#close runners up are The Last Of Us and Z Nation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

casxmorgan · 3 years

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Books Books Books

100 Years of Solitude

11.22.63

120 Days of Sodom

1491

1984

A Brief History of Time

A Canticle for Leibowitz

A Child Called It

A Clockwork Orange

A Confederacy of Dunces

A History of the World in Ten and a Half Chapters

A Land Fit for Heroes Trilogy

A Little Life

A Naked Singularity

A People's History of the United States

A Scanner Darkly

A Series of Unfortunate Events

A Short History of Nearly Everything

A Song of Ice and Fire

A Storm of Swords

A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Walk in the Woods

A World Lit Only by Fire

Accursed Kings

Alice in Wonderland

All Quiet on the Western Front

All the Light We Cannot See

All the Pretty Horses

America, the Book

American Gods

American Psycho

And then There Were None

Angela’s Ashes

Animal Farm

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Anna Karenina

Anything Terry Pratchett, But, Mort is My Favorite

Anything Written by Robin Hobb

Apt Pupil

Artemis Fowl

Asimov's Guide to the Bible

Asoiaf

Atlas Shrugged

Bartimeaus

Batman: the Long Halloween

Battle Royale

Beat the Turtle Drum

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Belgariad Series

Beloved

Berserk

Bestiario

Black Company

Blankets/habibi

Blind Faith

Blindness

Blood Meridian

Blood and Guts: a History of Surgery

Bluest Eye

Brandon Sanderson

Brave New World

Breakfast of Champions

Bridge to Terabithia

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: an Indian History of the American West

Calvin and Hobbs

Candide

Carrie

Cat's Cradle

Catch 22

Cats Cradle

Chaos

Child of God

Choke

Chuck Palahniuk

City of Ember

City of Thieves

Cloud

Collapse

Come Closer

Complaint

Confessions of a Mask

Contact

Conversation in the Cathedral

Cosmos

Crime and Punishment

Dan Brown

David

Dead Birds Singing

Dead Mountain: the Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

Delta Venus

Die Räuber (the Robbers)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

Don Quixote

Dragonlance

Dune

Dying of the Light

East of Eden

Educated

Empire of Sin: a Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans

Enders Game

Enders Shadow

Escape from Camp 14

Ever Since Darwin

Every Man Dies Alone

Everybody Poops

Everything is Illuminated

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Fahrenheit 451

Far from the Madding Crowd

Faust

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson

Feet of Clay

Fight Club

First Law

Flowers for Algernon

Flowers in the Attic

Foundation

Foundation Series

Foundation Trilogy

Frankenstein

Freakonomics

Fun Home

Galapagos

Geek Love

Gerald’s Game

Ghost Story

Go Ask Alice

Go Dog Go

Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid

Goldfinch

Gone Girl

Gone with the Wind

Good Omens

Grapes of Wrath

Great Expectations

Greg Egan

Guards! Guards!

Guns Germs and Steel

Guts (short Story)

Half a World

Ham on Rye

Hannibal Rising

Hard Boiled Wonderland

Hatchet

Haunted

Hawaii

Heart Shaped Box

Heart of Darkness

Hellbound Heart

Hellraiser

Hell’s Angels

Helter Skelter

His Dark Materials

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Hogg

Holocaust by Bullets

House of Leaves

How to Cook for Fourty Humans

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Huckleberry Finn

Hyperion

I Am America, and So Can You

I Am the Messenger

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

I Was Dr. Mengele’s Assistant

In Cold Blood

In Search of Our Mother's Gardens

Independent People

Infinite Jest

Into Thin Air

Into the Wild

Introduction to Linear Algebra

Invisible Monsters

Ishmael

Jacques Le Fataliste

Jane Eyre

Jaunt

Job: a Comedy of Justice

John Dies at the End

John Grisham

Johnathan Livingston Seagull

Johnny Got His Gun

Jon Ronson

Journal of a Novel

Jurassic Park

Justine

L'histoire D'o

Lamb

Last Exit to Brooklyn

Les Miserables

Lies My Teacher Told Me

Life of Pi

Limits and Renewals

Little House in the Big Woods

Lockwood & Co.

Lolita

Looking for Trouble

Lord Foul’s Bane

Lord of the Flies

Lyddie

Malazan Book of the Fallen

Maldoror

Manufacturing Consent: the Political Economy of the Mass Media

Man’s Search for Meaning

Mark Twain’s Autobiography

Maus

Meditations

Megamorphs (series)

Mein Kampf

Memnooch the Devil

Metro 2033

Michael Crichton

Middlesex

Mindhunter

Misery

Mistborn

Moby Dick

Mrs. Dalloway

My Side of the Mountain

My Sweet Audrina

Nacht über Der Prärie (night over the Prairie)

Naked Lunch

Name of the Wind

Neuromancer

Never Let Me Go

Neverwhere

New York

Night

Night Shift

Norwegian Wood

Notes from Underground

Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea

Of Mice and Men

Of Nightingales That Weep

Ohio

Old Mans War

Old Mother West Wind

On Heroes and Tombs

On Laughter and Forgetting

On the Road

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest

One Hundred Years of Solitude

One of Us

Painted Bird

Patrick Rothfuss

Perfume: the Story of a Murderer

Persepolis

Pet Sematary

Peter Pan

Pillars of the Earth

Poisonwood Bible

Pride and Predjudice

Ready Player One

Rebecca

Red Mars

Red Night (series)

Red Shirts

Red Storm Rising

Redwall

Replay

Requiem for a Dream

Revenge

Riftwar Saga

Ringworld

Roald Dahl

Rolls of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Round Ireland with a Fridge

Running with Scissors

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Sapiens, a Brief History of Humankind

Scary Stories to Read in the Dark

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Schindler’s List

Sein Und Zeit

Shades of Grey

Sharp Objects

Shattered Dreams

Sherlock Holmes

Sho-gun

Siddhartha

Sisypho

Skin and Other Stories

Slaughterhouse Five

Smoke & Mirrors

Snow Crash

Soldier Son

Sometimes a Great Notion

Sphere

Starship Troopers

Stiff, the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Storied Life of A.j. Fikry

Stormlight Archives

Story of the Eye

Stranger in a Strange Land

Surely, You're Joking

Survivor Type (short Story)

Suttree

Swan Song

Tale of Two Cities

Tales of the South Pacific

The Alchemist

The Altered Carbon Trilogy

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

The Art of Deception

The Art of Fielding

The Art of War

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation

The Autobiography of Henry Viii

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Beach

The Bell Jar

The Bible

The Bloody Chamber

The Book Thief

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

The Brothers Karamazov

The Call of Cthulu and Other Weird Stories

The Cask of Amontillado (short Story)

The Catcher in the Rye

The Chronicles of Narnia

The Clown

The Color out of Space

The Communist Manifesto

The Complete Fiction of H.p. Lovecraft

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

The Dagger and the Coin

The Damage Done

The Dark Tower

The Declaration of Independence, the Us Constitution, and the Bill of Rights

The Devil in the White City

The Dharma Bums

The Diamond Age

The Dice Man

The Discworld Series

The Dresden Files

The Elegant Universe

The First Law Trilogy

The Forever War

The Foundation Trilogy

The Gentleman Bastard Sequence

The Geography of Nowhere

The Girl Next Door

The Girl on the Milk Carton

The Giver

The Giving Tree

The God of Small Things

The Grapes of Wrath

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gilly Hopkins

The Hagakure

The Half a World Trilogy

The Handmaid’s Tale

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

The Hiding Place

The History of Love

The Hobbit

The Hot Zone

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hyperion Cantos

The Jaunt

The Jungle

The Key to Midnight

The Killing Star

The Kingkiller Chronicles

The Kite Runner

The Last Question (short Story)

The Lies of Lock Lamora

The Little Prince

The Long Walk

The Lord of the Rings

The Lottery (short Story)

The Lovely Bones

The Magicians

The Magus

The Martian

The Master and Margarita

The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

The Monster at the End of This Book

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

The Music of Eric Zahn (short Story)

The Name of the Wind & the Wise Man's Fear

The Necronomicon

The New Age of Adventure: Ten Years of Great Writing

The Night Circus

The Nightmare Box

The Odyssey

The Omnivore's Dilemma

The Orphan Master’s Son

The Outsiders

The Painted Bird

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Phantom Tollbooth

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Pit and the Pendulum

The Plague

The Prince

The Prince of Tides

The Princess Bride

The Prophet

The Queen’s Gambit

The Rape of Nanking

The Red Dwarf

The Republic

The Rifter Saga

The Road

The Satanic Verses

The Screwtape Letters

The Secret History

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Selfish Gene

The Shining

The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer

The Silmarillion

The Sirens of Titan

The Six Wives of Henry the 8th

The Solitude of Prime Numbers

The Speaker of the Dead

The Stars My Destination

The Stormlight Archive

The Story of My Tits

The Stranger

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck

The Suspicions of Mr. Witcher

The Tao of Pooh

The Things They Carried

The Time Machine

The Time Traveller’s Wife

The Tin Drum

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green

The Wasp Factory

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

The World According to Garp

The Yellow Wallpaper

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Things Fall Apart

Thirsty

This Blinding Absence of Light

Tiger!

Time Enough for Love

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Say Nothing of the Dog

Toni Morrison

Too Many Magicians

Traumnovelle

Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuf Voyaging

Undeniable

Under Plum Lake

Universe in a Nutshell

Unwind

Uzumaki

Various

Village Life in Late Tsarist Russia

Walden

War & Peace

War and Peace

Warriors: Bluestar’s Prophecy

Watchers

Water for Elephants

Watership Down

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Wheel of Time

When Rabbit Howls

Where the Red Fern Grows

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Why I Am Not a Christian

Why People Believe Weird Things

Wizards First Rule

Wool

World War Z

Worm

Wuthering Heights

You Can Choose to Be Happy

Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

#some of these are fucked up #but #all the better

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ivory-haired-queens-blog · 5 years

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Unpopular Opinions: Fandom Edition

Hey none of you asked but I’m here to deliver so here are some unpopular opinions for the fandoms I’m in. Spoilers, duh.

Marvel:

I don’t like Natasha. Or Steve.

Pepper Potts is a top.

As much as I love Loki, his death was nessicary in Infinity War.

Steve should have killed Bucky in Civil War. He was a threat, plain and simple.

I ship Ironstrange/Supremefamily.

Clint should have died in Infinity War.

I love Tony Stark with my whole heart. (Not an unpopular opinion but you needed to know that)

I’m not happy with the end of Endgame.

10 years in the making....for you to do Thor like that?

Not because he’s fat or because he’s dealing with trauma, that’s totally acceptable.

What’s not acceptable is them making Thor into the butt of the joke because he’s fat.

I love the Antman movies.

I’m totally not biased because I loved lost.

(I’m kinda biased)

Shuri is the best Marvel character and would beat Tony Stark in a battle of wits.

(I’m so gay I love her.)

With as many years as Marvel has had the MCU, I am disgusted at the lack of diversity within the movies.

Like it’s 2019 and we JUST got a female empowerment scene in Endgame.

Like I want a gay superhero.

(We have a disabled one thank god. Love you Stephen.)

And don’t give me that Valkyrie/Captain Marvel BS because they never blatantly stated or showed it in their movies.

I want an Asian superhero bitch.

A superhero who is Muslim/Islam/and religion besides Christian.

I think that, as much as I hate Natasha and Steve, they should have been the ones that Bruce first sees in Infinity War. I know it set up the whole “earth is closed today” sequence but it didn’t make sense and was OOC.

I love Stephen Strange and he’s never done a single thing wrong ever in his life I would die for this man.

I like MCU Peter Parker over the origional movie Spider-Man.

Fight me.

I also like the Tony Stark/Peter Parker better than the Uncle Ben/Peter Parker so @ me.

The 100

I don’t ship Bellarke that hard.

Like yes, I think they’re obviously being groomed to end up together. I know the show runners will make them official before the end of the series. I’m not mad about that, I just don’t really care to be honest. It’s like, too obvious.

But there are some cute bellarke scenes

What they did to Monty was bullshit but what they did to Jasper was worse.

I feel no guilt whatsoever in saying that I think that killing all of Mount Weather was what they should have done from the beginning.

Yes, even the kids. Because if you kill their leaders, the men and women will fight back. The colony would have been left with a handful of adults, and a bunch of kids if the origional plan had worked. This is doomed to fail and honestly just killing them all would be better than seeing them kill eachother for food, power, whatever. If that makes sense.

I think that Finn deserved to die.

I think that Murphey deserves the world.

Charlotte fucking killed Wells. Yes she’s young but she knows better than to kill someone. Maybe not kill her, but we all know that Clarke wouldn’t have banished her like she did Murphey. Clarke has a gender bias because Murphey didn’t do anything and she wouldn’t have punished Charlotte as hard because she’s a young girl. I rest my case

Even though what he did was bad and wrong, I don’t think Murphey should have been banished. He’s right. They were all compliant and even excited when he was being hung, but when it’s a little girl all bets are off.

Like Bellamy brought the whole hostage thing upon himself because he fucking tied a noose around Murphey’s throat.

Again, not that what Murphey did was right. He didn’t have to act like that. Jasper didn’t do anything to him.

Also this segment is getting long but the show writers and everyone else just casually forgot that Murphey was TORTURED? Hello? Are we not going to acknowledge that?

I shipped Clexa with my whole heart.

Another actually popular opinion: what they’ve done to Raven’s character this season is bullshit. Her only role is Abby’s moral compass. This is the same girl who shuttled to earth in a Tin Can. She’s better than this.

What the fuck??? Happened to??? Jordan???

Like Madi stabbed him

And then they proceeded to not talk about it for like four episodes and then casually mention it in passing like “oh he saved Pria that means he gets to live”

Like they set up his character to be really important this season.

But he’s not.

I think that Murphey/Emori is the best ship.

I also think that Either Murphey or Emori or Both are secretly double crossing the Primes. (This comes out before the finale of season six)

They didn’t have to do Onyia like that

The opening of season three is so weak that I actually stopped watching the show around that time (I’d been watching since the beginning of season two) because there’s just nothing there in the first like 10 minutes and I couldn’t do it.

Maybe I’m just impatient but it’s bad.

I think that Octavia did the best that she could with what she had available and I think that’s she’s not a bad person for what she did with the fighting pits/cannabalism. And I know that if Bellamy had been in her place, he would have eventually done the same.

Kane was a whiny bitch in season 5.

Why’d the kill Diyoza(I can’t spell) like that?

I liked Joesephine. It was really fun to see Eliza Taylor be able to get a new character in the show. Also props to her for that last episode with pretending to be Joesephine and being Clarke at the same time.

I called the dude being Gabriel from the first time I saw him you peasants.

Octavia’s redemption arc this season is beautiful.

They did....that.....to Kane. I’m angerey.

Lost In space

Not enough people watch this show. (The Netflix remake or the origional)

Seriously guys it’s a good show.

Absolutely nothing is wrong with it.

I love Don West with my whole heart.

I love Dr. Smith with my half heart.

I love the robot with my two hearts.

I love Penny Robinson with all the stars in the galaxy.

I love all of them okay.

There are no plot holes, no inconsistencies, no faulty science and anyone who says (or proves) otherwise is wrong.

It’s confirmed for a season two which should air in like the December-February time area.

It’s a Netflix show so you can binge the entire season in like a weekend.

Seriously watch it.

The Umbrella Academy

Five x Delores is weird.

Luther x Allison is illegal.

Klaus deserves all the push pops in the world.

The handler is hot.

The Comission killed Dave.

Luther is the most boring, Unorigional, straight white guy character I’ve seen in a long time. I hate him so much.

Allison is a queen but her character is brought down by her weird relationship with her brother.

Tbh if I was Allison you know I’d be telling my kids that I heard a rumor that theyd go the fuck to sleep. Like that’s a good thing. Idk maybe I’m just a sociopath.

Istanbul not Constantinople being played over a scene where five murders a squad of Commission people is the greatest cinematic masterpiece ever conceived by man.

“Where are you going” “to save the world” “oh is that all?” Iconic.

None of these are really unpopular but the show writers seem to think differently.

Diego has never done anything wrong in his life like yaaaasss bitch kill your brother at yo daddy’s funeral!!! Work!!!

PaTcH

AAaAHh

Big Theif - Mary is the perfect song to play over Klaus returning from Vietnam.

Will you love me, like you loved me in the January rain?

It’s up there with Goodbye July.

Speaking of Goodbye July....

Z Nation

Many people haven’t watched it

It’s like if The Walking Dead and Zombieland had a baby....and then the baby did a line of cocaine.

It’s wild.

Watching Garnet die ruined every sliver of hope I had in humanity.

I have a special place in my heart for this show because it’s the first show that me and my mom would stay up and watch the new episodes air every Friday. It brought us closer and I can’t thank the cast and show runners enough for this.

So maybe I’m biased, but you should watch it.

Having Murphey switch from being an anti-hero to a villain back to an anti-hero and then to a regular hero, amazing. Astonishing. The peak of human existence.

Even though he’s not entirely human.

What color is Murphey today? Is he pale, discolored, grey, blue, red? We don’t know!

Roberta Warren is the Black Goddess main protagonist that we deserve.

Addison Carver is a functional Bi.

10k is tragic backstory central but other than that, his character development is pretty lacking other than him persuing love interests.

None of these are really unpopular opinions but I doubt any of you have watched the show. It’s on Netflix. Watch it.

Oooooohhhhh George.

Georgia St. Clair could stomp me to death and my ghost would still want to fuck her.

Anyways I’m gay

God damn I have a lot of pent up Gay energy.

Murphey and Lucy have a realistic enstranged father/daughter relationship and it’s heartwarming.

And then they killed her off to save him.

Honestly if you name a character Murphey they can only be assholish bad boys with a good heart deep down sorry I don’t make the rules.

Also if you name a character Murphey I will love them with my whole soul.

I’m so mad they cancelled the show.

I’m infinitely more mad that they named that disgrace of a show Black Summer and claimed that it was a prequel....but it didn’t follow the same cast and had they not advertised it as a prequel I would never have guessed.

Black Summer gives totally opposite vibes than Z Nation does. I get that black summer is supposed to be the worst time that the zombie apocalypse ever had, with cannibals and no food, but it feels like s completely different show.

It’s like if The Walking Dead claimed that it is a prequel/occurs during Shaun of the Dead.

Like....no. They’re....no.

Anyway watch it it’s good.

Detroit: Become Human

Connor isn’t the best character.

This is an unpopular opinion post deal with it.

Markus has to be my favorite.

Honestly this game is so good and not even just graphics-wise.

It’s the same robotic sentience story we’ve been fed for years, but this time it’s from the Android’s perspective and this time all they want is to be free. That’s it.

I fucking hate North.

Hank is literally if Rick from Rick and Morty were serious.

The only correct way to play Connor is to walk the thin line between deviant and regular A.I. Without leaving out Hank. The correct thing to do is make Conner deviant at Jericho.

The only correct way to play Kara is to protect Alice with every fiber of your being. Meanwhile, get close to her. Do not get caught, even if that means dissappointing her.

The only correct way to play Markus is to lead a peaceful revolution. Also tell North to fuck off.

The border patrol guy who either gets Kara and Alice caught or knowingly lets Androids cross the border is the best character. Forget about Markus, this guy sees either “oh fuck androids are killing people, maybe we shouldn’t let this one cross the border” or “Androids just want to be free and are peacefully fighting for this. Let this one and her daughter through.” I love him.

LUTHER.

YES DADDY.

anyway.

Let Out The Bear He Just Wants To Say Hi :)

Even though I think Conner is overrated by the fandom, I do like him.

But he’s not a pure innocent cinnamon roll either.

It depends on how you play, but he has really violent options so stop the “He wouldn’t harm a fly” attitude.

But he is cute.

The home screen for the game is revolutionary (no pun intended) and I hope future game follow suit in making the first impression of the game something cool.

Stealing clothes/money/the fence cutters is literally okay.

Also if you put Kara in white hair you can die.

If in your first actual play through you got the Kara lives at the recycling plant ending but Alice dies, you can die too.

I’ve never actually seen the steal money and go to motel option play out because it’s stupid, especially if you don’t steal clothes. Like that’s begging to be caught.

Stranger things

Billy Hargrove is bad and just because he’s abused does not make what he does okay.

Harringrove is gross and I’m gay so my opinion counts as double.

That being said, there are some really cute fics about Harringrove and I can see the appeal of “good boy falls for mysterious bad boy with a dark past and trauma”

I’ve said I’m gay this whole post because I say it a lot, but I don’t like actually labeling myself but I like girls and boys and everything in between and I say I’m gay kinda as a joke when girls are hot.

That being said...

Steve Harrington calling himself Daddy made me feel things.

Strange things.

Haha get it I’m making a joke to distract you from the daddy part.

Steve Harrington is a good person now, but he was still an asshole before and he can still be criticized for his past.

I used to be hardcore Jancy but after season three I feel like Nancy needs and deserves a break from boys so she can figure out herself and who she is now and what she wants to do without the weight of boys and boyfriends constantly around her.

That being said i still don’t like Nancy because she was flirting/slept in the same bed with Jonathan whilst obviously having feelings for him while she and Steve were still a thing. It’s not cheating but to me it’s close enough to raise red flags.

Robin is perfect in every way.

I don’t like Jonathan. He’s creepy in s1, fine in s2, but then is s3 he doesn’t do anything to or about his male bosses when Nancy is being made fun of because she’s a woman.

Seeing Nancy’s class priveledge/Jonathan’s male priveledge clashing was so cool tbh

Elmax > Mileven > Lumax

Jim Hopper, with all his faults, is still a caring dad.

Plus him threatening Mike made me laugh so hard sksksksks

Steve Harrington deserves the world and then some.

Low key I really want s4 to give in insight on his family life.

I also want him to get an apartment with Robin.

Robins cute tbh but for half the season I though she was a Russian spy. I guess I was wrong.

Mrs. Wheeler shouldn’t sleep with billy (not that she can now) because it’s wrong, but the reason she wanted to is because her husband is so boring and she gave up on her dreams to be his perfect housewife. She wanted a challenge with Billy. Instead, she should leave her pushover of a husband and find someone better.

Anyway Steve Harrington deserves the world.

Yeah okay hate me whatever.

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katzuyas · 6 years

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I’ve been tagged in so many things over the past couple of weeks that I honestly don’t even have much more bookmark space left in my browser RIP so I finally decided to do all of it at once, hence the title and the rest of this longass post under the cut

bc there’s a lot of the tag games down there and tagging a million people would be annoying, I’m gonna tag 10 of you to grab a dice and roll it to figure out which meme you’re tagged for ^u^)b if you roll the same number twice, count that meme as the start from which to count and roll again! I hope you like this idea, but it’s only a suggestion so feel free to do whatever you want tbh?

@sweet-vitya, @gabzjones, @and-then-yoi-happened, @etherealalchemist, @joeys-piano, @quadruplyyours, @yuliaplisetskaya, @dreaming-fireflies, @teekettle, @iwritebetterthanispeak, @chessala

enjoy, if you want! 💕💕

tagged by @endlesscloudsoftime, thank you for the tag!!

rules: answer 20 questions, then tag 20 bloggers that you want to get to know better.

1. Name: kat

2. Nicknames: same tbh

3. Height: 170cm

4. Orientation: who knows who cares (it’s pan)

5. Nationality: polish

6. Favorite fruit: mango, cherries, I love watermelon too but the seeds piss me off too much to fully enjoy it

7. Favorite season: anything that doesn’t make me sweat off my skin but isn’t also freezing my toes is more than fine with me ^u^)b

8. Favorite plant: I don’t think I have any favs here

9. Favorite scent: I have this yankee candle ‘sweet candies’ and I can just DIE wrapped in that scent holy sheet (when it comes to perfume tho I’m a sucker for the original chloe, but I also love calvin klein’s euphoria bc it’s just Fresh)

10. Favorite color: any pastel really

11. Favorite animal: MY SWEET PUPPER HINA (so yes, dogs)

12. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: coffee sometimes, TEA AND GREEN TEA AND VANILLA CHAI!!!!!!, hot chocolate is a nope

13. Average sleep hours: I always try for 8h bc otherwise I’m a zombie, but it doesn’t always work out so... I’m a part-time zombie anyway lmao

14. Dog or cat person: ISN’T THE PIC PROOF ENOUGH THAT I LOVE MY FURRY DOGGO SON

15. Favorite fictional character: victor nikiforov. that’s it. that’s all. we can all go home now

16. Number of blankets you sleep with: 1 + a duvet bc I like being cosy

17. Dream trip: japan, always. but another one would be a trip to the harry potter universal store or the noble collection store I guess

18. Blog created: who even remembers this pffff (somewhen in august 2011 I think)

19. Number of followers: I’m just gonna say it’s a four number figure ;3c

20. Random fact: I’m currently rewatching lord of the rings and procrastinating writing so YES I’M A NERD AND A BAD PERSON AHAHA //sweats

tagged by @story-kat -- thanks love, I actually really like these so it was great fun to do 💕

Rules: using only song titles from one artist/band, cleverly answer the questions and then tag people

artist/band: one ok rock

what is your gender: stuck in the middle

how do you feel: jaded

if you could go anywhere: start again

favorite mode of transportation: mighty long fall

your best friend: wherever you are

favorite time of day: taking off

if your life was a tv show: liar

relationship status: hard to love

your fear: bombs away

tagged by @endlesscloudsoftime, thanks again!! ahaha I feel like I’ll be saying this a lot today, but you spoil me /)u(\

Rules: tag 9 people you want to know better or just because you feel like it.

Relationship status: taken ;3c

Favorite color: any pastels, really

Last song I listened to: still the lord of the rings ost

Last movie I watched: lord of the rings lol two towers ^u^)b

Top 3 tv shows: game of thrones (bc I love my fantasy shit), rein (bc I love my history shit), and american housewife (bc I love laughing and this show is Hilarious with the capital H)

Top 3 characters: victor nikiforov bc I adore him, hinata shouyou bc he’s my sunshine son and I gotta mention miyuki kazuya bc his smirks still keep me awake at night 😍😍😍

What I’m currently reading: honestly? my own writes bc I have no time for anything other than editing orz

tagged by @themayflynans and @endlesscloudsoftime, thank you both!! 💕

A - Age: 26

B - Birthplace: poland

C - Current time: 11:50am

D - Drink you last had: just some coke

E - Easiest person to talk to: nowadays it’s gotta be @saniika and @and-then-yoi-happened bc I know I can be as salty and upset as I feel when I talk to them and that it’s alright to just let it all out which is something I wish for everyone to have 💕

F - Favourite song: don’t have one tbh

G - Grossest memory: back in elementary school my class was in warsaw to see the big zoo there and one of the chimpanzees just projectile shat all over our teacher and it was simultaneously the most awesome and the fucking WORST bc she smelled like shit the whole trip back home ugh

H - Horror yes or horror no: depends on what kind of horror but generally? meh

I - In love?: no idea tbh but definitely comfortable in my relationship

J - Jealous of people?: you’ve no idea. jelly and bitter.

L - Love at first sight or should i walk by again?: walk by and actually tell me you’re interested bc I’m a blind pan who is easily confused

M - Middle name: magdalena ;3c

N - Number of siblings: 0

O - One wish: Been keeping Salty’s answers here - yes, to learn to love myself.

P - Person you called last: my mom lol she’s the only one I call, really

Q - Question you are always asked: "so when will you start looking for a job?”

R - Reason to smile: VICTUURI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

S - Song you sang last: oh man I don’t even remember, I don’t really sing out loud

T - Time you woke up: these days? 6:30am

U - Underwear colour: sea green-blue, turquoise?

V - Vacation destination: I’m going to japan next year to see ice adolescence even if it kills me

W - Worst habit: biting the inside of my cheeks bloody

X - X-rays: my hand when I had a small accident playing badminton, my jaw for my braces

Y - Your favourite food: PIZZA HELLO

Z - Zodiac sign: gemini ;3c

tagged by @theexitgarden and @endlesscloudsoftime, bless you both and thank you for thinking of the old me 💕

1st RULE: Tag 9 people you want to get to know better:

we’ll be skipping this one bc of reasons //sweats

2nd RULE: BOLD the statements that are true.

APPEARANCE: - I am 5'7 or taller - I wear glasses - I have at least one tattoo -I have at least one piercing - I have blonde hair - I have brown eyes - I have short hair - My abs are at least somewhat defined - I have or had braces

PERSONALITY: - I love meeting new people - People tell me I am funny - Helping others with their problems is a big priority of mine - I enjoy physical challenges - I enjoy mental challenges - I am playfully rude to people I know - I started saying something ironically and now I can’t stop saying it - There is something I would change about my personality

ABILITY: - I can sing well - I can play an instrument - I can do over 30 pushups without stopping - I am a fast runner - I can draw well - I have a good memory- I am good at doing math in my head - I can hold my breath underwater for over a minute - I have beaten at least 2 people arm wrestling - I can make at least 3 recipes from scratch - I know how to throw a proper punch

HOBBIES: - I enjoy sports - I’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else - I’m in a orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else - I have learned a new song in the past week - I exercise at least once a week - I have gone for runs at least once a week in warmer months - I have drawn something in the past month - I enjoy writing - Fandoms are my #1 priority- I do some form of Martial arts

EXPERIENCES: - I have had my first kiss - I have had alcohol - I have scored a winning point in a sport - I have watched an entire TV series in one sitting - I have been at an overnight event - I have been in a taxi - I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year - I have beaten a video game in one day - I have visited another country - I have been to one of my favorite bands concert

MY LIFE: - I have one person that I consider to be my Best Friend - I live close to my school/work - My parents are still together - I have at least one sibling- I live in the United States - There is snow where I live right now - I have hung out with a friend in the past month - I have a smartphone - I own at least 15 CDs - I share my room with someone

RELATIONSHIPS: - I am in a relationship - I have a crush on a celebrity - I have a crush on someone I know - I’ve been in at least 3 relationships - I have never been in a relationship - I have admitted my feelings to a crush - I get crushes easily - I have had a crush for over a year - I have been in a relationship for over a year - I have had feelings for a friend

RANDOM: - I have break-danced - I know a person named Jamie - I have had a teacher that has a name that is hard to pronounce - I have dyed my hair - I’m listening to a song on repeat right now - I have punched someone in the past week - I know someone who has gone to jail - I have broken a bone - I have eaten a waffle today - I know what I want to do in life - I speak at least two languages - I have made a new friend in the past year

tagged by @story-kat and @endlesscloudsoftime (astea m’dude ur tagging me in everything and I love you for it)

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG(S) TO SING?

I will most often hum or mouth lyrics when I’m writing and my brain gets distracted so it usually is some sort of acoustic cover of a rather popular song, like despacito? lol WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE FLOWER/TREE/PLANT?

I don’t have one tbh FAVOURITE COLOURS?

anything pastel!! WHAT DO YOU ALWAYS DOODLE?

I don’t anymore but it used to be some random squigglies??

HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR COFFEE/TEA?

2.5 teaspoon of sugar into both + 1/4 milk/cream into the coffee and 1/4 cold water into the tea FAVOURITE CANDLE SCENT?

SWEET CANDIES FROM YANKEE CANDLE. BURY ME IN THIS. SUNRISE OR SUNSET?

sunrise bc I don’t even see sunsets anymore (I’m asleep then lol) WHAT PERFUME DO YOU WEAR?

the original chloe is what I like most but I would die for dior’s j’adore, it’s so nice 😍😍😍 in the summer I’m wearing masaki’s fluo tho bc it’s sweet and summery

WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO DANCE MOVE WHEN YOU’RE ALONE?

butt wiggling? maybe? idk man I never really thought about it? lol FAVOURITE QUOTE?

“Because people don’t have wings, we look for other ways to fly.” -- somehow this one always sticks with me bc it’s so beautiful and vivid that you’d never say it’s from a japanese cartoon lmao

FAVOURITE SELF CARE ROUTINE(S)?

sleeping, kicking back and watching some dumb movie that won’t make me think of anything but how dumb it is

FUZZY SOCKS OR HOUSE SLIPPERS?

both? I like fuzzy socks in winter but in summer I go barefoot but sometimes u gotta have something between your skin and the floor so = slippers WHAT COLOUR ARE YOUR EYES?

brown

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE EYE COLOUR ON OTHERS?

I don’t honestly care but blue eyes when they’re very light creep me out somehow FAVOURITE SEASON? WHY?

don’t have one but as long as it’s not too hot or too cold I’m good NECK, CHEEK, OR NOSE KISSES?

depends on what you want to achieve? neck kisses will have me melting, cheek kisses smile and nose kisses giggle and possibly blush so YEA THERE’S THAT

WHAT DOES YOUR HAPPY PLACE LOOK LIKE?

it’s my room. that’s it. this is my happy place

FAVOURITE BREED OF DOG?

ANY DOGGO IS A GOOD DOGGO AS LONG AS IT’S NOT THOSE SMOL ONES WHO BITE UR ANKLES FOR NO REASON DO YOU EVER WANT TO BE MARRIED?

idk, I mean yes I’d like to be married one day but I’m not really in any hurry to get there? CURSIVE OR PRINT?

I don’t honestly care

FAVOURITE WEATHER?

cloudy but not too cold

tagged by @story-kat, thanks for the tag babe!!

Rules: bold what you prefer and tag 10 people.

coffee or tea

early bird or night owl

chocolate or vanilla

spring or fall

silver or gold (BOTH! BOTH IS GOOD)

pop or alternative

freckles or dimples

snakes or sharks

mountains or fields

thunderstorm or lightning

Egyptian or Greek mythology

ivory or scarlet

flute or lyre

eyes or lips

witch or fairy

opal or diamond

butterflies or honeybees

macaroons or eclairs

typewritten or handwritten letters

secret garden or secret library

rooftop or balcony

spicy or mild

opera or ballet

London or Paris

Vincent van Gogh or Claude Monet

denim or leather

potions or spells

ocean or desert

mermaid or siren

masquerade ball or cocktail party

tagged by @endlesscloudsoftime, thanks for this omg I actually wanted to do this one!! 💕💕

THE AO3 TAG GAME:

WHAT IS YOUR TOTAL WORD COUNT ON AO3?

869 938! holy sheet I’m so close to 1mil???? wowowow o.O

HOW OFTEN DO YOU WRITE?

I try to write every day, but these days (with renovations going on and my sleeping schedule all fucked up) it’s really hard to find the time and focus to do it orz

DO YOU HAVE A ROUTINE FOR WRITING?

I actually do! or I did when I was still regularly writing lol it was something like this: cracking open an energy drink, lighting up my fav scented candle, booting up itunes and my writing playlist and generally just spending 5-6h just writing 💕

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE KINKS/TROPES/PAIRING?

kinks: pet play, public or semi-public play, voyeurism, doggy style, also actually BOTTOM VITYA,

tropes: reverse au, time travel, famous aus,

pairing: victuuri. no seconds. we die like man and only stan one (1) gay ship

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE FIC OF YOURS?

I don’t necessarily have an absolute fav but a fic that I still remember fondly and am beyond sad that got little to no attention is: if there’s a will, there’s a way bc I worked my ass off for it and I love every bit of it so? give it a read if you want to?

YOUR FIC WITH THE MOST KUDOS?

dazzle me with gold which will be getting an update this weekend ;3c

ANYTHING YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOUR WRITING?

recently? everything. I’m just broken and idk how to fix it bc I can’t even find a good moment to try so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

NOW SOMETHING YOU DO LIKE (ABOUT YOUR WRITING)?

how sweet and soft everything is when I’m in a good mood bc victuuri deserves this kind of love and I’m so happy writing it for them 🙏🙏🙏

tagged by @amaanogawa, thanks so much ems!!!

1) How many works in progress to do you currently have in progress?

one actual wip and like... 5 more that just sit and wait their turn? //sweats

2) Do you/would you write fan fiction?

rip that’s all I write too... tbh I used to write original fiction before but I find myself much less constricted by fanfic? I can explore the characters here more than I can in original fiction where worldbuilding takes most effort

3) Do you prefer paper books or ebooks?

oh definitely paper! if I could I’d buy printed out fanfic too!

4) When did you start writing?

I was about 12 I think? it all started with harry potter, like everything else has, and I regret not a second of it!

5) Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with?

sometimes when i get very excited about what i’m writing i’ll tell my fandom friends about the specific AU that i’m writing about but in terms of reading the full length fic, i don’t have anyone that i let read before anyone else. it’ll be on ao3 for everyone at the same time.

6) Where is your favourite place to write?

my desk, my pc. I can write on my phone but I like to edit as I go and it’s hard to do on the phone.

7) Favourite childhood book?

do I even need to say it? harry potter

8) Writing for fun or writing for publication?

for fun, but with the aim of possible future publication maybe?

9) Pen and paper or computer?

always computer. i have only recently begun writing fics on my phone because i’ve been traveling a lot and i don’t always have my laptop on my person, but it’s still much more comfortable to sit down and type on a proper keyboard.

10) Have you ever taken any writing classes?

at my uni, yes. and it completely sucked bc they didn’t teach anything, just had us write random shit for 3 years so eh

11) What inspires you to write?

everything? like, any random thing or thought I’m instantly trying to weave into my writing, turn it into a prompt. every new experience is just a basis for me to write on.

but if you’re asking WHY I write: I don’t even know, I’ve never thought about it? it’s kind of like asking why I breathe ahaha I just do? it’s a part of me? idk man idk

tagged by @themayflynans, thanks for this love!!

7/7/7 tag

The rules are as follows: Go to page 7 of your WIP, go to the seventh line, share seven sentences, and tag 7 more writer-bloggers to continue the challenge.

oh wow ok this is a difficult one bc I don’t think I even have a wip 7 pages long //sweats let me see... aha, okay, I found one! from back in march when I asked people to send me over some numbers for one of those writing memes and @theexitgarden I believe (??) sent me the prompt “I don’t think anyone could be as lovely as you” for victuuri and I kind of got a blind!victor au from it?? wELP here’s the fragment of it:

His music is vibrant in a way that he couldn't play on his piano alone and the clap of the blades that he can hear from the speakers of his TV makes him only more certain – this boy, Yuuri Katsuki, is skating to the sound of Victor's soul as if it's his own.

He never notices the tears that well up in his eyes until they roll down his cheeks and Makkachin presses against his side, whimpering in concern. Victor runs a trembling hand through her soft fur and takes a deep breath. And then, he decides.

"Yasha," he says when his former coach, his father in all but blood picks up Victor’s call. "I want to do this."

And he does it.

tagged by @endlesscloudsoftime again, boy you spoil me ahaha

1. Which fictional character would be the most boring to meet in real life?

I have no idea tbh bc even the characters I don’t like wouldn’t be exactly boring, so??? I honestly don’t know

2. What problem or situation did TV / movies make you think would be common, but when you grew up you found out it wasn’t? (i’m lowkey taking a jab at hsm because thanks Disney for making me think high school would be awesome)

hooking up with people ALL THE TIME when you’re in your 20s bc wtf what a bold-faced lie omg

3. What would be on the gag reel of your life?

"how many times can kat click her tongue at random strangers who piss her off by breathing the same air?” and a manip of all the eyerolls I do bc let me tell you... THERE’S A LOT

4. What does “infinite” mean to you?

my love for victor nikiforov

5. If your life was a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?

definitely lots of acoustic vibes and harry potter tunes and I can bet your ass that I’d have the yeah yeah yeah ost from yoi bc it’s such a banger and I LOVE IT but also dramatic classical violin and piano bc they pull on my heart and I am weak

6. What item would be your top choice to make into a horcrux?

honestly? my phone probably. I don’t necessarily have other things close to me that I’d use with enough heart to be of any significance to me

7. Who would play you in a movie about your life?

??? no idea lol I’d love for it to be katherine mcnamara bc 1) we share names, 2) her red hair is gorgeous and I’m a redhead, 3) SHE is gorgeous and I’d love to be portrayed by someone that hot 😍😍😍

8. Most relatable scene from any book/movie/anime/etc.?

yuuri’s little gasp when he first saw victor skating bc HARD SAME MY SWEET SON HARD SAME

9. If you were shrunk down and somehow got stuck in a blender, how would you get out?

I’d jump from side to side of it to try and rock it a bit and see if I can flip it over and get out that way? idk man what is this question lol

10. Would you count manga as a piece of literature? Why or why not?

ofc I would? honestly, some manga have even better storylines than written fiction why WOULDN’T it be counted as a piece of literature

11. compliment yourself. (joey, you’re just to freaking good to at making up questions).

oh man... //sweats umm??? good job me on not breaking down yet bc the renovations keep being awful and you’re handling it well?? maybe lol

tagged by @theexitgarden, thanks love, once more!

RULES: Choose any three fandoms (in random order) and answer the questions, then tag 10 people you want to know better.

Three Fandoms:

Yuri!!! on Ice

Ace of Diamond

Haikyuu!!

The First Character You Loved:

victor. he’s voiced by suwajun, do I really need to say more?

miyuki!! gosh I do love my asshole sons snarky and mean

hinata bc he’s a ray of sunshine and I even named my doggo after him 💕

The Character You Never Expected To Love So Much:

I gotta copy you garden bc chris took me by surprise too! my love for him started from that little sad look he gave us in the kiss and cry and it blossomed beautifully over time ahhh

sanada omg?? he is literally baseball kuroo so I was not expecting it but I fully embraced it lmao

iwaizumi bc I’m not one to like the mothering types but he’s??? actually so kind and sweet under all that harsh Manly facade it’s so cute

The Character You Relate To The Most:

victor, I’d say, or so I like to think

honestly? miyuki. just look at my url lol

oikawa, probably...

The Character You’d Slap:

I wouldn’t actually, but yurio deserves a good kick on the butt

um??? kataoka? bc TF U MEAN U DON’T KNOW WHO THE ACE SHOULD BE WE KNEW IT FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER YOU DUMBASS

early tsukki bc he’s could use it tbqh

Three Favorite Characters (in order of preference):

victor, yuuri, chris

miyuki, eijun, mei

hinata, kuroo, oikawa

A Character You Liked At First, But Don’t Anymore:

no one like that in yoi tbh, my love is only growing

kataoka lol

umm???? idk

A Character You Didn’t Like At First But Do Now:

seung-gil, I’d say. he grew on me lol

raichi, I guess??

to say tsukki, I’d have to actually like him now but it’s more difficult than that bc I didn’t like him at first but now can tolerate him so?? does it count?

Three OTPs:

victuuri, phichimetti, and the third would be very problematic bc I honestly don’t ship anything else in yoi?

miyusawa, chrisawa, sanasawa

KUROHINA YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND, oihina, bokuhina

tagged by @sleep-furiously, thanks for the tag, love!!

post five facts about myself ❤

I have a sweet doggo who is the light of my life 💕

I write good shit sometimes

I believe I have good taste

I’m a snark machine when certain buttons are pressed

patience levels run at 0%

wow ok this was A LOT to go through and it took me like 3h to do this holy sheet but at least I had fun and now I have my firefox bookmark free so that’s awesome ahhh!! thanks so much again to everyone for the tags, you guys are amazing and I’m lucky to have you 💕💕💕💕

#tag game #I actually love this banner??#it's a quick one but I love it #I'm a pastel bunny at heart who knew #but BOY IS THERE A LOT OF ANSWERS UNDER THE CUT #HOOOOLY SHEET #I'm beat #but it was fun ngl #thank you for the tags!!

21 notes · View notes

j0sgomez-blog · 5 years

Photo

Hi Michael,

My son Matt and I (age 35 and 65) will be hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim (r2r2r) in May as a continuous ultra-hike. This will be the farthest we’ve ever hiked in a day (42 to 47 miles, depending on the route), and we’re excited. Since you have done this hike in a day, we’d appreciate your advice. Do you plan your rest periods? What about pace? On a recent 30-mile hike with rolling hills in Maryland, we averaged about 3.3 miles per hour. Should we expect a slower pace on the r2r2r? What else do we need to know?

We have hiked in the Grand Canyon probably a half-dozen times and have done rim-to-rim (r2r) three times during the last 10 years or so. We are familiar with the potential temperature variations and know to plan carefully around calorie intake, hydration, and electrolyte replacement.

Although they’re not desert environments, we have dayhiked eight or so 14ers in Colorado, plus done hikes in northern New Mexico (Wheeler Peak), the Tetons in Wyoming, and extensively in Glacier National Park. Most of these dayhikes have been in the eight- to 20-mile range, with early-morning starts by headlamp.

In prepping for r2r2r, Matt and I put in three- to four-hour hikes every Saturday (12 to 15 miles) with weighted packs (up to 45 pounds), plus consistent cardio, core, and weight work throughout the week. Over the last three or four months, we have done two local 20-milers and a nearly 30-miler over rolling terrain. We’ll do another 30-miler about a month before our Grand Canyon date.

As to what we’ll carry, our overall intention is to go as light as we possibly can. On the Grand Canyon corridor trails, there is water every seven miles or so—Phantom Ranch, Cottonwood Canyon, North Rim, and a few places on the Bright Angel Trail. We’ll carry enough water to get us from one source to the next, plus enough for contingencies. We intend to use Hammer Nutrition’s product called Perpetuem for most of our calories, so we’ll carry powder to mix with water along the way. We likely will carry a bar or two plus a few gels as well. Beyond that, we’ll each probably bring a light windbreaker and a long-sleeve shirt.

I’ll also throw in a multi-tool and carry a satellite locator with GEOS capability—just in case.

That’s it! Any thoughts you have are welcome and appreciated.

Best, George Columbia, MD

My wife, Penny, hiking the North Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon.

Hi George,

Yes, I have hiked the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim in one day and over two days, and I have plans to return next fall to attempt to run rim-to-rim-to-rim (r2r2r)—42 miles and over 21,000 vertical feet—in one day.

My downloadable e-guide “Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in a Day” offers expert tips specific to the unique challenges of successfully and safely hiking or trail running rim to rim in a day, including preparing for it, the ideal seasonal windows, tips on strategy and direction to hike, gear, and all possible hiking itineraries combining the North Kaibab, South Kaibab, and Bright Angel trails.

It’s good that you’re already familiar with the Grand Canyon environment and the trails you’ll hike doing the rim to rim to rim (the North Kaibab and either the South Kaibab or the Bright Angel), and it sounds like you’re training seriously. I’ll focus on your questions and point out what I believe are key issues and strategies to think about.

Hi, I’m Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside, which has made several top outdoors blog lists. Click here to sign up for my FREE email newsletter. Subscribe now to get full access to all of my blog’s stories. Click here to learn how I can help you plan your next trip. Please follow my adventures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

But you can also see my training tips in my stories “Training For a Big Hike or Mountain Climb” and “Cranking Out Big Days: How to Ramp Up Your Hikes and Trail Runs,” as well as my feature stories “Fit to be Tired: Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in a Day” and “April Fools: Dayhiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim” about my r2r2r, which both provide some info on how to plan this hike, but not nearly as much detail as my e-guide to hiking rim to rim.

Regarding pace and managing your time, my ultra-hiking friends and I often try to cover eight to nine miles every three hours, and the longer the hike—meaning anything over about 20 miles—the more diligent we are about managing our pace and staying on schedule. We take a roughly 20-minute break every three hours to cool off, eat, refill/treat water, bathroom stop, and take care of our feet (remove shoes and socks to cool and dry them; taping and blister treatment if needed).

Click here now for my expert e-guide to hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim!

Hiking the South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon.

Even at that rate, those stops add up to significant time over the course of a huge hike like the r2r2r, so you have to keep track of time and be efficient. By later in the day, it’s easy to lose track of time and not force yourself to get up and move soon enough; and of course, by later in the day, muscles may be starting to stiffen up, and stopping too long can exacerbate that. There’s just two of you, so fewer people to have a slowing effect on the group. Still, you don’t have to both stop just because one person has to pee.

Retaping feet at the North Rim, mid-r2r2r.

As for feet, I tape pre-emptively to help prevent blisters on ultra-hikes—even though I almost never actually get blisters on hikes of moderate distances. You’re going to take something on the order of 110,000 steps that day—that’s a whole lot of cumulative friction. I put two or three overlapping strips of athletic tape around my heels. If my toes develop hot spots, I’ll tape them immediately, before they develop blisters. We carry tape and often reapply it multiple times during the day; but athletic tape stays in place pretty well even when feet get sweaty.

I always wear highly breathable but reasonably supportive, lightweight, low-cut hiking shoes or trail runners. In the Grand Canyon, you don’t need waterproof shoes, you need shoes with mesh uppers and no membrane so they’re very breathable. See my reviews of some favorite lightweight hiking shoes, including the La Sportiva TX3, Scarpa Epic Lite, and Brooks Cascadia 12.

Use trekking poles, they’re critical on such a huge day. See my reviews of trekking poles. I’d recommended an ultralight model like the BD Distance Carbon Z or the Ultimate Direction FK Trekking Pole (which I’m field testing now and plan to review).

Get the right daypack for hikes like the Grand Canyon. See my “Gear Review: The 7 Best Hiking Daypacks.”

Assuming it’ll be as hot as it can be at that time of year, think about the r2r2r in terms of where you’ll be at the hottest hours of the day—or when you’ll encounter the heat based on where you’ll be at various times of day. We started in the dark (around 5:30am) on the South Kaibab Trail, the most direct route to the bottom and truly an absolutely beautiful trail to descend when the sun’s rising, because you’re constantly looking out over the canyon.

My wife, Penny, hiking the upper South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon.

Even taking time for some photos, we reached the river in under 2.5 hours, partly because the trail is so good. Get some memorable photos, but get down to the bottom early and start ascending the other side before the heat starts building. We did the r2r2r on April 2, a time of year when we the initial few miles of the North Kaibab Trail—beneath the sheer, close walls of the canyon’s Inner Gorge—remain shaded and cool. In May, with the sun higher in the sky, you could get direct sunlight earlier in the Inner Gorge, and that will raise temps very quickly in there. Fortunately, you’re beside the creek and it’s gorgeous hiking.

In all likelihood, the hottest part of your entire day will be when you emerge from the Inner Gorge into the wide-open middle miles of Bright Angel Canyon—before and beyond Cottonwood camp. You’ll get there around mid- to late morning, as the temperature’s rising quickly, and have several miles of hot sun with little shade. Once you turn the corner into Roaring Springs Canyon on the North Kaibab Trail (at the Manzanita Rest Area), you’ll get shade again at some point because the trail hugs the cliff on the southwest wall of that canyon. The upper North Kaibab Trail reaches forest and cooler elevations. By the time you’re back down in that open middle section of Bright Angel Canyon, it will be hours later, probably evening—although in May it certainly could still be hot.

Plan clothing using the same way of thinking that I outlined above. In early April, we started and finished the r2r2r in strong, cold winds in early morning and later evening. But on that 17-hour day, I was only cold the first half-hour (or less) at the outset, hiking downhill in the dark in that wind. We were plenty warm enough hiking back up the South Kaibab in the dark with essentially the same wind and temps, wearing just a T-shirt, long-sleeve layer, and wind shell. If I had carried any more clothing than that, I would literally have just carried it most of the day after the first half-hour.

Want more? See “The 20 Best National Park Dayhikes” and “Extreme Hiking: America’s Best Hard Dayhikes.”

David Ports hiking the lower North Kaibab Trail.

Unless the forecast is for unusually chilly temps, I’d only bring the minimal layers described above (probably also a warm hat and light gloves), in addition to a wide-brim sun hat. If you stop to rest in the lower canyon, it will likely be warm, even at night. See my review of the best ultralight hiking jackets and my “Review: The Best Base Layers for Hiking, Running, and Training.”

Carry a 3-oz. emergency bivy sack, just in case you’re forced to stop. We figured that our likely worst-case scenario was that one or more of us would just feel too wrecked to continue, find a place to crash on the ground for a few hours, not expecting much sleep, but enough to eventually get up and continue. That obviously presumes a high degree of experience in this environment, and self-sufficiency, to avoid a serious accident or emergency.

I think your water plan is smart. At a strong pace, you’ll reach water sources in intervals of three hours or less, so you likely don’t need to carry more than two liters at any time. Check with the backcountry office about water sources right before your hike. I always drink a lot at water sources, to fully hydrate myself before I start walking, reducing the amount of water I need to carry.

But I’ll tell you about one interesting situation we encountered on our r2r2r: It’s possible to get a case of hyponatremia, where your body takes in more water than it can absorb. (Basically, it happens when your body lacks enough sodium/electrolytes to bond with water molecules, so you end up just urinating the water out rather than your body putting it to use.) One of my friends on our r2r2r peed about 45 times—yes, he counted—about once per mile. He didn’t have any bad side effects, but keep in mind the possibility of actually over-drinking and not consuming enough sodium/electrolytes, especially in cool temperatures.

Do this trip smartly and safely. Get my expert e-guide to dayhiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim

or my expert e-guide to backpacking the Grand Canyon rim to rim.

David Ports hiking up the Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon.

Regarding your nutrition plan: I haven’t used Perpetuem. If it works for you, great. I’ll just say that my experience on really long hikes is that, especially in heat, my stomach and G.I. system can get a little upset (as happened to me on an attempted 50-mile dayhike across Zion). You’re just really overtaxing your body. I also find that I have a tolerance ceiling for sweet foods (like chocolate), or energy bars, and some other foods.

A man needs about 250 calories per hour in endurance events. Experiment with the sorts of foods you like eating on the trail, but I like to include a diverse blend of sweet and salty—the latter particularly important to replace sodium your body’s losing. I carry foods like nuts, sandwiches, dried fruit, candy, and I plan on eating upwards of 4,000 calories. Real food is heavier than powder, granted, but some variety may enable you to actually stomach what you need to consume, especially in the last hours of the day, when you’re most depleted and may find your appetite depressed if you don’t feel great. I also keep snacks within reach while hiking, so that I’m regularly ingesting calories in small amounts. (I like dried mangoes, which are high in calories per ounce.)

Check out my “Gear Review: The 7 Best Hiking Daypacks,” as well as my “8 Pro Tips For Avoiding Blisters,” including the really helpful reader comments at the bottom of that story, and my “10 Tricks For Making Hiking and Backpacking Easier.” And see all of my stories about the Grand Canyon by scrolling down to Grand Canyon on my All National Parks Trips page.

Good luck. I’d love to hear how it goes for you.

Best, Michael

Tell me what you think.

I spent a lot of time writing this story, so if you enjoyed it, please consider giving it a share using one of the buttons below, and leave a comment or question at the bottom of this story. I’d really appreciate it.

Hi Michael,

My son Matt and I completed our r2r2r hike. We started at 3:35 p.m. on Thursday (5/19) down the South Kaibab Trail (beautiful and steep). We got to the North Rim at about 1:15 a.m. and finished on Friday coming up the Bright Angel trail at about 12:30 p.m.

It was a long day and a heck of a lot of hiking. We had great weather throughout. (It was only about 90 degrees at Phantom Ranch.) The toughest part for me was the last 4.5 miles from Indian Garden up the Bright Angel Trail to the South Rim.

A big lesson for me is that no matter how hard you train, age makes a difference and one has to take that into account. (I’m 65 and my son is 35.)

Click here now for my expert e-guide to hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim!

In the end, other than fatigue, we handled the hike well.

Just as an FYI, Hammer Nutrition has a bunch of products for calories, supplements and electrolytes specifically for endurance activities—including detailed usage guidance. My sons and I have found their stuff to be excellent.

We both appreciated your thoughtful advice. Best of luck with your outdoor blog. It’s quite good.

Thanks again, George

I can help you plan the best backpacking, hiking, or family adventure of your life.

Got questions about hiking, backpacking, planning a family adventure, or any trip I’ve written about at The Big Outside? Email me at [email protected]. I’ll answer your questions to help ensure your trip is a success. See my Ask Me page for details.

—Michael Lanza

You live for the outdoors. The Big Outside helps you get out there. Subscribe now and a get free e-guide!

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iridescent-ren · 7 years

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Tag games~

I have a lot to catch up on so i’m gonna just do a bunch and you guys can do whatever you feel like :D HALF OF THESE HAVE BEEN LEFT FOR LIKE A YEAR IM SORRY

Basically if u tagged me in one of these u can do any of the others, and anyone can do anything :’D Thankyou so much for tagging me aaaaa

10/10! Tagged by @naluloverforever thankyou!!!

Rules: List ten of your favorite characters from ten different fandoms and tag ten others.

Kuro - Servamp Juvia - Fairy tail Kageyama - Haikyuu!! Nishimiya - Koe no katachi 707 - Mystic Messenger Natsukage - 1bitheart Tokaku - Akuma no riddle Jisoo - Blackpink Tzuyu - Twice Bungou stray dogs - Dazai

Music playlist tag! Tagged by @mizu-sakuya-ocd Thankyou so much!! I’m sorry its beens years :’D

Rules: Put your playlist on shuffle and write the first 10 songs that play, then tag ten mutuals

1. Set it off - plastic promises 2. Twice - headphones 3. Bts - Boy in luv 4. Twice - Cheer up 5. Blackpink - Whistle 6. Set it off - wolf in sheeps clothing 7. Twice - Signal 8. 3OH!3 - Don’t trust me 9. Icon for hire - You can’t kill us 10. Hollywood undead - Believe

A-Z Tag game!! Tagged by @memekoe and @catslab thankyou!!!! :D

A - Age: 14 B - Biggest fear(s): probably inconveniencing people i love C - Current time: 6.40pm o: D - Drink you last had: i think it was coke :,) E - Everyday starts with: Me waking up and checking skype :,) F - Favourite song: Stay by twice !! G - Ghosts, are they real?: I’d like to think so H - Hometown: Ryde! I - In love with: my gf jedjkdke eeee J - Jealous of: Everyone p much K - Killed someone: not irl XD L - Last time you cried: pretty recently bc of test stress actually M - Middle name: Alexandria N - Number of sibling(s): 1 brother and 2 step brothers o: O - One wish: I want to be good looking i guess P - Person I last called/texted: My mum Q - Questions you’re always asked: ISNT IT TOO HOT TO BE WEARING THAT??? NO FUCK YOU I WEAR WHAT I WANT ITS COMFY R - Reason to smile: My friends! <3 S - Song last sang: I cant sing XD T - Time you woke up: 6am U - Underwear colour: grey???? V - Vacation destination: BRISBANE SO I CAN MEET MAHI :DD W - Worst habit: complains abt being tired too much X - X-rays you had: dont remember o: Y - Your favorite food: Subway probably lol or nuggets

Z - Zodiac: Pisces!

20/20 Tag game! Tagged by @lawlicht4eva aAAA THANK UUUU <33

Name: Astra!

Nicknames: Satan

Zodiac sign: Pisces

Height: dont know :,) tall

Orientation: GAYYYYYYY

Nationality: Australian

Favourite Fruit: mangos o:

Favourite season: spring :D

Favourite Book: UH DOES FANFIC COUNT : , D

Favourite flower: ?????

Favourite scent: instant noodles

Favourite Colour: blue o:

Favourite Animal: Snakess

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: hot chocolate o:

Average amount of sleep: 5 or so hours o:

Cat or dog: uh both :,)

Favourite Fictional Character: Kuro :, )

Number of blankets you sleep with: 1

Dream trip: MY BED

Blog created:2015 sometime :,)

Number of followers: can’t remembe

Bold what applied to you! Tagged by @nukanell thank u nelelel

APPEARANCE:I am 5′7″ or taller

I wear glasses I have at least one tattoo I have at least one piercing. I have blonde hair I have brown eyes I have short hair My abs are at least somewhat defined I have or have had braces There is something I would change about the way I look PERSONALITY:My Hogwarts house is: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin I am an introvert I like meeting new people People tell me that I’m funny Helping others with their problems is a big priority for me I enjoy physical challenges I enjoy mental challenges I’m playfully rude with people I know well I started saying something ironically and now I can’t stop saying it There is something I would change about my personality ABILITY:I can sing I can play an instrument I can do over 30 pushups without stopping I’m a fast runner I can draw well I have a good memory I’m good at doing math in my head I can hold my breath underwater for over a minute I have beaten at least 2 people in arm wrestling I know how to cook at least 3 meals from scratch I know how to throw a proper punch HOBBIES:I enjoy playing sports I’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else I’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else I have learned a new song in the past week I work out at least once a week I’ve gone for runs at least once a week in the warmer months I have drawn something in the past month I enjoy writing Fandoms are my #1 passion I do or have done martial arts EXPERIENCES:I have had my first kiss I have had alcohol I have scored the winning goal in a sports game I have watched an entire season of a TV show in one sitting I have been at an overnight event I have been in a taxi I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year I have beaten a video game in one day I have visited another country I have been to one of my favourite band’s concerts RELATIONSHIP:I’m in a relationship I have a celebrity crush I have a crush on someone I know I have been in at least 3 relationships I have never been in a relationship I have asked someone out or admitted my feelings to them I get crushes easily I have had a crush on someone for over a year I have been in a relationship for at least a year I have had feelings for a friend MY LIFE:I have at least one person I consider a “best friend” I live close to my school My parents are still together I have at least one sibling I live in the United States There is snow right now where I live I have hung out with a friend outside of school in the past month I have a smartphone I have at least 15 CDs I share my room with someone RANDOM SHIT:I have breakdanced I know a person named Jamie I have had a teacher with a last name that’s hard to pronounce I have dyed my hair I’m listening to one song on repeat right now I have punched someone in the past week I know someone who has gone to jail I have broken a bone I have eaten a waffle today I know what I want to do with my life I speak at least 2 languages fluently I have made a new friend in the past year

4 notes · View notes

gizedcom · 4 years

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[BC-MCT-NEWS-BJT] | Nation/World | gazettextra.com

(TNS)

Tribune News Service

News Budget for Saturday, July 18, 2020

Updated at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 UTC).

Additional news stories appear on the MCT-NEWSFEATURES-BJT.

This budget is now available at TribuneNewsService.com, with direct links to stories and art. See details at the end of the budget.

^TOP STORIES<

^Tributes abound for Rep. John Lewis after the death of the civil rights giant<

LEWIS-TRIBUTES:LA — The death of civil rights icon John Lewis prompted an outpouring of tributes on Saturday, a combination of mournful praise and calls to action as the nation faces a fresh reckoning with persistent racism a half century after his pioneering protests for Black equality.

“Not many of us get to live to see our own legacy play out in such a meaningful, remarkable way. John Lewis did,” former President Obama said in a written tribute. “And thanks to him, we now all have our marching orders — to keep believing in the possibility of remaking this country we love until it lives up to its full promise.”

Lewis, 80, died of pancreatic cancer late Friday.

1000 by Janet Hook. MOVED

PHOTOS

^Q&A: What is herd immunity? And how do we get there on COVID-19?<

CORONAVIRUS-HERD-IMMUNITY-QA:TB — Add to the pandemic lexicon another once-obscure term that’s come into common usage: “herd immunity.”

Along with “flatten the curve,” “social distancing” and “super spreader,” it’s a phrase that prior to COVID-19 was casually uttered mainly by epidemiologists and public health officials. But while the meanings of those other terms are now clear to many, herd immunity is a concept that is more complex, more nuanced and often misunderstood, scientists say.

1550 (with trims) by Hal Dardick. MOVED

PHOTO, GRAPHIC

^CORONAVIRUS<

^If COVID-19 keeps spreading in South Florida, lockdown could be only weeks away<

CORONAVIRUS-FLA:FL — Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gim nez was caught by surprise of possible shutdown plans explored by the City of Miami.

With COVID-19 rocketing out of sight, South Florida’s government leaders are counting on minimal measures to bring it under control. But the threat of a return to lockdown is growing, and it could be only weeks away.

Shutting down is seen as a last resort, but a conceivable one

1150 (with trims) by Angie Dimichele, Mario Ariza, Rafael Olmeda And Eileen Kelley in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. MOVED

PHOTO

^POLITICS<

^How Miami plans to host an October presidential debate amid a coronavirus pandemic<

CAMPAIGN-DEBATE-MIAMI:MI — When President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden take the stage at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 15, they’ll be debating before a small and socially distanced audience, according to plans crafted by the host facility.

And everyone will be required to follow Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” rules for stopping the spread of the coronavirus — which currently includes wearing face coverings.

800 by Erin Doherty in Miami. MOVED

PHOTO

^Analysis: What it will take for Biden to keep his climate promise<

^CAMPAIGN-BIDEN-CLIMATE-ANALYSIS:BLO—<Joe Biden’s long-anticipated climate plan landed this week, and it contained big promises designed to please some of the presumptive Democratic nominee for president’s key constituencies. After four years of borderline denialism and regulatory rollbacks on climate by the Trump administration, the plan seemed to excite environmental advocates past the point of reality checks.

First, let’s parse the politics of the plan. It calls for $2 trillion of spending over the next four years on areas such as energy efficiency and mass transit, up from the $1.7 trillion Biden pledged to climate issues as a primary candidate.

Presidential platforms shouldn’t be judged as policy. Still, those looking at the Biden climate plan from a more technical perspective have raised serious questions about its feasibility.

600 by Leslie Kaufman. MOVED

PHOTO

^UNITED STATES <

^Attempt to topple Columbus statue in Chicago prompts standoff with police, arrests and rebuke of mayor<

CHICAGO-STATUE:TB — At least 1,000 people swarmed the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park on Friday evening in a failed attempt to topple it after a march turned tense and chaotic when some people began throwing fireworks and cans at the police, who in turn struck members of the crowd with batons.

Following a rally in support of Black and indigenous people, hundreds of protesters marched south on Columbus Drive shortly after 7 p.m. Then a person shouted that some Chicago police units, whom they had been trying to separate the crowd from by using bike-wielding citizen “marshals,” had left to protect the statue of the controversial historical figure.

700 by Alice Yin in Chicago. MOVED

ARCHIVE PHOTO

^Mystery of Ghislaine Maxwell’s wealth looms over sex-abuse case<

EPSTEIN-MAXWELL:BLO — The daughter of one extremely rich man and the longtime confidante of another, Ghislaine Maxwell has always enjoyed proximity to wealth. But how much money she has herself is a mystery.

Maxwell, who has pleaded not guilty to charges she recruited girls for sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, is spending the next year in jail in part because her “opaque” finances led the judge overseeing the case to conclude she was an extraordinary flight risk.

“At a basic level, the defense argument is that she cannot remember off the top of her head just how many millions of dollars she has,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said at Maxwell’s bail hearing this week.

950 by Patricia Hurtado and Sophie Alexander. MOVED

PHOTO

^THE WORLD<

^Iran hands over Ukrainian plane’s black boxes to Paris for analysis<

IRAN-PLANECRASH:DPA — After more than six months, Iran handed over to Paris the flight recorders of the Ukraine International Airlines flight that was mistakenly shot down by Iranian forces for analysis.

Analysis of the flight recorders is due to begin on Monday, Iranian vice foreign minister Mohsen Baharvand said on Saturday, according to news agency Ilna.

200 in Tehran. MOVED

ARCHIVE PHOTO

^Arson suspected in major fire at French cathedral in Nantes<

FRANCE-CATHEDRAL-FIRE:DPA — French prosecutors have launched an arson investigation following a major fire at a 15th century Gothic cathedral in the western city of Nantes on Saturday.

The blaze spewed smoke from the front windows of the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, but damage was mostly limited to the large pipe organ inside.

The organ was “completely destroyed,” said the head of the local fire department, Laurent Ferlay.

350 by Amelie Richter in Paris. MOVED

PHOTO

^SCIENCE, MEDICINE, ENVIRONMENT<

^Freeway project unearths a time when camels roamed San Diego<

SCI-SANDIEGO-CAMEL-FOSSILS:SD — Paleontologists will tell you that field work is a lot like fishing. Nothing happens for long periods of time. But you can’t catch anything if you don’t have your line in the water.

In San Diego, they’ve had their line in the water. Again.

At a freeway construction project in Otay Mesa, paleontologists have found fossils that may open a window into what this part of the world looked like about 15 million years ago.

950 (with trims) by John Wilkens in San Diego. MOVED

PHOTO

^WEEKEND STORIES<

These stories moved earlier in the week and remain suitable for publication.

^Kamala Harris made her mark confronting Joe Biden. Could they end up as running mates?<

^BIDEN-HARRIS:LA—<Kamala Harris was conflicted.

The California senator needed a big splash in the first Democratic presidential debate, and her main rival, front-runner Joe Biden, seemed to have teed up a perfect opportunity. Days earlier, at a New York City fundraiser, he reminisced of a bygone era in the Senate and his ability to work civilly alongside two segregationist lawmakers.

Harris, only the second Black woman ever to serve in the chamber, was deeply offended. But she also had warm feelings toward Biden, a friend and past political ally.

Her decision to call him to account before a national prime-time audience produced one of the most electric moments of the 2020 campaign and, more than a year later, continues to echo as the presumptive Democratic nominee chooses his vice presidential running mate. Harris is seen as a top contender.

1600 by Mark Z. Barabak and Melanie Mason. MOVED

PHOTO

^Meet the Youth Liberation Front behind a militant marathon of Portland protests<

PORTLAND-PROTESTS-GROUP:SE — Shortly before 1 a.m. on July 5, as protesters braced for more long hours on the streets in Oregon’s largest city, the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front took to Twitter with a stern declaration.

“Be like water, keep moving.

If you see someone smashing windows, shut the (expletive) up.

Walk, don’t run. Hold the front and back lines.”

Well after protests against police have faded in many American cities, the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front has emerged in Portland as a persistent militant voice, using social media to promote rallies, and offering tactical advice and commentary on gatherings that often have ended in confrontations with the police and arrests.

The conduct they champion has ignited a bitter debate about the direction these protests have taken in an ongoing drama that plays out nightly in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center and later in largely empty streets defined by block after block of boarded-up buildings.

2000 by Hal Bernton in Portland, Ore. MOVED

PHOTOS

^The 1918 flu hammered this Arizona mining town. Now a new scourge looms<

CORONAVIRUS-ARIZ-BISBEE-CORRECTION:LA — Mike Anderson waded through knee-high weeds as his index finger traced a path along a crinkled map of Evergreen Cemetery.

“They’ve got to be close,” the former newspaperman turned historian muttered.

He walked briskly down a row of headstones, his masked face sweating under the cloudless afternoon sky, until he spotted three slabs of granite whose death dates now echo back to a frightening moment here in southeastern Arizona.

Crane 1918. Henderson 1918. Carlson 1918.

Across several acres, you’ll find that year etched into many headstones — a reminder, Anderson said, of how the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 wiped away entire families and devastated the economy of this copper mining town.

1700 by Kurtis Lee in Bisbee, Ariz. MOVED

PHOTOS

^Conspiracy theories aside, here’s what contact tracers really do<

^CORONAVIRUS-TRACERS-EXPLAINER:KHN—<In the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, contact tracing is downright buzzy, and not always in a good way.

Contact tracing is the public health practice of informing people when they’ve been exposed to a contagious disease. As it has become more widely employed across the country, it has also become mired in modern political polarization and conspiracy theories.

Misinformation abounds, from tales that people who talk to contact tracers will be sent to nonexistent “FEMA camps” — a rumor so prevalent that health officials in Washington state had to put out a statement in May debunking it — to elaborate theories that the efforts are somehow part of a plot by global elites, such as the Clinton Foundation, Bill Gates or George Soros.

At the very least, such misinformation could hinder efforts to contain the virus, and at worst has sparked threats against tracers, say some observers, including the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a London-based organization that studies polarization.

1500 by Julie Appleby. MOVED

PHOTO

^Belt and Road reemerges in Pakistan with flurry of China deals<

^PAKISTAN-CHINA-PROJECTS:BLO—<China’s Belt and Road program has found new life in Pakistan with $11 billion worth of projects signed in the last month, driven by a former lieutenant general who has reinvigorated the infrastructure plan that’s been languishing since Prime Minister Imran Khan took office two years ago.

The nations signed deals on June 25 and July 6 for two hydro-power generation projects costing $3.9 billion in the disputed Kashmir region, and another to revamp the South Asian nation’s colonial-era railways for $7.2 billion — the most expensive Chinese project yet in Pakistan.

1000 by Faseeh Mangi. MOVED

PHOTO

^When the beach was off-limits to humans, a rare colony of seabirds found a place to nest<

ENV-FLA-BEACH-SEABIRDS:FL — When the humans left, the seabirds flocked home.

A rare colony of least terns, a threatened, federally protected seabird, landed on Deerfield Beach in March, when humans did not have access to the sand. This is the first southeast Florida nesting colony in decades and will probably be the last for years to come.

850 by Ramishah Maruf in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. MOVED

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itsworn · 5 years

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Just Right: 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T

The design of the Challenger is now 14 years old, and it’s a canvass for many owners to modify. Ray Oslowski has taken a subtle approach, adding a vinyl top and chrome accents to Michael Castiglione’s now timeless and iconic design with a cool, totally retro 1970s vibe.

Walking among the more than 2,000 cars displayed at this spring’s LX Fest, one could not help but be impressed by the width and breath of the ways that 2008-2019 Dodge Challenger owners have modified their cars. Some cars on display were essentially stock while other were over the top, riding in gigantic rolling stock and sporting wild paint and graphic schemes. So how does one stand out in such a field and catch the eyes of Mopar Muscle’s editors?

Sometime less is truly more, and a car sporting understated modifications is all that’s needed. That’s the case with this Inferno Red 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T owned by Ray Oslowski, president of the NorCal Challenger Club, of which has spawned several chapters covering Northern California and Western Nevada.

Ray has the typical car guy resume. He started working on cars with his uncle when he was just 15. “He helped me pinstripe and taught me the proper way to detail a car,” recalls Ray. “My first car was a red 1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z at age 16. In my 20s, I restored two different 1969 Plymouth Road Runners. In my 30s, I was into rock crawling on the Rubicon Trail and restored a 1974 Toyota FJ-40. In my 40s, I returned to my muscle cars roots — only this time with modern muscle, my 2010 Dodge Challenger. I purchased the car in November 2011 with 10,000 miles on it. I actually went to the dealer to purchase a different Challenger, but they made me a much better deal on this Inferno Red beauty. Over the years, I have traveled twice from Sacramento to Pomona for Spring Fest as well as cruising to Yosemite National Park several times, which is my father/daughter trip every year. I have drag raced it twice, and I have also driven it twice on a closed road course. It gets driven as currently the odometer shows just over 60,000 miles.”

What caught our eye when we walked every row at Spring Fest was not only the black vinyl top, but the chrome accents that made the car pop. Ray explains, “Early on I decided to go with the classic chrome theme. I bought rolls of chrome trim in several different sizes with double-stick tape from a local store that supplies the body shop trade. I applied it in the locations found on the original 1970-1974 Challengers. I talked about the black top for several years until my lovely wife bought the materials for me for my birthday last year. I wanted the full roof, pillars, and all. I also wanted the vinyl to have a faux leather texture like the original tops. Premier Auto Tint in El Dorado Hills, east of Sacramento, found this brand-new product and applied it to my car. I used the chrome on the seam of the red paint and the vinyl. I also put the Pentastar emblem on the passenger-side front, as all classic Mopar muscle cars had back in the 1960s and 1970s.” As fans of classic Mopar muscle, touches like this show an attention to detail that connects Challengers of both eras together.

The designer of the 2006 Dodge Challenger Concept, Michael “Casti” Castiglione is a long-time friend of author Richard Truesdell and the pair stay in contact via Facebook. When the original 2006 Challenger Concept came about, Michael worked at Chrysler’s Pacifica Advance design studio north of San Diego, working with the legendary Freeman Thomas. Rich asked Michael what he thought of Ray’s personalization efforts and here’s what he had to say: “I agree this color combo looks really cool. This has sort of a retro vinyl top look. The chrome at the base of the pillar is just like my ’67 Camaro. I’ll admit though, even on my car I would prefer it all one color instead of the two-tone. I’d like to see this one in person some day. Unfortunately, I missed LX Fest because of a family reunion. Hope to hit it next year.” Back in 2008, just before the release of the production 2008 Dodge Challenger, Rich interviewed Michael on the design evolution of the Challenger concept. Rich has the story archived as a PDF, which can be viewed here.)

The other element of Ray’s modification path that caught our eye are the selection of his wheels. “The wheels were added when I did the Brembo Brake conversion,” says Ray. “I chose 2015 Hellcat replica wheels in chrome. I had chrome wheels on it before also. I ended up selecting these because they were a factory-type wheel, and Dodge never offered them in chrome making them more unique.”

The other tweaks are equally subtle, nothing over the top and typical on what are found on many modern-day Challengers. They include a billet dress-up kit for the larger pieces. Ray also used chrome trim on the engine cover and cut extra vents in it as well. He added an Eibach lowering kit, dropping it 2 inches, which might be what helps to pull everything together, He added Scat Pack antisway bars with adjustable endlinks along with installing a Mopar front strut tower brace. The complete exhaust is all SRT including headers. The rear end and axles are also converted to SRT. Ray fabricated the custom grille himself. The final touches included tinted taillights, tinted windows, and a cold air intake.

Ray is an active member of the modern Challenger community. He’s the president of NorCal Challenger Club as well as the vice president of the Team Red Challengers International and the chapter captain of Challenger Demons. He shows the car extensively at local events and has attended Mopars in the Park on multiple occasions and has made the journey to Pomona twice for Spring Fest.

With his wife, Theresa, their enthusiasm for Challengers is infectious. At Spring Fest we started talking about Norcal Challengers and asked Ray if he thought he could get a group of NorCal Challenger Club members together for a sunrise photoshoot Sunday, before the group headed back to the Bay Area for the long trip home. Ray was able to get six members to show up 30 minutes before sunrise, and we were able to get a group shot (see sidebar), documented on video, and posted on the NorCal Challengers Facebook page by club Vice President Mika Whitfield.

When asked what he wanted to say to Mopar Muscle readers seeing this feature, here’s what Ray had to say: “I have been into Mopars since I was 16. I am a self-taught mechanic and have a good knowledge about the modern Challenger. Every mod done to this car aside from applying the black top was done by me. The Challenger was the only choice for me. I never even test-drove or looked at a Mustang or Camaro before buying my Challenger. For me, it’s Mopar or no car!

Ray was kind enough to get six members of the NorCal Challengers Club out of bed for a Sunday morning group shot following LX Fest.

Clockwise, from Ray’s 2010 Challenger, lower front left, here are the other members of the group: Richard Jahn, 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat; Daniel Denofrio, 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat; William Hilgen, 2017 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack; Zuniga Antonio, 2018 Dodge Challenger T/A 392; missing; Mika Whitfield, 2015 Dodge Challenger SXT; and Terry Henderson, 2014 Dodge Challenger 392. Ray estimates that there is 3,700 advertised horsepower shown in this photo.

ENGINE Type 5.7L VVT MDS Gen III Hemi V-8 Bore x stroke 3.92×3.58 Block Aluminum Rotating assembly stock Cylinder heads stock Compression 10.5:1 Camshaft stock Valve train stock OHV Induction naturally aspirated Oiling system wet sump Fuel system stock Exhaust SRT Ignition stock Cooling stock Fuel SMPFI Output 372hp rated, actual 415 hp Engine built by Dodge

DRIVETRAIN Transmission Autostick five-speed automatic Rear end and axles upgraded to SRT Exhaust full SRT exhaust from the engine back Converter stock Shifter 2015 manual shift ball with a leather boot install autostick Steering stock power assist Front brakes SRT four-piston Brembo brakes Rear brakes SRT four-piston Brembo brakes Rollbar/chassis N/A

WHEELS & TIRES Wheels 20×8 2015 Hellcat replica wheel in chrome Tires 275x40x20

INTERIOR Seats OEM leather with red piping added throughout interior, custom dash badge with the Classic Challenger script, chrome pieces throughout interior Audio OEM non-uConnect with 12-inch sub and amplifier added in the trunk, Mopar 10 steering wheel added Wiring stock

The post Just Right: 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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knoxvillecomedy · 5 years

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Where We Laughed: Knoxville’s Comedy Scene in 2018

It’s time to draw the curtain on another year of the Knoxville comedy scene. 2018, like all years, had its ups and downs, but we hope they were measured mostly in “ups” and that there were plenty of laughs to share with your friends in 2018. If you didn’t laugh in 2018, it wasn’t our fault. We tried everything we could think of. So, in the spirit of all the other year-end countdowns and recaps out there on the internet, let’s take a look at some Knoxville Comedy trivia and news from 2018. Modern Life IS Awesome - Award Winners, Super Moments, Accolades Jeff Blank was voted by readers of Blank Newspaper as Knoxville’s favorite local comedian. Trae Crowder was named runner-up, but he had a pretty good year otherwise. He returned as a guest on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” in March. In November, ABC announced it was buying a pilot episode of a comedy series executive produced by Trae, starring Trae and his local comedy buddies Corey Forrester and Drew Morgan. We’ll see if the WellRed boys make it to our TV screens in 2019. In June 2018, Tyler Sonnichsen recorded his second comedy album - Modern Life is Awesome - in front of two sold out shows at the Pilot Light. The album arrived in December and Tyler has been touring the Midwest and Northeast this month in support of the record. (You can find out how to get a copy by visiting his website at tylersonic.com) In December 2018, Kris Bell also hosted a recording show at the historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge. We look for his project to be released in 2019. Former members of Knoxville improv troupe Full Disclosure, Mallorie Cunningham and Kristen Ballard, earned high praise this year from publications such as Film Daily for their video series Southern Comfort, filmed in and around Knoxville. All the World’s a Stage There was no shortage of places to find comedy being performed in the Knoxville area in 2018. A rough count of this year’s calendars shows 76 different venues hosting comedy shows, ranging from churches, library auditoriums, house shows, bars, massive arenas, and - once, memorably - at an unsuspecting Shoney’s on North Broadway.

The Top Five venues hosting the most comedy performances (by our unofficial count) in 2018 were: 1. Scruffy City Hall 2. Pilot Light 3. Casual Pint-Downtown 4. LiterBoard 5. Sassy Ann’s Honored Guests Last Days of Autumn Brewing had the distinction of hosting the first and last locally-produced headliner shows of 2018. Columbia, South Carolina’s Jenn Snyder kicked off the new year headlining the Cheers and Beers show on the 1st Friday of January at Last Days. The show changed names, producers, and frequency late in 2018, when Scott Wilding of Detroit was welcomed to the stage as the headliner for the newly-christened High Grav Comedy Showcase at Last Days on the third Friday of the December. By our count, Knoxville’s independent local comedy producers brought in more than 70 regional and national touring stand-up and improv performers, running the gamut from A (Mat Alano-Martin) to Z (Brian Zeolla). And that doesn’t count an amazing year of nationally touring shows that made their way to Knoxville this year for shows at venues including the Tennessee Theatre, Thompson-Boling Arena, the Bijou Theater, and the Knoxville Civic Auditorium. Audiences at this larger venues laughed along to performances from Maria Bamford, David Cross, Kevin Hart, Eddie Izzard, Steve Martin & Martin Short, and Tig Notaro, to name a few.

Changes On the Horizon Change is the theme every year and 2018 was no different. Knoxville comedian Aaron Chasteen left us for the Atlanta comedy scene and has been winning fans and friends there with the creation of his popular “Comedy Island” comedy show with co-producer Greg Behrens. Josh Lampley and Alyssa Miller took to the road as well, heading to New York City for their next steps in improv, stand-up, and acting. Carson Barnes, another local favorite in the stand-up scene announced in December that he’s relocating for new opportunities in Boston. Jeff Blank debuted a new open mic in downtown on Tuesdays at the Casual Pint-Downtown. Laughs on Tap has quickly become a popular stage for locals to try our their new material. As mentioned earlier, the monthly comedy show at Last Days of Autumn also underwent a makeover. Cheers and Beers was held on the first Friday of each month under the guidance of producer Gail Grantham. She has handed over the reins to Beth Tomkins and her True Grit Comedy production team. The show is now known as High Grav Comedy Showcase and is held on the first and third Friday of each month.

Beth also moved her bi-weekly Monday open mic to a new day and venue in September. The former Fort Sanders Yacht Club open mic is now a weekly show on Sundays at the Bearden Brickyard. The biggest news of venue changes took place over the summer when the legendary Sassy Ann’s closed its Victorian doors. The Historic 4th and Gill Neighborhood bar had been the home to a Friday weekly open mic for nearly five years. The mic most recently was produced by Tre Pack as Fourth and Gill Fridays. Previous producers had included the show’s founder Nahkt Ricks, as well as Sam Donnelly, Chase Dyer, Jay Kendrick, and Jake James. Sassy Ann’s was also the setting for the live recording of two comedy albums-- JC Ratliff and Jay Kendrick both recorded albums there in the past few years. Also in 2018, two other Knoxville comedy venues closed their doors. Sugar Mama’s (home to True Grit Comedy) and Modern Studio (home to Full Disclosure Comedy and Off Center Comedy). And, we bid goodbye to some regular showcases in 2018, including the Hex Yeah Comedy Showcase at Hexagon Brewing. Regular comedy performances on the famed Cumberland Avenue Strip next to the UT campus also came to an end in 2018. The Fort Sanders Yacht Club mic was, as mentioned earlier, moved to a new location in west Knoxville at the Bearden Brickyard. And, the Literboard ended its run of comedy in late 2018. For the past couple of years, the venue had hosted open mics produced by John Miller and Aaron Chasteen (under the venue’s original identity as Longbranch Saloon), then hosted a weekly rotation of open mics and other fun including a comedy game show, storytelling night, and sketch night under the banners of Tic Tac Toe Comedy Show, Type O Comedy, and finally, Broken Branch Comedy open mic. We’ll see if live comedy returns to the campus area in 2019. In Memoriam At the end of 2018, we offer tribute to two people who made us laugh while they were here, but left us much too soon. Ty Berry had been exploring the Knoxville Comedy scene after moving to East Tennessee from Maryland around 2015. He had frequently attended shows and was beginning to perform at open mics himself. He tragically drowned in May at the age of 33.

Also in May, we learned the sad news of the passing of Spanky Brown at the age of 56. Spanky was not originally from Knoxville, but he was well-known in the area as a performer and as a mentor to many local comedians. Spanky, whose real name was Byron Yeldell, was a favorite of many of the regular audience members (and performers) at the now-defunct Sidesplitters Comedy Club. He had performed most recently in the area in February of this year at John Upton’s comedy show at Tennessee Brewsky’s in New Tazewell. Spanky was scheduled to return to Knoxville for a show in June. To the future... And just like that 2018 is almost done. 2019 promises to have just as many- if not more- opportunities to laugh along with local favorites and touring heroes. The new year is already set to start with an album recording, the new First Friday edition of Comedy at the Grove, and promises of new open mics, showcases, and adventures yet to come.

Thank you, Knoxville, for supporting live comedy. Make it your resolution for the new year to get out there even more to discover new talent traveling through for local showcases and to watch new voices take shape on local open mics. Follow us here on Tumblr, find us on Facebook (Knox Comedy), and invite your friends to join you at a show or two in 2019. They just might thank you for the laughs.

#knoxville comedy

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investmart007 · 6 years

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PHILADELPHIA | 76ers billionaire owner talks friendship, freeing Meek Mill

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/ryLOi8

PHILADELPHIA | 76ers billionaire owner talks friendship, freeing Meek Mill

PHILADELPHIA — Michael Rubin poses for pictures and shares bro hugs from his courtside seat before Philadelphia 76ers playoff games with a hodgepodge of celebrities that could be straight out of a “Dancing With The Stars” casting call.

Hey, there’s Kevin Hart ! Look, it’s Questlove! Wait, is that really Dr. Oz ?

But there’s one VIP that the 45-year old billionaire co-owner of the Sixers really wants to introduce.

“Hey, have you met Meek?” Rubin asks.

Meek Mill is all smiles as he says life is all good in the days since he was released from prison while the Philly-born rapper appeals decade-old gun and drug convictions.

Mill had a string of high-profile names — including Hart , rapper Jay-Z and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft — support him during a five-month campaign to be freed on bail from prison for probation violations. But Mill’s biggest advocate, one of his closest friends and the e-commerce entrepreneur who arranged for a helicopter to take Mill from prison to a Sixers’ playoff game is Rubin, majority owner and CEO of Kynetic, the holding company for sportswear giant Fanatics.

His biggest behind-the-scenes role of late was his drive to free Mill from potentially years behind bars.

“He’s been showing up for me and standing up for me like a real friend would do,” Mill told The Associated Press. “It’s meant a lot for our friendship and brought us closer together. I just think he’s a good-hearted person being that he’s somebody worth billions of dollars and still uses his resources to stand up for people who don’t have the money to be able to fight the errors of the criminal justice system.”

Forbes lists Rubin’s net worth at $3 billion . TMZ counts his value in page views — yes, that’s Rubin in the photo partying at a birthday bash for 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid .

But Rubin says he’ll find personal worth in the months ahead teaming with Mill to tackle thorny criminal justice issues. It could help that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is a frequent front-row companion of Rubin and Mill’s during Philly’s run through the postseason. The trio recently appeared together to ask state lawmakers for criminal justice changes .

“This was one of my closest friends and I watched something terrible happen to him,” Rubin said at his Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, office. “It started with, how do we fix the situation with him? I said, ‘My God, this is horrific.’ What it actually showed me was, there are much bigger problems with the criminal justice system which I had no understanding of. We’re not going to let what happened to Meek Mill happen to everyday Meek Mills.”

Rubin wasn’t expecting a personal awakening when he met Mill at the 2015 NBA All-Star Game in New York.

Rubin, raised in an upper middle-class Philly suburb, was simply a businessman who had been making deals since he was a kid. He owned a ski shop as a teen, dropped out of Villanova after just six weeks and sold his first sports equipment business to eBay in 2011 for $2.4 billion. He runs Fanatics, fashion site Rue La La and shipping site Shop Runner through Kynetic. And in 2011, he joined an ownership group led by Joshua Harris and David Blitzer that would buy the 76ers and later the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.

Harris and Blitzer — who have since formed Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment as they expand their sports portfolio — had served as the primary faces of the sports teams since their purchases. But over the last two years as his wealth seemed to match his ambition, Rubin has been at the forefront of the Sixers’ rise from the 10-win early Process days into one of the best young teams in the NBA. The seats that flank Rubin — Mill and fellow rapper Lil Uzi Vert had the distinction at Game 4 against the Celtics on Monday — have become must-see for fans to catch celeb sightings.

“It’s surreal to have this many people support me at one time,” Mill said. “The feeling is unexplainable.”

The man who pushed Mill’s cause — and helped keep the “Dreams and Nightmares” performer’s spirits high in prison with visits from a few 76ers — is also getting his time in the spotlight.

“He freed Meek! He freed Meek!” one man yelled, trying to get Rubin’s attention.

It’s not just rappers and actors — or even Game 4 guest, CNBC news anchor Joe Kernen — that flock to Rubin. Rubin and Embiid have become tight and it was the owner who arranged Embiid’s birthday party in Miami and snagged a suite for the organization to attend a World Series game in Houston at the same time the Sixers were in town.

“I’m not involved in the basketball decisions,” Rubin said. “I think it’s obvious from the outside in that I’ve got great relations with them. I’m a very player-oriented owner. I think I’m highly relatable to these guys. I’m in the business. There are things I can have a big influence in with them.”

Rubin, divorced with a 12-year-old daughter, has an off-the-cuff Mark Cuban vibe and wears the same blue button-down, jeans and black sneaks to Game 4 that he did hours earlier inside an office filled with photos of other celebs and his appearance on “Undercover Boss .” He even hit up baseball’s All-Star Game last year with Kraft and Embiid .

“By the way, Joel and Robert love each other. Meek and Robert love each other,” Rubin said. “I love to be able to foster those relationships. People always say to me how lucky Meek is to have me. Actually, I think I’m so lucky to have him. He’s opened my eyes to so many things that I would have never understood had it not been for him.”

Rubin recently spearheaded a bid to buy the Carolina Panthers before he dropped out of contention and he has sights set on NFL ownership. Until then, he might dangle his A-list connections to help recruit prized free agents — like, say LeBron James — this summer to join Embiid and Ben Simmons.

But it’s more than hip-hop and hoops that connects Rubin and Mill these days. It’s an unwavering desire to speak out in the national spotlight for reform.

Rubin said he and Mill were close to announcing a foundation — with A-listers pledging to assist, of course — that would include a wish list of initiatives.

“We want to help people that’s not like myself who don’t have the resources,” Mill said.

By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer, By Associated Press – published on STL.News by St. Louis Media, LLC (A.S)

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#76ers billionaire owner talks friendship #Dancing With The Stars #freeing Meek Mill #Philadelphia #TodayNews

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fadingfartconnoisseur · 6 years

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My Favorite Reads of 2017

I outdid myself reading in 2017. Not only did I complete the PopSugar 2017 Reading Challenge in September, but I’ve read 70 books as of press time, well beyond the standard book per week!

I also bought my apartment’s first bookshelf at the beginning of the year. At the time I had only three books to put on it (I’ve been doing the Kindle thing for years). Less than a year later, it’s nearly full. Good thing I’m moving to a new apartment with a lot of space for more bookshelves…

This was also my first year enjoying new reads from Book of the Month, a US-based service that allows you to choose a new hardcover book each month for far less than what you’d pay retail. As a result, I read more current books than I ever have before!

The big theme in the books I read this year was the relationship between children and their parents. Joy and love. Abuse and neglect. Death and grief. Wanting to spread your wings and wanting to honor your heritage. This year had all of those topics in abundance.

For 2017, I’ve decided to put my favorite reads of 2017 into two categories: books published in 2017 and books published prior to 2017. It’s important to note that it was SO hard to narrow down 70 books to a top 16 or so, and this list omits several books that I enjoyed wholeheartedly but didn’t make the top tier. Here we go!

My Favorite Book of 2017: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

This sweeping saga tells the story of several generations of Koreans living in Japan. A young girl named Sunja becomes pregnant by her older married lover; a tuberculosis-stricken minister offers to marry her and bring her to Japan with him. So begins the saga of the Baek family, who, like all Koreans in Japan, were treated as second-class citizens in various ways through the present day. Sunja’s sons and their families try to build better lives for themselves, but they can’t outrun the prejudices that run deep throughout Japan.

“Sunja-ya, a woman’s life is endless work and suffering. There is suffering and then more suffering. It’s better to expect it, you know. You’re becoming a woman now, so you should be told this. For a woman, the man you marry will determine the quality of your life completely. A good man is a decent life, and a bad man is a cursed life—but no matter what, always expect suffering, and just keep working hard. No one will take care of a poor woman—just ourselves.”

What I loved so much about Pachinko is that it introduced me to a world I know nothing about. I had no idea that Koreans were treated so poorly — it so closely mirrors the treatment of African-Americans over history, with the big difference being that it was often impossible for Japanese and Koreans to be differentiated. I loved the themes; I loved how it explored family and duty and the things you can’t change. Beyond that, I loved how cinematic the book was — some of the scenes are etched across my mind, like when Sunja unsteadily began selling kimchee in the market for the first time.

Why is Pachinko at the top of my list? It was so layered and detailed, telling a beautiful and original story in a beautiful and original way, yet universal enough that we can all relate to it. I can’t recommend it more highly.

My Runner-Up Favorite Book of 2017: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Starr is a teenage girl living in two worlds: her home with her family in the inner city, and the elite private school in a wealthy suburb where she is one of few black students. It’s difficult enough that she is constantly weighing different personalities and actions depending on who she’s with, but then the worst happens: she is driving home from a party with her friend Khalil and he is shot to death by a police officer for no reason. Her life is thrown into turmoil as she and the nation try to navigate this senseless killing.

“I’ve seen it happen over and over again: a black person gets killed just for being black, and all hell breaks loose. I’ve Tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr, and signed every petition out there. I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down. Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak.”

I have no words for how much I fiercely loved this book. The characters are fantastic and Starr’s family is probably my favorite family I’ve ever read in literature. It’s being turned into a film and I cannot wait to see it. And it’s an incredibly important subject.

But more than that, every American needs to read this book. I fully believe that literature can teach compassion, and this is just the kind of book that can change opinions and lives, particularly those of children growing up in racist environments. I’m trying to put it into as many hands as possible, and it made me so happy when a friend who teaches high school English decided to assign it to her students! Please, read this book and pass it on to everyone you know.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (2017)

This delicious novel is a love letter to an amazing woman who climbed to the top of her field and made New York her home. Lillian Boxfish is based on Margaret Fishback, the Macy’s employee who at her heyday in the 1930s was the highest paid female copywriter in America. The book takes place on the last night of 1984, when 85-year-old Lillian goes for a solo walk around her beloved New York at a time when the city was gripped by crime and the AIDS crisis. The book flashes back from 1984 to other parts of her life, chronicling her professional and personal moments.

“We had one of those Friday dates that turned into an entire weekend, and by the end of it, I loved him so much my larynx ached. Vulnerable love, incorrigible love. Love in which he was both the nausea and the sodium bicarbonate.”

This book is a treat if you’re an independent woman, a writer, a walker, a New Yorker, or a lover of words. I identify as all five of those things, so you can see why I liked it so much! But beyond that, I fell in love with the language of this book. I think it’s absolutely remarkable and that’s what really elevated the book to the next level.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jennings Reid (2017)

In the hands of a lesser author, this would have been a forgettable read about a faux movie star’s exploits; in the hands of Taylor Jenkins Reid, this novel is a starling examination of humanity behind the celebrity. In the book, Evelyn Hugo, legendary movie star of the 1960s, tells an unknown magazine writer that she’s chosen her to write her authorized biography after her death; throughout the book, she chronicles the secrets surrounding her seven husbands and answers the question: who was the love of her life?

“People think that intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth. When you realize you can tell someone your truth, when you can show yourself to them, when you stand in front of them bare and their response is ‘you’re safe with me’- that’s intimacy.”

I actually read this book in a single day — I could not put it down. I’m not going to give anything away, but this book goes in a very different direction than what you’d expect, especially for a character with many parallels to Elizabeth Taylor. Each husband was unique and had a specific purpose. I finished the book feeling grateful for the world we live in today.

The Power by Naomi Alderman (2017)

Taking place in the present day, this dystopian novel examines what would happen if gender dynamics were suddenly, abruptly switched. Teenage girls suddenly realize they have the power to send electrical shocks from their fingers and inflict pain. They also have the ability to wake up this ability in adult women. Over the course of a decade, the world changes: boys dress like girls to appear tougher, Americans vote a violent woman for governor because they’re afraid of her male rival’s weakness, and men no longer feel safe walking the streets at night.

“It doesn’t matter that she shouldn’t, that she never would. What matters is that she could, if she wanted. The power to hurt is a kind of wealth.”

This is one of the best dystopian novel concepts I’ve read in a long time. It really makes you think critically about gender dynamics. If women had this power, would we really say things like, “Of course women are naturally more violent than men, they had to protect their babies”? On top of that, it’s an entertaining novel. I especially liked that it focused on several different points of view, similarly to World War Z.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2017)

This novel tells the story of two families in Shaker Heights, Ohio — a well-to-do family with teenage kids, and a mother and teen daughter to whom they rent an apartment. The mother and daughter have lived a bohemian, transitory lifestyle and are now looking to settle down. Almost everyone in the other family becomes fascinated with them. Then when a white couple tries to adopt a Chinese-American baby under controversial circumstances, the town and families go to war with each other.

“Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground, and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.”

This is the second book of Ng’s that I’ve read — the first was Everything I Never Told You — and while I liked her first novel, I adored this one. The character dynamics were so interesting (though I did think one relationship was unrealistic) and I loved the unraveling of the mystery surrounding the mother and daughter. I also have to say that this book was biting in its portrayal of a white woman who thinks she’s doing everything she can to fight racism and inequality, then doesn’t stand up when it actually counts.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (2017)

Jojo is a kid growing up poor in Mississippi with his beloved grandfather, dying grandmother, baby sister, and drug-addicted mother. His mother, who is black, takes him on a road trip to get his father, who is white, out of prison upstate. While at the prison, where his grandfather was once incarcerated, Jojo meets the ghost of an imprisoned child who follows him home.

“Growing up out here in the country taught me things. Taught me that after the first fat flush of life, time eats away at things: it rusts machinery, it matures animals to become hairless and featherless, and it withers plants…since Mama got sick, I learned pain can do that too. Can eat a person until there’s nothing but bone and skin and a thin layer of blood left. How it can eat your insides and swell you in wrong ways.”

Sing, Unburied, Sing won the National Book Award for fiction this year, and even though I was rooting for Pachinko in the competition, Jesmyn Ward definitely deserved it (her second National Book Award!). This book blends themes of family, race, poverty, and addiction with mysticism and magic, creating a novel unlike anything I’ve ever read. I love what she said at the awards ceremony: “I wanted to write about the experiences of the poor and the black and the rural people of the South so that the culture that marginalized us for so long would see that our stories were as universal, our lives as fraught and lovely and important as theirs.”

Bleaker House: Chasing My Novel to the End of the World by Nell Stevens (2017)

Nell Stevens got her MFA at Boston University, which gives their students a three-month writing fellowship anywhere in the world. A lot of students go to Europe or Southeast Asia, but Stevens was determined to write in a distraction-free environment. So where did she choose to go? The Falkland Islands. In winter. In fact, she was alone on her very own island. She chose to go there because she thought she’d be able to write in that environment; however, things did not go to plan. Instead of a novel, she wrote a memoir about how she failed at writing a novel.

“If I can teach myself the art of loneliness, then perhaps the art of writing will come more easily to me.”

I love reading memoirs about work, whether that work is being a chef, farmer, personal stylist, or something else altogether. And this book doesn’t shy away from the grind of trying to crank out a novel, particularly when living on only 1100 calories per day. I thought it was self-deprecating in all the right ways; in fact, this should be required reading for anyone about to undertake a major writing project.

Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood (2017)

To say Patricia Lockwood had an unusual upbringing would be a massive understatement: her father was a Catholic priest, a priest who loved jamming out on the guitar, being naked, and protesting abortion. He was a character and a half, and her other family members were nearly as crazy as him. The memoir takes place in the present day, when Lockwood and her husband moved in with her parents for several months to save money, but it’s sprinkled with anecdotes from her childhood.

“When we came home later, my father was wearing his most transparent pair of boxer shorts, to show us he was angry, and drinking Baileys Irish Cream liqueur out of a miniature crystal glass, to show us his heart was broken.”

I actually read several books of poetry and novels by poets this year, and what I love about poets like Lockwood is that they infuse such beauty and care into their prose as well. As a result, Priestdaddy is dense and requires a long time to read properly; I promise you it’s worth it. I guarantee another family like this does not exist in the country, and even if they did, they wouldn’t have a writer like Lockwood writing about them.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017)

The year is 1862 and America is weary, a year into the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln is shouldering the burden of the nation and mourning the death of his young son Willie. Over the course of one night, Lincoln returns to the family tomb several times to hold his son’s body. The tomb, however, is filled with spirits who have refused to cross on to the next world. The book is written like a play — the spirits argue, bicker, and spout gibberish, but all they know is that children are not supposed to stay there for long and the boy’s soul could end up trapped forever.

“What I mean to say is, we had been considerable. Had been loved. Not lonely, not lost, not freakish, but wise, each in his or her own way. Our departures caused pain. Those who had loved us sat upon their beds, heads in hand; lowered their faces to tabletops, making animal noises. We had been loved, I say, and remembering us, even many years later, people would smile, briefly gladdened at the memory.”

This is perhaps the most original concept of a book I’ve ever read. Who would ever dream of combining the tragedy of Lincoln’s family with the Tibetan concept of the holding place for souls in waiting? And who would fill it with crude and hilarious characters? This was a book that I had been looking forward to reading ever since I first heard of it, and to be honest, it took me a while to really get into it. But I will say this — without giving away any spoilers, this book has a great ending. It’s beautiful, it’s life-affirming, and it was the ending more than anything else that put the book on my best of 2017 list.

And now, my favorite books published prior to 2017:

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (2016)

This is another book that every American needs to read. I think it’s the most important book about poverty in America that I’ve ever read. Desmond’s book is set in Milwaukee, the most racially segregated major city in America. It tells the stories of two landlords, one black and one white, and their low-income tenants. Through their stories, supplemented by factual information about poverty in America, it paints a portrait of how eviction and lack of affordable housing perpetuate poverty today.

“But equal treatment in an unequal society could still foster inequality. Because black men were disproportionately incarcerated and black women disproportionately evicted, uniformly denying housing to applicants with recent criminal or eviction records still had an incommensurate impact on African Americans.”

I learned so much from this book, and it’s a shame that our country is this way. For example, rents have been steadily rising over time, but benefits and the minimum wage have not, which has made it even more difficult for low-income Americans to find affordable housing. This often subjects them to unsafe living conditions. Something else I learned is that calling 911 can often be cause for eviction, so many victims of domestic violence often choose between their housing and their safety. It’s a horrible cycle and there’s so much that needs to be done in this country to remedy this terrible reality.

Born a Crime: Stories of a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (2016)

Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show, has arguably one of the most interesting backgrounds you could dream up. He was born in South Africa to a black mother and a white father during Apartheid, which made his very existence illegal. Trevor grew up in the shadows, always having to hide from authorities. But beyond that, his life was an incredible search for identity, touching on themes of growth through creativity, entrepreneurship, and protecting his mother in the face of domestic violence.

“The hood made me realise that crime succeeds because crime does the one thing the government doesn’t do: crime cares. Crime is grassroots. Crime looks for the young kids who need support and a lifting hand. Crime offers internship programmes and part-time jobs and opportunities for advancement. Crime gets involved in the community. Crime doesn’t discriminate.”

It’s an utterly fascinating read and it proves that Trevor Noah is no lightweight. If you’re one of the Daily Show fans who wishes Jon Stewart were still around, I think you should pick up this book and gain a new respect for Trevor Noah. And while there are a lot of dark times in the book, there’s also a lot of humor as well.

I listened to this book as an audiobook and I highly recommend you do the same. Trevor is a polyglot and he speaks so many languages, does so many accents, and imitates so many characters that the audiobook is a joy to hear.

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (2014)

It might seem a bit strange to pick Bad Feminist over Gay’s memoir Hunger, which was released this year to great acclaim. I did read and enjoy Hunger, but I don’t think it belonged on my list of favorite reads. Bad Feminist, though? I feel like this book was written for me. Roxane Gay is easily my favorite new author of 2017, and I adore her voice as she covered so many topics: from the problematic films of The Help and Django Unchained to the world of competitive Scrabble to her own failures at being a “good feminist.”

“Don’t flirt, have sex, or engage in emotional affairs with your friends’ significant others. This shouldn’t need to be said, but it needs to be said. That significant other is an asshole, and you don’t want to be involved with an asshole who’s used goods. If you want to be with an asshole, get a fresh asshole of your very own. They are abundant.”

What I love so much about Gay’s writing is that she’s able to put into words different issues with which I struggle. Like her column on HBO’s Confederate, which couldn’t have done better at explaining why this show is a really bad idea. All I can tell you is that I love her voice and I especially love when she’s able to cover so many different topics, which makes this essay collection the ideal introduction to her writing. (Also worth adding: Gay’s favorite book of the year was Pachinko, too!)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016)

How do you make a beautiful life out of the most extenuating circumstances? That’s what the protagonist is forced to do in A Gentleman in Moscow. Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life in Moscow’s luxurious Metropol Hotel. How would you create a routine? How would you build relationships with people? And how would you weather the ensuing decades when tremendous changes are going on beyond your front door?

“After all, what can a first impression tell us about someone we’ve just met for a minute in the lobby of a hotel? For that matter, what can a first impression tell us about anyone? Why, no more than a chord can tell us about Beethoven, or a brushstroke about Botticelli. By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration, but our reconsideration—and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in every possible setting at every possible hour.”

This book is so lush, and detailed, and cinematic. It feels like a Wes Anderson film, complete with the ornate surroundings and eccentric characters. The moment that made me fall in love was a scene when he and the restaurant staff miraculously procure all of the ingredients for bouillabaisse and make a meal for the ages. I think it’s impossible to read this book without falling in love with the Count a little bit. He’s a charmer, but there’s intelligence and kindness behind the facade.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett (2016)

When Nadia Turner is 17 years old, her mother’s suicide sets off a chain of events that impact her and her friends’ lives for years to come. There’s a relationship, a pregnancy, an abortion, breakups, engagements, affairs, and the domineering voices of “The Mothers,” the elderly parishioners of their black church in Southern California.

“Oh girl, we have known littlebit love. That littlebit of honey left in an empty jar that traps the sweetness in your mouth long enough to mask your hunger. We have run tongues over teeth to savor that last littlebit as long as we could, and in all our living, nothing has starved us more.”

What made this book among the most exceptional ones I read in 2017 was the cast of characters. I felt like a bit of a voyeur reading this book — I wanted to hold all the characters and stop them from making bad decisions! This book, more than anything, is about finding compassion and forgiveness. It’s about the ability to move on from your own past mistakes, to continue to live life in spite of people dragging you down, to rise above your worst impulses, and to forgive yourself and all those who hurt you in the end.

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed (2012)

Cheryl Strayed is the author behind the Dear Sugar column, and I think she’s the greatest advice columnist of all time. Personally, I read her The Truth That Lives There column daily for months while getting up the nerve to leave an abusive partner. It’s still saved on my phone today. This book is a collection of Stayed’s columns, touching on everything from relationships and regrets to abuse and addiction.

“You cannot convince people to love you. This is an absolute rule. No one will ever give you love because you want him or her to give it. Real love moves freely in both directions. Don’t waste your time on anything else.”

Like The Mothers, this book is about compassion — and Strayed has infinite compassion for the readers who find themselves writing to her. Everyone is “Sweet Pea.” But beyond that, Strayed has had a wild life filled with a lot of pain and heartache, and she uses those experiences to tell stories that are secretly full of advice. Beyond that, she has such a gift with language. The concept of wondering whether your life would be better or worse if you didn’t have children, for example, is called “The Ghost Ship That Didn’t Carry Us.” How beautiful is that?

Takeaways from 2017’s Best Books

I really enjoyed focusing on the best books of 2017. I liked feeling current and knowing at least half the books that ended up on “Best of 2017” lists. However, there was also a lot of pressure to keep up, and I didn’t enjoy that part. If I couldn’t keep up with all of them, there’s no way anyone who has to make a living and/or shower regularly can keep up with all of them.

I am dumbfounded at some books that get sweeping praise. None more so than Gabriel Tallent’s My Absolute Darling, which I thought was grossly unrealistic, gratuitously graphic, and tremendously overrated. Yet people like Stephen King were calling it the book of the year. I’m still wondering if we read the same book.

It is possible to read far too much. Around July or so, I devoured four complete books in four days. My brain was fuzzy for the next week. Reading is great, but make sure it’s not the only thing in your life…

I can only do the PopSugar Reading Challenge every other year — but that doesn’t mean I can’t do a shorter challenge. Stay tuned for the beginning of 2016 for a much shorter, easier reading challenge that we can all do together!

What was your favorite book of 2017? Share away!

The post My Favorite Reads of 2017 appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

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monkeyandelf · 6 years

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New Post has been published on Buzz News from Monkey & Elf |

New Post has been published on https://www.monkeyandelf.com/my-favorite-reads-of-2017/

My Favorite Reads of 2017

I outdid myself reading in 2017. Not only did I complete the PopSugar 2017 Reading Challenge in September, but I’ve read 70 books as of press time, well beyond the standard book per week!

My Favorite Book of 2017: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

My Runner-Up Favorite Book of 2017: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (2017)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jennings Reid (2017)

The Power by Naomi Alderman (2017)

“It doesn’t matter that she shouldn’t, that she never would. What matters is that she could, if she wanted. The power to hurt is a kind of wealth.”

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2017)

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (2017)

Bleaker House: Chasing My Novel to the End of the World by Nell Stevens (2017)

“If I can teach myself the art of loneliness, then perhaps the art of writing will come more easily to me.”

Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood (2017)

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017)

And now, my favorite books published prior to 2017:

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (2016)

Born a Crime: Stories of a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (2016)

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (2014)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016)

The Mothers by Brit Bennett (2016)

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed (2012)

Takeaways from 2017’s Best Books

What was your favorite book of 2017? Share away!

The post My Favorite Reads of 2017 appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

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furilia · 6 years

Text

My Favorite Reads of 2017

New Post has been published on https://www.furilia.com/my-favorite-reads-of-2017/

My Favorite Reads of 2017

I outdid myself reading in 2017. Not only did I complete the PopSugar 2017 Reading Challenge in September, but I’ve read 70 books as of press time, well beyond the standard book per week!

My Favorite Book of 2017: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

My Runner-Up Favorite Book of 2017: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (2017)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jennings Reid (2017)

The Power by Naomi Alderman (2017)

“It doesn’t matter that she shouldn’t, that she never would. What matters is that she could, if she wanted. The power to hurt is a kind of wealth.”

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2017)

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (2017)

Bleaker House: Chasing My Novel to the End of the World by Nell Stevens (2017)

“If I can teach myself the art of loneliness, then perhaps the art of writing will come more easily to me.”

Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood (2017)

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017)

And now, my favorite books published prior to 2017:

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (2016)

Born a Crime: Stories of a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (2016)

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (2014)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016)

The Mothers by Brit Bennett (2016)

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed (2012)

Like The Mothers, this book is about compassion — and Strayed has infinite compassion for the readers who find themselves writing to her. Everyone is “Sweet Pea.” But beyond that, Strayed has had a wild life filled with a lot of pain and heartache, and she uses those experiences to tell stories that are secretly full of advice. Beyond that, she has such a gift with language. The concept of wondering whether your life would be better or worse if you didn��t have children, for example, is called “The Ghost Ship That Didn’t Carry Us.” How beautiful is that?

Takeaways from 2017’s Best Books

I can only do the PopSugar Reading Challenge every other year — but that doesn’t mean I can’t do a shorter challenge. Stay tuned for the beginning of 2018 for a much shorter, easier reading challenge that we can all do together!

What was your favorite book of 2017? Share away!

The post My Favorite Reads of 2017 appeared first on Adventurous Kate.

Source link

0 notes