#made top 40 again in all three countries in 2022 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kaybee87 · 1 year

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I posted 288 times in 2022

That's 265 more posts than 2021!

21 posts created (7%)

267 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@mylifeisactuallyamess

@istorkyou

I tagged 56 of my posts in 2022

#fic recs - 29 posts

#vikings - 28 posts

#vikings fanfiction - 24 posts

#vikings fic - 20 posts

#ivar the boneless - 12 posts

#modern ivar - 11 posts

#ivar lothbrok - 10 posts

#vikings modern au - 9 posts

#modern ivar x reader - 9 posts

#ivar x f!reader - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 40 characters

#eddie munson x reader x steve harrington

My Top Posts in 2022:

So apparently the heat makes me horny and here’s another thing!

Warnings: NSFW. Minors DNI. Smut p in v think that’s it.

Heat Version 2 - Ivar x F!Reader

Unprecedented that’s what they were calling it, hottest temperature on record. The thing is when people thought of your country they thought of rain. Where if you get three fairly decent days in June you joke that that’s your summer over and done with. Yet here you are feeling like you might genuinely be melting.

Walking into the living room you see your boyfriend sat at the table working, you don’t know how he’s managing to look so put together, long dark hair pulled back into a sleek man bun wearing sweat shorts and a t shirt looking the epitome of cool. If you mentioned it he’d probably make some snarky remark about how he’s as hot as hell anyway so the temperature has no effect on him. I mean he’s not wrong! The only thing you knew had been bothering him were his leg braces, this was made evident by the use of his wheelchair today. Meanwhile everything was bothering you, you were hot; bored; slightly annoyed that Ivar was working and too hot to wear anything but a loose vest and shorts and even those were bothersome.

When you don’t gain his immediate attention you dropped dramatically onto the sofa with a loud whine. You can actually hear the smirk that adorns Ivar’s lips. “What’s up brat?” You huff “I’m not a brat, just hot is all”. Ivar actually chuckles this time “that’s all? Ok well I can’t fix that and I really need to finish this”. To be honest you were feeling in a bit of a bratty mood, you’d say it was the heat getting to you but mainly it was the lack of attention. You try flicking through the tv channels for a bit but nothing holds your attention, turning it off again an idea comes to mind and you look towards Ivar, still buried in his work, with a devilish grin upon your face.

“Gods it really is ridiculously hot in here,” you start. “Mmm hmm,” is the only response you get. “Heard it’s going to last the rest of the week”. “Uh huh”. Time to up the stakes. “I’m just going to the kitchen, you want anything?” You ask. “Nope”. You return with an ice lolly in your hand and settle back on to the sofa. Knowing that Ivar’s not yet watching, you take small licks of the lolly before moaning loudly. His head spins in your direction. “This is so good babe, so cold, you sure you don’t want one?” He just shakes his head and watches as you slide your lips to the bottom of the lolly before gently sucking and then pulling back up. You notice his Adam’s Apple bob as he swallows but still he doesn’t rise to your attempts. You continue making a show of eating your lolly, paying it the same attention you would his dick and moaning a lot about how good it is. “I know what you’re doing,” his voice is a little shaky and you just know he’s hard under the table. “What do you mean?” You feign innocence. “Don’t be a brat,” he says between gritted teeth, “I need to get this finished”.

Ok you’ve got to admit you’re impressed at his will power but you’re not ready to give up yet. You start to ramble a little about the heat again, about how much it’s bothering you and that you’re struggling to cope. Then you pull your vest top over your head and discard it on the floor, your back is to Ivar but you don’t need to turn around to know he’s now looking at you. You lie back on the sofa and shimmy out of your shorts, you stretch out a little against the soft material muttering about how it’s a little better without the unnecessary layer of clothing.

“Come here!” There’s an edge to Ivar’s voice now and it shoots heat straight to your core. You take your time sitting and turning to face him before making your way towards him. When you’re close to his chair he grabs you and pulls you into his lap, you move to straddle him and as you do he slaps your arse hard. “So needy aren’t you? Can’t stand not having all my attention huh? Told you that you were a brat!” You wanted to protest but Ivar’s fingers pushed into your mouth to silence you. His other hand made its way to your clit and flicked harshly. You moaned loudly around his fingers and this encouraged Ivar to roll his thumb around your clit. “Shouldn’t be doing this, ought to be teaching you a lesson, you’re so spoiled,” he was panting out the words now just as horny as you were. You knew you’d pushed him today but he seemed to be in a forgiving mood and you were so desperate so you gave your hips a roll landing perfectly against his rock hard cock.

Ivar pulled himself out from his shorts and gave two quick tugs before lifting your hips and allowing you to sink down onto him. You moaned as he stretched you out and he paused to let you adjust once he’d bottomed out. When you were ready you began moving your hips in long slow rolls and it wasn’t long before you were both heavy breathing into the others neck. You took your time, nothing about this encounter was rushed, when you knew Ivar was getting close you reached between you to rub your clit but he batted you away to do it himself. You felt your orgasm approach slowly but pull you under so heavily that you were worried you might pass out. Maybe it was the heat or maybe it was because this is what you’d been wanting, slow lazy sex with your man. You were both a sweaty mess and in desperate need of a shower, Ivar slapped your arse playfully as you moved off of him and you just smiled at him. The temperature may have been hot but hell Ivar was hotter.

@mylifeisactuallyamess @istorkyou @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie @bragisrunes @serasvictoria @punkrocknpearls

48 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

Just a little something for the current heatwave. 880 words of filth basically

Warnings: NSFW. Minors DNI. Oral female receiving, p in v, mild choking

Ubbe and f!reader

Heat

It was hot, hell no it was hotter than hot it was damn unbearable. It had been like this for days now and you weren’t used to it and your country was not equipped to deal with it, roads were melting, trains and planes cancelled. The warnings were to stay indoors out of the sun but with no air conditioning you lay on your sofa in just your underwear the fan doing nothing but blow hot air around the stifling room. You’d eaten nothing but ice lollies for days but you couldn’t bring yourself to cook or eat.

The door to your house opened and closed again and you could hear your boyfriend coming down the hallway. “Gods woman what if I wasn’t alone?” Your boyfriend questioned checking out your clothing or rather lack of. “Don’t care! Too hot!” You responded. Ubbe chuckled at you, “too hot for proper sentences also?” At this you just nodded your head which still felt like too much effort. You don’t know how he could stand there in his suit trousers and shirt, cuffs rolled up to his elbows. You suddenly become even hotter and you couldn’t tell if it was because the idea of wearing that many clothes made you feel faint or the way he filled them out set its own fire inside of you. “I’m going to shower,” Ubbe yelled on his way up the stairs.

You removed your underwear in your bedroom whilst making your way to your en-suite. You stopped to take in the sight of your boyfriend in the huge clear glass shower, back muscles rippling as he went about his routine, arse pert and on display and thighs that made you drool at all times. When Ubbe had first decided he wanted this ridiculously big shower with all its different sprays and taps, lights and god knows what else you’d decided it was just unnecessarily over complicated but its size alone had come in handy on more than one occasion. There had also been times when Ubbe had been away on business that you’d made use of some of the lower jets in particularly lonely moments.

“You just gonna keep staring or you planning on joining me?” He hadn’t even turned around just sensed you there, knew like always where you were in a room. Stepping into the shower you let out a little shriek as the cold water hit you, goosebumps rose over your skin but after the initial shock you relished the fact that you were finally cool. Ubbe’s face nuzzled into your neck, his tongue lapping at the slight salty taste of your skin, his hard cock pressing into your lower back. Already struggling to suppress your moans he spins you round to face him, you lift your head to look at his face and you can see the mischief in his eyes and the smirk playing on his lips. His hand comes to your throat pushing you back into the shower wall, he directs the cold spray completely on you and your already hard nipples become painful. The grip on your throat tightens as his mouth dips to your left nipple, licking and biting at it before moving to do the same to the right.

Air rushes back into lungs as you feel the hand drop from your throat and Ubbe’s mouth travels down your body to where you’re craving him the most. He slaps your thigh, a sign to tell you to spread your legs and you do so without question, one leg is hoisted over his shoulder and his beard scratches at your thighs in the most delicious way. He wastes no time lapping at your overheated core, the combination of his tongue flicking at your clit and the coolness of the water forces your orgasm in record time. Ubbe continues lapping at your juices until you push his head away, too sensitive for him to carry on.

“You good?” He asks, taking in your somewhat floppy appearance. “So good!” “Great because I’m not finished with you yet!” Ubbe turns you around again, your face up against the cool shower wall, the water still raining down on you. He pushes your back down a little, helping to present you to him more fully. He guides his now painfully hard dick between your soaking wet folds and pushes his way into your entrance. It doesn’t matter how many times you two have done this it’s always amazing, always a stretch, you live for the slight burn of his cock stretching you out, you could never get bored of this. Ubbe’s pace is relentless and he leans over you to run circles on your clit bringing you to your second orgasm before exploding inside of you.

“Who would’ve thought that would be the best way to cool down?” You giggle allowing the water to cool your skin and wash away the evidence of your sinful deeds, the only remaining ones will be the bruises forming on your throat. “So worth leaving the air conditioned office for.” His eyes watch your face waiting for you to bite. “Heeeyyy,” you whine. Ubbe just chuckles and pulls you back against him, “we may need to cool down again later this weather isn’t going to let up”.

@serasvictoria @mylifeisactuallyamess @istorkyou

50 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

The Holiday

Warnings: none that I’m aware of!

What happens when you meet the Ragnarsons on holiday. Vikings modern AU. Hvitserk and reader because I’m in my Hvitserk feels these days.

The sea was freezing as your nephew splashed passed you urging you further into the water with him, you’d been expecting a lot more warmth from the crystal water and the bikini you’d chosen wasn’t doing much to cover the obvious signs of your chilly state. You’d come away with your parents and your older sister and her family, your brother in law and your nephew and niece. Sometimes it was a bit awkward being the only single adult on the trip but you needed a break and some decent weather, plus you loved spending time with your family. Whilst you messed about in the sea with your nephew you were completely unaware of the eyes on you from a balcony at your hotel that overlooked the private beach.

“Careful little brother your eyes are going to pop out of your head,” Ubbe laughed slapping Hvisterk on his back. His other brothers all joined in with the laughter and he didn’t realise they were aware of his staring, he’d been watching you for quite a while trying to figure out the dynamics of your group, he’d guessed the older couple were your parents but then there was you, another woman, a man and two children. His family were very open minded and he was trying to work out if that was the case for you all too. “What do you think their situation is?” He asked no one in particular. It was his eldest brothers girlfriend who answered him “she’s with her sisters family and her parents”. His head rounded so fast at the news “how do you know that?” “I spoke to her earlier at breakfast, seems a nice girl” Kat shrugged like this information meant nothing but to him it was a green light. “Volleyball anyone?” Everyone rolled their eyes seeing right through his plan.

You were laying on your towel your eyes flicking between your niece building sandcastles close by and your nephew playing in the water when your elder sister suddenly elbowed you in the ribs. “Hey, what was that for?” “Just seeing if you thought the view has improved?” “Eh?” You looked over to your left to see a group of people had turned up at some point, there was a woman assisting two children with all their beach toys, you recognised her from breakfast this morning you’d exchanged a few words whilst waiting for the completely useless contraption that was apparently meant to toast your bread! Sitting beside her on a blanket was a guy with dark hair pulled back into a bun and sunglasses over his eyes and a killer jawline. Just in front of them were four more men who seemed to be discussing the rules of whatever game they were about to engage in and had also been blessed in the looks department. All of them were tall and muscular, although the one who stood out to you the most looked a little softer than the others, he had dirty blonde hair braided back and a little scruff on his face. As if he knew you were watching he looked directly at you, you blushed realising you’d been caught and a confident smirk appeared on his face.

As the day progressed the four children naturally gravitated towards each other and your eyes constantly roamed over the men and their volleyball game, every time your eyes met the dirty blondes, who you’d learn from their shouts name was Hvitserk, there seemed to be a little spark. You noticed that the dark haired man had been sitting on the blanket by himself the whole time, so feeling a little bold you decided to take a stroll over and plonk yourself down next to him. “Who’s winning?” You asked pleasantly. He briefly turned his head towards you and never once dropping his scowl he replied “I don’t keep score, they always cheat anyway”. You smiled, discreetly taking in the leg braces that were obviously keeping him from joining in. “I’m sure they’d love you to play,” he smirked. You laughed lightly “I couldn’t think of anything worse!! Sweaty sports in this weather and sand in every orifice no thank you”. He looked slightly taken aback by your bluntness and you couldn’t help but chuckle that you’d manage to dent his cool demeanour. The next thing you felt was someone falling in a heap across your legs. In an apparent attempt to hit the ball Hvitserk had all but dived into your lap. “You know if you wanted my attention I’m sure there’s a better way than breaking my legs,” you laughed and pushed him face first into the send. This earned a deep bellow from the man next to you and whoops and cheers from the rest of the men.

From your time at the beach and your conversations with the dark haired man who had told you his name was Ivar you’d learnt that he was the youngest of the five men. The four older men were his brothers, Sigurd who he seemed to have an extremely tense relationship with, Hvitserk who had clearly caught your eye, Ubbe and then Bjorn who was also accompanied by his girlfriend Kat and his two children from a previous relationship Hali and Asa. You’d spent quite a while all together on the beach with the children playing, the women chatting and the men swimming or playing some sort of sports.

You were now in your room getting ready for the evening, you were lucky in the fact that you had your own room, your parents were in another and your sister’s family in one together. The plan was to all have dinner together and then head to the hotel’s entertainment area to see what was on this evening. You were feeling the need to make a little more effort than usual and you were pretty sure it had something to do with the hazel eyed man who had spent the day winking in your direction.

You’d opted for a little black dress not too tight and just the right side of classy, you didn’t want to go overboard in this environment. Your make up was minimal as you’d managed to get a slight tan on your face which was giving your complexion a boost and you’d worn your hair loose. You hoped it was eye catching enough and were looking forward to the evening ahead. After meeting your family in the lobby you walked into the restaurant altogether and noticed your new group of friends were already in and enjoying the food. Hvitserk was eating some sort of meat joint directly from the bone, you had no idea why this flipped your stomach the way it did you were sure if it was anyone else it would have disgusted you but the sight seem to draw out something slightly animalistic from within. You noticed Ivar wave in your direction and you reciprocated with a small shy wave. This move seemed to bring about shock from the rest of his table mates and you weren’t exactly sure why.

Concentrating on your meal seemed particularly difficult this evening and you were happy to be slightly on the outside of your parents conversation and instead enjoyed some playfulness with your niece and nephew. You helped them in getting their food from the buffet and talked about all the things they were enjoying about being on holiday. When you were all finished you moved onto the entertainment area only to find your new found friends had saved space for you all at their table. You all had a few drinks and enjoyed watch the children dance at the mini disco, after that your parents offered to take all the children back to their room so you could all continue your evening, a fact Bjorn and Kat were particularly grateful for as they hadn’t had the luck of grandparents coming along on the trip. You and your sister found Kat especially easy to get along with and spent some time chatting and drinking, Hvitserk kept throwing charged looks your way which had started to make you squirm in your seat. Ivar seemed to enjoy interrupting these moments by leaning in closer for you to hear something he was saying or moving directly into your line of sight, you could tell this was all done to annoy his brother from the smirk on his face and the utter displeasure written all over Hvitserk’s. Sigurd seem to be the quietest of the group and only really piped up when he had something to say to piss Ivar off, this had to be interrupted on several occasions by Bjorn or Ubbe before it got out of hand completely and Kat sent a “you get used to it” shrug in your direction.

After a while your sister, brother in law, Bjorn and Kat decided it was probably time to relieve your parents of their babysitting duties albeit with some reluctance on the men’s part. Your sister gave you a quick wink and encouraged you to stay put. Hvitserk sauntered off to the bar and came back with a tray full of drinks one of which was some elaborate cocktail with straws and umbrellas which he passed in your direction. “What’s this?” You asked, taking the drink from his hand, where he seemed to let his fingers linger a little longer than necessary. “It’s a sex on the beach,” he grinned like a small boy. This caused Ubbe to roll his eyes, Sigurd to snigger and Ivar to practically spit his drink across the table muttering something about him being unbelievable. In your ever increasingly tipsy state you just chuckled at his obvious attempt to seduce you, clearly subtlety wasn’t his thing.

The music was loud, the free drinks were flowing and your body was starting to feel like a live wire, Hvitserk was talking about something but all you could concentrate on was how close your bodies were and the fact that his lips were basically grazing your ear in order for him to be heard. It was when you got up to dance and your legs almost gave we that Ubbe, ever the responsible brother called time on your evening and took it upon himself to escort you back to your room. You reached out towards Hvitserk but Ubbe gently guided you away “uh uh not tonight princess maybe when you’re a little more sober, off we go”.

You awoke to the sound of banging and you weren’t completely sure if it was the door or your head, when you finally dragged yourself from the bed and towards the noise you found your sister staring back at you. She couldn’t hold in the laughter “heavy night was it? You alone?” She asked before pushing passed you anyway and doing a quick scan of your room. “Yes, to both!” “Well it’s time to eat sunshine, let’s go.”

Walking into the restaurant you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about the night before, why did you have to get so drunk in front of people you barely knew? What was more annoying was that sitting at a table not far from your family were the Ragnarsons looking considerably fresh considering how much you’d all been drinking the night before. You gave a small nod vaguely in their direction and sank into your seat opposite your smirking brother in law.

You may feel like shit but you sure as hell weren’t about to look like it, so wearing the best bikini you owned you walked straight to the edge of the pool and dived in. The temperature was a bit of a shock to the system but just what you needed to liven yourself up, plus the satisfaction you got when you saw Hvitserk’s open mouthed stare and Ivar reaching over to physically close it for him was so worth it. He wasn’t the only one looking at you but you didn’t notice that.

Hvitserk audibly groaned as you exited the pool and batted Ivar’s hand away when he closed his mouth for him. He didn’t see his brother staring as he turned towards him, “why did you have to be so sensible last night? I didn’t even get a chance to kiss her!” He whined at Ubbe. “Because she wasn’t in a fit state to be sure”. “I think it’s because you like her too Ubbe, you wanted to play the hero,” Ivar interjected. “Oh gods do they always go for the same women?” Kat muttered to Bjorn who just laughed loudly. “Maybe we should ask her who she likes? It could be any of us,” Sigurd spoke up. “Really? You too? You’ve got no chance Sigurd,” Ivar sneered at his brother. “What and you think you have?” At this point Bjorn’s hand clamped down on Ivar’s shoulder to stop him throwing himself at Sigurd and Kat just rolled her eyes so used to their drama at this point that she didn’t even bother to get involved. Hvitserk felt weird, he wasn’t usually bothered by his brothers’ interest in women, not even if it was the same one as him but this was different he felt jealous. No he felt scared, what if you didn’t choose him?

You walked up to the bar to get something to drink and found Ubbe already there, “thank you for last night I was erm a little drunk”. “A little?” He laughed “but there’s no need to thank me”. You just gave him a small smile before you felt hands on your waist. “Good morning beautiful, are you avoiding me?” It was Hvitserk and your heart had picked up speed with his close proximity. He smelt so good and it took you a minute to realise he was still waiting for your response. “Er no sorry just feeling a little tender this morning”. You pulled back a bit, giving yourself some distance so your brain could actually engage. You all walked out of the bar to find your families had all merged into one large space at the side of the pool and when you saw the look on your mum and sisters’ faces you knew this had been their doing.

Sitting on your lounger, you enjoyed watching the guys in the pool with the kids, playing games, throwing them around, just general silliness that had the children laughing continuously. Ivar was sat to your right taking pictures with a camera that looked a bit too technical for your liking and Kat came walking over with a tray full of drinks, she handed you yours and you pulled a face at the taste of alcohol you weren’t sure you were ready for that yet. “Girls come on water polo”. Maybe you were going to need that drink after all.

Before you had chance to respond, Hvitserk bounded up to you like a very excitable very wet puppy, you half expected him to shake water all over you. “Come on, you can be on my shoulders”. “I don’t think we need to be on each other’s shoulders for water polo Serk”. He smirked at the use of the nickname you’d picked up from his brothers. “You do for this game,” he winked. So that’s how you ended up in the pool on Hvitserk’s shoulders, your sister on her husbands, Kat on Bjorn’s, leaving Sigurd on Ubbe’s which neither of them seemed particularly pleased about. You called Ivar as referee, not only because he wasn��t playing but also because you knew he wouldn’t take any shit! After a lot of messing about and more splashing and dunking than anything else Ivar called the game a draw and you all dropped down from your partner’s shoulders, only Hvitserk didn’t seem too keen on letting you go. He managed to slip you down until he was holding you against his front, your legs around his waist. “You know I can swim right?” You teased him, “you should do you spent enough time watching me earlier”. His cheeks turned slightly pink at being caught out. “You noticed that huh?” You just nodded in response so he continued “then I guess you also noticed I wasn’t the only one”. At this he seemed to close up and he put you down and swam to he edge of the pool hoisting himself out.

Feeling deflated you plopped yourself down on the lounger next to Ivar, you could see he was a bit of a moody fucker but he was fast becoming your friend and you enjoyed chatting to him. “What’s up?” He sighed as if he already knew the answer and you recounted your prior conversation with Hvitserk. “Ah well he happens to be right, it would seem that three out of five of us would like to get in your pants. One is obviously not Bjorn he’s very much loved up as you can see”. You followed where he was pointing only to find him and Kat cuddled up on one lounger. “And unfortunately for you, it’s also not me,” he smiled. “I don’t know whether to be offended or not,” you laughed. “I like you, I don’t like a lot of people and I don’t have a lot of friends, so I’d rather not lose friendship over sex”. You couldn’t help the big grin that spread across your face, you were happy to have connected with Ivar and you knew his words were true just by how shocked his family were that he was getting along so well with you. The bigger problem however was that you had three men, three brothers none the less, who were interested and you really weren’t sure that you wanted to be the cause of any family rift.

“Let’s go to a club,” Hvitserk slammed his glass on the table as if this idea was worthy of some sort of prize. When no one responded he turned his attention to you, he let his hand drop onto your knee and pleaded his case directly into your ear and well if your body didn’t just want to give the man anything he wanted. “Yeah a club sounds good, we can dance,” you were suddenly more enthusiastic at the the thought that Hvitserk would be even closer to you. Once you’d voiced your agreement the others got on board pretty quickly and before you knew it you were all squashed into a taxi on your way to one of the local clubs.

The music was loud and you all had to shout to hear each other but the atmosphere was great. You felt a large hard sprawled on the bottom of your back and you turned to see Ubbe which caused you to blush, he guided you towards the bar where Ivar was already yelling his order to the barman. As you took a look around you couldn’t help but notice how much female attention the boys were getting but they were either completely blind to it or so used to it they paid no attention. You hadn’t been there long when Sigurd and Ivar found themselves some female company and you sent a smirk in Ivar’s direction. Now that you were alone with the two brothers that had shown you the most interest in you the tension felt stifling, a song you recognised came over the speakers and you used this as an excuse to escape. You jumped up and headed towards the dance floor, a quick “I love this song” thrown over your shoulder. Attempting to throw yourself into the music you lost sight of the boys for a while but when you felt hands on your hips you expected it to be one of them, only to turn and find a stranger’s face above yours. Pulling away you shook your head to show your disinterest but he wasn’t getting the message, his grip tightening on your waist, you looked around for help but couldn’t see your way through the packed bodies. You started to panic but although you’d lost sight of all your friends they clearly hadn’t lost sight of you and the next thing you knew you were pulled into Hvitserk’s chest while Ubbe and Ivar stood between you and your unwanted guest, the latter almost salivating maliciously. Sigurd appeared out of nowhere with a quick “time to go” and led you all swiftly from the club.

When you arrived back at the hotel all you wanted to do was go to your room but you were yet to completely untangle yourself from Hvitserk, he felt safe and after your brief moment in the club that was exactly what you needed. “Come, I’ll walk you back,” he whispered into the shell of your ear. Ivar looked at you for reassurance that you were ok and you gave a confirmatory nod before allowing Hvitserk to lead you off. It felt too soon that you reached your door and you looked up with tears ready to fall. “Stay?” You squeaked. Hvitserk smiled and nodded and you led him into your room. You suddenly felt very shy but you told him to make himself at home whilst you went into the bathroom to remove your make up, brush your teeth, change your clothes and pee. When you come out he was laying up against the headrest in just his boxers and he lifted the sheet to encourage you in with him. You crawled into the bed and cuddled up against him, your need for comfort squashing your initial embarrassment. “Thank you, for tonight and for this” you waved your hand to gesture at your current situation. “Are you kidding? You don’t need to thank me for stopping some dickhead who can’t take no for an answer, or for cuddling. I’m a big cuddler”. You chuckled and curled in tighter to fall asleep.

Blinking your eyes you were vaguely aware of a body below yours, you opened them to find you were sprawled across Hvitserk’s warm torso, you couldn’t help but inhale his scent and felt grateful you’d asked him to stay. “Morning,” his voice was deep and raspy from lack of use and it sent a shiver through you, if he noticed he didn’t mention it. “Morning, you want the first shower?” “It’s all yours I’ll wait”. It felt oddly domesticated to be showering knowing he was on the other side of the door waiting for you. You were fully dressed when you came out of the bathroom and made a start on your hair. When he reappeared he was wearing a towel low on his hips and beads of water were travelling down his chest, you tried but failed to hide a slight gasp whilst he watched you braid your hair. You don’t know why you’d chosen to braid it today but you felt it probably had something to do with his and his brothers hairstyle of choice. “Could you do mine?” He sounded uncharacteristically shy when he asked. “Of course,” you smiled encouraging his own smile to form. You knelt on the bed and patted the space in front of you and began working on his braids, it felt remarkably intimate for something so mundane and you’re pretty sure you dragged it out longer than was necessary.

Walking into the restaurant you spotted your families sitting together once again, as soon as Hvitserk noticed he took your hand in his. You knew he was staking his claim but you didn’t seem to care, Ivar’s words about three of his brothers being interested in you suddenly came to mind and you almost pulled your hand away not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings. However when you looked at the table neither Sigurd or Ubbe seemed particularly put out and so you stayed as you were. Plopping down next to each other at the table you were instantly bombarded with questions about the encounter with the stranger in the club and the worry coming from your parents made you glare around the table seeking out who had opened their mouths. Ivar pointed at Sigurd childishly and you threw him a “what the hell” look. He did have the good grace to look sheepish and you turned back to reassure your family that it was nothing and you’d had four knights in white armour defending both you and your honour.

“We leave tomorrow you know,” Hvitserk was talking quietly directing his words solely to you. You felt deflated “you do? I didn’t realise. We have a few more days here but it won’t be the same without you”. Dread filled your stomach at the possibilities, nothing had actually happened between you not even a kiss but it was hard to deny there was something between you, you weren’t sure whether you were supposed to walk away and just chalk it up to a budding holiday romance or keep in touch. That only seemed like prolonging the agony, you didn’t even live in the same country, how could something that hadn’t even started manage without that sort of distance?

The Ragnarsons’ last day felt clouded by the thought of them leaving, even your mum was feeling the strain who had enjoyed playing Grandma to all four children and was sure to be back on your case about providing her with some more grand babies when this trip was over. When it came time to head to bed you’d wanted Hvitserk to stay in your room but that had been vetoed by his family who had stated he’d never get up in the morning and he’d end up being left behind, that didn’t really seem like a problem to you although you knew it was unrealistic. As he dropped you at your door he nuzzled his face into your neck and you heard him breathe in your scent, he dropped a kiss on your collarbone before pushing his lips against yours. The kiss started slow and sweet but soon there was an urgency to it and his tongue swiped your lips begging for entrance. You opened your mouth and the kiss become hot and heavy, it was easily the best kiss you’d experienced and when he pulled away you were both breathless. He leant his forehead against yours and you would swear his eyes looked glassy, I guess this is goodbye beautiful and you nodded because you knew if you uttered a single word you would burst into tears. Hvitserk walked away from you not dropping your hand until it was no longer possible to hold onto it, you willed him to look back but when he didn’t you walked into your room completely missing the moment when he did turn only to see you closing the door.

53 notes - Posted May 4, 2022

So here’s part 2! Thank you to those who wanted a second part and it’s not going to be the last one either 👀

Warnings: mentions of previous child abuse and abandonment. This fic is set in a psych ward and content could be trigging.

As usual not proofread or formatted 🤷🏻‍♀️

Part one

@mylifeisactuallyamess @istorkyou @batmandallyboy

Therapy part 2

Red! Red was all he saw now! Whenever he saw her, she was always wearing something red, whenever he closed his eyes and she appeared in his mind there was red. But this was different, there she was lying on the floor surrounded by red. The blood was everywhere, the floor, the walls, all over her body and her beautiful face. There was just so much of it but he couldn’t see where it was coming from he couldn’t stop it.

He screamed and jerked upright in bed, his whole body was drenched in sweat and he was breathing hard, there were even tears flowing freely down his face. This was the third time this week he’d had the nightmare and he didn’t know what it meant, it felt so real and every time he had it he felt compelled to seek her out. To stay close to her and keep watch over her. She didn’t seem to mind his clingy behaviour either, in fact she seemed brighter now than she had at first.

When he’d first seen her Ivar had been lost for words and that was rare for him, he couldn’t believe she was still here after all these years. But why was she here? He had wanted to ask her outright but even with his limited interactions with people outside of his family he knew it wasn’t something to just blurt out. But now he felt he had become close to her and they were both starting to open up to each other. He’d told her how he had been born with osteogenesis imperfecta or brittle bone disease as it was previously known. He’d told her how this had made him feel growing up, being different and how people had tormented him for it. How he couldn’t do the things his brother could and how in time this had made him feel less of a man. He’d even told her some of the awful things he’d done through anger, retaliation or sometimes even fear. He’d never admitted that to anyone before, that part of the reason he was so cold towards people was because he was scared and felt constantly inadequate. She didn’t judge him though, she just listened to his thoughts, sometimes she held his hand. They were his favourite times. It was after one of these times, once she’d walked away to get them both a drink that one of the orderlies approached him, “you should be careful with that one, nothing but trouble”. Ivar actually growled, he was sure in that instance he had never hated anyone more. The orderly wandered off muttering something about him being as crazy as the rest and no wonder he’d been admitted into here.

The ward had a garden area attached that was completely secluded from the outside world and the comings and goings of the outpatient area of the hospital. It was a particularly warm day and he was laying under a tree with his head in her lap when she said it, so quietly he had to ask her to repeat herself just to be sure he’d heard correctly. “I was sexually abused as a child, repeatedly, it’s why I’m in here”. Her voice was completely void of emotion as she spoke. “I don’t understand how has that led to you being here almost all your life?” He asked. She laughed but it was a humourless laugh. “My family didn’t believe me, the more I tried to tell them and the more fuss I made the more they decided I was crazy. They brought me here, they visited at first but when my story didn’t change, when they decided I wasn’t getting better they stopped coming and I’ve just been here ever since”. Ivar didn’t know what he wanted to do more, cry for the sadness of it all or hunt down her parents and her abuser and make them all suffer. But for now all he could do was weather the storm of her words, the way she had for him, until he was able to get out of here then he would hurt them all for what they’d done to her.

53 notes - Posted June 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

No idea what this is or where it came from but let me know if you think it’s worthy of a part 2. Not proofread and I hate formatting on this hellsite.

Ivar x reader

Warnings: implied suicide, mental health issues and psychiatric ward but not detailed.

Therapy

He was seven when he met the girl, his parents had taken him to a private hospital specialising in all matters of mental health. He was sitting sulkily in the waiting room whilst his parents spoke with the receptionist, she seemed to appear out of nowhere, red dungarees, red canvas shoes and red ribbons in her lopsided pigtails. She stared at the metal cages on his legs and he was about to scream at her when she put her hand on one and whispered “these are so cool, did you do them?” She was running her fingers over the drawings his brothers had etched into the metal. He didn’t know how to respond, no one ever approached him, too busy laughing at him or being frightened by him. Admittedly they were mainly frightened of his demeanour not his legs but he’d found anger to be his go to emotion. Having not gained a response the girl continued, she told him her name and that she was five. He briefly wondered what she was doing there and why she was by herself but that thought was lost when she asked “what’s your name?” “Ivar,” he told her, still taken aback by her confidence. He didn’t say much to her even though she continued to talk to him, right up until a nurse came over and put her hand on shoulder. “There you are, you know you’re not supposed to be out here”. She ushered the girl away towards a set of doors, just as she walked through she looked in his direction with a sad pleading look in her eyes. He had weekly appointments at the hospital from then on but he didn’t see the little girl with the lopsided pigtails. Since that day though he swore his favourite colour was red. He once as a teenager saw a passing glimpse of a girl around his age through a window to the residential ward and for a moment allowed himself to believe it was her but of course she wouldn’t be there after all those years, would she?

A breakdown is how they were labelling it, to him though it was twenty one years of pain that had led to the bottle of pills. His brother had found him and his parents had instantly called the hospital who advised them to admit him straight away. Now making his way through the residential ward he’d only ever caught glimpses of previously he felt an anger rising stronger than ever before. An anger at his parents for allowing him to be put in this place, an anger at anyone who had ever taunted, jeered or even pitied him. An anger that he had been born with these useless legs in the first place. He wanted nothing more than to spend his time here holed up in his room but part of the treatment plan was both private and group therapy sessions and apparently the constant nagging to go into communal areas. He’d been here a few days mainly keeping to himself when a quiet voice said “you have braces now but there are no drawings”. He whipped his head up so fast he thought he might snap his own neck standing in front of him was a young woman wearing jeans with a red sweater and red shoes, there was no doubt in his mind that this was the girl he’d been thinking of for the past fourteen years. He spoke your name like a prayer leaving his lips. You giggled at his reaction “Hi Ivar, didn’t think I’d see you on this side, always thought you were one of the lucky ones”.

54 notes - Posted June 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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ts1989fanatic · 1 year

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ts1989fanatic: my kind of headline

When my esteemed colleague Conor Orr made 100 bold predictions for the 2023 NFL season last week, he included one of particular interest to me, Sports Illustrated’s resident Swiftie: Prediction No. 88 is that Taylor Swift will play the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show. That’s something I’ve wanted to see for years. But for the first time, it actually seems kinda, sorta plausible. Swift is in a more reflective phase of her career—in the process of rerecording her first six albums, she’s embarked on the aptly named Eras Tour, a journey through her musical past—but she’s also clearly on top of her game. (Just look at the ticket prices for the aforementioned tour—which, not to brag, I saw at MetLife Stadium, in attendance the same night as Aaron Rodgers.)

Right now seems like the ideal time for her to take on a massive cultural stage like the Super Bowl. It also helps that corporate sponsorship conflicts are no longer present. Pepsi sponsored the halftime show for a decade, whereas Swift is a longtime Coca-Cola spokesperson; Apple Music, which has previously partnered with Swift, became the show’s title sponsor as of the 2022 season. This is the moment. So it’s time to make a hypothetical set list.

I went for 10 songs—the same number Rihanna played at Super Bowl LVII in February. Also following Rihanna’s example, this assumes no major portion of the show will be left for surprise guests, unlike many of the acts in the past few years (apologies to Conor, whose full prediction had Swift sharing the stage with Steve Aoki and BTS). I tried to keep it semirealistic, sticking to hits that feel stadium-friendly, much as I’d die to see a set list of deeper cuts. (For what it’s worth, though, Swift’s current tour through NFL stadiums proves that her acoustic fare can absolutely work in that environment: Look up any video of her playing “My Tears Ricochet” to 75,000 people.) But there are still plenty of tough choices to make even within these restrictions. Swift has nine songs that have gone to No. 1 on the Billboard charts and 40 that have been in the top 10. Her catalog has so much variety that it’s tricky to build a cohesive set that still hits all the major points of her career—from the country twang of her early albums to the slick pop of 1989 to the EDM influences of Reputation to the lush atmosphere of Folklore and Evermore. (There’s a reason her Eras Tour set list is three and a half hours!) But here’s my best shot.

1. “Blank Space”

It’s crucial to get the opener right—not so much the opening song itself, exactly, as the opening lyric. Swift’s discography offers lots of choices here. But this feels like an especially good one. Picture it: “Nice to meet you” echoes through the stadium. The stage is dark; Swift is silent for a beat as the crowd roars. “Nice to meet you” plays again. And then Swift launches into the rest of one of her most ubiquitous hits, “Blank Space,” from 2014’s 1989. It makes sense to start in her pop era: This was the period when Swift first seemed truly inescapable to the general public, when she cemented herself as an icon, proving her staying power. And there’s no better intro to that than the delightfully cheeky, self-aware “Blank Space.”

2. “Anti-Hero”

The synth pop of “Anti-Hero”—Swift’s lead single from 2022’s Midnights—is an easy transition from “Blank Space.” It also quickly anchors her in the present moment, subtly gesturing at the breadth of her catalog, jumping from a song that was popular a decade ago to one dominating the charts now. (“Anti-Hero” is also her longest-running single in the Billboard top 10—28 weeks and counting.) This one has to be right up top.

3. “I Knew You Were Trouble”

The dubstep-infused “I Knew You Were Trouble,” one of Swift’s signature hits from 2012’s Red, will signal the next part of the set list—branching out to some more electronic influences from the middle section of her catalog.

4. “Bad Blood” (feat. Kendrick Lamar)

Even if there isn’t a major portion of the act set aside for guests, there still has to be at least one surprise, and this is a natural one. “Bad Blood” is one of Swift’s biggest tracks, catchy and fun, yet the best part of the song is easily Lamar.

5. “… Ready for It?”

It’s entirely possible that Swift would do a Super Bowl set without anything from 2017’s Reputation, the dark, EDM-tinged follow-up to the massive global success that was 1989. While much loved by fans, Reputation was met with lukewarm critical reception and has fewer iconic hits than several of her other albums. But I think skipping it here would be a mistake: It’s perfect for a stadium show. There are a few solid options for inclusion: “Look What You Made Me Do” was the album’s lead single and the only one to reach No. 1, “Don’t Blame Me” is a fan favorite, “Delicate” also enjoyed considerable success. (My personal favorite from this album is “Getaway Car,” but alas, if Swift didn’t consider it popular enough to make the set list for the Eras Tour, it won’t make it for the Super Bowl.) But I think the best choice here is “... Ready for It?” This is the album opener, and more than anything else on Reputation, it feels like an anthem. It was used as the intro to all of ABC’s Saturday Night Football college broadcasts in ’17 and with good reason: Its production just feels appropriately intense for football.

6. “You Belong With Me”

And now to go back in time to Swift’s country roots. (Much as I’d love a track from her 2006 self-titled debut album—“Picture to Burn,” anyone?—I think it has to be one from its ’08 follow-up, Fearless, which enjoyed more commercial success and was her first to win Album of the Year at the Grammys.) The twangy, fun, teenage pining of “You Belong with Me” is the perfect entry point.

7. “Wildest Dreams/Enchanted”

This is a little more fan-service-y: “Wildest Dreams” peaked on the charts at No. 5, and “Enchanted” was never even a single, despite its popularity a decade after its release as a viral sound on TikTok. But these songs work together so well—Swift played a mash-up of them on her Reputation tour—and it feels like a great way to work in a pair of fan favorites that are still decently recognizable to the general public. They also break up the country portion of the set without offering too dramatic a sonic contrast. Also: “This night is sparkling / Don’t you let it go”? Perfect for the Super Bowl!

8. “Love Story”

In keeping with the romantic vibes of “Wildest Dreams” and “Enchanted,” there’s no better option for the next song than “Love Story,” one of the breakout hits from early in her career.

9. “Karma”

And back to pop to close it out. “Karma” is the closing song of Swift’s current tour set list: It’s a perfect send-off, fun and danceable and great to scream along to. From Midnights, her most recent studio album, it hasn’t quite reached the heights of most of the other songs on this list, but by the time the Super Bowl rolls around in February, it’ll have had more time to establish itself (especially with the remixed version featuring Ice Spice, which just dropped May 26). Great as it is as a closer, though, it can’t end the show here. One more song is needed to round out the set.

10. “Shake It Off”

C’mon … there’s no show without “Shake It Off.”

And because we have eight months to get through before Super Bowl Sunday, here’s my set list on Spotify. Played in full, these songs are 42 minutes, so it would take quite a bit of trimming to get down to 15. But I have a feeling Swift could find a way to make it work (including every one of her iconic bridges here!) with no problem.

ts1989fanatic: I wouldn’t change a thing on this list and what a halftime show it would be.🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

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noeticprayer · 1 year

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SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR SUNDAY DECEMBER 18, 2022

Hebrews 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40 (Epistle, Sunday Before)

Brothers and Sisters, in faith, Abraham dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. In faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. In faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. In faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. In faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. In faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Matthew 1:1-25 (Gospel, Sunday Before)

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.’” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

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womeninmotorsport · 2 years

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Weekend Guide #3 - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 2022 - 20-22 May

Two weeks since the opening double-header in Miami, W Series heads to Spain which is the home country of three of the drivers on the grid. Belen Garcia, Marta Garcia and Nerea Marti will all be looking to prove themselves on this all-round challenging circuit with its long straights and varying corners. Though this is the first time W Series races in Spain and not all drivers having racing experience at the circuit, all drivers participated at the pre-season test that was held at the circuit in March so all are familiar with it. Jamie Chadwick will be looking to extend her lead at the top of the standings after her 2 wins in Miami while the rest of the grid will be attempting to make a statement and get their first win of the season.

Track Info:

First GP: 1991

Length: 4.675km (2.894 miles)

Turns: 16

Race Length: 30 Min + 1 Lap

Schedule: (Local Time CEST/GMT+2):

20 May - Practice 10:40 - 11:10

20 May - Qualifying 19:25 - 19:55

21 May - Race 14:40 - 15:15

Belen Garcia said:

“I take great confidence into my home race in Barcelona. My form in pre-season testing was good so, if the car is good this weekend, I can fight at the front. As it’s my home race, I’ll be aiming for victory. I know that will be difficult because a lot of the girls want to win and it’s very competitive, but I have a chance. It will be a very special weekend. My family lives around this area and I’ll have my parents, my sister, my boyfriend, and my dog with me at the track and that’s an amazing feeling. My previous races at the circuit have been tough – last year I got hit from behind in both races in the Formula Regional European Championship – so I don’t have great memories. But at this year’s W Series pre-season test I felt at home on the track and that gives me extra confidence.”

Marta Garcia said:

“It will be mega to race in front of the amazing Spanish fans. Barcelona is not one of my favourite tracks, but it can be a good weekend if I work hard. I prefer tracks like Miami with slow corners and chicanes where you need precise braking to get a good exit and gain time. When we tested in Barcelona in March, the third sector had changed since I was last there and it was less reliant on braking, which hurt me, so I need to improve that. But I improved in Miami and I’m confident of improving again in Barcelona to get good points for the championship.”

Nerea Marti said:

“It will be super special to race in front of all the Spanish fans this weekend. I’m really looking forward to it and it’s going to be a very good race. All the drivers know the circuit having tested there earlier this year so I think it will be tight. It’s a circuit with fast and slow corners, so you need confidence and patience to do well in the race. The goal is to improve on the mistakes I made in Miami, to stay focused and be as consistent as possible to give me a good chance in the championship. I would love to win in Barcelona and I think I can.”

#w series #barcelona 2022 #raceguides*#ours*#by cerian*

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thesims4blogger · 3 years

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The Sims 4: Sims Sessions Official Details and Web Page

The Sims team has announced Sims Sessions, a social media and in-game experience that will be free for players who own The Sims 4. Maxis has launched the Sims Sessions web page with details and information on the music artists featured in the event.

Sims Sessions (Key Features)

Light up your summer with the hottest tracks from your favorite artists. Experience Bebe Rexha, Glass Animals, and Joy Oladokun for the first time all over again—in Simlish! Catch the live event from June 29 at 10 a.m. PT to July 7 at 10 p.m. PT.

Shop the Festival – Buy artist-themed merchandise, run your own craft sales table, or snack like a rockstar at a food stand!

Camp Out – Festivals are fun but exhausting! Get some sleep in one of the tents—or Woohoo to the music.

Enjoy the Show – Gather around the stage to watch, dance, and cheer on the performances!

Perform on Stage – After the performances, go on stage and keep the tunes flowing. Jam on the piano and sing your heart out.

Sims Sessions (Featured Artists)

Bebe Rexha

Diamond-selling and two-time GRAMMY®-nominated New York City native Bebe Rexha is a musical force to be reckoned with. Her RIAA Platinum-certified debut album Expectations (released June 2018 on Warner Records) contained the Platinum single “I’m a Mess” and the global chart-topping smash “Meant to Be” (featuring Florida Georgia Line), now RIAA Certified Diamond. “Meant to Be” held the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for a record-setting 50 straight weeks, the longest reign ever by a female lead artist, and won Top Country Song at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards and Best Collaboration at the 2018 iHeart Radio Music Awards. It was subsequently nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 61st annual GRAMMY Awards® in February 2019, where Bebe was also nominated for Best New Artist.

Early in her career, Bebe won the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Best Teen Songwriter Award, and then formally burst onto the scene when she wrote “The Monster,” a worldwide hit for Eminem and Rihanna that was certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA. Bebe went on to co-write and carry the instantly recognizable hook for the 3x Platinum “Hey Mama,” by David Guetta, which was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Song. Bebe also hit #1 on the Billboard Pop and Rap charts with her 5x Platinum “Me, Myself & I” with G-Eazy. In 2017, Bebe released the critically acclaimed EPs, All Your Fault: Part 1 (with the Platinum single “I Got You”) and All Your Fault: Part 2 (with “Meant to Be”). In conjunction with GRAMMY® Week 2019, Bebe launched the GRAMMY® Music Education Coalition’s (GMEC) national campaign on behalf of its new All-Star Ambassador program. Better Mistakes, her new album, includes the hit singles “Baby, I’m Jealous” feat. Doja Cat and “Sacrifice.” To date, Bebe has amassed over four billion YouTube views and over 12 billion total global streams.

Glass Animals

Since 2010, Glass Animals have redefined alternative pop with their experimental sounds, cinematic visuals, and narrative lyrics. The Platinum-Certified UK quartet—Dave Bayley [lead vocals, guitar], Drew MacFarlane [guitar, keys, backing vocals], Ed Irwin-Singer [bass, keys, backing vocals], and Joe Seaward [drums, backing vocals]—first presented their signature style on their 2014 breakout debut, ZABA. It yielded the Platinum single “Gooey” and elevated the band into the global spotlight. 2016’s How To Be A Human Being notably garnered a nomination for the prestigious Mercury Prize. However, Glass Animals lifted off to a new stratosphere with Dreamland in 2020. It marked their first Top 10 debut on the Billboard Top 200, while their global smash hit “Heat Waves” has amassed millions of streams to date, went Platinum in numerous countries, gave the band their first #1 on the U.S. Alternative Radio Chart, Top 15 at Top 40 Radio, and hit Top 10 on Spotify’s US Chart. Skyrocketing to the forefront of popular culture, they garnered nominations in the categories of “Top Rock Song” and “Top Rock Album” at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, delivered knockout performances on Billboard Music Awards, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Ellen, and lined up global headline dates for the 2021 Dreamland Tour everywhere from legendary amphitheaters such as Red Rocks to Bonnaroo, Life Is Beautiful, Outside Lands, and more. The band sold over 130,000 tickets in three days for their 2021-2022 North American tour, with the majority of the tickets selling out instantly. All the while maintaining their unique connection to their fans by creating their open sourced website where fans can create artwork based on the world of Dreamland, putting on a “Live In The Internet” concert that sold 25,000 tickets worldwide, and more. They created unique music videos during the 2020 pandemic by DIY-shooting solo in Dave Bayley’s apartment directed solely over Zoom (“Dreamland”), asking neighbors to shoot on their iPhones while Dave walked down the street (“Heat Waves”), and inviting fans to take 3D scans of their heads (“Tangerine”). Racking up billions of streams across their catalogue, they even made history as “the first UK band to capture #1 on Triple J’s Hottest 100 since 2009” with “Heat Waves” down under in Australia, leading to the longest run at #1 in 2021 on the ARIA Official Singles Chart. Ultimately, Glass Animals continue to redefine what alternative can be, while they quietly overtake the mainstream.

Joy Oladokun

With a guitar in hand, baseball cap over her eyes, and hooded sweatshirt loose, a woman sings with all of the poetry, pain, passion, and power her soul can muster. She is a new kind of American troubadour. She is Joy Oladokun. The Delaware-born, Arizona-raised, and Nashville-based Nigerian-American singer, songwriter, and producer projects unfiltered spirit over stark piano and delicate guitar. Her music and story galvanized a growing fan base as she completed a successful Kickstarter campaign to release her independent debut, Carry. Her song “No Turning Back” soundtracked a viral baby announcement by Ciara and Russell Wilson, opening up the floodgates. She landed a string of high-profile syncs, including NBC’s This Is Us, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, and Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q. On the heels of in defense of my own happiness (the beginnings), she garnered unanimous critical praise. Billboard touted the album as one of the “Top 10 Best LGBTQ Albums of 2020,” while NPR included “i see america” among the “100 Best Songs of 2020.” Predicted as on the verge of a massive breakthrough, she emerged on various tastemaker lists, including Spotify’s RADAR Artists to Watch 2021, YouTube “Black Voices Class of 2021,” NPR’s 2021 “Artists To Watch,” and Amazon Music’s “Artist To Watch 2021.” Not to mention, Vogue crowned her #1 “LBTQ+ Musician To Listen To.” She kicked off the new year by making her television debut on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with a stunning and stirring performance of “breathe again.”After attracting acclaim from Vogue, NPR, and American Songwriter, her words arrive at a time right when we need them the most.

#the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #sims sessions

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purplesurveys · 3 years

Text

1040

survey by amandahudson48

When's the last time you said you were sorry? Maybe last Friday or yesterday? I haven’t been replying to Andi because I was in a slump, then when I was finally able to get back to them I made sure to apologize first and explain why it took me a while to respond.

Have you done anything interesting in the last week? I got to dine in at a restaurant again after nine months last Monday, and I brought my parents to treat them as well. The three of us had ramen, then I also treated them to frozen yogurt after. It felt nice to be out, but we also headed to a mall Gab and I used to regularly go to so everything ended up being too difficult to process and I was fighting tears the whole time at the ramen place.

Are there any songs you listen to everyday? I don’t think so. There have been a lot of days where I’ve avoided music altogether.

What do you consider a waste of time? Having to manually go to a government office nowhere near your house to queue for an ID or document when it could be done digitally, but you can’t and have no choice anyway because the agency’s website isn’t even working. In short, welcome to the Philippines where the government can steal billions but can’t maintain their own damn websites.

How do you react to stress? I tend to have a shorter fuse around people. So that I don’t accidentally lash out on anyone, I’ll bring myself to work on autopilot until I get a task done. If I find time to myself, I cry in private for a few minutes because stress sucks; then I try to dust myself off and get back to working.

Have you ever considered what you would do in certain life/death sitches? Sometimes. My game plan for the most part is to simply scream at the top of my lungs to rouse attention, but I’ll never really know what I’ll do unless something actually takes place. I have a track record of being scared frozen when scary men have approached me in the past, so idk if I will have it in me to scream in a life or death situation.

Have you ever gone mud riding? No. Photos don’t look too appealing mostly because I’m not into vehicles and driving them on unconventional terrain lol, but I mean I would still give it a shot at least once.

Do you edit your photos? Just sometimes, if I mean to show off or promote someone/something to my mutuals; like the time I promoted my uncle’s business when he gave me a free cheesecake. I usually use the VSCO or Foodie apps.

What kind of cookie do you like the most? Chocolate chip cookies that are crispy on the outside and gooey inside; and dark chocolate macadamia cookies.

Do you enjoy working alone? Sure, though I don’t mind the occasional groupwork.

Is there anyone you're not over and feel like you never will be? Yes, I’m in exactly the same place I found myself at five years ago.

Do you like long or short surveys? Medium-length, so like anywhere between 40-70 questions is the perfect length for me.

How often do you listen to your iPod? I used to listen to it everyday because I brought it with me throughout middle school and the first half of high school. When iPods slowly went out of style in junior year, I started using it less frequently.

What kind of house do you want? Something modern and minimalist; I’d like it to be predominantly rectangular or square in shape with large windows. I do also want a brutalist style for myself but I might have to give that up if I ever end up with a family, as I don’t want my kids thinking their own home looks aloof and unapproachable.

Would you like living on the coast? It sounds like paradise. Yeah, absolutely.

What song was the last you listened to? To Let A Good Thing Die - Bruno Major. Then I got really sad and had to stop listening to music altogether and scramble to watch something hilarious on YouTube.

When's the last time you were really late to something? Last week, for a meeting with a client :/ I wasn’t accustomed to my weekly calls just yet and ended up attending a 4:30-5 PM meeting at 4:57, right when it was ending, because I thought it started at 5. It was embarrassing and my manager was rightfully jokingly mad at me.

Do you prefer to take back roads or the highways? Highways as much as possible, but if I’m stuck in traffic and if it looks like I wouldn’t be able to get to my destination on time then I ask Waze to guide me through backroads.

How do you spell your name without consonants? Rbyn or Rbn, depending on what you consider y to be.

What's the last movie you watched? Uhhh it was still That Thing Called Tadhana but it’s been a while. I mainly watch a Korean drama titled Start Up these days.

What would you like your generation to change? The people society votes into office. Young Americans seem to be leading the charge on this front, which is so so great. Meanwhile in my country Manny Pacquiao is planning for his 2022 presidential campaign and we are once again fucked because voter’s literacy is so fucking low that I actually see a possibility of him winning. Migrating has never sounded more attractive.

Do you use your cell phone a lot? Yeah, it’s beside me with the screen turned on nearly the entire day.

When's the last time you saw an ocean wave? Not sure about an ocean wave, but the last time I saw a wave in general (we were at a beach) was August 2019.

How long can you hold your breath? Maybe a minute max? I haven’t had to try in a while.

Would you rather work behind the scenes or be the star? Behind the scenes. I loathe the spotlight and I’ve never been the performing type, and I always hated it whenever I’ve had to perform in school or for a family function. It’s also why, as fun as hosting looks like as a career, and as much as I know I would’ve been decent in it if I tried, it was just ultimately never the path for me.

Are you a sore loser? Yeah, I hate it. I’m competitive to the bone, which personally sucks too because it’s hard for me to enjoy games lol. I make it easier for the playing crowd by just watching at the sidelines so that I don’t ruin things for them.

When's the last time you used a pair of scissors? Yesterday when I was doing embroidery.

What was the last word you thought? I mean...’embroidery,’ I guess, since I typed it last before reading this question.

Is it easy to make you angry? It takes me a while to explode.

Have you wondered if other people wonder what you’re thinking? No.

Do you sing a lot? When I’m alone and am certain no one can hear, yes.

Do you think you have an addictive personality? Uh no, not really. I like keeping a certain distance with everyone I interact with. As nice as I can be, I try to make sure my personality isn’t the type that would ~leave people wanting more~ so to speak.

Which affects us more: our genes or the environment in which we're raised? For me, it’s the environment. Genes are strong too, but they’re already there; they’re given, they’re constant, they’re wired into each person. The fact that people can still be constantly affected depending on what kind of situation they’re in says much about the capabilities of being raised in a certain environment. For instance, I know for sure I would’ve ended up being more emotionally stable if I was provided with a healthier, gentler upbringing.

Why do you believe that? Oops, I may have already answered it above.

Honestly, do you enjoy arguing? Nah. Watching others do it can be fun, but I avoid them myself.

Do you prefer to use tape or glue? Tape. More secure.

Do you see routine as a comfort or a rut? Comfort. I do like bursts of spontaneity every now and then, though.

When's the last time you cried? Last night. I wanted to this morning, but I already did so much heavy crying last night that I just gave myself a break today.

Do you believe that love can get you through anything? No. I know that now.

What do you wish you had more of? Money is always a good answer. Also, weekends.

If you HAD to change one thing about your best friend, what would it be? I wish Angela lived nearer, so that it’s easier to visit. I wish Gabie wasn’t so selfish.

Have you ever gone to sleep mad? It’s harder that way, lol. But I mean yeah I guess I’ve felt angry while trying to go to bed; it’s just that I usually use certain outlets so that I could calm down and fall asleep more easily.

Do you like your computer? I love it. Even though it’s an older Macbook Air I have no plans to replace it; it’s still so low-maintenance and reliable after all this time.

Which theory do you wish but perhaps not believe was true about afterlife? This is a good question and something I always wish was verbalized more. For me, it’s the idea of reuniting with all your deceased family, friends, and pets in death. That has always given me comfort, but I don’t necessarily cling to it.

Is there anyone that you truly could not live without? I can think of one such person, but we’ll see if it holds true.

#survey #surveys

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seimeiyuzu · 6 years

Quote

Yuzuru Hanyu- How popular he is in Japan?

David Fieldman

(Yuzu is popular all over the world, right?)

This text is touching and interesting:

“Japan's hero Yuzuru Hanyu has two Olympic golds - and eight bodyguards

Bishōnen is a popular term in Japanese anime, meaning a beautiful young man whose appeal is universal. In PyeongChang, a bishōnen returned to the ice rink with grace and made history by sweeping the gold in men’s figure skating in back-to-back Olympics, reenacting a feat achieved 66 years ago.

The beautiful young man from a “different dimensional world,” also a term from Japanese anime, was Yuzuru Hanyu. At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Hanyu, considered the prince of figure skating, rose to the stature of king. And in the PyeongChang Winter Games, Hanyu, despite the obstacles placed in his path and is close to becoming a legend.

This is a Tencent Sports exclusive on the behind-the-scenes life of the “figure skating prince” who resurrected a 66-year history in PyeongChang. The charismatic Hanyu, who was instrumental in the upsurge in the popularity of figure skating in Japan, was undoubtedly one of the the saviors of the box office of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, as well as the ‘cash cow’ of Japan’s sports sector.

Recreating a legend

The place was the Gangneung Ice Arena, the date February 17.

The ice was like a silver plate, giving off a bedazzling shine. Yuzuru Hanyu gracefully slid to the center of the silver plate, making the thousands of spectators at the site, together with his fans watching him perform on TV, catch their breath.

This was PyeongChang. The winner of the gold in men’s singles figure skating in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games was here to go for the second Olympic gold he had been long dreaming of. If he succeeded, he would reenact history after 66 years, becoming the sport’s first two-time men’s champion at the Winter Games since Richard Button of the United States in 1952.

Hanyu’s PyeongChang tour had a smooth start. In the short program on February 16, he stunned the audience by perfectly gliding to Chopin’s Ballade No.1. The zero-error performance fetched him a high score of 111.68, approaching his season’s best, 112.72.

After the event, Hanyu was deluged by Winnie-the-Pooh plush toys rained down on him by cheering fans. The number “111.68” instantly became the most searched word online in Japan. Figure skating fans across the world began to look forward to the birth of a legend. On February 17, when the free skating event would be held, would Hanyu make history?

In the free skating event, Yuzuru Hanyu chose classic Japanese music Seimei, the soundtrack from the film Onmyoji. It was a decision that he had made two seasons ago. Skating to Seimei, in every move that he made, even in every breath, Hanyu no doubt identified himself with the protagonist of the story, 10th-century astronomer Abe no Seimei, a character who was wise, valiant and ready to protect others.

“I am the onmyoji,” went the music, onmyoji literally meaning an embalmer. “If not me, who would be Seimei protecting the dead from evil spirits?”

When the music played, Hanyu’s delicate performance at the center of the silver plate was sheer magic, casting a spell on his audience.

He started with a quad Salchow, steadily landing on the ice on his right blade. It triggered a volley of applause. Most spectators did not realize that it was only one month ago that he had resumed training on ice and just three months since injuring his right ankle while preparing for the NHK Trophy.

A faultless quad toe loop followed. Then he made a triple Axel jump, which was also a success. After that, he reeled slightly while landing a quad toe loop but immediately steadied himself with competence, smiling.

After his final spin, Hanyu landed at the center of the silver plate and stood still. This was it! Then he clutched his fists, bent his head toward the ground and bowed to the stand. The judges showed their appreciation of his performance by awarding him a high score of 317.85.

Once the score of the last skater Shoma Uno was given, Hanyu clinched his championship with the highest tally. The brave but quiet young man burst into tears, murmuring “Thank you” in Japanese at the cameras.

‘A big heart under a lissome figure’

“In the past, I went through a lot, becoming almost like an amine book character that gets injured again and again. Even three month before the Olympics, I had a serious foot injury. I am a human being, not god. It was incredible how so much misfortune happened to me.”

At the press conference after the award ceremony, Yuzuru Hanyu said he had turned his own life into a passionate anime.

Born in Sendai in Japan, he still remembered the painful impact of the horrifying tsunami and earthquake that hit northeast Japan. Even on that joyful night when he successfully defended his championship in PyeongChang, he remembered the trauma.

“There was no water, electricity or gas,” he recalled.

What devastated him was the loss of the ice rink in Sendai. To a figure skater, losing his training ground means losing everything.

He had no choice but to turn to his primary school teacher in Yokohama. When he left Sendai, he cried and told his teacher: “I am tired. Is it possible for me to continue my career as a figure skater?” Since then, his teacher began taking him to compete in every game across the country to provide him with training opportunities. It was the support of the audience and ice rink operators that made him succeed in Sochi.

In Sochi, Hanyu realized his dream of winning an Olympic gold in figure skating. After that, he claimed two silvers in the World Championships in 2015 and 2016. In the 2017 World Championships, he stunned the world once again.

“A lonely king.” That was how Hanyu was seen among the global figure skating community before the 2017-2018 Olympic season.

However, fate never allows superheroes an easy and straight path to success.

During a practice session for the NHK Trophy on November 9, 2017, Yuzuru Hanyu injured his right ankle while attempting a quad Lutz.

On November 10, 2017, Hanyu missed the NHK Trophy. December 14 was the day he was supposed to return to practice on the ice. However, it was announced that the skater was suffering from inflammation of his Achilles tendon and ankle bone.

On December 24, the Japanese Olympic Committee released the list of figure skaters for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games. Yuzuru Hanyu had made it to the list with his impeccable performance. The others chosen along with him were Shoma Uno and Keiji Tanaka.

When Hanyu became injured, his fans across Japan went to the Go’o Shrine in Kyoto, a poplar shrine in Japan for those seeking good health or to ward off bad luck, to pray for his recovery.

Finally on January 16, 2018, the good news that Hanyu had resumed practice on ice came from Toronto, Canada, where Hanyu lives and practices. It was less than a month before the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games on February 9.

On January 13, Hanyu did his first practice on the official ice rink after arriving in Gangneung. During the 40-minute session, he made 21 jumps, eight of which were quads including the toe loop and Salchow. But he could execute only five of them successfully. On January 15, he did his free skating item to the accompaniment of the Seimei soundtrack. This was the first time he did a quad in front of the world media after the NHK Trophy accident.

Until 8:30 a.m. on February 17 when the free skating competition was held, he had not decided on the final composition and whether he should perform his best but the most difficult move, the quad loop. In five hours, he performed his full set of free skating moves, which included three kinds of quads for safety reasons, changing the quad loop planned in the beginning to a quad Salchow.

Even though he won, his right foot had not fully recovered. When jumping on the podium, he carefully avoided landing on his right foot. At the press conference, he expressed his appreciation of the people who had extended a helping hand to him over the past years. However, he didn’t say whether he would try to be the figure skating champion three times in a row by taking part in the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

“I will have surgery and get my injured foot treated,” he said.

A perfectionist’s regrets

“I love that powerful heart under his enchanting appearance,” Japan’s Sankei Shimbun’s figure skating correspondent told Tencent Sports in PyeongChang. Yuzuru Hanyu is “a real different figure from a different dimensional world,” the journalist said.

“NO MISS!” “111.68 points!” “Perfect!” On February 16, after the men’s singles short program, these entries made their way in quick succession to the list of Japanese hot words on Yahoo. After the free skating, Hanyu had been saying repeatedly that he had failed to come up with a zero-error performance. “I still have too many shortcomings,” he said with regret.

But within 24 hours of February 16, his performance was described by the Japanese media as being “zero error,” “perfect,” and even “top-ranking,” which must have been the perfectionist’s revenge for his lapses in Sochi four years ago.

“I know the taste of the Olympics.” “I’m going to avenge myself for the Sochi Winter Olympics tomorrow,” Hanyu said animatedly many times during interviews after the men’s short program.

The 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games saw the 19-year-old crowned in his Olympic debut. He performed gracefully and calmly, garnering the highest score in the men’s singles short program at the Winter Games (101.45). However, in free skating, he was slightly nervous and made some mistakes. So his performance could not be described as perfect. Though he finally defeated Canadian Patrick Chan, who had bagged three consecutive world championships, Hanyu said after the Games that he was not satisfied about his performance, even “very depressed.”

The night at Sochi revealed Hanyu’s perfection complex. He admitted that he wanted to know “the taste of being a real champion.” “No matter when and where in the future, I will have a perfect interpretation with zero error like Evgeni Plushenko did.”

After the Sochi Olympics, Hanyu published his autobiography Blue Flames II, in which he further explained his “ideal.” The reason why he held Plushenko as his idol and hero was that the Russian never lost in any contingency or won on the basis of a miraculous one-time victory. Hanyu was obsessed with being supreme and invincible.

In this book, Hanyu shared a rarely shown old photograph. It was of him standing before a Christmas tree, a personable young boy with a touch of melancholy in his eyes.

That was the winter of 2004. The nine-year-old was obsessed with Plushenko, showing his admiration by even having a retro mushroom haircut like the Russian’s.

The young boy was fascinated by the idol’s performance in the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games though at that time, Hanyu was only seven years old. Five years later, when he took part in the Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships, he looked to carry himself in the graceful style of Plushenko.

Hanyu moved up to the seniors at the age of 17. Whenever he met the Russian emperor of figure skating, Hanyu would quietly consult Plushenko on the secrets of the quad jump or the Biellmann spin. Plushenko always encouraged Hanyu, saying, “Beat me!” “Overtake me!” In Sochi, Plushenko was injured in an accident before the short program, but he accidentally witnessed the rise of the Japanese figure skater.

“Perhaps I used to be his idol, but now, Hanyu is my idol. He is a genius!” Plushenko remarked.

On hearing that Hanyu was injured before the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, Plushenko, by then a loyal Hanyu fan, rooted for him, firmly believing Hanyu could retain his title.

After Hanyu succeeded in defending his title, Plushenko, who won the Olympic gold medals twice but could not defend his championship, sent his best wishes, saying, “I am proud of Hanyu! He is amazing.” When Hanyu was asked at the press conference whether he had finally overtaken his idol, he replied modestly, “I am still far behind.”

Winnie-the-Pooh

To what extent can a sports star’s popularity impact certain events and the development of the related economy? Hanyu is a sterling example.

In PyeongChang, Hanyu was undoubtedly the hottest and most sought-after name.

Figure skating has a tradition of the audience throwing plush toys at the end of a skate. After his performance on February 16, his favorite cartoon character Winnie the Pooh began to rain down on him.

“This is not rain, it is hail! A storm!” It almost turned the Gangneung Ice Arena into a sea of plush toys, making even veteran sports journalists from all over the world speechless.

Hanyu, Asia’s first Winter Olympic champion in men’s singles figure skating as well as the youngest Olympic gold medalist in that category, won the title of “Japan’s most favorite male athlete” in 2017 by virtue of his formidable strength, winsome appearance and the support of his large number of fans worldwide.

On February 11, Hanyu was mobbed by a large number of fans as soon as he arrived at Incheon International Airport. The next day, during his first official public training, Hanyu stayed at the ice rink for only 15 minutes, but attracted more than 100 reporters. Half an hour before the training, more than 50 cameras from 15 television stations from around the world were in place, and the latecomers didn’t even have a place to stand.

On the third day, Hanyu held a press conference. The conference hall, which could accommodate 100 people, was crammed with more than 150 media outlets, and the crowd spilled over into the corridor. Such spectacular scenes have long been a commonplace for the Japanese media. In the summer of 2017, Hanyu’s new season programs disclosure conference held at his perennial training base in Toronto, Canada, attracted dozens of Japanese media outlets all the way from the other side of the globe.

In the short program on February 16, Hanyu made his official appearance for the first time since disappearing from the public for 100 days due to his injury. His fans from Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan turned the stadium into his home court and showcased a magnificent cosplay.

“Hanyu has fans all over Japan, and even the world, from all genders and ages. There are also spontaneously formed fan clubs in countries like Italy and Russia,” a loyal fan of Hanyu said.

In PyeongChang, there was a feeling of family solidarity among his fans though they came from all over the world.

On the day of the short program, a girl from Taiwan got up at 3 a.m., left her hotel at 4, and began to line up to see Hanyu’s official training from 5. During the break, she got a surprise gift - a Winnie the Pooh plush toy, given by Hanyu’s fans from the Chinese mainland.

After the special press conference, journalists from the BBC, Japanese television stations and Chinese media outlets began to interview each another, turning the conference to a “global fans (journalists) meeting.” In order to interview Hanyu, media outlets worldwide, including the BBC and Reuters, sent Japanese-speaking journalists.

Entourage

On February 17, when the press conference for the gold, silver and bronze winners was held, after the 30-minute question answer round, it was finally time for the photo session. As photographers flocked to the champions, Hanyu swiftly pushed aside the nameplates and water bottles in front of them, then put his arms around Shoma Uno and bronze winner Javier Fernandez of Spain, flashing his signature ingenuous smile.

It was not just removing the nameplates and water bottles for photographers’ cameras; it was the manifestation of his natural character, unpretentious and spontaneous.

He doesn’t regard himself as someone special, even though crowned double Olympic champion.

How does Yuzuru Hanyu win so many fans across the world? One small gesture may hold the answer.

While 1,000 readers may have 1,000 interpretations of Hamlet, Yuzuru Hanyu has one universal evaluation. The Hanyu reporters met in PyeongChang was an icon who regarded himself as an ordinary person, a heartthrob who was humble and polite.

After the short program on February 16, a photograph taken by the Japanese media went viral among Chinese online users, who exclaimed, “Hanyu is so wonderful!” It was during the interview of Hanyu’s fellow skater Shoma Uno. Hanyu sought to avoid taking away the limelight from Uno and to avoid the cameras, the Sochi gold medalist, the most shining star on that day, bent down and literally crept away from the stage, smiling shyly when he stood up finally.

And in another gesture, after the short program, Hanyu gently picked up a strawberry cake from the sea of Winnie the Pooh bears. “I will eat well, save energy and prepare for the free skating tomorrow,” he said. At the press conference, he considerately looked after Shoma Uno, who sat next to him, quietly telling him, “Don’t be nervous.” From time to time, he also helped Uno adjust his headphones which was relaying the simultaneous interpretation.

Every time Hanyu attended a press conference after a competition, he would always show consideration for the reporters who had been waiting for a long time and rush to meet them. “Please give me a minute,” he would say, bending down to remove the blades still attached to his boots. Then he would look at the media with a smile, and begin to answer every question seriously and sincerely.

“I cannot compare myself with Plushenko or Uno,” Hanyu said, calmly responding to the overwhelming applause he received after winning his second Olympic gold.

“Uno is three years younger. It seems I am in a slightly awkward position. Rather than competing, I would like to enjoy skating for as long as possible and hope other top skaters come up with more perfect performances,” he added.

His clear vision and crystal-transparent soul has won him numerous fans.

Unlike other athletes, Yuzuru Hanyu came to PyeongChang flanked by eight bodyguards. To ensure Hanyu’s safety, the Japanese Skating Federation had specifically requested the Japanese Olympic Committee to accord him “the highest Olympic privileges.”

Yuzuru Hanyu was the only athlete who came to PyeongChang with bodyguards. When his flight landed, he himself was taken aback by the treatment. As some foreign media commented, it was like escorting some invaluable gem.

Besides bodyguards, the Japanese Olympic Committee also arranged a press officer and a professional nutritionist team exclusively for Hanyu. The nutritionist team was formed in 2012 with professionals from the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences to ensure Hanyu took sufficient nutrients to be able to undertake the high-energy practice sessions. To the best of this writer’s knowledge, Yuzuru Hanyu is the only winter sports athlete who enjoys the privilege of having a press officer exclusively for him. Previously, only Kosuke Hagino, Japan’s competitive swimmer, had such a press officer. Even the famous Japanese footballers Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa did not have such a privilege.

His popularity is also reflected in The New York Times. After the short program, a New York Times reporter grabbed the opportunity to interview Hanyu at the media section. In an unprecedented move, the media officer of the Japanese delegation permitted the reporter to ask two questions.

It was not the first time that Yuzuru Hanyu made headlines in The New York Times. The first time was in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games when the 19-year-old won the gold in men’s figure skating, creating a sensation among his fans worldwide. Later, the magazine hailed him as “Michael Jackson on the Ice.”

Box office hit

After Yuzuru Hanyu won his second Olympic gold, Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) immediately put up an advertisement featuring him on Japan’s largest website Yahoo, saying there must be some reason for his power, like the reason ANA was the ideal airline for everyone.

When Yuzuru Hanyu claimed the gold in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, he signed up with ANA as his sponsor, and endorsed Procter & Gamble products and Sendai Tourism. His fee for shooting a single advertisement rose to 50 million yen ($470,000) and recently, to 80 million yen ($752,000), equaling the fee of famous Japanese female figure skater Mao Asada.

On 2017 New Year’s Eve, Yuzuru Hanyu debuted on television as the judge of the 66th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, or Japan’s New Year singing contest. This further increased Hanyu’s popularity in Japan, giving him the potential to overtake Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori in popularity in the future.

The charismatic Hanyu is not only the cash cow of Japan’s sports sector, but also the savior of the box office of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.

As a result of his overwhelming popularity, anything he does not only affects the mood of his fans around the world, but also impacts the organizers, sponsors and suppliers of every major figure skating event. Hanyu’s withdrawal from the NHK Trophy, the ISU Grand Prix and Japanese national championships because of his ankle injury caused direct losses for these events.

Within 48 hours of his withdrawal, the rating of NHK Trophy’s prime time broadcast dropped sharply. The average rating declined to 6.7 percent from the 16 percent in the previous year, when Hanyu was the champion. In December that year, the ISU Grand Prix held without Hanyu also witnessed a decline in rating from 17.6 percent in the previous year to 14 percent. The sales of the sport’s derivatives also suffered.

Under such circumstances, Hanyu’s fans, eager to watch the brilliance of the figure skating maestro again, could only pin their hopes on the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.

Since the beginning of 2018, the South Korean media had been reporting that Yuzuru Hanyu may not compete in the group games or the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games revenues may face a bleak prospect as a result. However, the International Olympic Committee answered this by presenting a clip, titled Yuzuru Hanyu, who is your opponent? on its official television station, which was well-received. Obviously, the purpose was to increase the revenue of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.

According to previous reports by Lanxiong Sports, a Chinese online sports industry services provider, only 61 percent of Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games tickets -- or 655,000 -- had been sold by the end of December 2017. However, the organizing committee said tickets for figure skating sold out as early as March 2017, bringing in revenue of 680 million South Korean won ($637,800).

During the Pyeongchang Games, over 10,000 Hanyu fans came to Gangneung, where the figure skating events were held. The 2,000 tickets sold out within hours of being up for sale.

“Hanyu’s remuneration is expected to rise by 1.5 times at least, if not be doubled, after he won the gold in PyeongChang,” a journalist from Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan’s largest daily newspapers, told Tencent Sports.

Although new figure skaters will come to the fore one after another, the emergence of the next Yuzuru Hanyu is still a distant possibility. Will Yuzuru Hanyu take part in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games? It depends on whether his injured right ankle fully recovers in the coming years.”

www.quora.com

#yuzuru hanyu #the best figure skater ever #yuzu #winnie the pooh

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deadcactuswalking · 2 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 21/05/2022 (Eurovision, Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’, Post Malone & Roddy Ricch)

Kendrick Lamar teams up with the entirety of the European continent to make my job harder... and somehow Harry Styles still shows them up with “As it Was” at its seventh week at the top. Somebody pray for me, it’ll be that day for me – welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

There are 15 new songs in the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart, which is what I cover, and whilst the #1 stands unaffected, the rest of the chart absolutely does not and it’s one of those weeks where I think I should probably cut the BS and just get on with it... so I will: I’ll try and keep this rundown as short as possible, but I’ll also have to split the new arrivals in two because, well, Eurovision – I’ll explain as we get to it. There were also not that many releases from the past week that would count towards the non-charting album section I like to do so I will skip that for this week, but don’t worry, it’ll just be extra long next week. It’s almost like I enjoy making more work for myself, huh?

Regardless, we start as we always do, with the notable dropouts: songs that have lasted five weeks in the UK Top 75 or peaked in the top 40, and are exiting this week. This particular batch includes “The Heart Part 5” by Kendrick Lamar after its debut last week but don’t worry as more from him is coming, as well as “In a Minute” by Lil Baby which was just a non-starter, “In My Head” by Lil Tjay, “Run” by Becky Hill and Galantis, “Light Switch” by Charlie Puth, “Melody” by Sigala and finally, “abcdefu” by GAYLE. Most of the other non-notable dropouts were debuts from last week, so it’s only dragging out the weaker of the long-term hits – I could predict some returns here.

Okay, so what about notable gains and returning entries? Okay, well, “My Love” by Florence + the Machine is back at #64 thanks to the album but be honest, are you expecting a single gain over five positions in a week like this? Well, bizarrely enough, “No Excuses” by Bru-C is up off of the debut to #62, “21 Reasons” by Nathan Dawe featuring Ella Henderson is at #41, “Remind Me” by Tom Grennan hits the top 40 at #40, “Je M’appelle” by Benzz continues up to #26 and finally, “Green Green Grass” by George Ezra is at #22.

Okay, so again, there won’t be an Off the Charts section this week and I do apologise for that, and trust me, those albums deserve to be talked about at length. However, I do have to explain the New Arrivals section as they’re split into three sections: Eurovision, Kendrick Lamar and the rest. Before we get to the top 10, I’m going to cover the Eurovision entries and... “regular” new arrivals separately, starting with Eurovision and then going back to your regularly scheduled programming, excluding the #2 song which I’ll cover last even if it is from Eurovision. I did a similar thing last year that made it more palatable. With that said but without further ado...

Eurovision Song Contest 2022

I’ll confess: I did not watch this year’s Eurovision. The final was held in Turin, Italy on the 14th of May after the success of Maneskin this year – and for the record, “ZITTI E BUONI” deserved to be a hit way more than the rest of their back catalogue. It was a weird Eurovision too, not for the songs necessarily – although I really wouldn’t know, and there’s always some kind of oddity in the competition – but for some of the circumstances, like how six countries had their jury votes removed and of course, the Ukrainian crisis which was just a complete mess – we’ll get to it. I missed out on all of that grandiosity this year and I guess it sucks to be me because people I talk to seemed to have enjoyed it. Also, the Rasmus were Finland’s entry this year – yes, the “In the Shadows” guys – so if I was rooting for anyone... well, it’s got to be those guys. The entire top four, as well as the bizarre Norwegian entry, are all in the top 75, so I guess we start with...

#59 – “Hold Me Closer” – Cornelia Jakobs

REPRESENTING: Sweden

Cornelia Jakobs is from, well, Sweden and she first gathered fame as part of a girl group called... Stockholm Syndrome. Yes, really. At 30 years old, she doesn’t have that much of a solo career under her belt considering how her singles until this track failed to even chart in Sweden, although “Hold Me Closer” topped their national chart. Maybe this self-produced hit, self-produced with the help of David Zandén, could finally prove her worth as a solo act. Well, I’m not really impressed. Sure, the strings are nice, and the rougher vocal mixing helps Jakobs sounds closer to a Bebe Rexha than anything Swedish, though this really is just like an American TikTok alt-pop ballad, with the weakened bass and kick drum that eventually turns into a synthpop pastiche. The content really isn’t all that interesting in its wallowing where something separates the two and she just wants them to hold her closer and not leave, but it doesn’t feel like it’s all that warranted, especially when Jakobs gets into straining registers I’m not sure she could have reached on stage. It would have been impressive, but not really a song that deserves it. It is okay, and it’s absolutely contemporary, so I get why it came in fourth place. You know what I would have preferred?

#56 – “SloMo” – Chanel

REPRESENTING: Spain

Apparently the public did too because Spain got into third place with Chanel Terrero, who’s from, well, Spain, but also she’s part-Cuban and it does show as this song feels heavily influenced by the reggaeton in Latin America right now given the groove and the dembow rhythm that she mentions by name in the chorus. To be blunt, this goes hard: Chanel’s voice may not be all that unique in its sensual Auto-Tune and really, she does sound like a bit of a second-rate ROSALÍA but hey, if she won’t take part in the competition, I’ll settle for this dance-ready track which becomes less sexy as it becomes completely dominating as it goes on, given the completely dominating, at times distorted production, as well as Chanel’s Shakira-esque swagger that really shows up on that pre-chorus. It’s not particularly touching in a year where that probably would have helped, but the glitchy production here, with a lot of little details, does mean I prefer this in general. It’s a damn good song, and I’m actually surprised that in her home country, it only peaked at #13 because this seems fit for radio in Spain, even if it’s a debut single from someone who’s primarily an actor. Maybe people just aren’t into streaming this when they can go stream the real thing instead with MOTOMAMI recently being released, but she’s a good alternative.

#47 – “Give That Wolf a Banana” – Subwoolfer

REPRESENTING: Norway

Okay, well, I didn’t know Norway legalised crack cocaine but Oslo can’t get enough of it as this tenth-place entry is from a practically comical pop duo Subwoolfer, who are from, well, Norway. This duo wear yellow wolf masks, gloves, suits and ties, and hit #4 in their home country with a novelty song that plays on Little Red Riding Hood and exclaims in terrible Auto-Tune that you need to give the wolf a banana so it doesn’t eat one’s grandmother. The guys go by Keith and Jim and the chorus consists entirely of them saying “yum” over a slap house drop that doesn’t really have much build-up to speak of so it just sounds like ass for pretty much no justifiable reason. Sure, it’s a joke song, and it might be better-mixed than the last two if I’m honest, but it’s not as striking as Ylvis were and doesn’t have that much of a hook – “What Does the Fox Say?” this isn’t, and, yes, they were also Norwegian. This isn’t terrible, and it kind of reminds me of “Like a G6” so at least it reminded me that it is always the perfect time to listen to “Like a G6” but I can see why other countries weren’t impressed with this one since it really feels like an inside jokes I wasn’t a part of.

#38 – “Stefania (Kalush Orchestra)” – KALUSH

REPRESENTING: Ukraine

Ukraine was always going to win, and I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing. People like to pretend Eurovision isn’t political, and it tries not to be, but if there is something that Eurovision always will be, it’s human. Sure, the manufactured sense of it all is a turn-off and half the time, the roster is filled with either models who are inhumanly beautiful or animals, aliens and novelty characters, but a song that resonates does just that, and sharing art all across Europe with people from a history of backgrounds in many different languages is a really warming concept, at least in theory. Sure, half of the songs are in English anyway, but it’s still something that gives reason for friendly competition, and I can’t say that isn’t a healthy distraction. Ukraine’s entry was a confusing set of events as you’d expect – they were going to send Alina Pash, but it was discovered that she performed in the Russian-occupied Crimea so instead, enter Kalush Orchestra, a super-group formed by members of KALUSH, a hip hop group from, well, Ukraine whose ambitions with the Orchestra project are to blend modern stylings with that of the traditional Ukrainian folk music, in a similar way to GO_A from last year’s Eurovision, who actually share a member with KALUSH. As you all know, the Russian elite launched a fully unjustified invasion of Ukrainian territory in late February, and four days after, Russia was booted from the Eurovision Song Content. Kalush Orchestra, as a sign of bravery and resilience, still continued to act as the Eurovision entrants and were allowed to go to Turin and perform an honestly really touching song. It isn’t about Ukrainian nationalism or any sense of pride but rather a more heartfelt ballad about a son’s relationship with his mother that continues to be close and loving as they age, where in times of struggle, it still means the most to him to hear her voice. It’s a damn good hip-hop song too with a national anthem of a chorus and a groovy albeit janky beat wherein Oleh Psiuk can rap pretty damn effortlessly over what may sound unfitting... but honestly doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to me, considering the mix of folk guitars and that infectious flute in the drop does bring the electronic backing to a more grounded platform. It does help that Psiuk’s upbeat tone is celebratory and seems to take pride in his mother as she ages yet still they show unconditional love for each other. That final chorus with the handclaps replacing percussion is transcendent, even if it admittedly sounds a bit abrupt going into the final drop, which implements some gently-placed strings into the mix before becoming straight-up tropical house for the last few measures, and it sounds pretty great. It’s a well-orchestrated, contemporary song with touching lyrical content and a pretty brilliant mix of elements that had seemed to clash in the Balkan turbo-folk scene for a while but come together really well here, so I think it would have had a chance at the top spot even if it weren’t for the tragedy in Ukraine. Once again, I would like to stress that we should be hoping the best for Ukrainians and Russians seeking asylum in this time, whether that be sheltering in Ukraine, trying to make it work when it seems impossible, or spreading awareness abroad, and Kalush Orchestra winning this contest, it means a hell of a lot even if it was inevitable. With that said, how they’re going to host it next year is kind of beyond me. Maybe we’ll step in, maybe it’ll be Poland but time will tell. For now, this is a great song that really deserved to win regardless of its origin. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

NEW ARRIVALS

The top five this week, bottom to top, consists of “First Class” by Jack Harlow, “About Damn Time” by Lizzo, “Go” by Cat Burns, “SPACE MAN” by Sam Ryder (we’ll get to it) and of course, “As it Was”. In this busy week, what dared to debut lower on the chart? Well, a hell of a lot, actually, and some of this is just bizarre so let’s get straight into it.

#69 – “Through the Echoes” – Paolo Nutini

Produced by Paolo Nutini, Gavin Fitzjohn and Dani Castelar

Now this is a name I hadn’t heard of before, and almost assumed was a Eurovision entry, but Paolo Nutini is a singer-songwriter hailing from Scotland who had somehow slipped my radar entirely over the years. I was thinking that I just wasn’t paying enough attention but then I saw that his last album was released in 2014, and despite having three very successful records, his biggest hit and only top 10 song, “Last Request”, hit #5 in 2006... and I only vaguely recognised it. It’s not particularly good, either: it feels like a not-too-distant ancestor of “Let Her Go” by Passenger so I was expecting more white-guy-with-acoustic-guitar fare from this new single... and, yeah, pretty much, but I don’t mind “Through the Echoes” at all. Well, there are parts that bother me: Nutini is way too high in the mix to be overselling the chorus as much as he can over pretty cutesy, retro-sounding folk rock with the distant guitar and sandy percussion. He sings about a mutual relationship wherein they will both always be there for each other, whatever problem they face, and I guess it’s a nice sentiment but not something that particularly resonates especially with the weird, meandering verses not really coming together all that much for me. Without a more powerful bridge, what I like about this song essentially is concentrated in those verses that remind me of Joe Kaplow in his delivery, even if Nutini is indebted more to classic soul music. I guess it’s cute, and absolutely listenable, if just as a bit of a breath of fresh air on the charts, but it’s not that interesting aside from that sliding guitar in the final chorus that I wish was emphasised more in the mix alongside the piano. This isn’t bad at all, and I can see it actually having a run once things quiet down, but I’m not particularly there for it. It just feels kind of wandering and meaningless to me. This still could very much be your thing if you’re into folk and acoustic music, so I wouldn’t not check it out.

#58 – “Last Last” – Burna Boy

Produced by Ruuben, MD$, Off & Out and Chopstix

Nigerian singer Burna Boy is back with a new single that to my surprise is actually a breakup song, coming off of his split with Stefflon Don, a British rapper who hasn’t charted in a while but had some impact around 2017 to 2019, particularly with the song “Hurtin’ Me” which peaked at #7. I was never a fan, really of either of these artists, but if Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello are proving anything, it’s that better music may come out of tumultuous high-profile relationships so I was at least interested in this. It turns out a bit more interesting than I thought, but not necessarily because of this production, which seems like some pretty standard Afrobeats, even if it is a harder trap-inflected bass that reflects the bitter lyrical content, working alongside the faster-paced guitar and awkward female vocal sample that doesn’t really gel with the group vocals and desperate reliance on alcohol and substances to deal with the emotional struggle. Sadly, I don’t see much actual detail to warrant the bitterness, and whilst some of that may be in the language barrier, it’s pretty easy to comprehend and it’s not much more than “you said I did nothing but I gave you everything” and “you manipulated my love”. It’s pretty basic, so when the content in the second verse starts talking about how Burna Boy is from the same city where the government killed Nigerian militant and freedom fighter Soboma George, I start to wonder why that relates to the situation and why you’d want to bring something like that up, especially if it’s to be self-serving in an ultimately really bitter and angry song but also one that’s kind of petty and melodramatic. It does leave a bad taste in my mouth by the end, even if it isn’t all that horrible, so I’m not a fan.

#43 – “SUPERMODEL” – Maneskin

Produced by SLY, Max Martin and Rami

We’re not even close to finished yet, most of the songs that debuted are in the top 40. We near closer to that region with Italian rock band Maneskin, who won Eurovision last year and had a couple sleeper hits yet never anything close to “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE” or their cover of “Beggin’” since... which for the record I’m pretty bothered by: they really picked the worst songs they made to be hits, and let “MAMMAMIA” flop. They performed this new single live in Turin – thankfully there aren’t any MIKA songs returning – and I do like this a fair bit. It’s got a Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque riff to it, and the sleazy lyrical content about this shallow heroin chic model who used to be a good Christian and is now into coke, it’s at least interesting even if slightly confusingly handled. I don’t really like Damiano David’s strained pop-punk delivery that sounds a bit more watered-down than his raspier tones from earlier in their career, though, and the chorus feels really week, as does that loopy guitar riff in the post-chorus that never develops into an interesting solo by the end of the song, which decides to name-drop OnlyFans instead of having a bridge or even an outro. This is not bad... but if I’m honest, it’s pretty close. It feels like derivative advertisement music with the lyrics excusing the gutless tones with faux edginess that really doesn’t go any deeper than surface-level observations without any commentary on this woman or her future. This sucks, but I’m pretty used to this band being kind of hit or miss by now.

#37 – “The Foundations of Decay” – My Chemical Romance

Produced by Frank Iero, Ray Toro, Gerard Way and Doug McKean

I’d like to say that My Chemical Romance coming out of nowhere with their first song since 2014 out-charting the poppier newcomers with a Eurovision boosts means anything, but one – this won’t last nearly as long as “SUPERMODEL” – and two, I’m not that much of an MCR fan. Sure, I know the big songs – and for the record, I like those hit singles, especially “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”, but I’m foggy when it comes to their discography at large, so these emo-pop giants are never really a band I was able to fully explore and connect with on the way that I did for those who preceded and really succeeded them. The fact that I can name more All Time Low songs than MCR songs should probably have me burned at the stake at the next pop-punk witch hunt, but I’ll say it: they haven’t made a song as good as “Weightless”, even if that’s never what MCR went for. They were all for pushing the boundaries of the genre into progressive, artsy territories with resonant lyrical detail and a level of unmatched grandiosity. It’s no surprise to me that this inactive band with a fanbase that continued growing regardless debuts in the top 40 for their first hit in the region since that insufferable “Na Na Na” song from 2010 hit #31. It was interesting to me that the song kind of acts as a metaphor for the band itself, and the connections with the fans not necessarily being ever-lasting or acting as a “passing phase” despite the fact that the band and its back catalogue had laid dormant for years. It also takes a more mellow approach with slowcore-esque acoustic guitars and hard-hitting percussion rumbling through distorted synths and vocal production that if anything takes me out. Gerard Way’s vocal tone is one of the things that really turned me off when looking into MCR, and it’s in a full force whine here that kind of feels half-hearted, even if it fits the exhausted content that even talks about the fact that 9/11 was the catalyst for MCR existing in the first place. The band, and their art, were always directly linked to tragedy. It’s an interesting song, for sure, but it starts to slog by the breakdown, and the muddier, distorted bass and guitar just makes this a bit of a drag, when neither Way’s vocal or the lead guitar feel like they have room to breathe even on the bridge which is about repair and rest. I get the melodrama and I get the dissonance but I’m not into this at all. On a worse day, I’d say I really don’t care for it as I really don’t like the execution. Don’t kill me – I know I’m posting this on a site that acts as the band’s unofficial fan club – but I’m not a fan, sorry.

#35 – “Black Beatles” – D-Block Europe

Produced by Nathaniel London

Didn’t Rae Sremmurd release this song in 2016? Hell, they peaked at #2 with that song here and topped the US charts with it, and I really do like that song even if it is only tangentially related to the Beatles. At least there were four of them, given Mike Will Made-It on production and Gucci Mane on the feature, and it was catchy enough to be endorsed by Paul McCartney himself, who probably just heard that Slim Jxmmi said that he was related to him and ordered 23andMe DNA test kits immediately. With D-Block Europe, there’s the duo and a producer who doesn’t even get a tag, with zero mentions of the Beatles at all. Sure, the basic piano doesn’t have much texture but it kind of works against the fizzling percussion and typically bassy 808s that kind of dominate the mix and are both mixed and sequenced really oddly. They both croon embarrassingly in Auto-Tune, with Adz saying that you have to move like Michelle Obama if you’re messing with him and Dirtbike LB... actually delivering. He claims to be sober from lean – good for him – and he has a pretty funny line about having all these watches and still getting the time wrong, with the typical deadbeat delivery that I kind of like from him. It’s not a bad verse, and by the time the plugg-esque percussion gets more glitched in the outro, I nearly think this is passable. It doesn’t have anything on Rae Sremmurd, though.

#25 – “Cooped Up” – Post Malone featuring Roddy Ricch

Produced by Louis Bell

I’m honestly kind of surprised that this debuted even as high as #25, as both rappers have seen their star fade considerably in the past year, with Post’s singles not finding that much traction outside of “One Right Now” with The Weeknd and Roddy Ricch’s sophomore album under-performing, with all of this correlating with the quality of the music just not being there anymore. Oh, and I’m also surprised that it’s at #25 because it’s pure garbage. The gliding R&B samples and loops are drenched in so much character-less reverb that Post’s warbling comes as a surprise off of the West Coast percussion that is again drowned in enough reverb to take out all of its bounce whilst also making it clip in the mix. It sounds like a beat Vince Staples would have rejected for even a first draft of his recent album, and for good reason, with Post sounding okay enough, especially on the chorus, but ultimately saying a whole lot of nothing. He flexes a bit, talks about being off the drink and partying, but doesn’t really tie it all together with the pandemic-era “cooped up” mentality, which doesn’t really make sense considering the content of his last singles being about having parties with a bunch of your friends and having sex with your girlfriend. Post oversells it, too, as his smoother warble is too high in the mix to be a mumbling Future-like drone, yet too light of a voice to be all that commanding. It doesn’t help that they have to awkwardly sandwich Roddy Ricch’s off-beat verse into the song, as his demo-sounding vocals are barely covered by the reverb and the bass hitting awkwardly on every time that he “pulls up”. He barely tries to rhyme, and his flows have no place being on here, and it really ruins any kind of vibe so the malformed bridge just comes off as tacked on. You really could have gotten Vince here if you wanted a good verse, or Swae Lee if you wanted the song to be coherent, but no, you got Roddy Ricch and given the reaction to this song and his verse specifically, I think Post is about to feel the consequences of that selection. This is pretty bad.

#16 – “IFTK” – Tion Wayne and La Roux

Produced by LiTek and WhYJay

Before we get to Kendrick Lamar, let’s talk about La Roux because of course, they’re charting. It’s 2022, anything can happen, and La Roux is charting thanks to sample drill really taking early 2010’s nostalgia to its fullest potential. With that said, “In for the Kill” was pure 80s nostalgia in the first place, with Elly Jackson – now the sole member of La Roux, which was a duo when the song first peaked at #2 in 2009 – selling her sex song with about as much strain and emotional distance as the chiptune percussion and robotic groove can possibly let her. I do love that song, even if it doesn’t have the same swell as “Bulletproof”, but really, if you’re listening to any version of the song, it’s Skream’s minimal and eerie “Let’s Get Ravey” remix which stands the test of time better than the original even with worse mixing and more dated dubstep wubs and spacey percussion. That final breakbeat drop feels so manic and makes the whole remix worth it. So what about Tion Wayne’s attempt? Well, whilst this is Jackson’s first charting single since 2014’s “Uptight Downtown” peaked at #63, “In for the Kill” had not only been remixed by both Skrillex and Kanye West but rapped over by Joell Ortiz, The Game and Lil Durk, so it’s not new... but it’s damn good. The watered-down and isolated sample echoes the atmosphere of the Skream remix, with the tight drill percussion feeling so intricate, especially with the sliding 808s that warp all over the track much like Tion’s flow which is absolutely killer in that first verse, where he discusses paranoia that has continued despite his come-up in his buttery voice that I’ve always loved. The chorus takes that sample and recontextualises it as part of the “grind” – he’s been through hard times on the streets and experienced violence I couldn’t even imagine, so now he’s taking his rap career seriously and going “in for the kill”. The flow on the second verse is smooth, and that choral sample makes it feel so much more anthemic even if the content is a bit looser, and the piano leading into the chorus is so intense. Believe it or not, there’s a third verse in a modern charting rap song – not the last we’ll see – but this one is particularly special as it accompanies a transition into a breakbeat groove that is really reminiscent of that Skream remix. Wayne drips charisma over the chopped-up La Roux vocals that eventually goes into full on metallic breakbeat that kicks ass, especially with the warping bass and Tion Wayne’s violent ad-libs. This is genuinely brilliant, and I hope it lasts because, if I’m honest, I might just prefer it to anything this next artist is charting.

#14 – “United in Grief” – Kendrick Lamar

Produced by Kendrick Lamar, Tim Maxey, Duval Timothy, J.LBS, Beach Noise, Sounwave and BGK

The difference between Jack Harlow having nine producers and Kendrick having nine producers is that Kendrick has something to say, and that’s coming from someone who’s far from a big Kendrick fan. I’ll concede on To Pimp a Butterfly or even good kid, m.A.A.d city but outside of that, just like My Chemical Romance, I’ve never been too into the music, even when I do explore it – he’s been a big name for a while, I’ve kind of had to yet it doesn’t resonate with me like it does for so many people. I preferred the new Chainsmokers album to Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which may just take away all of my credibility and dignity but let’s be real, I didn’t have that in the first place. That’s not to say I didn’t have things I liked about the album: it’s a realised and nuanced piece of work that has a lot of layers, even if there aren’t as many as Kendrick or his fans may think, and makes controversial, risky decisions to reach those points, with some gorgeous production to boot. Yet for every orchestral interlude and incredible, intricate verse, there’s an ass attempt at West Coast trap, struggle bars and failed singing, and some guests that really do not serve any purpose being there when other people should be– say, maybe a single female rapper could have been on your album which directly condemns sexual abuse whilst letting a guy who raped a high-schooler on multiple tracks, Kendrick! Maybe that’s too much censorship for your deep, personal album with no filter, but if you want to argue against yes-men on “Savior”... then maybe question who in the booth told you that beat was a good idea. I don’t want to deflate the album because it is important, but with the amount of self-serving discourse fuel, it quickly became tiring, especially on relistens that I did not find enjoyable at all. I’ll try and keep it short with these three Kendrick songs – I did my duty last week with “The Heart Part 5”, with much of the album, especially this track, touching on similar topics – but I will say that the fact that something was “the point” does not erase it being a bad point. That goes for Kodak Black, “Auntie Diaries”, “Savior”, the defensive and outright pissy closer “Mirror”, that all thankfully didn’t chart. Instead, we have the most pop-friendly cuts. “United in Grief” is the introduction to the album, wherein the main point is that everyone grieves differently, and materialism, sex, it can be a coping mechanism, especially within that same “culture” that he talks about on “The Heart Part 5”, so Kendrick just grieves different. It’s self-serving, sure, like the whole album, but finds itself not being as defensive or deflective as other tracks, and I think the lines about seeing Baby Keem buy four cars in five months and becoming aware of the same cycle continuing to repeat are pretty potent. I appreciate that the album starts with a jazzy, piano-led beat that allows Kendrick to vent about how lost and confused he is, and it kind of acts as a justification for what he’s about to say, and the transition into a distorted and manic percussive rage on the second beat that abruptly juxtaposes the slower piano and warping synth. He “first-tour sexes the pain away” and doesn’t find much value in Rolex watches that he only wears once... but when you’re saying that “everybody grieves different” whilst also complaining about the world being too PC, I suppose that the bars have to be as contradictory as the beat. Let’s move onto the next one, which I find much harder to defend...

#7 – “Die Hard” – Kendrick Lamar, Blxst and Amanda Reifer

Produced by FNZ, Baby Keem, DJ Dahi, J.LBS and Sounwave

It’s a West Coast beat that wouldn’t be out of the wheelhouse of Vince Staples or DJ Mustard, with a solid Kadhja Bonet sample that goes underused over some really stiff percussion that Blxst and Amanda Reifer, whilst both sounding as smooth as possible, can’t save. Reifer sounds gorgeous but perhaps a bit too cutesy in her register, especially with the discordant pianos, and... yeah, Blxst could have kept this one for himself. He has a malformed verse at the end which mentions the late Nipsey Hussle’s partner Lauren London and seems like it’s going somewhere, but no, we need to hear Kendrick half-sing clichés about his regrets, simultaneously asking us not to judge him, but I question why any of this needed to be over this beat, or what either Amanda Reifer’s lovey-dovey post-chorus or the Kadhja Bonet sample have to do with anything. There’s so much empty space here that never feels intentional, even if the strings do flood some of it out. Give Blxst a more organic version of this beat and you could have a good song, especially with that hook – get Ty Dolla $ign on harmonies, or a verse from YG, this could be really something – but as is, it’s fully wasted potential for me.

#6 – “N95” – Kendrick Lamar

Produced by Baby Keem, Jahaan Sweet, Boi-1da and Sounwave

Okay, thankfully, I can endorse this one: it got the video so it’ll be the single over some other choice tracks so I’m glad it’s one of the best songs on this album. I love the melodic Slick Rick reference at the start, and the trap beat, whilst stilted, does go pretty damn hard with the borderline rage synths that feel really triumphant against the truant kicks and 808s, and especially Kendrick’s intimidating, downbeat delivery ordering people take off all of the materialist items and see what they really have – but he’s also asking them to take off the “fake woke” and the kind of activism people only engage in when it’s profitable, and as someone who finds themselves always attacking the left from, well, the left, I can appreciate that kind of energy. Oh, and the chorus is insanely catchy and memetic, with an insane second-flow verse that is so disrespectful and fed up with everyone’s shit... you know, I may not agree with Kendrick or his portrayal of certain topics, but that’s something everyone can relate to, right? By the time he’s in the goofy falsetto and playing off of that hilariously exhausted Baby Keem ad-lib, the song does lose steam but I love the outro, if I’m honest, as he calls out this terrible interview from around 2009 where Oprah is on the attack regarding JAY-Z’s use of the N-word and doesn’t seem to want to hear out his side of the argument. Also, good question, Kendrick, both the right and the left want to perpetuate this myth, so what really IS cancel culture?

#2 – “SPACE MAN” – Sam Ryder

REPRESENTING: United Kingdom

It seemed right to save this for last, but I may just have the least things to say about this than I do for even that Burna Boy song I already forgot the name of. Sam Ryder is from, well, Essex, and has been posting covers on TikTok to gain traction until he was selected as the Eurovision entrant and – although by quite a disparity in points between him and KALUSH – he ended up as the runner-up for the Eurovision Song Context 2022 in Turin. Is the song any good? Well, since he said that he was inspired to pursue a music career since he saw Sum 41 live, I kind of expected some pop rock but... this is pretty milquetoast synthpop with a vague electric guitar and Ryder in his falsetto singing about how lost and confused he is, partly due to his previous relationships. It’s not bad at all, though, as I do like those guitar inflections a lot, and if not for the overly compressed production and really kind of cheap sounding percussion, I think the chorus would hit really hard. I do love the bridge, which sounds pretty authentically British, so I can’t say that he’s not representing for the UK on a continental stage, but I also can’t say I fully endorse this. It’s completely serviceable and I understand how it got so high, but it’s just not my thing.

Conclusion

Best of the Week goes to Tion Wayne and La Roux for “IFTK”, and it’s not really with much hesitance although I do want to have a tied Honourable Mention between “N95” by Kendrick Lamar and “Stefania” by the Kalush Orchestra. There was a lot of great stuff to debut this week, but it was tempered by some mediocrity or downright garbage, with Post Malone and Roddy Ricch getting the Worst of the Week for “Cooped Up” with another tied Dishonourable Mention to “SUPERMODEL” by Maneskin and “Give That Wolf a Banana” by Subwoolfer which is just too silly to let you forget about before the episode ended.

This was a long one, so I hope it might settle down next week, as although Harry Styles may have an impact, I can imagine we’ll see a lot of what debuted this week not make it to a second week, but time will tell. Thank you for reading, women should have the choice for what to do with their bodies and not US senators, and I’ll see you next week!

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worldticketsandhospitality · 3 years

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South Korea looking to count on big stars in key FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers

With some of their prevalent stars showing the fine form of late in Europe, the South Korea Football World Cup squad will tally on them to carry the country to victories in vital FIFA World Cup qualifying matches this month.

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Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur and Hwang Hee-chan of Wolver Hampton Wanderers were both baptized to the Premier League Football "Team of the Week" for their recitals over the weekend. That augurs well for the country's odds against Syria and Iran in upcoming Group A matches in the final round of the Asian qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2022 especially considering South Korea Football World Cup squad offensive miseries.

The 36th-ranked South Korea Football World Cup side will first host the 81st-ranked Syria. At Ansan WA Stadium in Ansan, 40 kilometers south of Seoul. The Taeguk Warriors will then travel to Tehran to take on No. 22 Iran at Azadi Stadium. The kickoff there is local time, or in Seoul.

Iran is at the top of Group ‘A’ following two successive victories. South Korea Football World Cup team are in second place at four points after two apathetic matches at home last month. They had a scoreless draw with Iraq and then eked out a 1-0 win over Lebanon. To know more about FIFA World Cup 2022 Tickets click here.

Son has stunned off a calf injury sustained during his previous international spell in September. He picked up an assist and forced an own goal by Aston Villa in Tottenham's 2-1 win the first time this season that Spurs had multiple goals in a match.

South Korea Football World Cup head coach Paulo Bento could surely use the same type of heroics from the two attackers this month. Bento only selected two natural forwards in Hwang Ui-jo of FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Cho Gue-sung of Gimcheon Sangmu. But Son and Hwang Hee-chan are more than capable of picking up the scoring slack from the wings.

Paik said he was indebted for the opportunity to represent the country again. If I put in the work and train hard here, I think I'll have a chance to play, Paik said. I want to pounce on that opportunity and show people what I am talented at.

Training camp back then wasn't long enough for me to grasp the South Korea Football World Cup team's style of play, said Jeong, who has two goals for his Bundesliga club this season. I will try to absorb as much as I can. I've been playing a lot and I feel like I am in countless forms.

On defense, center-back Kim Min-Jae has already made his mark for his new Turkish club, Fenerbahce, and will look to continue that form for the South Korea Football World Cup team. The staining defender was one of few bright spots for South Korea in September qualifiers and should continue to be the alleviating force on the back end for Bento.

In the countries' all-time meetings, the South Korea Football World Cup squad has four wins, three draws, and one loss against Syria, and nine wins nine draws, and 13 losses against Iran. South Korea has never beaten Iran in Tehran, with two draws and five losses. South Korea has competed at every Football World Cup since 1986, a streak worsted by only four other countries.

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architectnews · 3 years

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Expo 2020 Dubai Italian Pavilion Building

Expo 2020 Dubai Italian Pavilion Building, Architect, UAE Design Project Photos

Expo 2020 Dubai Italian Pavilion Design

5 October 2021

Design: CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Building Office

Moving Architecture: Unveiling the Italian Pavilion Building at Expo Dubai 2020

Italy’s Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020 opens to the public as an experiment into reconfigurable architecture and circularity. It features three boat hulls as the structure’s roof; a multimedia facade made with two million recycled plastic bottles; and a natural climate mitigation system that substitutes for air conditioning. The pavilion was designed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Building Office, with Matteo Gatto and F&M Ingegneria.

Photos by Michele Nastasi

Italian Pavilion at EXPO 2020 Dubai

Dubai, UAE, OCTOBER, 2021 – The Italian Pavilion building at Expo Dubai 2020, designed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Building Office, with Matteo Gatto and F&M Ingegneria, was officially unveiled on October 1st, 2021, as part of the first World Expo ever held in the Arab world. The project puts forward an all-encompassing vision for reconfigurable architecture and circular design involving some of Italy’s most innovative companies.

The pavilion features a multimedia façade made with two million recycled plastic bottles, new types of building materials – from algae and coffee grounds to orange peels and sand – and an advanced system for climate mitigation that constitutes an alternative to air conditioning. Reusing is also fundamental to how the structure was conceived. The pavilion utilizes three real-sized boat hulls, which could potentially set sail after the event, to create and shape the roof of the building. The Italian Pavilion extends over a surface of 3.500 square meters (38.000 square feet) and will be open until March 31st, 2022.

The Italian Pavilion envisions an architecture which challenges how buildings are usually developed for temporary events such as a World Expo, in which a lot of newly-built structures end up as landfill after just a few months. Contrary to that approach, the Italian Pavilion was conceived as an architecture that is able to transform itself through time, in a sustainable fashion. Three hulls, arrived in Dubai, become the roof of the pavilion, and after Expo, they could set sail to new destinations. The boat hulls also refer to the historical connections between the Italian and Arabian Peninsulas, thus hinting at the themes of both Italy’s participation in the Expo (“Beauty Connects People”) and Expo Dubai 2020 as a whole (“Connecting minds, creating the future”).

The three boat hulls that form the pavilion’s roof vary in length from 40 to 50 meters. They were produced with the contribution of Fincantieri, the largest shipbuilder group in Europe. The hulls are supported by more than 150 slender vertical steel pillars, each 27 meters high. In turn, they support a wave-shaped roof membrane made of ETFE pillows and a layer of perforated thin metal sheets that filter the sunlight. Seen from above, the hulls are coated in an innovative paint developed by paints and coatings company Gruppo Boero. They are the three colors of the Italian flag – green, white, and red – and form what might be the biggest ‘tricolor’ in Italy’s history (2100 square meters – 22.600 square feet).

The pavilion has no conventional walls. Instead, a curtain facade made of nautical rope, which also incorporates LEDs that can be lit to transform the facade into a multimedia surface, delineates the exhibition space. The nautical ropes are produced in recycled plastic, using the equivalent of roughly two million bottles, and form an intricate vertical meshwork that stretches almost 70 kilometers (43,45 miles) in length. At the close of the Expo, they will be reused again, in accordance with the logic of the circular economy. The use of the nautical ropes and a localized cooling system integrated with misting allow for extensive shading, natural ventilation, and better thermal comfort. The project strives to showcase more sustainable ways to cool our buildings and cities in the future.

Visitors enter the Italian Pavilion’s interior path via an escalator that takes them to a skywalk suspended 11 meters above ground level, right below the first hull’s nave. From this panoramic point, they can overlook the entire pavilion from a walkway that floats above the exhibition spaces and installations. Among the main spatial features are the Belvedere, a round structure topped by a dome, covered by wild herbs of the Mediterranean maquis, which evokes Renaissance gardens. Here, spirulina microalgae, cultivated by renewable energy company TOLO Green, enables the ecological treatment of air through the biofixation of the carbon dioxide emitted by visitors.

The path also includes an Innovation Space dedicated to technological research, the Second Sun and Second Moon digital installations by Enel X which create a crescendo of light effects closely linked to the visitors’ emotions in real-time, and the Theatre of Memory with a 3D-printed copy of Michelangelo’s David developed by the Museum of the Galleria dell’Accademia of Florence and the Ministry of Culture in partnership with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Florence. The ground floor of the pavilion features the “Solar Coffee Garden”, a cafe designed by CRA and Italo Rota for leading coffee company Lavazza.

CRA and Italo Rota also designed an installation for global energy company Eni, titled “Braiding the Future”, which focuses on biofixation of carbon dioxide. It recreates a microalgae cultivation using a spectacular cascade of 20-meter-high technological liana vines. Within each of the luminescent lianas flow the microalgae: the see-through circuit becomes a spectacular interpretation of the production technology of these unicellular organisms, which produce high-value compounds through a natural photosynthesis process.

The technology of intensified biofixation of carbon dioxide that inspired the installation was developed in Italy by Eni, Politecnico di Torino, and start-up Photo B-Otic. It allows the intensive cultivation of microalgae through photobioreactors, lit through LED technology optimized on specific wavelengths. Located at the entrance of the pavilion and suspended at full height over a body of water, the installation is a clear reference to Eni’s concrete commitment towards a sustainable future, including possible fixation and enhancement of carbon dioxide. It represents the next chapter in the company’s design collaboration with CRA and Italo Rota, which is dedicated to exploring new materials and solutions for the built environment.

The rest of the Italian Pavilion also includes materials that were chosen in line with the circular approach, developed in collaboration with Mapei, which manufactures chemical products for the building industry. Coffee and orange peels left to dry and reduced to powder, are used to coat the suspended pathways and walkways. The pavilion itself rests on a dune five meters above ground level, made out of locally sourced sand. Moreover, the path inside the Italian Pavilion is enriched by a series of green elements from more than 160 different species that live inside the building. Developed in collaboration with Italy’s National Research Council (CNR) and botanist Flavio Pollano, this natural landscape pays tribute to the biodiversity and ecological beauty of the Italian and Mediterranean territories. Particular attention is given to the role that plants play in stopping desertification.

Hailed from the start as one of the most recognizable designs at Expo Dubai 2020, the Italian Pavilion has won the prize for the Best Entrepreneurial Project of the Year at the prestigious Construction Innovation Awards that are given every year in the country hosting the Exposition. The pavilion will be open for six months, with hundreds of arts and business events scheduled for the space during this time.

QUOTES FROM THE DESIGNERS

“Our design for the Italian Pavilion deals with what I believe is architecture’s most important challenge today: advancing the double convergence between the natural and the artificial. It anticipates issues and suggests strategies that will be increasingly crucial for the future of our cities as we address the consequences of the current climate crisis,” says Carlo Ratti, founding partner of CRA practice and director of the MIT Senseable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “The pavilion keeps mutating into different forms. It speaks about reconfigurability both in the long term, because of its circularity, and in the short term, thanks to its use of digital technologies.”

“The Italian Pavilion has large dimensions and a very sophisticated structure, but more than an architecture in the canonical sense it is a large experimental installation focused on the increasingly blurred boundaries between the natural and the artificial. Its construction is equally inspired by natural biotypes and the most advanced technologies that come from space research,” says Italo Rota, founder of Italo Rota Building Office:

“On the one hand, the building looks at the organization of tropical forests, where light filters through a high canopy and life is organized accordingly. On the other hand, a crucial theme is the production of neo-materia: new construction materials that have an organic and biological origin, whose technological production is not to be mistaken with recycling. Since the pavilion was conceived in a circular way, one can think of this neo-materia as materials that one can potentially be reused anywhere, in different forms and with different purposes. The Italian Pavilion represents almost a sort of ‘architectural banking’: a catalog from which to choose the elements of future architecture.”

“After the design of the Expo Milan site in 2015, it was very interesting for me to participate in the design of a national pavilion for Expo Dubai,” says architect Matteo Gatto. “Representing Italy is never easy, but I believe that the theme of travel and the technology that we developed to execute the concept, and then for the project itself, have managed to well represent the complexity of our country, which is rooted in its history and projected towards the future.”

“Supporting a roof made of three overturned hulls was a real structural challenge. After a careful analysis of the main goals of the architectural project, F&M Ingegneria took care of the structural and plant design, proposing a functional integration between the two disciplines. This solution allowed us to optimize costs and construction work, ensuring the comfort of the pavilion without affecting the overall aesthetics.

The management of engineering work, entrusted to F&M, was particularly demanding in liaising with local companies and workers. But that allowed us to achieve the set goal, ensuring compliance with delivery times”, says Sandro Favero, founder of F&M Ingegneria. “A cross-disciplinary coordination of the project between F&M and the design team allowed for effective and punctual work, along with coordination with the operators on site during the execution phase. The BIM model was implemented in high efficiency from design to construction, allowing us to oversee the process.

The large spaces available on the first deck, called “the great dune”, with large facades without any pillars and the architectural structure entirely exposed, are the result of sophisticated structural analysis conducted by our specialist engineers. The complexity of the construction site that required careful planning in each phase, as well as the creation of highly complex geometric artifacts, have been a challenge for us, which we overcame with great success,” comments Federico Zaggia, Partner and Project Director at F&M Ingegneria.

DESIGN CREDITS

1) Italian Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020

Dubai, UAE 1 October 2021-31 March 2022

Architecture design: CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Building Office, with Matteo Gatto and F&M Ingegneria

Photo credits: Michele Nastasi

CRA team: Carlo Ratti, Francesco Strocchio (Project manager), Monika Löve (Project manager), Luca Bussolino, Mario Daudo, Serena Giardina, Ina Sefgjini, Nicola Scaramuzza, Giovanni Trogu CRA Graphic Team: Gary di Silvio, Pasquale Milieri, Gianluca Zimbardi Past team members: Saverio Panata, Andrea Fasolo, Alberto Geuna, Gerolamo Gnecchi, Francesca Marino, Lucia Miglietta, Marco Maria Pedrazzo, Davide Ventura

Italo Rota Building Office team: Italo Rota, Francesca Grassi Past team members: Francesco Lato, Omid Mohammad, Gilberto Piano, Sammy Zarka

Matteo Gatto team: Matteo Gatto, Stefano Monaco, Barbara Corli, Valentina Rizzo Past team members: Paolo del Toro, Edoardo Perani

F&M Ingegneria team: Sandro Favero, Federico Zaggia, Luigi Ranzato, Lorenzo Colarusso, Nicola Ros, Federico Moro, Antonio Nuzzo, Mauro Baessato, Davide Pizzolato, Dino Casagrande, Marco Furlanetto. Past team members: Francesca Favero, Luca De Antoni, Dhebora Gambaro, Francesco Mason, Alessandro Palamidese, Luca Sangiorgi, Paola Zisa, Mirco Zuin, Alessandro Bonaventura, Marco Bonaldo, Francesca Bertuzzo.

Scenography design consultant: Alessandro Camera Video and Multimedia Consultant: AGMultivision (Tiziano Alessandro Testoni) Lighting Design Consultant: Luminae Lighting Design (Lorenzo Bruscaglioni) Sound Design Consultant: P2A Design (Alessandro Pasini, Simone Fagnani, Paola Renda) Wayfinding Consultant: 100km studio (Luigi Farrauto) Graphic Consultant: studio FM milano Landscape Consultant: CNR (Silvia Fineschi, Roberto Reali, Francesco Carimi), GMP Studio (Flavio Pollano, Rachele Griffa)

2) Braiding the Future

An installation for Eni by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Building office

CRA team: Carlo Ratti, Antonio Atripaldi (Partner in charge), Chiara Borghi, Luca Giacolini, Nicola Scaramuzza CRA Graphic team: Gary di Silvio, Pasquale Milieri, Gianluca Zimbardi Past team members: Saverio Panata

Italo Rota Building Office team: Italo Rota, Francesca Grassi

Fabricator: Carli Produzioni S.r.l.

3) Solar Coffee Garden

An installation for Lavazza by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Building office

CRA Team: Carlo Ratti, Andrea Cassi (Partner in charge), Luca Giacolini, Nicola Scaramuzza, Giovanni Trogu CRA Graphic team: Gary di Silvio, Pasquale Milieri, Gianluca Zimbardi Past team members: Saverio Panata, Alessandro Tassinari

Italo Rota Building Office: Italo Rota, Francesca Grassi Past team members: Francesco Lato

Fabricators: Eurofiere s.p.a. (Luca Bertoletti, Fabio Capelli) Makr Shakr (Alessandro Peretti Griva, Carlo Turati, Luca Cianfriglia)

COMPANY PROFILES

CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati

CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati is an international design and innovation practice based in Turin and New York. Drawing on Carlo Ratti’s research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the office is currently involved in many projects across the globe, embracing every scale of intervention from furniture to urban planning. Among recent designs are the Italian Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020, CapitaSpring Tower in Singapore, MEET Digital Arts Center in Milan, the Eyes of the City exhibition at the 2019 Bi-City Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism of Shenzhen, and the redesign of the Agnelli Foundation HQ in Turin. In March 2020, CRA initiated CURA (Connected Units of Respiratory Ailments), a global open-source initiative to convert shipping containers into plug-in Intensive-Care Units for COVID-19 patients. CRA is also the only design firm whose works have been featured three times in TIME Magazine’s “Best Inventions of the Year” list – respectively with the Digital Water Pavilion in 2007, the Copenhagen Wheel in 2014, and Scribit in 2019. In the last years, the office has been involved in the launch of Makr Shakr, a startup producing the world’s first robotic bar system, and Scribit, the write&erase robot. www.carloratti.com

Carlo Ratti

Carlo Ratti (1971, Turin), an architect and engineer, is a founding partner of the international design and innovation practice CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he directs the Senseable City Lab. A leading voice in the debate on new technologies’ impact on urban life and design, Carlo has co-authored over 500 publications, including The City of Tomorrow (Yale University Press, 2016, with Matthew Claudel), and holds several technical patents.

His projects combine a scientific approach with a humanist perspective, and have been exhibited in several venues worldwide, including the Venice Biennale, Rome’s MAXXI, Barcelona’s Design Museum, London’s Science Museum and New York’s MoMA. Listed by Wired as one of the “50 people who will change the world,” Carlo Ratti serves as co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities and Urbanization, and was nominated chief curator for the Bi-City Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture that will open in Shenzhen, China in December 2019.

Italo Rota Building Office

Italo Rota Building Office is an international architectural office founded by Italo Rota and based in Milano, Italy. With over thirty years of constant and advanced multidisciplinary research, IRBO develops innovative projects where humanistic beauty and sustainability are integrated in fields that extend to contemporary art and robotics.

Aiming at the priority of achieving new living systems for the city of the “extreme present”, IRBO applies the most advanced technologies collaborating with labs, design firms and international universities. The office counts on the balance between art and science in its design research, creating a poetic manifestation that sustains the creation of projects with a new notion of beauty, a notion that according to Gardner “is the capacity of generating interest by a memorable form and an attitude of evoking further explorations.”

Italo Rota

Italo Rota (1953, Milano) is a graduate of the Polytechnic University of Milan. Upon winning the competition to design the interiors of Musée d’Orsay in the 80s, Rota moved to Paris working on many important projects in France among; the renovation of the museum of Contemporary art at the “Centre Pompidou”, with Gae Aulenti, the hall of the French school at Cour Carré of The Louvre museum, the lighting of Notre-Dame Cathedral, the lighting of the banks of the Seine river in Paris and the renovation of the historical center of the city of Nantes.

Rota returned to Milano in the 90s to become one of the leading architects of a new architecture, designing important projects in Italy and the world. More recently, IRBO has designed the civic museums of Reggio Emilia, the new Elatech robot factory in Brembilla, the grand children theatre in Maciachini Milano, the new pavilion laboratory Noosphere at the Triennale di Milano, The pavilion of Kuwait at EXPO Milano 2015, the pavilion of Italian wine and the pavilion of Arts and Foods.

Among IRBO’s symbolic projects, the Museo del Novecento in Piazza Duomo in Milan, the headquarters of Columbia University in New York, the Hindu Temple in Dolvy in India. The office worked on exhibitions in major museums, publications, installations and pavilions, including the Pavilion central theme for Expo Zaragoza 2008. Rota is the Scientific Director of NABA, New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, lecturer at Shanghai Wusong International Art City Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Advisor at the Tsinghua University of Beijing, one of the most prestigious Chinese universities. Italo Rota has been awarded several prizes, including the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture for the spaces public, the Gold Medal to the Italian Architecture for Culture and Leisure, the Landmark Conservancy Prize, New York and the Grand Prix de l’Urbanisme, Paris.

Matteo Gatto

During his career, Matteo Gatto has followed many of Milan’s major projects of urban transformation, has served as Chief Architect of Expo Milano 2015 and has coordinated the design for the venue of Matera2019. Winner of numerous awards and scholarships, he has been published on and writes for various international magazines, is lecturer in many universities and has been an exhibitor at numerous international exhibits.

matteogatto&associati is a creative hub of architects and artistic directors, born from the experience of designing Expo Milano 2015, deeply focused on major events and projects on a metropolitan scale, and on creating experiences and raising emotions and wonder at every scale: from the spoon to the city. matteogatto&associati provides solutions and strategies for major events, urban projects and real estate, design, branding and wayfinding.

F&M Ingegneria

F&M Ingegneria is a leading engineering company in the provision of cutting-edge design solutions in the sector of civil engineering, infrastructures, project management and sustainability. F&M Ingegneria controls F&M Retail, F&M France, F&M East Europe, F&M Middle East, F&M Divisione Impianti and F&M Infrastrutture, with more of 150 experts in the offices in Italy (Venice, Milan, Rome) and abroad (Köln, Paris, Tirana, Dubai and Muscat).

For over 40 years F&M Ingegneria has been offering highly qualified professional services in different building sectors (hospitality, healthcare, historic buildings, offices, residential), infrastructure (maritime works, airport and railway terminals, ports, roads, bridges and underground works) and the project & construction management of prestigious buildings and complex projects. The experience gained, the interdisciplinary approach and the focus on results allow all the F&M group’s companies to act as a guarantee of success for each client. www.fm-ingegneria.com

Photos: Michele Nastasi

Expo 2020 Dubai Italian Pavilion building design images / information received 041021 from CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati Architects

Location: Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE

Dubai 2020 Expo Pavilions

Dubai Expo UK Pavilion Design: Es Devlin photo by Alin Constantin ; image courtesy of Es Devlin Expo 2020 Dubai UK Pavilion Building

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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What Republicans Are Running Against Trump

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-republicans-are-running-against-trump/

What Republicans Are Running Against Trump

Republican Presidential Hopefuls Move Forward As Trump Considers 2024 Run

Republican Bill Weld running against Trump

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Less than three months after former President Donald Trump left the White House, the race to succeed him atop the Republican Party is already beginning.

Trumps former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has launched an aggressive schedule, visiting states that will play a pivotal role in the 2024 primaries, and he has signed a contract with Fox News Channel. Mike Pence, Trumps former vice-president, has started a political advocacy group, finalized a book deal and later this month will give his first speech since leaving office in South Carolina. And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been courting donors, including in Trumps backyard, with a prominent speaking slot before the former president at a GOP fundraising retreat dinner this month at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort where Trump now lives.

Trump ended his presidency with such a firm grip on Republican voters that party leaders fretted he would freeze the field of potential 2024 candidates, delaying preparations as he teased another run. Instead, many Republicans with national ambitions are openly laying the groundwork for campaigns as Trump continues to mull his own plans.

Read more: Trump vows to help Republicans take back congress in 2022

Theyre raising money, making hires and working to bolster their name recognition. The moves reflect both the fervour in the party to reclaim the White House and the reality that mounting a modern presidential campaign is a yearslong endeavour.

Who Is Trump Reaching

If the former president proves to be a kingmaker in the 2022 midterms, his allies say he may seek reelection in 2024.

The Republican Party is just a name, Steve Bannon told me last week. I had called him to ask about the influence he believes his old boss still carries inside the GOP. The bulk of it is a populist, nationalist party led by Donald Trump. As for the rest of it? The Republican Party, pre-2016, are the modern Whigs, he added, referring to the national party that collapsed in the mid-19th century over divided views on slavery.

Bannon might not be the most reliable barometer of the political moment, but some of Trumps fiercest Republican critics share his belief that the former president maintains a strong grip on his party. He sparked this , and now others are going ahead and taking the baton of batshittery, Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois and a staunch Trump critic, told me last week.

After losing badly in 2020, the GOP wants candidates who can win in 2022. But the partys biggest star seems less concerned with fellow Republicans electability than with their fealty. Trump aims to punish incumbents who voted for his impeachment and reward those who support the culture war hes stoked. Republicans want to talk about Joe Bidens liberal leanings and how inflation is making life more expensive for most Americans. Trump wants to talk about himself and his personal woes.

What will voters want to hear?

Also Check: Obama Is Republican

House Republican Who Voted To Impeach Trump Won’t Run Again

The Associated Press

Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, is one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Susan Walsh/APhide caption

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Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, is one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

One of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol announced Thursday night he will not seek reelection in Ohio next year.

U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, a former NFL player with a once-bright political future, cited his two young children for his decision and noted “the chaotic political environment that currently infects our country.” He is the first Latino to represent Ohio in Congress.

“While my desire to build a fuller family life is at the heart of my decision, it is also true that the current state of our politics, especially many of the toxic dynamics inside our own party, is a significant factor in my decisions,” Gonzalez said in his statement.

Gonzalez, 36, would have faced Max Miller in the 2022 primary. Trump has endorsed Miller, his former White House and campaign aide, as part of his bid to punish those who voted for his impeachment or blocked his efforts to overturn the results of the election. Trump rallied for Miller this summer.

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Who Are The Republicans Running Against Trump In 2020

served as a U.S. Representative for South Carolinas 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and 2013 to 2019. Sanford won the 2002 South Carolina gubernatorial election, wherein he defeated the Democratic incumbent Jim Hodges. He was re-elected in the 2006 South Carolina gubernatorial election, and consequently served as Governor of South Carolina from 2003 until 2011.

Former South Carolina Gov. announced Sunday that he is running for president as a Republican, becoming the latest to challenge President Trump in the GOP primaries.

In a series of tweets, Sanford explained the reasons why he was entering the 2020 race as a republican:

I am compelled to enter the Presidential Primary as a Republican for several reasons the most important of which is to further and foster a national debate on our nations debt, deficits and spending.

We have a storm coming that we are neither talking about nor preparing for given that we, as a country, are more financially vulnerable than we have ever been since our Nations start and the Civil War. We are on a collision course with financial reality. We need to act now.

As I have watched the Democrat debates I hear no discussion, or even recognition, of what is occurring. Instead I hear a laundry list of new unpaid for political promises. On the Republican side, spending is up well above President Obama.

Trump Endorsements Jolt Gop Races

While the party is focused on the November 2022 general election, Trumps gaze is fixed on the primary election season that begins next spring.

Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Erie Insurance Arena, in Erie, Pa. |

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Staten Island borough president. Michigan state Senate. Arizona secretary of state.

Donald Trump is endorsing candidates in party primary elections all the way down the ballot, a level of involvement thats virtually unheard of among recent former presidents.

Whats remarkable about Trumps picks isnt just their breadth hes endorsed close to 40 candidates so far in 23 states its their seemingly random quality. Whats even more unusual is that the political goals of the GOPs de facto leader arent necessarily in sync with his own party in some cases, they are starkly at odds.

If theres a thread running through nearly all of Trumps endorsements, it is his habit of rewarding allies and punishing enemies. So far, at the national level, hes backed primary challengers to four House GOP incumbents and one sitting senator all of whom voted for impeachment.

In Georgia, where three of the states top Republicans have incurred Trumps wrath for resisting his efforts to overturn President Joe Bidens win there, Trump has been especially active.

By ANDREW DESIDERIO and JAMES ARKIN

By CLAIRE RAFFORD

By DAVID COHEN

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Read Also: Donald Trump Calling Republicans Stupid

Sen Josh Hawley Of Missouri

Though controversial, Hawley, 41, is a fundraising machine and hes quickly made a name for himself. The blowback Hawley faced for objecting to Bidens Electoral College win included a lost book deal and calls for him to resign from students at the law school where he previously taught. His mentor, former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri, said that supporting Hawley was the biggest mistake Ive ever made in my life.

Still, he brought in more than $1.5 million between Jan. 1 and March 5, according to Axios, and fundraising appeals in his name from the National Republican Senatorial Committee brought in more cash than any other Republican except NRSC Chair Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. Just because youre toxic in Washington doesnt mean you cant build a meaningful base of support nationally.

One Republican strategist compared the possibility of Hawley 2024 to Cruz in 2016. Hes not especially well-liked by his colleagues , but hes built a national profile for himself and become a leading Republican voice opposed to big technology companies.

Hawley and his wife, Erin, have three children. He got his start in politics as Missouri attorney general before being elected to the Senate in 2018. Hawley graduated from Stanford and Yale Law.

Trump Endorses Republican To Run Against Rep Liz Cheney In Wyoming

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed Wyoming attorney Harriet Hageman in her expected primary challenge against Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.

I strongly endorse Republican House of Representatives Candidate Harriet Hageman from Wyoming who is running against warmonger and disloyal Republican, Liz Cheney, Trump said in a statement.

Harriet is a fourth-generation daughter of Wyoming, a very successful attorney, and has the support and respect of a truly great U.S. Senator, Wyomings own Cynthia Lummis. Harriet Hageman adores the Great State of Wyoming, is strong on Crime and Borders, powerfully supports the Second Amendment, loves our Military and our Vets, and will fight for Election Integrity and Energy Independence . Unlike RINO Liz Cheney, Harriet is all in for America First. Harriet has my Complete and Total Endorsement in replacing the Democrats number one provider of sound bites, Liz Cheney. Make America Great Again!

Trump has long opposed Cheney, one of a handful of Republicans to vote twice to impeach Trump, and Politico reports that backing Hageman will test his ability to get candidates into Congress.

The left-leaning political website also reported that as a final step before officially announcing her campaign later this week, Hageman resigned Tuesday as one of Wyomings members of the Republican National Committee.

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Republicans Who Embraced Trumps Big Lie Run To Become Election Officials

Countrywide campaigns for secretaries of state underscore new Republican focus to take control of election administration

Democrats: Texas voting bill marks dark day for democracy

Republicans who have embraced baseless claims about the 2020 election being stolen are now running to serve as the chief elections officials in several states, a move that could give them significant power over election processes.

The campaigns, first detailed by Politico last week, underscore a new focus to take control of election administration. Secretaries of state, who are elected to office in partisan contests that have long been overlooked, wield enormous power over election rules in their state, are responsible for overseeing election equipment, and are a key player in certifying making official election results.

Winning secretary of state offices across the country would give conspiracy theorists enormous power to wreak havoc in the 2024 presidential election, including potentially blocking candidates who win the most votes from taking office.

This is an indication of wanting, basically, to have a man inside who can undermine, said Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections at Common Cause, a government watchdog group. Clearly these are not people who believe in the rule of law. And people who run our government need to follow the rule of law. So it is concerning that they are running.

Former Us Ambassador To The United Nations Nikki Haley

Local GOP Responds To 3 Republicans Running Against President Trump

Haley, 49, stands out in the potential pool of 2024 Republican candidates by her resume. She has experience as an executive as the former governor of South Carolina and foreign policy experience from her time as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley was a member of the Republican Partys 2010 tea party class. A former South Carolina state representative, her long shot gubernatorial campaign saw its fortunes improve after she was endorsed by Sarah Palin. Haley rocketed from fourth to first just days after the endorsement, and she went on to clinch the nomination and become her states first female and first Indian-American governor.

As governor, she signed a bill removing the Confederate flag from the state Capitol following the white supremacist attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston. She left office in 2017 to join the Trump administration as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Quinnipiac poll found she was at one point the most popular member of Trumps foreign policy team.

I think that shes done a pretty masterful job in filling out her resume, said Robert Oldendick, a professor and director of graduate studies at the University of South Carolinas department of political science.

Haley criticized Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters, saying she was disgusted by his conduct. Oldendick said he thought her pretty pointed criticism of the president will potentially cause some problems.

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Sen Tim Scott Of South Carolina

One thing Scott has going for him that other potential 2024 contenders do not is a bunch of their endorsements. Scotts up for reelection next year, and in an ad kicking off his campaign released last week, Republicans including Cruz, Pompeo, Haley and Pence all backed his candidacy. Scott is positioning himself as a Trump-friendly conservative. In his ad, he included a clip of Trump calling him a friend of mine, and at a rally for his reelection, Scott said he wanted to make sure this wasnt a centrist crowd after asking them to boo Biden louder, according to The State.

Trump Opposes Republicans Running For Ohio Senator As His Family Renames Cleveland Indians To Guardians

Former President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he did not want to win the Republican primary in Ohio to fill the retired seat of Senator Rob Portman.

Trump aimed at Ohio State University Senator Matt Doran. Matt Doran officially participated in the race earlier in the day.

Dolans family owns the Cleveland Indians and will change the name of the team to Cleveland Guardians after the end of the season.

People who change the name of the once renowned Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians should not run for the US Senate, Trump said.

20:02 EDT, September 20, 2021 | Has been updated: 21:24 EDT, September 20, 2021

Former president Donald Trump Announced on Monday who didnt want to see him win the Republican primary Ohio To fill retired Senator Rob Portman Senate Seat.

Ohio Senator Matt Doran officially participated in the race earlier in the day as Trump announced that the Cleveland Indians owner Dorans family would change his name to Guardian after the baseball season was over. I aimed at Doran.

People who change the name of the once renowned Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians should not run for the US Senate on behalf of the great people in Ohio, Trump said in a statement.

Former President Donald Trump sent a statement Monday night that he would not support Ohio Senator Matt Dorans bid to the US Senate.

Trump correctly pointed out that Matt Doran was publicly critical of his familys decision to change his name.

Also Check: How Many States Are Controlled By Republicans

Emboldened ‘unchanged’ Trump Looks To Re

The set of advisers around Trump now is a familiar mix of his top 2020 campaign aides and others who have moved in and out of his orbit over time. They include Miller, Susie Wiles, Bill Stepien, Justin Clark, Corey Lewandowski and Brad Parscale.

While his schedule isn’t set yet, according to Trump’s camp, his coming stops are likely to include efforts to help Ohio congressional candidate Max Miller, a former White House aide looking to win a primary against Rep. Anthony Gonzales, who voted to impeach Trump this year; Jody Hice, who is trying to unseat fellow Republican Brad Raffensperger as Georgia secretary of state after Raffensperger defied Trump and validated the state’s electoral votes; and Alabama Senate candidate Mo Brooks, according to Trump’s camp.

Trump’s ongoing influence with Republican voters helps explain why most GOP officeholders stick so closely to him. Republicans spared him a conviction in the Senate after the House impeached him for stoking the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, House GOP leaders have made it clear that they view his engagement as essential to their hopes of retaking the chamber, and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was deposed as Republican Conference Chair this year over her repeated rebukes of Trump.

Those numbers suggest that Trump could be in a strong position to win a Republican primary but lose the general election in 3½ years. A former Trump campaign operative made that case while discussing Trump’s ambitions.

Republicans Not Named Trump Who Could Run In 2024

A growing number of Republicans are already jockeying ahead of 2024 as they await former President TrumpDonald TrumpCapitol Police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt says he saved lives on Jan. 6Biden presses Fox’s Doocey about Trump-Taliban dealBiden says deadly attack won’t alter US evacuation mission in AfghanistanMOREs decision on another possible White House run.

While Trump has not confirmed whether he will launch a third presidential bid, he has repeatedly teased the idea since losing the election in 2020.

I’m absolutely enthused. I look forward to doing an announcement at the right time, Trump said earlier this month. As you know, it’s very early. But I think people are going to be very, very happy when I make a certain announcement.

But that hasnt stopped speculation from building around other high-profile Republicans seen as potential heirs apparent to the former president.

Here are nine Republicans not named Trump who could run for president in 2024.

Ron DeSantisBiden’s stumble on Afghanistan shouldn’t overshadow what he’s accomplished so farMaskless dad assaulted student who confronted him, police sayTampa Bay residents asked to conserve water to conserve COVID-19 oxygen supplyMORE

DeSantis came in second place behind Trump in the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll in Orlando earlier this year.

DeSantis, who is running for reelection in 2022, also offered a preview of whats to come in his political future.

Rick Scott

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olko71 · 3 years

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New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on http://yaroreviews.info/2021/06/moderna-plans-to-expand-production-for-covid-19-vaccine-boosters

Moderna Plans to Expand Production for Covid-19 Vaccine Boosters

NORWOOD, Mass.— Moderna Inc. MRNA 4.54% is adding two new production lines at the rebuilt former Polaroid plant where it manufactures its Covid-19 vaccine, part of a push to prepare for making booster shots and the future of the pandemic.

At a site brimming with new steel production tanks and heavy equipment, construction workers in neon safety vests are working to get one new line up and running by fall and the other by early 2022.

The additions will help Moderna increase overall production capacity by 50% at its plant in the Boston suburb of Norwood, company officials said.

Moderna and its manufacturing partners also are expanding production capacity outside the U.S., with a goal to roughly triple the annual global output of Covid-19 vaccine doses to about 3 billion in 2022 from as many as 1 billion this year.

“Our plan and our hope is that, as soon as the U.S. has enough doses, we’re allowed to export so we can help as many countries as we can around the world,” Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel said.

Moderna is expanding production capacity at its main plant in Norwood, Mass., by 50% by early 2022.

Analysts expect the company’s Covid-19 vaccine sales will top $17.1 billion this year.

The manufacturing expansion shows that Moderna is making a big bet on an enduring Covid-19 vaccine business as health authorities prepare for life after the pandemic lifts but the virus remains.

Wall Street analysts say sales of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine could stay strong for a couple of years but then drop off. The mean estimates of analysts surveyed by FactSet are that Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine sales will top $17.1 billion this year, dip slightly to $16.8 billion in 2022 and come in at $7.4 billion in 2023.

The flurry of activity, at a site with a soundtrack of heavy equipment and walkie-talkies, is also emblematic of Moderna’s dramatic transformation.

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The decade-old startup had no commercial products and was struggling to persuade many investors that it could make messenger RNA technology work before the coronavirus pandemic hit last year.

Now, it is a major biotechnology industry player as a result of the effective Covid-19 vaccine that it quickly developed last year. Moderna has a market capitalization of $81 billion, up from about $7 billion before the pandemic.

The company has taken over its entire 10-story headquarters building about 15 miles north of Norwood, in Cambridge, Mass., which Moderna previously shared with other tenants.

Companies are working on coronavirus booster shots, as some early studies suggest antibody levels against Covid-19 wane with time, making boosters more necessary. We explore what that means for individual consumers. Illustration: Laura Kammermann/The Wall Street Journal

Also, it has opened offices in other countries including Switzerland, where Moderna works with a contract manufacturer to make doses, plus a back-office support hub in Poland.

“The build has been like nothing I’ve ever experienced, to go as fast as we did,” said Matt Barrows, Moderna’s senior director of manufacturing with more than 20 years of experience in biotech. “The build was the journey and continues to be the journey.”

The expansion hasn’t been without hiccups. Moderna’s initial output was limited, as the company scrambled to build capacity and expertise.

Moderna ripped apart and rebuilt a portion of the Norwood plant and constructed an addition to support large-scale manufacturing of its vaccine.

The company’s goal is to roughly triple its annual global output of vaccine doses to about 3 billion in 2022.

Moderna recently cut supplies to the U.K., Canada and other countries outside the U.S. because a contract manufacturer in Europe underestimated how many workers it needed to hire.

Additional setbacks could keep Moderna from meeting its production goals. Scott Nickerson, head of U.S. manufacturing at Moderna, said the latest challenge is finding enough raw materials used in the production process, especially plastic bags, tubes and filters.

The latest expansion will help Moderna boost its overall supply of Covid-19 vaccine doses to the U.S. and other countries, company officials said.

The company said earlier this week it had agreed to provide the U.S. an additional 200 million doses starting later this year, on top of the 300 million Moderna expects it will have delivered for U.S. use by the end of July.

Outside the U.S., Moderna has supply deals with the European Union and the international Covax initiative to provide doses to low- and middle-income countries.

Mr. Bancel said the company has received inquiries from governments in Asia, Africa and Latin America seeking supplies of Covid-19 vaccines.

The company expects the additional output of doses to include vaccines intended as booster shots that might be needed to prolong immunity and better target new coronavirus variants.

Some of the new supply may also be lower-dose shots intended for young children, if clinical data support their use.

After deciding to pursue a Covid-19 vaccine last year, Moderna quickly made changes to its original manufacturing plant, the former Polaroid plant located in an industrial park south of Boston that the biotech originally opened in 2018.

The company ripped apart and rebuilt a portion of the plant and built an addition to support large-scale manufacturing of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to Mr. Nickerson.

That work yielded the three main production lines that have churned out most of the more than 200 million doses Moderna has delivered for use in the U.S. since regulators authorized its use in December.

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For the expansion, Moderna has already brought in some of the steel tanks, white plastic drums, tubes and other equipment needed for production, waiting for finishing touches and validation.

The company currently makes between 40 million to 50 million doses a month in the U.S., most of which is made at the Norwood plant, but some of which is made at a contractor’s plant in New Hampshire. Moderna declined to break down the production or specify the expected monthly dose output after the expansion.

Across a parking lot from the plant, Moderna has converted a former auto-mechanic school into technology-development laboratories where workers in white lab coats and safety goggles hone manufacturing techniques that can be transferred to the production sites.

Down a path through the woods is an office building, formerly used by employee-benefits consultant Mercer, which Moderna is now converting into quality-control labs and a site for manufacturing doses for clinical testing.

Moderna has been on a hiring spree. Last year, the company added nearly 500 employees, boosting its workforce to 1,300. Mr. Nickerson said it is “in the middle of hiring that many more all over again.”

The new hires are a mix of people with experience in biotech manufacturing as well as fresh college graduates with engineering and chemistry degrees from nearby universities including Northeastern University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Mr. Barrows said.

Also to support the expansion, Moderna is firming up relationships with material vendors and manufacturing partners, company officials said.

The company has in recent weeks signed new or expanded contracts with manufacturers including Lonza Ltd. and Samsung Biologics Co. , and raw-material suppliers including Aldevron LLC. which supplies the starter genetic material template for vaccine production.

Moderna is converting another building in Norwood into quality-control labs and a site for manufacturing doses for clinical testing.

Write to Peter Loftus at [email protected]

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auburnfamilynews · 4 years

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JAY HARE / DOTHAN EAGLE / https://dothaneagle.com/sports/high_school/despite-coronavirus-geneva-county-running-back-emmanuel-henderson-still-receiving-division-i-offers/article_16c0e812-81cf-11ea-918f-9bd77d54d6e0.html

Breaking down some of Auburn’s top targets in next year’s class.

Yesterday, 247 dropped their new top 247 for the 2022 class. No Auburn commits made the cut but a number of top targets were included. Here’s a breakdown of some early names to know at each position.

Quarterback

5-star Quinn Ewers

4-star MJ Morris

4-star Ty Simpson

4-star Jacurri Brown

3-star Tanner Bailey

Auburn already has its quarterback for the 2021 class in Dematrius Davis thus allowing Chad Morris to shift his attention to finding his man for the 2022 cycle. I have previously written about Morris, Simpson and Bailey. The new name to highlight today is the nation’s top ranked player Quinn Ewers.

Ewers is being billed by 247 as the best QB prospect since Trevor Lawrence. The Southlake Carroll star threw for over 4,000 yards last season tossing 40 touchdowns while only throwing 3 picks. 247’s Crystal Balls and RivalsCast have four total picks for Oklahoma being his eventual school of choice but based off a recent interview with 247’s Steve Wiltfong, Ohio State might actually be the team to beat. Team number 2? That could very well be the Auburn Tigers:

“Obviously they’re one of the most watched football teams every year,” Ewers said. “Just that moment and playing for Auburn with all their fans and millions watching online, it’s crazy to think about playing in front of that big of crowd and atmosphere, it’s just crazy.

“Coach Morris is awesome. I’ve known him for a little bit and I know people coached by him and they say he’s an awesome coach. Even my coaches at my high school have been coached by him at Lake Travis and say he’s an awesome guy to get coached by. Really smart.”

He was scheduled to visit the Plains before the pandemic broke and visits were cancelled. I expect him to make that trek eventually though once visits are allowed again. While it will be tough for Auburn to win this race, it’s clear the Tigers are a major factor alongside Clemson (who has yet to offer but could soon), Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas. I still believe Simpson is the likeliest man to be Auburn’s 2022 QB commit but Auburn is a legitimate candidate to snag the best player in next year’s class.

Running Back

4-star Emmanuel Henderson

4-star Jaydon Blue

4-star Kody Jones

3-star Quinshon Judkins

3-star Trevor Etienne

The recruitment likely to dominate Auburn fans attention next cycle is Emmanuel Henderson’s. Ranked the nation’s best running back in the 2022 class by 247 and #21 overall, Henderson is one of the most explosive offensive playmakers in next year’s class. He rushed for nearly 2,000 yards last fall and 32 touchdowns for Geneva County. Interestingly, 247’s player comp for Henderson is Kerryon Johnson. The Tigers are believed to be the early favorite but this is going to an Iron Bowl battle to the finish. Could Carnell Williams sign three straight top 5 running backs? That’s where things are heading for the moment. Cadillac is working hard to return Auburn to RBU glory.

Wide Receiver

4-star Greg Gaines

4-star Janiran Bonner

4-star Koji Antwi

4-star Randy Masters

3-star Quincy McAdoo

Following an outstanding 2020 class, it’s been a bit of a struggle on the trail for Kodi Burns in the 2021 cycle. There are still some big names on the board though and with athletes like Tar’varish Dawson and Landen King already committed, Auburn can afford to be picky. As for the 2022 cycle, it’s so early that’s it’s a bit difficult to get a good handle on the WR board. Bonner recently told InsideThe AuburnTigers’s Jason Caldwell that Auburn’s offer was a big deal and Texas native Randy Masters appears to be close with Dematrius Davis. This is a position that will likely become more clear in the coming months.

Tight End

4-star Donovan Green

4-star Holden Staes

As long as Chad Morris is on staff, I expect Auburn to try and sign at least one tight end every cycle. But given the recent success on the trail signing talented tight ends, Auburn might be able to skip it in 2022 if they can’t get a truly elite target.

Offensive Line

4-star Kelvin Banks

4-star Addison Nichols

4-star Kam Dewberry

3-star Dayne Shor

3-star Cameron Williams

Kanaya Charlton

The early returns on Jack Bicknell Jr as a recruiter have been pretty durn good. If he can somehow reel in any of 5-star Tommy Bockermeyer, 5-star Amarius Mims, 4-star Savion Byrd or 4-star James Brockermeyer this class immediately becomes one of the best Auburn has signed in some time. Even without any of those names it’s a strong group. The Tigers are likely to sign at least 5 OL in the 2021 class and could go as high as 6.

For 2022, I expect Auburn to sign a smaller group but hopefully not the tiny ones of cycles past. In my opinion, Auburn should aim to sign 4 offensive lineman every cycle. You don’t wanna just take bodies to have them so signing 3 on the occasion isn’t terrible but if Auburn can consistently bring in 4 man classes, depth should not be a problem moving forward.

In next year’s cycle you can really see Bicknell’s philosophy at work. It’s clear Auburn’s new OL coach prefers to target bigger players that can play tackle with the option to slide inside over Grimes’s preference of guards that he converts to tackles. Of Auburn’s 15 offensive line offers for 2022, 14 are to players listed as offensive tackles per 247. That single interior lineman, Kanaya Chartlon, is 6’6” 329 lbs. Bicknell is going to sign some big fellas.

The two names to keep the closest eye on early are Banks and Shor. Banks recently decommitted from Oklahoma State and is interested in visiting Auburn per Keith Niebuhr. Shor is an Auburn legacy who the Tigers made an early priority going back to Grimes’s tenure. Expect more names to emerge in the coming months. Also expect those names to be of very large human beings.

Defensive Line

4-star Khurtiss Perry

4-star Mykel Williams

4-star Justice Finkley

4-star Tyre West

4-star Caden Story

There is a lot of DL talent in the states of Alabama and Georgia in the 2022 cycle. That’s obviously a very good thing for the Tigers as you will be hard pressed to find a better recruiter of those states than Rodney Garner. The Tigers have a chance to once again sign a loaded DL class in 2021. Don’t expect that to change in 2022 either. Perry is a name to keep a close eye on as he’s been heavily recruited by not only Garner but by Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn since he was an 8th grader. That will be a heated battle between the two instate programs.

Linebacker

4-star Daniel Martin

4-star Jalon Walker

4-star Jaron Willis

4-star TJ Dudley

4-star Harold Perkins

After signing a loaded 2020 class, Travis Williams has only 1 maybe 2 spots to work with in 2021. That’s why the focus has been on elite targets 5-star Smael Mondon, 4-star Xavian Sorey and 4-star Barrett Carter. However, in 2022, T-WILL should have more spots to work with which is good news as next year’s linebacker class is loaded.

Three of Auburn’s top targets are already ranked in the top 100 for next year’s cycle. Both Daniel Martin and Jaron Willis are GA natives so you know the Tigers will have to fight hard to steal them from Kirby Smart. LSU is also a program to keep an eye on with Martin. Jalon Walker is a North Carolina native who already holds an offer from Clemson. Those are going to be some big time battles, something Travis Williams makes a frequent habit of participating in.

Instate wise, TJ Dudley already holds offers from both Auburn and Alabama. He’s only been to Auburn once so undoubtedly once visits are allowed again, the Tigers will work hard to get him back on campus as soon as possible. Coach T-WILL has quickly turned Auburn’s linebacker corps into one of the best in the country and I don’t see that changing soon. If KJ Britt and/or Owen Pappoe can hear their names called in the 1st round, it would add some serious ammunition to Williams’s already formidable recruiting pitch.

Defensive Back

4-star Denver Harris

4-star Trequon Fegans

4-star Bobby Taylor

3-star Jaylin Marshall

3-star Andre Stewart (Auburn Commit)

3-star Brian Dilworth (Auburn Commit)

Dominick Fields

Dainsus Miller

TJ Banks

Auburn’s 2022 DB recruiting is off to a strong start. The Tigers lone two pledges in the 2022 class are both DBs. I suspect Auburn will attempt to sign a minimum of four DBs in this class, probably more.

The two top men on the board, Denver Harris and Trequon Fagans, have some positive connections to the Tigers. Auburn has made some tremendous inroads into North Shore this past cycle landing Dematrius Davis and Jaeden Roberts. They are still trying to flip Shadrach Banks as well. In the 2022 class, Denver Harris will be the most coveted member of the Mustangs and Auburn is deep in this race.

As for Fegans, he’s a standout at Oxford High School. The same program KJ Britt starred at before coming to the Plains. Auburn also recently offered Fegans’s teammate Roc Taylor. If they can flip Taylor that sure wouldn’t hurt their chances with Fegans.

Bobby Taylor is another Texan strongly considering the Tigers. He included Auburn in his top 12 earlier this month. Dominick Fields also listed Auburn in his top group this past weekend. Both are names to watch closely in next year’s cycle.

it’s just a blessing to be where i am right now.☝ ⭐️ #top6 #AGTG @247Sports @coachparker85 pic.twitter.com/hPUswzqwrJ

— Dominick Fields. (@DominickFields8) July 12, 2020

Finally, Auburn was the first program to offer Fairhope star TJ Banks doing so last week. Tennessee immediately followed suit. Banks has a number of family members that attended Auburn and given the Tigers being the first to pull the trigger, you have to like Auburn’s chances early. Long way to go and it looks unlikely any decisions will come in 2020.

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/7/16/21326994/auburn-football-recruiting-2022-board-quinn-ewers-emmanuel-henderson-denver-harris-khurtiss-perry

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