Sorry @Happyboy, I disagree with "Survivor Guilt".
****Disclaimer:****
****I in no way implythat the original article is a bad article, or that Happyboy is a bad writer, or that he is ignorant or whatever! (I'm one of his sponsors for a reason!)****
This will not be universally appreciated!
Ah heck, this will not win me any friends... again... but I feel I have to chime in here to put perspective diversity into practice. I do so hoping that the desire for diversity works both ways, but knowing it doesn't and that I'll have to make due knowing this will be only a practical example that is easily referenced.
This was supposed to be a quick reply to another article.
I've started this article as a reply to an article by @HappyBoy, which you can read here. I want to thank @HappyBoyfor writing it and apologize for having a different opinion and view. https://read.cash/@HappyBoy/survivor-guilt-212c3dcd
DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE BEFORE YOU HAVE READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE AND CLICKED THUMBS UP! https://read.cash/@HappyBoy/survivor-guilt-212c3dcd
So replying to the article, I'll start with the examples.
In the first example, the one with survival guilt could have chosen a different approach, choosing to take it as an opportunity. As soon as the grades came in, the educator's attention could have been drawn and could be informed of the improbability of one in the group getting a high passing grade for the same thing, the others didn't get a good grade for.
One example of a reaction:
A single remark within earshot of the educator like, "Wait, this can't be right. The work I've submitted does not differ from that of them, so my grade should show equally little difference." should pre-empt the entire described situation.
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Regardless.
Even without that, there is absolutely no reason for acting the way described in the first example. The responsibility for checking and grading lies fully with the educator, so if any of the friends would have let that grade change their view of and behavior towards the individual with the high grade negatively it would have shown that it might have been high time the desirability of that friend or friend friendship was re-evaluated.
Friends
A friend will be happy for the high grade, and then try to work out together where the difference in grades could have come from.
The described feeling of guilt is entirely misplaced, but even disregarding that the described incident should never have gained such prominence and importance.
Even barring that, the notion that conscious thought must be given to how one should react towards friends does not square with the notion of friendship. One does not think about such things concerning friends.
One is who and how one is with friends because friends do not let their reactions and behavior change because of the reactions or behavior of that friend.
Foundational truth
This is a foundational truth in friendship, but to a certain extent in life, it is seldom good to allow your reactions and behavior to depend on that of others. You should always react and behave the way you are and only allow the nature of whatever is being reacted to or requires a behavior different from your instinctive natural one.
If those reactions and that behavior spark negative behavior or reactions, those reacting and behaving negatively should be kept out of one's social circle, and interactions with such individuals or groups should be kept to a minimum.
It was the second example that made me reply
The second example triggered me to stay in the theme's terminology. Let me state the most pressing "exclamation that will not allow itself not to be exclaimed" first and then move on to the specific addressing of the second example's content.
By not acknowledging, accepting, and appreciating the opportunity that surviving not only offers but comprises, the deaths of those that did not survive are cheapened. By allowing it, or using it, to be a source of negative influences or even damage, not just the deaths are cheapened, but the memories and the very lives of those that died are soiled and insulted.
If surviving is to have any influence on one's behavior and life (which it shouldn't) then it should be by instilling in the survivor the sense that the continued life one gets to live has gained more significance, and to make it the best life one can make it in honor of those who do not get to live one.
things standing out in my mind
When I think about this, two things stand out in my mind. One of them is the story my dad told me and the other is one of the darkest events I have experienced in my life. I will bore you with them in the hope of providing some context through which you might understand how and why I feel about this the way I do.
First my dad's story. It is a story he told me only once, the one rare time that he ever opened up to me (and I think he never did so to anyone else, ever) about the Korean war.
Background for context.
My dad was a teenager during the second world war. He was 13 when the Germans invaded our country and he was 18 when the country was finally liberated. Besides some small measure of resistance, he felt he could do "his part" in the war's fighting.
He was the oldest son
His responsibility to his mother, father, brother, and sisters as the oldest son kept him from joining the "Engelandvaarders" as they were called. Those who crossed the North Sea to the UK to join the divisions of international armed forces and fight "de Moffen" until Europe was liberated.
Instead, he kept up his education and did all he could to keep his family safe and fed throughout the war but especially during the "Hongerwinter 44/45" a harsh and cold winter in which the Germans took everything edible or had value from the local population to survive and to be used in the German war effort.
For many Germans, that war effort consisted of staying alive and getting back to Germany for the "Verteidigung der Heimat" or the defense of the homeland.
This left the Dutch part of the country that hadn't been liberated, which was the half above the rivers de Rijn and the Waal, with nothing to eat.
Famine
The famine was so bad that my dad told me he and his brother went on savaging treks, on foot, walking over 50 kilometers each time, two or three times per week just to come home with only 2, 3 potatoes and half a loaf of terrible bread. It is well known that many people subsisted on flower bulbs during that winter.
Honoring those who gave their lives for our freedom.
So when the war was over, my dad joined the army and became a career soldier with the corps of commando troops. When the Korean war started, he was one of the first to volunteer and shipped out to fight for democracy and freedom, but for him, it was also to honor those who'd died liberating our country and fighting the Nazis.
Three years!
He served in Korea from early after the landing at Inchon in September/November 1950 until the very end of the fighting on July 27th, 1953.
Never spoke about it, except for that one time.
He only talked to me once about what he experienced there and I'll spare you most of it. It was horrible with winters that had temperatures of -20 to -30 degrees Celsius and summers with 35 to 40+ degrees Celsius and every ghastly thing that you can imagine a soldier in a war back then could experience. He told me about the fear which made him shit his pants when the big Chinese counteroffensive started. He also told me about "Korean baked eggs" (eggs baked on the hood of a jeep).
The one-story that relates to the article @HappyBoy wrote.
The story I want to talk about that relates to the article is the one about the last day of the fighting before the cease-fire went into effect.
It was July 25th, 1953 and he, as well as a few other brothers in his unit that had served throughout their tours of duty with him in that unit, had gotten their orders to return to the Netherlands and that their service was over. As a Sergeant, he was to go to some regional command post or center to get the documents and practical instructions for those going home and make sure everything was in order.
Travel agent
He went off in a Jeep in the morning while the rest of the unit went on patrol, including those who'd be going home the next day. When he got back with the documents, the unit had not returned, nor had anyone heard from them since the radio message. The unit was checking out some movement and sounds where there weren't supposed to be any.
Finding them
When another unit was sent out to find his unit, he joined them, and close to the place, their radio message had said they were going to investigate the unit was found. They'd been ambushed. Not a single one of them had survived the ambush despite having put up a heroic resistance.
This resistance was evidenced by the spent bullet casings and the little to no ammunition left on the units' bodies. My dad, instead of going home with his brothers, took care of the arrangements for their bodies, their belongings and wrote a letter to each of their families.
Then he made the > three-week journey home alone.
He never, to my knowledge, never felt he didn't deserve to survive, never felt guilt or trouble with adjusting to his new life as a husband and father of three. He got no support or even shown any concern by colleagues, friends or family.
*"Wat er gebeurde was gebeurd, en huilen of je eigen leven er kapot aan laten gaan veranderd daar niks aan. Het enige dat je kan doen om de dooien te eren is te zorgen dat de kans die je hebt gekregen niet te verkloten, en het beste te maken van dat leven dat jij wel mag leven en zij niet"*
Those were his literal words about it. To prevent my interpretation from coloring the translation, I've chosen to use the online translator to put it into English.
*"What happened had happened, and crying or destroying your own life doesn't change that. The only thing you can do to honor the thaws is to make sure that the opportunity you've been given isn't wasted, and make the best of that life that you can live and they can't."*
***(thaws is what the translator made of the word "dooien" which means the dead)***
The other story I want to offer as context
My experience I want to share in this context is much more recent and much less… heroic? When I was 30, in 2004, I had somehow shifted from one social circle, or group of friends, to another one. The main reason was that the old gang mostly had all more or less stopped going out and partying while me and one friend of that old gang didn't. I worked very hard, and long hours (averaging 70-80 hours a week) making a very comfortable salary. Being alone and living cheaply allowed me to work hard/play hard, as they say, so we simply made new friends partying each weekend.
Changing social circle.
That new group with which I spent my weekends was markedly different from the first group in that most of them lived in different cities and villages than me and my other buddy. Some even lived across the border in a different country. This wasn't a problem because I had a company car, and the company had provided me with a pass for fuel that cost me nothing.
Play as hard as you work
So every weekend some of the group went out on Saturday, either to a club or to a large party, and afterward, on Sunday morning around 05:00, some of us went to pick up a buddy of mine who worked as a DJ in a club in Breda who was done working at around 06:00. We then would go to a club, often called an "after club" that opened at 07:00 in the morning and was open until 17:00 and partied there. When we were done, I usually brought four of our group home before going back home myself and crash until Monday morning at 05:30 when I had to get up to go to work. This became routine so much it was almost some sort of ritual.
There was one weekend that was different.
On July 9th there was an occasion at work that merited a company party-ish thing. I forgot what that occasion was, and afterward, every employee was gifted a bottle of whiskey. The next day, I and a buddy of mine decided we needed to subject the Whiskey to a tasting, which ended up emptying the bottle within an hour or three.
Being drunk past tipsy without being useless completely when the time came to go pick up those of our group that normally rode with me to where ever we were going I called up the only other one in our group that had a license and a car but usually rode with us in my car and told her I was not in a state to drive that weekend. I told her I'd pay for the fuel and parking but she needed to drive us that weekend if we were to be going anywhere. I even told her we could take my car if she preferred. She didn't and readily agreed to pick us up and drive us that weekend.
Free!!!
Not being the one tasked with getting us where we were going and back that time felt something like having a shackle taken off or something, and I took the opportunity to get wasted that weekend.
Besides that, the weekend wasn't particularly extraordinary. We went to a party in Amsterdam (I think it was Sensation Black in the Amsterdam Arena) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensation_
This is footage of that night:
https://youtu.be/ntfK_w-ol-8
A better quality overview of the party:
https://youtu.be/qIjApfldoos
Other than on most weekends my buddy Koen had taken the weekend off from DJ-ing so we didn't have to pick him up on Sunday morning, so we stayed till the end (around 08:00 or 09:00) before driving back to the south of the Netherlands and deciding to keep driving to Limburg, to go to the Limburg love parade as afterparty.
The last thing I can remember is reluctantly calling the weekend over and getting into the car in the back seat, waving at some Gabbers as we drove off. I still don't know what happened after that.
I woke up with a headache and a sore left foot, lying halfway in a ditch in the pitch dark. All I could see was small debris, which took a couple of seconds before recognizing were parts of the car.
After slowly getting up, the first responders, two police cars, pulled up on the road and the cops got out, shining their flashlights left right. I remember being annoyed by their bright lights flashing in my eyes.
Then I saw one of the…clumps of metal that were 20 meters away and the only reason I recognized it as the part of our car in which everybody sat was the oddly untouched Ruffneck logo that was on the right side back passenger door. I walked over, or stumbled really, and when I looked inside… http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ShaP4XuAo48/maxresdefault.jpg
Something broke.
I sat down beside it in a daze not responding to the police or the medics, nor do I remember anything, before some time later, sitting in a waiting room alone the next day, waiting to be picked up from the police station by a colleague of mine.
I remember that we almost got into a fight because I wanted to go into the office and get to work, and he would let me tell me to go to bed and that he didn't want to see me at the office for at least a week.
He won, and I spent that week lying on the couch, going to 4 memorials and funerals and feeling nothing, thinking nothing, and saying nothing. I was aware of everything, saw everything, nodded, shook hands, and gave hugs at the times, but I just didn't have any thoughts and just couldn't find anything to say.
Physically going through the motions
The next Monday I went to work and worked a full week clocking 60 hours or something. On Saturday we had our memorial (ours was…different, and probably not going to be appreciated by family, like mothers, grandmothers, and so on. That's why we had it that weekend for all the friends in the group).
Snapping back
It was at that memorial that I… how shall I call it…came out of what felt like one moment, in which I had been suspended while the rest of the world moved through normal time around me. It felt as I'd been frozen at the moment i looked inside the wreckage, and I snapped back to normal time and space at the memorial when they played Irene's favorite track "Therapia".
https://youtu.be/zw2B-9JVC-8?t=272
`(The track Therapia is the 2nd one at 4m 32s)`
I danced, I cried, I remembered. And I promised I would never stop being a Gabber, and party at least once a year "with them" to celebrate their lives, instead of mourning their deaths. I've gone on living my life after that, working hard and playing hard every weekend until 2008 when I met my ex-wife. My son was born in July 2009 and then I became a single Daddy in December 2010.
Since then I've stopped partying every weekend but I kept my promise to my friends and went to a Hardcore Party at least once a year and at most twice a year. At least I did so except for the past 2 years because of Covid. Next weekend It will be the first time in two years that I get to keep my promise, as well as celebrate my birthday, going to Masters Of Hardcore Magnum opus 2020.
I never felt guilt. I never felt I didn't deserve to live… at least not because of that.
I know what they would want me to do.
One of my friends I knew better than she knew herself. I also knew the others pretty well. They wouldn't want my life to be affected by their deaths. I know they'd want me to have the best life I could have, and that they'd "Be with me " at every party dancing right there beside me all night.
Irene's words
It's something I've talked with Irene about and she specifically told me more than once. I distinctly remember word for word what she said to me:
*"Je weet toch, ik ga altijd met jouw mee, als je naar een party gaat. Zelfs als ik dood ben en jij niet. Wij hakken zij aan zij en gaan door tot we de enigste zijn die overblijven. Jij en ik voor altijd man, gabbers voor altijd."*
I've let the translator translate it to keep it accurate and not have my interpretation influence it:
*"You know, I'll always go with you when you go to a party. Even if I'm dead and you're not. We chop side by side and continue until we are the only ones left. You and I forever man, gabbers forever."*
Experimental expert
So I believe I can say that when it comes to surviving, I have some insight and can provide insight on the topic as an experiential expert. People survive things that others don't survive all the time. Most of them don't experience the things your article writes about and live their lives without problems. Speaking as if it's normal for survivors to have nightmares, spontaneous crying, depression, to need professional help and therapy is wrong.
In my opinion of course.
It's creating the notion that if you don't struggle with "survival guilt" you're an uncaring hardass, not normal somehow, or that "you're not dealing with it". Those are the exceptions and, I suspect, have underlying issues of which this is a symptom.
In this article, among the way too many others, I read that the acceptance and praise for "mental vulnerability" in today's society have gone completely off the rails. The revelation that someone is struggling with something mentally and is showing behavior and doing things that are detrimental to themselves is received as something of a joyous occasion and wonderful to be praised and referenced as an example.
People should have victim counseling after they experience a crime, calling someone ugly can lead to suicide, Bullying must be eradicated, people get scarred from passive aggression, there is something called passive-aggressive, overweight people should be protected from shaming, and soldiers should get psychiatric aftercare after experiencing combat...
I remember the words of my dad about returning from 3 years of all-out war in Korea:
*"Toen wij terug kwamen uit Korea na drie jaar in een oorlog te hebben gevochten. Wij kregen wij ook nazorg. We kregen 25 gulden voor in de kroeg. Ik ken geen enkele veteraan die psychologische problemen heb gehad!"*
which the translator translates to:
*"When we came back from Korea after three years of fighting in a war. We also received aftercare. We got 25 guilders for in the pub. I don't know a single veteran who has had psychological problems!"*
So concluding and wrapping this up...
Of course, it is terrible for someone who's struggling with how to process surviving something where others didn't. But not everyone that survives something has psychological problems. Most people do not, and live on after they've mourned for those who died. Humans have done so for tens of thousands of years. Don't think there is something wrong with you if you don't need therapy or psychologists, or that you're not caring enough.
Thanks!
I want to thank @HappyBoy again for the original article.
As always
Thanks for reading this.
Stay safe and stay happy.
@AnonSunamun
Don't read this, it's going to make you dislike me!
This article is about being angry and disgusted with myself, and then rationalizing the thing that angered and disgusts me until I'm okay with what I'm angry with myself for...
And before you ask, I do not know why I then wrote it into an article and post it for the world to read. Really, I don't have a clue, I just know I need to, I guess...
What this is all about? Well, I will try to explain.
Usually, I am one of those people that can overlook a lot of less than admirable things I do, think or feel. I usually do this while condemning and judging other people for doing the same thing, and it's very rare for me to get in a state of mind in which I'm honest with myself and kick my ass, so to speak.
`Oh, by the way, don't miss out on great content! My sponsors are awesome and you don't want to be the only one not having checked them out. (wink)`
Very rare doesn't mean it never happens, and it did happen.
Today, however, is one of those rare exceptions where almost immediately after thinking something, and exclaiming about it out loud even though I was alone, I felt disgusted with myself for thinking and saying what I did. And the worst thing of it all is that I genuinely felt like what I thought and said. It wasn't like I thought and said it jokingly or sarcastically.
Enough with the cryptic descriptions! Stop avoiding to say what you thought!!
you're probably thinking "Okay numbnuts, quit stretching it and throw it out there already! What is it you were thinking and saying." and I can't blame you. It's not like I'm stalling to stretch this article but I'm simply even at this moment reluctant to put it into writing and there's a real chance that all this isn't going to be up for everyone to read. Wouldn't be the first time is spent hours on an article only to decide to press CTRL-A and then DEL.
But okay, writing a piece about this without coming clean and telling you what it exactly is.
Well, here goes.
`This is a literal quote translated from my thoughts which tend to be in Dutch with a Brabantian accent, and English with an American one mixed together:`
*"Damngod, for the first time in two frikking years I get to celebrate my birthday at the Masters of Hardcore event and that's the time Putin decides to go into an all-out war, killing innocent civilians by the thousands, while the west shows how hypocritical and sickeningly self-centered they are. Everyone's feeling sorry for the Ukrainians but nobody spares even a single thought for me."*
😧WTF?!
Yes, my reaction was the same as yours. I actually was open-mouthed shocked and held my hand in front of my mouth as if afraid flies would fly into it. Especially when I realized that one of the things that were pissing me off was the West's self-centeredness.
But as shocked as I was, it didn't diminish the feeling of being pissed at a war infringing on my birthday celebration and enjoying Masters of Hardcore (This edition is still called the "Magnum Opus 25 year anniversary edition 2020" as the 2020 and 2021 editions were CovidCancelled.). It didn't take away the annoyance that the low-income part of our society is going to be the ones that are going to bear the consequences of the western governments' hypocritical way of dealing with Putin's middle finger to the EU and US. Sure, sanction this, a sanction that, freeze funds here and freeze other assets there. In the meantime inflation is skyrocketing out of control, Natural gas prices have more than doubled and the first couple of energy companies have gone bankrupt already.
Arguing with... myself?!
I actually ended up in a heated discussion with myself (what we call "Bekvechten") like I was having a psychotic episode or an MPS breakdown or something. I know it sounds stupid but it is no less a fact that I've got at least two totally opposing positions about the whole Russia-Ukrain war. And when I really think through the whole issue, and the consequences and potential consequences I have to conclude that there is more than one opposing view within my brain. How stupid is that?
And here starts the rationalizing by thinking it through to irrationality and beyond.
You see one very strongly held view I have is that the West should have, and still should, put in... I mean IT's money where its mouth was concerning Ukraine's membership in NATO. It's been dangling Nato membership in front of the Ukrainians for years now, with statements that "the doors are opened to Ukraine", but when push comes to shove they've always been scared shitless that it would provoke a severe response from Putin like we saw in Georgia.
Well, how'd that work out for ya? Ooooh shit, it didn't cause Georgia was a company teambuilding survival week compared to what is happening in Ukraine right now.
Here's where the thinking crooked kicks in so I can feel right about the wrong
And how hypocritical can you get? Nato's member nations are all sending the most high-tech weapons, intelligence, and every other type of support they can think of to fight Russia. They're at least co-responsible for the death of 50% of all Russian casualties at this point as the weapons used by the Ukrainians are Turkish (check out the Turkish drone video's of tanks and other armored vehicles being obliterated by hellfire missiles fired from those drones) or straight-up US-made anti tanks weapons (Javelin missile systems sent to Ukraine by the hundreds) and anti-aircraft missiles (Stinger missiles to be exact). And it's not like they're sending the Ukrainians a couple of them. Of the Javelin weapons, they've sent 17.000 (!) and the US alone has shipped, and is shipping, over 1 BILLION dollars worth of weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces! https://youtu.be/CmCJl7tjgBI https://twitter.com/i/status/1499992475204681732 https://youtu.be/nwq8YWXQ3CA
Wait for iiiiiit.....
But they refuse to let Poland give the Ukrainian airforce their obsolete Mig-29s or to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. I think if you'd ask Putin or the Russian soldiers, they'd prefer the Mig-29s or the no-fly zone over the Bayraktar TB2 drones, Javelin, and Stingers! So their whole "we're not actively participating in the conflict" bullshit talk is sickening to me. So yes I think NATO should have, and still should, directly intervene by sending troops, imposing a no-fly zone, and kicking the Russian forces out of Ukraine.
Almost there, hang in there.
That's how I feel about it, while on the other hand knowing full well what the consequence of that would be. Point is that I think, or rather I know, that when the Russian casualties begin to really ramp up (which they will as soon as the bulk of the Javelin and stinger weapons arrive in Ukraine) Putin will interpret that as direct intervention by Nato anyway. He's then going to "test Nato's resolve" by taking out the distribution hubs in Poland and Romania where the weapons arrive from all over the world and get loaded onto Ukrainian trucks for transport to the front. That can only be interpreted as an attack on Nato allied territory and a retaliatory strike from Nato on Russian targets.
In short: World War III.
Typing it out like this makes it even more shocking to realize that I am actually in favor of basically starting WWIII!
Now watch me take this absolutely horrifying conclusion to make it Okay!!
One thing this kind of thinking things through to the end result is that it makes the thoughts about it interfering with the happy celebration of my birthday and partying like an idiot all night at a hardcore rave insignificant and even justifiable. The attitude "Better party as much and as hard as you can, because you might not get another chance to for a couple of decades with the Nuclear winter and all." is gaining traction inside my brain right now, which is something I can live with quite nicely. Better than the attitude that drove me to write this piece.
Now you're asking why I would do such a thing, or even if I'm serious...
I too wondered "But is it really okay, to rationalize away the awkward and embarrassing emotions about partying while there's a war going on, in Europe no less, that could easily (so easily I think it's probable if not inevitable) escalate into a global thermonuclear war?" like a lot of you are right now.
Probably not.
But I can choose to do so, or face being depressed, ashamed and embarrassed throughout my birthday and the weekend following it while I'm dancing for 12 hours to the hardcore beats together with 30 to 40 thousand fellow Gabbers who've not been able to "release the pressure" for over two years due to covid. And having boiled it down to that basic choice...
You might wonder if what I write next is a bad joke or just fiction... It is not.
From 22:00 on March 26th until 10:00 on March 27th I'm going to party like it's the last party on Earth, and it's my duty to prove that the Human race is the only species ever to exist that can Party all the way through to its extinction.
Come Monday, March 28th I'll rethink the whole thing and, if needed, feel appropriately ashamed about it. I can always do penance and head to the Ukrainian embassy in the Hague to volunteer for the Ukrainian Foreign legion...
Thanks for reading this. (and sorry for revealing this really really bad side of me)
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
It is offensive to say "Holland" meaning "The Netherlands" or "Nederland"?
Why do I care enough to write this article?
*I don't care how you call my country.*
I saw this discussion on Wikipedia and had also seen it before on Quora or something.
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Speaking of Wikipedia....
In fact,
Wikipedia pissed me off, they're not mentioning Brabants as a local dialect but Limburgs is? They're not done with me on that!! But that's where I saw the question again and the only reactions were "Yeah, it's totally wrong to say Holland and Dutch are really offended if you say that" and similar...
Apparently, it looks as if the Dutch are going bat-shit-crazy if you call The Netherlands" or "Nederland" by the name Holland!!
I was like "WUT really?"
**Because that's a load of feces,**
Feces which besides being moist, feeling warm, halfway to solid from being a liquid, and, smelling pungent enough to induce comet-vomiting,
was extracted directly and undiluted from the anus, belonging to a male specimen of the Bovine species group.
Yes, that was a very stupid way of saying BULLSHIT!
And why you may ask?
Well, allow me to provide you with the road to you coming up with the right answer yourself!
`THE CORRECT ANSWER IS:`
`(CAlling The Netherlands "Holland" is no problem at all, no matter what some individuals say. )`
`!!IN CASE OF A DIFFERENT ANSWER, TRY AGAIN, UNTIL YOUR ANSWER MATCHES THE ONE ABOVE!!`
So, completely without knowledge of the question or answer we easily are given the following information:
Here are a few facts, not even the most vehement opposed anti-Holland activist can deny:
The word "Holland" is used by the most Dutch of the Dutch: The Orange Legion.
The Orange Legion was started throughout the '70s and 80's by the Football fans...
oh darn…
Triggered me here.… Nice move numbnuts.…
here I go...
<breathes in>
(i refuse to call football by the American's word, so they can call a game played with an oblong spheroid (not a BALL) which 99% is only touched by the hands of the players. Call it Hand Oblong or something! WE play football, a game in which a BALL is played only with the FEET of 20 from the 22 players.…)
< breaths out, flashes from oxygen depravation>
Ahum.…
breathe.…
and don't think about metric systems or anything…
there you go.…relaaaaaaxxxxx....… So.… ok, where was I?
At home between the keyboard and the back of the chair...
<Facepalm at self>
Anyway.
So the Orange Legion's fame was started with football and had its best known "launch" in the 1988 European Championship.
The Dutch Legion's football origins.
The Dutch sports fans' oldest, still used, supporter song that began with football but transcends the sport these days is "Hup Holland Hup"
(loosely translated)
"Hup, Holland hup Don't leave the lion in his hempie Hup, Holland hup Do not put on slippers on the beast Hup, Holland hup Don't let yourself be beaten out of the field Because the lion on football boots Can beat the whole world"
Olympics
In the last few decades, however, the Orange Legion has grown to other national teams and sports championships. Everywhere there's a Dutch national representation you are likely to find at least some members of the Orange legion.
Notably though are the Dutch Orange Legion's entry onto the scene for example at the Olympics.
The Heineken Orange House, where the fans come together with the medal-winners who get cheered and honored, is legendary at least 3 Olympic cycles already.
Other nations' athletes are often found thereafter their events are over rather than in their own national supporter's event location.
Professional World Darts
Also, the Dutch Darts players competing and winning the World Top titles and championships have completely changed the nature of podium Professional Darts forever.
Today this is the scene at a big match when something Dutch is involved. Don't believe my word, take a listen to the crowd in this match, while darts are being thrown by the players...
https://youtu.be/pGNZ3GqYrVY
Before the Dutch got better at the game, this was very different. Back when the Embassy World Darts Championship was held at the Lakeside country club in Frimley Green, it was the biggest prize to win…
There, during the throwing of the darts, the crowd was expected to be silent from the moment the darter's foot touched the oché until his third dart hit the board. And so there was silence.
Check this out, a World Championship Final after a crucial leg was won by one player (skip to 2 hours 1 minute 45 seconds (in case the link doesn't work))
https://youtu.be/wAFd7V-_O9c?t=7297
This was before the likes of Raymond van Barneveld, Ko Stompé, Michael van Gerwen. This was when Bert Vlaardingenbroek was the best known Dutch darter.
And Christ van Silfhout qualified for the Embassy at Lake Side's Frimley Green.… but couldn't pay for the trip, stay, food/drinks, and so on. (couldn't pay rent, let alone go to the UK)
But that's not the point right now... FOCUS!!!
Right... Holland... right...
The latest scene the Orange Legion has spectacularly made its introduction is the Formula One Championship.
Before the Italian fans, the Tifosi (Italian Ferrari Fans) were the most fanatic fans there were in Formula One. This was a Formula One fact for decades.
Until... 2018.
It would be three seasons in which Hamilton was World Champion, and Mercedes was almost unbeatable. But in the stands, something changed...
Before:
https://youtu.be/Ce_CsLR312I?t=41
(skip to 0:41 if a link doesn't)
The point is, Big flag, little flags, yeeeeey. The Tifosi, silly rascals!
Then, The Orange Legion! The Dutch invaded the Formula One Public stands...
Since that year the question has been asked many times:
"Did the Dutch just take over from the Tifozi? Are they the best Formula One Fans?".
After:
https://youtu.be/HC-Sm3Bpr5Y
(Again, remember, this was 2018 when Max Verstappen was in his second year in Formula 1 and Hamilton would become World Champion 2018/19-2019/20 2020/21)
Ok, that last one showed little Holland, but the merchandise doesn't change much. Holland is the most used word for The Netherlands, with all Orange Legion merchandise and singing. That's a fact. A legion of millions of super Dutch people uses Holland all the time.
Anyway, there's a legion of general undeniable orange-colored Holland fans. No Netherlands or Nederland but Holland.
But let's see outside of sports…Does Holland trigger every Dutch person into a violent berserker rage??
Nope.…at festivals, like big music festivals or any event with many visitors and the Dutch notice there are a lot of Dutch visitors.…
You can bet on it that once, or twice during the festival, you'll hear chanting...
"Halland, Holland, Holland"
The last 4 parties (Masters of Hardcore and Thunderdome) I've witnessed myself, and there are YouTube videos of Dominator, Mysteryland, and Harmony so you can look it up if you'd like.
Official Government-funded things then?
Sorry.
The international tourism website for the Netherlands is located at www.holland.com.
Nuff said I think.
So maybe there's a minority, a nanominority, that doesn't like it.
And officially they're right. North and South Holland are 2 of the 12 provinces in the Netherlands.
But to take away all doubt…let the big data do the talking. Just see what the internet says about Dutch and the word Holland. Let the masses speak for themselves, in images:
Just google holland supporters and check out the images.
Wait, let me help:
https://gprivate.com/5yjy4
(let me google that for you).
Count how many times you see Holland
and count how many times you see Nederland or Netherlands
Compare the numbers...
Think
and then decide!
Thank you for reading this
Stay Safe and Stay happy!Why do I care enough to write this article?
I saw this discussion on Wikipedia and had also seen it before on Quora or something.
In fact, Wikipedia pissed me off, they're not mentioning Brabants as a local dialect but Limburgs is? They're not done with me on that!! But that's where I saw the question again and the only reactions were "Yeah, it's totally wrong to say Holland and Dutch are really offended if you say that" and similar...
Apparently, it looks as if the Dutch are going bat-shit-crazy if you call The Netherlands" or "Nederland" by the name Holland!!
I was like "WUT really?"
Because that's a load of feces,
which besides being moist, feeling warm, halfway to solid from being a liquid, and smelling pungent enough to induce comet-vomiting,
was extracted directly and undiluted from the anus belonging to a male specimen of the Bovine species group.
Yes, that was a very stupid way of saying BULLSHIT!
And why you may ask?
Well, allow me to provide you with the road to you coming up with the right answer yourself! If you follow the road I point out to you, your conclusion will be:
THE CORRECT ANSWER IS:
(CAlling The Netherlands "Holland" is no problem at all, no matter what some individuals say. )
!!IN CASE OF A DIFFERENT ANSWER, TRY AGAIN, UNTIL YOUR ANSWER MATCHES THE ONE ABOVE!!
Here are a few facts, not even the most vehement opposed anti-Holland activist can deny:
The word "Holland" is used by the most Dutch of the Dutch: The Orange Legion.
The Orange Legion started throughout the '70s and 80's by the Football fans...
oh darn…
Triggered me here.… Nice move numbnuts.…
here I go...
<breathes in>
(i refuse to call football by the American's word, so they can call a game played with an oblong spheroid (not a BALL) which 99% is only touched by the hands of the players. Call it Hand Oblong or something! WE play football, a game in which a BALL is played only with the FEET of 20 from the 22 players.…)
< breaths out, flashes from oxygen depravation>
Ahum.…
breathe.…
and don't think about metric systems or anything…
there you go.…relaaaaaaxxxxx....… So.… ok, where was I?
At home between the keyboard and the back of the chair...
<Facepalm at self>
Anyway.
So the Orange Legion's fame was started with football and had its best known "launch" in the 1988 European Championship.
The Dutch Legion's football origins.
The Dutch sports fans' oldest, still used, supporter song that began with football but transcends the sport these days is "Hup Holland Hup"
(loosely translated)
"Hup, Holland hup Don't leave the lion in his hempie Hup, Holland hup Do not put on slippers on the beast Hup, Holland hup Don't let yourself be beaten out of the field Because the lion on football boots Can beat the whole world"
Olympics
In the last few decades, however, the Orange Legion has grown to other national teams and sports championships. Everywhere there's a Dutch national representation you are likely to find at least some members of the Orange legion.
Notably though are the Dutch Orange Legion's entry onto the scene for example at the Olympics.
The Heineken Orange House, where the fans come together with the medal-winners who get cheered and honored, is legendary at least 3 Olympic cycles already.
Other nations' athletes are often found thereafter their events are over rather than in their own national supporter's event location.
Professional World Darts
Also, the Dutch Darts players competing and winning the World Top titles and championships have completely changed the nature of podium Professional Darts forever.
Today this is the scene at a big match when something Dutch is involved. Don't believe my word, take a listen to the crowd in this match, while darts are being thrown by the players...
https://youtu.be/pGNZ3GqYrVY
Before the Dutch got better at the game, this was very different. Back when the Embassy World Darts Championship was held at the Lakeside country club in Frimley Green, it was the biggest prize to win…
There, during the throwing of the darts, the crowd was expected to be silent from the moment the darter's foot touched the oché until his third dart hit the board. And so there was silence.
Check this out, a World Championship Final after a crucial leg was won by one player (skip to 2 hours 1 minute 45 seconds (in case the link doesn't work))
https://youtu.be/wAFd7V-_O9c?t=7297
This was before the likes of Raymond van Barneveld, Ko Stompé, Michael van Gerwen. This was when Bert Vlaardingenbroek was the best known Dutch darter.
And Christ van Silfhout qualified for the Embassy at Lake Side's Frimley Green.… but couldn't pay for the trip, stay, food/drinks, and so on. (couldn't pay rent, let alone go to the UK)
But that's not the point right now... FOCUS!!!
Right... Holland... right...
The latest scene the Orange Legion has spectacularly made its introduction is the Formula One Championship.
Before the Italian fans, the Tifosi (Italian Ferrari Fans) were the most fanatic fans there were in Formula One. This was a Formula One fact for decades.
Until... 2018.
It would be three seasons in which Hamilton was World Champion, and Mercedes was almost unbeatable. But in the stands, something changed...
Before:
https://youtu.be/Ce_CsLR312I?t=41
(skip to 0:41 if a link doesn't)
The point is, Big flag, little flags, yeeeeey. The Tifosi, silly rascals!
Then, The Orange Legion! The Dutch invaded the Formula One Public stands...
Since that year the question has been asked many times:
"Did the Dutch just take over from the Tifozi? Are they the best Formula One Fans?".
After:
https://youtu.be/HC-Sm3Bpr5Y
(Again, remember, this was 2018 when Max Verstappen was in his second year in Formula 1 and Hamilton would become World Champion 2018/19-2019/20 2020/21)
Ok, that last one showed little Holland, but the merchandise doesn't change much. Holland is the most used word for The Netherlands, with all Orange Legion merchandise and singing. That's a fact. A legion of millions of super Dutch people uses Holland all the time.
Anyway, there's a legion of general undeniable orange-colored Holland fans. No Netherlands or Nederland but Holland.
But let's see outside of sports…Does Holland trigger every Dutch person into a violent berserker rage??
Nope.…at festivals, like big music festivals or any event with many visitors and the Dutch notice there are a lot of Dutch visitors.…
You can bet on it that once, or twice during the festival, you'll hear chanting...
"Halland, Holland, Holland"
The last 4 parties (Masters of Hardcore and Thunderdome) I've witnessed myself, and there are YouTube videos of Dominator, Mysteryland, and Harmony so you can look it up if you'd like.
Official Government-funded things then?
Sorry.
The international tourism website for the Netherlands is located at www.holland.com.
Nuff said I think.
So maybe there's a minority, a nanominority, that doesn't like it.
And officially they're right. North and South Holland are 2 of the 12 provinces in the Netherlands.
But to take away all doubt…let the big data do the talking. Just see what the internet says about Dutch and the word Holland. Let the masses speak for themselves, in images:
Just google holland supporters and check out the images.
Wait, let me help:
https://gprivate.com/5yjy4
(let me google that for you).
Count how many times you see Holland
and count how many times you see Nederland or Netherlands
Compare the numbers...
Think
and then decide!
Thank you for reading this
Stay Safe and Stay happy!
Should I feel guilty for being happy and joyfull?
I am oddly conflicted with how I feel these days. On the one hand, there is, of course, the feeling of dread, disgust, and anger at the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is joy, excitement, and the feeling my life hasn't been better in a decade.
In the Netherlands, the lockdown measures have mostly been lifted, giving the feeling we've regained our freedom. Last week we had Carnaval, an annual feast that lasts from Friday-Tuesday in which half the country dresses up silly, dances around, and gets drunk and I had an outstanding time. The end of measures also allows my favorite indoor hardcore house party to be held for the first time in two years.
`Check out my awesome sponsors. Their content is awesome!`
Party time
Masters of Hardcore is a party that usually is held annually and it is held the Saturday before or after my birthday, which is the 23rd of March. I can hardly describe the excitement I feel knowing that we will get to party to the beats of DJ's like Angerfist, Miss K8, Darkraver, DJ Paul, Pavo, Lady Dana, and more. Eight different areas, each with their own theme of which Old School, my favorite, is one. 20.000 Gabbers will attend and it is going to be ridiculously exceptional! Since I'm mobile again having my scooter to get around I've been expanding my social circle over the past year and I'm almost at a point where i can say I've got more to live for than the 7 hours per week in which I have my Son with me.
On more serious sides there is also cause for enthusiasm. I've got the offer to do a couple of studies and get certified for Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure. That's going to improve my chances of getting a steady job in IT, which is where I belong. I'm fearful to get my hopes up, of course, but I do catch myself dreaming juuust a little bit every now and then.
Money
The debt situation is actually moving forward, albeit slowly, and half of the debts have been paid off now. And even though the moratorium on seizure by debt collectors has run out I've heard nothing from them until now. The government sent me an official, signed by prime minister Rutte himself, an apology for violating my rights and treating me like a fraudulent criminal. Though a hypocritically cheap gesture coming from a man with a history of blatant lies (oh no, he remembers the facts differently) I still must admit that the proof of their acknowledgment doing me injustice feels a little bit good.
Besides this, there are other uplifting little things that happened the past few days/weeks that add to the overall uplifting feelings. Like the probability, I'll be going to Dominator festival (camping 2 days) this June. There are also some side hustles as I call them that promise to allow me some more wiggle room in my budget soon.
WAR
Saw it coming
On the other hand, the shit is hitting the fan across the world, but especially in Ukraine. I've been saying for years that NATO's blatant disregard for Putin's objections to the expansion of NATO would at some point come to a confrontation, so I was not surprised when he started to mass troops at the border. Neither was I surprised when he actually invaded, apparently the only one in Europe. What did surprise me was the difficulty with which the Russians were/are progressing.
The escalation of artillery bombardments, the use of thermobaric missiles and cluster bombs, and the mounting number of civilian casualties were also beginning to worry me. The plight of the Ukrainian people, the suffering, and the loss of their family and loved ones is saddening. I really feel for them and I wish for them this is going to be over soon. Problem is that I don't expect it to end soon. In fact, in the past few days, I have come to fear, despite in many ways feeling it would be the right thing to do, NATO is getting closer and closer to actively intervening.
Putin feeling cornered
And I think that Putin is feeling like he's more and more cornered and there are fewer ways out of this for him. He is obviously unhappily surprised at the poor performance of his Military forces, forcing him to send in more resources. The resistance overall came as an unwelcome surprise to him as well, I'm sure. But the resistance in the regions where there's a great number of Russian-speaking people came as a shock to him, and I think is angering him even more. As I see it there aren't many ways for Putin to get out of this situation without losing face, support, and possible danger to his position. He needs to at least capture Kyiv, establish control over the Donbask and at least on the surface be able to spin things to claim Ukraine will remain neutral (not join the EU and/or NATO). If he fails to accomplish that he's not going to back down and like a cornered animal will certainly escalate until he achieves that or loses completely.
Genuine fear and concern
When I read yesterday that NATO was having a special meeting to discuss the action in response to the attack on and capturing of the Nuclear power plant I felt afraid, genuine concern, that we are heading towards a crucial point of no return. A decisive moment in which this conflict gets resolved by one side giving in and throwing in the towel, or there is going to be war between NATO and Russia (and who knows who'll then take Russia's side? Winny the Pooh has been awfully quiet).
So I'm cautiously happy and optimistic about my life and feel I can let myself be happy and enthusiastic but on the other hand, I feel guilty for feeling happy or joy, with so much suffering in Ukraine, and WWIII possibly erupting.
Thanks for reading this
Stay safe and stay happy.
@AnonSunamun
Sorry @Francis105d1, Bitcoin doesn't fix that.
This article, is well written, original, and given much thought in creating and with the best of intent:
War with Ukraine has started. Bitcoin fixes that. (read.cash) https://read.cash/@francis105d1/war-with-ukraine-has-started-bitcoin-fixes-that-bf639dae
@francis105d1 basically makes an argument that cryptocurrency can make starting a war, like Putin invading Ukraine, impossible without the people's permission and purposed funding.
That's wishful thinking, I'm sorry to say.
As happened to me before I was writing a reply to the article which turned out to be so large that it probably would have broken the reply function of the website. As before, I made an article about it. I've kept it clean and simple to emphasize that this peace is a mere spin-off from the original article!
So if you're reading this blathering rant of mine:
you're only allowed to do so if you have read the original article by @francis105d1 and given it a thumbs up!
`And if you'd give some attention to my sponsors down the line, you'd be a truly awesome person and should feel proud of yourself for the awesome human being that you are.`
So, with @francis105d1 view of things in our minds, here comes mine:
I'm sorry but this is a rather simplistic view.
Regardless of which currency, fiat or otherwise, a country people use there will always have to be a system in place where the government receives a minimum amount of funds to do its job of governing.
This means that every citizen is required, through whatever system doesn't matter, to contribute a certain amount of their wealth to the funds that the government needs to govern. This doesn't change with cryptocurrency.
In fact, if you really think about it.
If the government has to ask its population for everything it needs then the country would soon go to ruin, even without things like natural calamities, pandemics, and wars taking place.
You see...
For a country to work there are a lot of things a government has to do, and pay for, which ordinary citizens don't even realize and which, if asked, they wouldn't readily be willing to give money for.
Things like waste disposal, sewers, mental health care, regulating the economy to keep it stable, regulating construction and the list goes on.
If the government, for example, didn't regulate the construction, ie. who gets to build what where and to which minimum quality standards there would be no houses built, no public use facilities like hospitals or schools, just commercial office buildings, and high-end apartment buildings. Because building social housing for the lower-income classes and pre-schools doesn't bring as much profit as a 50 stories high apartment building next to the beach.
Again, this is regardless of the kind of government. Kings, Dictators, and elected presidents alike.
If the government didn't govern the public services then there would be a lot of places without sewage maintenance, water treatment, and electricity where the crime was rampant and houses built from cardboard and sticks haphazardly at any location that was convenient.
Now I know some readers think that would be their ideal situation or even some that look around their homes right now thinking I just described their living conditions right now. For the former of those, I'd want to ask how well they think that would work out in 2022 for a place like London or Singapore, or New York? For the latter, I would ask, how are you enjoying it?
Let's get down to the simplest, most elemental, governmental essence of existence.
So realistically if a large number of people are going to be living close to each other, Like eeeh... I don't know... let's say Earth or someplace... ;)
they will have to agree on a set of rules and on how to deal with the issues that come with having many people living closely together. To make sure those rules are followed and the issues are dealt with as agreed upon, you need the people to agree on who must stop those who don't follow the rules, and who is going to do the work to deal with the issues.
Those people who are then agreed upon to take on those tasks need to eat, need a place to live, need the stuff to do the things they're tasked with. Those things need to be paid for by the people who agreed and appointed them to those tasks.
That's a government. And a government needs money.
That is not going to change. The only thing that changes is how the details are filled out, how and by who the decisions are made, how the funds are collected, or how the collected funds are spent.
Now here comes a long sentence, I'm sorry, but I couldn't get it shorter...
It doesn't matter if there is one man who makes all the decisions, and then lets those decisions be carried out by other people that obey him for some reason, who use force and oppression to make sure that the decisions get implemented and the rules followed or if there is a group of people chosen by the population who then make the decisions based on what is best and what the population needs, which get carried out by a group of people that are selected to do so because they are the best suited to. (breathe, breathe... don't forget to breathe!)
Sadly the world has many governments that work out less than fantastic.
There are examples of oppressive and corrupt governments that take too much money and do little governing.
We see examples of honest willing elected governments who simply cannot get enough money to do the governing that needs to be done.
Sadly, my point about governments is also proven to this very day...
We see people that do not have a government almost purposely proving every time and all the time that that is the worst way to live, costs the most, and leads to the most suffering and misery.
And most people believe they are in among the next group, until they find they're not.
And there are the countries that to a greater or lesser extent found a balance and a way to organize the governing in a way that enables the population to live out their lives in relative peace, health, and stability.
*No, don't go looking for a line under this article, smartasses!*
Bottom line is that if you have a government you will pay taxes, or your government gets to generate funds from natural resources like oil or gas or whatever. And when that government for whatever reason uses it to create a military with which to invade other countries, it doesn't matter what currency the population or that government uses.
What matters is that if the population does not want their government to do something, they should stop them from doing it. They are the only ones who can!
Problem is that in many places and situations they consider the cost of stopping their government from doing something is greater than their disapproval of what the government is doing. Or that the thing they don't want their government to do is outweighed by the things their government does well in their view.
Take the Russian people for example. Just randomly, by chance, not related to current events or anything...
I think that the Russian people agreed with the reorganization and strengthening of the Russian Armed forces after the Yeltsin years had allowed it to decay into a shadow of itself along with the rest of the country and Russia faced the reality that 10 of the 13 Wachau Pact members had become NATO members. NATO was a military organization created to stop Russia from invading Europe or to fight and defeat Russia (soviet union) if it did.
So they supported making their military strong and advanced and took pride in it. But I'm sure that only a small percentage of the Russian people want Russian armed forces to invade Ukraine, start a war that will cause death, misery, and destruction for many many people.
They will not do what it takes to stop Putin from doing this, however. Because with the power they gave Putin they also made the cost of stopping him or taking that power away far more costly than they want to pay.
They tried that before, kicking the CCCP (USSR) into history.
Because that would mean they would have to rise up against their government, and make them obey the people's will by force, which would almost certainly disrupt the country, do much damage and cost a lot of lives, to ultimately end without a government and the risk of being in the same situation they were in after the Soviet Government ended and Yeltsin looked reliable and wise and capable.
Putin is where he is because they let him.
They knew Putin when they allowed him to become president, and they elected him anyway (Yes his first election to office was an actual democratic (mostly) election).
In conclusion @francis105d1
So sorry. Cryptocurrency wouldn't have made a difference at all I'm afraid. What it can make a difference in is getting money to the Ukrain people and military regardless of what developments end up happening. They can donate Bitcoin Cash to support the Ukrainian defenders like @cryptotexy explains in this article: https://read.cash/@cryptotexty/how-bitcoin-helps-to-save-lives-and-few-thoughts-from-kyiv-ukraine-video-314e457a. The Ukrain people can use crypto to deny Moscow the opportunity to use money as a tool for oppression in the case Russia turns out to be too strong to stop.
But prevent a government from going to war? No, only the people it governs can do that, and that usually turns out to cost too much, a cost that isn't measured in money.
I wish you were right @francis105d1,
And I commend you for your optimistic and positive approach to life. Don't change that, if you can!
Thank you for reading this!
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
Putin pitch-slapping the West from now on?!
Those who know me personally can attest to this:
In personal conversations, and once even in a public debate, voiced my views on Russia and Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (who are the same thing since 2001) and told them that at some point the conclusion in the last paragraph of this article was going to be inevitable, after which the West would be nothing but the runts of the pack, at the mercy of the Alpha male Vladimir!
`I have awesome sponsors, and you want to check out their content! You know you do!!`
Online I've avoided the topic of Russia or Putin like the plague.
I have not voiced my thoughts on the Ukraine issue, or war as of today, before online because before today the reactions that I'd get would be "You're extreme", "you're insane", "Ukrainophobe" and "Russophobe" among others. Now that my predictions have turned out to be spot on I think that the reactions might be somewhat…more nuanced than they would've been yesterday.
So I thought, I'll put it all down into one article, get it off my chest, and be done with it!!
The first thing I want to get off my chest is:
WHY THE DUCK IS EVERYBODY ACTING SO SURPRISED?!?!
No, seriously, has the world gone braindead or something? Not only was this predicted and announced for years by Mr. Putin himself, but it is also Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin that has warned the west time and time again.
OMG the knee-jerk reflexing woke pro and anti Russians triggered already!
Now, I hear some of you rearing up on their hind legs like a frikking horse, going "BWABABWABABWABABAAAA", meaning something like that's not true. That Putin never said he was going to invade Ukraine and bla bla bla.
*Pay attention now you...* *people I dislike somewhat.......*
https://media.makeameme.org/created/do-you-want-369kus.jpg
Well, all i can say to you people is this:
FLOCK YOU! SHUT UP, SIT DOWN, AND READ THIS:
https://is.muni.cz/th/xlghl/DP_Fillinger_Speeches.pdf
Mr. Putin himself!
It's a speech by Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin at an annual international security conference.…
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO!
Yes, that's right, 2007!
And he's never made a secret of how he thought things should be and then has shown through his actions that he means it.
Only, back in 2007 with the world's attention securely focussed on Afghanistan and Iraq, the world's opinion on Russia and its power wasn't all that high.
Putin had been in charge for less than 7 years, having become president of a Russia that was systematically drained of all its assets, including military, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Why did we think so little of Russia's power again??
Russia had nothing when Putin came into power. Almost everything that was not already obsolete was sold and everything that hadn't been sold was neglected in the years 1991-1999 (the Yeltsin years).
Ah yes, Russia, Yeltsin, Vodka... i remember.... some...
So when he came to power, the priority was to rebuild the Russian economy. The difficulty with which the Chechen war had been won and later the performance of the Russian armed forces in the Georgian war showed Putin that the Military forces that Russia was left with after the Soviet collapse were barely adequate for those relatively small and local conflicts and needed to be completely overhauled.
And Putin would make sure that it was!
That the major military reforms of the Russian military were announced in 2008 was no coincidence. The Russian economy was back on its feet and thriving, and the funds for reorganizing, updating, and upgrading the armed forces were made available. (for more on those reforms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Russian_military_reform)
Since then, we've seen Russia actively taking actions to keep NATO from creeping closer to its borders. The war on Georgia was partly motivated by the desire to have Russian troops in Georgia as a deterrent and buffer opposing NATO that was already bordering Georgia having Turkey as a member nation.
`Everything west of Yellow Russia is basically NATO now!`
Who thinks that Russian involvement in Syria was solely motivated by anti-terrorism or the threat of Isis should take another look at Syria's location and pay attention to its northern borders in particular. You'll see that preventing the US from gaining the influence over Syria like it then had over Iraq, maybe even installing a western faced government, was as much a motivator as anything else.
When Ukraine seemed to turn, its face towards Europe by overthrowing the sitting, pro-Russian, president and government treaties were signed with the EU and there was talk of Ukraine applying for NATO membership, the first response I remember coming from a Russian was
"Ukraine will never become a member of NATO"
That was in 2014, and we all remember what happened then right? Crimea was annexed by Russia. Since then, the Russian Armed Forces have gone on to an even bigger modernization of its equipment than ever before.
Where military budgets have shrunk over the past 10 years, Russia has gradually increased its military spending. Putin also learned that at worst the West, ie. NATO and EU, will impose sanctions on Russia, and send a few token shipments of weapons to Ukraine. They will not send troops or send in their airforces to help Ukraine fight a war.
Russia immune for sanctions.
As a result, since 2014 the Russian economy has worked hard to cut its ties with the west in order to make itself as Sanction proof as possible. In December Putin decided they were as ready as they'll ever be and it basically gave an ultimatum to the west:
"Remove all NATO forces from eastern europe, and guarantee that Ukraine will never become a NATO member."
Thinking:
*"And maybe you not believe pictures of my holiday wrestling Bear without shirt on, so look at border"*
So....
He gave that ultimatum power to the sum of 150.000 to 190.000 Russian troops massing at Ukraine's borders.
NATO kind of went:
"fuck you, Ukraine has the right to decide for itself if it wants to be NATO member, and the NATO forces in the former soviet states are there at the request of the NATO member nation's governments"
I can imagine Putin's expression when he heard that...
I can't for the life of me fathom the arrogance in the West for thinking that threatening with "Grave sanctions" would be enough to make Putin back down.
However foggy and complicated Putin has talked about it towards the Russian people to justify what he was doing. Towards the west, he's been very very clear. It all came down to 2 demands.
NATO troops removed from former Soviet states and
guarantee that Ukraine will never ever become a NATO member.
(and i'm sure that he'd be willing to talk about the first one)
Did anyone in charge in the EU and NATO really think that Putin had any other choice than what he's doing now after rattling his 150.000 troops strong saber for almost three months? How can anyone be surprised?
Even the Americans knew at least two weeks ago that Putin would go through with it if he didn't get his way, and have been predicting it was inevitable for the past 5 days.
Question is:
NOW WHAT?
Because the Russian military operations are going for the kill, and will not stop until Putin can go live on television from Kiev to basically say one sentence:
*"I told you Ukraine would never ever be a member of NATO"*
So:
Unless the west actually does something, and I don't mean sanctions, that's what is going to happen. And I can guarantee that Georgia will suffer the same fate, and be returned into the warm embrace of mother Russia.
Sanctions will have no effect and amount to nothing less than appeasement. (and we know how wonderful appeasement works right?)
It will reaffirm for Putin that the west doesn't have the stomach to risk an armed conflict over anything less than its own survival, and will let Putin do whatever he wants as long as he doesn't threaten or attack one of them directly.
And however sad it is to have to conclude, the conclusion is inevitable.
Either Putin gets away with this, showing once and for all who's the real badass in Europe…
Or we go to war and send troops to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion and prevent Putin from annexing Ukraine.
Thank you for reading this.
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
First time, at the Mediterranean sea! Part V
the previous parts in this series.
Part I Part II Part III Part IV https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/first-time-at-the-medeterrainian-sea-74bab3d3 https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/first-time-at-the-mediterranean-sea-part-ii-867163c6 https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/first-time-at-the-mediterranean-sea-part-iii-f646d3f3 https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/first-time-at-the-mediterranean-sea-part-iv-2a7f8f1b
So we left off on the terrace, Chryselle's sister giving me the third degree!
It took me a moment before completely grasping the full meaning of her question. She seemed to think that my appearance at "their" beach and "Karl's" football match was, somehow, planned or something.
She also had obviously somehow gathered some information about me I hadn't disclosed myself to anyone. This could only come from direct observation. For someone to observe the camping plot we had on the camping close enough to tell my folks were too old to be my parents and therefore must be my grandparents meant someone either followed me or gained information from the camping management. https://kapot.ga
After a moment of thought, I decided to play it open and honest with her.
Laying it out
"Look, all I know about Karl and "Ze Zhermans" is that they're with a group of more than well-off Bavarian Beer-associated people and that Karl is the kid of the most prominent and wealthy of the lot," I told her. Holding her teacup in two hands before her face, I couldn't tell what she was thinking.
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"What I know about you and your sister, mostly from how the local people here respond to you and from what you told me in your question, is that your parents must be pretty important around here. I also know that your sister is something of a local social celebrity and there is something going on between her and Karl." I said, divulging the breath of my knowledge, careful to leave out anything Charles wanted me to keep to myself.
Though I thought I could see a little smile peeking out from behind the teacup I decided to go on and answer her questions to the point.
"But yes, I am here with my grandparents purely by chance, to spend our vacation at the Mediterranean sea. We've spent last week wandering along the coast looking for a free spot, and we finally found one here at the camping. Pure luck, we now know not to come here without reservations next time." I said putting up my hands to show I realize now how stupid it had been of us to just drive there and assume we'd find a free space. All I could tell from the lady across the table from me was that she was listening intently and with some amusement. So I went on.
"Before yesterday I knew nothing about Cap d'Agde, never heard of Karl or his bunch nor had I ever heard of or seen you and your sister. And yes, I had agreed to join the football event this morning, not knowing I'd run into Karl and his buddies again." I finished, taking a sip of my drink and leaning back in my seat. Before she could respond I decided it was time for me to ask some questions.
"Now it's my turn. Why did you ask me that question? What did you think was going on? You've managed to learn a lot about me and my folks in a short time, including things I didn't tell anyone around here. Have you been watching me since yesterday?" I asked, machine-gunning my questions to get them all out before she interrupted.
She set her cup down and looked at me for a few moments before shaking her head. "No, I'm not buying it. The way you look, the way you and your parents set up your caravan and your space at the camping, the gear you've got, and the way my sister acted towards you yesterday…It doesn't add up to…well.…you." she said.
WUT? HUH?
I was taken aback for a moment, not having expected her to remain skeptical about me and my presence after what I had told her.
"Ok, so then enlighten me, please. Who am I, who are my parents, and what are we doing here?" I asked, getting somewhat annoyed. "Cause obviously I am not who I claim to be right?" I added sarcastically.
She considered it for a few moments before answering.
"Well, you dress and act like some average middle-class tourist, blissfully unaware of everything. Nevertheless looking at the caravan, the car, the tent, and everything you came here with, you're not middle class but your parents are actually quite wealthy. You speak three languages, one of which happens to be German. That makes you the first non-German I've ever met with that skill. I also happen to know that you can handle your weed, and certainly not a first-time smoker." she said, like reading out bullet points.
"And you show up, on the first day you supposedly ever spent in the area, strolling onto "our" beach pretending to accidentally stumble across it. Over the last five years, no one has ever set foot on that beach without being guided by one of us or at least having gotten directions from one of us. You also happen to do exactly the right things to antagonize Karl's buddies, annoy and interrupt Karl which is the most effective way to draw the attention and interest from Chryselle. Chryselle even went into "conquer mode" on you, and who knows how far she'd have taken that if I hadn't interrupted." She said, explaining her…deductive reasoning.
suddenly she got up from her seat and pointed her finger at me. "I might not know precisely what your game is and which team you're playing here but I know you didn't just happen to show up here buddy. I'll be watching you, and if I find out you're going to get my sister in trouble, some way, I'll be there to stop you!" she said, raising her voice enough to turn some heads towards our direction. Then she picked up her purse and walked away fuming.
Women!
It was fortunate I had brought my wallet so I could pay the bill, which was pretty steep, she had stuck me with by walking away. Obviously, the proprietor of the establishment had changed his mind about our order being on the house when he had seen her walk away angry. I didn't care though. I had enough money to spend, being on vacation and all and I was eager to put it all behind me, so I went looking for Charles.
That's it for now, to be continued in part VI! I think I will finish this story in part VIII for those wondering how long the stories is going to be.
Thanks for reading this!
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
Thank you read.cash community!
I have been and still am a poor pauper!
As some of you might know my financial situation has been miserable for some time now. And though things are looking better (the total debt amount is no longer growing, indeed frozen, and there's a chance it might be taken over by and paid for by the IRS, ie the government, sometime this year) I have had, have and will continue to have a weekly budget to live from of 50 euro.
Inflation goes up, budget buys less.
From this, I have to pay for everything from food to laundry detergent and from drinks to underwear and beyond. Basically, everything that's not a utility bill or rent or insurance policy and the like, I have to fit into that 50 euro budget. It was hard in the beginning and, with the inflation raging like madness to make everything in the supermarket more expensive it isn't getting any easier.
My Son's visits aren't budgeted for
So when my son's here I simply don't have the budget to buy things like lemonade or candy or snacks so make our time a little bit more comfortable and enjoyable. Or at least I didn't until about a year ago when I got rewards from readers and tips from Randy. At first, it was something I could do maybe once a month or once every three weeks, but when I could the smile on my son's face gave me so much energy the Fusion power plant scientists would be jealous of me.
Crypto ups and downs, not in sync with the markets
And over time I've had some crypto ups (still immensely grateful to @MarcDeMesel for his rewards back then) and some crypto downs (just last week I lost $20,= worth of BCH when the file holding my recovery phrase was encrypted by a ransomware attack) but overall I've come out gaining more than I lost. I've been able to get myself a scooter, greatly increasing my mobility and with it my social circle, from Mr. DeMesel's reward and it was the basis for the computer I'm now sitting at and working on. It's the second greatest love of my life to be honest, right after my son!
The greatest gift y'all give me and my son.
But the greatest thing is that the rewards and tips from reading cash have fueled and made possible the development of a Father-Son tradition here in Casa van Silfhout that brings both me and my son joy and happiness, and also helps us to create father-son memories, having something that is uniquely ours, something we do together. You see one of the first things my son does when he's not here is keep track of the tips my articles get and send me a WhatsApp message when those tips have added up to our target amount.
Grogu cheering with hands in the air...
I would put that gif animation in here if it wasn't so heavily copyrighted by Disney and Lucasfilm. I might LINK it here from the source but I don't know if that's allowed. I'll look it up later. (linked it to the source, and it has the Disney logo in it, I think we're good) https://media.giphy.com/media/AcfTF7tyikWyroP0x7/giphy.gif
When I get that WhatsApp it means we can go to the supermarket and get the following:
Then, Saturday or Sunday (depending on if he has to play Tennis) at around 16:30 we both go to the kitchen and get out these ingredients. We take out the 4 kazen pizza (Quattro frommagi pizza, the cheapest kind there is) and lay it out on the roster for the oven, turn up the oven to preheat it, and then my son opens up the bag of smoked bacon strips.
Coördinated and practiced procedure
We both, with hands, washed, of course, take a hand full of bacon and spread it across the pizza, until all the bacon is evenly spread across the surface. Then we each take a bag of the cheese grates and spread the cheese from the bags onto the pizza, covering all the bacon.
Then we take "The Pletter" (a wooden spatula) with which we slap the top of the pizza until it is just flat enough and low enough to fit into our oven. I then take the pizza and put it into the oven, at 200 degrees celsius and we wait for 10, 11, or 12 minutes.
The smell of the cheese and the bacon... aaaaah incredible!
I then take out the pizza, take our USS Enterprise pizza cutter, and slice the pizza into 8 points, before putting it on the table in the living room. We then smile at each other smelling the cheese and bacon, and then turn on the tv, and start an episode of Rick&Morty which we then watch eating our "Pizza Loca" and hanging against one another on the couch.
That whole process, from keeping track of my articles tips, the WhatsApp message all the way through to sitting on the couch and eating the pizza while watching a cartoon together, every bit of it.
THAT is what constitutes true happiness for me.
THAT is what keeps me going, keeps me alive even.
All thanks to all of you!
And it wouldn't be possible without Simon's creation of read.cash, @MarcDeMesel generosity in donating the funds for Randy, and the wonderful community here on read.cash. (YES! That means YOU!)
And I wanted to express the gratitude I feel for all of you for the joy and happiness and the father-son memories, that you made possible.
*****Thank you.*****
*****Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and from my Son, Arend.*****
Thank you for reading this
Stay safe, and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
What is the purpose of ReadCash?
And how should BicoinCash be used?
I have been around here on read.cash for a while now. In the time I have spent here, I have noticed that some people have some misconceptions about the platform and other related things. Since I am not overly inspired today, I thought it was time to address these issues.
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The first of the misconceptions.
One misconception I often see in articles posted is about the purpose of read.cash.
There are people who seem to think readcash is there to provide them with an easy income. This is completely false. For some it was, is, and will be, but that was not and is not the purpose of readcash.
The purpose of readcash is to introduce people to the cryptocurrency BitcoinCash (BCH). It does this by providing a way to get rewarded (for content) and rewarding them with Bicoin Cash (BCH), which is deposited in the wallet created during registration.
Introduction of new people to the BitcoinCash (BCH) currency.
Someone who has no experience with cryptocurrencies or Bitcoin Cash and is in possession of a real value in Bitcoin Cash. This person will naturally want to know more about it and eventually convert it into something tangible, like fiat currency or something purchased for BitcoinCash (BCH).
This way, this newbie to BitcoinCash will experience the ease, speed, and low cost of transactions with BitcoinCash (BCH). Those who already have experience with BTC or Etherium will immediately notice how much cheaper and faster the transactions are with BitcoinCash. That is the reason for the existence of read.cash. That is its purpose. Today, this is done by having an algorithm (or AI) read all the published articles.
The AI is lovingly called Randy.
It then "judges" the originality and quality of the article against an unknown set of requirements. If it then finds the article to be "good," it is rewarded with a tip. This tip is paid from a fund donated (almost?) entirely by Marc DeMesel. From this fund, I believe once totaling $1.500.000,=, tips worth about $1000,= are awarded every day for articles that have been published.
https://read.cash/@MarcDeMesel
Other ways to gain rewards.
Of course, there are many rewards in the community as well, and that's a good thing. Under each article you will find the possibility to give a tip to the author, to give a thumbs up or down, and to comment on the article. Users can also sponsor their favorite authors to reward them for writing more and/or better articles.
If you write and post often enough and get tipped a lot...
Together, these mechanisms offer some the opportunity to make writing and publishing articles on read.cash a second (or even first) source of income. The problem with some of those who do or aspire to do this lies in their attitude toward read.cash and the income to which they believe they are entitled. More specifically, from their reaction when that income does not materialize.
When it is assumed it is what they are entitled to because that's what readcash is for.
I have seen some post angry articles, or articles meant to elicit pity because Randy (the pet name for the Random Reward Algorithm AI) did not reward them with tips for a while.
I have seen some abandon their accounts and open new ones for the same reason.
Over time, many people also showed up here thinking they could easily make a few bucks by posting articles they copied (plagiarized) from somewhere else, and then got angry when they failed with that plan.
All these things because some have the misconception that the purpose of this site is to pay people to write and post articles.
This is not good for read.cash
But that's enough (ranting?) about that for today. There is another thing I have to get off my chest.
How to use the BitcoinCash (BCH) you acquire?
In this article, I want to talk about another misconception or at least a point of contention. It is not about this site itself, but about the currency. It is about BitcoinCash.
One of the things I keep seeing is the idea that the goal is to gain BCH and then keep it indefinitely. HODL for the sake of HODL, or to put it on DEX to make a percentage profit from it. You seem to think this is beneficial to the BitcoinCash currency, community, price, and growth. It is not.
BitcoinCash is a cryptocurrency that replaces or at least complements fiat currency. It is used in daily transactions, just like a dollar or a euro, for example. It is used to buy goods and/or services. It pays the rent or electricity bills. It may also be used one day to give a little change to the homeless violin player on the street.
BTC is for HODLing, BitcoinCash is for use as everyday currency.
For HODL purposes, there is another cryptocurrency that is much better for that. That's what BTC is good for. For people with 'portfolios' who want to use cryptocurrencies to earn more cryptocurrencies. For people who want to 'park' their assets in something other than stocks, gold, or real estate.
These people should turn to BTC, not BitcoinCash. For BitcoinCash to grow, become known, and be adopted, it must be spent. It needs to be used.
Merchants should be chided by their customers for not yet offering the ability to pay for their products with BitcoinCash. They should be asked every day by their customers, "Can I pay with BitcoinCash here?".
In supermarkets, grocery stores, movie theaters... anywhere, everywhere.
That will not happen if every BCH profit is parked on a custodial or non-custodial wallet and neither will it happen when it is staked in some farm or liquidity pool on some Decentralized Exchange.
I HAVE SPOKEN!
Thanks for reading this.
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
First time, at the Mediterranean sea! Part IV.
Part I https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/first-time-at-the-medeterrainian-sea-74bab3d3
Part II https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/first-time-at-the-mediterranean-sea-part-ii-867163c6
Part III https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/first-time-at-the-mediterranean-sea-part-iii-f646d3f3
Where were we? Ah yes, getting ready to play football!
As it turned out there were exactly 11 Germans of the 22 that turned out to play so before I knew it it had been decided we'd play Germany against the world. Well, the world turned out to be me, two other Dutch kids, a couple of years younger than me, and some other nationalities I can't quite remember.
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The football game
We got the kick-off and the game was afoot as they say. I knew for the get-go that it was going to be a painful experience for me. Karl and his buddies took every opportunity to "oops" me. There came a point, I have no idea what the score was, that the ball was passed high towards the edge of the 16-meter box and I went for it. So did Karl, him defending and me attacking. While I went for the ball, he went for a head butt and hit me in the side of my head with the front of his. I went down hard and the activity ''leader' from the camping had no doubt that what Karl had done was intentional.
Even back then I could talk my way out of a lot of situations
When I could focus again she was railing against Karl about being tired of his shit and she was going to go to the Camping management to get him banned from at least all activities and preferably from the camping. I, slowly, walked up to them and stepped in between them, drawing attention from the activity girl. I began talking to her in what we like to call StoneCoal English. With that, we mean English but with a Dutch accent and grammar. I began explaining that she shouldn't be so hard on Karl, that he and I know each other and we always roughing it and so on. It took me five minutes talking but in the end, she relented and I got Karl off the hook.
Stick to German Karl. My German is better than your English!
When the soccer event was over (don't ask who won) Karl came over with his buddies and kind of got in my space, trying to intimidate me I thought. No one spoke except for Karl himself "Hey Dutch. Why did you stick me up?" he asked, obviously trying to ask why I stuck up for him, but failing.
I looked at him confused and replied. "Vieleicht kansst du besser Deutch reden mit mir. I glaube nicht dass du gerade gesagt hast wass du sagen woltest"
Now I know that for the German language-lovers that was an abomination, far from reasonably accurate German. But for Karl and his buddies, it was evidently a shocking thing to hear a Dutch kid speak German close enough for them to understand what I tried to say and they liked it. Whatever it was they were going to do or say was evidently out of the window and they turned and walked away.
Obviously not used to other nationalities speaking German-ish
Karl turned around for a moment to say "Ich habe mich in Bezug auf dich geirrt, du bist in Ordnung. Wir sehen uns!" and then turned back to walk away with his buddies.
Lisette
As soon as they were out of sight I sat down rubbing the spot on my head where Karl had connected and let out a moaning sound. From behind, I heard someone say "I don't get it. What's your game? What side are you on?" I turned around and saw two things. The first was Chryselle walking away, talking to some other girl I hadn't seen before. The second was that I was seeing it looking between a pair of women's legs. Following the legs up, I was surprised, or shocked really, to find out the position I was in afforded me a look at parts of her clothing I wasn't supposed to be seeing. So I kept raising my head, doing my damned best not to stop and linger my gaze at any particular point, which I admit was hard, until found it was Lisette standing over me with her hands on her hips and an odd look on her face.
The pain in my head helped me out at that moment!
I got up, wincing at the pain in my head, and while rubbing the painful spot looked at her questioningly. "You are the sister of the girl I was talking to yesterday..eeeh…Chryselle?" I asked. She looked at me for a moment with what felt like an appraising look. That moment gave me a moment to do the same and I realized that where her sister used her hairstyle and make-up together with the choice of outfit to emphasize her appealing features Lisette seemed to do the opposite.
"Yes, my name is Lisette. Can we talk for a moment?" she said, having come to some form of conclusion, judging by her expression. "Sure. Let's go to that place just outside the Camping, with the shaded area, and have a coffee or something." I said in reply and added "I'm buying" putting on my cutest smile.
She snickered, then laughed for a few moments before looking at me a bit seriously. "You have not had much experience talking to girls, have you. Let me give you a tip. That smile you just gave me… It doesn't work the way you think it does." she said. She then came to stand next to me and grabbed my arm. "But I will accept your invitation anyway. Let's go!" she declared and started walking. The tug on my arm as she did prompt me to start walking as well, a bit overwhelmed by her taking my arm and walking with me as if we were a couple.
We walked without actually saying anything but along the way I did notice some people staring at us, Lisette waving at some people and even saying some words in greeting to others. Didn't understand a word of it, of course, my French was as limited as it was.
Eager to please, suspiciously so!
When we got to the little cafe across the street from the entrance to the camping and had taken a seat in the shade a man who I thought at first was a waiter came up to us with a very welcoming and enthusiastic vibe.
"Bonjour mademoiselle lisette. Que puis-je obtenir pour vous et votre amant?" he asked as he got closer. She beamed a smile at the man and said "Bonjour Gilbert, tout va bien pour vous et votre famille? Je voudrais un thé aux feuilles vertes et..." Lisette then looked at me, obviously wanting me to say what I wanted to order. "Just a coffee and a paracetamol if you have any," I said. Obviously, the man didn't understand as he looked questioningly at Lisette who happily translated.
Funny how my memory works. But that is off-topic, just trust me this was what was said.
"Il prendra un café et quelque chose contre les maux de tête s’il vous plaît" she said and i swear the man actually clacked his heels saying "Bien sur mademoiselle" before he turned and started shouting at someone inside to get our orders done. It got done quickly too. In no time two steaming cups, one with tea and one with coffee, sat before us on the table and two pills on a little saucer next to the coffee obviously were the pain relief I asked for. Before the man, Gilbert, went back inside he addressed Lisette one more time.
"Bien sûr, c’est sur la maison. S’il vous plaît, donnez mes salutations à votre père." he said, bowed and then swiveled on his heels and walked away.
Tea, coffee, and 2 headache pills. Awesome start of.. what? A date?
I dropped a cube of sugar into my coffee and stirred it for a few seconds but kept looking at her as I did. She was scanning around, as if…checking something it looked like. When her attention got back to our table and me, she sighed a bit, in a way that said "so how shall I deal with you" before picking up the cup of tea in two hands and holding it before close to her face to smell it. "So, are you going to answer my question?" she asked with a slight smile on her face. Her expression almost seemed like some exciting game started at that moment.
A game, or an interrogation?
"I would like to, but I have no idea what you mean by 'my game' and which side I am on," I told her, looking her in the eye with my most sincere expression. "Maybe you should explain what games are going on and what sides there are. Maybe then I can tell you if I'm playing and if I am on any of the sides." I added. Taking a sip from her tea and then blowing over it to cool it down some more I couldn't help but feel like I was being appraised again before she put down her tea, leaned forward to look me straight into my eyes.
"So I am to believe that you came here with your family, just a mother, and father…no a grandmother and father by the looks of them, no siblings or pets, to spend your vacation. You do not know anyone from Karl's family or their entourage. Neither do you know who my sister and I are, or rather who our father is? You just happen to stumble across the bay yesterday by accident and happened to show up and participate in the soccer (it's the word she used, I'd never use it) event at the camping that Karl and his friends had signed up for by coincidence?" she asked.
Part V coming soon!
To be continued in the fifth episode of this series (never expected this to turn into this much of a story! Hope it's not too long!)
I am honored by your willingness to read to this point and grateful as well. But if you could click the thumbs up button you'd make me even happier. If you even subscribe then you'd be legendary! But if you don't want to, I'm grateful anyway!
Thanks for reading this!
Stay safe and stay happy!
My value of ori, pre and seq trilogies Star Wars.
Though at the time the prequels were released the mere fact there were prequels being released and that there was "fresh" Star Wars on screen for us after so many years greatly colored my experience of them. over the years my view on them has changed, even if only by my own aging.
But still, overall i feel they're very good taking the, at first glance, few hints and references from the original trilogy and building a history on them that was detailed, believable and in many ways deepening and expanding the understanding of the fans about the Jedi, the Sith, the Force and how extensive yet subtle the machinations of the Sith had been before Palpatine and yet how those machinations were part of an overall plan to achieve the destruction of the Jedi and the rule over the entire galaxy.
This was later solidified and finished during the Clone Wars series .
With the sequels, when taken as a whole, the two trilogies and the Clone Wars series have been violently raped and murdered before being declared to have as much significance and historical/cultural/social impact on the history of the Galaxy as having factually not taken place at all.
A very lengthy and mutilated sentence I couldn't not withhold from y'all
The Force awakens seen through the lens of the last two films is no better and as guilty as those two films but when on its own merits or as the bridge down from the original trilogy and setup to the sequel trilogy which would then be with the last two films being depictions of the Galaxy at large doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past because of the ignorance of their history, the Jedi's realization of, and return to, the Jedi's roots when Qui-Gon, Yoda, Anakin, and Luke understanding that only balance in the force can keep the darkness from overwhelming the light or the light consuming the dark.
Ryan Johnson's Crime against Star Wars-ity, and fall to the Mad Side.
But the last two films weren't that. They were at best nothing hardly related in any way to the original trilogy, the prequels or even the first of the trilogy, and a violent unprovoked, and violent violation of the creators, consumers, and future of the franchise.
The sickest and most offensive of the last two films in the sequels being episode VIII "the Last Jedi" which Ryen Johnson turned into the vengeful harbinger of the loathing, hatred, disrespect, and condescension Ryen Johnson feels toward both the original trilogy and fans as the prequel trilogy and its fans.
These two final films in the triple saga are best considered a nightmarish drunken dream that never happened and was forgotten.
The Upcoming series provide opportunities to take some steps in that operation while tying up the last strands of loose threads left in the originals and prequels. If it will be an opportunity taken and properly applied we shall have to wait and see. I certainly hope so, and that Ryan Johnson will be forever banned from even thinking about anything related to Star Wars.
Warning, aggressive malware on Windows 11 active!
https://youtu.be/1bpE1IpXcfs
UPDATE! Click HERE for the most ~~appre~~ ... sorry, comprehensive and accurate info on the ransomware I could find! https://www.myantispyware.com/2022/02/02/how-to-remove-bbbw-ransomware-decrypt-bbbw-files/#restore
*****other related updates are at bottom of this article.*****
This is not a drill!
I've just barely, and not entirely successfully, been able to prevent my windows 11 box from being encrypted and ransomed! I was lucky I was paying attention and saw a window pop up and vanish within a tenth of a second which made me suspicious.
Wait for a second, what's going on?
Next, I noticed my Defender icon came up with an exclamation mark. In my notifications (which didn't pop up as they should have) the customary notice that windows defender was disabled was noted. I immediately went into my task hacker (task manager on steroids, but task manager would've done nicely as well.) and started end tasking active tasks which I didn't recognize. Most were named with numbers only.
Had to be quick though!
As soon as I ended one task another activated, but the task manager I used automatically shows the task chain, which task started which task so to speak, so I could identify the task that started it all, which was an inactive background task and end that. This gave me the chance to catch up and eventually end all the tasks going that were suspect. The next thing I did was shut down the system. Of course, windows update couldn't care less about what was going on and happily started to update! (of course, telling me not to turn off the power).
Nailbiting!
The wait for the update to finish and the machine to shut down was agonizing. I was pretty confident I'd shut down all the processes and running tasks that were related to (what I later identified to be) the ransomware encryption process. But I wasn't completely sure, which meant that if I goofed up the malware was now encrypting my drives without interference instead of windows updating some stupid stuff.
My fortune fell to my side for once, though I didn't know that at the time.
Next course of action.
Next, I did was dig up the USB stick with the Windows 11 install image on it and booted from that. Then I went into repair and so on to try a restore point. I knew I had one barely a week old (can't remember why I made it but I'm glad I did) and I set the setup application to restore the computer to that point in time.
(CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO RESTORE IN W11) https://www.wimware.com/how-to/restore-windows-11-system.html
Before doing the actual restore I ran the check to see which apps were affected and decided I could live with that. Only 4 apps I had uninstalled would return and only 2 apps I had installed would disappear. Not too big of a problem. So I went on with the restoration, waited, and nervously anticipated the reboot.
After the reboot, I immediately installed the Malwarebytes premium 14 day trial and had it scan my computer thoroughly. Unfortunately, whatever file the malware was in was removed by the restore operation so I cannot say which it was. I know that windows defender was up and running when it happened and obviously failed to protect me.
Looking deeper into my drives and apps though I noticed i wasn't completely fast enough and some damage had been done. Steam's main folder was devoid of executables and anything possibly resembling configuration files or other files with possibly interesting information was gone. In the folder, I found a txt file called _readme.txt and the content confirmed what I'd suspected from the start: Ransomware!
The _readme.txt content:
`ATTENTION!`
`Don't worry, you can return all your files!`
`All your files like pictures, databases, documents and other important are encrypted with strongest encryption and unique key.`
`The only method of recovering files is to purchase decrypt tool and unique key for you.`
`This software will decrypt all your encrypted files.`
`What guarantees you have?`
`You can send one of your encrypted file from your PC and we decrypt it for free.`
`But we can decrypt only 1 file for free. File must not contain valuable information.`
`You can get and look video overview decrypt tool:`
`https://we.tl/t-qqj8MrDVtG`
`Price of private key and decrypt software is $980.`
`Discount 50% available if you contact us first 72 hours, that's price for you is $490.`
`Please note that you'll never restore your data without payment.`
`Check your e-mail "Spam" or "Junk" folder if you don't get answer more than 6 hours.`
`To get this software you need write on our e-mail:`
`support@sysmail.ch`
`Reserve e-mail address to contact us:`
`helprestoremanager@airmail.cc`
`Your personal ID:`
`[ON THIS LOCATION WAS A LONG STRING OF NUMBERS AND LETTERS IN CAPS AMD SMALLCAPS THAT IS IDENTIFIABLE FOR THEM PESKY LAMERS, oops i meant HACKERS SO I REPLACED IT WITH THIS TEXT}`
Only 4 folders were affected.
I was damned lucky I could act as quickly as I did, limiting the damage to only 4 folders. Steam (reinstall, copy the exes to the old location, and steam was back with the library intact), write monkey, and some other apps seem to have been affected.
Still investigating! But here's the summary so far:
I found out that this ransomware has been identified. It is called STOP Djvu! It's a new variation on an older one but it's got some nasty mutations. Like when the encrypting occurs with an online connection the encryption key is unique and, currently, undecipherable in any way. It also manages to fool Windows Defender.
Anyway, I just wanted you all to have this warning, so you can take your own measures to prevent all your files from becoming encrypted and you basically getting f%#$d by this new variant (2 days old).
UPDATE 2: I was less fortunate than I thought. It seems many files were encrypted and are unrecoverable. So, excuse me while I go cry and feel sorry for myself a couple of hours.
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
First time, at the Mediterranean sea! Part III.
Part II is here https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/first-time-at-the-mediterranean-sea-part-ii-867163c6
Getting the low-down from Charles.
The blunt
As I looked at the offered smoke I started grinning. Just a month or so before I had, through sheer coincidence, smoked my first joint and had been smoking once a week ever since. Before leaving on vacation I had spent some time agonizing over whether or not I should take some weed or something with me. With the number of borders we'd be passing and the reputation of the tough justice against soft drugs in France I decided not to. Here I was, in the south of France, and on my first hike around the camping, I'm offered a blunt...
I thought it was pretty ironic at the time. Ten minutes later the blunt was lit and the high settled in. Charles and I got to talking and at some point, he asked me; "So, I'm curious, how much have you figured out about our little group? You know, you met most of them at our little secret beach?"
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The first hint there was more than I thought going on.
This gave me pause. I had not even thought about if there was anything to figure out let alone what. After a few moments of consideration, I came up with something at least. "Karl is pretty much the one at the front of the German contingency. Chryselle seems to be the one for everyone else, including Karl for the moment, as long as he wants to or thinks it is possible to get back together with Chryselle," I said, watching for any reaction from Charles to see if I was right or not. No luck there though, "Go on" being the only response he gave.
The Bavarian "Gesellschaft"
Thinking back to what I'd seen and heard on that beach I came up with some more observations. "Karl and the two Germans, as well as the girl with the local guy, have some kind of connection. I saw them all have the same symbol on them. Either a pin on their jacket or embroidered on their shirt." I told him, to which Charles nodded.
"The Bavarian High Something something beer something-something is what it called. A society of high ups in the Bavarian beer industry. They're here 'roughing' it on their vacation to keep in touch with their roots or something. It's all for show though. They've got sectioned off part of the camping all to themselves and their so-called caravans are at least 12 meters long. Can't even move them without a flatbed truck" Charles told me, in a tone that told me he wasn't their biggest fan.
"So what's the deal with Chryselle and her sister?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could. Suddenly Charles looked me straight in the eye "You didn't fall in love with her already did you? Cause if you did, you're not gonna have a good time, believe me." he said. I passed back the blunt with questions in my expression. Taking the blunt, then a hit from it, he shook his head before letting it hang as if in resignation. "Listen, you haven't heard this from me, let that be clear. The only reason they allow me to be among them is that I can supply things and because I'm not allied to anyone side between them. I want to keep it that way." he said looking straight at me.
"Having said that. The relationship between Karl and Chryselle has been artificial from the beginning. It was something they were pushed into so to speak by their parents. On the German side the desire to settle into the highest social circles around Cap d'Agde played a role and on the French side the hope that if Chryselle and her sister spent their summers hanging around with more 'civilized' tourists, as opposed to the 'rabble' in the cheaper camping sites, they'd be less likely to get into 'trouble'" Charles explained.
I nodded, not unfamiliar with that kind of force working in the social environments that parents were susceptible to. "So things never got real serious between them, at first just acting like boyfriend-girlfriend for their parents' sake." Charles continued, while I listened closely.
His point of view
"Last year though things changed. One thing that had changed was Karl having reached 18 years of age, and being considered an adult as well as getting his car for his birthday. This got his attention from…a wider range of girls and women." the story continued.
From her point of view
"Chryselle on the other hand had been impressed with the importance of their family social image and exposure, with her dad being a Magistrate du siege or something. She became aware that her social life, ie. boyfriend or single, breaking up or being broken up with, status, mattered to people other than her family." Charles said, then stopped for a moment, seemingly considering whether or not to tell me something. Then, obviously having made his choice, he continued.
"When Karl came here last year, in his new car and instantly became the target of almost every girl that got a good look at him Chryselle decided that their relationship should become more defined and formalized…more serious and exclusive. Karl always had a crush on Chryselle from the beginning and followed Chryselle's lead happily at first." Charles said, then pausing to take a hit from the blunt.
Shit hitting fans
"As he realized though that his options had expanded since the year before he began to… taste sample the buffet so to speak. After a few days, he didn't even try to hide it from Chryselle who until then had thought she could trust him and she was his exclusive girlfriend. One night, near the end of the holidays there was a lot of partying going on and Chryselle snapped. I don't know the full details but I do know she managed to push Karl's car into the harbor in a very public and embarrassing scene." Charles finished.
I took in what he told me and for a moment considered he was feeding me a whole lot of bullshit and nonsense. I dismissed that notion though, somehow getting the feeling he was on the up and up. He had no reason to feed me bullshit stories as far as I could tell.
Contemplating in silent enjoyment
After a while of enjoying the effects of the blunt in silence Charles out of nowhere started talking again.
"Listen, if you're smart, you'll stay clear of those two while you're here. Karl's folks have of course started a legal case against Chryselle for the damages to the car, and Chryselle's folks are pressuring her to make up with Karl to motivate his parents to drop the case or settle somehow. That's the only reason she is talking to Karl. What she really wants to do is hurt Karl and humiliate him if she can. Karl noticed that dating Chryselle makes him more desirable to other girls, and wants to recover some of his lost dignity after Chryselle tore him a new one last year. I don't know how that is going to play out over the coming weeks but I do know anyone getting mixed up in that nightmare is going to end up collateral damage." Charles said, seemingly making the point he'd been trying to make from the beginning.
Heading back to the Camping
Soon after that, I said goodbye to Charles, as I had promised my parents to get back to the camping before dark, at least on the first evening of the vacation. Luck more than anything else leads me back to the camping by dusk and I joined my parents for a barbeque and a game of cards we always played when we were at camping, called "Jokeren". The two bottles of wine were almost gone when we went to bed well after midnight.
Early heat, early rise.
When I woke up again, just a tiny bit of a wooden head from the wine of the evening before, my folks had gone to the beach and would probably stay there all day, their note told me. I took my time eating breakfast and copious amounts of coffee before taking a shower and getting dressed. When I took a look at the clock when I was done I was very surprised at how early it was.
It was a little after nine o'clock in the morning, and the temperature was already well above my comfort threshold. Not sure about what to do I looked at the camping's entertainment and activity schedule and saw that there was a football match being organized at 11:00. Not planning on playing but hoping to get to know some more people on the camping I decided to go to the big football pitch at the center of the camping, before trying to find Charles to do some shopping.
Checking out the activities.
When I got closer to the football pitch I noticed there was quite a turnout and when I walked onto the field one of the two Camping employees responsible for organizing the activities immediately came up to me. She introduced herself and began to explain they were one person short of forming two teams and practically begged me to participate. Never one to disappoint anyone if I could avoid it (it never hurts to help) I eventually agreed and signed in.
Identified and whispered about
Ten minutes later the field was cleared and the ones who'd agreed to play were asked to come to the middle of the field. That's when I noticed that Karl and 6 others from their group of beer people were also playing. Before I could even consider backing out, Karl caught sight of me, and the whispering and elbowing ensued.
And what happened is going to be revealed in part IV of this series. I hope you enjoyed reading the story so far and are interested enough to read the next part when I've published it! I love thumbs up's and subs but am thoroughly satisfied with the read-alone as well.
Thank you for reading this.
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
I'm making progress in creating,developing and understanding Tokenomy. Got a pool going even!
https://imghost.org/images/2022/01/29/progress-DDD-MEMA.md.png
First time, at the Mediterranean sea! Part II.
Part one is here. https://read.cash/@AnonSunamun/first-time-at-the-medeterrainian-sea-fff65df7
Where was I? Aaah yes. the little sheltered beach.
SO, there I was on a small hidden beach at the Mediterranean Sea, with 3 guys barking at me in semi-English to piss off, trying to convince me it was a private beach. This might have been a smart idea and might have even worked were it not for the fact we were only 3 meters away from a sign that said that the beach was a public beach and some warnings and stuff. So when i pointed at that sign, and they looked at what it said, they were out of their mental reach and the call went out to their leader.
"Hey Karl, dieser bloter arsch wollt nicht abhauen, was machen wir mit ihn?"
The guy who was having the livid discussion with the awesome-looking girl looked up annoyed, either by the interruption or the presence of me, before saying.
"Wirklich? Sie sind mit drei, er ist allein, dabij brauchen sie mir doch nicht?"
And dismissively turned back to the girl he was, I now noticed, having a verbal fight with. My attention was quickly drawn back to the three guys in front of me because two of them grabbed me by my arms and started to drag me, physically, off the beach. Before I could get in a protest of my own, either verbally or physically, two more persons walked onto the beach.
A guy and a girl, both about my age, immediately stood in the way of the three guys trying to haul me off the beach and started shouting at Karl, obviously to intervene. It was all in French so most of it was lost in the lack of translation but when Karl, not looking any happier, came stomping over to address the situation I picked up some words here and there to make out that Karl and his friends, but mostly Karl, had drawn the attention of the law enforcement and the local government. And despite the major incident that had been done to him rather than by him, he had gotten the bad end of the whole thing, and therefore they couldn't afford any eye-catching incidents.
The whole group was going back and forth in French, German and some English so fast it got on my nerves so I shouted
"HEY! Can someone who speaks either Dutch, English, or German calmly explain to me what the hell is going on? I'm here on my first day of a vacation looking for nice spots, good shops, and nice hangouts. Nothing more. So I don't know what all this fuss is about?!?!"
The answer came in an accented English voice from the right, from "the girl" that Karl had been arguing with.
Again, even up close, she was astonishingly gorgeous.
"I will try to explain," she said and turned to face the others "Let me handle this okay?" she told them, and almost as one the group dispersed and went about whatever they thought they should be doing.
Turning back to me she did something no girl, that I noticed, had done before. She looked deep into my eyes when she addressed me again.
"I'm sorry about this situation. My name is Chryselle and these are my friends. We've been here in the summer for some years and know each other for a long and we are a group together. We are planning on having a party here tomorrow after the finale of the WorldCup, and we are right now picking up the trash and debris and cleaning the beach for tomorrow. Almost nobody knows about this beach and the others fear you could let out the secret, making having the party here tomorrow not much fun anymore."
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She was talking to me.... ?!
It was a little bit hard to follow her rhythm in speaking English and I hadn't realized she'd come to the end of her plea, which caused an awkward silence to follow. When I realized she was waiting for me to respond I quickly did.
"Well, first of all, thank you to take the time and effort to speak to me like a normal person. Second of all, let me assure you the secret of this little beach is safe. I shall not utter a word about it to anyone." I assured her. But before she could react i decided to see if I could keep the conversation going. "So everyone in your group is here on vacation?" I asked.
"Non, Robert over there, I and my sister are, as you would say, local natives. There is also a British boy, not here yet, but he is not on vacation either, nor is he native. He moved here some years ago, and well…he eventually became part of our group." she answered. Then she looked at the Wine I was still carrying awkwardly.
"I see you have good taste. These are the best produced in the area. Nice to see you buying local goods. The baguette though, I think would be better without sand in it." she joked.
I looked at the bread and saw she was right. The whole thing was covered in sand. "Yeah, I kind of fell down earlier, and protected the wine, not the bread." I explained and noticed that behind Chryselle one person was looking at me and her talking. It was Karl and he was looking angrier by the second. I decided not to push my chances and wrap up the conversation.
First attempt at a graceful peaceful exit.
"Hey about this place. I'm not going to tell anyone about it. I'm gonna leave you all alone, just like your boyfriend over there wants it." And started to turn away, thinking about something, anything, to say on my way off the beach to leave a memorable impression behind but that wasn't going to happen.
Chryselle whipped her head around catching Karl looking at us and his expression. Then she turned back to face me saying "He is my ex-boyfriend, we… I broke our relationship off last year." she said, with a bit of a scowl on her face.
Then she took me by the elbow and walked me over to a shaded spot. "Sit down, tell me, have you made any friends here yet?"
Now I'm not the most perceptive guy when it comes to vibes, subtle undertones, and hidden meanings, but even I could figure out what was going on there. And I also had noticed that all the Germans in this group of theirs had the same lanyard kind of thing with an access pass as I had. This meant they were on the actual same camping that I was. Having them actively pissed at me would possibly make for problems I didn't want to bother my folks with.
Second attempt.
So I started to try to excuse myself from the conversation with Chryselle glancing in Karl's direction hoping he'd at least notice I was trying to be diplomatic about it.
But Chryselle picked up on that instantly and put me in that awkward position by saying
"oh, you don't have to worry about him." she said, nodding in Karl's direction. I followed her nod and turned to look in that direction, and when I turned back it was like Chryselle was suddenly a lot closer to me than she'd been before I turned my head. The nervousness that raged through me was indescribable. This kind of thing (gorgeous girls, talking to me, stepping closer to me) just didn't happen to guys like me. Well, it didn't happen to me at least. But I got no chance to reflect on it in my inner thoughts.
With a different voice, deeper and softer, she said
"He is just jealous now and still hurt about what I did last year to his car, but soon he will have another holiday- honey and forget about me, let alone you. So sit down and tell me about yourself, while we open one of your bottles," she said and pointed at a spot in the shade in the sand.
Then, under a mischievous smile, she asked
"Or is it me you do not like and do not want to talk to?"
This girl was dangerous to a guy like me. She could make me do anything.
She knew I liked her, and she knew I would give my right arm and leg to talk to her. So by asking me that question she let me know she knew and she let me know she knew I wasn't going to do or say anything that could get me on her bad side.
Saved by the sister!
Lucky for me, or unfortunately because no one knows how it would have turned out otherwise, Lisette seemed to pop out of nowhere and very energetically started to talk to Chryselle in French. After she finished talking she disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared and Chryselle turned to me again.
"I am so sorry, but I have to go. My father wants to talk to me, or so my sister said. I'd better go and see what is the matter." she told me and started walking after her sister. Then she turned around and told me
"But hey, if you do not find any friends or something, you have an open invitation from me to come here tomorrow evening after the football match ok. Don't worry about that oaf. (meaning Karl) I'll make sure he leaves you alone." she said, before turning around and walking after her sister.
I could stop myself just in time from shouting after her, as I realized I never told her my name. But with Karl steaming and barely controlling himself just a meter or 20 away I thought the better of it.
Astonished I decided that the moment had come for me to make my own exit, so as not to give the Germans a chance to "talk" to me again. I picked up the two bottles of wine, threw the baguette into the trashcan, and walked off the beach. As I came to the top of the little slope that leads into the sheltered bay and beach I heard a voice in perfect Posh British accent saying "Either you have no idea who Chryselle and Karl are, or you like to play with explosives".
Enter: Charles, the most British Brit I had ever met.voice
As I turned to see who it was that was talking, and if he was talking to me I found it had been a short, red-haired individual with an unmistakenly British air about him. Besides his accent, he wore a shirt that looked like it was made out of a Union Jack, and green pants that were too long to be shorts or Bermuda but too short to be normal pants. Never ever seen anyone before or since wearing such a thing.
He had suspenders over his shoulders clipped onto the top of the pants but hadn't tucked in his shirt making the whole look kind of…goofy, but still very British.
I stopped walking and turned to face him.
"Both are actually accurate. Never backed away from some fun with explosives, but not applicable in this case. I actually know nothing about those two, this area or if I'm honest, about anything regarding France, French or the French." then I nodded to the wine under my arms "honestly I was just looking for a spot to enjoy these here before they're boiling"
A smile appeared on his face that was reflected in his eyes when he said:
"Charles is the name, and I think I can help you. Not just with the wine, I know this area pretty well and can tell you some things about the forces of nature that are Karl and Chryselle." nodding over to the beach to indicate he was talking about those Karl and Chryselle.
"My name's Christ, my friends call me Shake," I told him and I shook the offered hand to formalize our getting acquainted.
"Follow me then," he told me and started walking up to "surface level" and then turned left, away from the coastline. I was intrigued by this funny little Brit, and decided what the hell, and walked after him.
Another secluded out of sight spot
Half an hour later we were in a valley between two rocky hills when Charles turned and said "Vwallah" in the most butchered French with an English accent I've ever heard. He pointed over at two boulders and proceeded to sit down on one of them. "This spot is the best spot for drinking smoking and otherwise illicit activities for miles around. It's nice and cool with a little bit of a breeze to top it off," he said and pulled out what at first glance seemed to be a cigar. As he lit it and blew out a cloud of smoke though I could smell it wasn't just a cigar, but a blunt of impressive proportions. "You fancy...?" he asked holding out the blunt.
That is it for Part II of the story. As advised by some of you I'll be trying to make the parts a bit shorter than the first part, and hope you all enjoy reading this story from my youth and give me a thumbs up or maybe even subscribe! I'm just glad you read it, that's what I post this for.
Thanks for reading this.
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
First time, at the medeterrainian sea!
In this article, I will attempt to recreate the one I was about to post up the day before yesterday but didn't get to post because readcash decided to copy a recovered something into the cache memory clicking on write full article.
Now i admit, i wasn't entirely 100% attentive to details at that time, which was the cause that i then accidentally pasted the crud that readcash had put in the cache over the story in the text editor. Before i knew it the story was "ins blaue hinein" as the Germans say.
It was gone.
It took me until i started writing this article to mentally recover from the blow. I took that hard because it was one of the best works i've ever written. But…I guess shit happens, little goats stay you keeping (don't ask) and so, i'll try to recreate the story from memory as much i can. I'll write the explanation why that in itself is almost a miracle but i'l stick to the story itself for this one.
And that story? What is it?
It's something that happened to me a long time ago, when i was 16 years old. It happened on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the weekend in which the FIFA World Cup 1990 Finale was played between Germany and Argentina, on Saturday.
I dedicate this story to Chryselle. "I am so sorry, Not for what i…we did but for what i didn't do after that weekend."
Auto Quotus Interruptus.
Hang on, sorry to interrupt but you can't start something like this without some context!
So here i am jumping in to interrupt myself, even before i got to the actual start of the actual story. I do this because i think i need to tell you about the "me" in 1990. I turned 16 in March that year and, because they felt a man should be able to ask a woman to dance at a wedding or other events, my parents had sent me to dance lessons as one of my bday gifts. I was the quintessential nerd, with parents who were his grandparents and those grandparents were…i don't want to say rich, but everyone i knew would have described us with that word. My weekly allowance was easily 5-10 times that of the average 16-year-old. So when i became a member of the dance school for the lessons i found out about the "free dancing Saturdays" for members of the school. It basically meant that members could come and dance for free on Saturday evening with cheap pricing on the drinks (no profit). In practice, it was a club on Saturday that was cheap and closed at 00.00 at night.
On those Free dance evenings, I learned the hard way that I had pretty much nothing going for me to gain the appreciation of the opposite sex, and I didn't fit in with any of the guys there. I usually sat alone, drinking way too much, and then went home at least tipsy, sometimes shitfaced. Just two weeks before the family vacation i discovered that there was one thing that i had that girls seemed to like more than they disliked me. I had money. How i found out is maybe a story for another day in itself, but anyway, that was me when the vacation began. Now i should also ad that it was the first time our vacation was going to the south of France, the Mediterranean sea no less, and we went to amping there with our caravan.
A huge Caravan!
A luxury edition, 7+ meter double axle caravan. (average is one axled, 4-5 meters long, and nowhere near as luxurious. I hated our caravan, as it stood out like a sore thumb every place we had ever been camping.)
`The picture shows the caravan without the hook on extension tent which expanded the space available with another 2,5 meters outward from the caravan!`
Ok enough of that. You got the basics: Nerd, 16 years old, socially underdeveloped (c64 assembler coding overdeveloped), and going out on Saturdays and drinking for 4 months, with more money to spend than any 16 year old should.
Setting off for le sud du France, well prepared
Wednesday morning At 07:00 sharp our family, everything packed and ready set off to drive to the south of France. I had given up trying to change my folks' minds and go to our normal vacation spot in Luxembourg the evening before so I wasn't as excited as i could be, more like in a "meh whatever" kind of mood. I had a walkman (an actual Sony Walkman cassette player" and some handheld games (Pacman and another i can't remember.) as well as some reading stuff for the road, and the whole back seat of the car to myself. Ma, which is what i called my grandmother and my grandfather was Pa, had made about 30 or 40 "bollekes" with an astonishing range of bread spreads to choose from and we each had 2 bottles of drinks so we were well prepared (we thought) and could hold out for the long drive ahead.
Well, that turned out to be relative and did not measure up to the practical situation.
The weather was unbearably hot. In the car we had 38 degrees Celcius, with our air conditioning on. That caused the bread spreads of some Bolletjes to take liquid shape, and then run out of their bolletjes and onto/into/over the others. So by 14:00, no one had any interest in any of the bolletjes. It was also one of the first times we learned about the traffic issues that strangely happen when The Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium have their vacations at the same time, and 22% of the tourists drive towards the south of France at the same time. So by 23:00 that evening, i was bored out of my mind, almost nauseous from the heat in the car, and we had only just passed Paris an hour before. We stopped then at a gas station/truck stop/parking lot which had a restaurant and toilet facilities rolled down the struts on the caravan and went to bed.
Yeah, sleep... no way Jose!
Thing is that parking lots like that are busy 24/7 with people that aren't exactly aware or caring of people trying to sleep. Refrigerated trucks have their engine running all the time and.…well, let's just say it was not sleepable at least to me. Pa snored like he was cutting trees with a chainsaw on top of it all so when we resumed driving at 06:00 i was not in a good mood and tired as ..…you know.
The rest of the drive was as miserable as the first day and when we finally did make it to our target area, meaning we had eyeballs on the Mediterranean sea, i found out there had been no reservations, no planned location, and we'd wing it as far as finding a camping spot went. An incredibly awesome strategy of course. So we had to spend another night at a gas station before we could go look for a free spot at a camping in the morning.
Oddly enough there were little to no free plots available.
Well, it was 13:00 ish on Friday when we finally found a spot, but it was only free for two days, so we'd have to move on again. You can imagine my joy, knowing that I'd be there for no more than a couple of days before having to go through the packing up, moving to another location, packing out (i refused to sleep in the caravan, so i had to pitch my tent and break it down again for that. Two things that make having a 4 person tent for me alone not a positive thing.
It was horrible!
The camping was horrible too, just to make things worse, with no entertainment, no swimming pool and the beach was 30 minutes walk away from the Camping. That was the start of the vacation for us in 1990. This went on for a week until Thursday. Moving from shitty camping to shittier camping, getting more pisssed every day. But on Thursday our luck changed.
Paradise!
We found a Camping that was fully decked out in facilities, 50 meters from the beach. This was the beach exit of the Camping itself:
The plots were nice and roomy, and clean. The neighbors across the "street" from us:
and there was a spot open for the next 3 weeks because of a cancellation!
Nerd go exploring
So when i woke up on Friday, at about 10:30, i double checked "this is the place we're going to stay for the whole vacation?" to make sure they hadn't changed their minds, then ate a good breakfast, changed into my "Hawaiian" clothes (Bermuda shorts and a blouse with Hawaiian print), snapped my sunglass covers onto my glasses, cashed my allowance (tripled because vacation) and set off exploring to see what was out there. in today's money, i think i had about 500 euros worth of cash with me. Back then every European country had its own currency so i had a shitload of Francs in my wallet.
Exploration commenced
Now scouting out the area on the first day of vacation if we were somewhere new was something i'd perfected over the decade or so that our family went on summer vacations to campings, and that year i knew i would have to find the entertainment, ie. bar, a good distance away from the Camping i was staying so i would not risk running into my folks while i was drunk. Because…well, my pa was an ex-commando who'd served in Korea voluntarily for 3 years. I think you can imagine what my folks would have been like when they found out that "oooh a few drinks if the atmosphere is good, nothing more" which i told them when they asked if i drank alcohol wasn't entirely accurately describing my alcohol intake at times. And i was planning on increasing said intake that vacation. I was planning on going into wild party mode, taking full advantage of the anonymity that being 1000s of kilometers from anyone that knew me would offer.
So after a good long walk, noting every spot with "party potential" i was kind of getting acquainted with the so much adored Mediterranean Sea by walking along the coast. I had surprised myself with the distance i'd walked because instead of packed beaches and rampant tourism i was in an area with a rocky surface all the way into the sea, no tourists, no locals, no nothing in sight for Kilometers. Far in the distance, i saw the town on the other side of which was the camping i was staying. I had already done "the going French maneuver" by that time so…picture it: An overweight (not yet obese) 16-year-old with clip-on sunglasses, in Bermuda and Hawaiian blouse, carrying an authentic french baguette (1 meter long) under one arm and two bottles of wine in my hands.
The little hidden bay with the awesome beach.
That is how i stumbled across the most gorgeous little beach in a sort of little bay, in between the rocks, 2 to 3 meters below the surface of the rocks, ie. out of sight of everything and everybody, with almost white sand, gently lapping shoreline and two (not sure if they were palm trees) trees that provided shade. And there were only a few people there! Two girls and 4 guys were there, and except for what i assumed was a couple (they looked to be constantly arguing, switching to and thro from English to French while throwing in some German every now and then. The others were busy picking up drift trash, and discussing (i learned later on) where they'd going to put the campfire, the beach chairs, and so on for the beach party that they'd be having on Saturday night after the World cup finals.
Not confident, just stupid brave.
After a couple of deep breaths, i thought "Fuck it, i'm going to introduce myself" and walked onto the beach. When i got within a reasonable range to identify features the girl arguing with the dude looked my way and caught my eye. I literally gasped open-mouthed, stumbled, and dropped my baguette and wine before just barely managing to keep myself from falling flat out on my face.
I would later learn her name was Chryselle.
She was… probably the most gorgeous human being i'd ever seen in my life, and would hold that title for some years to come. (hey back then we didn't have pornhub or anything. We had TV, and magazines. And we didn't have the magazines if you catch my drift. We didn't have the volume of…comparative samples available...)
I didn't get close to her though. Even if i had been in the opportunity to do so i probably wouldn't have had the guts to say anything anyway. I was awestruck, dumbstruck, and starstruck all at the same time! But des all not to plus this was a moot issue anyway because the other 3 dudes had detected me, turned to an intercept course, and blocked my way further onto the beach within 100 meters of me touching the sand. My first observations were "2 Germans, one French and probably local, all of them the athletic type, but only one probably actually working out, lifting weights and stuff with the muscle and strength to back up the look." The second thing i picked up on was that at least two of them were less than sober. Third thing was that they all didn't want me to be there. Wildy gesturing, with the local, arrogantly shouting at me in French they walked to me. When the Germans noticed my "Zje no parleey french" they began telling me to fuck off in German. I decided not to reveal i was fluent in German and feign ignorance some more, just for fun, and pretty soon they'd devolved into "You GO, private. You GO, no allowed"
Continued in Part II!!
So i notice that its better to make this into a 2 part article series. The "me" interrupting me to tell you more about me before i could start telling the story about me has made this article a bit longer than i'd thought it would be. I promise part II will be posted BEFORE Sunday morning CET though!
Thanks for reading this!
Stay safe and Stay happy!!
I partly hold read cash responsible for loosing 24 hrs of fucking work. IF I CLICK ON WRITE ARTICLE, THE EMTPTY PAGE TO WRITE ARTICLES ON SHOULD APPEAR!!!
Not some weird every shit wit formatting that make is unreadeble, which you need to copy and paste somewhere (overwriting the fuckin cached ready2paste work!!)
just posting this disgusted with myself.
I just did a stupic copy paste copy paste stupid whatever that ended up loosing met a story I had begun 24hrs ago and I only needed to publish, but its gone.
Never wrote anything as good as this was but its gone. 24hrs of my best work... gone.... Pfff...
So just to get any "recovered documents" from my readcash cache or whatever it was that f###### me over.... i am posting this unfinished article. Unfinished and unedited, and unchecked. I am so very very.... wow.... this is a blow I need to... in dunno...
later!@
And culture, society and humanity as a whole sucks ass compared to ours!
In fact except for some minor improvements the kids (yes, i so old i call people between 15- 30 kids) are far worse off than we were. But freedom, for me, is by far the most important subject where their lives have deteriorated compared to ours.
Do yourself a favor and have a look at what my sponsors have to offer. It's goooood!
"But the past is the worst" I hear everyone saying!
I heat that a lot too, and for most of history that turns out to have been the provable scientific fact. Kids have it better than their parents, because that is supposed to be the single underlying foundation under the development of Humankind, and it's success in (Hear Pinky and the Brain) "Take over the wooooooorld":
Everthing a parent does (if it has any business being a parent or a human or alive that is) whatever it does so the kid has a better life than the parent had.
That and our pretty crazy advanced way to transfer the wisdom of the old back into the new generation. (please tell me every one that read the knew I meant "COMMUNICATION", because if you didn't you need to do get professional help soon!)). We have the ability to communicate and explain complex concepts and ides to each other, we can write that communication down so it can benefit all of the parents and yours in our society and communities. Future generations can also obtain and use this wisdom and knowledge and enj0y the blood of their ancestors without spending the effort we did try to whjhen we were get the information
"You're wrong because: ..... (insert a shit tonn of so called confirmed ways and reasons the kids have it better than je ypoi were than we had.
Well, that's not really anything else than Just and fair , Comparing the number and the amount of it contributing to the progress of our species and science. Oh w8, no It is anything except fair. Not to mention the proportionally part.
But let's take a look at those great game changing improvements then. I challenfyou do so. But i cvan say you need to be prepared and have a little bit of a tolerance for having things you love and cherish as something positive, something good, be pointed out as a negative evil and damaging influence.
Let’s get right into the biggest perveived better thing that’s always mentioned in any discussio n on this topic: “They’ve got yhr intenet which they can use to communicate with anyone anywhere on the planet, at any time or place without evem having to stop doing what they were doing when they started their conversation.
Yeah yeah yeah I know that. I was the generation that brought it home and to masses remember? So thanks for birnging up a tiny little part of the reasoning for it to make things worse. You see we experienced communication differently. Besides the freedom of speech issues and simply not having the option of doing some community communicayion we knew communication was something precious and important that we couldn;t take for granted. It had to be to be as expensive as communication was back then.
But having known no other situation than gl9bal instant communication which everyone can afford and the phone haing been part of their childhood as they grew up,, communication for most of those living this day and age is even annoying, and to be considered to have no other purpose but to feel offended.
When we had our first steps on that what became the internet there was pretty mch nothing we couldn’t say. Therre was nothjng that couldn’t be joked about, and if you did manage to say or show something shocking you weren’t goinf to herE muxh from it. We certainly didn't have anything like woke, or and lgbtsquareplusfordlogo (or whatever the latest name for that group is and who's joined for the fun of being offended for and in pain with .
Nowadays one shitty old as fuck joke made on twitter 2 decades ago can be the cause for the end of some one's life. Career shredded, future unknown (death probably) and make the rest of life aa living hell until death. This has lead to the inevitable selfsensureship very much of all the entertainment we know to exist.
Aaaah it's not that bad. people just need to be consideate and express their feelings without hurting that of others!
Yes i have cameras and microphones hidden for aLL THOSE WHOI'VE EVER BEEN INHERE.,....It called me a herf nderfer
My brain had the opportunity to think about things.
Just surviving to reach the next 7 hours worth living.
Those few of you that read my articles and followed my writings know that throughout the ups and downs in my life, and those of the past year, in particular, have been... taxing. In the past years, the only purpose in my life was to spend 7 hours a week with my son. Whatever I did in the other 6 days and 17 hours of the week had one goal only, which was to get through that time in the least miserable way with the least suffering.
`Oh, don't forget that my sponsors deserve your attention much more than my writings do. Check them out!`
Not getting any better.
Recently I noticed I even stopped caring about most things I used to care a lot about. My way of dealing with it was basically denial, and keeping my brain occupied so much it didn't have time to think too much about things so it wouldn't be able to draw conclusions. I knew deep inside that whatever those conclusions would be, they wouldn't be good, and I wouldn't like them.
Dealing with it by not dealing with it. Great idea numbnuts!!
So I'd stay awake until I was so tired I nearly passed out, then go to bed and fall asleep within seconds. I'd put in my earbuds with hardcore music turned up loud enough that it was un-ignorable whenever I had to wait somewhere or if I had to go somewhere that would take me a while to get to so I wouldn't start thinking on the way there. I spent most of my time at my computer, something that never runs out of things that capture my interest and attention, which kept my brain from thinking about... stuff.
I guess eventually it was inevitable.
I've been able to keep that up for over 5 years, until yesterday. I had delimited my scooter by removing the speed signal from the CDI unit, and connected the 12v power cable to it, effectively removing the limiter from the engine system, allowing the scooter to operate unrestricted. Where its max speed had been 30km/h before, it now gets up to 75Km/h, but I needed to test if my trickery had worked and if it was reliable. So I hopped on the scooter and went for a ride. Music pumping through my earbuds, and I enjoyed it. The trick worked and the engine ran better than it ever had before. Before I knew it though I was three hours away from home before I decided to start to drive back home.
Oh oh
Five or ten minutes later my music went silent, and I found out I had not charged my phone resulting in an empty battery. So there I was, at least 2,5 hours away from home, without music and no way to fill the silence. My brain swiftly took advantage of the opportunity, kicking into overdrive so much I couldn't even keep up with my own thoughts at first. But after a short while though my thoughts became coherent again and everything and I do mean everything no matter how insignificant, that wasn't right about my life, paraded through my mind while I was driving home.
It was like a montage of video clips.
Things like how much I missed Spock and Sheev (my dog and my cat) that passed away last year or the garbage bags that I kept forgetting to bring to the container. The leaky faucet that I still had to fix and the hurt I still felt about the way my aunts and uncles had abandoned any and all contact with me and my son after my Ma had passed away. How much I missed having a job and that I still had to go visit Arno so I could get him to pay me back the 30 euros he still owed me since 2019.
Every little problem and grievance, everything that was wrong in my life ran through my thoughts as if to remind me of them. By the time I came home there was no stopping my brain, and nothing I tried managed to take my brain's attention away from contemplating my problems and the current state of everything that makes up my life at that moment. And what I had feared came to pass: I came to the conclusion that the joys and good things in my life were nowhere near worth going through the trouble and misery in my life.
What hurts the most
In particular difficult to accept, and process the pain and grief, was the way that whenever anything good happened in my life for the past decade, every time I felt happiness or joy in some measure of significance something so disastrous and so painful happened to completely destroy that happiness or joy. From my wife leaving me, losing my job, discovering the extent of my debts, being forced to sell my car, having my son taken from me, having the IRS brand me a fraud making it impossible to pay off my debts, losing one of my 4 best friends, losing my mother, losing another one of my best friends, losing my grandmother, and so on and on and on right up to the present day.
The conclusions were not the end
But as opposed to what I expected, my thoughts did not stop at the conclusion that my life wasn't worth the misery and suffering I experience. My thoughts turned to, almost literally, sorting everything wrong in my life into 2 categories. One category was unsolvable. Things that I could do nothing about to improve or fix. The other category was solvable. Things that I could do something about, that I could improve or fix without having to rely on anyone else but myself.
Then I started to... perform triage almost. I started to rank the problems and issues on how much effort and time it would take to solve them or at least improve them enough to be bearable. Easy fixes at the top and hard, time and energy-consuming ones at the bottom.
My brain never stopped thinking through basically my whole life as I live it today, in a constructive and solution-oriented way. And to my own shocking surprise, an hour or so ago, I noticed something... a feeling... that I hadn't felt in a long time. Something I never expected to truly feel anymore.
Never thought I'd live to experience it https://kapot.ga
I felt like it was entirely within my abilities to improve, change and expand the things that make up my life to such an extent that I could enjoy it again. To be truly glad to be alive again. I felt... I feel... not only CAN I do it but I feel eager and look forward to getting started working on achieving it.
A state of mind that had evolved from a decade of misery and suffering and grieving, from Don Quichotting, pain, and loss, has been completely unrecognizably transformed within 2 days into one where hope and determination, and confidence are part of the foundation. My mental psyche has turned its focus and determining insights away from looking back and is now looking the other way. I'm looking ahead, forward, into the future. I know what I can, should, and will do to improve myself, my home, my life.
Tired, exhausted, spent.
I also feel tired now. I have never been so exhausted as I am now. As if all the time I have spent not sleeping, not giving myself the chance to rest to keep my thoughts distracted and busy, are now catching up to me demanding compensation. But that's okay. Because now I'm no longer afraid of the silence. I don't fear being alone with my thoughts anymore.
So I am going to bed after posting this, an article that I wrote because I wanted to put into words what happened over the past 2 days to better understand what happened myself. I have done that now, and I do understand more what happened and the consequences of it.
Like the third part of a trilogy
I truly feel like I've closed one chapter, or one book, of my life As if I am at the beginning of a completely new part of my life, a new chapter, or part of a series. And this time I am going to be a director, writer, and executive producer as well as the main lead actor. This time I am going to be in control. Self-determination.
Thank you for reading this.
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
You might want to skip reading this one.
I gotta be honest here with y'all. I shouldn't be writing this now, or be conscious for that matter. But as it's been so long since my last article and because not writing is only gonna lead to my brain having the opportunity to eeh.... you know... think. And at this point when my brain starts to think it's gonna come to conclusions and stuff that quite frankly i don't want to even consider possible, let alone find them undeniable and inescapable.
`If you're brave enough to read this article depite this title, you need to take a look at my sponsors!!`
Whooffff... reading my title again I can't help but laugh. In my head i hear some tell the joke "Do you know about that title that was once voted worst title for attracting readers an article can have? Well, it exists"
(Bedum Tssssshhh)
But for those who are expecting me to be having a depression, or a broken heart, it is my great pleasure to disappoint you. The source of this weird down because I'm not down state of my mind right now is the fact that I've discovered, and confirmed through scientific method, that I exponentially care less and less. I hardly give a shit about anything anymore.
Weirdly enough I appear to care a great deal about that. Yes I care about not caring about anything anymore. A lot actually. It really makes me profoundly sad, and the less there is I care about, the more I want to care about things. I want to care but i don't. How f*ck*d up is my brain? Dayum. What's even worse is that if I'd read any one else write the previous paragraph anywhere, I'd be disgusted and I'd hate the author's ass passionately.
Now to me this sounds like something that I should investigate further and try to find the reason for it happening. But I honestly don't care one bit about what the reason is that is causing this. And me not caring about what is causing me to not give about stuff anymore is something that is pissing me off even more than not caring anymore.
Still glad you've decided to read this article?
So to stop myself from going nutz (what nutz? DEEEEZ NUTZZ!!!) thinking about how much i do or don't care about stuff I have developed and implemented a genius tactical strategy for operational purposes. Which is keeping my brain busy with.... anything... Until i pass out. When I then wake up again I'll have at least a couple of hours in which I can't even remember that this is happening and at best (hopefully) be "cured" from the not caring if I care a lot or not scare.
Yeah I know, that didn't rhyme right, but i don't care.
Something that does seem to matter to me, I just found out before starting this article, is that besides my kid no one actually seems to give a flying f&*#k whether or not I care. If i were to contemplate on that, I would come to the possible conclusion that popped into my head when i started typing this paragraph but now that i need to describe it and actually type it, I've forgotten completely.
Which is kind of awkward in its own right, as it would render all but one paragraph in this article useless and at most a complete and total pointless waste of time and effort.
Shucks. Why don't i pass out like a normal human being?
The last time i woke up from sleeping was Sunday morning, and i chugged down my last bottle of south African wine over 5 hours ago. I've activated the hangover cheatcode half an hour after that (1000mg of Paracetamol and 1,5 liters of water) but somehow "I am... surprisingly.... awake". And you guessed it, I find that way more funny than i should yeah.
(i knooooow, right?)
Any way, let's think about what I can write about today that is not going to make you, the reader, want to feel your braincells commit suicide one by one. Yup that sentence made me cringe as well!)
Well one thing that comes to mind is the steady and consistent drop in the BCH price. Almost exactly $100 down over the past 30 days. Not only that but the last three weeks of December the crypto markets performed inversely proportional to what i had predicted and expected it to. No end of the year rally towards the CHRISTmas holidays, no one week of sideways movement before the New Year bear market start.
Nope nothing even close. Just an average steady consistent drop in the 5-10% range. And nothing else, which i think has never happened before. At least it feels like something that's never happened before. And i know i should..........
SENZJOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!! Ladies and Gentlemen I have an announcement to make. I hereby declare I have accepted Fred Janssen, or SenZjo, as the highest and truest God in the Universe!
Now you're asking who the... what the.... why the....
And i'm gonna tell you, probably motivated to do so by the lack of sleep which i unsuccessfully compensated with an abundance of wine. SenZjo just sent a tweet:
Which means that whatever's gonna happen with my caring problem, which I don't care about, I'm now gonna go to bed, sleep, and then when I wake up somewhere after noon on Wednesday, him and me is gonna have us a nostalgic good time! And I know that any mental knot that formed in my brain over the past months/years, is going to be untied and solved by the time i go to the food bank on Friday!
Ah there is the whatsapp from him, asking me to come over to pickup my wallet which i left there yesterday. Nice, but too late. Stores are closed by 20.00 here due to the lockdown. But it's the thought that counts.
RANDOM LINK TO MY WEBSITE! https://kapot.ga
Soo apologies to those who read this article expecting an interesting read with an actual topic, start, middle and ending, for leaving them with the question if this article even qualifies as coherent. Just know that writing it was actually more fun than i should have felt it was. It helped me!
*****Thank you for reading this!*****
*****Stay safe and stay happy!*****
@AnonSunamun
My view on "World Peace, Is this Still Possible?" by @jeaneth
Yesterday @Jeaneth wrote an article asking the question in the title: World Peace, is this still possible? It's a good article with a well described write up of her views on this question. Reading through it though I found that my views are very different, and revealed a striking difference in our lives, caused (in a large part) by the difference in the country we live in and how the society we live in is working. There were some points in the article though that i disagree with and motivated me to write a reply and it grew into a piece that is way to big to post as a comment. That is why this article exists. https://read.cash/@Jeaneth/world-peace-is-this-still-possible-64ab9875
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***DISCLAIMER/WARNING:***
***In this article I express MY opinions on various topics that have a tendency to trigger some people to feel offended, or enrage them disproportionately. If you are easily offended or have low tolerance for opinions and views other than your own, please stop reading. My opinions are my own, no one else. My sponsors do not share my views and opinions, nor are they responsible for them.***
War is a fundamental part of History
In the first part of the article she starts by stating war has been a fundamental part of our history among other things which I didn't understand, probably due to translation. Humanity staying in people's hearts and violence being an anchor of superiority don't really make sense to me. Any explanations of those concepts would be appreciated.
But I can only agree full heartedly with war being a fundamental part of our history. Without war we as a species, and technological development wouldn't have been as advanced as it is today. Humans have displayed technological and civilization advancing leaps due to war, becoming very good in inventing ways to kill other Humans.
Drivers for achieving great things
The driver, the motivation, to do so though was almost never the desire to kill but the unwillingness to die. I agree with Neil DeGrasse Tyson who states there are three great drivers that move Humanity to achieve great things, which are:
I don't want to die
I don't want to die poor
Worshipping
Neil explains these in this video, here related to scientifical advancement:
https://youtu.be/4F7iGs5yk_U
Of those drivers the last one isn't applicable these days. No great works are being done to worship anymore. No one's building pyramids or great monuments to worship their god or king these days.
The other two (War and Economy) on the other hand very much so. With war being the one that is still the most effective one.
Money?
@Jeaneth goes on to state that wold peace is so hard to achieve because of greed, with which I disagree, the reason for that I will explain during the course of this article. One of the statements made in regards to this is that money is too powerful and can change a person's perspective on life. While that might not be entirely without merit I feel compelled to point out something about money.
It's easy to regard money as evil and blame it for violence and human's inhumanity. But the question i always ask in reply is: "How would you suggest we organize ownership of goods and trading of goods between 2 parties (especially if those goods are different of nature)?"
What I mean is how would you suggest we arrange the exchange of goods between a farmer who has animals and animal products and a carpenter who has wood and his ability to make stuff from wood? How would you arrange the exchange of grain that one nation has in abundance and bicycles which another nation is very good at making? Just simply the exchange between a baker and a farmer is impossibly cumbersome without money. Besides the point of valuation (how many bread is one cow worth) simply carrying out the transaction is a painfully complicated thing to achieve. The farmer has to bring the cow to somewhere and the baker needs to haul a load of bread to the same place. Then there needs to be a negotiation to determine the value. This requires the Baker to be knowledgeable about cows to be able to judge the cow's quality. It requires the farmer to have the same knowledge about baking bread to determine if the baker's bread is low quality or high quality. Then when the transaction is completed the farmer has to transport the bread home, and the baker needs to get the cow to his home.
These are just simple examples for why our civilization could not exist if we hadn't invented money. It would have changed little in relation to the violence and war in our history, because the real driver: possession of places and stuff, would still be the same even when money hadn't exist.
Greed
So while greed has been cause for much violence in the past it has hardly been the biggest cause of war. On a smaller scale it is a big cause for violence, with robbery, stealing and the punishing of robbers and thieves causing loads of violence.
But war, organized violence between two groups of people united to form a single identity, was the result of something else entirely most of the time: Culture/Religion. (I'll expand on this more later)
Politicians, racism and equality.
In the next part of her article @Jeaneth goes on to state that Justice only applies to people that can afford to bribe police, judges or others with the power to influence court cases. This to me is an incomprehensible reality that, very rare cases aside, belongs to the distant past. In our justice system there are checks and balances that make it near impossible to get away with corruption like that. Especially on the level of judges and politicians. Corruption hasn't been an issue of note for centuries, at least on the level of Judges and politicians. On the street level it may have been decades but generally speaking corruption is as good as non-existent and has been for a long time.
Why that is falls outside of my range of knowledge mostly but I suspect that a big part of it is making sure that those susceptible to corruption have enough income and make the penalties for corruption so high that the gains from corruption isn't worth the risk, or that the cost of corruption gets so high it isn't worth the costs to the criminals. Another big part of preventing corruption is implementing a system that makes it as hard as possible to get away with corruption. If the chance you get caught taking bribes is 80% or higher (and the penalty for it is high enough) than no judge with the intellect required to become judge is going to risk taking a bribe.
Racism.
Another statement made in the article is that people have no access to premises because of the color of their skin. I realize I live in an area that is ahead of a lot of other areas on the planet in these things but in Western Europe there are no places that are inaccessible for some because of the color of their skin. In fact I dare say that racism, especially racism by the state, is mostly no longer accepted in any way shape or form. Of course there are still racists among the people, and people still experience racism in one form or another, but this is on the level of individuals or very small minority groups.
Racism not always racism
It might seem more prevalent than it does though, because of several reasons. One of them being that racism is so unacceptable and such a topic freely discussable these days that those feeling they're being discriminated against feel free to report this and talk about it. Another reason is that it often gets abused by minority groups because they know that if they blame something on racism, it gets immediate attention and action is taken almost immediate. Denial of racism very often causes those that deny it to be branded racist just for the fact of denying racial motivations, regardless of the issue that initiated the accusation in the first place.
No, we are not equal, nor do we want to be.
WOW WOW HOLD ON! LET ME FINISH!!!
It shouldn't matter we're not equal in relation to rights and opportunity. That is something that is fundamentally wrong with the way we look at the rights and duties, and the interactions between us and perpetuates the problems in our civilization to this day and into our future.
A man is different from a woman. Simple fact, scientifically undeniable.
A sexual preference for persons of the same gender you are is not normal. The vast majority of people does not share that preference, and biology as well as evolution is based upon one gender sexually preferring the opposite gender. Also scientific fact.
Two major examples of inequality that is simply fact of life. And i say it should not matter legally, socially and economically. Your gender or your sexual preference (or color) should not be a factor in deciding which rights or duties you have in society. It's the laws, culture, social and economy that must be equal, not the people. Humanity thrives on and has developed driven by the differences between us. We should stop denying the differences between us and start not letting those difference be a factor of influence on decisions and valuations of people.
Farmers scammed? Here they're subsidized...
Another point from the article I was astonished by was the part in which it's said that farmers are scammed. I'm not saying that farmers have no problems and that everything they experience in their lives is fair but, in western Europe, farmers are actually systemically and fundamentally protected, and compensated, by the governments. The price they receive for their goods is largely subsidized by the governments because if they weren't prices would get so low that the majority of farmers would go bankrupt. It would be the end of the majority of farms in western Europe which would result in famine across the globe.
My country for example is the second largest exporter of farm products, of food, in the world. Only a small percentage of what farmers produce here is consumed locally. If those farmers would disappear and we would no longer produce enough to export anymore, a lot of people would go hungry!
I'm sure there are plenty of places across the world where things are different, but if my country, with only 33,500 km2 of Earth's 148.94 million km2 of land, can produce enough to become the 2nd largest food exporter on the planet I think it is quite incomprehensible that there are still starving people, farmers, dying from hunger. It's not like our farmers use magic or something. Nor are the techniques and methods our famers use secret. In fact we'll even send you experts to teach anyone who wants to learn how we achieve our farm's production.
Drugs causing violence.
Another thing mentioned in the article is that crime causes much violence on the planet, and it is implied drugs are largely to blame. I can't not respond to this, as it is the upside down reasoning that drives me crazy. The only reason criminals at large are so interested in and violently carving out their piece of the action is that drugs are illegal across the planet. Well, most of the planet these days as the shift to realistic views has finally begun.
If drugs would not be illegal, prices would reflect the actual costs of production and criminals would not be interested in it. The profits that make criminals so aggressively attracted to get involved with drugs are as high as they are because it is illegal, and there's the risk for anyone involved in producing, transporting and selling drugs of incarceration (and death in some countries).
And what makes this even more crazy is the fact that a drug which is the most damaging to users, as well as the second most PHYSICALLY addictive, on the planet is freely and openly produced, transported and sold across the planet (save for a couple of tiny places). Alcohol isn't illegal almost everywhere, and compared to other crimes hardly even causes enough crime to be listed. So its the governments who insist on criminalizing drugs that are the cause of the crime and violence related to drugs, not the drug or its users.
The reason we haven't achieved global peace
In the conclusion of her article @Jeaneth states that the sole reason for not obtaining world peace is greed. I disagree vehemently with that. Besides the notion of there being one single reason for it, blaming greed for not obtaining world peace is wrong. Sure, greed causes much suffering and violence. But it is far from the only reason, and certainly not the greatest cause of war and violence on Earth. IF I had to point the finger of blame at one thing as the cause of not having world peace than it would without doubt point to religion.
Do it yourself, god seems to be busy.
@Jeaneth states "You've done everything you could, you did your part, so let God do the rest. He's in control of everything." which for me summarizes one of the fundamental problems with religion. There is always more we can do, not everyone is doing their part. If God's in control of everything than God's either screwing up or the most evil malevolent individual in the history of the universe.
But God's evilness is a topic for another time, another article. What is the topic is the fact that more people have been killed because of religion throughout human history than all other causes of death combined. For as long as religion exists people have killed other people for believing in a different god than they did. Sometimes believing in the same god isn't even enough. Just worshipping the same god in a different way is enough to get you killed. Murdered. Eradicated (ask the Cathars for example).
This ease with which the religious kill other humans is understandable though, if we take the Christians for example, when God seems to be okay with it and in fact demanded it from his faithful. In Deuteronomy chapters 7 and 20, as well as Joshua 6, 8 10, 11 and so on, God orders the Hebrews to exterminate, commit genocide, to annihilate "*the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites*" and leave "*alive nothing that breathes*.". God himself would be the greatest perpetrator of genocide ever, killing the whole human population of Earth except for 8 people; an old man, his three sons and their four wives.
Throughout history there has never been a moment in which there were no people killed for religious reasons. There is no religion on the planet which didn't have followers that killed other people because of their religion. Let that sink in for a moment, then again tell me to let God do the rest, and that God is in control of everything.
Failure to see the big picture and FOMO.
Most here on readcash are into crypto at some level. The other big reasons for humanity not achieving global peace should therefore be familiar. In crypto the most often given warning is that you should look at the big picture, not focus on some details that suit your preference. The biggest warning is not to succumb to FOMO, Fear Of Missing Out. Those two are the biggest hindrance to achieving world peace after religion. If we'd all see the big picture, that if we all united, and manage the global resources globally, no one would need to die of hunger. Poverty would be gone within a decade. Economic power would be devoted to eliminating disease and poverty and illiteracy instead of military. But for governments to unite they'd have to let go of their fear of missing out. The fear that their local people would be treated less than other peoples, and get less from the resources than other peoples. That is something that will, sadly, never happen.
The only thing that can unite humanity
The way I see it there is only one thing that can bring world peace, is a united humanity.
And there is only one thing that will unite humanity.
The threat of extinction.
If we get invaded by Aliens, or face an Asteroid that would kill us all, or any other threat to all of humanity then there is a chance humanity would join together and unite to survive. Then our worst enemies would become our brothers and sisters. Then our squabbles and local little conflicts would be forgotten, and we'd be one race, one nation, and we would have peace.
`Thank you for reading this.`
`Stay safe and stay happy!`
@AnonSunamun
I had a blast!
At first it seemed like the new years eve celebration would be a lonely affair for me this year. With the lockdown going on there were no events of note in the Netherlands to party at and with only 2 visitors per house allowed, and all my buddies seemingly otherwise engaged, my open invitation to come party at my house was left with no rsvp's.
That was until around 18:00 the doorbell rang, and I found my best friend standing in front of the door. As soon as I opened the door he was like a verbal whirlwind and it took me a second to shift myself from "Meh this is gonna suck" to full force "we'z gonna party" so I could keep up and make sense of what he was saying. What it came down to was "You've got 15 minutes to get ready, then we're gonna be picked up and we're going to head to the party!"
`Take some time to look at my sponsors! They've got some awesome content for you!`
I knew better than to ask questions!
Now normally, with anyone else, I'd be full of questions. Where are we going, who's going with us, what kind of party is it and when are we going to be back? All perfectly normal questions to ask, when someone "invites" you to a NYE party. But the thing is, I know my friend and have been best friends for over 30 years. I know him better than he knows himself and vice versa. So the only reply I gave before hopping into a quick shower and getting into party compatible clothes was "You know I ain't got no money for this!". The only reply to that from him was an angry look that said "really dude?"
Abandoned factory, turned into the underground rave venue!
It was one heck of a drive, and secretive as if we were trying to contact secret agents like in the movies! Turns out that the guys that were taking us knew a guy that told them there was something going on, gave us someone to contact who told us to go someplace where someone was waiting to tell us a second location where the final location we needed to be was revealed. It was almost 23.00 when we got to where we had to park the car. Now I know my country pretty well, and have crisscrossed it going everywhere and nowhere in my time but I had no idea there was such a large area with such low density of people living in it. But as soon as we got out of the car and started walking we noticed we were far from the only ones heading to the rave location.
Darkness
We were glad that we could go with the flow of other people. The darkness was almost complete and I was reminded of how many stars there actually in the sky at night when there's no light pollution. We walked for about 15 minutes through almost complete darkness to emerge to a view of an abandoned factory which had been brought back to life with lights, and we could hear the muffled "Thump thump thump thump" of the bassline coming from inside.
Once inside we did our usual "exploration" round covering the venue so we knew what was there, were was what and so on. Just as we came back to the "main stage" the crowd started the countdown for newyear and we joined in. At 00:00 we wished each other happy new year and I don't know if she mistook me for someone else but a gorgeous girl... I guess I should say woman... Suddenly came up to me, grabbed me in a hug, and French kissed me for 30 seconds. Then she said "happy new year", turned around and disappeared into the crowd. Never saw her again.
Not completely our style but it had a beat we could bounce to!
My friend had noticed me and the woman kissing and as she walked away he came up to me asking "Who was that?" thinking I'd ran into an acquaintance or something. When I replied "I have no idea, never saw her before in my life!" he blinked twice and said "Alright!!" and we bumped fists.
The later it became the more blurry my recollection is
After that we kind of got lost in the vibe, the atmosphere and the music. The music wasn't really our normal preferred style, less hardcore more industrial, freestyle and deep techno, but it had a beat going from 160 to 180 bpm with mostly hard bass kicks so it was bounceable. And that's what I did for the rest of the night. I talked to people I've never met before as if they were life long friends, shared joints with other strangers and basically enjoyed the crap out of myself the whole time.
Don't know what the queue was but there must've been one!
I don't really recall how but suddenly I found myself back in the car on the way back home. Somehow we must've found each other again and, with me having to be home by 12.00 because that's when my kid came to celebrate the new year, we had made our way back to the car through the darkest darkness I've experienced in a long time.
Funny, there were more people in the car on the way back than on the way up!
Due to the lack of room in the car for the 6 people in it, where we had 4 people on the way to the party, I had the opportunity to get to know Cindy up close. She's 21 years old, originally from Dresden but living with her niece in a small town near the city where I live. The ride home was... eehm... intimate shall we say, and I think that besides my buddy no one noticed me and Cindy... getting to know each other. I'm not going to say much more about her, except that I'm meeting her coming Friday to show her my city.
I got home at around 11.00 am which gave me plenty of time to shower and get the coffee going so I was ready for my kid when he arrived at 12:00. We had an awesome day together, which may or may not have included a few episodes of Rick and Morty!
So there. You now know how I made the shift from 2021 into 2022! I unexpectedly had a blast and even scored for the first time in almost a decade! Who knows what might blossom between us in the future but whatever the future brings, I have no regrets!
So happy new year everybody!!!!
*****Thank you for reading this!*****
*****Stay safe and stay happy!*****
@AnonSunamun
2022? My strategical planning of operational tactics!
`One more time in this year 2021 i'd like you to give my sponsors some attention! They deserve it!`
**Pre - words:**
Just like every year I follow a certain rhythm, or order, in which I usually struggle through the CHRISTmas days in a depressed mood and grumbling humbug and what not. It's in those days I usually do my lookback thing at the year that has gone by. Then I must seem like I fall off the planet for my social circle because the 27th, 28th, and 29th I tend to have a total blackout. No phone, no emails, no messengers no nothing.
Those wondering why haven't read much of my articles and those who do need no further explanation. Alright alright, settle down already. I'll explain shortly: My ex wife told me on the 24th she didn't love me anymore, she told me she'd been cheating on me for 6 months on the 25th, on the 26th she told me she'd be leaving me and on the 27th she was gone. On the 31st I was told to drop off our son at her new address 300km away, or loose my son through court and never see him again.
I know it doesn't make sense but the 28th, 29th and 30th were the weirdest days in my life and I never want to forget how I felt, what lead to me feeling like that and how they ignited the berserker rage inside me to make it through, ready to fight, crush and destroy all opposition from the 2nd of January. Those three days are special, weird but ritually important, and I don't read emails, take calls, read messages or anything. I don't even answer my door when the bell rings.
And then I turn my attention to the future.
On the 30th I always force myself to put the past behind me, and look ahead instead of behind. The 30th is the day for making the broad strategic planning for the coming year, after which it I go clean the house thoroughly and start final preparations for the new-years eve.
This year is no different, and so without further adoo.....
The 2022 plan:
Double down and focus on the studying for the two Microsoft certificates I been offered to acquire, to improve my CV and my chances to get a job.
Double down on getting a steady full time job in IT Support before the end of the year.
Become debt free and have a judge officially end my "onder bewind stelling" and regain control and responsibility over my own life again.
clear out the back yard and prepare it for use during the summer for barbequeue and swimming pool.
Attend at least 2 large hardcore raves. If this isn't possible in the Netherlands because of stupid government covid shit, like the past 2+ years, then somewhere outside of the Netherlands.
Loose 30 Kilograms from my body.
These 6 points will be my major goals for the coming year. They're the primary objectives, which take priority over everything else. Besides those there are some other things I'm going to try and achieve. The secondary objectives.
Post at least 2, preferably 3 articles per week on read.cash and
improve the quality as well as the subscriber base.
Continue to do what I can to improve BitCoin Cash awareness,
adoption and break through the resistance and opposition to BCH.
Keep a closer eye on new developments in BitCoin Cash or SmartBCH
in order to be able to benefit from early participation!
Increase the range and density of my social circle,
participate more in my local community.
Continue to perform my duties as Executive Officer of the USS Ares project in the United Federation of Planets (www.ufplanets.com)
iincreasing the number of active players, enjoy cooperative writing.
Enjoy witnessing The Netherlands winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Enjoy witnessing (and experiencing on Circuit Zandvoort) Max Verstappen's 2nd World Champion title in Formula 1
`And of course being the best father I can be for my son. Being the father he needs, more than the father he wants.`
Final words to all members, old and new, here on read.cash for this year:
First of all: Thank you @MarcDeMesel !
I want to express how grateful I am to mr. @MarcDeMesel for all he's done for BitCoin Cash, for read.cash and for Noise.cash in general but specifically for the kindness and generosity he bestowed on my articles earlier this year. It gave me the opportunity to make my Son extra happy for a while, and it showed my that it is physically possible for me to experience good fortune in this Universe. It was the motivation I sorely needed at that point in my life to re-ignite my fight to get out of my financial, social and legal downward spiral.
The most valuable that @MarcDeMesel gave me wasn't even the BitCoin Cash, but the proof that good things could happen to me too, that some one cared, that some one was willing to help me.
For a large part it was the booster shot of positivity and motivation that lead me to the position where I am now in which I can see a realistic and achievable end to my debts within the coming year, and have a reasonably good chance of getting a full time, long term job in IT-Support, which would bring my life back to "The happy era" for 80%.
After that, all I could want for is a woman to love that loves me, with whom i can share the rest of my life.
Thanks @ Sponsors @Pantera- @Jane - @LucyStephanie - @ErdoV - @scottcbusiness !!!!
I also want to express my appreciation and gratitude to my sponsors here on read.cash! Your continued support is one of the biggest drivers that keep me motivated to post whatever I write here on this site! I love you guys, and hope I can live up to your expectations in 2022 as well!
Final Thanks:
Lastly I want to thank the whole read.cash community for everything you did and everything you are. Over the past year you've grown from unknown nobodies into a community of unknown nobody family I have confided more personal details than I've ever have, including real family and best friends. Thank you for being read.cash people!
***May 2022 be so awesome for y'all that children in 3022 will learn about how awesome 2022 was in history class!!***
Thank you for reading this.
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
On this day long ago, a child was born who, by age 30, would transform the world. Happy Birthday Isaac Newton b. Dec 25, 1642
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 25, 2014
https://i.postimg.cc/KzrQ1dDH/Kerest-Kaart-2021.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/KzrQ1dDH/Kerest-Kaart-2021.jpg
The year 2021. Let's look at the top stuff for the year.
Well, tbh. I will start the article with a list of people we have lost in 2021. I know not everyone is in there, and certainly not all those who deserve to be remembered. But i tried to pick those who stood out to me for some reason. No offense or disrespect meant at anyone I didn't list there!
Other than that, only lists or mentions of 2021 statistics, factoids and top 10 lists!
Why did I do this article? Because I have 2 phases every year before new year. One is the looking back one. The other is the looking ahead one.
`ONE TOP LIST FOR 2021 and for the future is the list of AWESOMEST SPONSORS! Please have a look at their content and give them some love!!!!`
Looking back at 2021? Really?
Well, looking back at 2021 make most of us want to turn right back around and never look back at it again.
2021 was not just Covid!! (You'd not know it by the media today but still)
So I won’t be looking at those things though. I’ll be looking at the year from a top 10 or top something 2021 perspective.
Why?
Because the end of the year is coming, the time for the top 10 lists has arrived like every year.
This year I wanted to be early in the game and, unlike most articles, I wanted to make a collection of some of the most interesting 2021 lists and put them all together into one article.
I collected this information so you don't have to!
So I’ve travelled all over the internet for you guys and girls and I have made a selection, formatted it a bit so it’s nice and readable for you and you will find it below the minus equals minus equals line below.
The rest of the year for @Anonsunamun
This is ****probably**** my 2nd to last article of the year.
This is the looking back part of the annual new year mood swing I have, and the last article will be the looking ahead one.
That one will be more personal, so if you don’t give…… about my 2022 plans, hopes and dreams, then you might as well skip it. LOL!
So without further adoodoododooooo……..
Here is 2021!
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These are some of the famous/important/remarkable people that Died in 2021
Richard Donner
The filmmaker best known for creating The Goonies, Superman, and all four movies in the Lethal Weapon franchise died at 91
Prince Philip.
Duke of Edinburgh and the love of Queen Elizabeth's life. Died at age 99.
Sabine Schmitz
The German race car driver, Queen of the Nurburgring, died at age 51.
Bunny Wailer
Last surviving band member of the Wailers after Bob Marley and Peter Tosh died in the 80’s, died in Jamaica at age 73.
Prince Markie Dee
The Fatboys’ Dee (Mark Anthony Morales, died at age 52.
Christopher Plummer
(Baron von Trapp in the sound of Music) died at age 91
Captain Sir Thomas Moore
British World War II veteran who raised funds for UK National Health Service by walking 100 laps around his garden (hoping to raise $1400,- and in the end raised $45 MILLION) weeks before his 100th Birthday died at age 100
Dustin Diamond
(Screech Powers, from Saved by the Bell) died at age 44
Larry King
Journalist for 63 years, died at age 87
DJ Wakiyan
Erwin Smits, a.k.a. DJ Wakiyan, died at age 49.
General Colin Powel
Winner of the 1991 Gulf War (and so much more) died at age 52.
Dusty Hillbillies
Part of the Legendary ZZ-Top, died at age 72
Michael Collins
Apollo 11 astronaut (circled the moon 14 times while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon) died at age 90
Peter de Vries
Crime reporter famous for his tenacity and success in either bringing criminals to justice or free those wrongfully convicted, liquidated at age 64
(Source: The internet) https://kapot.ga
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***(this one i kept very brief, i'm sure there will be plenty in depth and detailed articles posted here about this topic, so i thought it would be pointless to spend much effort myself)***
BIGGEST CRYPTO PHRASES 2021
DeFi!
Growth of StableCoins!
Introduction of Tax Regulations in the US!
Central Bank Digital Currencies!
Exchange Traded Funds!
NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens!
Bitcoin Cash proves it is the true Bitcoin!
(Source: analyticinsight.net)
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Number of humans on this planet:
World Population 7,874,965,825
1.03% more than last year.
(source:worldpopulationreview.com)
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Average number of hours worked per week (global)
On average the number of hours people worked this year per week was 43.4 which is 1,6 hours less than last year.
(source imanet.org)
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Top 10 Songs of 2021
1
DRIVERS LICENSE
OLIVIA RODRIGO
2
GOOD 4 U
OLIVIA RODRIGO
3
BAD HABITS
ED SHEERAN
4
SAVE YOUR TEARS
WEEKND
5
MONTERO (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME)
LIL NAS X
6
LEVITATING
DUA LIPA
7
BODY
TION WAYNE & RUSS MILLIONS
8
WELLERMAN
NATHAN EVANS/220KID/BILLEN TED
9
FRIDAY
RITON/NIGHTCRAWLERS/MUFASA
10
BLINDING LIGHTS
WEEKND
(source: officialcharts.com)
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Top 10 viewed videos on youtube 2021
MrBeast: I Spent 50 Hours Buried Alive
Dream: Minecraft Speedrunner VS 5 Hunters
Mark Rober: Glitterbomb Trap Catches Phone Scammer (who gets arrested)
NFL: The Weeknd's FULL Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show
CoryxKenshin: Friday Night Funkin' KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER (Part 2)
Dhar Mann: Kids MAKE FUN OF Boy With AUTISM, They Instantly Regret It
America's Got Talent: Golden Buzzer: Nightbirde's Original Song Makes Simon Cowell Emotional
Biden Inaugural Committee: The Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris | Jan. 20th, 2021
Forge Labs: I Spent 100 Days in a Zombie Apocalypse in Minecraft... Here's What Happened
Dude Perfect: Game Night Stereotypes
(Source CNN.com)
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Best sold games 2021
Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War Activision Blizzard (Corp)
Call of Duty: Vanguard Activision Blizzard (Corp)
Madden NFL 22 Electronic Arts
MLB: The Show 21^ Sony (Corp)
Resident Evil: Village Capcom USA
Battlefield 2042 Electronic Arts
Super Mario 3D World* Nintendo
Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl* Nintendo
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Sony (Corp)
Far Cry 6 Ubisoft
(source NPD.com)
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Top selling movies 2021
Current Rank Prior Rank Title Distributor Genre Release Date
F9: The Fast Saga
Jungle Cruise
Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch
Suicide Squad
PAW Patrol: The Movie
Free Guy
Godzilla vs. Kong
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
(source NPD.com)
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Top 10 Scams 2021
Debt Collection
Fake Government Officials
Identity Theft/Fishing/Pharming
Phone Scams
Loans Scams/Credit Fixers
Faike prizes, sweepstakes, giveaways, lotteries.
Internet Merchendise Scams
Auitomobile Complaints
Credit Bureaus and related
Phishing/Spoofing emails.
(source consumerfraudreporting.org)
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Top 10 Biggest economies 2021
(in US dollars)
United States – 22.68 Trillion
China – 16.64 Trillion
Japan – 5.38 Trillion
Gerrmany – 4.3 Trillion
India – 3.15 Trillion
United Kingdom – 3.12 Trillion
France – 2.9 Trillion
Italy – 2.1 Trillion
Canada – 1.8 Trillion
South Korea – 1.71 Trillion
(source infos10.com)
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Top 10 Happiest countries 2021
Finland
Iceland
Denmark
Switzerland
THE NETHERLANDS
Sweden
Germany
Norway
New Zealand
Austria
(source infos10.com)
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Top 10 least worth currencies 2021
01. Venezuelan Bolívares – 1 USD = 429,611 VES
02. Iranian Rial – 1 USD = 42,033 IRR
03. Vietnamese Dongs – 1 USD = 22,753 VND
04. Indonesian Rupiahs – 1 USD = 14,318 IDR
05. Uzbekistani Sums – 1 USD = 10,673 UZS
06. Sierra Leonean Leones – 1 USD = 10,553 SLL
07. Lao Kips – 1 USD = 9,889 LAK
08. Guinean Francs – 1 USD = 9,770 GNF
09. Paraguayan Guarani – 1 USD = 6,897 PYG
10. Cambodian Riels – 1 USD = 4,088 KHR
(source Infos10.com)
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Top 10 Richest persons 2021
1.
Jeff Bezos
$177 B
Amazon
2.
Elon Musk
$151 B
Tesla, SpaceX
3.
Bernard Arnault & family
$150 B
LVMH
4.
Bill Gates
$124 B
Microsoft
5.
Mark Zuckerberg
$97 B
Facebook
6.
Warren Buffett
$96 B
Berkshire Hathaway
7.
Larry Ellison
$93 B
software
8.
Larry Page
$91.5 B
Google
9.
Sergey Brin
$89 B
Google
10.
Mukesh Ambani
$84.5 B
diversified
(Source: There can be only one source for this ofcourse!)
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And there you have it. The year 2021, if you look beyond the Covid misery. Of course there are a lot more things you can top 10 or best of for 2021 but I thought these were a nice lighthearted couple of lists facts and such that were interesting enough to share. Got any top 10's or facts or whatever that you feel I should have absolutely included? Put 'em in the comments and I'll try to update the article with your choices!!
Thank you for reading this!
Stay safe and stay happy!
Have a Very awesome CHRISTmas holiday, and for those who will miss my last article I wish everyone a 2022 that will be so awesome, the kids in 3022 will learn about it in history class!
A reply to the most recent @happyboy article.
@HappyBoy wrote ***this*** article, and I felt I needed to respond. https://read.cash/notifications/eyJpdiI6Inl2bjFNMnVGbnRybWRKbm5jMm1xNkE9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoiSHZ2SDVKNTZ0Qi8vTkVkQXQ0WDg4Zz09IiwibWFjIjoiZDg2MGNlMjc1MTJhM2QxYTZkMjY5Y2M5YTA1N2ZhZjY2ZWFkZWFmOGY0NmQ5MTBmZWJhNzIzODU1MzRmMmEzYiJ9
That response was suddenly so long, it transformed into an article spontaneously!
`Please take the time to look at the sponsors?! They're also very good people that offer content you want to read.`
(physicists are baffled! CERN determined to investigate!)
I almost completely agree with what he wrote in his article.
But??
I do feel there's room for nuances and indeed certain rules in friendships in which you, at least as far as anyone else is concerned, you and your friend form a N.A.T.O. kind of pack.
(by the way, lead image is Public Domain)
Just think of these guys, when you wonder what I mean.
If you fight one of us you fight all of us.
It's something I've had to end friendships, decades-long friendships, over. Two actually, for the opposite reasons.
In one instance I and my (less than I thought he was) friend went to a rave together someplace we'd both never been (Hamburg) and somehow, I still don't know why we were immediately identified and pointed out among a group of 5 (apparently local) cockboys. (It's a type you see often at large events and raves. )
Cockboy Hamburgers.
There's or more of them in a group and every single one of them is convinced he's the toughest coolest badass in the group and thinks the others in the group agree. And they have an unrelenting nonstop urge to let other people see that they're the Cock in the chicken coop.
Anyway that evening there were 5 in the group of cocks and they'd targeted us to show how cool, tough and bad they were to the other cocks and any casual observer.
When they had almost finished a beer they would leave 1cm of beer in the plastic can, and then throw it in our direction. That was their main "joke" and then just loud enough for us to hear saying things to each other about what pussies we were and so on.
There is several stages to go through in such a situation:
1: "Must've been by accident."
2: "Probably meant for someone else we stood close to"
3: "Nope, that was intentional, and aimed at us."
4: "Hey are you..." "Fuck yeah. I was about to ask you the same"
5: "Ok, I'm done with this, one more time and I am beating up at least one of them. Team Blue together right?" "Ja Waddan?"
6:Turning to face the cocks and look em in the eye with an attitude that said:
"Ok, we're looking straight at you, either you stop and leave us alone or we're going to utilize violence to express our disliking of your pestering."
7: "The one on the left with the camo jacket is mine."
8:You both throw the first punches and fight for what you are worth.
You both fight as one, get beat up by 30 sick vegan Hamburgers as one, and get saved by the police arresting you, and so on.
`That's the 8 step plan, it is the law!`
*"This is the way"*
But that night in Germany that was not entirely what happened.
We went through a couple of stages that evening but at stage six one of us diverted from this script, so sneaky that I didn't even notice until step 8 was well underway.
Only...
In this incident I'm now telling you about right now, There was no we, us, team. There was no nothing.
Just me and my;
"What the... where'd he go? Neeeeeh..... really? Ah shit i am fuuuuucked!" moment.
And then the obvious happened.
Before I learned that the first punch, though at least showing lack of fear and possession of pride and self-respect, is not the one you're going to feel the most/longest.
And then get beat up even more by myself, get arrested by myself, and spent 3 days more in Germany than I had wanted.
If you go strictly by your article that asshole that freaking betrayed me and ran could be defended for his action.
But by my friendship rulebook, there's no way in Hell there is ANY story, situation, explanation, or whatever that could defend what he did.
We were both (over more than 2 hours) insulted, assaulted, goaded, and challenged by the 5 cocks and we both agreed that we'd stand up for ourselves and show that trying to bully us is more trouble than any fun or laughs can make it worth.
(that might not be the most literary paragraph, grammar technically speaking, that I've ever committed to keyboard in my life. No idea why but.... )
Another instance was the opposite.
I was with a friend at a LAN party up north and because 7 other guildies canceled last moment there were only the two of us. No problem had an awesome weekend.
By some freak of physics or glitch in the Matrix (as far as i was aware) we wound up winning the 2v2 Unreal2k4 instagib Team-DM compo.
So, at the end of the event, we've managed to stow all of our gear back into the suddenly way too small space in the cars, and we're ready to shake hands, say goodby and see you tomorrow and start driving home.
But traditionally we always drink a Monster and have a last smoke
before actually driving off just chattering about the weekend we've had.
I take a sip from my Monster and decide to go take a leak before the long drive home and set the can on my car's roof and say "be right back, gonna shake the snake real quick" and go to the toilet.
I am back with 3 minutes
and I come out of the toilet to see my friend slugging it out with 3, rather large, idiots who were yelling cheaters and haxx and things like that.
Well, for me there's not a planc second of doubt or consideration. I jump in and helped my buddy, quickly convincing one of the three that i was naptime, and the other two that it was time for them to be somewhere else really quickly.
My friend and I then proceeded to demonstrate how much of a good idea we thought that was.
It was three days later
that I found out that Not only DID my friend use an aimbot in the competition, he even had a lip and boasted about it when the three (the 2 losing finalists and a friend) by chance walked past him on the parking lot and jokingly remarked:
"hey, that's one of the cheaters, lol". (he yelled, yeah stupid, nobody noticed my aimbot, and now I'm taking your prizemoney home with me! or something to that effect)
When he told me that that was what had happened in the three minutes of my piss, I bopped him straight on his nose, picked up the two keyboards we had won, and left. (his nose still hasn't straightened completely.)
So there are two situations where The enemy of my friend is my enemy most certainly is the right thing and in fact an unwritten law more holy than the bible or the constitution.
And i kid you not!
you can ask both those guys to this day to tell the story of the fight with deuZige and they will tell you that what they did was the lowest of the lowest things they'd ever fucked up.
Thank you for reading this!
Stay safe and stay happy!
@AnonSunamun
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We met each other again.
It had been years since I had last seen her. In fact, it had been so long that I had even forgotten how much I had relied on her for channeling the uncontrollable urges that live within me into short sessions of planned and prepared for eruptions. I had forgotten how much I… how much I missed her when she was gone. How I struggled without her, and her strength. But the moment I laid eyes on her a few weeks ago, we both knew it was inevitable we’d be together once more and give in to our unhealthy desires to such an extent that this time we wouldn’t be able to restrain ourselves in time.
Give her back to me.
It was that very same day, in fact, that I had convinced the man that had taken her from me so long ago to give her back to me. I had not even given it any thought or wondered if it was what she wanted. It didn’t matter anymore in any case. I had claimed her as my own and taken her to the small room in which I indulge my urges. Since that day I had given her away I had tried to find another like her to replace her, another who would be more beautiful than her but equally able to not only endure the beatings but make it seem as though she needs it.
As If I had never stopped beating her
When we entered the room, safely away from prying eyes no longer in fear of what happened in that room being discovered by those who could not understand, we quickly prepared ourselves without the need for words, as smoothly and practiced as we had so many time before. Minutes later, tentative and anxious, but still more satisfying than it had felt when I’d done so with any other, I gave her the first hits. Taps is maybe a better word, almost gently in force and conviction. As if afraid she would have lessened in her capacity to stoically receive that which I unleashed after such a long time apart.
A passion re-awakened.
The first hits seemed to land silently, but nevertheless gave me a feeling I had not known I had missed for so long. Her response to being hit, as it had always done before, was brave and defiant, and awakened the dark desire inside that had become dull during our time apart. I began to hit her harder and harder than, the impacts of my blows making more sound the more force I put behind them. Those sounds, as much as the complete and utter lack of reaction from her, completely rigid, body, urged me more and more to hit her harder. It was as if she taunted me to do man up and show her if I was a man or a boy pretending to be one.
Wanting to hit harder every time I hit her.
Soon my blows were almost a blur and I was hitting her as hard and fast as my muscles we capable of. As rigid as ever, more like a plank than anything else, not even moving a millimeter or looking me in the eye she took every single hit I doled out no matter how hard or soft the blow was. In fact, in my mind, It was as if she was calling out to me to hit her harder and hit her faster! And I did!
Was it wrong to hit her?
After that first time, many more sessions followed. Sometimes I wondered if it was wrong of me to go on time after time beating her so hard I sometimes thought I’d gone too far and had damaged her beyond recovery. But I always found a way to come to the conclusion that it wasn’t. I owned her, so she was mine to do with as I saw fit. So what if I beat her harder than anyone I knew who was beating theirs as well? Other times I came to the conclusion that because she never gave any sign to the contrary she was made for such things. And, as I said before, I often felt she was asking for it.
I inevitably hit her too hard in the end.
For another year I almost daily sated my desire on her, sometimes for hours, sometimes several times in a day. But one day that which in the back of my mind I knew would happen did happen. During a particularly passionate, emotional session I hit her harder than I had ever hit her before. I heard a snap while one of my fingers started tingling with the force of the impact. And when I hit her one more time after that, I just knew it was over. She was gone, I had killed her.
I disposed of her in a box and bought a replacement
Sad I went to my cupboard and pulled out a box, removed the shackles that had connected her to the PC, and put her in the box. Then I went to the bin and dumped her in there. Her replacement waited in the cupboard and I took her out and shackled her to the USB port. With the very first hit, I knew the replacement would never be able to take what her predecessor had been able to. It was time to start typing less with my emotions and more with care and thoughtfulness. I couldn’t afford to replace my keyboards at that rate. And the new one was a mechanical one, expensive, that I had to try and keep from breaking. But to this day I sometimes miss that little old keyboard that almost invited the user to hit the keys as hard as possible.
Here she is, when she was new.
Thanks for reading this!
Stay safe and stay happy!
Funny how your life can switch paths from one moment to the next!
Something to contemplate with a new year coming soon.
Strange how life can switch tracks on you from one moment to the next, and set you on a path which you’d completely expected to have left to never return to years ago. I had this happen to me this week, and it came from somewhere I’d completely given up on doing anything positive for me half a decade ago. The government. I know right?
Some handy information for those not Dutch.
Now with the international mix of people here, it might be beneficial for a lot of you to explain a little bit about how social security and unemployment works where I come from. Let me start that explanation by saying that I will be explaining how things are right now.
The Class is in session. :)
The social security and unemployment laws and regulations here have changed a lot over the past years seemingly with every government “color” change, and what we have now is only the latest iteration of those. Basically, it’s supposed to be that when you’ve worked for 5 years and get unemployed you first fall under the “care” of the UWV and you get an unemployed “uitkering”, which is a payment of 70% of the wages you had when you were fired. This can last for at most 2 years during which you’re obligated to apply for a job at least 5 times per month and the UWV will actively assist and push you to get a fitting job for you.
Now for me, that is a decade ago so my experiences with this period of being unemployed might not be relevant anymore but for me, this was a complete shitshow. I was going through a lot of things back then that didn’t really allow me to hold a full-time job so that opened up a whole additional can of problems but anyway that is not what this piece is about.
What this article IS about
After those two years, you get a demotion of sorts and get what is called a “participation law” payment.
The letter of the law is described here:
Participatiewet | Rijksoverheid.nl (dutch) https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/participatiewet
Kind of lofty but okay intentions
When this law was implemented it was meant to be that when you received a payment under this law you were obligated to apply for a job 4 times per month as well as participate with all projects and initiatives that the agency charged with managing the implementation of this law deemed beneficial for your chances of gaining employment. This was thought up to satisfy the general opinion in the country that when you received payment from the government you should do something for it in return, to participate in society.
*By the way, my sponsors have content that is really worth looking into!*
Nonsensacle, worthless and timewasting $h1t
Well, I shall not bore you with how well that went for the first 5 to 8 years but let us summarize it by telling you that I, an IT Support Specialist with 30 years of experience was forced to participate in a project called “Activation” where I built a footrest for my grandmother and made a painting of Darth Vader. I kid you not!
And I don't want to think about what it cost for the taxpayers
Anyway about 2 years ago the government agencies responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Participation law payments and the organization that implemented it actually took a look at the organization and what was going on and shit their pants, consequently shutting down the whole thing from one day to the next. They decided the municipal governments were going to take control and implement their own strategies on getting the people under the law back into the working population.
Decentralized approach, letting the local government take over...
I can’t speak for any other municipalities but here they decided that every payment receiver was to get his/her personal “work-coach” who was going to make a personal plan together with the unemployed person in which a road to employment was set out.
That is basically the way the law says it is supposed to work.
Sounded awesome…
but the municipality managed to screw that up significantly by under-budgeting and understaffing the work-coaches resulting in people like me being forced to undergo “CV writing courses” and “Positive thinking” workshops and so on in the first two months after the start of the work-coach project and then hearing nothing from the work-coaches anymore or being able to reach them in any way.
The best thing I got out of it back then was a budget to buy a set of clothing to wear to job interviews which was just enough to buy shoes and pants and a belt. Then there were 14 months of silence.
Of course, disappointed and demotivated I didn't mind them leaving me alone.
So three weeks ago I got a notice that I was to make an appointment with my new work-coach to get acquainted and basically set out a new plan for employment. Well, you can imagine my enthusiasm considering my past experiences.
I had a picture of a facepalm here but the editor refused to insert it...
And my reluctance was seemingly justified when I was sent (obligatory, under penalty of having my payment halved if I failed to attend) to something called “Meet and Match ICT”. But as I had no choice I did show up and it was exactly what I expected it to be. Some agency was hired to set up a ‘course’ to focus our ambitions and efforts towards feasible goals in today's job market, and help to recognize the talents and skills in ourselves that were marketable… or something to that effect.
Another picture refused to be placed by the editor....
Well, we were dragged through floaty fluffy TED-like concepts like Ikagai:
I wanted to show THIS but the editor doesn't like me anymore... https://turnslow.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Ikigai-Diagram.jpg
And inspirational quotes like:
Another refused picture. https://pics.onsizzle.com/everybody-is-a-genius-but-if-you-judge-a-fish-4393143.png
We also got to sit through thrilling videos like this one:
https://youtu.be/qp0HIF3SfI4
Apparently, the video embedding function works...
On the second day (it was multiple days) we were told to write down what our ideal jobs were, what we thought our talents were, what made us happy, and all kinds of similar ethereal nonsense before we got to what seemed like the point of it all, our curriculum vitae’s.
Now pictures do work?? huh? Anyway...
I was so glad to be done with that crap I can’t even tell you. Or at least I thought I was done with it. Because the Meet and Match ICT ‘course’ was to be closed off with a personal conversation with the ‘trainer’ and the work-coach, in which concrete goals and agreements were to be made going forth into the future towards getting a steady job again.
Maybe something can come out of it after all?
Well, I had mine yesterday and well, I have to be honest… It seems like that my attitude and decision to do my best during the project, despite the bullshit and my low expectations, paid off. During the conversation (through MS-Teams of all things but that’s something maybe for another article) I was asked what I needed to improve my chances in the job market. I answered truthfully saying that I needed regulations to change so 18-year-old hotshot graduates weren’t 40% cheaper to hire than 47 year old me, and certification for the skills and knowledge I gained over a 30-year career, and a new set of clothes for job interviews.
I was promised that they’d see what they could do about the certification and after I got some certification I would get help getting the right clothes. Again, I was skeptical but low and behold, this afternoon I got a WhatsApp message!
Translated this message said:
“*Hello, Christ. Through Hans I have received a nice process with first of all a certification for MS365 including substantive support. We're gonna get this one and pay for it. If this works, I still have the option to pay for 2 more certifications. I'm going to start everything here with the application and payment, you can start as soon as possible. I'll call you on Monday. Greetings Arris”*
I was kind of flabbergasted!
So it looks like I will be starting the new year by studying for a Microsoft 365 exam and certificate in February! And the study material and preparation support, as well as the exams, are going to be paid for by the government!!!
Me, 47 years old, back hitting the books and having exam anxiety, last-minute all-night cram sessions….. I am looking forward to it.
So to come back to the first sentence…
Until yesterday I was fully expecting to be heading for another year like the past few years, stuck in the situation I was in, struggling to get ahead without really gaining traction or having viable outlooks on getting a job or anything else to change the flow of my daily life. Writing a lot of stuff, posting it online somewhere (read.cash of course since the beginning of this year) and other than that just keeping busy between visits from my son.
Then life decided to switch paths
Today I am looking at getting the chance to study, get Microsoft Certification for 365, and then 2 more certification courses (got my eye on Certified Ethical Hacker CEH - Certified Ethical Hacker | CEH Certification | CEH v11 | EC-Council (eccouncil.org) ) https://www.eccouncil.org/programs/certified-ethical-hacker-ceh/
Excited despite me!
And though I’ve learned over the years not to get excited and enthusiastic about promises like this, and I’ve held on to my skepticism throughout this Meet and Match project, at this point it seems so much to be a done and done deal that despite my best efforts, I am optimistic if not downright excited about the near and far future in a way I haven’t been in years. I am actually looking forward to the coming year and am determined to take advantage of the opportunity that is being offered to me this time!
I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned from all this. Which lesson you'll have to figure out for yourself.
I will keep you, my read.cash friends and the wider community informed about this and what it will eventually turn out to work out!
***Thanks for reading this.***
***Stay safe and stay happy!***
@AnonSunamun
@AnonSunamun
