#Geographical Indications Act
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Extrication in G Major | Part One
Extrication in G Major Masterlist
Summary: Your first encounter with Lieutenant Commander Jake Seresin gives you the impression that he is rude and arrogant, but he is determined to convince you to get to know him better.
Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Female Cellist Reader
Warnings: Language, Blood, Reader Injury, Dress Uniforms, Jake Being a Bit of a Jerk, Jake Being a Lot of a Flirt, Alcohol Consumption
Word Count: 3738
The door to your apartment wavered in the slight breeze, the latch broken – likely to never function again. Warm liquid dripped from the underside from your worn kitchen table, bearing the scars of your childhood and its journey across the country in the back of a U-Haul. The droplets hit the linoleum tile with a soft pat, pat at first, before enough of them accumulated to change the sound to a sharper plink, plink.
Your eyes scanned over the hunting knife driven through your ruined hand and into the wood of the tabletop, the blood pooling in your palm. As the bitter taste of fear belatedly flooded your mouth, panic setting in at the gravity of your situation, it was ironic that the fingers of your free hand were reaching for your phone, fumbling across the fractured screen to call Lieutenant Commander Jacob Seresin of their own volition. Or perhaps it was not ironic at all.
Driving cross-country in a ten-foot rented moving truck from Boston to San Diego in January had not been an act born of choice, but one born of necessity. You had needed to leave the east coast. To put more than just a few states between you this time. The opening with the San Diego Symphony, courtesy of an early parental leave, had presented itself at the perfect time. And was geographically ideal in that it was in the diagonally opposite corner of the country from the orchestra you had just left.
Given that it was well outside the top twenty symphonies in the country and maybe, just maybe you would have just a little time to do what you loved before what you had left behind caught up with you.
With your finances in their abysmal state, you barely had enough to make a security deposit on a dubious studio apartment in a neighbourhood the internet indicated you probably should not consider. But San Diego was expensive, and this living situation would hopefully be temporary until you received a few pay cheques in your new position. You were careful, however, to never leave your cello unattended in your apartment; carrying it with you everywhere as you rode public transport and relied on ride shares to get around.
It was with great relief, then, that you happily accepted an invitation to join a few of the other musicians in a performance quartet. They had approached you after string sectionals as their usual cellist was out with the flu and they had a performance booked for that Friday. Four days of focused practice would be more than enough for you to prepare, you assured them, agreeing to stay after ensemble rehearsal to practice together on Thursday evening.
That was, after all, the life of a professional musician – a great deal of your rehearsal time was spent in isolation, perfecting your portion of the piece, learning your cues, and studying the composer, with the expectation of arriving at the final rehearsal able to play flawlessly.
The four of you were roughly halfway through the selection of pieces to be played, when the lead violinist Marco asked you and Haeun, the violist, to the work through a section together to ensure a more complimentary sound. The door to the auditorium opened, immediately bringing your bows to a halt, and sending all of your eyes to your watches. The security guard, Hal, had assured you it would be no issue for you to remain until ten. But it was only half past eight. And the man who strutted in was most certainly not the retired police officer with a shock of white hair sprouting beneath his black security officer’s cap.
No. The man who strolled in was tall and broad, tanned and blonde, dressed in military khakis with biceps that tested the limits of his shirt sleeves. He had a pair of aviator sunglasses dangling from the breast pocket of his uniform, and suspicion in his eyes as he looked towards the four of you on stage.
“Lieutenant Commander Seresin!” Marco gasped and set his violin and bow on his now empty seat before disappearing in the wings, only to re-emerge off stage, meeting the imposing man in the front row.
There were about the same height, just under six foot tall, but next to Marco the width of the man’s shoulders made up from any lack of altitude.
“Good evening Mr. Campillo, just thought I’d come by and see how the preparations are going…” His eyes raked across the stage before settling on you, narrowing slightly. Instinctually, your fingers tightened on the neck of your instrument, knees hugging the sides slightly under his scrutiny before he turned back to Marco. “I see your quartet has a new member…”
You gritted your teeth at the doubt in his voice, trying to keep your face passive as you were really counting on the extra funds this gig would afford you.
“Yes, she graciously agreed to step in for us as Cecily caught the flu this week. We are extremely fortunate to have her on such short notice.”
“You’ll forgive me if I’m not as excited as you, Mr. Campillo, to have a brand-new cellist in the quartet I hired for an event I’ve been personally charged with. Admirals don’t retire every day, and everything must be to the highest of standards.” He cast a glance back at you over his shoulder, hands coming to rest on his hips. “No offence, miss.”
Your spine stiffened as the second violinist Benoit was barely able to contain his gasp beside you.
“Now, Lieutenant Commander, please let me assuage your concerns. She’s Julliard trained and most recently played for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, widely considered one of the top five in the country, truly, I assure you that…”
Marco’s words barely reached your ears, blood rushing through them as you tried to take deep, calming breaths. The fingertips resting on your bow grip were losing colour from how tight you were holding it…from the audacity of this military man waltzing into your practice, insulting your capabilities at merely a glance. You had swallowed more of your pride in the last few weeks than your stomach could manage, and this muscled idiot was more than you could stand.
If the moron needed proof of your worth, then you could certainly deliver that. Fresh in your memory from your audition for the seat, wordlessly you relaxed into a proper playing position began to play Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1: Prelude. It was perhaps the most famous cell solo, mostly due to the efforts of Yo-Yo Ma, and a rather melancholy piece. There was no lack of sadness in your life upon which to draw from and mixed with the burning sense of challenge the Lieutenant Commander raised within you, your fingers flew across the fingerboard, head bobbing slightly with the rhythm of the piece. As you played the higher notes, your eyebrows naturally rose, not unlike that of a singer, and neck extending backward slightly on the longer notes, it was as though the music was being produced from within you rather than through an instrument.
So absorbed in the music, you missed the way the group fell silent until you pulled your bow from the strings, the last of the vibrations fading away, and opened your eyes to find him staring openly at you. You swallowed tightly to clear your throat.
“Will that suffice, Lieutenant Commander?” You asked pointedly.
He supplied you with a vague nod in reply, reaching behind him to fold down the nearest seat before sinking into it. Marco stayed by his side for a moment, hesitating, before jogging back to rejoin the three of you on stage. Lieutenant Commander Seresin remained there, seated in the front row, until nearly ten o’clock, watching the four of you finish your rehearsal. You could not help but wonder if he had more ‘important’ things to do.
You could hear him and Marco making final arrangements as you packed up your cello, pulling out your phone to summon a ride share to make the trip home. You frowned slightly at the jagged crack down the face of your screen; yet another thing that would wait until funds allowed for a replacement. You slung your cello onto your back, making your way out to the parking lot until a blur of khaki halted you in your tracks.
“I really meant no offense, darlin’.” Seresin grinned from much closer this time and you were irritated to note that the pale, jade green of his eyes reminded you of sea glass. “You know how it is…” He shrugged in a way you were certain had previously charmed the undergarments off countless bodies.
“I’m certain I don’t, Lieutenant Commander, being a civilian and all. But your concern is wasted. A musician is accustomed to proving their abilities to anyone and everyone who demands it of them.” No matter how unqualified. You kept the last to yourself and moved to step around him.
You caught the way his eyes shifted to your cello as you hiked it higher upon your shoulder.
“Please, allow me…” He reached for it, and you shook your head firmly.
“No thank you, Lieutenant Commander, I’m fine.”
“Please, darlin’, it’s Jake. There’s no need to be so formal…” He flashed his perfectly straight, white teeth and you had never been more grateful to receive a notification on your phone.
You looked down to see that your driver ‘Andy’ had arrived before the glow of headlights shone through the glass doors ahead.
“Looks like my ride is here. Good night, Lieutenant Commander.” You nodded to him, swallowing back a sigh as he still insisted on holding open each of the lobby doors for you.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, darlin’.” He nodded, undeterred, helping you and your cello into the maroon sedan.
“Tomorrow.” You replied with a nod before he shut the car door for you, sighing heavily and dropping your face into your hand as the car pulled away. San Diego was supposed to be simple, so why had the universe just set this stubborn, gorgeous man in your path?
The ride share driver and you had competed to vacate the parking lot of your building once he had dropped you off. He had won, but just barely. Locking the door behind you, you breathed a sigh of relief to find your meagre possessions intact. You tucked the cello into the back of the closet, inside one of the moving boxes you had saved for just that purpose, to make it as unappealing as possible, and pulled out one of your performance dresses to be sure it was free of wrinkles for the party tomorrow night.
After another dinner of cup noodles, you put on some white noise on your phone and did your best to get as much sleep as possible, forgoing any practice the day of the party to ensure you were as rested as possible. You arrived at the hotel an hour before the party was scheduled to begin, freshly showered and wearing subtle make-up, the breeze from the nearby ocean catching the skirt of your dress as you climbed out of your ride share.
“You clean up nice, darlin’.” You heard the familiar voice and looked up, the moisture in your mouth suddenly evaporating at the sight of Lieutenant Commander Jake Seresin standing before you in his dress whites and…was that a fucking…sword at his hip? How had you not been mentally prepared for the possibility of dress uniforms.
“You, too…” Your lips somehow mustered to ability to move, and you barely heard your voice above the buzzing in your ears as you watched him reach into the car to fetch your cello, too stupefied to protest this time.
“Why thank you, you’re too kind.” He flashed that ruinous smile again. “Follow me.” He jerked his head to the right and turned to lead you inside.
You followed without a word, past the reception desk, down a few hallways, and into a ballroom decked in Navy decorations. Of course, the dress whites meant the Navy. He was a Navy man. Slowly your cognitive skills were returning to you.
“Your fellow musicians are set-up right here.” He led you over to a platform in the corner of the room where the others were just unpacking their instruments and gently set your cello case on the carpeted floor. “You all have programs on your music stands, but please let me know if need anything else.”
“Thank you very much.” You nodded earnestly, nibbling on the corner of your lip as you quickly went about setting up so the four of you could be in place and ready to play before the guests arrived.
He grinned, looking more than a little pleased with himself, before stepping away to take care of other responsibilities. You could not deny that your eyes found him several times throughout the evening during your warm-up, between songs, as the guest of honour arrived, as they served dinner. The military most certainly had numerous lethal weapons in its arsenal and Lieutenant Commander Jake Seresin was handcrafted to bring about your death it seemed.
It was a miracle that you made it through the full set, the evening a true test of professional abilities, taking a bow as the emcee took to the podium to ask those in attendance for a round of applause for the music your quartet had provided. He then announced they would be moving onto speeches as the four of you began to pack up as quietly as possible.
“Hey, thank y’all again that was fantastic.” Jake whispered, shaking each of your hands with a warm grin, a hint of whisky on his breath. “We’ve got some extra dinners from folks who couldn’t come are any of you hungry?”
While Marco and Haeun opted to head home to their families, you and Benoit agreed. Jake got you set up at a table in the back, speaking to one of the waiters who promptly brought out two plates. Jake slid into the empty chair beside you as the speeches echoed through the ballroom, glancing at you happily as you did your best to act like this was not your first proper meal in weeks. You carefully cut and savoured each bite – even the veggies tasted like heaven. When they cut the intricately decorated cake, Jake disappeared only to return with three sizeable slices.
“I’m glad you approve of my meal selection.” He winked and you sipped your water sheepishly.
“It was very good.” You admitted before looking over the cake. “Did you select this as well, Lieutenant Commander?” You tilted your head, enjoying the way his eyes crinkled at the corners in annoyance.
“I’ve told you to call me Jake, darlin’, and yes, yes, I did. Lemon cake with a vanilla bean buttercream but there’s a surprise in the middle. Go on and tell me what you think.” He leaned in watching you expectantly.
Lifting your fork, you used the edge of it to slice through the soft piece of cake, mouth already watering at the promise of something sweet, before stabbing a bite-sized portion and sliding it past your lips. As you chewed thoughtfully, you fought back the urge to moan at the delicious combination of flavours but could not help the gasp that flew from your mouth when the bright tang of raspberry cut through the sweetness of the buttercream.
Jake grinned broadly and leaned back in his chair, nodding heavily with satisfaction. “Raspberry compote.”
“That is fantastic.” You grudgingly admitted before going in for a second bite.
He chuckled richly and watched you enjoy a few more bites, nodding to Benoit as he excused himself for the evening. You swallowed nervously, realizing you were now alone in a room full of dress uniforms, under the intense gaze of one Lieutenant Commander.
“Are you enjoying San Diego?” He asked, breaking the silence as the DJ began to set up for the dance portion of the evening.
You nodded slowly, swallowing your most recent bite.
“Haven’t really been here long but it’s beautiful….” You glanced at him and tilted your head. “So aside from choosing dinners and cakes and musicians, what do you do for the Navy?” You asked, hoping to distract him by getting him to talk about himself.
His lips twitched into a smirk.
“Well darlin’, I’m a Naval Aviator…a pilot…” He replied confidently, tapping the set of golden wings on his chest, making you swallow the last of your cake painfully.
“Fuck me…” You breathed as the DJ introduced herself through the sound system. You tensed and quickly took a deep sip of your water.
“Sorry didn’t catch that?” He leaned in, eyes twinkling with a dangerous mischief.
“F... Fancy.” You said loudly into his ear as the first song of the night began throbbing through the speakers, something from the eighties – the retiring admiral’s heyday.
He straightened with a knowing smirk on his face and offered his hand.
“Dance with me.” It was more of a command than an invitation.
“I should really head home; we’ve got a concert series next week and I…” You swallowed hard as he raised an eyebrow and stood, extending his hand to you once more.
You glanced at your cello beneath the table, loathe to leave it unattended, even in a room filled with commissioned officers.
“Is that the real problem? One moment.” He nodded and squeezed your shoulder before disappearing into the crowd, the heat of his touch lingering through the fabric of your dress.
You had just risen to your feet, prepared to make your escape, when he returned with another officer with wings on his chest but no sword at his hip.
“This is Lieutenant Javy Machado, my wingman. There’s no one else here I would trust to look after your cello.” Jake slapped him on the back proudly and you pressed your lips together trying not to grin at how adorable a picture they presented.
“Your instrument is in good hands ma’am, though might I persuade you to dance with me instead? Hangman is a terrible dancer…” He trailed off as Jake pushed him down into his recently vacated chair and silently accepted defeat as Jake offered his hand to you once more.
“Please?” He asked, raising an eyebrow hopefully and you swallowed, not quite finding the heart to turn him down after he had found someone to mind your cello – despite how complicated this was getting.
“One dance, Lieutenant Commander.” You acquiesced, setting your hand in his, licking your lips involuntarily at the intensity of his responding smile.
He led you out onto the dance floor, sliding his arm around you to rest against your lower back and your heart leapt into your throat as you realized at some point between the table and the floor the music had changed to a slow song. Sinking your teeth into your lower lip at the warmth of his palm seeping through your dress, you set your hand in his, letting him lead. He easily navigated past the other couples, and despite his wingman’s warnings, he was an excellent dancer.
“Why did he call you Hangman?” You looked up at him, startled to find his eyes already fixed down on you.
“It’s my call sign, we use them in the air. Javy’s is Coyote. Still working on getting you to call me Jake first, though. One step at a time.” He smirked and you could not help but laugh softly, shaking your head. “I have to say…” He murmured, leaning in close to your ear. “I’ve never been jealous of a cello before…Wish it was me between those lovely legs of yours.” He breathed against your tender skin, making you shiver involuntarily.
It was by no means an inventive pick-up line to receive as a cellist – had even been successful a time or two during your studies at Julliard, but it had become tired and cliché as you had matured. Yet there was something about the earnest way in which he delivered it. Or maybe it was the Texas drawl, thickened by the whisky you could still smell on his breath. It sent a thrill of desire through you that was altogether dangerous.
Mercifully, as the song came to an end a rather frantic looking individual bustled up to Jake and tapped him on the shoulder. He reluctantly released you and turned to look down at the smaller man.
“Terribly sorry to interrupt, Lieutenant Commander but Admiral Simpson is looking for you…” He fidgeted nervously and you honestly pitied the man for the murderous look Jake was currently raining down on him.
He turned back to you and frowned.
“Forgive me darlin’, duty calls. I hope you might stay but I…”
You shook your head sadly and he all but pouted yet nodded graciously. You took a deep breath, knowing you would probably regret this, but selfishly wanting to see his smile one last time.
“Goodnight, Jake.” You smiled softly and bit your lip painfully as he pressed both hands to his chest, green eyes glittering and smile stretching his lips wide as his face lit up with glee.
“Goodnight, darlin’.” He crowed, walking backward through the crowd towards his beckoning admiral.
You shook your head, ducking your face as more than a few people turned to glance your way. Picking your way quickly across the dancefloor, you returned to your table, smiling fondly to see Lieutenant Machado waiting patiently with your cello.
“Thank you very much, Lieutenant. I hope you enjoy the rest of your night.” You smiled warmly and grabbed your instrument, slinging it over your shoulder and booking a ride as you wound your way through the halls to the front of the hotel. You walked quickly, nearly holding your breath, hoping the admiral would keep Jake long enough, or deliver a request complex enough, that you could make your way out of there before he realized he did not have your number.
Despite your initial impression of him, the evening had more than confirmed that the man did not deserve to be entangled in the morass of your life. It would be best for you to disappear tonight and for him to take that charm and those ruinous good looks elsewhere. Your paths were highly unlikely to ever cross again, anyway.
Read Part Two
Extrication in G Major Masterlist
Image Credit: Devotion (2022)
#jake seresin x reader#hangman x reader#jake seresin x you#hangman x you#jake hangman x reader#jake hangman x you#jake hangman fic#jake hangman imagine#jake hangman seresin#jake seresin imagine#top gun fanfiction
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Last week, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a provisional ruling in South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel, it sent an authoritative message to the world: Allegations of genocide against Israel are not meritless. Notwithstanding Hamas’s unlawful conduct that started the war last October, the court clearly indicated an overwhelming disapproval of the way that Israel has been fighting the war—stating, notably, that Palestinians face a “real and imminent risk” to their right to be protected from acts of genocide.
Even though the court did not rule on the merits of the genocide allegations, which may take years, it evoked strong reactions from around the globe. While human rights experts and groups welcomed the ruling, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the court’s decision, protesting the court’s willingness to hear the case at all.
In any case, the ICJ decision offers an opportunity for lasting peace that should not be missed. For that, credit must go to South Africa for bringing the case.
Pretoria’s “moral leadership,” as some have called it, has garnered support from many countries throughout the global south. However, other countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States have opposed the lawsuit. Not only has Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, declared South Africa’s case “meritless,” he’s also argued that the case “distracts the world” from efforts to find a lasting solution to the conflict.
While both sides are entitled to their own views, it is wrong to suggest that a case that seeks to stem the bloodbath is an attempt to distract the world from more durable paths to peace at a time when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is threatening to provoke a wider regional war. Since lasting solutions cannot be found within the chambers of the political organs of the United Nations, including the Security Council, which has become hopelessly dysfunctional, solutions must be sought elsewhere.
Rather than criticize South Africa for daring to launch the lawsuit that asks whether the Genocide Convention has been violated, a more constructive criticism would be to argue that Pretoria limited its case too narrowly with regard to the parties involved and the scope of its litigation—namely, by not initiating proceedings against Hamas and failing to examine crimes other than genocide, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity, which are often committed under the cover of war.
South Africa’s case mainly rests on the principle that international lawyers call obligation erga omnes. According to that doctrine, the obligation to protect human rights and humanity from acts of violence is an obligation owed to the whole world—even if they are not direct victims of said violations. Therefore, any country is entitled to bring legal action to ensure continued protection of the concerned rights , as Gambia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Ukraine have done in the past.
However, South Africa oddly limited the parties to the proceedings by omitting to initiate proceedings against Hamas, which it could have done by including Palestine as a nominal party in the case. This limitation likely results from the argument that Hamas is not a state actor, and therefore its actions cannot be adjudicated at the ICJ. That argument is flawed.
Considering that Hamas is the organization that performs the functions of government in Gaza, a geographic entity forming part of Palestine—which is recognized as a U.N. observer state—it is mistaken to argue that it is not a state actor which could trigger the international responsibility of Palestine. According to the U.N.’s Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, the conduct of Hamas, as the acting governmental authority in Gaza, is justiciable at the ICJ (just as the conduct of Arizona, a U.S. state, was justiciable at the ICJ in a 2001 case between Germany and the United States).
Another reason for the limitation likely results from the political debate about Palestine as a state. Given that 139 countries have recognized Palestine as a state and the U.N. General Assembly has voted to recognize Palestine as a nonmember observer state, the obstacle to initiating proceedings against Palestine at the ICJ depends on the practices of the ICJ. Indeed, Palestine is listed among the states that may be parties to proceedings before the ICJ. Notably, in 2018, the same year it was admitted as a state party to the ICJ statute, Palestine challenged the U.S. relocation of its embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
All this is to say that it might have been preferable for South Africa to initiate proceedings against Hamas, too. Israel had compellingly argued before the ICJ that any provisional order by the court to halt the fighting would tie Israel’s hands and not Hamas’s. That argument offers a better explanation for why the ICJ’s ruling did not go as far as to order an immediate cease-fire, though it indicated several provisional measures requiring Israel to prevent acts of genocide.
By omitting to include Hamas as a party to ICJ proceedings, South Africa lost the opportunity to actually try to halt the ongoing armed conflict by compelling both sides to stop fighting—given that the Security Council has proved unable to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.
South Africa also unduly limited the scope of its litigation by confining it to the question of genocide. World leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who argued that Israel was entitled to defend itself and go after Hamas, have criticized Israel for indiscriminate bombings that have killed innocent civilians in Gaza, including women and children, in unprecedented numbers in recent history.
In its defense, Israel argued that it also found the scale of civilian casualties and destruction in Gaza truly heartbreaking, and that it was doing its best to minimize harm to civilians. This defense was made in spite of the many disturbing utterances of multiple Israeli officials suggesting otherwise, and the critical observations of some Israeli citizens, including soldiers, suggesting a lack of restraint. Still, Israel refused to slow down—insisting at once that it must continue bombing and attacking Gaza until it had eliminated Hamas.
The Convention against Genocide is not the only document that Pretoria could have turned to; it could have also cited the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their First Additional Protocol of 1977, a set of treaties which in one form or another bind all nations when fighting wars. The 1949 conventions criminalize the willful killing and willful infliction of great suffering on civilian populations as well as the destruction of civilian property beyond military necessity. The 1977 protocol details the principle of proportionality and forbids indiscriminate attacks.
In any war in which there are conflicting accusations and denials about violations of these norms, the legally proper recourse is to pose those questions to the ICJ—just as countries such as the Netherlands and Canada did in their case against Syria about violation of the Convention against Torture.
It is unreasonable and fundamentally counterproductive to criticize judicial proceedings before international courts, especially when parties are seeking to intervene in life-and-death situations that the global political institutions have otherwise been unable to resolve. Indeed, no nation should object to using judicial proceedings as a last resort in seeking to stop a war.
The irony is inescapable. Since 1928, states have agreed to renounce war as an instrument of state policy and to use peaceful means—including adjudication—to resolve differences instead, an idea subsequently enshrined in the U.N. Charter. Today, there is widespread concern that the ongoing war in Gaza could broaden the conflict across the region or beyond. Given that risk, it is startling that any responsible state would support continuing an armed conflict that has killed so many and destroyed so much, when no effort had been made to use peaceful means of settlement—apart from the brief cease-fire and prisoner exchange last November.
Putting the legal merits of these cases aside, there is much value in countries such as Gambia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ukraine, and South Africa bringing these kinds of proceedings to the ICJ. If nothing else, the recent case has forced the international community to confront the problem of armed conflict, even if the only way left to do that is through the international courts. The cases allow judges to cut through all the political noise to answer legal questions.
Additionally, such litigation can help to quell the cacophony of recriminations—allegations, denials, and counter-allegations of genocide, war crimes, apartheid, crimes against humanity, and wars of aggression—that these events invariably generate. These lawsuits thus invite trained experts—specifically, highly-qualified judges from across the world, assisted by the briefs and arguments of able counsel—to deliberate these questions and then declare to the world whether there is merit in the allegations, so that they are not left at the level of defamatory political insults or disingenuous denials.
International courts now seem to be the last hope for humanity in a world where the possibilities of science have been harnessed by states to maximize destruction, while the U.N.’s ability to curb the scourge of war has largely failed.
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From Plunderer to Parent
Throughout the history of paleontology, the public's perception of dinosaurs has changed dramatically. The popular portrayal of the ancient creatures has run the gambit from prehistoric monsters to being not too dissimilar to modern animals aside from size and appearance.
Case in point: Oviraptor. Oviraptor and its kind have long been seen as primarily egg thieves in pop culture. It's right there in the name: Oviraptor ("egg thief"). Named by Henry Fairfield Osborn (the same guy who named Tyrannosaurus Rex), the original specimen of Oviraptor (AMNH 6517) was discovered by Roy Chapman Andrews in Mongolia having collapsed on a nest of eggs. Given that specimens of Protoceratops and their nests were common within the area, it seemed reasonable to assume that the dinosaur was caught in the act of nest plundering.
Remember, this was during a time where dinosaurs were seen as primitive and savage beasts. So, it seemed reasonable at the time to assume that Osborn would assume the same of this particular specimen. Though it should be noted that even back then that Osborn admitted that the labelling of Oviraptor maybe a bit misleading. Which itself turned out to be rather prophetic.
In 1993, an egg similar to the ones that were "raided" by the Oviraptor was discovered by Mark Norell of the American Museum of Natural History to actually contain the embryo of another oviraptorid called Citipati. The following year, another Citipati specimen was discovered on top of a nest, though this time the implications were clear. The oviraptors were NOT killed in the middle of stealing eggs. They died on top of their own nests, likely overcome by sandstorms or some other natural disaster.
Now is it possible that Citipati, Oviraptor, and others of their kind raided nests? Of course. Their hard beaks and jaws would've made it easy for them to crack open the hardest of objects. And unattended eggs would've made for a rich and easy source of food. But the same can be said for any predator, including modern day animals. So this one trait is far from the only defining trait that defines them. They could be nest plunderers as well as being devoted parents.
Oviraptors are indicative of how our understanding about dinosaurs continues to change. About how old knowledge is being put to the test and rewritten for a better view of these animals.
Feel free to read up on any of the sources if you want to learn more. I'd personally check out the National Geographic documentary Dinosaur Hunters: Secrets of the Gobi Desert if you're interested since it goes over a lot of the material here in a bit more detail.
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//The Wire//1530Z March 26, 2024//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSES FOLLOWING SHIP COLLISION.//
-----BEGIN TEARLINE-----
-HomeFront-
Maryland: This morning at approximately 01:30 am, the M/V DALI struck a support pylon for the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing a significant portion of the bridge to collapse. A mass casualty event was declared for the estimated 7 vehicles and 20 construction workers that fell into the water with the bridge, and SAR operations are ongoing as of this report.
-----END TEARLINE-----
Analyst Comments: At this time, there is no clear cause for the collision. However, observers noted that the ship appeared to lose power or be experiencing some issue in the seconds before the impact. The DALI is a Maersk-operated cargo vessel flagged in Singapore.
As the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse occurred in one of the busiest ports on the east coast, the logistical impacts will almost certainly be significant and immediate. The bridge debris has almost completely cut off the Port of Baltimore to outside traffic for the foreseeable future. Baltimore was one of the top logistical hubs for Roll-on/Roll-off (RORO) vehicle carrying cargo ships. As no cargo vessel can reach the RORO terminal now, these vessels will be required to offload cargo at other ports on the east coast.
The unspoken elephant in the room is the question of whether or not the collision of the M/V DALI was intentional, or an accident. The immediate follow-up question is: if this was an intentional act (via a cyberattack of navigation systems, which have been increasingly vulnerable to GPS spoofing and other exploitations), was this a shadow-war retaliation for the Crocus shooting in Moscow? Or was this incident somehow linked to Chinese cyber efforts, which have crippled varying sectors of American infrastructure over the years? These questions cannot be answered at this time, nor are any substantial details expected to be made public due to the very long and in-depth maritime investigation process. However operational prudence would indicate assuming nefarious intent. As such, though the average person cannot prevent any hostile act on critical infrastructure, workers in many career fields absolutely can. Heightened situational awareness is overwhelmingly recommended for personnel working in career fields by which large industrial incidents can disrupt civilization. In a 5th Generation global war, the people that keep society functioning are often the first, and last, line of defense against major incidents like this.
For the average citizen, this is a reminder that preparing for mass casualty events at this time of exceptionally heightened international tensions would be a wise move. Bridges, tunnels, railway crossings, road junctions and interchanges, high-rise buildings that are convenient geographic landmarks, submarine cable landing points, POL storage facilities, telecom hubs, electrical substations and power generation facilities, water treatment plants…all of these facets of our society are exceptionally vulnerable to both accidents, and nefarious intent. Planning for either event is a wise move in the event that any malign actors have a “nasty surprise” in mind for the homeland.
Analyst: S2A1
//END REPORT//
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Why Malenia went to Caelid
So, there's several theories floating around online and I have thoughts about them.
Theory 1: She was in Caelid to retrieve Miquella after he was taken.
So, people like this theory for two reasons. First is that, if the opening is any indication, Mohg took Miquella after the Shattering, but before Malenia went to Caelid. I'm not disagreeing with this order, actually. Malenia and Radahn clashing and it ending in a stalemate cemented that it was a stalemate. Second is that the Mohgwyn Dynasty grounds are directly below Caelid.
However, I don't think this theory holds water at all for other reasons.
It is heavily implied that it's been a very long time between the stalemate and the player encountering Malenia in the Haligtree. And, of the various Tarnished in-game, our Tarnished and Roderika are very new compared to the rest, like how Rogier and Boggart mention not seeing grace in a long time, or how Gideon acts in relation to our character.
Malenia's dialogue and her armor description both mention waiting for Miquella at the Haligtree. If she was truly trying to get Miquella back while in Caelid, then surely she wouldn't just sit there and expect him to come back on his own? It doesn't really compute with the idea that she felt the need to march an army across the whole damn continent to originally get him back. Especially since that also would necessarily imply she knows where Miquella is already, relatively speaking.
There's also how Caelid is geographically the furthest location away from the Haligtree in terms of travel time on foot. It's a LOT of effort to go down there.
It's also insanely weird if Malenia were on a march to get Miquella back... but not any of the Haligtree followers, who are so loyal they will literally blow themselves up for him.
Theory 2: She was collecting Great Runes for Miquella.
The theory goes that, because she essentially seemed to abdicate in favor of pushing for Miquella to rule instead, that she would be doing so to gather strength for him so that he could take over as ruling god.
However, I also don't think this holds water given Godrick's whole thing. Godrick himself has a Great Rune and, at some point, she ended up fighting him. He begged for mercy, and she granted it, but he became obsessed with grafting as a means of getting power.
She also, importantly, didn't seize his rune. We can fight Godrick and claim it for ourselves. And, of the various Great Runes, his is actually a solid one. If you were to apply the attribute system used by our character to Miquella, all his physical stats except resistances would probably be hot garbage because of his curse, so having it would probably be very useful!
Theory 3: She was trying to get Radahn to stop holding back the stars/fate/etc.
I think this one holds the most weight. Radahn did a lot of study in Sellia, and at some point, he discovered something that caused him to force a stasis of the stars. A pausing of fate.
Meanwhile, Miquella was trying to do some kind of magic involving an eclipse and the restoration of Godwyn's soul. You find this information in Castle Sol. And that the ritual failed because the eclipse didn't happen. Which makes sense- if the celestial bodies are all frozen, that would include the ability for an eclipse to happen.
I think it's most logical that Malenia went south for this reason. It would also explain why she would fight until she physically couldn't anymore. If Radahn succumbed to the Scarlet Rot, it is entirely logical that he should lose his grasp on the stars because of how Scarlet Rot tends to work. Unfortunately, he maintains his grasp on the movement of celestial bodies until he is properly killed at the Festival.
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Picking the Right School for You Abroad
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Selecting which university is the best fit for your study abroad experience is an important decision. While big-name, top-ranked schools might first catch your eye, several other factors should drive your choice to ensure you pick the right academic match.
Evaluate Overall Academics
Research overall university rankings and drill down into ratings for your intended major specifically at schools abroad you’re considering. If your major is unmatched anywhere you’re applying, ensure complementary strengths exist there to support aligned interests or minors. Canvas current students about academics via social media to augment published quality indicators.
Assess Faculty Credibility and Resources
Do professors have remarkable knowledge and real-world experience that could profoundly mentor you? Are student-faculty ratios low for deeper mentoring opportunities? Impressive faculty profiles and plentiful research facilities indicate rich learning environments conducive to undergraduate growth.
Weigh Location Pros and Cons
Study abroad location plays a huge role in program quality, cost variation and immersion depth. If select countries or cities inspire you, see what campuses exist there then cross-reference value indicators. Investigate language prevalence if bilingual skills matter, plus geographical access to alluring internships or global companies to build your resume.
Evaluate Extracurricular Opportunities
Will you continue collegiate sports, music, organizations or causes abroad? Scan what student clubs and events prospective universities offer that supplement your major focus with enjoyable community building. Note if vibrant international student groups exist to aid transitional connections.
Consider Class Sizes and Learning Culture
Some students excel with small liberal arts colleges overseas emphasizing interactive learning, while others prefer large renowned research universities with big lecture formats. Gauge what classroom scale and teaching methods boost your individual performance then assess study abroad options accordingly.
Project Housing Variables
Will you live on campus or off? Research dorm culture, average commutes if living independently and what other international students say about residential experiences at universities abroad on review sites like Student.com.
Posted By:
Om Rai, MBBS.
DY Patil University
Disclaimer: The perspectives shared in this blog are not intended to be prescriptive. They should act merely as viewpoints to aid overseas aspirants with helpful guidance. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research before availing the services of a consultant.
#ExtracurricularOpportunities#LearningCulture#InternationalEducation#UniversitySearch#GlobalLearning#CampusLife#StudentExperience#AcademicSuccess#MajorSelection#CulturalImmersion#OverseasHousing#UniversityDecision#EnvoyOverseas#EthicalCounselling#EnvoyCounselling#EnvoyStudyVisa
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Blog 3: Tools-Mediums in The Digital Era - A Study of Stålenhag's The Invisible Horror of `The Labyrinth´.
Simon Stålenhag, a Swedish traditional artist, has a unique approach to his craft by physically drawing his art and then scanning it into a digital format. Stålenhag's work, particularly his book 'Labyrinth' (Labyrinten), stands out as a masterpiece, showcasing a blend of traditional and digital art. In 'Labyrinth,' and all of his other books for that matter, each image serves as a piece of a larger narrative puzzle, challenging the reader to piece together a story solely through visuals.
The book begins with a quote that serves as a starting point for the reader's imagination and hints at where to begin piecing the story together. The quote narrates a past event involving two siblings, Matte and Anon, with a snake, offering a glimpse into their shared history. The images in the book depict a world dissimilar to our reality, featuring vast deserts with mechanical anomalies and twisted structures, prompting questions about the nature of the world and the events that transpired.
"One summer when we were young, I caught a small snake. I carried it around in a clear plastic container where I had placed some stones and a few fern leaves. When I opened the container to show Matte the snake, he promptly reached his hand in, grabbed the snake and ran away. But he hadn't gone further than a few meters when he gave a panicked scream. The snake had broken in the middle. The front part which the head disappeared under the house and the back part stayed writhing in a small bloody pool in my big brother's palm. Repulsed he tossed it aside.
I later learned that it hadn't been a snake at all but a slowworm, a creature that lacks legs and has the ability to shed its tail. It is a defence mechanism. It is called anatomy. The slowworm couldn't compete with my brother's intelligence or strength but it could save its life by doing something completely unexpected and unthinkable: perform an act of violence against itself and mutilate its own body.
That was how I managed to escape"
(Anon, p.2)
From this, we can establish that the story of the Labyrinth features and follows two siblings. Matte, the older brother, and Anon, the youngest. In contrast to the images seen in this book, this quote takes place sometime in the distant past, as the two siblings appear to be adults in the present time. They appear to be in an environment dissimilar to our reality. Vast deserts with mechanical anomalies. Twisted mechanical structures piercing an environment no longer suitable for human life. But why? What happened to the world, and what did the youngest sibling mean in his quote?
Stålenhag's storytelling in 'Labyrinth' aligns with the concept of "Gesamtkunstwerk," a German term meaning "Total work of art." This concept, traditionally associated with opera plays, describes the integration of various art forms into a cohesive whole. Stålenhag's work, hand-painted on canvas and digitally scanned, combines traditional and digital art, providing readers with a unique and immersive experience. The deliberate lack of textual guidance in the book forces readers to use their imagination to construct the narrative, enhancing the depth of the storytelling.
The absence of literate writing in the book allows people from diverse cultures to engage with 'Labyrinth,' contributing to its universality. Stålenhag's art goes beyond geographical and cultural boundaries, inviting viewers to create their own interpretations of the narrative. While Stålenhag's work is firmly rooted in traditional artistic practices, it has also influenced the digital era, notably bleeding into the realm of video games. The similarities between Stålenhag's art and the work of Avalanche Studios, particularly 'Generation Zero' (2019), suggest an impact on the digital gaming landscape. The shared features between Stålenhag's work and the concept of 'total work of art' may indicate a mark of quality in artistic expression. The discussion extends to the potential adaptation of 'Labyrinth' into different mediums.
While a 3D adaptation could provide a deeper sense of scale and unease, the drawn 2D format allows for more creative freedom. Stålenhag's choice of a digital medium has undoubtedly shaped his art, and while alternate mediums may offer interesting possibilities, the uniqueness of his 2D works contributes significantly to their impact. Simon Stålenhag's 'Labyrinth' exemplifies a union of traditional and digital art, challenging traditional storytelling norms. The deliberate use of visuals and the absence of explicit textual guidance engage the audience in a process of interpretation, creating a narrative that transcends cultural boundaries. Stålenhag's influence extends beyond traditional art forms, leaving a mark on the digital era and prompting reflections on the adaptability of his work across various mediums.
Despite the book depicting what appears to be Sweden in an alternate reality at some unknown point in time, due to the lack of literate writing, people from virtually any culture can experience the Labyrinth and make up their own story of what is happening. Simon Stålenhag's work, despite repeated denial from Avalanche Studios, the studio behind the work 'Generation Zero' (2019), it can be argued that his work has begun bleeding into the modern digital era of video games. The similarities between Stålenhag's work and that of Avalanche Studios' can in some ways be attributed to the incredibly deep meaning behind his work. If not only because they are both set in Sweden. The shared features of Stålenhag's work and the 'total work of art' are a good thing. Works of art with shared similarities with the methods of the German construct, while not being terrible without them, could be seen as a sign of quality. Similarly to the shared similarities, the choice of a digital medium by Stålenhag has most certainly affected his works of art, however, I think that his work of art is better now as a 2D work instead of being a theatre play, or opera, or even a 3D environment. I am not saying that it is impossible to re-create the same feeling and experience in a different medium, I am just saying that it is improbable.
For example, if The 'Labyrinth' was produced in the style of an Opera, the audience would be forced to one specific version of the story, as Opera are similar to a written book or movie, where they have a set story that they are portraying to the audience, which in this case would be a net-negative as the mysterious aspect of the 'Labyrinth' is one of the major strengths of his work. On the other hand, under the assumption that the 'Labyrinth' would be in the same style in 3D as it was in 2D, the change to 3D would be incredibly interesting, and perhaps present a deeper feeling of unease as the sense of scale and depth is more present. This would contrast with the fact that drawn art can more easily be whatever the artist wants it to be, compared to the incredibly long time it takes to create high-quality 3D objects for a scene.
Sources:
Ascari, S. (2018). Megastructures and nostalgia for the future. A conversation with Simon Stålenhag. Histories of Postwar Architecture, [online] (3), pp.117–130. doi:https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2611-0075/9124.
Brown, H.M. (2016). The Quest for the Gesamtkunstwerk and Richard Wagner. [online] Google Books. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Quest_for_the_Gesamtkunstwerk_and_Ri/65M-DQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=gesamtkunstwerk+wagner&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover [Accessed 23 Dec. 2023].
Cornell University Press. (n.d.). The Total Work of Art in European Modernism by David Roberts | Paperback. [online] Available at: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801450235/the-total-work-of-art-in-european-modernism/#bookTabs=1 [Accessed 11 Oct. 2023].
Generation Zero. (n.d.). Generation Zero | Open-World Action Game. [online] Available at: https://generationzero.com/en/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2023].
Chakraborty, N. (2018) Generation Zero Early Impressions - What We Liked & What We Didn't. [online]. Available at: https://spieltimes.com/news/generation-zero/
R.L. (2018). Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag is not happy with Generation Zero. PC Gamer. [online] 31 Aug. Available at: https://www.pcgamer.com/swedish-artist-simon-stalenhag-is-not-happy-with-generation-zero/.
Salomonsson Agency. (n.d.). Simon Stålenhag. [online] Available at: https://www.salomonssonagency.se/simon-stalenhag.
Stalenhag, S. (2020). The Labyrinth [online] Available at: http://simonstalenhag.se/labyrinth.html [Accessed 11 Oct. 2023].
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April 19, 2023
The speaker discussed about the importances of legal basis in our place, it is related in laws and department directives such as circulars, orders, memoranda and etc. there are two parts of legal basis the Intellectual Property and Technology Trasher. It’s important to protect your intellectual property to prevent competitors from copying your trademark, technology or product. to avoid wasteful investment in research and development and marketing, to create and enhance corporate identity and increase the company’s market value, and to facilitate negotiations of licensing, franchising or other IP-based agreement. It is very important to register your intellectual property with Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and apply for protection by any of the applicable IP rights. Such as; Patents, Utility Model, Industrial Design, Trademarks and Service Marks, Copyright and Related Rights, Lay-out Design, Geographic Indications, Undisclosed Information and New Plant Varieties as provided in Republic act of 9168. after protecting you intellectual properties, a registered technology has to be commercialized at the soonest possible time in order to enjoy benefits of the protection before its expiration.
Business incubation - is an organization that supports and resource to startups and entrepreneurs they offer a variety of services including office space, funding, mentorship and networking opportunities. the benefits of business incubation is to nurture and support the growth of start-up businesses. the incubation process allows entrepreneurs to preserve capital and gain external support to accelerate their businesses growth. through business incubation, the enterprise center captures each entrepreneurs uniqueness and offers support and customized services to maximize businesses potential. the benefits of startup incubators include helping early-stage companies refine their ideas, create their business plans, work on products to market fit, identify potential intellectual property issues, and network with other start-ups.
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Unlock The Power of a Digital Marketing Strategy for the Makeup Industry
The beauty business is undergoing a significant shift in today's digitally linked world, with the power of digital marketing leading the way. The fusion of beauty and technology has paved the way for a new era of marketing strategies that transcend traditional boundaries. The cosmetics business is taking advantage of the vast potential of digital marketing to connect with, engage, and fascinate their target audience, which ranges from large international companies to modest local shops. In this blog post, we'll delve into the pivotal role of digital marketing in the beauty sector and explore why a well-crafted marketing strategy is essential.
Why is Digital Marketing Important in the Makeup Industry?
For beauty firms, digital marketing has emerged as the key to success for a number of compelling reasons. First and foremost, it offers an unparalleled avenue for brand exposure and visibility. Social media platforms, search engines, and influencer collaborations amplify brand reach beyond geographical confines, enabling makeup companies to establish a global footprint.
Moreover, digital marketing facilitates direct interaction with consumers. Personal relationships are essential to the makeup industry's success, and social media platforms allow firms to interact with their audience in real time, soliciting comments, resolving issues, and establishing enduring bonds. This engagement fosters trust, brand loyalty, and a sense of community.
The Power of Digital Marketing
The power of digital marketing lies in its ability to deliver precisely tailored content to a highly segmented audience. With tools such as data analytics and audience insights, makeup brands can identify their ideal customers and craft campaigns that resonate deeply with their preferences, demographics, and behaviors. This degree of customization not only improves the consumer experience but also greatly boosts conversion rates.
Digital marketing is dynamic, which facilitates quick adaptation. Beauty industry trends change quickly, and firms may quickly adjust their strategy with digital platforms to be relevant and appealing to their target demographic.
Why Is a Marketing Strategy Necessary in the Makeup Industry?
In the makeup industry, where creativity and aesthetics are paramount, a well-defined marketing strategy acts as a guiding compass. It offers a road map for accomplishing organizational objectives and managing the competitive environment. A meticulously crafted strategy outlines the target audience, channels, content types, and key performance indicators (KPIs), ensuring that every marketing effort is aligned with the brand's overarching objectives.
Additionally, a strategy guarantees that branding and messaging are consistent across all digital touchpoints. Consistency fosters brand recognition and reinforces the brand's values and identity in the minds of consumers.
An effective digital marketing strategy for the makeup industry entails a well-thought-out plan that makes use of a variety of digital platforms and techniques in order to accomplish particular objectives. This is a thorough synopsis of a Digital Marketing Strategy for the Makeup Industry.
1. Define Goals and Objectives:
Establish the objectives you have for your efforts in digital marketing. It could be increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, boosting sales, or engaging with the target audience on social media.
2. Identify Identify Target Audience:
Recognize the characteristics, preferences, actions, and problems of your ideal customers. By using this data to inform your content creation, you can successfully personalize your messaging.
3. Content Strategy:
Create a broad range of audience-pleasing content. This can consist of user-generated content, product displays, behind-the-scenes looks, beauty advice, and cosmetics lessons. To properly present your products, concentrate on using high-quality graphics.
4. Social Media Marketing:
The social media platforms with the highest activity levels for your target audience. Post captivating content frequently, reply to messages and comments, and make use of pertinent hashtags. Use tools like Reels, Instagram Stories, and TikTok videos to draw viewers in.
5. Influencer Collaborations:
Choose influencers whose aesthetic fits your brand. Collaborate with them to produce objective assessments, strategies, and product recommendations. Gaining more reputation and attention can be achieved through influencers.
6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
Make sure your website and content are optimized for relevant keywords connected to makeup. This will increase the visibility of your website in search engine results and draw natural traffic.
7. Paid Advertising:
Use technologies like social media marketing and Google Ads to run targeted ad campaigns. To efficiently target potential customers, choose certain demographics, hobbies, and behavior patterns.
10. User-Generated Content:
Invite customers to display the cosmetic looks they have developed using your goods. To show real consumers utilizing your products, publish their content again on your social media platforms.
11. Website Optimization:
Include high-quality images and product descriptions. Implement a blog to share makeup tips, trends, and industry insights.
12. Analytics and Measurement:
Regularly monitor the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaigns. Track website traffic, engagement, conversion rates, and other important metrics with tools like Google Analytics and social media analytics.
13. Adapt and Evolve:
Keep up with market fluctuations and make any required adjustments to your plan. Try out different platforms and approaches to keep your brand fresh and relevant.
By implementing a well-rounded digital marketing strategy, you can effectively elevate your brand's presence and engage with beauty enthusiasts in a meaningful way.
Conclusion
The makeup industry is unlocking the power of digital marketing to captivate, engage, and enchant its audience. As the intersection of creativity, technology, and consumer engagement, digital marketing is not merely a strategy but a transformative force that propels beauty brands to new heights of success in an ever-evolving digital realm.
#best digital marketing company#digital marketing services#social media marketing services#best social media marketing company in pune
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Goonikaa zhingobiing!
The spruce is full of snow!
Language breakdown for fellow Anishinaabemowin learners below the cut!
•"Goon" - noun for snow
>>"-po" is a morpheme also used for snow in many words, especially weather verbs that discuss the act/process of snowing. Words using "goo-"/"go-" tend to talk about already fallen snow.
>>Ex. "Ishpaagonagaa" - (v.) The snow is deep/it is deep snow, vs. "Gibichipon" - (v.) The snowing stops/lets up
•"-kaa" - verb suffix meaning "to be a lot of ___" or "it is very ___"
>>Ex. Anang = (n.) star -> anangokaa = (v.) It is very starry out/there are lots of stars. Here it is used to mean “it is very snowy/there is a lot of snow.”
•"Zhingob" - the word I learned for spruce trees (non-species specific)
>>Although there are more specific words for various spruce species. And also some people use different words! From a quick look, people also use "mina'ig," "gwaawaandag," & "wadab" for various spruces. And I know some people use "zhingob" to mean balsam firs! >>Anishinaabemowin is a geographically widespread language with lots of regional and dialect differences and they are all correct!)
•"-ing" (or "-ong," "-ang") - suffix that indicates a location. This could mean at, in, on, around whatever word its attached to. (Used in basically all “proper noun” place names.)
>>In this instance, spruce + location-indicator = in/around the spruce.
>>Ex. "Waakaa'igan" (n.) = house -> "waakaa'iganing" (adj.) = in the house/at the house
#ojibwemowin#anishinaabemowin#let's learn together!#nanda-gikendandaa maamawii#anishinaabe#nish tag#linguistics#original posts#indigenous tag
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I have (a lot of) thoughts on KJ meeting Lauren.
The scene opens on a long lens, wide shot of KJ clearly trying to covertly scour the cinema for someone. The use of a long lens and it’s blurring of the background is used primarily to position the audience with KJ and to externalise KJ’s subjective experience; the focus is fully on KJ’s emotional state. The fliers for cinema membership geographically grounding the audience and sets up the expectation of a confrontation between future KJ and KJ – as the audience is fully aware of future KJ’s presence at the cinema. Alongside the till the mise-en-scene serves as a physical barrier between the past and the future; the film iconography a continual representation of KJ’s future. Reinforcing the idea of a confrontation. As the focus shifts, from an emphasis on KJ in the foreground to Future KJ & Lauren in the background, we are positioned definitively with KJ being fully immersed in her subjective POV. Reinforced by the shift from a non-diegetic, tense soundtrack – highlighting KJ’s anxiety – to the emphasis on Future KJ’s and Lauren’s conversation, matching KJ’s focus on the pair.
The use of a close up on KJ’s expression before cutting back to Future KJ & Lauren primes the audience’s attention to the casual touches and intimacy they share, with the lingering touches and the way they both staying reaching for each other even as Future KJ breaks away. It also adds a dimension of voyeurism to the scene, further entrenching us in KJ’s point of view. Notably, the camera remains fixed even as Future KJ leaves, this subverts the audiences’ expectations with the focus staying trained on Lauren. This unexpected focus others KJ from the paper girls, not only in terms of her sexuality but also in her rejection of a confrontation with her future self.
The sense of voyeurism is reinforced by the continual cutting to the close up of KJ, emphasizing her reactions to the audience as she takes it all in and physically psyches herself up before approaching. This is where the performance really shines, as we see these small moments of anxiety: such as the purposefully slow folding and placing away of the leaflet almost acting as an attempt to drag out and delay the confrontation for as long as possible. Gestures like this reinforce the importance of the ensuing conversation and are a naturalistic and subtle way to highlight KJ’s (understandable) fear. The soundtrack builds, aurally representing her rising anxiety & fear which is contrapuntal to the mundane visuals of Lauren browsing for food. This is then immediately contrasted by the cowboy shot of KJ approaching, showing her attempts of feigning confidence. The retention of the long focus showcases how internal KJ is at this moment, how streamlined her focus is on Lauren and nothing else. The tense music also fades away into an ambient diegetic sonic wallpaper, representing her getting out of her own head and back into reality.
The camera then shifts to a wide low shot of Lauren browsing, with the Kubrick film posters in the background a reminder of the importance of this space as a shared space for Future KJ and Lauren. KJ’s physical entering into the scene showcasing a tentative acceptance of her future, however the poster board in the middle acts as visual divide between the pair and symbolises the divide between the past and the future. This framing also allows for an obvious visual parallel between Lauren who immediately softens at the sight of KJ and KJ herself who is visibly tense and on edge the entire time.
The small talk is exclusively about the movie, drawing a greater connection between KJ and her future self as film becomes this shared language they have with Lauren. Throughout the scene Lauren is framed using the long lens, subtly indicating that this is KJ’s perspective still, with the continuous warm hues of oranges contrasting the cooler blue palette behind KJ. This makes Lauren appear softer, friendlier, more inviting, showing how KJ is actively looking for reassurance, guidance and comfort following her realisation – especially as she hasn’t fully accepted everything yet. It’s notable that this warm palette stems entirely from the cinema itself, reiterating how cinema will grow to be a constant reassuring presence in her life.
The use of editing is used to add a poignancy and urgently, stressing different parts of the main question. The use of lingering shots shows Lauren’s expectancy and the patience she affords to KJ, allowing both the time to properly articulate themselves. The cutting of the dialogue between the shots also adds a sense of poignancy to the scene, the breaking up of KJ’s line between them not only adds a more fluid and dynamic feeling to an otherwise static conversation but also adds specific emphasis to different parts of the question. For example, the split of “how did you know”, on a close up of Lauren with “that you were someone who felt this way” as the shot reverses to KJ. By splitting the dialogue in this way, it stresses the importance of specific lines and the relevance to that character. Editing is also used to represent the difference in acceptance between the two, with each of KJ’s close up dialogue reiterating the code word of “movies”, whilst this is absent for the dialogue over Lauren’s close ups as she is comfortable with her identity doesn’t have the need to hide behind innuendo and code words.
Lauren’s adoption of KJ’s paraverbal communication – stressing the word ‘movies’ emphasising its role as a code word - subtly signals to KJ that she knows what they’re on about but also a recognition that KJ isn’t quite at the point to openly acknowledge it. It’s such a small moment of consideration and tenderness that makes the conversation so resonant. There’s also a direct parallel drawn sonically between the pair, with both KJ and Lauren faltering initially to verbalise and articulate their thoughts, with the same amplified breathing and stuttering. However, unlike KJ who becomes physically smaller, withdrawing behind her gestural tick, as Lauren takes a deep breath, she physically becomes bigger, more confident, dominating more of the frame. Lauren’s speech is far more measured than her ramblings before betraying the amount of consideration and importance she’s placing on this – how seriously she’s taking KJ in a way that few others before have. Another interesting parallel between KJ and Lauren is their use of body language, both rely heavily on gestural ticks and hand movements, as if the ideas and emotions are too big, too important to be confined to just words. These small gestures and performance choices give the whole scene an incredibly naturalistic and nuanced performance, allowing for greater emotional resonance. The close up of KJ slowly nodding rhymes with the comic interpretation of this scene – a moment of quiet reflection (“oh that’s why”) - as well as giving both KJ and the audience to decompress and sort out their feelings.
When future KJ is introduced, it’s done in a reversal of our introduction of Lauren earlier – this time with KJ in focus whilst Lauren remains blurry in the foreground - establishing future KJ and Lauren as a complimentary pair. This also creates a moment of dramatic irony and tension for the audience as unlike KJ we are fully aware of her future self approaching, reviving the expectations of a confrontation between both KJs. It also means that the focus stays firmly on this KJ and her emotional headspace. Notably, the background is a lot sharper and more in focus, symbolising how after having had to process KJ is closer to acceptance, more confident, more self-assured. Furthermore, the movement of the two KJs is paralleled with the confident, slow strides of future KJ directly contrasting the more skittish, abrupt movements of KJ as she runs away (this is also another rhyming moment from the comic with KJs realisation being paired with running away from people in both). The cut to the mid shot of KJ abruptly leaving also marks the first time throughout the scene that we as the audience are aligned with anyone other than KJ – instead we’re now aligned with Lauren and her confusion. With KJ’s approach over becoming more focused as Lauren shifts her attention back to her present, this is reiterated by the film posters in the background becoming more prominent once again.
tldr: It's very cute and we see how much Lauren is accomodating KJ throughout the whole scene ((:
#paper girls#kj brandman#ramblings of a fool#i have no idea how coherent this is but this scene has been living rent free in my head for months
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heyo i am a stats freak and got the "how is this index actually calculated?" kind of autism and noticed numbeo in your latest couple of posts so just a heads up - their data is crowd-sourced and largely not accurate! it's great at giving you a vague idea as to cost of living but it falls pretty flat in terms of more granular info like groceries and house prices. also the cost of living calculator doesn't take the purchasing power of an average salary into account, as far as i know it just compares it to new york.
if you ever want to study the relationships between quality of life and geographical location (for research or, yknow, moving out lol) then numbeo does offer a qol index which gives you a way better idea of how "good" a place is to live in, and can be used as a proxy to better estimate the actual cost and quality of living there. but it's still kind of a mess. for example, their "safety" measurement is basically irrelevant, since it's based of an arbitrary test that people online can fill out (and yes, people have flooded the dataset with negative reviews of cities inflating their crime rates. sometimes for fun sometimes for some Very Racist Reasons). the metric for healthcare is based on a form people can fill out (again, 100% anonymously, 100% online, 100% with no verification) and it combines the scores to form a "healthcare rating" - what goes into that "healthcare rating" is very subjective and largely not something a patient could even know. "friendliness and courtesy of the staff"? this doesn't even vary from hospital to hospital, this shit varies from department to department. there is no fucking way a statement like "the medical staff in all of Turin, Italy is very unfriendly" has any merit. a score for "equipment for modern diagnosis and treatment"??? compared to what? does the average patient filling out some online survey know anything about state of the art medical equipment so that they can compare it to what they've been treated with????? (the answer is no). ok, sorry, i'm just rambling now, but damn this actually is just yelp for cities and not much else.
in a brief flash of self-awareness, i've decided not to go into detail on that horrible image by geo.universe on instagram (the one where nearly all of europe is a green LOWER cost of living than the us). it'd be another unhinged rant about how they don't have a source and how you can't possibly average out a cost of living for the entire usa, where housing prices range all the way from "five bucks and a warm smile for seven acres of land in some rural state" to "$1mil and a kidney for an almost-human-sized cage in NYC".
ANYWAY jesus christ what i wanted to get to is that if you're ever considering comparing "costs" (financial and otherwise) when moving out please refer to better indices (like EIU's where-to-be-born index or CIW though they have plenty of flaws too) and remember to always compare costs (this time just financial) of living against the MEDIAN net income!!! averages are almost meaningless because of weird ghouls who make billions of dollars and act as the number-inflating Spiders Georg of money.
i'm so sorry if you read all of this. take it as psychological whump or something. it's been a long day and i had a bird fly directly into my window today and it woke me up after i tried to take a nap. i hope the bird is fine because i sur
Hey friend thanks for letting me know! I’ll check out the other metrics you mentioned (although I’m not exactly sure what CIW is? Is it Canadian index of well being or smth else?) and yeah I hope the bird is ok <333 also how do you best find like, the average cost of living/purchasing power of places? Is there a decent scale or metric or do you really just have to do a fuckton of research for everything? Cause I’m definitely willing to put in serious work and research once I have it narrowed down to a few places and once emigrating becomes a serious possible option but rn it’s just very off in the distance planning and I’m just trying to think about what would even be the best options to consider
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Longjing tea
Longjing tea, a famous specialty product in Zhejiang Province, is a product of China's National Geographical Indication.
The premium Longjing tea is flat, smooth and straight, the color is green and smooth, the aroma is fresh and high, the taste is fresh and sweet, and the bottom of the leaves is delicate and blooming.
In 2001, the State Administration of Quality Supervision officially approved "Longjing tea" as a protected product in the area of origin.
Longjing tea features:
Longjing tea is unique in the world for its green color, beautiful shape, fragrant and mellow taste. It ranks first among the top ten famous teas in China.
The premium Longjing tea is flat, smooth and straight, the color is green and smooth, the aroma is fresh and high, the taste is fresh and sweet, and the bottom of the leaves is delicate and blooming.
Historical Origins:
Before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Hangzhou tea culture was in the rising stage. During the Three Kingdoms and Jin Dynasties, the economy and culture on both sides of the Qiantang River gradually developed, Lingyin Temple was built, and religious activities such as Buddhism and Taoism gradually became popular. After the opening of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty, Hangzhou, due to the geographical convenience of water and land transportation, became a "rich and famous city" in the southeast where products gathered and scattered. At this time, tea was widely cultivated in Hangzhou.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Longjing tea area had initially formed a scale. At that time, the "Xianglin Tea" from Xiatianzhu Xianglin Cave in Lingyin, the "Baiyun Tea" from Baiyun Peak in Shangtianzhu, and the "Baoyun Tea" from Geling Baoyun Mountain were listed as tribute. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a record that "the tea in Hangzhou County is not as good as the production of Longjing, and the fine buds before the rain, whichever is a flag and a gun, are especially treasures".
In the Yuan Dynasty, Longjing tea had a good reputation. Yu Ji, a tea lover, wrote a tea drinking poem "You Longjing". In the poem, "Wandering on the Longjing, the clouds are clear. The golden buds are fried, and the three swallows can't bear to rinse." widely sung.
In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong went to Jiangnan six times, and went to Longjing four times. He wrote six imperial poems about Longjing tea, and he personally named "Eighteen Royal Tea Trees", raising Longjing tea to the supreme status.
After the Republic of China, Longjing tea gradually became the first famous tea in China.
The efficacy of Longjing tea:
1. Exciting effect: The caffeine in tea can excite the central nervous system, help people to invigorate their spirits, improve their thinking, eliminate fatigue and improve work efficiency.
2. Diuretic effect: The caffeine and theophylline in tea have diuretic effect and are used to treat edema and water stagnation. The detoxification and diuretic effects of black tea and sugar water can be used to treat acute jaundice hepatitis.
3. Strengthen the heart and relieve spasm: Caffeine has the effect of strengthening the heart, relieving spasm and relaxing smooth muscle, can relieve bronchospasm and promote blood circulation. It is a good auxiliary drug for the treatment of bronchial asthma, cough and phlegm, and myocardial infarction.
4. Inhibition of arteriosclerosis: Tea polyphenols and vitamin C in tea have the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis to prevent arteriosclerosis. Therefore, among people who drink tea regularly, the incidence of hypertension and coronary heart disease is lower.
5. Antibacterial and antibacterial effects: The tea polyphenols and tannic acid in tea act on bacteria, which can solidify the protein of bacteria and kill bacteria. It can be used to treat intestinal diseases, such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, enteritis, etc. If the skin is sore, festering and oozing pus, and the skin is broken by trauma, rinse the affected area with strong tea, which has anti-inflammatory and bactericidal effects. Oral inflammation, ulceration, and sore throat can also be treated with tea.
6. Weight loss effect: Various compounds such as caffeine, inositol, folic acid, pantothenic acid and aromatic substances in tea can regulate fat metabolism, especially oolong tea has a good decomposition effect on protein and fat. Tea polyphenols and vitamin C can reduce cholesterol and blood lipids, so drinking tea can lose weight.
7. Anti-caries effect: tea contains fluorine, fluoride ion has a great affinity with the calcium of teeth, and can become a kind of "fluorapatite" which is more insoluble in acid, just like adding a protection to teeth layer, which improves the ability of teeth to resist acid and caries.
8. Inhibition of cancer cells: According to reports, the flavonoids in tea have different degrees of anti-cancer effects in vitro, and vitexine, morin and catechin have stronger effects.
9. The effect of promoting body fluid and quenching thirst, refreshing and improving thinking, digestion and greasy, anti-inflammatory and detoxification.
10. The antioxidant effect is because tea has antioxidant, anti-tumor, and lower blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein content, inhibits blood pressure, inhibits platelet aggregation, antibacterial, and anti-allergic products.
11. Longjing green tea contains more chlorophyll, amino acids, catechins, and vitamin C than other teas. It is rich in nutrients, and has the functions of quenching thirst, refreshing, quenching thirst, and reducing neutral fat and cholesterol in the blood. It has anti-oxidation, anti-sudden mutation, anti-tumor, lowering blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein content, inhibiting blood pressure rise, inhibiting platelet aggregation, antibacterial, anti-allergy and other effects. If it is brewed with Hangzhou Hupao spring water, the fragrance is clear and the taste is crisp, and it is known as the "double must" of Hangzhou.
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act 0. observer’s notes
your name is…..
the lost art of physical reinforcement: qi
“Salutations to those lost and to be found, ichor manifestation throughout Tlalli has appeared sparingly in the meta-reviews. Depending on the geographical location, the concentration, flow, and nature of ichor would create different raiz (the human-interpreted language of magic) and other glyphs (unique signs for material form or indicative actions). This is also applicable to how magic systems are to use ichor.
In the continent of Houto, specifically in the country of Fuso, ichor is used through the lost arts of ‘qi.’ This technique was exclusive to the royal family of Fuso and the samurai class that lived here. Fuso’s pride and endurance have led to them never formalizing an army against the incoming forces of Topaxi. The primary reason was due to the unique training and capability that they were taught. However, the city-state of Topaxi had continuous efforts to meddle with the ichor within the region by creating and planting ichor-heavy machinery that depleted the land.
Topaxi’s conquests saw that the country’s dissolution was to decapitate the head from the body - ridding the ruling party/family from the state. The most common ways were burning fire arts, scholarly works, and other written materials, alongside the mass executions of the royal family, staff, and relatives and the taking of their lands. Depending on the conquering of the land, the outcomes were either tributary states (land reaped for materials for Topaxi city-state) or suzerainty states (foreign power dictates policies in the country but supplies internal autonomy).
Fuso falls into the latter category, but it came at the cost of the samurai class unestablished. However, before the complete dismantling of the class, the Fuso royal family gathered their teachings of ‘qi’ and created an informal class known as ‘shinobi’ to continue their teachings.
‘Qi’ is the formalization of channels created in the user’s body without necessarily having continuous flow. Unlike the innate and artificial, qi-users can create channels that are one-way flowing and can be willed off at any point. These users are among the rarest and are exclusive to Fuso. The most critical aspect of qi is that there must be concentration to unlock the channels to allow to ichor through them. As it is one-way and not constantly flowing, there is also very little to no miasma that these users suffer.
'Qi' channels are exclusively found in five places: palms in hand, the base of feet, and the center of the throat. Special training to unlock this method includes mental meditation and physical exercise that capitalizes on focus. The most critical aspects are gaining focus and providing enough force to unleash it.
As mentioned before, the ichor flow through Fuso makes qi possible. The concentration of ichor in the country would be low and has to be cultivated explicitly by the users. As for its nature, it is forward and smooth movement without overpowering. However, the flow is choppy. It cannot be consistent and must be gathered to be in 'bursts.'
The shinobi class is the last remaining user of 'qi' alongside the dissolved samurai class. Their techniques saw their bodies as weapons and prioritized ichor as enhancements for their existing fighting style. Samurais are more formal in using qi when drawing their weapons and creating an extension of their body with their weaponry.
Because their system of beliefs is not emphasized, but their physical prowl is, the 'ideal' basis of a bastion is incompatible with qi users. Qi is not using magic as casting from the body but as a reinforcement for the body.
In the case of glamor, qi users use this ability relatively more straightforwardly than most. Changing their entire forms will not be an easy feat, but they can make physical adjustments to their bodies. Facial contortions would be the most common while changing hair color is tricky. Most important is that it must be already there/the preset must be there, and the details can then be edited.
However, because of this emphasis on the body, using qi in other locations around Tllali can place the body under great duress. It would require them to retrain their bodies in areas with thicker, heavier, and constant ichor concentration, flow, and nature.
In the case of Topaxi, the five channels constantly face pressure from the thick ichor around. Depending on what districts a qi-user is in, they will suffer through pseudo-miasma, but it is often temporary and not long-lasting. This will include lightheadedness and growing irritation. This worsens when forced into combat and relying on the qi technique. Some areas in Topaxi have less demanding ichor flow, which qi-users can use for training and fighting priority/advantage as they transition to Topaxi's ichor.
A new doorway through the illusory world of the entrapped god! What more can we see now through his dormant mind?” With gentle wave of her hand, the Witch laughs.
“And that has been a lesson!”
#( verse: ¿cual tu vas a ser? dentro del espejo ves; ¿algiuen más en ese cuerpo? | yni )#topaxi verse#[ WE BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH INCREDIBLY LONG MAGIC META. ]#[ :^) this is me jam!! ]
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Study: Lung infections attributable to soil fungi are an issue across the US
- By Nuadox Crew -
According to a study conducted by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, a significant number of serious lung infections are caused by fungi in the soil in 48 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, including many areas long believed to be devoid of lethal environmental fungi.
Image: Histoplasma (red), Blastomyces (blue), and Coccidioides (green) are the three most prevalent species of fungus that cause lung infections in the United States. These maps were made using data from 1955 (top row) and 2007-2016 (bottom row). The use of obsolete maps may result in delayed or missed diagnosis. Credit: Patrick Mazi and Andrej Spec/Washington University.
Studies from the 1950s and 60s indicated that fungal lung infections were a problem only in certain parts of the country. The new study, available online in Clinical Infectious Diseases, shows that is no longer the case. Doctors who rely on outdated maps of disease-causing fungi may miss the signs of a fungal lung infection, resulting in delayed or incorrect diagnoses, the researchers said.
Histoplasma, or histo, is one of the three main species of soil fungi that cause lung infections in the U.S. Historically, Histoplasma was found in the Midwest and parts of the East, Coccidioides in the Southwest, and Blastomyces in the Midwest and the South. But a growing number of case reports and anecdotes suggest that all three have expanded out of their traditional ranges in recent decades, most likely due to climate change.
People develop fungal lung infections after breathing in spores from fungi in the soil. The spores become airborne when the ground is disturbed by farming, landscaping, construction or even just by people walking around in fungi-rich environments such as caves. Most healthy adults and children can fight off a fungal infection handily, but infants, older adults and people with compromised immune systems may develop fever, cough, fatigue and other symptoms. Fungal lung infections easily can be mistaken for bacterial or viral lung infections such as COVID-19, bacterial pneumonia and tuberculosis.
Spec, Mazi and colleagues set out to determine where soil fungi are sickening people today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last revised its maps of disease-causing fungi in 1969.
The researchers calculated the number of fungal lung infections nationwide from 2007 to 2016 using Medicare fee-for-service claims from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Using the patients’ home addresses to identify counties of residence, they calculated the number of cases per 100,000 person-years for each county. (Person-years are a way to correct for the fact that counties can have wildly different population sizes; one person on Medicare for one year is one person-year). Counties with more than 100 cases caused by Histoplasma or Coccidioides, or 50 cases caused by Blastomyces, per 100,000 person-years were defined as having a meaningful number of fungal lung infections.
Of the 3,143 counties in the U.S., 1,806 had meaningful numbers of lung infections caused by Histoplasma, 339 of Coccidioides and 547 of Blastomyces. These counties were distributed across the majority of the U.S. Across the 50 states plus DC, 94% had at least one county with a problem with Histoplasma lung infections, 69% with Coccidioides and 78% with Blastomyces.
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Source: Tamara Bhandari, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Full study: “The Geographic Distribution of Dimorphic Mycoses in the United States for the Modern Era”, Clinical Infectious Diseases.
https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciac882
Read Also
Study: Soil fungi act like a support network for trees
#lung#lungs#medicine#health#fungus#fungi#climate change#environment#pollution#farming#construction#ecology#infection#spores#soil fungi
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Serial Delusions
“A series of crimes involves distinctive features, offences or signature mark to indicate that particular individual likely committed all of the crimes. Distinctive features of a modus operandi include cause of death, type of weapon used, or victim. By definition, a series of crimes requires similarity among the criminal acts; crimes linked together because of unusual or unique characteristics not present in other crimes. In the absence of a distinctive pattern, crimes are not necessarily connected together; they may be random acts allegedly committed by one or more suspects” (Declaration of Steve Strong, criminalist and expert witness in gang-related crime, homicide investigation, and narcotics investigation. From the Writ of Habeas Corpus
LAPD were so desperate to declare they had a serial killer on their hands, they began to link the incidents together, unconcerned that there was a distinct lack of pattern, or any M.O, they announced the lack of pattern was the M.O. Of course, how obvious. Nice one, Gil Carrillo!
Frank Salerno, convincing himself that there was a pattern. From the Writ of Habeas Corpus, document 19-10
In closing argument, the prosecution emphasised to the jury that physical evidence, specifically shoe print impression and ballistics, linked Richard Ramirez to the series of crimes. The prosecution argued, improperly, that the crimes constituted a pattern of offences. There was significant evidence to show that the incidents were not all linked to one another. Criminalist and expert witness, Steve Strong, described the prosecution’s evidence as demonstrating a lack of pattern with respect to many of the incidents.
In the Vincow incident, for example, a print was found on a window screen but not inside the residence. Time of death was estimated to be in the afternoon, unlike the night- time intrusions in many of the cases ( Zazzara, Doi, Bell and Lang, Cannon, Bennett, Nelson, Kneiding, and the uncharged incident), it is not possible to determine how many persons were involved in each incident. It is not so obvious that he was the only suspect due, in part, to the lack of evidence at the scenes. Another massive fail from his deficient defence, who didn’t even bother to investigate the dodgy characters surrounding Richard, the fence, Felipe Solano, with his entourage of thieves, liars, police informers and those who betrayed him for the money. (More about these particular individuals in an up-coming post.)
The reason it was hard to apprehend a suspect in the so-called Night Stalker crimes was because there was no discernible pattern. The locations of the scenes had no particular pattern, except for four incidents in Monterey Park, and the geographical range was wide. (See map pinpointing the incident locations)
Location of incidents
Let’s examine just one part of this geographical range and a brief look at two incidents within.
The map below shows the locations and distance between two crimes committed on the same night, Kneiding and Khovananth. The details of these crimes will be discussed in a future post, but for now, I will concentrate on the logistics because I find this one particularly interesting, as they occurred during the early hours of the same day, and yet were not “linked” together by evidence from ballistics or the obligatory Avia print. The M.O is also completely different, one being a double murder, the other, murder/rape/burglary.
What Happened?
Maxon and Lela Kneiding were both murdered during a terrible and bloody attack at their Glendale home during the early of 20th July 1985. No time of death has been released, but we are told that the Kneidings daughter discovered their bodies at 8am on the morning of 20th July, and the only other indication given is that the bodies were said to be in “full rigor” by 8pm.
At an unclarified time after 12.30am on the same morning Somkid Khovananth was woken up in the Sun Valley home by a man holding a gun. Her husband was shot, and Ms Khovananth suffered a sexual attack, a beating and a robbery. We are not told the time the attack happened, only that at 6am she heard an alarm clock sound and by 7am the police were in attendance.
Multiple weapons were used in the Kneiding murders, .22 calibre gun, machete, knives. In the Khovananth incident, again a .22 calibre but, we are told, not the same one as in the Kneiding incident.
So why Richard Ramirez?
We are led to believe that the attacker, for unknown reasons, drove to Glendale in the very early hours of the 20th, committed a heinous, brutal, double murder, using an array of weaponry. Then, deciding that more murder was on the agenda, drove 14 miles to Sun Valley (within minutes, according to the prosecution) to perpetrate another attack on the Khovananth household.
Distance between incidents, showing two possible routes.
Given that the Kneiding attack was horrific in its brutality, whoever conducted this crime could not fail to be blood-drenched, it is impossible to think otherwise. However, Ms Khovananth does not mention her attacker being blood stained, she says nothing of the sort. There is also no transfer of blood from one crime scene to the other, no smearing of blood anywhere at all. Not one drop. The attacker also used a different gun.
Are we to believe that Richard Ramirez, seeing as he was convicted, we might as well use his name, coming from the Kneiding murder, stopped somewhere along the way, to change his clothes, have a shower and thoroughly clean out his undoubtedly bloody car? To then appear at the Khovananth residence devoid of any blood stains? This is the man, after all, who was known as “despeinada”, “uncombed or dishevelled”, by some of his dodgy associates, the man sleeping in cars, who doesn’t care about hygiene. Yet he’s suddenly capable of forensically scrubbing himself down, as if he’s about to go into an operating theatre.
Did he also, perhaps, ditch all his weapons somewhere along the way and decide to use another .22? Twitter readers and Netflix watchers will no doubt scream, “He went to the Cecil Hotel!” Did he really? There is no evidence that happened, and to do that would mean he doubled back on himself a good 8 miles, making it even more ridiculous. Are we supposed to really believe, that Richard, who, according to the prosecution, seems to have been more tooled up than an GTA character, with a weapons stash to match, somehow manage to get rid of them all? Bearing in mind that NO weapons were ever recovered from him that could be linked to any of the incidents.
Perhaps, he threw them all off the Golden Gate Bridge, alongside his “phantom Avias”, maybe they just vanished into the ether, along with any credibility belonging to either his deficient attorneys or indeed, this case.
Route, if he’d stopped off at the “Cecil” for a clean-up.
So why was he blamed for these crimes? Because the prosecution, determined that the gun used in the Kneiding incident was the gun used in the Okazaki and Yu incidents. The shoeprint found at the Khovananth, linked to the other supposed Avia prints found elsewhere and her eyewitness testimony, which she changed. That is indeed a far reach, because, as has been shown, the evidence put forward by the prosecution was found to be false and unreliable, as discussed in THIS POST.
It seems to be a clear case of deciding the outcome and then trying to make the evidence fit around that. Yet again, none of this was questioned. What of the unidentified hair found at both scenes? Was that ever assessed to see if it matched? Nothing is ever mentioned about it. It wasn’t Richard’s, ok, let’s all just move on and forget about it.
The only pattern I see beginning to emerge is one of mystery semen, blood, hair and sets of unidentified fingerprints, none of which seemed to belong to Ramirez.
That time Gil Carrillo admitted the fingerprints at the Hernandez/Okazaki incident did not belong to Ramirez. Taken from transcripts from TV networks and listed in document 19-13 from the Writ of Habeas Corpus.
Look at the above image again.
“This new testimony recants one of the main pieces of evidence that linked Ramirez to the Okazaki murder”.
That information was dumped from the network that day, so no one watching the TV got to hear it. Manipulation at its finest!
The killings had no distinctive pattern; different weapons were used in many incidents, and none of those weapons were ever found in Richard’s possession. The state’s theory that Richard must have put gloves on upon entry does not make sense because the crimes lacked organisation according to the victims’ testimony. The anomaly here is the “uncharged incident”, where for some inexplicable reason, prosecution alleged that he removed his gloves, after convincing the jury that the reason for lack of fingerprints was, well, he wore gloves, of course!
As an aside, the “uncharged incident” has another differing profile, featuring, what must be, the most well-appointed squad car in history. No need to call in for fingerprint and footprint technicians, no, not when Officer Wright had the whole lot in the boot of his car, or up his sleeves. He was, so he claimed, able to dust for prints, take photographic evidence and even had the special, extra-large lifting tape required for shoeprint impressions. He did all that, without having to call in the people who are specifically trained to do this work. Amazing! Nothing was taken, no charges were made, and as the resident passed away some time later, no one was around to dispute any of this.
Ballistic Simplistic or Unrealistic
Ballistics evidence was involved in only eight of the incidents. The firearms comparison evidence did not determine who fired the weapons, and as the ballistics evidence was found to be unreliable, no link can be conclusively established.
Incompetence strikes once again, for in 1986, firearms expert, Paul Dougherty, was hired by Richard’s woeful defence counsel, to examine ballistics evidence gathered by the prosecution, of course, in their usual style, they failed to communicate with him and ignored his request to provide evidence itself, you know, so he could do his job. His work was terminated before it even began. Let me repeat this:
Counsel for the defence did NOT provide an expert witness with the evidence they had hired him to investigate!
This resulted in defence conceding ballistics charges without a whimper of protest.
Statement of Paul Dougherty, doc 7-20, from the Writ of Habeas Corpus
Paul Dougherty, for the purpose of Habeas Corpus, was again asked to examine the ballistics evidence and his preliminary findings are interesting.
Statement of Paul Dougherty, doc 7-20, from the Writ of Habeas Corpus
In his statement, he explains that the law enforcement work was inaccurate and inadequate. In reviewing the work performed in this case, he found that:
“There are internal conflicts in the written reports with regard to the testing conducted, such as condition of the bullets.”
Ex. 35 Declaration of Paul Dougherty
In Dougherty’s opinion, all the ballistics evidence should be retested. The State, in its zeal to get a conviction, presented evidence that was unreliable.
"It is impossible to say with certainty whether the findings... are accurate".
Ex: 35 Declaration of Paul Dougherty
His examination discovered there was evidence of bullet distortion and lack of unique rifling characteristics, moreover, the three officers who first examined the ballistics evidence, could not agree on their findings. Because of this only one was called upon to testify in court because his report fitted the prosecution case and the prosecution relied on ballistics evidence to try to link the crimes.
“In Okazaki and Yu to Kneiding, Zazzara to Khovananth, and Petersen to Abowath. Prosecution witness Edward Robinson testified that ballistics evidence conclusively linked the incidents above (172 RT 20034-52.) He also testified that a recovered Jennings .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol was positively compared to the Doi case (172 RT 20061.) Robinson was the last of three law enforcement firearms examiners to evaluate the general rifling characteristics of the ballistics evidence. Yet the two other examiners, who did not reach entirely the same conclusions, were not called to testify at trial, because they did not have the answer wanted by the prosecution. For example, in the report prepared by Robert Christiansen on March 28, 1985, he concluded that due to distortions of the .22-caliber bullet in the Okazaki case, no positive comparison can be made to the Yu case. In the Kneiding case, firearms examiner Hawkins found there was 60% mutilation of an expended bullet but identified the bullet as having been fired from the same firearm as the bullets fired in the Yu case. This finding raises questions about the reliability of the testing.”
Writ of Habeas Corpus, page 634
Jennings .22 semi-automatic, a small silver-coloured gun. More information on the chain of custody of the Jennings, the one they lost can be found HERE
A point of interest is that the Netflix documentary, the sensationalised and often factually incorrect, “Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer“, when discussing the Jennings, inexplicably show a completely different weapon. The gun they show is a revolver, a black double-action Colt Police Positive, all photographed up to look like evidence.
Colt double-action revolver. Not a Jennings semi-automatic.
They seemed to have lost the .22 semi-automatic. How careless of them, but apparently, it didn’t matter. How did they manage to lose it?
Not the Avias again!
Shoeprint impressions were discovered in only eight incidents, and as shown in this post, false evidence regarding shoeprint impressions was knowingly presented to the jury. A full breakdown of shoeprint evidence is given in the previously mentioned post within this blog, please read it as to include it again here would be repetition.
“I mean that is – you know, you are not allowed to make up evidence, and that is one of the rules”
(Prosecution statement in trial transcripts, taken from the Federal Writ of Habeas Corpus)
Shamefully, that is exactly what they did, as shown HERE and also HERE.
Prosecutor Phil Halpin, photo from LA Public Library.
At NO point was the shoe size of Richard Ramirez even mentioned, or determined, during his trial. No proof that Richard even owned a pair of Avia shoes ever materialised either, just some ridiculous fiction about him chucking his “phantom sneakers” off the Golden Gate Bridge. Which no one saw him do.
Summary re: Lack of Distinctive Pattern.
Below is a chart showing how the prosecution tried to link the crimes into a pattern, which there never was. Law enforcement made a big deal out of repeatedly saying that the pattern was there was no pattern, see? That way they could make a link out anything, it didn’t matter whether it was real or imagined.
from the Writ of Habeas Corpus, ex 40, declaration of Steve Strong
With that in mind, let’s look at each incident where we can see there really wasn’t anything viable to link these crimes together or even to show that one person committed them, or that the one person was Richard Ramirez.
Distorted, dusty bullets, do not show who pulled the trigger!
Vincow
No fingerprints belonging to Richard found inside apartment
No property stolen or recovered
Wounds not unique
Could have been committed by more than one person
Location: Los Angeles City
Hernandez/Okazaki
No fingerprints found inside or on doors of residence
Unidentified fingerprints found, NOT Richard’s
No property taken
Wounds not unique
No weapon found or recovered from Richard
Location: Rosemead
Yu
No fingerprints found in recovered stolen car
Wounds not unique
No property taken
No weapon found or recovered from Richard
No apparent motive
Location: Monterey Park
Zazzara
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
Unidentified prints were found NOT to belong to Richard
Exact model or size of Avia shoeprint not determined
No weapon found or recovered from Richard
No property recovered
Could have been more than one person
Location: Whittier
Doi
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
Exact model or size of Avia shoeprint not determined
Wounds not unique
No inventory of property stolen from earlier burglary was done
Trail of stolen property not investigated or questioned
Could have been more than one person
Location: Monterey Park
Bell/Lang
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
Exact model or size of Avia shoeprint not determined
Scene disorganised, multiple shoe impressions
Hair found at scene did not belong to Richard
Wounds not unique
No weapon traced to Richard
Trail of stolen property not questioned
Could have been more than one person
Location: Monrovia
Kyle
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
Kyle gave inconsistent statements regarding identification
Trail of property not questioned
Location: Burbank
Canon
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
Model and size of Avia shoeprint not determined
Wounds not unique
Hair found at the scene not Richard’s
Blood found on the mitten and lamp, not Richard’s
Trail of stolen property not questioned
Could have been more than one person
Location: Arcadia
(I will interject here to say that prosecution failed to preserve important blood evidence or to try and determine just who bled on that lamp. and tried to stem the flow with the mitten! Someone cut themselves during that horrific attack, that someone was shown not to be Richard. Unless he was capable of bleeding someone else’s blood)
Bennet
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
Scene disorganised
Hair found at scene inconclusive
Blood found not Richard’s or Bennet’s. Someone cut themselves again, that someone was not Richard. Both Richard and Bennet were blood group O, the unidentified blood was from group A.
No property recovered
Could have been more than one person
Two types of shoe print on her comforter. One, the obligatory Avia print, size and model undetermined. The other had a herringbone pattern, brand and size not known, and was brushed under the carpet, forgotten.
Location: Sierra Madre
Nelson
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
Exact model and size of Avia shoeprint not determined
Hair found at the scene did not belong to Richard
Trail of stolen property not questioned
Could have been more than one person
Location: Monterey Park
Dickman
No fingerprints belonging to Richard
Trail of stolen property not questioned
Location: Monterey Park
Kneiding
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
No weapons found or recovered from him
Hair found at the scene did not belong to Richard
Trail of stolen property not questioned
Could have been more than one person
Location: Glendale
Khovananth
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
No gloves found or recovered from Richard that matched impressions.
No weapon found or recovered.
Trail of stolen property not questioned
Hair found at scene not Richard’s
Location: Sun Valley
Petersen
No fingerprints found belonging to Richard
No weapon found or recovered from him
No property taken
Location: Northridge
Abowath
No fingerprints belonging to Richard
No weapon found or recovered from him
Trail of stolen property not questioned
Semen from vaginal swab not Richard’s, and not her husband’s
Semen on bedsheets inconclusive
Location: Diamond Bar
Uncharged Incident
Model and size of Avia shoe impression not determined
Could have been more than one person
Location: Monrovia
Now We’re Reaching
“In nine incidents (Zazzara, Doi, Bell/Lang, Cannon, Bennett, Nelson, Khovananth, Abowath, and the uncharged case), trial counsel failed to challenge or refute the testimony of the prosecution’s unqualified, inexperienced shoe print witness. In eight incidents, ballistics evidence went unchallenged. The testimony of the prosecution’s firearms expert attempted to link the Okazaki homicide to those of Yu and Kneiding; attempted to link the Zazzara homicide to the Khovananth incident; attempted to link a Jennings semi-automatic pistol that fires .22-caliber long-rifle ammunition to the Doi case; and attempted to link the Petersen and Abowath incidents. Defence counsel failed to competently challenge this evidence”
From the Writ of Habeas Corpus
Of course, they failed to challenge the evidence and inexplicably made it worse, if that were possible. How these clowns were allowed within one hundred miles of this case, I will never know!
“I didn’t have any evidence to prove that it was a different gun, therefore you didn’t hear any. I certainly would have brought it in if I had, you could rest assured of that.”
Daniel Hernandez, from court transcripts.
Daniel Hernandez, right, with Richard Salinas, 1988, from The Herald Examiner Collection.
Perhaps, if you’d given the firearms expert the evidence he requested, you’d have had the evidence you needed for the rebuttal. Just a thought. What a fool!
There was significant evidence to show that the offences were not all linked to one another, enough to create reasonable doubt and yet Richard Ramirez was convicted on dodgy physical and ballistics evidence, the unreliable testimony of a “fence” (who was impeached for perjury) and inconsistent eyewitnesses, who could not decide if Richard was tall, short, Asian, white, Hispanic, who may have been blond with bad teeth, or perhaps straight white ones.
Conclusion of Steve Strong, or a lesson in serial blunders..
Declaration of Steve Strong, doc 7-20, from the Writ of Habeas Corpus
One more step along in the railroading of Richard Ramirez, a series of catastrophic blunders, where his defence counsel conceded ballistic and shoeprint evidence, whilst simultaneously arguing that there was no pattern.
This case never fails to disappoint in its sheer disregard for the truth, and the violation of rights. The prosecution improperly relied on evidence that was inaccurate and unreliable, urging on the jury the significance of “evidence”, knowing it was incorrect, and using emotive language as it tried to forge links that just weren’t there.
“‘The prosecutor compared less sensational murders, such as the Yu incident to more sensational murders which involved mutilation: “So you didn’t have the mutilation [in Okazaki] that you had in a number of these other cases, but certainly very cold-blooded, deliberate act and inexcusable. . .. March 17 also, the murder of Ms. Yu out on the street . . .. Another terrible act again with no time to mutilate. ‘”
From the Writ of Habeas Corpus, transcript of the prosecution
There WAS no link but using the phrase “no time to mutilate” in addressing the jury had the purpose of imprinting a connection between random and unrelated crimes.
A competent defence team should have challenged on all counts, but they did not, having neither experience nor proper preparation. Which culminated in Richard being forever branded a Serial Murderer and receiving the death penalty nineteen times.
Because killing him once wasn’t enough!
“Those who plead their cause in the absence of an opponent can invent to their heart’s content, can pontificate without taking into account the opposite point of view, and keep the best arguments for themselves. For aggressors are always quick to attack those who have no means of defence.”
Christine de Pizan
And as is painfully obvious, there was no defence for Richard Ramirez.
~ Jay ~
Full article
#gil carrillo#richard salinas#Daniel hernandez#tsai lian yu#richard ramirez police sketch#ricardo ramirez#the railroading of richard ramirez#richard ramirez#frank salerno#night stalker: the hunt for a killer#th#night stalker the hunt for a serial killer#the night stalker#netflix#night stalker#true crime#true crime community#tc#serial killer
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