Do you have a meal that your mother used to make, that you haven’t had in years?
I do.
How about “City Chicken”?
City chicken is an American entrée consisting of cubes of meat, typically pork, which have been placed on a wooden skewer (approximately 4–5 inches long), then fried and/or baked. Depending on the recipe, they may be breaded. Despite the name of the dish, city chicken almost never contains chicken.
History
A similar dish once known as “mock chicken” was described as early as 1908. The first references to city chicken appeared in newspapers and cookbooks just prior to and during the Depression Era in a few cities such as Pittsburgh. City chicken typically has cooks using meat scraps to fashion a makeshift drumstick from them by skewering meat chunks. It was a working-class food item. During the Depression, cooks used pork or in many cases veal because it was then cheaper than chicken in many cities, especially meat packing centers such as Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Louisville, and Pittsburgh where such cuts were more readily available than chicken.[6]
Sometimes cooks would grind the meat and use a drumstick-shaped mold to form the ground meat around a skewer. One such mold, manufactured by AMPCO/BKI, was labeled chicken sans volaille (without poultry).
The dish is still popular in the Binghamton, NY, area, where at the turn of last century along with the growth of factories (especially EJ, cigar companies, Kilmer, etc.) the town was supplied with workers from immigrant communities abroad as well as from the coal mines of PA, stone quarries of northern NY, etc. Many or most of these were from more rural areas where farming for personal use to supplement their jobs was common (i.e. small vegetable gardens, hogs and chickens). In the tenement and row houses in Binghamton/JC of that era it was rare to have enough land to raise chickens however slaughter houses (pork, lamb, veal, and beef) could still be located ‘in town’. The idea of breading veal or pork like fried chicken became a cheaper and popular meal.
Another is Lox and Bagels…
Lox and bagels traditionally consist of an open-faced bagel topped with cream cheese, thinly sliced red onions, briny capers, and lox.
The word lox stems from the Yiddish word for salmon, “laks.” Lox is a thinly sliced salmon fillet, usually in the belly, and undergoes curing and brining process in a salty brine (not smoked). Lox comes from Scandinavia, where fishermen mastered the art of preserving salmon in saltwater brine. Native Americans also smoked and dried the fish’s carcasses for food and currency.
In 1869, the transcontinental railroad began to transport barrels of salted salmon from the Pacific coast to the rest of the country. This gave rise to its popularity in New York City, especially among the Eastern European Jewish immigrants who came to the U.S. with a rapport for cured and smoked fish.
Bagels made an appearance in China and then glamorized in Italy around the 14th century. The capers came from Italy, while cream cheese has roots in Britain. So, lox or bagels did not originally come from New York City. Nor did cream cheese or capers, for that matter. New Yorkers were the ones that put them together, and it made an excellent combination. It is a mystery as to when the fish and the bagel were first eaten together.
What is the Difference Between Lox and Smoked Salmon
Lox and smoked salmon are both varieties of salmon, but they are prepared differently. They have a similar texture, but the flavor is different.
Lox is cured but not smoked, while smoked salmon is cured then smoked. Because of this, smoked salmon is not quite as salty as lox.
Honestly, you cannot go wrong with either! Contrary to how this dish was originally enjoyed, it doesn’t have to come from the belly of the salmon but from other parts of the fish as well.
Today..
What appalls or disgusts you about America?
In sixth grade, the school found out that there was an armed man who had recently committed matricide roaming around within a 10 mile radius. We were on lockdown all day- but we were happy, because that meant we could watch movies in class for 7 hours straight.
In seventh grade, a kid told his PE teacher that he saw a man with a gun on campus. Within minutes, the entire school was on lockdown. So was the nearby high school and two nearby elementary schools. After a few hours, the police realized that the kid had fabricated the entire story to get out of running a mile.
Yesterday, the substitute teacher freaked out because a student had left to go to the bathroom without telling him. “I am responsible for all of your guys’ safety!” he exclaimed, turning an alarming shade of maroon. We fought to hide our giggles and smiles.
This morning, I got texts from multiple friends. “We’re on lockdown! Don’t come to school for office hours. Someone called 911 and said they heard gunshots.” Minutes later, they received an all-clear. It was just an air gun from the school construction site. “Who would be dumb enough to call THAT in?” was all we said. “Now I lost precious time for my test retake.”
When I lived in Texas, we had tornado drills. Here, we have earthquake drills. In other parts of the country, they have hurricane and even blizzard drills. But you know what never changes? Every school across the nation has a code red drill. We hear “code red!” and we immediately know what to do. Lights off, doors locked, silently start stacking desks and chairs against all doors and windows. Run or hide, depending on where you are. Every classroom has a bag with food and water and books. Every kid knows how it goes, no matter how young or old they are. Every year comes with the same routine.
“We’re having a code red drill today.”
“Oh, yes! Free time to just sit on my phone!”
What disgusts me about America is how desensitized we have become to gun violence.
Edit: If you’re going to comment saying your school doesn’t have code red drills but has lockdowns or shooting drills instead, don’t bother. They are all the same thing and meant to protect us against gun violence.
Minute Steak Parmesan
Ingredients
- 5 minute steaks
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- Dash of pepper
- 1/4 cup soda cracker crumbs
- 1 (8 ounce) can pizza sauce
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Dip steaks in combined egg, water and pepper. Coat with mixture of crumbs and half of the cheese.
- Brown in hot oil; drain on absorbent paper.
- Arrange in baking dish; cover with pizza sauce, and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for about 20 minutes.
Why are the average working/unemployed American citizens so poor and live miserable lives when the nation is so wealthy?
The disparity between the wealth of a nation and the financial well-being of its citizens can be attributed to several interconnected factors:
1. Income Inequality
- Wealth Concentration: A significant portion of wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small percentage of the population. This limits economic mobility for the average citizen.
- Wage Stagnation: Many workers have experienced stagnant wages over the past few decades, failing to keep pace with the cost of living.
2. Cost of Living
- Housing Costs: In many areas, housing costs have skyrocketed, making it difficult for individuals to afford homes.
- Healthcare and Education: High costs in healthcare and education can lead to significant financial burdens, impacting overall quality of life.
3. Labor Market Dynamics
- Job Availability: Many low-skilled jobs have been outsourced or automated, limiting opportunities for entry-level workers.
- Gig Economy: While the gig economy offers flexibility, it often lacks benefits and stable income, leaving many workers vulnerable.
4. Systemic Barriers
- Discrimination: Racial, gender, and economic disparities can limit opportunities for many citizens.
- Access to Education: Quality education is not equally accessible, affecting job prospects and earning potential.
5. Political and Economic Policies
- Tax Policies: Tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations can exacerbate income inequality.
- Social Safety Nets: Insufficient social safety nets can leave unemployed or low-income individuals without adequate support.
6. Cultural Factors
- Consumerism: A culture focused on consumption can lead individuals to prioritize spending over saving, contributing to financial instability.
Conclusion
The combination of these factors creates a complex landscape where many Americans struggle to achieve financial stability despite living in a wealthy nation. Addressing these issues requires comprehensive policy changes and societal shifts to promote equity and opportunity for all citizens.
China’s Environment, Society & Propaganda
Godfree Roberts
Environment
The national carbon trading market will cover the steel, cement and aluminum sectors by December, adding 1,500 companies emitting more than 26,000 tonnes of CO2 to the ETS, adding 3 billion tonnes of emissions.
Society
Retirement age starts rising from 60 to 63 by 2040. White collar women’s retirement age increases from 55 to 58; women in blue-collar jobs will go from 50 to 55. Life expectancy is 78.6, and years of education for new labor force entrants rose from 8 years in 1982 to 14 years in 2023.
In China you know exactly who is running the show. They tell the public exactly what they plan to do, then do it. Politicians tell the billionaires what to do and they do it, too. David Ferguson.
Urban unemployment 16-24 ages, excluding students, was 18.8% in August, up 1.7% from the previous month,the second consecutive month of rising rates and a new high for the year.
Diplomacy
Leaders from 54 African countries with 30% of the world’s population attended FOCAC. Xi: “We have together built roads, railways, schools, hospitals, industrial parks, and special economic zones. These projects have changed the lives and destiny of many people”. He committed another $50 billion to continue the work and canceled all tariffs for 33 African countries. The effect will be increased exports from Africa to China.
The greatest demographic fact of our century is Africa’s exponential growth. UN forecasts say its population will grow from 811 million in 2000 to 4.3 billion in 2100, a vastly significant megatrend.
American voters want U.S. China policy to be “smart, firm, strong, and diplomatic.” Only 13% want an aggressive approach and 5% want a confrontational one. 73% say the U.S. should hold high-level diplomatic talks with China.
The UN General Assembly adopted two Chinese resolutins: The first is that July 6 will be “World Rural Development Day” (America has always been hostile to development in foreign countries and China is seeking to have development recognized as a human right). The second, the “United Nations Games” resolution, calls for convening the UN Games annually and invites relevant stakeholders to make voluntary contributions to a trust fund dedicated to the Games (a shot across the bow of the corrupt, US-controlled IOC).
Geopolitics
The United States is losing ground in important parts of Asia. “For these poor but growing countries, the American mortgage crisis was a staggering affair: why give poor people high-interest mortgages when they know they won’t be able to pay them back? Morality at zero. The irresponsibility of the United States was soon joined by that of Europe, so slow to react. In truth, it was China’s massive stimulus policy that pulled the world out of recession. The emergence of the BRICs rebounds from this double Western irresponsibility.”
By letting Jews plant bombs in electronic consumer devices, the West has undermined its own and Taiwan’s tech products and boosted China’s. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have switched to Huawei phones and telecoms, with the rest of MENA …
Two Years After Divorce Nurse Ex Is BEGGING Me Back After Lover Ditched Her…And The Baby
What was the most outrageous repair quote a mechanic has ever given you to fix your car?
Many, many years ago, I bought a beautiful, well maintained 1988 Mercedes 420 SEL. Incredible car, tons of torque, four heated, reclining seats, electric sun sccreen for the rear window and a long list of other fancy toys, all of which was working, for £500.00.
An absolute steal.
One random morning, the remote wouldn’t unlock the car doors. When I pressed the remote, the little tabs on the inside of the door would wiggle a little bit, but they would not pop up and allow access to the car.
Even though the car key would allow me to unlock the drivers door, I considered this an inconvenience.
I took the car to a mechanic shop in Bermondsey, South London. Now, that really should have been my first clue that I was about to be fleeced. For all the qualities you would ordinarily perscribe to the fine folks of Bermondsey, honesty most certainly was not high on the list.
The gentleman (in lack of a better, more suitable term) explained to me, after a demonstration of the problem that this very costly repair would involve him to check the airlines all around the car and perform various tests etc at the cost of £70.00 per hour, and the cost of whichever parts would be needed.
He explained to me that the absolute best-case scenario would be north of £800.00 with no guarantee that he could fix it.
I pondered this for about 15 seconds, and told him I would just live with the problem, rather than pay close to twice the purchase price of the car for a little irritation.
I went home, pondered this some more and started wondering what the issue could be. I decided to have a look around, and started with the fusebox under the bonnet.
It was obvious that one of the fuses had blown (but I had no idea what that particular fuse was for) so I bout a pack of 4 fuses and changed it, like for like. Then I forgot about it for a while.
The next time I drove the car, I pressed the remote button ( out of muscle memory) and the doors opened immediately.
Repair cost: £0.64.
What a fucker.
What is the most unreasonable rule an HOA has ever tried to enforce on a homeowner?
Had a friend sell his place that was in an HOA recently and the following was the main reason. A few years ago, his roof needed replacing and he had the HOA brochure for colors and went to the roofer the HOA had listed. He picked his color and the new roof was installed after the prior ones were removed since the thickness was too much. Of course, removing the old roof on a 3000 sf house is not a small job so a dumpster was needed. The HOA attempted to fine him for the dumpster and he ignored them (it was there 3 days) and had the roof installed. Then he meticulously cleaned the whole driveway to get anything that didn’t hit the dumpster and next policed his own place and the neighbor’s.
A few days after he finished, he got a written notice from the HOA lawyers that he needed to removed the dumpster (already gone after the 3 days), and that there was debris all over the place from the old roof and, by the way, the new roof did not conform to the color choices the HOA allowed. Really? He took them to court when the harassment did not stop and went in with the contractor (who hated the HOA even though they brought him work), photos time and date stamped that showed the dumpster and when it left and how the yards looked the day after the roof was done. He also had the brochure that showed his roof color was in that brochure.
The HOA had no actual evidence and thought they could bully him into paying an unwarranted fine. The judge ended up awarding the whole cost of the roof and lawyer and all court costs to my friend along with damages of $10,000 to my friend for all the trouble they cause him. In the ruling, he admonished the HOA for not following their own rules, harassment, and over eagerness for money not owed them. The HOA president and board were replace in the next election due in part to this incident and many other infractions.
My friend put his house on the market the week after the trial and is no longer in that state since he retired.
What 10 Years in China and Europe Taught This American
How strong would a resisting inmate need to be to make the staff give up on strip searching him?
Funny story about that.
When I was working county jail, I met a guy who was on “light duty”. He was confined to a desk for having blown out knees at the job. I asked him what happened.
His story was that one day, the deputies had dragged in a drunk guy on domestic violence charges. This guy was beyond obese and butt naked(of course). Being drunk, he did not appreciate the hospitality of the county jail.
Once put in the drunk tank, he flooded the cell.
Staff converged with one very trigger happy sergeant.
Now, I dealt with this behavior in maximum security prison for two years before going to county. If an inmate is flooding his cell, he does NOT need to leave the cell. He will most certainly be fighting you the second that door rolls. What you do is, you turn off the water to his cell and you put some towels by his door to mop up any water. Give him the amount of time he needs to cool off then you provide him with towels to clean up his cell and return the water. NO ONE NEED GET HURT, not you, not him.
This sergeant decided that opening the door and forcing a hasty cell extraction was a good idea.
Another trick from maximum security prison. First put on armor, so when you’re rolling around with the Blob in the cell, you don’t hurt yourself. Two, pepper spray the inmate before hand. Simply feeling the burn of pepper spray will encourage him to surrender. If you still have to go in, he will be at a disadvantage to fight you, being blinded.
This sergeant decided that he didn’t need anything but his baton. He and a couple jailers rolled the door. The Blob came stampeding out. Sarge tries to step in the way, only to get bowled over. Jailers dive on the inmate, trying to get him into handcuffs. He is not having it.
Sarge whips out his ASP baton and starts striking the inmate’s leg. The baton snaps in half and the Blob looks none the worse for wear. So you have four guys wrestling on the ground with a naked 300 lb man.
Additional staff starts running in. Problem is, when the door rolled a couple dozen gallons of water came out of the cell. Staff is slipping and sliding. My coworker runs up, slips and cracks both his knees.
I saw the footage of this and it was an absolute crap shoot. How everything got ironed out, I didn’t get to see but it did. Word was that the guy woke up the next day and had no idea what happened. He bonded out and was never seen again.
So, to give you an answer, prisons and jails will line every single officer up to make sure an inmate submits.
Who are the scariest people in history?
Narcissism raged very high with this one.
His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.
Those were official titlels he conferred himself, in addition to his unofficial stated claim of being the uncrowned King of Scotland.
Amin was the dictator of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He charmed and promised the world that he would bring peace and democracy to the people of his country. Instead, he turned Uganda into a poverty-stricken land patrolled by death squads.
Amin was possibly the most brutal and merciless dictator of all time. His rule was characterized by human rights abuses, ethnic persecution, political repression, massacres and the expulsion of 80,000 Asians from Uganda. In my opinion, he was probably the most sadistic dictator in the 20th century.
He would show executions of people on television. Everyone was a good game for torture and execution: his country’s soldiers, government officials, teachers, artists, doctors, journalists, engineers, politicians, police officers, photographers, lawyers, business people, ordinary citizens, ministers, and children.
His henchmen tortured and killed people with sledgehammers while Amin kept the pictures for fun and amusement.
This sadistic beast relished when he buried his victims alive and would often give the heads of his enemies to crocodiles. Hundreds of thousands of dead bodies washed up to the shores of Lake Victoria. More than 4,000 people were killed by being thrown into crocodile-infested rivers. Another 50,000 people died from disease, most were children.
As if that was not disturbing enough he would cut the flesh of his perceived enemies and force them to eat it until they died. He was also a cannibal who ate human flesh and drank human blood. It is stated that he proudly admitted he was a cannibal.
His depravity came full circle when he mutilated one of his wives and had her limbs sewn upside down.
In total, it’s estimated he killed and tortured 300,000 to 500,000 Ugandans.
On the 11 April 1979, the Tanzanian Army invaded Uganda and ousted him, he went into exile in Saudi Arabia (really humane of you Saudi Arabia) for the rest of his life.
Amin died almost 25 years later in 2003. In that time Amin lived a very peaceful life.
When I think of the atrocities committed against such a young innocent country by this sick depraved man, I weep a little and feel ashamed for such human being every existed.
Scary!
SCOOBY-DOO – 1950’s Super Panavision 70
How can one person fight more than 3 people at the same time and win?
You can’t spar them. It’s not a fair fight, so you can’t trade blows. Every strike you hit might be your last, and if you get hit, it’s going to be only the first of many. So you have to be fierce.
Make sure it hurts them more: A punch to the forehead hurts your hand more than the opponent’s head. Hit where it hurts – nose, eyes, throat, groin, knees, feet. Anything goes. A nose is your best target, as it is very sensitive. Anyone not used to sparring and taking strikes to the nose will immediately get tears in their eyes, and most people lose their will to fight. If they bleed, even better! You took one out and drew first blood. The others might think twice before engaging.
No matter what, don’t let them grapple you: If someone gets a hold to your arm, you need to make them let go immediately. Twist their arm, use the grapple to get them near and use your elbows and knees to make more damage. Stomp their feet. This is the worst possible scenario, if they somehow grab both your arms you’ll lose the ability to defend yourself. If they drag you to the ground, it’s over. Make sure to punish a grappler in a way the others will prefer striking you than grappling. Knee to groin, elbow to the nose. Do anything you can to set this rule in the combat, that you will not allow anyone to grab you in any way.
Don’t try the same strategy on everyone: If you poked a finger on the first guy’s eye, the other ones will be guarded against this. If you kick someone’s groin, the next one will try to grab your leg. So you need to approach each one differently. I understand this is not something people train for, and is not easy to remember internet tips when the blood pumps and survival mode kicks in. But if you can’t think, you’re done. Think of at least one weak spot for each one: nose, eyes, throat, groin, knees, feet. And stick to them.
Don’t get surrounded: If it’s an option, quickly grasp your opponents position and don’t let them surround you. Get somewhere they can’t hit you from behind. Even if you got your back covered, when one of them fights you there will be an opening for another to hit you from behind. So it’s crucial not getting surrounded by them. If you can’t run away, at least find a 90º corner or a corridor so they can’t all at the sime time get to you.
Mess with their morale: I have avoided fights by acting weird. I have de-escalated fights using my own blood (I had this accidental cut while pushing away an attacking bully, the others thought it was his blood). Call them cowards for teaming up. Tell them you got nothing to lose. Or everything to lose – that you got a daughter that needs you. Yell at them, say you already lost so you’ll take as many as you can to the hospital with you.
Flee to a better place: Run away to somewhere crowded if you’re all alone. Get on the top of a staircase. Lock yourself somewhere. Create hurdles for them to pass, skip a fence so you can slow some of them down. Climb onto a second-story building.
Give up (true of not): You need to put winning in perspective. What is a win? The goal here is surviving, right? So if you give up fighting and show it, the fight might de-escalate enough that someone intervenes. Raise your hands to show you mean no harm. If they still engage into fighting, at least you may surprise them. They have to deal with an unexpected change of pace – at one second you’ve surrended, at the next you just defeated someone.
Don’t do it: Against everything I wrote here, don’t fight unless you absolutely have to. This is my final advice. Four muggers want your phone? It’s ok. At least you won’t get hurt. You won’t have to get surgery or physical rehabilitation. You won’t lose teeth – if you still got all your teeth, keep them. Dentures are bad. Teeth implants are expensive. Knee treatments not always work fully, you may get a bad knee for the rest of your life. You might be handicapped as a result of some street brawl. So only do it if nothing else can be done.
What is the last thing you heard from someone before they died?
I received a phone-call that my mother was on her way from her hometown to a big city cardio hospital and that it looks dire. I, because of a shorter distance and because the ambulance had to stop to stabilize Mom, beat the ambulance to the hospital and were waiting in the arrivals for them.
When the paramedics unloaded her she was conscious and responsive and I in passing said “vasbyt Mamma, sien jou nou” (hold on Mamma, I’ll see you soon.” She reached out touched my arm and said “Nee, dis verby.” (No, it’s all over) as the paramedics rushed passed me.
She was rushed to the cardiopulmonary wing ICU and we (dad, one sister and I) waited in the waiting room. At one stage I went and peeped through the gap in the doors and I could see the doctors and or nurses bussy with CPR on her. You can probably imagine the amount of dread that induced in me.
It was not a short while later that the cardiologist came to us and explained that although they did everything they could the damage to her heart was just too severe.
I, because she was awake and responsive, assumed that because we were with the best minds in medicine available that she would be okay. She obviously understood her own body better and could appreciate the severity of her condition better. She knew, “Nee, dis verby.”
I had to come to grips, not only with the loss, but also with the understanding that it must have been a most terrifying end for her, knowing that her time with us has reached its end, in some ways that have been harder, and even now bring tears to my eyes and form a obstruction in my throat.
Gone, but not forgotten, I still miss her daily.
Bewitched as a 1970s Grindhouse Horror – Super Panavision 70
Rebirth on Xenoscythe
Submitted into Contest #232 in response to: Write a story set in a world with a dying sun, or where light is a scarce resource.… view prompt
Kevin Marlow
He turned to see the surface of the water rippling. Lora Lei’s head slowly parted the water, her hair flowing in the water. Her body was like a master’s painting, flawless and timeless. She cupped a hand to her belly and looked up with a radiant smile at Tokarov. He looked away with a bashful grin.
“What are you going to name it?” The question struck him.
“Shouldn’t we decide that together?”
“We both know how this is going to end. You need to be planning, gestation with my species only takes a couple of moon cycles.” Lora’s eyes widened as she felt a movement in her abdomen. She grabbed his wrist and placed his hand on her stomach.
“I don’t feel anything.”
“In time, dear, in time.”
“What if I don’t know what to do? I have spent my adult life fighting, living the life of a warrior. I don’t know anything about raising a child.” He looked at his blade, its metal stained with the blood of enemies and friends alike.
“We are all imbued with the spirit of life, Tokarov. Death is just another part of life. An animal doesn’t need to read a book to nurture its young. We are programmed with DNA and powers beyond our comprehension. Billions of years ago rocks did not just spring to life and start breathing. We are moved and gifted with a force, a force of life that makes us want to live.” Lora sifted her fingers through his long hair, prying to confront his soul. He hid it behind his humanity, shielding his vulnerabilities.
“I’ve spent my life killing and dying, hoping for a glorious warrior’s death on the battlefield, with the gods of war smiling down on me, applauding my effort.” He unsheathed the dagger, spinning it in his hand with precision.
“What if there are no gods? What if there is only one single thread that holds us all together? What would you call it? A presence? A what? What would it be called?” She felt in her heart she had him cornered.
“Life?”
“What gives life?”
“The sun? I don’t know.”
“Spirit, Tokarov! Every culture has figured it out since the dawn of time. They call it by different names, but unless you embrace the spirit you will always be lost. You can take a man’s life, only One can take his spirit.”
“Who is the One then?”
“You have already met Him, you just don’t yet believe.”
“Will I in time?”
“You will, you will…”
Time is an immutable force that whisks us to our destiny whether we are ready or not. The weeks that followed were the stuff of fairy tales. Love, bonding, and long afternoon embraces all contained in a place that could only be compared to the Eden of antiquity. Yet not everything is as one sees, for every life there must be a death.
“Didn’t we meet just a few weeks ago?”
“And?”
“You said the gestation would take a few moon cycles. On my planet that is sixty days.”
“Well, Xenoscythe is not your planet. My offspring is ripe, ready for the world.”
Tokarov screwed up his face a bit. Lora Lei was quite large to be in her first trimester. He had felt the fetus move a week ago, yet now nothing. Her belly was stiff and bloated. As the light from Aerialis dimmed in the cavern, she stopped, flaring her fingers out with wide eyes.
“The time is now!”
Tokarov led her to the lair, to their bed, the only soft place in the cavern. He folded up his shirt and placed it under her head and neck. She pulled off her clothes and lay there naked, pulling her ankles up to her buttocks with her hands and beginning a bizarre breathing pattern, eyes staring straight up.
Tokarov watched as nature took over and her body engaged in its genetic instructions. A sweat broke over her body and her abdominal muscles undulated, like a python swallowing a pig in reverse. He touched her arm, but she was fixated on the birthing process. Curious, he looked down to see if the baby had crowned yet. In humans, one could see the top of the head and some dark hair. Yet, the birth canal revealed a shiny, white, curved surface. He stopped and caught a breath. It was then she spoke for the final time.
“You must take it to the surface of Xenoscythe. Only Aerialis can free our child. I loved you.”
A final push released the egg from her womb. Lora’s body fell limp. Tokarov touched the egg, its surface sticky with slime. He rubbed it with his fingers, momentarily forgetting about its mother. Then he stopped, his eyes wet, and looked up to her face. Emotion was gone.
Her body lay limp and lifeless, the Sabinarath had kept its word and given itself up for the birth. He racked a few selfish sobs. Not sure what to do he decided to carry her body into the water and allow nature to take it back from him. As he pushed the body out into the lake, birds in the cavern shrieked in a cacophony of sounds. He knew it was done, yet something else had begun.
There was no easy path to the surface. He could not fly like the Sabinarath. He had to carry the egg back through the caverns if he could remember the way. The egg was the size of a small watermelon. Needing his respirator to breathe in the caverns, Tokarov knew this was no minor adventure. Pulling on boots and checking his breathing apparatus, he plugged the tubes into his nostrils, spinning the oxygen generator onto his back. It sprang to life puffing air into his nasal passage. Lifting Lora’s dress from the ground he used his knife to fashion it into a sling for the egg, carefully cradling it and placing the strap over his shoulder.
He slipped through the web-covered secret entrance one last time and flicked on his headlamp. It danced back and forth as the cave yawned on. His running banged out a tired rhythm as the egg swayed and the light bounced. After what felt like a kilometer or more, a few forks in the road, and guessing, Tokarov saw the soft light of a feeding shaft in the distance. He picked up his gait to a full run and was digging in a heel to slow down when the stars burst into his eyes as he blacked out. His last thought was to protect the egg and in falling he wrapped his body in sacrifice around it.
“GGGRRR ZZZZ AAAHHHH!!!!” The familiar tongue of the Grigglesneed met his ears. Digging for his waistband he felt the dagger’s handle and wrapped it in a firm grip. The lizard man rolled him over and felt the egg, its tongue flicking out and tasting the shell. Tokarov wrapped his free hand around the creature’s throat and lunged with the blade, aiming to plant it in the center of its walnut-sized brain. The lizard heaved and shoved him.
Its strength was unbelievable. It tossed him against the rib of the cave like a doll and hissed. Arms were rippled with armor scales and flexed three-fingered palms tipped in dirty, sharp talons. Tokarov pushed himself up on unsteady feet and brandished the blade in his back hand. Looking over, the egg was cradled in its sling on the rock floor. The diamond slits of its eyes narrowed in the darkness, the light of the overhead shaft illuminating the scuffle. Tokarov saw his headlamp lying near the creature’s foot. He knew if he could blind it, even momentarily, the advantage would be his. Diving for the light, he flicked the switch, jamming it in the Grigglesneed’s eyes. The shrieking echoed in the close space and Tokarov shoved the blade to the beast’s throat, pushing it into the flesh. The lizard was too strong. It reached a claw around his forearm it pushed the knife from its throat. Shoving him back, it thrust Tokarov to the wall of the cave, its hot breath washing over his face.
“AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!” Blood burst from the creature’s head as a sword cleaved off half its head, splattering Tokarov in a mess of fluid and brain matter. As it fell back, he dropped to his knees and caught a breath trying to wipe the blood from his eyes. Looking up he saw the smiling face of Ego, his arm resting on the hilt of a double-handed claymore sword.
“Dear God, you just saved my life.”
“Not just yours, you have a species to revive.”
“You, are now Who has always been.”
“We are all just trying to survive, even the gods among us.”
“What am I to do?”
“Gather yourself and your future. I will get you to the surface.”
Tokarov sheathed his dagger and gathered himself, placing the egg in the sling over his shoulder, and looked at Ego, “What now?”
“Extend your arms and position yourself under the shaft. I will do the rest.” Tokarov complied and Ego clasped his hands together and his lips danced with ancient words, bringing realization and tears to Tokarov’s eyes. The weight came off his feet as he ascended the shaft by faith alone with his future cradled around him.
At the planet’s surface, he floated down to the rocky ground, the heat of Aerialis bearing down on him. Gently unwrapping the Sabinarath’s egg, he held it up to the sun, allowing its rays to heat the shell, not quite knowing what would happen. As the star warmed it with its rays, something stirred inside. Sitting down, Tokarov placed the egg in his lap facing the sun.
Watching as it rocked and wiggled, he gasped as a tiny finger poked through the shell. Helping it along, he broke away the hard husk, revealing what looked like a human infant. As the light reached her eyes she squealed and kicked, punching away the last of its vessel. Holding her up in the light, he looked down, yes definitely able to reproduce. Wiggling and cooing, she locked eyes with Tokarov, her purple irises beaming in the sunlight. They both smiled as he held her close.
“I will name you Evangeline.” Tokarov kissed her cheek as a tear dripped off his nose, landing on her tender forehead.
A noise broke the communion as Tokarov saw the nose of a ship edging down toward the surface of Xenoscythe. The Overlords were here, to where they traveled next only they would know.
SEINFELD | 1950’s Super Panavision 70
Some AI image generations by MM
Enjoy.
What made you realize your life will never be the same?
I suspected but did not know if my wife was having an affair. She had been texting a guy that she said was a friend. I had been hospitalized with appendicitis a few weeks before and was still at home hardly able to walk. I heard a text come in very late at night. She was asleep. I could not sleep due to pain. I looked.
Here is what I read:
Scumbag: Sorry about pregnancy. Def me?
I was blown away. I knew immediately what this meant. I woke her up and showed her. I was too shocked to be angry or hostile. My head was spinning. I could hardly breath. She denied they had sex.
She said Scumbag didn’t know how babies were made!!!
He was a married father of three that worked in the medical field. She said she could explain it. That I was reading too much into it.
I’m sure she did think that she could talk her way out of it in the morning. She had talked her way out of many other similar, albeit less damning and concrete situations over the last few months. She took her phone and fell back asleep right away as she had been drinking quite a bit.
I knew the truth but did not want any chance for her to be able to have even a fig leaf of cover. Once she was asleep again I got her phone and texted back to Scumbag, pretending to be her.
Me for her: What do you mean by Def me???
Scumbag: Are you sure it was me that got you pregnant?
I woke her again and showed her this new evidence. She no longer denied it. She was in tears, telling me she had broken up with him weeks ago. She said when she realised I could have died from the burst appendix that she really wanted me and not him. I believed it then, briefly. We are divorced now. Of course.
What do you think of the education system in China?
I have studied with, taught and collaborated professionally with products of the Chinese education system.
My friend from beida likes to boast she placed in the top half of her faculty. She wears it with plenty of pride, because she was one of several applicants from her province that was accepted that year. She considers my intellect average at best.
Another friend from qinghua blew my socks away when he elegantly derived a molecular dynamics homework question I had spent a fruitless night on. He did not need to consult any references and wasn’t taking the class. And no, he wasn’t a physics or chemistry major.
I will say the professionally qualified in china deserve their credentials, especially the nationally recognized standards or schools.
A shanghai/Beijing academy qualified dancer/singer/actor will have the requisite skill/looks/grooming to begin a performance career. An nth grade welder will be able to make welds only a select few can nationwide. A fudan PhD possesses a rare quality of mind.
And so on.
There is incredible competition in china, across all trades and professions. And China has a systematic mechanism of identifying, developing and sifting through the stream. In certain realms such as the arts and select technical trades, the mechanism is more thorough and rigorous than most countries. For example, emcees and newscasters must obtain a practicing cert, just like lawyers in many countries.
That’s the cream of the crop. Much work remains on the other end, where millions in each cohort still skip the gaokao due to lack of opportunity.
Gilligan’s Island as a 1970s Grindhouse Horror – Super Panavision 70
This question is for the retired people. How did you get adjusted with the retired life at the initial stage? What was your routine during the first three months after your retirement?
I retired in 2017
It was a Tuesday. I had had a Dinner just the evening given by the department and had received the traditional gift. It was all OVER and seriously – i felt liberated or free – FOR ABOUT 12 HOURS.
Then i woke up on Wednesday – my first thought was mechanical. It was 6:40 in the morning – my usual wake up time and it took me almost 20 minutes to realize I was Retired.
I sat there feeling depressed for some strange reason, My routine was gone. Leaving the house at 9:20 AM after breakfast, going to the office, doing some work, participate in a handful of meetings and returning back home. IT was over.
I missed the 11:00 AM – Coffee first. Then i missed the Lunch in the Canteen at 1:30 PM. Then i missed the general talk. My wife was gone (She teaches). I had never felt so lonely in my life.
At 3:30 – I dressed up and went to my workplace. I did not care – i just decided to go. I reached there at around 4:15 and there was a flutter. Everyone was puzzled. They greeted me, milled around me. My AGM invited me into his cabin for a cup of tea. It felt Good again. I had to make up a lie about why i was there of course. Some lie about some file which i presume nobody believed.
I left at 6:30 – feeling better. It was like going home after a regular day of work.
However i knew – if i keep going back – i would soon be ignored or curtly told to go home and i did not want that.
So i had to find a way out of my boredom.
The next 2 days were Torture. Staying alone at home – watching TV, Browsing the Internet, Disturbing my kids (I would Skype them at 2 PM when it was 12:30 Midnight)
A Lot of suggestions came up – including – trying how to cook (Which was a disaster).
It was perhaps on the 15th day – that i got a call
A Local company in Bangalore was sigining an MOU with a Malaysian Company and the Lawyer wanted someone who understood “Contracts” and knew about “Malaysia and Singapore” for an outside opinion.
He couriered me the documents and i gave my first legal opinion. I got my first legal fee – Rs. 7500/- since 1983
A Few days later- the Company invited me to Bangalore. I agreed and was planning to stay with my sister when they sent an email – booking me a room in a Hotel and booking a flight ticket for me and asking me for my consultancy charges?
First experience of such things.
Of course I had to portray myself as a Top corporate lawyer. I printed visiting cards , purchased a few clothes and went on my first consultation.
Life slowly changed
I found some work – enough to keep me slightly busy with contracts from Singapore/Malaysia/US
I found Quora – and it was a huge, huge relief.
I found Movies – getting complimentary tickets for every film from my Auditor Friend who himself did not care for movies.
Now i have my latest interest in Computers and C Programming (I am now at Arrays)
So slowly you get adapted to a new life. One post retirement.
If you can get past the early days – You get used to it and then slowly begin to forget what it was life when you had a Working life.
My advise:-
(a) Always have a Hobby – Reading, Browsing. A Hobby would be very useful indeed.
(b) If possible try to get away for a Holiday soon as you retire
(c) Keep mobile – Walks, Going to the market etc.
(d) Join Quora – It seriously was a life saver for me. I was busy only around 20 hours or so every week – the rest of the time it was Quora which saved me.
(e) If you long to go back to your workplace – Dont!!!! Have Rarity Value.
How democratic, free, and prosperous is China in the 21st century?
Chinese and westerners have very different ideas about personal and group rights, so it is impossible to give an answer which pleases everyone.
For Americans and westerners, the threat comes from an over-reaching government which wants to extend its power over every facet of personal life. So for them, the power of the Chinese government to store voice, gait and facial recognition, full access to to digital communications when needed, access to bank accounts, etc represents a typical tyranny which is unacceptable by western standards.
For Chinese though, the greatest threat came from foreign invasion and occupation. To most Chinese, the Chinese government is their guardian and protector from foreign exploitation. Most Chinese believe that the government should have access to bank records and personal data. If the Chinese government did not have free access, how would it catch criminals and corrupt officials who abuse their power. After all, if a citizen is honest, why does he care about his own privacy? He has nothing to hide!
This means that there is no objective standard for judging how democratic China is, because the west and Asians see the same thing completely differently.
The Decline of the United States: A Multifaceted Story
In Search Of Truth September 29, 2024
The Decline of the United States: A Multifaceted Story
The idea that the United States is in decline has been a recurring theme in political and cultural discourse, particularly over the past few decades. While the term “decline” can be subjective and varies depending on one’s perspective, several indicators point toward significant challenges the U.S. faces that have contributed to this narrative. From economic stagnation and political polarization to social unrest and a weakened global influence, the decline of the U.S. is a multifaceted issue. Below is an exploration of the key dimensions driving this perceived fall from prominence.
1. Economic Inequality and Stagnation
The American Dream, which once symbolized upward mobility, has become increasingly out of reach for many. While the U.S. remains a wealthy nation, the distribution of wealth has skewed sharply toward the upper echelons of society. The top 1% of Americans control about a third of the nation’s wealth, while middle-class wages have stagnated for decades. This growing inequality has led to a breakdown in social cohesion, as many working- and middle-class Americans struggle to maintain their standard of living amid rising costs of housing, education, and healthcare.
The decline of American manufacturing, once the backbone of the economy, has been another contributing factor. With the advent of globalization and automation, many manufacturing jobs have moved overseas, leaving a void in many working-class communities. These economic changes have decimated industrial towns across the Midwest and Northeast, creating a sense of despair and fueling populist sentiments.
2. Political Polarization and Dysfunction
The U.S. political system has become more divided and dysfunctional than at any time in recent memory. While the country has always had political disagreements, the partisan divide today seems unbridgeable. On nearly every major issue—whether it be healthcare, immigration, or climate change—Americans are split along ideological lines. This polarization has eroded trust in institutions and undermined the basic functioning of government.
A significant factor in this polarization is the rise of hyper-partisan media, which often prioritizes sensationalism and outrage over nuanced debate. Social media platforms amplify these divisions by creating echo chambers, where people are exposed primarily to views that confirm their preexisting beliefs. The result has been a political landscape that feels more like a culture war than a forum for governance.
Moreover, the influence of money in politics has led to a system where special interests, corporate lobbyists, and wealthy donors wield disproportionate power. This has created a sense among many Americans that their government no longer represents their interests, leading to widespread disillusionment and apathy.
3. Social Fragmentation and Civil Unrest
American society has also become more fragmented. Racial, ethnic, and cultural divides, long part of the U.S. fabric, have grown sharper. The killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent protests brought to the surface long-simmering tensions over police brutality, systemic racism, and inequality. While these protests represented a call for justice, they also highlighted the deep rifts within American society.
The rise of identity politics, where individuals’ political positions are based on their race, gender, or ethnicity, has further contributed to social fragmentation. While the recognition of historically marginalized groups is essential, identity politics can sometimes lead to a zero-sum mindset, where groups see themselves in constant competition for limited resources or recognition.
Additionally, the erosion of traditional community structures, such as churches and civic organizations, has left many Americans feeling isolated and disconnected. The digital age has, paradoxically, contributed to this sense of isolation, as more people retreat into virtual spaces rather than engaging in face-to-face social interactions.
4. Global Influence and Military Overreach
The United States’ global standing has also diminished. Once the unchallenged leader of the free world, the U.S. now faces stiff competition from rising powers, most notably China. In the aftermath of World War II, the U.S. helped shape the liberal international order, promoting democracy, human rights, and free trade. However, in recent years, this order has frayed, with authoritarianism on the rise and international alliances weakening.
One of the major factors in this decline has been military overreach. Following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which have dragged on with mixed results. These conflicts have drained U.S. resources, both in terms of money and human lives, while achieving limited success in stabilizing the regions involved. The U.S. has also been criticized for its role in destabilizing the Middle East and North Africa, contributing to the refugee crises and the spread of extremism.
The withdrawal from international agreements, such as the Paris Climate Agreement and the Iran nuclear deal, has also weakened the U.S.’s reputation as a reliable global leader. Meanwhile, China’s rise as an economic and geopolitical power has challenged the U.S. in key areas like technology, trade, and military might.
5. Cultural and Moral Decline
Many commentators also point to a cultural or moral decline as part of the broader story of America’s fall. Traditional values, such as family, faith, and civic duty, have been eroded by consumerism, individualism, and relativism. The pursuit of material wealth and instant gratification has replaced long-term commitment to communal or national goals.
This cultural shift has affected everything from education to political discourse. The U.S. education system, once the envy of the world, has fallen behind in key metrics, particularly in science and math. There is also a growing anti-intellectualism in certain segments of society, where expertise and facts are increasingly dismissed in favor of conspiracy theories and tribal loyalties.
The breakdown of the family unit has also been cited as a key indicator of moral decline. Rising divorce rates, single-parent households, and a general retreat from marriage have contributed to a sense of social instability, particularly among the younger generation.
6. Challenges to Democracy
Perhaps the most alarming sign of U.S. decline is the erosion of democratic norms. The events surrounding the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, including claims of election fraud and efforts to overturn results, have undermined confidence in the electoral process. The January 6th, 2021 attack on the Capitol, in which rioters sought to disrupt the certification of the election, was a watershed moment that exposed the fragility of U.S. democracy.
Voter suppression efforts, gerrymandering, and the influence of dark money have further weakened democratic participation. While the U.S. has long held itself up as a beacon of democracy, it now faces serious questions about the health of its own system.
Conclusion: A Path Forward?
The decline of the United States is not inevitable, nor is it irreversible. The country still possesses tremendous resources, talent, and potential. However, addressing the factors driving this decline will require bold action and a renewed sense of national purpose. Economic reforms to reduce inequality, a commitment to rebuilding trust in democratic institutions, and a more measured foreign policy are essential steps in reversing course.
Ultimately, the fate of the United States rests on whether it can overcome its divisions and recapture the spirit of unity and innovation that once made it a global leader. Whether or not it can, remains one of the defining questions of the 21st century.
What should you do if someone pulls up in a van with a gun and asks that you get in?
Gavin de Becker discusses this situation in his book — The Gift of Fear.
I will admit, I have not read his book. But I did see him interviewed for this book. And here, 18 yrs later, I still remember his example for the scenario.
Here is how he explained it.
If someone is trying to take you to a second crime scene, they are doing it for one reason only. That reason is to eventually murder you. After all, they can rob or rape you where you are.
If you’re going to die anyways, your best strategy is to try to get away.
Suppose they have a gun? How difficult is it to hit a moving target? Suppose it’s 50/50. So you have at least a half a chance of getting away?
In tests, the chances of being hit are less than 10% (I believe this was taken from police training sites). The chances of being hit in such a way that you couldn’t keep running were about 4%. The chances of being hit fatally, were about 1-2% (again, this was a long time ago, my numbers may not be exactly what he quoted, but they are pretty close).
So your choice is get in the van, and 100% chance of being murdered. Or take a chance, and have about a 10% of even being hit.
Always run. Run and scream.
The killer Muppets – 1940’s Super Panavision 70
Why does the PRC government care if Taiwan is independent? Taiwan is a small island without much strategic importance.
Taiwan is a small island without much strategic importance.
Says who? Says you? Who the fuck are you? What make you such a fucking expert?
Taiwan is strategically very, very important for the following reasons:
- It is the key island in the first island chain that blocks China’s access to the Pacific.
- If Taiwan falls under the control of the USA, then US forces (including nuclear missiles) could be less than a hundred miles away from China’s coast.
- Taiwan is symbolic of China’s century of humiliation. The Chinese people demand that Taiwan be reunified.
- TSMC.
- No country should be expected to cede its territory for any reason. Should the USA cede Hawaii or Texas? Should the UK cede the Falkland Islands?
What was the most incredibly stupid (and avoidable) error a pilot made that caused the crash of a passenger airliner?
American Airlines flight 965 from Miami to Cali, Colombia. The aircraft was a Boeing 757–200. This flight took place on December 20, 1995 with 163 onboard.
Cali airport is situated in a thin valley surrounded by tall mountains. The plane was approaching Cali at night time. There was no radar at the airport because it was sabotaged by a terror group. So Air Traffic Control could not see where the aircraft was going.
As flight 587 was coming in for the approach, the pilots were planning to land on runway 01, but ATC offered if they wanted to land straight in on runway 19. The pilots accepted the straight in approach because it was faster. The flight had already been delayed a couple of hours back in Miami. With a sudden change in approach procedures, the pilots had to quickly figure out what navigation aides to use for the approach. And since they had to descend at a steeper rate, the pilots deployed the speed brakes to help with the descent.
One of the radio navigation points was ‘ROZO,’ and it was a point on the approach course for runway 19. The pilots had to program that non-directional beacon point on the flight computer. The crew typed in the letter R, and chose the first option on the list. But the waypoint the pilot chose was ROMEO which was in a completely different direction.
The plane made a left turn, and the pilots didn’t realize the plane was turning. And since the aircraft was flying in between mountains, the plane was turning into a mountain range. The alarm went off in the cockpit telling the pilots to immediately pull up. The captain did everything he could to climb. He pulled the yoke, and increased thrust on the engines. The problem was that in those few seconds of trying to save the airplane, he forgot that the speed brakes were still deployed which hinders the aircraft from climbing. The aircraft crashed near the peak of a mountain. Investigators believed that if the speed brakes were retracted immediately, the aircraft could have cleared the mountain.
There were 4 people who had survived the crash. There were a few others that survived the initial impact, but because it took search and rescue a long time to get to the crash site, they weren’t able to get medical treatment in time and succumb to their injuries.
After an investigation, the pilots big mistake was not typing into the flight computer ‘ROZO.’ When the pilots typed in R into the computer, they assumed that the ROZO would come up because it was the closest navigation aide. But the pilots didn’t realize they had to type in the letters ROZO. Investigators still don’t understand why the pilots didn’t see what the first option was on the list. It clearly said Romeo which wasn’t the waypoint the aircraft was supposed to go to. That one little mistake cost 159 lives. And the second mistake was failing to realize that the speed brakes were still deployed.
In US Army basic training, after lights out, could you get out of bed and do a workout and go for a run?
No.
Don’t be that guy. You will get plenty of work out before the lights go out.
If you try to pull some shit like that, you will be caught, and your Drill will wake the rest of us up, with some clever ideas to make the rest of us hate life, and in return, make us hate you!
(The actual barracks he climbed out of)
We had a guy sneak out in the middle of the night once. Like some kind of ninja, this dude scaled down from the third story window in the middle of the night.
He then ninja’d himself all the way to the vending machines with roughly $40 of money from other soldiers in his platoon.
Then this ninja dude climbed back in the 3rd story window, because the doors had alarms on them.
But instead of being a smart ninja dude, this soldier decided that since he took all the risk, he would just keep all the fatty cakes for himself.
This wall climbing troop didn’t give the other soldiers what they paid for, and decided the next day to take a nap inside of his wall locker with all of his ninja’d loot.
Suffice it to say, the Drills were made aware of his mission, and they found him sleeping in a tiny closet with $40 worth of vending machine goods.
Three things you never want to do in Basic Training;
- F*** your battle buddies
- Piss off your Drill Sergeants
- Get caught sleeping on duty
This ninja was 3 for 3.
The moral of the story is to not be a ninja. Go to effing sleep dude. Sleep is gold.
Cheers
The Trial
Submitted into Contest #243 in response to: Write a story where time functions differently to our world.… view prompt
Oma S. Ari
This story contains themes or mentions of physical violence, gore, or abuse.
“Lucas, my name is Zaman and I am to be your lawyer throughout the day’s proceedings”
Zaman was tall, and serious looking. Lucas could not help thinking that he sounded as if he was here to offer an apology and bad excuses. Twenty four years had Lucas been locked away, and not once had he heard the name Zaman before.
“I have tried to contact you on numerous occasions through your time incarcerated”, Zaman said, “but it seemed to me and my colleagues that you preferred to have no correspondence”, he held the door open as they entered another great hall with white marble walls. Lucas felt a ray of hope glimmer faintly in his chest. Zaman continued, “I know it has been a long time behind bars for you, but you have shown great behavior throughout…”
“Will that matter?”, Lucas interrupted.
Zaman gave him a crooked, but sympathetic, smile.
“I doubt it”.
.
With Zaman by his side, Lucas sat in the middle of the marble hall. In front of him was an open notebook and two feather pens. Their tips looked as if made by solid gold. Lucas wondered if he was expected to use them. He had practiced a lot of basic tasks in prison, but he was no writer. As the room around them filled with people, Zaman kept giving him reassuring looks, promising that it would all be over shortly. The six judges, all dressed in black with their dark blue caps covering the better part of their faces, were seated the moment the clock struck twelve. As soon as the last one of them had put down her briefcase on the table, the trial began.
.
Lucas shivered. An echo flew through the room. Murder.
Murder.
“Murder”.
The judge farthest to the right had leaned forward and spoken.
“Ah!”, Zaman reacted quickly, collecting his papers and standing up “But who? That, my fellow citizens, is the question we are here to answer today”. He spoke in a calm and controlled manner, every now and then turning to the other side of the room to face the curious audience.
“Twenty four years is a long time”, Zaman stated while nodding seriously, “but is it long enough for us to consider the most heinous crimes?”
It was almost eleven when he finished and the prosecutor took over. Lucas felt exhausted and drained, wanting nothing but to stand up and leave. The whispering of the onlookers made it difficult to focus, and the voices of the judges seemed distorted and slow. At some point, he was sure, someone was going to ask him a question, and he had very little to say to his defense. He felt like a scared animal clinging to the arm of Zaman, hoping that there was something this stranger could do or say to change what was about to happen.
.
It was ten, and the crowd gasped.
“A child ”, the prosecutor said.
“Out of the question”, Zaman responded, “Look at him. He is nothing but a child himself”
The prosecutor’s desk was a few meters to the side, and Lucas, dizzy from the stress and the bright light, could not see her clearly. But he heard her voice, sharp and clear and bouncing from the marble in all directions. He followed it with his eyes, as the sound of her words echoed around him, traveling from wall to wall and merging with the whispering of the audience and the low rumbling from the street outside.
The crowd gasped again. Lucas could see a man close his hand over his mouth and shake his head.
“A child”, she repeated, “A boy from Houston. He is only twelve.”
The legs of a chair dragged along the floor. Steps. A halt. The prosecutor had stood up and made her way across the room. Lucas had always known that today was going to be filled with humiliation and bad news. Still, as he sat in this white room, with blue eyes watching from every direction, a sense of shock crawled up his spine. The disgust radiating from the seats around him had managed to seep through his skin, penetrating his belly and grabbing a hold of his innards. He felt it too. Disgusted.
“A child of twelve. A murder in Houston”, she said a third time, now looking directly at Lucas. The gray haired woman had a wrinkle over her eyes that made her seem troubled rather than fierce. Somewhere in her face Lucas could sense a hint of empathy. The prosecutor felt sorry for him. He swallowed the sense of surprise, having been worried that he had lost his voice in the chaotic scenes unfolding in his mind.
“Why?”, he demanded to know.
“Lunacy”, she responded softly.
.
Zaman had been correct, the trial was over quicker than it had begun. By the time the prosecutor had presented the gruesome details of the case and the audience had choked on their disgust enough times, morning was creeping up on them, and the proceedings came to an end.
Murder. A twelve year old boy.
“It could have been worse”, Zaman said while standing up and stroking his suit jacket, “Trust me, Lucas, it could have been a lot worse”.
Lucas was not sure he could stand. His voice was breaking as he asked:
“Worse than a dead child?”
Zaman attempted a smile, but it looked more like a grimace. Before he walked out he put his hand on Lucas’ shoulder.
“We will stay in touch. We have things to plan and discuss”.
Lucas did not turn to look as Zaman left. Alone he sat by the desk in the middle of the room until the sky light made the walls glow in a purple morning hue. Only then a janitor approached him, with the same irritated expression once carried by a prison guard that Lucas was never to see again.
“You are free to go, son”, the janitor grunted, clearly annoyed by his presence, “How about you make use of that freedom and stop wasting space in my court?”
.
Outside, the air was different again. Cold, early morning surrounded him and the silence had replaced the commotion from earlier. Whatever feelings that had been boiling outside the courthouse during the day had died down now. People had gone home. The journalists had finished. No one was there. For a brief moment, Lucas thought about the things that awaited. He would need to make friends, find his family, maybe even get a girlfriend. He sighed. He was not feeling particularly excited about any of it. Slowly, he started walking aimlessly down the empty street. He could get a nice home, maybe. A job. Life was long, and he needed to spend it somehow. He had always wanted to see the ocean, and he was sure there were people that worked and lived in places where you got to look at it every day. Maybe that would suit him. As he passed through the blocks, the houses changed in character. The impressive marble of the law was replaced by broken bricks and mud roads. This was a poor area. He could tell how the cracks in the facades were slowly healing, rubble from the street carefully moving towards the gates of people’s homes and gardens. Sadness and defeat hung in the air and embraced him as he walked. One day, he thought to himself, he would live in a neighborhood very different from this one.
.
But first, there was something that needed to be done. He had spent twenty four years in prison, and time had come to pay for it. Whatever pills the guards had given him with his daily morning meal had left his system by now, and he felt a new strength entering his body. His mind was more awake than before, his hearing more attuned. He listened to the sound of his tongue moving against his teeth, enjoying the soft melody of saliva and bone. The noise seemed to come just as much from the inside of his head as from the actual physical world it belonged to. For a long time he stood still, biting his lips and licking the inside of his cheeks, enjoying the harmony it created. A rounded, silky clicking that slithered down the throat. Then he laughed to himself. No more stalling. He needed to get to Houston.
Futures of The Past – 1950s Sci-Fi – AI Microfilm
What is the best case of “You just picked a fight with the wrong person” that you’ve witnessed?
I was pretty small and thin in high school, but wanted to play football so I worked out a lot and was strong for my size, but still barely managed to stay on the team. One spring day a guy who was playing at working out made some obnoxious comments and dared me to come outside and fight him. Coach threw him out of the weight room and I though it was over. I saw him hanging out with some friends watching us go through drills, but didn’t really think abut it. Until I got on the athletic bus to go home and saw him sitting in the back with three friends. I was the only white kid who rode the athletic bus, in a school that had only integrated about ten years earlier, but it was never a problem before that day. I did what I usually did and sat near the front with a group of friends. The guy, Don Lee, and his friends started throwing paper balls at me. They didn’t have very good aim, so it was mostly my friends getting hit, but Don Lee though it was hilarious. I figured it wouldn’t stop until I went back and got my butt kicked like they wanted me to, so I got up to go to the back. My friends told me it wasn’t worth it, but I couldn’t let them take it for me. Then as I walked to back of the bus with Don Lee and his friends laughing about what they were going to do to me, someone put his hand on my shoulder. I turned to see two of the biggest guys in the school, Bird and Kelvin. Bird told me to get behind him and suddenly the bus went deadly quiet. Don Lee started to say something smart and Bird grabbed him by the collar so that his knuckles were under Don Lee’s chin and slammed his head into the roof of the bus. It was like a scene from a comic book with Don Lee going all glassy eyed and slack jawed. Then Bird said let’s go Luke (my nickname, from Lucan the wolf boy TV show of the time) they won’t mess with you again. The next day during practice Bird told me that he’d never seen a white boy willing to fight to protect black guys and he wouldn’t let me get messed up that way.
So sometimes it isn’t that the person you picked a fight with is that strong, but they might just have friends who are.
What do you think is the worst drug?
Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but GABAPENTIN. I’m not sorry I’ve never tried cocaine, heroin, meth, crack, really anything beyond cannabis. Mushrooms once. I have enough trouble with dopamine as it is now, I cannot imagine something making that more difficult.
I took Gabapentin (Neurontin) for more than 4 years. I was taking it for a diagnosis of neuropathy, my left shoulder sucks from living, working, and it got way worse after open heart surgery at 39, I’m 46.
It has a mild soporific/anti-depressive effect, made me hurt a LOT less, but… knowing the long term effects and the considerable amount of heart and blood pressure meds made me want off of it pronto.
I went to my pain doc after deciding to come off of it. Weaning myself off of it was pure, unadulterated hell. That garbage is dangerous coming out, and from mood changes to stomach aches, to dizziness and blurred vision, and from all-day nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, that part was easy. Halfway through the process of weaning, I had body pain that was *insane* for about 72 hours, and then it seemed to be way less stressful after.
Some side effects while ON gabapentin:
- Loss of libido in a huge way
- Coordination and a strange gait.
- Miss a dose? Get ready.
- Loss of alertness because you are so damned tired all the time
- Problems waking up (that have persisted after use)
- I felt like I mumbled a lot, and my speech sometimes seemed slurred to me. I can’t imagine what I sounded like to a normal person.
- Persistent dosing time: I had to make sure that I was taking it the same times, every day, every week, every month. Three times per day, 900mg a dose.
- You can be an irritable bastard prior to getting that first dose in.
- Some days, you are engulfed in a sadness that does not subside, seemingly that whole day.
Now,I also can look forward to some just purely depressing long-term side effects being NOT on Gabapentin:
- Memory degradation. My short recall is pure sh*t sometimes.
- Pain. Every single day from waking to sleeping, my shoulder hurts sometimes to the point where I get little akathisia (this inner restlessness that makes me have an almost “tick” to move my shoulder. So strange and unnerving. It seems to increase as my stress/anxiety increases.
- Organ damage, brain and liver damage
- Very weird respiratory depression
- A foggy feeling sometimes
Gabapentin sucks. Please, take my story and have something else chosen for you.
China’s New Generation of Hypersonic Weapons Can Encircle the U.S. Military
What’s something small that happened in your life that everyone else probably forgot about but had a big impact on you?
**Edited to add** While I appreciate the people who took time to read and suggest edits, I am not doing this. All edits outside of basic spelling will be discarded. I’m sorry I have to explain this but I wrote this from my own perspective as a child. No child has perfect grammar. If you feel the need to change, delete entire paragraphs I suggest you please write your own story. This is mine.
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I was with my mother and older sister in the grocery store. Kindergarten age, all big eyes and watchful quiet. I didn’t talk much, even then. I may have been small but I’d already learned that speaking only increased the pain.
My older sister had wandered off, but I stood right by mother. If I moved, even to see where sister had gone, I’d get beat later for misbehaving. It was just like me to cause problems. So I walked behind her like a little shadow. Careful, always careful to stay out of the way.
An older lady approached my mom and complimented her on how I behaved. She wore a housecoat and gray hair, just like a grandma on tv. This was so very weird – I never ever got told I did something good. I peeked out at her from behind my mom. She saw me and said “Oh how pretty she is! Look at those big eyes and long long eyelashes.” I smiled then…in my whole life no one had told me I was pretty without it being proceeded by severe pain. She made another compliment about my smile and I guess that was too much.
My mom interrupted and said “Oh you should see my other daughter. She’s the real beauty and so very good. This one’s just trouble”. My smile faded away and I looked down at my shoes. They hurt anyway, were too small. They’d been my sisters that got handed to me when she didn’t like the color anymore. They were old and scuffed and I was sure I’d be in trouble later. I never could figure out how to make the old shoes look like the new ones my sister wore.
The lady went around my mom and came and looked down at me. She said in a firm voice that allowed no disbelief “You are good too”. Then she smiled at me – just at me! and went on with her day.
She didn’t know it and neither did I, but that was when I first started to question how things had always been. When I was scrubbing the bathroom and my sister was outside because she was good enough to play I remembered it. When I got in trouble because my older sister did something and I didn’t stop her I’d remember that. Those little words got me through a lot of things and helped me learn that maybe I didn’t deserve what happened to me.
“You are good too”, such a little sentence but it started such a change in me.
What can you do to honor your wife when it is almost too late?
At about eleven years into our marriage, we were in big trouble. We were in our living room, both crying (my husband doesn’t cry, he was a Marine), and sitting in abject, defeated silence, as there was nothing left to say. It was dead. We failed. We were over. Too much pain.
Suddenly, I had an idea. I said, “OK, if this marriage is dead, let’s give it a damn funeral. And you know what? Who says we can’t marry each other again and start a new relationship?”
My husband looked at me and said, “Well, that’s just crazy enough to possibly work.”
We took off our rings. We wrote scathing eulogies to the first marriage. “Dear first marriage, I don’t know how you managed to both suck and blow, but die in a fucking fire….” We proceeded to speak to each other about our “exes,” complaining about all of the crap they did to us. “My ex left his damn socks on the floor ALL THE TIME.” “Oh, yeah, well MY ex threw temper tantrums about stupid shit.”
We lit candles. We created sacred space. We smudged our rings in sage smoke, and we said off-the-cuff vows to one another.
“I promise not to leave my socks on the floor”
“I promise not to wait until I can’t take something anymore and then yell at you”
We put our rings back on, we tied our hands together with our original handfasting cord after smudging it and adding things to it. We kissed. We made love. A lot.
We never spoke of it again. Almost twenty years strong, we are. We still make love. A lot.
Why US and West scared of China and Russia in Africa
Mediterranean Steak and Pasta with Tomato-Olive Sauce
Whole-wheat pasta is served with beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks and a tomato and olive sauce. This one will please the adults and the kids in your family.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked whole grain fettuccine
- 4 beef Sirloin Tip Center Steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick (about 4 ounces each)
- 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives*
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
- 1/4 cup finely shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Cook fettuccine according to package directions; drain and keep warm.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place beef steaks in skillet; cook for 11 to 13 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) doneness, turning occasionally. (Do not overcook.) Remove from skillet; keep warm.
- Combine pasta sauce and oregano in same skillet; heat until hot. Return steaks to skillet; turn to coat with sauce.
- Place steaks on fettuccine; spoon sauce over all.
- Sprinkle steaks with cheese, allowing cheese to melt. Sprinkle with parsley.
Notes
* You may substitute 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce with olives for 1 (26 ounce) pasta sauce + 1/4 cup chopped olives.
Nutrition
Per serving: 474 Calories; 99.9 Calories from fat; 11.1g Total Fat (3.7g Saturated Fat; 0.2g Trans Fat; 0.3g Polyunsaturated Fat; 2.3g Monounsaturated Fat;) 71mg Cholesterol; 766mg Sodium; 54g Total Carbohydrate; 10.1g Dietary Fiber; 37g Protein; 6.2mg Iron; 332mg Potassium; 4.5mg NE Niacin; 0.4mg Vitamin B6; 2.8mcg Vitamin B12; 5.9mg Zinc; 33.6mcg Selenium; 90.1mg Choline
This recipe is an excellent source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Iron, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Zinc, and Selenium; and a good source of Choline.
What goes through the mind of Chinese citizens when they travel out of China and end up on the internet seeing uncensored speech and negative factual news about the CCP?
Most Chinese foreign students I have met here in the US are shocked.
Not because they learned anything shocking about their country or government. It’s because they see how mainstream Western media present lies after lies about their home country. The place where they grew up.
As a result, most of them become more nationalistic after spending some time in the US.
You don’t have to believe me. Befriend Chinese foreign students in your city, I assume you’re a Westerner, and slowly ask their opinions of the Western mainstream media coverage of China. If they trust you, they will tell you truthfully what they think.
EDIT: I have deleted some comments from trolls and people who just want to have meaningless internet debates. If you ever use the words “wumao” or “fifty cents”, your comment will be deleted.
A stray dog rescues a buried stray cat—truly astonishing!
When you were a kid, who gave you an unforgettable Christmas present?
I have six siblings. My dad had a pretty good job that must have brought in decent money, but he and my mom (who was a homemaker) had seven kids to feed and clothe.
Every couple of months, my mom would receive bags of hand-me-downs from my cousins. It was fun sorting through the piles of clothes. I never gave up hope that something on-trend would make an appearance. Needless to say, that never happened. So, I was always attired in dated, usually over-sized clothing (it didn’t help that I was a scrawny little thing).
The Christmas I was in Grade Six, my oldest brother was working full time. He was the type of big brother that you see in the movies . . . kind, patient and generous. Many times on a Friday night he’d show up with chips and pop (a rare treat) for us kids.
On December 23rd, he showed up with a pile of beautifully wrapped gifts. I was thrilled beyond belief just by the presentation. On Christmas morning, I carefully untied the beautiful ribbon, and slid my small fingers along the seams. I savored each delicious moment of the unwrapping process.
When I finally unveiled the box, I held my breath and slowly opened it. First I pulled out a beautiful, soft, red turtleneck sweater. Hidden beneath a layer of tissue paper, I saw a tan-coloured something peeking out. It was a faux-leather jumper (a sleeveless dress), complete with a belt. The entire ensemble fit me like a glove. It was on-trend, and I was over the moon.
For the first time in my young life, I could wear a new outfit (one that actually fit) to school. I can still remember how thrilling it was to wear that gorgeous outfit. My big brother is a kind and gentle man with a family of his own, and I hold him in the highest regard.
What are some aspects of Chinese culture that may seem odd or strange to an American visiting China for the first time?
My American customer told me,
he was shocked about :
“Chinese kids are allowed to drink wine”
I told him,my grandpa forced me to drink wine when I was 6 yrs old, while my Muslim grandma encouraging me at the same table.
China is sometime so wired even for Chinese.
What do inmates do to survive prison without going insane?
I remember going into prison, I was facing a 10 year sentence for drugs and pretty down on myself over it. But someone said something to me at the start of my stay that has stuck with me ever since.
“Every day you need some kind of victory, be it physical, mental, or spiritual. Every day, have some victory big or small.”
I don’t know if I really understood him fully at the time, but he had been in and out of the system for his entire life.
In prison, I did alot of pushups and I read alot of books. I fought noone when I could, and anyone when I had to. I played the games, chess, dominoes, cards, basketball, I even learned d&d. I made friends and i made enemies. I faced boredom and some of the most challenging situations of my life. I faced myself in the mirror, the good parts and the ugly parts. I learned alot about myself there.
Something else I remember thinking alot, almost as a mantra is a quote from the movie nacho libre. When the orphan kid is trying to comfort him and he tells him “I’ll have my hot day in the sun” there’s alot of opportunity to make your time slightly easier. Drugs of course, getting stuck watching TV, but really I’m talking about turning away from what you belive is right. It’s easy to compromise your morals in a place like that. But I had my hot day in the sun. In the long run, I think that’s better.
Just like in the real world there are alot of things you can’t control there, and there isn’t always a clear path forward… When there is you know what to do. But when there isn’t, you can still have a small victory everyday. Workout, learn something, face yourself and decide who you want to be going forward, meditate, pray, do something worth doing.
I ended up doing 3 years and 10 months before I made parole. And it’s been almost that long I’ve been out. All in all I feel like prison gave me the opportunity to become who I am now. There’s alot of people in there that got alot more time than I did. But if I had to do more, I’d try and live by that same advice ol shake gave me.
I still try and live by it now.
Anyway I’ve never done this before so thanks for reading.
