River city marketplace restaurants
St. Louis: Gateway to the West
2008.12.09 19:12 St. Louis: Gateway to the West
/StLouis is dedicated to the news, events, and weird food of the Greater St. Louis and surrounding areas. Please check out our sidebar and wiki for a plethora of knowledge.
2010.08.03 02:29 polymer /r/Kitchener
Reddit community for the City of Kitchener, Canada
2011.04.14 18:06 scoofy NYCbike: Cycling news and info for NYC
A resource for NYC-specific cycling events and information. Bike news that is not relevant to the New York area should be posted to /bicycling or /cycling instead. This is a great place to post and find group rides, questions about NYC cycling and bike shops, infrastructure changes, and cycling-related news. New to riding in the city? We'd love to help you get started!
2023.06.08 11:13 Sweet-Count2557 New York City Restaurants With Kids: The best choice
submitted by Sweet-Count2557 to nyc [link] [comments]2023.06.08 11:12 Broken-Soul-0 Random fact : Yurei is a mecanician. He fix robots, robotic limbs and create weapons. Cross is a waiter in a luxury restaurant who is well know in his city
 | submitted by Broken-Soul-0 to GachaClub [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 11:10 baconhammock69 Investing in a small restaurant, Good idea?
Hi Everyone,
First post, Iso go easy on me!
So basically I've got a situation where I've fallen in love with a small restaurant in my city, they make fantastic South American dishes, the owner currently does mostly bar take overs, residences and events, but I understand they're looking to open up a permanent residence at some point in the near future, because they've gained so much attention in the past year.
I want to approach him and offer to invest because I genuinely think he / we could make something of this venture, but I wanted to just pick a few brains on here really as I've never invested in a business before, but it's something I've always wanted to do as a way to diversify a little and quite frankly have something more interesting to invest in than an index fund!
My questions are:
TIA
*For context I know the guy, but I wouldn't consider him a friend, so our relationship would be professional rather than personal.
submitted by baconhammock69 to smallbusinessuk [link] [comments]
First post, Iso go easy on me!
So basically I've got a situation where I've fallen in love with a small restaurant in my city, they make fantastic South American dishes, the owner currently does mostly bar take overs, residences and events, but I understand they're looking to open up a permanent residence at some point in the near future, because they've gained so much attention in the past year.
I want to approach him and offer to invest because I genuinely think he / we could make something of this venture, but I wanted to just pick a few brains on here really as I've never invested in a business before, but it's something I've always wanted to do as a way to diversify a little and quite frankly have something more interesting to invest in than an index fund!
My questions are:
- Is having basically no experience in the restaurant / hospitality industry a real issue? I'm hoping to be a mostly silent partner here, I do have some experience I can bring to the table (sorry for the pun) but it's mostly around marketing / sales and maybe a few contacts that could help.
- I understand it's a high risk venture, but even if it's successful will it actually see that much of a return all said and done? I'm not in a rush of course.
- Should I simply ask for X% of the business and get a contract written up, the legal bases covered or is there a different way of going about it?*
TIA
*For context I know the guy, but I wouldn't consider him a friend, so our relationship would be professional rather than personal.
2023.06.08 11:06 lentils234 Unregulated tourist influx: Kashmir dreads the final straw that will break the Himalayas’ back
Tourism is a small but important part of Kashmir’s economy. However, in the name of tourism, the government should not put the fragile and already-strained natural resources and public infrastructure in the region under even more pressure, lest it lead to a complete destruction of the beautiful valley, which is home to 7 million people.
Four years after India made Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) its youngest Union territory, the region is expected to receive around 2 crore (20 million) tourists this year. This was revealed by the lieutenant governor of the Union territory Manoj Sinha in April while laying the foundation stone of a medical college in the outskirts of Srinagar.
Sinha said that the number of tourists J&K is set to receive during this year would break all previous records of tourist influx into Kashmir.
Will the Union territory, especially the ecologically fragile Kashmir valley, be able to accommodate such a huge number of tourists?
What about the amount of waste 2 crore tourists will generate? Does the Union territory have the infrastructure to treat this waste scientifically, considering that the number of tourists visiting is more than twice the population of the region?
Do we have scientific waste management systems in place in Srinagar and other tourist places of J&K?
In this article I will be explaining all this with facts and figures.
Shrinking farmlands and tourism
Tourists who visit Kashmir are fascinated by the natural beauty while they move around on the Jammu–Srinagar highway (National Highway 44). They are often seen taking pictures in the saffron fields of Pampore or with the mustard flowers elsewhere in the valley (which bloom in abundance around the spring season— March to April).
Does the Union territory have the infrastructure to treat this waste scientifically, considering that the number of tourists visiting is more than twice the population of the region?
When tourists visit Pahalgam, they take selfies near the apple trees that dot the landscape on the way to this beautiful tourist resort.
Imagine what will happen if the beauty of this landscape is allowed to perish? There will be no reason for tourists to visit Kashmir. More importantly, it will become well-nigh impossible for Kashmiris to live in Kashmir.
The government’s own data reveals that agriculture landholding in J&K has come down drastically. As per a report published on 10th agriculture census (2015–16) by the financial commissioner of revenue for the erstwhile state of J&K, the total number of operational holdings in the state was 14.16 lakh, operating on 8.42 lakh hectare of land.
This was 14.49 lakh holdings operating on 8.95 lakh hectare of land in the 9th agriculture census ( 2010–11).
This means that in a mere five-year period, J&K had witnessed a decrease of 2.27 percent in the number of holdings and a decrease of 5.92 percent in the operating area under agriculture.
The average holding size in J&K during the 10th agriculture census (2015–16) stood at 0.59 hectare. This has come down further in the 2021–22 agriculture census whose final report is yet to be made public.
As per the 2015–16 agriculture census, around 84 percent of farmers in J&K were marginal farmers and 11.29 percent, 4.10 percent, 0.78 percent and 0.04 percent farmers had small, semi-medium, medium and large land holdings respectively.
Marginal farmers are those who have less than 1 hectare of land holdings, small farmers have 1–2 hectare of land holdings, semi-medium farmers have 2–4 hectare of land holdings, medium farmers have 4–10 hectare of land holdings, and large farmers have more than 10 hectare of land holdings.
In the 9th agriculture census, the average land holding in J&K was 0.62 hectare and between 2010–11 and 2015–16 agriculture censuses, there has been a decrease of 0.03 hectare of agriculture land holding.
The unofficial figures say that the agricultural land has shrunk further in the last five–six years and is now only around 0.5 hectare. If this downward spiral continues, I believe that in the next 25 to 30 years, 90 percent of the rural population in J&K, especially in the Kashmir valley, will become landless.
We will see only concrete structures on our agricultural land. It will have serious consequences for our agriculture economy and tourism will be severely impacted as well. There will be more floods as our wetlands and lakes are choked and the built up concrete area doesn’t allow water to seep into the ground.
Unscientific waste disposal and illegal mining
In future, shrinking farmlands will not only impact our agriculture and tourism but will also have a direct impact on management of our municipal solid waste.
In J&K, 90 percent of the urban local bodies, including the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and smaller councils and committees have no official landfill sites. Waste is not treated as per the Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2016. Even in Srinagar city, the only garbage dump site located at Achan Saidpora is choked and emits an obnoxious smell, especially during summer months.
Enough land isn’t available in our towns and cities to set up scientific landfill sites. In hilly towns, this is even more of a challenge, especially in Ramban, Doda and Udhampur, where municipal solid waste is dumped unscientifically in forests or waterbodies.
During the last decade, the SMC has not been able to acquire even 50–60 acre of land for creating a landfill as an alternative to the overburdened Achan Saidpora site.
In 2017, the then deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, who was also the Minister for Housing & Urban Development Department (HUDD), while responding to a question from a legislator of Srinagar, Mubarak Gul, said on the floor of the J&K assembly that a committee had been constituted under the district magistrate of Srinagar to look for land to create a new landfill site in Srinagar but the committee could not find even 10 acre of land to set up the new landfill site.
It is a well-known fact that Srinagar and a majority of the districts in J&K have small landholdings and most of the land is already occupied by shopping complexes or housing colonies and finding large patches of land to set up landfill sites or garbage dump sites is a herculean task.
This is the reason that a majority of our water bodies, such as lakes, wetlands, rivers and streams, have become waste dump sites and this author had to move a formal application before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to ensure a clean-up of the Doodh Ganga river in the Srinagar–Budgam area.
This waterbody is being used to dump solid waste at multiple locations by local residents. The Geology and Mining Department has auctioned this stream for riverbed mining with effect from September 2021 to 2026. The project proponent is mining as deep as 10 metre while only mining till 1 metre depth is allowed.
Huge cranes and JCB are also used for extracting sand, boulders and gravel, which is in violation of the J&K Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2016 and the guidelines of J&K State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).
In addition, the SMC and a few other government bodies have set up around 13 wastewater pump stations on the banks of Doodh Ganga, which flush out untreated water and sewage into the stream in violation of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Keeping these violations under consideration and after providing the material facts, the NGT imposed a penalty of ₹35 crore on the government of J&K in October this year
In March this year, a ₹3 crore penalty had already been imposed. The money was released from the coffers of SMC, the Department of Geology and Mining and the municipal committees of Chadoora and Budgam.
In the Poonch district of Jammu, the local municipality is using the Poonch river as a garbage dump site. In this case, too, a few months back this author had to move an application before the NGT. Notice was issued to the district magistrate, Poonch and the pollution control committee, asking for a detailed report from them. The case is listed for hearing in July.
Conclusion
Heaps of plastic waste can be seen in the tourist places of Kashmir, such as Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Yusmarg and Doodhpathri. The government should seriously think about banning plastic in these tourist spots.
The pilgrims visiting the Amarnath cave are littering in the high altitude mountains, which is even more dangerous because the waste does not decompose easily in the freezing weather at such high altitudes. The cave is also adjacent to the magnificent Kolahoi glacier and the waste acts like a hot knife through butter, trapping sunlight and cutting through the white snow and ice.
People visit the cave for spiritual reasons, but when they engage in anti-nature activities by throwing plastic, food and other wastes in the pristine glaciers and mountains, it leads to environmental destruction.
In Srinagar city alone, around 500 metric tonne of waste is generated daily and this quantity goes up during the tourist rush in summers. Unfortunately not even 10 percent of this waste is treated.
Same is the case with other tourist places of J&K such as Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pahalgam. When 2 crore tourists visit J&K in a year, how will authorities manage them? Do we have scientific landfill sites? What about the carbon footprints these tourists will leave?
So it is advisable that the government must first concentrate on ensuring that all tourist places have a scientific waste management system in place. Plastic must be completely banned. No food items packed in plastic wrappers should be sold at tourist resorts.
The pilgrims coming for pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave should not be allowed to carry any plastic packed food materials and the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine should also be reduced, as recommended by Nitesh SenGupta Committee report.
Tourism is a small but vital part of Kashmir’s economy. But we must not let unregulated tourism put an unbearable strain on the natural resources and infrastructure of the region. By doing so, we may earn quick bucks for a few years, but it will ultimately result in Kashmir becoming a trashbowl.
Let us not allow Kashmir valley to become a trash valley.
https://theleaflet.in/unregulated-tourist-influx-kashmir-dreads-the-final-straw-that-will-break-the-himalayas-back/
submitted by lentils234 to Kashmiri [link] [comments]
Four years after India made Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) its youngest Union territory, the region is expected to receive around 2 crore (20 million) tourists this year. This was revealed by the lieutenant governor of the Union territory Manoj Sinha in April while laying the foundation stone of a medical college in the outskirts of Srinagar.
Sinha said that the number of tourists J&K is set to receive during this year would break all previous records of tourist influx into Kashmir.
Will the Union territory, especially the ecologically fragile Kashmir valley, be able to accommodate such a huge number of tourists?
What about the amount of waste 2 crore tourists will generate? Does the Union territory have the infrastructure to treat this waste scientifically, considering that the number of tourists visiting is more than twice the population of the region?
Do we have scientific waste management systems in place in Srinagar and other tourist places of J&K?
In this article I will be explaining all this with facts and figures.
Shrinking farmlands and tourism
Tourists who visit Kashmir are fascinated by the natural beauty while they move around on the Jammu–Srinagar highway (National Highway 44). They are often seen taking pictures in the saffron fields of Pampore or with the mustard flowers elsewhere in the valley (which bloom in abundance around the spring season— March to April).
Does the Union territory have the infrastructure to treat this waste scientifically, considering that the number of tourists visiting is more than twice the population of the region?
When tourists visit Pahalgam, they take selfies near the apple trees that dot the landscape on the way to this beautiful tourist resort.
Imagine what will happen if the beauty of this landscape is allowed to perish? There will be no reason for tourists to visit Kashmir. More importantly, it will become well-nigh impossible for Kashmiris to live in Kashmir.
The government’s own data reveals that agriculture landholding in J&K has come down drastically. As per a report published on 10th agriculture census (2015–16) by the financial commissioner of revenue for the erstwhile state of J&K, the total number of operational holdings in the state was 14.16 lakh, operating on 8.42 lakh hectare of land.
This was 14.49 lakh holdings operating on 8.95 lakh hectare of land in the 9th agriculture census ( 2010–11).
This means that in a mere five-year period, J&K had witnessed a decrease of 2.27 percent in the number of holdings and a decrease of 5.92 percent in the operating area under agriculture.
The average holding size in J&K during the 10th agriculture census (2015–16) stood at 0.59 hectare. This has come down further in the 2021–22 agriculture census whose final report is yet to be made public.
As per the 2015–16 agriculture census, around 84 percent of farmers in J&K were marginal farmers and 11.29 percent, 4.10 percent, 0.78 percent and 0.04 percent farmers had small, semi-medium, medium and large land holdings respectively.
Marginal farmers are those who have less than 1 hectare of land holdings, small farmers have 1–2 hectare of land holdings, semi-medium farmers have 2–4 hectare of land holdings, medium farmers have 4–10 hectare of land holdings, and large farmers have more than 10 hectare of land holdings.
In the 9th agriculture census, the average land holding in J&K was 0.62 hectare and between 2010–11 and 2015–16 agriculture censuses, there has been a decrease of 0.03 hectare of agriculture land holding.
The unofficial figures say that the agricultural land has shrunk further in the last five–six years and is now only around 0.5 hectare. If this downward spiral continues, I believe that in the next 25 to 30 years, 90 percent of the rural population in J&K, especially in the Kashmir valley, will become landless.
We will see only concrete structures on our agricultural land. It will have serious consequences for our agriculture economy and tourism will be severely impacted as well. There will be more floods as our wetlands and lakes are choked and the built up concrete area doesn’t allow water to seep into the ground.
Unscientific waste disposal and illegal mining
In future, shrinking farmlands will not only impact our agriculture and tourism but will also have a direct impact on management of our municipal solid waste.
In J&K, 90 percent of the urban local bodies, including the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and smaller councils and committees have no official landfill sites. Waste is not treated as per the Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2016. Even in Srinagar city, the only garbage dump site located at Achan Saidpora is choked and emits an obnoxious smell, especially during summer months.
Enough land isn’t available in our towns and cities to set up scientific landfill sites. In hilly towns, this is even more of a challenge, especially in Ramban, Doda and Udhampur, where municipal solid waste is dumped unscientifically in forests or waterbodies.
During the last decade, the SMC has not been able to acquire even 50–60 acre of land for creating a landfill as an alternative to the overburdened Achan Saidpora site.
In 2017, the then deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, who was also the Minister for Housing & Urban Development Department (HUDD), while responding to a question from a legislator of Srinagar, Mubarak Gul, said on the floor of the J&K assembly that a committee had been constituted under the district magistrate of Srinagar to look for land to create a new landfill site in Srinagar but the committee could not find even 10 acre of land to set up the new landfill site.
It is a well-known fact that Srinagar and a majority of the districts in J&K have small landholdings and most of the land is already occupied by shopping complexes or housing colonies and finding large patches of land to set up landfill sites or garbage dump sites is a herculean task.
This is the reason that a majority of our water bodies, such as lakes, wetlands, rivers and streams, have become waste dump sites and this author had to move a formal application before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to ensure a clean-up of the Doodh Ganga river in the Srinagar–Budgam area.
This waterbody is being used to dump solid waste at multiple locations by local residents. The Geology and Mining Department has auctioned this stream for riverbed mining with effect from September 2021 to 2026. The project proponent is mining as deep as 10 metre while only mining till 1 metre depth is allowed.
Huge cranes and JCB are also used for extracting sand, boulders and gravel, which is in violation of the J&K Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2016 and the guidelines of J&K State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).
In addition, the SMC and a few other government bodies have set up around 13 wastewater pump stations on the banks of Doodh Ganga, which flush out untreated water and sewage into the stream in violation of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Keeping these violations under consideration and after providing the material facts, the NGT imposed a penalty of ₹35 crore on the government of J&K in October this year
In March this year, a ₹3 crore penalty had already been imposed. The money was released from the coffers of SMC, the Department of Geology and Mining and the municipal committees of Chadoora and Budgam.
In the Poonch district of Jammu, the local municipality is using the Poonch river as a garbage dump site. In this case, too, a few months back this author had to move an application before the NGT. Notice was issued to the district magistrate, Poonch and the pollution control committee, asking for a detailed report from them. The case is listed for hearing in July.
Conclusion
Heaps of plastic waste can be seen in the tourist places of Kashmir, such as Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Yusmarg and Doodhpathri. The government should seriously think about banning plastic in these tourist spots.
The pilgrims visiting the Amarnath cave are littering in the high altitude mountains, which is even more dangerous because the waste does not decompose easily in the freezing weather at such high altitudes. The cave is also adjacent to the magnificent Kolahoi glacier and the waste acts like a hot knife through butter, trapping sunlight and cutting through the white snow and ice.
People visit the cave for spiritual reasons, but when they engage in anti-nature activities by throwing plastic, food and other wastes in the pristine glaciers and mountains, it leads to environmental destruction.
In Srinagar city alone, around 500 metric tonne of waste is generated daily and this quantity goes up during the tourist rush in summers. Unfortunately not even 10 percent of this waste is treated.
Same is the case with other tourist places of J&K such as Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pahalgam. When 2 crore tourists visit J&K in a year, how will authorities manage them? Do we have scientific landfill sites? What about the carbon footprints these tourists will leave?
So it is advisable that the government must first concentrate on ensuring that all tourist places have a scientific waste management system in place. Plastic must be completely banned. No food items packed in plastic wrappers should be sold at tourist resorts.
The pilgrims coming for pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave should not be allowed to carry any plastic packed food materials and the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine should also be reduced, as recommended by Nitesh SenGupta Committee report.
Tourism is a small but vital part of Kashmir’s economy. But we must not let unregulated tourism put an unbearable strain on the natural resources and infrastructure of the region. By doing so, we may earn quick bucks for a few years, but it will ultimately result in Kashmir becoming a trashbowl.
Let us not allow Kashmir valley to become a trash valley.
https://theleaflet.in/unregulated-tourist-influx-kashmir-dreads-the-final-straw-that-will-break-the-himalayas-back/
2023.06.08 11:06 EmperrorNombrero Being robbed at gunpoint in a fast-food restaurant
So I was in Brazil (I'm from Germany originally,), walking around, I didn't remember where I came from but suddenly I realised that I was wearing an expensive T-shirt which could be dangerous so I put the jacket that was hanging over my shoulders over the logo of the T-shirt. I was arriving at what seemed a bit like one of those places that you can find next to highways (it wasn't next to a highway tho) but there was parking space and a gas station anf 3-4 restaurants and a slightly run down building with ad banners for several buisinesses. The place didn't look typically Brazilian more European, since there where conifers around. I went to the building and was looking at ads for a Portuguese language course and snapped a picture. After that I went into one of the fast-food restaurants. I noticed two late teenager to very early 20s guys behind me in line shit talking, joking around As I was waiting in line for the counter to order my food. One of those dudes was also just casually putting bullets Into a revolver as if no one was around.
I remember it making me feel a bit unsafe and starting to think about how to get away from this place but I wanted to remain souveraign seeming and not put a target onto my back or start something earlier than needed be so I just kept standing in.line and ordered my food. While I was paying at the counter one of the dudes said something to me in Portuguese that I didn't entirely understand. But I picked up something about a "donation to keep pests in the city in check" I just out of affect declined politely but right after was like "oh shit I think he was wanting me to give him money, hopefully they don't kill me now". But things where fine for now, I got my salad at the counter and sat down on a bench at a table right behind it. 2-3 minutes passed as I was eating and the two guys where sitting down too at the opposite end of the table. We where talking a bit and they had a lot of that "sociopathic friendliness" if you know what I mean and acted like everything was normal then one guy was taking out his gun and showing it off he shot into a different bench behind me, and gave it to other people to make a test shot with it before taking it back. All the while I was just sitting there eating my salad. When I was finished I wanted to go but the dude was like "I think you should give us some money for the pest problem, 10 real will do. I understood this as a threat so I gave him the money and left. On my way out I saw a group of people going towards the restaurant and I knew one of the guys who I greeted. I thought about warning them not to go into it but I didn't. When I walked away I heard a shooting breaking out in the restaurant. Then I woke up.
submitted by EmperrorNombrero to Dreams [link] [comments]
I remember it making me feel a bit unsafe and starting to think about how to get away from this place but I wanted to remain souveraign seeming and not put a target onto my back or start something earlier than needed be so I just kept standing in.line and ordered my food. While I was paying at the counter one of the dudes said something to me in Portuguese that I didn't entirely understand. But I picked up something about a "donation to keep pests in the city in check" I just out of affect declined politely but right after was like "oh shit I think he was wanting me to give him money, hopefully they don't kill me now". But things where fine for now, I got my salad at the counter and sat down on a bench at a table right behind it. 2-3 minutes passed as I was eating and the two guys where sitting down too at the opposite end of the table. We where talking a bit and they had a lot of that "sociopathic friendliness" if you know what I mean and acted like everything was normal then one guy was taking out his gun and showing it off he shot into a different bench behind me, and gave it to other people to make a test shot with it before taking it back. All the while I was just sitting there eating my salad. When I was finished I wanted to go but the dude was like "I think you should give us some money for the pest problem, 10 real will do. I understood this as a threat so I gave him the money and left. On my way out I saw a group of people going towards the restaurant and I knew one of the guys who I greeted. I thought about warning them not to go into it but I didn't. When I walked away I heard a shooting breaking out in the restaurant. Then I woke up.
2023.06.08 10:46 SourcerBot Ukraine dam: Maps and before and after images reveal scale of disaster
Here is the most important information, and related articles, from this article.
Published on 2023-06-07 at 17:35, this article is written by the visual journalism & bbc verify teams and published by bbc news. (2 minutes)
Save 2 minutes of reading with this summary:
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Published on 2023-06-07 at 17:35, this article is written by the visual journalism & bbc verify teams and published by bbc news. (2 minutes)
Save 2 minutes of reading with this summary:
Satellite images show how much water has already spread downriver from the Kakhovka dam to the city of Kherson about 75km (45 miles) to the west. The dam is next to the city of Nova Kakhovka, in the Kherson region, and holds back a reservoir that is so huge locals call it the Kakhovka Sea - because you cannot see the opposite bank in certain places. The Ukrainian authorities have released a list of settlements they want people to leave and details of some where rescue teams have been working on the west side of the river, while Russian-installed authorities have given details of places they say are flooded on the side of the river they control.Keep reading with 3 related articles: BBC News (2023-05-21 at 23:10) Ukraine war: Satellite images reveal Russian defences before major assault BBC News (2023-05-21 at 23:10) Ukraine war: Satellite images reveal Russian defences before major assault Financial Times (2023-06-06 at 11:54) Floods hit Ukraine after Kakhovka dam breached
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2023.06.08 10:44 WesternSol I gotta talk about space dandy season 1
I just finished it, and was absolutely blown away. This is one of the few 10/10 shows I've ever seen. There is no overarching plot, but the setting is consistent each episode. Each vignette was unique, wholesome, thought-provoking, and either funny or sad as all hell. I'd definitely suggest a watch, and if you don't want to be spoiled I'd stop now. I'm going to focus on my 2 favorite episodes, which just so happen to be the really sad emotional ones (go figure).
But before that, I want to talk about the setting and tone. Its located in the future in space, where aliens and FTL/warp are common sites. The setting is deceptively light, with an optimistic retro throwback japanese hooligan style papering over a world with some rather dark facets. Even though there's a diverse range of aliens, not all of them are friendly (and the government is not friendly to all of them), and sometimes it can be difficult to tell who. There is rampant use of AI which is shown later to be essentially robo-slavery. And there is an intergalactic war occurring in the background.
With this in mind, lets start with episode 5. What makes this episode so powerful is the soundtrack. Let me explain: Dandy is essentially a space bounty hunter. He looks for new and/or dangerous species and (in the case of the former) abducts them to be recorded or (in the case of the latter) detained by the government (they never discuss what happens after that). To be honest, the system is never explained that well, for example there are lots of places where they "know" there are undiscovered species, which doesn't really make any sense considering said species are undiscovered. But anyway, this episode, Dandy hunts an alien from the dangerous list that can put peoples consciousnesses in other peoples bodies. The catch is this one is a little girl who has lost her only parent to a disease. This species is famously insular because the government and people who want to use them hunt them down, so this little girl has literally no one to turn to. She doesn't exactly come quietly, but she doesn't resist too much, and offers to allow Dandy to arrest her if he'll take her to her grandpa's old place before taking her to jail.
Its your typical lone wolf and cub story, where they start to care about each other because of their close proximity while traveling. He takes her to restaurants, the carnival, the movies, etc. The scenes themselves all seem to be rather happy, but the music is not. The lyrics that play over the montage ask "Is this a sad thing? Is this a delightful thing? I'll go check it out and then I want to show you, so please wait for me." Because this represents the girls inner monologue. She never got the chance to do anything fun with her mother, so she doesn't know whether to be sad that she's gone or happy to have these experiences. It also displays her hookup on the mother "leaving her behind". The thing that it reminded me of immediately was JJK when Sukuna tells the Lava dude that "he doesn't know what emotions/tears are either", but this is so much more effective because of the contradiction between the music and the scene and its sincerity instead of making the character say something cool and edgy. It ends happily eventually but I don't want to spoil anymore.
Lastly, lets talk about episode 12. This episode revolves around Dandy's AI vacuum QT falling in love with a coffee making robot at a coffee shop. The episode starts with the Narrator telling us that for robots, keeping memory usage low is important. Immediately followed by QT saying "The universe is full of waste. Particularly wasteful are the emotions felt by living beings, such as 'love' and 'affection'" When the trio goes to get coffee, QT becomes infatuated with the coffee maker after hearing her laugh. He keeps coming in, buying things, and making himself useful to go see her even though no one on the crew drinks coffee, least of all him. As a robot, if his circuits get wet, its over. Eventually his room on the ship is full of coffee stuff.
She tells him that she's jealous that he can move around. As a coffee maker she's static and can't explore anywhere. Later that night, he steals her and takes her around the town exploring as a "date". Around this time she begins to malfunction, and is thrown away to a floating trash heap with all the other broken (read, emotional) AI appliances. QT learns about this and goes to save her, where he learns that she loved the cash register the whole time, and that most of the robots left in the trash heap, not her but including the register, plan to combine into a death robot and destroy the city . She asks QT to stop the register from joining the death robot so he'll be safe, and QT fights the giant robot and stops it from destroying the city, but takes major damage in the process. The episode ends with a busted up QT sitting in his now remarkably coffee-free room. Aside from a single cup. He recites the mantra from the last paragraph and downs the cup, killing himself.
I love this episode because it touches on the AI ethics, which always touches on the "What defines the human experience" question. Its clear that the AI are almost (if not just) as sentient as humans are. And that despite that they are treated as tools or slaves rather than people. Dandy is incapable of cleaning up after himself or refueling his own ship without QT. I mean just the concept of being literally chained to your job and unable to physically move from your employment location is thought provoking. The episode also touches on difficulties dating and finding love. But what really got me was that mantra and the ending. The repeated mantra is meant to be ironic after a fashion, after all, it was QTs "love and affection" for the coffee maker that compelled him to save the city. But it also reaffirms that his beliefs have not changed due to his experience, and that, having felt and been let down by these feelings, he doesn't want to live anymore. It reminds me of Fraudrin in the Seven Deadly Sins saying "I don't want to understand". The "I'm too stuck to change and I just want it to be over already".
All in all, either of these episodes could've been well respected OVA's in their own right, and I highly recommend that people check out Space Dandy. They wont regret it.
submitted by WesternSol to CharacterRant [link] [comments]
But before that, I want to talk about the setting and tone. Its located in the future in space, where aliens and FTL/warp are common sites. The setting is deceptively light, with an optimistic retro throwback japanese hooligan style papering over a world with some rather dark facets. Even though there's a diverse range of aliens, not all of them are friendly (and the government is not friendly to all of them), and sometimes it can be difficult to tell who. There is rampant use of AI which is shown later to be essentially robo-slavery. And there is an intergalactic war occurring in the background.
With this in mind, lets start with episode 5. What makes this episode so powerful is the soundtrack. Let me explain: Dandy is essentially a space bounty hunter. He looks for new and/or dangerous species and (in the case of the former) abducts them to be recorded or (in the case of the latter) detained by the government (they never discuss what happens after that). To be honest, the system is never explained that well, for example there are lots of places where they "know" there are undiscovered species, which doesn't really make any sense considering said species are undiscovered. But anyway, this episode, Dandy hunts an alien from the dangerous list that can put peoples consciousnesses in other peoples bodies. The catch is this one is a little girl who has lost her only parent to a disease. This species is famously insular because the government and people who want to use them hunt them down, so this little girl has literally no one to turn to. She doesn't exactly come quietly, but she doesn't resist too much, and offers to allow Dandy to arrest her if he'll take her to her grandpa's old place before taking her to jail.
Its your typical lone wolf and cub story, where they start to care about each other because of their close proximity while traveling. He takes her to restaurants, the carnival, the movies, etc. The scenes themselves all seem to be rather happy, but the music is not. The lyrics that play over the montage ask "Is this a sad thing? Is this a delightful thing? I'll go check it out and then I want to show you, so please wait for me." Because this represents the girls inner monologue. She never got the chance to do anything fun with her mother, so she doesn't know whether to be sad that she's gone or happy to have these experiences. It also displays her hookup on the mother "leaving her behind". The thing that it reminded me of immediately was JJK when Sukuna tells the Lava dude that "he doesn't know what emotions/tears are either", but this is so much more effective because of the contradiction between the music and the scene and its sincerity instead of making the character say something cool and edgy. It ends happily eventually but I don't want to spoil anymore.
Lastly, lets talk about episode 12. This episode revolves around Dandy's AI vacuum QT falling in love with a coffee making robot at a coffee shop. The episode starts with the Narrator telling us that for robots, keeping memory usage low is important. Immediately followed by QT saying "The universe is full of waste. Particularly wasteful are the emotions felt by living beings, such as 'love' and 'affection'" When the trio goes to get coffee, QT becomes infatuated with the coffee maker after hearing her laugh. He keeps coming in, buying things, and making himself useful to go see her even though no one on the crew drinks coffee, least of all him. As a robot, if his circuits get wet, its over. Eventually his room on the ship is full of coffee stuff.
She tells him that she's jealous that he can move around. As a coffee maker she's static and can't explore anywhere. Later that night, he steals her and takes her around the town exploring as a "date". Around this time she begins to malfunction, and is thrown away to a floating trash heap with all the other broken (read, emotional) AI appliances. QT learns about this and goes to save her, where he learns that she loved the cash register the whole time, and that most of the robots left in the trash heap, not her but including the register, plan to combine into a death robot and destroy the city . She asks QT to stop the register from joining the death robot so he'll be safe, and QT fights the giant robot and stops it from destroying the city, but takes major damage in the process. The episode ends with a busted up QT sitting in his now remarkably coffee-free room. Aside from a single cup. He recites the mantra from the last paragraph and downs the cup, killing himself.
I love this episode because it touches on the AI ethics, which always touches on the "What defines the human experience" question. Its clear that the AI are almost (if not just) as sentient as humans are. And that despite that they are treated as tools or slaves rather than people. Dandy is incapable of cleaning up after himself or refueling his own ship without QT. I mean just the concept of being literally chained to your job and unable to physically move from your employment location is thought provoking. The episode also touches on difficulties dating and finding love. But what really got me was that mantra and the ending. The repeated mantra is meant to be ironic after a fashion, after all, it was QTs "love and affection" for the coffee maker that compelled him to save the city. But it also reaffirms that his beliefs have not changed due to his experience, and that, having felt and been let down by these feelings, he doesn't want to live anymore. It reminds me of Fraudrin in the Seven Deadly Sins saying "I don't want to understand". The "I'm too stuck to change and I just want it to be over already".
All in all, either of these episodes could've been well respected OVA's in their own right, and I highly recommend that people check out Space Dandy. They wont regret it.
2023.06.08 10:41 Tigrannes On this day in History, June 8
 | TODAY IN HISTORY June 8 submitted by Tigrannes to Historycord [link] [comments] Ancient World 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. 452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces as he heads for Rome. Middle Ages 793 – Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of Norse activity in the British Isles. 1042 – Edward the Confessor becomes King of England – the country's penultimate Anglo-Saxon king. 1191 – Richard I arrives in Acre, beginning the Third Crusade. Early Modern World 1663 – Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial ensures Portugal's independence from Spain. 1772 – Alexander Fordyce flees to France to avoid debt repayment, triggering the credit crisis of 1772 in the British Empire and the Dutch Republic. Revolutionary Age 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Continental Army attackers are driven back at the Battle of Trois-Rivières. 1783 – Laki, a volcano in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine. 1789 – James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress. 1794 – Maximilien Robespierre inaugurates the French Revolution's new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, with large organized festivals all across France. 1856 – A group of 194 Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the mutineers of HMS Bounty, arrives at Norfolk Island, commencing the Third Settlement of the Island. 1861 – American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union. 1862 – American Civil War: A Confederate victory by forces under General Stonewall Jackson at the Battle of Cross Keys, along with the Battle of Port Republic the next day, prevents Union forces from reinforcing General George B. McClellan in his Peninsula campaign. 1867 – Coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Hungary following the Austro-Hungarian compromise (Ausgleich). 1887 – Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the 'Art of Compiling Statistics', which was his punched card calculator. 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value. 1912 – Carl Laemmle incorporates Universal Pictures. World Wars 1918 – A solar eclipse is observed at Baker City, Oregon by scientists and an artist hired by the United States Navy. 1928 – Second Northern Expedition: The National Revolutionary Army captures Beijing, whose name is changed to Beiping ("Northern Peace"). 1929 – Margaret Bondfield is appointed Minister of Labour. She is the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. 1940 – World War II: The completion of Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied forces from Narvik at the end of the Norwegian Campaign. 1941 – World War II: The Allies commence the Syria–Lebanon Campaign against the possessions of Vichy France in the Levant. 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy submarines I-21 and I-24 shell the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. Cold War 1949 – Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members. 1949 – George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is published. 1953 – An F5 tornado hits Beecher, Michigan, killing 116, injuring 844, and destroying 340 homes. 1953 – The United States Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons. 1959 – USS Barbero and the United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail. 1967 – Six-Day War: The USS Liberty incident occurs, killing 34 and wounding 171. 1968 – James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. is arrested at London Heathrow Airport. 1972 – Vietnam War: Nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc is burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl is seen running naked down a road, in what would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo. 1982 – Bluff Cove Air Attacks during the Falklands War: Fifty-six British servicemen are killed by an Argentine air attack on two landing ships, RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram. 1982 – VASP Flight 168 crashes in Pacatuba, Ceará, Brazil, killing 128 people. 1984 – Homosexuality is decriminalized in the Australian state of New South Wales. 1987 – New Zealand's Labour government establishes a national nuclear-free zone under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987. Modern World 1992 – The first World Oceans Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1995 – Downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia. 2001 – Mamoru Takuma kills eight and injures 15 in a mass stabbing at an elementary school in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan. 2004 – The first Venus Transit in well over a century takes place, the previous one being in 1882. 2007 – Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, is hit by the State's worst storms and flooding in 30 years resulting in the death of nine people and the grounding of a trade ship, the MV Pasha Bulker. 2008 – At least 37 miners go missing after an explosion in a Ukrainian coal mine causes it to collapse. 2008 – At least seven people are killed and ten injured in a stabbing spree in Tokyo, Japan. 2009 – Two American journalists are found guilty of illegally entering North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of penal labour. 2014 – At least 28 people are killed in an attack at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan. Featured 1949: George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" is published, portraying a dystopian future dominated by totalitarianism and surveillance. |
2023.06.08 10:28 Acrobatic_Energy_750 I think gta 5 map is good
I don't know why people complain about gta 5 map, i think its almost perfect, should have made los santos just a bit bigger but overall its all good, people complain about how they should have shortened countryside and all but i think to have a real experience of nature there must be terrains and forests and rivers and all, and i enjoyed very much roaming countryside it was perfect, countryside is actually meant to be far away from the city to get the real experience and i think rockstar managed to do that very well, also if you see los santos its actually as big as liberty city from gta 4 so i think gta 5 map is fine, and people say gta 5 map should have been like san andreas with multiple cities, but i dont think we would have got a real experience like as this one, and i dont think san andreas map is bad its actually one of the best ones as it gave us unique experience with multiple cities but let's be real its kinda limited, i think since beginning of hd universe rockstar actually wanted to give us experience on whole another level, since beginning of gta 4 development we know rockstar actually wanted to put whole new york state in the game but then later decided to focus more on detail rather than just putting an entire map with lack of concepts. So i think rockstar didnt disappoint us on that, they actually showed us what unique experience they can give us. This is what makes them different from other open world games.
submitted by Acrobatic_Energy_750 to GTA [link] [comments]
2023.06.08 10:17 PocketFMofficial Cathy betrayed Alex, but will she come back after knowing the truth that Alex is Millionaire? How will Alex heal his heart?
 | submitted by PocketFMofficial to u/PocketFMofficial [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/b0hdg0g72r4b1.png?width=764&format=png&auto=webp&s=01edc76d82e3fac73fec90874bed55003526c60d https://preview.redd.it/giq2idpd3r4b1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=04d4577af13a07dcc5659931fa9ba9410c03a6af Chapter 1 "Hello. Heavenly Lion Convenience," Alex Ambrose answered the store phone. "I need a box of condoms and two packs of tissues delivered to room 1302 of the Sheraton South River Hotel. Hurry!" The caller hung up. Alex shook his head. People never seemed to be prepared. He packed the required items, put on a raincoat, and rode his electric bike toward the Sheraton Hotel on the southern side of the river. It was nine o’clock in the evening and raining heavily, and his pants and shoes were soon wet and filthy. Luckily, the merchandise was still dry, but he didn't dare delay any longer, so he hurried toward the hotel. When he arrived at room 1302, he knocked on the door, and it was opened quickly. "Hello, here’s your—" Alex was stunned into silence. The woman in front of him was none other than his girlfriend, Cathy! She was dressed in a white robe, with her long, dark, wet hair draped over her shoulders. The scents of shower gel and shampoo assaulted his nose. "Cathy? What are you doing here?" He stared at her in disbelief, still feeling dazed. "What are you doing here?" Cathy asked. Her heart skipped a beat, and she took a small step back into the room. Her mind went blank and then started to spin. "What's wrong?" Another guy walked up to the door, wearing a robe and slippers, and Alex immediately recognized him. "You! You dare to touch my girl?" Alex couldn't suppress the anger welling up inside him, and he started moving toward Billy, determined to teach him a lesson. "Stop!" Cathy stepped in front of Alex. After a brief burst of panic, she had managed to get back a bit of control. Since her boyfriend had already discovered her betrayal, there was no point in trying to hide it now. She looked directly at him. "Alex, we need to break up." "Break up?" Alex was stunned. He stared at Cathy with wide eyes. "Cathy, we've been together for more than a year. Are you going to break up with me now?" "Yes. We need to go our separate ways." She kept steady eye contact with him and spoke with a strong sense of resentment. "Are you surprised? You have no money, Alex. You can only barely afford the cheapest essentials. We never have anything nice. As long as I’m with you, people will always be laughing at me, and that just isn't the life I want. I’m too good to be living in poverty like this. I was too naive when I was in my freshman year, and I let myself get tricked into being with a loser like you!" She hugged Billy's arm and said to Alex, "Billy is my boyfriend now. From now on, I want nothing to do with you. Don't bother me again!" "Well, seems like you’re just her good-for-nothing ex now!" Billy looked at Alex with a provocative smirk. Alex, standing there in a raincoat and with mud stains on his pants and shoes, felt like Cathy was right. He was a complete loser. Billy took the plastic bag from his hand and took out the box of condoms. He waved it at Alex and laughed as he said, "I’m staying in a nice hotel, having my girlfriend’s ex bring me condoms. And you’re single. Sure was good of you to help me out." "Why are you still here?" Cathy scolded Alex. "Nah, it's good that he didn't piss off. Maybe you want to see me beat him down, huh, Cathy? Gotta give a lady what she wants," Billy sneered. Alex felt utterly defeated. He slowly turned around and walked out of the room. "Bro, you're not even taking the money? Heh, nice. I get a girlfriend and a gift." Billy felt great watching Alex's slumped, dejected posture as he closed the door behind him. When Alex left the hotel, it was raining even harder than before. He took off his raincoat, allowing the cold rain to drench his entire body and help clear his head. Cathy had discarded him because she believed he had no money. Losing such a materialistic woman should be something to rejoice over, so why should he be sad? [Buzz buzz!] His phone vibrated in his pocket. Alex took it out and glanced at it, but when he saw the number, he stopped walking. His entire body was shaking as he read the text. [After a review, the Ambrose family has decided that their son, Alexander, has met the conditions required for entitlement to his inheritance. From today onward, control of his property will be returned to him.] The bean-sized raindrops plopped onto the screen, causing the text message to gradually become blurry. Alex's mind began to spin. If not for this message, Alex would have almost forgotten his identity as a super-rich kid. Over the last seven years, his family had been assessing him, withholding his fortune until they were satisfied he met their draconian conditions. And now, finally, it was over. Everything that rightfully belonged to him was finally his to claim. ** Alex woke up early the next morning and drove to the city. In a great mood, he got out of his car and went straight to Metro Sky Bank, right in the heart of the wealthiest part of the central business district of New York. Various luxury cars were parked around the bank. The people walking in and out of the surrounding plaza were all rich; it was obvious from their clothing and demeanour. Alex strode to the door of the bank and pushed it open. "Ouch!" The main door could be opened both inward and outward, and Alex had been a bit careless when he pushed it open from outside. As a result, the door had bumped into a long-haired young woman who had been heading out of the building. He quickly apologized, "Sorry. I didn't see you." "What do you mean, you didn’t see me? What am I, invisible?" She held a hand to her forehead and glared at him. The bank’s assistant manager, Karen Young, had noticed the incident and hurried over. She checked on the woman first, and then looked at Alex in disapproval. When her gaze swept over him, a trace of suspicion appeared on her face. Metro Sky Bank was different from most banks, as the clientele were almost exclusively high-end businesspeople. Karen knew the young woman was there with her father, but she didn't know why Alex was there. Judging from his appearance and age, he wasn't their usual type of customer. "Sir, can I be of assistance?" she asked with a polite but forced smile. Alex simply said, "I’m here to withdraw money." "Withdraw money?" the sullen woman asked, sneering at him. "Do you have a card?" Karen asked, continuing to smile politely. Getting a Metro Sky Bankcard was not easy. A million dollars of savings was the minimum requirement to qualify. Karen felt certain that the man in front of her couldn't have much experience with the bank and wouldn't know their rules. Perhaps he had thought that other banks' cards could also be used here. "No," Alex replied, shaking his head. The woman he had accidentally hit with the door couldn't help but giggle when she heard his honest reply. He wasn't worth any more of her attention. "Let’s go." Her father had walked up, still arranging the documents he was carrying. "My dad and I are leaving." The woman shook Karen's hand, and then looked over at Alex. "Ms Young, having someone like this around could damage your bank's image and upset your customers. I hope this will not happen again." With that, she took her father’s arm and opened the door. "Take care, Mr Scott." Karen followed them out a few steps, watching as they got into a car and left. Turning around, she headed back inside, having made up her mind to encourage Alex to leave as soon as possible. There was no one standing where Alex had been. Oh! Where’s he gone? she wondered. Was it possible that the kid had been embarrassed and had quietly slipped away? She felt relieved at the thought. Then, just as she was about to go back to work, she caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of her eye. There’s the brat! No wonder I didn’t see him at first, she thought. He had already reached the entrance to the VIP lounge, and a pillar had blocked her view of him. The VIP room was only for high-status customers who were worth at least thirty million dollars, and this young man had admitted that he didn’t even have a card. If she let him get through, she would be in trouble with her boss. "Stop! Don't move!" Karen yelled, feeling desperate. The other customers all looked around at her, obviously annoyed by her shouting. She could only smile apologetically as she walked quickly toward Alex. But he had already walked through the lounge, opened the door to the VIP room, and stepped inside. https://preview.redd.it/bgp24qcv3r4b1.png?width=764&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9c3c1ed5397d6b4d312662e698e5847873b36ab Chapter 2 Does he have no shame? Karen hurried after Alex with a look of chagrin on her face. She tried to open the door to the VIP room, but it had been locked from the inside. ** "Hello?" Inside the VIP room, Robert Miller, the bank manager, was leaning against the sofa, looking at his phone. When the door suddenly opened, he quickly sat down and hid his phone away. Normally, when a VIP was coming in, Karen would notify him in advance. As the customer manager, he was responsible for thirty-one VIPs, and he knew them like the back of his hand. He immediately began to launch into his normal professional greeting, hoping to undo the poor impression he’d made by slouching against the sofa, but when he saw Alex, his expression froze. He was certain that Alex was not one of his VIPs, nor was he a relative of one. "May I ask who you are?" Robert asked, looking at the young man, who appeared to be around twenty years old. Robert had no idea who he was. Alex got straight to the point. "I'm here to get my money." "You have one of our cards?" Robert asked, suspicious of Alex's calm expression. "No," Alex admitted frankly. Robert was relieved to seemingly be proven right, but even more confused. Access to the VIP room required a minimum worth of three million dollars, but this man didn't have any money. Why was he so composed? "I'm sorry, sir. We can't give out money without a card. Do you require anything else?" He's crazy, Robert thought. Why on earth did Karen let him in? I’ll have to speak to her about this at Monday’s meeting. "You have fingerprint recognition here, right?" Alex suddenly asked. The fingerprint ID system at the bank was for the wealthiest families and businesses to use. Only a few people had their fingerprints recorded in the system, at least in the New York branch, and no one had used it to access their holdings yet. "You want to use it?" Robert could no longer bring himself to call Alex "sir." "Yes." Alex nodded. Robert was feeling more confused by the second. Why would someone who wasn't even a customer request to use a fingerprint ID? To be honest, even though he was curious, Robert felt that it was barely worth humouring the request. But after considering for a few seconds, he finally decided to let Alex make the attempt rather than risk making him angry. He opened the safe and brought out the fingerprint identification device, which he had never used before. "Place your thumb here." Robert indicated the verification area to Alex, who placed his thumb on the sensor. [Beep!] The device lit up with a glaring red light, and the LCD screen displayed the words [Fingerprint not recorded]. Immediately, Robert’s expression turned hostile, and he glared at Alex. He picked up his phone, ready to call the police. "Wait, wait!" Alex said quickly. "Maybe that was the wrong print. I'll try using my index finger this time." Robert smiled coldly. "What’s your plan here? Your thumb doesn’t work, so you’ll try your index finger. Then, if your index finger doesn’t work, you’ll try your middle finger. When you run out of fingers, will you try using your toes?" But Alex had already pressed his index finger on the verification area. Robert resolved that if the man’s fingerprints weren’t accepted this time, he would immediately call the police and have him arrested. [Beep!] A green light appeared on the device and new details flashed up on the LCD screen: [Verification successful. Family account: 01. Verifier: Alexander Ambrose. Account: 01104.] Robert gaped at Alex in disbelief for a moment, and then hurriedly squeezed out a smile. "Mr Ambrose, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I'm Robert Miller, the customer manager for the New York branch. Please allow me to assist you." "It's fine," Alex said lightly and stood up. "Can I see how much money I have left in my account?" "Please wait a moment." Robert sat in front of the computer and typed away for a while. On his instructions, Alex provided a few more fingerprint scans as authorization. "It's done, Mr Ambrose." Robert clicked the "OK" button on the screen, and Alex's account appeared. Robert pointed to the computer screen and said, "Mr Ambrose, the balance of your account is currently eighty-six million dollars." Robert couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. This young man had an enormous fortune. It placed him in the topflight of the one per cent. Most people would never be able to even dream of that much money. Alex felt strange as he stared at the numbers on the screen. He reminded himself that he needed to get used to his status as a rich kid as soon as possible. "Oh, and you have other assets as well. Let me show you now." Robert clicked through to check several pages in a row. Finally, he clicked the "OK" button again. The computer brought up a 4 x 4 grid of display screens. "This surveillance screen displays all the physical assets that you hold elsewhere," Robert explained. He clicked on the upper left corner of the screen and brought up the feed from the bank's branch at The Hague, which revealed a sports car. In the lower right corner, it said, [Ferrari Pagani Huayra]. Robert opened up other screens for Alex, one after another. The Hawaii branch displayed a Dominica blue pearl bracelet and four stacks of gold bars. The feed from the French branch in Nice revealed three original Picasso paintings and two Rodin statues. And the Cape Town branch had fifteen 10-carat diamonds, ten pieces of ivory, and another couple of stacks of gold bars. Robert's eyes almost popped out as he looked at Alex's assets. He had never seen anyone so rich. Maybe not even one-tenth as rich. "All right, I’d like a card," Alex said before Robert could collect his thoughts. "Yes, I will see to it right away. Please wait a moment." Robert immediately started to make the necessary arrangements. Within ten minutes, a Supreme Card was produced. Robert looked at the Supreme Card and thought about Alex's assets. This card wasn’t good enough for Alex’s status, but it was the highest grade of card they were authorized to issue at the New York branch. Robert presented handed the card over. "Mr Ambrose, your card." "Thank you." Alex took the card, stood up, and went to walk out of the room. "Mr Ambrose, please wait." Robert didn't dare to appear to be neglecting such an important customer. He should see him out personally, but the asset checking system on his computer had not been turned off yet, and the fingerprint verification machine, iris recognition apparatus, and other sensitive equipment had not been returned to the safe. The monitoring system in the VIP room was connected to the district manager’s office. Karen was anxiously waiting in the hall. What's been going on in there for so long? she wondered. Could that brat have murdered Mr Miller in the VIP room? The more she considered it, the more scared she became. She was on the verge of banging on the door and demanding a response when Alex walked confidently out of the room. "Stop!" Karen shouted. She walked quickly over toward him and grabbed at his coat. "You can't leave. You broke into the VIP room. Once we confirm that nothing is missing, I will call the police and have them hold you for questioning." "What are you talking about?" Alex asked. "Let go!" Karen grappled with him for a while, but she couldn't manage to search his pockets. What’s wrong with this woman? Alex thought. He wasn’t even arguing with her, but she was manhandling him. "What is this?" Karen spotted the Supreme Card that was peeking out of Alex's pocket. She quickly pulled it out and looked at him triumphantly, as if she had found evidence of his guilt. "Oh, you stole a card. This is a crime, and I have to call the police." It didn't even cross her mind that the card could belong to Alex. She imagined he had entered the VIP room, pretending to be there by mistake, and had then distracted Mr Miller with questions and stolen the card when the manager wasn't paying attention. "Let go!" Alex was sick of this woman. "Don’t you feel guilty about being a thief?" She was even more determined. With the two of them creating such a scene, other customers started to walk over toward them, intending to help Karen keep Alex from getting away. Just then, Robert, who had finished tidying up, strode out of the VIP room. Having seen Alex's assets, Robert now knew he was the most important customer the New York branch of the bank had ever had. He had also noticed that the system listed Alex's was listed as just one of multiple accounts attached to a family group, labelled 01. If that single account was so lucrative, then what about the rest of the family? It was rare to meet such important people, so Robert knew he had to be careful to curry favour with Alex. If they got along well, it would be a tremendous success for Robert, and the potential benefits were huge. So, when saw Karen struggling with Alex, he was enraged. Karen's expression was hostile, and Alex was becoming very angry. Karen was an idiot who was playing with fire, and she might drag Robert himself down with her. Of all the bank’s many, many customers, why did she need to pick this one to try and remove? A simple flick of Alex’s finger could be enough to end both their careers. https://preview.redd.it/ibiq0o324r4b1.png?width=764&format=png&auto=webp&s=1a99b27610b71dd123f69c6780b81a8f489cd0a4 Chapter 3 "Stop!" Robert dashed between Alex and Karen. Before Alex could speak, Karen waved the Supreme Card in the air. Her eyes flashed with triumph as she said to Robert, "Mr Miller, look! He stole a card from the VIP room!" She smiled at him, her expression a little smug. Surely, Mr Miller would be happy with her for preventing theft. He had a lot of authority in the eastern district of Metro Sky Bank, and when he had arrived at headquarters, he had seemed impressed with her, so she was hoping for a promotion. Her imagination began to run away with her as she dreamed about her possible future. Mr Miller's face had always been a little glum, but as she watched, his expression grew darker and darker. Before she could figure out why, she was startled by his explosive roar, leaving her entire body trembling. "Let go of Mr Ambrose!" As he yelled, Mr Miller knocked the Supreme Card out of her hand, and she was so scared that she let go of Alex. Mr Miller pushed her aside and bent down to pick up the card. "Mr Ambrose, your card. I'm very sorry. I haven't trained Ms Young properly. I do apologize." Mr Miller's expression showed a mixture of respect, embarrassment, and unease, as the bank's customers looked on in amazement. Karen was stunned. Could the Supreme Card be his? she wondered. Her eyes widened. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make sense of it. If this man had a Supreme Card, then he had at least three million dollars, yet he appeared to only be around twenty years old. A poor, lower-class loser with that much money? No, it was just too unlikely. "It's not your fault, Mr Miller," Alex assured him, slipping the card back into his pocket. "Thank you, Mr Ambrose." Robert dipped his head and paused briefly before straightening up and shouting at Karen, "Why are you just standing there? Apologize to Mr Ambrose immediately!" How could Karen still not understand? Robert thought. The young man standing in front of them was seriously rich and needed to be treated with respect. Karen immediately bowed her head at Alex. "Mr Ambrose, I'm very sorry for my rude behaviour. I made a mistake, created a fuss over nothing, and put my hands on you. It was my fault, and I will reflect on my behaviour—" Alex ignored her and walked away. "Mr Ambrose," Robert called after him. "If you ever need anything, just give me a call, and I'll do my best to help." Robert was excited by this opportunity. It was rare to meet someone as important as Alex, so he shamelessly tried to charm him. "Okay, Robert." Alex smiled faintly. Robert had come to his defence, after all. The use of his first name made Robert feel quite emotional. The wealthiest customers called him by his first name, and now so did this poorly dressed young man, who displayed not even a hint of arrogance. Alex strode out of the bank and hailed a taxi to take him back to Preston University. ** As Alex entered the university building, he accidentally stepped into a puddle, splashing a lot of mud on his legs. He checked his watch then rushed toward the classroom, where Mr Morgan was already standing at the podium, lecturing. He spotted Alex out of the corner of his eye and a hint of disappointment flashed across his face. Feeling guilty, Alex lowered his head. Of all his teachers, Mr Morgan was his favourite. The other teachers tended to ignore Alex because he had no money, and some even openly mocked him. Only Mr Morgan treated him like any other student. Alex slipped quietly into the classroom, aware that all the students were staring at him, and he could hear them whispering. "He isn't usually late. Hell must have frozen over." "Look at his pants! They’re filthy. Doesn’t he have any clean clothes?" "Are you joking? It’s not like he’d have the money for new ones. It looks like he's just thrown on whatever he could find." Some of the boys continued to talk, and the girls in the front row covered their mouths with their hands as they joined in. Their eyes flashed with contempt when they looked at Alex. "Stop talking!" Mr Morgan said loudly. "And pay attention." Throughout the lecture, Alex noticed that Mr Morgan kept glancing at him, his eyes full of disapproval, as if Alex had failed to live up to his expectations. Eventually, the lecture was over. "Class dismissed." Mr Morgan packed up his textbooks and left. "Cathy." The voice came from the doorway. Everyone turned in the direction of the voice and saw Billy walking through the door and going straight to Cathy, who was sitting by the window. She stood and hugged him, both of them were in love Many of the students turned to stare at Alex. Everyone thought that he was Cathy's boyfriend, and they weren’t aware that she had broken up with him. Alex watched in disgust. He’d heard that Billy had taken at least five different girls to stay at that hotel. Cathy was just the latest in a long line, and Alex had no intention of fighting for her. Billy strutted past Alex with his arm around Cathy's shoulder. "Darling, wait a minute," Cathy said to Billy as she stopped in front of Alex and held out her phone. "Since we've broken up, I don’t want to owe you anything. Here's the phone you bought for me a few weeks ago. You can have it back." Alex glanced at the Samsung Galaxy phone and then took it. "Hah, you would have to work part-time for six months to afford one of these!" Cathy took a brand-new phone out of her pocket and showed it to Alex. "This is the latest iPhone, and it’s much better than your phone." "Of course, it's far too expensive for a loser like him." Billy raised his chin and looked at Alex. "Cathy told me that she kept asking for that phone for six months before you finally bought it for her. Do you think you can pick up a girl so far out of your league? You're just embarrassing yourself, so give up. And I'm warning you now: don't even think about her. If I find out you’ve gone anywhere near her, you'll regret it!" "Don't waste your breath talking to a loser like him. Can we go to De Luca’s for lunch?" Cathy had already dismissed Alex. "Call me baby," Billy said, smiling at her. "Baby, let's go." She flirted with him right in front of Alex. "Cathy!" A petite girl stood up, glaring at her. "You're taking it all too far. I never thought you'd break up with Alex, and I'm ashamed of you." "Emma, why do you care?" She scowled. When things had been going well with Alex, she’d been on good terms with Emma, who was a decent person. Sometimes, when Cathy had been fighting with Alex, she had asked Emma’s opinion about who was in the right. "You gave up Alex for someone like Billy?" Emma asked. "How could you treat Alex like this? When you were sick and couldn't even get out of bed, Alex sent you lunch and dinner every day for a month. And when you were walking in the mountains and twisted your ankle, he carried you on his back for miles down the mountain. Don’t you remember that? You know he doesn't make much money from his part-time jobs, but when you wanted a phone, he worked hard for months to save enough money to buy it for you. And this is how you repay him? By breaking up with him and ridiculing him?" Cathy scowled. "I never forced him to do anything. If he was stupid enough to go along with it, that's his problem! And so what if he bought me a cell phone? It was only a Samsung. And why would I want a Samsung when I can have an iPhone?" Emma shook her head. "Cathy, I don’t understand you. Do you only care about money? Will money get you everything you want?" "Yes!" Cathy barked out a laugh. She stared at Emma and said, "I admit that I like money. Is that so wrong?" She took Billy's arm and said, "Come on, baby, let's go. These two poor people disgust me." She glared at Alex and Emma and then swept out of the classroom with her head held high. https://preview.redd.it/frxe4na33r4b1.png?width=764&format=png&auto=webp&s=3d014c775a06fca57c3c49baecf79a44adee3800 |
2023.06.08 09:55 CattleDogCurmudgeon Looking to move to Bangor, ME. How bad are the bugs really?
Hi there, I'm considering moving in from out of state to the Bangor area to attend school at UMaine. I found a nice place on the Penobscot river, but I have one major hold up. Black Flies, mosquitoes, deer flies, and other flying incects. Bugs LOVE me. My family loves when I come to barbecues because the mosquitoes will come after me and leave the completely alone. However, I've heard its not nearly as bad in the cities there compared to the woods. Never having lived or visited Bangor (outside of the airport), how bad are the bugs really? I really just want to be able to sit on the deck overlooking the river and drink a nice cup of coffee or glass of whiskey without getting swarmed.
submitted by CattleDogCurmudgeon to Bangor [link] [comments]
2023.06.08 09:43 AbleBird9647 An Invitation to an Unforgettable Stay in Max Sector 128 Noida
Max Sector 128 Noida, Max Estate Noida, Max 128 Noida, Max Sector 128 Noida Location Map, Max Sector 128 Noida Floor Plan, Max Sector 128 Noida Layout Plan
For More Details, Visit:
https://maxestatenoida.in/
Max Sector 128 Noida is a commercial sector located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is situated near the Noida Expressway and is easily accessible from Delhi, Noida, and Greater Noida. The sector is known for its modern commercial buildings and houses offices of many multinational companies. It is also home to several shopping malls, restaurants, and entertainment options, making it a popular destination for both business and leisure. Max Sector 128 has good connectivity with other parts of Noida and Delhi through public transport such as buses, metro, and taxis.
Max Sector 128 in Noida offers several location advantages, some of which are:
Proximity to Noida Expressway:
Max Sector 128 Noida is located near the Noida Expressway, which connects it to other parts of Noida, Greater Noida, and Delhi. This provides easy access to other commercial and residential areas in the region.
Connectivity:
The sector has good connectivity through public transport such as buses, taxis, and metro. The Noida City Centre metro station is located nearby, providing easy access to Delhi and other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR).
submitted by AbleBird9647 to u/AbleBird9647 [link] [comments]
For More Details, Visit:
https://maxestatenoida.in/
Max Sector 128 Noida is a commercial sector located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is situated near the Noida Expressway and is easily accessible from Delhi, Noida, and Greater Noida. The sector is known for its modern commercial buildings and houses offices of many multinational companies. It is also home to several shopping malls, restaurants, and entertainment options, making it a popular destination for both business and leisure. Max Sector 128 has good connectivity with other parts of Noida and Delhi through public transport such as buses, metro, and taxis.
Max Sector 128 in Noida offers several location advantages, some of which are:
Proximity to Noida Expressway:
Max Sector 128 Noida is located near the Noida Expressway, which connects it to other parts of Noida, Greater Noida, and Delhi. This provides easy access to other commercial and residential areas in the region.
Connectivity:
The sector has good connectivity through public transport such as buses, taxis, and metro. The Noida City Centre metro station is located nearby, providing easy access to Delhi and other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR).
2023.06.08 09:38 Kitchen-Branch2658 The thought of what I am going to do for the rest of my life is very intimidating at 18
Can anyone relate to this?
I've always been an obedient kid, following whatever my parents and teachers said, through my whole life until now, I never really had to make a decision for myself, my parents would make it for me. We were all guided by teachers and parents for what we should do up until highschool graduation. I never felt like I needed to make the conscious choice of what I want for myself, I just let the river flow me naturally in the one way directional stream of life up until now, I am 18 and about to head onto college. For the first time, no teachers were telling me what to do, what assignments and exams were due at when, and for the first time I don't need to ask permission from my parents to do things, it has become so quiet. It feels so surreal being an adult now. If I wanted to do something I could literally do it, no one is forcing me to do anything or not to do anything. If I wanted to randomly go to a club or join an organization to meet new people and learn something that isn't forced upon me like in school, I can. It's 5pm for me right now, If I wanted to I can just get in my car and drive to the city and spend a night at the bar if I wanted to. I have never had this much freedom before, it feels so surreal. The rest of my life is completely within my hands now, I can change it however I want, I can be part of a community whenever if I wanted to, you get the point. It's like flowing from the one way river that was life before now, and into a vast ocean of endless possibilities, I can do anything at any time if I wanted to really.
I've had this freedom for some time now, a few months, but for some reason I can't get myself to do anything really, It sorta has led me to a minor depression where now it really hit me thinking what am I going to do with the rest of my life, I can spend my days and time however I want, so what will I be doing for the rest of my days now? Thinking about this deeply has made me feel a loss of meaning and purpose in life and an existential crisis, with this much freedom it was a double edged sword. Furthermore, I have felt not confident in meeting new people in adulthood now, I feel like I have imposter syndrome for being an adult now. And what stops me from meeting new people and doing different things is not having my old friends be around to do these things with me. As we have always done stuff together, whether it be joining clubs together in highschool and stuff, so it really feels lonely to make new friends since I haven't done it in so long, I've tried to but the conversations never feel deep and I am constantly wanting to just go back to hanging with my old friends only since we have so many inside jokes and experiences etc. I also feel like I am pretending in a way when I'm speaking to new people, it feels awkward cuz it feels like I'm hiding another part of my personality, I've noticed that I show a slightly different personality and views with the different friend groups I hang out with, which makes me feel liek a fraud. So many days have gone by and I've jsut been stuck in this cycle where I've escaped this feeling of being so lost with video games and unhealthy things, I really want to break out of it
submitted by Kitchen-Branch2658 to Healthygamergg [link] [comments]
I've always been an obedient kid, following whatever my parents and teachers said, through my whole life until now, I never really had to make a decision for myself, my parents would make it for me. We were all guided by teachers and parents for what we should do up until highschool graduation. I never felt like I needed to make the conscious choice of what I want for myself, I just let the river flow me naturally in the one way directional stream of life up until now, I am 18 and about to head onto college. For the first time, no teachers were telling me what to do, what assignments and exams were due at when, and for the first time I don't need to ask permission from my parents to do things, it has become so quiet. It feels so surreal being an adult now. If I wanted to do something I could literally do it, no one is forcing me to do anything or not to do anything. If I wanted to randomly go to a club or join an organization to meet new people and learn something that isn't forced upon me like in school, I can. It's 5pm for me right now, If I wanted to I can just get in my car and drive to the city and spend a night at the bar if I wanted to. I have never had this much freedom before, it feels so surreal. The rest of my life is completely within my hands now, I can change it however I want, I can be part of a community whenever if I wanted to, you get the point. It's like flowing from the one way river that was life before now, and into a vast ocean of endless possibilities, I can do anything at any time if I wanted to really.
I've had this freedom for some time now, a few months, but for some reason I can't get myself to do anything really, It sorta has led me to a minor depression where now it really hit me thinking what am I going to do with the rest of my life, I can spend my days and time however I want, so what will I be doing for the rest of my days now? Thinking about this deeply has made me feel a loss of meaning and purpose in life and an existential crisis, with this much freedom it was a double edged sword. Furthermore, I have felt not confident in meeting new people in adulthood now, I feel like I have imposter syndrome for being an adult now. And what stops me from meeting new people and doing different things is not having my old friends be around to do these things with me. As we have always done stuff together, whether it be joining clubs together in highschool and stuff, so it really feels lonely to make new friends since I haven't done it in so long, I've tried to but the conversations never feel deep and I am constantly wanting to just go back to hanging with my old friends only since we have so many inside jokes and experiences etc. I also feel like I am pretending in a way when I'm speaking to new people, it feels awkward cuz it feels like I'm hiding another part of my personality, I've noticed that I show a slightly different personality and views with the different friend groups I hang out with, which makes me feel liek a fraud. So many days have gone by and I've jsut been stuck in this cycle where I've escaped this feeling of being so lost with video games and unhealthy things, I really want to break out of it
2023.06.08 09:37 Fit_Course_3953 VISIT DUBAI: TOP 5 THINGS TO DO AND MUST-SEE ATTRACTIONS
- The Burj Khalifa
The tallest skyscraper in the world (828 meters) has been open to the public since 2010 and has quickly become the symbol of the city.
Every day, thousands of visitors flock to the tower and take one of the fastest lift in the world up to the viewing platforms located on the 124th and 125th floors .
From there, you can enjoy an extraordinary panorama over the whole city!
And that’s not the highest point yet!
You can even go up to the 148th floor, to reach the highest viewing platform in the world (555 m high).
You should visit the Burj Khalifa in the evening, to enjoy the view over the illuminated city from the highest observation deck in the world.
To visit the Burj Khalifa, you should really book your skip the line ticket online in advance.
This will allow you to choose your visit time slot and avoid the long waiting lines to buy your tickets.
Another important advantage is that tickets are cheaper online than directly at the counter. And that’s the same for all the activities you can do in Dubai!
- The Dubai Mall
This huge mall is the most visited shopping center in the world!
With more than 1200 shops and hundreds of restaurants, you will for sure find something that fits your taste and your budget.
And there is more:
This shopping temple also houses indoor waterfalls, an aquarium (more about it below), an ice rink, a go-kart track, a flight simulator, cinemas, arcade games and a lot more!
The Dubai Mall is open every day from 10am until midnight. Restaurants and food court until 1am.
If you want to prepare your visit, you can have a look to the official website to see all the existing shops, restaurants and attractions.
- The Dubai Fountain
The fountain show takes place several times a day on the artificial lake located at the exit of Dubai Mall, at the foot of Burj Khalifa.
You must attend it during your trip to Dubai!
The best is to go there at nightfall, when the tower is illuminated. It’s simply magical to watch the ballet of water jets dancing to music.
The show takes place every 30 minutes between 18.00 and 23.00 (there are also a few during the day).
The access is free of charge.
Quick tip: To get a great viewpoint, try to be there as early as possible, as the fountain show attracts thousands of tourists!
- Deira district and its souks
During your stay, you should really take a stroll through Deira district, a picturesque and popular place featuring several souks:
- The Gold Souk and its large number of shops with magnificent jewellery displays. It’s the largest of its kind in the Middle East.
- The Perfume Souk, in Sikkat Al Khail street.
- The Spice Souk and its colourful stalls to stock up on curry, saffron, cinnamon and more.
During this 3-hour tour, your guide will show you the souks as well as Dubai Museum, which I mention a bit further down this article.
The guide is really amazing, he will teach you everything about the culture, religion, daily life and history of Dubai.
- Bur Dubai
This neighborhood is also one of the oldest in the city. It’s located just opposite Deira, on the other side of Dubai Creek.
To get there, you will have to take an Abra, a small traditional wooden boat (1 AED per person).
The short crossing will allow you to enjoy a beautiful view and see “Dhows”, the old ships with bright colors supplying the souks with goods.
Here are the best places to visit in Bur Dubai:
- Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House: The old house of the Al Maktoum family until 1958. You will see photos and documents about the history of the city.
- Old Souk, one of the oldest in Dubai. You can find everything there: slippers, souvenirs, fabrics, traditional lamps…
- Meena Bazaar, a market where you can buy Indian goods: fabrics, spices, jewelry.
- Hindi Lane and its Indian stalls. The best place to try traditional dishes at a reasonable price.
- Sheik Mohamed Cultural Center: Here you can have lunch with an Emirati in a traditional house. The center was opened by the Sheikh to allow tourists to learn more about United Arab Emirates (UAE) traditions. Reservation is required, click here.
- Al Seef Market, where you can admire replicas of traditional houses, with restaurants and shops.
- Dubai Museum: I will tell you more about it in section 9 of this guide.
2023.06.08 09:27 MaxMaxMax_05 Do you support China becoming a cultural melting pot like America?
Right now, China is assimilating their minorities, but are also adopting their cultural practices. There are many minority restaurants in major Han Chinese cities as well as people using their traditional clothing as cosplay. The government doesn't actually care that Han Chinese culture is being influenced by these minorities and event promotes their culture.
America is literally built out of immigrants importing their cultural aspects. Almost all quintessential American dishes originate in Europe while almost all popular music originated from African slaves.
Being a cultural melting pot makes nations more socially progressive than nations with a dominant ethnicity. This is the reason why so many trends originate out of the USA. Due to its cultural diversity, they are able to explore more concepts and culturally advance more. This will also downgrade the sense of Han superiority because the Chinese culture would become an amalgamation of many other cultures. Much like now American culture doesn’t really have an English sense of superiority, Chinese culture won’t have a sense of Han superiority.
Should China take the same approach in blending their ethnicities to make Chinese culture a melting pot? Or should they be like India where ethnicities get their own autonomy instead of one single unified culture?
submitted by MaxMaxMax_05 to Whatifalthist [link] [comments]
America is literally built out of immigrants importing their cultural aspects. Almost all quintessential American dishes originate in Europe while almost all popular music originated from African slaves.
Being a cultural melting pot makes nations more socially progressive than nations with a dominant ethnicity. This is the reason why so many trends originate out of the USA. Due to its cultural diversity, they are able to explore more concepts and culturally advance more. This will also downgrade the sense of Han superiority because the Chinese culture would become an amalgamation of many other cultures. Much like now American culture doesn’t really have an English sense of superiority, Chinese culture won’t have a sense of Han superiority.
Should China take the same approach in blending their ethnicities to make Chinese culture a melting pot? Or should they be like India where ethnicities get their own autonomy instead of one single unified culture?
2023.06.08 09:14 alphaannapurna Most Beautiful Lake In Nepal
 | Nepal has not only the tallest mountains in the world but also beautiful lakes in the Himalayan landscape. Nepal is also the second richest country in water resources in the world. In Nepal, you can find more than 6,000 rivers, 3,252 glaciers, and 2,323 glacial lakes. High mountains and glaciers are the source of rivers and lakes. The beauty of the lakes in the mountains and mid-slopes attracts tourists from all over the world. Nepal's high-altitude lakes have a religious significance, attracting pilgrims from all over the world. Although some of the lakes have their own beauty. Some of the lakes in Nepal are well known for their unique and remarkable features, registering world records. Here is a list of some popular lakes. submitted by alphaannapurna to u/alphaannapurna [link] [comments] 1. Rara Lake https://preview.redd.it/k4cocszcsq4b1.jpg?width=1166&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58aa2509cfcc234eafad73511a56f00d52bacc90 Rara Lake, the largest lake in Nepal, is the most popular tourist destination in Nepal. This 2,990-meter-high lake offers a great hiking experience. The lake covers an area of 9.8 square kilometers in Rara National Park. Trekking to Rara Lake takes you deep into Nepal's countryside close to the Tibetan border. Unlike other trips, this trip is unique in itself. This trip may not appeal to a mountain lover, but it is undoubtedly an important trip. The road to Rara Lake is surrounded by small villages, pine, spruce, and juniper forests, quiet valleys, and beautiful landscapes. The journey to Rara Lake starts with a scenic flight to Nepalgunj and then to Jumla. Then, start trekking through remote western Nepal, encountering remote areas and deserts. Chere Chaur, Chalachaur, Sinja Valley, and Ghorosingha are the main stops on the way to Rara Lake. The best time to visit Rara Lake is during spring. The beautiful weather and clear skies offer beautiful views and a promising atmosphere. This hike is considered a moderate-level hike, suitable for both novices and experienced hikers. 2. Gokyo Lake https://preview.redd.it/fnnzj1efsq4b1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d99fcada3ba73ceffb7b58be9d13582586f333e8 Lake Gokyo, which consists of six glacier-fed lakes, at 5,000m, is the highest lake in the world. At an altitude of 4,700-5,000m, Lake Gokyo is a gem in the Everest region. The green waters of Gokyo attract hundreds of tourists and pilgrims every year. On the occasion of Janai Purnima, pilgrims take a holy bath in the lake. According to Hindu mythology, these lakes are the abode of 'Nag Devata'. It is said that about 7,000 tourists visit Gokyo Lake every year. The Gokyo Lakes Trail includes a hike up Gokyo Ri, a point in the Everest region. Gokyo Ri at 5,357m is famous for its magnificent views of Gokyo Valley, Gokyo Lakes, and mountains like Everest, Lhotse, and Cho Oyu. The route to Lake Gokyo follows the scenic Everest Base Camp Trek and crosses the Ngozumpa Glacier, the largest glacier in Nepal. Travelers returning from the great pass of Renjo La, Phakding, Namche Bazaar, Dole, and Machhermo are the main stops along the route. 3. Tilicho Lake https://preview.redd.it/nnwe8bg6tq4b1.jpg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8a7a7cd22e9fbd1fca63d8a771a606333e0332f6 Tilicho Lake in the Manang District of Nepal is the second-highest lake in the world. This lake in the Himalayas is also the most popular mountain trek in the Annapurna Circuit. Trekkers who attempt the famous Annapurna circuit go to Tilicho Lake to embrace its beauty and have a peaceful mind. Every year, thousands of travelers embark on a journey to Tilicho Lake. Tilicho Lake is near the beautiful city of Pokhara. The tour starts in Chame, in the Manang district. The Tilicho Lake trek passes through the famous stops of the Annapurna region such as Chame, Upper Pisang, Manang, Siri Kharka, and Tilicho Base Camp. The route includes grasslands, alpine valleys, plain farmlands, green hills, Buddhist temples, and picturesque villages. If you want to go on a trek to Tilicho Lake then it is about 10-12 days. The houses with thatched roofs and the influence of Tibetan culture are two different rewards that this trip has to offer. The best time to explore Tilicho Lake is during spring and autumn. It's a moderate to strenuous hike, perfect for those in good shape. However, novices, as well as experienced travelers, can do this trip. Your trip to Tilicho Lake offers breathtaking views of Annapurna II, Annapurna III, Gangapurna, and Dhaulagiri massif. Explore the beautiful Tilicho Lake and experience its beauty. 4. Gosaikunda Lake https://preview.redd.it/ch8qj5fbtq4b1.jpg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da31328dbe24cbe2f9b374356f0a42e261438804 Gosaikunda Lake, a sacred lake at 4,380 m, is located in the Rasuwa district of Nepal. Along with 108 other lakes nearby, Gosaikunda Lake attracts hundreds of pilgrims and Hindu devotees every year. According to Hindu mythology, this lake is the abode of Lord Shiva and Gauri. Most of the people came to this place in Janai Purnima festivals for a spiritual journey. Mountain ranges, picturesque villages, monasteries, lush green forests, and lush grasslands make the journey beautiful. One can reach the lake in just four days. The beautiful view of Mount Langtang, Mount Ganesh, Hiunchuli, Manaslu, and surrounding hills is the main attraction of Gosaikunda Lake. Gosaikunda Lake is a short and moderate trek in the Himalayas of Nepal that can be done by both novices and experienced trekkers. April to early June and September to November are considered the best months of the year to visit Gosaikunda Lake. Be wise; do not walk during monsoons and winter. 5. Shey Phoksundo Lake https://preview.redd.it/qvcydog3uq4b1.jpg?width=6016&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5faafa2cceadbdca84cb62162b434a3112690227 Shey Phoksund Lake at 3,611.5m is a sacred lake for Buddhists and followers of the Bonpo religion. The sparkling Turquoise Lake of Poksundo is the jewel of Dolpo, attracting hundreds of tourists every year. The highest point in Lake Poksundo is the village of Ringmo which is a 30,000-40,000-year-old lake. You can see the Bon religion. You can explore Poksund Lake in 11 days from Kathmandu. The journey part starts from Dunai while the flight will go to Nepalgunj and Juphal. The road winds through Tibetan countryside, beautiful rhododendron forests, and beautiful scenery. Dunai, Chhepka, Ringmo, and Jhupal are the Poksundo Lake Trek route. 6. Fewa Lake https://preview.redd.it/adb6rfjbuq4b1.jpg?width=5472&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d0fb8e6fb1fe86df902d63e4889e1c04edc59b9 Phewa Lake is the second-largest lake in Nepal. It is a small lake surrounded by the Rani Ban waterfall and is truly awe-inspiring to reflect the Annapurna, Machhapuchre, and Dhaulagiri ranges. Whenever people came to Pokhara they visit this lake. In the center of the lake is the Tal Barahi temple, an important religious monument of Pokhara. The emerald color of the lake attracts nature lovers and photographers. The journey takes five to six hours by bus, and about 25 minutes by plane. Be sure to rent a boat or paddle and spend the day making the most of the lake. Or you can walk along the lake and take in the breathtaking view of the emerald Phewa Lake. Over the lake, you can visit Sarankot or the World Peace Stupa. You can explore this beautiful lake any time of the year. 7. Begnas Lake https://preview.redd.it/ad60frxyuq4b1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50bd9d1bd36ca51d5928173d67a0f789cb7e9075 Begnas Lake is another beautiful lake in Nepal. A lake in the southeast of Pokhara, Begnas Lake is undoubtedly a must-see in the center of Pokhara's tourism. The lake is the largest lake in Nepal and a famous place in Nepal. Hundreds of tourists go to Pokhara to explore this lake and especially to enjoy the amazing view of Annapurna and Manaslu from the lake. If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu or enjoy the peace and quiet, visit Pokhara and discover this lake. As mentioned earlier, you can fly to Pokhara or take a road bus to Pokhara. The choice is yours. The lake is 30 minutes from Lakeside. The nearest bus station is the Milanchowk bus station. You can go on a long boat or paddle solo and enjoy the beauty of the lake and the peaks rising above the lake. Also, you can have a picnic with your family/friends by the lake. 8. Birendra Lake Birendra Lake is on the Manaslu glacier in the Gorkha region of Nepal. Trekkers on the Manaslu Circuit Trek also spend their days visiting this lake. Birendra Lake is about 30 minutes from the famous Sama Gaon village. The crystal clear water and the mountainous back are what attract tourists to take a scenic trip to Birendra Lake. To reach the lake, you have to cross the well-trodden paths of Manaslu. This is a one-week trip to the lake from Barpak. Laprak, Khorla Besi, Jagat, Dang, Prok, Lho, and Sama Goan are the main towns for night rest. Considering the route, this is a moderate hike. Spring and fall are the best times to explore the lake. Most of this trip is hiking, so it is not recommended to do it in winter and monsoon. Conclusion These are the few beautiful lakes in Nepal but there are so many other beautiful lakes in Nepal. In fact, these lakes are the main attraction of Nepal, inviting thousands of trekkers, nature lovers, and tourists from all over the world. |
2023.06.08 09:00 dannelbaratheon Of Dagor Dagorath - Two Kinslayers (Tolkien/Wheel of Time Crossover)
Chapter V
Two Kinslayers
"Has anything changed?"The man, if he could thought of as a man, was covered in black robes. He refused to wear anything else, murmuring in his foreign language at every word, move or sound of others.
"Is he any better?"
As good as us, Lews Therin said. He's a killer, like I am.
Shut up.
Alanna and Verin both inspected him. Looking up, Rand noticed Mat, Aviendha and the Maidens of the Spear were all terrified of him. The Aiel women did their best to hide it, but he still saw it in their faces.
"Moriñgotho." the man said. "Moriñgotho enutúlie." The word "Moriñgotho" was the one he kept repeating all the time.
"He is..." Verin said bewildered, staring at him still. "He is...fine. There is nothing wrong about him. His body is completely healthy. No scars, no wound...he is completely fine."
Alanna touched his head. "Light! It's the opposite. His body is stronger than any of us. He is in better shape than anyone I've ever seen."
"Eru apseni. Ilúvatar, apseni. "
"He is stronger. Taller. Healthier than anyone I had ever seen."
Rand nodded, looking down at the man. He was still shaking and murmuring. He was not looking at any of them or anything at all. His grey eyes were completely absent. Rand barely needed to even lean to touch the man - even when sitting, his head and shoulders were close to Rand's. Rand removed his thick black hair, in his hand feeling it very smooth, looking at his ears. "Pointy? He has pointy ears?"
"Yes." Verin said, looking at the other one. "I don't understand it either." His ears were not slightly pointed: rather both ears were noticeably longer than of any ordinary man. Not abnormaly so, but noticeably. "Maybe he was just born that way."
"If he was born at all." Mat added.
The Aes Sedai looked at him, visibly irritated, with Alanna biting her lip. "And why exactly are you questioning that?"
"Why? Oh, I have no idea. Maybe because he fell from the bloody sky?"
"Cauthon!"
"Stop!" That was all Rand needed to say to convince them. Shutting up an Aes Sedai or Mat was an impossible task sometimes.
"Moriñgotho." the man continued. "Moriñgotho."
"Is he speaking real words or is he just...stuttering?"
Like you, maybe? Lews Therin chuckled.
Verin did not answer immediately. She kept listening to him for a while. "Those are real words. But..."
"But what?"
"I don't know what language it is, Rand." she said bluntly. "And I don't think anyone in the world does."
"Moriñgotho. Moriñgotho."
"That word he is repeating." Aviendha said. "Maybe it is his name?"
Rand looked at the man again. He was repeating that word all the time, yes - but he did so with terror. It seemed like he said it always as quickly as possible, just to end it. "No. It's not a name. Not his at least."
"How do you know?"
"I do." Aviendha and the Maidens rumbled about "wetlanders" when he said that. He placed the hand on his shoulder, slightly shaking him. "Listen to me..."
"Moriñgotho. Moriñgotho." he said. "Morikotto. Morkotho?" He looked at them once, as if waiting to be corrected, but then continued... "Moringotto. Moriñgotho."
He's lost his mind, Rand thought. Is he a channeler? And yet somehow, Rand doubted that was the case.
"What do we do with him?" Mat asked. "He needs help."
"And what do you want us to do, Cauthon?"
"Heal him."
Verin scoffed. "From what? Have you heard what we said? There is nothing wrong with him."
"Light, woman, he is mad! Rumbling the same thing over and over again!"
"Morkotho. Moriñgotho. Morgotto? Morikotto."
"You can Heal him, can't you?"
Alanna was frustrated with Mat's tone, but she felt Rand's answer to that. Just try if you dare. She bit her lip. "One Power can heal all wounds of the body, Cauthon. All except death itself. That is true. But no one, not even in the Age of Legends, was ever able to heal any mental illness or insanity itself. That is impossible. At most the Compulsion can be reversed, but that is all."
Mat looked at him. "Rand?"
Rand just shook his head. Lews Therin remembered some type of Healing of the mind, but... It came from him, not the Creator. You are still mad, though.
Mat kept looking back at the man. "We can't just leave him."
"And what will we do, Mat?" Rand asked him, almost deciding to turn back. "We cannot help everyone." Curse me, but we cannot.
Davram Bashere looked at the man, then at Rand again. "With all due respect, Lord Dragon, everyone saw him fall from the sky. Not only that, but people have said they saw a bright falling star moments before he fell."
"And you think he is that star?" Of all people, Rand never expected Bashere to be superstituos.
"If the possibilities are that narrow?" he shrugged. "I honestly do."
Rand clicked his tongue. And they say male channelers are mad.
"Rand al'Thor." Aviendha said. "No one is lying here. We all saw the star falling."
"Suppose you are all right." He played with buttons on his sleeve. "Let us say there was a star that fell and he was there when it did. Doesn't mean at all he needs to be that star."
Alanna felt frustrated, Rand returning that emotion.
"Rand, look at him!" Mat pointed at the man. "Does he look like an ordinary man to you? And we are all telling you - he fell from the sky!"
"If you do not trust us," Aviendha said. "ask the others in the city."
"The Pattern, Rand." Verin said. "Whoever or whatever he is, the Pattern brought him here."
"And how do you know that?"
"How?" Verin scratched her chin. "Well, I am just an Aes Sedai, after all. However, I seem to remember people do not often fall from the sky."
Sky was filled with fire and ash, then. Lews Therin seemed to have gotten quite talkative at the moment. When I killed her. He started weeping. I killed my Ilyena.
"Moriñgotho."
"I cannot take care of him."
"Who said so?" Alanna commented. "Honestly, you would be the worst person for that, al'Thor."
Rand bit his tongue before answering back. If I don't want her being proud, I must be humble too.
"We will take care of him." Verin said. "We can..."
Rand cut her off with one short glance. "Mat?"
"Yes?"
"You will take care of him."
Cauthon reached his chest. "What?"
"Since you are so eager to help him. And you found him first."
He nodded. "So...I need to go find the princess and take care of this poor man. You want me to clean your toilet too?"
Alanna felt like an injustice was done to her when Rand let that pass. "He is safe with you too."
"This is absurd!" Verin said. "Rand al'Thor, we need him with us! Whatever he is saying must be properly translated."
"Fingolfin..." The man said, with a voice that was almost breaking. "Hanno! Hanno, apseni!"
"He is going where I said he is going - as far away from Aes Sedai as possible." He did not consider them deserving of even a look. "He is going with the Band of the Red Hand. I will not argue about this."
Even Sulin scoffed. "Rand al'Thor, don't you dare be that stupid!"
Davram Bashere just looked to the side during this argument. Insulting superiors was something only the Aiel considered acceptable, as it seemed. Rand continued with his own. "He goes with Matrim, Aes Sedai. My decision is final."
"If you do this, the White Tower will not be on good terms with you anymore. And you need us, Rand al'Thor."
They all stopped as the man stood up from his seat. Standing now almost a head taller than Rand, he gave a glance to each of them. Those grey eyes were deeper and older than the sea itself and the face, again, more timeless than the face of the Aes Sedai. He looked down on them all, then fixing his sight on Rand. He stared long enough for Lews Therin to start rumbling...and then go silent without any interferrence of Rand.
The man walked up to the window, looking over the city. Rand slowly approached him from behind, and the man turned back to him. "Here." he said abruptly.
Rand narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"Here." The man pointed towards the bottom, then to himself. "Here. Stay?" he said, again waiting to be corrected. "Here. Stay here."
"What, you want me to stay here?" The man started nodding, but when Rand pointed at himself, he shook it, then placing a hand on his chest. "No...you want to stay here?"
The man nodded. "Náto."
"I suppose that means yes." Rand said. "Very well. Do you want their help?" Rand pointed towards the Aes Sedai and tried to explains with his hands as best as possible.
The man slowly came to understand it. "No."
"No?"
"No know?" He shook his head. "No! Lá sí. Now not."
"Not now? You do not want their help at the moment? In this place or at the moment?"
"Náto."
"But maybe later?"
"Náto."
"Alright then." Rand said, offering his hand for a shake. "You may stay." Alanna felt like she will scream. The man looked at Rand's hand for a bit before eventually taking it and slowly shaking it. Light, he has a strong shake! he admitted. "Bashere?"
"My lord."
"Find some servants to help our friend. Get him a home or a room."
"At command, lord." he clasped, leaving the room to look for some servants.
When Rand turned, he saw them all staring at him, confused and frustrated, all except Verin. He had no intention to explain himself, not even to Aviendha and Mat. Verin, however, was staring at the man. "He just learned to speak the Common Tongue fluently...within minutes?"
Mat scratched his hand. "Uh...Verin Sedai, he simply babbled a few words."
"That he never heard before or understood." Verin looked towards Rand, expecting him to change his mind.
"He is not a rat you can experiment on." Rand said. "He said he doesn't want your help now. He will ask for it later."
She pursed her lips and closed her eyes. "Rand, please! He is important, whoever he is. We can help him..."
"He will ask for it when he needs it." Rand did not raise his voice and went to leave. "Mat, you come with me. You others can stay or go."
The women all wanted to burn him as it seemed, but he could not care less about it anymore. The room he led them to was Mat's temporary place while he was still in Caemlyn. Rand was not going to change his plans, despite the man's appearance. "Nice place." Rand said. "Not as warm as the Two Rivers, however."
"It is cozy, yes." Mat took a seat on his bed. "But I must admit I miss the Two Rivers."
Tam's gentle voice. The baaing of sheep. What did I do to deserve this? "Make haste slowly, Mat.” He started striding up and down. He never looked in Mat’s direction. He could feel sweat slicking his face, and his jaw was tight. "He has to see it coming. Everything depends on it.”
Mat started taking his boots off. "I know,” he said sourly. "I helped make the bloody plan, remember?”
That was a thing Mat would always say. He missed those days when the two of them, along with Perrin, would just live and rejoice. He found it, at he very least, good he met other people and loved other people after that. That was not encouraging, but it was comforting.
He started thinking of Aviendha then. Mat always had a way with women, he thought. How do you know you’re in love with a woman, Mat? he almost asked, but then brushed it off. Mat already had enough of burden on his own shoulders. Rand did not want to place his own upon him too. And...something pulled those words away from him.
He still did not stop his striding, and he dropped it in as if it fit what he had been saying. "I’ll finish Sammael, Mat. I promised that; I owe it to the dead. But where are the others? I need to finish them all. One at a time, though.” That was all he could do.
What did I do to deserve this?
"There are Dragonsworn in Murandy, Mat. In Altara, too. Men sworn to me. Once Illian is mine, Altara and Murandy will drop like ripe plums. I’ll make contact with the Dragonsworn in Tarabon - and in Arad Doman - and if the Whitecloaks try to keep me out of Amadicia, I’ll crush them. The Prophet has Ghealdan primed, and Amadicia almost, so I hear."
The Prophet. An old word. From an age long forgotten. Even Lews Therin mocked it from time to time. Men who heard voices in their heads, he would often say. So I am a prophet too, am I?
"Can you imagine Masema as the Prophet?" Unimportant question. "Saldaea will come to me; Bashere is sure of it. All the Borderlands will come. They have to! I am going to do it, Mat. Every land united before the Last Battle. I’m going to do it!” He hadn't noticed his voice had taken on a feverish tone.
"Sure, Rand.” Mat said slowly, depositing his other boot beside the first. “But one thing at a time, right?”
One thing at a time. There was a game like that. His voice started breaking. The game my children liked to play. I killed them. I killed them and my Ilyena.
Rand sighed. "No man should have another man’s voice in his head." he muttered. How long has Lews Therin been in there? Rand did not remember when was the first time he heard him. It seemed to him that it happened when Lanfear met him in Tear. That seemed to have triggered Lews Therin to come out. Since then, the Kinslayer just started speaking louder and louder. Very rarely did he say meaningful things. Just babbling about his wife and children, and friends long gone. From time to time, he would speak of creatures of old, or "Angels of Heaven" as he called them, begging them or the Creator for forgiveness. But otherwise, he was just babbling.
He's like us. Lews Therin said then. &He's like me. He killed.*
Who?
Those who were his family.
No. Who are you talking about?
I killed my Ilyena.
He sighed again. You are mad. Like Sammael was. "He can be gulled, Mat - Sammael always thinks in straight lines - but is there any opening he can slip through? If there’s any mistake, thousands will die. Tens of thousands. Hundreds will anyway, but I don’t want it to be thousands.” he said that more to himself than to Mat. Not even to Lews Therin - himself.
"But, what about him?" Mat asked, expecting Rand to know. "You really don't think he's a big thing?"
"Maybe." Rand said. "Maybe the Pattern or the Creator himself sent him as help or temptation." Then he narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe the Dark One himself sent him here. Maybe he is even one of the Forsaken." Lews Therin did not agree, however. "You see it makes sense, right Mat?"
Mat looked down at his boots. "Yes...I think I know what you mean. But...Light, what if he is an ally? You can't refuse help, you know?"
Lews Therin scoffed and, honestly, Rand would have too. He has been refusing "help" ever since killing Rahvin. "Don't worry about him, Mat. He is my burden now. What you need to do is stick to the plan."
"But, there is something off about this, Rand..."
"Don't worry about it." He insisted. "Just stick to the plan."
"That is all?" Mat expected something more. What is it? "That is all you have to say?"
"Yes. That's all." He opened the door, not even looking back. "Sleep, Mat. You'll need good rest tonight." Rand closed the door, continuing his way through the red corridor that was covered in light of only few torches. He made some light himself, weaving Fire and Air together. The Maidens were, at the moment, absent, and had left him alone there.
Two hundred and five. That is how many people had died when he fought Rahvin excluding Aviendha and Mat and who, unlike them, stayed dead. And Mangin...He was hanged this morning. I watched it. That was all he could do for him. The young Aiel was much like Mat, and had a great respect for Rand, wanting to protect his honor. He cursed Aiel honor three times when that happened. Aiel customs, Aiel culture and all of it. And he cursed Andoran stupidity, Andoran pride and Andoran carelessness. Lews Therin instead behaved practically and cursed them both. Wetlander, Andoran, Aiel...it's all the same. Bands of babbling idiots, both talking of honor, when they can't even agree what that word means.
How many more needed to die because of such pathetic views of honor? The Forsaken also wanted honor - honor and glory. Demandred, Sammael and Lanfear wanted it most of all. Did it make it any better? Lews Therin seemed to actually wonder about that.
He wondered again. He hated it. Hard as stone. I must be hard. Light, I must. The man can stay for now. If he is an ally, good. If he is an enemy, good - he knows how to handle him quickly. As easy as Rahvin.
He extinguished the lights, allowing sound and smell to lead him instead. He woke up the next day, still feeling tired.
2023.06.08 08:58 dannelbaratheon Of Dagor Dagorath - Two Kinslayers (Tolkien/Wheel of Time Crossover)
Chapter V
Two Kinslayers
"Has anything changed?"The man, if he could thought of as a man, was covered in black robes. He refused to wear anything else, murmuring in his foreign language at every word, move or sound of others.
"Is he any better?"
As good as us, Lews Therin said. He's a killer, like I am.
Shut up.
Alanna and Verin both inspected him. Looking up, Rand noticed Mat, Aviendha and the Maidens of the Spear were all terrified of him. The Aiel women did their best to hide it, but he still saw it in their faces.
"Moriñgotho." the man said. "Moriñgotho enutúlie." The word "Moriñgotho" was the one he kept repeating all the time.
"He is..." Verin said bewildered, staring at him still. "He is...fine. There is nothing wrong about him. His body is completely healthy. No scars, no wound...he is completely fine."
Alanna touched his head. "Light! It's the opposite. His body is stronger than any of us. He is in better shape than anyone I've ever seen."
"Eru apseni. Ilúvatar, apseni. "
"He is stronger. Taller. Healthier than anyone I had ever seen."
Rand nodded, looking down at the man. He was still shaking and murmuring. He was not looking at any of them or anything at all. His grey eyes were completely absent. Rand barely needed to even lean to touch the man - even when sitting, his head and shoulders were close to Rand's. Rand removed his thick black hair, in his hand feeling it very smooth, looking at his ears. "Pointy? He has pointy ears?"
"Yes." Verin said, looking at the other one. "I don't understand it either." His ears were not slightly pointed: rather both ears were noticeably longer than of any ordinary man. Not abnormaly so, but noticeably. "Maybe he was just born that way."
"If he was born at all." Mat added.
The Aes Sedai looked at him, visibly irritated, with Alanna biting her lip. "And why exactly are you questioning that?"
"Why? Oh, I have no idea. Maybe because he fell from the bloody sky?"
"Cauthon!"
"Stop!" That was all Rand needed to say to convince them. Shutting up an Aes Sedai or Mat was an impossible task sometimes.
"Moriñgotho." the man continued. "Moriñgotho."
"Is he speaking real words or is he just...stuttering?"
Like you, maybe? Lews Therin chuckled.
Verin did not answer immediately. She kept listening to him for a while. "Those are real words. But..."
"But what?"
"I don't know what language it is, Rand." she said bluntly. "And I don't think anyone in the world does."
"Moriñgotho. Moriñgotho."
"That word he is repeating." Aviendha said. "Maybe it is his name?"
Rand looked at the man again. He was repeating that word all the time, yes - but he did so with terror. It seemed like he said it always as quickly as possible, just to end it. "No. It's not a name. Not his at least."
"How do you know?"
"I do." Aviendha and the Maidens rumbled about "wetlanders" when he said that. He placed the hand on his shoulder, slightly shaking him. "Listen to me..."
"Moriñgotho. Moriñgotho." he said. "Morikotto. Morkotho?" He looked at them once, as if waiting to be corrected, but then continued... "Moringotto. Moriñgotho."
He's lost his mind, Rand thought. Is he a channeler? And yet somehow, Rand doubted that was the case.
"What do we do with him?" Mat asked. "He needs help."
"And what do you want us to do, Cauthon?"
"Heal him."
Verin scoffed. "From what? Have you heard what we said? There is nothing wrong with him."
"Light, woman, he is mad! Rumbling the same thing over and over again!"
"Morkotho. Moriñgotho. Morgotto? Morikotto."
"You can Heal him, can't you?"
Alanna was frustrated with Mat's tone, but she felt Rand's answer to that. Just try if you dare. She bit her lip. "One Power can heal all wounds of the body, Cauthon. All except death itself. That is true. But no one, not even in the Age of Legends, was ever able to heal any mental illness or insanity itself. That is impossible. At most the Compulsion can be reversed, but that is all."
Mat looked at him. "Rand?"
Rand just shook his head. Lews Therin remembered some type of Healing of the mind, but... It came from him, not the Creator. You are still mad, though.
Mat kept looking back at the man. "We can't just leave him."
"And what will we do, Mat?" Rand asked him, almost deciding to turn back. "We cannot help everyone." Curse me, but we cannot.
Davram Bashere looked at the man, then at Rand again. "With all due respect, Lord Dragon, everyone saw him fall from the sky. Not only that, but people have said they saw a bright falling star moments before he fell."
"And you think he is that star?" Of all people, Rand never expected Bashere to be superstituos.
"If the possibilities are that narrow?" he shrugged. "I honestly do."
Rand clicked his tongue. And they say male channelers are mad.
"Rand al'Thor." Aviendha said. "No one is lying here. We all saw the star falling."
"Suppose you are all right." He played with buttons on his sleeve. "Let us say there was a star that fell and he was there when it did. Doesn't mean at all he needs to be that star."
Alanna felt frustrated, Rand returning that emotion.
"Rand, look at him!" Mat pointed at the man. "Does he look like an ordinary man to you? And we are all telling you - he fell from the sky!"
"If you do not trust us," Aviendha said. "ask the others in the city."
"The Pattern, Rand." Verin said. "Whoever or whatever he is, the Pattern brought him here."
"And how do you know that?"
"How?" Verin scratched her chin. "Well, I am just an Aes Sedai, after all. However, I seem to remember people do not often fall from the sky."
Sky was filled with fire and ash, then. Lews Therin seemed to have gotten quite talkative at the moment. When I killed her. He started weeping. I killed my Ilyena.
"Moriñgotho."
"I cannot take care of him."
"Who said so?" Alanna commented. "Honestly, you would be the worst person for that, al'Thor."
Rand bit his tongue before answering back. If I don't want her being proud, I must be humble too.
"We will take care of him." Verin said. "We can..."
Rand cut her off with one short glance. "Mat?"
"Yes?"
"You will take care of him."
Cauthon reached his chest. "What?"
"Since you are so eager to help him. And you found him first."
He nodded. "So...I need to go find the princess and take care of this poor man. You want me to clean your toilet too?"
Alanna felt like an injustice was done to her when Rand let that pass. "He is safe with you too."
"This is absurd!" Verin said. "Rand al'Thor, we need him with us! Whatever he is saying must be properly translated."
"Fingolfin..." The man said, with a voice that was almost breaking. "Hanno! Hanno, apseni!"
"He is going where I said he is going - as far away from Aes Sedai as possible." He did not consider them deserving of even a look. "He is going with the Band of the Red Hand. I will not argue about this."
Even Sulin scoffed. "Rand al'Thor, don't you dare be that stupid!"
Davram Bashere just looked to the side during this argument. Insulting superiors was something only the Aiel considered acceptable, as it seemed. Rand continued with his own. "He goes with Matrim, Aes Sedai. My decision is final."
"If you do this, the White Tower will not be on good terms with you anymore. And you need us, Rand al'Thor."
They all stopped as the man stood up from his seat. Standing now almost a head taller than Rand, he gave a glance to each of them. Those grey eyes were deeper and older than the sea itself and the face, again, more timeless than the face of the Aes Sedai. He looked down on them all, then fixing his sight on Rand. He stared long enough for Lews Therin to start rumbling...and then go silent without any interferrence of Rand.
The man walked up to the window, looking over the city. Rand slowly approached him from behind, and the man turned back to him. "Here." he said abruptly.
Rand narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"Here." The man pointed towards the bottom, then to himself. "Here. Stay?" he said, again waiting to be corrected. "Here. Stay here."
"What, you want me to stay here?" The man started nodding, but when Rand pointed at himself, he shook it, then placing a hand on his chest. "No...you want to stay here?"
The man nodded. "Náto."
"I suppose that means yes." Rand said. "Very well. Do you want their help?" Rand pointed towards the Aes Sedai and tried to explains with his hands as best as possible.
The man slowly came to understand it. "No."
"No?"
"No know?" He shook his head. "No! Lá sí. Now not."
"Not now? You do not want their help at the moment? In this place or at the moment?"
"Náto."
"But maybe later?"
"Náto."
"Alright then." Rand said, offering his hand for a shake. "You may stay." Alanna felt like she will scream. The man looked at Rand's hand for a bit before eventually taking it and slowly shaking it. Light, he has a strong shake! he admitted. "Bashere?"
"My lord."
"Find some servants to help our friend. Get him a home or a room."
"At command, lord." he clasped, leaving the room to look for some servants.
When Rand turned, he saw them all staring at him, confused and frustrated, all except Verin. He had no intention to explain himself, not even to Aviendha and Mat. Verin, however, was staring at the man. "He just learned to speak the Common Tongue fluently...within minutes?"
Mat scratched his hand. "Uh...Verin Sedai, he simply babbled a few words."
"That he never heard before or understood." Verin looked towards Rand, expecting him to change his mind.
"He is not a rat you can experiment on." Rand said. "He said he doesn't want your help now. He will ask for it later."
She pursed her lips and closed her eyes. "Rand, please! He is important, whoever he is. We can help him..."
"He will ask for it when he needs it." Rand did not raise his voice and went to leave. "Mat, you come with me. You others can stay or go."
The women all wanted to burn him as it seemed, but he could not care less about it anymore. The room he led them to was Mat's temporary place while he was still in Caemlyn. Rand was not going to change his plans, despite the man's appearance. "Nice place." Rand said. "Not as warm as the Two Rivers, however."
"It is cozy, yes." Mat took a seat on his bed. "But I must admit I miss the Two Rivers."
Tam's gentle voice. The baaing of sheep. What did I do to deserve this? "Make haste slowly, Mat.” He started striding up and down. He never looked in Mat’s direction. He could feel sweat slicking his face, and his jaw was tight. "He has to see it coming. Everything depends on it.”
Mat started taking his boots off. "I know,” he said sourly. "I helped make the bloody plan, remember?”
That was a thing Mat would always say. He missed those days when the two of them, along with Perrin, would just live and rejoice. He found it, at he very least, good he met other people and loved other people after that. That was not encouraging, but it was comforting.
He started thinking of Aviendha then. Mat always had a way with women, he thought. How do you know you’re in love with a woman, Mat? he almost asked, but then brushed it off. Mat already had enough of burden on his own shoulders. Rand did not want to place his own upon him too. And...something pulled those words away from him.
He still did not stop his striding, and he dropped it in as if it fit what he had been saying. "I’ll finish Sammael, Mat. I promised that; I owe it to the dead. But where are the others? I need to finish them all. One at a time, though.” That was all he could do.
What did I do to deserve this?
"There are Dragonsworn in Murandy, Mat. In Altara, too. Men sworn to me. Once Illian is mine, Altara and Murandy will drop like ripe plums. I’ll make contact with the Dragonsworn in Tarabon - and in Arad Doman - and if the Whitecloaks try to keep me out of Amadicia, I’ll crush them. The Prophet has Ghealdan primed, and Amadicia almost, so I hear."
The Prophet. An old word. From an age long forgotten. Even Lews Therin mocked it from time to time. Men who heard voices in their heads, he would often say. So I am a prophet too, am I?
"Can you imagine Masema as the Prophet?" Unimportant question. "Saldaea will come to me; Bashere is sure of it. All the Borderlands will come. They have to! I am going to do it, Mat. Every land united before the Last Battle. I’m going to do it!” He hadn't noticed his voice had taken on a feverish tone.
"Sure, Rand.” Mat said slowly, depositing his other boot beside the first. “But one thing at a time, right?”
One thing at a time. There was a game like that. His voice started breaking. The game my children liked to play. I killed them. I killed them and my Ilyena.
Rand sighed. "No man should have another man’s voice in his head." he muttered. How long has Lews Therin been in there? Rand did not remember when was the first time he heard him. It seemed to him that it happened when Lanfear met him in Tear. That seemed to have triggered Lews Therin to come out. Since then, the Kinslayer just started speaking louder and louder. Very rarely did he say meaningful things. Just babbling about his wife and children, and friends long gone. From time to time, he would speak of creatures of old, or "Angels of Heaven" as he called them, begging them or the Creator for forgiveness. But otherwise, he was just babbling.
He's like us. Lews Therin said then. &He's like me. He killed.*
Who?
Those who were his family.
No. Who are you talking about?
I killed my Ilyena.
He sighed again. You are mad. Like Sammael was. "He can be gulled, Mat - Sammael always thinks in straight lines - but is there any opening he can slip through? If there’s any mistake, thousands will die. Tens of thousands. Hundreds will anyway, but I don’t want it to be thousands.” he said that more to himself than to Mat. Not even to Lews Therin - himself.
"But, what about him?" Mat asked, expecting Rand to know. "You really don't think he's a big thing?"
"Maybe." Rand said. "Maybe the Pattern or the Creator himself sent him as help or temptation." Then he narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe the Dark One himself sent him here. Maybe he is even one of the Forsaken." Lews Therin did not agree, however. "You see it makes sense, right Mat?"
Mat looked down at his boots. "Yes...I think I know what you mean. But...Light, what if he is an ally? You can't refuse help, you know?"
Lews Therin scoffed and, honestly, Rand would have too. He has been refusing "help" ever since killing Rahvin. "Don't worry about him, Mat. He is my burden now. What you need to do is stick to the plan."
"But, there is something off about this, Rand..."
"Don't worry about it." He insisted. "Just stick to the plan."
"That is all?" Mat expected something more. What is it? "That is all you have to say?"
"Yes. That's all." He opened the door, not even looking back. "Sleep, Mat. You'll need good rest tonight." Rand closed the door, continuing his way through the red corridor that was covered in light of only few torches. He made some light himself, weaving Fire and Air together. The Maidens were, at the moment, absent, and had left him alone there.
Two hundred and five. That is how many people had died when he fought Rahvin excluding Aviendha and Mat and who, unlike them, stayed dead. And Mangin...He was hanged this morning. I watched it. That was all he could do for him. The young Aiel was much like Mat, and had a great respect for Rand, wanting to protect his honor. He cursed Aiel honor three times when that happened. Aiel customs, Aiel culture and all of it. And he cursed Andoran stupidity, Andoran pride and Andoran carelessness. Lews Therin instead behaved practically and cursed them both. Wetlander, Andoran, Aiel...it's all the same. Bands of babbling idiots, both talking of honor, when they can't even agree what that word means.
How many more needed to die because of such pathetic views of honor? The Forsaken also wanted honor - honor and glory. Demandred, Sammael and Lanfear wanted it most of all. Did it make it any better? Lews Therin seemed to actually wonder about that.
He wondered again. He hated it. Hard as stone. I must be hard. Light, I must. The man can stay for now. If he is an ally, good. If he is an enemy, good - he knows how to handle him quickly. As easy as Rahvin.
He extinguished the lights, allowing sound and smell to lead him instead. He woke up the next day, still feeling tired.
2023.06.08 08:46 trip2history Ardeshir Palace
 | This #ancient building was built by #Ardeshir #Babakan, the founder of the #Sassanid #dynasty, and it is considered one of the first Sassanid #architectural works, located next to a village called #Atashkadeh. Ardeshir Palace is regarded as the most critical and substantial #historical #monument of #Firozabad, located 2Km from Firozabad #city of #Fars, and it is built with stone rubble and plaster mortar. Ardeshir Babkan built this #palace near the entrance of #Tangab next toa big spring, considered the first Sassanid vaulted building. This palace has inner halls, and after 1800 years, the plastering of the upper part of its inner walls has remained intact. On the #eastern side of the palace, there are four large #dome-shaped buildings; these domes are raised by #elephants, similar to what can be seen in #Dokhtar #Castle (Ardeshir castle). A part of the tip of the roof of the domes is open in a circular shape with a diameter of one meter. On the #northern side, outside the palace wall, a spring is also bubbling up from the soil, and a natural pool has appeared in front of this spring. A river passes by the eastern wall of the palace, which was the foundation for the development of the city of #Gore and the Sassanid Palace. A little above the court, there is a #bonfire for holding #religious #rituals. The four natural elements of water, wind, earth, and fire have given this region special prominence. Some believe this building was not a palace but a fire temple. The reason for their belief is the beliefs of the #Mehr religion, according to which every important building built by the water was a place to #pray to the #goddess #Anahita and #Mehr. The late Hassan #Pirnia,or the famous Moshir al-Dawlah, wrote about this building: “Firozabad or Barin fire pit (224 AD) is one of the other important buildings of this period. Western #Iranologists are trying to consider it as Ardeshir Palace, but it seems like it needs to be clarified, and a palace must have some spaces, which this building does not have. The # vital point in this fire temple is various #architectural #techniques. The materials and construction of that canvas were natural, like dead stones stacked on each other. Until now, this fire temple is the largest building of rubble stone that has been built. The #arch and dome have been used to cover it’s different spaces. After the Baze Hor building, the second dome (on the quadrangular surface) was seen in this building, which was also the largest dome of its time. The cornering of the domes is (#tarnabeh). After that, in the #daughter castle of this area, the cornering of Skanj has been done. According to #Istakhari, the three spaces of the dome were the place of the three holy fires. The middle dome is on a complete #octagon, but the two side domes are built on a #hexagon surrounded by a #square, and it is also called a cambium dome. Another important point is the construction of #Khishkhan (Bad Parva or Bad Pich), built for airflow inside the walls. The same method is also used in #Gonabad in the east of #Khorasan. It is important among other #ancient #monuments around this palace, we can mention the #kitchen building behind the #court, tell #Naqarkhane near the palace, #Hassan #Abad #Castle, and other ancient villages. Also, the structure of #Imamzadeh #Jafar in the area of the #old city, which remains from the #Ilkhani period, or very interesting #tombstones, one of which has a date of 741 AH. submitted by trip2history to u/trip2history [link] [comments] |
2023.06.08 08:16 BruteSentiment Daily Minors Quick-Notes 6/7/23 - Whisenhunt Dominates and Bednar Returns
 | Carson Whisenhunt made his Double-A debut, and it was more of the same that he had been handing out all season. And the Giants 2021 1st round pick Will Bednar made his first appearance in a game in nearly a year, which is good news for the Giants. And in a shortened day, Luis Matos hit his second home run in Sacramento. submitted by BruteSentiment to SFGiants [link] [comments] AAA: Las Vegas 8, Sacramento 5Linkhttps://preview.redd.it/vyf1lu5wkq4b1.jpg?width=2496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e39be3fe2ed24fbe72668649ba1d89450f272cf Sacramento Notes:
AA: Richmond 6, Altona 1Linkhttps://preview.redd.it/ebjzf8swkq4b1.jpg?width=2496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ab79aa2ed42fc035e373a00e3055e0b6db2003f Richmond Notes:
High-A: Tri-City 10, Eugene 2Linkhttps://preview.redd.it/tvmfjahxkq4b1.jpg?width=2496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3a89388503ff32a67ef736ec9cdf36e418b50c9 Eugene Notes:
Low-A: San Jose 4, Visalia 3Linkhttps://preview.redd.it/6j36o65ykq4b1.jpg?width=2496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f3e25594ce574beddf8aabed892f7e3bbcf196dc San Jose Notes:
ACL Black: Scheduled Day OffACL: ACL Angels 12, ACL Giants Orange 0Linkhttps://preview.redd.it/vc8s3sbzkq4b1.jpg?width=2496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41d8f5feaf25f4adde9502cc3a9fbb1a7e826dbb ACL Giants Orange Notes:
DSL: Scheduled Day Off |
2023.06.08 08:09 smartworldgurugram Smart World Floors Gurgaon Build To Provide Good Projects
 | submitted by smartworldgurugram to u/smartworldgurugram [link] [comments] Smart World Floors Gurgaon When working in a city for our future, we must have a home or property to earn side by side. In the town, only a few Builders can give you top projects. Smart World Floors Gurgaon is the one that offers you immense space in the project. Also, at our property, you will get a playground area to get fit and play your fav sports. For the citizens of India, we want to build beautiful and reliable projects. At the project space, you will get a good area for a Lavish green garden. All of our property will give you complete authority to access the projects. In our commercial projects, we give you top-quality retail shops so that you can set up your new business. All of our residential projects will provide top-class homes also. You will get good restaurants with the best views in Smart World Floors Gurgaon projects. For the customers, we provide prime quality security guards. Above all, you will be safe with our top technical equipped securities in our projects. Details about the Smart World DevelopersIf you want a property with top-class design, consider Smart World Developers. We are the most demanding in the city for our exceptional work on the buildings. We are developing prime properties for clients to get good value for their properties. During the time of construction, we check on all the faults and work according to our strategy.Smart World Developers: Fantastic Amenities
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In conclusionFor a better future, you need to buy good properties. Smart World Developers Projects is the one that has incredible deals for properties. You can get a property from them with a high value. Also, you can get our properties with the HA scheme at a low price. |
2023.06.08 08:07 Travel2Agent1 Unveiling Enchanting Thailand Tour Packages
 | Thailand, the Land of Smiles, is a captivating destination that entices travelers with its vibrant culture, stunning landscapes, ancient temples, and mouthwatering cuisine. A Thailand tour is a gateway to a world filled with diverse experiences, from bustling city streets to tranquil island beaches and lush jungles. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a seasoned explorer, Thailand offers an array of tour packages that cater to every traveler's preferences. In this blog post, we'll delve into the enchanting world of Thailand tour packages and guide you through the must-visit destinations and exciting activities to make your trip truly memorable. submitted by Travel2Agent1 to u/Travel2Agent1 [link] [comments]
https://preview.redd.it/3rcw2d5fjq4b1.png?width=1380&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf70fca6a32c3ae9d85b1c9f119e58c497887b4a
Conclusion Thailand tour packages offer an incredible opportunity to explore this captivating destination, known for its warm hospitality, rich cultural heritage, and breathtaking natural beauty. From the bustling streets of Bangkok to the serene temples of Chiang Mai and the tropical paradise of Phuket and Krabi, Thailand has something to offer every traveler. Embark on a journey to Thailand and immerse yourself in its vibrant culture, savor its delectable cuisine, and create unforgettable memories. Whether you're seeking adventure, relaxation, or cultural exploration, Thailand tour packages are your ticket to an extraordinary travel experience. So, pack your bags and get ready to embark on an enchanting journey through the Land of Smiles! |