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lunarmoves · 4 months

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indirect continuation of this sun kiss drabble

you were being tailed for quite some time now.

you noticed by accident—a strange shadow in the corner of your eye as you made your way through the pizzaplex after hours for your nightly tasks. it was gone almost as soon as you'd turned your head to look at where it'd been. at first you figured you were just seeing things—maybe the shadows cast by the bright neon lights were playing tricks on you. maybe the late hours walking around the massive mall were making you tired.

but when you started to feel the prickle of your hairs standing straight—the burn of a gaze watching your every move—you realized exactly what you were dealing with. or rather, who.

"moon, why are you following me?" you sighed out sometime halfway through your shift, stopping in your trek to the arcade room to fix a few broken machines. hands placed on your hips, you looked up at the ceiling and tried to make out any odd shadows or faint gleams of metal. but when moon didn't want to be found, well... you could spend your entire night looking for him and you wouldn't be able to catch even the smallest of glimpses.

you waited patiently for a few moments, surveying around you in case he'd reveal himself. "moon, i know you're there." silence, complete and utter silence. you gave him another minute, then let out a huff. fine, if he wanted to mess with you tonight, whatever. it wasn't like you weren't used to it.

just as you took another step in the direction of the arcade, you heard it. the faintest, faintest jingle of a bell somewhere to your left. your head snapped in that direction, eyes moving from the polished floor of the pizzaplex to the darkest corners of the ceiling. there was a supply closet not too far from you, its door closed. you squinted at it suspiciously for a moment, then turned to make your way back t—

"boo."

you yelped—of course you fucking yelped—and swung at moon's upside-down face out of instinct more than anything. he was directly in front of you—nearly nose to nose in a way where you only really saw the redness of his eyes swallowing you whole. he dodged your punch easily, lifting himself up into the air with his wire so that your fist passed harmlessly under his dangling hat.

you exhaled harshly, your heart pounding away in your chest and your ears. it felt like you'd gotten the life sucked out of you. "you—!! gah! stop doing that!!" you huffed and straightened up to glare at him. you didn't think it was all too intimidating in his eyes.

he chuckled, a low thing that always made something in your gut feel strange, and said no more. only watched you from where he hung upside down in a pose reminiscent of a past spiderman movie. you eyed him, waiting to see if he'd say anything else. but when he didn't—his head clicking side to side ever so minutely—you frowned.

"what's wrong?" you asked bluntly. his head cocked to the left. "why have you been sulking around me all night?"

moon grumbled something indecipherable. "wasn't sulking."

"was too. what gives?" you pressed further, crossing your arms across your chest. he looked away, avoiding your gaze, and you knew something was bothering him. "you hadn't done that in a while. i thought we were past the 'stalking' part and on the, y'know, 'hanging out like friends do' part."

he only hummed shortly and turned his faceplate to look somewhere off to the side—at the door of the closed storage closet. your foot tapped against the smooth floor for a bit, waiting once more to see if he'd say anything. he didn't.

"moooon, c'mon use your big boy words." you approached him, popping back into his view so he wouldn't have any choice but to look at you. "i can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." your words were gentle like a soft, spring breeze.

there was the slightest flicker of his optics as he glanced at your face. then he made a low sound—a groan of sorts—and seemed to struggle with saying something. your patience knew no bounds, so you were willing to wait however long it took for him to spill those pesky feelings of his. but when he only fell silent once more, you decided that this wasn't going to go anywhere.

"okay, fine"—you threw up your hands and turned on your heel so you could return to your actual job—"you don't wanna tell me, that's fine. i'll just go back to—"

you barely got a few steps away before your words were cut off by the back of your shirt being tugged on. your head craned back just in time to see moon flip himself down from his wire—landing nimbly on his feet, quiet as a mouse. and then he was dragging you towards the supply closet.

"hey! moon what—" you were crowded into the closet with little flair, tripping and stumbling over yourself no thanks to moon's tight grip on your shirt. the door closed behind you with a small snap. and suddenly you were in darkness, illuminated only by the soft glow of moon's ruby eyes. you blinked widely in the hopes of getting your vision to adjust faster.

your foot accidentally kicked a bucket somewhere to your side, sending it rattling onto the floor. it was cramped in here, especially with moon's lanky figure pressing against your front. his hands gripped tightly along your upper arms. you could feel shelves stocked with cleaning supplies pressing uncomfortably into your back. there was hardly any room to move.

you felt small—overpowered. caged in with the only exit blocked off by an unrelenting robot.

you stared up at moon with what you hoped was a flat expression, his face and upper arms just barely visible to you in this absolute void of a closet. "what are you doing." it felt like you couldn't speak any louder than a whisper for fear of breaking something you could not see.

moon's gaze trailed over your face, cataloguing every feature, before it landed on— on.... your mouth suddenly felt like it was stuffed with cotton, dry and unpleasant.

"you..." he suddenly spoke up in a quiet, raspy murmur, leaning himself down further into your space. it allowed the strain on your neck to abate slightly. "you and sun..." you slowly nodded your head, maybe as a way to encourage him to continue when it was obvious how hesitation lined his voice. "...you gave him a kiss."

your heart picked up its pace, thrumming in your ears. you did give him one some time ago—saved only from his strange pestering when the daycare's lights had switched off and you were able to escape during his painful-sounding transformation into moon. you hadn't seen him since, too rattled by his intense insistence. it made you feel... weird. "i did. and?"

"i... would also like one." the words came out in a rush—like he was forcing them out in a hurried exile.

something burned ferociously at the sides of your face and neck. you wondered if he could hear how erratic your pulse was. you hoped not.

"is that why you forced us into this dinky closet?" you whispered, refusing to let yourself sound anything but casual. like his request wasn't causing something torrential to swarm around in the pit of your stomach. you were suddenly reminded that their dual A.I.s allowed them both to see what was happening no matter who was in control. that moon had been watching sun demand a kiss from you before. and that sun was watching now.

you swallowed heavily and moon's gaze followed the bob of your throat in a manner that made you suppress a shiver.

"yes," was his simple, hushed reply. closer and closer, his face was but a hair's breadth away from your own.

your breaths bated. you closed your eyes for a short moment in a vain attempt to collect yourself. his request was simple. you didn't need to make a big deal out of it. it was just a kiss, and he was just a robot. it didn't mean anything. the words became a mantra in your head.

you exhaled, low and slow. "okay." an agreement that weighed more than you realized at that moment.

curiosity is not a sin, you reminded yourself. but yet— you were being forced to face something you knew would have repercussions. you only hoped it wouldn't be anything strong.

after bolstering yourself with as much courage as you could, you raised yourself up on your tiptoes to close that minute distance between you and moon. to press a gentle kiss to his forehead and hope that it would be enough for him.

but moon— moon had learned from sun.

and before you could realize what he was doing, he shifted himself forward in a rather fluid manner—towards you. so that your lips would land soundly in the middle of his static smile instead of where you'd intended. something leapt up in your chest.

you weren't sure what you'd expected. fireworks and confetti? the soft plushness of another person's lips pressing back against yours? had your mind been tricked into thinking it would be something familiar with his facsimile of a mouth? but no, there was just the cool solidness of a metallic smile. it was like kissing a wall—immovable and unyielding.

and yet... and yet it wasn't.

for the grip moon had on you was tight. tight tight tight. unwilling to let you go. his hands had shifted so that one pressed hotly (hotly? your hazy mind registered distantly) against the small of your back while the other wrapped around your shoulders. and he held you so fervently. like he could press you into him and meld you both into one. like he was scared to ever let you go.

and that was enough, you think, as you lose yourself not to a kiss, but to a hold. that was enough.

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juunshua · 6 years

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No pls I love rants on music, especially vocal techniques (had a couple of classes, quit because of life in general, most of my expertise is on the piano side anyway), and would really, seriously love to hear your thoughts on the members vocals (although I do understand that this is time consuming to do) just wanted to say that there's no need to apologise for ranting, we all wanna hear you speak anyways :)

sorry this took forever to respond to! akdjf youve went to more vocal technique classes than i have so maybe you might know more than me ahaha! tbh i really want to formally learn vocal pedagogy so i know what im listening for and what im not. like having that professional opinion alongside telling me ‘ur wrong’ or ‘ur right’ i really want that so i can solidify my learning in a sense…ive been doing that kind of through youtube videos and stuff but still idk. omg ur a pianist? please i love you automatically now so idk why but i’ll probably just summarize in units? and like maybe short comments about each member or more than one member or something idk. under a readmore bc it got longwarning: i am no way, shape and or form a professional.

hht: im going to start with hht…tbh i have another name for hht haha its called ‘baritone team’ alsdkjf isnt it a coincidence (not really) that all of svts baritones ended up in hht…thus is the fate of most baritones in kpop sadly :( they either get pushed to subvocal or to the rapper position even if its not what they want initially bc of their like natural (basically) biological disposition of not being able to hit, with the same kind of ease, high notes that tenors can…like tbh tenors cant hit those notes ½ the time either but its less obvious bc theyre tenors…that made no sense lasdj…in relating to current events though heres a classic example of baritone (vn) vs tenor (sk) singing in basically the same high note range but vn has to go into falsetto while sk is trying to mix up there…both of them arent really singing it well (laskdj fmaybe sk is a bad example bc he has a good approach to his voice…but like nonetheless that isnt a healthy sounding note from either of them) but its less obvious with sk bc hes a tenor and more obvious with vn (well maybe the falsetto vs mix also had to do with it but like idk a bari who would want to mix that high ljldkajf). anyways in terms of technique, no one in hht team particularly stands out. All of them tend to either sing with their throat or sing with lots of air in their voice, which isn’t particularly healthy but also to be expected from rappers. tbh rappers i find tend to be more throaty, i think why in this group they also are airy is because of wz lol and his vocal directing. within the entire group though (like not just hht), ww has my fav vocal color and i tend to think from within hht, he has the most potential to become a decent vocalist. its mostly (like 95%) because of his continual expressed desire in singing (it makes me think that when he does actually get proper vocal lessons he would take them very seriously and be very disciplined about it and tbh that just goes above everything else) but also because of that one performance of city escape (here) ? and it sounds really pretty and the range that he’s singing in that song is starting to be in the higher part of a baritones register too. and in some of his other vocal performances too, whenever he is in the range where he doesn’t have to mix, his approach to his voice really isnt bad at all. i say he has the most potential but that doesnt mean the other hht members cant become awesome vocalists they can if they put the right time and effort into it. pt:the rest of the units are composed of all tenors (at least from what i know) btw so yeah all of pt are tenors. again in terms of technique no one particularly stands out. they all seem to approach singing similarly but with putting emphasis on different things which makes them sound different….actually upon closer inspection most of the members of the entire group (not just pt) are like that laksjdl….well maybe with the exception of sk. anywho…jh pushes air a lot which is why you get those like ‘hiccups’?? idk how else to describe it but an example is here. like do u hear how his voice rises at the end of a lot of those notes? hs also gets those same hiccups. jh is also quite nasal, and probably the most nasally member within the 13 members when it comes to singing. nasally voices are my number one pet peeve rip thats why my fav jh singing moments is when hes singing in his comfortable range and esp when its words/syllables that force him to place his voice not so much in his nose (ie this part in my i). being nasal is not really as damaging for the vocal chords as much as it is the individual not really placing the voice in the correct, most optimal place. he also gets really tight on higher notes esp when hes trying to mix that high. same with hs (you can hear the both of them sounding tight in the habit perf i linked to earlier). also jh has tongue tension but im not sure if thats a reflection of him trying to sing in kr…him and hao are probably at a disadvantage when it comes to singing because of the fact that they aren’t singing in a language that theyre comfortable in/fluent in. when it comes to hao, when he said in the seasons greetings video that he was working on singing but no matter how much he practiced, he couldnt improve, that made me really sad :( because that basically means is that the vocal lessons he is getting arent actually good vocal lessons…unless he expects results to happen in a week (which sadly no it takes months upon months). ur vocal chords are a muscle so they take time to develop (like when u first go to the gym u arent going to try and lift the heaviest weight right? or run at the fastest speed or whatever u have to build urself up to that slowly). and then he also compared that to his dancing which he said he could get better at by doing over and over? but its the same when it comes to dancing like u cant be improving dancing if u learn the wrong choreo or the wrong ways to dance a specific type of dance right? like no matter how much u practice a wrong choreo its still going to be that wrong choreo…so if u sing with bad technique no matter how much u practice u arent going to get better u’ll just develop bad technique. but yeah singing with correct technique should yield some results eventually (i can attest to that). anyways im biased and i really want to hear hs get proper vocal lessons bc i find his vocal color sooo pretty i literally listen to campfire like 90%for his part in the chorus (and the other 10% is cheols rap aldjsf)….i also think he hovers around being able to support or maybe its my biased ears talking who knwos… i didnt really talk about dn but hes kind of along the same lines…maybe a bit more dependent on his throat than some of the other members in pt…which kind of makes sense bc thats what rappers tend to dovt: ok js and wz are both similar in how they approach singing i think its kind of obvious too with how much they sound alike at times. oh yeah wz probably has the highest vocal range within the group idt anyone in the group can go higher than him (not that it really matters when it comes to vocal technique but its a neat tidbit of info). jh for one has a lot of tongue tension (just like jn) when he sings and is kinda nasal (not as much as jn but still there). just like the rest of the other members in the other units, these three dont support either. we can finally talk about support when we talk about sm…although his supported range isnt too much he does have that basic down…he gets super throaty though when hes outside his supported range. he does that same hiccup thing that hs/jn do. he hasn’t shown the ability to resonate but at least he can support. despite singing a lot of the groups high notes, he hasnt developed a connected head voice, as far as im aware of. technique wise hes really similar to a lot of the main vocalists in groups that debut these days. but ok NOW SK aka the member who has the best vocal technique. he supports consistently and he has resonance too its so beautiful and wonderful to listen to like esp since a lot of kpop group vocalists that debut these days for some reason dont really want to resonate. its so nice to listen to his voice. like hes fooling around here but still manages (what i think is) a resonant F#4? (not the high note he holds out, its like the note he sings before he slides up) and if that note isnt resonant then it is at the very least supported very very very nicely. heres a really pretty g4. tbh i really want to hear him start trying to conquer the fourth octave like what a good day itd be if i could say ‘yeah sk can sing up to b4s with good technique’ like thats kind of hard to do but definitely attainable! and he has the potential for sure! i think within the fandom hes really quite overlooked for some odd reason that i cant seem to figure out why. he definitely has the healthiest voice, at least his mixed register for sure. he seems to prefer mixing over head voice for whatever reason when it comes to high notes so honestly speaking i havent paid much attention to his head voice but i wouldnt be surprised if it wasnt connected considering how much he doesnt sing in it…but tbh the fact that he mixes pretty decently is amazing in it of itself. CONCLUSION: with proper vocal guidance and technique ANYONE can become a decent singer.

#anon #replies

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gayspock · 4 years

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i have a class in 10 minuites. enough time ot anya ramble#

because ugh. idk but anya in s7 really fucking. bugs me. like

okay anya in GENERAL: i think shes a funny queen and i like her, but like.... ultimately, idk. a lot of the time, with her character, i think its gratingly obvious that she wasn’t supposed to stick around this long. and whilst i dont think thats inherently an issue... i just think it can make things rlly messy, yknow. (spike is another example where like. i didnt jhave to look it up- i just KNEW he was initially intended as a more one off character, from context)

but like with anya. they bring her in as a scary villain. shes then reduced to a joke for several seasons. and then back end of s6/s7 they try to pick her back up and- and it just doesnt... work for me like tht... like its just a bit too late and hasty and i just wish they’d started treating her properly as a character BEFOREHAND yknow. bc god up until the wedding it still FELT like she was a minor joke character who rlly got no serious handling- and then obviously xander leaves her, but idk. i feel bad but its hard to actually feel the emotional weight of that when, up until tht point, the show itself hadnt handled anya seriously at all. and even after. the stuff she does get it all seems so...... minimal?! like definitely shes in it a lot but what she does do- its hard to describe.,.. but it always feels like shes been shoved to the side, in favour of everyone else, even when the episode is supposed to be about her. like all of the actual emotional focus is on the scoobies and YES theyre the main part of the show but its like. this, at this point, just reduces anya rto more of a problem. like jesus her best friend for fuckin hundreds of years got sacrificed BECAUSE of her, after she herself . did something horrible- something arguably worse/on par with what willow did and then. afterwards we got no time with her whatsoever.

and just her backstory ep itself- id ont like it, man. i dont know. i dont like how they kinda retconned her? to me its a million times more interesting if she is the way that she is, because she was a vengeance demon for so long & is now relearning to be a human. like i love that a lot more to be honest with you and it ties in, thematically, more with other shit in s7. and also...... okay hot and controversial take her. i know shes regarded as, like, austistic coded and the retcon that she was just “always like that!” is . supposed to be more of an indication of th- BUT HEY! I DONT WANT HER TO BE! maybe 20 years ago fine and. i think its fine if other autistic ppl want her as rep? i recognise a lot of ppl would have regarded her for years as tht & i dont wanna take tht away but for me. like me personally. i dont know man i dont want a vengeance demon to be my autistic queen . at least not in the way shes executed- because like i said, like.... maybe if she was handled well, then sure, but shes treated as a joek for most of the show, then even when she is handled more seriously, theres more time spent into how everyone else is handling her which wasnt purposeful but its like an unfortunate coincedence if she IS supposed to be autistic. and yeah im brushing over the fact shes. yeah because i am a little sick of us just not getting genuinely good autistic characters but anyways

i think the whole fear of bunny things was a really irritating and. forgive me. but cringey joke too. like it reminds me of fucking (and ik obviously buffy came first... am referring to my own experiences) matt smith era doctor who. how i loathe the humour.... like ah yes we will say random absurd thing repeatedly until its humurous. hahaha. bunnies. hahaha. bowties are cool. like it isnt even funny in the first place but then its done to death- and then the fact that they tried to retroactively make that part of her tragic backstory is so........................ lazy and eye roll worthy like what are you trying to do here are you trying to do here. are the writers children is this baby hour is th-

and god theres a lot more issues surrounding her like i did not at all like her and xanders relationship. in part bc i dont like xander but like... i do think there was some genuine POTENTIAL there but they went about iniating it in the wrong way. because i do think they are compatible but just the whole... her strongarming him into going with her to prom and now shes in love with him (??) and i guess its LESS bad than when other ppl in the show are suddenly in love bcause i suppose she just isnt as used to handling and understanding her own emotions but i dont fucking know man i would have wanted some actual attention put into their relationship but frankly other than like. willow and tara did we EVER get moments with the relationships before suddenly eeyeehaw theyre head over heels and the only reason THEY did is bc they couldnt do that right off the bat bc theyre wlw ans YOU KNOW WHAT.

WE CANT KEEP DOING THIS BELOVED. IM CUTTING MYSELF OFF

#egg.txt #buffy liveblog

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ethelbertpaul444-blog · 6 years

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Toronto’s Aaron Sanchez reignites inning restraint debate

David Lengel: Aaron Sanchez is the whiz of the Blue Jays gyration, at least for one or two more starts Lets start with the obvious: nothing not renowned surgeon Dr James Andrews , not agent Scott Boras , not Washington Nationals and New York Mets general managers Mike Rizzo and Sandy Alderson , not Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz knows the right path when it comes to protecting young arms. When young Nats hurler Stephen Strasburg was controversially shut down in September of 2012 and New York ace Matt Harvey blew through his innings restriction last-place season, both were coming off Tommy John elbow surgery: Aaron Sanchez, the Toronto Blue Jays 24 -year-old ace at the center of the latest innings debate has not, farther muddying the questions. Jays GM Ross Atkins, who along with their Ceo and President Mark Shapiro have been deliberating a decision to pulled the former reliever from the starting gyration possibly sooner rather than later, is smart enough to realize that he doesnt know whats right either. Theres not data either way, Ross told TSN radio in Toronto on Tuesday. With all the unknowns winging around Toronto, heres what we do know: Sanchez is the centerpiece of what is arguably the best starting rotation in the American League. Hes run 17 starts without a loss, a long time active unfold in MLB, while compiling a 2.71 ERA during a season in which hes become a legitimate Cy Young candidate. Sanchez is also efficient, averaging 14.9 lurches per inning, good enough for sixth in MLB. Why is Atkins preparing to remove Sanchez from the spin? At 139.1 innings thrown this season, Sanchez has already eclipsed his 2014 high marking of 133.1 innings, who the hell is thrown between the Blue Jays and their bush league affiliates. In a disagreement where home-grown pitching whizs are a scarcity, the Jays are highly motivated to keep Sanchez health for the long term. In addition to theoretically protecting Sanchezs prized right arm, the move too mounts up what could be a formidable 1-2-3 bullpen perforate together with set-up soldier Jason Grilli and closer Roberto Osuna. It could help a aid core that ranks 11 th in ERA, but that thought also presumes Sanchez has no editions moving back to relief work. Replacing Sanchez in the spin “wouldve been” inconsistent Francisco Liriano, acquired at the non-waiver trade deadline, with journeyman Scott Feldman waiting in the backstages if that didnt work out. We feel like transitioning him[ Sanchez] to a relief character would be the best act for us being in Play 7 of the World Series, said Atkins on a conference call following the deal for Liriano. Interesting thought, specially when you consider the dogfight Toronto are in to even reach the playoffs, let alone the World Series. When Strasburg left the spin in 2012 the Nats had a 6.5 tournament NL East lead in early September. Meanwhile, the fact that one is well aware right and wrong for Sanchezs health in the long run isnt continuing those working in Toronto and beyond from taking slopes. On Wednesday, Torontos SportsNet5 90 radios Andrew Walker said its crazed to throw him 240 innings![ that number would be reached only if Sanchez finished the season and the Jays experienced an extended playoff pas ]. Categorically insane! Smoltz, who sloped both as a starter and then in the bullpen, told Torontos The Fan radio on Wednesday that he doesnt like the space Toronto are handling the situation. Going to the bullpen and youre not the closer has a lot more of an effect on your forearm and organization than parties recall because you dont have a characterized capacity. Its not like they go in the seventh inning of every competition were gonna get him up and get him in. When youre a top-line starter, which I make[ Sanchez] is, you got to make sure that that becomes the DNA of this player. Jays starting catcher Russell Martin has discovered the majority of members of Sanchez innings up close. I dont like it, Martin said here on Sportsnets Tim& Sid show. You got a guy who is cruising, testifying no mansions of tirednes … How many stressful innings has he had? I dont think hes had too many, you know? His innings are pretty scavenge … if the guy is completely healthy and putting up character start after quality start, I dont even know why its a discussion right now. Thats merely my views. Im not the one attracting the fibres. Martin wants to win and apparently, so do his team-mates, so such a move could potentially stir the clubhouse negatively at exactly the incorrect time. Throw out all of the unknowns in the health question and youre left with a pure baseball decision. Removing a Cy Young candidate shapes little to no sense, and risks derailing all the momentum the rejuvenated franchise is hold. Canadas team are poised to break through the 3 million marker in attendance for the first time since 1993 and are among the favourites to reach the playoffs and potentially acquire their third World Series title. They should be all in for today , not tomorrow. Video of the week On Sunday, Cincinnati Reds hurler Homer Bailey accomplished his long wander back from Tommy John surgery, sloping well in his first major league tournament since April of 2015. But he was still rust-brown: with runners on the recess in the sixth, San Diegos Wil Myers took off for residence after Bailey turned his back following a stroll, spanning the plate easily to steal a operate. Bryan Price came out to discuss the play with the adjudicator, but “havent had” recourse after given to understand that his pitcher was sleeping at the rotation. Cue the lulluby … Quote of the Week Ken Rosenthal (@ Ken_Rosenthal) August 2, 2016 To those upset with first version of Puig story: Im with you. I take great pride in accuracy. It infuriates me that a key item was wrong. Thats Ken Rosenthal rationalizing for his Yasiel Puig story that said that the Dodgers outfielder had stormed off after learning he wouldnt be on the team airliner to Denver. When Rosenthal learned that Puig wasnt at the ballpark, and thus could not have stormed off “the authors ” evidenced genuine class in admitting the error, and also added that the information came from informants, but thats not an justify. Its my work to check everything thoroughly. Puig, who was replaced by the incoming Josh Reddick and sent down to the children by LA, was sympathetic. Yasiel Puig (@ YasielPuig) August 2, 2016 @ken_rosenthal don’t annoy bro, we all become blunders #puigyourfriend #seeyousoon Whos closer to victory: Donald Trump or the Cubs? Well, the New York Post produced some little-known photos of the Trumpsters wife Melania this week, and, depending on your disposition in life, that could be considered either a win or a loss. However, the flap with Humayun Khan must be a black mark species wherever youre standing. When you weigh it all up, Le Grande Orange has been playing from behind all week. Meanwhile, the Cubs experienced a walk-off win on Sunday against the Mariners thanks to pitcher Jon Lester, who cant throw to first base but can lay down one heck of a bunt. While in the very same recreation, pitcher Travis Wood made a fantastic catch up against the ivy in left field. And all that came before Chicago wiped the Marlins: Cubs get the edge this time around. How did the minors piss off Goose Gossage this week? By Miamis Derek Dietrich stripping off his uniform top after snapping an 0-20 slump with a pinch-hit walk-off triple to defeat the Cardinals on Sunday, thats how. Goose would go gonzo if he saw this. Meanwhile, Goose continued to stick to his AR-1 5s concerning the practice baseball is heading. While addressing young musicians in Maine over the weekend, Gossage told the girls: I said my agreement about at-bat moves and remaining video games in check. Nobodys overtaking the light to teach these boys how to play. They reach so much money, theyve got a bunch of coach-and-fours that have never been in the big league that exactly tiptoe around these people. I was taught how to deed. You act like health professionals. Ive said my armistice. The activity, in my views, is going to hell. Actually, based on Dietrichs physique, it looks like the game is going to the gym. Nine expects in order 1) Has there ever been a Subway Series with less sizzle than the 2016 publication of Mets v Yankees? One New York radio host said it best: this line is more like a wake. The Mets are sinking fast under the weight of incredible harm issues, and the Yankees are eventually in full rebuilding mode after coping Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Ivan Nova and Carlos Beltran. All the Yanks have now is bringing up the children and deciding whether or not the Yanks preserve Alex Rodriguez around long enough to thumped his 700 th home run or precisely release him, the latter of which is being reportedly being seriously considered. Meanwhile, the Mets, who are clinging to National League wild card hopes, acquired Jay Bruce from the Reds, in a move that also adjusts up what could be one of the most difficult outfield the defence of all-time: Yoenis Cespedes( now on the disabled list) in left field, Curtis Granderson in middle and Bruce in claim. If Braves fans to benefit from pray for rainfall after Spahn and Sain, Mets fans better better start praying for strikeouts and ground balls on every slope. Perhaps John McEnroe can help with that? Give that serviceman a contract! 2) Can the Colorado Rockies form the playoffs? Its not beyond reasonable suspense, even without Trevor Story, who may be lost for the season after sustaining ligament shattering in his left thumb. The Rox, who held on to their key element at the non-waiver trade deadline, are 14 -5 since the infringe. Most of this Rockies guide has come on the road where their pitching has been far superior. In Colorado, where the staff members almost always suffocates in Denvers thin air, theyre rock bottom in team ERA rankings with a 5.98 marker. Fantastically, along the road, the Rox have given up 98 fewer operates, posting an Period of 3.62: thats third in the NL, in front of the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, St Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. Tyler Chatwood is 6-0 with a 1.30 Era in nine away starts, and 4-6 with a 5.69 ERA in 10 home starts, which is ridiculous. Naturally, their greatest obstacle to contacting the season is their own stadium, where unfortunately they have 32 competitions continuing against 26 on the road. 3) Wednesday was D-Day for baseball and softball, in addition to providing athletics climbing, skateboarding, surfing and karate: all endeavors being considered for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. All five became the slouse, but dont reckon for a minute that MLB will halt their season to send actors: their brass are fully committed to constituting the World Baseball Classic the crown jewel of international play-act. Still, that doesnt mean it isnt good for the athletic or the players. John Blundell (@ JBMLBPR) August 3, 2016 Last time baseball was an Olympic sport( 08) these guys won bronze. Strasburg, Fowler, Cahill, Arrieta. #mlb #Wbsc pic.twitter.com/ ZLzpfQDGkU 4) Heres a downer kindnes of the official Instagram of Skeeter Duffy, Matt Duffys large-scale feline TAGEND Thanks for all your lovin’ San Francisco. We’re gonna miss ya. Onwards to Tampa! #furrevergiant #duffcat #duffmanforever #byeSF A photo posted by Skeeter Duffy (@ duffcat3 5) on Aug 1, 2016 at 9:17 pm PDT Duffy, who was sent to the Giant as part of a cope to for hurler Matt Moore, was the felines meow in San Francisco last season, playing the hot corner in place of the departed Pablo Sandoval. Duffy broke out, positing an unexpected. 762 OPS, but hasnt been able to match that Giant spark in 2016. Now he and Skeete, who has over 15,000 folloers on Instagram, are apparently patronizing for Iams and catnip after a long transcontinental flight to Tampa, a true-life blow to felines in the Bay Area. UPDATE: its too hot for Skeeter in Tampa, so hes staying with Duffys mothers. 5) Heres a record you require no part of: the Los Angeles Dodgers, currently in second place in the NL West while guiding the wild card race, have made 22 musicians on the disabled inventory this season, that after starting 2016 with 10 players on the DL. Only the 2015 New York Mets can pair these sort of harm numbers, and on the bright side for LAs love, many of whom are in a nasty feeling with Clayton Kershaw not eligible to pitch until late August, New York won the NL East. 6) Just periods after putting together one of the best, if not the good bullpen in baseball, the Indians rotation received a punch with Danny Salazar thumping the DL with elbow inflammation. Clevelands righty hurler abode his shortest start to the season while get pasted by the Twinneds on Monday and had what was supposed to be a precautionary MRI on Tuesday. Salazar had given up 21 moves over his last five starts after allowing merely 23 moves over his first 15 starts of the season. Cleveland are trying to acquire their first World Series entitle since 1948 and are four games up on the Beast in the AL West. 7) On the heels of the Tribe are the red hot Detroit Tigers, who have won eight straight recreations while going health at precisely the right time. With a payroll of roughly $200 m, the team werent prepared to attain meaningful adds-on at the busines deadline, but they are getting buttress in matters of the activations of Jordan Zimmerman and JD Martinez from the disabled schedule. After being left for dead by most experts picking the Royals to repeat as AL Central champs this season, the Tigers ought to have hang about thanks to a high-powered offense driven by Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler and JD and Victor Martinez. Now their pitching staff are coming around with their second half ERA dropping by 1.33 to 3.14. With tough line against the Mets, Navigator, Red Sox and Rangers coming up, the next few weeks will show us how real Detroit are. 8) Joey Votto is having an interesting era with love lately. On Monday Joey Votto desegregated it up with a person in a Reds jersey while chasing a fouled ball into the stands. Cut4 (@ Cut4) August 3, 2016 It took some innings, but Joey Votto& a @Reds fan sorted everything out. Full Story: https :// t.co/ iCNjYJulXz pic.twitter.com/ bwznPWocJB Votto apologized, but the mea culpa comes just days after he chastened a young love who asked for his batting gloves in San Francisco. Melanie Nichols (@ kiasuchick) July 27, 2016 Kid asks for Joey’s batting gloves. Votto responds “You’re sitting in the figurehead row, you’re elite. This isn’t a ‘Make A Wish’ situation” … Im all for messing with followers as long as its kept flare, but the Make–AWish Foundation crack is totally unnecessary. 9) And ultimately, on Tuesday, umpire Bob Davidson encountered a devotee at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Philly Influencer (@ PHL_Influencer) August 3, 2016 A fan was ejected from video games by home plate umpire Bob Davidson pic.twitter.com/ k7gwhG9K2l Davidson has a reputation for confrontation, but it seems the veteran ump got it right this time, speaking to the fan about homophobic heckling before security questioned the offender to leave. People heartened me, said Davidson. which is unusual in this town for me Read more: www.theguardian.com http://dailybuzznetwork.com/index.php/2018/08/30/torontos-aaron-sanchez-reignites-inning-limit-debate/

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Dishing the dirt on detox | Jay Rayner

A self-confessed glutton, Jay Rayner has always been wary of the January detox. But after talking to experts and sampling some of the products, hes discovered the truth is even worse than he imagined

Sunday afternoon in the darkest days of early January and I am sitting on the sofa, my face caked in a mixture of clay mined from deep below the Atlas mountains and organic rosewater from the Dades Valley. My cheeks and brows are a mess of coagulating geography. I am giving myself a home facial, courtesy of Facetox, a product originating from Leeds which promises to Extract, Pull & Detoxify. The box says its cruelty free, but doing this to myself feels rather less so.

In my hand is a steaming mug of Dr Stuarts Liver Detox naturally caffeine-free tea, containing dandelion root, centaury herb and milk thistle. The tea promises to get it out your system without saying exactly what it might be. Before applying the mask I drank a glass of lemonade the colour of an outflow from a flooded coal mine. It is produced by Press London, is 0.05% activated charcoal and has the word detox on the label.

The face mask starts drying out, pulling my skin taut underneath. I begin to feel a bit of an arse, because the one thing all these products apparently claim to do detoxify me, purge me of poisons is the one thing they cannot do. Yes, I may have indulged over Christmas: drunk deep, eaten broadly, hit the sugars and the fats like a train ramming the buffers. But I know nothing with the word detox on the label will mitigate any of it.

The whole idea does make me smile, says Dr Donal ODonoghue, professor of renal medicine at Manchester University and president of the Renal Association, because it is cobblers. There is nothing like this which will improve your bodys detoxification system.

Nor does there need to be because of what butchers would call our offal, and Ill call our kidneys and liver these organs have that whole detox business covered for us. The liver processes what we put into ourselves. The kidneys then filter it out. There is nothing we can eat which will improve liver and kidney function, says Dimple Thakrar, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association. As long as you are eating a normal, balanced diet your body will do exactly what it needs to do. Without our liver and kidneys we would die of poisoning, she says. The whole notion of detox is not merely redundant but, to put it in technical terms, a dumb-ass symptom of a deep well of scientific illiteracy which enables sane people to believe whatever unsubstantiated, anti-modern, counter-intuitive, make-it-up-as-we-go-along, bottom-feeding blather thats shoved in front of us.

Mud, glorious mud: Jay Rayner tries a facemask which, the packet says, will extract, pull and detoxify

And yet the myth of the January detox endures. Cosmetics companies spew forth literature on products they promise will purge your skin of all the poisons they have absorbed merely by living in the 21st century. Juice companies offer detoxifying cleanses. You want your liver to be as shiny and fresh as a newborns? Someone somewhere believes they have a product for that. Reputable newspapers OK, the Daily Mirror fill their pages with hokum and woo about the need to re-alkalise your system by eating plant algaes which help your body detoxify quickly.

The obvious response is to mutter a fool and their money and move on. Certainly, purifying yourself is a quick way to cleanse your wallet of money. That Facetox pack costs 24.99 for seven masks and, according to Dr Tamara Griffiths of the British Association of Dermatologists, will not detoxify you at all. Nothing applied to the skin will do that. It may take off some dead skin cells, but thats not really the same thing, she says. The tea is 4.40 a box. The activated charcoal lemonade retails at 6 for 330ml.

The odd face mask or drink of tea isnt going to do you any harm, but there can be a darker side to it if you go for a whole regime and choose the wrong one. This month a paper in the British Medical Journal reported the recent case of a 47-year-old woman admitted to hospital, suffering from seizures brought on by low sodium levels in her blood. She had been undergoing a herbal medication detox, alongside drinking vast amounts of water, green tea and sage. She recovered entirely once her sodium levels were returned to normal, but otherwise might indeed have been cleansed, if only from the face of the earth. The paper reported another case of a man who experienced fits after undertaking a similar regime.

It frustrates me when people bang on about detox, says Thakrar, because it can actually cause harm. The evidence suggests that by following a so-called detox, especially ones involving fasting, you can damage liver enzyme activity and therefore damage your bodys ability to detoxify itself. Likewise, she says, reducing calories for the short term can reduce your metabolic rate and you can end up putting on more weight in the long term.

I show her literature from a company offering tailor-made juice-cleanse packages delivered to your door for hundreds of pounds which they say will detoxify your body and reset your metabolism. They proclaim celebrity endorsements from the likes of Madonna, Georgia May Jagger and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Theres no evidence to back up any of the claims, Thakrar says. Theyre nonsensical. I suppose the positive is that youd get a lot of fruit and vegetables, but were adults and we have teeth. We dont need our food juiced. Plus, you could end up consuming enormous amounts of sugar. Wheres the protein? Wheres the calcium?

You would think there would be laws covering this sort of thing, and there are. Any health claims made for food or cosmetics have to be backed up by scientifically rigorous research which is then assessed, since 2007, by the relevant European Union body. In the case of food it is the European Food Safety Agency. Applications for a valid claim of a detoxifying effect have been made for a dozen foodstuffs, including grapefruit, seaweed and a rice vinegar extract. All have been refused. But, as Im told by David Pickering of the Trading Standards Institute, which has responsibility for messages on packaging: It is very hard to police the health-claims market, not least in the age of the internet when products might be coming in from places where regulation is different.

Talking to the companies in this country responsible for detox products and their marketing is not always a rewarding experience. In a south London branch of Boots I find racks of multi-vitamins. While none of these say they rid your body of poisons, the sign above the shelves does say Detox. Boots tells me it was a mistake, and left over from an installation put up in 2007 and would be taken down immediately. I ask the manufacturer of Dr Stuarts Liver Detox tea, based in Storrington, West Sussex, how it detoxifies the liver and what research they have to back up the message that it could get it out your system. Arran Elliott of Dr Stuarts replies: We have decided to abstain from commenting on this matter. Oh.

Its tricky to work out when detox became a necessary cure for lifestyle rather than genuine poisoning. Illustration: Eva Bee

Ed Foy of Press London, which manufacturers the activated charcoal lemonade, is more forthcoming. First, we dont make direct claims about their impact on a persons body, he tells me by email. As we know this would put us into a category of therapeutic regulation and would be beyond our remit as a consumer food company. Indeed it would, though he goes on to point out that charcoal is used in other clinical detoxifying processes. Perhaps, but is that any excuse for turning out a lemonade which looks like pond water?

As to the justification for putting the word detox on the bottle, this is apparently a massive category error on my part. Apparently and its worth reading this explanation in full I was confusing the publics vernacular use of detox in common parlance and the medical term detoxification. Today, if someone says I am doing a January detox they mean that they are cutting out negative factors in their consumption habits, such as alcohol, smoking and foods rich in sugar, fat or salt. Therefore when we talk about detox to a consumer the consumer understands we are promoting the preferential consumption of healthier products rather than harmful ones and not referring specifically to the process of detoxification by the liver and or kidneys.

Say what? This is my mistake? The fact that detox is short for detoxification and that, in every dictionary the word is defined as variations on the removal of poisons from the body has nothing to do with it? I make myself another cup of Dr Stuarts Liver Detox tea to see if that will calm me down. It doesnt. I study a pack of cleansing detox foot pads made in China for Organic Guru. You bandage them to your feet while you sleep and apparently the active ingredients vinegar, plant powder and something called minus ion work wonders. The main functions according to the pack are detoxification beauty, clear physical beauty, stimulate metabolism, enhance immune function. Not bad for 6.99. If it wasnt utter tosh.

Detoxification does, of course, have a medical meaning, involving treatments for narcotic addiction or overdose. It is, therefore, tricky to work out when detox became seen as a necessary cure for lifestyle rather than genuine poisoning. However, according to Dr Alun Withey, historian of medicine at Exeter University, it is less a modern phenomenon than a notion that reaches back to our pre-pharmacological past. There is a striking similarity between modern media ideas of detox and 17th-century versions of medical treatments to drive out the bad things, he says. The literature of the period, including that by renowned herbalist Thomas Culpeper, is full of remedies against a surfeit, he says. Culpeper in turn recycles a lot of stuff thats centuries old about restoring the body to balance.

Judy Swift, associate professor of behavioural nutrition at Nottingham University, also sees a link with the past. If you go back to the early Christian period there is the strong idea that the pleasure food gives you is a temptation and we rise above these things because we are not animals. We prove our moral worth by not doing it. Modern notions of detox echo all this. However, she says, there is also very much a link to modern health policy. While the medical fraternity may laugh in the face of detox products, she points out that government health advice eat five portions of fruit and veg a day, avoid certain fats, cut out the fizzy drinks is hardly dissimilar. The message of that advice, she says, is that to be healthy you have to work at it. It requires denial. It has to be medicalised. It has to be hard won. Which sounds very much like a juice cleanse or gargling with sooty lemonade.

After I wash off my clay detoxifying face mask, I study my skin. It is a bit pink in places, but otherwise there is no difference from before, which makes sense given my skin wasnt poisoned in the first place. It merely serves to highlight the sadness of people landing themselves in A&E with seizures as a result of an ill-judged detox they thought was good for them. I run myself a bath and pour in bright orange granules of Total Detox Bath Potion, the colour of childrens sweets. Made by a company called Ancient Wisdom, they are apparently infused with potent aromatic oils and cost 4.74 a pack. They give the water a yellowish tinge, like someone has peed in it. I settle back and wait for the poisons to dissipate from my body. Nothing happens.

Still, its a nice bath.