Province, Pra Archan Nuu walked across Thailand-Cambodia border on his pilgrimage in the rural provinces in Cambodia. During his visit to Cambodia, Pra Archan Nuu studied Khmer black magic, sorcery and witchcraft. After his journey back to Thailand, Pra Archan Nuu stayed at Wat Pho Tatian (Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan), Bangkok and used his knowledge to cure outbreaks of disease, solved bad luck, performed magical rituals consisting of spells and charms that boost Metta Maha Niyom, luck and wealth, and conducted exorcism on demonic possession.

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THE PURPOSE OF MAKING AMULETS THAT CONTAIN HUMAN REMAINS

Bangkok was bombed by both the Japanese and Allies during World War II. According to a report of December 1945, the Allies dropped 18,583 bombs on Thailand, resulting in the death of 8,711 people and the destruction of 9,616 buildings, 617 trucks, 73 locomotives and 173 other vehicles. A further 1,194 buildings were damaged. The prime target of the campaign was Bangkok, the Thai capital. People lived in terror and shock of intense bombing raids, and they needed talismans and amulets associated with safety and protection. During those hard times people also had depression from social and economic impact. Pra Archan Nuu had his kindness to use his best efforts to make amulets for helping people. And many lives have been saved by amulets made by Pra Archan Nuu.

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THE AMULETS MADE FROM HOLY POWDER THAT CONTAIN HUMAN REMAINS

The amulet that was made from holy powder blended with sacred herb, holy powder and mystical minerals is known as “Pong Prai Kumarn Maha Phood”, the Guru Monks who have ability to make this type of Holy Powder must have “wí-chaa aa-kom” a high knowledge of magical spells and mind power to control spirits that come with human remains and those sacred herb, NOT every monk could make Pong Prai Kumarn Maha Phood.

The Guru Monk who made this type of amulet had to perform ritual ceremonies to turn / ordain ghosts (spirits) of the dead to “monks”, in Thai called “Buet Phee”. The ghosts (spirits) will not do any harm to the amulet wearers. Those spirits will only do good things and help the amulet wearers for their own merit. Those spirits would live in the amulets, and would not leave the amulets until their karma end, and circles of lives on earth start again, and each day in spirit world is equal to 100 ordinary solar years of our planet.

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CONTENT OF THE AMULET

- Wan Plong or Wan Gra-sue, a rare mystical plant, a half-human, half-plant creature said to consume fresh blood. This predator creature hunts in the night by floating in the air and glowing in the dark to capture its prey. The Wan Plong has magic power of Kongkraphan Chatrie (it makes you invulnerable to all weapon attack). Only powerful Guru Monk and powerful white Robe Master could feed and control Wan Plong.

- Holy Powder (Pong Itthijay, Pong Pattamang, Pong Maharaj, and etc)

- Powder crushed from human bones and ashes after cremation. The human remains were taken from unclaimed bodies of casualties who were killed in World War II by a greater number of bombs that were dropped on Bangkok in BE 2484 (CE 1941). Those bodies were piled up at Wat Pho Tatian, and Pra Archan Nuu had his kindness to arrange proper funerals for them.

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STYLE / PIM / MOLD OF THE AMULETS

Pra Pim Maat Tra Taan refers to styles of amulets and their contents are recognized by amulet competitions, and amulet identification companies, and the Certificate of Authenticity can be issued to certify their origins.

Pra Pim Yoi or Pra Nok Pim or Pra Pim Chao Bann refers to styles of amulets and their contents are still under discussion. And the research studies on their authenticity have not yet been completed. Pra Pim Yoi or Pra Nok Pim amulets are not recognized by today amulet competitions as well as amulet identification companies. In addition, many amulets made by Pra Archan Nuu, the styles are different from those that recognized, the molds were self-made by Looksit (disciples / followers / adherents / worshippers / devotees), but used the materials made by Pra Archan Nuu. And after the completion of all process, the amulets were also blessed by Pra Archan Nuu himself.

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*This amulet contains human remains. Not suitable for people who have Spectrophobia (the fear of ghosts). People who have Spectrophobia cannot control themselves while experiencing ghosts, they might have sudden cardiac death or cause harm to themselves from temporary loss of consciousness.

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DIMENSION: 3.50 cm high / 2.30 cm wide / 0.50 cm thick

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item # K22C26

Price: price upon request, pls PM and/or email us [email protected]

100% GENUINE WITH 365 DAYS FULL REFUND WARRANTY

Item location: Hong Kong, SAR

Ships to: Worldwide

Delivery: Estimated 7 days handling time after receipt of cleared payment. Please allow additional time if international delivery is subject to customs processing.

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[someginger05]

Traitor (A Warhammer 40k Fan Story)

Traitor is a three part story taking place in the Warhammer Sci Fi universe. This story follows a slightly different history from what we know from the 30,000 millennium with new horrors, new monsters and new traitors. There is no one who can be trusted as of this time. The most vital resource in this period is the truth.

Part 2: To The Halls

The sun had fallen over Colchis as the desert winds calmed and the night chill set in. Now Marakos and Kadal stood in a dimly lit room surrounded by their brothers with only the light of the strategy table before them to illuminate their faces. The green glow gave their visage a sickly press as they calmly and swiftly discussed battle and supply plans. This was until ammunition came into discussion. The Imperium of Man had no known preparations for facing down the Astartes beyond the Custodes and the might of the most elite and scarce forces. This was until Marakos inserted a data slate which detailed the arrival and deployment of a new type of bolter round fresh off the assembly lines of the Mechanicus named as “Kraken Penetrator Rounds” the Ultramarines appeared unmoved by this information, however Kadal and the 17th seemed more concerned, “Captain, forgive my disturbance but may I inquire on the topic of these new bolter rounds?” Kadal asked this to Marakos as he spoke, Marakos’ eyes did not leave the table as he explained, “These new kraken penetrator rounds or as they have been titled KP rounds are a relatively new invention which had previously been used to pierce potent Xenos hide and armour. They were found to be of profound effect on Caliban and can be used to pierce ceramite armour.” Silence came over the room as the mere mention of Caliban swept over as a wave of sorrow over the stoic marines of the 17th and 13th. Kadal apologised for the inquiry and beckoned Marakos to continue. 

The meeting finally ended as the lieutenants and lower ranking officials were ordered to flee the hall to reinforce the battlements. However, Kadal remained and the two continued planning with the division of resources causing some contention, “Stations 2, 5, 20, 18, 1 and 25 will be the first to receive the KP round shipments while the other stations will have to wait, for we only have limited resources.” Marakos ended as the strategic table slowly shut down with a vague white light keeping some vision. Kadal suddenly struck for a question, “Marakos I have noted that the stations you detailed are purely stations controlled by the 13th, why is that?” A silence was only prevented by the low hum of the ventilation system as Marakos returned, “Do not be insulted cousin, I merely prioritise my legion out of experience, not favouritism. My men have faced down our cousins and have experienced the horrors of this conflict, it would only be most strategic if we provide the best with the best. Please do not take my remark to heart.” Kadal fell silent in thought and simply accepted this fact with every question on the topic of Caliban being avoided as current matters proved more vital. 

Later in the night Kadal watched over the delivery of these KP rounds, watching as in silence the 13th legion carried colossal crates and storage for hours. Their armour was no better than they had been upon their arrival and Kadal felt sick to the stomach as he thought of the war to come. Kadal then felt the roaring steps of an ancient dreadnought crash behind him. He asked the ancient one to join him, silently the dreadnought’s colossal hull turned and faced Kadal. The Word Bearer turned to face the giant and with a smile on his face asked, “may we speak ancient one? I apologise for the halting of your good work, but please may I speak to you?” The dreadnought lumbered forward and fell onto one knee. Kadal thanked the Dreadnaught for its time and asked for its name, gesturing his arm outward, “My name is forgotten, even to myself but my legion refers to be as Drusas of Macragge, chosen by the father of the 13th himself to continue the work of Ultramar”. The Dreadnaught declared with a swift assertiveness that was almost poetic as if the desire for a greater tale to be told was in the mind of the ancient warrior. “Would you join me, my friend? I simply wish to talk of the ancient times before we see it all crash” Kadal asked the leviathan. Drusas turned to look around and accepted the offer if only for a few minutes or so. 

The two marched into a large temple hall where Kadal had the worshipping Colchisians removed, and the corridor emptied. He sat on a stone tablet and Drusas knelt once again. “Drusas of the 13th, ancient warrior and great Astartes of the Emperor, please treat with me this calm, yet daunting evening?” Kadal asked as he placed his battle mace on the floor by his side and bolt pistol on the table facing himself to not threaten. Drusas nodded with mechanical power. Kadal inquired about the history of Drusas, asking of his time before death. “I was once a captain of the 13th, a warrior over warriors who cut down Xenos and heretics alike. This was until the great Ullanor crusade in which I was ripped apart by the foul savage Orks, I stood my ground for as long as my body willed until I was saved by my father and Primarch. I awoke again from the cold grip of death in the cradle of the machine which gave me more strength and will than I had ever had in the restraints of my mortal shell which had been shed. Now I serve the will of Ultramar and the Primarch in his crusade” The Dreadnaught reminisced, if he could, he would cry but the limits of the machine and the limits of his voice box saw his speech only emoted with the sound of stern and stoic bravery. 

“His crusade? You mean of the Emperor? Or do you mean the Primarch himself?” Kadal inquired. The Dreadnaught was still, the only sound was the hum of his life that made the candles flicker. Then he spoke, “I must have you understand Word Bearer. Your zealotry and desire for the Emperor to be a being of celestial might does not echo in my personal church. I do not mean to insult, but I was made to serve the Primarch and Ultramar, the Primarch was made to serve the Imperium, I am merely a tool for a greater power than myself. The Emperor is merely the puppet master and I am the puppet of the puppet. Although I declare the will of the Primarch and the will of Ultramar to be my purpose, this does not make me any different than my cousins, I merely see the strings and they do not, and I am content with those strings.” Kadal shifted in some discomfort and accepted the answer, “That is the beauty of our creation my dear friend, Drusas. We both serve the same purpose; it is just that not all tools are for the same job. Thank you for joining me. But please if I ask any question that causes harm or discomfort then you do not have to answer as I have disrupted you enough but… as for Caliban. What occurred on that planet?” 

Drusas took his great arm and placed it onto the stone table, a great lightning scar was seen across his ancient figure. But before he could speak the doors crashed open as Marakos entered the hall, “Brother! Cousin! What are you doing? Your strength is needed beyond these walls!” Kadal smiled and waved to Drusas, standing to salute. Kadal explained that they were simply talking before the dawn, Marakos appeared upset a slight hint of wrath painted his faith, but he calmed, “You must understand, you most of all Drusas of what we face soon, we will have time to speak after the battle, we cannot waste time. Join me ancient one, we have a new shipment of which I summon your aid in.” Drusas stood, apologised to the captain and began to march away, blowing out the candles on his exit, “Thank you for our time Kadal, you are honourable, I hope we can talk again after the flames of war are faded” Drusas then left the hall with the sound of rushing supply and barking commands being carried by the Colchisian winds. 

Marakos went to turn and Kadal, confused, asked, “Why do you flee Marakos? You are different, your legion is different. I simply want the truth! I want to know what we face! I need to know the forces that will come to cut us down! Please! Talk to me, cousin!” Marakos whipped around, his cape picking up the dust and clouding the hall, “It is not the time Kadal! The events which took place on Caliban would only be vital if we knew what we were fighting! We have never faced a foe like this! We have never had to face ourselves! On Caliban! Do you think we expected betrayal? We do not even know how to face our enemy in the way they shall attack! But we keep ourselves strong and stern as a force led through will, shall always destroy an army led by force! I want to sit and talk! I want to be calm and accept what has occurred and speak of it! I want to be more open to you and your legion, but it serves no use! Kadal you can either stay here and use your words to calm your inner storm or you can unleash that storm upon the foe! Make the right decision!” Marakos ended his sentence as he left the hall. Kadal looked upon his bolter and to the door. Finally, he turned to the visage of the God Emperor himself, “Guide me.”  

Writer's Gratitude:

This is the end of Part 2! Please stay tuned for part 3 hopefully coming in this month (hopefully) Any and all constructive criticism will be appreciated as I have never undertaken anything of this sort before and would appreciate any and all help. Thank you if you have read this fanfiction and I hope to see you again in the next part! (Thanks again)

#space marines #dark angels #adeptus mechanicus #warhammer 40000 #warhammer #fanfic #fandom #fan fiction #fiction writing #science fiction #fanfics #writing #writer #writers on tumblr #thank you #part 2 #traitors #horus heresy #heresyposting #chaos #imperium #the emperor #word bearers #ultramarines #lorgar aurelian #warhammer oc #first story

[phantom-le6]

Ramble of the month November 2022: Marvel Contest of Champions – Quarters, Semis and Finals of my fanfic-based clash of Marvel heroes

As promised in my October ramble, I’m using the November article to conclude the Contest of Champions I posited originally back in July’s ramble.  After two initial elimination rounds, we’re now down to the various varieties of final, and since that means four quarter finals, two semis and then a single final, I’m doing the whole lot in one post.

 Now as a quick reminder from last time for any regular readers, and to mention it for the first-time readers, this isn’t about arbitrary selection based on personal preference or telling a specific story.  Instead, I’ll be looking at things from an impartial examination of key factors.  These include powers and abilities, any weaponry/gadgets carried by default, perception biases and the fundamental nature of each character.  The analysis will also have some influence from the narrative outlines of my fan-fiction plans, so knowledge of events from any other Marvel continuities and their impacts aren’t going to factor in.  Also, as this would be the first contest, we’re looking at very basic knock-out fighting bouts between the heroes in plain, basic, gladiatorial arenas, so environment will mostly not be a factor either.

Right, now that that’s done, let’s hit the quarter-final bouts:

Quarter Finals

Bout 1: Black Panther/T’Challa vs Thor

Our first quarter final is a true battle royale as we pit the king of Wakanda against the prince of Asgard.  I’m sure Black Panther fans and people who’ve watched certain elements of season 5 of Avengers Assemble would put such a bout in T’Challa’s favour; one because he’s their favourite, the other because it provides a precedent for T’Challa planning contingencies against his fellow heroes.  However, the former is something we avoid in objective analysis, and the latter is ruled out by the contest rules (straight-up gladiatorial combat with no prep time) and the context for the fan-fiction universe (at this time, T’Challa hasn’t met or studied most other superheroes).

 As such, the contest is wide open until we consider all factors.  First, as ever, is powers; Thor significantly out-muscles T’Challa and brings a distance attack to the fray in the form of his lightning, not to mention his flight advantage.  However, T’Challa is also an agile opponent, so landing hits will not be entirely straight-forward for Thor.  Experience-wise, Thor’s extended lifespan means he’s had more time to learn and master combat than any human, so this adds to his edge over T’Challa.

 When we consider equipment, however, things even up a little more.  T’Challa’s suit being made of Vibranium means he’ll be more likely to absorb and even re-direct Thor’s lightning, which means the pair will be more likely to come to physical blows instead of fighting things out at range.  Psychologically, there’s nothing tipping the balance either way.  Long story short, it’s a closer bout than might be apparent at first glance, but without prep time, this bout will ultimately go to the God of Thunder.

Bout 1 winner: Thor

Bout 2: Captain America/Steve Rogers vs Storm/Ororo Monroe

Next, we pit the super-soldier against one of the last remaining X-Men-to-be in the contest (remember, Storm is at university following a stint as Xavier’s student before she returns as teacher and X-Men in the fanfic).  From a powers perspective, Storm has a considerable edge in that her weather-manipulation powers are varied, powerful, and are going up against the primarily physical power of Captain America.  Now as I noted back in my July ramble, Steve’s powers in the fanfic draw from the comics instead of films, so he’s only at peak human strength and fitness levels, but with the serum eliminated fatigue poisons to give him increased endurance and stamina.

 Considering this, Storm would have to rely on her more directly offensive weather manifestations, as trying to batter Cap with snow, wind, etc. isn’t going to wear him down as effectively as a normal human being.  However, that plays into Cap’s experience, which overall gives him an edge over Storm despite her Danger Room training.  To an old war horse like Cap, even tactics like fog wouldn’t avail Storm too much against him.  Next there’s the equipment aspect; Cap’s shield being made of a unique Adamantium-Vibranium alloy makes it both indestructible and fairly energy-absorbent, while Storm isn’t packing any weaponry or equipment of note for combat.

 Psychologically speaking, Storm is likely than some other X-students to be awed or intimidated by Cap, but there may still be a small element of this in play, while Cap will probably not be adversely affected by anything in the combat to hand.  Ultimately, I think Storm would have the initial advantage, but Cap’s experience, endurance and his shield would enable him to hang in long enough to come back and win the bout overall.

Bout 2 winner: Captain America

Bout 3: Hulk/Bruce Banner vs Domino/Neena Thurman

Gamma strength versus mutant luck; in most bouts, it’s fair to say each power is an insurmountable factor that all but guarantees the wielder of that power a win.  Pitted against each other, however, the question becomes which trumps the other. Ultimately, any application of the Hulk’s strength is as subject to probability as any other, but at the same time, if the Hulk uses area-effect strikes (e.g., a super-strength clap of his hands creating a massive shockwave that is impossible to avoid), luck can cease to be a factor.

 Looked at from this point of view, the powers at hand more-or-less cancel each other out.  Next comes experience, which Domino does have the advantage of over the Hulk, if only because the Hulk has poor memory and cognitive ability, fighting more from instinct or Banner’s subconscious prodding than any true tactical expertise of his own.  Domino is also armed where the Hulk is not, frequently using firearms in combat, and this together with her luck and experience, not to mention her ability to remain calm and think while the Hulk is a raging berserker, puts the fight into her hands.

 As a well-trained and experienced fighter, especially one who is operating alongside a martial arts master like Wolverine outside this contest, Domino will have both excellent marksmanship skills and some knowledge of pressure-point strikes.  If we then factor in the increased tensile strength of the Hulk’s skin, it’s very likely that high-calibre rounds from a rifle like the one Domino is typically depicted with could have the same kind of impact as a nerve-strike, if aimed right and backed up with Domino’s luck to ensure that outcome.  As a result, Domino would probably win this bout.

Bout 3 winner: Domino

Bout 4: Marvel Girl/Jean Grey vs Hercules

For the last of the quarter finals, we pit telepathy and telekinesis of the last of our remaining mutant characters against Olympian strength.  Now as was noted in last month’s ramble, the mind of any long-lived being required a level of physiological and psychological endurance beyond a human mind to withstand the greater volume of memory and knowledge such a mind would accumulate.  This means telepaths would struggle in a mind-to-mind clash with Asgardians, Olympians, etc.  This is part of why Thor defeated Psylocke in round 2 of the contest, and it means Jean’s not going to be able to bring this weapon to bear as well as she could against most other foes.

 However, enhanced strength is Hercules’ sole power while Jean is also a telekinetic, and she could easily use that power to turn the Olympian’s strength against him.  That said, Hercules as a longer-lived being possesses a considerable edge in experience, which would seem to put the advantage back in his corner.  In terms of equipment, Hercules has the option of his Mace of Power, but since he wouldn’t likely use it against an unarmed foe, especially a female opponent, this is almost a null factor.

 Ultimately, this bout comes down to psychological factors, and it’s here that Hercules would get tripped up.  In addition to being part-human and thus a little more susceptible to Jean’s telepathy than the average Olympian, Hercules is both braggart and chauvinist.  This means that where Jean’s telepathy can get through, she can exacerbate these qualities and cause Hercules to make a moderate fool of himself, thereby making use of her telekinesis almost a formality.  As a result, this final quarter final would end up being won by Jean.

Bout 4 winner: Marvel Girl

With the quarter finals judged, we now move to the semi-finals, which pitch avenger against avenger and mutant against mutant.

Semi-Finals

Bout 1: Thor vs Captain America/Steve Rogers

So, in a bout between the God of Thunder and the star-spangled avenger, who wins?  From the perspective of powers, Thor has a sizeable edge from his physical strength, lightning powers and flight abilities, whereas Captain America’s increased endurance doesn’t seem much by comparison.  Experience is also on Thor’s side, though Captain America isn’t exactly a slouch in this respect; only Thor’s greater life-span grants him an edge here due to a greater volume of experience.

 As such, we then come to equipment, and Cap’s shield is perhaps one of the few weapons capable of really holding up well against the mighty Mjolnir.  That then leaves psychological factors; considering we’re taking about a great warrior combatting a great soldier, neither combatant is going to be at any great advantage or disadvantage to the other in this regard. The reality is this would be a close-run bout but would ultimately go Thor’s way.

Bout 1 winner: Thor

Bout 2: Domino/Neena Thurman vs Marvel Girl/Jean Grey

So far in this contest, we’ve seen luck powers beat optic blasts, super-speed and super-strength, while telepathy and telekinesis has surpassed super-senses, amphibious abilities and an Olympian demi-god. Which of these, then, can beat the other.  Now as we noted back in the quarter finals, luck can only affect probability; if someone uses a power that can’t avoided, luck won’t help.  As such, one could argue that with a quick opening psychic attack, Jean would have the bout sewn up in an instant.

 However, in the fan-fic world where this contest takes place, Domino is part of the proto-X-Men, and as such will have been taught by Professor X himself to resist psionic assaults.  This means Jean’s greatest power advantage is again reduced in efficacy, though not by any means nullified in its totality.  However, telekinesis may not avail much against luck unless Jean has the wit to make the attacks wide-spread and thus unavoidable.  Experience-wise, Domino will also have the edge, as she does from an equipment point-of-view, though Jean’s telekinesis would easily deflect most if not all firearm rounds.

 This then brings us psychological factors, and here both women know each other well enough not to have any clear edge over each other.  Long story short, it’s a relatively even match-up that I think would just go Jean’s way.  Whether that’s because telepathy, especially of Jean’s level, is impossible to resist forever, or because Domino’s luck might consider it luckier to avoid Thor in the contest final, I leave to your judgement.

Bout 2 winner: Marvel Girl

 And with the semi-finals out of the way, it’s now time to look at the final.  Who will be the inaugural victor of the Contest of Champions in my fan-fic world from an objective perspective?  Let’s find out.

Final: Thor vs Marvel Girl/Jean Grey

Ok, as ever, let’s start with powers.  Jean’s telepathy will be all but useless against Thor due to his mental resilience combined with him being full Asgardian rather than a human-Olympian hybrid.  This means it’s her telekinesis against Thor’s super-strength, lightning and flight abilities.  As a telekinetic, Jean may be able to manage some levitation, so flight is not entirely Thor’s advantage, but lifting herself will deplete what else she can manipulate, including the possible deflection of Thor’s hammer.

 Experience, as ever in these bouts, lies with Thor as the longer-lived combatant and a warrior born-and-bred, and he is armed with his hammer where Jean has no equipment.  Having beaten Hercules, Jean might not be as easily cowed by Thor as some others would be, but let’s bear in mind we’re dealing with a late teens Jean whose powers, while formidable, have yet to truly reach their peak.  Moreover, considering how much those powers would be drained overcoming an Olympian and Domino’s luck powers, it’s quite likely that come the final, Jean would be running on fumes compared to Thor.  As such, I’m inclined to declare the Odinson as the inaugural CoC winner.

Champion: Thor

 And that concludes this first fan-fic-based Contest of Champions. I do have several others within this fan-fic world, as the idea was to have them happen once every four years like the Olympics (a US Olympic games in the 1980’s being the original genesis of the whole contest concept). If you’ve liked this one and want me to do the other contests in future rambles, leave a comment and I’ll be sure to work that in.  I’ll also probably mix things up a bit more on future ones as well (e.g., alternating environmental conditions, some bouts being among more than two combatants), so also bear that in mind when asking “do I want to see more of this kind of thing”?

 Anyway, that’ll be it for now in terms of Marvel stuff. Next month’s ramble will be both seasonal and dealing with raising awareness about another aspect of autism, so until then, ta-ta for now.

[animecentralinfo]

Top 3 Overlord Ainz Ooal Gown Figure - Recommended For Diehard Fans!

Ainz Ooal Gown Figure is the most anime merchandise you need to own if you are a fan of both anime and light novel series, Overlord.His face is really cool, you can change his expressions and stuff, and his keel is soooo real.There are so many versions of Ainz Ooal Gown aka Momonga figure in the market! But we decided to bring you the top 3 of them!This post will only talk about the Ainz Ooal Gown figure in specific. If you want to get other characters, please visit our Overlord Figure page.Without further ado, here are the top 3 Ainz Ooal Gown figure from Overlord series!

Furyu 1/7 Scale PVC Multicolor

Buy Now!! It's a huge figure of great quality, but the hood/cloak has a bit of an offset.However, compared to its flaw, the figure is simply great, really great! He is very detailed and very easy to assemble. All you have to do is put his staff in his hand and put him on the stand. His orb lights up when you put in the batteries, so that's a plus. He's a little pricey, but worth the money. If you're an overlord fan you need him

Previous Next

Nendoroid Good Smile Company

Buy Now!! Recently, I watched Isekai Quartet, and I was curious about the work Overlord, and when I watched it, I was completely hooked on the Supreme Ruler in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.I knew there was a Nendoroid coming out in the past, so I welcomed him back, albeit late.I've bought Nendoroids for other works as well (Jojo, Leukocyte, Amuro, etc.), so I understand that the modeling itself is of perfect quality, but Ainz-sama's deformed condition is also good.

Previous Next The range of motion is about the lower jaw and the eyelids (maybe?). The arms can be replaced by removing the front left and right parts of the cloak.The part that is integrated with the hand is not a ball joint, so it cannot move. The arm that can replace the hand can move up and down somewhat.However, you can't take a pose that spreads your arms in the play. Staff Ainz Wool Gown The handle is only for the left.Regrettably, I wanted the Sacred Artifacts to be painted differently instead of just gold. Even with that in mind, Ainz-sama is cute, so I'll give him 5 stars.The white things you see when you open your mouth wide are your ribs. The hood is removable and all parts other than the face are integrated.It stands on its own due to its weight. Base? You don't need to. Momonga balls and cherry-flavored jewels on the left and right of the head were made of red clear parts.For compatibility with other Nendoroids, it was possible to change the face without the lower jaw. If it was a type that was separate from the bangs part, it was possible to replace it with Ainz-sama's body.

Yukata Version

Buy Now!! The legendary monarch... Overlord Ainz Ooal Gown is reproduced in a comfortable yukata! Away from his role as overlord, Ainz relaxes in a comfortable yukata at the bathhouse, where he carries a bucket of soap and towels to clean his bones. As his hand reaches for the robe, outward folds remain, revealing a mysterious red sphere beneath his bare ribs. Let's decorate it side by side with Albedo in a yukata (sold separately). Please add it to your collection!

Previous Next Read the full article

[lokiondisneyplus]

Malcolm Spellman is picking up Captain America's shield once again.

The head writer and show creator behind Disney+ and Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is developing a fourth installment of the Captain America film franchise for Marvel Studios. Spellman will co-write the script with Dalan Musson, a staff writer on Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

No castings for the project are officially known but Friday’s episode offers plenty of roads for the feature to take. Up until this point, Chris Evans has played Captain America via the Steve Rogers character, appearing in a trio of solo movies, Avengers outings, and assorted Marvel movies. And the question of who is entitled to carry the shield or be Captain America was central to the show.

The feature is likely to continue the story of Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie, and the current wielder of the shield. But as the writers get to work, it will interesting to see how the story unfolds with there now being multiple people who have been Captain Americas in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

No director is attached and Evans’ involvement or return remains unconfirmed. Marvel was tight-lipped as usual.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which also stars Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier, has earned strong critical and fan reaction. Spellman assembled a nearly all-Black writer's room for the series, which has been praised for bringing the Black experience to the forefront not quite like any other superhero film or TV show before it. The series has tackled issues as every day as discriminatory lending practices, to the original sins of America building itself on the backs of Black people.

The series premiered March 19, to what Disney+ said was its biggest series debut ever, topping popular shows such as Marvel's WandaVision and Lucasfilm's The Mandalorian.

Evans toplined three previous Captain America films, including Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War (2016), and retired the role with Avengers: Endgame. When events pick up in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Wilson opted to forgo the title of Captain America, and sees the government give the role to John Walker (Wyatt Russell), a white member of the military.

Spellman was previously a writer/co-executive producer on Fox show Empire and also acted as a consulting producer on crime show Truth Be Told before getting the chance to take the lead on Falcon. He is repped by CAA and Industry Entertainment.

Musson was the credited writer of what is considered among the strongest of the show's installments, episode 5. He is a rising scribe whose previous credit was on Iron Sky: The Coming Race, an action thriller centered on Nazis on the moon. He is repped by Verve and Industry.

#falcon and the winter soldier #captain america 4

[demifiendrsa]

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake - PlayStation Showcase 2021 Trailer

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is in development for PlayStation 5 and PC. A release date was not announced.

Logo

Still

First details via PlayStation Blog:

A pinnacle of Star Wars Legends storytelling, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is set over 4,000 years before the events of the original trilogy and introduced a new story of new heroes and villains in an epic struggle for the fate of the galaxy. The team here at Aspyr and Sony Interactive Entertainment have joined forces with Lucasfilm Games to bring you a remake of this classic Star Wars adventure. We’re rebuilding one of the greatest RPGs of all time for a new generation with modern tech, features, visuals and more, while maintaining the integrity of the story and characters that we’ve come to cherish.

And it’s a console exclusive on PlayStation 5 at launch.

If you’re not familiar with “KOTOR“—as you’ll see fans lovingly refer to it—then you’re in for a treat. The original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was a truly groundbreaking achievement: an award-winning RPG of incredible scope, immersion, and ambition with an epic narrative to match. A diverse cast of characters to meet, multiple planets to discover, challenging battles to fight, and cinematic storytelling that responds to the choices you make—it’s no wonder that to this day KOTOR remains one of the most celebrated video games ever made.

Why remake Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic? Well, nearly 20 years after it first debuted, the original KOTOR is still one of the most beloved games of all time. And even as Star Wars travels to new horizons, we know the community is as eager as ever to return to this iconic era of storytelling and action.

With Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake, our hope is to give both series newcomers and long-term fans an experience that can live alongside the very best modern releases. We’re rebuilding it from the ground up with the latest tech to match the groundbreaking standard of innovation established by the original, all while staying true to its revered story.

Aspyr has assembled the very best talent from across the industry to create Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake—industry veterans who have worked on great RPGs, as well as some members of the original Knights of the Old Republic development team. Their knowledge and passion for these characters, this story, and this world is unmatched. And just who is Aspyr? You probably know us as the studio responsible for bringing multiple Star Wars games to modern systems, including Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Star Wars: Episode I – Racer, Star Wars: Republic Commando, and, yes, the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic!

We’ve been working closely with Lucasfilm Games on classic Star Wars games for years, and that experience has instilled in our team a deep love and respect for these timeless titles, as well as a unique perspective on how to carry them forward into the modern age. We’re proud to be collaborating with Sony Interactive Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games to bring this dream to life.

So, what’s next? Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake is a tremendous undertaking, encompassing almost every aspect of the original game. We’re still early in development, but we’re happy to finally have announced the remake and hear the PlayStation community’s thoughts on what you’re excited to see.

- Ryan Treadwell, Aspyr Media lead producer

#Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake #Knights of the Old Republic Remake #Knights of the Old Republic #Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic #SW KOTOR #KOTOR #Star Wars #Aspyr Media #Lucasfilm Games #Sony Interactive Entertainment #video game #PS5 #PC #PlayStation showcase #PlayStation showcase 2021

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

NASA’s Perseverance Team Assessing First Mars Sampling Attempt Data sent to Earth by NASA’s Perseverance rover after its first attempt to collect a rock sample on Mars and seal it in a sample tube indicate that no rock was collected during the initial sampling activity. The rover carries 43 titanium sample tubes and is exploring Jezero Crater, where it will be gathering samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and dust) for future analysis on Earth. “While this is not the ‘hole-in-one’ we hoped for, there is always risk with breaking new ground,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “I’m confident we have the right team working this, and we will persevere toward a solution to ensure future success.” Perseverance’s Sampling and Caching System uses a hollow coring bit and a percussive drill at the end of its 7-foot-long (2-meter-long) robotic arm to extract samples. Telemetry from the rover indicates that during its first coring attempt, the drill and bit were engaged as planned, and post-coring, the sample tube was processed as intended. “The sampling process is autonomous from beginning to end,” said Jessica Samuels, the surface mission manager for Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “One of the steps that occurs after placing a probe into the collection tube is to measure the volume of the sample. The probe did not encounter the expected resistance that would be there if a sample were inside the tube.” The Perseverance mission is assembling a response team to analyze the data. One early step will be to use the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) imager – located at the end of the robotic arm – to take close-up pictures of the borehole. Once the team has a better understanding of what happened, it will be able to ascertain when to schedule the next sample collection attempt. “The initial thinking is that the empty tube is more likely a result of the rock target not reacting the way we expected during coring, and less likely a hardware issue with the Sampling and Caching System,” said Jennifer Trosper, project manager for Perseverance at JPL. “Over the next few days, the team will be spending more time analyzing the data we have, and also acquiring some additional diagnostic data to support understanding the root cause for the empty tube.” Previous NASA missions on Mars have also encountered surprising rock and regolith properties during sample collection and other activities. In 2008, the Phoenix mission sampled soil that was “sticky” and difficult to move into onboard science instruments, resulting in multiple tries before achieving success. Curiosity has drilled into rocks that turned out to be harder and more brittle than expected. Most recently, the heat probe on the InSight lander, known as the “mole,” was unable to penetrate the Martian surface as planned. “I have been on every Mars rover mission since the beginning, and this planet is always teaching us what we don’t know about it,” said Trosper. “One thing I’ve found is, it’s not unusual to have complications during complex, first-time activities.” First Science Campaign Perseverance is currently exploring two geologic units containing Jezero Crater’s deepest and most ancient layers of exposed bedrock and other intriguing geologic features. The first unit, called the “Crater Floor Fractured Rough,” is the floor of Jezero. The adjacent unit, named “Séítah” (meaning “amidst the sand” in the Navajo language), has Mars bedrock as well, and is also home to ridges, layered rocks, and sand dunes. Recently, the Perseverance science team began using color images from the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter to help scout for areas of potential scientific interest and to look for potential hazards. Ingenuity completed its 11th flight Wednesday, Aug. 4, traveling about 1,250 feet (380 meters) downrange of its current location so that it could provide the project aerial reconnaissance of the southern Séítah area. The rover’s initial science foray, which spans hundreds of sols (or Martian days), will be complete when Perseverance returns to its landing site. At that point, Perseverance will have traveled between 1.6 and 3.1 miles (2.5 and 5 kilometers) and may have filled up to eight of its sample tubes. Next, Perseverance will travel north, then west, toward the location of its second science campaign: Jezero Crater’s delta region. The delta is the fan-shaped remains of the confluence of an ancient river and a lake within Jezero Crater. The region may be especially rich in carbonate minerals. On Earth, such minerals can preserve fossilized signs of ancient microscopic life and are associated with biological processes. More About the Mission A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #news #nasa #mars perseverance rover

[uomo-accattivante]

Several people have asked me about the Juilliard classmate who co-starred with Oscar in the school’s production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Her name was Sarah Fox, and she was destined to become a star, in her own right, before sadly becoming a victim of a still-unsolved homicide in May, 2004. 

The following is a quote about Oscar’s statement to the New York Times and the article it originated from:

“Oscar Isaac, a fellow third-year drama student, said Ms. Fox was known for her constellation of hugs. The one reserved exclusively for Mr. Isaac would require each of them to tickle each other's backs while embracing.”

(📷: Serena Reeder)

Her story has much of the familiar ring of the young aspirant's tale. She was a radiant young woman with a repertoire of special hugs, imbued with talent and brimming with hope. From the far reaches of New Jersey, she came to study at one of New York's fabled cultural institutions and to wonder if one day destiny might find her. People took notice. She glowed.

Sarah Fox's story ended when her badly decomposed body was found on Tuesday by a volunteer search party in the thickets near a jogging path in Inwood Hill Park in northern Manhattan. Positive identification was made yesterday, law enforcement authorities said, after her mother presented dental records to the medical examiner's office.

The police said that she had been strangled, though they were uncertain whether by hand or by another method, and they could not determine if she had been sexually assaulted. The bizarre placement of petals and branches from a tulip tree around the body raised the question that the killing may have had a ritualistic element. The police said they were without suspects but were casting a wide net.

Ms. Fox was 21, 5 feet 2 inches tall, with blue eyes and strawberry blond hair that she wore short on the sides and spiked on top. She was a student in the drama department at the Juilliard School, the performing arts conservatory at Lincoln Center. The rarefied air of its sleekly modern buildings have produced a long list of hallowed names including Miles Davis, Philip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Nina Simone and Robin Williams.

Ms. Fox was starry-eyed with her own high aspirations for a stage career. She drew a favorable response for her versatility, just as convincingly playing the conniving Natasha in Chekhov's ''Three Sisters'' as she did a bird in the Aristophanes play ''The Birds.'' A fellow drama student at Juilliard remarked on how ''brave, open, accomplished'' she was as an actress.

Recently, though, she had taken a leave from the school. Her relatives said she had found Juilliard very demanding and simply needed a brief interlude to replenish herself. She intended to resume her studies in the fall as a third-year student.

The abrupt and jarring end to her life left Juilliard bewildered. The discovery equally stunned the city itself. Though Ms. Fox's movements in the hours leading to her death remain unclear, it appears that a young woman went out to jog well before dusk, in a park where children played and people walked their dogs, only to encounter a murderer that no one saw.

For an hour and a half yesterday morning, members of the Juilliard drama department gathered to collectively address her death. This took place in Room 304, a classroom that has become something of a designated grieving room. In recent years, similar grim assemblages occurred. Several years ago, another third-year drama student was found dead and the room filled up. It did again last year when a student's sister was murdered. It was the same place where students gathered after Sept. 11.

In the room that one student characterized as ''an emotional vortex,'' more than 150 people mourned Sarah Fox, an astonishing number given that classes had ended for the academic year a week ago and many students had dispersed. A second-year drama student who attended the session said the event was ''uplifting'' even though virtually everyone was in tears. Ms. Fox's boyfriend, a Juilliard drama graduate, was among those who spoke.

Later in the day, about 70 students and faculty members returned to campus for a half-hour memorial service in one of the dance studios. Filing out of the building, Jane Cho, 31, a former piano student and now a career counselor at Juilliard, said, ''It was dark and a lot of people were crying.''

Joseph W. Polisi, Juilliard's president, issued a statement saying: ''She reached out eloquently to others through her exceptional ability as an actress. Her senseless loss leaves us all feeling a profound sorrow.''

Ms. Fox grew up in a family of modest means in Pennsauken, in southern New Jersey. She had an older sister, Samantha. Her father, a car mechanic, died of cancer 10 years ago, and her mother sometimes held two jobs to raise the two girls. She currently lives in Gibbstown, N.J., and is a manager for a mortgage company.

Ms. Fox caught the acting bug as a girl and filled her summers performing in shows. She also developed a strong interest in music, and she liked to jog to keep fit.

In an interview with The Courier-Post of New Jersey before her daughter's body was found, Lorraine Fox recounted how she had impressed on Sarah the dangers of the world. When Sarah was little, they played a game called ''What If?'' Her mother would ask a question like, ''What if a stranger came up and asked you to help find a dog?''

Ms. Fox would learn the answers, which were always, ''No.''

During high school, she was a member of the first class of the Southern New Jersey Academy of the Performing Arts, a division of the Gloucester County Institute of Technology in Sewell. Eileen Shute, a spokeswoman for the school, said Ms. Fox was an A student and a ''quality young lady.''

According to the school's yearbook, she belonged to the fine arts club and the thespian society and had leading parts in a number of major productions, including Rosalind in Shakespeare's early romantic comedy ''As You Like It.'' Classmates were amused when she and her date once showed up at a dance dressed as Sonny and Cher.

At the back of her 2001 yearbook, she is pictured in the front row of her graduating class. The headline over the photo reads: ''The perfect end to a beautiful beginning''

Her talent gained her admission with a full scholarship to Juilliard in the fall of 2001, where she seemed to have become well-liked and admired by students and teachers.

Several classmates said she had a knack for knowing when other people needed a jolt of confidence. When one student assumed that no one had remembered his birthday, Ms. Fox put up on a drama department message board a brown paper bag on which she had scribbled, ''We haven't forgotten, Happy Birthday.'' Another time, she cheered up a student having trouble mastering his character in a play by leaving a note on a blackboard that said: ''Don't beat yourself up. You're immensely talented.''

It was her abilities on the stage as much as her robust personality that attracted attention. A number of students praised her leading performance in last year's production of Brecht's ''Caucasian Chalk Circle.'' ''She was 19 years old and was not a parent, but she played the mother so convincingly,'' said one recent graduate. ''It made you wonder where someone could get that sort of poise and wisdom.''

When she played a bird in ''The Birds,'' many who saw the performance said they thought it was enlightened casting. ''She was so light-spirited and in touch with her animal instincts,'' said Jess Weixler, another recent graduate.

Her family felt certain of her future. ''I have no doubt that we would have seen her name in lights one day on Broadway,'' said an uncle, Isaac Porter.

Oscar Isaac, a fellow third-year drama student, said Ms. Fox was known for her constellation of hugs. The one reserved exclusively for Mr. Isaac would require each of them to tickle each other's backs while embracing.

Ms. Fox shared an apartment in the Inwood section not far from where her body was found. It was in a five-story walkup building in a neighborhood whose relatively low rents have drawn an influx of younger people embarked on careers in the arts.

Her roommate reported her missing last Thursday. The last time her roommate saw her was at 5 p.m. the previous day. Wearing workout clothes and carrying a compact disc player, Ms. Fox was apparently on her way to her gym or to jog.

The police sent officers, helicopters and dogs to root through the thickly forested parks of Inwood. News of her disappearance galvanized her friends and family to do what they could. They tacked up hundreds of posters bearing her photograph. To further assist, Mr. Porter, an electrician from Millville, N.J., assembled a volunteer search party, composed largely of people from South Jersey, to fan out through Inwood Hill Park. The police had been there. But the family sensed that if anything had happened to Sarah Fox, it had happened there.

Early Tuesday afternoon, members of the search party sifted through a tangled area near a jogging path and found what they had hoped they wouldn't find. They found the end of Sarah Fox's story.

###

#oscar isaac #juilliard #sarah fox #group 34 #anton chekhov #three sisters

[bookofjin]

Rise of Sixteen States: 303

Li Te is killed, is succeeded by his brother Liu. Li Liu dies, is succeeded by Te's son Xiong. Li Xiong takes Chengdu.

Also a Tai'an era check in with some of our other friends.

3 February 303 – 21 February 304

(Jin's 2nd Year of Tai'an)

(Li Te's 1st Year of Jianchu)

8th Month [29 August – 27 September], the King of Hejian, Yong and the King of Chengdu, Ying, raised troops to chastise the King of Changsha, Ai. The Emperor used Ai as Great Commander-in-Chief, commanding the army to defend against them.

[12th Month], guihai [17 January], the King of Donghai, Yue, arrested the King of Changsha, Ai and secluded him in Jinyongcheng. Ai was murdered by Zhang Fang.

(Li Te)

2ndYear of Tai'an(JS: 1stYear), Spring, 1st Month [3 February – 4 March], New Moon, Te advanced to strike, and routed Shang's riverside army. Te crossed by way of the Angdi, his partisans and followers by way of the Chi River, they entered the Pi and reached south-west of the river. The defensive army hemming the Jiang all scattered and ran. Thereupon he advanced to rob Chengdu. The Grand Warden of Shu commandery, Xu Jian, used the lesser city to surrender. Te entered to occupy it. He only took horses to provide for the army, of the remainder nothing was plundered or carried off. He used Li Jin as Grand Warden of Shu commandery to console it.

Te declared himself Shepherd of Yi province, Commander-in-Chief of the Various Army Affairs of Liang# and Yi provinces, Great General, and Great Commander-in-Chief, and changed the year to Jianchu [“Establishing the Beginning”], with an amnesty within his area. Luo Shang guarded the greater city, Te was encamped in the lesser city, and Li Liu advanced to station at Jianshang west of the Jiang. Shang was afraid, and dispatched envoys to seek peace.

At the time the people of Shu were imperilled and afraid, and joined together in village forts. They requested instructions from Te, and Te divided up people to go and rule over them. Xiong sent a letter to admonish Te to gather hostages, and that it was not possible to divide up and scatter the staunch and sharp. Liu also admonished him. Te angrily said:

Since the great affair is settled, there only is to calm the people. Why cling to vacillating actions, and coerce and harm without stop.

The Assistant Officer of Yi province's Board of Troops, Ren Rui of Shu commandery, advised Shang, saying:

Te has nefariously rebelled, and infringed on and terrorized the hundred families. He also divides his people and scatter his multitudes, they are among the various village forts, he is haughty, negligent and unprepared. We are on the verge of the harvest for Heaven destroying Te. We can announce to the various villages to secretly agree on an appointed day. Striking him from inside and outside, routing him is certain.

Shang followed him. At night he let down a rope to send out Rui, sending him to circulate his intentions and announce to the various villages, appointing the 2nd Month, 10th Day [14 March], when they would at the same time chastise Te. By his own hand he wrote a secret message which said “At that one Willow River”.

Rui first went to Te to surrender to thoroughly observe what was false and true. Te asked him how it was inside the city. Rui said:

Rice and grain are already almost exhausted, there are only goods and silk, and that is all.

Following that, he sought to visit his family. Te allowed it. Rui covertly advised the various villages. The villages thoroughly heeded the instructions. Rui returned to report to Shang. Shang consented to comply with the agreed date and send out the army to chastise Te. The various villages likewise consented to go and gather at the same time.

2nd Month [5 March – 2 April], Emperor Hui dispatched the Inspector of Jing province, Song Dai, and the Grand Warden of Jianping, Sun Fu, to aid Luo Shang. Fu was already staying at Deyang. Te dispatched Li Dang to supervise Li Huang and help Ren Zang resist Fu.

Shang dispatched a great multitude to suddenly assault Te's camp. They fought continuously for two days. His multitudes being smaller, they were no match, and Te's army was greatly defeated. He gathered and collected his remaining soldiers, and drew back to hasten to Xinfan (Same as Fancheng).

Shang's army pulled back, Te then pursued them, and there was a moving battle for more than thirty li. Shang sent out a great army to confront him. Te's army was routed and withdrew. The pursuit reached Guansang in Fan. They beheaded Te, his older brother Fu, Li Yuan, and others, burnt all their corpses, and transmitted the heads to Luoyang. [Te] had held rank for two years.

When his son Xiong presumptuously declared himself King of Chengdu, he was retroactively conferred Luminous [jing] King, and when he declared for himself the venerated title, he retroactively venerated him as the Luminous August Emperor, with the temple title First Founder [shizu].

(Li Liu)

At Te's capture of Chengdu's lesser city, he had the drifting people of the Six Commanderies divide into groups when entering the city, while the strong and brave supervised and led the village forts. Liu talked to Te, saying:

Your Highness has godly martial ability and has already overcome the lesser city. However the mountains and fens have not yet been collected, and the provisions and arms are not many. We ought to select the sons and younger brothers of the province and commanderies's great families to be hostages, send them off and turn them over to Guanghan, and confine them to the two camps; and gather and assemble the staunch and sharp, and fit them out to be defensive guards.

He also wrote a letter to Te's Marshal, Shangguan Dun, deeply laying out the right-principleness of accepting surrender like waiting on an enemy. Te did not accept.

When Te had been killed, the people of Shu were very rebellious, and the drifting people were greatly afraid. Liu and his older brother's sons Dang and Xiong gathered the lost multitudes and turned back to Chizu. Liu guarded the eastern camp, and Dang and Xiong guarded the northern camp. Shang, though victorious, still distributed a roaming army to campaign against the ungoverned. He transmitted Te's head to Luoyang, and burnt his corpse. Li Xiong used Li Li as Grand Warden of Zitong. The multitudes turned back to Chizu, and pushed forward Liu as Great General, Great Commander-in-Chief, and Shepherd of Yi province.

At the time Song Dai was staying at Dianjiang with a river army of 30 000. His vanguard Sun Fu routed Deyang, and captured the defence general appointed by Te, Jian Shi. The Grand Warden, Ren Zang, and others withdrew to Fu (JS Fuling county).

3rd Month [3 April – 2 May], Shang dispatched Controller-Protectors Zhang Gui, He Chong, Zuo Fan, and others with an army to Fancheng, and then Mianzhu surrendered. Commoners of Fuling, Yao Shen#, and Du A, responded to Shang. He also dispatched Controller-Protector Chang Shen with an army to Piqiao, and the Serrated Gates Zuo Fan, Huang Hong (HYGZ: Huang Yin), and He Chong to attack the northern camp from three sides. Shen was repulsed by Liu and Xiang#. Dang and Xiong attacked Shen#. Shen routed Xiang#, and killed Li Pan. His younger brother Gong became the master.

Zuo Fan and Huang Hong attacked Te's northern camp. The Di and Qiang within the camp who adhered to Fu Cheng, Wei Bo, and Shi Ding, rebelled in response to Fan and Yin, and attacked Dang and Xiong. Dang's mother Luo put on armour and made the rounds of the deployments. Bo by his own hand cut Luo and wounded her eye, her sturdy spirit became even more ardent. Also at the time, Cheng and Bo were fighting them inside, while Fan and and Yin attacked them on the outside, from daybreak until middle of the day, the camp was just on the brink of routed.

It happened that Liu routed Shen, and Dang and Xiong routed Shen# and came back. Just then they met with Fan and Yin, and greatly routed them. Cheng and Bo brought along their partisans to suddenly set out and go to Shang. Liu personally led Dang and Xiong to attack Shen's palisades, and overcame him. Shen's multitude soldiers scattered like stars. They pursued until Chengdu. Shang shut the gates and defended himself. Dang whipped his horse to pursue and strike, he rammed into a leaning Sou long lance and died. Luo and Xiong kept it private and did begin mourning so as to calm the hearts of the multitudes.

Summer, 4th Month [3 May – 31 May], Shang killed the secluded scholar Liu Chang. Chang was the great grandson of the former Shepherd of the province, Liu Zhang, and lived secluded on Bailu Mountain. He was lofty and exalted, and his hoary head not once bent his aspirations, he also did not prepare for the affairs of the era. Shang trusted uncanny words, and killed him. On the day he was killed, thunder shook people, there was great rain, and from within the city there sprang out a river.

5th Month [2 June – 30 June], Li Liu surrendered to Sun Fu, and dispatched a son as hostage. It was not possible. He therefore raised troops, and together with Li Li assaulted Fu. Fu's army was defeated. Song Dai passed on from illness at Dianjiang, and the provincial army withdrew.

Liu, since Te and Dang were both dead, and Dai and Fu had also arrived, was very much afraid. The Grand Warden, Li Han, also recommended Liu to surrender, and Liu wanted to follow it. Xiong and Li Xiang# repeatedly admonished, but it was not accepted. Liu dispatched his son Shi and Han's son Hu as hostages to Fu's army. Hu's older brother, Han's son, Li, heard his father wished to surrender and hurried to turn back from Zitong. He wished to admonish but did not catch up. He withdrew and together with Xiong planned to assault Fu's army, saying:

If we achieve complete success in the affair, [I] pledge that you Lord and [I] every three year will repeat to be ruler.

Xiong said:

Even if the plans of you Lord and I are settled, if the two old men do not follow, what will we do?

Li said:

We will arrange it not, and if it cannot be arranged, we will readily act out the great affair. Even though the old man is your uncle, Lord, in the circumstances it cannot be avoided. When venerable fathers are lords, what ever is there then to talk about!

Xiong was greatly pleased. Xiong therefore explained to the people and gentlemen of the Six Commanderies, inciting them with Shang's infringements on them, frightened them with all being wiped out by the people of Shu's offences, and laid out the harvest of ample riches that could be gotten from Fu. He managed thereby to rout Fu, the dead among Fu's army were a considerable multitude, and then Dai perished from illness. The Jing province army withdrew, and he shifted to attacking Shang. Liu was ashamed of his shortcomings, and in army affairs relied on Xiong. Xiong several times routed Shang's army. Shang guarded the greater city.

6thMonth [1 July – 30 July], Xiong crossed by way of the Boyang ruins [?], attacked and killed the Grand Warden of Minshan, Chen Tu, and hastened to Picheng.

Autumn, 7thMonth [31 July – 28 August], Xiong entered Picheng. Liu thoroughly moved the camp to occupy it. The people of the Three Shu all guarded strategic places and connected fortifications, or had drifted away and dispersed, entering the south or going down east. The cities and towns were all empty, and in the countryside there was no smoke or fire. Pillagers and plunderers had nowhere to stay, and were also soon hungry and starving.

However more than a thousand families with people from Fuling were west of the Jiang, relying on Qingcheng Mountain's private scholar Fan Changsheng (HYGZ: Fan Xian) to defend themselves. Shang's Army Advisor who Pacifies the West, Xu Yu, sought to become Grand Warden of Minshan. He wished to make an agreement with Changsheng and others, and together with Shang seize the horns and chastise Liu. Shang did not allow it, and Yu resented him. He sought to be sent west of the Jiang, and thereupon surrendered to Liu, who used him as General who Calms the West. Yu advised Changsheng and others to send wealth to provide Liu's army with provisions. Changsheng followed him, and for that reason Liu's army again exerted themselves.

Liu had a long-standing esteem for Xiong for having the virtue of an elder, he always stated:

The one who will raise up my family, is surely this person.

He directed his sons to honour and serve him.

9thMonth [28 September – 26 October], Liu was deeply ill, he spoke to the various generals, saying:

The Valiant Cavalry is lofty, clear, humane, and affectionate, his insight beyond very amazing, he is firmly enough to aid the great affair. However the Van Army's gallantry and martial ability is almost like he is assisted by Heaven. [You] can together accept service to the Van Army, and use him as King of Chengdu.

Then he passed away, at the time he was aged 56. The various generals together installed Xiong as ruler. When Xiong declared for himself the venerated title, he retroactively gave posthumous title to Liu as the Civil [wen] King of Qin. His son Long inherited.

(Li Xiong)

Liu passed away. Xiong declared himself Great Commander-in-Chief, Great General, and Shepherd of Yi province, with his seat at Picheng.

Luo Shang dispatched general Wei Bo to attack Xiong at Picheng, but there was yet no victory or defeat. Xiong sent Pu Tai of Wudu to deceive Shang, saying:

Li Xiang# and Xiong, since they are starving, hungry, isolated and imperilled, daily bicker and fight and blame each other. Xiang# wishes to bring along the people west of the Jiang to eat grain. If a covert army comes, I will respond from within, and light a fire at the appointed time. [The city] can be obtained.

Shang considered to be so, and greatly gave him gold and treasure. Tai said:

Now the affair assuredly is not yet established. To get results and afterwards accept it will not be too late.

He also sought have dispatched a person to follow himself to watch and wait on him. Shang trusted him. He thoroughly sent out the spirited troops, and dispatched Wei Bo with the various armies to attack Pi. Xiang# had set up an ambush on the road. Tai used a long ladder to lean on the wall, and raised up the fire. Bo's army saw the fire was rising, all contended to climb up the ladder. Tai then used a rope to pull it up. More than a hundred people of Shang's army were all beheaded. Xiong following that let loose the troops, striking them from the inside and outside, and greatly routed them. Xiong straight-away pursued the retreat, and at night arrived beneath the city. They declared “Ten thousand years” and said:

[We] have obtained Picheng.

They entered the lesser city. Shang then became aware, and guarded the greater city.

Xiang# separately attacked Qianwei, and cut off Shang's transport road. He captured the Grand Warden, Gong Hui# of Wuling. Hui# formerly had been Prefect of Xi county in Tianshui, while Ren Hui had been a functionary. Hui asked him, saying:

Do [you] recognize [your] old functionary or not?

Hui# said:

[I] recognize you, that is all.

The commandery functionaries scattered like stars, only the Board of Merit official Yang Huan attended and guarded him. Hui spoke to him, saying:

You sir, is a right-principled person. I strongly fear [I] will not be able to rescue Lord Gong, and he will not be able to escape. You sir ought to depart soon.

Then both were killed.

Used Li Pu as Grand Warden of Qianwei.

Xiong captured Bo alive, he heard he was injured and would die of his wounds. Bo's daughter was the wife of Liang Shuang who was in his employ. For that reason he did not kill him.

Intercalary 12th Month [24 January – 21 February], the transportation of Shang's provisions was not maintained, and he was being pressed by attacks. At night he withdrew, and by means of the Niubing River went down east. He kept behind the Serrated Gates Zhang Luo (JS: Luo Te) to hold onto the city to the end of the night. By the time Xiong became aware, he had gone far away. In the hustle and bustle he had lost his tally and halberd. Luo followed after and obtained them, and also acquired the property. Soon after Xiong gained Chengdu.

At that time the hunger in Xiong's army was considerable. Xiang# therefore brought along the people to enter Qi's royal city, dig up wild taro and eat it. The people of Shu drifted and scattered, going down east to Jiangyang, and going south to enter the Seven Commanderies.

Since Fan Changsheng of the Western Mountains dwelt among the cliffs to live in a cave, seeking the Way and fostering aspirations, Xiong wished to welcome him as lord, and be subject to him. Changsheng firmly refused, saying:

Calculating the pacing of the Grand Inaugural, the Five Agents will have a great junction in jiazi. The throne will be bestowed on the Li, it is not for me to govern.

Xiong therefore deeply restrained and diminished himself, and did not dare to declare his authority. All affairs, great or small, were decided by the brothers Li Li and Li Guo, Guo and others served Xiong with full honours.

(As Changsheng, Xiong, and the others would have known, the next year would be a jiazi year.)

The Inspector of Liang# province, Xu Xiong, since, while he was to chastise the thieves, he had not advance, a cage cart summoned him to go to the Imperial Prison. Only the Army-Protector together with the Grand Warden of Hanguo, Du Mengzhi, the Chief Battle Leader Zhao Min, and Jing province's Grand Warden Zitong defended Hanzhong.

(The section just above follows the received text of the HYGZ which appears faulty. Ren Naiqiang has reconstructed the final sentence as follows:

Only the Army-Protector [Zhang Yin], together with the Grand Warden of Hanguo, Du Mengzhi, the Chief Battle Leader Zhao Min, the Grand Warden of [Baxi], [Zhang Yan], and [Jing Zi] of Zitong defended Hanzhong.)

Tai'an era (302 – 303)

(Liu Yuan)

Middle of Taian [302 – 303], Emperor Hui lost the government, the King of Qi, Jiong, the King of Chansha, Ai, together with the Ying and others, executed and exterminated themselves and each other. In the provinces and commanderies the faithless and presumptuous were rising up in a swarm. His granduncle the former Chief Commandant of the Northern Section and Worthy King of the Right, Xuan, and others furtively discussed turning to rebellion, saying:

Formerly our ancestors made a covenant with the Han to be brothers, [their] worries and contentment similar to them. Since the fall of Han, the era of Wei and Jin has risen, and our Chanyu is only an empty title, without having a foot of land for patrimony. From [one of] the various Kings and Marquises, he has fallen to be similar to the registered households. Now our multitudes, though diminished, are still not reduced to 20 000, why is it [that we have] pulled back our hands and accepted to serve for soon to exceed a hundred years!

Now the Sima clan's bones and flesh harm each other, in the Four Seas the tripods are boiling. To raise up the nation and restore the patrimony of Huhanxie, this is the time. The Worthy King of the Left, Yuan's bearing and capacity is beyond other people, his abilities and manners surpasses the generation. Suppose Heaven does not broadly honours the Chanyu, in the end it would not uselessly give birth to this man.

Hence they privately together pushed forward Yuan to be Great Chanyu. They therefore sent their partisan Huyan You to go to Ye and to tell him about this plan. Yuan requested to go home to attend a funeral, Ying did not allow it. Yuan therefore ordered You to first return home, and tell Xuan and others to summon and assemble the Five Sections, and pull in and meet with the various Hu of Yiyang, to make sounds of obeying Ying, but actually betray him.

(Shi Le)

Middle of Tai'an [302 – 303], Bing province was in famine and chaos. Le and various young Hu absconded and scattered, and then he returned from Yanmen to rely on Ning Qu, The Chief Commandant of the Northern Marshes, Liu Jian, wished to tie him up and sell him. Qu hid him, and he managed to escape. Le hence covertly went to turn in his surrender to the Chief Commandant, Li Chuan. On the road he came across Guo Jing. He wept, bowed, told him he was hungry and cold. Jing replied to him with flowing tears, and used gruel from his belt goods to feed him, and also gave him clothes and dress. Le spoke to Jing, saying:

At the present there is great hunger, and it is not possible to ward against impoverishment. The various Hu's hunger is considerable, [they] ought to be entice to be brought along to Ji province to seek a livelihood, and following that apprehend and sell them, it can be a help for both.

Jing deeply considered so.

It happened that the General who Establishes Power, Yan Cui, advised the Inspector of Bing province, the Duke of Dongying, Sima Teng, to apprehend the various Hu and sell them to the east of the mountains to fill up army provisions. Teng sent Generals Guo Yang and Zhang Long to capture the crowd of Hu, and bring them along to go to Ji province. Every pair of Hu shared one cangue.

Le at the time was more than twenty years old, he was also was in their midst, and several times was chased on and humiliated by Long. Jing previously entrusted Le to Guo Yang and his older brother's son Shi. Yang was Jing's senior clansman. And so Yang and Shi always made requests to release, and on the ways and roads when he was hungry and ill, he releid on Yang and Shi for help.

They went east to arrive in Pingyuan were he was sold to a native of Chiping, Shi Huan, to become a slave. There was one old father who spoke to Le, saying:

Lord, at the limits of your fish and dragon hair four ways are already completed, you will certainly become a ruler of men. In a year of jiaxu, Wang Pengzu can be plotted against.

Le said:

If it is like Your Excellency tells, [I] will not dare to forget [your] kindness.

Suddenly he did not see him.

(The next jiaxuyear was in 314 AD. Pengzu was the courtesy name of a certain Wang Jun.)

Always when he was ploughing in the countryside, he regularly heard the sounds of drums and horns. Le hence informed the various slaves, and the various slaves likewise heard it. Following that, he said:

As a youth when I came to be in my house, I persistently heard something like this.

The various slaves returned home to inform Huan. Huan was likewise amazed with his appearance and countenance, and released him.

Huan's house was neighbours to horse shepherds, and he and the shepherd leader, Ji Sang of Wei commandery, came and went. Since Le was able to assess horses, he entrusted himself to Sang. Once when employed in Wu'an, he approached a river, and was taken prisoner by a patrolling army. It happened that a herd of deer passed nearby. The army people contended to chase them, and Le therefore gained his escape.

Soon after he again saw one old father, he spoke to Le, saying:

The one with the herd of deer just now was I. You Lord should become ruler of the Central Province, for that reason [I] assisted the rescue in this way.

Le bowed and accepted the instructions. Thereupon he summoned and assembled Wang Yang, Kui An, Zhi Xiong, Ji Bao, Wu Yu, Liu Ying, Tao Bao, and Lu Ming, eight riders, as a bandit gang. Later Guo Ao, Liu Zheng, Liu Bao, Zhang Yipu, Huyan Mo, Guo Heilüe, Zhang Yue, Kong Tun, Zhao Lu, and Zhi Quliu also came to him. They were titled as the Eighteen Riders. They then went east to within the Like-Red-Dragons [?] and Swift Thoroughbreds Parks, drove the parks' horses far away, and plundered the fabrics and treasure as gifts to Ji Sang.

(Murong Hui)

Beginning of Tai'an [302 – 303], Yuwen Mogui dispatched his younger brother Quyun to rob the border cities. Yun's detached leader Sunuyan attacked and plundered the various sections. Murong Hui personally struck and defeated him. Sunuyan was angry, and led a multitude of 100 000 to besiege Jicheng. The multitudes were all afraid, and people had no will to resist. Hui said:

Sunuyan is only a dog with a collection of sheep and ants, as such his army has no laws and rules. It is quite within my plans. If you Lords only put your strength in the fight, there is nothing to worry about.

Then he linked up his armour and helmet, and galloped out to strike him. Sunuyan was greatly defeated. They pursued the fleeing for a hundred li, the prisoners and beheaded were more than 10 000 people.

Meng Hui of Liaodong had previously been submerged into the Yuwen section. He led his multitudes, several thousand families, to surrender to Hui. Hui used him as General who Establishes Power. Hui considered his subject Muyu Ju earnest, circumspect, upright, and respectful, he put him in charge of the office treasuries. Ju as young planned with wordless understanding, and did not lean on registers and books. From beginning to end he never leaked. Since Muyu He was clear, quick-witted, spirited, focused, and careful, he made him direct prisons and litigations, he was detailed in his interrogations, and pure and just.

#r16s #chinese history

[harlanandrew]

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[dweemeister]

Movie Odyssey Retrospective

Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

About midway through Walt Disney Productions’ (now Walt Disney Animation Studios) run of package films, it is easy to see how the creative engines of the studio’s staff were beginning to fall apart. Walt’s studio remained deeply in debt even as World War II concluded and its propaganda commitments ended. As such, the low-budgeted but decently-grossing package films remained the studio’s focus, as these films helped the studio financially afloat and to keep the animators in passable artistic shape. The fourth of six films from that era, Fun and Fancy Free – with Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, and Bill Roberts directing the animation and William Morgan directing the live-action sequences – contains a poor pairing of two extended short segments and a connecting/framing segment devoid of inspiration. Upon release, the film was instantly the least artistically inspired feature that the studio had completed. Fun and Fancy Free’s nearly nonexistent legacy among other features in the Disney animated canon is no surprise.

Fun and Fancy Free is divided into three: two longer animated segments (the second far more famous than the first) with a transitional live-action segment in its center. Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards) is present at the film’s beginning, transitional middle, and conclusion.

Jiminy introduces the audience to the story of Bongo, which tells the tale of the eponymous circus bear who want to break free of the circus and live as a wild bear. Bongo will escape, but is disillusioned on his first lonely night in the forest. That is all quelled when he stumbles into a female bear – Lulubelle – he is instantly attracted to. Lulubelle’s feminine charms work because she has eyelashes and a pink bow on top of her head. How could the viewer possibly tell otherwise? Dinah Shore, better known for her music career at this time, narrates Bongo. And the fact that Shore narrates the segment may be the only tolerable aspect to it. What follows is a 30-minute extended short that feels five times too long. As pleasant as Shore’s singing voice is for Bongo’s forgettable songs, this first half to the film will wear the stamina. We learn that the bears of the forest show affection for another by slapping them – not some light pat on the cheeks, mind you, but a full-bodied, potentially cheekbone-breaking wallop to the face.

Bongo’s tedious slapstick seems ripe for a decent Disney animated short film – goodness knows how meta Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) might have approached it or how suggestively Warner Bros. could have depicted the ursine wooing. As strange as the premise can be and as painterly as some of the backgrounds are (albeit not close to the standards set in Disney’s Golden Age), they cannot save Bongo from its narrative disinterest and tired romantic plotting. For readers with children who see this film, a conversation about the bears’ slapping habits is necessary. Fun and Fancy Free’s first half depicts what justifiably interpreted as a cheerful portrayal of domestic abuse – behavior that might rub off on impressionable youngsters. As part of the Disney animated canon, Bongo is like an animators’ calisthenics – a minor routine for more important exercises to come.

With Bongo out of the way, we now come to an interstitial before commencing with Mickey and the Beanstalk (Fun and Fancy Free’s primary claim to fame). This transition stars child actress Luanna Patten as herself attending her own birthday. Her birthday party is just across the street in the household of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Bergen is there, along with his dummies Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen and his dummies were at the height of their popularity in the 1940s – instantly recognizable then, more likely to inspire quizzical glances from audiences in the early 2020s. These several minutes are a decent display of Bergen’s considerable talents, but they assume a familiarity with his work that feels quite dated in the present day (you never know, ventriloquists may someday return to mainstream American culture). They are here to begin telling the story of Mickey and the Beanstalk to Luanna Patten.

For Mickey and the Beanstalk (based on the “Jack and the Beanstalk” fairy tale), Mickey is joined by his friends Donald Duck and Goofy for yet another misadventure. The starving trio are living together – short on luck, short on money. Mickey makes a unilateral decision to sell their only cow for a container of magical beans. Donald, incensed as always, rages at Mickey, and throws the beans away. But the beans are indeed magical and, overnight, a beanstalk sprouts and carries their farmhouse skyward, to the domain of an ill-tempered giant. On occasion, one of Bergen’s dummies or Luana Patten herself will interject during the telling of this tale – an inconvenience, but not overly grating.

Like Bongo, Mickey and the Beanstalk, was a long-gestating plan that, before the United States’ entry into World War II, was planned as a feature (a feature-length Bongo might just make me croak). But the substitution of Jack for Mickey, Donald, and Goofy was not always part of the original plan. In 1940, when Walt first heard the pitch to have Mickey Mouse featured prominently in such a film, he found the idea hilarious. Despite his gut-bursting laughter, Walt told the pitching story writers (Bill Cottrell and T. Hee) that they, “murdered my characters,” and, “destroyed what I’ve been working years to build up.”

Walt’s most cutting criticism towards Cottrell and Hee concerned Mickey. The brash, mischievous Mickey Mouse of the 1920s and ‘30s would rarely be seen again – to Walt’s disappointment in his writing staff. With the studio’s financial situation, wartime commitments, and other projects commanding Walt’s attention, he became disenchanted with his creation, his studio’s mascot. Fun and Fancy Free is the last film in which Mickey is voiced by Walt Disney; he gave the role to sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald in 1948 (a role MacDonald kept until 1976). And in Fun and Fancy Free, Donald runs roughshod over Mickey and Goofy. If Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had no reputation prior to this film, one might wonder why bother crediting Mickey as a title character in this segment. With Mickey and the Beanstalk, the studio’s mascot was cemented as a somewhat naïve, charming, romantic lead. Mickey’s characterization in this film has held to the present day.

Mickey and the Beanstalk – created in part because Walt’s staff wanted to have their boss voice Mickey once more – exemplifies greater effort than the work on Bongo. It may not be enough to counteract the aftertaste left by Bongo, but contains artistic inventiveness and sly humor that make it one of the better, but not among the best, pieces featuring Mickey and his friends. It closes a wildly uneven film – inessential to the Disney animated canon, but indispensable when pertaining to the history of Mickey Mouse.

Walt Disney Productions continued to make money with the package films, including Fun and Fancy Free, but critics and audiences were becoming impatient with the format and artistic decisions. Innovation in animated feature films had stalled at the Disney studios, as well as American animation at large. Disney’s domestic animation competitors were beholden to the cel animation the studio had standardized in the industry. Whatever artistic daring there was in animated cinema during the 1940s lied abroad, in Europe and Asia. In the immediate post-War years, films like Princess Iron Fan (1941, China); The Lost Letter (1945, Soviet Union); The Czech Year (1947, Czechoslovakia); The Humpbacked Horse (1947, Soviet Union); and others underlined the innovation coursing through animated cinema. The histories of these films and their filmmakers are mostly unwritten, due to Communist shenanigans and Disney’s modern stranglehold on preconceptions about animated cinema.

In an era where Walt Disney Productions was adrift, the likes of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Fantasia (1940) were beginning to seem anomalous, rather than a standard by which the studio measured itself. In 1947 following Fun and Fancy Free’s release, the studio showed no public signs of returning to non-package animated features. Quietly, within the studio’s Burbank campus, the animators were assembling the pieces necessary for that very return.

My rating: 5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

This is the nineteenth Movie Odyssey Retrospective. Movie Odyssey Retrospectives are reviews on films I had seen in their entirety before this blog’s creation or films I failed to give a full-length write-up to following the blog’s creation. Previous Retrospectives include The Wizard of Oz (1939), Fantasia (1940), and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001).

#Fun and Fancy Free #Walt Disney #Jack Kinney #Bill Roberts #Hamilton Luske #William Morgan #Mickey Mouse #Edgar Bergen #Charlie McCarthy #Luana Patten #Dinah Shore #Jiminy Cricket #Donald Duck #Goofy #Clarence Nash #Pinto Colvig #Billy Gilbert #My Movie Odyssey

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/ap-news-in-brief-at-604-a-m-est-national/

AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EST | National

States submit vaccine orders as coronavirus death toll grows

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — States faced a deadline on Friday to place orders for the coronavirus vaccine as many reported record infections, hospitalizations and deaths, while hospitals were pushed to the breaking point — with the worst feared yet to come.

The number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 hit an all-time high in the U.S. on Thursday at 100,667, according to the COVID Tracking Project. That figure has more than doubled over the past month, while new daily cases are averaging 210,000 and deaths are averaging 1,800 per day, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Arizona reported more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases for the second straight day Friday as the number of available intensive care unit beds fell below 10% statewide. Hospital officials have said the outbreak will exceed hospital capacity this month.

The state expects to get enough doses of new coronavirus vaccines by the end of the year to inoculate more than 383,000 health care workers and long-term care facility residents, the state’s health director said Friday. Next in line are teachers and other essential workers, followed by older Arizonans or people otherwise at higher risk of serious cases of COVID-19.

Nevada reported 48 new deaths from the coronavirus Thursday, marking the deadliest day since the onset of the pandemic as cases and deaths continued to rise more than a week after new restrictions were implemented on businesses. One hospital was so full it was treating patients in an auxiliary unit in the parking garage.

Is Georgia a swing state? Groups spend millions to find out

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs don’t take place until Jan. 5. But there are already some clear winners.

At the state’s most influential television station, Atlanta’s WSB, an ad that cost candidates $8,000 in July now goes for about $18,000. In the smaller market of Savannah, ad rates have soared nearly twentyfold.

With control of the Senate, and the scope of President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda in the balance, the millions in political spending verges on something close to an unlimited budget.

The contest will test the limits of how far money can go in a political climate in which both sides are entrenched and few voters seem open to changing their minds. And President Donald Trump has complicated the contest by claiming baselessly that the November election in Georgia was beset by fraud.

Also at stake: whether Georgia, long a Republican stronghold, may be on the road to swing-state status, particularly after Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992 to carry the state.

Biden weighs pick for agriculture chief from diverse slate

WASHINGTON (AP) — One leading candidate for agriculture secretary hails from Cleveland, has the backing of progressives and has worked for years to boost food stamp programs. Another is a former senator from farm-state North Dakota who has championed production agriculture and boasts of a voting record squarely in the middle.

Three other possible selections have similarly varied backgrounds — one helped write and implement federal regulations for organic foods, another is California’s agriculture secretary and represented wine grape growers, and a third has spent his career ensuring protections for farm workers.

President-elect Joe Biden’s choices for secretary of agriculture are as diverse as the department of 100,000 employees that she or he would represent — and is especially critical this year as USDA provides extra aid for the hungry and oversees food production amid the pandemic.

For Biden, the emerging choice between Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and several other potential candidates seems like another test of his vision for the Democratic Party — a contest between urban and rural and liberals and moderates, with the pick potentially placing an added emphasis on anti-hunger programs, farm subsidies or worker protections.

Besides Fudge and Heitkamp, other candidates mentioned for the post — and who have been pushed by some advocacy groups — are Kathleen Merrigan, deputy agriculture secretary under President Barack Obama and one of the architects of federal organic rules; Karen Ross, California’s agriculture secretary, former USDA chief of staff and a former longtime president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers; and Arturo Rodriguez, the former president of the United Farm Workers.

Pressure mounts on Biden to make diverse picks for top posts

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to expand the racial and ideological diversity in his choices for Cabinet and other top jobs. A month and a half before he takes office, he’s drawing rebukes from activists who fear he’ll fall short on promises to build an administration that looks like the country it governs.

Of the nine major picks Biden has made so far, only two — Secretary of State choice Antony Blinken and chief of staff Ron Klain — are white men. That’s a historic low that so far outpaces the historically diverse Cabinet that Barack Obama assembled in 2009.

But civil rights leaders are grumbling that none of the “big four” Cabinet positions – the secretaries of state, defense and treasury and the attorney general – has yet gone to a person of color. And Biden is declining to commit to doing so.

“I promise you, it’ll be the single most diverse Cabinet based on race, color, based on gender that’s ever existed in the United States of America,” the president-elect said instead during a news conference Friday.

That came after Congressional Hispanic Democrats expressed dismay during a call with Klain and other Biden advisers on Thursday about the treatment of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who reportedly removed her name from consideration to be the new administration’s interior secretary. They urged that she remain a candidate to head the more prominent Department of Health and Human Services, but it’s not clear she will.

Swiss slopes buzz as those of neighbors sit idle in pandemic

GENEVA (AP) — Two weeks after beating COVID-19, Thierry Salamin huffs as his ski boots crunch through Swiss snow near the Matterhorn peak, readying for a downhill run with his mood as bright as his blue and fluorescent yellow ski getup and the sun overhead.

The 31-year-old real estate agent from the southwestern Swiss region of Wallis can’t believe he is skiing during a pandemic, let alone one that he personally endured — and which has driven a wedge between his country and its Alpine neighbors over where people can ski, and where they can’t.

While the coronavirus resurgence has led Austria, France, and Italy to shut or severely restrict access to their ski stations this holiday season, Switzerland has kept its slopes open — a move that has fanned grumbling about an unlevel playing field when it comes to Alpine fun.

“It’s true, we’re privileged,” said Salamin, enthusing about the “paradise” of the Zermatt slopes and gesturing over the ridgeline toward Italy. “It’s too bad that people can’t go skiing on the Italian side, because those slopes are magnificent.”

The discord among countries during the worst pandemic in a century cuts across issues of health, business, economy, culture and wellbeing. But it also violates one of the key tenets that the World Health Organization promotes to help fight COVID-19: solidarity.

California on the brink: Virus rages and closures imminent

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Much of California is on the brink of sweeping new restrictions on businesses and activities, a desperate attempt to slow the frighteningly rapid escalation of coronavirus cases that threatens to overwhelm hospitals.

Five San Francisco Bay Area counties imposed a new stay-at-home order for their residents that will take effect Sunday. Southern California and a large swath of the central portion of the state could join this weekend.

Those two regions have seen their intensive care unit capacity fall below the 15% threshold that under a new state stay-at-home order will trigger new restrictions barring all on-site restaurant dining and close hair and nail salons, movie theaters and many other businesses, as well as museums and playgrounds.

If their capacity remains below that level when the data is updated Saturday, the closures will take effect Sunday and stay in effect at least three weeks.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new plan Thursday. It is the most restrictive order since he imposed the country’s first statewide stay-at-home rule in March.

COVID-19 relief: What’s on the table as Congress seeks deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — After numerous fits and starts and months of inaction, optimism is finally building in Washington for a COVID-19 aid bill that would offer relief for businesses, the unemployed, schools, and health care providers, among others struggling as caseloads are spiking.

Under pressure from moderates in both parties, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have initiated late-game negotiations in hopes of combining a relief package of, in all likelihood, less than $1 trillion with a separate $1.4 trillion governmentwide omnibus spending bill. The duo were the architects of the $1.8 trillion CARES Act, the landmark relief bill passed in March.

Success is not certain and considerable differences remain over items such as aid to states and local governments, liability protections for businesses and universities reopening during the pandemic, and whether to issue a second round of $1,200 direct payments to most Americans.

But renewing soon-to-expire jobless benefits, providing a second round of “paycheck protection” subsidies, and funding to distribute vaccines are sure bets to be included in any deal.

Here are the top issues for the end-stage COVID-19 relief talks.

Japan awaits capsule’s return with asteroid soil samples

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully released a small capsule on Saturday and sent it toward Earth to deliver samples from a distant asteroid that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on our planet, the country’s space agency said.

The capsule successfully detached from 220,000 kilometers (136,700 miles) away in a challenging operation that required precision control, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The capsule — just 40 centimeters (15 inches) in diameter — is now descending and is expected to land Sunday in a remote, sparsely populated area of Woomera, Australia.

“The capsule has been separated. Congratulations,” JAXA project manager Yuichi Tsuda said.

Hayabusa2 left the asteroid Ryugu, about 300 million kilometers (180 million miles) away, a year ago. After it released the capsule, it moved away from Earth to capture images of the capsule descending toward the planet as it set off on a new expedition to another distant asteroid.

About two hours later, JAXA said it had successfully rerouted Hayabusa2 for its new mission, as beaming staff exchanged fist and elbow touches at the agency’s command center in Sagamihara, near Tokyo.

Moscow opens dozens of coronavirus vaccination centers

MOSCOW (AP) — Thousands of doctors, teachers and others in high-risk groups have signed up for COVID-19 vaccinations in Moscow starting Saturday, a precursor to a sweeping Russia-wide immunization effort.

The vaccinations come three days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the launch of a “large-scale” COVID-19 immunization campaign even though a Russian-designed vaccine has yet to complete the advanced studies needed to ensure its effectiveness and safety in line with established scientific protocols.

The Russian leader said Wednesday that more than 2 million doses of the Sputnik V jab will be available in the next few days, allowing authorities to offer jabs to medical workers and teachers across the country starting late next week.

Moscow, which currently accounts for about a quarter of the country’s new daily infections, moved ahead of the curve, opening 70 vaccination facilities on Saturday. Doctors, teachers and municipal workers were invited to book a time to receive a jab, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that about 5,000 signed up in a few hours after the system began operating on Friday.

Russia boasted that Sputnik V was the world’s “first registered COVID-19 vaccine” after the government gave it regulatory approval in early August. The move drew criticism from international experts, who pointed out that the vaccine had only been tested on several dozen people at the time.

Kuwait votes for parliament amid economic, virus challenges

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Kuwait began voting Saturday for its National Assembly, the first election since the death of its longtime ruling emir at a time the oil-rich nation struggles with serious economic problems during the coronavirus pandemic.

This tiny country’s hundreds of thousands of voters will select lawmakers for 50 seats in the parliament, the freest and most-rambunctious of all of the Gulf Arab countries. However, Kuwait’s parliament has tamped down opposition to its ruling Al Sabah family since the 2011 Arab Spring protests that saw demonstrators storm the chamber.

Parliaments typically don’t serve out their full terms in the stalwart U.S. ally, but this one did.

Kuwaitis are voting across 102 schools in the nation the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Authorities said masks and social distancing will be required due to the pandemic. Several schools will take those with active cases of the virus, with the sick first receiving permission from the government to vote.

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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