Chillin with my gnomies wine glass
Drexel University: The finest university in West Philly
2016.12.07 00:17 IamPatbrick Drexel University: The finest university in West Philly
Welcome to the Drexel University subreddit! Here you can discuss classes, professors, politics, or Co-op.
2023.06.04 23:53 United_Tone_2584 Betta with swim bladder issue from injury?
I'm fairly new to owning a betta, I've had a double-tail betta for about 5 months now in a 5 gallon tank with a filter. Unfortunately, I made a huge mistake a couple months ago when siphoning the tank. I have a flat shaped heater that suctions to the tank, before I started to clean the tank I noticed it had come partially unsuctioned to the glass so I pressed firmly on it to get it suctioned again. However, I didn't realize my betta was hiding behind it so I basically acccidentally smooshed him behind the heater. I felt awful for not being more careful, afterwards he had a scrape on the side of his head and one of his eyes was red and bulging (popeye?). After a few weeks of adding indian almond leaves and keeping the water clean, he looked to have healed well (although I think he's blind in the eye that was injured). Since then though, he's been floating on his side towards the top of the tank, and seems like he struggles to swim downwards without floating right back up again. When he's in his little cave on the bottom of the tank, he floats against the top of it sideways. He seems normal otherwise, he eats well and while he's usually floating he has moments where he'll dart around the tank quickly. He also loves making large bubble nests.
I've tried fasting him for a few days then feeding daphnia a couple times in case it was due to constipation but it doesn't seem to be working. Is it possible that he has permanent swim bladder issues from this injury? If so, can he still live a relatively happy life with it? I still feel so bad, it has definitely taught me to always know where he is when I'm cleaning the tank.
submitted by United_Tone_2584 to bettafish [link] [comments]
I've tried fasting him for a few days then feeding daphnia a couple times in case it was due to constipation but it doesn't seem to be working. Is it possible that he has permanent swim bladder issues from this injury? If so, can he still live a relatively happy life with it? I still feel so bad, it has definitely taught me to always know where he is when I'm cleaning the tank.
2023.06.04 23:52 feel1nf1ne Need to hear stories of when you thought you would never find such an amazing chemistry/bond with someone ever again, but then you did
I (37M) met someone (31F) in the pandemic with whom I had an immediate amazing chemistry/attraction. Just instant great rapport and jokes and name-calling and all the cheesy good stuff. We were Jerry and his schmoopy girlfriend from Seinfeld (not that annoying I hope). And like crazy good warm feelings all the time and always wanting her around and wondering when she would come back every time she left. I haven't been in many serious relationships but honestly it was the most head-over-heels I'd ever felt about someone in my life.
We split up after 6-7 months because those warm fuzzies faded a bit with time and I got freaked out like I always had in relationships and just missed being alone. But we could never stay away from each other and entered a two and a half year-long limbo period of sometimes reconnecting, then months without talking, reconnecting etc. And I've honestly never stopped feeling those butterflies for her but at some point she moved to another country and so most of our communication became text-based and that + the distance really complicated the possibility of ever giving things another honest try. Last year I did some work on myself and I think I am really ready for it even though I don't have the life/job stability I want, but when I took a hard look at her without the rose-tinted glasses I realized we do have some quite big differences that I had to admit were causing me to feel unheard/misunderstood and even unfulfilled and lonely with her. Our relationship was all fun fun fun and every time I tried to go deeper than the surface level stuff in our conversations, connect the everyday to larger things/ideas, or talk about things/make references to things I really cared about, things fell flat. I couldn't seem to connect with her on any other dimension than the in-the-moment fun stuff, even romantically (that may have been due to her being more guarded because of the limbo stuff but I expect it was also affected by our general misalignment). In fact I would say our communication in general when it came to anything deeper than surface-level stuff was pretty poor.
Anyway it looks to have finally ended for good a few weeks ago. She wanted me to move to where she is and we even met up in my hometown to explore the idea and that got us both all worked up about it, but I ultimately decided that even though I love her, with all the differences/incompatibilities I couldn't see it working long-term (I haven't told the whole story here). So she hates me/won't speak to me now because I got her hopes up again (that's fair) so there is no chance of talking things out if I happen to have more clarity on this or that matter. I am so full of regret and "what ifs" swirling around in my head making me think maybe we could've worked on this or that and things would've been fine. But being coldly honest about it, it would've been really tough unless one or both of us changed significantly.
I am terrified that I will go the rest of my life and not feel this way about anyone ever again. I don't just connect super easily with everyone and everyone doesn't connect super easily with me. I'm scared I'll meet nice women who actually get/appreciate me on a deeper level and can laugh with me and whom I'll like but I will always say, "they're lovely but they don't make me feel that same way." It makes me think I just need to sweep my huge doubts under the rug and remember she's a one-in-a-million person and I'll never find anyone like this again but I feel that's wrong too. And the wrong reason to be with someone if you have significant and valid doubts (let's assume I could even get her back at this point). But I simply cannot go on like this. I have to find a way out and I need to know that others have felt the same way and thought they had lost that one-in-a-million person but they were able to find something spectacular and on that same level with someone else. Thanks in advance.
TL;DR - I met someone with whom I had one-in-a-million chemistry/bond, but we got into a bit of a toxic on-again off-again situation and when I had a real chance to give things another try, I decided we had too many big differences/incompatibilities, I am full of regret and sadness and need to hear others' stories of thinking they lost a one-in-a-million person but then finding those same awesome feelings again in someone else.
submitted by feel1nf1ne to relationships_advice [link] [comments]
We split up after 6-7 months because those warm fuzzies faded a bit with time and I got freaked out like I always had in relationships and just missed being alone. But we could never stay away from each other and entered a two and a half year-long limbo period of sometimes reconnecting, then months without talking, reconnecting etc. And I've honestly never stopped feeling those butterflies for her but at some point she moved to another country and so most of our communication became text-based and that + the distance really complicated the possibility of ever giving things another honest try. Last year I did some work on myself and I think I am really ready for it even though I don't have the life/job stability I want, but when I took a hard look at her without the rose-tinted glasses I realized we do have some quite big differences that I had to admit were causing me to feel unheard/misunderstood and even unfulfilled and lonely with her. Our relationship was all fun fun fun and every time I tried to go deeper than the surface level stuff in our conversations, connect the everyday to larger things/ideas, or talk about things/make references to things I really cared about, things fell flat. I couldn't seem to connect with her on any other dimension than the in-the-moment fun stuff, even romantically (that may have been due to her being more guarded because of the limbo stuff but I expect it was also affected by our general misalignment). In fact I would say our communication in general when it came to anything deeper than surface-level stuff was pretty poor.
Anyway it looks to have finally ended for good a few weeks ago. She wanted me to move to where she is and we even met up in my hometown to explore the idea and that got us both all worked up about it, but I ultimately decided that even though I love her, with all the differences/incompatibilities I couldn't see it working long-term (I haven't told the whole story here). So she hates me/won't speak to me now because I got her hopes up again (that's fair) so there is no chance of talking things out if I happen to have more clarity on this or that matter. I am so full of regret and "what ifs" swirling around in my head making me think maybe we could've worked on this or that and things would've been fine. But being coldly honest about it, it would've been really tough unless one or both of us changed significantly.
I am terrified that I will go the rest of my life and not feel this way about anyone ever again. I don't just connect super easily with everyone and everyone doesn't connect super easily with me. I'm scared I'll meet nice women who actually get/appreciate me on a deeper level and can laugh with me and whom I'll like but I will always say, "they're lovely but they don't make me feel that same way." It makes me think I just need to sweep my huge doubts under the rug and remember she's a one-in-a-million person and I'll never find anyone like this again but I feel that's wrong too. And the wrong reason to be with someone if you have significant and valid doubts (let's assume I could even get her back at this point). But I simply cannot go on like this. I have to find a way out and I need to know that others have felt the same way and thought they had lost that one-in-a-million person but they were able to find something spectacular and on that same level with someone else. Thanks in advance.
TL;DR - I met someone with whom I had one-in-a-million chemistry/bond, but we got into a bit of a toxic on-again off-again situation and when I had a real chance to give things another try, I decided we had too many big differences/incompatibilities, I am full of regret and sadness and need to hear others' stories of thinking they lost a one-in-a-million person but then finding those same awesome feelings again in someone else.
2023.06.04 23:46 External_Factor2516 Yugen Glyph
this is a prototype Yugen Glyph (hunt for my previous post lol or my medium article here ). Magic is not yet ready, this is just a prototype for capturing full concepts, I think instead of making it it's own language, it should act as a wrapper for all existing languages.
Put numbers where the text in the example is, put that numbered up version of the graph, on the front page of a document or sub-document, and then use bulleted paragraphs, or bulleted hyperlinks to parallel documents, and in each paragraph or parallel document: be as detailed or vague as is your accurate impression of the subject.
for example someone who really loves mathematics, will have a very detailed and huge document tree centered around this graph about their impression of math, and what is the opposite of math? for some folks the opposite is literal Nothingness with a capital N because math is Everything with a capital E. For others, the opposite of math is social studies, or art (people who think math and art are opposites, I mean I'd like to have a word with them, and would like to impress upon you that I think they are WRONG!! because perspective and symmetry and even the chemistry of the optics of our perceptions and neurochemistry of our impressions- all of art, is just layers... and layers... of math, but at the same time I feel why they may be misguided into that perception, because math not as a subject but as discipline is rather rigid whereas art is like Bob Ross' TV persona, it embraces mistakes as a part of the process whereas math as a discipline sternly rejects them! but math the subject and math the discipline are two different animals, math the subject is just pattern recognition and construction taken into the furthest reaches of human capacity as an elevated artform. so math the discipline is a bit like professor Snape from Terfy/Harry Potter, math the subject is a friggin kaleidoscopic rainbow of infinite imagination and possibilities, math professors create worlds with the best of em man. Like portraits of possibility written out like the rules to an otherwise inconceivable game! I love math! I hate being taught it, but I LOVE exploring it!!!! Just as much as I love a good anime or trip to the art museum or a fun creative novel or cool visual patterns on cute clothing Math Art what's the difference really, art is just math with fun inaccuracies, math with wiggle room, but they'll always be two heads attached to the same Demogorgon)
I rambled... where was I.... Yes, I may disagree with someone who thinks art and math are opposites but disagreement, truckloads of it, all of the disagreement that is physically capable of existing in the same place at once without collapsing into a blackhole, none of it will invalidate their experience and that's what this linguistic wrapper is about. It's about...
...Dreams Nightmares The Holy Spirit, Trips to the depths of Hell, good days and bad days, weird experiences that last only a fleeting instant and leave a deep impression. All of that.
Doesn't matter if you believe in it or not, because the it as it was perceived may not exist, whilst at the same time (and read this maybe a few times) the it as a perception is irrefutable.
Peoples WRONG >-( feelings are still valid man... I mean you may think drinking your own pee kept you hydrated in the desert and drinking alcohol kept you warm in the tundra, you'd be oh so very wrong (to the point of nearly killing yourself) but that comfort you felt when you thought you were surviving in the wilderness like a pro, that was real, the way misinformation was munched on by your brain like it was the good stuff, that was also very real and you, yourself are valid no matter what.
Like what is reality? that's a linguistic question more than a scientific one.
If you define it as what is felt to be real, then hey, people who remember shit vividly, even when it's factually incorrect, like how myself among many others remember the Bearenstein Bears, whom according to all outside stimuli I generally trust, were actually historically always the Bearenstain Bears, and likely because of the cartoon introduction pronouncing it with a thick accent, and me reading them when my trained mental optical character recognition skills for the english language were at a fledging capacity because I was very very VERY young, my ears hear the woman with the thick accent call them Bearenstein, my eyes were not yet trained to strongly discriminate between "a" and "e". I can safely conclude I remembered it wrong and was the victim of multimodal confusion.
However a good deal of people have come to a much cooler set of conclusions; ready?!
They believe that either A) they are from a parallel history that was destroyed by something and their souls migrated here; B) that a bunch of very skilled book ninjas replaced every book with an identically weathered copy of itself except for small changes to the print, or C) that God did like the ninjas in the previous example did, and either physically changed history but left some of us with a spiritual memory of our alternate history for whatever reason, or to the same effect God just did as the ninjas in the previous example did and used God power to rearrange the ink on every page of the books.
Hey those conclusions are wild, and sometimes when I'm feeling fanciful I do indeed like to imagine or even convince myself I am from a parallel earth where minor details about things are definitely different because I remember them "wrongly" so vividly, it would be MORE fair of a world if my memory was flawless and thus proof that I am a world wrangler of some kind. I don't believe that. that's not my reality.
But that's my point, from an evidentiary perspective trying to prove you are from a parallel universe is like trying help Sisyphus take a break, or trying to reconstruct the 'original' ship of Theseus even whilst the ship is still arguably here. it's not impossible per se, but what does it even mean man? is it even possible? does it even make sense to say outloud? ...or is it just some gnome chopsky meaninful gibberish type stuff?
mind-blown... but whilst they might not be from a alternate universe, because that would imply that evidentiarily there would be some kind of coordinate to visit where they come from... is it really wrong to say they're from an alternate reality? I'd argue no, reality is a word that linguists bitch about, because in English we use the same word and spread it over a couple of separate concepts, the physical present as the arithmetic mean of measurers' consensus has it, and then present internal personal experience. both are reality.
I mean if you stick something friggin cold on my skin, I might experience an internal reality of paradoxical heat, whilst someone peeping through a thermal imaging cam would experience a physical external measurement of me being exposed to extreme cold.
which one is "true"?
well for us, "us" the cold is true, but for me, myself, I, alone; the hot was what I felt most vividly, that's "my truth" as the south of the USA annoyingly puts it. (the idea that truth isn't singular still annoys me).
(TRUTH is singular, but I'd argue TRUTH is also beyond the perceptual capacity of mortals)
we don't converge on truth we converge on measurable contemporary consensus about our perceived external reality, which as luck would have it is practically the same as truth but slightly different. We'll never know if the universal constants we take for granted are just one click away from some cosmic teenager tweaking a couple setting on their screensaver and erasing us from existence, and since we can't measure this cosmic teenager, we don't bother about them, but hey, maybe someday they'll get bored of their current screensaver, we'll all just kind of disintegrate like when Thanos Snapped in the Marvel End Game event.
Just minding our own business and then atoms all over the world turn to jelly when exposed to sunlight or something. not likely according to what we know, but we know we can't know everything, so just be grateful it isn't our current reality and continue taking thing for what they appear to be for now I guess.
As for internal reality, that's what's driving me to write this. that's what drove you here for whatever reason. we have more direct contact with internal reality, external reality is just some consistent pattern pattern we or you or I feel internally as if we have less control over it than we do over our thoughts, so it feels external, whether or not reality warpers that can bend reality just as easily as you can choose to compose a naughty joke in your head exist, that's a matter for science fiction writers and philosophers and fringe bio-physics researchers.
And subtractively some people have more intrusive thoughts than controlled thoughts, some people have and other people don't have inner voices; some people have high resolution internal imaging software for pictures and sounds that they vividly hallucinate at will, other people have very delicate and subtle to no imagination capacity, if we can subtract from inner reality it makes sense to imagine that adding to it is not out of the question.
is control and perception of your limbs inner reality? yes, but does it have some small interference effect on this external reality we feel exposed to... (rather than as familiar with as a bodily or mental sensation) ...sometimes, not if you're percieving the movement of a severed or paralyzed limb though.
what about dreams, they can feel just as external as the waking world, but with this weird capacity to exist on a scale of externality to internality, a lucid dream, is basically what the external world would be like if your thoughts could reshape it at will. I find that depressing, so maybe my soul if you believe in that sort of thing cordoned off its godlike powers to enter a simulation (this place) willing so that it could feel the comfort of a world that is managed by relatively firm seeming laws, rather than one where my intrusive thoughts might erase things from history or change the people I love without their consent, maybe this "external"/"physical" universe is like a mental hospital for reality warpers who have intrusive thoughts, and we belong to some hive mind species from an external universe, but we're in therapy right now, to learn to tell the difference between concepts that are important to our ilk, and or to just be allowed to safely be ourselves without accidentally committing super powered crimes against our ilk unintentionally.
for most people under most circumstances in this world a thought does not immediately cause an action, our mind subconsciously proposes several possible actions and we analyze them come to a few conclusions pit those conclusions against eachother, and then let the winner lead us to the most victorious action/behavior chain, and then immediately after doing all of that subconsciously we become consciously aware of our behaviors, make up some random likely rationale for why we chose those behaviors, and then we sit back and enjoy the show as the consequences of our conscious and subconscious choices roll in, which we consciously and subconsciously react to and mull over to lead to hopefully better decisions in the future, or atleast that's my understanding of the gist of it.
now what if that whole automatic suggestion of possible actions we could take, which we you know, think of as a good thing, is actually a mental illness in some culture we don't know we belong to, and when combined with our mental reflexive power to warp reality, makes us basically their cultures version of violently reactive psychopaths, but because they can read minds they don't harbor ill will towards us, they just know we're not put together correctly, so they've made us a new type of external reality that neutralizes our bad nature and allows us to live with this incurable mental illness in a safe environment with the opportunity to seize happy lives for ourselves?
If our minds were wiped after the simulation box was activated around us, I mean it's just a scifi twist on the allegory of the cave, and the matrix did pretty much it similarly.
but what this does illustrate besides my urge to do creative writing, is that internal and external reality are separated by a fuzzy line, if there's even a line there at all.
Yet whilst on one hand the boundary is so ill defined it looks more like a continuum.
On the other hand the boundary is night and day.
I don't live in your fricken head, and if you live in mine you've been really respectful cos I haven't noticed ya.
and people get hurt because the way they think things works is proven wrong the hard way and it sends them to the hospital all the time.
Like oh, petting this bear is a smart decision... ...3 hours later, wakes up on the hospital bed feeling drowsy and with strange sensations in random parts of the body, nurse leans over face: "your lucky to be alive" says the nurse.
because guess what, weirdly it's obvious what's part of your reality and what's part of our reality, until you try to give a fuck, then it's nonobvious again.
circling back around, are people whom genuinely feel as though they are from alternate realities crazy? maybe.
Are they actually experiencing what it is like to be from an alternate reality? yes, absolutely, they know how strange it feels, to them it is real, their experience is valid, and their feelings matter!!
No I speculated about meta-realities a couple times here (realities that are outside "the matrix" as the kids say). but I haven't like vividly experienced a meta-reality, infact most people want "out" I want in deeper, I'm a gamer and a dreamer, I want more of the good stuff, and for me that's a machine of my own making within the machine we all call home, If I were Plato in the cave, and I escaped my shackles, I'd go spelunking for a deeper cave and a better fire, I wouldn't worry about what the sun was on about or how fresh feels superior to grimey cave air, I'd be ALL about my shadow puppets man, and differently colored fires, pretty much the only way that I'd be bothered to leave the cave, would be to get supplies to pimp out my cave. That's just my perception of myself, and it's valid.
You wanna leave, well, don't kill yourself illegally, but when you die of natural causes, for find a legally sanctioned way to off yourself under the supervision of the law and behind a lot of red tape to ensure that you are just clinically depressed and trying to fix temporary problems with permanent solutions... ...like, leave, you're not my hostage. I care. I want you to be happy. but my cave's not for everybody and I respect if you've had enough of this ride man. #love by the way please really don't kill yourself without asking your local family and municipalities for permission, suicide is like vigilante justice mixed with self harm, it might seem cool if you're emotionally stunted in some way, but Pheonix Jones ("the only real life superhero" look him up.) allegedly (and I use that word mostly to avoid being sued) allegedly turned out to be a drug dealer, that's how he got money for his cool hero cave and his bullet proof armor and stun sticks and fancy form fitting outfit and probably a lot of the stuff that made him seem cool... drug dealer... "I'm gonna save people can't swim" he says, jumping into the pool, without knowing how to swim.
Beating up people for the minor crime of being drunken assholes, meanwhile secretly a hardcore drug dealer.
Don't idolize the people who beat people up for fame, idolize the people who give food to homeless people and money to shelter programs.
Likewise don't idolize suicide, your valuable, and I know you don't know anymore about the afterlife than I do, nobody has measured it thus far so your playing bingo and Russian roulette at the same time when you die, is Shiva the master of all things? Is Santa clause? AM I GONNA BECOME AN ELF WHEN I DIE!? Who the fuck knows, it's a bad idea to fuck around and find out. So step back from that ledge my friend. maybe we're all just shopping mall mannequins who dream of being alive and each time we die we wake up paralyzed and faceless and powerless trapped in our own bodies and ignored by everyone save those whom want to vandalize us and dress us up in clothes we're not allowed to pick for ourselves, and maybe we're even telepathically subjected to the thoughts of every soul in the mall from the others like us to the selfish shoppers to the rats in the ventilation shafts, and then these moments of fleeting life our the most precious things to our existence until our plastic bodies gradually get buried beneath the earth or overgrown of abandoned malls and country dumps and thousands of years later we enter the geological cycle and are crushed and melted by the powers of the earth into unrecognizable forms and our minds will be set back to the carefree lives of amorphous inorganic formless chemical floating across the universe as we once were before some chemist in a lab trapped us into the form of a plastic press fit human sculpture... ...you don't know man... you may only get to live like us in your dreams and who knows what schedule a mannequin dreams on... most people think you're inanimate and you only get to feel the pleasures and pains of life for yourself when you have blessed dreams like these. So don't throw this dream way.
If you are in a dark place, and want to kill yourself to fix it, I find that to be a kind of paradoxical optimism. you really think that it'll be better on the outside? when has anyone ever said, "man I am so glad I have to go to work and stop playing my favorite videogame." NEVER (unless they meant in hindsight because they met their future romantic partner during an otherwise normal work day, but aside from uncommon exceptions nobody says that!) life is a game, you're stuck on a hard part right now, don't press the quit button, because the haters are invading, and the world needs more good people like you alive in it, so that other good people can live comfortable lives, and possible share that happiness with you down the road once they find out what a cool person you are!!
Now that I've gotten the "who knows what's out" the "are they really crazy" and the "please don't commit suicide willy nilly" out of the way, let's get back to wrapping things up, this is a quasi-conlang, it's like a framework that any written language can squeeze into to augment itself.
It's a graph that you can put pictures numbers petroglyphs or ideograms on, whatever is your speed.
If you write really small you can fit all of the information on the graph and then just use A FRIGGIN MAGNIFYING GLASS (or microscope honestly) to read back what you wrote to yourself, alternatively you can make citations that lead elsewhere wherehaps there is more writing space :-)
then you fill out the glyph with your maximum literary capacity, take a break, comeback, read everything again and internalize it and mentally partition it to each aspect of the Yugen Glyph, then you stand back and look at the Yugen Glyph one last time fully appreciating it by picturing all of the aspects of this particular version of the glyph, in simultaneity and symmetric juxtaposition. this isn't just the concept in some idealized platonic form, this is much much cooler than that; it's your inner world's platonic atomic unit of that concept, albeit, you're now able to reflect and express full perception that your past self had...
....and sadly as a state cannot fully observe itself without changing and thus getting caught in one of those nasty infinite polymorphic loops, the moment you fill this graph out in whatever languages of your choice... (I'm gonna mix english with my emoglyphs with this graph/wrapper because english is my native language and my emoglyphs depict other important aspects of the inner reality in great detail) ...is the moment you confront this concept in its truest form as you are currently capable of perceiving it. Some things like to change the moment you observe them. You may go, "oh wait I can add more details now..." or "oh wait, it suddenly feels different to me now that I've gotten a good look at the way I'm looking at it". and that's okay, this sort of pulls the concept out of your body.
I forgot whether it was Sophie's world (a book I read a long time ago) or an actual philosopher who gave this example, but basically rivers are always flowing, their only constant is change, humans are much the same way. When a person is standing in a river they are in sync with the river they are closely acquainted with this river, they are one with the flow and the flow has become one with them. Then when that same person steps out of the river to go dry off and get a snack, they are obviously no longer one, but when that person eventually comes back to that river, even if they stand in the same map coordinate as before, them and the river have to get reacquainted, as they have fallen out of sync, it's a new river, there are new grains of sand under this person's feet, and this person isn't quiet as young as the last person, even if they are technically "the same person" according to the memory and experiences of this new person.
These concepts are like people standing in the river of your mind, and my Yugen Glyph is like some mystical force that can eject them from you, so that you can get reacquainted with them in your own right, or distribute them to other rivers to help you propagate and introduce some concepts native to you into the public zeitgeist.
Some of these concepts are like people who have entered you by force and then become one with your flow, others are like the local wildlife that has been a part of your flow in a flowing away eversince your flow first formed, either way the intent of these Yugen Glyphs is to empower you to control the ecosystem of your flow and the flows around you better, because everything is connected and power of concepts is itself a powerful concept.
The YugenGlyph filled with placeholder text that you might need to zoom in on super closely to read in some parts... lol XD.
The Blank conceptogram for you to save and print out and draw on. If you ask me nicely, I'll make a printer friendly version, but you have to beg and make me feel like royalty XD JK lol, nah, if any body is interested in printer friendly just ask I'll simplify the design add some patterns to compensate for the lack of color (black and white no gray) and then I'll be like \"K, here, you can play with it now.\" :-)
---------------------------
the end that's it you made it
---------------------------
postamble: remember this is a prototype I may adopt more than one thing as my "Yugen Glyphs" before I settle on a final design.
This is MK1 of an unknown incoming number of Yugen glyphs, please offer creative stirrings to me.
I'm not really open to criticism at the moment as I'm, just doing this to get steam out and hence don't care for advice on how to do it right, it's an energy sponge project, it's here to capture my excess energy and channel it into something non-destructive and it is doing its job very well I can attest to that. if it bothers you that I don't care, no one is making you hang out with me, just leave, stop torturing yourself it encourages my evil side to laugh at you. (rightfully so since you coming here to complain would be self inflicted psychic slapstick comedy in a way)
submitted by External_Factor2516 to u/External_Factor2516 [link] [comments]
Put numbers where the text in the example is, put that numbered up version of the graph, on the front page of a document or sub-document, and then use bulleted paragraphs, or bulleted hyperlinks to parallel documents, and in each paragraph or parallel document: be as detailed or vague as is your accurate impression of the subject.
for example someone who really loves mathematics, will have a very detailed and huge document tree centered around this graph about their impression of math, and what is the opposite of math? for some folks the opposite is literal Nothingness with a capital N because math is Everything with a capital E. For others, the opposite of math is social studies, or art (people who think math and art are opposites, I mean I'd like to have a word with them, and would like to impress upon you that I think they are WRONG!! because perspective and symmetry and even the chemistry of the optics of our perceptions and neurochemistry of our impressions- all of art, is just layers... and layers... of math, but at the same time I feel why they may be misguided into that perception, because math not as a subject but as discipline is rather rigid whereas art is like Bob Ross' TV persona, it embraces mistakes as a part of the process whereas math as a discipline sternly rejects them! but math the subject and math the discipline are two different animals, math the subject is just pattern recognition and construction taken into the furthest reaches of human capacity as an elevated artform. so math the discipline is a bit like professor Snape from Terfy/Harry Potter, math the subject is a friggin kaleidoscopic rainbow of infinite imagination and possibilities, math professors create worlds with the best of em man. Like portraits of possibility written out like the rules to an otherwise inconceivable game! I love math! I hate being taught it, but I LOVE exploring it!!!! Just as much as I love a good anime or trip to the art museum or a fun creative novel or cool visual patterns on cute clothing Math Art what's the difference really, art is just math with fun inaccuracies, math with wiggle room, but they'll always be two heads attached to the same Demogorgon)
I rambled... where was I.... Yes, I may disagree with someone who thinks art and math are opposites but disagreement, truckloads of it, all of the disagreement that is physically capable of existing in the same place at once without collapsing into a blackhole, none of it will invalidate their experience and that's what this linguistic wrapper is about. It's about...
...Dreams Nightmares The Holy Spirit, Trips to the depths of Hell, good days and bad days, weird experiences that last only a fleeting instant and leave a deep impression. All of that.
Doesn't matter if you believe in it or not, because the it as it was perceived may not exist, whilst at the same time (and read this maybe a few times) the it as a perception is irrefutable.
Peoples WRONG >-( feelings are still valid man... I mean you may think drinking your own pee kept you hydrated in the desert and drinking alcohol kept you warm in the tundra, you'd be oh so very wrong (to the point of nearly killing yourself) but that comfort you felt when you thought you were surviving in the wilderness like a pro, that was real, the way misinformation was munched on by your brain like it was the good stuff, that was also very real and you, yourself are valid no matter what.
Like what is reality? that's a linguistic question more than a scientific one.
If you define it as what is felt to be real, then hey, people who remember shit vividly, even when it's factually incorrect, like how myself among many others remember the Bearenstein Bears, whom according to all outside stimuli I generally trust, were actually historically always the Bearenstain Bears, and likely because of the cartoon introduction pronouncing it with a thick accent, and me reading them when my trained mental optical character recognition skills for the english language were at a fledging capacity because I was very very VERY young, my ears hear the woman with the thick accent call them Bearenstein, my eyes were not yet trained to strongly discriminate between "a" and "e". I can safely conclude I remembered it wrong and was the victim of multimodal confusion.
However a good deal of people have come to a much cooler set of conclusions; ready?!
They believe that either A) they are from a parallel history that was destroyed by something and their souls migrated here; B) that a bunch of very skilled book ninjas replaced every book with an identically weathered copy of itself except for small changes to the print, or C) that God did like the ninjas in the previous example did, and either physically changed history but left some of us with a spiritual memory of our alternate history for whatever reason, or to the same effect God just did as the ninjas in the previous example did and used God power to rearrange the ink on every page of the books.
Hey those conclusions are wild, and sometimes when I'm feeling fanciful I do indeed like to imagine or even convince myself I am from a parallel earth where minor details about things are definitely different because I remember them "wrongly" so vividly, it would be MORE fair of a world if my memory was flawless and thus proof that I am a world wrangler of some kind. I don't believe that. that's not my reality.
But that's my point, from an evidentiary perspective trying to prove you are from a parallel universe is like trying help Sisyphus take a break, or trying to reconstruct the 'original' ship of Theseus even whilst the ship is still arguably here. it's not impossible per se, but what does it even mean man? is it even possible? does it even make sense to say outloud? ...or is it just some gnome chopsky meaninful gibberish type stuff?
mind-blown... but whilst they might not be from a alternate universe, because that would imply that evidentiarily there would be some kind of coordinate to visit where they come from... is it really wrong to say they're from an alternate reality? I'd argue no, reality is a word that linguists bitch about, because in English we use the same word and spread it over a couple of separate concepts, the physical present as the arithmetic mean of measurers' consensus has it, and then present internal personal experience. both are reality.
I mean if you stick something friggin cold on my skin, I might experience an internal reality of paradoxical heat, whilst someone peeping through a thermal imaging cam would experience a physical external measurement of me being exposed to extreme cold.
which one is "true"?
well for us, "us" the cold is true, but for me, myself, I, alone; the hot was what I felt most vividly, that's "my truth" as the south of the USA annoyingly puts it. (the idea that truth isn't singular still annoys me).
(TRUTH is singular, but I'd argue TRUTH is also beyond the perceptual capacity of mortals)
we don't converge on truth we converge on measurable contemporary consensus about our perceived external reality, which as luck would have it is practically the same as truth but slightly different. We'll never know if the universal constants we take for granted are just one click away from some cosmic teenager tweaking a couple setting on their screensaver and erasing us from existence, and since we can't measure this cosmic teenager, we don't bother about them, but hey, maybe someday they'll get bored of their current screensaver, we'll all just kind of disintegrate like when Thanos Snapped in the Marvel End Game event.
Just minding our own business and then atoms all over the world turn to jelly when exposed to sunlight or something. not likely according to what we know, but we know we can't know everything, so just be grateful it isn't our current reality and continue taking thing for what they appear to be for now I guess.
As for internal reality, that's what's driving me to write this. that's what drove you here for whatever reason. we have more direct contact with internal reality, external reality is just some consistent pattern pattern we or you or I feel internally as if we have less control over it than we do over our thoughts, so it feels external, whether or not reality warpers that can bend reality just as easily as you can choose to compose a naughty joke in your head exist, that's a matter for science fiction writers and philosophers and fringe bio-physics researchers.
And subtractively some people have more intrusive thoughts than controlled thoughts, some people have and other people don't have inner voices; some people have high resolution internal imaging software for pictures and sounds that they vividly hallucinate at will, other people have very delicate and subtle to no imagination capacity, if we can subtract from inner reality it makes sense to imagine that adding to it is not out of the question.
is control and perception of your limbs inner reality? yes, but does it have some small interference effect on this external reality we feel exposed to... (rather than as familiar with as a bodily or mental sensation) ...sometimes, not if you're percieving the movement of a severed or paralyzed limb though.
what about dreams, they can feel just as external as the waking world, but with this weird capacity to exist on a scale of externality to internality, a lucid dream, is basically what the external world would be like if your thoughts could reshape it at will. I find that depressing, so maybe my soul if you believe in that sort of thing cordoned off its godlike powers to enter a simulation (this place) willing so that it could feel the comfort of a world that is managed by relatively firm seeming laws, rather than one where my intrusive thoughts might erase things from history or change the people I love without their consent, maybe this "external"/"physical" universe is like a mental hospital for reality warpers who have intrusive thoughts, and we belong to some hive mind species from an external universe, but we're in therapy right now, to learn to tell the difference between concepts that are important to our ilk, and or to just be allowed to safely be ourselves without accidentally committing super powered crimes against our ilk unintentionally.
for most people under most circumstances in this world a thought does not immediately cause an action, our mind subconsciously proposes several possible actions and we analyze them come to a few conclusions pit those conclusions against eachother, and then let the winner lead us to the most victorious action/behavior chain, and then immediately after doing all of that subconsciously we become consciously aware of our behaviors, make up some random likely rationale for why we chose those behaviors, and then we sit back and enjoy the show as the consequences of our conscious and subconscious choices roll in, which we consciously and subconsciously react to and mull over to lead to hopefully better decisions in the future, or atleast that's my understanding of the gist of it.
now what if that whole automatic suggestion of possible actions we could take, which we you know, think of as a good thing, is actually a mental illness in some culture we don't know we belong to, and when combined with our mental reflexive power to warp reality, makes us basically their cultures version of violently reactive psychopaths, but because they can read minds they don't harbor ill will towards us, they just know we're not put together correctly, so they've made us a new type of external reality that neutralizes our bad nature and allows us to live with this incurable mental illness in a safe environment with the opportunity to seize happy lives for ourselves?
If our minds were wiped after the simulation box was activated around us, I mean it's just a scifi twist on the allegory of the cave, and the matrix did pretty much it similarly.
but what this does illustrate besides my urge to do creative writing, is that internal and external reality are separated by a fuzzy line, if there's even a line there at all.
Yet whilst on one hand the boundary is so ill defined it looks more like a continuum.
On the other hand the boundary is night and day.
I don't live in your fricken head, and if you live in mine you've been really respectful cos I haven't noticed ya.
and people get hurt because the way they think things works is proven wrong the hard way and it sends them to the hospital all the time.
Like oh, petting this bear is a smart decision... ...3 hours later, wakes up on the hospital bed feeling drowsy and with strange sensations in random parts of the body, nurse leans over face: "your lucky to be alive" says the nurse.
because guess what, weirdly it's obvious what's part of your reality and what's part of our reality, until you try to give a fuck, then it's nonobvious again.
circling back around, are people whom genuinely feel as though they are from alternate realities crazy? maybe.
Are they actually experiencing what it is like to be from an alternate reality? yes, absolutely, they know how strange it feels, to them it is real, their experience is valid, and their feelings matter!!
No I speculated about meta-realities a couple times here (realities that are outside "the matrix" as the kids say). but I haven't like vividly experienced a meta-reality, infact most people want "out" I want in deeper, I'm a gamer and a dreamer, I want more of the good stuff, and for me that's a machine of my own making within the machine we all call home, If I were Plato in the cave, and I escaped my shackles, I'd go spelunking for a deeper cave and a better fire, I wouldn't worry about what the sun was on about or how fresh feels superior to grimey cave air, I'd be ALL about my shadow puppets man, and differently colored fires, pretty much the only way that I'd be bothered to leave the cave, would be to get supplies to pimp out my cave. That's just my perception of myself, and it's valid.
You wanna leave, well, don't kill yourself illegally, but when you die of natural causes, for find a legally sanctioned way to off yourself under the supervision of the law and behind a lot of red tape to ensure that you are just clinically depressed and trying to fix temporary problems with permanent solutions... ...like, leave, you're not my hostage. I care. I want you to be happy. but my cave's not for everybody and I respect if you've had enough of this ride man. #love by the way please really don't kill yourself without asking your local family and municipalities for permission, suicide is like vigilante justice mixed with self harm, it might seem cool if you're emotionally stunted in some way, but Pheonix Jones ("the only real life superhero" look him up.) allegedly (and I use that word mostly to avoid being sued) allegedly turned out to be a drug dealer, that's how he got money for his cool hero cave and his bullet proof armor and stun sticks and fancy form fitting outfit and probably a lot of the stuff that made him seem cool... drug dealer... "I'm gonna save people can't swim" he says, jumping into the pool, without knowing how to swim.
Beating up people for the minor crime of being drunken assholes, meanwhile secretly a hardcore drug dealer.
Don't idolize the people who beat people up for fame, idolize the people who give food to homeless people and money to shelter programs.
Likewise don't idolize suicide, your valuable, and I know you don't know anymore about the afterlife than I do, nobody has measured it thus far so your playing bingo and Russian roulette at the same time when you die, is Shiva the master of all things? Is Santa clause? AM I GONNA BECOME AN ELF WHEN I DIE!? Who the fuck knows, it's a bad idea to fuck around and find out. So step back from that ledge my friend. maybe we're all just shopping mall mannequins who dream of being alive and each time we die we wake up paralyzed and faceless and powerless trapped in our own bodies and ignored by everyone save those whom want to vandalize us and dress us up in clothes we're not allowed to pick for ourselves, and maybe we're even telepathically subjected to the thoughts of every soul in the mall from the others like us to the selfish shoppers to the rats in the ventilation shafts, and then these moments of fleeting life our the most precious things to our existence until our plastic bodies gradually get buried beneath the earth or overgrown of abandoned malls and country dumps and thousands of years later we enter the geological cycle and are crushed and melted by the powers of the earth into unrecognizable forms and our minds will be set back to the carefree lives of amorphous inorganic formless chemical floating across the universe as we once were before some chemist in a lab trapped us into the form of a plastic press fit human sculpture... ...you don't know man... you may only get to live like us in your dreams and who knows what schedule a mannequin dreams on... most people think you're inanimate and you only get to feel the pleasures and pains of life for yourself when you have blessed dreams like these. So don't throw this dream way.
If you are in a dark place, and want to kill yourself to fix it, I find that to be a kind of paradoxical optimism. you really think that it'll be better on the outside? when has anyone ever said, "man I am so glad I have to go to work and stop playing my favorite videogame." NEVER (unless they meant in hindsight because they met their future romantic partner during an otherwise normal work day, but aside from uncommon exceptions nobody says that!) life is a game, you're stuck on a hard part right now, don't press the quit button, because the haters are invading, and the world needs more good people like you alive in it, so that other good people can live comfortable lives, and possible share that happiness with you down the road once they find out what a cool person you are!!
Now that I've gotten the "who knows what's out" the "are they really crazy" and the "please don't commit suicide willy nilly" out of the way, let's get back to wrapping things up, this is a quasi-conlang, it's like a framework that any written language can squeeze into to augment itself.
It's a graph that you can put pictures numbers petroglyphs or ideograms on, whatever is your speed.
If you write really small you can fit all of the information on the graph and then just use A FRIGGIN MAGNIFYING GLASS (or microscope honestly) to read back what you wrote to yourself, alternatively you can make citations that lead elsewhere wherehaps there is more writing space :-)
then you fill out the glyph with your maximum literary capacity, take a break, comeback, read everything again and internalize it and mentally partition it to each aspect of the Yugen Glyph, then you stand back and look at the Yugen Glyph one last time fully appreciating it by picturing all of the aspects of this particular version of the glyph, in simultaneity and symmetric juxtaposition. this isn't just the concept in some idealized platonic form, this is much much cooler than that; it's your inner world's platonic atomic unit of that concept, albeit, you're now able to reflect and express full perception that your past self had...
....and sadly as a state cannot fully observe itself without changing and thus getting caught in one of those nasty infinite polymorphic loops, the moment you fill this graph out in whatever languages of your choice... (I'm gonna mix english with my emoglyphs with this graph/wrapper because english is my native language and my emoglyphs depict other important aspects of the inner reality in great detail) ...is the moment you confront this concept in its truest form as you are currently capable of perceiving it. Some things like to change the moment you observe them. You may go, "oh wait I can add more details now..." or "oh wait, it suddenly feels different to me now that I've gotten a good look at the way I'm looking at it". and that's okay, this sort of pulls the concept out of your body.
I forgot whether it was Sophie's world (a book I read a long time ago) or an actual philosopher who gave this example, but basically rivers are always flowing, their only constant is change, humans are much the same way. When a person is standing in a river they are in sync with the river they are closely acquainted with this river, they are one with the flow and the flow has become one with them. Then when that same person steps out of the river to go dry off and get a snack, they are obviously no longer one, but when that person eventually comes back to that river, even if they stand in the same map coordinate as before, them and the river have to get reacquainted, as they have fallen out of sync, it's a new river, there are new grains of sand under this person's feet, and this person isn't quiet as young as the last person, even if they are technically "the same person" according to the memory and experiences of this new person.
These concepts are like people standing in the river of your mind, and my Yugen Glyph is like some mystical force that can eject them from you, so that you can get reacquainted with them in your own right, or distribute them to other rivers to help you propagate and introduce some concepts native to you into the public zeitgeist.
Some of these concepts are like people who have entered you by force and then become one with your flow, others are like the local wildlife that has been a part of your flow in a flowing away eversince your flow first formed, either way the intent of these Yugen Glyphs is to empower you to control the ecosystem of your flow and the flows around you better, because everything is connected and power of concepts is itself a powerful concept.
The YugenGlyph filled with placeholder text that you might need to zoom in on super closely to read in some parts... lol XD.
The Blank conceptogram for you to save and print out and draw on. If you ask me nicely, I'll make a printer friendly version, but you have to beg and make me feel like royalty XD JK lol, nah, if any body is interested in printer friendly just ask I'll simplify the design add some patterns to compensate for the lack of color (black and white no gray) and then I'll be like \"K, here, you can play with it now.\" :-)
---------------------------
the end that's it you made it
---------------------------
postamble: remember this is a prototype I may adopt more than one thing as my "Yugen Glyphs" before I settle on a final design.
This is MK1 of an unknown incoming number of Yugen glyphs, please offer creative stirrings to me.
I'm not really open to criticism at the moment as I'm, just doing this to get steam out and hence don't care for advice on how to do it right, it's an energy sponge project, it's here to capture my excess energy and channel it into something non-destructive and it is doing its job very well I can attest to that. if it bothers you that I don't care, no one is making you hang out with me, just leave, stop torturing yourself it encourages my evil side to laugh at you. (rightfully so since you coming here to complain would be self inflicted psychic slapstick comedy in a way)
2023.06.04 23:44 Fresh-Heat865 Gerbil enclosure question. Is air dry terra cotta clay, gerbil proof? Or can they chew through it?
I have a tall metal cabinet (with glass doors) that has 100% acrylic with no VOC paint on the inside of enclosure. Is there an acrylic top coat that’s safe for gerbils that I should use or is it unnecessary? And I want to use air dry terracotta clay to cover the silicone so my gerbil doesn’t chew it. Would the terra-cotta work?
submitted by Fresh-Heat865 to gerbil [link] [comments]
2023.06.04 23:44 i_want_a_tortilla Why do I eat foods I don’t actually like?? Can anyone relate?
this happens a lot to me and I’m hoping to find some support.
specific example: Went to dinner w the family. I ordered something that wasn’t actually that good. I was pretty full after eating just half of my meal, I also ate chips n salsa and a full glass of water.
I took the remainder of my plate to-go.
a few hrs later I microwaved it and ate the rest. When I was done I was just upset w myself because I didn’t enjoy it the first time, why would I even take it home?!
I do this with a lot of food. I wish I could be “picky” and refuse food but truth is , I want to try it, and even if I think it’s just “so so” I still eat.
is there a better fitting sub for this kind of support?
submitted by i_want_a_tortilla to loseit [link] [comments]
specific example: Went to dinner w the family. I ordered something that wasn’t actually that good. I was pretty full after eating just half of my meal, I also ate chips n salsa and a full glass of water.
I took the remainder of my plate to-go.
a few hrs later I microwaved it and ate the rest. When I was done I was just upset w myself because I didn’t enjoy it the first time, why would I even take it home?!
I do this with a lot of food. I wish I could be “picky” and refuse food but truth is , I want to try it, and even if I think it’s just “so so” I still eat.
is there a better fitting sub for this kind of support?
2023.06.04 23:43 blueydgiglr Roaring 20s ideas for a Murder Mystery event
I’m participating in a virtual murder mystery game via Zoom. My character is a nosy, eavesdropping waitress that hates the rich and likes to spread rumors. Lol. Any ideas for making some props with my Circut?
Maybe a serving tray with some champagne glasses or something to sell? It doesn’t need to be complicated or anything.
submitted by blueydgiglr to cricut [link] [comments]
Maybe a serving tray with some champagne glasses or something to sell? It doesn’t need to be complicated or anything.
2023.06.04 23:41 InternetTraumatized Today's sermon, from an Orthodox church
Every Sunday, or whenever it is possible, I give a recap of the sermon I heard at church today. I often alternate between Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches.
Today's readings:
Numbers 11:16-17,24-29
In an earlier sermon we discussed why we say specifically “Christ is risen,” and not “Jesus is risen.” We said that it is unremarkable for a man named Jesus, or for instance Lazarus, to be resurrected; as we saw with the latter, this was only a resuscitation to life which still ended up again in death. It is a resurrection to earthly life. But to say Christ is risen has another implication altogether: resurrection to heavenly life.
By His resurrection Jesus teaches us three lessons. Let's review them.
First: Jesus rose from the dead with our very flesh. By His rising from the dead, which is our rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrates the inherent dignity of the human being, which not even death can keep confined. He demonstrates this further by His apparition to Thomas, displaying His very human wounds in His risen body, and by His glorious ascension to the right hand of God by which man is given his place right at the side of God. By His resurrection, Jesus displays the design of God for mankind: to elevate us above everything else.
Second: Jesus puts our humanity above the angels. Indeed, the angels were made to serve not only God but also man. See how the angels advised Abraham (in Genesis 18), saved Lot from Sodom (in Genesis 19), and guided Tobias (in Tobit). As stated in Hebrews 2:5-18, the world was not made to be ruled by angels, but to be ruled by human beings, which Jesus Christ fulfilled in His person. However, Lucifer, the devil, did not accept this, and inflamed himself with pride and revolted because he refused to serve man.
Third: “Christ” means the Messiah, the One sent by God Whom the Jews expected, and today still expect; our belief that the Christ has come as Jesus may be the only thing differenciating us from them, they who are our elder brothers in the faith. To say the One sent by God is risen is to say that God's promise, incarnated and recapitulated in this person, never dies; it remains with us forever, nothing can keep it away from us. This is why, during the Divine Liturgy, we answer to each other “Christ is in our midst—He is and ever shall be.” The Ascension does not contradict this: it is not the farewell of Jesus, but on the contrary the pledge of His everlasting presence. It is the fulfillment of His words in His last discourse (John 16:7): “If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
The Gospel of John often speaks of the Paraclete, which is translated as the Helper but also means the Advocate, Defender, Intercessor. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth. He is the mean by which His words after His resurrection will come true (Matthew 28:20): “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The coming of the Holy Spirit is the permanent presence of Jesus with us. As He also told the Apostles (John 14:16-17): “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
Therefore the Lord sends us His Holy Spirit and remains with us forever, not in His physical presence but in His spiritual presence. Led and empowered and accompanied by Him, nothing is required of us, except for one thing: to know the Spirit. St. Seraphim of Sarov taught plainly that the aim of the Christian life is nothing else but the acquisition and intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit. To this end, let us at least pray daily, morning and evening, from Pentecost to Easter, this prayer which during that time opens all our prayers: “Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us; cleanse us of every stain and save our souls, gracious One.” Let us also always keep everyday in ourselves the promise of Jesus' enduring and permanent presence in and with us, which becomes a fountain of joy and vivifying comfort and consolation for our troubles. Amen.
submitted by InternetTraumatized to Christianity [link] [comments]
Today's readings:
Numbers 11:16-17,24-29
The Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.” So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again. But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!” Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”Joel 2:23-32
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you—the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”John 20:19-31
The same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.Acts 2:1-11
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”John 7:37-52; 8:12
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” So there was a division among the people because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”Today is the feast of Pentecost, and the end of the Paschal season which covers Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost. It is the culmination of the event of the resurrection.
In an earlier sermon we discussed why we say specifically “Christ is risen,” and not “Jesus is risen.” We said that it is unremarkable for a man named Jesus, or for instance Lazarus, to be resurrected; as we saw with the latter, this was only a resuscitation to life which still ended up again in death. It is a resurrection to earthly life. But to say Christ is risen has another implication altogether: resurrection to heavenly life.
By His resurrection Jesus teaches us three lessons. Let's review them.
First: Jesus rose from the dead with our very flesh. By His rising from the dead, which is our rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrates the inherent dignity of the human being, which not even death can keep confined. He demonstrates this further by His apparition to Thomas, displaying His very human wounds in His risen body, and by His glorious ascension to the right hand of God by which man is given his place right at the side of God. By His resurrection, Jesus displays the design of God for mankind: to elevate us above everything else.
Second: Jesus puts our humanity above the angels. Indeed, the angels were made to serve not only God but also man. See how the angels advised Abraham (in Genesis 18), saved Lot from Sodom (in Genesis 19), and guided Tobias (in Tobit). As stated in Hebrews 2:5-18, the world was not made to be ruled by angels, but to be ruled by human beings, which Jesus Christ fulfilled in His person. However, Lucifer, the devil, did not accept this, and inflamed himself with pride and revolted because he refused to serve man.
Third: “Christ” means the Messiah, the One sent by God Whom the Jews expected, and today still expect; our belief that the Christ has come as Jesus may be the only thing differenciating us from them, they who are our elder brothers in the faith. To say the One sent by God is risen is to say that God's promise, incarnated and recapitulated in this person, never dies; it remains with us forever, nothing can keep it away from us. This is why, during the Divine Liturgy, we answer to each other “Christ is in our midst—He is and ever shall be.” The Ascension does not contradict this: it is not the farewell of Jesus, but on the contrary the pledge of His everlasting presence. It is the fulfillment of His words in His last discourse (John 16:7): “If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
The Gospel of John often speaks of the Paraclete, which is translated as the Helper but also means the Advocate, Defender, Intercessor. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth. He is the mean by which His words after His resurrection will come true (Matthew 28:20): “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The coming of the Holy Spirit is the permanent presence of Jesus with us. As He also told the Apostles (John 14:16-17): “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
Therefore the Lord sends us His Holy Spirit and remains with us forever, not in His physical presence but in His spiritual presence. Led and empowered and accompanied by Him, nothing is required of us, except for one thing: to know the Spirit. St. Seraphim of Sarov taught plainly that the aim of the Christian life is nothing else but the acquisition and intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit. To this end, let us at least pray daily, morning and evening, from Pentecost to Easter, this prayer which during that time opens all our prayers: “Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us; cleanse us of every stain and save our souls, gracious One.” Let us also always keep everyday in ourselves the promise of Jesus' enduring and permanent presence in and with us, which becomes a fountain of joy and vivifying comfort and consolation for our troubles. Amen.
2023.06.04 23:41 InternetTraumatized Today's sermon, from an Orthodox church
Every Sunday, or whenever it is possible, I give a recap of the sermon I heard at church today. I often alternate between Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches.
Today's readings:
Numbers 11:16-17,24-29
In an earlier sermon we discussed why we say specifically “Christ is risen,” and not “Jesus is risen.” We said that it is unremarkable for a man named Jesus, or for instance Lazarus, to be resurrected; as we saw with the latter, this was only a resuscitation to life which still ended up again in death. It is a resurrection to earthly life. But to say Christ is risen has another implication altogether: resurrection to heavenly life.
By His resurrection Jesus teaches us three lessons. Let's review them.
First: Jesus rose from the dead with our very flesh. By His rising from the dead, which is our rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrates the inherent dignity of the human being, which not even death can keep confined. He demonstrates this further by His apparition to Thomas, displaying His very human wounds in His risen body, and by His glorious ascension to the right hand of God by which man is given his place right at the side of God. By His resurrection, Jesus displays the design of God for mankind: to elevate us above everything else.
Second: Jesus puts our humanity above the angels. Indeed, the angels were made to serve not only God but also man. See how the angels advised Abraham (in Genesis 18), saved Lot from Sodom (in Genesis 19), and guided Tobias (in Tobit). As stated in Hebrews 2:5-18, the world was not made to be ruled by angels, but to be ruled by human beings, which Jesus Christ fulfilled in His person. However, Lucifer, the devil, did not accept this, and inflamed himself with pride and revolted because he refused to serve man.
Third: “Christ” means the Messiah, the One sent by God Whom the Jews expected, and today still expect; our belief that the Christ has come as Jesus may be the only thing differenciating us from them, they who are our elder brothers in the faith. To say the One sent by God is risen is to say that God's promise, incarnated and recapitulated in this person, never dies; it remains with us forever, nothing can keep it away from us. This is why, during the Divine Liturgy, we answer to each other “Christ is in our midst—He is and ever shall be.” The Ascension does not contradict this: it is not the farewell of Jesus, but on the contrary the pledge of His everlasting presence. It is the fulfillment of His words in His last discourse (John 16:7): “If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
The Gospel of John often speaks of the Paraclete, which is translated as the Helper but also means the Advocate, Defender, Intercessor. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth. He is the mean by which His words after His resurrection will come true (Matthew 28:20): “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The coming of the Holy Spirit is the permanent presence of Jesus with us. As He also told the Apostles (John 14:16-17): “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
Therefore the Lord sends us His Holy Spirit and remains with us forever, not in His physical presence but in His spiritual presence. Led and empowered and accompanied by Him, nothing is required of us, except for one thing: to know the Spirit. St. Seraphim of Sarov taught plainly that the aim of the Christian life is nothing else but the acquisition and intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit. To this end, let us at least pray daily, morning and evening, from Pentecost to Easter, this prayer which during that time opens all our prayers: “Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us; cleanse us of every stain and save our souls, gracious One.” Let us also always keep everyday in ourselves the promise of Jesus' enduring and permanent presence in and with us, which becomes a fountain of joy and vivifying comfort and consolation for our troubles. Amen.
submitted by InternetTraumatized to Christendom [link] [comments]
Today's readings:
Numbers 11:16-17,24-29
The Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.” So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again. But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!” Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”Joel 2:23-32
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you—the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”John 20:19-31
The same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.Acts 2:1-11
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”John 7:37-52; 8:12
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” So there was a division among the people because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”Today is the feast of Pentecost, and the end of the Paschal season which covers Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost. It is the culmination of the event of the resurrection.
In an earlier sermon we discussed why we say specifically “Christ is risen,” and not “Jesus is risen.” We said that it is unremarkable for a man named Jesus, or for instance Lazarus, to be resurrected; as we saw with the latter, this was only a resuscitation to life which still ended up again in death. It is a resurrection to earthly life. But to say Christ is risen has another implication altogether: resurrection to heavenly life.
By His resurrection Jesus teaches us three lessons. Let's review them.
First: Jesus rose from the dead with our very flesh. By His rising from the dead, which is our rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrates the inherent dignity of the human being, which not even death can keep confined. He demonstrates this further by His apparition to Thomas, displaying His very human wounds in His risen body, and by His glorious ascension to the right hand of God by which man is given his place right at the side of God. By His resurrection, Jesus displays the design of God for mankind: to elevate us above everything else.
Second: Jesus puts our humanity above the angels. Indeed, the angels were made to serve not only God but also man. See how the angels advised Abraham (in Genesis 18), saved Lot from Sodom (in Genesis 19), and guided Tobias (in Tobit). As stated in Hebrews 2:5-18, the world was not made to be ruled by angels, but to be ruled by human beings, which Jesus Christ fulfilled in His person. However, Lucifer, the devil, did not accept this, and inflamed himself with pride and revolted because he refused to serve man.
Third: “Christ” means the Messiah, the One sent by God Whom the Jews expected, and today still expect; our belief that the Christ has come as Jesus may be the only thing differenciating us from them, they who are our elder brothers in the faith. To say the One sent by God is risen is to say that God's promise, incarnated and recapitulated in this person, never dies; it remains with us forever, nothing can keep it away from us. This is why, during the Divine Liturgy, we answer to each other “Christ is in our midst—He is and ever shall be.” The Ascension does not contradict this: it is not the farewell of Jesus, but on the contrary the pledge of His everlasting presence. It is the fulfillment of His words in His last discourse (John 16:7): “If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
The Gospel of John often speaks of the Paraclete, which is translated as the Helper but also means the Advocate, Defender, Intercessor. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth. He is the mean by which His words after His resurrection will come true (Matthew 28:20): “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The coming of the Holy Spirit is the permanent presence of Jesus with us. As He also told the Apostles (John 14:16-17): “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
Therefore the Lord sends us His Holy Spirit and remains with us forever, not in His physical presence but in His spiritual presence. Led and empowered and accompanied by Him, nothing is required of us, except for one thing: to know the Spirit. St. Seraphim of Sarov taught plainly that the aim of the Christian life is nothing else but the acquisition and intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit. To this end, let us at least pray daily, morning and evening, from Pentecost to Easter, this prayer which during that time opens all our prayers: “Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us; cleanse us of every stain and save our souls, gracious One.” Let us also always keep everyday in ourselves the promise of Jesus' enduring and permanent presence in and with us, which becomes a fountain of joy and vivifying comfort and consolation for our troubles. Amen.
2023.06.04 23:37 LongGoneForgotten [Online][5e][18+] Welcome to Barovia Heavily Modified Curse of Strahd Campaign ONGOING Looking For 1-2 Players
“It all seems like a horrible tragedy, with fate pressing on relentlessly to some destined end. Everything that one does seems, no matter how right it may be, to bring on the very thing which is most to be deplored.”—Bram Stoker, Dracula
Welcome to Barovia
Welcome to Barovia, the setting of Curse of Strahd. There's not much you need to know about Barovia before diving in; in fact, the less you know, the better! Mystery adds to horror, and it's certainly the last place to be written about in the history books. However, what you should know are the themes and tones to expect in such a setting, which are explained below.So, what is Barovia? What exactly am I in for? Well...
It is a tense exploration of classic gothic horror tropes and monsters, from werewolves to vampires, ghosts, and more. It is a true sandbox, providing players with the freedom to make their own choices and build the kind of adventure they enjoy. It is an unabashedly character-driven campaign, giving your player character an incredible chance to shine and make their mark on the story your group tells.
However, it is also a brutal, stressful, and alienating experience. Your character will be trapped in a bleak, gothic land quite different from the world they know. The adventure contains several encounters and areas that will likely be far beyond your capabilities when you first encounter them. It does not provide routine or readily-available loot or magical items.
For a player who’s not expecting it, Curse of Strahd can suck. Really suck. Let me put it this way: if you want the freedom to engage in combat and exploration without worrying about the potential risks, this is very possibly not the campaign for you. Likewise, if you are potentially triggered by gruesome depictions of horror or psychologically disturbing relationships, or if you prefer a D&D campaign that features only victories or setbacks (rather than the potential for outright defeat), you might want to try a different module.
“How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.”—Bram Stoker, DraculaYou should play Curse of Strahd if you:
- love gothic horror tropes, as well as themes of temptation and corruption
- want to engage with a character-driven story that pushes you to develop relationships with multiple NPCs and factions, as well as set your own goals and pursue means of achieving them
- enjoy roleplay, investigation, relationship-building, and deadly combat
- enjoy facing an active, powerful, and personally antagonizing villain
Time
Sessions usually last 3 hours, though occasionally may be 4 hours. Sessions are every Tuesday from 8pm EST to 11pm EST.If you're unsure of how to convert this timezone to yours, this is a wonderful tool I use when converting timezones: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com
Character Creation
Warforged, yuan-ti, lineages from VRGR (though these are obtainable as transformations in-game), and races that don't have the Humanoid creature type are not allowed, for reasons pertaining to both setting and balance, as well as the artificer class (setting), and peace domain subclass (balance).I ask that no player characters start the game with an evil alignment. Note, this doesn't mean your character can't turn evil; the setting, themes of the game, and events that may transpire can certainly make this logical/reasonable if it's the direction you want your character to head in. Evil alignments are allowed and in-theme, however, if that's something you're interested in, it would work better as a shift than a starting point.
In addition, we use a few minor house rules, however, there is one major one specific to Curse of Strahd: Due to the significance of curses to the plot and themes of the campaign, the remove curse spell has been removed entirely. It is not available to be learned nor prepared, nor will spell scrolls of it exist. However, bear in mind the greater restoration spell is still available, including its ability to target/remove "One curse, including the target's attunement to a cursed magic item".
You'll be starting at level 7, and can be either an outsider who ended up in Barovia (and we can discuss how you got there), or a native of Barovia (in which case, there's also many options).
The Party Currently
Currently, the party consists of the following:Ashanko (He/Him) - Neutral Drow-turned-Dhampir Monk (Way of the Shadow), who has an aura that unnerves the holy.
Celhath (He/Him) - Chaotic Good Shadar-kai Ranger (Fey Wanderer), who has gained a bit of a wine addiction.
Emery (She/Her) - Neutral Good Human Fighter (Eldritch Knight), who has the strongest moral compass of the group.
In addition, the party has adopted a Scottish Terrier named Lancelot, a fawn named Lucky, and have befriended a local noble whose family was overthrown. They've also adopted a bat they're pretty sure is a spy but that the ranger is really attached to, named "Bruce-Frank the Bat".
Platforms Used
We will be using Discord for voice chat (no video) and ambient music, and Roll20 for character sheets, rolling, and maps. I have quite a few sourcebooks on Roll20, so there's a decent-sized compendium available to you for ease. In addition, dynamic lighting will be used.Seeing as animated maps are utilized throughout the majority of the campaign, and Roll20 lacks native support for such, we all use the free browser extension "VTT Enhancement Suite" (often shortened to "VTTES" in the community). Unfortunately, both the DM and players will need to have the extension enabled for animated maps to show, but it's fairly easy to set up and I don't mind walking anyone through it.
Meet the DM
Hi! I'm Apate (she/her), I'm 20, and I'm from Ohio. I've been DMing D&D 5e for 2-3 years now. I have a papillion, Gracey, and a black cat, KitKat. I'm horribly ADHD, and am a big fan of dark fantasy and gothic horror. I've ran three campaigns before, countless one-shots, and have played in/ran non-D&D systems.I am no voice actor, so please don't expect any professional-sounding NPC voices. In general, I feel like I still have a lot to learn in regards to DMing, but I put a ton of work into prepping sessions and give it my all.
When I run official/WotC content, I heavily modify it. Though the basic story is still the same, as well as many major plot elements and the theme/tone of the campaign, some content has been altered to hopefully create a more immersive and enjoyable experience. In addition, quite a bit of third-party and homebrew content has been added for the same reason and to further add depth.
It should be important to note, that while Curse of Strahd does deal with many mature, dark themes, real-world discrimination among players (be it racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, etc) is never, under any circumstances, tolerated.
Application
If interested, please fill out this application I will look go through the submissions and pick people by Monday or Tuesday (we wouldn't be having a session this Tuesday either way).https://forms.gle/fGaJrBYJ13gR16MC6
And please feel free to apply no matter how new or experienced you are to D&D. Hell, if you've played in or ran in the module in the past, feel free to apply as well. Just be honest about it, and as long as you can separate player knowledge from character knowledge, all good; every party's Barovia is different, so I hope to provide an enjoyable experience regardless. :)
If you have questions, ask in the comments and I'll try to answer as soon as possible. Thanks y'all for taking the time to read this post, and have a great day!
2023.06.04 23:36 wilberfan "Write a short film about Paul Thomas Anderson as written by his daughter Pearl." (AI-generated short film script) #ChatPTA
Title: "Through the Lens of Love"
INT. PEARL'S BEDROOM - MORNING
Pearl, a bright and imaginative 10-year-old girl, sits at her desk surrounded by crayons and paper. She wears glasses, much like her father, Paul Thomas Anderson. She excitedly starts writing her short film script.
PEARL (voiceover)
(whispering)
Once upon a time, in a world filled with wonder and stories, there was a magical filmmaker named Paul Thomas Anderson. He was my dad.
INT. ANDERSON FAMILY LIVING ROOM - DAY
Pearl approaches her father, Paul, who is deep in thought, gazing at a storyboard.
PEARL
Daddy, can I write a film about you? I want everyone to know how special you are.
Paul smiles warmly at Pearl, amused by her enthusiasm.
PAUL
Of course, my little creative genius. I would love to see your perspective on my life.
INT. PEARL'S IMAGINATION - DAY
The scene transitions into Pearl's colorful imagination, transforming their living room into a magical film set.
INT. MOVIE SET - DAY
Pearl, now a director's chair, claps the clapperboard.
PEARL
(whispering)
Action!
INT. VARIOUS FILM SETS - MONTAGE
Scenes from Paul Thomas Anderson's iconic films come to life in Pearl's imagination. Each scene is playfully reimagined, showcasing her perspective on her father's work.
INT. PEARL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Pearl completes her script, holding it close to her heart.
PEARL (voiceover)
And that's how I see my dad. He's like a magician, weaving stories that touch people's hearts. He's my hero.
INT. ANDERSON FAMILY LIVING ROOM - DAY
Pearl approaches her father, holding her script with excitement.
PEARL
Daddy, I finished writing the film. Can we make it together?
Paul's eyes light up, seeing the love and admiration in Pearl's eyes.
PAUL
Absolutely, my little filmmaker. Let's bring your script to life.
INT. PEARL'S IMAGINATION - DAY
The scene transitions back into Pearl's imagination, where she and Paul embark on a joyous filmmaking adventure, creating their film together.
FADE OUT.
PEARL (voiceover)
(whispering)
And they lived happily ever after, making films that touched people's souls.
The End
submitted by wilberfan to paulthomasanderson [link] [comments]
INT. PEARL'S BEDROOM - MORNING
Pearl, a bright and imaginative 10-year-old girl, sits at her desk surrounded by crayons and paper. She wears glasses, much like her father, Paul Thomas Anderson. She excitedly starts writing her short film script.
PEARL (voiceover)
(whispering)
Once upon a time, in a world filled with wonder and stories, there was a magical filmmaker named Paul Thomas Anderson. He was my dad.
INT. ANDERSON FAMILY LIVING ROOM - DAY
Pearl approaches her father, Paul, who is deep in thought, gazing at a storyboard.
PEARL
Daddy, can I write a film about you? I want everyone to know how special you are.
Paul smiles warmly at Pearl, amused by her enthusiasm.
PAUL
Of course, my little creative genius. I would love to see your perspective on my life.
INT. PEARL'S IMAGINATION - DAY
The scene transitions into Pearl's colorful imagination, transforming their living room into a magical film set.
INT. MOVIE SET - DAY
Pearl, now a director's chair, claps the clapperboard.
PEARL
(whispering)
Action!
INT. VARIOUS FILM SETS - MONTAGE
Scenes from Paul Thomas Anderson's iconic films come to life in Pearl's imagination. Each scene is playfully reimagined, showcasing her perspective on her father's work.
- A scene from "Boogie Nights":
- A scene from "There Will Be Blood":
- A scene from "Magnolia":
INT. PEARL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Pearl completes her script, holding it close to her heart.
PEARL (voiceover)
And that's how I see my dad. He's like a magician, weaving stories that touch people's hearts. He's my hero.
INT. ANDERSON FAMILY LIVING ROOM - DAY
Pearl approaches her father, holding her script with excitement.
PEARL
Daddy, I finished writing the film. Can we make it together?
Paul's eyes light up, seeing the love and admiration in Pearl's eyes.
PAUL
Absolutely, my little filmmaker. Let's bring your script to life.
INT. PEARL'S IMAGINATION - DAY
The scene transitions back into Pearl's imagination, where she and Paul embark on a joyous filmmaking adventure, creating their film together.
FADE OUT.
PEARL (voiceover)
(whispering)
And they lived happily ever after, making films that touched people's souls.
The End
2023.06.04 23:35 Jono2007002 I became what??
 | Is this supposed to be possible? submitted by Jono2007002 to BitLifeApp [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 23:33 Zakkon Help me finish a gaming PC for my friend (2000$-2400$ budget)
My friend asked me for help to build him a desktop PC for gaming. He currently has a laptop, and the only thing he's bringing over from that is his headset and mouse. He is aiming for a PC budget around 21,000 SEK (2,000$) - 26,000 SEK (2,400$). The parts will be bought in Sweden.
This budget should include two monitors (close to 24.5" size). One should be for gaming and the other for browsing (hence it can be a bit cheaper). This step is painful for me as I know next to nothing about monitors and how to find two that look good together. I just picked 2x of the same for now as I was tearing my hair out trying to compare all of the options.
Having done a bit of research on GPUs, I have suggested a Nvidia RTX 4070. It seems to be the most cost effective and safest option (sorry AMD!).
When it comes to the case, he is prioritizing silence over everything. No glass panels and no need for fancy RGB lighting. I've suggested a mid tower for him (fingers crossed the water cooler will fit inside!).
I'm not very knowledgeable about CPUs, motherboards and PSUs, so hopefully I haven't created a performance bottleneck here or anything. He wants a motherboard with support for wifi (but it will be plugged in with cable, I imagine).
Here is the build as of now. Please suggest any changes you'd make: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tTWWW4
submitted by Zakkon to buildmeapc [link] [comments]
This budget should include two monitors (close to 24.5" size). One should be for gaming and the other for browsing (hence it can be a bit cheaper). This step is painful for me as I know next to nothing about monitors and how to find two that look good together. I just picked 2x of the same for now as I was tearing my hair out trying to compare all of the options.
Having done a bit of research on GPUs, I have suggested a Nvidia RTX 4070. It seems to be the most cost effective and safest option (sorry AMD!).
When it comes to the case, he is prioritizing silence over everything. No glass panels and no need for fancy RGB lighting. I've suggested a mid tower for him (fingers crossed the water cooler will fit inside!).
I'm not very knowledgeable about CPUs, motherboards and PSUs, so hopefully I haven't created a performance bottleneck here or anything. He wants a motherboard with support for wifi (but it will be plugged in with cable, I imagine).
Here is the build as of now. Please suggest any changes you'd make: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tTWWW4
2023.06.04 23:32 imaharry23 It works gents. Just be honest and hilarious
 | submitted by imaharry23 to Tinder [link] [comments] |
2023.06.04 23:31 CoomWillBeMyDoom Keystone Wallet. Air-gapped. Open-source. Multisig. Offline recovery generation. No cables. No Wi-Fi. No NFC. No Bluetooth. Never online.
Keystone Hardware Wallet might be what you're looking for in a new hardware wallet. I've always wanted to get my own and have been looking into ledger and getting their Stax model. Thankfully this fiasco occurred before I've made a decision but I had to go to the drawing. Everyone was promoting Trezor, but there's so much I didn't like about it in terms of security. I've never liked the idea of having anything connect to my wallet, or sending crypto in a small screen where I can't see any information (blind-signing).
Keystone was actually my first choice but I was hesitating to buy any hardware wallet for a few months. After the Ledger controversy, and reading posts about Trezor physical attacks, I was down between the Ellipal and Keystone. Easy enough, Ellipal is not open source. Decided to get their Essential model because their Pro model is on backorder because of new influx of sales. Essential has everything I need in a hardware wallet for significantly less.
The Essential and Pro models are on sale, on top of that use discount code COSMOSHOSS for an extra 25% off. I was able to get the Essential model for $89.25.
Keystone Main features (Pro & Essential models):
Air-gapped - Signing via QR codes only eliminates most attack vectors.
Eliminate blind signing - view the details of a smart contract with 70,000+ smart contract ABIs embedded. Multi-chain support for Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Polka dot and more.
Multsig support - BIP-129 Bitcoin with various top Bitcoin only wallets. Safe (Gnosis) support for Ethereum and EVM chains (BSC, etc)
Open Source - all firmware and hardware are available on Github.
EAL 5+ Secure Element (open source) - generates random numbers with the Secure Element.
Dice Entropy - generate your recovery phrase manually by rolling dice, eliminating all trust dependencies with the Secure Element and PRNG.
Recovery phrase - supports 12/18/24-word recovery phrases generated by any BIP39 wallet
Camera - QR code transactions. No cables. No Wi-Fi. No NFC. No Bluetooth.
4-Inch Touch 480x800 LCD - Usability increases security.
MicroSD slot (up to 512GB) - offline firmware upgrades are done via a MicroSD card. Secure authentication support to verify if software downloaded is authentic before installing it on the wallet.
Detachable Magnetic Battery - 4 AAA batteries
Shamir backup - SatoshiLabs’ SLIP39 offline. 2-2 to 16-16. Choose how many shamir backup codes are required to restore your wallet. For example, if you have 11 shamir backup codes, you can choose whether only needing 7 shamirs to restore your wallet. You choose who to entrust each shamir backup code. Going with the current example, that means you'd have to choose 11 people or entities (family members, friends, a trust or a lawyer).
Software - Choose between Bitcoin-Only or Multi-Coin firmware. Bitcoin-Only firmware supports PSBT Multi-signature and Bitcoin TESTNET. 5500+ assets supported. 25+ software wallets integrated (supports Metamask mobile app and web extension).
ENS - supports Ethereum Name Service. Register a crypto domain for your Ethereum address.
NFTs - import your NFTs and show them off on the lock screen, supports EVM & Solana NFTs.
Support - amazing customer service with in-depth documented tutorials and troubleshooting on the official website.
Deleting shipping information options - answered in FAQ of the official website
Keystone Pro model only
Biometrics - unlock or approve transactions with fingerprint authentication without having to worry about anyone watching or cameras. Just be aware many governments like the US can lawfully force you to unlock devices with your biometrics. Also bad actors can reconstruct your fingerprints with anything you've touched (like your house door or car handle).
Detachable and Rechargeable Magnetic Battery - your battery will not charge if it's attached to the wallet to minimize attack surface.
Self-destruct Mechanism - protect yourself from supply chain attacks or bad actors with physical access to your wallet. The entire device is one single piece, requiring the device to be destroyed to be open. Not only that, the hardware will trip wiping the entkre device and rendering the wallet ultimately useless. The only reason I'd recommend the Pro for getting, otherwise the Essential is all you need.
Shipping Privacy - My method
Burner phone - purchase or use an old android phone. Factory reset and try to uninstall or turn off as many services as possible. For more tech savvy people, you can use ADB tools in Windows Powershell to force uninstall core apps through USB debugging. I used an old but still recent Samsung phone. You can download APKs online, there are reputable APK stores that support all applications and notify of any updates.
Burner Number - 2ndline, Google voice, or pre-paid number (Google-Fi, Verizon, Mint, etc). I used 2ndline.
Burner email - ProtonMail suggested
VPN - I used NordVPN with double-VPN on. I used public Wi-Fi for the internet connection.
Address - use a fake name. Try using the shipping address for a business or get a PO box then use the PO box street method to get it delivered (i.e. 123 Post Office St #[PO box number here], Mail City, STATE 12345). You can also buy virtual office services where you can receive mail. Ultimately, use a friend's or a family member's address who will never use crypto. The more people living at the house, the better.
Payment - Use coinbase commerce for privacy and to avoid paying sales tax. Send payments with either Litecoin(LTC) or Monero(XMR) for lower transaction fees and increased data privacy. There are apps on Google play and online APKs that allow you to buy Bitcoin and Monero privately with credit cards which are Monerujo, Local-Monero, and Agordesk. Supported by Monero community. Try using a gift card bought with cash. I used a virtual card with the option of inputting a burner name. I use Cred.ai and Revolut as they offer virtual cards, but only Cred.ai has the burner credit card name.
For convenience, you can also buy crypto on Robinhood or Coinbase, cashapp only offers BTC. Then, create an anonymous Kucoin account using a burner email or number on a burner phone. Kucoin offers phone call verification in case your number doesn't receive its texts. Send the crypto to the Kucoin exchange. For added anonymity, have a second anonymous Kucoin account (log off to switch inbetween accounts or install it a second time in samsung secure folder). Send your crypto to the second Kucoin account using its internal transfers so you don't pay network fees (I tested using regular blockchain transfers between Kucoin addresses and Kucoin automatically detects and uses internal transfer either way).
On checkout use the coinbase commerce option if you're sending any crypto that is not BTC. Copy the payment address and allocate the required amount + network fees on top. You got an hour to send it so make sure you send the payment immediately to give coinbase commerce enough time to detect the transaction on the blockchain.
My experience
So far so good. The software is very simplified, the on-screen keyboard looks and feels familiar to a legacy stock version of Android. I haven't gotten a deep dive into Github just yet so it might be based on Android.
The touchscreen is very responsive, no lag. Also vibrates on touch and when typing. The screen is aesthetically crisp and colorful. The device feels premium but also has the look and feel of simplicity. I can't really describe it but I just really like it.
The screen is glass and again feels very premium. There screen nor body bends at all. Very thick and firm body build made of fiberglass.
The camera is not shitty quality as I was expecting it to be. That gives me assurance that I won't be getting any errors.
It's blockchain support is a just little lacking. I wish it had Polygon side-chain support, I don't want to pay high gas fees sending Polygon to my wallet on Ethereum. I also wish it had Monero blockchain support but at least Keystone is currently in the works of providing more blockchain support, with Monero being a priority.
Keystone Companion App
The wallet connects to the Keystone app and syncs the wallet as watch-only. You can then see balances and use it to make new transactions, all without ever needing to connect the actual device.
I hope this has helped and provided you another wallet to research in depth.
Reddit: KeystoneWallet
submitted by CoomWillBeMyDoom to CryptoCurrency [link] [comments]
Keystone was actually my first choice but I was hesitating to buy any hardware wallet for a few months. After the Ledger controversy, and reading posts about Trezor physical attacks, I was down between the Ellipal and Keystone. Easy enough, Ellipal is not open source. Decided to get their Essential model because their Pro model is on backorder because of new influx of sales. Essential has everything I need in a hardware wallet for significantly less.
The Essential and Pro models are on sale, on top of that use discount code COSMOSHOSS for an extra 25% off. I was able to get the Essential model for $89.25.
Keystone Main features (Pro & Essential models):
Air-gapped - Signing via QR codes only eliminates most attack vectors.
Eliminate blind signing - view the details of a smart contract with 70,000+ smart contract ABIs embedded. Multi-chain support for Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Polka dot and more.
Multsig support - BIP-129 Bitcoin with various top Bitcoin only wallets. Safe (Gnosis) support for Ethereum and EVM chains (BSC, etc)
Open Source - all firmware and hardware are available on Github.
EAL 5+ Secure Element (open source) - generates random numbers with the Secure Element.
Dice Entropy - generate your recovery phrase manually by rolling dice, eliminating all trust dependencies with the Secure Element and PRNG.
Recovery phrase - supports 12/18/24-word recovery phrases generated by any BIP39 wallet
Camera - QR code transactions. No cables. No Wi-Fi. No NFC. No Bluetooth.
4-Inch Touch 480x800 LCD - Usability increases security.
MicroSD slot (up to 512GB) - offline firmware upgrades are done via a MicroSD card. Secure authentication support to verify if software downloaded is authentic before installing it on the wallet.
Detachable Magnetic Battery - 4 AAA batteries
Shamir backup - SatoshiLabs’ SLIP39 offline. 2-2 to 16-16. Choose how many shamir backup codes are required to restore your wallet. For example, if you have 11 shamir backup codes, you can choose whether only needing 7 shamirs to restore your wallet. You choose who to entrust each shamir backup code. Going with the current example, that means you'd have to choose 11 people or entities (family members, friends, a trust or a lawyer).
Software - Choose between Bitcoin-Only or Multi-Coin firmware. Bitcoin-Only firmware supports PSBT Multi-signature and Bitcoin TESTNET. 5500+ assets supported. 25+ software wallets integrated (supports Metamask mobile app and web extension).
ENS - supports Ethereum Name Service. Register a crypto domain for your Ethereum address.
NFTs - import your NFTs and show them off on the lock screen, supports EVM & Solana NFTs.
Support - amazing customer service with in-depth documented tutorials and troubleshooting on the official website.
Deleting shipping information options - answered in FAQ of the official website
Keystone Pro model only
Biometrics - unlock or approve transactions with fingerprint authentication without having to worry about anyone watching or cameras. Just be aware many governments like the US can lawfully force you to unlock devices with your biometrics. Also bad actors can reconstruct your fingerprints with anything you've touched (like your house door or car handle).
Detachable and Rechargeable Magnetic Battery - your battery will not charge if it's attached to the wallet to minimize attack surface.
Self-destruct Mechanism - protect yourself from supply chain attacks or bad actors with physical access to your wallet. The entire device is one single piece, requiring the device to be destroyed to be open. Not only that, the hardware will trip wiping the entkre device and rendering the wallet ultimately useless. The only reason I'd recommend the Pro for getting, otherwise the Essential is all you need.
Shipping Privacy - My method
Burner phone - purchase or use an old android phone. Factory reset and try to uninstall or turn off as many services as possible. For more tech savvy people, you can use ADB tools in Windows Powershell to force uninstall core apps through USB debugging. I used an old but still recent Samsung phone. You can download APKs online, there are reputable APK stores that support all applications and notify of any updates.
Burner Number - 2ndline, Google voice, or pre-paid number (Google-Fi, Verizon, Mint, etc). I used 2ndline.
Burner email - ProtonMail suggested
VPN - I used NordVPN with double-VPN on. I used public Wi-Fi for the internet connection.
Address - use a fake name. Try using the shipping address for a business or get a PO box then use the PO box street method to get it delivered (i.e. 123 Post Office St #[PO box number here], Mail City, STATE 12345). You can also buy virtual office services where you can receive mail. Ultimately, use a friend's or a family member's address who will never use crypto. The more people living at the house, the better.
Payment - Use coinbase commerce for privacy and to avoid paying sales tax. Send payments with either Litecoin(LTC) or Monero(XMR) for lower transaction fees and increased data privacy. There are apps on Google play and online APKs that allow you to buy Bitcoin and Monero privately with credit cards which are Monerujo, Local-Monero, and Agordesk. Supported by Monero community. Try using a gift card bought with cash. I used a virtual card with the option of inputting a burner name. I use Cred.ai and Revolut as they offer virtual cards, but only Cred.ai has the burner credit card name.
For convenience, you can also buy crypto on Robinhood or Coinbase, cashapp only offers BTC. Then, create an anonymous Kucoin account using a burner email or number on a burner phone. Kucoin offers phone call verification in case your number doesn't receive its texts. Send the crypto to the Kucoin exchange. For added anonymity, have a second anonymous Kucoin account (log off to switch inbetween accounts or install it a second time in samsung secure folder). Send your crypto to the second Kucoin account using its internal transfers so you don't pay network fees (I tested using regular blockchain transfers between Kucoin addresses and Kucoin automatically detects and uses internal transfer either way).
On checkout use the coinbase commerce option if you're sending any crypto that is not BTC. Copy the payment address and allocate the required amount + network fees on top. You got an hour to send it so make sure you send the payment immediately to give coinbase commerce enough time to detect the transaction on the blockchain.
My experience
So far so good. The software is very simplified, the on-screen keyboard looks and feels familiar to a legacy stock version of Android. I haven't gotten a deep dive into Github just yet so it might be based on Android.
The touchscreen is very responsive, no lag. Also vibrates on touch and when typing. The screen is aesthetically crisp and colorful. The device feels premium but also has the look and feel of simplicity. I can't really describe it but I just really like it.
The screen is glass and again feels very premium. There screen nor body bends at all. Very thick and firm body build made of fiberglass.
The camera is not shitty quality as I was expecting it to be. That gives me assurance that I won't be getting any errors.
It's blockchain support is a just little lacking. I wish it had Polygon side-chain support, I don't want to pay high gas fees sending Polygon to my wallet on Ethereum. I also wish it had Monero blockchain support but at least Keystone is currently in the works of providing more blockchain support, with Monero being a priority.
Keystone Companion App
The wallet connects to the Keystone app and syncs the wallet as watch-only. You can then see balances and use it to make new transactions, all without ever needing to connect the actual device.
I hope this has helped and provided you another wallet to research in depth.
Reddit: KeystoneWallet
2023.06.04 23:29 ParticularRepublic1 Mental Health and quitting
Hiyah.
I quit booze around 10 days ago. I was not a daily drinker, but a very bad binge drinker who got herself into lots of terrible situations after blacking out. I drank mostly to flee away from my mental problems (ocd). I am now waiting for specialized treatment and in the meantime, I am quitting alcohol, because it brought me even more pain and misery.
This weekend I was physically ill, so I had to take rest, which gave my mind and ocd thoughts free space to go nuts. I am mentally and physically exhausted, my job is also really high demanding, and the wish to shut my mind up with a bottle of wine is huge.
Alcohol was always the only efficient and quickest way to shut all the ocd thoughts down immediately. Not sure how to have enough willpower. The "quick-fix" (which is not a fix at all, but is a temporary flee from my own thoughts) is very tempting. Some advice would be nice.
submitted by ParticularRepublic1 to stopdrinking [link] [comments]
I quit booze around 10 days ago. I was not a daily drinker, but a very bad binge drinker who got herself into lots of terrible situations after blacking out. I drank mostly to flee away from my mental problems (ocd). I am now waiting for specialized treatment and in the meantime, I am quitting alcohol, because it brought me even more pain and misery.
This weekend I was physically ill, so I had to take rest, which gave my mind and ocd thoughts free space to go nuts. I am mentally and physically exhausted, my job is also really high demanding, and the wish to shut my mind up with a bottle of wine is huge.
Alcohol was always the only efficient and quickest way to shut all the ocd thoughts down immediately. Not sure how to have enough willpower. The "quick-fix" (which is not a fix at all, but is a temporary flee from my own thoughts) is very tempting. Some advice would be nice.
2023.06.04 23:29 sideswipe781 UFC 289 Betting Preview
Staked: 193.15u, Profit/Loss: +8.41u, ROI: 4.36%, Parlay Suggestions: 51-21
Scroll down for UFC 289 Breakdowns. Below is just a review of last week’s bets.
UFC Vegas 74
Staked: 18.70u
Profit/Loss: -3.31u
Parlay Suggestions: 3-2
✅ 2u Alex Caceres to Win & Arlovski/Mayes Over 1.5 Rounds (+100)
❌ 2u Jim Miller & Jamie Mullarkey to Win (-125)
✅ 2.5u Jim Miller ITD (-105)
✅ 0.5u Jim Miller in Round 1 (+235)
❌ 2u Abubakar Nurmagomedov to Win (-105)
❌ 1.5u Andrei Arlovski to Win by Decision (+200)
❌ 2u Muin Gafarov to Win (-125)
❌ 3u Luan Lacerda to Win (-125)❌ 1u Luan Lacerda to Win by Submission or Decision (+100)
✅ 2u Philipe Lins to Win (+140)
Once again I was my own worst enemy, making some good reads once I initially dropped the preview (Lins, Caceres, Elliott) but consistently made tweaks in the build-up that sent things south. I really need to be more disciplined and block out the noise once I’ve made my initial conclusions. I remember when I started posting here I was tipping about four bets maximum…now I apparently have action across almost every fight.
Going forward I think I’ll stop analysing each bet in this section, as no-one seems to really comment on that stuff and it just eats into the overall character count.
So let’s get into the PPV.
UFC 289
This is a weird, weird PPV card. I guess they kind of have to have a title fight at the top of the billing over a number-one contender bout as co-main, but to see Mike Malott, Nate Landwehr and Eryk Anders perform before Charles Oliveira…and then Amanda Nunes as the main event, is quite funny. Canadian MMA has been in ruins since GSP and Rory MacDonald left the UFC, and none of the guys on this card are not the one to restore its glory.
I know I say it every time the PPV event rolls around, but MMA oddsmakers are very sharp for these higher profile events. Once again I find myself coming to very similar conclusions for a lot of the fights here, so I very much expect this one to be a much smaller slate for me. Definitely a good idea given what I said in the review of last week.
Amanda Nunes v Irene Aldana
There’s a very loud narrative surrounding Amanda Nunes these days, and it’s a hard one to ignore. Having been in the UFC for a decade and holding a title for 7 years, there’s literally nothing left for her to do. She’s had the big money fights that Women’s MMA can offer (Rousey, Cyborg & the “redemption” sequel with Pena), and she doesn’t seem interested in setting up another fight with Shevchenko (who, to be fair, she’s beaten twice). What else is there for Nunes to be motivated for?
Outside the cage, She’s started a family with Nina Ansaroff, who also retired very recently and has spoken about wanting a second child with Nunes. The Brazilian has spoken quite candidly about her aspirations to retire very soon as well, and I believe that she would have laid her gloves in the centre of the Octagon if she’d beaten Pena in their initial meeting. She had to right the wrongs in the sequel, but a victory over Pena at UFC 289 to make it 2-1 in the series was probably enough of a narrative for Nunes to put her career to bed then and there. It’s a bold prediction, but I have a hunch that Nunes has done this whole training camp knowing it’s going to be her last.
Unfortunately, Pena was forced to withdraw and Irene Aldana steps in to challenge for the belt instead. Mexican MMA is absolutely booming right now, with three champions in the last few months, and the stage really feels set for Aldana. She’s always had very impressive boxing, as well as some opportunistic submissions…but her inability to stuff takedowns has often been her undoing in her career. Given that Nunes has relied heavily on her wrestling in recent years (20 takedowns in her last 4 wins), I think it’s fair to say Nunes should once again be favoured here.
Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight have been underdeveloped weight classes for some time now, where the same names that were competing for the belt in like 2019 are still in the top 5 (looking at you Holly Holm!). The next generation seems to have broken through at Flyweight, with Valentina losing her last two title defences (not officially, but I scored the first one quite confidently for Santos). Nunes has been fortunate enough to govern over a division that doesn’t have many of those up-and-coming prospects yet, but those on the rise are still training and competing in a modern MMA context more frequently than the champion – which makes me think the changing of the guard could happen sometime soon. (For more on this, I asked a hypothetical question in the comment section).
So, overall, I think there are a lot of valid asterisks on Nunes’ name at the moment, and I think her career is coming to an end sometime soon, if not after this fight. However, if she’s fighting at her optimum then Aldana’s weaknesses can certainly be exploited, and are enough to deem her the Champion as favourite. With that said, I actually think Aldana could more than hold her own in the striking, so I would already be lining this one closer than Nunes normally is…and after adding in the narrative that surrounds the fight I think it gets even closer.
Therefore, I’ll be playing a 0.5u “value bet” on Aldana. It’s not something I expect to win, but I think her chances of winning are much greater than the odds available.
How I line this fight: Amanda Nunes -175 (64%), Irene Aldana +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: 0.5u Irene Aldana to Win (+300)
Notable Props: I'd encourage you to play Nunes by Submission or Decision if you wanted to play her.
Charles Oliveira v Beneil Dariush
Oh this is a spicy one. Charles Oliveira holds a special place in my heart as being my favourite fighter of all time, and he’s the fighter I’ve definitely made the most money on in my time betting on MMA. At the start of that massive win streak he went on, you could get a decent price on Oliveira ITD against so many prelim guys, and the underdog prices available against Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier were even better.
But, as we know, Islam Makhachev exists and did a sensational job against Oliveira. Such a good job in fact, that I expect it to be footage that Beneil Dariush and his camp have dissected in great detail.
Dariush is an equally exciting fighter to watch. He’s got a brilliant skillset, but he’s not particularly athletic which makes him a very unassuming fighter. He looks like some bloke that works in HR in your office…not an elite Lightweight UFC fighter.
I think Dariush’s BJJ abilities are going to be the key to this fight, as we’ve seen many times in his career already. High level BJJ is a brilliant quality because not only does it make you dangerous at finishing fights, it also improves your defence and provides the platform for a wrestling based offence. We saw Dariush make full use of this in his wins over Tony Ferguson, Carlos Diego Ferreira (x2) and Thiago Moises, as well as his takedown defence on display against Gamrot. I feel like he’s going to be able to dictate where the fight takes place here.
What interests me is the competitiveness of the striking. If you’ve been watching this sport religiously for over seven years, you’ll still remember when Dariush was thought to have a glass jaw, where the likes of Alex Hernandez, Drew Dober and Drakkar Klose hurt him badly with strikes. I feel like Dariush has had quite favourable matchmaking against that weakness on his recent streak, and Oliveira is potentially one of the biggest threats he’s faced on the feet in recent years in terms of power.
On the flipside, Oliveira is still as reckless as ever, and has been knocked down or hurt in each of his last four title fights. Only Makhachev came away with a win in those fights, because his grappling was at a good enough level that he was happy to follow Charles down to the mat when he knocked him down, and capitalised fully to secure the submission soon after. Dariush has sneaky power himself, and if he is able to land a knockdown on Oliveira then I think we see him capitalise too.
The volatility is going to be massive in this fight, as both men are hard hitters with durability concerns (maybe not in a fight ending sense, but they frequently get rocked). With that in mind, I think any sort of finish is going to be very live in this fight. If not, I think you have to give Dariush the decision winning potential, as I think his ability to find top position is greater than Oliveira’s. It’s enough to make Benny the favourite, but not by a whole lot. I think the books have got this one priced spot on, actually.
How I line this fight: Charles Oliveira +110 (48%), Beneil Dariush -110 (52%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: FDGTD is probably a decent parlay piece at -200 or better
Live Betting Lean: I think the longer this fight goes, the more it favours Dariush due to his round winning superiority.
Mike Malott v Adam Fugitt
Honestly the fact that I’m breaking down this fight straight after Oliveira v Dariush is hilarious. I wouldn’t even question it if this was on the prelims of an Apex card.
I underestimated Mike Malott in his last fight against Yohan Lainesse, and my take was so bad that I looked like an idiot. He impressed me a lot, and I think he impressed the UFC too for them to give him this spot on the main card.
Malott looks to have really good submission ability, but I’m still a bit concerned that his striking might be a few too many steps behind. People will say things looked improved in the Lainesse fight, but I think that was more a case of Lainesse having no real interest in engaging or committing to his strikes in the early goings (he has become gunshy as to manage cardio). The fight against Mickey Gall was a massive, massive red flag for Malott…no one in the UFC should really be getting outstruck by Gall. That footage was from a year ago though, so there’s a chance he has improved things since then…but I don’t think you can really use the Lainesse fight as evidence of that.
Malott faces Adam Fugitt, who took the ‘sacrificial lamb’ approach to entering the UFC when he was paired up with Michael Morales – who is lowkey a very bright young prospect. It’s important not to judge a fighter by their performance in that type of fight, it’s best to instead treat their sophomore fight as their ‘real’ debut. We saw that with Fugitt, as he dominated Yusaku Kinoshita as a +260 underdog earlier this year.
I was quite impressed with Fugitt in his loss to Morales. His striking clearly wasn’t on Morales’ level, and he’ll have to be careful of Malott’s powerful hands, but he showed decent defensive awareness and had a couple of moments of his own. Fugitt’s a bit too kick heavy for my liking, but it looks like it confuses opponents and actually works well at establishing range. It did exactly that in his Solomon Renfro win.
Malott’s fight against Renfro however, despite only being 90 seconds long, really sums up his abilities as a fighter. He was getting tagged on the feet, but managed to find one moment to land a powerful shot and sinked in a choke in the blink of an eye. He was losing 98% of that fight convincingly.
The big question for this fight revolves around Fugitt’s grappling ability on bottom, and initial takedown defence, as that’s where most of Malott’s win equity is going to be. Unfortunately we have not actually seen him defensive grapple, so honestly it’s impossible to accurately line this fight given how integral it should be. The only inclination I have is that Fugitt’s takedowns have looked really good in his two fights. DC was very impressed with how he got Morales down, and his trips were also looking on point against Kinoshita. He did great work on top as well when he did establish position, and worked his way to a finish efficiently.
However, there can sometimes be a big disparity between a wrestler’s grappling ability on top vs on bottom, which is why BJJ is so important to MMA (see the breakdown of Dariush!). Therefore, complimenting Fugitt’s top position grappling doesn’t mean a whole lot, as he could be atrocious on bottom, and even if he does use wrestling himself he’s going to dive headfirst into Malott’s nasty guillotine.
So in conclusion, you can’t have super strong opinions on this fight, but you can deduce that Malott has more ways to win. If Fugitt isn’t winning via striking, it’s likely he’s not winning at all. Malott, on the other hand, could win with a big shot on the feet, through takedowns and top control of his own, or even from a guard submission on bottom.
Therefore, with Malott being the hometown hero and likely taking all the betting action on the moneyline, I think the books have the liberty to juice his odds a fair bit. -200 is probably an example of that, but it’s not too far off where I’d line this fight. There are still enough unknowns about both men that I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Fugitt pull off the upset, but I think the +170 available on him in return isn’t providing a whole lot of value. Smart work by the oddsmakers.
How I line this fight: Mike Malott -175 (64%), Adam Fugitt +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: Malott by Submission would be the bet I’d make at +200 or better if someone told me I had to. Won’t be playing it though.
Dan Ige v Nate Landwehr
Well it seems the UFC matchmakers have confirmed their position on Dan Ige. He’s a top 15 gatekeeper now! His string of losses to Evloev, Emmett, Korean Zombie and Kattar did put one too many nails in his title aspiration coffin, but those bounce-back performances against Gavin Tucker and Damon Jackson were pretty impressive to me.
Ige is still a very, very tricky fighter to beat because he’s so well rounded, as most of the top 15 at Featherweight are. Ige faces Nate Landwehr, who has been on an entertaining run of form in the UFC – beating the likes of Ludovit Klein, David Onama and Austin Lingo. Whilst running through his record, it is important to note he went to a close decision in a striking bout against Darren Elkins, and also lost to Herbert Burns and Julian Erosa.
As I say quite often in higher level FeatheBantam/Fly-Weight breakdowns, they’re very tricky divisions to identify skill gaps in. The elite in the division are all very well-rounded offensively and defensively, so it often feels like you’re splitting hairs when you’re trying to find attributes that favour one fighter over the other.
The same can kind of be said here, except Dan Ige has the much better record in terms of actual wins and overall experience. If I imagine Nate Landwehr competing against Ige’s last eight opponents, I genuinely think he might win 1 or 2 of them…whilst Ige has won 4, not been finished in any of the losses and given a good account of himself on each scorecard (except the Evloev loss).
So honestly, the only real thing I feel I can reference here in terms of differentiating between both men is ‘levels’…but I genuinely think that’s enough for Ige to be about -200 here. You can’t go any further than that because this fight should still be reasonably competitive, but given what Ige has done to the opponents he’s stepped down in competition for (Damon Jackson, Gavin Tucker), I think you can have a certain degree of confidence that he should find that extra 10% to clearly win this fight. That equates to around -175 in my mind.
How I line this fight: Dan Ige -175 (64%), Nate Landwehr +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: Ige ITD could be of some interest, as he’s started showing real power in his hands, and Landwehr is quite finish-able in his losses.
Marc-Andre Barriault v Eryk Anders
Eryk Anders is one of the most frustrating guys to watch. He had so much athleticism and decent skills, but just doesn’t put his best foot forward. Barely any evolution to his game, poor fight IQ…but the occasional glimmers of potential – enough to stop you from writing him off despite his constant underdelivering.
Marc-Andre Barriault is kind of the opposite really. He’s a jack-of-all-trades, master of none…but he will do everything in his power to maximise his advantages to turn the fight in his favour. He isn’t a physical specimen and doesn’t really have much power…but he can hustle hard for 15 minutes and use a mixture of striking, takedowns and clinch work to win rounds.
Anders has actually had some of his better performances in recent fights, looking in great shape and form against Kyle Daukaus, arguably beating Jun Yong Park by decision, and outpoint + KO’ing Darren Stewart (x2) beforehand.
If this fight was happening two years ago, MAB would be like -200 here due to his reliability to out-hustle Anders, but his recent performances have been a little bit lacklustre (Hernandez ragdolled him and Chidi Njokuani folded him like a deckchair). Couple that with the fact that Anders FINALLY looks to be growing into the potential he’s always been on the cusp of with a recent change in training camp…I think you’re looking at a closely lined fight here.
I predict this one ends up being a 29-28, possibly split decision type of fight. One man has activity whilst the other has power. The subjectivity of judging will be in full effect and everyone will call this one a robbery, depending on who they bet on.
How I line this fight: Marc-Andre Barriault +100 (50%), Eryk Anders +100 (50%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: Barriault by Decision would probably be my preferred choice.
Jasmine Jasudavicius v Miranda Maverick
Miranda Maverick is a Women’s MMA fighter that I hold in very high regard. The back-to-back losses put a real halt to her hype train, but I think she’s easily got Top 10 potential and got robbed against Maycee Barber anyway. I think her style is one that can very easily exploit a lot of opponents in her division. Her striking’s okay, but her wrestling and top pressure are very dominant tools.
She takes on Jasmine Jasudavicius, who has also used her wrestling ability to good effect in the UFC/DWCS so far. Neither woman is a particularly good striker, and I expect this one to turn into a bit of a scramble fest pretty quickly.
Their statures have been very important factors in their grappling successes so far, but for different reasons. JJ is basically a size bully at 5’7 and will have a 4 inch height advantage once again. Maverick, on the other hand, is going to be the stronger of the two during those close quarter engagements, because she’s pretty damn jacked.
I think Maverick should be favoured overall as I think her wrestling is the superior of the two and should lead to more time in top position, but I’m definitely not keen to play her at -275. Miranda’s strengths are also her opponent’s strengths, and facing the lanky size of Jasudavicius could cause her problems when it comes to securing the initial takedowns against those long legs, or keeping safe from guard submissions or maintaining that dominant position in the first place. Also, if they do somehow end up choosing to strike for significant portions, I can’t actually guarantee that Maverick is the better on the feet (reach disadvantage plays a part too).
I do however like Maverick to win this one, but not by the confidence of the current odds. I’m expecting this one to go the distance, but I highly doubt we get a good line on it as Maverick couldn’t even finish Shanna Young last time out.
How I line this fight: Jasmine Jasudavicius +188 (35%), Miranda Maverick -188 (65%)
Bet or Pass: Pass.
Notable Props: Fight goes to decision. It's probably like -400.
Blake Bilder v Kyle Nelson
There are a couple of fights on this card where one guy is clearly more populasuccessful/in-form than their opponent, but they’re still only around -200 (Dan Ige & Mike Malott are the best examples). Blake Bilder is the third. Before I jumped into research for all three of these bouts, I was instinctively thinking that I could easily want to bet all three at -200, as that didn’t seem short enough by my initial perception of their names. I came away from Ige and Malott agreeing with the line and feeling grateful that I looked into it…but I still think Blake Bilder’s odds are providing a bit of value.
Kyle Nelson is one of those fodder guys. The UFC are keeping him around to give to prospects and home-town fighters in the hope that they can invest in the future or the event itself. Jai Herbert notched a win for Team UK against Nelson on a UFC London card, Doo Ho Choi got given a softball to get him back on track for a card that was supposed to be in South Korea. Billy Quarantillo got given Nelson to put his name on the map with a highlight reel finish..and now Blake Bilder is being presented the chance to extend his UFC record to 2-0.
Bilder’s already fought a better opponent in the UFC when he beat Shane Young in February. We saw a very high pace being set in the third round of that fight, with both men landing 100+ significant strikes across the fight and Bilder also attempting 7 takedowns. His cardio is clearly quite decent, which will immediately give him the advantage over Nelson – who has often wilted in the latter half of a fight when the pace has been hectic.
Bilder’s a very well-rounded combatant, and has great BJJ once he gets established time on top. He’s a bit of a concern defensively though, where he can be taken down and can also get caught with strikes.
Kyle Nelson, on the other hand, doesn’t really seem to know what kind of fighter he is. He’s been a brawler for all of his UFC career, but comes out to land five takedowns and is seemingly not interested in striking with a Doo Ho Choi who has questionable durability. He didn’t do much at all with those takedowns either and actually put himself in danger in R1 by insisting on grappling.
If Nelson comes out looking to wrestle Bilder, I think they’re at different levels in the grappling and Blake should be able to turn things around in his favour. If they’re striking, I am aware that Nelson’s got fight ending power, but Bilder’s been much more patient and cerebral in his last couple of fights, so I trust him to stay safe and look for his openings. We saw him reactively find a takedown off of Shane Young’s kick, and Nelson’s offense is very body kick heavy.
Overall, I just think Bilder is the better fighter in pretty much every facet of MMA except one-punch power and, as long as he doesn’t get flash KO’d, I think he rolls here. -200 isn’t quite short enough, and I expect money to come in on him between now and fight night. I’ve already got my money down, just in case.
How I line this fight: Blake Bilder -300 (75%), Kyle Nelson +300 (25%)
Bet or Pass: 5u Blake Bilder to Win (-200)
Notable Props: Bilder ITD or R3 could be interesting. I'd probably be interested in that if I didn't have a lot of exposure already.
Aiemann Zahabi v Aoriqileng
There was a time where Aiemann Zahabi was considered one of the worst guys on the roster. Crazy that the standard of UFC fighter has gotten so much worse that that statement seems ridiculous now. To be fair, Zahabi did pull off a respectable upset in beating Ricky Turcios in his last fight..but it seems to be unanimously agreed that Ricky fought like an idiot in that fight and actually beat himself.
Aoriqileng is quite explosive and clearly hits hard, but he’s a bit too keen to hunt for the KO and it hurts his minute-winning ability. Against someone like Zahabi, who is quite composed and process driven (how could you not be when Firas is your family and coach), and I see that being a pretty key part to this fight. The big moments will side with the Mongolian, but Aiemann could just put together the more cohesive performance if he doesn’t get troubled by that explosiveness.
Overall this is just a pretty low level fight between guys who don’t compete very often. I didn’t have a whole lot to say prior to watching tape, and I’ve come away feeling equally uncertain of how this one’s going to end. An easy pass when there are more active and popular fighters for us to form a stronger opinion on.
How I line this fight: I don’t really know.
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: None
Nassourdine Imavov v Chris Curtis
This one instantly feels like a pretty close fight, solely based off both men’s most recent losses. Imavov getting outstruck by Sean Strickland across 25 minutes was a bit of a shock to everyone, myself included. I expected him to lose via cardio dump, but it was actually just lesser volume, a lack of takedowns being attempted and obviously not landing anything of significance on Strickland.
It’s widely known that Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland are close training partners at Xtreme Couture, which I think makes for an added element to this fight. On six days notice, Strickland and the team managed to devise a pretty genius striking gameplan with disruptive rhythm that completely threw Imavov of. Can Chris Curtis do the same? Probably.
Curtis himself has problems of his own in the striking though, namely that his volume and output just aren’t where they often need to be. I’m not sure whether it’s the managing of his gas tank or what, but he just doesn’t seem able to commit to matching his opponent’s tempo across 15 minutes. He threw the first round away against Gastelum, and it cost him the fight. He bitched and moaned about it on Twitter, but social media’s been telling the guy what his problem is for as long as he’s been in the UFC haha.
I do suspect that there’s a little bit of recency bias on Imavov here, as the guy was a pretty well-respected prospect prior to the loss to Strickland. Some will tell you it was misplaced faith, but he certainly doesn’t have tempo issues in the latter half of fights and should probably have the higher volume across 15 minutes. I don’t see him taking Curtis down either, given the 100% takedown defence and the fact Imavov seemingly abandoned it in his last fight. It would be great if he did though!
So yeah, it’s a bit of a close one this. Off pure skillset I lean towards Imavov at like -150, but the asterisk of Curtis’ team being able to easily design a gameplan against the Frenchman gives me enough pause to not want to pick a side here. I’d be more interested in betting overs, if a decent price is available.
How I line this fight: Nassourdine Imavov -137 (58%), Chris Curtis +137 (42%)
Bet or Pass: 1.5u Fight Goes to Decision (-137 or better)
Notable Props: I think this one goes to decision at a pretty high clip.
Diana Belbita v Maria Oliveira
My initial thought was “What would compel someone to bet on this fight?”, then I remember I placed 100 quid on Chase Hooper a few weeks ago…and it was a great bet haha! Given how most of my handicapping for this card has seen me in complete agreement with the books, perhaps looking into a lower level fight with significantly less interest could be the place to a strong opinion!?
Nope. I can’t do it. One quick glance at their records was enough for me. Belbita got 30-25’d by a wrestling Molly McCann and submitted by Liana Jojua, whilst Maria Oliveira got soundly beaten on the scorecards by Vanesa Demopoulos and voluntarily asked to stop fighting after 3 minutes against Marina Rodriguez.
This one isn’t good enough to open an Apex card, let alone sit on a PPV. I usually really dislike all the WMMA bashing on this sub, but this one isn’t worth the time.
How I line this fight: No.
Bet or Pass: No.
Notable Props: No.
Live Betting Lean: You could do something productive with that 15 minutes. Lift some weights, make some food, rewatch Ngannou v Lewis instead?
Bets
0.5u Irene Aldana to Win (+300)
5u Blake Bilder to Win (-200)
1.5u Imavov v Curtis Goes to Decision (-137 or better) (Might not get this kind of price).
Parlay Do’s: Dan Ige, Blake Bilder, Imavov/Curtis GTD, Maverick/Jasudavicius GTD
Parlay Don’ts: Amanda Nunes, Mike Malott, Miranda Maverick
submitted by sideswipe781 to MMAbetting [link] [comments]
Scroll down for UFC 289 Breakdowns. Below is just a review of last week’s bets.
UFC Vegas 74
Staked: 18.70u
Profit/Loss: -3.31u
Parlay Suggestions: 3-2
✅ 2u Alex Caceres to Win & Arlovski/Mayes Over 1.5 Rounds (+100)
❌ 2u Jim Miller & Jamie Mullarkey to Win (-125)
✅ 2.5u Jim Miller ITD (-105)
✅ 0.5u Jim Miller in Round 1 (+235)
❌ 2u Abubakar Nurmagomedov to Win (-105)
❌ 1.5u Andrei Arlovski to Win by Decision (+200)
❌ 2u Muin Gafarov to Win (-125)
❌ 3u Luan Lacerda to Win (-125)❌ 1u Luan Lacerda to Win by Submission or Decision (+100)
✅ 2u Philipe Lins to Win (+140)
Once again I was my own worst enemy, making some good reads once I initially dropped the preview (Lins, Caceres, Elliott) but consistently made tweaks in the build-up that sent things south. I really need to be more disciplined and block out the noise once I’ve made my initial conclusions. I remember when I started posting here I was tipping about four bets maximum…now I apparently have action across almost every fight.
Going forward I think I’ll stop analysing each bet in this section, as no-one seems to really comment on that stuff and it just eats into the overall character count.
So let’s get into the PPV.
UFC 289
This is a weird, weird PPV card. I guess they kind of have to have a title fight at the top of the billing over a number-one contender bout as co-main, but to see Mike Malott, Nate Landwehr and Eryk Anders perform before Charles Oliveira…and then Amanda Nunes as the main event, is quite funny. Canadian MMA has been in ruins since GSP and Rory MacDonald left the UFC, and none of the guys on this card are not the one to restore its glory.
I know I say it every time the PPV event rolls around, but MMA oddsmakers are very sharp for these higher profile events. Once again I find myself coming to very similar conclusions for a lot of the fights here, so I very much expect this one to be a much smaller slate for me. Definitely a good idea given what I said in the review of last week.
Amanda Nunes v Irene Aldana
There’s a very loud narrative surrounding Amanda Nunes these days, and it’s a hard one to ignore. Having been in the UFC for a decade and holding a title for 7 years, there’s literally nothing left for her to do. She’s had the big money fights that Women’s MMA can offer (Rousey, Cyborg & the “redemption” sequel with Pena), and she doesn’t seem interested in setting up another fight with Shevchenko (who, to be fair, she’s beaten twice). What else is there for Nunes to be motivated for?
Outside the cage, She’s started a family with Nina Ansaroff, who also retired very recently and has spoken about wanting a second child with Nunes. The Brazilian has spoken quite candidly about her aspirations to retire very soon as well, and I believe that she would have laid her gloves in the centre of the Octagon if she’d beaten Pena in their initial meeting. She had to right the wrongs in the sequel, but a victory over Pena at UFC 289 to make it 2-1 in the series was probably enough of a narrative for Nunes to put her career to bed then and there. It’s a bold prediction, but I have a hunch that Nunes has done this whole training camp knowing it’s going to be her last.
Unfortunately, Pena was forced to withdraw and Irene Aldana steps in to challenge for the belt instead. Mexican MMA is absolutely booming right now, with three champions in the last few months, and the stage really feels set for Aldana. She’s always had very impressive boxing, as well as some opportunistic submissions…but her inability to stuff takedowns has often been her undoing in her career. Given that Nunes has relied heavily on her wrestling in recent years (20 takedowns in her last 4 wins), I think it’s fair to say Nunes should once again be favoured here.
Women’s Bantamweight and Featherweight have been underdeveloped weight classes for some time now, where the same names that were competing for the belt in like 2019 are still in the top 5 (looking at you Holly Holm!). The next generation seems to have broken through at Flyweight, with Valentina losing her last two title defences (not officially, but I scored the first one quite confidently for Santos). Nunes has been fortunate enough to govern over a division that doesn’t have many of those up-and-coming prospects yet, but those on the rise are still training and competing in a modern MMA context more frequently than the champion – which makes me think the changing of the guard could happen sometime soon. (For more on this, I asked a hypothetical question in the comment section).
So, overall, I think there are a lot of valid asterisks on Nunes’ name at the moment, and I think her career is coming to an end sometime soon, if not after this fight. However, if she’s fighting at her optimum then Aldana’s weaknesses can certainly be exploited, and are enough to deem her the Champion as favourite. With that said, I actually think Aldana could more than hold her own in the striking, so I would already be lining this one closer than Nunes normally is…and after adding in the narrative that surrounds the fight I think it gets even closer.
Therefore, I’ll be playing a 0.5u “value bet” on Aldana. It’s not something I expect to win, but I think her chances of winning are much greater than the odds available.
How I line this fight: Amanda Nunes -175 (64%), Irene Aldana +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: 0.5u Irene Aldana to Win (+300)
Notable Props: I'd encourage you to play Nunes by Submission or Decision if you wanted to play her.
Charles Oliveira v Beneil Dariush
Oh this is a spicy one. Charles Oliveira holds a special place in my heart as being my favourite fighter of all time, and he’s the fighter I’ve definitely made the most money on in my time betting on MMA. At the start of that massive win streak he went on, you could get a decent price on Oliveira ITD against so many prelim guys, and the underdog prices available against Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier were even better.
But, as we know, Islam Makhachev exists and did a sensational job against Oliveira. Such a good job in fact, that I expect it to be footage that Beneil Dariush and his camp have dissected in great detail.
Dariush is an equally exciting fighter to watch. He’s got a brilliant skillset, but he’s not particularly athletic which makes him a very unassuming fighter. He looks like some bloke that works in HR in your office…not an elite Lightweight UFC fighter.
I think Dariush’s BJJ abilities are going to be the key to this fight, as we’ve seen many times in his career already. High level BJJ is a brilliant quality because not only does it make you dangerous at finishing fights, it also improves your defence and provides the platform for a wrestling based offence. We saw Dariush make full use of this in his wins over Tony Ferguson, Carlos Diego Ferreira (x2) and Thiago Moises, as well as his takedown defence on display against Gamrot. I feel like he’s going to be able to dictate where the fight takes place here.
What interests me is the competitiveness of the striking. If you’ve been watching this sport religiously for over seven years, you’ll still remember when Dariush was thought to have a glass jaw, where the likes of Alex Hernandez, Drew Dober and Drakkar Klose hurt him badly with strikes. I feel like Dariush has had quite favourable matchmaking against that weakness on his recent streak, and Oliveira is potentially one of the biggest threats he’s faced on the feet in recent years in terms of power.
On the flipside, Oliveira is still as reckless as ever, and has been knocked down or hurt in each of his last four title fights. Only Makhachev came away with a win in those fights, because his grappling was at a good enough level that he was happy to follow Charles down to the mat when he knocked him down, and capitalised fully to secure the submission soon after. Dariush has sneaky power himself, and if he is able to land a knockdown on Oliveira then I think we see him capitalise too.
The volatility is going to be massive in this fight, as both men are hard hitters with durability concerns (maybe not in a fight ending sense, but they frequently get rocked). With that in mind, I think any sort of finish is going to be very live in this fight. If not, I think you have to give Dariush the decision winning potential, as I think his ability to find top position is greater than Oliveira’s. It’s enough to make Benny the favourite, but not by a whole lot. I think the books have got this one priced spot on, actually.
How I line this fight: Charles Oliveira +110 (48%), Beneil Dariush -110 (52%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: FDGTD is probably a decent parlay piece at -200 or better
Live Betting Lean: I think the longer this fight goes, the more it favours Dariush due to his round winning superiority.
Mike Malott v Adam Fugitt
Honestly the fact that I’m breaking down this fight straight after Oliveira v Dariush is hilarious. I wouldn’t even question it if this was on the prelims of an Apex card.
I underestimated Mike Malott in his last fight against Yohan Lainesse, and my take was so bad that I looked like an idiot. He impressed me a lot, and I think he impressed the UFC too for them to give him this spot on the main card.
Malott looks to have really good submission ability, but I’m still a bit concerned that his striking might be a few too many steps behind. People will say things looked improved in the Lainesse fight, but I think that was more a case of Lainesse having no real interest in engaging or committing to his strikes in the early goings (he has become gunshy as to manage cardio). The fight against Mickey Gall was a massive, massive red flag for Malott…no one in the UFC should really be getting outstruck by Gall. That footage was from a year ago though, so there’s a chance he has improved things since then…but I don’t think you can really use the Lainesse fight as evidence of that.
Malott faces Adam Fugitt, who took the ‘sacrificial lamb’ approach to entering the UFC when he was paired up with Michael Morales – who is lowkey a very bright young prospect. It’s important not to judge a fighter by their performance in that type of fight, it’s best to instead treat their sophomore fight as their ‘real’ debut. We saw that with Fugitt, as he dominated Yusaku Kinoshita as a +260 underdog earlier this year.
I was quite impressed with Fugitt in his loss to Morales. His striking clearly wasn’t on Morales’ level, and he’ll have to be careful of Malott’s powerful hands, but he showed decent defensive awareness and had a couple of moments of his own. Fugitt’s a bit too kick heavy for my liking, but it looks like it confuses opponents and actually works well at establishing range. It did exactly that in his Solomon Renfro win.
Malott’s fight against Renfro however, despite only being 90 seconds long, really sums up his abilities as a fighter. He was getting tagged on the feet, but managed to find one moment to land a powerful shot and sinked in a choke in the blink of an eye. He was losing 98% of that fight convincingly.
The big question for this fight revolves around Fugitt’s grappling ability on bottom, and initial takedown defence, as that’s where most of Malott’s win equity is going to be. Unfortunately we have not actually seen him defensive grapple, so honestly it’s impossible to accurately line this fight given how integral it should be. The only inclination I have is that Fugitt’s takedowns have looked really good in his two fights. DC was very impressed with how he got Morales down, and his trips were also looking on point against Kinoshita. He did great work on top as well when he did establish position, and worked his way to a finish efficiently.
However, there can sometimes be a big disparity between a wrestler’s grappling ability on top vs on bottom, which is why BJJ is so important to MMA (see the breakdown of Dariush!). Therefore, complimenting Fugitt’s top position grappling doesn’t mean a whole lot, as he could be atrocious on bottom, and even if he does use wrestling himself he’s going to dive headfirst into Malott’s nasty guillotine.
So in conclusion, you can’t have super strong opinions on this fight, but you can deduce that Malott has more ways to win. If Fugitt isn’t winning via striking, it’s likely he’s not winning at all. Malott, on the other hand, could win with a big shot on the feet, through takedowns and top control of his own, or even from a guard submission on bottom.
Therefore, with Malott being the hometown hero and likely taking all the betting action on the moneyline, I think the books have the liberty to juice his odds a fair bit. -200 is probably an example of that, but it’s not too far off where I’d line this fight. There are still enough unknowns about both men that I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Fugitt pull off the upset, but I think the +170 available on him in return isn’t providing a whole lot of value. Smart work by the oddsmakers.
How I line this fight: Mike Malott -175 (64%), Adam Fugitt +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: Malott by Submission would be the bet I’d make at +200 or better if someone told me I had to. Won’t be playing it though.
Dan Ige v Nate Landwehr
Well it seems the UFC matchmakers have confirmed their position on Dan Ige. He’s a top 15 gatekeeper now! His string of losses to Evloev, Emmett, Korean Zombie and Kattar did put one too many nails in his title aspiration coffin, but those bounce-back performances against Gavin Tucker and Damon Jackson were pretty impressive to me.
Ige is still a very, very tricky fighter to beat because he’s so well rounded, as most of the top 15 at Featherweight are. Ige faces Nate Landwehr, who has been on an entertaining run of form in the UFC – beating the likes of Ludovit Klein, David Onama and Austin Lingo. Whilst running through his record, it is important to note he went to a close decision in a striking bout against Darren Elkins, and also lost to Herbert Burns and Julian Erosa.
As I say quite often in higher level FeatheBantam/Fly-Weight breakdowns, they’re very tricky divisions to identify skill gaps in. The elite in the division are all very well-rounded offensively and defensively, so it often feels like you’re splitting hairs when you’re trying to find attributes that favour one fighter over the other.
The same can kind of be said here, except Dan Ige has the much better record in terms of actual wins and overall experience. If I imagine Nate Landwehr competing against Ige’s last eight opponents, I genuinely think he might win 1 or 2 of them…whilst Ige has won 4, not been finished in any of the losses and given a good account of himself on each scorecard (except the Evloev loss).
So honestly, the only real thing I feel I can reference here in terms of differentiating between both men is ‘levels’…but I genuinely think that’s enough for Ige to be about -200 here. You can’t go any further than that because this fight should still be reasonably competitive, but given what Ige has done to the opponents he’s stepped down in competition for (Damon Jackson, Gavin Tucker), I think you can have a certain degree of confidence that he should find that extra 10% to clearly win this fight. That equates to around -175 in my mind.
How I line this fight: Dan Ige -175 (64%), Nate Landwehr +175 (36%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: Ige ITD could be of some interest, as he’s started showing real power in his hands, and Landwehr is quite finish-able in his losses.
Marc-Andre Barriault v Eryk Anders
Eryk Anders is one of the most frustrating guys to watch. He had so much athleticism and decent skills, but just doesn’t put his best foot forward. Barely any evolution to his game, poor fight IQ…but the occasional glimmers of potential – enough to stop you from writing him off despite his constant underdelivering.
Marc-Andre Barriault is kind of the opposite really. He’s a jack-of-all-trades, master of none…but he will do everything in his power to maximise his advantages to turn the fight in his favour. He isn’t a physical specimen and doesn’t really have much power…but he can hustle hard for 15 minutes and use a mixture of striking, takedowns and clinch work to win rounds.
Anders has actually had some of his better performances in recent fights, looking in great shape and form against Kyle Daukaus, arguably beating Jun Yong Park by decision, and outpoint + KO’ing Darren Stewart (x2) beforehand.
If this fight was happening two years ago, MAB would be like -200 here due to his reliability to out-hustle Anders, but his recent performances have been a little bit lacklustre (Hernandez ragdolled him and Chidi Njokuani folded him like a deckchair). Couple that with the fact that Anders FINALLY looks to be growing into the potential he’s always been on the cusp of with a recent change in training camp…I think you’re looking at a closely lined fight here.
I predict this one ends up being a 29-28, possibly split decision type of fight. One man has activity whilst the other has power. The subjectivity of judging will be in full effect and everyone will call this one a robbery, depending on who they bet on.
How I line this fight: Marc-Andre Barriault +100 (50%), Eryk Anders +100 (50%)
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: Barriault by Decision would probably be my preferred choice.
Jasmine Jasudavicius v Miranda Maverick
Miranda Maverick is a Women’s MMA fighter that I hold in very high regard. The back-to-back losses put a real halt to her hype train, but I think she’s easily got Top 10 potential and got robbed against Maycee Barber anyway. I think her style is one that can very easily exploit a lot of opponents in her division. Her striking’s okay, but her wrestling and top pressure are very dominant tools.
She takes on Jasmine Jasudavicius, who has also used her wrestling ability to good effect in the UFC/DWCS so far. Neither woman is a particularly good striker, and I expect this one to turn into a bit of a scramble fest pretty quickly.
Their statures have been very important factors in their grappling successes so far, but for different reasons. JJ is basically a size bully at 5’7 and will have a 4 inch height advantage once again. Maverick, on the other hand, is going to be the stronger of the two during those close quarter engagements, because she’s pretty damn jacked.
I think Maverick should be favoured overall as I think her wrestling is the superior of the two and should lead to more time in top position, but I’m definitely not keen to play her at -275. Miranda’s strengths are also her opponent’s strengths, and facing the lanky size of Jasudavicius could cause her problems when it comes to securing the initial takedowns against those long legs, or keeping safe from guard submissions or maintaining that dominant position in the first place. Also, if they do somehow end up choosing to strike for significant portions, I can’t actually guarantee that Maverick is the better on the feet (reach disadvantage plays a part too).
I do however like Maverick to win this one, but not by the confidence of the current odds. I’m expecting this one to go the distance, but I highly doubt we get a good line on it as Maverick couldn’t even finish Shanna Young last time out.
How I line this fight: Jasmine Jasudavicius +188 (35%), Miranda Maverick -188 (65%)
Bet or Pass: Pass.
Notable Props: Fight goes to decision. It's probably like -400.
Blake Bilder v Kyle Nelson
There are a couple of fights on this card where one guy is clearly more populasuccessful/in-form than their opponent, but they’re still only around -200 (Dan Ige & Mike Malott are the best examples). Blake Bilder is the third. Before I jumped into research for all three of these bouts, I was instinctively thinking that I could easily want to bet all three at -200, as that didn’t seem short enough by my initial perception of their names. I came away from Ige and Malott agreeing with the line and feeling grateful that I looked into it…but I still think Blake Bilder’s odds are providing a bit of value.
Kyle Nelson is one of those fodder guys. The UFC are keeping him around to give to prospects and home-town fighters in the hope that they can invest in the future or the event itself. Jai Herbert notched a win for Team UK against Nelson on a UFC London card, Doo Ho Choi got given a softball to get him back on track for a card that was supposed to be in South Korea. Billy Quarantillo got given Nelson to put his name on the map with a highlight reel finish..and now Blake Bilder is being presented the chance to extend his UFC record to 2-0.
Bilder’s already fought a better opponent in the UFC when he beat Shane Young in February. We saw a very high pace being set in the third round of that fight, with both men landing 100+ significant strikes across the fight and Bilder also attempting 7 takedowns. His cardio is clearly quite decent, which will immediately give him the advantage over Nelson – who has often wilted in the latter half of a fight when the pace has been hectic.
Bilder’s a very well-rounded combatant, and has great BJJ once he gets established time on top. He’s a bit of a concern defensively though, where he can be taken down and can also get caught with strikes.
Kyle Nelson, on the other hand, doesn’t really seem to know what kind of fighter he is. He’s been a brawler for all of his UFC career, but comes out to land five takedowns and is seemingly not interested in striking with a Doo Ho Choi who has questionable durability. He didn’t do much at all with those takedowns either and actually put himself in danger in R1 by insisting on grappling.
If Nelson comes out looking to wrestle Bilder, I think they’re at different levels in the grappling and Blake should be able to turn things around in his favour. If they’re striking, I am aware that Nelson’s got fight ending power, but Bilder’s been much more patient and cerebral in his last couple of fights, so I trust him to stay safe and look for his openings. We saw him reactively find a takedown off of Shane Young’s kick, and Nelson’s offense is very body kick heavy.
Overall, I just think Bilder is the better fighter in pretty much every facet of MMA except one-punch power and, as long as he doesn’t get flash KO’d, I think he rolls here. -200 isn’t quite short enough, and I expect money to come in on him between now and fight night. I’ve already got my money down, just in case.
How I line this fight: Blake Bilder -300 (75%), Kyle Nelson +300 (25%)
Bet or Pass: 5u Blake Bilder to Win (-200)
Notable Props: Bilder ITD or R3 could be interesting. I'd probably be interested in that if I didn't have a lot of exposure already.
Aiemann Zahabi v Aoriqileng
There was a time where Aiemann Zahabi was considered one of the worst guys on the roster. Crazy that the standard of UFC fighter has gotten so much worse that that statement seems ridiculous now. To be fair, Zahabi did pull off a respectable upset in beating Ricky Turcios in his last fight..but it seems to be unanimously agreed that Ricky fought like an idiot in that fight and actually beat himself.
Aoriqileng is quite explosive and clearly hits hard, but he’s a bit too keen to hunt for the KO and it hurts his minute-winning ability. Against someone like Zahabi, who is quite composed and process driven (how could you not be when Firas is your family and coach), and I see that being a pretty key part to this fight. The big moments will side with the Mongolian, but Aiemann could just put together the more cohesive performance if he doesn’t get troubled by that explosiveness.
Overall this is just a pretty low level fight between guys who don’t compete very often. I didn’t have a whole lot to say prior to watching tape, and I’ve come away feeling equally uncertain of how this one’s going to end. An easy pass when there are more active and popular fighters for us to form a stronger opinion on.
How I line this fight: I don’t really know.
Bet or Pass: Pass
Notable Props: None
Nassourdine Imavov v Chris Curtis
This one instantly feels like a pretty close fight, solely based off both men’s most recent losses. Imavov getting outstruck by Sean Strickland across 25 minutes was a bit of a shock to everyone, myself included. I expected him to lose via cardio dump, but it was actually just lesser volume, a lack of takedowns being attempted and obviously not landing anything of significance on Strickland.
It’s widely known that Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland are close training partners at Xtreme Couture, which I think makes for an added element to this fight. On six days notice, Strickland and the team managed to devise a pretty genius striking gameplan with disruptive rhythm that completely threw Imavov of. Can Chris Curtis do the same? Probably.
Curtis himself has problems of his own in the striking though, namely that his volume and output just aren’t where they often need to be. I’m not sure whether it’s the managing of his gas tank or what, but he just doesn’t seem able to commit to matching his opponent’s tempo across 15 minutes. He threw the first round away against Gastelum, and it cost him the fight. He bitched and moaned about it on Twitter, but social media’s been telling the guy what his problem is for as long as he’s been in the UFC haha.
I do suspect that there’s a little bit of recency bias on Imavov here, as the guy was a pretty well-respected prospect prior to the loss to Strickland. Some will tell you it was misplaced faith, but he certainly doesn’t have tempo issues in the latter half of fights and should probably have the higher volume across 15 minutes. I don’t see him taking Curtis down either, given the 100% takedown defence and the fact Imavov seemingly abandoned it in his last fight. It would be great if he did though!
So yeah, it’s a bit of a close one this. Off pure skillset I lean towards Imavov at like -150, but the asterisk of Curtis’ team being able to easily design a gameplan against the Frenchman gives me enough pause to not want to pick a side here. I’d be more interested in betting overs, if a decent price is available.
How I line this fight: Nassourdine Imavov -137 (58%), Chris Curtis +137 (42%)
Bet or Pass: 1.5u Fight Goes to Decision (-137 or better)
Notable Props: I think this one goes to decision at a pretty high clip.
Diana Belbita v Maria Oliveira
My initial thought was “What would compel someone to bet on this fight?”, then I remember I placed 100 quid on Chase Hooper a few weeks ago…and it was a great bet haha! Given how most of my handicapping for this card has seen me in complete agreement with the books, perhaps looking into a lower level fight with significantly less interest could be the place to a strong opinion!?
Nope. I can’t do it. One quick glance at their records was enough for me. Belbita got 30-25’d by a wrestling Molly McCann and submitted by Liana Jojua, whilst Maria Oliveira got soundly beaten on the scorecards by Vanesa Demopoulos and voluntarily asked to stop fighting after 3 minutes against Marina Rodriguez.
This one isn’t good enough to open an Apex card, let alone sit on a PPV. I usually really dislike all the WMMA bashing on this sub, but this one isn’t worth the time.
How I line this fight: No.
Bet or Pass: No.
Notable Props: No.
Live Betting Lean: You could do something productive with that 15 minutes. Lift some weights, make some food, rewatch Ngannou v Lewis instead?
Bets
0.5u Irene Aldana to Win (+300)
5u Blake Bilder to Win (-200)
1.5u Imavov v Curtis Goes to Decision (-137 or better) (Might not get this kind of price).
Parlay Do’s: Dan Ige, Blake Bilder, Imavov/Curtis GTD, Maverick/Jasudavicius GTD
Parlay Don’ts: Amanda Nunes, Mike Malott, Miranda Maverick
2023.06.04 23:27 truedilemma What happened to these six older and elderly women? A write up of five women who went missing under mysterious circumstances.
This post is about a couple of older and elderly women who vanished without a trace. I wanted to include women who disappeared without much of an explanation. When elderly people go missing, their disappearances can often be chalked up to a dementia-related event. I believe many elderly people who vanished with their cars may be in the bottom of lakes and rivers. Those who lived near wilderness may have gotten lost and died of exposure. Those who were picked up or hitchhiked could've been brought to a hospital where they were unable to communicate their true identity. The women I included went missing under more suspicious circumstances.
Mayme Hart Johnson - Disappeared June 12th, 2000 from Nashville, Tennessee.
Mayme is the first on the list and the reason I decided to do this post. On June 12th, 2000, Mayme Hart Johnson, a local historian, researcher, and teacher went missing from Nashville, Tennessee. Mayme, who was 85, lived in the 100 block of Bosley Springs Road in West Nashville with her son, Sam, in his apartment. At 6:30 am that morning, her son woke to find his mother gone. While he reported that he wasn't initially concerned because Mayme occasionally left the apartment around that time, he became alarmed when she didn't return by lunchtime. Where Mayme would go/what she would do at that time is not known. Richland Creek is close by to the apartments, but from what I've seen, it's narrow and a body would probably soon be found if it was in there, despite it being 28 miles long. Of course, there is always a chance she made it into a larger body of water that concealed her. A maintenance man from the Johnson's building told authorities that he had seen Mayme at 6:30 am the day she went missing. This was around the time Sam woke up. Whether this employee saw her outside the building, inside the building, near or on her apartment floor, or down the street is not mentioned. At the time of her disappearance Mayme was 5'5, 120 pounds, with brown eyes and gray hair, and last seen wearing pink pants and a pink blouse. Whether these were pajamas or not (possibly indicating a dementia-like episode, where she got up out of the house and left without telling her son or getting dressed) is, like many things in this case, unknown. Mayme, as I mentioned, was a historian and if you google her name you will find a few sites that show her body of work. In 1986, she published "A Treasury of Tennessee Churches". A search for Mayme was conducted in the Nashville area and extended to Huntingdon, TN, where her husband's grave was, and where she had been visiting the weekend before she vanished. There was also an aerial search of Eastern Maury County that took place in July 2000 after law enforcement came up with a theory that she could be a target of the I-65 rapist. I'm not sure where police got this idea from. The I-65/Days Inn Killer, now identified as Harry Edward Greenwell, murdered three hotel clerks (ages 21, 24, 34) in the late 1980s. He also sexually assaulted a 21 year old hotel clerk in 1990. While LE does believe he's connected to more violent crimes, I'm not sure how they link Mayme to him--if you know, please add your knowledge in the comments. After the aerial search, nothing was found linking anything to Mayme. In 2008 she was declared deceased.
-
Helen Joyce Rawley - disappeared June 4th, 2003 from College Park, Maryland
Helen Joyce Rawley lived in a bungalow on the 4600 block of Knox Road in College Park, Maryland with her son. 75 year old Helen went by her middle name "Joyce" so that is how I'll refer to her. Seventy-five year old Joyce and her son, Tom, had lived together since the death of Joyce's husband of 48 years, Nelson, in 2001. Between 6:45 and 7:00 am on June 4th, 2003, Joyce was last seen by her tenant, a man who had rented a room at the Rawley home for the last eight years. Joyce was seen by him on her porch that morning as he returned home from work. Beginning the day after her husband died in February 2001, Joyce suffered two strokes four days apart. Because of the strokes, she was unable to talk and considered disabled because of her inability to communicate. In 2002, Joyce underwent chemotherapy and radiation for rectal cancer. She was on medication that made her tired and weak. She didn't go out anywhere by herself except to get the mail. Her mind remained "sound", according to her son. The day she went missing, her son returned home from his foreman job at 3:30 pm, and found the house empty with the lights off. Joyce's purse and wallet remained left behind in her bedroom, everything was in place, and there were no signs of a robbery. Police tracked Joyce's scent out the front door which she never used, and to the corner of the block. However, she went missing on a "rain-soaked" and "dreary" day and it's possible the bad weather could've washed away any more of her scent outside. Since the death of her husband who died unexpectedly in his sleep, and her two other sons who died together in a 1982 boating accident, Joyce's immediate family consisted of her remaining child Tom, who was unmarried and childless at the time of his mother's disappearance. If she had other family out of the area is unknown. She does have a beach house in Annapolis, Maryland, but had not visited there after she went missing. She was 75 when she disappeared, standing between 5'4-5'5 and 110 pounds. Due to her cancer, she wore a colostomy bag and was on several medications that she can't go long without. Fliers with Joyce's information went out, woods were searched, local bus drivers were notified and questioned if they had seen her, and hospitals had been checked. A helicopter flew over the city at night with a heat-detecting device. No sight of her was ever found. She had brown eyes and white hair and was last seen in a sweatshirt and slacks. She enjoys gardening, crossword puzzles, and reading. Police don't suspect foul play and Tom isn't considered a suspect (neither is the tenant who was the last to see her), but they aren't sure what could've happened.
-
Maebell Dawson - disappeared January 3rd, 1998 from Jefferson Township, Ohio
68 year old Maebell Dawson had lived in a one bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor of the Martin Luther Manor Living Center on Liscum Drive for about a year when she went missing. Maebell was divorced, had two daughters, and had retired from a hospital housekeeping job two years prior. Maebell was close to her family, and when calls to reach her went unanswered for two days, by January 5th, her residence was checked. Nothing in the second-story apartment was missing or out of place. Her winter coat was draped over a chair, her wallet, credit cards, cash, and a check for rent dated 1/8/98 were all found in her purse on the table. Her bank account was never accessed again. There were no signs of forced entry, a struggle or robbery inside the apartment. LE does not believe Maebell was attacked from her apartment or lured from the premises, but they do believe foul play was involved. According to CharleyProject, suicide "has not been ruled out but has been deemed unlikely". In 1998, Maebell was between 5'4 - 5'6 and 180 pounds. She had brown eyes and gray hair, wore glasses, and was last seen in a tan jogging suit. She was last seen entering her apartment at 9:30 pm on January 3rd. Five and a half years after her disappearance, Maebell was declared legally dead.
-
Norma Mae Maynard - disappeared February 3rd, 1979 from Boone, Iowa.
Norma Mae Maynard went missing in early February of 1979, just two weeks after the unexpected death of her husband, Carl, on January 19th. Norma and Carl had been married for three decades and Norma was deeply grieving the loss. Norma lived with her 30 year old son, and he was the last to see his mother. He stated that shortly before noon on February 2nd, he found a note from his 61 year old mother that stated she was on her way to Los Angeles, not to look for her, and that she'd get in touch again someday. The validity of this note (if seen by LE, if handwritten analysis was performed, etc) is not known. Norma's purse and a few items of clothing were missing, but her checkbook and jewelry were left behind. There was no sign of a break-in at the house. Her husband's pension which she lived off of and her bank account with savings was not touched. Norma was a shy woman who spent most of her time at home and had a regular routine. She didn't drive and her brothers stated that she had never been more than a few miles from her hometown. Her husband's funeral bill was paid for by a check dated four days after she vanished and signed by "Mrs. Carl Maynard". According to Charley Project, "The signature appeared to match Maynard's handwriting, and her son said she had signed a blank check and left it with him to fill in and pay the bill". The validity of this is not known either. A sighting of a woman matching Norma's description was seen by a local Greyhound bus station employee. The woman was boarding a bus bound for Los Angeles. Police are not sure of the accuracy of this sighting and consider it "shaky". Norma didn't drive but she didn't normally travel by bus, and why she allegedly went to Los Angeles is unknown: she had no friends or family there. Norma's son was not considered a suspect in her case, though some members of her family believe he was involved in her disappearance. He has maintained his innocence and has since moved out of state. Norma was 5'3 tall and weight 175 pounds, with blue eyes and gray hair. If she was alive today, she'd be 105. I believe someone close to her knows what happened and made up the story about her leaving for California. My second theory would be suicide, and she made up the California story so her family wouldn't worry.
-
Yu Chin Goodson - disappeared March 25th, 2005 from Russellville, Franklin County, Alabama.
Yu Chin Goodson is one of the youngest on my list, and at 57, I wouldn't classify her as elderly, but she is an older woman with a lot of mental and physical issues, who went missing under mysterious circumstances like these other women. Yu Chin is an Asian woman suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, diabetes, and a heart problem which required daily medication. In 2005, she was living in group home for patients with mental disabilities in Russellville, Alabama. On March 25th, 2005, a witness claimed to see Yu Chin enter a small, older grey or silver car with a loud muffler. The car was headed toward the Decatur, Alabama area, which is where her son lives. Staff at the group home were informed that Yu Chin was gone, and within 15 minutes of her disappearance, the police were notified and a search for Yu Chin began. No trace of her was ever found. Her son, who lives in the Decatur area, was never contacted by his mother. There has been no mention of foul play, and authorities believe she could currently be homeless and living in shelters. At the time of this write up, she has been missing for almost twenty years and would be around 75 if still alive.
-
Barbara B. Blount - disappeared May 2nd, 2008 from Holden, Louisiana
Barbara B. Blount was a 58 year old widow who lived on the same road as her children, kept in regular contact with her family and friends, and was active in her local church. It came as a surprise one morning when her nephew came over to visit her residence in rural Livingston Parish, Louisiana, and Barbara was nowhere to be found. A neighbor had just spoken to her over the phone, and Barbara had said she was cleaning out her kitchen cabinets. By the time her nephew had arrived for a visit, the front door was wide open, Barbara's phone was lying on the floor with the battery pulled out, her car was gone, and Barbara was missing. Besides for the unusual circumstances in the home, police didn't find any proof of forced entry. A few hours later in the late afternoon, the silver four door 2006 Toyota Camry Barbara owned was found a quarter of a mile from her home. It was found 25-30 yards off the main road and out of sight, hidden by trees. No trace of Barbara was discovered, baffling friends and family who described Barbara as a cautious individual who carried a gun when she went outside to milk the cows and didn't open the door to strangers. Waterways and woods were searched in attempt to find Barbara, but nothing was ever found.
submitted by truedilemma to UnresolvedMysteries [link] [comments]
Mayme Hart Johnson - Disappeared June 12th, 2000 from Nashville, Tennessee.
Mayme is the first on the list and the reason I decided to do this post. On June 12th, 2000, Mayme Hart Johnson, a local historian, researcher, and teacher went missing from Nashville, Tennessee. Mayme, who was 85, lived in the 100 block of Bosley Springs Road in West Nashville with her son, Sam, in his apartment. At 6:30 am that morning, her son woke to find his mother gone. While he reported that he wasn't initially concerned because Mayme occasionally left the apartment around that time, he became alarmed when she didn't return by lunchtime. Where Mayme would go/what she would do at that time is not known. Richland Creek is close by to the apartments, but from what I've seen, it's narrow and a body would probably soon be found if it was in there, despite it being 28 miles long. Of course, there is always a chance she made it into a larger body of water that concealed her. A maintenance man from the Johnson's building told authorities that he had seen Mayme at 6:30 am the day she went missing. This was around the time Sam woke up. Whether this employee saw her outside the building, inside the building, near or on her apartment floor, or down the street is not mentioned. At the time of her disappearance Mayme was 5'5, 120 pounds, with brown eyes and gray hair, and last seen wearing pink pants and a pink blouse. Whether these were pajamas or not (possibly indicating a dementia-like episode, where she got up out of the house and left without telling her son or getting dressed) is, like many things in this case, unknown. Mayme, as I mentioned, was a historian and if you google her name you will find a few sites that show her body of work. In 1986, she published "A Treasury of Tennessee Churches". A search for Mayme was conducted in the Nashville area and extended to Huntingdon, TN, where her husband's grave was, and where she had been visiting the weekend before she vanished. There was also an aerial search of Eastern Maury County that took place in July 2000 after law enforcement came up with a theory that she could be a target of the I-65 rapist. I'm not sure where police got this idea from. The I-65/Days Inn Killer, now identified as Harry Edward Greenwell, murdered three hotel clerks (ages 21, 24, 34) in the late 1980s. He also sexually assaulted a 21 year old hotel clerk in 1990. While LE does believe he's connected to more violent crimes, I'm not sure how they link Mayme to him--if you know, please add your knowledge in the comments. After the aerial search, nothing was found linking anything to Mayme. In 2008 she was declared deceased.
-
Helen Joyce Rawley - disappeared June 4th, 2003 from College Park, Maryland
Helen Joyce Rawley lived in a bungalow on the 4600 block of Knox Road in College Park, Maryland with her son. 75 year old Helen went by her middle name "Joyce" so that is how I'll refer to her. Seventy-five year old Joyce and her son, Tom, had lived together since the death of Joyce's husband of 48 years, Nelson, in 2001. Between 6:45 and 7:00 am on June 4th, 2003, Joyce was last seen by her tenant, a man who had rented a room at the Rawley home for the last eight years. Joyce was seen by him on her porch that morning as he returned home from work. Beginning the day after her husband died in February 2001, Joyce suffered two strokes four days apart. Because of the strokes, she was unable to talk and considered disabled because of her inability to communicate. In 2002, Joyce underwent chemotherapy and radiation for rectal cancer. She was on medication that made her tired and weak. She didn't go out anywhere by herself except to get the mail. Her mind remained "sound", according to her son. The day she went missing, her son returned home from his foreman job at 3:30 pm, and found the house empty with the lights off. Joyce's purse and wallet remained left behind in her bedroom, everything was in place, and there were no signs of a robbery. Police tracked Joyce's scent out the front door which she never used, and to the corner of the block. However, she went missing on a "rain-soaked" and "dreary" day and it's possible the bad weather could've washed away any more of her scent outside. Since the death of her husband who died unexpectedly in his sleep, and her two other sons who died together in a 1982 boating accident, Joyce's immediate family consisted of her remaining child Tom, who was unmarried and childless at the time of his mother's disappearance. If she had other family out of the area is unknown. She does have a beach house in Annapolis, Maryland, but had not visited there after she went missing. She was 75 when she disappeared, standing between 5'4-5'5 and 110 pounds. Due to her cancer, she wore a colostomy bag and was on several medications that she can't go long without. Fliers with Joyce's information went out, woods were searched, local bus drivers were notified and questioned if they had seen her, and hospitals had been checked. A helicopter flew over the city at night with a heat-detecting device. No sight of her was ever found. She had brown eyes and white hair and was last seen in a sweatshirt and slacks. She enjoys gardening, crossword puzzles, and reading. Police don't suspect foul play and Tom isn't considered a suspect (neither is the tenant who was the last to see her), but they aren't sure what could've happened.
-
Maebell Dawson - disappeared January 3rd, 1998 from Jefferson Township, Ohio
68 year old Maebell Dawson had lived in a one bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor of the Martin Luther Manor Living Center on Liscum Drive for about a year when she went missing. Maebell was divorced, had two daughters, and had retired from a hospital housekeeping job two years prior. Maebell was close to her family, and when calls to reach her went unanswered for two days, by January 5th, her residence was checked. Nothing in the second-story apartment was missing or out of place. Her winter coat was draped over a chair, her wallet, credit cards, cash, and a check for rent dated 1/8/98 were all found in her purse on the table. Her bank account was never accessed again. There were no signs of forced entry, a struggle or robbery inside the apartment. LE does not believe Maebell was attacked from her apartment or lured from the premises, but they do believe foul play was involved. According to CharleyProject, suicide "has not been ruled out but has been deemed unlikely". In 1998, Maebell was between 5'4 - 5'6 and 180 pounds. She had brown eyes and gray hair, wore glasses, and was last seen in a tan jogging suit. She was last seen entering her apartment at 9:30 pm on January 3rd. Five and a half years after her disappearance, Maebell was declared legally dead.
-
Norma Mae Maynard - disappeared February 3rd, 1979 from Boone, Iowa.
Norma Mae Maynard went missing in early February of 1979, just two weeks after the unexpected death of her husband, Carl, on January 19th. Norma and Carl had been married for three decades and Norma was deeply grieving the loss. Norma lived with her 30 year old son, and he was the last to see his mother. He stated that shortly before noon on February 2nd, he found a note from his 61 year old mother that stated she was on her way to Los Angeles, not to look for her, and that she'd get in touch again someday. The validity of this note (if seen by LE, if handwritten analysis was performed, etc) is not known. Norma's purse and a few items of clothing were missing, but her checkbook and jewelry were left behind. There was no sign of a break-in at the house. Her husband's pension which she lived off of and her bank account with savings was not touched. Norma was a shy woman who spent most of her time at home and had a regular routine. She didn't drive and her brothers stated that she had never been more than a few miles from her hometown. Her husband's funeral bill was paid for by a check dated four days after she vanished and signed by "Mrs. Carl Maynard". According to Charley Project, "The signature appeared to match Maynard's handwriting, and her son said she had signed a blank check and left it with him to fill in and pay the bill". The validity of this is not known either. A sighting of a woman matching Norma's description was seen by a local Greyhound bus station employee. The woman was boarding a bus bound for Los Angeles. Police are not sure of the accuracy of this sighting and consider it "shaky". Norma didn't drive but she didn't normally travel by bus, and why she allegedly went to Los Angeles is unknown: she had no friends or family there. Norma's son was not considered a suspect in her case, though some members of her family believe he was involved in her disappearance. He has maintained his innocence and has since moved out of state. Norma was 5'3 tall and weight 175 pounds, with blue eyes and gray hair. If she was alive today, she'd be 105. I believe someone close to her knows what happened and made up the story about her leaving for California. My second theory would be suicide, and she made up the California story so her family wouldn't worry.
-
Yu Chin Goodson - disappeared March 25th, 2005 from Russellville, Franklin County, Alabama.
Yu Chin Goodson is one of the youngest on my list, and at 57, I wouldn't classify her as elderly, but she is an older woman with a lot of mental and physical issues, who went missing under mysterious circumstances like these other women. Yu Chin is an Asian woman suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, diabetes, and a heart problem which required daily medication. In 2005, she was living in group home for patients with mental disabilities in Russellville, Alabama. On March 25th, 2005, a witness claimed to see Yu Chin enter a small, older grey or silver car with a loud muffler. The car was headed toward the Decatur, Alabama area, which is where her son lives. Staff at the group home were informed that Yu Chin was gone, and within 15 minutes of her disappearance, the police were notified and a search for Yu Chin began. No trace of her was ever found. Her son, who lives in the Decatur area, was never contacted by his mother. There has been no mention of foul play, and authorities believe she could currently be homeless and living in shelters. At the time of this write up, she has been missing for almost twenty years and would be around 75 if still alive.
-
Barbara B. Blount - disappeared May 2nd, 2008 from Holden, Louisiana
Barbara B. Blount was a 58 year old widow who lived on the same road as her children, kept in regular contact with her family and friends, and was active in her local church. It came as a surprise one morning when her nephew came over to visit her residence in rural Livingston Parish, Louisiana, and Barbara was nowhere to be found. A neighbor had just spoken to her over the phone, and Barbara had said she was cleaning out her kitchen cabinets. By the time her nephew had arrived for a visit, the front door was wide open, Barbara's phone was lying on the floor with the battery pulled out, her car was gone, and Barbara was missing. Besides for the unusual circumstances in the home, police didn't find any proof of forced entry. A few hours later in the late afternoon, the silver four door 2006 Toyota Camry Barbara owned was found a quarter of a mile from her home. It was found 25-30 yards off the main road and out of sight, hidden by trees. No trace of Barbara was discovered, baffling friends and family who described Barbara as a cautious individual who carried a gun when she went outside to milk the cows and didn't open the door to strangers. Waterways and woods were searched in attempt to find Barbara, but nothing was ever found.
2023.06.04 23:27 SquareMealDaily Day 1,177 of My Breakfast Project: Breakfast Banh Mi
 | My Breakfast: Day 1177 submitted by SquareMealDaily to BreakfastFood [link] [comments] This is my take on a Vietnamese Breakfast Bánh Mì and it hit every spot I had this morning and then some. I do love this breakfast so much. It’s not fully traditional, so don’t holler at me. It’s my take. It’s also “my take” because I do sort of create a mash up of various Asian foods, which may or may not annoy some people. Since I’m still on a Bánh Mì high, it’s okay. I’ve posted the “Not Really A Recipe” Recipe a bunch of times, but here it is again. 🥖 Get a Crusty French Baguette. Spread with Sriracha Mayo. (Side “not really a recipe” - just mix sriracha and mayo.) 🥚 Make a Tamagoyaki Omelet. A Tamagoyaki “omelet” is a Japanese thing. Beat two eggs with a little sugar – about ½ tsp per egg, some salt, mirin if you have, I add some white pepper too. I also add some sliced scallions and some Lap Cheong Sausage. Cook like a crepe or flat omelet. You can be very proper and use a rectangular Tamagoyaki pan, but you don’t have to. Put together on the baguette with: 🥕 Julienned Carrots- Quick Pickled in rice wine vinegar, salt and mirin. 🍖 Paté, my house was paté-less this morning so (quelle horreur!) I used ham. 🥢 Mandolined Daikon – Those are the things that look like egg white rounds. 🌶 Sliced Fresh Jalapeños, or omit if you’re spice averse. 🌿 Fresh Herbs: Mint / Cilantro / Basil or whatever combo you like. Layer all the above however you like. Then eat and be content. Even if you make it all wrong, you’ll still be all right. Not 100% traditional, but 100% delicious.Damn. Now I want this for dinner. |
2023.06.04 23:26 No_Fact_8573 25F - Contact Moved last Night, Tried to get it out now eye is red and puffy/hurts
I was wearing my contacts last night for a good chunk of the day and went to concert around 6pm. Around an hour later, I felt my right contact shift (my vision in my right eye went blurry) so I tried to get it back into place a few times but it just wouldn't stay. I tried to find it in my eye multiple times so I could take it out but I just couldn't find it (I'm starting to think it fell out because now my eye doesn't feel like there's something in it).
When I woke up this morning, I had the below issues:
I've been wearing contacts since I was 14 & this is the first time something like this has happened to me so I'm worried for obvious reasons!
TIA!
submitted by No_Fact_8573 to eyetriage [link] [comments]
When I woke up this morning, I had the below issues:
- top & bottom eyelids are swollen/puffy, along with my under eye area.
- eye was watering for about an hour this morning but has since stopped and has not resumed
- only the lower part of my eye is red - only the blood vessels and there are no patches of red like if a bunch of blood vessels broke
- hurts when I blink (I've been putting warm compresses on to try to get the puffiness down)
I've been wearing contacts since I was 14 & this is the first time something like this has happened to me so I'm worried for obvious reasons!
TIA!
2023.06.04 23:26 SquareMealDaily Day 1,177 of My Breakfast Project: Breakfast Banh Mi
My Breakfast: Day 1177
This is my take on a Vietnamese Breakfast Bánh Mì and it hit every spot I had this morning and then some. I do love this breakfast so much. It’s not fully traditional, so don’t holler at me. It’s my take.
It’s also “my take” because I do sort of create a mash up of various Asian foods, which may or may not annoy some people. Since I’m still on a Bánh Mì high, it’s okay. I’ve posted the “Not Really A Recipe” Recipe a bunch of times, but here it is again.
🥖 Get a Crusty French Baguette. Spread with Sriracha Mayo. (Side “not really a recipe” - just mix sriracha and mayo.) 🥚 Make a Tamagoyaki Omelet. A Tamagoyaki “omelet” is a Japanese thing. Beat two eggs with a little sugar – about ½ tsp per egg, some salt, mirin if you have, I add some white pepper too. I also add some sliced scallions and some Lap Cheong Sausage.
Cook like a crepe or flat omelet. You can be very proper and use a rectangular Tamagoyaki pan, but you don’t have to.
Put together on the baguette with: 🥕 Julienned Carrots- Quick Pickled in rice wine vinegar, salt and mirin. 🍖 Paté, my house was paté-less this morning so (quelle horreur!) I used ham. 🥢 Mandolined Daikon – Those are the things that look like egg white rounds. 🌶 Sliced Fresh Jalapeños, or omit if you’re spice averse. 🌿 Fresh Herbs: Mint / Cilantro / Basil or whatever combo you like.
Layer all the above however you like. Then eat and be content. Even if you make it all wrong, you’ll still be all right.
Not 100% traditional, but 100% delicious.Damn. Now I want this for dinner.
submitted by SquareMealDaily to Breakfast [link] [comments]
This is my take on a Vietnamese Breakfast Bánh Mì and it hit every spot I had this morning and then some. I do love this breakfast so much. It’s not fully traditional, so don’t holler at me. It’s my take.
It’s also “my take” because I do sort of create a mash up of various Asian foods, which may or may not annoy some people. Since I’m still on a Bánh Mì high, it’s okay. I’ve posted the “Not Really A Recipe” Recipe a bunch of times, but here it is again.
🥖 Get a Crusty French Baguette. Spread with Sriracha Mayo. (Side “not really a recipe” - just mix sriracha and mayo.) 🥚 Make a Tamagoyaki Omelet. A Tamagoyaki “omelet” is a Japanese thing. Beat two eggs with a little sugar – about ½ tsp per egg, some salt, mirin if you have, I add some white pepper too. I also add some sliced scallions and some Lap Cheong Sausage.
Cook like a crepe or flat omelet. You can be very proper and use a rectangular Tamagoyaki pan, but you don’t have to.
Put together on the baguette with: 🥕 Julienned Carrots- Quick Pickled in rice wine vinegar, salt and mirin. 🍖 Paté, my house was paté-less this morning so (quelle horreur!) I used ham. 🥢 Mandolined Daikon – Those are the things that look like egg white rounds. 🌶 Sliced Fresh Jalapeños, or omit if you’re spice averse. 🌿 Fresh Herbs: Mint / Cilantro / Basil or whatever combo you like.
Layer all the above however you like. Then eat and be content. Even if you make it all wrong, you’ll still be all right.
Not 100% traditional, but 100% delicious.Damn. Now I want this for dinner.
2023.06.04 23:25 Sempre_Piano ClassicalTunes Unlimited
Introducing "ClassicalTunes Unlimited" - the classical music streaming service that will revolutionize your musical experience! Are you tired of mundane tunes and predictable beats? Say goodbye to that banal pop and repetitive EDM. It's time to embrace the elegance and sophistication of centuries-old compositions with our cutting-edge platform!
Picture this: You're lounging in your velvet armchair, sipping a fine glass of wine, and suddenly, the glorious strains of Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto" fill the air. With ClassicalTunes Unlimited, you'll be transported to a realm of timeless beauty, where every note is meticulously crafted to tantalize your refined taste.
But that's not all! We've meticulously curated our collection to bring you the most exclusive selection of obscure classical gems. From forgotten medieval chants to avant-garde experimental compositions, we've got it all. Get ready to impress your friends with your extensive knowledge of obscure composers that even the musicologists haven't heard of!
And let's not forget our exclusive playlist feature: "Composers' Moods." Feeling melancholic? Dive into our "Tortured Geniuses" playlist, featuring the darkest works of composers who knew a thing or two about suffering. Need a pick-me-up? Our "Joyous Journeys" playlist will have you waltzing through the room in no time!
But wait, there's more! With our patented "Conductor's Baton" feature, you can conduct your own virtual orchestra from the comfort of your living room. Imagine waving your smartphone in the air, perfectly in sync with the music, as if you were leading a symphony at Carnegie Hall. It's the ultimate power trip for the aspiring maestro!
And for those moments when you're feeling extra sophisticated, we offer a selection of classical music-themed ringtones, so you can make your phone calls sound like a royal appointment with Mozart himself.
So, are you ready to dive into a world of powdered wigs, candlelit concert halls, and musical opulence? Join ClassicalTunes Unlimited today and become the refined connoisseur you were destined to be. After all, why settle for ordinary when you can indulge in extraordinary? Classical music awaits you, my friend. Embrace the sonic grandeur and let your ears rejoice!
submitted by Sempre_Piano to classicalmusic [link] [comments]
Picture this: You're lounging in your velvet armchair, sipping a fine glass of wine, and suddenly, the glorious strains of Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto" fill the air. With ClassicalTunes Unlimited, you'll be transported to a realm of timeless beauty, where every note is meticulously crafted to tantalize your refined taste.
But that's not all! We've meticulously curated our collection to bring you the most exclusive selection of obscure classical gems. From forgotten medieval chants to avant-garde experimental compositions, we've got it all. Get ready to impress your friends with your extensive knowledge of obscure composers that even the musicologists haven't heard of!
And let's not forget our exclusive playlist feature: "Composers' Moods." Feeling melancholic? Dive into our "Tortured Geniuses" playlist, featuring the darkest works of composers who knew a thing or two about suffering. Need a pick-me-up? Our "Joyous Journeys" playlist will have you waltzing through the room in no time!
But wait, there's more! With our patented "Conductor's Baton" feature, you can conduct your own virtual orchestra from the comfort of your living room. Imagine waving your smartphone in the air, perfectly in sync with the music, as if you were leading a symphony at Carnegie Hall. It's the ultimate power trip for the aspiring maestro!
And for those moments when you're feeling extra sophisticated, we offer a selection of classical music-themed ringtones, so you can make your phone calls sound like a royal appointment with Mozart himself.
So, are you ready to dive into a world of powdered wigs, candlelit concert halls, and musical opulence? Join ClassicalTunes Unlimited today and become the refined connoisseur you were destined to be. After all, why settle for ordinary when you can indulge in extraordinary? Classical music awaits you, my friend. Embrace the sonic grandeur and let your ears rejoice!
2023.06.04 23:25 Thick_Mick_Chick Song of Soliloquy
If there was one thing Soliloquy hated? She really hated being proven wrong. She knew she couldn't be right about everything but she HATED being 100% sure she was wrong. It made her look stupid and stupid was something Soliloquy most certainly was not.
She wasn't like the other kids. Mama said that was okay. We weren't meant to be like everyone else. What makes us different also makes us special. Soliloquy believed it because there's no way Mama would lie to her.
Mama was so smart. She'd picked up on all of the little things Soliloquy did as a baby and, then, a toddler. Mama knew Soliloquy was such a "special" girl. Only she truly believed in Soliloquy. She'd never known her Daddy. Mama didn't care for talking about him too much. From what little Mama did say about him? It's probably better off that way.
She'd been so little when the first incident happened. Mama knew for certain then. There'd been no doubt left in Mama's mind. Mama had been busy and didn't get Soliloquy's bottle warmed up for her in a timely fashion. She was just a baby and had no way of controlling her anger. It wasn't poor Mama's fault, either. She had her hands full being a single mother. It just exploded. Mama said that it scared her so! She was grateful she hadn't been close to the microwave because the glass went everywhere. Mama knew from that day that she could never be late with Soliloquy's bottle ever again.
Now? This turdy boy thinks a tomato is a fruit?! Why would he think that?! EVERYONE knows tomatoes are vegetables!
"Dummy! I'm trying to tell you! If you weren't so freaking poor? Maybe you could afford a cell phone and Google it, Stupid!" Grover Dill was not a nice, cute, clean nor smart boy. All he was to Soliloquy was trouble and headaches. He'd bullied her every since kindergarten and he hadn't let up one day from then until now. He hasn't even slowed down in the 6th grade. Mama always tried to talk Soliloquy down when he tormented her so. She really hoped she made it home this time so Mama could do it, again. Soliloquy knew if she had another "spell"? Mama would be so disappointed. Please, please, please, let her make it back home, again.
"At least I'm not named after a Sesame Street muppet!" Soliloquy could feel tears sting her eyes.
"And your name means you talk to yourself!" Grover just had to say something. He couldn't just let it go.
She was walking away. She was trying so hard. It was happening, though. She wasn't getting flushed. She was getting HOT!
"GROVER CLAUDE DILL! DON'T SAY NOTHIN' ELSE TO ME!" Soliloquy was burning up.
"NOTHIN', WHITE TRASH!" Grover was cackling and Soliloquy was coming unglued.
She kept trying to distract herself. It wasn't helping. Where would it go this time? What would it mean? She should "put it" somewhere. But put it where?
"Back off! Calm down!" Soliloquy shut her eyes and kept repeating the 2 phrases, over and over, more to herself than anyone. Something was cracking, splitting, something was breaking!
Soliloquy opened her eyes to see Grover Dill standing underneath a tree with a very heavy branch that was cracking and breaking. Of course? Being the hillbilly, redneck, The Hills Have Eyes inbred that he is? He was too busy cackling like an old mountain witch to notice.
"I should tell him. I should. Mama would be disappointed, but I just can't take anymore of him!" Soliloquy debated with her conscience. She knew it was wrong. You ain't suppose to be doin' wrong. Sweet little baby Jesus, she just couldn't take him, anymore. So? Soliloquy settled on, "What Mama don't know won't hurt her."
She looked up at the branch. It honestly could've went either way, at that point. She knew which way it would go this time.
The tree branch groaned in protest as it continued to break away from it's perch. Then? CRAAAAAAACK! In the words of John Mellencamp (one of Mama's favorites since she's from Indiana, too)? It came "Crumblin' Down."
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The branch completely broke free and plummeted towards Grover's useless head. Soliloquy thought, "It's going to be more useless in about 3 more seconds." And? Soliloquy stifled a giggle.
Boom! Soliloquy couldn't believe what she'd seen. The branch fell on Grover just as he threw his head back to laugh harder. BAM! Smack in his face! Grover let out a guttural scream as the branch slammed his face and the rest of his body folded like an accordion as he fell to the sidewalk. He was breathing really funny and it sounded wet. Oh, no. She thought it would just knock him out! This was more than she could deal with. Mama would know how to handle this. She was so sure of it!
"Better look around and see if anyone was watching." Soliloquy began scanning the school, playground and sidewalk she was on. School had been over for awhile. No one was around. Don't ask? Don't tell. She ran all the way home.
Contrary to the skid mark named Grover Dill's opinion? She most certainly was not white trash. It was true that all that Mama could afford was a trailer. The trailer was clean and Soliloquy had her own room and she was happy. She didn't have a problem so why did that poster child for abortion have to say such mean and hurtful things? Did that make him deserving of a death sentence? As Soliloquy peaked the little hill right before her house? She saw Mama out in the front yard. Thank the Lord! She'll know what to do.
"Soliloquy, Baby? That you?" Mama looked up as she rounded the corner. Soliloquy ran to her until she almost passed out.
"Mama! I didn't mean to, Mama!" Soliloquy began to plead her case just as soon as she saw her.
"Baby! What's happened?" Mama's furrowed brow let Soliloquy know she was very concerned.
"Mama! I swear, Mama!" Soliloquy finally reached Mama and hugged her like she'd never let go.
"Come inside, Baby, and tell me what happened." Mama took Soliloquy inside and they both sat on the couch. Soliloquy was so happy to be home if not happy about her circumstance.
"Mama! It was Grover, again!" Soliloquy was tearing up
"What did he do this time, Soliloquy?" Mama asked as if she were irritated that his name even got brought up.
"I didn't know, Mama. I really thought tomatoes were vegetables. Grover told me they are actually fruit." Soliloquy timidly approached the subject.
"And that was the fight?" Mama knew there had to be more to this.
"No, there was more. That's just what started it." Soliloquy replied and Mama nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"He just wouldn't stop, Mama. He just..." Soliloquy burst into tears.
"Soliloquy? Did you have another spell?" Mama always got right to the point.
Welp. There it was. The time to cough it up. "I tried not to, Mama. Please, believe me!"
"Soliloquy? Tell me what happened and tell me what happened right now. I'm not angry, but I do need to know." Mama was getting more upset.
"Deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth." Soliloquy said to herself.
"Okay. We kept arguing and he was saying really nasty things and I was getting so mad, Mama!" She couldn't hold back.
"He was really hurtful and hateful and I... I....." Soliloquy tapered off.
"You had a spell?" Mama already knew.
"Yes, Mama. I did." Soliloquy replied and stayed silent.
"How bad was it, Baby?" Mama resigned herself to the fate of knowing it has most certainly happened, again.
"Bad, bad, Mama." Soliloquy placed her head in her hands and openly sobbed.
"Baby? Is he dead?" Mama needed to know.
"I don't know, Mama. I just don't know." Soliloquy was racked with sobs.
"Baby, this isn't your fault. I was hoping it wouldn't get this bad. I was hoping it'd would never go this far. This is something you just can't control. There's no way you can when you get older. It happened to me, too." Mama said without realizing she'd just turned Soliloquy's world upside down.
What did she mean it happened to her, too? Wait, what?
"Mama? What do you mean it happened to you?" Soliloquy was certain she'd feel better once she talked to Mama but she most definitely was not feeling better.
"Soliloquy, you've had these spells every since you were born. Well? Before you were born? I had them."
Mama had the spells when she was younger, too?
"I was born like you. I had spells from time to time and it was usually out of my control until I got older. I learned how to self soothe so nothing really bad happened. I thought it was all okay. I really did. Well, when I met your Daddy? I thought I'd never have another spell, again. I really did. I loved him so much. In the beginning? He was good to me, too. Then? Bethany. She just had to come along and screw it up. She was so much prettier and thinner than me and your Daddy just fell head over heels. I was crushed. I was devastated. How can I compete with skinny ass Methany? What could I do to make sure your Daddy stayed with me? Well, I thought of what women have thought of since time immemorial. I got pregnant. Your Daddy was happy at first. He really wanted you. As time went on? I got bigger and more unattractive as I got further along. Pregnancy isn't normally when a woman looks her best. Well, that just made your horn dog Daddy run to Bethany even more. I was losing him and couldn't do a thing about it. One day? A few weeks before I was due to have you? Your Daddy came to me and informed me that he's moving in with Bethany. He said he wanted nothing further to do with me and would see me in court over visitation and support. He very much wanted to be in your life, but not mine. Well, who in the hell does he think he is? I'll be damned if he's coming to see you but doesn't want me! So? As he stood at the bottom step of our front porch? Flames started licking his workboots and he screamed. I just laughed with delight the whole time he was burning up! When I had you? The "spells" moved onto you and left me." Mama just smiled at Soliloquy like she just told her what the weather was like outside.
Soliloquy's head was spinning. Mama killed Daddy because he only wanted me and not her? No. NO! THAT'S NOT IT!
"Mama, you just got mad and it got away from you, right?" Soliloquy hoped she said yes.
"Oh, no, Baby. The second he told me he wanted you but not me? I crisped him like bacon!" Mama laughed. She actually laughed.
Soliloquy didn't know how to get out of this. Mama actually KILLED her Daddy. She never got to meet him. She never got to love him. She'd never known anything more than the crappy little podunk town she'd been born and raised in. She could've known more. She could've known nicer. She could've known better.
"What's the matter, Baby? You look unhappy." Was Mama actually serious? What's the matter? WHAT'S THE MATTER? SHE HAS GOT TO BE KIDDING!
It started happening. The flames licked onto the outside of the trailer and climbed up its walls and doors.
"Soliloquy! What are you doing? Why are you burning up the trailer? Stop it this instant!" Now Mama was the one angry.
"No, Mama, I can't do that. You wanted me all to yourself. Well? Here I am. Both of us can head down to hell together." Soliloquy looked at her with a sinister smile. It was then she just had to laugh. Sesame Street was on the T.V. behind Mama sobbing. Guess Grover got the last laugh after all.
submitted by Thick_Mick_Chick to TheDarkGathering [link] [comments]
She wasn't like the other kids. Mama said that was okay. We weren't meant to be like everyone else. What makes us different also makes us special. Soliloquy believed it because there's no way Mama would lie to her.
Mama was so smart. She'd picked up on all of the little things Soliloquy did as a baby and, then, a toddler. Mama knew Soliloquy was such a "special" girl. Only she truly believed in Soliloquy. She'd never known her Daddy. Mama didn't care for talking about him too much. From what little Mama did say about him? It's probably better off that way.
She'd been so little when the first incident happened. Mama knew for certain then. There'd been no doubt left in Mama's mind. Mama had been busy and didn't get Soliloquy's bottle warmed up for her in a timely fashion. She was just a baby and had no way of controlling her anger. It wasn't poor Mama's fault, either. She had her hands full being a single mother. It just exploded. Mama said that it scared her so! She was grateful she hadn't been close to the microwave because the glass went everywhere. Mama knew from that day that she could never be late with Soliloquy's bottle ever again.
Now? This turdy boy thinks a tomato is a fruit?! Why would he think that?! EVERYONE knows tomatoes are vegetables!
"Dummy! I'm trying to tell you! If you weren't so freaking poor? Maybe you could afford a cell phone and Google it, Stupid!" Grover Dill was not a nice, cute, clean nor smart boy. All he was to Soliloquy was trouble and headaches. He'd bullied her every since kindergarten and he hadn't let up one day from then until now. He hasn't even slowed down in the 6th grade. Mama always tried to talk Soliloquy down when he tormented her so. She really hoped she made it home this time so Mama could do it, again. Soliloquy knew if she had another "spell"? Mama would be so disappointed. Please, please, please, let her make it back home, again.
"At least I'm not named after a Sesame Street muppet!" Soliloquy could feel tears sting her eyes.
"And your name means you talk to yourself!" Grover just had to say something. He couldn't just let it go.
She was walking away. She was trying so hard. It was happening, though. She wasn't getting flushed. She was getting HOT!
"GROVER CLAUDE DILL! DON'T SAY NOTHIN' ELSE TO ME!" Soliloquy was burning up.
"NOTHIN', WHITE TRASH!" Grover was cackling and Soliloquy was coming unglued.
She kept trying to distract herself. It wasn't helping. Where would it go this time? What would it mean? She should "put it" somewhere. But put it where?
"Back off! Calm down!" Soliloquy shut her eyes and kept repeating the 2 phrases, over and over, more to herself than anyone. Something was cracking, splitting, something was breaking!
Soliloquy opened her eyes to see Grover Dill standing underneath a tree with a very heavy branch that was cracking and breaking. Of course? Being the hillbilly, redneck, The Hills Have Eyes inbred that he is? He was too busy cackling like an old mountain witch to notice.
"I should tell him. I should. Mama would be disappointed, but I just can't take anymore of him!" Soliloquy debated with her conscience. She knew it was wrong. You ain't suppose to be doin' wrong. Sweet little baby Jesus, she just couldn't take him, anymore. So? Soliloquy settled on, "What Mama don't know won't hurt her."
She looked up at the branch. It honestly could've went either way, at that point. She knew which way it would go this time.
The tree branch groaned in protest as it continued to break away from it's perch. Then? CRAAAAAAACK! In the words of John Mellencamp (one of Mama's favorites since she's from Indiana, too)? It came "Crumblin' Down."
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The branch completely broke free and plummeted towards Grover's useless head. Soliloquy thought, "It's going to be more useless in about 3 more seconds." And? Soliloquy stifled a giggle.
Boom! Soliloquy couldn't believe what she'd seen. The branch fell on Grover just as he threw his head back to laugh harder. BAM! Smack in his face! Grover let out a guttural scream as the branch slammed his face and the rest of his body folded like an accordion as he fell to the sidewalk. He was breathing really funny and it sounded wet. Oh, no. She thought it would just knock him out! This was more than she could deal with. Mama would know how to handle this. She was so sure of it!
"Better look around and see if anyone was watching." Soliloquy began scanning the school, playground and sidewalk she was on. School had been over for awhile. No one was around. Don't ask? Don't tell. She ran all the way home.
Contrary to the skid mark named Grover Dill's opinion? She most certainly was not white trash. It was true that all that Mama could afford was a trailer. The trailer was clean and Soliloquy had her own room and she was happy. She didn't have a problem so why did that poster child for abortion have to say such mean and hurtful things? Did that make him deserving of a death sentence? As Soliloquy peaked the little hill right before her house? She saw Mama out in the front yard. Thank the Lord! She'll know what to do.
"Soliloquy, Baby? That you?" Mama looked up as she rounded the corner. Soliloquy ran to her until she almost passed out.
"Mama! I didn't mean to, Mama!" Soliloquy began to plead her case just as soon as she saw her.
"Baby! What's happened?" Mama's furrowed brow let Soliloquy know she was very concerned.
"Mama! I swear, Mama!" Soliloquy finally reached Mama and hugged her like she'd never let go.
"Come inside, Baby, and tell me what happened." Mama took Soliloquy inside and they both sat on the couch. Soliloquy was so happy to be home if not happy about her circumstance.
"Mama! It was Grover, again!" Soliloquy was tearing up
"What did he do this time, Soliloquy?" Mama asked as if she were irritated that his name even got brought up.
"I didn't know, Mama. I really thought tomatoes were vegetables. Grover told me they are actually fruit." Soliloquy timidly approached the subject.
"And that was the fight?" Mama knew there had to be more to this.
"No, there was more. That's just what started it." Soliloquy replied and Mama nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"He just wouldn't stop, Mama. He just..." Soliloquy burst into tears.
"Soliloquy? Did you have another spell?" Mama always got right to the point.
Welp. There it was. The time to cough it up. "I tried not to, Mama. Please, believe me!"
"Soliloquy? Tell me what happened and tell me what happened right now. I'm not angry, but I do need to know." Mama was getting more upset.
"Deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth." Soliloquy said to herself.
"Okay. We kept arguing and he was saying really nasty things and I was getting so mad, Mama!" She couldn't hold back.
"He was really hurtful and hateful and I... I....." Soliloquy tapered off.
"You had a spell?" Mama already knew.
"Yes, Mama. I did." Soliloquy replied and stayed silent.
"How bad was it, Baby?" Mama resigned herself to the fate of knowing it has most certainly happened, again.
"Bad, bad, Mama." Soliloquy placed her head in her hands and openly sobbed.
"Baby? Is he dead?" Mama needed to know.
"I don't know, Mama. I just don't know." Soliloquy was racked with sobs.
"Baby, this isn't your fault. I was hoping it wouldn't get this bad. I was hoping it'd would never go this far. This is something you just can't control. There's no way you can when you get older. It happened to me, too." Mama said without realizing she'd just turned Soliloquy's world upside down.
What did she mean it happened to her, too? Wait, what?
"Mama? What do you mean it happened to you?" Soliloquy was certain she'd feel better once she talked to Mama but she most definitely was not feeling better.
"Soliloquy, you've had these spells every since you were born. Well? Before you were born? I had them."
Mama had the spells when she was younger, too?
"I was born like you. I had spells from time to time and it was usually out of my control until I got older. I learned how to self soothe so nothing really bad happened. I thought it was all okay. I really did. Well, when I met your Daddy? I thought I'd never have another spell, again. I really did. I loved him so much. In the beginning? He was good to me, too. Then? Bethany. She just had to come along and screw it up. She was so much prettier and thinner than me and your Daddy just fell head over heels. I was crushed. I was devastated. How can I compete with skinny ass Methany? What could I do to make sure your Daddy stayed with me? Well, I thought of what women have thought of since time immemorial. I got pregnant. Your Daddy was happy at first. He really wanted you. As time went on? I got bigger and more unattractive as I got further along. Pregnancy isn't normally when a woman looks her best. Well, that just made your horn dog Daddy run to Bethany even more. I was losing him and couldn't do a thing about it. One day? A few weeks before I was due to have you? Your Daddy came to me and informed me that he's moving in with Bethany. He said he wanted nothing further to do with me and would see me in court over visitation and support. He very much wanted to be in your life, but not mine. Well, who in the hell does he think he is? I'll be damned if he's coming to see you but doesn't want me! So? As he stood at the bottom step of our front porch? Flames started licking his workboots and he screamed. I just laughed with delight the whole time he was burning up! When I had you? The "spells" moved onto you and left me." Mama just smiled at Soliloquy like she just told her what the weather was like outside.
Soliloquy's head was spinning. Mama killed Daddy because he only wanted me and not her? No. NO! THAT'S NOT IT!
"Mama, you just got mad and it got away from you, right?" Soliloquy hoped she said yes.
"Oh, no, Baby. The second he told me he wanted you but not me? I crisped him like bacon!" Mama laughed. She actually laughed.
Soliloquy didn't know how to get out of this. Mama actually KILLED her Daddy. She never got to meet him. She never got to love him. She'd never known anything more than the crappy little podunk town she'd been born and raised in. She could've known more. She could've known nicer. She could've known better.
"What's the matter, Baby? You look unhappy." Was Mama actually serious? What's the matter? WHAT'S THE MATTER? SHE HAS GOT TO BE KIDDING!
It started happening. The flames licked onto the outside of the trailer and climbed up its walls and doors.
"Soliloquy! What are you doing? Why are you burning up the trailer? Stop it this instant!" Now Mama was the one angry.
"No, Mama, I can't do that. You wanted me all to yourself. Well? Here I am. Both of us can head down to hell together." Soliloquy looked at her with a sinister smile. It was then she just had to laugh. Sesame Street was on the T.V. behind Mama sobbing. Guess Grover got the last laugh after all.