New covid19 cases berkshire county ma
coronavirus NYC
2020.03.02 02:59 coronavirus NYC
Coronavirus / COVID-19 2019-2020 outbreak: NYC
2020.03.24 15:52 P100Secondary hantavirus20
New Hantavirus cases reported on 23.3.2020. in the middle of Covid-19 pandemic. Let's discuss Coronavirus, Hantavirus and everything relating to it! Freedom of Speech is mandatory here. Just keep it civil please.
2020.03.01 06:48 finndog32 Coronavirus_NZ
Information and community strengthening during the New Zealand coronavirus outbreak
2023.03.22 07:42 phmsc68 I cannot overcome losing a competition in high school.
I grew up in a small town that like many, was huge on high school athletics. Pretty much every boy was expected to play something or else they were treated as an outcast. As someone who is on the spectrum, I always wanted to fit in and not stick out like a sore thumb. I quickly learned sports was my niche and safe haven. With some training, my athletic ability shined, although having a Dad who was a college athlete probably didn’t hurt my cause. Starting in middle school, I begun playing multiple sports which quickly boosted my social skills and even turned me into a chick magnet. Life was great.
Each year, my high school would hold a massive pep rally a month into the school year. The pep rallys were an all day thing that would feature multiple events. The biggest event of them all was the athletic competition. It’s an annual tradition that dates back to the 1920s! Hundreds of students (the high school itself has a student population of about 4000 because it’s the only high school within the county) would compete in multiple athletic activities and would be eliminated on one by one basis.
I had won the competition during my freshman, sophomore, and junior year. In the long history of the event, I was the only student who had ever won three straight competitions. I was fully prepared to win a fourth straight and complete the ‘dynasty’. That being said, I was never underprepared for the battle ahead.
As usual, I breezed through the competition early and comfortably secured my spot in the final round yet again. As I was advancing each time, I noticed two girls, one a junior and one a freshman, were making a deep run as well. They were clear underdogs as neither had an athletic body or build. After I advanced to the championship match, I watched to see who my challenger would be. It came down to a fellow senior guy, who I had actually defeated in the semi final a few years back, and the freshman girl, who had someone managed to stay alive up until that point. She shockingly won the round and advanced to face (and presumably lose) to me in the final.
It wasn’t the first time I had faced a girl for the championship. I had beaten a girl for the title during my sophomore championship so I didn’t have any mental reservations about going easy on her. I was going for the kill shot as I always would. She was tall and lanky and posed no real threat to me off the naked eye. The final round, as usual, would consist of a basketball shootout, first to 10 points wins. Basketball was always my best sport and I felt as if they were almost gifting the championship to me.
I took an early 6-0 lead but she ended up getting into a lucky hot streak and won 10-7. She defeated me and became the champion. I later found out that she had only entered the competition after her friend, an actual athlete, had begged her and some of their other friends to enter so she would have people to hang out with during the event. A girl who wasn’t even considering entering the tournament just a few days prior was lifting the trophy. I was denied of a fourth straight title. I vaguely remember congratulating her and getting a cold “Congrats on second place” in response from the new “champion”. I was in tears after I got away from the celebration/madness in the gym.
I was beyond humiliated and went into a massive depression. I know that I deserved to be the one holding that trophy and seeing her hoist it up killed me. I so badly wanted that fourth trophy on my case with the other three. They looked out of place without it there. I still feel like it’s all a dream and that I’m going to wake up tomorrow and get that final trophy.
The rest of my senior year remains a blur to me. I played shitty ball the rest of the year and ended up quitting sports altogether. To put even more salt in the wound, the same girl that defeated me would go on to win the competition in her 10th/11th/12th grade years. She got the dynasty that she denied me of. I remember feeling extremely nauseous when I learned of her fourth straight victory.
I can’t help but to think what my life could have been if I had just beaten her in that high school competition 10 and a half years ago. I know it’s odd and most would find it silly but I just can’t seem to let go of the past when it comes to this one event. I know it’s unhealthy but I can’t help but think about it each night. I toss and turn thinking about all the what ifs and how this pain could have been prevented had I just won.
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2023.03.22 07:11 Jomskylark Northwest Challenge, College Westerns, Rodeo, Juniors Terminus, and more – Weekend Discussion [March 24-26]
Predict, Discuss and Follow the Weekend's Events
Use these discussion threads to talk about matchups, share predictions, find stream info, react to results and more. You can also chat live in our discord channel. Feel free to discuss any event, not just the featured events!
Lots of interesting tournaments this weekend, let's dive in!
Northwest Challenge
March 24-26 in partly cloudy Seattle, WA
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results
Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
#4 British Columbia | #6 Carleton | #2 Vermont | #3 Colorado |
#16 Pittsburgh | #7 Washington | #10 Oregon | #8 Stanford |
UCLA | #19 Western Washington | Texas | Utah |
After some backlash about the previous predetermined-matchup format, NWC is now using a more traditional pool play and bracket format. There are still some quirks, as noted below:
- UW and WWU won't play each other in Pool B. Instead, UW will play BYU, and WWU will play Victoria and BYU.
- #9 BYU and #14 Victoria are each only playing Friday and Saturday games and won't be part of the bracket.
- The top seeds in each pool will play BYU and Victoria: UBC plays BYU, while Carleton, Vermont, and Colorado play Victoria. If each of these teams also finishes atop their respective pools, this should provide some symmetry in number of games played, as the 2nd and 3rd finishers in each pool play a pre-quarter while the 1st finisher receives a bye to quarters.
Follow: @UWElement, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
College Westerns
March 25-26 in sunny Los Angeles, CA
I can't find a schedule for College Westerns. If you have one, please comment it below.
Follow: @SmaugUltimate, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
Rodeo
March 25-26 in both rainy and sunny Martinsville, VA
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results
Pool A | Pool B |
NC State | #24 South Carolina |
Penn State | Ohio |
#4 D-III Williams | Massachusetts |
Liberty | Duke |
North Carolina-B | Georgetown-B |
Follow: Tournament Site, @WLUltimate, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
Juniors Terminus
March 25-26 in rainy Conyers, GA
Schedule (Boys, Girls) isn't up on USAU as of posting. If anyone has another schedule please comment it below, otherwise I'll check back later.
Follow: @AtlantaUltimate, @AFDCJuniors, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
New England Open
March 25-26 in partly cloudy Rehoboth, MA
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results
Pool A | Pool B |
#21 SUNY-Binghamton | #2 D-III Wellesley |
Connecticut | #15 D-III Mount Holyoke |
Boston University | Harvard |
#13 D-III Brandeis | Rhode Island |
Bowdoin | Boston University-B |
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results
Pool A | Pool B |
Bryant | Bates |
Northeastern-B | Massachusetts-Lowell |
Amherst | WPI |
Clark | Connecticut-B |
Harvard-B | Northeastern-C |
Follow: @NewEnglandOpen, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
Carousel City Classic
March 25-26 in snowy Binghamton, NY
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results
Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
Ottawa | Case Western | McGill |
Rutgers | Cornell | Lehigh |
SUNY-Binghamton | Columbia | #17 D-III Rochester |
Syracuse | Carnegie Mellon | Harvard |
Follow: @Carousel_City, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
Needle in a Ho-Stack
March 25-26 in partly cloudy Charlotte, NC
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results
Pool A | Pool B |
#3 D-III Middlebury | Tennessee |
App State | Boston College |
#21 D-III Cedarville | #11 D-III St Olaf |
Tennessee-Chattanooga | #18 D-III Union |
Alabama-Huntsville | Richmond |
Berry | Wake Forest |
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results
Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
UNC-Charlotte | #4 D-III Middlebury | App State | Tennessee |
Kennesaw State | Charleston | Union | #24 D-III Berry |
Clemson | Cedarville | Christopher Newport | Davidson |
Georgia College | High Point | South Carolina-B | Wake Forest |
North Carolina-B | NC State-B | UNC-Asheville | Embry-Riddle |
Follow: Tournament Site, @CLTUltimate, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
Garden State
March 25-26 in windy Trenton, NJ
Women's Pools – Schedule and Results
Power Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
#6 D-III Haverford-Bryn Mawr | #25 D-III Skidmore | Swarthmore |
Columbia | New Jersey | Rochester |
#8 D-III Lehigh | Vermont-B | SUNY-Albany |
#9 D-III Ithaca | Messiah | Princeton |
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results
Power Pool A | Pool B |
Penn State-B | West Chester |
New Jersey | West Virginia |
Rowan | Swarthmore |
#18 D-III Ithaca | Skidmore |
Army | Siena |
| Rutgers-B |
Not certain the men's division is actually a power pool, might just be unconventional use of USAU's scheduler.
Follow: Tournament Site, Twitter, Tiktok (idk why they have a Tiktok lol), @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
Layout Pigout
March 25-26 in both rainy and sunny Haverford, PA
Men's Pools – Schedule and Results
Pool A | Pool B |
#12 D-III Williams | #7 D-III Oberlin |
#11 D-III Kenyon | Bowdoin |
#23 D-III Brandeis | Bentley |
Haverford | Shippensburg |
Follow: @DonkeyUltimate, @Ultiworld, @UltiworldLive
Top 25 Rankings from Ultiworld Top 25, but not yet updated for this week.
submitted by
Jomskylark to
ultimate [link] [comments]
2023.03.22 06:23 maction_survey Survey Topic: Awareness among Common Citizens Regarding G20 Event (everyone)
Link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefrfk-c3a7QTn6N7-2mhYHeCmIU741LjLTb-UBSbUToJ7OWA/viewform Greetings, SiMa'am,
Maction Consulting is a full-service market research agency that provides quantitative & qualitative fieldwork/data collection, analytics, and market/social research to corporations and non-profits worldwide.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy work schedule to share your views. This survey aims to analyze the G20 organization's reach. The survey is completely anonymous, and no personal information such as name, email, phone number, or address is required. If you are unfamiliar with the G20, we have included descriptions of the survey topics to help you. Completing the survey should take 20-30 minutes for those who are entirely new to the G20's functions and 10-15 minutes for those already familiar with them. We value your perspective, and there are no right or wrong answers to the questions. We want to hear your opinion based on your own experience.
Maction Consulting frequently conducts similar surveys, and as a participant, you will receive a web link to the case study that will be written based on the data collected by this survey.
Thank you for your time.
submitted by
maction_survey to
SampleSize [link] [comments]
2023.03.22 04:08 lanqian Bi-weekly best-of
Another (now biweekly) installment of Best-of Sunday for folks! Sorry for the delay and earlier mispost--
u/lanqian was away on a trip and now back to do a make-up post.
Best Submitted articles:
South Korea: Mandate lifted, but most continue to mask up The Truth About Long COVID Is Finally Emerging. It’s Not What We Thought. <--In
Slate!
(Lack of) Evidence for pandemic NPIs VIA Rail ordered to rehire engineer terminated over COVID vaccine [Canada]
US officially rescinds recent Covid testing rules for travelers from China TWITTER FILES #19 The Great Covid-19 Lie Machine Stanford, the Virality Project, and the Censorship of “True Stories” Number of pupils missing the majority of school doubles since the pandemic, new figures show [UK]
CDC Bought Phone Data to Monitor Americans’ Compliance With Lockdowns, Contracts Show Owner of COVID testing company accused of defrauding US government out of $83M Child and Teen Suicide Attempts Rose 22 Percent During Pandemic, Researchers Say David Zweig: how and why the reality of Covid was censored The Cochrane Mask Fiasco: A Cochrane Report Tells the Truth, But Many Are not Ready to Hear It Unvaccinated Australians still can’t find work due to mandates Sweden had lowest excess mortality in EU 2020-2022, indicating its long-term strategy was well founded Chinese city backs return of lockdowns for flu outbreaks Evening Standard Covid-19: Hong Kong university entrance exam candidates must wear masks despite end of mandate China reopening borders to foreign tourists for first time since Covid erupted Our own
u/freelancemomma speaking about her recent book!
On the Tom Woods show: talking about "Blindsight Is 2020" and other Covid things Best Original Posts:
My family are a bunch of covid cultists and I don't know what to do. Posted by
u/Aggravating_Comb_418 Did the culling of mink for CoVid cause more problems than it solved? Posted by
u/AndrewHeard Spending my early 20s in lockdown I have learnt so much and I will never forget Posted by
u/AnarchistEva "There's gonna be a next pandemic!" is the best argument against heavy restrictions Posted by
u/Sgargarozzi How many were convinced by vax-mandates and how many were genuinely following recommendations ? Posted by
u/Sgargarozzi Do you feel the effects of lockdown are still apparent in terms of making it harder to be productive, advance in careers, in your personal live and/or with the population at large? Posted by
u/emaxwell13131313 What’s something from pre-CoVid that has had the “volume turned down” on it now? Posted by
u/AndrewHeard Honorable Mentions:
LA County Keeps COVID Vaccination And Mask Requirement For Health Workers Two Thirds Of US Adults Think COVID Likely Started In A Lab Twice-weekly local testing for COVID variants to end, scientist says [Canada]
More cruise lines will drop the Covid test and vaccine rules this spring Online gambling in Québec surged during 1st year of pandemic: study Yes, it is remote workers who spiked housing, rent costs The ROM collected millions in wage subsidies during COVID-19 closures. Now, the Canadian government wants the money back U.S. government agencies may have been double billed for projects in Wuhan, China, records indicate; probe launched submitted by
lanqian to
LockdownSkepticism [link] [comments]
2023.03.22 02:33 HighlightsGaming West Virginia Homestead Exemption 2024
West Virginia has recently approved into law a new restructuring of their tax bill including a revised homestead exemption for 90% T&P Disabled Veterans
I am semi confused on the way it is worded it seems unlike Florida, Virginia, Texas etc. you will still pay your property tax monthly but then receive it all back at the end of the year in a lump some from the state. (please correct me if I miss understand this bill)
(a)
Credit allowed. - Disabled veteran eligible taxpayers shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed under article 11-21-1
et seq. of this code as provided in this section.
(b) Effective January 1, 2024, a disabled veteran eligible taxpayer may receive a refundable tax credit in the amount of one hundred percent of real property taxes paid pursuant to
§11-4-1 et seq. of this code and Article X of the Constitution of West Virginia and as set forth in this section which are timely paid in the taxable year 2024.
(b)
Amount of credit. - The amount of credit allowed under this article to the disabled veteran eligible taxpayer is the amount of West Virginia real property tax due and owing and timely paid during the taxable year to a county sheriff on the value of real property owned by the disabled veteran eligible taxpayer:
Provided, That in no case shall any credit be allowed under this article for any untimely real property tax paid, or any payment of delinquent real property tax, or payment of "back tax" real property taxes.
SOURCE LINK :
https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb424%20sub1.htm&yr=2023&sesstype=RS&i=424 submitted by
HighlightsGaming to
VeteransBenefits [link] [comments]
2023.03.22 02:12 wtfwafflezor (Selling) 800 Titles Dune (MA/HD) $2 King Richard (MA/HD) $2
Prices FIRM - CashApp/Venmo/PayPal Friends & Family
Disney/Marvel titles are split codes. Only redeem what you pay for. Thank you.
101 Dalmatians (1961) (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $3.25
101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2003) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $4.75
13 Hours: Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (Vudu/HD) $2 (iTunes/4K) $3
21 Bridges (2019) (iTunes/4K) $3
3:10 to Yuma (2007) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
31 (2016) (Vudu/HD) $2.75
47 Meters Down (2017) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
8 Mile (2002) (MA/4K) $3.25
A Clockwork Orange (1972) (MA/4K) $5
A Cure for Wellness (2017) (MA/HD) $4.25
A Dog's Purpose (2017) (MA/HD) $4 (iTunes/HD) $3
A Dog's Way Home (2019) (MA/HD) $3.75
A Man Called Otto (2022) (MA/HD) $7.50
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.25
A Monster Calls (2016) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.50
A Most Wanted Man (2014) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
A Quiet Place (2018) (Vudu/4K) $4.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.50
A Quiet Place Part II (2020) (Vudu/4K) $6.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
A Simple Favor (2018) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
A Single Man (2009) (Vudu/HD) $5
Abominable (2019) (MA/HD) $6.25
About Time (2013) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Addams Family (1991) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.75
Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $4.25
Adventures of Tintin (2011) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
After Earth (2013) (MA/HD) $2.50
Age of Adaline (2015) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Aladdin (1992) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $3.25 (GP/HD) $2.25
Aladdin (2019) (MA/4K) $6.25 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4.25 (GP/HD) $1.50
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014) (MA/HD) $4.75
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $4.25
Alien Collection 1-6 (MA/HD) $20 1-4 (MA/SD) $9
Aliens Ate My Homework (2018) (MA/HD) $4.75
Alita: Battle Angel (2019) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $4.25
All The Money In The World (2017) (MA/HD) $4.50 (MA/SD) $1
Allied (2016) (iTunes/4K) $4.50 (Vudu/HD) $4
Almost Famous (2000) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.25
Aloha (2015) (MA/HD) $2.75
Alpha (2018) (MA/HD) $4.25
Amazing Spider-Man (2012) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.75
Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $5.75
Ambulance (2022) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.50
American Gangster (Extended Edition) (2007) (MA/4K) $7.25 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $6.25
American Psycho (Uncut) (2000) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.25
Amsterdam (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50 (GP/HD) $4
Amy (2015) (Vudu/HD) $6
Anastasia (1997) (MA/HD) $6.25
Angry Birds Movie (2016) (MA/HD) $3.75
Annihilation (2018) (Vudu/HD) $2.50 (iTunes/4K) $2
Antlers (2021) (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $3.75
Apollo 11 (2019) (MA/HD) $6.25
Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm (2022) (MA/HD) $5
Arctic (2019) (MA/HD) $5.75
Army of Darkness (1992) (MA/HD) $3.25
Art of Racing in The Rain (MA/HD) $5.50
Art of Self-Defense (2019) (MA/HD) $6.25
Artist, The (2011) (MA/HD) $6
ATL (2006) (MA/HD) $5
Avengers 1-4 (iTunes/4K) $20 (GP/HD) $7.75
Back to the Future (1985) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4.25
Back to the Future 3-Movie (MA/4K) $13 (MA/HD) $7.50
Bad Boys 1-3 (MA/HD) $12
Bad Guys, The (2022) (MA/4K) $8.25 (MA/HD) $4.75
Bad Lieutenant (1992) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Bad Moms (2016) (MA/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Band of Brothers (2001) (iTunes/HD) $7.25 (GP/HD) $3.75
Bank Job, The (2008) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Basic Instinct (Unrated Director’s Cut) (1992) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (2022) (MA/HD) $5
Batman Returns (1992) (MA/4K) $5
Batman Year One (2011) (MA/4K) $5
Batman, The (2022) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $3
Batman: The Complete Series (2004) (Vudu/HD) $12.50
Batman: The Long Halloween Deluxe Edition (2022) (MA/HD) $6.50
Bean (1997) (MA/HD) $3.25
Beast (2022) (MA/HD) $6
Beguiled, The (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4
Beirut (2018) (MA/HD) $5.25
Belly (1998) (Vudu/4K) $5.25
Ben-Hur (2016) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
BFG, The (2016) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $4
Big (1988) (MA/HD) $6
Big Hero 6 (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $1.75
Big Lebowski (1998) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $6.25
Big Wedding (2013) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Billy Elliot (2000) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
Birth of A Nation (2016) (MA/HD) $4
Birth of the Dragon (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
Biutiful (2010) (Vudu/HD) $5
Black Adam (2022) (MA/HD) $4.25
Black Mass (2015) (MA/HD) $2.50
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $2
Black Phone, The (2021) (MA/HD) $5.50
Blacklight (2022) (MA/HD) $4.50
Bleed for This (2016) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4
Blood Father (2016) (Vudu/HD) $4
Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland (2016) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Blues Brothers (1980) (iTunes/4K) Ports to MA $6
Blumhouse's Truth Or Dare (Unrated) (2018) (MA/HD) $4.75
Bob's Burgers Movie (2022) (MA/HD) $3.50 (GP/HD) $2.25
Bodyguard, The (1992) (MA/HD) $5
Book Club (2018) (Vudu/HD) $2 (iTunes/4K) $1
Book of Life (2014) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Boss, The (Unrated) (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.75
Bourne Collection 1-5 (MA/4K) $26.25 (iTunes/4K) $19 (MA/HD) $15
Boxtrolls, The (2014) (iTunes/HD) $4.75
Boy Next Door, The (2015) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5.25
Boy, The (2016) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Brahms: The Boy II (2020) (iTunes/4K) $2.75
Brave (2012) (iTunes/4K) $6.50 (GP/HD) $4.50
Braven (2018) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Breakfast Club (1985), Weird Science (2008), Sixteen Candles (1984) (MA/HD) $11.50
Break-Up, The (2006) (MA/HD) $3.25
Bridge of Spies (2015) (MA/HD) $5.50 (GP/HD) $4
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
Bring It On (2000) (MA/HD) $3.25
Bring It On: Worldwide #Cheersmack (2017) (MA/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/HD) $1.25
Broken City (2013) (MA/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/SD) $1.25
Bros (2022) (MA/HD) $6.75
Bruno (2009) (MA/HD) $3.25
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (1992) (MA/HD) $5.75
Bullet to the Head (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
Bullet Train (2022) (MA/4K) $6.25 (MA/HD) $4.75
Butterfly Effect, The (2004) (MA/HD) $4
Bye Bye Man (Unrated) (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.50
Cabin in the Woods (2012) (iTunes/4K) $2.75 (Vudu/HD) $2
Candyman (2020) (MA/HD) $4.50
Cantinflas (2014) (Vudu/HD) $5
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017) (MA/HD) $3.25
Carol (2015) (Vudu/HD) $5
Case for Christ, The (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) (Vudu/HD) $13
Casper (1995) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.75
Castle Rock: Season 1 (2018) (Vudu/HD) $7.25
Cat in the Hat (2003) (MA/HD) $3.25
Catch Me If You Can (2002) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $6.25
Catwoman: Hunted (2021) (MA/HD) $3.50
Central Intelligence (2016) (MA/4K) $5
Change-Up, The (2011) (Unrated) (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5.75
Chappie (2015) (MA/HD) $3.75
Charlie St. Cloud (2010) (MA/HD) $3.25
Chasing Mavericks (2012) (MA/HD) $5
Chicago (2002) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Child's Play (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $6.50
Chronicle (2012) (MA/HD) $4.50
Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) (MA/HD) $7
Cinderella (2015) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.50 (GP/HD) $2.50
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
City of Lies (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.75
Clerks III (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) (MA/HD) $3.50 (MA/SD) $2.25
Clown (2014) (Vudu/HD) $6.50
Clueless (1995) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $6.25
Colombiana (Unrated) (2011) (MA/HD) $4.50
Colossal (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5.50
Constantine: The House of Mystery (2022) (MA/HD) $3.25
Contraband (2012) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.25
Contractor (2022) (Vudu/4K) $7.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Conversation, The (1974) (Vudu/HD) $5
Counselor, The (2013) (MA/HD) $3
Countdown (2019) (iTunes/4K) $3.75
Cowboys and Aliens (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.50
Crash (2004) (Vudu/HD) $5
Crawl (2019) (Vudu/HD) $3 (iTunes/4K) $2
Croods (2013) & A New Age (2020) (MA/HD) $7.25
Cult of Chucky (Unrated) (2017) (MA/HD) $3.75 (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Daddy's Home 1-2 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Daddy's Home 2 (2017) (Vudu/4K) $4.50 (iTunes/4K) $2 (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.75
Dances With Wolves (1990) (Vudu/HD) $6
Dark Tower (2017) (MA/HD) $3
Darkest Minds, The (2018) (MA/HD) $4.75
Dawn of The Planet of The Apes (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4
DC League of Super-Pets (2022) (MA/HD) $5
Dead Man Down (2013) (MA/HD) $4.75
Death on the Nile (2022) (MA/4K) $7.25 (MA/HD) $5.25 (GP/HD) $3.50
Deepwater Horizon (2016) (Vudu/4K) $5 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Den of Thieves (2018) (iTunes/HD) $1.75
Dentist 1-2 Collection (1996-1998) (Vudu/HD) $6
Descent, The (2005) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Detective Knight Collection 1-3 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $15 $5.75 Each
Devil Inside (2012) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Devil's Due (2014) (MA/HD) $2.75
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) (MA/HD) $4.75
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017) (MA/HD) $2
Dictator (2012) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Die Hard (1988) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4
Die Hard 1-5 (MA/HD) $16 $4.75 Each
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) (MA/4K) $6 (MA/HD) $2.75 (GP/HD) $2
Dog (2022) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Don't Let Go (2019) (MA/HD) $4
Don't Worry Darling (2022) (MA/HD) $5.50
Doorman (2020) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Dope (2015) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5.75
Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) (Vudu/HD) $5.25 (iTunes/4K) $4.25
Downsizing (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.25
Downton Abbey (2019) (MA/HD) $5.75
Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) (MA/HD) $4.25
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012) (MA/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/HD) $2.25
Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), The Invisible Man (1933), The Mummy (1932) (MA/HD) $18.50
Dracula 2000 (2000), II: Ascension (2003) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $11 $6 Each
Draft Day (2014) (Vudu/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Dragged Across Concrete (2019) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Dragonheart 5-Movie (MA/HD) $15
Drugstore Cowboy (1989) (Vudu/HD) $5
Duff, The (2015) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Dumbo (2019) (MA/4K) $6 (iTunes/4K) $5.25 (GP/HD) $2.50
Dune (2021) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $2
Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Easter Sunday (2022) (MA/HD) $6.75
Edge of Seventeen (2016) (MA/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/HD) $2.25
El Chicano (2019) (MA/HD) $5
Elvis (2022) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $4.50
Emoji Movie (2017) (MA/HD) $2
Emperor's New Groove (2000) (MA/HD) $7 (GP/HD) $5.50
Empire of Light (2022) (GP/HD) $4
Empire Records (1995) (MA/HD) $6
Empire State (2013) (Vudu/HD) $5
End of Watch (2012) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5
Ender's Game (2013) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
English Patient (1996) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.75
Epic (2013) (MA/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/SD) $1.25
Escape from Planet Earth (2013) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998) (MA/HD) $5.25
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3
Expendables 1-3 (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Extreme Prejudice (1987) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
F9: The Fast Saga + Director's Cut (2021) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $3.50
Fabelmans (2022) (MA/HD) $6.75
Fantastic Beasts Collection 1-3 (MA/HD) $8.50
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) (MA/4K) $5.50 (MA/HD) $3
Far and Away (1992) (MA/HD) $3.25
Fast & Furious Collection 1-8 (MA/4K) $27.50 1-9 (MA/HD) $10
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $6
Father Stu (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75
Fatherhood (2021) (MA/HD) $3.75
Fatman (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Fault in Our Stars (2014) (MA/HD) $1.75
Fences (2016) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.75
Ferdinand (2017) (MA/HD) $3.50
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $6
Fifty Shades of Black (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.50
Fifty Shades of Grey 3-Movie + Unrated (MA/HD) $10
Fighter, The (2010) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Fighting with My Family (2019) (iTunes/HD) $3.25
Finest Hours, The (2016) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $4
Firestarter (1984) (MA/HD) $3.25
First Cow (2019) (Vudu/HD) $6.50
First Man (2018) (MA/HD) $4.25
First Reformed (2018) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Flight (2012) (Vudu/HD) $3.75 (iTunes/HD) $3
Footloose (2011) (Vudu/HD) $5 (iTunes/HD) $3.50
Founder, The (2017) (Vudu/HD) $5
Foxcatcher (2014) (MA/HD) $4.75
Frank & Lola (2016) (MA/HD) $4.75
Frozen (2013) (MA/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $1.75
Frozen 2 (2019) (MA/4K) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4 (GP/HD) $1.75
Frozen Sing-Along Edition (2014) (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $1.75
Future World (2018) (Vudu/HD) $4
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Gambler (2014) (Vudu/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Game Night (2018) (MA/4K) $5
Gate, The (1987) (Vudu/SD) $4.50
Get Him to the Greek (Unrated) (2010) (MA/HD) $3.25
Get on Up (2014) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.50
Ghost In The Shell (2017) (Vudu/HD) $2 (iTunes/4K) $2.75
Ghostbusters (1984) (MA/HD) $3.50
Ghostbusters + Extended (2016) (MA/HD) $3
Girl In The Spider's Web (2018) (MA/HD) $4.50
Girl on the Train (2016) (iTunes/4K) $2.25 (MA/HD) $2.50
Girl with All the Gifts, The (2016) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Girls Trip (2017) (MA/HD) $1.50 (iTunes/HD) $1
Godfather Trilogy (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $14
Godfather, The (1972) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Gods of Egypt (2016) (Vudu/4K) $5.25 (Vudu/HD) $2 (iTunes/4K) $1.50
Godzilla (1998) (MA/4K) $8
Godzilla (2014) (MA/4K) $5
Gone Baby Gone (2007) (Vudu/HD) $5
Good Dinosaur (2015) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $3.25
Good Lie (2014) (MA/HD) $1.50
Goosebumps (2015) (MA/HD) $5.25
Grease (1978), 2 (1982), Live! (2016) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $14
Great Wall (2016) (MA/HD) $2.50
Greatest Showman (2017) (MA/HD) $2.25
Green Lantern: Beware My Power (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
Green Mile, The (1999) (MA/4K) $6
Greenberg (2010) (MA/HD) $3.25
Grumpy Old Men (1993) (MA/HD) $6.25
Hacksaw Ridge (2016) (Vudu/4K) $4.50 (iTunes/4K) $3.50 (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Hail, Caesar! (2016) (MA/HD) $3.75 (iTunes/HD) $2.25
Half Brothers (2020) (MA/HD) $6
Halloween Ends (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $4.75
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Resurrection (2002) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $10.50
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Happy Death Day (2017) (MA/HD) $5.50
Happy Death Day 2U (2019) (MA/HD) $5.25
Happy Feet (2006) (MA/HD) $4
Hard Candy (2005) (Vudu/HD) $5
Harriet (2019) (MA/HD) $4.25
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) (MA/HD) $3.50
Hateful Eight (2015) (Vudu/HD) $2
Haunting in Connecticut (2009) (Vudu/HD) $6.50
Heat, The (2013) (MA/HD) $2.25 (iTunes/SD) $1
Heat: Director's Definitive Edition (1995) (MA/4K) $6.25 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.25
Hell or High Water (2016) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (Vudu/HD) $2.50 (iTunes/4K) $3.75
Hercules (1997) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Hercules (2014) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.75
Hereditary (2018) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Home (2015) (MA/HD) $2
Home Alone (1990) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) (MA/HD) $3.50
Hop (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.25
Hot Fuzz (2007) (MA/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/4K) $4
Hotel Transylvania (2012) (MA/HD) $6.25 (MA/SD) $2.50
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) (MA/HD) $6.75
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) (MA/4K) $6.75 (MA/HD) $4.50
House of 1,000 Corpses (2003), Devil's Rejects (2005), 3 From Hell (2019) (Vudu/HD) $6
House of 1000 Corpses (2003) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
House of the Dragon: Season 1 (2022) (Vudu/4K) $9 (Vudu/HD) $5.25
How to Train Your Dragon (2010) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $4
How to Train Your Dragon Collection 1-3 (MA/HD) $7.50 $4.75 Each
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) (MA/4K) $6 (MA/HD) $4.25
Hugo (2011) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
Hunger Games Collection 1-4 (Vudu/HD) $6.50 (iTunes/4K) $12
Hunt, The (2019) (MA/HD) $6
Huntsman: Winter's War - Extended Edition (2016) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3
Hurricane Heist (2018) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Hurt Locker (2008) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
I Can Only Imagine (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
I See You (2019) (Vudu/HD) $4.50 (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Ice Age (2002) (MA/HD) $5
Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4.25
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) (MA/HD) $4.50
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) (MA/HD) $5.25
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) (MA/HD) $6
Ides of March (2011) (MA/HD) $5.25
I'm Not There (2007) (Vudu/HD) $5
In the Heights (2021) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $2.50
Independence Day (1996) (MA/4K) $7.75 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.50
Indiana Jones 1-4 (Vudu/4K) $25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $20
Inferno (2016) (MA/HD) $3.50
Inglorious Bastards (2009) (MA/4K) $7.25 (MA/HD) $6
Ingrid Goes West (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5.50
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) (MA/HD) $5.25
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) (MA/HD) $6.50
Insidious: The Last Key (2018) (MA/HD) $3.25
Instant Family (2018) (Vudu/HD) $2 (iTunes/4K) $1.50
Instructions Not Included (2013) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Insurgent (2015) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $4.25 (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Internship (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
Interview, The (2014) (MA/HD) $3.50
Into the Woods (2014) (MA/HD) $4 (GP/HD) $2.25
Invitation, The + Unrated (2022) (MA/HD) $6.50
Iron Lady (2011) (Vudu/HD) $5
Iron Man (2008) (MA/4K) $7.25 (iTunes/4K) $7 (GP/HD) $3
Iron Man 1-3 (MA/4K) $21 (iTunes/4K) $16 (GP/HD) $7.50
Iron Man 2 (2010) (MA/4K) $7.25 (iTunes/4K) $6.50 (GP/HD) $3
Iron Man 3 (2013) (MA/4K) $7.25 (iTunes/4K) $3.25 (MA/HD) $2.75 (GP/HD) $2
Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United (2013) (MA/HD) $5.50
Isle of Dogs (2018) (MA/HD) $4.75
It Comes at Night (2017) (Vudu/HD) $6.25
It Follows (2015) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Jack and Jill (2011) (MA/HD) $3
Jack Frost (1998) (MA/HD) $5
Jack Reacher Collection 1-2 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $7
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) (Vudu/4K) $5.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.75
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Jackass Forever (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Jane Got a Gun (2016) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Jaws (1975) Jaws 2 (1978) Jaws 3 (1983) Jaws: The Revenge (1987) (MA/HD) $15.50
Jingle All the Way (1996) (MA/HD) $5
JOBS (2013) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.75
John Wick Collection 1-3 (Vudu/4K) $16.50 (iTunes/4K) $14.50 (Vudu/HD) $8
Jojo Rabbit (2019) (MA/HD) $7
Jumanji: Next Level (2019) & Welcome to the Jungle (2017) (MA/HD) $7.50
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) (MA/4K) $7.75 (MA/HD) $5.50
Jungle Book (2016) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.25 (GP/HD) $2.75
Jungle Book 2 (2003) (MA/HD) $6.50
Jurassic Park (1993) (MA/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) $3.75 (MA/HD) $3
Jurassic Park III (2001) (MA/4K) $6.50 (iTunes/4K) $3.75 (MA/HD) $3.50
Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997) (MA/4K) $6.50 (iTunes/4K) $3.75 (MA/HD) $3
Jurassic World (2015) (MA/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) $3.75 (MA/HD) $2.75
Jurassic World Collection 1-5 (MA/4K) $20 (iTunes/4K) $17.50 (MA/HD) $10.50
Jurassic World Collection 1-6 (MA/4K) $24 (MA/HD) $12.50
Jurassic World: Dominion + Extended Cut (2022) (MA/4K) $7.25 (MA/HD) $4.50
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) (MA/4K) $6 (MA/HD) $1.75
Kicks (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5
Kidnap (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.25
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) (Vudu/HD) $6
Kill the Messenger (2014) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5
Killer Joe (Director's Cut) (2012) (Vudu/HD) $5
Killing Kennedy (2013) (MA/HD) $6.50
Killing Them Softly (2012) (Vudu/HD) $2.75
King Richard (2021) (MA/HD) $2
King's Speech (2010) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5
Kitchen, The (2019) (MA/HD) $3
Knight and Day (2010) (MA/HD) $6.50
Knives Out (2019) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.25
Kronk's New Groove (2005) (MA/HD) $7
Kung Fu Panda Collection 1-3 (MA/HD) $12.50
La La Land (2016) (Vudu/HD) $2.25 (iTunes/4K) $3.75
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure (2001) (MA/HD) $6.25
Last Christmas (2019) (MA/HD) $6.50
Last Vegas (2013) (MA/HD) $3
Last Word (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5
Lawless (2012) (Vudu/HD) $3.75
Lawrence of Arabia (Restored Version) (1962) (MA/HD) $5
Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Legion of Super Heroes (2023) (MA/HD) $6.50
Leprechaun Returns (2018) (Vudu/HD) $2.75
Les Miserables (2012) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Let Him Go (2020) (MA/HD) $4
Let's Be Cops (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.75
Liar Liar (1997) (MA/HD) $3.25
Life (2017) (MA/HD) $2.50
Life of Pi (2012) (MA/HD) $2.75
Light of My Life (2019) (Vudu/HD) $2.50 (iTunes/HD) $2
Lightyear (2022) (MA/4K) $5.25 (MA/HD) $2.75 (GP/HD) $2
Like a Boss (2020) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.25
Lilo & Stitch (2002) (MA/HD) $6.25 (GP/HD) $4
Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005) (MA/HD) $5.25 (GP/HD) $3
Limey, The (1999) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Lincoln Lawyer (2011) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Lion (2016) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Lion King 1 1/2 (2004) (MA/HD) $6.50
Little Fockers (2010) (MA/HD) $3.25
Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000) (MA/HD) $6.75
Little Mermaid III: Ariel’s Beginning (2008) (MA/HD) $6.75
Little Women (2019) (MA/HD) $4.25
Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow (2014) (MA/4K) $5
Lodge, The (2019) (MA/HD) $5.75
Lone Ranger (2013) (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $2.50
Lone Survivor (2013) (iTunes/4K) $2 (MA/HD) $1.50
Long Shot (2019) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4
Lord of War (2005) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Lost Boys, The (1987) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3.50
Lost City, The (2022) (Vudu/4K) $6.25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Love Actually (2003) (MA/HD) $5.50
Lovebirds (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.50
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) (MA/HD) $6
Ma (2019) (MA/HD) $5.25
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982) (MA/4K) $5
Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) (MA/4K) $5
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2
Madagascar Collection 1-4 (MA/HD) $14
Mallrats (1995) (MA/HD) $3.25
Mama (2013) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.75
Mamma Mia! The Movie (2008) & Here We Go Again (2018) (MA/HD) $6.50 $4.50 Each
Man On Fire (2004) (MA/HD) $6.50
Many Saints of Newark (2021) (MA/HD) $2.50
Margin Call (2011) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5
Marshall (2017) (MA/HD) $4.75
Mary Poppins (1964) (MA/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3
Mary Queen of Scots (2018) (MA/HD) $5.75
Master, The (2012) (Vudu/HD) $5
Matrix (1999), Reloaded (2003), Revolutions (2003), Resurrections (2021) (MA/HD) $8
Matrix: Resurrections (2021) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $2.50
Maze Runner (2014) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.50
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) (MA/HD) $6
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $6
McFarland, USA (2015) (MA/HD) $6.25 (GP/HD) $4.50
Meet the Parents (2000) (MA/HD) $3.25
Megamind (2010) (MA/HD) $5.50
Memory (2022) (MA/HD) $4
Men (2022) (Vudu/HD) $4
Men in Black (1997) (MA/HD) $6.75
Men in Black II (2002) (MA/HD) $6.75
Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) (Vudu/HD) $5
Menace II Society (Director's Cut) (1993) (MA/HD) $5
Menu (2022) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $4
MIB: International (2019) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $4.75
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004) (MA/HD) $6.50
Midsommar (2019) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Midway (1976) (MA/HD) $3.25
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $4.25
Mile 22 (2018) (iTunes/4K) $1.75
Million Dollar Arm (2014) (MA/HD) $4.25
Minions (2015) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.75
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) & Minions (2015) (MA/HD) $8.25
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) (MA/4K) $7.25 (MA/HD) $5.75
Miracles From Heaven (2016) (MA/HD) $4.50
Miss Bala (2019) (MA/HD) $4
Miss Congeniality (2000) (MA/HD) $6
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2015) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2
Missing Link (2019) (MA/HD) $4.25
Mission: Impossible Collection 1-6 (Vudu/4K) $25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $20
Mission: Impossible Fallout (2018) (Vudu/4K) $2.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Mistress America (2015) (MA/HD) $5
Molly's Game (2018) (iTunes/HD) $2
Moneyball (2011) (MA/HD) $2.75
Monsoon Wedding (2001) (MA/HD) $3.25
Monster Trucks (2016) (Vudu/HD) $2
Monster's Ball (2001) (Vudu/HD) $5
Monsters, Inc. (2001) (GP/HD) $4
Monuments Men (2014) (MA/HD) $2
Moonfall (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5
Moonlight (2016) (Vudu/HD) $4
Morbius (2022) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $3.50 (MA/SD) $2.25
Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022) (MA/HD) $6
Mother! (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Mother's Day (2016) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5
Mountain Between Us (2017) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $1.50
Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014) (MA/HD) $3.25
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) (MA/HD) $3.75
Much Ado About Nothing (2013) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Mud (2013) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Mule, The (2018) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $2.50
Mummy (1999), Returns (2001), Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), Scorpion King (2002), Mummy (2017) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $22
Mummy, The (2017) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.75
Muppets Most Wanted (2014) (MA/HD) $6.25 (GP/HD) $4.50
Murder on The Orient Express (2017) (MA/HD) $2.75
My All American (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.25
My Boss's Daughter (2003) (Vudu/HD) $6.25
My Dinner with Herve (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3
My Fair Lady (1964) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
My Girl (1991) & 2 (1994) (MA/SD) $7
My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.25
Nebraska (2013) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.25
Neighbors (2014) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.50
Never Grow Old (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Night at the Museum 3-Movie (MA/HD) $14 $6 Each (MA/SD) $9.50
Night Before (2015) (MA/HD) $4.75 (MA/SD) $2
Night Of: Season 1 (2016) (Vudu/HD) $7.25
Ninth Gate, The (1999) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
No Country For Old Men (2007) (Vudu/HD) $5.50 (iTunes/HD) $6.50
Nobody (2021) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $5.25
Nocturnal Animals (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3.25
Non-Stop (2014) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Nope (2022) (MA/4K) $8 (MA/HD) $6.25
Nope (2022), Get Out (2017) & Us (2019) (MA/HD) $10.25
Northman (2022) (MA/4K) $7.50 (MA/HD) $5
Notting Hill (1999) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.25
Nut Job (2014) (MA/HD) $2.50 (iTunes/HD) $1.75
Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature (2017) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Olaf's Frozen Adventure Plus 6 Disney Tales (2017) (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $3.25
Olympus Has Fallen (2013) (MA/HD) $5
On the Basis of Sex (2019) (MA/HD) $4.50
One Direction: This is Us + Extended Fan Edition (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25
Only God Forgives (2013) (Vudu/HD) $5
Operation Finale (2018) (iTunes/4K) $2.75
Ouija (2014) & Origin of Evil (2016) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $9
Ouija (2014) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Over the Hedge (2006) (MA/HD) $6.25
Pain & Gain (2013) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.50
ParaNorman (2012) (iTunes/HD) $5
Paterno (2018) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50 (GP/HD) $3
Patriots Day (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2.50
Paul (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.50
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015) (MA/HD) $4.25
Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Pearl (2022) (Vudu/HD) $6
Peppermint (2018) (iTunes/HD) $1.75
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) (MA/HD) $6.75
Peter Rabbit (2018) & 2 (2021) (MA/HD) $10.25 $5.75 Each
Peter Rabbit (2018) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $5
Phantom Thread (2017) (MA/HD) $3
Pinocchio (1940) (MA/HD) $5.75 (GP/HD) $4
Pirate Fairy (2014) (MA/HD) $3.25 (GP/HD) $1.75
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) (MA/HD) $3.25 (GP/HD) $1.75
Pitch Black - Unrated Director's Cut (2000) (MA/HD) $6
Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) (MA/HD) $2.75 (iTunes/4K) $3.75
Pitch Perfect Collection 1-3 (MA/HD) $11.50
Planes (2013) (MA/HD) $2.50 (GP/HD) $1.50
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) (Vudu/HD) $5 (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014) (MA/HD) $4 (GP/HD) $2
Planet of the Apes 1-3 (Newer) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $12
Playing For Keeps (2012) (MA/HD) $4.75
Point Break (2015) (MA/HD) $2
Poltergeist (1982) (MA/4K) $5
Poms (2019) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Popeye (1980) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5.25
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) (MA/HD) $3.25
Post, The (2017) (MA/HD) $2.50
Precious (2009) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5
Predator (1987) (MA/HD) $2.75
Predator (1987), 2 (1990), Predators (2009), Predator (2018) $11
Pretty in Pink (1986) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Prey for the Devil (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6.25
Priceless (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5
Prince of Egypt (2002) (MA/HD) $5.50
Princess and the Frog (2009) (iTunes/4K) $5.50 (GP/HD) $3.25
Prometheus (2012) (MA/HD) $1.75
Prophecy Collection 1-5 (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $14.50
Psycho (1960) (MA/HD) (iTunes/4K) $5
Public Enemies (2009) (MA/HD) $6.25 (iTunes/HD) $4.75
Purge: Election Year (2016) (MA/4K $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $3
Puss in Boots (2011) & The Last Wish (2022) (MA/HD) $10.50
Puss in Boots (2011) (MA/4K) $7
Queen & Slim (2019) (MA/HD) $3.75
Queen of Katwe (2016) (MA/HD) $3.50 (GP/HD) $2.50
R.I.P.D. (2013) (MA/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/HD) $3
Rabbit Hole (2010) (Vudu/HD) $5
Railway Man (2013) (Vudu/HD) $5
Rambo Collection 1-5 (Vudu/HD) $15
Rambo Last Blood (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $2.75
Rambo: First Blood (1982) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) (Vudu/4K) $6.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Rampage (2018) (MA/4K) $5
Ran (1985) (Vudu/4K) $5.50
Ready or Not (2019) (MA/HD) $6.50
Red Sparrow (2018) (MA/HD) $4.50
Requiem for a Dream - Director's Cut (2000) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Rescuers Down Under (1990) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $4
Rescuers, The (1977) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $4
Reservoir Dogs (1992) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5
Respect (2021) (iTunes/4K) $4.25
Rhythm Section (2020) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Richie Rich (1994) (MA/HD) $5
Ride Along 1-2 (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5 $2.75 Each
Rings (2017) (Vudu/HD) $2.75 (iTunes/HD) $1.50
Rio 2 (2014) (MA/HD) $2.25
Road to El Dorado (2000) (MA/HD) $5.50
Robin Hood (Animated) (1973) (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $2.75
RoboCop (1987) (Vudu/HD) $7.75
Robots (2005) (MA/HD) $6.75
Rock Dog (2016) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Rocky Collection 1-4 (Vudu/4K) $17.50
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) (MA/HD) $5.25
Room (2015) (Vudu/HD) $5.25
Rumble (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6
Russell Madness (2015) (MA/HD) $4
Safe (2012) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $1.75
Same Kind of Different as Me (2017) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2
Santa Clause (1994), 2 (2002), 3 (2006) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $10.50 (GP/HD) $6.50
Savages (2012) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.25
Saving Mr. Banks (2013) (MA/HD) $4.75 (GP/HD) $2.75
Saw Collection 1-7 (Vudu/HD) $10
Scarface (1983) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $5.50
Scary Movie 3 (2003) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $3
Schindler's List (1993) (MA/HD) $5
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) (MA/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $5.25
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) (Vudu/HD) $3.75 (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Scream 5 (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Scream Collection 1-3 (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $13.50
Scrooged (1988) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Second Act (2018) (iTunes/HD) $1.50
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) (MA/HD) $4.50
Secret Headquarters (2022) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/4K) $6
Secret Life of Pets 1-2 (MA/HD) $7.50
Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) (MA/4K) $6.25 (MA/HD) $5
Secret Life of Pets, The (2016) (iTunes/4K) $3.75 (MA/HD) $2.75
Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) (MA/HD) $1.75
Secretary (2002) (Vudu/HD) $5
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.50
Serenity (2005) (MA/HD) $3.50
Seventh Son (2015) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $1.50
Sex Tape (2014) (MA/HD) $3
Shallows, The (2016) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD $4.25
Shape of Water (2017) (MA/HD) $3.50
Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), World's End (2013) (MA/HD) $10
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Shawshank Redemption (1994) (MA/4K) $5 (MA/HD) $3.50
She's Having a Baby (1988) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
She's the Man (2006) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.25
Shooter (2007) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Shrek (2001), Madagascar (2005), Home (2015), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2003), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Croods (2013), Kung Fu Panda (2008), Boss Baby (2017), Abominable (2019), Trolls (2016) (MA/HD) $16
Sicario (2015) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (Vudu/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/4K) $3
Sideways (2004) (MA/HD) $5.25
Silent Night, Deadly Night: 3-Film Collection (1989-1991) (Vudu/HD) $6
Sin City (2005) (Vudu/HD) $5.75
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) (Vudu/HD) $6.50
Sing (2016) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.75
Sinister (2012) (Vudu/HD) $3 (iTunes/HD) $2.75
Sisters (Unrated) (2015) (MA/HD) $4 (iTunes/HD) $3.25
Sixteen Candles (1984) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.50
Sleeping Beauty (1959) (MA/HD) $3.50 (GP/HD) $2.75
Sleepless (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $1
Smile (2022) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6.75
Smurfs 2 (2013) (MA/HD) $3.50
Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) (MA/HD) $3.25
Snatched (2017) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $1
Snitch (2013) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.75
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $3.75
Snowden (2016) (MA/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/HD) $4
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.50
Son of God (2014) (MA/HD) $1.25
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) (Vudu/4K) $6.25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) (Vudu/4K) $6.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Sorry to Bother You (2018) (MA/HD) $5
Sound of Music, The (1965) (MA/HD) $6
Source Code (2011) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.50
Space Between Us, The (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5
Space Jam (1996) (MA/4K) $5
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) (MA/4K) $5
Spider-Man Collection 1-8 (MA/HD) $26
Spies in Disguise (2019) (MA/HD) $3.75 (GP/HD) $2.75
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2003) (MA/HD) $5.25
Spontaneous (2020) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5
Spy (Unrated) (2015) (MA/HD) $2
Spy Game (2001) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $5.75
Star Trek 1-3 (Vudu/4K) $18.75 (Vudu/HD) $9.50 (iTunes/4K) $13.50
Starsky & Hutch (2004) (MA/HD) $6
Step Up Revolution (2012) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.25
Still Alice (2015) (MA/HD) $3
Stir of Echoes (1999) (Vudu/HD) $4.75
Straight Outta Compton (Unrated Director’s Cut) (2015) (MA/4K) $7.50 (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Strange World (2022) (MA/HD) $5.25 (GP/HD) $3.75
Stronger (2017) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.75
Stuber (2019) (MA/HD) $4.25
Suburbicon (2017) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Suffragette (2015) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $3
Suicide Squad, The (2021) (MA/4K) $5
Sully (2016) (MA/4K) $5
Super Troopers (2002) (MA/HD) $5.75
Super Troopers 2 (2018) (MA/HD) $3
Sword in the Stone (1963) (MA/HD) $6.25 (GP/HD) $3.75
Taken (2009), 2 (2012), 3 (2015) (MA/HD) $10
Tangled (2010) (MA/HD) $5.25 (GP/HD) $4
Tarzan (1999) (MA/HD) $6.50 (GP/HD) $5
Ted (2012) (Unrated) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Terminator: Genisys (2015) (Vudu/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/4K) $3
Terms of Endearment (1983) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5
Theory Of Everything (2014) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4
Thing, The (2011) (MA/HD) $6.25 (iTunes/HD) $5.75
Think Like a Man (2012) & Two (2014) (MA/HD) $9
This Is 40 (2012) (MA/HD) $3.75 (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Thor (2011) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $7 (GP/HD) $3.50
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) (MA/4K) $7 (MA/HD) $3.50 (GP/HD) $2.25
Thumbelina (1994) (MA/HD) $6.25
Till (2022) (iTunes/4K) $6.50
Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast (2014) (MA/HD) $6.25 (GP/HD) $4.50
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.25
Titanic (1997) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $4.75
Titans: Season 2 (2020) (Vudu/HD) $6.25
TMNT Out of the Shadows (2016) (iTunes/4K) $4
Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) (Vudu/HD) $6
Tomorrowland (2015) (MA/HD) $5.50 (GP/HD) $3.50
Top Five (2014) (Vudu/HD) $5 (iTunes/HD) $3.75
Top Gun (1986) (Vudu/4K) $5.25 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $4.50
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) (Vudu/4K) $6.75 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $6.25
Total Recall (1990) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $5.25
Total Recall + Extended (2012) (MA/HD) $5.25 (Theatrical) $4.25
Tower Heist (2011) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4
Toy Story of Terror! (2013) (MA/HD) $3.75
Trading Places (1983) (Vudu/HD) $4 (iTunes/4K) $5
Transformers 1-5 (Vudu/4K) $30 (Vudu/HD) $23
Transformers: Last Knight (2017) (Vudu/4K) $4.75 (iTunes/4K) $2.25 (Vudu/HD) $2
Trauma Center (2019) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $3.25
Trick 'r Treat (2009) (MA/HD) $5
Triple 9 (2016) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $2.50
Trolls (2016) (MA/HD) $1.50
Trolls Collection 1-2 (MA/HD) $6.50
Tully (2018) (MA/HD) $5.75
Turning Red (2022) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $4.25 (GP/HD) $3
Tyler Perry Presents Peeples (2013) (Vudu/HD) $1.75
Umma (2022) (MA/HD) $3.75
Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1 (2019) (Vudu/HD) $5.50
Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/4K) $6
Unbroken (2014) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3
Uncharted (2022) (MA/4K) $5.75 (MA/HD) $3.75
Unfinished Business (2015) (MA/HD) $4.50
Unhinged (2020) (Vudu/HD) $4
United 93 (2006) (MA/HD) $3.25
Up in Smoke ‘Cheech and Chong’ (1978) (Vudu/HD) $3.25 (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Upside, The (2017) (iTunes/HD) $2
Vacation (2015) (MA/HD) $2
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) (Vudu/HD) $2.75
Vow, The (2012) (MA/HD) $3.25
W. (2008) (Vudu/HD) $5
Walk the Line (2005) (MA/HD) $4.75
Walk, The (2015) (MA/HD) $5
Walking Dead: Season 11 (2021) (Vudu/HD) $8
Walking with Dinosaurs (2013) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.50
Wanted (2008) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $6
Warm Bodies (2013) (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $2
Warrior (2011) (Vudu/4K) (iTunes/HD) $4
Watch, The (2012) (MA/HD) $4.25
Way Back, The (2020) (MA/HD) $2.50
Way, Way Back, The (2013) (MA/HD) $5.25
What Men Want (2019) (Vudu/HD) $1.75 (iTunes/4K) $1.25
What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.25
Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) (MA/HD) $5
Whiplash (2014) (MA/HD) $5.75
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $2.25
Why Him? (2016) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2
Widows (2018) (MA/4K) $6.50 (MA/HD) $1.50
Wild Card (2015) (Vudu/HD) $4.25
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) (MA/4K) $5.75
Wind River (2017) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5
Wings (1927) (Vudu/HD) $4
Winter’s Bone (2010) (Vudu/HD) (iTunes/HD) $5
Witch, The (2016) (Vudu/HD) $3.50
Wizard of Lies (2017) (Vudu/HD) $5 (iTunes/HD) $4.25 (GP/HD) $3
Woman in Gold (2015) (Vudu/HD) $2.75
Woman King (2022) (MA/4K) $7.25 (MA/HD) $6
Won't Back Down (2012) (MA/HD) $3.75
Woodlawn (2015) (MA/HD) (iTunes/HD) $3.75
World War Z (2013) (Vudu/HD) $3.50 (iTunes/HD) $1.50
Wraith, The (1986) (Vudu/HD) $5
Wrath of Man (2021) (Vudu/HD) $3
X (2022) (Vudu/HD) $7
X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), The Last Stand (2006) (MA/HD) $14.50
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.50
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2004) (iTunes/4K) (MA/HD) $2.50
X-Men: First Class (2010), Days of Future Past (2004), Apocalypse (2014) (MA/HD) $11
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage (2017) (Vudu/4K) $5.50 (iTunes/4K) (Vudu/HD) $1.25
Youth in Revolt (2009) (Vudu/HD) $5
Zookeeper's Wife, The (2017) (iTunes/HD) Ports to MA $4.50
submitted by
wtfwafflezor to
DigitalCodeSELL [link] [comments]
2023.03.22 00:54 delipity [22 Mar] 1,774( ↓ 372) New Cases; Rolling 7-day avg: 1,571( ↓ 19); Hospitalisations: 214( ↑ 3)
Daily New Covid Cases by DHB reported 22 Mar 2023 (as at midnight Tuesday 21 Mar 2023) - New Cases: 1,774 ( ↓ 372)
- Rolling 7-day avg: 1,571 ( ↓ 19)
Location | New Cases | Change | Seven Day Rolling |
Total | 1774 | -372 | 1571 ( ↓ 19) |
Auckland | 123 | -74 | 138 ( ↓ 13) |
Bay of Plenty | 69 | -8 | 55 ( ↑ 2) |
Canterbury | 290 | -78 | 270 ( ↑ 0) |
Capital and Coast | 111 | -38 | 104 ( ↓ 4) |
Counties Manukau | 134 | -41 | 123 ( ↑ 0) |
Hawke's Bay | 55 | -12 | 44 ( ↑ 1) |
Hutt Valley | 45 | -21 | 48 ( ↓ 1) |
Lakes | 38 | -11 | 34 ( ↑ 2) |
MidCentral | 56 | -20 | 54 ( ↓ 1) |
Nelson Marlborough | 74 | +3 | 58 ( ↑ 2) |
Northland | 52 | -18 | 47 ( ↑ 0) |
South Canterbury | 43 | +7 | 30 ( ↑ 0) |
Southern | 232 | +54 | 171 ( ↑ 4) |
Tairawhiti | 16 | -8 | 13 ( ↑ 0) |
Taranaki | 47 | -18 | 45 ( ↓ 1) |
Unknown | 5 | +3 | 4 ( ↑ 1) |
Waikato | 127 | -25 | 103 ( ↑ 3) |
Wairarapa | 19 | -14 | 16 ( ↑ 0) |
Waitemata | 195 | -45 | 177 ( ↓ 11) |
West Coast | 20 | -8 | 20 ( ↓ 1) |
Whanganui | 23 | +0 | 19 ( ↑ 1) |
Last 10 days of the Rolling 7-day average Reported 22 Mar 2023
Date | 7-day rolling avg |
Tue 21 Mar | 1571 ( ↓ 19) |
Mon 20 Mar | 1590 ( ↓ 3) |
Sun 19 Mar | 1593 ( ↓ 9) |
Sat 18 Mar | 1602 ( ↓ 23) |
Fri 17 Mar | 1625 ( ↓ 6) |
Thu 16 Mar | 1631 ( ↓ 28) |
Wed 15 Mar | 1659 ( ↓ 8) |
Tue 14 Mar | 1667 ( ↑ 18) |
Mon 13 Mar | 1649 ( ↑ 5) |
Sun 12 Mar | 1644 ( ↑ 5) |
214 ( ↑ 3) Hospitalisations as at midnight Wednesday 22 Mar 2023
DHB | Count | Change |
Total | 214 | +3 |
Auckland | 47 | +0 |
Bay of Plenty | 6 | +0 |
Canterbury | 25 | -7 |
Capital and Coast | 2 | -1 |
Counties Manukau | 8 | -2 |
Hawke's Bay | 16 | +6 |
Hutt Valley | 5 | -1 |
Lakes | 3 | +1 |
MidCentral | 14 | -2 |
Nelson Marlborough | 8 | +3 |
Northland | 5 | -2 |
South Canterbury | 7 | +0 |
Southern | 12 | -2 |
Tairawhiti | 0 | +0 |
Taranaki | 6 | +0 |
Waikato | 10 | -1 |
Wairarapa | 1 | +0 |
Waitemata | 37 | +11 |
West Coast | 1 | +0 |
Whanganui | 1 | +0 |
source: MoH GitHub data
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2023.03.22 00:41 Nearby-Complaint Staten Island Jane Doe (1991) Identified As New Jersey Woman
by
Giulia Heyward -
Staten Island authorities identified the woman killed in a murder that stumped investigators for decades. The identification of the victim —
Christine Belusko, from
Morris County, New Jersey — is the latest breakthrough in a cold case that occurred in 1991.
“This is a story about a brutal and depraved murder, depraved acts of violence that killed this young girl in her prime,” said Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “And the dumping of her body in a lonely and desolate field on the east shore of Staten Island exactly 31-and-a-half years ago.”
The perpetrator – who remains unidentified – bludgeoned, strangled, and set Belusko on fire before discarding her body in the
Ocean Breeze neighborhood on Sept. 20, 1991, police said Tuesday. Because police were unable to identify her with fingerprints or
police sketches, Belusko became known by a
scorpion tattoo on her right buttock.
The weapon found at the scene –
a blood-stained hammer with the name ‘Loyd L’ scratched into the handle – also failed to lead to any suspects.
But the advancement of forensic genealogy over the years led local authorities to submit her DNA and dental records to the FBI in 2010. Nine years later, the Richmond County DA's office used genealogy research to ultimately discover Belusko’s identity in April 2021.
The authorities also discovered Belusko’s last known address, the identity of her daughter – who was 2 when her mother died – and Belusko's whereabouts leading up to her death. The authorities contacted Belusko’s family members – including her brother – in June 2021.
The identity of Belusko’s assailant remains unknown – although the district attorney said it is likely someone who knew her. Belusko reportedly worked at a Rainbow shop in New Jersey, and wore clothing from the store at the time she was murdered, according to McMahon.
The authorities are also scrambling to contact her daughter, Krista Nicole Belusko, who is now 33. The police said they are now seeking the public’s assistance in finding her whereabouts. “We can see that this team has spent an incredible amount of time and energy on doing the right thing because they believe in bringing justice to the victims of crime,” McMahon said.
--
https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/645ufny.html Date of Discovery: September 19, 1991
Location of Discovery: Staten Island, Richmond County, New York
Estimated Date of Death: 1 day prior
State of Remains: Burned
Cause of Death: Homicide by beating
Physical Description
Estimated Age: 16-27 years old
Race: White
Sex: Female
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Hair: Brown, medium length, and curly
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scorpion tattoo on the right buttock.
Identifiers
Dentals: Available. Tooth 18 has porcelain fused to a metal crown that was dislodged during examination. Possibly had braces in the past.
Fingerprints: Available.
DNA: Available.
Clothing & Personal Items
Clothing: A black, knit type, 3/4 length dress, with pink or fuchsia colored collar and pocket. White, size 8, low cut,
Thom McCann,
Baloon sneakers. White bra, black, G-string panties with multicolored flowers.
Jewelry: 18-inch gold, herringbone necklace, 20-inch gold rope chain necklace, a ring that contained a small, watch face with an expandable band, possibly black in color.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
Circumstances of Discovery
The victim was located in a vacant lot on September 19, 1991. She was struck with a large hammer (body shop type). Her body was smoldering when found by a passerby. She was set afire with turpentine.
--
Her daughter's Charley Project link
https://charleyproject.org/case/christa-belusko Christa Belusko
- Missing Since - 09/20/1991
- Missing From - Staten Island, New York
- Classification - Endangered Missing
- Sex - Female
- Race - White
- Date of Birth - 08/01/1989 (33)
- Age - 2 years old
- Height and Weight - 2'4, 30 pounds
- Distinguishing Characteristics - Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance
Christa's date of disappearance is given as September 20, 1991 and the place as Staten Island, New York. However, the last time anyone actually saw her was about a week before September 20, with her mother at the Mount Airy Lodge in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. She has never been heard from again. Few details are available in her case. ---
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2023.03.22 00:12 jotakusan My First DWI Story - Texas, F/28
I wanted to share my whole DUI experience in case it can help some of you just going through this. It is very long, so I split it up into parts to make it more digestible, and so you can skip a part of you aren’t interested in reading it. TLDR; at the bottom.
Some key info: I’m a female and was arrested at 28 with my first DUI charge and received it while living in Texas at the beginning of 2022. BAC came in at .21 and I had crashed my car into the curb when the cops found me. I hired my own attorney and the whole ordeal took 10 months.
Part 1: The Night I got Arrested
I went to a bar I had never been to by myself. I was recovering from COVID that I had tested positive for 10 days earlier. I had tested positive on my birthday and was feeling very bored and lonely and thought it would be a great idea to go out by myself and maybe make some friends or meet someone. Pro-tip for any of you new to San Antonio, the bars on the strip over-pour. I was not aware of this at the time and that was my second mistake. My first was going out without any friend.
Long story short, I left around close but I was so drunk that I blacked out. Usually when I drink heavily, I’ll sleep it off in my car before I leave, but I was so far gone, I didn’t sleep first. I don’t remember getting into my car or crashing it. The first time I came to consciousness, I realized my car was acting weird and pulling me to the left so I got out to look at it. The next thing I remember was having a cop standing next to me and the flashing lights behind my car. I tapped my damaged side skirt with my foot, looked at the cop, and said, “I dunno what happened.” I know, I should have claimed someone I had just met was driving because they said they were okay to drive, then crashed and ran off, but I was too drunk to think that clearly.
Next thing I remember, I’m being put in a holding cell. I didn’t come back to full awareness until I had woken up in the cell. I’m a little bitch, so needless to say, I spent the rest of the night sobbing. I learned that I had denied the breathalyzer and was taken to the nurses room to get my blood drawn. I tried to deny that one too but they had a warrant. Considering this was about 4 hours after I had left the bar and taking into account my sex and body weight, I was probably at around a .28 when I left. Around 9am I was taken to the magistrates office.
Part 2: Magistrates
I was taken to the processing room and asked by a male officer, “what do you have down there?”. Very professional way of asking if I'm a man or a woman... I look like a girl, but whatever. They set me up with a female officer and she had me strip naked, bend over and cough. One of the more humiliating times of my life. Pro-tip, if you plan on getting a DWI, make sure to bring a sweatshirt or jacket because it is absolutely freezing in both the police station and magistrates office. Also, maybe wear some sweatbands to shove under the ankle cuffs. I had a lot of bruises around my ankles when I left.
To save you all of the boring details of how the next 14 hours went, just skip to part 3 from here. Between waiting, watching whatever was playing on the TV’s, and trying to sleep in between fits of crying, I went through the whole processing process. First up was the judge where I was read my charges and given my bond. The bond amount came out to $1000, and thankfully I was eligible for a PR bond. I was bonded out with a $70 fee, but that didn’t mean I could leave like I was hoping.
Next up was getting processed. Finger prints, mugshot, the works. Then I had to sit down and go over my details with the bonds office so I could be accepted for the PR bond. After that was a trip to the nurses station where I had to take a pee test to check if I was pregnant (fun fact, I’m only attracted to women so... no), asked some medical history questions, and tested for TB. I was finger printed a second time for some reason and then spent the next forever hours waiting to be released. People with severe ADHD are not built for being locked up. I thought I was going to go insane.
Around 11pm they called my name for release where I was given my inmate card and told me this would be used as my ID since I wasn’t getting my license back. Then I was brought into the exit room and received my things from the desk. Wallet, keys, shoe laces, and phone. My phone was dead and no one had a charger, and with my car being impounded, I had no way to get home. Thankfully I made friends with another lady that had been locked up and her family was picking her up. She offered to get me a ride home.
Part 3: Impounded Vehicle, Damage, and Hiring a Lawyer
The next morning, I called a lawyer one of my friends used for her DWI and set an appointment for that afternoon, then took an Uber straight to the impound lot. I got to my car and saw the full extent of the damage in the light. It was bad. I clearly got into a fight with a curb and somehow got damage on the top of my fender. I never got charged for hitting anyone, so who knows what happened there. Maybe a concrete barrier, considering how much the top of my fender was ripped up. My rocker panel was completely crushed in, stress cracks on my front bumper, front lip was hanging off a bit, both wheels were cracked and tires were flat, and my side skirt had been mostly ripped off. I called a tow truck and he dropped me off at a little family owned shop and they took the wheels off to find the tie rod was snapped, and the front lower control arm and rear control arm were bent.
Suspension repairs came out to $700. I ordered a new set of wheels and tires later that week and left my car sitting in front of the shop while I waited for the wheels to get delivered. It took an entire month to get my car back in a driveable condition because of how long it took to get the wheels. I didn’t have the money to fix the body and didn’t want to file it with my insurance due to the situation, so over a year later I’m still driving a busted up car, but at least it works. Total cost for the parts, labor, getting it out of impound and tow came out to around $2600. I had a friend’s ex look at the body damage and he told me to expect around $3400 in body repair. Pro-tip, don’t get a DWI, they’re expensive.
One more pro-tip, as soon as you get out of jail, go online and get your license replaced. It takes a couple months for your license suspension to go through, so make sure you get a replacement license in the mean time. The cops will not give you your license back. As for the lawyer, he was cheaper than the car and was a huge help. $2700 and he dealt with everything. My advice when it comes to lawyers is get one. Many will offer payment plans so you don’t have to provide cash up front. He made the whole ordeal so much easier and gave me a lot of helpful info, plus knew the prosecutors and had friends among them. I’ll get more into why you need to get a private attorney in later parts. Hiring him was simple. I went to their website and set up an appointment time. Went to his office the day after being arrested, and told him the story. He told me what to expect, let me know what he can do, and we set up the payment plan. The deductible was $200 and he set me up to pay $150 biweekly until the $2700 was paid off. I had trouble paying him back and he said no worries, just get him back by the end of the year.
Part 4: Court, License Suspension, and Legal Advice
If you just got out of jail, be prepared for many months and many court appearances. Thankfully, a lot of court in Bexar County has been moved to Zoom since COVID hit and that is still the case today. My roommate is going through it right now, but for a different crime and with a free public defender, so I will be making comparisons in Part 8.
The first court date is just you stating that you are there and willing to follow the orders of your bond, stay in the state, and all that fun stuff. They ask if you’re present and you say you are, then your attorney will introduce him or herself. The next couple court dates are a blur, just mundane conversations with the lawyer and judge. Thanks to having an attorney, I didn’t have to attend 2 of the dates and he took care of the license suspension court. I was suspended for 6 months and could request approval to drive to and from work with a Restricted Drivers License, but I didn’t want to pay for the SR22 insurance. I only drove to and from work over the next 6 months, mounted my front license plate instead of leaving it in my window, and always drove as carefully as possible. Happy to say I made it without any issues. If you do get caught, that could mean additional fees or even being arrested again if the cop is having a bad day.
During this time, my attorney gave me a list of things to do that would look good to the judge. Based on his conversations with the prosecutors, without doing those things I was looking at 18 months probation and 9 months with an interlock. These things included taking 2 different driving courses, getting my friends and family to write letters saying nice things about me, writing a letter saying nice things about myself, donating to the judge’s favorite charities, and I even went ahead and took a SASSI-4. That’s an exam you take that a therapist will review and screen you for substance use disorder and risk. My lawyer decided not to show that one to the prosecutors when my result for “Alcohol and other Drug Problem” was “High probability of substance use disorder”.
I completed everything he gave me and the prosecutors offered a plea deal for 15 months of deferred adjudication probation (which allows me to have my record wiped 2 years after completing probation) and 7.5 months with an interlock. If you live in Texas and are convicted of a DWI for the first time, you are required a minimum 12 months of probation and have to have an interlock installed for at least half of your probationary period. They say a mandatory three days incarcerated too, but this is not true. The likelihood of going to jail for your first DWI once convicted is extremely low. I talk to one guy at the bar a year ago who volunteered 30 days in jail instead of taking a plea deal. That didn’t seem like an option for me, but I wouldn’t have taken it because fuck that. He said he wished he hadn’t.
Part 5: Conviction
I voluntarily decided to get sober in September and started attending AA meetings. I received my 1 month chip the day before my final court hearing and I think this helped my case a ton. My final court hearing had to be in person. My lawyer met with the prosecutors one last time and they settled on their original deal of 15 months probation and 7.5 months on interlock, but agreed to drop me from a Misdemeanor A to a Misdemeanor B because of my voluntary 1 month completion of sobriety with AA.
Once I was called to the stand, my lawyer stood with me and spoke to the judge about my case and the plea deal. She asked me a couple yes or no questions. Make sure you always say “your honor” when you finish speaking as a show of respect. The judge will take your respect of them into account. When all was said and done, and this is why I say having a lawyer is very helpful, I pleaded no contest and the judge sentenced me to 12 months of probation because in her words, “that’s as low as I can go”, which told me she would have gone lower if she could, 6 months on interlock, and agreed to dropping me to a misdemeanor B. I wanted to bear hug my lawyer after we left the court. Thanks to him and to my efforts based on his recommendations, and my personal decision to attend AA and get sober, I was dropped from 18 months of probation and 9 months on interlock to just 12 months of deferred adjudication probation and 6 months of an interlock. I am so thankful to the judge for having some mercy on me.
After court, I went to the probation office to get registered, and my first meeting was scheduled for a month later.
Part 6: Probation
Since I had completed all of those things my lawyer suggested I do (all except the donating to the judges charity because I was broke), I had the certification already completed for the mandatory classes. Also, and this one is weird and totally up to the judge, because I was vaccinated for COVID, she dropped 20 hours from my 45 hours of community service. I don’t know why, but I’m not complaining.
My first probation meeting went well. I seem to have a good PO. She did make me aware that I had to give 3 months notice for any planned travel outside of the state, but I travel for work frequently, and usually only get 3 days to 2 weeks notice before I have to fly out, and I work outside of the country on occasion. I contacted my lawyer and he was able to get the judge to approve an Order for Travel, allowing me only 48 hours notice to my PO if I am traveling anywhere inside or outside of the country for work with a mandatory drug test within 24 hours of returning home. Once again, thank you lawyer. A free attorney would have taken months to get this approved, but it only took my attorney a week.
I’m nearly half way through my 12 months of probation, and so far I haven’t had any issues. Every drug test is clean, my certification was approved, she set me up to do my community service at the animal shelter, and that’s it! Almost… I did have to take an alcohol and drug evaluation and, like the SASSI, the counselor who evaluated me, said I have a high probability of a substance use disorder. Pro-tip, if you had a beer while on probation, even if it was just one, don’t admit that… She talked me up and was being super friendly, then asked when the last time I purchased alcohol was and my dumbass admitted to having a beer with some pizza earlier that month. Now, I have to complete a month long $500 outpatient substance abuse treatment program. I start that next week.
Part 7: Interlock
Per my plea deal, I have to have an interlock installed on my car for 6 months and had a month after my court date to get it installed. I shopped around and ultimately went with SmartStart because they had the closest location to me. That was the only reason. The reviews for every company are all equally bad. I’ve had it for almost 5 months, and I can genuinely say this is the worst part of the punishment. These thing drives me insane. I’m required to blow into it 3 times a day, even if I’m not going anywhere. I’ve had to have the technicians fix something with it twice now. The first time it locked me out even though I wasn’t in my car, the second time it kept disconnecting and I couldn’t start my car unless I fiddled with the wires.
I also had someone break into my car a couple months ago, and that dumbass stole the camera. They probably thought it was a security camera, but it is definitely not. The camera only turns on when you are blowing into the device, just to make sure you are the one blowing into it and not cheating the system by having someone else blow into it. You are responsible for any damages to the device, so that ended up costing me $300 dollars to replace plus an additional $90 for the install. That brings me to my next issue… You have to have the device calibrated once a month. Calibration means they download all of the data on the interlock device and send it to your PO. It will record any time you blew dirty, got a warning (this happens if you are close to .025 BAC), didn’t blow when it alerted you while driving, or got a lockout. And it costs $90 each time. I'm looking at 6 months of interlock costing around $1000.
This past month, I started having an issue with my battery and found that the car will completely lose power and I have to adjust the negative terminal to get power back. This wouldn’t be the worst thing ever, and it isn’t the fault of the interlock, but if I get into my car and it has power, and I blow, sometimes the car will lose power when I try to start it. This causes the interlock device to freak out when I get power back to my car, and it won’t allow me to start the engine even though it isn’t asking me to blow. I have to turn my car off, disconnect and reconnect the unit, then sit there for 10 minutes with the battery disconnected before I can reconnect it, blow into the interlock, and finally start my car. This thing is nothing but an expensive pain in my ass.
Just a little over a month left and I can say goodbye to this little piece of shit. Provided my PO doesn’t take a long time to get the request for removal and the judge doesn’t take a long time to respond. That’s my final issue. Even though there was the agreement made in court that I only had to have it for 6 months, I can’t just get it removed once I hit the 6 month mark. I have to get approval for it to be removed and this can take anywhere from a couple days to a couple months depending on how backed up the judge is. According to my PO, the judge is very backed up. It took one of my friends nearly 2 months to get approval to have hers removed. That whole time you still have to use it as normal and go in for monthly calibrations. Our court system is so convoluted.
Part 8: Private Attorney vs Public Defender
Whatever you do, do not use a public defender. If there is any possible way you can afford an attorney, do that. Even if you have to take out a loan, HIRE AN ATTORNEY. My roommate is using a public defender for the trouble she’s in, and it has been nothing but a pain in the ass. They are overworked and will only do the bare minimum for you. My attorney was so easy to contact, went out of his way to help, covered court dates for me, got a great deal with the prosecutors, and gave me tons of helpful advice. Plus he was able to help with the work order and have it approved in a week after I completed court.
My roommate’s attorney is nearly impossible to contact, and when she finally does get a hold of him, he has no idea who she is or what is going on with her case. He’s always asking her to remind him of what happened last, and asking his assistant questions too. He got the prosecutors to agree to consider dropping her case after her first court date and all they needed was her hospital records to review since she was arrested on domestic dispute charges for taking the fall for her abusive ex. She was also arrested on a warrant for missing her court date, which means she is currently on full house arrest. For the past 3 court dates, her attorney has forgotten to give the prosecutors her hospital records.
She also requested partial house arrest so she can return to work but the attorney is dragging his feet on that too. She has now been out of work for 5 months and can never get a straight answer from him when she asks if she can go to work yet. Her place of employment has rehired her twice now, but she keeps getting removed from their system because it is taking so long. It seems this second time was the last straw, because now they won’t contact her back, and she can only get approved for partial house arrest if she has employment and a schedule to prove. It feels like going in circles with this guy, and she’s extremely depressed and defeated, and I’m footing all of the bills because I’m nice and love her. But holy fuck I am BROKE.
Please, for the love of all that is good, hire a private attorney, otherwise you’re probably going to get a shit plea deal, the absolute minimum amount of help, and be stuck to navigate the court system on your own. I regret not hiring an attorney for her, because she would have had her charges dropped back in January if it wasn’t for this shitty public defender, could have gone back to work, and she would have made back what the lawyer cost a month later. Don’t put yourself through that if you don’t have to.
Part 8: Conclusion/TLDR
Anyway, if you made it this far, congrats. If I was helpful in any way, I am glad I could share. This took me a solid 3 hours to write. If you didn’t make it through, here’s the TLDR or a summary for those of you who did read most, if not all of it;
I got in an accident with a curb after blacking out and was arrested for a DWI. I declined to blow, but was given a blood test about 4 hours later, resulting in a .21 BAC. My license was suspended for 6 months because I refused the breathalyzer, although I would still recommend refusing just in case. It’s easier for a lawyer to get a dismissal on a blood test, plus there's a chance you’ll sober up enough to be under the legal limit by the time they get the warrant for the blood test. Make sure to get a replacement license as soon as you get out of jail, because it’ll take a couple months before your license is suspended.
Push for a PR bond if this is your first time being arrested and you have a clean record. The county will pay your bond and you just have to pay a fee. My bond was $1000 and I had a $70 fee. Do not accept a public defender if you can avoid it. Hire a lawyer. If you want all the details of why, you can read that in Part 7. Thanks to my lawyer and his recommendations, my charge was dropped from a Misdemeanor A to a Misdemeanor B, went from 18 months of probation and 9 months on interlock to 12 months and 6 months, and got a work travel order permitted in a week.
He was also able to get me a plea deal for deferred adjudication probation, which means you don’t get officially charged until you complete probation, and can have your record expunged after 2 years of completion. That’s great, because having a DWI on your record can be extremely limiting. You can’t go to Canada for 10 years, can’t rent a car, might not be approved for TSA PreCheck, employers will see it on a background checks, landlords and universities can see it too, and your insurance goes up. Get that expunged as soon as you can.
And finally, I wanted to put all of the costs together, including my extra costs and possible costs for anyone curious of the total.
Car Stuff - $11 for license replacement, $400 to have removed from Impound and towed to a shop, $700 on suspension repairs, estimated $3400 for body work. Total = $4511
Court/Probation Fee's - $70 for PR Bond, $2500 in court/probation fees, $120 for DUI courses, $10 a service hour, so $250 total if I don't do community service, outpatient therapy is $500. Total = $3440
LawyeInsurance - $2700 in lawyer fees, $250 for Restricted Driver License, around $800 for SR22 insurance for 6 months Total = $3750
Interlock - $540 for 6 months of calibrations, $390 for stolen camera, $90 for removal. Total = $1,020
Expunging Record - $600
Total cost when all is said and done - $13,321
Needless to say, I should have taken a $30 Uber. But hey, I've learned a lot because of what I did and there is nothing I can do but make the best of it. You can do this too. This is just one shitty hurdle in life, but you can overcome and move past it with time and effort. Thanks for reading.
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2023.03.22 00:05 BB_Bandito Hot Spots 03/21
2023.03.21 23:53 Karvier I found a diary written in Manchus language, the author was a Manchus soldier served in a combined unit of Manchus and Mongols in 17th century. I never have read something like this before. So I decided to translate part of it to English with original Manchu text and my own commentary in bold text.
Some quick background: By the year of 1649, which was five years after the Manchus, a semi-nomadic tribe, descended from the seemingly unbreakable great wall and achieved their great feat of conquering Northern China, the authority conducted a census and found out by that time there were only 55330 adult males in the entire population. In the mean time, they have to deal with more than 100 millions subjugated Chinese. This sheer difference of numbers between the conqueror and the conquered forced practically every Manchus men to become soldiers, including the author of this diary. The author acted sort of like a nowadays squad leader in the Manchus army, for he had 4 soldiers under his command. However, Since the Manchus army suffered from the above mentioned predicament of lacking manpower, he , as a born Manchus himself, actually enjoyed a very trusted position in the eyes of his general and could get in touch with some ultra confidential information/ high level officials every now and then. The diary itself covered a period of roughly 3 years: from the New year's day of 1680 to 1682, and it mainly focused on the author's military career during the Manchus conquest of the southern China. Although as you can probably tell from reading his work, the author himself was not exactly the most educated and bright guy on the earth and due to the nature of his job this diary's narration suffered badly from many huge gaps, it was a really unique and extremely valuable piece of historical source and eye-witness account. I wish I could translate all of them but for now please enjoy the first five months of this diary that I have already translated!
In the reign of Elhetaifin khan(
the original text omitted this title here, yet the author did use Khan to address his monarch in the later part of the dairy. The Chinese word for Elhetaifin was Kang xi), in year 19, the canary monkey year of the Manchu calendar.
The new year‘s day: General Manggitv(
this is apparently either a spelling mistake or a nickname, since this general's name was actually Manggitu as we can find from the later part of the diary and other history sources) led his councilors,janggins (
a Manchu military title)and local officials to the city of Nan ning fu
(The word fu already means city in Chinese , but the author,as a Manchu, clearly was unaware of it and he probably thought it is a part of the city’s name. So in the original text he wrote Nan ning fui hoton, in which hoton means city in Manchus,thus it could be translated as the city of Nan ning city). They entered the Dung Yoo miyoo(
meaning the temple of eastern mountains in Chinese) and made a dedication to the divine. The subordinates of the councillors prostrated themselves to each other to show their courtesy. By the time of the festival, the janggins of the eight banners and soldiers started to eat and drink, even those armoured bayaras(
one of the most elite Manchu military units) went on the street, they got some women’s clothes and wore them themselves to pretend like women, and they sang along with those who were singing the song of Doo yang ke (
again, ke already means song in Chinese, and the author was not aware of that. I think making this kind of mistake twice probably suggests the author has no knowledge of the Chinese language.)to entertain themselves. The image of the old men (
sakdasa in the original text, which probably refers to the author’s parents) emerged in my heart, fuck.
25th,February: Shang zhi xin(
a Chinese dynast who serves the Manchus), the mighty conqueror general, the king who pacified the south; along with Manggitu,the general of the south theatre; Ecu, the general of Jiangning; Lebei and Hife, the counsellor and lord of the banner; and Ehene, the vice janggin, met together to hold a war council on the best method to enter and conquer Yun nan(
a province in southwestern China).The plan was made, and it was decided that we should initiate the invasion next winter. I sewed a tent and saddle for my horse(
not sure what exactly that means,do horses need tents?) and also fixed my weapons.
3rd,March: Mang(
this time for sure a nickname of general Manggitu, potentially coined by the author himself) said there was a decree issued from the khan’s court…..(
the content of the decree was too long and rather irrelevant, so I did not translate it). I took some time to finish the necessary maintenance.
5th,March: The date of departure was approaching, so an order was given to us to prepare our weapons.
6th,March: Ganduhai and other low-ranked janggins strictly inspected the quantity of the horses. The message of Ma qiyang yen’s rebellion against us was delivered to our camp again, he was the Chinese governor of Bin jeo.
13th,March: General Mang(
nickname of Manggitu) selected 3 bayaras from each niru(
the manchu equivalent of battalion, roughly 300 men strong), and he handled this force to Hife, the lord of the banner, and Ehene, the janggin of the flag(
apparently Mr Ehene got recently promoted). Hife also had 5 regiments of Chinese auxiliary forces under his command, each of which was 1000 men strong . With this army, he was ordered to fight the above-mentioned rebel Ma Qiyang Yen, and he then marched towards the direction of Bin jeo.This day my eight horses(
the author forgot to use plural form and accusative case here,I assume it was due to his depression)were stolen by thieves. My heart feels so heavy. After reporting this to the general, the general informed the officials and the civilians about this matter, and an investigation was initiated; it turned out to be fruitless.
16th,March: General Ecu reached Nanning city(
I assume the author was learning Chinese, since this time he did not say the city of Nanning city again)from the county of Yung Mvn by water.
20th,March: The military horse from Yung Mvn also reached our camp. The general ordered to allocate these military horses from Yung mvn among those armored soldiers who did not have one. At that time
(the couriers) did not want to surrender the horses, so
(the general) scolded the leaders of every regiment, calling them weak. General Mang gathered all those janggins of the camps together and told them: "Why have those horses not been allocated as ordered yet? You were ignoring my orders! It was not even something hard to do, yet you refused to follow it! Now, go and bring those horses to the city, they are government property! " Then the matter was finally settled.
25th,March: We departed from Nanning city and I was leading a squad of four soldiers in a niru. Mang the general and Lebei, Hife the lord of the banner, led the army, aiming to reach Liu zhou. We marched past the Jing ceng sy(
a Chinese temple) and Kun lun pass.
In five days, we marched 170 ba(
a Manchu unit of length, each ba equals roughly 500 meters)
30th,March: We reached Bin Jeo; first, we met the Bayara force; then, I and my squad were allocated to the ranks of the Aliha force(
it is a combined force of Mongol and Manchu soldiers.The word Aliha means "those who are in charge").We then formed a new platoon.
1st,April: A servant of my platoon mate Hooxan distributed some beef among us. These beef meats were acquired through killing some random natives. This was discovered by the general’s own armoured guards. He called me and other squad leaders to his tent, then he asked us to sit down and comforted us with his kind words. I felt so ashamed. In the end, we were all punished, Ganduhai was sentenced to a fine of three months' salary, I and the vice janggin Dandai were sentenced to a fine of six months' salary. Bosoku (
a Manchu military title, refers to a low-ranking cavalry officer) was sentenced to 70 strokes of the cane. Hooxan from the Booju niru,who was the master of the servant, was sentenced to 80 strokes of the cane. The servant was sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane.
4th, April: The rations of the army were running out, so the general decided to move the camp. We moved to a place that was 15 ba away from Bin Jeo. We were ordered to search for food in every nearby village and to hull rice plants if we could find any. I sent the children of my servant to the village,(
they)discovered some rice plants hidden by the villagers in their basements, (
we)dug a hole in the ground to hull the rice.
6th, April: The Chinese auxiliary force was ordered to build a temporary bridge on the river near Bin Jeo.
8th, April: A decree was issued by the ministry:"Prince kemungge and Brother king Shang zhi xin(
previously mentioned Chinese dynast who supports Manchu rule) ,please(
the original text was,quite surprisingly, using operative mood) meet together, then use your joint force to attack Ma qiyang yen’s force.General Manggitu, why have you not launched the campaign to enter and conquer Yun nan? You need to explain this to us immediately" Then we heard again the rumour that Hai Qing county,Jin Men, and Xia Men of Fu Jian province were conquered by our empire.
13th,April: Once again, a scolding message was sent from the ministry, asking us to enter and conquer Yun nan.
16th,April:Since the servant of the soldier(
probably referring to the Hooxan incident)harmed the local people, a decree that barred all soldiers from leaving their post was issued.
19th,April: We crossed the river near Bin jeo, marching 15 ba, and then we established our camp at a place called Too deng near Xa Moo San. I made a small shack for myself with grass. This day the brother king(
Shang zhi xin) sent a letter to our camp:" governor Jin
(a Chinese) is leading the marine force and traveling by water with 23 boats. I myself am currently dwelling with military governor Jelken. We shall start to move with our force on April 15th. I pray that your excellency could capture Lai Bin County; in the mean time, I will go and capture Vsiowan County. I hope I can meet you at that place. I wish we could then discuss whether we should wait for Prince Kemungge or simply attack Liu zhou with our own force." And the mighty baturu(
meaning great warrior), the man born for war, the governor of Yun Gui, general Zhao liang dong(
a Chinese general who served in Manchu army, he was greatly respected by the author)also sent a secret message to our camp: "The leader of the rebels Wu san gui, Wu guo gui were now dead. The ones left were Wu ying qi, Wu Shi Fan, and Hu Gui Zhu. They were nothing but a bunch of incompetent dollards and their morale was already shattered. This is the time to conquer Szechuan! Four(
armies)need to conduct attacks together, we shall capture all their land, and it will be done in one strike!" I carefully and respectfully heard his message .
23th,April: The war council decided to capture Lai Bin first. Thus, an order to prepare a ration of one month’s worth was issued. I ordered someone to dig a hole in the ground to hull the rice plants.
28th,April: The soldiers were sent out to collect enemy intelligence. I also went out with them.
29th,April: I was sick, I puked.
1st, May: Prince Elhe himself was leading his army back to the north, it was said they were going back to Beijing, I went out to follow him, but contrary to my wish, I failed to go back, fucking frastrute(
author made a spelling mistake here, and it was followed by a large gap period, so he was probably super fed up).
7th, May: The rebel leaders from Yun nan,namely Fan Qi Han and Jan Yang, joined forces with Ma Qiyang yen and crossed the river near Lai Bin. We heard that they stopped near the Da Xi Bridge. General Mang ordered all the men to stay within the camp and build fortifications. My troops also participated in building the defences, and they were all complaining.
13th, May: The hostile force was approaching, they stopped at a place 5 ba away from us and set up camp on a monticule. General mixed the Chinese auxiliary forces and our own forces together in order to defend the camp. I was personally patrolling the camp with my full-set of armour on for the entire day.
15th,May: Subordinates of the rebel Ma qiyang yen, fake general Ma qiyang lei, and Rao yi lung,together with the other rebel’s fake generals Fan qi han and Jan yang from Yun nan challenged us with more than 10 thousand soldiers. They arranged many anti-horse obstacles and large barriers near Too Deng. The army of the enemy itself was drawn up in a four-line formation and was equipped with many muskets and elephants. Seeing this, General Mang ordered every subcamp to select 1 janggin and 10 armoured soldiers to secure the luggage. Then the rest of the army went out to fight the enemy. Our army was marshalled as follows: "Hife, the lord of the banner, stood at the front of the first line to coordinate the attack. The troops in the second line were commanded by Masita. The first line of the right wing, in the meantime, was commanded by Ehene. The flank troops of the left wing were commanded by Lebei. In front of the whole army, the general placed the Chinese auxiliary force and their artillery." The enemy rushed towards us; they broke through our first line like it was nothing, and the Chinese could not stop the charging enemy, so they fled from the battle. Seeing this, the banner men from plain red and plain yellow organised two simultaneous attacks with great passion; they penetrated the enemy line, creating two gaps. Yet the enemies fought unyieldingly; they reorganised and concentrated all their forces to strike towards us, ignoring the plain red and yellow bannermen at their flank. Our troops could not stop them, so we started to retreat scatteredly. I saw it all myself, how they drove the bannermen from the bordered blue banner to their anti-horse obstacle. But all of a sudden, the bannermen being chased stopped, and a series of strange "picyang" sounds came from the enemy's direction. Then I saw the soldiers of the first line somehow managed to drive the elephants towards us while the military standards of the bordered yellow banner’s bayara janggin Valda and aliha army(
the unit author belonged to)’s vice bosoku(
the bosoku himself was probably still recovering from the cane stroke) Ulehi were seized by the enemy. At that time, the soldiers of the second line, including me, saw hardly any option but to shoot desperately towards those beasts. They were charging us from all directions, so we had to shoot while standing back to back, and the elephants looked like hedgehogs. When the elephants acted like grey fishes,(
elephants) fled away. My heart felt really strange at that instance, and I could not stop it from beating like crazy. The hostile army then left the plain and retreated to the forest on the mountains. They again arranged some anti-horse obstacles there later that day. We did not fight them again, for our forces went back to the camp to spend the night while defending our fortifications.
Name list: Since the Manchus usually would only address other Manchus with their first name, I'll attach a list of names of the figures mentioned in this diary whose full name could be found in other sources
Manggitu= Manggitu Joogiya Ecu= Ecu Ujara Hife= Hife Heseri Ehene=Ehene Nara Lebei=Lebei Gorolo Jelken=Jelken Eci Prince elhe=
Giyešu Aisin-gioro Prince kemungge= Labu Aisin-gioro
Original Manchu text:
Elhe taifin i sohon bonio juwan uyuci aniya,aniya biyai ice inenggi,jiyanggiyvn Manggitv,hebei ambasa,geren janggisa,bana i hafasa be gaifi,Guwangsi Nanning fui hoton i Dung yoo miyoo i dolo isibufi doroloho.Ambasa juwe galai hafasa ishunde hengkilehe.Aniya i ucuri jakvn gvsai janggin cooha gemu jeme omime,bayara uksin i beye giyade,hehe adali miyamifi,Doo yang ke uqun ba uculeme efihe. Mini dolo sakdasa be gvnime alixaha. Juwe biyai orin sunja de,horon be badarambure amba jiyanggiyvn,juergi be necihiyere wang Xang jy sin,juergi be tuwakiyara jiyanggiyvn Manggitu,Giyangning ni jergi babe tuwakiyara jiyanggiyvn Ecu,hebei amban gvsai ejen Lebei,Hife,meireni janggin Ehene se Yvn nan be gaime dosire jalin hebe aqafi,tuweri dosimbi seme toktoho.Bi morin be ulebume maikan enggemu agvra hajun be dasataha. Ilan biyai ice ilan de.Dergici wasimbuha Mang....... Mini gamara yaya jaka be gemu dasataha . Ice sunja de dosire inenggi hanci oho,agvra hajun be sadata seme selgiyehe, Ice ninggun de Ganduhai buyarame janggisa morin i ton be qiralame baicaha.Bin jeo i jy jeo hafan Ma qiyang yen be ubaxaha seme nurhume boolanjiha. Juwan ilan de jiyanggiyvn Mang gusai ejen Hife,tui janggin Ehene de emu nirui ilata bayara,dahame dailara sunja ing ni sunja minggan niowanggiyantv cooha be bufi, neneme ubaxaha hvlha Ma qiyang yen be dailame Bin jeo baru jurambuha.Tere inenggi mini jakvn morin hvlha bufi,mini doro alixame,jiyanggiyvn de alara jakade,Jiyanggiyvn sunja ing ni hafasa,irgen de selgiyafi baicabuha,naranggi bahaakv.... Juwan ninggude jiyanggiyvn Ecu,cooha gaifi yungmvn hiyan ci quwan tefi,nan ning de jihe.Orin de yungmvni choohai morisa isinjiha,Jiyanggiyvn gisun morin akv uksinsade yunmvni albani morin be tatame gaifi bu seme。tatarade lak seme burakv ofi,genere kvwaranda be uhuken seme dangsifi.jiayanggiyvn Mang,tuwakiyara kvwarani dajanggisa be gajifi,morin be burakvngge adarame emke hono famxame yabuki serakv jilerxembi,te uthai albani morin be bu seme,morin be tatame gaifi genere cooha de icihiyame buhe. Orin sunjade bi jiyanggiyvn Mang,gvsai ejen Lebei,hife sebe dahame. Emu nirui duite ton i cooha be gaifi,Nanning fuci,Lio Jeo baru jurafi yabume,Jing ceng sy be dulefi,Gunluwan guwan be tucifi. Sunja inenggi emu tanggv nadanju babe yabufi.Gvsin de bin jeo de isinafi,neneme geneje bayara be acafi,aliha cooha be acabufi emu meyen obuha. Duin biyai ice de,mini jalani Booju nirui Hooxani kutele,gvwa i waha irgini ihani yali be dendefi gaijirede,Jiyanggiyvni gocika uksin de nambufi,Jiyanggiyvn,mimbe,kvwaran i da be gamafi,qaqari de tebufi,sain gisun i neqihiyere de,be yertehe.Weile gisurefi,Ganduhai ilan biyai funglv,mimne arahai janggin dandai be ninggun biyai funglu faitame,bosokv be nadanjv,kutelei ejen hooxan be jakvnju,kutule be tanggv tantaha. Uheri coohai jetere bele lakcafi,ice duide jiyanggiyvn ing gurime,Binjeo ci tofohon bai dubede genefi ing ilifi,teisu teisu gaxan de bele baisu,handu be niohu seme selgiyehe.Bi booi juse be gaxan de unggifi,eye fatame handu baifi gajifi,na be sangga arafi bele niuhuhe. Ice ninggude Bin jeo i bira be fukiyoo ca seme,niowanggiyan tu de afabuha. Ice jakvn de jurgan ci unggihe bithede:“Ubaxaha hvlha Ma Qiyangyen be kemungge wang anda wang Xang jysin ni emgi acafi dailakini,jiyanggiyvn Manggitu si yvn nan be dailame dosika akv babe hvdun boola sehebi!” Geli fugiyan i goloi Haiqing hiyan,Gin men,Hiya men i jergi babe baha seme donjiha. Juwan ilan de geli Yvnnan be gaime dosi seme hacihiyara bithe isinjiha. Juwan ninggude cooha kutule be irgen be nungnembi seme,gemu karun ci ume tucibure seme fafun i bithe selgiyehe. Juwan uyun de Bin jeoi bira be doofi,tofohon ba yabufi.Xa moo sani ebele Too deng sere babe ing iliha.Bi orhoi tatan araha.Anda wang ni yabubuha bithede: Dzungdv Gin mukei cooha be gaifi,juwan ilan de quwan be jurambi. Mini beye, tidu Jelkeni emgi cooha be gaifi, tofohon de olhon be jurambi.Laibin hiyan be wesihun jiyanggiyvn gaisu,bi vsiowan hiyan be gaifi, dere aqafi hebdeki.Eici kemungge qin wang be aliyafi Lio jeo fvbe gaire,eici musei cooha uthai Lio jeo fvbe gaire babe ebxeki sehebi.Yvn guii dzungdu baturu bodohonggo jiyanggiyvn Joo liyangdung ni wesimbuhengge:Fudaraka hvlha U sangui,U guwegui bucihe, funcehe U ingki,U xifan,Hv guwejv,Maboose gemu silhi meijehebi,muten akv urse.Ere Suquwan be baha ucuri,duin jugvni sasa Yvn gui be gaime dosici, emgeride toktobuci ombi seme.narhuxame wesimbuhe seme donjiha. Orin ilan de Laibin i baru ibembi seme gisurefi nakaha,emu biyai jetere bele niohu seme selgiyehe.Bi eye fetebume handu baifi, bele niohuhe.Orin jakvn de hvlha i mejige be gaime,cooha unggirede,bi genehe bihe.Orin uyun de mini beye fudame nimehe.Sunja biyai ice sunja de, elhe qin wang ni beye cooha gaifi, Beging ni baru bederehe seme donjifi,bi elhe wang be dahame tucifi, elemangga bahafi bedererakv seme kusucehe.Ice nadan de Yvn nan ci jihe hvlha Fan qihan,Jan yang ni cooha, Ma qiyangyen i cooha Lai bin i bira be doofi, Da xikiyoo de iliha seme donjifi, Jiyanggiyvn Mang geren de selgiyefi ing be akdulara de, mini beye cooha be kadalame dobori dulime keremu ulan weilehe.Coohai urse gasaha. Juwan ilan de hvlha ibeme jifi,bakcilame sunja bai dubede,alin be gaime ing iliha.Jianggiyvn,niowanggiyan tvbe musei cooha de kamcibume keremu tuwakiyabuha.Mini beye dobori inenggi a(u)ksilehei jucelehe.Tofohon de ubaxaha hvlha Ma qiyangyeni fejergi holo Jiyanggiyvn Ma qiyang liyei,Rao i lung,Yvn nan ci jihe hvlha i holo jiyanggiyvn Fan qihan,Janyang uheri tumen funqere hvlha be gaifi, ing be afanjime hanci latunjifi, Too deng ni bade hiyahan kalka miyoocan sufan duin be faidafi ambarame jihe be.Jiyanggiyvn Mang ing toome emu janggin,juwan uksin be werifi,uheri amba cooha be gaifi tucifi,cini dere de hife,masitai be jai meyen i cooha be gaifi faida,ici ergi xaksiha de Ehene uju meyeni cooha be gaifi faida.Hashv ergi xaksiha de lebei xaksiha meyen i cooha be gaifi faida seme afabufi.Niowanggiyan tvbe juleri sindafi,ibeme poo sindame,hvlha uthai fondolome latunjifi,niowanggiyan tv alime muterakv axxame.Gulu suwayan gulu fulgiyan juwe hontoho fakcame angga arame ba buhe.Hvlha bireme emu dalgan i fondolofi,baksalafi bedererede,tuwaci jebele galai baru siribume kubuhe lamun, hvlhai hiyahani hanci ilinaha. Hvlhai piciyang turi tashara adali sindambi . Tuwaqi uju meyen i qooha sufan be birebufi , kubuhe suwayan i bayara janggin walda tu , aliha qooha i funde bosoku ulehi i tu gaibuha,sufan halgime jai meyen i qooha de nikenjihe be , meni geren i gabdara de ,sirdan sengge bula i adali , sufan de hadara jakade , sufan burulame alin i baru genehe . mini dolo faije(u)me seme gvnime tuksitehe.Hvlha neqin baci ikvme, alin i luku bujan de kurlefi ,yamjitala bakqilame hiyahan faidafi bihe.Musei qooha inu afahakv, ing de bederefi , keremu be akdulame tuwakiyaha.
Source: If you want to read the untranslated part of this diary, click this link Some general descriptions about the situations in eastern Asia by that time
submitted by
Karvier to
history [link] [comments]
2023.03.21 23:21 mcm8279 [ST,com Essay] "T’Pol’s strength comes not from the volume of her voice, but the integrity of her character. As an alien minority on a ship of humans, her character illustrates how one can stay true to oneself whilst maintaining an open mind. An admirable pillar of strength in the face of adversary"
I really liked this new StarTrek .com essay on the meaning of T'Pol in Enterprise:
https://intl.startrek.com/news/tpol-inner-strength-vulcan-lessons T’Pol’s Inner Strength: Lessons from Enterprise’s First Vulcan Officer Excerpts:
"[...]
Star Trek, fortunately, is not lacking in strong women characters, providing role models for fans of all gender identities. Characters like Captain Kathryn Janeway, Kira Nerys, Seven of Nine, and Jadzia Dax immediately come to this seasoned Trekkie’s mind. An admirable pillar of strength throughout
Star Trek: Enterprise is
T’Pol due to her integrity and resilience in the face of adversity.
Taking a cue from the titular character and stepping outside my comfort zone, I'm here to share insights I’ve gained about her dynamic character development from re-watching the series as an adult.
T’Pol’s strength comes not from the volume of her voice, but the integrity of her character. As an alien minority on a ship of humans, her character illustrates how one can stay true to oneself whilst maintaining an open mind.
In accordance with
Star Trek’s message of IDIC — infinite diversity in infinite combinations — it’s essential that we as global citizens of this interconnected world are receptive to diverse worldviews that enable us to grow as individuals. For me, T’Pol teaches that these intercultural exchanges don’t necessitate compromising one’s own sense of self.
Even when faced with extreme opposition, T’Pol resolutely stands by her core values but is never so inflexible that she can’t learn from new experiences. That is where her true power lies. My hope is that my fellow
Star Trek fans also find attributes of T’Pol’s character empowering, or at least have a moment’s reflection on the value of inner, sometimes silent, strength.
[...]
When I was a younger, first-time watcher, I admired T’Pol’s intelligence, and actor Jolene Blalock’s grace and poise while she played the character. Now, as I watch
Enterprise, I see myself in a lot of ways. Not to say that I am as brilliant and stoic, but as a professional woman engaged in predominantly intellectual labor, I understand the prejudices and social pressures T’Pol experiences as the
Enterprise’s first Vulcan second-in-command. Moreover, individuals of all gender identities can relate to entering a new environment and struggling to balance outside expectations with one’s own values and identity.
[...]
Despite these critiques,
T’Pol does not change who she is to try and win her crewmates’ approval and instead initiates cultural exchanges on her own terms in ways that are meaningful to her. Usually, these on-screen interactions are predominantly one-on-one and involve her sharing something of her Vulcan heritage as well as learning about human culture. A scene I frequently reflect on is in the episode “Sleeping Dogs,” when T’Pol offers to assist Hoshi in managing her anxiety by teaching her a Vulcan meditation technique. This is a rare character-defining interaction between the two women that demonstrates early on how Vulcans and humans have a lot to offer one another when they work together.
[...]
Realizing Silence is Power The power of an individual’s voice is not simply in its volume, but in the weight it carries.
This is perfectly exemplified by T’Pol who demonstrates her own unique personal strength through a few carefully chosen words or, in some cases, silences. Silence as a form of power is most clearly illustrated in the second season episode “Stigma.”
T’Pol uses silence to do what she believes is morally right and never wavers from her convictions regardless of the consequences. T’Pol comes under investigation following the revelation she has contracted Pa’nar Syndrome from a non-consensual mind-meld. Following an inappropriately probing interrogation, the Vulcan physicians in question effectively attempt to end her career by sending her home rather than try to treat her medical condition.
[...]
Archer believes, at first, that her silence signals her surrender, that she is submitting to prejudice and is accepting her forced removal from her position. As viewers, we may also come to the same conclusion that she is a victim of assault, now a stigma that will ruin her life. However, T’Pol repeatedly states throughout the episode that she is electing to stay silent because she doesn’t want to become complicit in the societal violence against this mind-melding minority. T’Pol’s silence is her way of realizing her agency in a situation where, as Archer sees it, she doesn’t have a choice. But she does.
[...]
Furthermore, it is worth noting that the gendered aspect of T’Pol’s character is significant. Typically, in Western society, women who are outspoken and use their voice to occupy space are generally considered more empowered as they mirror the ways in which men are socially encouraged. Women’s silence is often associated with submission, traditionally with how women
should behave in a patriarchal society. It is seen as being weak and passive, commonly assigned feminine traits within the patriarchy. Writing against these gendered stereotypes, feminist literary scholar Patricia Lawrence proposes, “women’s silence... may be read as a strategy of resistance and choice – a ritual of truth.” T’Pol effectively demonstrates that silence is an act of agency when she maintains her own truth for the sake of her own values and protecting the civil rights of others.
Though perhaps not in such extreme circumstances, we can identify a time when we felt pressured to do or not do something that ran contrary to our own moral code. I have certainly been in adverse situations where complacency was the easier path in the short term but wasn’t really an option where my conscious was concerned. Living though a global pandemic these past few years particularly highlighted a number of such social issues. Whether the situation calls for speaking out or staying silent, T’Pol demonstrates true strength of character by standing resolutely by her convictions even when faced with extreme opposition.
[...]
Maintaining An Open Mind
[...]
Eventually, T’Pol develops more respectful and meaningful relationships with Archer and Trip. Both characters come to trust her and value her insights. Though she does take on some “human habits,” and occasionally attends movie night,
she never changes the core of who she is, part of which is being an explorer. Before she boarded
Enterprise, she worked at the Vulcan Embassy on Earth because she was curious about meeting new people and learning about other cultures. Not to say that T’Pol’s character doesn’t develop, she grows in a lot of ways, but she also stays true to herself and her own values.
Throughout the series, T’Pol clearly has sovereignty over her own destiny. She follows her own moral code and finally joins Starfleet, not to conform, but in the hope of creating a better future for all. Likewise, I can be open to new experiences without compromising my own values and who I am. Without succumbing to external social pressures, I can grow and develop as an individual on my own terms, as much as it is in my power.
[...]"
Kaja Gjelde (she/hehers) is a Sami-American writer and researcher with an MA in Indigenous Studies. Gjelde is a life-long Trekkie, feminist and linguaphile who lives a semi-nomadic lifestyle with her Norwegian Lundehund. submitted by
mcm8279 to
trektalk [link] [comments]
2023.03.21 21:51 SnooSongs1615 Greedy Slumlords & Small Claims Court
We live in Atlanta, Georgia and our old landlords kept our entire security deposit for repainting the home we rented for 4 years. They said we damaged the property by mounting our television and hanging curtain rods. Our move out “walk through” was the morning we turned in our keys and the new tenants were taking possession of the home that afternoon. Therefore, we were not given the chance to repair the damages ourselves. I filled a case in small claims court because the bill sent to us by the landlord didn’t have an itemized breakdown of the cost for fixing the holes in the sheetrock. The invoice total was over $3,000 but the landlord said we only had to pay $1,450 of that (the entire amount of our security deposit).
We were good tenants and took care of the home as if it were our own and we were never a minute late with the rent in four years.
From the beginning of our residency in the rental, there were major electrical problems. We frequently went days (up to 9 in a row) without hot water. Our HVAC system went out too many times to count. The last month we lived there, we had no power for an entire week with temperatures hovering at around 90 degrees. Our landlords “generously” offered us $350 to find alternative lodging (for 3 people and 2 dogs) while the base of our electrical meter (which had maybe been updated once - decades ago - since the house had been built in 1955 and was the source of all of the electrical problems in the house) being repaired and county permits were secured to turn the electricity back on in the house. In fact, I had to communicate with the landlord’s electrician and the county permit office, repeatedly, because the landlord disengaged himself from the entire week long process of rectifying the situation in his rental house while his paying tenants (of 4 years) had absolutely no electricity.
I have text and email proof of the majority of this ongoing and blatant disregard of the law regarding the warranty of habitability by the landlord.
I filed my claim and then the landlord (who also happens to be a LAWYER) filed a counterclaim suing us for $3,140 plus attorney and court fees “due to Plaintiff’s stubborn litigiousness”.
I don’t understand the legalese of the counterclaim and now I’m super anxious that I’ve started a battle I can’t win.
I did email the company the landlord used to paint the house (once the new tenants had already moved in) and asked what they charged to repair the walls before they paint. The company said that they don’t charge anything for that and it’s considered part of the paint prepping.
Would a judge in a small claims court take into account all of the times we didn’t have hot water, heat, air, or any electricity at all when considering whether or not the landlord should refund my full security deposit or have I screwed myself?
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2023.03.21 21:42 jetpackblues_ Who was Guadalupe County Jane Doe (1978)? Victim of serial killing duo Ronald Lanphear and Diana Geisinger, whose birth certificate was thrown away
I recently came across this case and it really stuck with me. The last writeup here was 3 years ago, so I figured it's time to bring up this young woman again.
On July 11, 1978, a foreman with the New Mexico Highway Department of Transportation was working along Highway 219, at the junction of I-40 and US Highway 84, when he came across the body of a deceased young adult female. The location is in a remote area of Guadalupe County, New Mexico, about 28 miles west of the city of Santa Rosa.
An autopsy found that she had died between a few hours and a couple day prior, from two .22 caliber gunshot wounds to the back of the head. She was between the ages of 17 and 25, 5'8" tall, and approximately 145 pounds. She had blue eyes and her hair was strawberry blonde, though it may or may not have been naturally medium brown. She had had dental care within the last year of her life. In total, she had four fillings and only one wisdom tooth.
Her murder has been connected to serial killing duo Ronald Lanphear and Diana Geisinger, a couple who went on a cross-country killing spree in July 1978. The pair were arrested in October 1978, with Lanphear being sentenced to death after Geisinger testified against him.
The following additional information was provided by Geisinger to authorities after she was arrested:
Geisinger and Lanphear met the victim at rest stop somewhere outside of Perry, Oklahoma around 10pm the night of July 9th or July 10th, 1978. The victim stated that she was 17 years old and was hitchhiking to California to see her mother. The trio rode west together for several hours, briefly conversing about guitars and money (the victim "bragged" about the money she had spent on the new guitar she was carrying with her and on her trip). They stopped along the way at a coffee shop and then a bar.
At some point, Geisinger says she told Lanphear to let the girl out of the car. Some writeups state that this was when the girl asked to use a payphone to call her mother for "her birthday," while others state that the girl made the call when she was first picked up in Oklahoma. Other writeups also take this as meaning that July 11th was the victim's 17th birthday, though I read that as it possibly being the mother's birthday? I wonder if there's a verbatim account from Geisinger out there that would make this more clear?
They drove across a viaduct off the highway, and Geisinger states that she knew at that point that Lanphear was going to murder the girl, though they hadn't discussed it previously. Lanphear got out, opened the passenger door, and asked Geisinger if she wanted out. She said yes, and since she was sitting in the middle and Jane Doe was in the passenger seat, Jane Doe got out of the vehicle first. The girl was then shot in the back of the head by Lanphear and fell to the ground. Lanphear straddled her body and searched her pockets. He then grabbed his gun once more and shot the victim a second time, before rolling her body off a nearby "cliff." However, the area where her body was found is very flat with no visible cliff areas, so I'm guessing she was actually just rolled down the sloping area on the side of the highway.
Geisinger, who was still in the car, was instructed to go through the hitchhiker's belongings. "Drugs and papers" were thrown away. It's unclear what these drugs were and whether they were prescription or recreational. It's also unclear what the papers were, though many reports indicate that the girl was travelling with her birth certificate, and that was definitely one of the trashed items. They kept her guitar, which was later sold, and a coin purse containing $1.50, then drove away, continuing their journey to Las Vegas, Nevada.
If Geisinger's information is accurate, Jane Doe's body was found the same day she was killed, July 11th. Possibly her 17th birthday or her mother's birthday.
Identifying information:
- Blonde hair (possibly dyed), blue eyes
- 5'8", ~145 lbs
- Pierced ears, 3 times on the left, twice on the right
- Clothing: Dark brown moccasins; Blue denim Levi cutoffs; White and navy vest/halter-top type shirt
- Apparently knew how to play guitar
- May have been born on or around July 11th, or had a mother who was born on or around July 11th.
- Her DNA was sent to UNT for analysis in June 2019. No further information regarding that.
Ruled out: Laurie Amico, Angela Ramsey, Nancy Tharp, Benita Chamberlin, Connie Minchaca
Links:
https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Guadalupe_County_Jane_Doe_(1978))
https://storiesoftheunsolved.com/2021/04/15/guadalupe-county-jane-doe-1978/ https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/17089 - *
Postmortem warning\*
https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1497ufnm.html Last writeup posted 3 years ago:
https://www.reddit.com/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/f3wydj/16_guadalupe_county_jane_doe_guadalupe_county_new/ submitted by
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2023.03.21 20:25 Fantastic_Union3100 Medicare Advantage Anyone? Part 2
I have received so many comments on my original post of MA plans. I appreciate all those comments. Instead of responding to individual comments, I decided to write general responses. First of all, I am not an agent or commissioned person. I am about to enroll Medicare in 2-3 months. When I refer MA plans, they are nationally reputable MA plans offered from the likes of AARP/UHC, BCBS, Humana, Aetna, etc. There are other MA plans offered from small regional providers, but I am not interested in those plans. I am also looking for MA PPO plans with some premium for more flexibility. So, here's my responses.
- Fair Comparison: When people say Original Medicare (OM) is better than MA plans, they do not make a fair comparison. OM (Part A&B only) and MA plans are not even in the same league. MA wins by a mile. Even OMPD (Part A, B &D) and MAPD comparison, MAPD wins. Then, people say, but, but, but. Hold your breath, and continue reading.
- FOR PROFIT: When people say OM is better than MA, they actually mean OM plus PD plus supplemental MediGap plans. And, they say MAs are offered by private insurance companies FOR PROFIT. Yes, you are right, but MediGap plans are also offered by the SAME private insurance companies FOR PROFIT. MA additional premium (if any) is much smaller than MediGap premiums. This is because Gov't pays money to private insurance companies for MA plans, but not for MediGap plans.
- Quality of Care: Most reputable doctors do not even know what their patients insurance plans are. Of course, clinics and hospital know your health plan, but doctors just treat their patients regardless of your insurance. They will make necessary referrals regardless of your plan. Most of reputable MAs will have wide in-network specialists, and MA PPOs do not even need specialist referrals. Of course, you may sometimes need pre-authorizations, but MediGap plans also require pre-authorization for certain procedures.
- Freedom: OM gives you a freedom of whatever doctors you can choose. Again, most of MA plans have plenty of choices of in-network doctors. I have had HMO and PPOs during my entire working years, and I never felt that my choice is limited. I have a good primary care doctor, who was in my PPO plan, and in fact, he and his clinic also participate in other PPO and HMO plans too. If your doctors and hospitals are in-network, what freedom do you want? If you are still screaming FREEDOM, it's good for you. OM is your choice.
- Trend: As I mentioned before, 28m people (48%) participates MA plans, and its popularity is increasing. There is a stunning graph from KFF showing its popularity is increasing. You can see it by yourself here: https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-advantage-in-2022-enrollment-update-and-key-trends/. MA participation rate is projected to reach to 60% in 10 years.
- Lastly, someone mentions that MA is for poor and uneducated. It is hardly the case. Those who choose MA plans are smarter and better educated. Where do you think those increasing trend comes from? Existing OM participants switching? May be. But, majority of increase comes from the new entrants to the Medicare system. Younger entrants to the system are smarter and better informed, so they are making smarter choice.
Thank you for reading this lengthy post.
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2023.03.21 19:38 GodessRosee I think im f'kd please HELP
So ima try to remember everything that I can.
I was dating a guy who I thought was a different person than who he actually ended up turning out to be. we had been together for quite some time and the mention of debt came up, he had all this debt and no income to pay it off an nowhere would hire him? he also "couldn't" take out a loan on his own so me being the nice person I am said ill take out the loan for you. so i apply for this loan for him to get approved and the money is put onto my card. i then let him use my card to pay off his debt like credit cards and pet bills. those statements are still on my card. (i have a new card now with a different number) some money he also had taken out in cash at the atm. I set it up so that the monthly loan payments would come out of his debit card. thing slowly took a turn a long while after and we are no longer together. he became verbally abusive / harassing and threatened to take his own life if i didn't stay with him etc. because i wanted no contact with him i wanted to move on and he didnt want that he threatened to close his bank. he ended up having the recurring transaction stopped so now i am stuck paying off the rest which is about 5100..
I havent deleted a single text i have so many from him stating that the loan was for him that the money went to him and was used to help pay his loans. that he would pay it back. him threatening to stop paying it to leave it on me.
Do i have a case in small claims court? From MA
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2023.03.21 19:33 ascott35 Karma Album Theory
With the start of the Eras Tour and Taylor being LOUDD on tour, I have Unboxed some of my thoughts about her possibly coming out and/or Karma (Taylor’s Version) being released after tour.
Firstly, I loved the big surprise opening being MA&THBP, I was certainly not expecting that. But, I think “it’s been a long time coming” as an opening line was Sweet!
With all of the discourse around opening weekend and the undeniable Flags she was sending, I wanted to try to piece some of the puzzle together, figured it was Worth the Shot.
Disclaimer- I know many people don’t believe she will explicitly come out and she obviously does not owe an explanation to anyone, but personally I think she does really want to be open and honest, and has been wanting to/ planning her escape from the glass closet for years.
1- Eras feeling like a finale in a sense-
- Everyone has been talking about how this feels like an ending of some sort. Of course the hetlors all believe it means that she will be taking a break to get married and have kids because they missed the Lavender Haze line apparently. In our Gaylor perspective I think it wraps up nicely as a celebration of all of her previous eras, even if she was forced to closet and partake in PR relationships. - I think she has made it clear that she’s in a headspace right now where she just loves creating so I certainly don’t see this as being some kind of retirement from all creative projects. But, this wrap up could be the perfect lead in to a completely rebranded version of herself. Beautifully pulling all of her eras together to leave them behind and come out to live authentically, and hoping her fans will follow into this new era, all while simultaneously wrapping up as a goodbye to the fans that don’t continue to support her. With how large this tour is, and her predictably becoming a billionaire, it also pads her pockets to counteract the possibility of her losing sales in the future, and ensure her entire team remains employed.
2- Burning down the lover house-
- This brings us to the symbolism of burning down the lover house. And just in case you missed it the first time, she burns the house down twice. She is lighting her past on fire to burn down how she had previously represented herself when she was forced to stay in the closet. I think her burning it twice represents the previous times she has tried to come out (once with Karma as TS6 but was scrapped by her label, second time in the Lover era but foiled by the masters heist). (“I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere”) - BUT, I still find it interesting how we can see into the entire house except for behind the door. So there is still a part of this Lover House we have yet to see, what could that be? Personally, I think this represents the Karma album/era that we did not get to experience with her, it happened ‘behind closed doors’. This leads us to the tour production for Karma, the screen has a door floating down behind her, because Karma is still hidden behind the closed door. Once the door reaches the bottom is turns into a bright ball of light, ultimately leading to rainbow colouring.
3- Karma finale on tour-
- This brings us to the Karma finale. I would think that if Taylor was going to take a break, she would end the concert with Long Live even if we do not have Taylor’s Version yet. Instead she opts to close out the Eras Tour with Karma. Yes, I’ll repeat “close the eras tour with Karma”. Not just on a nightly basis, but I think she will close out the eras tour by releasing Karma. I already still believed that her 11th album would be Karma, even after her announcing it is a song “instead”. I mean after all, Karma was written twice on The Man Wall.
4- Karma TS11 proof-
- Aside from The Man Wall, the most obvious proof would be that Karma is track 11 on Midnights. Also, she sings “Karma is a cat” - Then, in the Anti-Hero MV in the funeral scene, her portrait shows her with 11 cats, one for each album 1-10 +one cat is Karma. On tour she also made it clear she views her albums as kids with the way she mentioned that there were new additions to the family, being Lover - Midnights albums. Then, at the end of the Anti-Hero MV we see the two Taylor’s on the roof (which I believe is the two versions we see in her music, one who values her reputation so wishes to “hide in plain sight” and the other who values love and wishes to live authentic to herself and her love), but then we see the giant Taylor walk up to them wearing… the same shirt that she wore when she announced Karma as track 11 in MMWM. I think this Taylor is giant because of the huge reaction that a coming out album would receive, she is the biggest superstar in the world and this would be a huge album drawing a ton of attention, thus the giant-ness of her portrayal. - Bringing this back to the lover house, the long skinny ORANGE windows on each side of the door literally look like a big 11, meaning album 11 will allow for us to see behind the door. - We know the famous line of this Midnights era is “meet me at midnight”, and on The Man Wall, Karma is at the 12:00 position if viewed as a clock “it’s a clock, she’s a clock”, so maybe that’s the midnight where we truly meet her. Possibly after all the remaining re-recordings, or possibly like Midnight’s as a pit stop between them. - Back to tour though (I know I’m all over the place) the LWYMMD production sees ALL of her previous eras in glass closets, not only the stolen ones, so it’s not directed at the stolen masters. I see this as her saying that all of these eras have been glass closeting, but as she says “why? Because she’s dead” they all get released from their glass closet. So, when she burns the Lover house down and comes out, she will have “killed off” the old Taylor and be reborn into a new era where there won’t be any need for this glass closeting any more. But, I also thinks it’s worth noting the transition from Don’t Blame Me to LWYMMD, I think “don’t blame me for what you made me do” is very much directed at the people who forced her into the closet. But there are many other visuals that depict her hiding in closets in the production as well though, like in Lavender Haze.
5- Karma release-
- Now just for fun let’s speculate a possible release date for Karma. Being that Taylor likes to leave big Easter eggs right in front of us, and Karma always seems to come back to the number 11, I thought it could be possible she releases it on an 11th. She announced Karma and gave us her little giggle in episode 8 of MMWM. So I checked, and Aug 11th IS A FRIDAY. Not only that, it is the very first Friday after the US leg of tour is completed. - Although realistically she would not likely come out after the US shows and then move on to International, who really knows we haven’t gotten international dates yet anyways so might as well clown for now haha but the dates lined up too well for me not to include. - PS Taylor please give International dates soon I do not want to MISS THIS.
With all of this in mind, this could possibly be the last full international tour she ever does. With how big this tour is, the production, the duration, everything, it could be her final tour. Her coming out would result in her shows being possible targets for homophobic attacks so in the interest of her fans safety I could see her keeping to smaller shows and performances rather than a huge tour going forward in the future. But then again she continues to top herself and has highlighted that she is Uncontrollable, so who knows.
Personally, I think (hope) we will receive Karma (pop-rock) and that album will be undeniably gay and she will finally be free from her glass closeting and PR relationships. Whatever happens, I am extremely excited to see!
Let me know your thoughts!
-A
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2023.03.21 19:14 Lazy-Personality4024 Orphan Chapter 2
First Previous Chapter 2: Now Is Found
The moment the Into the Black entered Sol, the human’s home system, various transmissions and radio signals poured in. At first, the captain and the rest of the crew thought that humanity was well and truly alive. But upon closer inspection of the deluge of signals they were receiving, they realized they were nothing more than automated warnings, echoes, and ghost signals bouncing around the countless derelict ships, stations, habitats, and arcologies that surrounded nearly every world and moon in the system. The place was a mass grave, far greater than any of the previous systems. In fact, this system was the most developed Ohmata had ever seen. The Galactic Union’s capital is the most advanced system in the GU, and it pales compared to the level of development of the human home system!
The sheer amount of death and destruction was frightening. Entire fleets worth of ships clumped together in the void of space. Their own mass creating a small gravity, pulling them together and fashioning massive hulks. While also creating hazardous clouds of metal debris, more than a few moving fast enough to rip the Black to shreds, should they not be vigilant. Constructs the size of cities floated aimlessly, stuck within the confines of the star’s influence. Mobile defense platforms, which once bristled with the finest weapons humanity could field, lay battered and broken amongst the many wrecks that called Sol home. Humanity did not go down without a fight, that much was for certain. If anyone ever called them cowards, Ohmata would simply show them the recorded footage of their home system to prove the naysayers otherwise.
There looked to be more metal strewn about from the battles and destroyed ships alone than in every GU fleet combined, and more than a few worlds, too. The difference in the ships was obvious. The human vessels were boxy, utilitarian. They did their jobs, and they did them well. Many of which appeared to be nothing more than massive guns someone built a ship around, then put more guns on that.
The Nemesis were different; they weren’t boxy and rigid angles like the humans, but not totally smooth either. They had a far more organic look with multiple bends and curves, but the surfaces seemed to be rough and bumpy, and unlike the human ships, almost none were symmetrical. But though they were asymmetrical, there existed patterns in the various derelicts. As if they were variations of preexisting models, updated and expanded upon with time. In comparison, most GU ships were a happy medium. They had the bends and curves like the Nemesis, but were neatly symmetrical like the human ships.
Looking past the destruction and death, the system was fairly average. Four rocky worlds, four gas giants, and several smaller bodies here and there. The gas giants still had the broken remains of floating cities scattered across them, while their moons contained colonies and stations galore. But what was most interesting were the third and fourth rocky worlds. The fourth one had depressingly little green on it. It was mostly red, with an occasional white streak indicating clouds. It was highly developed, ruined cities ranged across its surface freely. But it bore the marks of war none the less. It would be a prime candidate for collecting samples, as long as the surface wasn’t too hazardous. Humanity did have a fetish for nuclear annihilation towards their end, after all.
The third planet, the third planet was something else. It was a grey husk devoid of life. Its moon had a massive crater denting its facade, with many smaller ones marking its surface. They stood out prominently. Fresh wounds of war contrasted against natural meteor strikes. The debris from the lunar surface and whatever had caused the impact was already starting to form the semblance of a ring around the planet. And like everywhere else, the surrounding space was choked with battle debris, though most had collected in the planet’s “proto ring”. There was so much debris that they could barely scan the planet, and what parts they could get to was so irradiated that a signal couldn’t penetrate from such a distance. Which meant if they wanted to scan the home world of these legendary humans, they would have to get closer. Which, frankly, was currently impossible.
“Nix’Fa, can you maneuver through that debris field?” Ohmata asked, while peering down at her console.
“No ma’am. A shuttle may get through, but it won’t have any of the equipment necessary to scan the planet. At least, not at any reasonable rate,” Nix’Fa replied. She, too, was looking over her console at potential flight paths.
First Lieutenant Qhaax spoke up from her station. “We may not need to actually scan the planet to learn more about humanity, captain. Most of the planet is a flattened, irradiated death pit, but the debris field around it still contains warships from both sides, some in remarkable condition. In fact, several derelicts appear to still have power, even after thousands of years. We may be able to board them using a shuttle and extract data from any intact computer systems we find. And while not exactly human, there is a Nemesis ship relatively close to the edge of the field. It would be a good first target.”
“Then we’ll change our plan to that. Qhaax, contact Kitern and tell her to get her marines suited up, send a techy or two and some researchers with them as well. You’ll have to contact Tentzonta to get her to let some of her engineers loose for once, and Glevar for her researchers. Though you won’t have to convince her, she’ll be jumping at the opportunity. Nix’Fa, start plotting them a course, and we’ll go from there, understood?”
The two responded with a crisp, yes ma’am, and got to work on their respective tasks.
-
“Kitern, can you hear me?” Ohmata’s voice called out from Kitern’s suit’s comms.
“Loud and clear, cap, whatcha need?” Commander Kitern responded as she stowed away several more energy cells for her weapon. She was a digitigrade, feline like mammal known as a Lioranian, with thick paw like hands that held deadly claws within them. They were still thin and nimble enough to manipulate objects accurately, but most importantly, pull a trigger. Her kind also had a slightly elongated snout, long tail, and top forward facing ears. Their eyes were dark, but a few bore mutations which lightened the iris to a sky blue. And their pupils are vertical, but would dilate periodically to give better depth perception and low light visibility. Her species’ coats ranged from a dark tan to a bright yellow gold and had multiple coat patterns of varying intensities. She personally had a dusty tan coat with slight stripe markings originating from her spine, but quickly fading as they reached around to her abdomen and chest.
“You already have a basic rundown about what to do. But I just wanted to remind you, we marked an entrance for you through some old battle damage on a derelict Nemesis ship that is close to the edge of the debris field. Enter, make your way to the power source, secure the area, and set up a pressurized zone if possible so the techies can work in peace. If you can’t, oh well, they can work in their suits. Also, you see anything living, as unlikely as that is, don’t go shooting it. Try to capture or reason with it, but if it does anything stupid, then do what you and your girls do best.”
Kitern smiled maliciously. “Aye, aye, captain. We’ll keep the civvies alive and kick’n, get the goods and be back in no time.”
“Then I leave the rest to you. Oh, try not to mess with the shuttle’s controls while it’s on autopilot this time. It’ll be weaving through a debris field too compact to get the Black into. Any rescue efforts will take a long time, longer than what you’ll have, so don’t touch the throttle like last time!” Ohmata raised her voice jokingly, playfully reminding Kitern of the last time they were on a shuttle together in such conditions.
“Ha! Dontcha worry, I’ll be in the back. Onsa will be in the pilot’s seat for this go. She’s a better flyer anyways,” Kitern played.
“Alright then, get done and come back, preferable alive. Ohmata out.” There was a click as Ohmata closed the channel.
“Hmph, always do.” Kitern had been staring at a random wall while talking to Ohmata. With the call over, she turned to her squad. “Alright girls, get your shit together and get to the shuttle. Oh, and keep your hands to yourself, Hran is coming along, I don’t want any complaints from him, or hands where they shouldn’t be, got it?” she barked, eyeing each of the three other marines, more specifically the youngest two.
“What if he lets us?” one of said marines asked jokingly.
“It’ll be a cold day on Ca’tab before that happens, Asteli,” Kitern replied.
“You never know, we might just wear him down finally, right Gre’Namra?” the perky Venanian replied.
“How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Namra, and I doubt it. Men like to be wined and dined. Take them out, pay for a fancy meal, maybe buy them something. You know, the usual,” her counterpart, a Drae’Ildan, responded.
Kitern sighed. “Or how about not harassing anyone and act like a decent sentient, you hornbags? Now, shut it and get to the shuttle. Dentala you’ll have your work cut out for you keeping track of these two today.”
“Not as big of a job as keeping track of you, I pity Onsa,” Dentala said as she lifted a heavy kinetic slugger with a red hand, another Venanian.
Kitern chuffed deeply, her species version of a chuckle. “Me too! But, you might wanna put on a glove before we go out. Might help with the whole vacuum thing.” Dentala looked at her hand, surprised that she had forgotten it, before slipping one on. It attached to her bracer and made an airtight seal, forming an armored gauntlet. With that, the four marines left to join their fifth member in the shuttle.
As they left the locker room, Asteli mumbled under her breath. “We wouldn’t do that. We’re not assholes,” she said, addressing Kitern’s assertion of harassment.
“Well, you sound like one,” Gre’Namra replied quietly. After that, they kept their heads down and trudged along with their commanding officer.
A short jaunt later, they were passing through the hangar bay’s airlock. They were greeted by the Black’s only two shuttles. One, small and cramped, meant for scanning dangerous locations that they couldn’t get to with the ship. Logically, that would mean it was best suited to scan Earth. But even its equipment was not powerful enough to breach the radiation. Not without descending into the planet's atmosphere and becoming so irradiated they would practically glow in the dark. And while they could get Aphosi to pilot the shuttle remotely, its scanners aren't able to scan such a broad area like an entire planet. They were more meant to target small, specific locations.
The second shuttle was much larger. It was built to transport supplies and the handful of rovers they had in storage, to make excursions to planets. The smaller shuttle had permanently extended wings and large thrusters on the rear. The larger of the two, simply dubbed Shuttle One, could fold its wings. And had a variety of thrusters located across the ship for better maneuverability in space, and atmospheric thrusters embedded in the center of each wing for flight in atmo. But it also had two large engines in the back for forward thrust, just above its rear ramp.
Walking over to shuttle one, Onsa, the other Lioranian in the squad, was already waiting for them in the pilot’s seat. In the rear seating area were two engineers and two scientists, wearing grey, lightly armored EVA suits that looked to be made of cloth, but were instead a variety of advance polymers and flexible but insulative materials. Most of the helmet was a large, one way transparent material, allowing for increased awareness while sacrificing protection. In comparison, the marine’s helmets had no exterior window, instead a suite of miniature sensors embedded in their black armored helmets allowed them to see through an internal display screen. The helmets appeared to be smooth metal from a distance, only up close could you see the microscopic sensors embedded in them.
The marine’s suits held many of the same features as the civilians, but were black and had thick armored plates over vital areas and on select parts of their extremities, with thinner, non-metal armor segments filling in the gaps. Both suit types had an array of pockets and hideaways, each holding their respective tools of the trade. Regardless of the accessories, or level of protection, each was specially crafted to accommodate for the unique physiologies of the different species.
Had the ship and its equipment not made with each of their species in mind, they would have worn generic multi species suits. Instead of the pre-built features tailored for their specific anatomy, they would be covered with a thick insulated, pliable material that fitted over the horns, tails, and crests and shrank until it was tightly pressed against every nook and cranny. Aside from personalized helmets, each species’ leg sections and gloves/gauntlets catered for whether they were plantigrade, digitigrade, or for how many digits they may possess.
Hran being a male Venanian, had small horns jutting out from his temples. But because his horns were so small, his helmet did not need any special features. Thus was fairly plain. It looked like a sphere that had been slightly squished in on the sides. Unlike the females of his species, who had much larger, curved horns, their helmets were marked with two twin armored segments sticking up like antenna. Otherwise, their helmets were just as “stubby” as his, for their flatter faces. At least, in comparison to the other species onboard.
The Shednae with their elaborate head crests and long faces, had a stubby mohawk like metal protrusion for their crests to fit in, and longer helmets to account for their heads. The Drae’Ildan’s helmets were similar to the Shednae. In fact, they could be mistaken for one another if not for the lack of a head crest. Lastly, the Lioranian helmets were quite plain, aside from the extended “snout” for their slightly longer faces and two nubs to house their ears located on the top of their heads.
Those with tails were likewise afforded a special area to put them, instead of the shrinking material normal for such species. The Shednae have a small knob like space for their short tails. While the Venanians and Lioranians had long thin tails, they could be coiled in the suit. Drae’Ildan suits had a much longer and thicker tail section that looked burdensome but was quite flexible. Their suits were also equipped with a much larger array of sensors to assist them, as the Drae’Ildan’s natural sensory organs were significantly dulled in such tight confines.
“I see the grunts have finally made their appearance. Why did you bother bringing so many guns with you? It’s a derelict that has been floating dead in space for thousands of cycles. There won’t be anything living on board.”, one of the engineers nagged, as the marines ducked into the shuttle. Though her helmet was on, it was clear she was a part of engineering by the orange stripe running along the left of her suite, and left sleeve. Mimicking their uniforms.
“And a fine hello to you Kass, you too, Hran,” Kitern said as she sat down across from the two Venanians and buckled in. Hran simply nodded silently. Kitern continued, “And as for your question, we have no idea what we’ll find. You want to be stuck out in space with no way of protecting yourself if something is there? Yeah, I’m sure it’s empty too. Doesn’t mean I’m taking any chances.” Kass snorted at her reply.
“Shavizi, Jurwa, what about you two, think we’ve over prepared?” Kitern asked the two scientists to her left. Their stripes were blue.
“One can never be too prepared! Though the heavy slugger seems a bit excessive, but as long as you don’t drop it on me, I have no complaints,” Jurwa, a Shednae, said gleefully, practically bouncing in her seat.
“I agree, organic enemies aside. The ship may have automated defenses still functioning. If so, they will have to be dealt with accordingly.” Shavizi added. Yet another Venanian.
“See Kass, they get it,” Kitern grinned smugly underneath her helmet as she leaned back and buckled herself in.
As the others sat down and buckled in, Onsa turned in her seat to see if they were all ready. Everyone confirming they were. She turned back around and started up the shuttle. Quickly putting it into autopilot, but still keeping her hands on the controls just in case. The shuttle slipped out of the bay, passing through the atmospheric retention field, and pitching down and to the left, heading for the derelict Nemesis ship.
As the debris field is so dense and dangerous, the Into the Black was several hundred kilometers away, clear of any potential danger. As such, the trip would take around five minutes before they reached the field, another six to navigate the debris, as it was so hazardous. The Nemesis ship in question was near the edge of the debris field, but still mostly intact, with some power readings emanating from within, a perfect target for research.
-
“We’re coming alongside it now. Once we have successfully magnetized to its hull with the docking clamps, I’ll decompress the shuttle and you can open him up,” Onsa called out, just barely turning her head back in their direction.
Kitern activated her comms so everyone could hear her clearly once the air was siphoned out. “Gotcha. Scans show two distinct points of power readings. Both look to be in the same place, or at least really damn close. We’ll take a right once we get into the ship and follow the corridor until it leads to a three-way intersection. Then we make a left, then a right, and we’ll be on track. The room in question will be along that corridor. Keep your eyes and sensors open for anything that looks Nemesis-y.”
“Oh, like the entire ship?” Kass chimed in.
Kitern rolled her eyes. “Onsa, give a countdown.”
Onsa nodded her head. “Affirmative. Decompression commencing in three… two… one… starting.” There was an audible hiss that slowly faded away as the air in the shuttle was pulled back into storage tanks for later use. “Decompression complete, safe to open the door,” she confirmed over their comms.
“Opening door. Don’t go floating off,” Kitern joked as she pressed a button near the hatch, causing it to slide open silently. Before them was a gaping hole in the side of what looked like a ship that had grown large warts. The human beacons had mentioned that the Nemesis ships weren’t smooth, but the reality was a bit more unsettling up close. The humans weren’t sure why the Nemesis ships were so… bumpy. But they knew it wasn’t actually part of the building process, as newly refurbished or repaired Nemesis vessels lacked the warty exterior. But they had seen no importance in investigating the reason, as they had no tactical or structural advantage. Humanity theorized they were damage, but what could cause metal to ripple and bubble? So it remains a mystery to this day.
Kitern lifted a foot, causing the magnetic lock on that boot to disengage automatically, then re-engage when she put pressure on it. Allowing her to walk forward until she was looking down into the hole. Kitern put a foot on the lip of the shuttle, and bent forward, pushing herself into the opening.
As Kitern floated into the ship, she could see the corridors were circular, with strange partitions along the edges. The partitions didn’t seem to move or close, so she guessed they were more decorative support beams than actual doorways. A second later, she put out a hand to stop herself from colliding with the far wall, and pushed downward, boots magnetizing to the floor. Upon magnetizing, she immediately lifted her weapon. It was a small energy-based firearm, similar in size and function to an SMG.
Looking down both directions of the corridor showed nothing of interest other than more of those strange support beams and closed bulkhead doors on either end. She noted the twisted metal and battle damage in the corridor caused by whatever had impacted the hull.
Before everyone had touched down, she started making her way toward their objective. She continued on until she reached the bulkhead door at the end of the corridor. It was not fully closed, only partially, allowing someone to grip between the two sections and pull them apart. She did just that. As the door slowly opened, Dentala came up behind her and lent her strength to the task. Grunting in exertion, they pulled the door apart until they could easily walk through. Kitern silently fist bumped Dentala on the shoulder in thanks before she continued on, weapon held at the ready.
As they proceeded through the derelict, signs of battle began to appear. At first, it was only a few scorch marks or kinetic impact craters on the wall. Then, what looked like dried blood from some ancient creature. It had aged into a sickly dark green color with a hint of yellow. A quick scan showed that no genetic material could be retrieved, it had long degraded into nothing. Though some sort of information could certainty be gleamed from the stain if they searched long enough, but the sample was unimportant, as it was not a focus of the mission. Pressing on, the signs of battle intensified, as well the amount of spilled blood. At one point, an entire corridor looked like it had been painted in viscera.
The team could only speculate on what had happened. Was it a mutiny? Civil war between surviving Nemesis forces trapped in the Sol system? Or perhaps the humans had something to do with it? But there was one thing on everyone’s mind as they walked through the ancient carnage. Where were the bodies? They hadn’t passed a single corpse yet, just blood stains.
“Captain Kitern, do you suppose we can slow down and so I can scan the ship a bit more? I can’t get a proper reading while moving like this,” Shavizi requested from the back. She had some sort of tool and was waving it back and forth across the surface of the corridor.
“You can scan the ship when we stop, and that will be when we get to those power signals. And once we make sure the place is secure,” Kitern responded, weapon still up at her shoulder as she swept the hallway.
“If that is your order,” Shavizi relented, but still attempted to scan everything they passed, incomplete or not.
It didn’t take long before they arrived at where the Black said the power readings were. They had weaved about the ship a bit more than desired. Several bulkhead doors were completely sealed shut, causing them to detour, but they managed it in the end. They were now standing in front of a large single door; it was nowhere near as large as the bulkhead doors that sealed off entire corridors, but it was large enough to allow passage with room to spare on all sides.
It too bore damage from whatever conflict had occurred within the ship. The door’s access panel was damaged, and the surrounding wall panels warped. Preventing them from directly interacting with the door.
“This is the place; my scanner is already picking up power readings from here. Hran, be a dear and get out the interface tools. We’ll see if this door has power first, instead of brute forcing our way through first thing,” Kass stated. Hran silently carried out his orders, unpacking a variety of tools they may need.
After pulling off several of the panels to see if they allowed access to the door’s wiring, they eventually found the right one. Sadly, a closer inspection revealed that the door, like nearly the entire ship, had no power, meaning it couldn’t be opened by the press of a button like they wanted.
“Oh well, do what you do best, Kitern,” Kass shrugged as she and Hran began packing up their tools.
“Eh, worth a shot. Privates, if you please,” Kitern motioned to the door for the two young marines to take a crack at it. They both replied with a crisp, yes ma’am, and quickly got to work trying to pry open the door.
It took a little more effort than they thought, but over time it slowly slid further and further open, until Gre’Namra wedged herself in between the door and frame, and used her entire body to push it open. Asteli joined in when it widened enough for the both of them. Together, they pushed it fully open, the door slowly recessing into the wall. Revealing an old dusty room with several long bed-like pods.
“Thank you, girls. Now clear the room while you’re at it. Though by now any baddies would have chewed you up,” Kitern ordered. The two did just that. Thankfully, the entire room could be seen from the doorway, so there really wasn’t any clearing. Just looking behind the pods for anything not so friendly.
During their little search, they noticed one bed had several lights flickering on its side. They pointed it out to the others. Immediately, Kass and Shavizi pushed them aside to get to it. Drooling over it like children being offered sweets.
“I wonder what this is?! After so many thousands of years, it still has power. I thought those beacons were incredible enough, but this is something else!” Kass said to no one in particular.
Shavizi had been scanning the bed, as well as its neighbors, while Kass looked it over. “Hmm. The pods have a sliding covering that encloses the occupants. All the others are open, yet this one is closed.” Shavizi tapped at her scanner a bit. “Wait… the other energy signature… it’s coming from inside it!” she said astonished, while moving a hand over the top of the slid that covered the pod. As she did, thousands of years’ worth of dust floated away from where she dragged her hand. Allowing a small amount of light to break free from within.
Noticing this, Shavizi leaned forward and peered inside the pod. Her eyes went wide as her mind tried to make sense of what she was seeing. “GET BACK! DON’T TOUCH IT!” she screamed, but was too late. Kass, who was now crouched down near the base of the bed, had pressed a finger to one of the flickering lights just as Shavizi yelled her warning. All Kass had time to do was turn her head up and mutter a confused, “huh?”, before the covering of the pod slid open, unleashing its occupant onto the galaxy.
First Previous
Hello once again! First things first. If you see the name Osan, please point it out to me. It is supposed to be Onsa, but the program I use to write the story changed the name to Osan for some reason. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger! This chapter is meant to help further detail the various species and their features, and of course set up for many things to come!
Also, in my last story. I had a lot of flashback sequences to add in fluff and give backstory to the MC. While I don't want overuse it in this story, I do want to have flashback esque sequences that are basically just battles of the Human-Nemesis war (recorded combat footage recovered from human ships and installations), introduce new characters, or maybe give further development to preexisting characters. The flashback sequences will be called Orphan: Tales of the Past and won't begin until a certain point in the main story. Once that point is reached, the side stories will pop up every once in a while in place of the main story chapters. Or, if I fell as if its safe to push the story ahead, you'll get the main story and a side story in one week.
That's it for the week folks! See you next week!
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2023.03.21 19:07 getbackup850 Need advice on current situation
My original case was in Hamilton County Ohio (Cincinnati). I was found guilty of violating a protection order and sentenced in January 2022. I was put on probation for 5 years, EMU monitoring for 6 months, had to attend 20 anger management classes, and had to get counseling.
I was cited with a Probation Violation for “inability to urinate” back in September of 2022. I hired an attorney and we fought the violation on March 13 of this year (after several continuances). I had a hair follicle test done shortly after the violation which shows that I was negative for everything at the time of the “inability” to urinate. The prosecutor cross-examined my probation officer and by the time she was done the judge interjected and basically told my attorney that he didn’t even need to cross-examine her - that she was already leaning towards finding me “not guilty.” She said the words “Not Guilty” in the courtroom but then sentenced me to 5 years on a SCRAM device (since I couldn’t urinate). Is she even allowed to do this? This case originally had absolutely nothing to do with alcohol and/or drugs. The fact that I couldn’t urinate was due to anxiety with someone in the room watching me - the hair follicle test shows that I had no reason to willfully not pee. Now I have to wear the SCRAM monitor for 5 years totaling $13k? Doesn’t even make sense.
It gets even worse. Fast forward to a week later (yesterday) - I was called into the probation department and told I had a reading of .04 on the SCRAM device on 3/18 over the weekend. This is 100% not possible as I did not drink whatsoever. At this point I feel like the joke’s just on me and I feel like giving up and going to jail for 6 months for the original charge. This entire has experience has been complete hell. This isn’t the first PV situation where I had horrible luck either on this case. I’m trying to comply in every way I possibly can and I just keep having things like this happen. So now I have another probation violation (just a week later) for the SCRAM reading. Supposed to have court on 4/3/23 for that.
I don’t feel like I should even be on SCRAM. The Hamilton County public website says “Guilty of Probation Violation” even though she clearly said “Not Guilty” in the courtroom. How does this even line up? My attorney feels like she put Guilty so that she wouldn’t focus on another issue (scheduling issues with the counseling department) but I feel like I should be able to have a separate case if she were to violate me for that. This was all sidebar anyway.
The thing that REALLY bothers me is that I would like to appeal this decision from the 13th but I have no clue how that process would even work and I’m somewhat upset with my attorney for not bringing up the hair follicle test as evidence on the record. I’m pretty sure he only shared this with the judge sidebar so I’m guessing there is nothing on the record or in evidence that shows these hair follicle results. How would I even go about appealing this? Would an appeals court be able to change her sentencing me to SCRAM for 5 years - after she essentially found me not guilty? But the website says Guilty? How do I know what she wrote on the judge’s sheet? The probation department treats me like garbage and doesn’t believe a word I have to say - especially now that I’ve had a reading on this SCRAM device (which is totally wrong). Do I just fight ANOTHER violation only to be in front of the same judge or try appealing? Would the 4/3/23 court date then be put on hold while the appeal goes on or would I still have to do deal with this new violation? A violation would essentially be irrelevant if I were to win the appeal (since I don’t believe I should be on SCRAM to begin with).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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2023.03.21 18:58 a15minutestory [WP] You are a student in the most prestigious magic academy in the kingdom. No one knows how you got in, sure you have amazing magic potential, but you’re “magic blind” meaning you can only feel the presence of magic and not see any magic. [Part 64]
A slave-driving murderer had just publicly declared war on us. The cheering and applause of the people standing around us was an eerie and ominous accompaniment to the feeling of dread swelling in my chest and radiating down to my stomach. He'd captured
all of them thus far. I swallowed and dropped my gaze down to the pavement as it dawned on me that all of those people had tasted freedom, and were then immediately and mercilessly hunted down and dragged back to hell.
But there was an interesting caveat there. He called us by the names O'Malley had erroneously wrote down in his ledger. The men that were chasing us that day had picked up our
actual fake aliases, but then we'd killed them at the inn. It seemed that knowledge died with them– a drop of good luck in a raging downpour it seemed.
"William," I said just loud enough to catch his attention.
He turned and eyed me. "Huh? Were you talking to me?"
I lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah. Who else would I be calling William?"
He narrowed his eyes, "It's
Tovin, you spaz."
I glanced around nervously. Nobody appeared to have been listening to us. I took him by the shoulder and led him away from the crowd gathered around the picture boxes. "What are you doing?" I hissed.
"What am
I doing?" he scoffed. "What are
you doing? You know my name. What, are you playing a game right now?"
"Our aliases," I said through my teeth. "We're using fake names, remember?"
His expression changed from annoyed and confused to forlorn and somber. He swallowed and looked away. "... I'm losing it again, aren't I?" he asked.
I remained silent. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want him to feel worse about it, but that would have been a dangerous slip-up in front of the wrong person. Before now, I was starting to think that Tovin back home had overblown how quickly the mental decline would be.
"Don't worry about it," I said finally, passing him on the sidewalk further into the city. "Come on. We need to find a way to make some money."
"And fast," he added, trailing behind me. "We need food, clothes, and a couple of beds. And more cigarettes, too. I've only got a few left and I'm trying to make them last."
We walked the mazelike streets of Bronzegirder looking for work. I wasn't used to Diesel society yet and often found myself hung up on storefront windows that marketed all kinds of gadgets and technology. I would do my best not to stare when people walked by wearing metallic pieces on their persons.
Some wore gadgets on their forearms, some on their wrists, and others in various other areas. I wondered what purpose they served, where they were sold, and how expensive they could be. And it wasn't just the gadgets. There were far more dark-skinned people here than we had in Galgia. It was something I had read about but never experienced. They ranged from light tan all the way to almost black, and it just added to the culture shock.
There appeared to be people living in the buildings above the storefronts. The tall towers we had seen in the far distance earlier served as housing as well as business space. Diesillians stood on their balconies, some hanging wet laundry, others leaning over their railing while they enjoyed a drink or a smoke. We passed so many things I would have wanted to stop and look at were we not being hunted. DuPonte seemed awfully sure of himself when he said he'd find us, but for the life of me, I couldn't imagine how one would find
antything they were looking for in this city.
"I'm totally lost," I admitted. "We need a map or something."
He remained quiet. I turned to speak to him more directly only to find that he wasn't behind me anymore. My stomach dropped as I looked around at the sea of people.
"William?" I called out. "William!"
It was no good. I'd have to literally scream if I wanted to breach the drone of the crowd, and I couldn't afford to draw too much attention to myself. There was also the possibility that he'd forgotten his name again anyway. I adjusted the straps of my backpack and sighed deeply before doubling back. He couldn't have wandered
too far away, and he'd be easy to spot against the horde of people in more modern clothing.
I kept close to the storefronts as I picked up my pace. I began to peer into each store as I passed them. The longer I searched, the more I worried. He wasn't in his right mind. He'd get himself noticed and captured if he let too much slip, or pulled down his hood. I came to the turn we had taken after we'd left the picture boxes. He was with me at this point, I was sure of it. I turned around and swallowed as I scanned the crowd.
This was really, really, bad.
"William?" I tried again. I decided to cross the street and nearly got run over by one of their vehicles. It screeched to a stop and when I lowered my arms, I found the front of the metallic machine inches from my face.
"Git the fuck oudda da road!" shouted the pilot, shaking his fist in the air. I quickly scurried onto the opposite sidewalk and made my way down the street with the flow of the crowd. I kept my eyes peeled as I walked. It was difficult to see over everyone's shoulders. Diesillians were a good deal taller than Galgians as a rule, and it made it a nightmare for an average-sized guy like myself. Just when I was about to start asking around, something caught my ear.
Something I never expected to hear– music.
I stopped in my tracks and the public parted around me like a river around a boulder. I turned toward the sound and followed my ears to a large silver pavilion nestled between two tall buildings. It looked like an empty lot that had been designed for another tall building but instead served as some sort of inner-city courtyard where live entertainment performed.
I slowly approached as a woman stood in front of a mic stand singing while a band performed with shining metallic instruments behind her. She had black hair styled in a way I'd never seen hair styled. It was pulled up and around under a hat and shined the same as her red lipstick did. But what awed me the most was that she was
singing.
No danger; no combat; no sign of beasts being summoned forth. She sang beautifully, adding something to music that I had never in my life once considered because in Galgia, to sing was to slaughter. Music was a tool of war and forbidden entirely outside of such circumstances, for if one of us were even to hum, anything could come crawling out of the resulting portal.
But here she was, singing what I presumed were the words to a poem in perfect rhythm and harmony with the band that played behind her.
"You're my machine, my heart's ignition. The gears that keep my love in motion. You're the engine that never tires– the pistons set my soul on fire."
I was completely taken in. It was therefore no surprise to me that here in the crowd, I spotted Tovin watching her with equal admiration from the edge of the stage. I weaved through the crowd as politely as I was able and then stopped next to him. He glanced at me before quickly returning his eyes back to the stage. I didn't say anything to him; no words needed said so long as she was singing.
"You, my dear, a love machine, the one that keeps my bearings clean– I'm addicted to your engine's roar, your power's what I'm living for."
I wasn't a
hundred percent sure what she was talking about, but it was clearly a love song written for one lucky guy. When the song was finished, she ever so slightly lifted her ruby-red dress from the sides and took a bow. The crowd clapped, a few whistles coming from somewhere behind us.
"Thank you," she said softly into the mic. "It's important to remember that love conquers all," she said, passing her deep black eyes over us. "Hatred fades over time, but love lasts; it endures. This next song is about a long lost love and reconnection."
We stayed and listened to a couple more songs before she left the stage, and the band with her. She disappeared on promises of returning tomorrow for a second show. Of all the things thus far I had seen in the land of our enemy, something so sweet as non-weaponized music ranked among the most surprising and awe-inspiring.
As the crowd began to disperse back onto the main street, I turned to Tovin. "Hey, do me a favor and don't disappear like that. I didn't know where you were and we've
got to stick together."
"Can we come back here tomorrow?" he asked, completely ignoring what I'd said. He stared at me with hopeful eyes, a small smile on his face. It still felt strange of him to ask me permission for anything, but I couldn't deny that it was a pretty magical performance.
"Only if we live that long," I answered with a heaping helping of snark. "We need money so we can get off these streets tonight. Come on, we're losing daylight."
He looked past my shoulder and suddenly pointed. "What about that?"
I turned to see a bulletin board posted on the side of a building not far from us. On it were several posts, but one of them specifically read, "200 Octim Sign-On Bonus." The two of us walked up the board and looked over the job.
"There's a sign-on bonus," Tovin said as his eyes moved down the paper. "The Empress needs you. Galgian dogs sent monsters to run amok in our fair empire. Officials are spread thin amidst heightened tensions with Galgia's military. Find and kill monsters for bounties. Seek employment at the Hunters' Barracks at 443 Alloy Avenue on the north side of town. Look for the men in uniform."
"Monsters?" I asked. "There aren't any monsters in Galgia. None in all of Aurii if our textbooks are accurate."
"You want to at least check it out?" he asked.
"I think we'd be wasting our time," I said dismissively. "We hiked through a bunch of wilderness closer to the Galgian border and we didn't see anything all night."
He folded his arms. "Then let's get our sign-on bonus and
leave."
That was such a fantastic point that I pushed my palm against my forehead and visibly cringed. "Oof. Why am I so
dumb?" I whined.
"I don't think you're
dumb," Tovin said as he moved down the bulletin board to look at other flyers. "I think you're just honest to a fault. It never would have occurred to you to do something so underhanded."
I would never get used to compliments from Tovin. It was like watching a different person wear his body and speak with his voice. Had life at ENU really been such a drag on him?
"None of these other jobs are offering money upfront," he added, turning to face me. "Let's head to the north side of town and see if we can find Alloy Avenue."
x - - x - - x - - ★ - - x - - x - - x
The walk was long and difficult– not because it was too far, but because we had to pass so much delicious-smelling food along the way. I hadn't been sure before if Tovin was as hungry as I was, but the north side of Bronzegirder was quiet enough to hear both of our stomachs growling in concert with one another. The buildings were made of brick in the district we wandered through, and the walkways were closer to cobblestone like the kind we had back home. The roads were three times as wide, there were benches along the walkways, and they had planted trees caged in black iron gates at the trunks. The few people that strolled the sidewalks on Alloy Avenue were well-to-do, dressed in expensive-looking suits and wearing high hats with wide brims.
"I like this side of town better," Tovin said as we looked for building addresses. "Though I have to say, I'm surprised to see trees in the collossity."
"Goes a little against what we were taught doesn't it?" I asked.
"I don't recall being taught anything," he grumbled. "It's just another thing I somehow know."
I cast him a sympathetic glance and he didn't seem to like it. He scowled at me, "Don't you pity me."
"I'm not," I rolled my eyes. "I'd
never feel bad for
you Tovin, not in a thousand years."
"Just shut up," he snapped. "We're here."
He stopped in front of a brick building with an impressive stone staircase that had bronze handrails running up the length of them. At the top were two men in uniform just as the flyer had indicated. He was the first to start up the steps and I quickly followed behind him. As we passed them I took a good look at their uniforms. I could have sworn that I'd seen them somewhere before. We walked up to the glass doors and pulled them open.
A blast of warm air blew over us as we entered the building and it was a welcome reprieve from the cold. Inside was smaller than I had anticipated. I was expecting high ceilings, murals, metal artwork, and all kinds of stuff from how nice the outside looked. Instead, we found ourselves standing in a dirty lobby about the size of a headmaster's office. There were several rows of chairs dotted with people filling out forms on clipboards. At the back of the lobby was a little window with a man sitting on the other side. He was dark-skinned, had a shaved head, and bore a grisly pink scar across his cheek. He waved us forward when he noticed us.
"Let me do the talking," I whispered to Tovin, taking the lead in front of him as we made our way over; he didn't protest.
"Afternoon, gentlemen," he spoke into a microphone that relayed his voice to us through a little black device on the window. "Thinking about joining up?"
Before I could even speak, Tovin leaned onto the counter. "So when you say monsters," he adopted a skeptical look. "You mean like the ones that don't exist?"
The man behind the counter rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, another conspiracy theorist."
"What did you call me?" Tovin shot back.
"Ahhh, ha ha," I called out loudly, pulling Tovin back by his shoulder. "My brother is better at fighting than talking," I covered quickly. "Just talk to me from here on in."
He cast me a disinterested glance before handing us both clipboards with forms attached. "Whatever. Just read the whole thing and sign the liability waiver at the bottom. He's free to deny their existence while they're chewing his face off, but the
empire won't be responsible for it."
I took both of the clipboards and passed one to Tovin. The two of us sat down and began going through them– and immediately, we faced a problem. They wanted first and last names, home addresses, medical history, and something called landline numbers. Tovin and I exchanged glances; this wasn't going to work.
I stood up and slowly walked back up to the counter as I looked over the document. Every time I looked, it seemed more and more ridiculous. Blood type? Social security number? Insurance provider? I didn't know what any of this meant. It might as well have been in an entirely different language.
"Did you have a question?" asked the man behind the counter.
"Yeah, I don't have
most of this information," I said, setting the clipboard down on the counter. "Sorry, but we're gonna have to just go."
"Well, hang on now," he said, reaching under the little pass-through window and retrieving the clipboard. "I take it you boys are homeless then?" he asked.
"Uhh... Yeah," I answered tentatively. Did they really have such a homeless problem that he was able to jump to that conclusion so quickly? "We don't know how to answer these questions, so thanks anyways."
"I said hang on, dammit," he called through the mic before swiveling around in his chair and pulling some kind of lever underneath it that caused it to sink lower to the floor. He opened a cabinet and began rifling through it. I peered through the window at his chair– it was on some kind of ball axis that allowed him to spin in it freely. I felt like every couple of minutes I was seeing something I'd never seen before. He swiveled back around and lifted his chair back up before he handing me a new form. It was more like a strip of paper with three questions on it.
Shirt size, shoe size, and pant size.
There was a second slip of paper underneath it. I looked back up at the window attendant as Tovin appeared next to me. I handed him the slip of paper and we exchanged glances.
"The empire isn't being picky right now," spoke the man through the speaker. "You'll be assigned a number, a gun, and a uniform. You won't be eligible for emergency care, and you can't be assigned to a party. It'll be just the two of you. If you're still interested, we need all the help we can get."
I shrugged at Tovin, and he got to work filling out the information. I leaned on the counter and jotted down my uniform size before signing the waiver and handing everything back. He took both of the documents and then nodded toward the door on his right. "Come on back."
He reached under the table and did something that caused the door to make a whirring sound. It popped open on its own, and he thumbed us over to it. "Close it on your way in. Walk straight down the hall and through the third door on your left. Your hunter number is 27B and his is 28B."
We walked down the hallway and found the designated door already opened and with a sign on the inside that read, "Uniforms HERE" with an arrow pointing into the room. We were met by a portly woman with bouncy curls that hung down to her shoulders. She sat behind a desk absolutely surrounded by hanging uniforms, all kept in clear covering. She sized us up with a retractable ruler– the coolest ruler I had
ever seen. After she took our measurements, she began sifting through uniforms.
"Why did they ask us for our sizes if they were going to measure us?" Tovin grumbled.
"I don't know," I whispered. "Just be quiet."
"Don't tell me to be quiet," he shot back, elbowing me in the ribs.
She turned around holding two suits by the hangers, one in each hand. "Your uniforms will come out of your first bounty collected," she announced. "No money needed upfront. Change into them and make sure they fit." We took them from her and she breezed past us. "Holler out here when you're changed." She closed the door behind her.
We turned away from one another and began getting dressed. I pulled back the crinkly clear material and looked down at the uniform. Now that I was seeing it closer, it was actually an extremely dark shade of blue, rather than black as I had thought prior. I looked down at the hat and held it in my hands. I had seen it before. Then, all at once, it came rushing back to me.
These were the uniforms of the men that had come to the mine. They had come carrying guns to inspect the worksite after what had happened to Hammer. Skully must have thought a monster had gotten to him based on the state of his body. I stared down at the uniform in disbelief. Could monsters really be running around in Diesel territory?
"You better not be looking over here," Tovin warned.
They had mistaken what Tovin had done for a monster attack. Skully's "fonekall" wasn't a pilgrimage. It was some form of long-distance communication. She reached out to the capital to request aid from someone, and they sent these guys. I began to wonder if I was making a mistake. If we could be dispatched like that, then we could feasibly be sent back to the camp.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. We were only in it for the sign-on bonus. Once we had that in our hands, we'd be outta here. We could even jump to the next town. They knew nothing about us other than our clothing size. We could be dust in the wind by tomorrow morning.
I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind and quickly got dressed. The uniform fit perfectly, it was comfortable, and best of all had been designed with a high collar. It covered our neck markings perfectly. I turned to see Tovin with the hat on already. He looked like a classic Diesel villain from a comic book I had read as a kid.
"It fits nice," he said, testing the range of motion he had in his arms. "I think this will work."
"Yeah," I nodded. "Let's get our money and get the hell out."
"Speaking my language," he smirked.
He moved for the door and leaned out, calling for the attendant. I looked at myself in the full-body mirror and did a quick turnaround. I had to admit, I looked pretty darn stylish. The white gloves, belt, and hat looked pretty good against the dark blue and gold buttons.
The woman returned and smiled at both of us, her curls bouncing as she tossed her gaze cartoonishly left and right between us. "You two look good!"
"Thanks," I smiled back. "When do we get our sign-on bonus?"
"Oh, don't worry about that just yet," she said, moving back to her desk. "Do you boys know how to shoot?" she asked as she sat down.
"Shoot?" Tovin asked.
"A gun," she clarified, her smile fading. "Have either of you shot a gun?"
"No, ma'am," I answered. "Our parents didn't let us near them growing up."
"That's no problem," she said, lifting her hands. "We're happy to teach you the basics. You'll just exit the room and go left down to the very end of the hallway. I'll buzz you through the double doors at the end, and Old Mitchell will take you from there."
Tovin audibly groaned, and I took him by the arm, leading him out of the room. We walked down the hallway as he bellyached about what a waste of time it was. It was unlike him to turn his nose up at the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of a new weapon. In fact, he'd been acting weirdly childish lately. I didn't like it. It beat dealing with Tovin-Classic, but it was still a hassle. As we neared the end of the hallway, we began hearing the sound of guns being fired one by one.
The doors buckled and hummed the same as the first door had, and we pushed them open. We passed into a large room with Diesillians shooting at targets a good distance away. This was why the building was so large and the lobby was so small. The brick walls were covered in informational and safety posters, as well as what appeared to be schematics for the weapons themselves.
I looked across the large room to see a man striding toward us. He was wearing shiny black boots that were laced tightly to his calves. His pants and jacket were hunter green, and he bore perhaps the silliest mustache I'd ever seen; It was long and curled at the tips. I had to be careful not to snicker– his eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, and I couldn't tell if he was watching me.
"New recruits?" he called out to us from entirely too far away.
"Yes sir," I called back. "My brother and I just signed up."
"Brothers!" he exclaimed. "I love it, dammit!" He stopped in front of us. He was chewing on something and was being as obnoxious as he possibly could about it. He was wearing perhaps the stupidest hat I had seen of the Diesel yet. It had no visible brim and was high on one side while sloping down toward the other. For the life of me, I couldn't discern the purpose of it.
"You boys know how to shoot?" he asked.
"No sir," I shook my head. "We're new at this."
"Good," he smiled widely. "That means you haven't formed any bad habits yet. I love newbies," he said before waving for us to follow him. "Come on, let's get you your rifles. I'm Mitch, but folks around here call me Old Mitchell."
"James," I said as I followed after him. "This is my brother William." It was difficult to talk over the noise of the weapons. I occasionally jumped when someone shot their gun nearby– a reflex I couldn't wait to be rid of. He led us to a small room; so small that it might as well have been a glorified safe. He disappeared inside and came back out holding two guns. The same long metal tubes Tovin and I had been attacked with at O'Malley's inn.
We each took one and promptly inspected it. Suddenly, Old Mitchell stepped forward and grabbed both of our guns by the barrel, lifting them so they were pointed at the ceiling.
"You boys ever even
held one of these?" he barked. "Careful where you aim.
Never point one of these at anything or anyone that you're not prepared to destroy."
"They sweep you, Mitch?" asked a man as he passed behind us.
"Pointed 'em right at me," he called back with a laugh. "We'll get 'em straightened out, don't you worry about that." He looked at us both, chewing aggressively. "Now I'm gonna let these rifles go. You keep 'em pointed up, you understand?"
"Yes, sir," I answered.
"Sure," Tovin said in a disinterested tone.
He let go of our rifles and we kept them pointed at the ceiling as we were told. I looked up and down the length of the tube before turning it over and inspecting the area under the barrel. It was split underneath with what looked like some kind of spring running along the length of the tube.
"They're not loaded," Mitch said, waving for us to follow him to the other side of the room. "But you will always treat them like they are. I'm going to show you how to load them over here. Set them down on the desk, I'm gonna stand between the two of you so I can watch you both."
I set my gun down in front of me and looked to my right. There was a box of what I presumed to be bullets. I expected them to be round pellet-like projectiles, but they were tubular with roughly textured heads on them.
"Turn your weapon over. You'll notice you can see a spring inside the bottom of the barrel. Close to the other end of your gun, you'll find a little round tab there. Take that tab and push it with your thumb all the way up toward the tip of the barrel. You'll then pop it out to the side there."
I did as he asked, and sure enough, the barrel popped out to the left at the tip of the weapon. I glanced over at Tovin who was struggling with the spring. Old Mitchell moved over and helped him with it. "Sometimes they get stuck," he muttered as he got Tovin to the same step I was at.
"Now," he shouted. "Take your ammunition right there in the box next to you, and begin placing the rounds into the underside of the barrel, flat side first. Then, you'll load more bullets into the gun overlapping one another. Be careful not to let the rounds collide with one another too heavily, or you could have a little accident."
I loaded the bullets carefully one after another until the barrel was about full. He checked on Tovin's rifle, and then inspected mine.
"Good. Now realign the barrel, there and come with me to the bay," he said, starting toward the practice range. I carefully lifted the weapon and rested it against my shoulder, turning with Tovin to follow him. When we stopped at the range, he motioned for Tovin first. "Come on, Will, we're gonna start with you."
"Pass," he said nonchalantly.
Old Mitchell blinked twice. "What?"
"I want to see Gill do it first," he said, stepping out of my way.
"It's a nickname," I said quickly, stepping up to the range. "Anyways, I'll go first, I don't mind, what do I do here?"
Mitch remained silent for a couple of seconds before clapping his hands once. "Okay! Well, go ahead and pull the hammer back."
I looked down at the weapon and then back up at him. Sensing my confusion, he carefully reached forward and pulled back a little tiny lever on the top of the rifle until it clicked. "That's called pulling the hammer back," he said. "Will, you watching this?"
He didn't wait for a response. "Next thing you're gonna do is pull that lever out underneath the gun. That's going to load the weapon with a fresh cartridge. You're gonna do that between every shot, now. Lift it up against your shoulder like this; get it snug in there." He pulled it against my shoulder. "Look down the iron sight there at the tip of the rifle and line it up against your target. Your weapon is primed and ready to fire. You're good for fifteen shots before you've got to reload. You can always flip it over to see how many bullets are left. Go ahead and aim carefully, and try and hit that target paper down there."
At the end of the range, there was a piece of paper with a silhouette of a human head, shoulders, and torso. I closed one eye for better aim and held the gun tightly as I lined up my shot.
"Don't
pull the trigger," Mitch advised in my left ear. "Squeeze it. Squeeze the trigger until it doesn't move easily anymore. Then when you're sure about your aim, squeeze with just that little bit of extra strength you need."
I did as he said, and felt what he was referring to. With my target in sight, my hand steady, and my aim as true as I could hope for, I fired the weapon. The shot rang out right in my ear, but interestingly enough, it wasn't so bad when I was the one firing. I was ready for it, and expecting it.
"Holy smokes!" exclaimed Mitch. "You put one right between the eyes!"
"Beginners's luck," said a man from behind me. "I did the same thing first time I shot, and never did it again."
"Let's prove him wrong, James," Old Mitchell laughed. "Now use that lever under the gun to eject the casing and load a fresh bullet."
I pulled the lever and the shiny little bullet casing popped out the top and flew over my shoulder. It was a really satisfying feeling.
"Do I pull the hammer again? I asked.
"Nope, it'll pop back down. You'll only pull that hammer back the first time. Go ahead and fire again, only this time, aim for the neck."
"Alright," I said, closing my eye and tightening my focus. I squeezed the trigger just as I had the first time and shot a hole straight through the center of the target's neck. I lifted my head and smiled. "I hit it!"
"No way," said the man behind me. "Ain't never shot before, my ass. He's taking you for a ride, Mitch."
"You're sure you're new at this, son?" Old Mitchell asked, one eye half shut. "That's really impressive, kid. Seriously, if this is your first time holding a rifle, you might be cut out for the military. Had a staff sergeant with worse aim than you."
"Alright, alright," Tovin pushed me aside. "My turn. Let me show you something you'll never forget."
The two of us took turns shooting for hours. We hadn't even noticed the time going by. For once, it seemed Tovin had found something he wasn't naturally amazing at, and it was infuriating him to no end.
Conversely, I found something I was really,
really good at. I hit my target almost every time, and to be honest, I couldn't figure out what was so difficult about it. A crowd had gathered to watch me shoot. I got really swift with the lever, and could shoot out both of a target's eyes, and put one in its forehead in a matter of seconds.
Tovin wasn't a bad shot, but I knew how he felt. If he wasn't first, he was last as far as he was concerned, and at one point he about threw his rifle. Old Mitchell had to talk to him about how some things come naturally to others, and how he shouldn't be discouraged from coming to the range and practicing.
It was rich hearing Tovin get that talk of all people. The natural genius that outshined everyone, struggling with something for the very first time. I almost couldn't believe I was better than him at something, and of course, it just
had to be the thing that we'd never do again once we found our friends and went back home.
Our friends.
We were wasting time here. "Hey, Mitchel," I turned toward him. "When do we get our sign-on bonus? It was supposed to be something like 200 octims."
"You get your sign-on bonus when you bring back your first bounty," he responded quickly.
"What?" Tovin shouted. "That's not fair! We signed on, now where's our money?"
I was equally upset. We were lied to. But it made sense that they couldn't just hand us uniforms, cash, and a gun, and let us go. They wanted to make sure we at least killed a monster.
"It's fine," I said with a sigh. "Where can we find bounties?"
"It's not fine," Tovin protested.
I yanked him by the collar of his shirt and looked him in the eyes. "It's fine," I said slowly and firmly. "We'll run out, bag a monster, and be back before dark."
He held eye contact with me for several seconds before shrugging me off of him and walking away. He stormed across the bay and left through the double doors at the other end of the room.
"My brother was the same way," said Mitch. "Hard-headed. Stubborn as a mule. Loyal as anyone you'd ever meet though."
He had no idea. Tovin wasn't just difficult, but he was turning into a walking liability. I didn't know how much longer I could take him acting like this. Suddenly, Mitch extended his arm, pointing to a door adjacent to where he'd gotten our guns from.
"Bounty board is in there. Come on, I'll show you."
It was a medium-sized room with several corkboards wall to wall filled with bounties. Every monster was named and almost all of them were sketched to a professional degree. You could find how much money the monster was going for, which hunters it had killed, where it was last seen, as well as whether or not there were hunters currently after it.
They had a system where you would notate which monster you were going after, and if you didn't return, they'd add your name under the list of hunters that died searching for it. There were so many monsters I couldn't believe it, and according to Old Mitchell, these were only the monsters within a five-mile radius of Bronzegirder.
I learned the process of choosing a bounty and chose a smaller monster with no names under its fatality list. Mitch agreed it was a good monster for beginners, and offered a few pointers for tracking it. I submitted the bounty request and got it approved before leaving the bay and heading down the hall in search of Tovin. I entered the lobby and didn't see him. I left the building and found him at the top of the steps staring out into the street where a couple of vehicles were hauling something massive together under a tarp.
Several uniformed hunters were walking slowly next to the vehicles. Their uniforms were tattered and bloodstained, and a few of them walked with a limp. We watched as the exhausted men passed the building on their way down the road. Two of them were sobbing silently, but we could tell by their exposed teeth and wrinkled expressions that they'd lost someone.
From beneath the tarp, a scaly limb fell off the side of the vehicle and dangled lifelessly. It was a reptilian-looking arm with an open wound, and the shredded remnants of a uniform hanging from its claws.
"Gill," Tovin said quietly. "Is that..."
"Yeah," I answered.
"That's definitely a monster."
Writing Prompt Submitted by
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2023.03.21 18:52 nostone3241 The connection between Freemasonry, Indian residential schools, the Indian wars, the Indian removal act, the Indian act and the Indians-as-Israelites theory.
My name is Thomas Saul, I am a member of the
Skatin Nations tribe in British Columbia, Canada. I am of
Salish, and European descent. I began this project around May 2021 when news broke about the
Kamloops residential school where the remains of 215 children were allegedly found. As a teenager I briefly Attended Norkam secondary in Kamloops, and have friends and family who still live in Kamloops, so this hit close to home. Upon my research into The origin of this residential school I found that
Israel wood Powell, a Freemason, was the Indian Superintendent at the time it was built. Four generations of my family attended residential schools, some in
Port Alberni and some
Mission City, so naturally I wanted to know more. I have come to the conclusion that Colonisation,
Freemasonry, and residential schools go hand in hand. Its a Fact, both the United States and Canada would not exist without Freemasonry, Therefore many Freemasons played a leading role in the genocide of Indigenous Americans. “Freemasonry, as it exists in various forms all over the world, has a membership estimated at around 6 million worldwide.”
Genocide: The UN definition, which is used in international law, states that genocide is: "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group," as such:(a) "Killing members of the group;"(b) "Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;"(c) "Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;"(d) "Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;"(e) "Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."
The supreme governor of the Church of England is the head of the Church of England, a position which is vested in the British monarch. The father of the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 King George III was not a Freemason, George III had announced that the colonies would
no longer seize Native lands or purchase them without treaties. Starting in 1763, no English settlers could legally travel through or acquire land west of the Appalachian Mountains. The proclamation specifically stated that Native Americans had been subject to “great Frauds and Abuses” and that their sovereignty should be protected. Freemason Thomas Jefferson in his list of 27 grievances accused the king saying “He has excited domestic Insurrections among us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes, and Conditions.’’ Thomas Jefferson did this to build support for the revolutionary act that the Declaration of Independence would represent. It was suspected that the Freemasons were behind the
Boston Tea Party, the
American War of Independence, the french
revolution, and
Napoleonic France triggering British prime minister William Pitt’s
, the Unlawful Societies Act of 1799 where he aimed to see Freemasonry abolished. Some Freemasons addressed Pitt explaining how vast their membership is and its connection to Royalty and As a result, Freemasons were excluded from the Act, but lodges were obliged to return a list of members to the local Clerk of the Peace every year, which are recorded in the Quarter Sessions.1. King George IV reigned from the death of George III until 1830, he was the first of many British Freemason kings and was the head of the Anglican church.
William IV,
Edward VII,
Edward VIII,
George VI were also masons. In the 209 years since the Union of the Premier and Ancient Grand Lodges to form the United Grand Lodge of England, a member of the Royal Family has been its Grand Master for more than 150.
A Freemason warrant of constitution is the Document which authorizes or gives a Warrant to certain persons therein named to organize and constitute a Lodge, Chapter, or other Masonic Body. The first Warrant for a military Lodge was issued by the Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1732 to the First British Foot Regiment. Within a few years the Grand Lodge of Scotland and both the Grand Lodge of England, Modern and Ancient were issuing Warrants to military Lodges. In 1733, 18 men gathered at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern on King Street in Boston and organized the first Masonic Lodge in North America. The first record of a military Lodge Warrant being issued in the new world happened during the French and Indian Wars. It was issued by the then Provincial Grand Master at Boston to the 28th British Foot in an expedition against the French at Crown Point. Edward Cornwallis became founder in December 1748, of a military Lodge in his regiment, the 20th. Foot, No. 63, on the registry of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The warrant was issued to Lord George Sackville, Lieut. Col. The Hon. Edward Cornwallis and Captain Milburne. When in 1759 this famous regiment gained new honors at the battle of Minden, that name was immediately adopted as the name of the lodge. Cornwallis’ second lodge was founded in Halifax early in 1750 or possibly earlier, under a “deputation” or dispensation from Major Erasmus James Philipps of the 40th. Regiment at Annapolis Royal, Provincial Grand Master for Nova Scotia under Henry Price of Boston. Of this lodge, known as the First Lodge, Cornwallis was the first Master. Cornwallis In October 1749, issued an order that came to be known as the Scalping Proclamation. His government would pay a bounty to anyone who killed a Mi’kmaq adult or child in a bid to drive them off mainland Nova Scotia.
Sir William Johnson, an agent for the British Indian Department met
Joseph Brant, a 9-year-old Mohawk boy while doing a land deal with Joseph's father King Hendrick. Sir William eventually started a common-law relationship with Joseph's sister
Molly giving him incredible power over her tribe. Johnson groomed young Joseph Brant to become a loyal warrior and eventually leader of
the six nations tribe. At 13 years old Joseph accompanied Johnson on his first tour with the military. Missionary
Samuel Occham, a student of
Eleazar Wheelock (father of
The Great Awakening) procured a 19-year-old Joseph Brant to attend
Moore's Indian charity school in Lebanon Connecticut with the blessings and charity of William Johnson. Freemasons Benjamin Franklin and Benedict Arnold had also donated money to Wheelock’s cause. William was the British Crown's first superintendent of Indian Affairs for the colony in 1756 and Joseph Brant was appointed as a captain in the Indian Department. Many Freemason colonists were high-ranking military who waged many wars on the Indigenous American population, scientists say so many Indigenous people were killed as a result of colonization it caused a
mini ice age. After the North American wars, many Freemasons took positions as Indian agents helping to remove and segregate the native population. Anyone who wanted access to the six nations had to go through Indian agent Sir William Johnson and his family which includes the Brant family and the Kerr family through various marriages.
At one point Johnson proposed that the moor's Indian Charity School move from Lebanon, Connecticut, to Johnstown but it never happened. Eventually, Johnson withdrew the support for Wheelock. In a letter Wheelock had suggested to Lord Dartmouth "The Nations will not make war with us while their Children, and especially the Children of their chiefs are with us”
Dartmouth college claims that In 1766, Johnson was invited to join the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), the largest and most influential Anglican missionary society in the 18th-century British-Atlantic world. He began working to place Anglican missionaries like Freemason and
bishop Charles Inglis, rather than Congregationalist and Presbyterian ones, among the Six Nations. I believe Moore's dubbed “the great design” was the original model for the Mohawk Institute and the Canadian residential school system.
On April 10, 1766
Sir William Johnson was raised to the position of Master Mason of St Patrick's Lodge No. 4 where many Freemason Indian agents like
John Butler,
Guy Johnson,
Sir John Johnson,
William Johnson Kerr,
Christian Daniel Claus, Gilbert Tice, George Croghan and A protégé of Reverend
Eleazar Wheelock,
Rev. Samuel Kirkland attended. In 1770 Johnson's fellow St Patrick's lodge Freemason Rev. Samuel Kirkland coincidentally parted ways with Wheelock and Moors charity school. Eventually Kirkland founded the
Hamilton-Oneida Academy as a boys' school in central New York. In 1776 Joseph Brant was initiated into the Freemason fraternity in London England where it is rumoured a benefactor of Moors charity school
king George III gave Brant his masonic apron. When Brant returned to Canada he became affiliated with Lodge No. 11 at the Mohawk village on the Grand River, of which he was the first
Worshipful Master, and later affiliated with Barton Lodge No. 10. Joseph Brant invited fellow Freemason and grandson of Eleazar Wheelock to be a minister to the Mohawk. To Joseph It was imperative that Freemason
Rev. Davenport Phelps was made minister of the Mohawks, so
he reminded the Bishop, through Sir John, of the pledge which the Archbishop of Canterbury had made to him in the presence of the King, that whenever the Indians, by the erection of a church, should be ready for religious instruction, he would do all in his power to supply their wants. A Freemason named
Rev. Robert Addison helped make this happen. Mr Addison, a relative of William Johnson, had been minister to the Six Nations and Joseph Brant and Freemason
John Norton were his translators. Freemason Reverend Davenport Phelps and Jarvis Wheelock, the brother of Eleazar, were invited to Canada and granted land by Freemason and founder of the family compact
John Graves Simcoe, the man behind the
Simcoe patent. Mrs Simcoe in her Diary says, “In April of the following year
Mary Brant (sister of Freemason Joseph Brant and common-law wife of Freemason Indian agent Sir William Johnson) successfully prescribed a favourite Indian remedy, the root of sweet flag (acorus calamus), for Governor Simcoe, who had been extremely ill with a persistent cough. The medicine relieved his malady “in a very short time. This brought the Brant family and Simcoe family close together. Davenport Phelps became the Worshipful Master of The Barton Lodge under Freemason
William Jarvis and he was the first chaplain at the Mohawk Chapel. Davenport was the leader of many Indian agents who were members of The Barton Lodge. I suspect Davenport's mission was to help with the so-called Indian problem.
Chief Joseph Brant has been accused on many occasions of selling off land for his own enrichment and in a lot of cases he sold land to Freemasons. He granted 999-year leases to many families, the Nelles, the Young’s, the families of Adam Young UE, his three sons, Lieutenant John Young (Indian department) UE, Sergeant Daniel Young UE, and Private Henry Young UE, along with Captain Henry William Nelles UE and his families (Rev. Abraham Nelles). Many of these Indian agents were members of The Barton Lodge. Both Captain Henry William Nelles UE and Adam Young UE, fourth great-grandfather of Robert Collins McBride UE, were also the first Freemasons to settle in Haldimand County. Freemasons
Robert Kerr and Rev. Robert Addison, William Kennedy Smith, also had land there. "There were very few outright legal sales of our land; 90 per cent of the leased land has never been paid for or paid to Six Nations," according to a
research document prepared by Six Nations. Many Freemasons were involved with the Simcoe patent and the
Haldimand Proclamation. Lieutenant Governor
John Graves Simcoe stated that the Indians could not lease their land since British subjects could lease land only from British subjects. Freemason
William Jarvis signed the Haldimand proclamation,
Freemason Thomas Ridout surveyor-general was behind the Ridout survey, Freemason
Sir Peregrine Maitland lieutenant governor informed them that they had no title to the northern part of the grant, Freemason John Butler acted as an agent of purchase on behalf of the government, F
reemason chief John Brant) and
Freemason Robert Johnson Kerr finally went to England to lobby on behalf of the Six Nations.
Freemasons King George IV, and King William IV, reigned from January 29 1820 to June 20 1837. The idea of residential school was brought forward by the Freemason Governor of Upper Canada, Sir Peregrine Maitland, within the context of a proposal he made in 1820 to the Colonial Office "for ameliorating the condition of the Indians in the neighbourhood of our settlements." Maitland's proposal contained most of the civilising concepts and techniques that would be adopted in the next three decades. The American Freemason, President Andrew Jackson succeeded in pushing the
Indian Removal Act through the United States Congress in 1828 leading to the trail of tears. John Brant solicited help from the New England company to build the Mohawk institute, the first residential school in Canada. The mohawk institute operated from 1831 to June 27, 1970. John Brant appointed Rev. Abraham Nelles son of Freemason Robert Nelles as principal of the Mohawk Institute. Abraham after over 30 years was succeeded by Freemason Robert Ashton
. Oronhyatekha aka Peter Martin was also a Freemason and played an important role in the development of the Mohawk Institute. The Arthur of the
Historical sketch of the Barton Lodge, No. 6, G.R.C., A.F. and A.M., says “the name of Brother John Brant is connected with important events in the history of Canadian Masonry.” John Brant is responsible for the formation of at
least 12 residential schools in Ontario, while Freemason Israel Powell the superintendent of Indian affairs in British Columbia Powell
“was able to boast that the government had established seventeen Indian schools, one for each year in office.”. Powell sought to establish several boarding schools across the province and particularly pushed for creating a school in Kamloops to address communities in the province’s interior.The school opened in Kamloops in 1890 and became one of the largest residential schools operated by Indian Affairs. The Freemason Organisation is
vicariously liable for all abuses in those residential schools.
In 1837 a Rebellion in Upper Canada was led by William Lyon Mackenzie, who was a fierce critic of Simcoe’s
Family Compact, an elite clique of businessmen and many Freemasons. Mackenzie opposed a system of land grants that favored settlers from Britain. Many Freemasons such as William Botsford Jarvis and
Sir Allen Napier Macnab who was Joint premier of the Province of Canada helped stop this rebellion. Sir Allen Macnab was succeeded by Freemason
Sir John A. Macdonald as Joint Premier. This Rebellion of 1837, this triggered the 6th generation Freemason Lord Durham to write
The Durham Report, he was appointed governor in chief of British North America. In his 1839 Report on the Affairs of British North America, he recommended that Upper and Lower Canada be united under a single Parliament, with responsible government. In 1863 a steamboat named
the Brother Johnathan) carried
smallpox from San Francisco to British Columbia killing 1/3rd of the Native population. Many Freemasons like
Thomas Harris the first mayor of Victoria,
Israel Wood Powell who served in the Victoria Rifle Volunteer Corps which was established to protect the colony from the indigenous population,
Amor De Cosmos who was the extremely racist editor of
The Daily British Colonist, and Ronald J. NcDonell clerk for
magistrate Pemberton who forced The Nuu-chah-nulth to leave their camp, escorted by two gunboats. There are many many more who may have purposefully mishandled the smallpox epidemic of 1863. British freemason
Edward Jenner created the life-saving smallpox vaccine but on the other hand Freemasons Jeffrey Amherst and Col Henry Bouquet have been accused of distributing
smallpox contaminated blankets to their enemies.
As early as 1866 Israel W. Powell, with his colleague Amor De Cosmos, had proposed confederation with the Canadian colonies.
Israel Wood Powell, Superintendent of Indian affairs also outlawed potlatching an indigenous ceremony In British Columbia. Following the Lord Durham’s report, Freemason Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon proposed
The British North America Act, 1867 Under section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, the federal government has exclusive legislative authority for "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians." Of the 36 Fathers of the Canadian confederation, 11 were Freemasons. One being Freemason Sir John A. Macdonald,
He was named by the United Grand Lodge of England as their Grand Representative near to the Grand Lodge of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald took a page from American Freemason
Andrew Jackson's book by removing the Indigenous people from their land. He was proud that he was able to subdue the Indigenous people with less blood shed than his American brethren. One Of Macdonald's Legacies is the
Canadian Pacific Railway which displaced many tribes across Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald's campaign promise in the 1870s was that he would have a railway built that would link the country from coast to coast. Freemasons
Richard Marpole,
Sir Sandford Fleming,
Sir George J.A. Bury And the Chinese Freemasons of Vancouver and Alberta made Macdonald’s promise come true. As quickly as the railroad was laid Freemason lodges were erected.
Louis Riel a Métis hero, led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its Freemason Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald. Riel sought to defend Métis rights and identity. The Wolseley expedition was a military force authorized by Sir John A. Macdonald to confront Louis Riel and had been dispatched to Red River under Freemason
Colonel Garnet Joseph Wolseley. Another of Mcdonald's legacies is the
North West Mounted Police. Macdonald established the N.W.M.P in 1873 which boasted 750 Freemason members in its time. He claimed that “it was intended to have a body of mounted rifles to protect the people from the chance of an Indian war.’’ Meanwhile, The Pacific Scandal, the first major post-
Confederation political scandal in Canada,
Sir John Macdonald and senior members of his Conservative Cabinet were accused of accepting election funds for the contract to build the C.P rail.
The near completion of the railway allowed troops from eastern Canada to quickly arrive in the territory causing Riel to surrender to Canadian forces. The NWMP barracks was where Louis Riel was detained after his arrest in 1885 for leading the North-West Rebellion. Many Freemasons were involved in the defeat of Louis Riel. The RCMP museum had a display of the noose which hung Riel. Macdonald said this about Riel "He shall die though every dog in Quebec barks in his favor." John A. Macdonald is also one of the fathers of the Canadian
Indian act First passed in 1876. In 1879 Freemason Nicholas Flood Davin wrote the Report on Industrial Schools for Indians and Half-Breeds, otherwise known as The Davin Report. An amendment to the Indian Act in 1894 under Freemason Prime Minister Sir
Mackenzie Bowell, made attendance at
day schools,
industrial schools, or residential schools compulsory for First Nations children, resulting in over 100000 Indigenous children being forcefully removed from their families by Indian agents and the RCMP. From 1740 to 1896 The Mexican government's response to the various uprisings of the
Yaqui tribe have been likened to
genocide particularly under Freemason
Porfirio Diaz. Due to slavery and massacre, the population of the
Yaqui tribe in
Mexico was reduced from 30,000 to 7,000 under Diaz's rule. One source estimates at least 20,000 out of these Yaquis were victims of state murders in
Sonora. It was during this period of the conflict that the United States Army fought the last
battle of the
American Indian Wars, the final battle being the Wounded Knee Massacre December 29, 1890, and in the subsequent Drexel Mission Fight the next day. In recent history the statues of Freemason John A. Macdonald, Freemason Edward Cornwallis, Freemason George Washington, Freemason Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Freemason Robert E. Lee and Andrew Jackson have all been vandalized but no mention of their affiliation to the Freemasons in the news. We can't point fingers at the church or government without first confirming whether or not the accused are Freemasons.
The Order of the Eastern Star,
Job's Daughters, and
Rainbow Girls are masonic fraternities for women such as the daughter, widow, wife, sister, or mother of a Master Mason. All masons will cry out that Freemasonry has nothing to do with what an individual member has done, yet they all praise these men and prop them up as heroes. Freemasons claim to have superior morality compared to the average person, that they are the most honorable men on the planet, yet they refuse to acknowledge their members role in the genocide of the Indigenous Americans.
You may believe Freemasons are irrelevant nowadays but that is far from true. Winston Churchill is regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century. Churchill was initiated into Studholme Lodge No. 1591 on 24 May 1901. He said of the Pashtun people “all who resist will be killed without quarter,” Pashtun territory was occupied by the British in 1848 and divided into two areas. Winston Churchill's policies caused a famine that claimed more than 3 million Indian lives during the The Bengal famine of 1943. President Harry Truman, known as one of the most dedicated men to have joined Masonry on the morning of August 6, 1945, ordered an American B-29 bomber to drop two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians. John Edgar Hoover, more commonly referred to as J. Edgar Hoover, was an American attorney and director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hoover was raised on November 9th 1920 in Federal Lodge No. 1 in Washington D.C. In 1919 Hoover became the head of the Bureau of Investigation's (predecessor of the FBI) new General Intelligence Division. The division was also called the Radical Division because it was the task of the division to find radical elements in American society to monitor and disrupt their activities. The Duke of Kent was initiated as a Freemason in Royal Alpha Lodge No. 16 in London on 16 December 1963.
The Duke of Kent, is now UGLE’s longest-serving Grand Master. The Duke’s brother, Prince Michael of Kent, is also a Freemason and is Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons, and Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex. On 6 March 1953, HRH Prince Philip progressed to the Second Degree of Freemasonry, before advancing to the Third Degree on 4 May 1953.
I encourage those who have been affected by the actions of Freemasons to begin a class action lawsuit against this organization in what ever country, state or province you live in and hold Freemasonry accountable for genocide. The first thing a Freemason will say when presented with this evidence is you don't know how masonry operates, that the lodge is not responsible for individual members actions. That is exactly what the Catholic church said before the Canadian Court of Appeal on July 28, 2020 had found the Archdiocese vicariously liable for abuses committed by a civilian employee. I witnessed countless people stand up against the Catholic Church for what they have done and the Pope came to Canada and apologized. Now it's time to turn your sight toward Freemasonry. You must understand that all Freemasons on the American contenent have greatly benefited from the genocide of Indigenous Americans.
“ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's acceptance of an inquiry's finding that Canada committed genocide against Indigenous people could have tremendous legal impact if a court ever weighs Ottawa's responsibility for crimes against humanity, experts say.”
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/trudeau-s-acknowledgment-of-indigenous-genocide-could-have-legal-impacts-experts-1.5457668 "I didn't use the word genocide because it didn't come to mind but I described genocide," Pope Francis told reporters on the papal flight from Iqaluit to Rome on Friday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/pope-francis-residential-schools-genocide-1.6537203 “The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently
and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it.”
―
President John F. Kennedy “President Kennedy issued an Executive Order prohibiting use of facilities on military bases by groups not integrated. The result was to bar Masonic lodges from using the bases.” Masonic Parallels with History - A Chronology of General and Masonic History by Alphonse Cerza. themasonictrowel THE MILITARY AND FREEMASONRY Freemasonry in Nova Scotia Freemasonry at the Two Sieges of Louisbourg 1745 and 1758 Freemasonry in Quebec Sir William Johnson, the Brant family, the Kerr family and the British Indian Department MOOR’S INDIAN CHARITY SCHOOL Mohawk Institute (Mush Hole) The rebellion of 1837 Manitoba Freemasons Saskatchewan Freemasons North-West Rebellion Provincial Premiers Alberta masons The Canadian Pacific Railway Smallpox epidemic of 1862 British Columbia Freemasons Freemason Prime Ministers American Freemasons and the genocide of the Indigenous peoples. Spanish Freemasons Royal Freemasons 300 Years of Freemasonry Celebrated at Royal Albert Hall Global Event Freemasonry according to Masons. The Fourth Council of Toledo Canon 60 and Indian Residential Schools Sources https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQ4QiANX3BnEdEwD94FXfh1Nkg_RJ-XN5UhN0_gLX10isR2i08xUziA9ZX7sErUMdp4PTKKPhP0P7F2/pub#h.fpjzhjnusgk1 submitted by
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2023.03.21 18:28 Reviewgiveaway75 DELAWARE’S CHANCELLOR ANDRE BOUCHARD UP TO HIS USUAL, UNUSUAL TRICKS IN CHANCERY COURT?
DELAWARE’S CHANCELLOR ANDRE BOUCHARD UP TO HIS USUAL, UNUSUAL TRICKS IN CHANCERY COURT?
04/29/2020 By
Judson Bennett📷
OPINION
Dear friends,
I’ve been following
Andre Bouchard’s rocky career since the day he took office as the new Chancellor in
Delaware’s
Court of Chancery, and I wrote about the way he handled the Sussex County Register of Wills Office in his first year, which I thought was abhorrent. I’ve been extra critical of him through the
TransPerfect trial, which ended years ago, and somehow, court-payments linger and his old buddies at
Skadden Arps are still collecting nearly six-figure monthly paychecks, thanks to
Bouchard’s atrocious handling of the case.
I wonder which one of his friends could possibly get paid off this time because, in my opinion, the TransPerfect case has been milked for huge amounts of money for the benefit of Delaware’s Good-Ole-Boys Legal Club, aka friends of the Chancellor???
I’m seeing similar suspicious patterns in a new case covered by The Law360 story below, where he’s again being shortsighted, in my view, during a court-supervised sale, which sounds similar to me to the TransPerfect case. where he was, in my opinion, continually attempting to bully the sides into a settlement, rather than just doing his job as a judge.
The Law360 story, says it best, “Chancellor Bouchard, a veteran of epic — and unfinished — battles arising from the liquidation of TransPerfect Global Inc. after a falling-out between its founders.”
I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. In my opinion, this guy, who was never a judge before, somehow through his Democrat politics, getting the chief role at the Chancery Court, is not even learning on the job. Time for him to go!
Respectfully Yours,
Judson Bennett-Coastal Network
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE at :
coastalnetwork.com See the Law360 story:
Chancellor Rips Critics Of Pharma Sale As ‘Incredibly Naive’
By Jeff Montgomery
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Law360 (April 20, 2020, 11:40 PM EDT) — Delaware’s chancellor branded some challenges to the court-supervised sale of drug developer Inspirion Delivery Sciences LLC as “astounding” and “incredibly naive” on Monday, noting that a court order had given a liquidating trustee broad latitude to complete the job.
The comments by Chancellor Andre G. Bouchard during a sale hearing teleconference followed arguments by Michael Yoder of Reid Collins & Tsai LLP that a new auction effort could have produced a better result than the offer of $4 million in cash and up to $10 million in future payments from OHEMO Life Sciences Inc. from royalties on anti-abuse opioid drug compounds.
Yoder, who represents former Inspirion members Raymond DiFalco and Manish Shah, argued that it made little sense for a trustee to “simply accept the first offer from a company insider,” referring to OHEMO, which has ties to IDS member Stefan Aigner.
Chancellor Bouchard, a veteran of epic — and unfinished — battles arising from the liquidation of TransPerfect Global Inc. after a falling-out between its founders, asked if Yoder had fully examined
Delaware law and trustee discretion on the issue.
“I really find that astounding. You didn’t even address the standard of review in your papers,” the chancellor said. “I find equally astounding the notion that you didn’t think insiders would be able to bid. Do you know how most of these contests end? Typically somebody involved with the company buys the other side out.”
Yoder said he was not arguing that insiders could not participate, but said that his clients did not participate because they hoped for a successful sale to a third party and were unaware there were no third parties in the running until recently.
“That just demonstrates extraordinary naivety,” Chancellor Bouchard said. “It all seems so last-minute for your client to walk in here not prepared to do something, and I find it very hard to believe that if they wanted to make a bid, they couldn’t do it all along.”
Differences between Shah and DiFalco and member Aigner over approval and marketing of key anti-abuse drugs MorphaBond and RoxyBond hobbled the business, with Aigner attempting to remove DiFalco as president of IDS.
The court ordered a liquidation after a three-day trial in November 2018, although further disputes and market issues extended the process. The proposed winning bidder was OHEMO, based in Puerto Rico, a company championed by Aigner before the liquidation order as a replacement for the Shah and DiFalco-aligned production operation.
Cerovene Inc., controlled by Shah and DiFalco, made an offer valued at up to $15 million but missed a key deadline for the submission earlier this month, according to Donna L. Culver of Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP, counsel to liquidating trustee Derek C. Abbott.
Culver said Cerovene argued that the
COVID-19 crisis and a lack of wire transfer specifics kept the business from making a required bid deposit, but not until “literally minutes before deadline” did the prospective competing bidder “give any indication he could not comply with the deadline.”
Nothing prevented DiFalco and Shah from getting involved through Cerovene earlier, Culver said, adding that the sale opponents also had not shown how the trustee or process represented an abuse of discretion.
Peter B. Ladig of Bayard PA, counsel to Aigner, Acela Investments LLC and two other companies that hold Aigner’s interests in IDS, said the business already had worked through a several-month marketing process, with 81 potential buyers approached, before choosing to move ahead with OHEMO for lack of a better offer.
“This is not, as I think the objectors would have the court believe, a question of having an auction just between the two insiders,” Ladig said. “This was an auction process that ran for months, and it’s really the end of the second process.”
Ladig said nothing in the case record supported claims that Aigner maneuvered the trustee into setting the final, 48-hour window for receipt of a competing offer for the business.
Chancellor Bouchard said he would take the arguments under advisement.
Aigner is represented by Peter B. Ladig and Brett M. McCartney of Bayard PA.
Shah and DiFalco are represented by Carmella P. Keener of Cooch and Taylor PA and William T. Reid IV, Michael Yoder, Jordan L. Vimont and Ryan M. Goldstein of Reid Collins & Tsai LLP.
Liquidating trustee Derek C. Abbott is represented by Donna L. Culver of Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP.
The case is Acela Investments LLC et al. v. Raymond DiFalco et al., case number 2018-0558, in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.
–Editing by Aaron Pelc.
About Judson Bennett 📷Captain A. Judson Bennett was a life- long resident of Lewes, DE. He served the maritime industry for 33 years, primarily as a Delaware River Pilot, guiding large ships to the Port of Philadelphia. Captain Bennett has been an active and consistent entrepreneur over the years.
He was elected as a Lewes City Councilman for 6 years. Afterwards he ran for the Sussex County Council as a Republican, and with 20 thousand people voting, lost Delaware’s closest election by 3 votes to an 8 year incumbent. Abandoning his personal political ambitions, he became the Republican District leader, advocating conservative values. Captain Bennett became a lobbyist in the state legislature advocating among many ideas, financial literacy concepts in education. He managed several political campaigns, including one for Governor of Delaware and one for the US Senate against VP Joe Biden. He is now the owner, operator, and writer for the Coastal Network which communicates regularly with over 6000 people throughout the State of Delaware.
Captain Bennett is a graduate of St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, DE (where the movie “The Dead Poet’s Society was filmed) and also graduated “Magna Cum Laude” from the University of Delaware with a BA in Criminal Justice and an MA in Liberal Studies.
He is now a Widower, living in West Palm Beach, Florida. Captain Bennett has one son, three grandchildren, and one great grand-daughter, all who live in Richmond, Virginia.
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