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#my battery is permanently spent!! as the year goes on i see less and less of a reason to keep trucking on! it's enough for me to get throug

planetsam · 5 years

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Prompt: Malex as Avengers... with romantic scenes and great action or detective work...

“He’s supposed to be dead.”

“Uh huh.”

“I sent you in to kill the world’s greatest assassin. So do you want to tell me why he’s sitting in my break room?”

Michael shrugs. He actually doesn’t want to explain himself. It’s been a long couple of months. And an especially long couple of days. And one very long flight from Budapest. Michael really just wants to shower and go to bed, maybe stretch out a bit after days of playing cat and mouse across some very tall buildings. Really he’d like to clean out his ears. But Nick Fury is peering at his ear canals like he’s checking to make sure the damn things are in and on and Michael doesn’t want to have this debate again.

“I offered him a deal.”

“You offered him what?!” Nick demands, “You don’t offer amnesty to someone whose killed that many people. You kill him like I tell you to.”

“He’d be a great asset,” Michael says, “he knows everything about our enemy and he’s willing to talk. He’d like to help.”

“Do I want to know how you got him to do that?”

Michael shrugs.

Nick goes into the room and Michael walks over to the window. The sound’s off and Nick’s good enough to turn his back to it, but Alex angles himself so Michael’s got a pretty good view of what he’s saying. He repeats things too. Michael likes him more and more as they spend time together. Of course he liked him already when he was chasing him across rooftops and they were enemies. Alex was always a great fighter. Always kept things interesting and had his own sense of fairness Michael appreciates. He’ll take fairness from enemies. There’s so little of it in the world, he’s not really picky about it. He watches as Alex accepts the offer, whatever that means, and rises up, almost saluting Nick Fury before he shakes his hand instead.

Michael’s sure Alex will blend in fine, but actually feeling comfortable here might take some work.

“I’ll take him to get settled,” Michael says.

“No you won’t,” Nick starts, “did you—“

“Battery’s dead,” Michael tells him, “I’ll just take him.”

He steers Alex out with a hand on the back of his neck.

“My battery’s not dead,” he stage whispers to him as the doors close.

“I heard that!” Nick shouts after them.

Even in the elevator with just the two of them Alex assumes a parade rest. Michael leans back against the wall and folds his arms as the elevator brings them up towards the higher floor. He’s calling it his crash pad for the moment. He’s been focused on the mission for the past year or so, no time really to find a more permanent place. Life’s funny like that. He’s spent years planning to kill a guy and now he’s gotten him a whole new life and is taking him back to his crash pad. Alex looks over at the laugh that leaves his lips and Michael grins.

“I’m just thinking this is gonna be a great inside joke between us,” he says.

“Assuming your boss doesn’t try to kill me in my sleep,” Alex replies.

“Nick’s not like that,” Michael says, “besides, I’ll be there. I’m hard to kill.”

Alex can’t disagree with that.

He even almost smiles.

They get into the bare walled apartment. Michael pretends to check his mail as Alex walks the place. He counts everything with military precision and in about ten minutes Michael’s sure he could fight in any corner of it without the lights. Alex peers out the window, looking for possible escape routes. MIchael shakes his head.

“Sorry about that,” he says, ‘windows don’t even open this high up. There’s a fire escape down the hall.”

“Don’t be,” Alex says.

“Don’t be?”

“Sorry,” Alex tells him, turning to look at him, “I know you prefer heights.”

Michael goes red around the eartips, but reminds himself there’s a reason their cat and mouse game went on for as long as it did. He’s not a fan of people knowing too much about him unless he wants them to. There’s just too much in his past for them to dig through. But once they know it, well, they know it. He can’t do much about it. Alex cares less. It only matters if he’s trying to pass as someone else. Generally speaking, Alex views his past as he views everything else. There’s no bright spots of joy to guard. It simply is. Michael’s pretty sure he thinks he’s going to be killed by either that past or Michael’s boss in the next few hours. Michael’s determined to not let that happen.

“Can I ask you something?” Alex says.

Michael nods.

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

It’s the first time he’s asked it. They discussed a lot on the plane but that didn’t come up. It takes a bit for Michael to realize that Alex thinks he’s going to do just that. After everything they did, he can’t blame him. It’s only a slight bit of an ego blow that Alex thinks his former bosses are better than Michael. They clearly aren’t since Alex is in his apartment with a pulse. But Michael guesses that a few heroics on his part can’t really stack up to a lifetime of mental and physical conditioning. Alex is the one who broke free of that. Michael just decides he’s going to have to be a hell of a lot more heroic.

“I guess I got used to you,” he says approaching him, “it’d be kind of boring out there, not looking over my shoulder for you. I’d rather have you where I can see you.”

“I’m a spy,” Alex reminds him as Michael comes to stand next to him, “I’m hard to spot.”

“I have good eyes,” Michael says.

“Hawk like,” Alex teases and Michael presses a hand to his chest.

“Sarcasm too? You might fit in here after all,” he says.

A flicker of doubt echoes on Alex’s face before he stubbornly pushes it away. But Michael’s caught it. He leans closer to Alex so they’re nearly toe to toe.

“You’re gonna be good for the team,” he says, “and the team’s gonna be good for you,” he looks at him seriously, “better than where you were.”

“Anything’s better than that,” Alex says.

“But this will be good,” Michael reiterates, “we’ll be good, working on the same side. The right side.”

Alex is soft right up until the last thing.

“Is there a right side in this?” He says.

“Yeah,” Michael tells him, “ours.”

“Ours,” Alex repeats.

MIchael nods and kisses him.

He’s held off, trying to kill each other and then trying not to get killed hasn’t left much room for anything else. Any quiet moments have been put to better things like eating and sleeping. Necessities. But they’re safe, safer than they’ve been in a while. The gesture takes Alex by surprise and Michael pulls back, searching his face. Alex stares at him in surprise for a moment before he steps forward, pulling Michael back and kissing him. It’s hot and raw and much less practiced than Michael expects, but god if that isn’t what he wants from the spy. Not the practiced or guarded stuff, he wants to see what’s underneath that and can only hope that Alex will let him. For now though, he just kisses him back as the lights of the city come on below them.

He brings Alex to the mattress he’s got on the floor and Alex pulls off his layers and layers of black to reveal the tanned skin underneath. Michael covers his body with his own, dragging calloused hands over perfect flesh. They’re not allowed to have scars where Alex comes from, but defiant Alex has several. Michael brushes his lips to each and every one. The mark on his forehead, on his torso and most of all end of his leg, where flesh meets metal. The tracker’s gone, Michael took it out himself and it’s left an ugly hole in the metal, but everything works. Alex is just that good. Even an organization that prefers bodies without marks on them sees how perfect he is. Alex turns their position and lays him down on the mattress and Michael lets him. If this is Alex’s first night of freedom, he’s willing to give up control for it.

It still takes months after before they can sleep through the nigh and not just in shifts. Alex is still in the shadows, but Michael always manages to keep an eye on him. They manage to keep eyes on each other. Until one day in the middle of an interrogation that Alex thinks is actually kind of laughable in it’s incompetence, the goon hands him the phone.

“What is it? These guys are giving me everything I need,” he says.

“Agent Guerin’s been compromised,” the voice comes through the other end.

Something cold settles in Alex’s stomach.

“I’m on my way.”

#michael guerin #alex manes #malex #malex fic #roswell new mexico #roswell nm fanfic #malex fanfic #prompts #yup malex is clintasha now #because i said so

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jameslockley · 4 years

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Paul Wesley+ Cismale + He/Him.┊ ❛ ━ hey, is it just me or do you hear ( Bat Out of Hell By Meat Loaf ) playing in the distance ? oh, thats just ( Sunflare ), a ( Chaotic Good ) member of the league of ( Heroes ). i suspect they might be ( James Lockley ), a ( Thirty Two ) year old ( Club Owner ) with the ability to ( Absorb Solar Energy). according to my sources, ( He ) can be ( Charming ), but also ( Hedonistic ) which is probably why they remind everyone of ( Nights filled with debauchery and Mornings spent in confession) so much. anyway, a (Superhero) or not, crystalline city is keeping a close eye on them! (Peanut, 23, EST, he/him)

Personal Stats:

Name: James Lockley

Age: Thirty Two

Date of Birth: June 6th

Place of Birth: Crystalline City

Current Place of Residence: Crystalline City

Occupation: Owner of The Black Marble Night Club

Networth: $50 Million USD

Alias: Sunflare

Identity Status: Secret

Combat Stats:

Strength: 9/10 (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Offense: 8/10

Defense: 8/10

Speed: 9/10 (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Durability: 9/10 (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Accuracy: 5/10

Agility: 3/10

Stamina: 9/10 (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Teamwork: 5/10

Stealth: 1/10

Close combat: 7/10

Bladed weapons: 1/10

Blunt weapon: 1/10

Ranged weapons: 1/10

Superpowers / abilities [solar energy absorption]: 9/10

Traps/Setups: 1/10

Medic: 1/10

Powers:

Main:

Solar Energy Absorption: User can absorb solar energy into their body and use it in various ways, gaining some form of advantage, either by enhancing themselves, gaining the drained power, using it as power source etc., either temporarily or permanently.

Variant Applications:

Personal Gravity: The ability to alter one’s own gravity. This allows for flight.

Solar Empowerment: The ability to become faster, stronger, and more durable when one comes into contact with sunlight

Solar Attacks: The ability to project beams, balls, and bursts of solar energy from one’s body

James’ Solar Energy Absorption:

James’ use of solar energy absorption is comparable to that of a Kryptonian from the DC Universe. The solar energy absorbed into his body causes his cells to become more dense, strengthening his physical durability and strength. It also allows for him to alter his personal gravity, granting him the capability of flight. Finally, he can use the stored solar energy in his body and project it into solar energy attacks.

James’ body works like a solar powered battery. He absorbs solar energy into himself, giving him a finite use of all things listed above. At peak solar capacity, he is capable of lifting several tonnes, and is heavily resistant to physical damage. However, the use of his powers causes his solar energy reserves to deplete. The more he uses any of these abilities, the less energy he had stored, and the less effective these abilities become.

As an example, at peak solar capacity James would be capable of stopping a crane from crushing someone. However, if his solar energy reserves were at half or less, then the crane would be too heavy for him to lift. Similarly, at peak solar capacity, James’ skin would be capable of deflecting a bullet, but at half, it would not.

The use of certain abilities exhausts the solar energy he has stored faster than others. While the use of his strength and durability don’t deplete a lot of energy, the use of flight and solar rays do.

Furthermore, unlike Superman, whose body naturally takes in solar energy on it’s own, James must consciously focus on absorbing the energy into himself.

Weaknesses:

Lead (direct): For reasons that cannot be fully explained, James’ body has an adverse reaction to lead, comparable to Superman’s reaction to Kryptonite. Lead that comes into contact with his skin renders him incapable of tapping into the solar energy store inside his body until the lead is removed. This weakness is known to very few.

Solar Energy Depletion (Indirect): Because there is a limit to how much solar energy his body can store at one time, and the use of his powers causes that energy to deplete, weakening his abilities over time, James can be rendered increasingly vulnerable if he is forced to continue using his powers for an extended period of time. If the solar reserves in his body run out completely, he has only the capabilities of the average human being, apart from possessing some skill as a hand to hand combatant.

Flaws:

Strengths:

Fighting Style:

commander / duelist / honorable / dishonorable / would have others do their fighting / stealthy / long-ranged / melee / technological / sorcery / superhuman abilities / has fought in a tourney / a lover of fighting / a hater of fighting / cowardly / reckless / strategic / uses underhand tricks / renowned for their skill / trained / untrained / keeps what little skill they have secret / won a battle / lost a battle / merciful / unmerciful

Any lasting injuries from combat?:

A series of scars on his torso from when he was shot with lead bullets

About:

- James Lockley was born into a rich family, and never found himself really wanting for much of anything, always being granted whatever his heart desired, the moment he desired it.

- When he turned 18, he was granted his portion of the family fortune, and used it to open a night club in Crystalline City called The Black Marble, turning it into one of the premier night clubs that the city has to offer.

- James has always been a lover of the vices in life. He’s extremely hedonistic, and so he gives in to his impulses night in and night out.

- This has always been a bit of a struggle for him, because he’s always been a devout Christian. And yet, for the past 14 years, he’s been heavily self indulgent and sinful. He’s spent many mornings in confession. He feels guilty for always giving in to his impulses rather than listening to the moral side of himself, but he doesn’t know how to stop.

- The discovery of his abilities two years ago brought about a revelation in his life. He figured since he was unable to bring himself to change, to be better, that God had given him a means to make up for his sins by granting him powers to protect, and save people from danger. James took up the mantle of Sunflare, and ever since then, he’s tried to serve as a symbol of hope, optimism, and bravery, all while continuing to live his sin filled life of debauchery and hedonism at The Black Marble. There is a huge amount of duality to the man, and both sides represent a genuine part of him; the difficult part is getting those parts to reconcile with each other.

Additional info:

Hi everyone! I’m Peanut and I’m thrilled to be here with you guys. If you would like to plot anything with James, please don’t hesitate to shoot me a message! Same goes for if you have any questions about anything explained here!

#gloryhqs.intro

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stickarooo-blog · 6 years

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Home Generators - 7 Reason Why You Need One

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transcriptroopers · 7 years

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Army Jargon Masterpost

It’s finally here! ScriptSoldier’s Army Jargon Masterpost. This is a list of army slang as best as I can recall it, but I do not consider it fully complete. This is the slang I can remember as best I can or with as little input as possible. As such this masterpost will never be entirely complete and will be updated periodically, so check back frequently and make sure you’re always up to date! A note: I have avoided putting most of the more offensive slang, but there is some slang that has sexual allusions and probably others too. It’s hard to fully weed everything out. I’ve also only gone up to battalion level because that’s as far as the average soldier is probably worried about, but there’ll be more information on my military units post. Please also remember that this is 1) An ARMY Jargon post, so no kidding there’s no AF/USMC/Navy slang on it. 2) Jargon can often be specific to certain parts of the army or even certain units, meaning I’ve inevitably missed some and there will inevitably be slang on this list that’s uncommon except in certain circles. It’s jargon. By nature it’s impossible to fully catalog it.

Was this post informative? Entertaining? Eye-opening? Then consider supporting SPC Kingsley on Patreon!

AAR: After Action Review. A constructive criticism session upon completion of a task or mission. ACH: Advanced Combat Helmet. Also see Kevlar. Ack-ack: artillery fire, especially anti-aircraft. In one of my units, we used “ack-ack” to sound like duck quacking, and it was a mocking noise to make when one talked for too long/too fast. Across the pond: deployed.

ADA: Air Defense Artillery. My branch. AER: Army Emergency Relief. A loan program for those in sudden need for emergency funds. A difficult process; one must either already be negative on bills or need the cash that instant. Preparatory loans are not allowed. AIT: Advanced Individual Training ...and a wake up: military unit of time. Accounts for the days left until a given date, plus the date itself being accounted for as “a wake up.” So if you had three days left in the field, you might say “two days and a wake up.” It makes people feel like there’s less time left because on the final day, the hardest part is just waking up. AO: Area of Operations. Arms: with “present arms,” refers to your salute. Otherwise, refers to your weapon.

As you were: return to your task, ignore my previous command. At ease: an actual command, but is also used to say “relax” or “shut up and listen up.” BA1100N: A hazing gag. The soldier is sent to find a “B-A eleven-hundred November,” which said in that manner sounds like it might actually be a real item. The joke is that the soldier runs around asking everyone where to find one until they realize that a BA1100N would spell...”balloon.” BAH: Basic Allowance for Housing. When you’re married, living off post, or in other certain situations, the army gives you a monthly allowance for housing. It’s based off of the mean monthly living rate for the area, so garrisons in pricier areas give higher BAH. Barracks rat: an enlisted soldier who never leaves the barracks, an introvert. BAS: Basic Allowance for Sustenance. When you’re married, living off post, or in other certain situations, the army gives you a monthly allowance for food. It’s based off of the mean monthly food rate for the area, so garrisons in pricier areas give higher BAS. BAS can also mean “Battalion Aid Station.” Battalion: a unit of about 400 to 800 troops lead by a battalion commander, a battalion XO, and a sergeant major. There’s usually three to six battalions in a brigade. Battery: in ADA, “companies” are called “batteries” for no particular reason. Battle buddy: most common in training like BCT and AIT. A comrade who accompanies you. You can’t go anywhere without a battle buddy during training, which includes going to the DFAC or the gym or the PX. Battle buddies must either be in gender pairs (mxm or fxf) or two and one (2mx1f, 2fx1m). Battle-Rattle: tactical gear, especially the gear designated specifically as “combat gear.” BC: Battalion Commander. Can also mean “battery commander” in ADA units.

BCGs: Birth Control Glasses. Very ugly standard-issued glasses. BCT: Basic Combat Training. Beer-thirty: after work, where you can change into civilians and drink beer. Beer vouchers: cash, especially cash received as Per Diem. Behoove: Look, this is a real word, not slang, but army people use it so much it makes me think it’s not a real word. Every soldier has been told, “It would behoove you,” with “behoove” sounding more like “behoooooove.” Blue Falcon: “buddy fucker.” One whose actions directly and negatively affected a comrade. Blue on Blue: friendly fire Board (the): a promotion board, typically consisting of NCOs from the soldier’s unit or the unit above them. Soldiers must pass the board to be eligible for promotion, and it includes basic army knowledge, knowledge appropriate of the rank you’re aiming for, correct wear of the uniform, and proper etiquette when addressing the board. BOHICA: “Bend Over, Here it Comes Again.” Literally, to be fucked by your unit repeatedly to the point of absurdity. Boots ‘n ‘chutes: Airborne slang; all of your gear/equipment. Brass: super high-ranking officers, like flag officers. Sometimes includes colonels. Brass can: a container used to harvest spent shells from a rifle range. Typically just an empty ammo can. Breach and clear: a fireteam entering a building and performing threat assessment, including firing upon enemies if needed. Brokedick: a soldier on profile, especially one that is on permanent profile and can’t do PT. Broken: on profile, i.e. disabled. Especially of those with chronic pain and/or who can’t do PT. Bubblegut: indigestion, food poisoning. Results in a bubbling gut and diarrhea. Butterbar: a second lieutenant, so-named for their golden bar rank. Often implying incompetence. Cadre: another real word that is used a lot in the army for a specific purpose: those who train other soldiers, specifically of one whose primary purpose is this. Cattle car: a method of mass transportation, which sometimes might actually be a cattle car. Charlie Foxtrot: a clusterfuck.

Chow: food, typically a complete meal. CIF: Central Issue Facility, aka where you get your tactical gear. CIF is also used to refer to gear received from CIF. Civvies: civilian clothes, particularly of a soldier’s civilian clothes. Clear (one’s weapon): to safely ensure that a weapon is unloaded and placed on safe. Clearing barrel: a stationary barrel or box with sand or sandbags inside. While clearing a weapon in it, any accidental discharge will harmlessly hit the sand. Combat arms: branches of the army whose members are likely to see or be involved in a combat situation. Includes roughly 33% of the army population. Company: a unit of about 70 to 250 soldiers, led by a company commander, a company XO, and a first sergeant. There are usually three to six companies in a Battalion. Command of Execution: the part of the command on which soldiers execute the command. Can be a command on its own (fall in) or a command preceeded by a preparatory command (left face). Command voice: a good, strong, clear voice. Counseling: a verbal and written statement addressing a soldier’s actions. Can be good or bad. Counselings stay in the troop’s file for up to two years. CP: Check point. Can also mean “command post.” Death Blossom: firing your weapon wildly and randomly in hopes of hitting something. Detail: a task, an assignment, especially a menial one like setting up before a ceremony. Often requires being voluntold. DFAC: Dining Facility. Basically a cafeteria where enlisted eat free.

Doggone: another real (ish) word I’m including. A polite swap for “goddamn.” Donkey dick: a metal fuel nozzle that attaches to gas cans for easier fueling. Down range: (1) on an active range, actively shooting on a range (2) deployed Drill and Ceremony: formal marching techniques, marching commands, so on. Earpro: ear protection, usually small insertable ear plugs. Standard battle-rattle. EOF: Escalation of Force. The steps you have to take when before escalating to deadly force. They often include things like ordering to halt, demanding identification, informing you have a weapon, express intent to fire weapon, things like that. There are exceptions and every unit’s EOF is different. A unit in a non-combat zone would likely have a much tighter EOF to avoid any incidents. ETS: Expiration Term of Service: soldier’s contract has expired, soldering is “ETS-ing,” or preparing to leave the army. Often a process involving numerous paperwork, appointments, classes, and returning gear. Eyepro: eye protection, such as goggles or safety glasses. Standard battle-rattle. Fall in: formally, assemble into the proper unit formation. Informally, gather around, come closer. Fall out: formally, dismissed from a formation. Informally, permission leave or go somewhere. Fart sack: sleeping bag Field/Field Exercise: essentially, a war game. Your unit goes to a specified location where you’ll live (usually in tents outside) and perform various training exercises/war simulations, usually those relevant to your MOS. These can last for a day or two to several weeks. There’s often no showers, large tents with a couple dozen cots each, and a few port-o-johns. Fireteam: a unit of three to four soldiers. Fireteams are broken down from squads and contain a team leader. There are usually two to three fireteams per squad. Flag/Flagging: aiming your weapon at someone, usually on accident while carrying it wrong, and usually only briefly. FOB: Forward Operating Base, a secure base of operations that are typically either very close to enemy cities or pushed very far toward enemy territory.

Fobbit/Fobgoblin: Derogatory term, refers to one who never leaves the FOB and has a low chance of seeing combat. Fort Dragg: Fort Bragg, North Carolina. So-called because it’s a drag to be there. Fort Lost-in-the-woods: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. So-called because of its isolated location.

Front Leaning Rest (Position): push ups, or the position one assumes before beginning push ups.

FUBAR: Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. Full-bird: an O-6 Colonel, so-named for their rank, which is an eagle. Used to differentiate between “colonel” and “lieutenant colonel” who are both referred to as “colonel.” Fuzzy: an E-1 Private, due to the bare velcro patch on their chest from having no rank. Gas chamber: training in which multiple soldiers are exposed to tear gas, made to recite something, (such as the national anthem or the Army Song) and then exit calmly. Guaranteed to encounter in BCT, may or may not enter again throughout the rest of the army. G.I. Party: a unit-wide cleaning effort. Can be a whole squad or a whole company. Usually of the barracks. Gig line: properly aligning your uniform so that the top, pants, and belt are a straight line.

Glass House: a house outline made of engineer tape. Used to practice breach and clear methods. Green berets: special forces, so-called because of their unique green berets. Groundpounder: Infantry, or any other unit in similar conditions. Grunt: ground soldier, particularly of infantry. ”Half right, face!”: the command that sets a unit up for doing push-ups. When we’re in formation and that’s what we hear, we all know what’s coming. Hero: used to mock a troop, particularly one who’s too enthusiastic or gung-ho. High speed: good, exceptional. Said of an exceptional soldier or of impressive equipment. Hooah: “Anything except no.” An acknowledgment, an agreement, a cheer, a greeting, a compliment, etc. Hot (of a range): if the range is hot, there are currently people firing. Hot shit: in the civilian world, this is a good thing. In the army, it means you’re garbage. IBA: Interceptor Body Armor. Kevlar vest. Standard battle-rattle. IED: Improvised Explosive Device. A homemade bomb hidden along roads and paths that vehicles and personnel are likely to follow. ID10T form: a hazing gag. People send lower enlisted out to find an “I-D ten tango.” Spells “idiot form.” Kevlar: though we do use a Kevlar vest, we specifically use “Kevlar” to refer to our helmets. Standard battle-rattle. KIA: Killed in Action. Died as a result of combat. KP: Kitchen Patrol. Junior enlisted have to assist the cooks in the DFAC as a regular duty. Can also refer to a “KP Tent,” which can be a pop-up DFAC in a field environment. Jimmy dean: an unheatable lunch. Usually has like a can or box or juice, a can of vienna sausages or beans and franks, a can of pringles, and maybe a granola bar or fruit cup. An inferior lunch to an MRE because it’s not hot. Jody: an imaginary archnemesis in the civilian world who’s stealing your friends, your significant other, your car, your dog, and everything nice in your life while you’re away. Joe: a soldier, usually one E-4 or below. Johnny-on-the-spot: timely, being in exactly the right position at exactly the right time. Latrine: toilet. Either a port-o-john or a full bathroom. Leave: Vacation time, holiday time. Must be approved by unit, can only be taken for as long as you have leave days. You earn 2.5 leave days per month, giving you 30 leave days per year. LES: Leave and Earnings Statement. Bi-weekly report documenting your earnings and leave accruement. Lieutenant First-Class: A captain, so-called because a captain’s rank is merely two first lieutenant ranks. Often implies incompetence. Lifer: people who remain in the army until retirement. Lima Charlie: loud and clear. Radio slang. Lost in the sauce: Overwhelmed and confused, poorly comprehending Lottie, Dotty, Everybody: absolutely everyone, implying no exceptions. Also sometimes rendered as “ladi dadi everybody.” Also a cadence.

M16: standard rifle.

M9: standard pistol. Make a hole!: move, get out of the way. Usually said when a higher-up is cutting through a bunch of lower enlisted. Make the walls sweat: performing physical exercise so intensely that the walls develop condensation. Medboard: getting medically discharged. Can also refer to the board of physicians that make such a decision. MedCorps: Medical Corps. MIA: Missing in Action. Mike: minute, as in “ten mikes until end of day.”

Move with a purpose: hurry up, make a concentrated effort to get somewhere.

MP: Military Police MRE: Meal, Ready-to-Eat. A portable, long-lasting, calorific meal for when soldiers don’t have access to a DFAC.

Muzzle discipline: properly carrying your weapon, especially so that it never points at another person accidentally. MWR: Morale, Welfare, and Recreation. Basically a rec center that has board games, books, wifi, sometimes a movie theater and food, sometimes a computer room. Nut-to-Butt: Quite close together, such that you’re actually pressed against the person to both your front and your rear. PCI: Pre Combat Inspection. Ensuring you have all of your gear and it’s operational. PCS: Permanent Change of Station, i.e. transferring from one post to another. PEN-15 Report: a hazing gag. The nomenclature when written looks like “penis.” PFT: Physical Fitness Test. We must complete a PT test twice a year to “maintain our physical fitness and combat readiness.” It’s just push ups, sit ups, and a two mile run. Platoon: a unit with about twenty to forty troops, a platoon leader, and a platoon sergeant. There’s usually three to five platoons in a company. Pog/POG: A shitty soldier, a shammer. Pronounced like “rogue.” I’m under the impression that infantry also use this to differentiate between infantry and other soldiers, i.e. “People Other than Grunts.” Poggy bait: goodies, sweets, munchies. Pronounced like “hoagie.” Police call: picking up the trash in an area, usually in groups. POW: Prisoner of War. PowerPoint Ranger: one who’s often tasked in the unit with creating lectures, especially those with PowerPoints. Preparatory command: In a two part command, it’s the opening command, the part that makes soldiers ready obey the command of execution. Ex: “Left face,” left is preparatory, slight pause, then execution command, “face.” Not all commands have a preparatory command. Present Arms: the salute command. “Present” is the preparatory command and as such there is a slight pause between it and “arms.” Pricky six: A hazing gag. Sending a junior enlisted to a staff sergeant and asking them “do you know where I can find a pricky six?” E-6 is a staff sergeant’s nomenclature, so the question actually sounds like “a prick E-6?” Usually results in the E-6 smoking the junior enlisted for “calling them a prick E-6.” Extra tricky because the prick-6 was in fact an actual radio. Profile: Soldiers on profile are usually either ill or wounded such that they can’t do PT. Some soldiers are on permanent profile due, others receive a temporary profile for things like a sprained ankle. Some profiles only prevent certain exercises (i.e. no running, no jumping) and some prevent all PT.

PT: Physical Training. We have morning PT before starting work, usually around five a.m. to seven a.m. It sually lasts forty-five minutes to an hour, but can run longer, and is usually done by platoon or company. PT is usually a broader catch-all for physical exercise, ergo PT one morning may actually just be a game of basketball. PX: Post Exchange. Can be something as small as a corner store or something as large as a mini-mall. Usually at least has basic supplies (socks, 550 cord, sunblock) and goodies (candies, sodas, sometimes sandwiches). Larger ones can have food courts and several vendors and stores within. Range: rifle range. We have to qualify on our weapons every arbitrary period of time (could be every two years, could be every six months) on the range. Ranger roll: (1) rolling one’s cap to adjust its wear on the head (2) rolling clothing very tightly to take as little space as possible. Rangerific: either means “a little too enthusiastic to where it’s annoying” or a sarcastic (sometimes sincere) “fantastic.” Depends on context. Rats: rations, i.e. food Rear D: rear detachment. The remnants of a unit after the rest of the unit has deployed. Red Berets: Airborne soldiers, so-called because of their uniquely red berets. Red on Red: enemies firing upon themselves. Relaxin’ Jackson: Fort Jackson, so-called because supposedly Fort Jackson is the easiest location to do basic training. Reveille: that really popular bugle call you always hear at daybreak. Not necessarily used to wake soldiers up anymore, but if you’re outside when Reveille sounds, you must turn toward the post flag (and you better know damn well what direction it’s in) and salute it until Reveille is over.

ROE: Rules of engagement. Like the EOF, it annotates how soldiers should react when engaging with others. It usually asserts that you have the right to return deadly force but you must exert minimum force on unarmed opponents and other such directives. Again, different for not only units but for stations as well. Roger: affirmative. Roger-dodger: An enthusiastic affirmation. Is often said sarcastically. RPG: Rocket Propelled Grenade. Flying death. RSOP: Reconnaissance, Selection, and Occupation of a Position. Scouts terrain to determine its suitability and then prepares it for emplacement/maintains it for the unit. RTO: radio operator, can be but isn’t always necessarily a 25C. SATCOM: Satellite communications, usually referring to a satellite radio. Say again?: repeat your previous statement. Proper radio etiquette for requesting a repeat of information. SAM: surface-to-air missile. SAW: Squad Automatic Weapon, a Light Machine Gun. Screaming eagle: an airborne soldier or airborne unit. Shake and Bake: formally it refers to an extremely impressive barrage of explosives; informally it’s a positive encouragement or an expression of achievement. Sham: to be lazy, to cut corners, to get out of work. Shamshield: an E-4 Specialist, so-called because they often delegate all work to lower-ranked E-1 thru E-3. Shamurai: a master of sham. A soldier who’s so lazy it’s impressive the lengths they go to avoid work. Shit hot: unlike hot shit, this is a compliment meaning “excellent, surpassing expectations.” We were often told “either you’re shit hot or you’re hot shit.” Shit-on-a-shingle: chipped beef on toast. It almost looks like sausage gravy, but with long pale strips of meat that look like skin. Tastes like ass. Can also be an exclamation of surprise or disgust. Sick Call: Enlisted must turn in a sick call slip to visit the TMC. It’s turned in before PT. The soldiers are then transported to sick call, which identifies their issue and whether they actually need to make an appointment at the TMC. Simply receiving things like ankle bandages or cough medicine does not require a trip to the TMC. Sick Call Ranger: a soldier who is constantly going to sick call, usually for numerous and exaggerated ailments. SITREP: Situation Report.

Skillfully acquire: to obtain without going through the proper procedures/paperwork, i.e. stealing Smokin’ and Jokin’: hanging out, break time, cigarette break. Smoking: punishing a troop with physical exercise. SNAFU: Situation, Normal: All Fucked Up. Implying everything is fucked up but considering how frequently things are fucked up, this actually makes things normal. Soup Sandwich: a complete fuck up, a disaster. ”Start Pushing:” get down and do push ups. Used by a superior to a lower enlisted when they need to punish someone but they aren’t bothering going through the formal commands of getting them to front leaning rest. ”Stay in your lane:” literally, to remain in your appropriate lane on a firing range. To enter another’s range, especially when the range is hot, could result in a shooting incident. Informally, it means “stick to what you know.” Squad: a unit with about six to twelve troops led by a squad leader. There’s usually three to five squads in a platoon. TA-50: unit-issued CIF, tactical gear. Take a knee: kneel (with one knee, such that you could still shoot from the remaining knee if you needed to) to listen to a leader give a brief. Can also simply mean “take a break.” Tan berets: rangers, so-called because of their unique tan berets. To standard, not time: a task must be completed until it is properly done and how much or how little time it takes does not matter. To the Color(s): apparently its proper name is singular, but I always heard it plural??? Anyway, often used after “Retreat” to signal the end of the work day and the daily lowering of the flag. As with Reveille, you must face toward the flag and salute it until To the Colors is over. TOC: Tactical Operations Center. Also sometimes cut into TOC and BTOC with B standing for “battalion” to separate it from the brigade TOC. I worked at TOC for a while myself; that was fun. Top: a nickname for a company First Sergeant. Between familiar soldiers, “top” can be used instead of having to address your first sergeant as “First Sergeant.” Troop: refers to any enlisted soldier. TMC: Troop Medical Center. Can be as small as a trailer or as large as a clinic. For receiving basic treatment not requiring a specialist. Includes vaccinations, medications, eyeglasses, and so on.

Tracking: following, comprehending Voluntold: when leadership ask for “volunteers,” and then wind up choosing people to do a detail, making it less “volunteer” work and more “voluntold.” Walker: one who walks instead of runs for their PT test due to a permanent profile. Weekend Warrior: National Guard. Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot: what the fuck XO: Executive officer. At the company level this is usually a first lieutenant, right-hand to company commander. Zero dark-thirty: Obscenely early in the morning, such that it is still essentially the middle of the night. Zonk: a very specific command given before beginning PT. Without warning the leader of the unit will say, “zonk!” and troops have ten seconds to get out of sight. If they succeed, they get PT off. If they fail, they continue to do PT. Theoretically. Sometimes they still get let go. An infrequent but joyful occurrence. Soldiers sometimes refer to this as “getting zonked.”

Zulu time: Greenwich Mean Time. Explanation here. Zulu time is often used on reports, especially reports that go across time lines.

11 Bang-Bang: Infantry, so-called because their MOS is “11B.” 15 minutes prior: Even if a company formation is to be held at 0600, your platoon sergeant will want you to arrive prior to that to ensure all is well and no one is chewed up. Therefore, leaders will often ask you to arrive 15 minutes prior, meaning 15 minutes before the appointed formation time. This can be compounded, resulting in 15 minutes prior-to-15 minutes prior-to 15 minutes prior, or forty-five minutes early. 249: M249, aka SAW. 50 cal: a .50 caliber Browning Machine Gun 550 Cord: Paracord, a small, thin, durable rope cord. Military’s duct tape. 9 mil: standard pistol (Beretta)

99Z: “Combat Ninja.” An imaginary MOS to describe those who excel in combat. Phonetic Alphabet While this isn’t strictly speaking military jargon, it’s essential to know, so here I am including it.

A: Alpha B: Bravo C: Charlie D: Delta E: Echo F: Foxtrot G: Golf H: Hotel I: India J: Juliet K: Kilo L: Lima M: Mike N: November O: Oscar P: Papa Q: Quebec R: Romeo S: Sierra T: Tango U: Uniform V: Victor W: Whiskey X: Xray Y: Yankee Z: Zulu

#writing advice #military advice #jargon #slang #army #masterpost

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cyberleaf69 · 5 years

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TWO OLD STAGEHANDS REMINISCING

I bought a new device this morning(Black Friday), disrupting my savings to the tune of $278.19; this was NOT a doorbuster bargain, but was their least expensive 'laptop.' This purchase has relieved me of the burden of Google Chrome & brought back Cortana("Hey!"); also I have the use of my WiFi, and can stay in touch with the Amell family(up in those woods). When I ventured out this AM, it was about fifty degrees out; I got a biscut-breakfast at Hardee's, before negotiating my holiday purchase; after bringing my prize back to the room, I sped off to get 4 packs of cig's and some(6 for $1) donut sticks. Hurricane Michael has managed to permanently close down my Harvey's, so it's Family Dollar, Dollar General & Dollar Tree for now; this has increased expenses significantly, while reducing overall quality & variety. I'm sure to think of something else to write about, but for now, I'm sending this along.

Outstanding! Glad to hear from you. I had another episode with another blocked artery. I'm up to three stents now. This happened right after Michael blew through, so I'd been wondering how you were doing. This news is tonic for me.

sorry; I was checking out alternative forms of identification; not sure if this is tonic(because I'm tone-deaf), but I'll dash off something for a three-stenter; keep this up and you'll be setting off metal detectors at airports and courthouses; when you say 'episode' you should elaborate, even if you have to make the shit up; making shit up has become quite presidential lately RE:Hurricane Michael - about 7 PM, my power went out; luckily, between 5 & 6 PM next afternoon, it was restored I opened my drapes for lighting, and sat facing the window until around 12:30 AM, when the worst of it had passed that bitch was loud, and at one point, while still approaching from SW, one sheet of steel roofing blew off our U-shaped building; a shower of sparks as it blew across the parking lot got my full attention did you purchase a copy of "Whose Boat Is This Boat?" it took 30 min's to get this far... updates and such[speaks to the age of the model I was sold @STAPLES] cheese grits on the breakfast menu, but first I'll be needing a shower

Of course we didn't catch the full fury of the storm, but we got plenty of rain and wind, I have several washed out sections of driveway I need to attend to, it's a rough ride down into the valley here. In regards to my ongoing heart troubles, in 2011 I had a blockage of the left anterior descending artery, that was causing great pressure in my chest, felt like an elephant was sitting on me, no heart attack with that event, but the docs implanted my first stent. The heart attack this past April was brought on by blockage of the right coronary artery, I aggravated my heart by over-exerting myself digging my dogs grave. That event was marked by rapid heartbeat, dizziness, sweating, confusion, and pressure radiating out from the left side of my chest. That blockage was remedied by stent number two. The latest episode at the end of October was preceded by a week or so of pressure and mild discomfort in my chest that was remedied by taking a dose of nitro-glycerin. I awoke with that pressure, took a dose, didn't get any relief, I alerted Debbie, took another dose, but by then I was having difficulty breathing and having strong chest pain, Deb called 911 and gave me a third dose of nitro, at that time I was hyperventilating uncontrollably, sweating profusely, and the pain was very intense...I was sure I was about to die. The EMTs arrived, got me in the ambulance, took my blood pressure, and an EKG, drew some blood, analyzed that with the fancy computer analyzer and came back with "Everything looks fine, you don't appear to be having a heart attack." I got to the hospital, had a quiet morning and afternoon, save for the drawing of blood and the checking of blood pressure. Later that night though, I had six more non-heart-attacks. I won't go into all the drama wrapped around that due to my vitals all showing good normal indications. Anyway, I got my third stent early that next morning, after being catheterized and they found another blockage in the right coronary artery that was downstream of the second stent. Phillip, during those six non-heart-attacks I was truly sure I was going to meet the creator. I had told Debbie all those things you tell someone when you think you're dying. But apparently I've either got unfinished business or I'm just getting some extra time here on earth due to my exceedingly good looks, wit, and charm. ;)

good looks, wit & charm aside, since you have unloaded onto DEB all those last minute appurtenances, you should think about what must be/should be said about your time together since recovering from those six downstream pain events[& consider the high dose of TNT necessary for that most recent download]

We're getting ready for our Thanksgiving tomorrow. Lots of cleaning and such. I'll be in and out all day. Got yard-work to do now that the rain has passed. I have a fire going to save electricity, and the added benefit of warm glowing light is helpful. I've got to go buy a used bass guitar in a little while. I'm snagging parts off of it to make a cigar box bass guitar for Patti (Tuck) Tuckwiler's brother's Christmas gift. I'd already had my oatmeal & blueberries along with a patty of turkey sausage and a slice of toast. I let this guy named Possum hunt on our property, he gave me a slab of backstrap as thanks for hunting privileges. I'm thinking about having a backstrap on a yeast roll for lunch.

shower complete backstrap a la antlered-buck, I'm assuming had some online interaction w/TUCK[doubt she will remember] will your son attend tomorrow's feed? you sound pretty busy, so I'll catch up w/U later

oversized notebook w/no disk player[complicating printer connection]

trak-pad offset too far to left of center[due to hard drive's location to the right of it]; I keep right-clicking when I want to left-click I'm running down my battery for the first time today[not sure whether these rechargeables benefit from 'training'] still 'customizing' my task bar/I can use my 'task view' to 'see' what's down there[and access w/a click] tomorrow will be a 'shopping day' as I'm out of grits limerick is kinda fun most forms are the kind of challenge a writer loves I once wrote a Petrarchian sonnet[back in high school]; it was a love-poem to my girlfriend; in order to fit her 2-syllable name into it, without breaking with meter requirements, I wrote it as G_____[just one syllable]; this came in handy later; I was able to recycle my metric sentiments for future girlfriends. https://www.booksie.com/sent-messages https://en.wikichip.org/w/index.php?title=User:Phillip_DeNise&action=submit

My youngest son works for a company that resolves gift/cash card issues. They're well moneyed, they pay their employees very well, and they feed them like royalty. The company had bought a Thanksgiving feast for 9 people. They spent $1700 on that meal, that was catered by Olive Garden. There was so much food left that all the employees got to take home...like...doggy bags for elephants. My son brought some of that bounty to share with us for our thanksgiving dinner. We also had plenty of food leftover, so much that we sent all the family members home with food for days, and we still have much left in the fridge. I'm having some fettucine alfredo, and yeast rolls for my late lunch. I'd been busy cleaning and straightening from the dinner. Also I'd bought a $50 bass to sacrifice for parts I need to build that cigar-box bass I'd mentioned that I'd disassembled before taking lunch. I'm trying to stay busy and keep moving. Whatever amount of life I have left, I want to use as much as I can, as wisely as I can. After I wrap up this message, I'm going to chop some wood and get a fire started for this evening. It's supposed to be in the low 30s tonight. Cheers! I hope that laptop ain't making you crazy.

fettucine alfredo is one of my all-time-favorites; 1st time I had it, my sis made it at home; she did it so well that I was forever hooked; add smoked chicken breast & sliced, fresh button mushrooms, and... well, Italian ambrosia; plain f.a. is the perfect side for veal marsala do you have to smoke all those cigars for authenticity? ...probably a good way to end up w/John Prine's voice check came yesterday; I'll go to Liquor Locker at 11[as it is usually sans-customers then; less chance of a robbery], to get my wad of ca$h then $625 to motel-boss, $60 + any cash from last mo. goes into savings hidey-hole, leaving about 3 Benjamins for necessities

All the cash that I have to my name is tied up in two guitars and a guitar amplifier. Got them all up on eBay, and Craig's list, hoping some aspiring young rock star has a need...soon. I'm living off the fat of thanksgiving today. Got that fire going, saving on heating bills, and trying to figure out how to get the most cash I can for the HHR. I've got about 1.75 years to go until I can take SS early retirement. I honestly don't know how I'll make it that long, barring a minor miracle or a random act of kindness, but somehow we've manged thus far, I have faith and hope for better days to come. As far as cigar box guitars go, we find the boxes online or at tobacco shops in the area. I haven't had a cigar or cigarette since April when I had the heart attack. I do find myself "wanting" quite often but have taken up gnawing a straw, gum, or a toothpick. The good news is that it's saving me between $10 - $20 a week that I don't have anyway. Yay. Anyhow, I'm going back out to work on the cigar box bass. Peace to you Phillip.

get some sax-reeds for your oral gratification-smoking abatement strategy; a cigar box will make an excellent homemade resonator for a sax-like sample to feed into your reactionary music what changes when you claim your partial & have significantly improved your survival-horizon in the interim?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8buJ2-oD02E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDqoTDM7tio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2-XU8jm02o where do the best stories come from? editors are famous for taking out the stuff that isn't needed; old men have a similar process occurring among the aging neurons in their noggins; this is giving them a new voice; problem is:if they show their wizened faces, nobody will listen to them; time to employ a mask... a truly vital issue that cannot be ignored Calories are units used to measure heat. Mammals maintain their body temperature by chemically converting starches and sugars back into H2O & CO2. When we burn hydrocarbon fuels, the heat production and the waste products are the same. Plants do just the opposite; they use the H2O & CO2 to store the heat energy in their starches and sugars. Down in Brunswick, there is a company called Hercules; when you pass by their manufacturing plant, you will see tree stumps piled high; they use the waste from lumbering operations to convert the cellulose into gunpowder. The lowly peanut vine, hosts on its root systems, colonies of bacteria[also plants] that 'fix' the nitrogen from the atmosphere, so that it is soluble[thus available to the vines for uptake through those roots]. Rotating to a planting of peanuts can quickly restore the depleted nutrients resulting from cotton or corn plantings. The lint caught up in the air circulating in a cotton mill can cause an explosion if rapidly oxidized. Corn silos can be dangerous concentrations of these plant-stored nitrates as well. As a child, I was the agent providing the fixed nitrogen, when I 'strowed sodie' about the roots in a plot of sweet corn. These crystals of explosive nitrates are chemically produced from nitrogen in the atmosphere. 'Scrubbing' the atmosphere of dangerous concentrations of CO2 can be done in a similar process. If the energy needed to trap the carbon can be 'captured' from sunlight, then the corn plants and explosive fertilizers can be dispensed with. If animal life forms are so much more intelligent than plants, then they should consider taking over all the terraforming functions that they mindlessly perform in their own self-interest. Terraforming distant Mars seems to depend heavily upon creating a breathable atmosphere there; what are our scientists doing about terraforming the Earth, where a kingdom of plant life forms could be better harnessed to accomplish our desired balance of CO2, O2 & N2? Climate change, probably in a warming phase, is increasing our atmospheric H2O; this will eventually reverse the warming trend. In the interim, it seems logical that there are locales on the planet which will benefit from the current trend; these are the places we should be colonizing. Diverting the hordes of humanity, that are fleeing the effects of climate change, into these mostly unsettled areas, not only solves the immigration problems of industrialized nations, but represents a tremendous business opportunity for expanding their struggling economies. These new colonies offer to the 'survivalists' among us, destinations where there is less government and enormous freedom to develop their ideas into social organizations that will promote their own desired political and economic change. No matter where they chose to go, they will still need shoes... need clean drinking water... shelters constructed from available materials[rammed earth domes are remarkably resilient] will immediately be needed; and what will they eat? Business solutions exist for almost every difficulty that such a growing society must soon encounter; why continue looking to charitable organizations and over-burdened governments for the answers?

Everyone now has the capability of being able to hide behind a digital mask on them damn interwebs. Here we have the vastness of mankind's accumulation of knowledge, and people choose to watch cat videos on facebook. There's really not much hope for people in my best estimation, masks or not. I understand why there needs to be a revolution of the mind, heart, and soul. I understand that I'm not the only one that sees this, and I'm glad I'm not alone. One of the problems we face today is the blessing/curse of the internet. People aren't using it so much as a learning tool, but rather as a distraction from all the folly of the times. That said, I'm going off to work on a box.

time actually flies when we are having so much fun; my cheese grits are already at stage one[awaiting the time when I shove the green plastic bowl into the nuke-o-wave, while those frags of kernal-corn soak/soften in cold water], I'm fully dressed & the bed is made; the TV is on & I'm halfway through my first cup of joe and my first cigarette[which I have stubbed out and noticed that the first half was the most generous one]; a great noise is being raised outside my place[some sort of gas-powered welding machine], so staying in bed would not have been a workable alternative; it's rainy out, which is a meteorological condition that could remain in place for three days; I saw that coming, so I visited my nearest Family Dollar yesterday, when it was seventy-two degrees and sunny GATOR used to be right here "gator takes a ride" is my visual offering for today; not sure why the hands call him gator, but getting sent up to the loading bridge is probably a status indicator; I spent a lot of load-in's & load-out's watching and listening from high above the groundlings; I was also rewarded with a department head's position on a national tour for having filed an NLRB charge; that got me to thinking IATSE Local 41 is still on display in cyberspace; do you ever go there? That is where I snatched this image for my ACER. I snuck in using a private browser & made off with my prize. "behindthemain" reminds me of something my Dad used to say; "Once you back your ass up to the teaser, you'll never be able to go back." The age of Rock 'n' Roll was the greatest AGE because they wrote songs about US! How cool is that? What is totally uncool is my mail.com, which has just refused to send this draft until I remove my stolen image; so just imagine a close-up of a stuffed gator-doll perched on an arbor loaded with counterweight which was originally posted by some dude called @behindthemain

Time, at least for me, has become compressed. Three days, maybe a week will go by in the blink of an eye, and there's really not much I can do to slow the procession. The best thing I've found that I can do is create, fabricate, manufacture, and repair. Just trying to stay, to keep from spending too much time in my head. Now there's a dark place. I wouldn't send anyone to spend any time there. One problem is that of psychic transmission on my part. Bad enough I should have to spend time there in my mind, but I was also gifted with the ability to broadcast my thoughts, so, certain lucky "receivers" get to share the "Matt experience". I generally know who's getting that broadcast because they either don't know me but they're able to complete my sentences, or I'll be thinking of or about a person that I know, and they will call me on the phone. If the case is the former, those people tend to try to stay away from me. I'm thinking they can't handle the stream. If you're in the latter group, we're connected. Probably always have been. Determining which thoughts are your own, and those that come beaming in seemingly out of nowhere is the catch to all that. Thoughts??? P.S. I don't consider myself a receiver, but maybe I just can't sort my thoughts from the thoughts of others... Herman Hill passed away a few days ago. He was a receiver of my thoughts. I bet it was confusing for him to be in proximity of me.

intelligence originating from without, as you should already realize, is sorta my thing if I have connected with your interior spaces in the past, I must assume that it did not seem so dark to me I would remember being put off in such a manner

Deb & I have been buying, selling, and trading electric guitars, and amps. Unofficially we are Pocataligo Guitar Exchange. I also do minor repairs to electric guitars & basses. We've flipped 4 Squire Bullet Strats, an ESP - LTD EXP200 Explorer copy, and a DeArmond M65C Les Paul Studio copy, as well as a Peavey Mark III Citation bass amp head, and a Peavey Citation Mark IV guitar amp head. The fun thing about this is that we get to try all kinds of gear that we wouldn't ordinarily get to play with. :)

now you will be needing a PGE logo; some consideration should be given to the silk screening process, when you select a design; the reason for this being cheaper T-shirts and complete PGE control over their manufacture & distribution; just sayin'

1st things first - incorporate as an.LLC. Get a bi'ness license. Then we'll get around to tee shirts and what have you. This will also be the outlet for any cigar box creations.

LLC's are pure crap; there are many ways to protect your #1 asset[your residence] from liabilities you may not see coming, while operating this[any] business at your residence; you can pledge the equity in a residential property as collateral for a small business loan, while your LLC could not; of course your CFO[DEB] would need to chime in on such risky decisions[but risk is what living is all about; security a delusion] got up early[9:03] as per usual on Sunday, in order to catch Jane Pauley on CBS; NOT! there is a tornadic fear monger down in Tallahassee pre-empting the network broadcast to tell me that I need to get in my safe place; all last night there were alerts interrupting my TV-viewing; this 'storm' is indeed unusual for December, with lightning & thunder[started hearing rumbles about 8 PM while watching "Rampage"]; there have been accumulations down here between 2 & 3 inches, but no real cause for flash flood warnings[every 5 to 7 minutes]; added to that sort of aggravation, I'm now an expert in the minutiae of George Herbert Walker's 94-year-long public life[best part is watching secret service guys puking up their guts while an 85-year-old maniac races his speedboat around Kennebunkport's rocky shoals]; if TRUMP died suddenly, we'd really be consigned to TV-hell; so, those warnings expire and they start six minutes of backlogged commercials; sheesh!

Cocoa Beach secret stagehand local?

Titusville; Dad had a friend down there; entire membership of this four-digit film unit was featured on the cover of IA Bulletin

One of the reasons we ditched Atlanta and moved out here was the abundance of nature out here. Ample wildlife, some wild berries and muscadines to be had in good years, plenty of breathing space, no bumping elbows with neighbors. Deb took this picture about 10 minutes ago...

when I go hunting for muscadines, I take along a paper sack; I collect a few in my sack & leave them on that 'shelf' below the rear-window of the jalopy; now the car is infused with the most wonderful odor[perhaps for weeks to come]

It's beautiful, mild and partly cloudy today. I may get out and try to find a good sized deer to take down for our winter meat needs. Possum put up a deer stand that's fully enclosed, about 10 feet above ground that I may go sit in to see what comes by. Rick Scheuerman had a great idea - there's a hangout in Athens named Nucci's Space. It was originally a place where one could rent musical rehearsal space by the month, that also has a coffee shop. I think, as I recall the story, that Nucci had committed suicide, but someone kept Nucci's Space up and running. So one of the things they do there is have auctions of art and musical instruments to provide support for depressed/suicidal people. Rick suggested that I take some of these old beat relical guitars that I have in abundance just sitting around, make them into pieces of art, and either donate or perhaps take a small percentage of the sale of these items. What sayeth thee old friend?

I like the auction angle[not so much the 'cause' enumerated]; also, auctioning off unwanted guitar-bodies converted into 'art' would not provide the benefit I imagine; I think you should cobble together an instrument, using all your acquired skills, that is meant from its conception to be auctioned off @Nucci's Space; the bidders would be local musicians/collectors that you'd be pleased to meet[& that may commission lucrative projects going forward]; no charge for this wonderful idea

the Athens music scene has developed a somewhat muted presence online; it was in emergence-stage, when I was dating my 1st wife & made the drive frequently in my VW-van, fitted w/8-track stereo system sorry I did not mention my amazement at DEB's photo of tomorrow's lunch; I'll use that image for cover art soon, and look forward to gator's comment on it once I have the TITLE, I'll know what to write about in the contents; these images can entice many more clicks, and that is what I'm exploring @Booksie.com my 'editor' sucks, but I'm also exploring better ways to make use of its features; learning as I go keeps me busy at this keyboard not much real interaction with other readers/writers has occurred; there is a moderator calling himself Booksie Guy; BG is probably not a BOT, but I have not really gotten to him yet I tried to get a new persona at Retirement Online, but have not heard back from its Appleton, WI moderator/witch checked out 'online banks' without any success; ALLY requires govt.-issued ID to open an account if you had been able to open my home-video, you could have seen me vibrating; my tremors are pretty bad, and when my paycheck arrives, I usually sign the damn thing first thing in the morning, before I have my coffee; this seems to make the scrawl more legible my typing ability is affected, and this over-sized keyboard is a help with my target acquisition difficulties https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVlSVkzbJDA check out the antiquated studio equipment featured here

Gary Jules, Michael Andrews

All around me are familiar faces Worn out places, worn out faces Bright and early for their daily races Going nowhere, going nowhere Their tears are filling up their glasses No expression, no expression Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow No tomorrow, no tomorrow And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take When people run in circles it's a very very Mad world, mad world Children waiting for the day, they feel good Happy birthday, happy birthday Made to feel the way that every child should Sit and listen, sit and listen Went to school and I was very nervous No one knew me, no one knew me Hello teacher, tell me what's my lesson Look right through me, look right through me And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take When people run in circles it's a very very Mad world, mad world Enlarge your world Mad world

The cover art is from a photo taken in 1968. The building featured was a new one, and I graduated from Bass High School on its stage. Most of the boys were headed for college... or Vietnam. I chose the former, and believe that it has made all the difference. When roads diverge in a yellow wood, noticing their width and worn condition is just one approach to the decision-making quandry. I was taught to choose door number three. 1968 was a good time for such choices, and many of my contemporaries made just such a definitive choice. If you possess the technology to view/listen to DVD's, might I suggest the enhanced edition of WOODSTOCK; the movie. You'll see what many of those, that chose door number three, looked like. My graduating class was small by most standards; we chose to sing a song from "Man of La Mancha." But we 'walked' in a less-prescribed manner. I drove off in a Renault Dauphine with a slow-moving-vehicle sign attached to the rear. Though I might like to be eighteen again, at the time, I was not looking back. I did return to this building many times though; I worked there on many occasions. Sometimes I worked on that stage; sometimes I worked in the exhibit hall at the other end of the complex. The construction of this facility, by the municipality, was considered to be an important urban renewal project. That is how 'buttermilk bottom' disappeared from Forest Avenue. Another blight vanished when Fulton County Stadium went up. In 1951, the city received the All-America City Award, due to its rapid growth and high standard of living in the southern U.S. Annexation was the central strategy for growth. In 1952, Atlanta annexed Buckhead, as well as vast areas of what are now northwest, southwest and south Atlanta, adding 82 square miles (210 km2) And tripling its area. By doing so, 100,000 new affluent white residents were added, preserving white political power as well as expanding the city's property tax base And enlarging the traditional leadership upper-middle-class white class. That class now had to room to expand inside the city limits. Federal court decisions in 1962-63 ended the county-unit system thus greatly reducing rural Georgia control over the state legislature, enabling Atlanta, and other cities, to gain proportional political power. The Federal courts opened the Democratic Party primary to black voters, who surged in numbers and became increasingly well organized through the Atlanta Negro Voters League. Rush week was soon upon me, and I attended two of the parties; choices! ALPHA TAU OMEGA was where one of my acquaintances at work had become a paddle-wielding brother, so I checked out their presentation. As a sort of back-up plan, I also checked out the men of ALPHA EPSILON PI; they checked me out as well; I was rejected on religious grounds. Time for door number three. I carried a full load for four consecutive quarters at my new school, before that other door presented itself. From Fall Quarter of 1969 until Fall Quarter of 1970, I was out of school, but stuck to my solemn vow to return in one year[against all the odds]. It had been too cloudy and overcast to see the eclipse of the sun that year; there was a lot going on that I did not see very clearly. When I returned to school, I changed my major from 'undecided' to ANTHROPOLOGY; a Greek professor guided my acquisition of this love for studying men; he was Greek Orthodox, and would have been rejected by those men at AY-EE-PIE as well; he took his 101 class to the Church he attended, and we followed the liturgy in Greek[and wrote a paper on the experience]. The mosaic in the dome was impressive. I never adhered to my degree 'program,' and so I never graduated from GSU; a classmate from Bass had gotten his degree in just four years[Class of '72]; I ran into Ross at SEARS, where he was selling tires; I went back to that stage, where the Class of '68 had sung about walking on through the wind.

Everyone knows that without a valid photo ID, you cannot purchase a box of breakfast cereal. The folks across the wall will need a better system, and the increasing use of bio-metrics[by connected data terminals] is a giant leap for the AI kind. UPC's can be scanned to track products as they change locations. RFID's are often laminated into photo ID's, so an employer can track his/her minions, and control their access to sensitive areas within their workplace. In the US, your SSN connects you to an exhaustive data base that 'knows' how hard you work, how much compensation you receive and where your 'assets' are currently being stored. What can be 'learned' about an individual, and how quickly this new data can be accumulated, attached to the appropriate individual files and how quickly those updated files can then be assessed is what AI exists for. Current business models[like at FaceBook & GoogleChrome] will each gradually lose its earning potential[a process being accelerated by the public sentiment in favor of government regulation of all their data collection and sharing practices], as the flow of data becomes more centralized and access to those files and data streams more restricted. The global expansion of connected Android devices is shifting the product consumption patterns in growing/struggling economies towards some ill-perceived goal, that becomes more and more achievable with each passing minute. Both of the big 'data players' in the streams of ones and zeroes now being catalogued here in the US, have made agreements to share it with our government. If we assume that there are adults in the room, where the analysis of this growing horde is being coordinated, then we can also assume that some of those individuals will be targeted to administer this collection and analysis process, once that 'responsibility' is transferred to a more 'independent' entity, resembling the Federal Reserve in its organization. At that point, the elected representatives in government will be reduced to an ordinary subset of identified individuals, to be monitored and manipulated by an increasingly automated system. If the drones can find you, you could be quickly eliminated. What will determine your value to that global system? Your consumption patterns is the obvious answer; BUY WISELY! I'm off to get an HBO fix; at eight they are replaying a missed episode of "My Intelligent Friend" just for my benefit; this series is filmed in Italian & broadcast with English subtitles; this makes it difficult to enjoy the imagery, because I'm busy reading so I'll know WTF is going on.

AI may be the thing that brings us into full globalization, perhaps the issue that preachers in my past have warned us about. Our baptist preacher out in Mableton used to hand out Watchtower pamphlets that had articles regarding the evils of globalization. Hmm ... to be overseen by the great computer in the sky (cloud networking).

I've been keeping my cloud-connection turned off

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bixby_(virtual_assistant) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jen_Taylor https://www.pcworld.com/article/2099943/microsofts-cortana-digital-assistant-guards-user-privacy-with-notebook.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invoke_(smart_speaker) https://www.ask.com/youtube?q=cortana&v=DxrJWSi_IWo https://www.windowscentral.com/why-splitting-cortana-and-search-windows-10-makes-sense https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-moves-key-technologies-including-cortana-from-research-to-product-groups/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/inside-the-architecture-of-googles-knowledge-graph-and-microsofts-satori/

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ASMR like those furries, these 'artists' are being accused of deviance; what say you? https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=furry+fandom

To be sure, I'm not understanding the nature of adult cos-play.

cable TV is definitely turning my brain to mush, but some furries have serious behavioral issues that can be mitigated by their cos-play; ASMR is the new player on the block, and their 'offerings' have been 'taken down' on multiple forums as somehow inappropriate; I find this lack of freedom[of expression] to be indicative of rapid 'political' corrosion of the medium; that button labelled REPORT would be less attractive, if your reporting history came up with your profile info; STFU would be door # 3 Gibi explains it quite well: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE6acMV3m35znLcf0JGNn7Q

I'll start back driving for Uber or Lyft later today, after having taken some time off due to those pesky heart issues. I didn't feel confident driving people around knowing that I was possibly still at risk for another "coronary event". The cardiologist has cleared me to return to normal activities. I didn't start driving for these ride-sharing companies to impress anyone, hell there sure as shit ain't nothing glamorous about carting poor people around all day. What it does give me is nearly instant income that I can access almost immediately after giving someone a ride. Pair that with there ain't a boss riding my ass. I can drive whenever I want to, I set my own hours. And lastly it gives me something to do beside sit here and piss and moan about things over which I have no control. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg0BNTebcbY

there are two types of people in the world; when your 'ride' climbs into your vehicle, do you re-adjust the rear-view mirror to center onto the face of the speaker; door #3 is insisting that he/she rides up front; keep on smiling RYAN wrote: I make projects of my experiences working UBER. Last video of this nature got a lot of attention- though, I deleted it to be (slightly) more professional. So here is another few weeks worth of footage. These videos have been for nothing but fun, and I'm glad others have appreciated them. It's awesome to have an audience watch something that I've created and I want to see if this little project can go somewhere. Those in my videos consented to being in my project, blurred identity or not. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVOJ5ZfzjF8

my TV took a shit... and now SANTANA is blaring; this album, the one with all those damn faces, was given to me by a chick that thought my DONOVAN eight-tracks were just not going to get me there; of course she was right... and so there were drums in the house; another tape cart that was played in that house was WHO'S NEXT; I thought it was pretty good travelin' music, along with a Beatles-thing called RUBBER SOUL; gettin' high & gettin' out on the road was a pretty good way to pass the time on my gap-year; when I decided on ANTHROPOLOGY, it was mostly because it legitimized the study of sex, drugs & rock'n'roll... so I studied... HARD! playing this complete album seems to have slowed down the clock; that's an unusual effect; I'm shopping for a King Crimson video [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no8L51U_KlM ]; not any WHO'S NEXT videos that do anything; guess I'll just let it play for awhile I get my TV going, and dammit... the water goes off; they're out there digging up the street; probably gonna be off the rest of the day brewed my coffee w/ice cubes; just try and outsmart an old white guy... go right ahead wrote a new ICU last night; about 40 peeks at it, w/no comments, so... vanished new text has less film-script niceties... less humor... no dialog...

He had to admit... he couldn't see a thing. A good bluff sometimes can win the pot. He spoke into the darkness, "I see you!" He hoped it had sounded convincing. Not a sound. Why had he come out here without his trusty flashlight? Only gonna be gone for a minute. Tell it to the wind. He turned with a confidence he wasn't actually feeling. In a slightly lowered voice, he spoke to himself as he walked away from where he thought the creature must be. "I'll be right back,... so don't you dare move." Not a sound. He tried to imagine his 'creature' when it was not cloaked in utter blackness. The imagined lighting his mind put into those trees just beyond the clearing where his friend had parked his truck was of no use; he could see the trees right enough, but the image he needed simply would not materialize there. Not knowing what was there with him... not knowing how far his friend needed to go in the truck to fetch water... not knowing how fast he could make it to the imagined safety of the old cabin... not knowing was making him sweat. And that creature could smell the fear... smell the open containers with food in them... smell where the truck had been parked, and the odor on that other one... that was far away now. His thoughts were on the amaretto hidden in his sleeping bag; then his hand was on it. He poured into the tin cup... the one he knew he'd left on the table; cup in hand, he closed and latched the rustic door. It was pitch black in the cabin too. He drank deeply. Forty proof means about twenty percent alcohol; better than a beer... smelling better too. Now there was scratching and clawing at the corner of the door. "I'd pour you one too, but I gotta find that flashlight,... first. Then maybe I can find another cup." He mock-toasted his little friend, and drank deeply once again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UNMTthguCQ

confession:the only GARCIA I like has cherries & chunks of chocolate in it

I've been rummaging around in those dusty old memory-bins, trying to remember when I switched from eight-track tape-carts over to vinyl LP's; first came WQXI, and then FM-stations became a thing; we were at 481 Clifton Rd., by the time I bought a stereo system[I would have been a senior in high school at the time... 1968]; 8-trak player/amplifier w/2 speakers that weighed nearly nothing; in the next room, my sister[13 months younger] was spinning LP's of Firesign Theater, Mothers of Invention & Jimi Hendrix Experience to annoy me; I moved out of there JAN 1970, & took that same stereo system to my Briarcliff apartment; during those tape-cart-years, I was driving an old VW 'bus[w/windows all-round]' that was repainted blue & gray; I had a tape player[under-dash] professionally installed; two ceiling-mounted speakers and a six-volt to twelve-volt converter mounted on the pan beside my engine; you could hear muted spark-field-noise when your tracks played[like a subtle audio-tachometer]; this 'dustbin' is kinda like a public library filled with stories packed onto shelves that nobody ever disturbs; these stories have sacrificed chronological accuracy for other, more aesthetic consistencies; at this point in my recollection process, I believe that "Tea For The Tillerman" was a tape I had bought, and that "John Barleycorn Must Die" was purchased on vinyl; both these were released in 1970; one night, in that first apartment, I popped in a tape that I distinctly disliked, and slept all night while wearing bulky headphones, and while the tracks endlessly looped; Blood Sweat & Tears... NYC's antidote to Chicago; I cannot remember when I bought a better home-system & a turntable, but I recall listening to Ten Years After, Grand Funk Railroad & Bloodrock; "The Survival of Saint Joan" was also an LP that I bought[released 1971 by a Tucker, GA garage band]. In 1972[Fall/Winter], I drove around the US in my '71 VWCampmobile[bought new], with nothing more than a German-built radio; the best I could do, was find a pirate station, broadcasting at major mega-wattage, from a tall tower located on Canadian soil.

over there, I'm friedlich I'm new there, having joined on Black Friday tonight, I ran across your e-mail address, in a COMMENT you had left most folks do not do that, and maybe you are different from most folks[that, at least, is my hope] I sometimes publish my e-mail address, trying to encourage a more image-friendly medium of exchange my privacy concerns are next to none, and anxiety over firewall-type protection against virus/worm/spam/whatever is negligeable the site reminds me of a multi-player game moreso than a community of writers of course, I'm still figuring out how to use the site for my own purposes I'm an older guy, living in southwest Georgia a retired stagehand; been writing since I quit working in 2005 not a boozer[or any other vice that costs money] caffeine & nicotine are my thing[like most writers... ALLEGEDLY] my stories run the gamut, and there is a lot of it that could be described as non-fiction fiction is preferred, when stinging truths are being revealed a cloak of plausible deniability my favorite author is Neal Stephenson hands down but I read a lot of books, and admire some of the fascinating women who have chosen to write Barbara Kingsolver springs to mind - http://www.kingsolver.com/books/ send me something you are working on

Ready for rain. My youngest half-sister, Sandra, (who's roughly 16 years older than me) married this guy back in...66 - 67. Perry Carlton Buie, aka Buddy. I have no idea how or where they met. They had gotten a house over near Columbia Avenue, behind Belvedere Plaza. Sandra had two daughters in tow from a previous marriages, Belinda, and Johnnie. Belinda is two years my senior, Johnnie is 4 years younger. My mother and I would visit them pretty often, and they were all lots of fun to visit. Buddy was a budding song writer/producer that had been working with southern recording legend Bill Lowery. Bill at that time owned Mastersound Studio, and had a publishing company called Low-Sal. Buddy's first hit was a song called "I Take it Back" recorded by Sandy Posey'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-zoLSF_-3c

And that was the launch of a very successful career for him. I won't bury you under all the details of all the artists that he has written for. He passed away a few years ago.

When he was really starting to bring in the money he was working with members of Roy Orbison's stable-band, The Candymen. They had some nominal success, but The Candymen begat The Classics IV, which did very well and had a handful of top 10 AM radio hits. The Classics IV begat The Atlanta Rhythm Section. ARS did great in the album oriented rock (AOR) format. But as always success has a price. Sister Sandra was jealous and didn't trust Buddy, he was always around southern rock celebrities, and their hot ass girlfriends. Not a good combo, so that marriage flopped.

The real point of it all though, was to say that I had some early life exposure to the music industry and I knew back then that I wanted to be somehow in the business of working in and around music. A car radio installer. A stagehand cum audio assistant. A song writer and a casual player of guitar, bass, and synthesizers, and now a maker of fine cuban cigar box instruments. (laugh at the last one).

When Buddy would have the guys from The Classics IV come by for rehearsals, me and little Johnnie would hang out in the hallway listening intently to what they were playing. What I saw about Buddy that was so appealing to me was that he kinda just did what the fuck he wanted, when he wanted to, and had very few people to answer to.

I liked that aspect of R&R...

you told me about BUDDY once before, and now I get the CANDYMEN connection to that pineywoods thing you sent; did you visit Blue Devil-country often enough to learn your way around? ...any Belvedere Plaza experiences that would make a story or song lyric? Those places were within cycling range of my Little Five Points-hood; my gang would even go fishing in a creek out there. Kids today ain't about shit; so much character-building movement across a sprawling urban environment; we weren't afraid, and we weren't over-supervised I'm writing about my Sunday morning, which is the only day of the week, when I make the effort to rise from my bed as early as 9 AM. I'm retired now, which carries with it the unquestionable benefit of 'sleeping in.' I make this conscious effort, because I cannot bear to miss the SUNDAY MORNING broadcast.

An interesting ARTICLE, aimed at baby boomers who read such 'posted material,' requires that I first do a bit of research. This morning's research has yielded the e-mail address directing this COMM to some unknown reader. What if this lucky recipient became known to all those that rise early on Sunday morning, like I have done? Such a story, to actually make the cut, would need to have some visual appeal... something for the camera to 'see' that is not just another talking head. If it becomes about the many suggestions that are not considered by the show's producers, I'm imagining an over-the-shoulder shot of an INBOX displayed on a PC's monitor; boring... right? Following the next suggestion that has some potential, through a chain of CBS News employees, into a roomful of writers and producers having the kind of discussion that ends with a proposal that will get funded, while turning the negative into a positive, still lacks the kind of imagery that will excite a camera crew. With the show's long history, many of the best ideas will have probably been done before, but a story about the technology that has changed the whole process probably has not been considered. Retired persons have an attachment to the kind of resistance to change that would permeate such a story. They also have a strong dislike for seeing a computer screen depicted as a character in a film or TV broadcast. And reading those texts that pop-up on the screen, because there is a SmartPhone in the scene, is particularly annoying. A surprising amount of the liesure time that retirement affords my boomer colleagues is devoted to online communication, by the many individuals who have made the necessary adjustments to modern technologies. These intrepid 'explorers' deserve a part in the story, but the visual appeal considerations must still be artfully applied. Some 70 million retired individuals make up a significant slice of an imagined pie-chart, that represent specific demographic segments to be considered as 'topical' by story creators up there. Please don't show us the pie chart... boring! Show us the bewildered old guy, searching for a qualified salesperson at Best Buy, to guide his purchase of an affordable laptop. Engaging that much younger demographic, now driving story selection in those board rooms, is a key consideration, if I'm to get my story selected for production. So, lets have a look at that young salesperson, that gets to help the customer make this purchase of electronic gadgetry. Are we talking tatoo's, facial piercings and a blue tooth-device protruding from the ear canal? Do we focus on his/her need to pay off the loan that sent them to some university, that forgot to teach them about being over-qualified for that sales position they would end up in? The scene ends in two ways; the kid sells the customer more gaming capability than he'll need for Skype, his gmail account and finding his grandchildren's FaceBook pages; or,... and this outcome is far more unlikely... the grandfather bests the salesperson, walks out of Best Buy with the low-end device he can afford[and was surprisingly in stock] and encounters no insurmountable difficulty, when he turns the contraption on at his comfortable breakfast-table, later that day, after a frustrating 45-minute ride on a metro bus, and a 20-minute hike, from the nearest bus stop, carrying his purchase with tired old arms, and painful arthritic hands. The interaction between the two alien cultures, that needs to occur for a purchase to be transacted, holds out the best hope I have for this story to get made. There are casting considerations, of course; two actors with current shows on CBS works best, so who could we actually get? They should both maintain residences in the same city, and those probable 'locations' to be used during production should be near a cooperating Best Buy retail store. My Dad was a technician that was employed by CBS News, back in the film-days, when a 3-man crew was required to document a story. He would go out with Laurens Pierce when cities in the South were burning; a dangerous job at the time, for a man armed with a Sun Gun. I got lucky enough, just once, to get one of these call-outs from our local affiliate; the three of us lugged equipment up to a crowded office-space at CDC Headquarters; a story was breaking about syphylitic men going untreated, during a clinical study over in Alabama; the prepared statement that we recorded there, was hardly worth all the labor involved[much less the expense incurred due to union wages that were paid]. This 'story' has already been published; here is a LINK to the page: https://www.booksie.com/577188-sunday-morning Please spare no expense with your REPLY to my e-mail. I'd like to add it to the story.

When I consider bits and pieces of the article, not viewed as a whole - "lacks the kind of imagery that will excite a camera crew." that statement kinda stuck out. Who gives a fuck what motivates a camera crew? I'd think, and wtf do I know, that the union pay scale would in and of itself be motivational. Having put that out there, it was just the first thing that came to mind. For my edification, in this story, what is your objective? How easy or how difficult the purchase was to make? Beat the kid at the sales game? Having made the purchase, the seemingly sad and somewhat difficult trip home? Perhaps an object lesson about our aging boomer population? All of the above? I see angles. Perspectives. I see an opportunity to make Best (fucking) Buys a proletariat hero, which is just bullshit. I see an opportunity to attempt to make plain to the children of boomers how difficult life can be. I see an op to make the whiz kid at BestBuy look like a jerk. What made the bus ride so frustrating?

Q#1:crew excited by producer's idea will spend more time and produce more fascinating video; imagine being CBS's go-to guy for interviews Q#2:dual objective:sell someone @CBS to do such a story & use e-mail text as content for Booksie.com[fixing to go silver sometime today] Q#3:under 'all of the above' I was trying to imagine what a crew could do to illustrate 'the story' with video that might be doable; my first trip to STAPLES to buy[for ca$h] my new laptop left me leaving for Office Depot with 'urge to kill' etched on my wizened face; next to finding out that the model displayed, at a sales price I can afford, is no longer in stock, my 2nd greatest peeve would be that sales pitch to purchase the more expensive laptop, conveniently on display right next to the one they don't even have, pointing out all that upgraded capability, like he was trained to say to his customer, because he don't know HDMI from HTML; the portrayal of transportation difficulties experienced routinely by retirees, goes to the value to the customer of the salesperson getting everything right on his first try Q#4:at the very end where you highlight the frustration, it would be up to the crew here to depict in their visual medium, the sorts of riders one might encounter, on a ride that zig-zags through all the housing projects, picking up more annoying riders, or perhaps letting the worst of them get off, stopping too abruptly, engaging in stupid arguments over the payment of the fare that delay any forward progress, and arriving at the desired destination 45-minutes later, when a crow could fly that distance in about three minutes its been pretty quiet up that way,... so a shout-out found a new 'place;' it's called bookrix throwin' life a spitter; got up about 7:30 when I do this, I end up snoozin' during my news broadcasts latest short story kind of a poke at LGBTQ's Y-knot try something new? might bring some of these trolls out of the woods kinda stole these paragraphs, for... ??

The life of a writer is pretty solitary, both by design and necessity. While you may find yourself in the neighborhood coffee shop a few days a week just for a change of pace, being a writer can be lonely and quiet.

Well-meaning as they are, your friends and family don’t understand the nuance between conflict and crisis. Try as they might, they can’t relate to the complexity of creating a consistent voice.

It’s no wonder that writing and alcohol are familiar companions. But it’s not happy hour yet. Here’s the good news: you’re not alone. In fact, right this moment, writers just like you are actively participating in writing communities all over the web. It’s time that you meet.

don't care for the alcohol bit, but it might fly did the coffee shop bit; kinda cool, but I'm persona non gratis at the downtown one cain't afford that shit no more nohow; cain't even get it together for Burger King Dollar Tree had some tasty canned goods; a $1 can of red beans & rice went down smooth[& spicy] lady behind me in line says that it's $.89 @Wal-Mart the pie-filling I bought would be $2 @Harvey's trade-off looks like Mueller's plannin' a warm reception for those freshmen/women Congressfolk Macron's reception heating up across the pond[the two M's havin' a populist crisis too; Europe's toast] it all started @NAPSTER; not Putin's doin' like some think battery in this Windows lapbook is for shit still fightin' off the FANG crowd; my spam folder still empty, but saw a browser-history thing pop-up w/firefox this AM tried out my MS-internet explorer as plan-B, but BING keeps interferin' & there are other annoying features I use WordPad, so I don't activate my introductory Office suite if I shut down instead of sleep, I have to close the cloud thing that slips in firefox wants to be set as default[another bothersome keystroke] there was an MS e-mail account that can't be used without a phone for activation code figuring out workarounds is my puzzle-thing; won't even register for ACER is there some LINUX browser code? wouldn't want snoopy here to know I was looking into that friedlich is being shamed for trolling already gonna try for a haircut today; it's gettin' too long[sides & back] clipping backside tricky w/tools I got w/trimmer[blind barber w/shaky hands] then there's the mess to clean up there's always the pony-tail option I also have one of those wave-caps, if I go native looking at the side of this new LG, there are yellow[video], white[L or MONO] & red[R] inputs and an S-VIDEO thingy w/tiny pins no HDMI I should find something like the back-up drive you suggested that can 'go there' have not heard back from CBS; no surprise they found a dead body on the corner; not watching my local news broadcasts means checking online for further details maybe they were digging his grave when the water went off my rides to the store, often two trips, indicate a decline in my physical strength that is mildly disturbing after 935-days of incarceration, I had soon gained back some musculature three trips to my storage unit, bearing incredible loads, took a lot more physical prowess than I now command I reminded myself that 2013-2015, I used to hoof it to the store[about 1 mi.], and backpack/carry back my supplies cycling is a luxury I'd hate to suddenly lose this motel-living is also a luxury[said the once-homeless man] I gathered all my manuscripts into one pile[for disposal?] took out any 'identifying documents' for safekeeping also have one three-page ms in an envelope I'll send that way one day tried giving away some of this ladies' apparel, but I think I offended my neighbor-lady with the gesture she liked the costume jewelry that was swag/booty found on the floor of my plan-B hidey-hole across from BK running out of ideas here "lady on"

I can relate to having lost some of that muscle. After I had the shoulder replacement I was laid up for about 8 weeks. Couldn't use the left shoulder at all, and was in a sling/pillow assembly that kept the arm in a state of comfortable non-use. That was pretty much the beginning of the end for my muscle tone. I'm striving to maintain the strength I have. I never thought I'd be this diminished. I sometimes have trouble lifting a full gallon of liquids such as water or milk with the left arm. Pair that with nerve damage that's caused a loss of sensation in my hands...argh...it's frustrating, considering that there was once a time when I could lift a chain motor with 75' of chain with just the left arm. That day has come and gone. I'd love to go pull that shrimp net with you again. Some of the most fun I've had was down at St. Andrew's sound, especially during a mullet run, where the dolphins were snagging mullet that were jumping the nets. What a great show of nature. I'm off for my half-mile round trip hike to the mailbox & back, then back to work on this bass guitar wine-box project for Tuck's brother. I'm almost finished with that, I just have to install the neck, the volume & tone controls, solder all the connections, install the machine heads, and seal the box. Ciao4now. Seizure later agit8r.

Seizure later agit8r ain't bad; mine was Ricky's tagline my intro to chain motors resulted from the now infamous "A call is a call" policy instituted by Local 41 bakNtheDAY; I was offered the chance to say no or yes to the worst thing on offer, before being skipped until my name rotated all the way back around; there was great benefit, on occasion, to getting first crack at something nobody else wanted to fuck with; this 'strict' policy was also a great way for a crook to skip quickly over a lot of referrals, before starting to fill a film crew, with a long list of assholes that turned down anything not film related, in order to maintain their position in this 'privileged' part of the rotating list; a full-time stagehand, with no friends in office[never wanted any], had to say yes every time[endless 4-hour calls] in order to eat; my rigging days started when OMNI Coliseum was new; we routinely had a 5-man crew[one groud rigger]; most points were not directly below any steel accessible from the catwalks in the pods; this, of course, meant guaging the lengths of two cables, Y-ed together with a down-length, to hit the bullseye; this was not only years before riggers became spider-men, that could rig points from beams running between pods, but also years before roadcrews trooped enough cable to deal with arena-shit like the fukkin OMNI; the building had enough cable for their everyday rigging needs, but... it was all 1/2" shit; add the weight of 30 to 50 feet of 1/2" cable, to about 90' of chain, and you get two men pulling against two other men in another pod, that they cannot see or hear; a good ground rigger was key, and you didn't want no sound puke up there pullin' on that heavy shit beside you; no pussies need apply! - a manly physique was the result, when most of the[by now hundreds of them] guys on the old rotating list found out what was required to say yes to a rigging call, and the list just spun right back to the last 5 guys that took a call at the OMNI; I got seriously beefed-up, before this bullshit came to an end[& before those spider-men showed up, and they started paying a premium wage to get them] I couldn't find any rigger-pics, but this attachment shows the connector tubing; access to the catwalks was from the roof; to access the steel at the apex of a pod, you had to walk up the outside of the pod, using a rope left dangling for the purpose; if brave enough, you could save a lot of time and effort, walking the very broad tube to the next apex position; one problem, however... there was a crotch-height + 3" lightning rod half way across; not so bad far the tall cowboys

I got lucky having Reagan, Milo, Hokey, and Big Bob to show me the ropes as it were. The Fox and Civic Center were generally easy rigs with most points onstage being single-point because of the way the grids were laid out. The Classic Center grid is a different story though. with 7 main beams spanning upstage to downstage, and no beams spanning left to right, practically every point was a compound bridle. At least in The Classic Center you can see & hear the up-riggers. Also nice is that The Classic Center had installed expanded steel grates between the beams so you can stow cables and gear up there. I miss being a rigger. I miss being healthy enough to rig.

I think 'stinger' should read stringer here; a 'stinger' is a 10' grounded extension cord[I had to ask the Best Boy]; bridle, basket & chain-motor are okay; when I took my ground rigger's training in Vegas, there was only one correct way to lay out pieces and parts for baskets... one way to engage the shackles with 'economic' motions of hands, feet & back... one way to tie a completed bridle out on the floor so the high men could inspect the work before lifting; the up-rigger 'makes' the basket[shouldn't have to undo a shackle or untie a bowline knot, to secure the hardware properly]; at the fukkin OMNI, the poor ground rigger frequently had to hold the 1.5 ton motor overhead, long enough for his four guys to secure both baskets, because it's 110' to the apex & the chain was all paid out; at least, if held above the headbone, the dropped shackle ain't a killshot

know of wire-rope, and witnessed a splicing operation @OMNI one day; the splice was as long as the arena[cleared for the process] Kermit[Spradlin] tryed over and over to teach me to splice hemp; that turn-back on the end, that was what the old guys did[pretty quickly] when they cut a rope[often for a snub to tie off a line set], instead of all that gooey electrical tape, was about all I could ever handle; the other end of a snub[about 6'] had a short loop spliced into it[about 14" splice enough for securing the 'safety' to the pinrail] I still think that stinger is just wrong, Wrong, WRONG!

O Peaceful One, That’s what the word ‘friedlich’ means in my first language. And yes, I remember Linda Goodman and her books. The first one was very good, but by the time the second one appeared Linda had ‘caught’ spirituality and went way, way, way over the top with it. She invented a new numerology that did not make any sense at all, if I remember right and I can’t recall whether I read that second book to the end. It was a very poor affair and just cashing in on the success of the first one. God bless and have a good day, With love – Aquarius

2nd book disapointed the girls as well; they weren't half bad predicting love matches, nasty break-ups & etc. they would get your birthday in their crew-roster, and find the one for you my best match was the lighting designer, but he had too many other boyfriends[ballerino's everywhere] I'm PISCES, & the match w/wife #1 not so good[CAPRICORN]; next tour was a GEMINI that earned herself a full-length fur coat she was way too smart to become #2 my mentor was Aquarian man; smartest man I've ever known horoscopes are like fortune cookies; a dream-job if you are a writer[used to love the 'fortune' in BAZOOKA bubble gum] write the stuff correctly, and anyone will agree that his/her sign just got pegged; those coin-op dispensers don't have 12 hoppers Mary Alice Kemery a.k.a. Linda Goodman, of course, would not/could not agree but,... who wouldn't rather have 12 good forecasts in each daily paper instead of[in my case] one fishy one the shepherd that first saw a maiden bringing water in the heavens over his thirsty head, should get more credit, than some ancient astrologer, wearing ermine, & bearing myrrh this mentor had a way about him[buckle-up,... I'm talking about you now]; every person in his presence, big or small, credentialed or insignificant, would instantly be made to feel of prime importance; the sun shone upon you; this is bearing water, dear meanwhile, your defenses utterly destroyed, he'd be in your head... deep in your head, figuring things out... for YOU... for HIM... for someone else, that he may not have even met yet... well, that all depends on how the 'long game' plays out he could artfully manipulate anyone, make them feel good about it, and even if things turned out pretty badly 4U you loved him all the more... hating only his enemies[that had attacked you, because he was invincible] he would take you to 'special' places, impart sacred knowledge only meant 4U, find things you thought forever lost all the things a magus commands he was quite the yenta as well[but would probably end up 'with' your perfect girl] he moved in some pretty powerful circles, and it was as easy as 'teaching' kindergarten children his favorite recording was a live one w/Neil Diamond enduring an actual Hot August Night this was, of course, him, singing his siren-song to every young girl in a 100-mile radius are you blushing yet DON'T I love you! Everything about you! I'm not, however, fixing to drink your blood.

when I ran away from home[1st & last time], I was driving my sweetie[Diane was a year older w/fiery red hair] in a red Renault 10 w/push-button transmission For 1963 (initially only in France), Renault offered an automatic transmission of unique design, developed and produced by Jaeger.[7] It was first shown at the September 1962 Paris Motor Show.[8] Although it was described as a form of automatic transmission at the time, in retrospect it was more realistically a form of automatic clutch, inspired by the German Saxomat device which appeared as an option on several mainstream German cars in the 1950s and 60s. The clutch in the system was replaced by a powder ferromagnetic coupler, developed from a Smiths design.[8] The transmission itself was a three-speed mechanical unit similar to that of the Dauphine, but from the beginning with synchromesh on all gears in this version. The system used a dash-mounted push button control panel where the driver could select forward or reverse and a governor that sensed vehicle speed and throttle position. A "relay case" containing electromagnetic switches received signals from the governor and push buttons and then controlled a coupler, a decelerator to close the throttle during gear changes, and a solenoid to select operation of the reverse-first or second-third shift rail, using a reversible electric motor to engage the gears. The system was thus entirely electro-mechanical, without hydraulics, pneumatics or electronics. Benefits included comparable fuel economy to the manual transmission version, and easy adaptability to the car. Drawbacks included performance loss (with only three available gears) and a somewhat jerky operation during gear changes. The transmission was also used in the Dauphine and the Caravelle. https://otto-models.com/en/ - build your own Renault at 1/18 scale

This ability to do some figuring, is greatly enhanced, because of the rudimentary training I received, on how to use those FRACTIONS. Most classrooms today allow the use of calculators, even during exams. Some students, much younger than I, have trained themselves in the use of their digital assistant, through trial-and-error regimens, that work well for ONLINE GAMES. Learning long division is a thing of the past, but having learned that method greatly improves one's ability to calculate something in one's head. ESTIMATING the answer can greatly simplify these mental processes, while providing acceptable numerical results. You may not have a CALCULATOR handy, when you suddenly need the kind of guidance, that a numerical calculation could quickly provide. 'Scientific Calculators' are reasonably priced, and include many more FUNCTIONS, than their stripped-down companions on the shelf have. My favorite one of these added functions, at the touch of a button, causes a randomly generated three-digit number to be displayed. How utterly useful! Another pre-loaded data point, that makes these calculators much more useful, would be a FORMULA remembered from some geometry class, or a physics lab you endured in college. With a formula, and an understanding of the relationships between numerator and denominator of two separate fractions, you can do a lot of useful shit. This verity is the reason they sell calculators at Home Depot & Loew's. They also sell the kind of tools needed, to remove the electronic device from its bubble-packaging. A formula I like is the one for calculating the length of a circle, which uses both its diameter and pi[the Greek symbol that roughly equals 3.14]. This FORMULA is useful for calculating the speed at which our planet circles about the sun, if you remember how far away that star is. Using such a large quantity in a calculation, means that your answer will sometimes be represented in 'scientific notation.' This is to save space on the tiny read-out screen, and should not create insurmountable problems for the operator. Similar calculations, using the same formula, will tell you how many tulip bulbs will be needed, of each color that you have chosen, for several varigated, concentric circles, planted hastily in the FALL, when the bulbs are widely available, and much cheaper to purchase. Figuring out how many eggs you should boil, so you can mix up a three-day supply of fluffy egg salad, is a different kind of problem, but it also has a trial-and-error solution. Believe it or not, it was this trial-and-error process that enabled Apollo astronauts to land their LEM on the moon.

three 'wise' men, bearing gifts followed a star[which some say 'moved' in the night sky in a noticeably unusual fashion] was there any disagreement among these three about what had been observed? three's are pretty important, as you know are there psychological implications buried in this belief in the 'power of 3?'

I was in ANTHROPOLOGY, and freely admit shortcomings relating to psychology cocaine use & Red Book symbolism did fall within my purview study & research into astrology, sorcery & freemasonry have me leaning towards early roots involving healers

this said, I'm quoting the 20th century's most prominent spiritual master:

Black Magic has always one definite characteristic. It is the tendency to use people for some, even the best of aims, without their knowledge and understanding, either by producing in them faith and infatuation or by acting upon them through fear.

this scrap of text was saved, because I was anticipating your e-mail response, so prepared myself I choose to 'act'/think about YOU, instead of wonder why I'm doing it I did take a senior-level course with a new textbook:"Culture & Personality" what did a gal, with an astrologer's webpage, study in preparation? reading stories gently molds the 'story of SELF' that determines our ability to ACT any 'story' requiring these 'edits' simply cannot be accepted as FACT[two rhyming stanzas... should I go for THREE?]my story is so long, that the attention span required does not yet exist language is the real key to a greater understanding in most every FIELD useful language always ends with a tryst negotiating a willingness in the other to YIELD[4 stanzas] this 'sentiment' is purely Darwinian the truth is, since civilization was birthed by, and gave birth to an alphabetic written form of the spoken language there are far too many individuals, fully integrated into society, that can choose to be motivated by artificial drives that do not contribute to successful reproduction like writing stories about it blame it on the moon

Think that would be handy for calculating sidereal time, vs solar time?

you mock me; how tall is your obelisk?

I'm not mocking you brother, I was just having a chuckle. We're victims of our own mechanisms. The calculator made us weaker and less knowing. This is also happening with computers and smart phones. We aren't pushing our minds to be all they can be. I haven't stored anyone's phone number in years. The argument is that you can use your mind for other, more important things ...like watching cat videos on the screen...

yeah,... those damn cat-videos; I meant your reference to sidereal time, and something I had written about shadows moving about on the floor of my two-man cell

FaceBook, Apple, Netflix & Google are the 4 FANG stocks, which are characterized by their unreasonable P/E-ratios. When I boot-up my device, the first set of keystrokes that I execute, get me disconnected from 'the cloud.' Then, I can click on several options, colorfully displayed, when my FireFox portal screen is displayed. [though this browser is pinned to my task bar, I keep on declining to set it as my default browser;2 more keystrokes] These options are 'ranked' & Google & Amazon are ahead of the Mail.com option that is convenient for me. I have never even visited the Amazon site, but a lot of their junk came already loaded on my new device. There is another one included in my top six, waiting to whisk me away to a MicroSoft APP-store. I wonder what their current P/E-ratio is? There is a YouTube link, but I do visit that Google territory frequently. Apple sold-out to Microsoft, before Microsoft sold-out to Google, and that was before FaceBook & Google sold-out to HSA. In 2011, law enforcement technicians took physical possession of my Notebook device in order to duplicate its drive. Nowadays, such nonsense is no longer necessary. LE's problem now is sorting all those automatically sorted files that keep piling up on their servers. They do not have enough agents to do the necessary sorting & opening of so many suspect files needed to keep up. Instead of a new SpaceForce, Uncle Sam should be preparing for CyberWar, like the Russians & Chinese have. Losing the CyberSpace Race ain't gonna be good, and they have already received several 'Sputnik-embarrassments.' Android OS, in combination with a successful G5-buildout, represents additional frontiers to be protected. During WWII, piles of printed propaganda, were dropped by aircraft overflying urban areas in Axis-territory. The US CyberSpace is being overflown by simiar distributors of toxic materials, and we are powerless to respond. This, as our own propaganda grows increasingly less toxic. Ill-advised trade wars further weaken our position globally, as well as incentivizing new agreements & partnerships. Recent downward pressure on both stock & bond markets simultaneously, is being characterized as a rare occurrence. What happened on those historical occasions? A declining US Dollar would have just such an effect on financial markets. Where assets are denominated in weak currencies, one can expect tandem movements of all asset classes. The global currencies headed in the opposite direction should not be invested in such assets. Large trade imbalances where those debts can be paid off with ever-cheaper Dollars, are also undesirable. So, when India seeks to export significantly less product, what happens to prices in the US? And what becomes of the bluff, that our media has labeled a trade war?

We've been being profiled with steadily increasing depth as data storage became abundant and inexpensive either locally or remotely. A terabyte of retail hard drive storage is about $50, cheaper if you choose to cloud-store your data. My first HDD was 10MB and cost around the same amount. Between AI driven flagging mechanisms, faster and more abundant storage, and our own willingness to share personal information on therm inter-webs, anyone with a smart phone, tablet, or other computing device most likely has a profile. I feel sure that since 1991, there's been enough information gathered about me to provide LE a solid psych profile. I bought my first PC to begin determining the myriad of ways that we're being surveiled. We're screwed, dude.

I'd prefer, at least, the courtesy of a reach-around; wonder if Snowden is still in Moscow?

I think it is laughable, and very French, that yellow vests only clog Parisian boulevards on weekends, as they have to work. Picket lines at the GWCC, and @warehouse where my dear old Dad was a captain, were like that. I remember when all of Poland went out on strike, and "Solidarnosc!" entered the conversation. I spent four long years in a non-union apprenticeship, suggested by an old redneck @BAT. At one point, there was a 'hearing' and I was to be booted from the program. I invited this old bureaucrat to sit in on it, as a concerned observer. Problem solved. Repercussions loomed however. After a series of job interviews 'they' referred me to[where the member-contractor had already agreed not to hire me], I went to IBEW to seek their help. The union organizers sent me to a job site, they were targeting[in order to get at union members working there], where I was quickly hired at journeyman wage. I'd give those 'slugs' a dose of vitriol, as I was going in about 7:45 AM. Then I'd pocket the sign-in sheets, when I got upstairs[40th floor], and secreet them to the organizers. When that job ended, I returned to the Fox stage, a wiser man.

1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta at The Omni & GWCC. Just miles & miles of cables running between those two facilities. Seemed rather weak. The bridge/turnaround between The Omni & GWCC. FBI labor racketeering agent Brian Hitt on the scene with with his team of covert cam-ops and the audio squad with their shotgun mics. It's all well documented in the FBI & GBI archives, but you can't find dick about it on the internet. It's as though only one low-rent food workers union was the only union to apply any (laughable) pressure on the DNC in 1988. I will say this, whoever came up with the idea to oil the up-ramp to the bridge/turnaround from Int'l Blvd to the Omni was a fuckin' genius.

there were live feeds from convention hall to CNN secured to the bottom of that bridge; another fuckin' genius made some air-gaps interrupt the video; some kinda stones, huh?

From what I hear, there were several instances of air-gapping the cable runs. ;) Must have been just a series of unfortunate accidents.

probably slipped on that slippery slope, with a sharp cutting-tool inhand; unfortunate indeed

RUNNING for a Congressional Office builds up a momentum; a physical movement towards certain achievements, related to specific ISSUES, that should never be interrupted, by a 2-, 4- or 6-year rest period. Learning how to draft enduring legislation, need not involve years slaving away in some accredited law school. YOU can acquire the necessary skills in a fairly brief span of study-time. You must begin, by reading as many 'representative samples' as you can obtain. You could limit the documents to be thoroughly parsed, to the kinds dealing specifically with the ISSUE you have chosen to focus your efforts on. Your problem, initially, will be expanding your vocabulary enough to be clearly understood, once you enter the writing phase that will follow. Certain traditional 'forms' should be employed during this second phase. Phase three begins, when you furnish copies of your document to qualified confidants, for their opinions regarding certain changes that should be made, forecasting prospects for successful passage of such legislation or suggestions about how courts might reinterpret aspects of any resulting LAW's. For this, you need e-mail addresses for serving Congressmen, judges currently on the appropriate bench and affected business entities that can refer your inquiry to a battery of litigators. Replies to your inquiries will almost certainly indicate certain adjustments to your output that would be advisable. Phase four involves giving credit for the introduction of your BILL, to some ranking member of Congress, that has publicly attached himself to your ISSUE, in order to get himself elected. Previously unaddressed ISSUEs are somewhat problematical in this regard, but can be advanced by celebrities, clergymen and struggling local politicians that are 1)not camera shy, & 2)looking for a powerful issue to which they might attach themselves. More e-mail addresses will most likely be required. My ISSUE was pension administration, and it was very unpopular. I did considerable research, to be sure that I had my facts straight. I collected a plethora of e-mail addresses. I wrote a speech, and practiced before a mirror while timing myself, until I could, basically, read forcefully, everything that I had written, in less than 15 minutes. The facts I was pointing out, never made opinions change very much, but did garner me a lot of attention that had not existed before. I became "Chicken Little," delivered my speech years before my time and eventually, was proved right, when the sky indeed fell. About 700 participants, in my defined benefit pan, were adversely affected.

An ACT OF CONGRESS is not always the creation of a LAW. Often, these 'acts' invite some Administrative Agency to enact new LAW's, or otherwise ENFORCE certain specified REGULATIONS. Such LEGISLATION, must be carefully & unambiguously worded. Most of our 20th century Congressmen, though many of them were indeed trained litigators, were either unable to write the legislation they 'introduced,' or indisposed in some way to do so. Sometimes large staffs of competent individuals get the job of creating a BILL, while often obliged to adhere to instructions given them, to keep in mind, always, that whatever is introduced, cannot be awfully objectionable to the majority political party, in either end of the domed Capitol building. Another source for these craftily-worded proposals is the legal staff, maintained by some powerful business or political entity, whose well-paid lobbyist will deliver the carefully prepared 'suggestion,' at a steak dinner, over an expensive bottle of wine. In the 21st century, 'diversity' among the freshmen/women arriving in Congress every two years, often means that even more of the BILL's that we hear about will have been outsourced. In fact, the ability to read/comprehend proposed legislation, is also in rapid decline, and so the advice from adequately trained staff members grows in its influence, and its importance to the constituency. When you complain that some desirable change in your current situation would require an Act of Congress, you have unconsciously ceded your own ability to be effective, to myriad third parties with agendas that are often going to prove quite toxic. STOP WHINING! First, remove the most glaring ambiguities from that internal expression of your most fervent desires. Get help if that is what you need. Then, ACT... like Congress. Or maybe that should read, "like Congress should be capable of doing, willing to do & adequately prepared to do."

my sign-in/homepage @mail.com was the fist thing that I saw this AM, after a full boot-up[& ditching that cloud] went into that little gear-box yesterday, and while I was changing a few things, I asked a few questions & paid those Firefox folks a visit too there's even some research on MS & that sell-out to Google[fukkin Chrome-enablers] oops! there's an APP Explorer update notification[@taskbar]; WTF did that shit come from[I don't do APP!] there's some flamin' MS news thingy keeps me apprised whenever there are 'significant developments' RE:the Mueller investigations not too annoying, and that's how I found out about the 'big' earthquake the other day[4.7 in TN/GA] have you been reading about Jesse & Fred? I also wrote/posted something about the reveered Booksie Guy[founder/moderator] this prompted the evil Dr. Acula to kick me out of his publishing 'house' of 1000 horrors[had to move 4 'books' to QWERTY QUORUM] house-cleaning a sure sign that 1)I'm hitting a nerve, & 2)there's NAZI's @Booksie.com that deserve a little more attention trying to be subtle, & really do try to suppress MY trolling tendencies I'm up pretty early this AM, & lookin' forward to a SPAM-sammy for breakfast egg salad came out great, & there's still 8 eggs in the fridge 4more eggs are relatively cheap, so gettin' out my portable kitchen worth all the trouble & upset my theater-sound in disarray[but still available in a pinch] Miss Universe was a Filipina; I thought NEPAL had the best eye candy[in the top 20]; Miss Ecuador[eliminated earlier still] was HOT! Eagles squeaked past Rams last night; lot of spoilers in the mix this season[go Chiefs] Mariota's on Saturday[?]; some screwy holiday scheduling BS I wonder how my Thunder will fare, when B-ball takes over the only sports event awareness I had while in Vegas, was brother-in-law's phone call during Masters taunting PV about Tiger in AZ, it was Churchhill Downs here, the natives get restless[& loud] during March Madness and NBA playoffs I'm the lone holdout for the fukkin World Series that's all I have on sports

There's so much movie and TV work going on that the wonder girl is frazzled and looked about shot-out. Tuck sez they work 12 - 14 hour days 5 or 6 days a week. She programs lighting systems for the industry. Naturally we didn't just talk "banjo". Mostly she just explained all the different stuff she has going on.

TUCK needs WYSIWYG; design the lighting from home

Whaaaaaaaaaat? Gay musicians...un-fucking-heard of!!! Those shoes are just screaming "what a 'mo."

in high school, I wore the world's first pair of bright orange saddle oxfords; what was that screaming?

You wore 'em, you tell me. ;)

my Grandfather was a painter[both of houses & portraits], and on one of his visits when I was a child, he had returned from a job with a bit of dark brown in a can; I'm in the backyard with Joe, watching him organize all the shit piled in the trunk of his old beater; he sees that there is enough of the viscous remnant, and begins stirring with a broad pig-bristle brush; then, with a brushfull of shiny brown possibility, he throws his foot up onto his rear bumper, and applies a generous coating to his paint-speckled brogans[sock & all]; I guess it made an impression; Mods & Rockers were changing fashions and orange saddle oxfords seemed apropos to getting with it; they were my most comfortable pair[I had five pairs of saddle oxfords; a different look for each day in the school-week], and were badly scuffed from wear; I FIXED THEM! I was already queer-bait, so flamboyant footwear only added the faintest shout to already broadcast "come hither's"

if Mexico were to fund & build a wall on their northern border, they could design & control any gates thought necessary Canada could come to this same brilliant conclusion, but have a much longer border to their south USofA would quickly become a 'backwater' & learn some diplomacy Abe[not Lincoln] has decided to add a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier to their somewhat modest self-defense force's naval arsenal I can't wait to see it sailing proudly upon the China Sea those Russians, allowed to continue their occupation of Japanese territory in the 1965 treaty, better look out Abe could pull a 'Thatcher' on their ass[still claiming self-defense] Modi will not let this important development go unobserved Aussies could use any help coming from both these Asian-Pacific naval assets all that ocean water makes a poor border-wall Philippines & Indonesia could be taking sides soon, and they represent major populations that produce surplus foods on DEC 21, Antarctica will be at the peak of their summer thaw, and we should start seeing some scary video from down that way South America is fast becoming a bigger wild card than Africa Panama will need two[very short] border-walls; they could get whatever they need from Home Depot Online I'm fixing to adjourn long enough to grate some boiled eggs & craft myself a sandwich I had Special K for breakfast[at 1:08 PM]

not so long ago, Japan had the most avid/affluent collectors of vintage guitars like the market for fresh tuna, they kinda became spoilers[unless you are a seller]

Japan was, at one time, made the best guitars you could buy outside of the US. Nowadays, with computer assisted design, and CNC milling machines almost any putz with a few thousand dollars to spare can be in the business of making precision, high quality guitars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4bbUaqwTlk

Japan also distills the world's highest quality Scotch. whassup w/dat?

So, you pair that CNC mill (with which one can also mill metal parts) with a computer, and a 3D printer, and I'm sure that ones ability to fabricate virtually anything becomes reality. Whoa. Hold on there, buckaroo. What about Mr. Retailer and his market-locked semi-monopoly selling copyrighted and patented products? DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT...

NAMM was a wonderland, where competing instrument manufacturers got a very expensive opportunity for exposure. Some very well-attended guest artist performances at GWCC come to mind. Who plays your instrument is really the price-driver, and the actually-played instrument catapulted into the price-paid stratosphere! That auction you mentioned, could become a venue for one of these recognizable artists from the Athens music-scene. Have him or her[maybe them] play all your inventory, right before the bidding begins. Let the artist auction off the companion signatures, for the cause. Am I getting through here?

if Siskel & Ebert were arguing about some new film that was just out, their heated discussion might drift onto PRODUCTION VALUES(only EBERT would be likely to do that); if he argued for a THUMBS UP, based on excellent production value(making a film is like telling a story; some tell the same story better), he will say nthat the film's producers used amazing cinematography(spent lots more $$$) to express several themes/ideas, where most would not have(or would not have to), & that added P.V. made the film infinitely better, more entertaining & the extra-mile techniques became like another character in the story. YOUR TASK:when you have decided upon a particular 'song' to work-up for improving the ESSENCE ACT, do a YouTube search for videos & collect all that you may find(especially the less-professional and/or amateurish looking/sounding ones that somehow got posted); next, watch them all(probably several times each) & select the best few from the batch; discuss w/band-members WHY you thought those were the best ones; you may tend toward the better sound quality or the best of the musicians; you might find that you wanted to choose one of them, not for the music, but something they did that was captured in the video, or there were close-ups of fingering that you appreciated or just that the film featured separate performers at the right change-ups. My 1st TV-production had two cameras & a switcher; it was a softball game, sponsored by 96-ROCK & Alex Cooley, played by DJ's vs. band-members from KANSAS, when they came into town for a Concert(Cooley Promoted); it drew a large & raucous crowd of KANSAS-fans to Piedmont Park one sunny afternoon, helped promote both the Concert & the radio station(while having video-production equipment/personnel at the game helped boost all the excitement); one camera was fixed on a tri-pod behind the plate(to capture pitches & swings) & the other was just past 1st-base, and could pan to follow a hit and catch the play in-field or out-(w/close-up on 1st-base action); there was just one microphone, so I put it on a tall stand w/heavy, steady base, and placed where I got an adequate feed for both Alex's play-by-play calls on the P.A., and good coverage of the crowd-reactions(and even some overheard conversations in the bleachers); it took 3 of us, cameraman on 1st to do the panning if there was a hit/play, another guy on the switcher at my truck to change from behind-the-plate coverage, to the panning view of the field, whenever he heard that sound an aluminum bat makes clobbering a softball; then, of course, I was there directing(or perhaps repositioning the mike or just speaking a fake-part as faux-fan), and could have made the spectacle even greater, if I had carried a large megaphone around & shouted-out camera/switcher cues. Things went smoothly with 3-crew, and even though cameras weren't sync-ed & each switch rolled the image, the tape we produced gave the feeling of being there with crowd/Alex/KANSAS; my BetaMax was so amazing, that when I loaned my only copy to Alex, he never returned it(but word got around about my Channel 41 Productions, because this big promoter showed it to everyone that stopped by his office om business)!!! The Production Values of the song-videos you collect and watch depends on so many different things, that it would behoove ESSENCE to thoroughly exploit as many of them as practical in their future bookings; your SHOW can be good enough to disguise any musical- or talent-shortcomings, while growing a better- or well-organized local fan-base, that by bringing more folks to your bookings will equal higher- and better-paying gigs as you mature as a group, or change-out various artists as needed.

https://www.facebook.com/oldstagehands/photos/a.1375675492750537/1375675312750555/?type=3&theater

Following a performer around with what amounts to a big flashlight sounds easy, and probably looks easy too, if you watch while it's being done. Well, it ain't; and your lack of ability is most immediately apparent to the other operators who can make those first outings tough on you if they wish. That's when those relationships first begin to pay back dividends. The lighting director will be less aware of your foibles because the angle from which he is observing is a bad one; the audience even less able to see anything of what is going on. Your buddies can cover for your short-comings, and try to talk you through the rough spots. You'd better be able to take a ration of good-natured ribbing about it too! Watching an experienced operator while the show is going on is one of the best ways to get a heads-up on many of the subtleties that can take years to acquire. If you show the proper respect to his situation, you can ask questions and get helpful answers during the show. This exchange is doubly instructive because you observe the mysterious operations while in direct correspondence to actions occurring on the stage. Sometimes the cuing is coming through a biscuit(a small portable speaker) and you see that much more clearly how his responses co-ordinate with what is taking place. The respect part is something that you must learn about too, in order to understand; when to ask your questions so that they are not bothersome, distracting or downright disastrous; being aware that the presence of the headset sometimes means others are hearing everything or aware of your presence in the booth. Few apprentice operators ever spend that much time doing this; many experienced operators are glad they don't!

Phillip DeNise: ever change the hot carbons? 3rd paragraph from PREFACE to "Work For It, Baby!":Writers are frequently counseled to write about what they know. This writer knows spotlights better than anything else he was exposed to while in his secret world. What I know about them, if taken alone, would provide the content for an exhaustive technical manual. If we begin to consider how I learned what I know, a process then becomes the subject of the manual. Describing that process is most naturally facilitated by making constant reference to actual experiences that I had while learning to operate this specific piece of equipment.

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mikebrackett · 5 years

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Living in a Converted Camper Van

For some, the modern American dream isn’t about having gobs of money. In an age when many folks suffer from “time famine,” which is when the individual has too much to do but not enough time, the ultimate dream seems to be about having more freedom – the freedom to spend your time the way you want, to spend your money so it’s in step with your values and to carve out a blueprint that’s in step with your best life.

That’s why bold, off-the-grid ways of being can be so appealing. Whether it’s living the Bohemian lifestyle, where you follow your artistic passions, seeing the world by way of a catamaran or a school bus seems so amazing.

Turning the Camper Van Dream into a Reality

Dustin Van Ells was one of those who longed fantasized about enjoying the freedom that a camper van provides. Van Ells’s dream slowly turned into a reality about a year ago. At the time, he was working as a field engineer for a military subcontractor and traveling quite a bit. “On average, I was home for 9 days a month while paying $2,000 for an apartment in Portland, Oregon,” says Van Ells, who’s 29 and the owner and engineer of The Van Plan. “It occurred to me that I could just build a sweet van and pocket all that rent money.”

When he was let go from his job in the summer of 2018, Van Ells took advantage of his free time in “funemployment” to finish converting the van, which included installing solar panels to the roof. It saved him from homelessness while he plotted his next step.

Camper Van Life

Van Ells has a fridge and running water on board that makes it fairly easy to eat simply. “I built my van to be able to enjoy the normal things that people have in their home, but just on the go,” says Van Ells. His converted camper van has one burner stove and an iron skillet which he uses most often. He also installed enough solar and battery storage to use an Instant Pot in his camper van.

The only housing-related expenses Van Ells now has are his car insurance and note, which accounts for a little over half of his monthly bills, and adds up to $540. His other living expenses includes gas for his van, food and sundry personal items – which adds up to about $400 a month. Van Ells, who’s a veteran, is able to takes advantage of fringe benefits that are offered to military service persons, such as permanent registration for his vehicles and free health care. “With a lot of careful and meticulous planning, I’ll be able to save up and invest more than half of my income without living off of rice and beans,” says Van Ells.

Turning It into a Business

Earlier in 2019, Van Ells was chilling on the side of the road, when a man came up to tell him how much he liked his van. He then asked if Van Ells was interested in being hired to add a solar panel system to the man’s own recreational vehicle (RV).

Fast forward to the present. By a stroke of good timing, luck or pure serendipity, Van Ells is now self-employed and fully booked for the next few months with jobs doing full van and RV conversions, solar panel installations, solving electrical issues and one-off builds. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Portland and now has a woodshop in Los Angeles.

If you’re considering a van camper conversion to experience your own taste of freedom, there are a few things to consider.

Know the Pros and Cons

Before you roll up your sleeves and convert a camper van — or hire someone like Van Ells to do the heavy lifting — you’ll want to be fully aware of the advantages and downsides of the #CamperVanLife. As Van Ells describes, the freedom to travel is one of the obvious perks. Other benefits include getting rid of your stuff and the potential to live on very little money.

Plus, you get to meet like-minded folks who see that there’s more to life than a rent payment and a 9-to-5 job, points out Van Ells. Not to mention that you own a unique converted camper van, which is bound to be a conversation starter.

Downsides include finding a place to park your van. Similar to RV living, you’ll have to do a bit of research to figure out which spots are optimal because “House people don’t want van people hanging around their neighborhood, especially if they have a nice view,” he added.

What’s more, you won’t have a bathroom on board. And while it’s convenient to have all your belongings packed in a small space, there’s also the risk of theft, vandalism or some incident that could damage your belongings. And of course, there’s the initial start-up costs and maintenance.

Tally the Costs

As you might expect, the cost depends on the type of van and the scope of the build. The total costs to build Van Ells’ Club Wagon was less than $7,000. He purchased it for $4,200, spent $1,200 on the electrical and solar panels and another $2,000 on building materials. It took a span of 3 months to do it all on his own and working at a steady pace. While it’s certainly not cheap, the resale value can be quite significant. Recently someone offered Van Ells $30,000 for his converted van.

Know the Process

While a lot of work and innovation goes into a van conversion, it starts with the van, he points out. Van Ells likes older models because they’re cheap, reliable, the parts are readily available, and they have a ton of character. He spent a month devising his plans for the build and scrapped at least a dozen different floor plans before landing on his final blueprint. “Once I came up with my master plan, it took me about 1 week to make it livable,” he said. “I parked in my friend’s driveway until it was finished, and just got to work.” Living in your own converted camper van definitely has its perks. Knowing what the lifestyle is all about, and what it requires to build, will help you gauge whether it’s a good fit for you. Are you interested in the camper van life? Let us know in the comments!

The post Living in a Converted Camper Van appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/living-converted-camper-van

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aaronsniderus · 5 years

Text

Living in a Converted Camper Van

Turning the Camper Van Dream into a Reality

Camper Van Life

Turning It into a Business

If you’re considering a van camper conversion to experience your own taste of freedom, there are a few things to consider.

Know the Pros and Cons

Plus, you get to meet like-minded folks who see that there��s more to life than a rent payment and a 9-to-5 job, points out Van Ells. Not to mention that you own a unique converted camper van, which is bound to be a conversation starter.

Tally the Costs

Know the Process

The post Living in a Converted Camper Van appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/living-converted-camper-van

0 notes

aaltjebarisca · 5 years

Text

Living in a Converted Camper Van

Turning the Camper Van Dream into a Reality

Camper Van Life

Turning It into a Business

If you’re considering a van camper conversion to experience your own taste of freedom, there are a few things to consider.

Know the Pros and Cons

Tally the Costs

Know the Process

The post Living in a Converted Camper Van appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/living-converted-camper-van

0 notes

trevorbailey61 · 6 years

Text

Fleet Foxes

Civic Hall, Wolverhampton

Friday 24th November 2017

Robin Pecknold picks up the thermos that has been left underneath the table to his side. He unscrews the lid and pours some of the contents into a mug before carefully putting it back. It is a routine he repeats at least three more times and at the end of the set and with his guitar being left to the roadies to deal with, he carefully carries the thermos off with him. This is rock ‘n’ roll, the furtive behaviour should be a clue to the intoxicating and illicit substance that are the contents of the flask but Pecknold isn’t your typical rock star. Nearly a decade ago his debut album cut through all the noise with perfectly crafted songs showing a real emotional depth. Another album quickly followed, suffering a little from second album syndrome but still doing enough to show that despite still only being in his early 20s, he was an extraordinarily gifted artist with a bright future in front of him. Then nothing, as the world opened up in front of him with all the trappings and temptations that would offer, he did the most un-rock ‘n’ roll thing he could and went to university. As well as gaining his degree, this gave him plenty of time to plan his next move and tonight shows that he has not been idle. And that flask, most likely nothing stronger than a herbal tea to coax his voice through the songs that push him to the limits of his range.

There are few songs that have such an impact that you can remember exactly the first time you heard them. For many years I have read Uncut magazine but mostly the accompanying CD has been played just once, the songs failing to register amongst all those others that compete for your attention everyday. Occasionally, however, one demands that you reach over and press the repeat button to check, was it really that remarkable. “White Winter Hymnal” was one such song, a beautifully sparse arrangement, exquisite harmonies, wistful lyrics that, even on that first listen, sounded as if it was a song you had known for years, something that should be as old as music itself. Surely, a song of such compelling melancholy must have been created by someone with a life time of experience to draw on, a snowscape half remembered from a childhood that was now receding into the distant past. The cover of the eponymous debut album from which it was taken displayed a busy medieval scene, emphasising that these romantic ballads were passed on through generations before being picked and recorded by a group of wizened old sages. There were no pictures of the band to challenge this impression but the voices singing those harmonies sounded pure and clear, the timbre showing little indication of the ravages of time. With the album having been played relentlessly and already forming a permanent musical imprint in my mind, I decided that I needed to hear it live and on a warm July evening I stood in almost the same place as I am tonight to see the Fleet Foxes for the first time. Even though most of the band wore heavy beards, there was no disguising the fresh faces beneath, young musicians barely in their 20s creating timeless music and appealing to an audience who mostly seemed old enough to be their parents. The music was, of course, exquisite but its complexity required that instruments were retuned in between every song making for a some what disjointed evening. A few days later I saw them again, this time supporting Neil Young in Hyde Park where their perfectionism made it difficult for them to hold the large festival audience, something that was made more prominent as they followed the brash showmanship of Seasick Steve.

Robin Pecknold is someone who doesn’t appear to do anything by halves so it is likely that his diversion into academia was motivated by a passion for literature and a wish to complete his education. His time away, however, has also allowed him to reflect on his stage craft and he now seems a more confident and assured presence than he was during the last tour. In particular, stage hands are ready to change over guitars whenever retuning is needed, which inevitably he takes to moments within songs as well as in between them. He can’t resist the temptation to fiddle, however, and as the set nears its end, he finds the tension in the strings doesn’t meet his exacting standards leading to a pause as he makes the adjustments. Overall, however, the set is sharp and focused, something that it needed as in his time away, his musical vision has become grander. So many ideas are developed, so many alternative pathways explored that the self imposed dam could no longer contain the creativity and the release has been spectacular. A whole album worth of themes and moods are condensed into a single song, the titles such as the opener, “I Am All That I Need/Arroyo Seco/Thumbprint Scar” revealing the breadth in the vision behind it. Another guitar is brought on, a ripple of applause tries to force its way into a brief moment of silence but before it has a chance to build the next song has started. “Cassius”, “Naiads, Cassadies”, one medley subsumed into another medley to form an epic whole. The scale threatens to be overwhelming but so carefully is it constructed, so well do the parts merge that it the effect is thrilling.

The meticulous construction of the sound could be seen as a reflection of Pecknold’s stint in academia, an application of theory that could be a PhD thesis rather than music to lose yourself in. Delving into the lyrics offers little respite, he is keen to show of the fruits of his studies and the title track of his latest opus, “Crack Up”, covers references to F Scott Fitzgerald, the American Civil War, ancient Egypt and a host of others I am insufficiently educated to pick up. For another song suite, “Third of May/Odaigahara”, Pecknold took to genius.com to explain what he was on about, it is tempting to suggest that the time would have been better spent making his thoughts a little clearer in the first place. Then, while some songs revel in their immediacy, others are slow burners that only reveal their mysteries slowly and after several listens. “Crack Up” certainly does just that and hearing it live helps to reveal a little more of the scope of Pecknold’s creativity. That said, however, the light melody and steady rhythm of “Fools Errand” felt like a clearing had been reached in the dense forest of much of the new album. Where he gets it right, however, the orchestrations add an intensity to create a mood that is simply breathtaking, particularly on the title track, where the different and competing musical ideas are forged to make a sound that is stunning.

For all its qualities, however, the early appearance of “White Winter Hymnal” draws attention to what “Crack Up” lacks, that attention grabbing moment of pop clarity. The lush melody, sung in a round, and perfect harmonies create a dreamy feeling that is enhanced by the abstract winter scenes projected behind the band. It had made its point in July but a bitterly cold November night enhanced its wonder. The first album is filled with such moments, the haunting minor key of ”Your Protector”, the tuneful “He Doesn’t Know Why” and the delicate acoustic “Blue Ridge Mountains” all add familiar tones and moods. There are fewer such moments on the second album but “Battery Kinzie” disguises it’s bleak message with another enchanting melody and “The Shrine/An Argument” builds from the delicacy of its opening to a startling dramatic conclusion and a brilliantly atonal sax solo. The early “Mykonos” is as charming as ever, showing how much of Pecknold’s vision was there from the start. For both “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” and the encore “Oliver James”, Pecknold is alone with just his guitar as accompaniment, adding an intimacy, that the complexity and scale of his recent music lacks, and pushing his voice to its limits. The lush arrangements may have been fascinating but here Pecknold shows that his songs can express their mood with the simplest of accompaniments.

A break of over half a decade so early in a career is not usually something that leads to longevity but then again, many of the rules by which the business works, don’t seem to apply to Robin Pecknold. Certainly, the nearly full hall indicates that he has not been forgotten and the mastery of his intricate and complex folk music helped to raise the anticipation for his return. He acknowledges his previous show at the Civic but I didn’t come across anyone else who had been there so most, I suspect, have been waiting for this opportunity since discovering the brilliance of that debut album. The set carefully places the well known songs in between the brooding intensity of his new ones meaning that when it does get a little heavy going, there is always something familiar, and mostly lighter, to follow. He does seem intent on taking the band into new terrain, somewhere were meaning is hidden by obscure references and labyrinthine orchestrations, something less fleet. It will be interesting to see where he goes next.

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