Man, oh man! The United States is going full-on Mad Max…
Geo-Politics, out of the USA, is just a bunch of rich kids who inherited money, or got it easily and know nothing about diplomacy. Meanwhile the rest of the world are cautiously waiting for the Untied States to bleed out… finally.
It seems like a lot of bad stuff is up ahead. But, that is an illusion.
It’s going to be some uncomfortable contractions. But not catastrophic change. So relax on that account.
Keep in mind the basics…
- Community
- Local skills
- Rufus and smiles
- Network
- Garden
- Alternative transportation, and power.
Northwest Sweet Cherry Pie
Nothing kicks off the holiday season quite like a fresh Northwest Sweet Cherry Pie straight from the oven!
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts, prepared
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cherry juice, reserved from pitting (fresh) or from rinsing/rehydrating (preserved)
- 7 cups (pitted) sweet cherries
- 3/4 – 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon almond extract or bourbon-vanilla bean infusion
Instructions
- Using a fork, whisk together the cherry water and cornstarch in a small bowl, then set aside.
- Stem and pit the cherries, if not already done.
- Fill pie dish with cherries and blend the remaining volume (about 2 cups or 1/4 the total volume) into a puree. Pour the remaining whole cherries into a mixing bowl and return to the refrigerator (if using frozen cherries).
- Using a heavy-bottom pan, gently heat the puree and sugar over low heat until the volume has reduced by 1/3 to 1/2. Constantly stir across the bottom to prevent burning.
- Once reduced, remove from the heat and stir in the cornstarch slurry until the mix regains translucency. Gently and briefly reheat if needed. Stir in the extract and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- Pour the cooled mixture over the whole cherries, gently stirring to incorporate. Pour the final cherry mixture into a 9 or 10-inch prepared pie crust, and top with a second crust. Pinch, crimp and vent the top crust. Brush with a beaten egg if so desired and sprinkle lightly with coconut sugar.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 55-60 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is steadily bubbling. Aluminum foil may be used around the crust edges to prevent browning during the second half of the bake.
- Transfer the pie to a cooling rack, and most importantly, allow the pie to cool completely before serving (3-4 hours).
THIS IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. LEARNING TO LIVE WITH CHINESE POWER.
Hugh White is addressing quite skillfully but also assertively the central emotivo-cognitive dissonance lived by the majority of the Australian people and I would venture to extend it to most Westerners. The title of Hugh White's video on Youtube : THIS IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. LEARNING TO LIVE WITH CHINESE POWER. Hugh White, definitely not the average Westerner, was spot on. I noticed that the title appearing during the lecture is a tad different : instead of DIFFERENT, we have INTERESTING. IT'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT or INTERESTING (for sure !!!) A GROUP ON THIS PLANET CALLED THE CHINESE HAS TRUE POWER. The kind of power the Western ruling class had exclusively for the last 2 centuries. THE WEST IS GONNA HAVE TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT. And I predict that it will be a quite steep learning curve... Not being the average Westerner, Hugh White truly understands, in spite of inevitable ups and downs, that China will not collapse soon and the CPC (the Communist Party of China) will not be overthrown by the Chinese in the foreseeable future. I also like very much the less official CCP (the Chinese Civilization Party) coined by Professor Kishore Mabhubani and promoted enthusiastically if not wildly by me. I dare predict that the CPC/CCP will last 350 to 400 years minimum. The Red Dynasty ruling nowadays from Beijing is a great one, its first 73 years (1949-2022) having all the hallmarks of a great Chinese Dynasty. Anecdotally, its founding father Mao Zedong was from a peasant family, like Liu Bang (Gao Zu 高 祖 Lofty Founding Ancestor of the great Han Dynasty) and Zhu Yuanzhang (Tai Zu 太 祖 Supreme Progenitor of the shining Ming Dynasty). A great Chinese Dynasty usually lasts 300 to 400 years. For those who might be shocked that I call the CPC/CCP the Red Dynasty, I would like to offer this down-to-earth and incontrovertible fact : the Chinese soldiers, sailors, airmen swear their oath of loyalty to the CPC/CCP, not to the Chinese Nation or to any other institution. The Chinese military men in the past also swore their oath of loyalty to the Emperor and to the Imperial House. As in all truly top-down societies, the military men are the servants of the group at the very top of the Chinese society at a given period of China's journey, those capable to understand deeply that China is an Eternal Idea having espoused History : the timocratic men (motivated by justice & honor) and the aristocratic men (motivated by discovery, inventivity, creativity and playful exploration); not the plutocratic men (motivated by profits, wealth and power) and certainly not the democratic men (motivated by hedonism, lex talionis, tribal affinities and their understanding of the inner and outer realities limited to senses perceptions). But I added "minimum". Why ? Because the present rejuvenated, meritocratic, authoritarian and paternalistic Confucian-style ruling class is much much much more capable to receive criticisms and suggestions from, to talk to, to discuss with the Chinese population (a more educated Chinese population much more capable having elaborate and fruitful dialogues with their rulers) than the former Chinese Emperors assisted by their meritocratic bureaucracy and a much smaller group of scholars/literati from the general population. For the Chinese still wanting to protest, I remind everyone there are about 500 authorized public protests everyday in Mainland China seen as a legit mode of communication between the Chinese and their rulers. That is precisely the core reason for the return of the Classical Education and Confucianism (+ the indispensable techno-scientific training, needless to say) in China. An endeavor favored and promoted by many in the ruling class but especially by State Councilor Wang Huning, the no 4 of the present Politburo Standing Committee (2022-2027). Yes, "authoritarian" and "paternalistic" are not dirty words, at least not for me. The Chinese and the Asian societies were and are archetypically top-down societies with a benevolent proclivity coming from the integrated teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism. The integrated 三 教 (San Jiao : Three Teachings) were already a social reality pervasively present in all the layers of the Chinese society at least from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It's true that if someone wished a career in the Imperial administration, Confucianism was a must but the general representation of the world in everyday life was buttressed by the INTEGRATED Three Teachings. And even under the rule of the CPC/CCP, that Weltanschauung is still valid. An authoritarian and paternalistic ruling class is not necessarily evil when a serious epistemological program is offered to ALL for self-improvement, learning skills, climbing the social ladder and contributing to the Nation. Not forgetting the ongoing serious efforts to curb down corruption. Not everything was dandy during the Chinese Empire, needless to say, but it was the most prosperous place on Earth for many many centuries before the arrival of the most nefarious KFC-AZAEL (Kakistocratic Feudal Conglomerate of the Anglo-Zio-American EstabLishment), not forgetting the Chinese complacency and decadence during the nineteenth century, obviously the root cause, the arrival of the most criminal KFC-AZAEL being only the triggering event. It might be unfair to use vague umbrella concepts like the Westerners or the collective West (~12% of the global population). A fair question would be : is there truly a collective West ? Is it so uniform ? Is it so monolithic ? I will try to be more precise in the expression of my thoughts. So, in continuity with Pepe Escobar's trilogy concerning the irreplaceable trio CHINA-RUSSIA-IRAN which rightfully stressed that those three nations, that I personally label with the grandiose name Nations-Empires-Civilizations (NEC), are at the center of the unraveling of the colonization era made essentially by the most atrocious KFC-AZAEL (Kakistocratic Feudal Conglomerate of the Anglo-Zio-American EstabLishment). I want to say that the West in question here is the colonial West, essentially expressed by the 2 contemporary forms of economic neo-colonialism and a most psycho-rigid mentality having at its core an unwarranted superiority complex. (eg, Josep Borrell's archetypical statement on "the Garden" vs "the Jungle". This example illustrates an extremely gross case, it might be much more subtler, obviously...). Let's not forget some extremely deep-rooted bad habits (and old habits die hard, to say the least) we call in this group the 6 E: E.xpansionism, E.xtraction, E.xpropriation, E.nslavement, E.xtermination, E.vangelism. Hugh White had the common sense to add at the end that China's return is not necessarily a threat to the USA's general interests. Of course, if the present US ruling class (the KFC-AZAEL : the Kakistocratic Feudal Conglomerate of the Anglo-Zio-American EstabLishment) adamantly desires a true global empire, China's return will definitely hobble that wild ambition but if the KFC-AZAEL is capable to be sincerely satisfied (satisfied or not satisfied...that is the question !!!...😉 ) with a regional empire (and frankly a big one !!! So they will still be at a quite exalted position in the global pecking order...), or in more refined/diplomatic words, a big zone of direct influence, China's return is not an obstacle at all. The irreplaceable trio CHINA-RUSSIA-IRAN (that I promote unremittingly) is the comprehensive coalition of the last 3 Nations-Empires-Civilizations (NEC) on Earth. If the USA cannot live with the option of being a truly big regional empire (even only paying lip service hypocritically for the time being because let's be lucid, the KFC-AZAEL will not be destroyed so easily), the 3 NECs will have to increase the PAIN-FEAR dial to make it understand that the global colonization era is really ending. Phir Milate Hain ! Quan
Congressman Announces Investigation of Gen. Mark Milley and Nancy Pelosi
Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona is leading the charge for Republicans in launching an investigation into General Mark Milley and Nancy Pelosi.
On January 7th Gosar tweeted
“Remember – we will conduct a real investigation into J6. The effort to attempt a coup between traitor Gen. Mark Milley and Pelosi will be reviewed and exposed.”
Gosar would continue
“Milleys treasonous sell-out to China will be investigated. Pelosi not warning members about intel of impending violence will be exposed.”
Gosar would continue his series of tweets by writing
“soon, we’ll know the truth.”
5 People Reveal What’s It Like To Live In Finland, The Happiest Country In The World
1. In Finland, things just simply work, promises are kept, life can be planned ahead and people keep their distance. It’s perfect. The darkness before the snow comes is pretty depressing, but it’s the cost of not having that many people around, and I’m willing to pay.
I’m not exactly a world traveler (and won’t be until they come up with carbon neutral airplanes) but from what I’ve seen, the only places I would live in besides Finland is Sweden or Norway. And even then I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t fit in as well as I do in Finland.
When I have gone south, the absence of forests somehow beats me down. Then I see the society and all the things that are better in the Nordics.
In Finland, even the poorest live in better conditions than I did when I was a child, and my childhood wasn’t bad at all, at least terms of being fed, clothed, kept warm and dry or gadgeted.
You just need to go to Germany and see street prostitutes, people living in very bad conditions, doing work but not making enough for food, and bad infrastructure.
I visited Spain two years ago, and oh dear. Not a single elevator in the metro stations of Barcelona was working, so any disabled or stroller pushing people were denied of public transportation. A lot of people were living on the streets, and I didn’t even have to see the living and working conditions of the immigrants in the fruit farms. And this was inside the relative safety and living standards of EU – I’m not even going to talk about what I saw in Thailand or Russia.
The rich have it good everywhere. With money, you can afford what the state doesn’t supply, be it housing, medical care, mobility, security, whatever.
But in Finland, even the rich use public medical care, because it’s that good. People leave their houses unlocked, because there are so little desperate people to burglar around. There isn’t a real class society (yet). We take so good care of our poor, that we can afford the luxury of not fearing each other. I feel bad looking at human suffering or environmental damage, and that is a big reason for me not to travel.
I haven’t looked at how they measured the happiness rating, but my guess is that because Finland takes care of everybody, a bigger portion of the people are happy, not just the rich.
We still have poverty, and even though the relative conditions our our poor are better than.. anywhere else really, they still feel unhappiness because they feel shunned upon and disconnected from society. This can be worked on, however, and it’s much easier to make people feel accepted and connected when the problem of organizing running water, heat and electricity has been solved half a century ago.
2. I find living in Finland quite peaceful and safe. Some may regard it also boring and lame (some comments I’ve read), but to me Finland means the life where I don’t have to worry for my life in the very basic level. This society won’t let anybody starve or freeze.
Finland is estimated to be the most stable country in the world. To me it tells that we have done something right, despite our current economic problems.
This is a society where everything is negotiated, different parties can express their views and the power is balanced so that any party can’t dominate the political field. Politicians are used to compromise with their adversaries. That’s why the Finnish politics may seem a bunch of horse trading. Always when you get something you must give something.
This prevents sudden changes in the society, causing as well stability as rigidity.
I think that most Finns like to live a pretty peaceful and quiet life. We are not a nation of big dramas either in politics or personal life. And this is probably what some regard boring.
I think that this is one of the middle-class societies: we put an effort to raise poorer people to the middle-class and since a big part of it is funded by the proggressive taxation, our filthy rich elite is quite small – and I guess they are not very rich in the international comparison.
3. As far as living in Finland, it all depends on which part. Northern Finland(Lapland) is dark and cold in winter, but it does have it’s beauty with the Northern Lights and the landscape. Avoid Kemi, depressing town. The more south you go the less long dark winters. I loved Vaasa, and I love Espoo too.
From an American ex pat perspective there are differences. Typical apartment bathrooms do not come with bath tubs, and there is nothing to separate the shower floor from the rest of the bathroom so you have to sweep the water to the drain. If you have a shower closet, those are quite small for the avg American. Everything is in smaller scale here. If you are over 6 foot tall the beds can be a problem.. Public laundrymats are unheard of. I know one place in Helsinki that is coin operated. Most apartment blocks have their own laundry rooms, and almost all apartments have hook ups for washers in the bathrooms. About 50% of apartments have clothes dryers. We are lucky that the owner included a washer dryer tower in our unit.
Mass transportation here in the metro area is excellent. You can get almost anywhere in minutes. It will be even more so once the metro extension to Matinkylä is completed. Our shops close at early hours, very rare to find markets or pharmacies open 24 hours. I can think of one or two in Helsinki.
Crime is very low. I feel very safe walking around at night time here. Because of the dark winters it is common to be out at night. There is a growing international presence in Finland. Because of the educated populace many companies are moving here to take advantage of the talented and skilled work force.
Learning Finnish is very hard. For native English speakers it is especially challenging. At some point it is good also to know Swedish because it is one of the official languages. Mainly in cities such as Vaasa, and parts of Espoo. Next year I will begin to tackle Swedish.
Ice hockey is HUGE here. Also a sport called salibandy (floorball). track and field is big. Finland is into fitness, but we do have our share of couch potatoes. Finland is one of the top consumers of coffee and also milk.
Finland has a very good social system, but our taxes are very high. Finland is one of the least, if not THE least corrupt nation in the planet. You can not run a social system successfully if you are corrupt. Also the success of our social system is due in part because Finland is a small country. The way we do things here is just not scale-able to a country of over 300 million.
4. Finland is well organised. Everything works, new technologies are used to the full and schedules are taken seriously.
Snow gets ploughed on streets and airports during the night for buses and planes to keep to the timetables in the morning, EU regulations are meticulously applied and officials can be trusted.
Maternity leave topped with the annual four weeks’ holiday adds up to eleven months, which can be divided between both parents and you can stay at home taking care of the baby till its third birthday and prefering to return to work or to study you are guaranteed a daycare place for the child.
Because of the relatively new independence ( Finland will turn 100 next year) Finns are patriotic and quite supportive of the national defence. The whole age class takes part in military service, women voluntarily.
Finns are work-oriented and even though not spending as many hours working (theoretically 37.5 hours/week), they are efficient and concientious.
To set the balance, they use about the same amount of alcohol as their fellow Europeans, but have their weekly dose concentrated to the weekend often with the aim of getting drunk.
The labour day, which is celebrated on 1st May together with the students’ Vappu celebration of the beginning of the summer season and use of the white student cap is a very wet party taking place on the streets and parks of the University cities.
A very different, although hardly drier celebration is Juhannus, Midsummer, around the 24th June, when cities are deserted and the longest day of the year is spent in the summer cottages grilling sausage and taking a plunge in one of the 187 888 lakes after sauna.
Drunkenness is not considered a social embarassment. Alcohol (over 6 %) is a state monopoly only sold in Alko stores to majors (>18). Nevertheless also teens drink alot.
Finns feel emotional about sports and are among the best sport audiences, turning up in crowds, which has together with the organizational capacities won Finland the management of many international championships. Not enthusiastic about football,which they are notoriously bad at, but field sports ( long distance, javelin), ice hockey and the motorsports.
The arts, theatre and opera are considerably less popular and favored mainly by the women. The construction of the new opera house of Helsinki was strongly opposed in the 1980’s as expensive and elitistic, even though Finland has produced a proportionally high amount of top conductors (Berglund, Salonen, Oramo, Saraste, Mälkki) and very good contemporary composers ( Sallinen, Kokkonen, Rautavaara, Lindberg, Saariaho).
5. This is the common man’s version of what’s it like…
Just yesterday, I went to a river near my house, took a dip in freezing cold water and went under the sun. In a few minutes, I was dry like new.
Summers are amazing in Finland. Short but amazing. The other day, I took a 5 Euro rent a cycle and completed the entire stretch surrounding the lake near by. And then took a nap under the trees. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
Getting on to a healthy life style here is easy. There are walking and cycling paths everywhere. You can walk how much ever you want, any time any day, no one to bother. Some times I just take a bus to a distant place and walk all the way back. It’s fun.
Finland is not “touristy” kind of beauty. It will not just amaze you the moment you enter it. It’s grows onto you. After a few days of living, you will start enjoying the “not-so-flashy” things like the fresh fruit markets, the open air concerts, the bicycle rides, a nap in the park, international sports events, beer and food festivals.
In a way, Finland made me feel more connected to nature. You can run in the forest whenever you want. You can swim in the lake. You can go for fishing. Most of times you will see families spending time with their kids, pets, listening to live music, playing guitar, going for a walk – having a great time with simple things in life.
Many times, I feel like I live in a big village. A few weeks before, me and my wife were coming back to our home quite after midnight. We just chose a spot on the way and were talking for few hours. At no point we felt threatened or scared. We were just talking as if it’s in our courtyard.
Many of the people usually focus on the Winters of Finland. Yes, winters are cold, it can be depressing. But the summers make it worth while.
Once it snows, even winters can be fun. You can go for saunas, ice swimming or a walk on the lake (yes on the lake!)
If you have never been to Finland, plan for a month’s stay in smaller cities like Tampere during summer. You will not regret it.
Bizarre Paintings Of Mecha Robots And Werewolves Attacking East European Peasants Of The Early 20th Century
The Polish artist Jakub Rozalski, who goes by the sobriquet “Mr. Werewolf,” has produced an amusing series of steampunk-ish canvases in which serene and idyllic rustic landscapes of what seem to be Eastern Europe (Rozalski’s very back yard, you might say) in the early decades of the 20th century feature the prominent and inexplicable existence of completely fictitious giant mecha robots.
Various iconographies are jammed together, the imagery of peasant life in the early years of collectivization, the imagery of science fiction, the imagery of modern warfare…. add it all up and you might find yourself calling to mind, ohhh, the first few scenes of The Empire Strikes Back, set on the icy terrain of Hoth, perhaps?
Rozalski’s intent is “to commemorate this sad and tragic period in history, in my own way, to light on this parts of history that usually remain in the shadows of other events… remember and honor the history, but live in the present.” He adds, “I like to mix historical facts and situations with my own motives, ideas and visions. … I attach great importance to the details, the equipment, the costumes, because it allows you to embed painting within a specified period of time.”
The World of Scythe is a beautiful 105-page art book showcasing the work of Jakub Rozalski for the board game Scythe, one of the most successful games ever funded on Kickstarter. The book was only made available to backers during the Kickstarter campaign, and is now only available on ArtStation Shop.
Howling at the Moon, a new book published in cooperation with Artstation, will transport fans into Jakub Rozalski’s mysterious worlds where history, folklore, and modernity harmoniously clash. Inspired by traces of imagination from his childhood on the Polish countryside, his incredibly breathtaking and unique artwork will pull you into his alternate fantastic worlds filled with colossal giants, ominous machines, werewolves, lonely wanderers and rural landscapes. Artwork is complemented by sectional text in English and Polish. Fans can learn more about the artist in the interview text in English and Polish. Renowned Director and Designer Brent Ashe has crafted every aspect of Howling at the Moon’s presentation to make it an art experience satisfying collectors with a fine eye. The special edition includes a stunning bold hardcover slipcase and an envelope of 6 exclusive prints. Digital art enthusiasts will also enjoy learning more about the artist’s creation process in tutorials at the end of the book.
Blond Texas Sheet Cake with
Caramel-Pecan Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 4 egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Frosting
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- To make the cake, beat the cake mix, buttermilk, butter, egg whites and almond extract together with an electric mixer at low speed for 2 minutes or until blended. Pour batter into a 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 hours.
- To make the frosting, place chopped pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes or until lightly toasted.
- Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a 3 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in buttermilk.
- Return mixture to heat and bring to a boil. Pour into bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla and almond extracts, beating at medium-high speed until smooth. Stir in pecans.
- Pour immediately over cooled cake in pan and spread quickly to cover cake.
Serves 12.
Confessions Of A Golden Gate Bridge Jumper AND Survivor
What was so bad in your life that got you to the point of jumping?
It was a number of things! I’ve struggled with debilitating pain since I was 13 and depression, anxiety, and complex PTSD since I was 15 so that’s what the suicidal ideation was but two weeks before my psychiatrist at the time doubled my antidepressants (very bad idea) which threw me into a manic episode. I ended up dropping my savings on tattoos and then jumping off the bridge in a week.
Was there any particular reason why you chose the Golden Gate bridge?
I chose the Golden Gate Bridge first because of how effective I perceived it to be. The second reason is because my family wouldn’t have to deal with my body, I assumed only the Coast Guard would (also not true) don’t do it guys.
Did you hesitate or just go for the jump?
I didn’t hesitate I was afraid someone was going to notice me.
How long did it take to hit the water?
Seconds
What was going through your mind during the fall?
I didn’t really have any fully formed thoughts. I was feeling a lot.
How did you land in the water?
The wind turned me in the air so I landed slanted primarily on my left ankle which is why the most severe damage was to my ankle and the least severe was to my back.
What happened when you hit the water?
It’s like hitting cement. Pain was pretty much all I felt. I dissociated pretty heavily until I arrived at the hospital (and went into surgery immediately) but at no point did I lose consciousness.
When was the moment you realized “oh fuck I lived”
When I hit the water for sure. I processed the pain and then thought fuck I don’t want to drown.
You must be a fantastic swimmer
Hahaha once your body hits the water though there’s no way to move at all. I did it during the middle of the day with the intention to die on impact so when I didn’t a boat just ended up picking me up.
How did the boat come across you in the water? How did they get you on the boat?
They saw me when I fell because they were nearby. I’m pretty sure they threw something and then grabbed me but I don’t remember very well. I was dissociating a lot and my memory is spotty.
Do you know how long it took from when you jumped until the boat picked you up?
I didn’t have much of a conception of time so I couldn’t say for sure but not very long. I was treading water in the bay while bleeding with broken bones so it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes
What are the odds, you are so lucky, how far did you fall and did you get injured?
Yeah there’s like a 2% survival rate? The fall is 200 some odd feet. I shattered my ankle. Tore my perineum (requiring a colostomy bag and surgery though not as much as the ankle) and got compression fractures in my back.
I can’t imagine the pain
I couldn’t either. It was like nothing you could even grasp. Though the bone infection I got from my first ankle surgery was worse than impact I think
I read an article by someone else who survived the same jump. He said the moment he jumped he regretted the decision. Did you feel the same way?
No. I felt immediate relief. That was likely one of the reasons I survived because my body was very relaxed upon impact.
Could you explain the feeling of falling 200 feet? What could you compare it to?
The actual sensation of falling is pretty much like you’d expect. Like the out of control feeling when you trip but you can’t catch yourself but all you can see around you is water coming closer.
Did you realize at any point that all of your problems were fixable?
It was more of a gradual thing. I had really severe pain before my attempt and that wasn’t going away soon so I knew my shit wasn’t that flexible but I knew I needed to learn to cope because I couldn’t do that to my family again.
Who would you have missed the most?
I would have missed my family, the earth, and my future the most.
How did your friends and loved ones react?
With compassion and love and grief.
How are you doing today?
A lot better. Still struggling with my mental health but my medication is stable so now so am I.
Do you regret jumping?
That’s kind of a hard one. I try not to regret anything that made me who I am today. I think it was probably necessary for my path to recovery. I do however regret the trauma it caused my loved ones and the fucking medical bills.
Do you have a any long term injury from the fall?
I will never be able to walk normally. My left ankle has been fused after like ten fucking surgeries. I had a colostomy bag for five months but thankfully that’s been reversed. I broke my back too so there’s been pain and I’m not sure how longterm that is. Every person I know who has attempted said their body was just so dramatically aged in the process and that was my experience is.
Do you think, knowing what you know now, that you’d ever let your metal health get to that point again or would you reach out?
At this place in my life I have the tools (therapy, meds, a good support system) to reach out when things get bad before I get unsafe. I have a hard time with the word “let” because I feel like there’s the implication that it’s within someone’s control? Or implied fault somehow? I’m responsible for my actions (as we all are) but mental illness is a hard situation. I’m not in control of how bad it gets I can only control how I respond to it if that makes sense.
If you had died on that day, what have you experienced since then that you would have missed out on?
Honestly after this I put so much time and energy into recovery and I have gotten so far. I have started going to school for nursing and am in a beautiful housing situation with my best friend. I ended falling in love with myself and the world again as corny as it sounds. My insights are meditation is really important and therapy should be accessible and available to all.
Grocery Stores In New York City Are Considering Locking Up Food Because Theft Has Become So Rampant
Food has become a prime target for thieves, and that should deeply alarm all of us.
Once upon a time, shoplifting was a minor nuisance for most retailers in the United States. But today the game has completely changed.
Highly organized gangs of thieves are systematically looting stores all over the country, and this is costing retailers billions upon billions of dollars.
Authorities call it “organized retail crime”, but I call it complete and utter lawlessness.
Wild Wild West. A period of the complete collapse of society. -MM
When you have large groups of people storming retail stores all over the nation on a regular basis, that is a major crisis.
Originally, a lot of these gangs were primarily targeting goods that could be resold on the Internet very easily. But now a lot of grocery stores are being targeted, and food is being stolen on a scale that we have never seen before.
In New York City, things have gotten so bad that some stores are thinking of implementing dramatic measures. The following comes from a Fox News article entitled “NYC grocery stores consider locking up food due to rampant theft; workers are ‘traumatized’”…
Shampoo, toothpaste, and razor blades are all items that grocery stores have increasingly started locking behind counters. Soon, that list might include food. “People have no fear of coming to your store and stealing,” said Nelson Eusebio of the National Supermarket Association. “Our employees are terrified,” Eusebio continued. “We have young people that come to work, young cashiers who work part-time, these kids are 16-17 years old. They’re traumatized.”
When I first started warning that we are becoming a “Mad Max society”, a lot of people thought that I was exaggerating.
Sadly, the breakdown of law and order just continues to accelerate in many of our largest cities. In fact, it is being reported that grand larcenies “were up 80% in New York City last year”…
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made a point of combating the repeat offenses. “Criminals believe our criminal justice system is a joke,” Adams said in comments referring to a serial intruder who was arrested and released 26 times. “Those arrested for grand larceny go to court, get released and on their way home from court, they’re doing another grand larceny.” According to the New York Police Department, grand larcenies, thefts of over $1,000, were up 80% in New York City last year.
Only an 80 percent increase?
Yes, that sounds perfectly “normal” to me.
In other areas of the country, shortages are the big news right now.
I never imagined that Costco would totally run out of eggs in early 2023, but this has actually happened at many of their stores.
As I discussed yesterday, bird flu is one of the factors that is causing supplies of eggs to get tighter.
But as the farmer in this video explains, it is certainly not the only factor.
No matter how high interest rates go, people still need to eat.
So the Federal Reserve can hike rates to the moon, but food prices are still going to remain ridiculously high.
However, higher rates will crush many other areas of the economy, and some of the biggest names in the corporate world are now conducting mass layoffs…
Goldman Sachs is just the latest firm to reduce its size in recent months. Morgan Stanley announced that it would cut two percent of its staff in December, Amazon plans to cut over 18,000 jobs, and Salesforce announced it would cut ten percent of its workforce and close some offices last week. While white collar workers were less affected by the COVID-19 pandemic lock-downs than their blue collar counterparts, many jobs were simply done remote instead of being cut, professionals are now bearing the brunt of the economic headwinds America faces.
When are people going to finally understand that we have a major league crisis on our hands?
- When Goldman Sachs lays off large numbers of workers, that is a red flag.
- When Morgan Stanley lays off large numbers of workers, that is a red flag.
- When Amazon lays off large numbers of workers, that is a red flag.
- Facebook, Twitter, McDonald’s and Walmart are also laying off workers.
As they used to say in the 1980s, it is time to wake up and smell the coffee.
At this point things are so grim that the World Bank is warning that the entire global economy could plunge into a recession this year…
The global economy is just one more knock away from a second recession in the same decade, something that hasn’t happened in more than 80 years. That’s the latest warning from the World Bank, which on Tuesday sharply lowered its forecast for global economic growth.
As economic conditions deteriorate, people are going to become increasingly desperate.
And desperate people do desperate things.
So if you think that organized retail theft is bad now, just wait until you see what is ahead.
The social deterioration that we have been witnessing over the past several years will soon accelerate significantly, and that is really bad news for all of us.
Many retail stores on both coasts have already closed due to the epidemic of theft that we are experiencing, and a whole lot more will soon be permanently shut down.
We really are in the process of becoming a “Mad Max society”, and we only have ourselves to blame.
4K 60Fps Video Shows Colorized Footage Of NYC In 1911
Video editor Denis Shiryaev recently shared a video on his Youtube channel that shows colorized footage of New York City in 1911. The video is a restored version of the footage previously shared by a Swedish film crew from Svenska Biografteatern, which showed an old film slowed down to a natural rate with added sound for ambiance.
Shiryaev worked on that source video and turned it into a 4K HD masterpiece that really brings the atmosphere from more than a century ago closer to us today.
Along with the video, Shiryaev wrote: “Restored with neural networks 1911 New York footage taken by the Swedish company Svenska Biografteatern on a trip to America: ✔ FPS boosted to 60 frames per second; ✔ Image resolution boosted up to 4k; ✔ Resorted video sharpness; ✔ Colorized – I am still unsure about this, but regarding to high request from the subscribers decided to test DeOldify NN on this video.”
Genuine Texas Chili Bread
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup hot salsa
- 1/4 cup onions, chopped
- 1/8 cup hot pepper sauce
- 1 egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup mashed kidney or pinto beans
- 3 teaspoons fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped (about 4 peppers)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in bread pan, select a light crust setting, and press “start”.
Confessions Of A Not-So-Well Endowed Man
How small is your penis?
It is an innie when soft. Erect, and this was before the addition of all my extra weight, I’m a whopping 3 1/4 inches long (and that was pushing the ruler in as deep as I could) and under an inch in diameter which means short and very skinny.
Does it fit inside a condom?
I haven’t found a condom yet that isn’t like sticking my dick in a sandwich bag. They are that loose.
How old were you when you realized you were different? Were your parents supportive?
I kind of started to realize in high school, and that was during the early 90’s. I wound up seeing a Hustler or Swank or something and was horrified at the difference between me and guys in there. I started noticing bulges on guys at school and I had none. I’ve never talked about it with my parents but they really botches the whole sex thing and had me convinced that if I even kissed a girl I would go to jail for rape.
Ever tried penis enlargement pills or a pump? Did it help even temporarily?
I haven’t tried pills. All the science says they don’t work. The pump didn’t do much except swell it a little and it was very temporary.
I read somewhere that micro penis can be fixed slightly with an operation. is this true?
The operation involves snipping the tendon at the base of the penis. This lets it extend about another inch, but you also loose some of the ability for it to stick out perpendicular to your body. It is generally considered not worth doing.
Silicone injections look like a horror show and that just does width.
I have had to accept I just have to use what I have.
Is it hard to masturbate? Like can you use your whole hand? or just the thumb and pointer finger?
Yeah, thumb and pointer mostly and that is while laying back. I usually use a massager with a vibrating ball and it works pretty well. It gives me some extra reach and feels good at the same time.
Are you afraid to pee in public restrooms? Does the thought of it being seen terrify you in any way? What do you hate most about your condition?
It’s not that bad as long as there are stalls with a door. Otherwise I hold it and find facilities elsewhere. I have an amazing ability to hold urine.
What I hate most is the social stigma attached to having a small penis. The world pretty much considers you worthless.
Do you ever walk around with a strap on?
I have thought about it but never done it.
What was your first sexual experience like? How did she react?
College. Me 21, her 18. I had no self confidence as I had been rejected recently by two girls I had fallen hard for, and right in a row. So, we dated for a couple weeks and while we were watching a movie one night I heard her sigh in frustration and she grabbed my hand and put it on her boob. We finally moved to the bedroom and we fooled around for a while and then she put her hand in my pants and said, “Oh, its so….um…..hard.” She rubbed me for a while but it didn’t go anywhere and we went to sleep. Dumped me a couple days later.
Was that the worst? Are there any that really stick with you?
Yeah, it was the worst and I didn’t have another one until I was 29. However, I wound up with a totally psycho chick that litarlly only wanted oral. So 5 months of me eating her out and then her blowing me and swallowing. EVERY NIGHT. She was also on some sort of heavy birth control so no cycle. It was GLORIOUS….until the psycho came out.
How did you meet your wife react and how did she react upon finding out?
The internet is an amazing thing. As I basically became a hermit after college, staying online when I wasn’t at work, I started webcamming on places like Webcamnow. I would just sit there broadcasting my micropenis and some random women would start talking to me. I found out that there was a rather large group of women that like small penises. I had a hell of a lot of really hot cam on cam and phone sex over the years.
I met my wife online so she actually saw it by camera first and she likes the small size. It fits her mouth perfectly and she had a bad vaginal tear at some point that required surgery so she is extremely tight for a normal penis but perfect for mine.
Do you often attempt penetration with your wife?
Not often, maybe twice a month or so. But, we have lots of toys and the Hitachi magic wand has become her personal savior.
Penetration is really only possible with her laying on her back on the edge of the bed and me standing on the floor.
How exactly do the mechanics of sex work when you can’t penetrate that deeply? I imagine it’s kind of difficult.
My wife is the only woman I’ve had intercourse with so she technically took my virginity. The position we discovered that works well is with her on her back on the edge of the bed with her legs pulled back and me standing on the floor. It gets in and actually gives her pleasure because of prior vaginal surgery that makes her very tight.
The trick though is a Hitachi Magic Wand. We wedge it between us after she gets excited enough and orgasms just roll out. She usually stops after around 10 or so.
Side note – Anal is impossible for us. So many men are always going on about how they want anal and can’t get it. For us, my wife wants it and I can’t give it to her so she has to rely on her buttplugs for that.
I would say nothing is holding you guys back from a fantastic sex life.
It really is pretty good. She’s also got a pretty regular cycle so I can guess what days she is in the mood and when she isn’t. It makes things pretty easy and keeps her satisfied.
Are you with your wife because you were physically attracted to her, or because she accepted you?
Very valid question. At first, I was so desperate for companionship, I didn’t care. She was female, alive, and willing to touch me. I literally moved her across the country in the hopes that I might finally lose my virginity. She was willing to move because she was sick of living with her parents.
It was rather awkward in the beginning because while we had talked for over a year, we never got to date. So she would stay shut in her bedroom for the first couple weeks, only to come out and talk occassionally and get meals. Then one night she comes to my room naked and throws me on the bed. She climbed on and took my virginity.
Things improved once that hurdle no longer existed. We found out that we had a lot of common interests. Over a couple years we got to really know each other wound up getting along really well with each others families.
So now, yes, I am physically attracted to her. I also care very much for her and feel protective of her. I know I got very lucky because it was entirely possible that it wouldn’t work out. We beat the odds.
Given that you do have a small penis, but have found a woman so accepting of it, do you feel it’s overrated, having a large penis? What I mean is, is the love in your relationship stronger than feelings of inadequacy?
Yes, our love is stronger and it has greatly lessened my feelings of inadequacy. When you hear most small penis jokes, they still involves a relatively normal size, just on the smaller side. Me however, I was scared to date because if things went well, I couldn’t wear a condom and that whole scenario terrified me. So I just didn’t date and on the rare occasion that I did go out, I just ignored any signals and never let it progress.
I think society’s emphasis on penis size, and looks in general, is one of our worse attributes. I shudder to think how many people that could have gone on to great things faded away because of their personal inadequacies.
So let’s all hear a few of these highly educated black people have to say about China.
I trust they are qualified to comment unlike those who never stepped into China before and are immensely brainwashed by their own corrupted oligarchic regime who think the entire world revolve around their country thus they are entitled to whatever “exceptionalism” they were babbling about.
What is the Chinese view on Austerity?
From HERE
Having lived in a civilization with few welfare mechanisms, Chinese people have always saved. One of the greatest goals for saving is education for the children. This is paramount and an investment in the future as a well educated son would be expected to support his parents in their old age. Chinese parents will live a very simple life until their son is properly educated. That’s the traditional view. Now savings are compulsory and automatically deducted from salary, including old age pension. Although education is free, getting into a top school (obligatory) and maintaining the lifestyle (vacation trips to Europe etc) are expensive. Indeed so expensive most parents don’t believe they can support more than one child. Compulsory health insurance also means that hospital stays are covered, but doctors still expect a gratuity to ensure a full effort (red packets). So I expect that despite a great increase in standards of living, and a developing welfare system, Chinese families still try to live simply and save for the future.
Help me! Poor cat Only breath left! | Rescuing sick cat and transforming his life!
I had tears in my eyes watching this video! The poor cat was just lying there waiting to die – too weak to react when you picked her up. To see her alert and on her feet is amazing. YOU ARE A MIRACLE WORKER!
Warning: HAPPY ENDING!
As a longtime resident of NYC, I can confirm that things are devolving very quickly and the shopping centers are boarding up and storing away their groceries. That bail reform coupled with the massive rise of illegal immigrants flooding here (because NYC’s a “sanctuary city”,) has eventuated shit like this. Banks are even closing their ATM vestibules early to avoid breaking and vandalism.
A sign of things to come.
And for that matter, Finland will soon stop being the happiest country on Earth now that the Ukraine conflict has caused chaos throughout all of Europe; and doubly so if they decide to join NATO (and they seem hellbent on doing so, because they’re willing to join without Sweden).
41-1 the “Winged Hussar” is excellent and 1 154 “against the odds” is also super cool. Actually all those images are amazing, stunningly so. Thanks MM.