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Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 147:29

本期是尼泊尔系列的第1期。为什么尼泊尔毗邻中印却深陷贫困？为什么加德满都永远尘土飞扬？为什么公路永远那么烂？为什么即便如此，全世界的游客还趋之若鹜？我们来到了尼泊尔，一“路”寻觅，寻觅着尼泊尔的历史和“嬉皮之路”的踪迹，试图在历史与现实中向你展示尼泊尔何以能成为逃离系统的人的“香巴拉”——无论是过去的“嬉皮士”还是现在的“躺平青年”。注：本期节目配有记录短片，先听后看或者先看后听皆宜，别有风味。请在公众号相关推送里观看。|故事节点|00:00 老兵的故事15:22 吐槽时刻：被颠出来的10000步 17:15 吐槽时刻：灰尘、灰尘、沿路全是灰尘23:46 挂在喜马拉雅山脉上的国家30:33 重回泰米尔：地震、堵塞和公务员40:23 加德满都为什么如此肮脏？47:10 尼泊尔的路为什么这么差？57:14 国王“复辟”和 2001年王室血案84:13 毗邻中印，为什么尼泊尔还这么穷？91:34 雪山、服务、性价比，尼泊尔凭啥吸引游客和躺平青年？100:51 嬉皮之都：没落的“怪胎街”和“嬉皮塔”103:47 “嬉皮士”是什么？ 108:40 走上嬉皮之路 116:54 尼克松、革命和没落 120:58 去博卡拉寻找嬉皮士125:24 AI与和平，躺平青年与嬉皮士的异同136:59 在加德满都参加洒红节|壮游者|贝贝:在尼泊尔开局呼吸道感染的一名女子。Yang:在尼泊尔结尾食物中毒的一名男子。壮游者是一档独立播客，很需要你的支持。1、商务合作请邮件至zhuangyouzhe@126.com,或者添加微信“zhuangyouzhe2018”2、请通过ZFB账号zhuangyouzhe@126.com对“壮游者”进行赞助；也可通过微信公众号“壮游者”文章(本期相关细节图片也在文章里呈现)下方的“喜欢作者”以及节目下方的“赞赏”对单期节目进行赞助。3、请订阅、转发、评论和点赞节目，并在你使用的收听平台为“壮游者”专辑打五星好评。加听友群可微信添加"zhuangyouzhe2018"，与主播和听友直接交流。谢谢你，让我们有机会一起前行。

ai yang

Quaranteam – Book 1: Part 14

ExplicitNovels

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2025

Quaranteam – Book 1: Part 14 Andy reconnects with his past, and Emily explores. Based on a post by CorruptingPower, in 25 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. And, after two weeks of trying to subtly discern it from her, Andy eventually just asked Taylor what she did for a living, and Taylor informed Andy that she'd been a phlebotomist before moving into the Rook household, and once she was done with her time in the penalty box, she would go back to it. It was the first step she had taken towards eventually becoming an anesthetist, which was her long term goal. She'd met Lauren when the Aussie had needed someone to come in and blood test a few of the 49ers she was training. Taylor insisted that if Andy ever wanted her to stay in his bed for a night, she would without reservation, but that otherwise, she would be sleeping in the same bed with Lauren, who had set up her own bedroom now, so as to not wake Andy when she left early in the morning for practice. Piper and Sheridan had also set up their own bedrooms, for similar reasons. Piper insisted her workout routine begin at the butt crack of dawn, and she also had a tendency to go to bed almost immediately after dinner, and Sheridan had started joining her in those hours, although the two women had very different work out routines in the morning. Andy had never been awake for any of them, but both of the women had filmed themselves working out, so he could see what they were up to in the wretched early hours. Aisling, Niko, Emily and Sarah had flatly refused to sleep away from Andy, although the order they laid against one another in the bed at night varied quite regularly. At various points over the last few days, he'd woken up in the night to find Emily quietly making out with each of the other three. He was a little surprised that Emily and Sarah didn't want another bedroom for times when the two of them wanted to fool around with just each other. He'd asked them about it, but Sarah had just teased him and insisted that when they did, he should be nearby in case he wanted to watch or join in. The craziest part of the day, however, was when Emily came to track him down in his office just before dinner with a rather baffling request. He'd spent most of the day writing, knowing that tomorrow there would be new women joining the household, and that he'd likely get very little work done on that day. He felt like he was very close to considering the draft for what he was now calling "The Doppleganger's Identity," the next book in the Druid Gunslinger series, ready for his first pass readers to take a look at, and hoped to wrap it up today. It would certainly stop Sarah from asking him yet again when she could read it, since she had insisted she get a spot on that esteemed small council. He kept the door to his office open most of the time, but Emily insisted on knocking before entering the room anyway. "Andrew, love, I know you're writing right now, but might I bother you for just a skosh?" she said, smiling at him in that disarmingly charming English way of hers. "It's never a bother, Em," he said, closing up his laptop. "You know, you're the only one of my partners I'm okay with calling me 'Andrew?' Anyone else does it, and I know I'm in trouble, but you somehow make me not hate the sound of my full name. C'mon in. Sit down, talk to me." The blonde Englishwoman sashayed into the room before lifting one of his legs so she could sit down on the footstool in front of his writing chair. She was wearing a billowy floral print dress that hung down past her knees, loose fitting but still draped enticingly well. Andy wondered if maybe it was tailor made for her, but before he could think to ask, she launched into the reason she'd come to see him. "My agent received a rather odd request today, and I wanted to come and talk to you about it before I answered it. If you're not comfortable with it, I would completely understand that, but I personally think that it would be an excellent thing for us to do, so I hoped we might talk a bit about it before you came to any decision, and perhaps I could bring you around to my way of thinking." Andy set his laptop on the coffee table to the side of his writing chair and shifted to sit up a little bit. "Who's the request from, and what is it that you think I might be uncomfortable with?" "It came from the office of the president, if you can believe it. My agent said President Pelosi didn't call personally, but a member of her staff did." Emily took his large hands in her small ones, holding onto them softly as she kept his gaze focused on her sapphire blue eyes. Clearly whatever they were going to discuss was of great importance. "When the announcement hits next week, they're expecting much of the nation to be in rather dire shock. Such massive casualties means the American way of life going forward is going to have to be something extremely different than what it once was, something radical and new." She licked her lips, a touch of nervousness Andy wasn't sure he'd seen from the usually confident young woman before. "Something like us. To sort of help assert the new norms in the minds of the general public, they want a handful of celebrities to do talk show appearances, with the hosts who are still alive anyway, and most of them seem to have made it out okay, and talk about their new family units, how polyamory is going to be the lay of the land, and how the laws are immediately being changed so that a single man can have multiple wives, to help repopulate the country after the severe losses." Andy laughed a little bit. "If you want to go on television, Em, you certainly don't need my permission. What makes you think I'd be against that?" She smiled at him kindly, and he realized immediately he'd missed what she'd been specifically asking him. "I don't just want to go on television by myself, Andrew. I want to go on television with you and with Sarah and maybe with a couple of the other girls, Niko in particular. I think it's important that we get out there as a new family unit, on The Daily Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night With Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, anyone who wants to talk to us, so that we can help put the country a little more at ease that we are going to get through this. Normally, I would be most in favor of shielding all of you from the horror that is the paparazzi, just to keep my personal life simply that, personal. But this is a very strange new world we find ourselves in, Andrew, and we need to help our fellow humans become comfortable with their new reality." "You sound pretty committed to the whole idea," he said, trying to keep his voice as non committal as possible, but Emily had gotten very good at reading him in the short time they'd been together, so he knew she could tell he wasn't entirely opposed to it, simply gauging how it would all work. The particulars of opening his private life to the entire world seemed a little daunting at first blush, but certainly not insurmountable. "We wouldn't be the only ones, I think it's important to stress that, love," she said, squeezing his hands a little bit. "And Sarah and I would also be coming out about our relationship with each other, so you wouldn't have to field a lot of questions if you didn't want to. We could take on the brunt of the questions if that makes it any easier. But I just know many people in this adopted homeland of mine are going to be frightened, and I think the idea to show them the way through would be a step in the right direction." She leaned her head down and kiss the tops of his hands before looking up at him. "Oh! And you could also use it to promote your books, if that might sweeten the pot a smidge. It might help, having twenty minutes of prime mental real estate for your face and your writing?" He chuckled, nodding his head. "You know as well as I do that my agent would string me up by my toes if I had a chance to get this much free publicity for my next novel and didn't take it, so how can I say no? I'm not going to hide from journalists. I'll do my fair share. Tell me how all this is going to work." She smiled, leaned in and kissed him, soft and tender, but for what felt like a delicious eternity. "We will set up the camera and microphones in Sarah and I's little studio, and then we'll just take an hour or so a day for a few weeks to record segments with whoever asks. The president's office wants us to do a 60 Minutes interview even before the announcement is made, as our sort of grand unveiling. For that, they're actually going to send Katie Couric here with a camera woman to do the interview in a few days. They're likely to want to do that in a larger room, or maybe out on the back deck, by the pool. They're going to do an entire show all about the deaths, the vaccine and the new post pandemic world we're starting to grow into. The ten to twenty minute interview with us will just be part of the larger package. They were hoping to have us for a day on the 14th. They're going to be filming at the base on the 13th and doing interviews with President Pelosi on the 15th. The president's representative seemed to think Niko might be a good link between the two segments, if she was one of the people helping to give the tour of the base, and the vaccination process. I asked Niko about it, and she said she wouldn't mind if you didn't, but that I had to ask you first. The whole episode of the show is going to air immediately after the President's speech on the 20th." "Good lord, sounds like they've got all this planned out. I'm surprised I didn't hear from the Office of the President personally." Emily offered him another smile, and considered her next words carefully. It wasn't that she worried about bruising his ego, because Andy had never come across that way, but she also didn't want to seem too full of herself. "Love, I've been a very well known movie star for a decade now, so I think they figured out where I was first and went from there. That's no slight against you! I'm just saying that you aren't a household name that millions of people recognize, and, for better or worse, I am. The Dagger Academy movies were everywhere, as were the books. Simon, my costar in the movies, he's still living in England, so he's in an entirely different world than we are here in the States." Andy grinned. "Oh, I know, I know. All I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt for the President to have called me herself, y'know. But that's fine. It's fine." "Well, when the paparazzi are struggling to get topless photos of you in Ibiza, then we'll have a conversation about how you aren't being taken seriously as an artist, alright darling?" She giggled a little. "It was fun, teasing them, knowing they so desperately wanted to get images of my tits to sell, and that a bidding war would erupt for the image." "They are excellent tits, Em." "Bless you, love. But you're never going to convince me they're as nice as, say, Sarah's or Hannah's. And all those tits, theirs and mine, are exclusively the purview of this family now and forever more, so the paparazzo can fuck right off. So, the interview? You'll do it? You'll dance for the media circus with us, for the good of the nation?" "I'll do almost all of it, sure." She tilted her head slightly in confused amusement, that coy smile on her pink lips, as her tender fingers squeezed his thigh. "Almost all of it? Which part of it am I going to have to have to convince you for?" He rolled his eyes a little, a playful smirk on his lips. "I'll do all the evening shows, magazines, newspapers and website interviews you want me to, but doing Good Morning America might be a hill too far, simply because of how goddamn early I'd have to get up for it." "Or we could simply stay up very late and do it before bed," she said, moving to slide off the footstool so she could climb into his lap. "I'm sure we could find some way to keep you awake and alert that far into the night. Four thirty in the morning our time could give us the opportunity to go on live television with sex hair," she said, waggling her eyebrows at him lasciviously. "Oh, and I'm not gonna do Fox News." "Christ, love, haven't you heard? They're barely running a skeleton crew over there. Most of their on air talent died over the last few months, and now that the women are in charge over there, they're losing some of that ridiculous bullshit they used to be spouting." Andy chuckled, shaking his head a little bit. "All it took was most of the men dying." "It's pretty hard to pretend the plague isn't a real thing when it keeps killing people off left and right, dear," she said. "The rescheduled Presidential election next month is going to be between Senators Kamala Harris and Susan Collins, two women. That's never happened before in the history of this country. The vast majority of people voting in the election are going to be women. This is all completely unprecedented, so all those women who have felt powerless for so many years, this is their chance to shine. But the old tribal lines are still going to be there, even if the genders of the people leading those parties has changed. Republicans will still be Republicans and Democrats will still be Democrats. But there's too many dead people for everyone to go on pretending like the plague isn't real, or that it's not better to not get a grip on the new reality. One side was already telling their people that the plague wasn't real, so more of their men died than the on the other side. They can't afford to do that any more. So the new Fox News agenda is to go back to simple fiscal conservatism, pro military and pro old school Christianity stances. They're just going to drop all the anti woman bullshit that they've been poisoning their own wells with for so long." "And all it took was most of their men dying." Andy rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll leave it up to you on whether or not you want to do any of the Fox News shit." "Oh heavens no," Emily laughed, shaking her head. "No, you couldn't pay me enough to appear in front of those horrid people. They've been trying to tell me they have the right to regulate my body for decades but that I should keep my mouth shut when it comes to how they spend the money I pay in taxes. At least a few of their remaining hosts have called me horrible things for daring to disagree with them. 'Entertainers should be sit down and be quiet when it comes to politics,' they've said about me for far too long. Fuck that, darling. I'm having none of it." "Well, on that we can agree." "Now, I do believe I have some convincing to be doing," she said, licking her lips playfully, as she slid off his lap and down onto her knees before him, pushing his legs apart. "That's really not necessary, Em," he said, reaching forward to put a hand on her shoulder, but her delicate fingers moved to grab his wrists, lifting them so that one of his hands was along the back of her neck, and the other was sliding up into that radiant cascade of blonde hair. "It might not be necessary, Andrew, but that isn't to say I wouldn't enjoy it anyway," she said, her hands moving to unbutton his jeans, slowly drawing the zipper down. "Because sometimes a girl just needs to get her fix, you know?" She leaned down and kissed part of his exposed stomach. "You wouldn't deny me that, would you, love? Not innocent little me?" "I don't know that I could deny you anything, Emily," he chuckled. She licked her lips, those inescapable blue eyes of hers looking up at him. "That's what I like to hear. Because it's time for me to do something before Sarah does." She fished out his cock, tucking his balls over his boxers to protect them from accidentally getting caught in the zipper of the jeans, because she wasn't willing to wait long enough to pull his jeans off. "I let her have first go at you, but I'm entitled to have some firsts with you before she gets a chance. That's fair, isn't it?" She leaned down and pressed her pink lips against the head of his cock, covering it in tiny kisses. "I think we can both agree that's only fair." "I seem to recall you and Sarah taking turns blowing me at the same time," he said, tilting his head a little. "I wouldn't say she got there first." "She got to fuck you first though, Andrew," she sighed, stroking his cock tenderly. "And I understand why. She's madly in love with you because of your writing, although she's very much fallen in love with the man behind that writing as well." Her tongue slipped out and dragged a long trail across the bottom of his cock, from the base up to the tip, teasing the slit with the tip of her tongue for only a split second. "Me, on the other hand, I fell in love with the man first, when I heard all the lengths you'd gone to in protecting the women who'd chosen to hitch their wagons to your train. Niko painted such a wonderful portrait of you, and you haven't failed to live up to that yet." "I'm always going to put my family's needs above my own, Em," he said, shivering as he felt her pursing her lips around the mushroom tip of his circumcised cock for a long moment. "So what is you want to do before Sarah, hmm?" "Oh, bless, Andrew, I would've thought it would've been obvious," she giggled, blowing air along his cock, teasing his balls with her finely manicured fingernails. "I want you up the serviceman's entrance. I want you in my ass, before Sarah thinks to ask you to do it to her. We've had fingers and small toys up both hers and my asshole before, naturally, but never the real thing, and I'm afraid I simply cannot risk the chance that she get the opportunity to convince you to do it to her before you do it to me. I want to have at least one first of my very own with you before she does, and while I'm a little nervous, I must confess I am also rather excited. First times are always so exhilarating." Andy licked his own lips, swallowing a breath of air. "First times can also be quite intense, Em. Even overwhelming." "Yes yes yes Andrew, that's why I'm going to ask you if you can remember a color code when you're worked up. I know those kinds of sensations can be, distracting to self control, but you've always struck me as level headed." Her tongue took a long swirling path around the underside of the head of his cock, and his fingers tightened in her sandy hair a moment, clenching a fistful of it, which evoked a clear quiver of delight from the girl. "What do you mean a color code?" "You see, when Sarah and I are adventuring into, shall we say, uncharted sexual waters between the two of us, we use a color code. If one of us says 'green,' then things are wonderful, enjoyable and the other should carry on full steam ahead. If one of us says 'yellow,' then perhaps a bit of caution or easing back is needed. If one of us says 'red,' then a moment's rest is needed, or second thoughts are being had, and it's best to stop, until the other is ready to go again. Like a stoplight. We strike the use of those colors for any other uses when we're on the code." She looked up at him with those tender azure orbs again, soft and warm, as her fingertips stroked his shaft and juggled his balls. "Would that be alright, Andrew?" He leaned forward and kissed her again, and this time he found her not only pliant but a touch more eagerly wanton than she'd been moments ago. "Of course, love," he said to her. "But just be careful and remember you can't use those words for anything else while we're in color code mode." She titled her head to the side, a curious expression of amusement on her face. "Oh? Do you anticipate me slipping? I'm quite bright, you know," she teased, winking at him. "I have a degree in feminist studies from Cambridge and everything." He smirked a little bit. "I simply thought you might ask me to paddle your ass red, and then I'd have been more than a little conflicted from the mixed signals." She began to giggle fiercely, having even to take one of her hands from his cock up to cover her mouth, as she nodded furiously, her blonde curls falling in front of her face before her hand lifted from lips and pushed it from her eyes. "You're right! You're right you're right you are absolutely right, I most certainly would have done that, said that without even thinking about it, and what a right git I would've looked, while you would've been standing there frozen in fear that you'd gone too far." "You think you can keep that in mind, then?" She nodded once more, this time more slow and deliberate, before she pressed her hands on the tops of her thighs, moving to stand herself up. "I had Nicolette conceal a couple of bottles of lube in nearly every room of the house, in case this particular stripe of lust struck one of us. She seemed to think it was an excellent idea." Andy couldn't help but snicker a little bit. "I'm sure she did. She seemed to enjoy the hell out of it when she got her turn at it a couple of days ago." Emily giggled again as she reached behind the couch in the corner of his writing studio, her fingers reemerging with a small bottle of lube in them. "I did notice her walking a little funny yesterday, but she wouldn't tell me when I asked her about it. She simply blushed a wonderful shade of crimson and walked away from me. So I take it you gave her the ol' heave ho?" He tried to keep that ain't I a stinker smile from spreading on his face, but in the end, he just couldn't help it. "She told me she likes to be a bit bratty and put into her place, so I stuffed her panties in her mouth while I had a go at her ass. She seemed to like that quite a bit." While Emily approached him, he stood up and tugged off his jeans and boxers, not wanting to get any of the lube on them, setting them on his writing chair. For the hell of it, he pulled off his shirt as well. The idea of resembling Donald Duck appalled him. Emily's eyes widened in amusement and delight, shaking her head frantically. "You didn't! You absolutely didn't! Tell me that you didn't, Andrew!" "I surely and truly did, and she loved it. She even made a point to tell me that it was exactly how I should have a go at her moving forward." "Well, not this time, but I might like to try something like that at some point in the future," she said, as she walked over to him, lifting her dress up and over her head, tossing it aside, revealing she was completely naked beneath it. "Mostly because it wouldn't let me speak the color code if need be, but also because I'm simply not wearing any panties today." She flashed him another saucy wink, as she moved to set up her cell phone to point at the couch. Andy suspected she might be filming it to show to Sarah later, or perhaps just for her own personal edification. "Now let me pour some of this lube on your cock, and you can tell me what position I should be in for my first time at this." He shivered a little as she drizzled clear fluid onto his prick, her slender fingers stroking his shaft again, making sure to get every inch of his thick cock slicked up as much as possible. "If you want total control, you could climb on for a ride, but some women think the sensations are just too intense, and tend to seize up, so they prefer to have the man controlling things. If that's more your speed, then you probably want to get on your knees on the couch, laying your arms down on the top of it, your head resting on your arms, or with your arms behind you, so you can grab at your legs, or rub on your clit. Lauren rubbed her cunt her entire first time, saying it helped the nerve endings get all tangled up in one another." She licked her lips, that tiny hint of reticence fading away the moment he saw it, as she nodded. "I do think it will all be simply too much for me to keep my head clear, so I think I will try the position on the couch, and you can be in the driver's seat." She handed him the small bottle of lube. "Make sure you get me slicked up before you go rampaging in, however." "You sure you " His sentence was interrupted by her grabbing the back of his head, smearing lube on his skull while she pulled him into a feral, almost delirious kiss, her tongue rampaging into his mouth with a carnal frenzy that he didn't normally associate with his more restrained and reserved partner. When she pulled back, she didn't let her face move more than an inch away from his, her blue eyes peering directly into his greens. "I have been a posh prig my entire life, Andrew," she cooed at him in a sing song fashion. "Now it's time for you to take that stick out of my prim ass and jam this wicked cock up it instead. If you don't, I may well go mad, and that wouldn't be ideal for either of us, I somehow think. Now let's get to it." "As the lady requests," he said, watching her sashay away from him. She slid one knee up on the couch demurely, followed by the other, bending forward at the waist, leaning down until she was resting on her hands and knees on the plush sofa. God, she was gorgeous, he thought to himself. Almost criminally so. She held pose there as he walked over towards her, but as he got closer, she lowered her shoulders down towards the top of the couch, sliding her hands back behind her, to cup her perky porcelain white ass. "This is all yours, Andrew," she moaned. "Virginal. Unspoiled. Unsullied. Uncharted territory." She shivered and he could see goosebumps run across her skin as the lube started to drizzle down the cleft of her ass, smearing over that rosy pucker. "God, I feel so wanton and exposed like this, ready to be debauched and debased, your eager whore, giddy for you to introduce her to these new delights, to expand her horizons and blow her mind." Andy set the bottle on the table next to the couch, then moved to use two of his fingers to smear the clear liquid along her anus, seeing her body twitch and wriggle just a little bit, as he smeared the substance around, pushing his index finger inside of her, hearing her gasp sharply following by a tiny, high pitched yelp, as she clamped down on that digit. "How are we doing, Em?" She drew in a long breath that sounded like it took some effort before she exhaled, a slow controlled push of air over her lips, as that sphincter muscle relaxed around his fingertip. "Green! We're green, Andrew. I just, I simply needed a moment to compose myself once more. Your fingers are quick thicker than Sarah's," she said with a nervous laugh. "You're going to be getting something much bigger than that in a moment," he said. "If you still want it, that is. Not too late to change your mind." "I have come too far to back out now, Andrew." "You haven't cum at all, I don't think," he teased. "Shows what you know," she giggled once more, looking over her shoulder at him to stick her tongue out in his direction. "I definitely came when you pushed your finger in. The pre fuck jitters, one might think. Like a bloody schoolgirl, I am, right now." "Alright then," he said, as he slipped his fingertip out, her asshole closing up immediately. "Remember, you merely have to say what you want, and I'm going to listen." She nodded again, one hand reaching between her legs to rub her fingertips against her cunt, stroking her finely manicured digits against her cunt, as her other hand reached up and over behind her, grabbing one of her asscheeks, pulling it aside, as if to make sure she was open and exposed for him. "Let me feel it, Andrew, but go slow. Just a bit at first." Andy nodded, as he moved his hips, settling the tip of his cock against her asshole, which he felt spasm just a little when the mushroom head of his cock made contact with it. He gave her half a second to relax once more, then began to push forward. He leaned his body against hers, feeling some initial resistance, but after a few moments, the head of his cock popped through that ring of muscle, and a guttural, almost primitive moan erupted from her throat, loud and carnal. "Fuck that's big that's so fucking big yellow yellow Andy, yellow,” she rambled, and immediately Andy held perfectly still. "Too much?" he said, feeling her ass clinging onto the head of his cock with an intense amount of pressure. "Stop? Pull out? Just wait?" "Don't pull out! Are you fucking crazy?" she said, a borderline delirious laugh cackling from her lips. "I just, I just, just give me a moment, please, you're fucking big, you know that? You and your fat fucking cock feel like you've shoved a telephone pole up my tight young virgin ass, so I'm going to need a god damned moment, thank you very much, but don't you dare fucking slip out, or I will beat you bloody senseless with a cricket bat!" Andy blushed a little bit, a wry smile on his lips, as he held perfectly still. "In your own time, Em." The tiny blonde Brit drew in a long breath, then slowly exhaled it, like she was doing some form of yoga and trying to center her chi. She did it again, and Andrew started to get worried that maybe she simply wasn't ready for this, but just about the time that thought started to roll around in his head, he felt her starting to lean back against him just a little bit. "Green, Andrew, but,” she said, shifting her body just enough so that she could look back at him, "please, for heaven's sake, take it slowly." He nodded to her, and began to lean forward, feeling her body almost being pried apart as his cock worked his way inside of her virginal asshole. Her fingertips were rubbing down firmly on her clit, and while he tried to keep the forward momentum as slow as possible, when he was nearly half way into her ass, she suddenly pushed back into him, engulfing the rest of his cock in her back door, as a wash of goosebumps rolled across her flesh, starting at the small of her back and blossoming outwards in an instant flare, followed by a hard tremble intermingled with a high pitched whine that started racing upwards in octaves and volumes until it crested, breaking and dissolving into a frantic, almost demented giggle, as his balls rested against her fingers which hadn't stopped stroking at her cunt. "You alright, Em?" he asked. "Alright? Alright? Are you asking if I'm alright now, Andrew?" she hissed, although the tone was giddy and excited. "I am green, super green, all the greens! I am awesome, fucking brilliant. That felt,” she drew in a long breath, "So fucking good, and I came So fucking hard." Her head whipped to look directly at her cellphone camera. "Sares, it's like it builds and builds and builds, and you're getting more and more and more tense and then,” she said, pulling her hips forward, sliding his cock mostly back out of her ass before, "Wham!" she said as she slammed her ass back onto his cock hilt deep once more, and let out another unearthly moan. "Holy fuck, that feels so good. Your cock just jammed up right my ass, your balls resting right on my cunt." Her head snapped again to look back at him, and her soft and kind blue eyes had gone more than a little crazy. "Go on then, in for a penny, in for a pound. Pound your little penny. Go on, you dirty wanker. Do it to me! Fuck my ass!" At this point, he was pretty sure that if he had said 'red,' she would've ignored him and just played on through. The kind of wild lust in her eyes would've been completely unfamiliar to him if he hadn't seen it before, briefly, with both Piper and Sheridan, though those had been chemically induced. Later in the evening, he'd consider whether maybe she'd tapped into that same mental state that being deprived of his semen developed in women, but in that particular moment, the only thing he could do was to fuck Emily Stevens, film sweetheart of a generation, within an inch of her sanity. His hips drew back and then thrust forward, a solid grind on his first real pump, which was met by a hard squeeze of her ass around his cock and a burbling, uncorked moan oozing from her lips. He drew back again, but this time his forward thrust was met by the snap of her hips pushing her ass back into him, making her toned asscheeks ripple just a tiny amount. "Oh fuck, Andrew," she babbled, "I want more, but I know I'm going to cum soon, and once I start again, it's not going to stop, so I need it, I need you, I love you, I need you to fucking cum inside of my ass, fill it up with that hot spunk for the first time. Mark your territory with your seed! Please Andrew, I'm fucking begging you, let me have it, show my ass you love it, teach me this final thing. Fucking cum in my ass!" The entire time, she was doing more of the thrusting than he was, although he was trying to keep pace with her. And just towards the end, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stave off the impending orgasm for long, so at her insistence, he let loose a hot jet of jizz right into her ass. The minute he felt the first spurt escape him, it felt as though she clamped down on him in a fist like grasp, and then he felt a heavy rush of liquid against his balls, her cunt gushing all over them and down the inside of his thighs. The very sensation of it made him splattered a handful more blasts of cum into her ass before he stopped, one of his hands holding onto the back of the couch for dear life, as he felt her fingertips fall away from her cunt as her arm slumped downwards. He'd gone soft almost right away, but her ass was still trying to milk any last remaining droplets of cum from his cock with gentle squeezes, even as he finally slid out of her. Her body was mostly propped up by her knees, although her face was buried into the couch cushions. He waited a minute or so before he finally said, "You alright, Em?" She began giggling, slowly moving to roll onto her side, so he could see her face had turned bright red, the color of Sarah or Aisling's hair, and she was clutching one hand to her mouth, trying to contain the infectious laugh that would not be suppressed. "Holy fucking Christ, Andrew, I am so so so embarrassed by that," she whimpered. "I've, fuck, I've never done that before. I didn't know I could fucking do that, Christ, I'm made such a mess, how awful of me. I'm horrible." Andy knelt down alongside the couch, and leaned in to press his lips against hers. She struggled for half a moment, still caught up in her own awkwardness of the moment, before she gave in and simply returned the kiss, which he held for an endlessly long time. "Did you enjoy it?" he said, when he finally gave her a moment to breathe again. "Fuckin' 'ell, Andrew," she stumbled, "I think that would've been bloody obvious." "Then who the fuck cares about the mess?" He kissed her again, one hand stroking her sweaty hair from her face, the energy cooling down a little, as they both came down from the orgasmic plateaus they'd just been dancing in. "Besides, I'd have thought you'd enjoy the idea of telling Nicolette to come and clean my office without giving her any explanation into why." Emily face almost hurt from smiling so much as she nodded. "Thank you for this, Andrew, and for making me feel at home in my own body as it learns new things about itself." She looked down then looked up at him, almost a touch of fear in her eyes. "I know I've said it before, but it's important to me that you know this, Andrew. I well and truly love you, like no other man I've known before." "I love you too, Emily," he said, making sure he was looking directly into her eyes when he said it, so she would understand there were no reservations. "And I'm very glad you agreed to marry me. You've been not only good for me, you've been good for the whole house." "Oh shush, now my heart's all aflutter," she said, moving to stand up, pausing to wince for a second. "Well, I'll jolly well feel that for the next few days. It's sore and it's still tingling in pleasure. Both, together, at the same time. What an odd delight." He laughed, grabbing her dress for her, holding it out. "Go on, get dressed and bring Nicolette in here to see the mess that you've made for her to clean up. I'll bet she's not at all embarrassed, and more than a little jealous." "You know, I suspect you might well be correct, Andrew. Brilliant." A cast list intermission for Quaranteam The House of Rook Andy Rook, A 38 year old content writer for Netflix, who also lives a double life as semi successful urban fantasy writer Blake Conrad, known for his Druid Gunslinger books. Shaved head, neatly trimmed brown beard, 5'11", hazel eyes, tattooed on the chest with a griffon, could stand to lose a few pounds. Originally from Ohio, has lived in the Bay Area for over a decade. Our protagonist, such as he is. Still reaping the benefits from one random act of kindness to a stranger named Dave. Aisling (Ash) Blake, A 27 year old graphic design contractor for Google. Originally from Dublin, she's lived in the States for 4 years. Red hair, freckles, short (5'4"), fit. Outgoing and charming, but also protective of Andy. Aisling showed up first (at the same time as Lily) and has helped keep Andy level headed and sane throughout the entire ordeal. Pregnant with Andy's child. Engaged to Andy. Lauren White, A 35 year old personal trainer for the San Francisco 49ers. Originally from Australia, she's lived in the States for 2 years. Very tall (6'6"), very tan, blonde, athletic, emotionally involved with Taylor as much as (if not more so) Andy. Lauren is big and boisterous, but has a tendency to not think things fully through. 2nd Lieutenant Niko RedWolf, A 22 year old Air Force Security Forces officer (military police). Originally from South Dakota. Half Lakota, one quarter Mexican and one quarter Japanese. Long black hair, toned and slender. 5'4". Sarcastic, wry and witty, Niko has basically become Andy's right hand woman, along with Ash, whom she considers her best friend. She's helped provide endless insight to the vaccine program being managed at the local Air Force base, where she works. Also pregnant with Andy's child and engaged to him. Nicolette (Yvette) Seydeaux (staff), The 22 year old maid of Rook Manor. Blonde, with long curly hair. Extremely buxom. 5'9" or 6'1" (in heels). Second generation French American. Enjoys wearing classic maids outfits and being a bratty submissive. Pretended to be named Yvette at first, at the suggestion of Phil. Katie Rodriguez (staff), The 32 year old gardener of Rook Manor. Hispanic, butch, 5'8", with short black hair cut in a bob, almost always seen in overalls and a button up shirt. Lesbian and wife of Jenny Peters. Had reservations about the program, but wanted to ensure safety for her and her wife, so they took the deal and came to join the House of Rook. Jenny Peters (staff), The 31 year old cook of Rook Manor. Midwestern and plump, 5'8", with brown bushy hair. Wears large circular glasses. Tends to be overly motherly. Bisexual and wife of Katie Rodriguez. Taylor Morrison, The 25 year old ex ex girlfriend of Lauren White. Platinum blonde, stacked, short (5'2"). Currently still in the doghouse for cheating on Lauren almost a year ago, but close to working her way out of her trouble. As part of her current punishment (dictated by Lauren), she is not allowed to wear clothes. Piper Brown, A 26 year old Olympic Volleyball player. Brunette, tall (6'2"), muscular but lean, blue eyed. Went viral for a video of her pre game warm up dance. Still slightly recovering from abusive treatment at Andrew Covington's home. Asha Varma, An 18 year old college student and daughter of Dr. Charlotte Varma. Half Indian, half French, raised in London until last year. Brown skin, black hair, pierced navel, wild child attitude. 5'6". Party girl and socialite, Asha tends to enjoy causing trouble, as it gets her attention. Has some growing up to do. Sarah (Sares) Washington, A 31 year old actress. 6'2", redheaded, quirky, clumsy and a bit dorky. Originally from New Jersey. Swears like breathing. Very girl next door. Huge fan of the Druid Gunslinger books, and had a crush on Andy before she even met him. Big lover of Broadway theater and musicals, both attending and performing in. Partner of Emily Stevens. Engaged to Andy. Emily (Em) Stevens, A 30 year old actress, 5'1", blonde, blue eyed, pale, slender, very posh, British. Left London for L A just a few years ago. Incredibly charming and witty, with an almost supernatural social sense. Grew up as a child actress in a wildly popular series of movies called "The Dagger Academy" series, but has since struggled to establish a successful acting career outside that role. Partner of Sarah Washington. Engaged to Andy. Sheridan Smith, A 32 year old acrobat and performer for Cirque Du Soleil. 5'7" Blonde, frizzy hair, slender and extremely flexible. Very laid back and go with the flow. Has been teaching the girls of the house yoga in her spare time. Hannah Nakamura, And 18 year old college student and former cheerleader. Half Hawaiian, half Japanese. Short (5'1"), Asian, with long black hair with blonde stripes in it. Curvy, very well endowed (44G) and a firecracker of energy. Originally supposed to be joining the House of Watkins, she is much happier being part of the House of Rook. The House of Yang Eric Yang, A 39 year old engineer, and Andy's former roommate. Second generation Japanese American. Short (5'5") but athletic, if a bit shy and bookish. Piggybacked on Andy's one good deed into a complete life change he wasn't expecting. Andy and Eric are friends, but not overly close ones, despite having shared a condo for most of a decade. Lily Wu, a 25 year old coder for Door Dash. Second generation Japanese American. Dyed purple hair, short (5'2"), punkish. Eric's first partner, who expected to be his only partner only for life to get majorly in the way. Lily is the iron fist that runs the House of Yang, sometimes making decisions for Eric so he doesn't spend too long dwelling on them. Jenny Carnero, a 28 year old meteorologist for the local Fox News channel. Statuesque brunette (5'10") who always remains overly tanned. Lily's ex roommate who had to be rescued after fleeing from the person she was supposed to be paired up with, before getting paired up with Eric. Threatened to tell her story to the reporters at the station she worked at, but Lily convinced her that doing so would be bad for all involved. Phil cleaned the mess up. Sarah Wilson, a 26 year old HR specialist with Adobe Systems. Short (5'3"), blonde, Nordic and curvy. Originally from Kansas. The House of Marcos Phil Marcos, a 34 year old Filipino project manager for Boeing, working in conjunction with the Air Force to manage the vaccine development/distribution program trying counter the epidemic. Probably involved in a sizable amount of heavily classified shit. Tall (5'11"), slender and usually exhausted. Has a deep love of fighting games and mischief. Phil always knows more than he can talk about. Audrey Percy, a 29 year old Hispanic psychologist. Short (5'1"), very curvy. Also a big fighting games fan. Has been doing her best to keep Phil sane throughout the apocalypse. One of the first successful recipients of the current vaccine. Pregnant with Phil's child and engaged to him. Captain Linda Hayes, a 35 year old Caucasian captain in the Air Force. Blonde, fit, lethal. Also doubling at Phil's bodyguard most days. Tamika Jefferson, an 18 year old African American college student. Short (5'2"), curvy, disaffected and disinterested in most things. Yuko Takahashi, a 22 year old first generation Japanese immigrant and video game engineer. Very short (4'10"), very slender but extremely agile. The most sarcastic of Phil's partners. Dr. Charlotte Varma, a 44 year old French infectious disease researcher working with the Air Force and Boeing. Lead developer on the current vaccine. Average height (5'7"), blonde, matronly but also a bit bougie. Originally from Paris, she moved to London and married Dev Varma, before they emigrated to the US earlier this year with their teenage daughter, Asha (now part of the House of Rook). Was rescued by Andy but chose to go with Phil. The House of Covington Arthur Robert Covington IV, a 63 year old investment banker. Considers himself the most important person in New Eden. Certainly is the richest. A horrible prick with a rumored proclivity for making his partners do awful things. Runs a regular poker game where people are used as stakes. The person Andy hates the most. Lisa Davis, a 25 year old graphic design contractor for Google. Ex colleague of Aisling. Partner for Covington, who does not allow her to speak in public. Ash has been trying to find ways to talk to her on the side. Rachel DeMarco, a 28 year old infectious disease researcher working with the Air Force and Boeing. Has only been spoken of, not actually see in the story thusfar. Veronica DeLaCruz (deceased), a 27 year old Hispanic card dealer for the House of Covington privately, as well as professionally over at a local casino. Cheated on her partner (Arthur) with a man named Brian Morrison, and the sexual encounter resulted in her death. The first fatality in New Eden, her death is being used to remind women the dangers involved in being unfaithful in the new world. The House of Vikovic Gregor Vikovic, a 52 year old business owner. Russian, huge (6'2", 275lbs), mucular, with a big braided silver beard and a fondness for expensive things, particular food and drink. One of the more elite members of New Eden. The House of Watkins Nathaniel Watkins, a 41 year old investor and insanely rich self made gadfly. Tall (6'1"), lean and Waspy, Nathaniel tends to look more like an out of work yoga instructor than the forty first richest man in the world. His brown beard is always somewhat disheveled, and seems to relish always walking around in socks and Birkenstocks. Has a friendly relationship with Andy, whom he gave a shitload of money to, seemingly to punish his son. Benny Watkins, an 18 year old high school student. Benny is Nathaniel's biggest failure, spoiled and thoughtless, entitled and arrogant. His claiming of Deborah Barnes resulted in his punishment by his father, and the reassignment of Hannah to Andy. Deborah Barnes, a 34 year old veterinarian from Los Gatos, originally from Kansas. She was originally assigned to Nathaniel, who used her as a stake in one of Covington's poker games. She was won by Andy, but Benny claimed her before she could be relocated. As part of Benny's punishment, Deborah's been assigned control of Benny. Erin Donegal, a 36 year old pharmaceutical representative. Dated and lived with Andy about a decade ago until she gave him an ultimatum “ "either your friends go, or I do." Andy gave her the boot, and she stalked him on and off since then. Second generation Irish American. Blonde (but dyes her hair brown), curvy. Andy refused to bring her into his house, and she was reassigned to the House of Watkins. The House Of Haunton Mayor James Haunton, the 54 year old mayor of New Eden. Portly and short tempered. Has a mustache that whole bowls of soup could get lost in. Major Monica Peters, the 36 year old wife of the mayor, who doubles as the greeter and tour guide of New Eden for the most recent arrivals. The House of Jacobson Jake Jacobson, the 49 year old owner of the AllStore chain of department stores. Jet black hair with a pencil thin mustache. More reptilian than human, with beady eyes and a perpetual sneer on his face. Hot tempered, petty and vindictive.. The House of Baker Xander Baker, a 38 year old auto mechanic and car restorer from Ohio. Andy's oldest and best friend. Being relocated to New Eden to get paired up with Captain Betsy Ross. Covered in tattoos, ridiculously muscular, Xander is a gentle giant. Not to be allowed near karaoke machines under peril of death. Captain Betsy Ross, a 34 year old Air Force officer, working on the reconstruction program, rebuilding America's heavily damaged infrastructure. Soon to be Xander's first partner. Brooke Maloney, a 24 year old Olympic swimmer, and friend of Piper. Second generation Swedish American. Blonde, short (5'4") and extremely athletic. Originally, Piper was trying to convince Andy to bring Brooke into the House of Rook, but Andy immediately recognized her personality would be a better fit for Xander, and asked Phil to help redirect her. The House of, Dave? Dave, something or other?, a thirty(ish) something(?) quarantine management engineer for the CDC, who came to test Andy and Eric, and found out that Andy was secretly Dave's favorite author. In exchange for an advance copy of the newest unpublished Druid Gunslinger book, he put Andy and Eric into the system as Top Level V I P, which has changed their life forever. Nice dude, but Dave's just this guy, you know? Chapter 29 The next day, Andy and Ash met up with Eric and Lily for lunch in a restaurant, something they still weren't accustomed to, even though they'd done it a couple of times since moving into New Eden. They'd been in quarantine so long that the basic things like eating out felt alien. They'd found a nice little BBQ joint that someone had opened within the walls of New Eden, and Andy was ecstatic. Andy's hope was that they were going to keep getting more varieties of food in their new home town. The little 1950s dinner was nice, but the village needed things like a Mexican joint, a Chinese restaurant, a ramen house, a place where he could get a banh mi, Andy realized he really just needed the place to be less exclusively white. The guy who owned and ran the BBQ was a big black guy named Bryant Walters who'd apparently played football for the 49ers a couple of decades ago. He'd settled in the Bay after his football career ended, and he had brought his love of southern BBQ to opening his own restaurant, called "Smoke On The Water." He had a dozen of his own BBQ sauces, brisket that he smoked for at least twelve hours and some of the best damn ribs Andy had ever tasted. It didn't hurt that Bryant was also massively friendly, making sure to come out and talk to patrons of the place. The wait staff was comprised of his partners, five women in all, at least one a former 49ers cheerleader. Over lunch, Andy made sure to tell Bryant that he should have delivery service for the community, and the big burly man told him that was an excellent idea, and that he'd start working on a website for online orders. The meal was the first chance that Andy and Eric had really been able to sit down and catch up one on one since they'd gotten to New Eden. Sure, they'd seen each other at parties and big gatherings, but with just Ash and Lily there, it felt like a throwback to the first days of the whole adventure when they'd been a pair of new couples sharing a tiny little condo. "So yeah, what with all the casualties on my team, I've been promoted up the food chain to be director of the division," Eric said, poking at his brisket with his fork. "I like the responsibility and the increase in pay, but it's also incredibly depressing to think about all the former coworkers that died, none of whose funerals I can attend, because nobody's allowing funerals." "Yeah," Andy sighed, "Phil told me they're moving to mass cremations now, since so many people died. They'll probably build some sort of memorial after we're through all of this, like the Vietnam Wall or Ground Zero for 9/11." "It's so strange, seeing all the names on Slack that aren't lighting up any more," Eric sighed. "At some point, the death toll crossed from a number I can understand to a number I can't." "Kill one person and it's murder; kill a hundred thousand and it's a statistic. Good ol' Stalin," Lily joked, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "Don't try and think about it, dear. You're only going to get angry or depressed again, and we're having a nice lunch here, with everyone getting a chance to see one another. I mean, I love Niko to death, but if Andy shows up with his entire tribe, it takes over the whole room. How many are there now, fifty?" Ash giggled, rolling her eyes. "It really isn't tha' bad, Lily. How many're over there?" "Seven, including Lily," Eric said. "I refuse to let them send any more," Lily growled. "Each of the girls gets one day a week to spend with him, and he gets Sundays off." "Then when do ya get time with him?" "Any time I fucking want to," Lily laughed, waggling her beer in Eric's direction. "We're trying to have a kid now, and I'm refusing to let any of those other bitches get a go at getting knocked up until I'm well and truly swollen. Once I'm half way through my second trimester, then I'll let'em get off their birth control, and not a minute fucking sooner." "Still got Eric under your thumb, huh, Lil?" Andy teased. "Thumb, palm, e

11.15 - Podcast Review of Episode 15 of When Life Gives You Tangerines

K Drama Chat

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 77:57

Comment on this episode by going to KDramaChat.comToday, we'll be discussing Episode 15 of When Life Gives You Tangerines, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring IU as Oh Ae-sun and Park Bo-gum as Yang Gwan-sik as young adults, then Moon So-ri as Oh Ae-sun and Park Hae-joon as Yang Gwan-sik as older adults. We discuss:The song featured during the recap: A daughter becoming a mother like her own by Kim Hyun Do.The powerful opening scene of Gwan-sik panicking during Ae-sun's childbirth and the touching portrayal of new parent fears.Ae-sun's remarkable emotional radar when she realizes Geum-myeong is struggling just by how she packs fruit.The dramatic family argument over Geum-myeong quitting her job and her business aspirations, revealing generational and emotional rifts.Gwan-sik risking everything to start a seafood restaurant and Ae-sun's unwavering support despite her doubts.The emotional note and ultrasound photo reveal: Geum-myeong is pregnant, offering a beautiful full-circle moment between mother and daughter.An intense childbirth for Geum-myeong, mirroring her mother's experiences and bringing them closer.The brilliant character arc of Gwan-sik and Ae-sun, whose hard work and diligence transform their struggling restaurant into a success.The surprising reveal that Gwan-sik once saved a suicidal actress, Jeong Mi-in, who later helps boost their restaurant with a promotional video.Geum-myeong starting her own business, named after her mother's selfless mantra: Whoever, Wherever, Whenever.Yeong-ran's empowerment journey: she starts a real estate business and leaves her cruel husband, backed by financial and emotional support from her mother-in-law.A cultural moment: Korea repays its IMF loans early, reflecting national pride and resilience paralleled in the Yang family's journey.ReferencesPark Ji-sung - WikipediaGuus Hiddink - WikipediaAll In (TV series) - WikipediaChoi Bool-am - Wikipedia

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Winning with full martial firepower- Sifu Bill Phillips, taijiquan student of Cheng Man Ch'ing

Beat The Prosecution

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 66:03

Send us a textFairfax criminal defense lawyer Jonathan Katz daily practices the martial art of taijiquan / t'ai chi ch'uan Yang style short form, also known as Cheng Man Ch'ing (CMC) taijiquan form. This episode introduces our third taijiquan teacher, after previously introducing you to Jon Katz's vitally important teacher Julian Chu (a student of CMC senior student Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo, several of whose weekend training classes Jon has attended), and Len Kennedy, who is one of two lawyers who has inspired Jon on the taijiquan path. Taijiquan is vitally important to Jon. Courtroom defense is war, and Jon's regular taijiquan form and sparring (push hands / sensing hands) practice is just the thing to enable him to find calm in the eye of the courtroom storm, so as to keep his eye on the prize of pursuing his clients' best defense. Sifu William C. Phillips is one of CMC's junior students, and among the youngest to receive permission from CMC to teach taijiquan. Bill is among the small number of CMC's student who have written about him and his taijiquan. Bill's first book is In the Presence of Cheng Man-Ch'ing- My Life and Lessons With the Master of Five Excellences. Bill's second book is due out this year. This Beat the Prosecution episode explores the essence of CMC beyond what has already been written about him, and the further essence of Bill -- who also has advanced in several other martial arts -- beyond what is already available. Bill grew up with street fights, stumbled into a love of judo in college, and from the judo studio director learned about CMC, and the rest is history. Bill declines an invitation to speak much about how criminal defense lawyers can come closer to beating the prosecution, but he actually says it all for himself in this interview: Learn and apply taijiquan. Be patient. Be compassionate (I add to be compassionate without sacrificing the interests of the defendant, nor the fighter's firepower). Fight for justice. Practice daily. Stay true to your practice. Deeply thanking and bowing to Sifu Bill Phillips for joining this podcast episode.This podcast episode is also on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnAD5GGZi90 and Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/winning-with-full-martial-firepower-sifu-bill-phillips/id1721413675?i=1000713682983This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://KatzJustice.com or contact us at info@KatzJustice.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text). If you like what you hear on our Beat the Prosecution podcast, please take a moment to post a review at our Apple podcasts page (with stars only, or else also with a comment) at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beat-the-prosecution/id1721413675

Right Business: What it takes to build a creative business around a dying craft

MONEY FM 89.3 - Prime Time with Howie Lim, Bernard Lim & Finance Presenter JP Ong

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 13:23

On this month’s The Peak special on The Right Business, we spotlight a story rooted in paper, thread, and purpose. Yang Shihui, founder of Based Book Arts, is one of the last practicing bookbinders in Singapore, and she’s quietly building a business around a dying craft. From running intimate bookmaking workshops to taking on bespoke commissions, Yang’s work is a form of quiet resistance against digital fatigue and mass production. On The Right Business, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Zat, Editor-in-Chief, The Peak Singapore, on why Based Book Arts is a compelling example of how tradition and entrepreneurship can meaningfully coexist.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Bacaan dan renungan Sabda Tuhan pada hari Sabtu dalam pekan ke-11 masa biasa, 21 Juni 2025, Peringatan Santo Aloysius Gonzaga, Biarawan.

La Porta | Renungan Harian Katolik - Daily Meditation according to Catholic Church liturgy

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 8:02

Dibawakan oleh Kristine dari Paroki Santo Gabriel di Keuskupan Bandung, Indonesia. 2 Korintus 12: 1-10; Mazmur tg 34: 8-9.10-11.12-13; Matius 6: 24-34.KEKUATIRAN Tema renungan kita pada hari ini ialah: Kekuatiran. Setiap orang pernahmerasa kuatir dan akan merasakannya besok atau lusa. Seorang yang suci sepertiSanta Teresa dari Kalkuta mengungkapkan bahwa selama hidupnya, ia banyak kalimerasa kuatir, apakah semua yang ia lakukan berkenan kepada Tuhan atausebaliknya. Banyak orang kudus seperti itu, dan tentu saja kita orang-orangbiasa, mengalami kekuatiran sebagai bagian dari hidup kita di dunia ini. Seorang yang sedang kuatir biasanya merasa tidak nyaman dan takut terhadapkejadian yang akan menimpa dirinya. Rasa kuatir itu berkaitan dengan masa depanatau yang akan datang, dan bukan hariini atau kemarin. Besok atau masa depan membuka pintu bagi kita untukmemikirkan dan menaruh harapan untuk menjadi apa yang kita inginkan. Tetapikarena pada prinsipnya besok dan masa depan itu belum jelas dan pasti, kitakemudian dihantui kekuatiran. Sepasang tunangan sedang menyiapkan diri mereka untuk perayaan SakramenPernikahan yang tinggal satu minggu lagi. Waktu semakin berkurang dari harike-6 menuju hari H, semakin juga membuat mereka kuatir. Banyak hal yangdikuatirkan, seperti kalau cuaca kurang baik atau tidak banyak orang yangmenghadiri, salah satu atau keduanya berhalangan karena sakit, kekacauan yangdisebabkan oleh pihak-pihak luar dan lain sebagainya. Ada banyak sekali contoh lain yang menggambarkan betapa kita sering kuatirtentang kejadian dan pengalaman buruk yang akan menimpa kita. Yang menjadipertanyaan ialah: apakah strateginya untuk menghadapi kekuatiran-kekuatiranitu? Ada satu jawabannya. Sikap realistis harus menjadi hal mendasar untuk kitamiliki. Hidup ini ada senang dan sedih, ada jatuh dan bangun. Jika kita pahamiini seperti roda yang berputar dan kita jalani saja sebagai orang-orangberiman, kekuatiran tidak akan menjadi masalah yang memberatkan danmenghalangi. Hal yang lebih spesifik dari menerima realitas hidup tersebut, ialahbersikap secara positif terhadap kelemahan atau kekurangan yang ada. Istilahyang dipakai oleh Santo Paulus di dalam surat keduanya kepada umat di Korintusialah “bermegah atas kelemahanku”. Di dalam diri kita ada kelemahan yang pastiberbanding lurus dengan kekurangan atau kesulitan di luar diri kita. Misalnyaudara yang begitu panas, disambut dengan kondisi kulitmu yang gampangmengelupas, dan ini menghasilkan di dalam dirimu tantangan untuk dihadapi. Justru di dalam keadaan seperti ini kita memandang diri kita kurangberdaya, menanggung beban, atau dalam bahasa rohaninya ialah memanggul salib.Di dalam kerendahan hati kita terima dengan tenang dan sabar, lalu biarkanTuhan dengan kasih dan kuasanya mengangkat kita. Marilahkita berdoa. Dalam nama Bapa ... Ya Tuhan, mampukanlah kami tetap bertahan danpercaya kepada-Mu, meskipun kami selalu kuatir di dalam hidup kami. Kemuliaankepada Bapa dan Putra dan Roh Kudus ... Dalam nama Bapa ...

indonesia santo mu yang hal masa hari dalam pada banyak hidup rasa jika setiap tuhan waktu seorang biasa putra sikap sabtu peringatan bapa renungan pekan matius justru roh kudus aloysius gonzaga dibawakan sepasang sabda tuhan santo paulus

AI Jobs, $100m Offers, & Two Plans for Iran 6/18/25

Squawk Pod

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 36:34

Retired 4-star General Wesley Clark, once NATO Supreme Allied Commander, offers his advice to the Trump administration: don't bomb Iran's nuclear plant Fordow. In a lively discussion about geopolitics, General Clark suggests having both a military and a diplomatic plan for the conflict. Former Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang is raising the alarm on AI's impact on the workforce. Yang discusses the future of labor and technology. Plus, General Mills has joined Kraft Heinz in eliminating artificial food dyes in U.S. products, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has accused Mark Zuckerberg of attempting to poach OpenAI talent with $100m paychecks. Wesley Clark - 15:53Andrew Yang - 29:51 In this episode:Andrew Yang, @AndrewYangBecky Quick, @BeckyQuickJoe Kernen, @JoeSquawkKatie Kramer, @Kramer_Katie

donald trump ai jobs iran mark zuckerberg offers retired openai yang 100m andrew yang sam altman general mills kraft heinz fordow wesley clark general clark

LEMON DROP | Andrew Yang on Starting a New Political Party & the Rise of AI

The Don Lemon Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 45:02

Don Lemon sits down with Andrew Yang for a wide-ranging and unfiltered conversation about the future of American politics and technology. Yang shares why he believes the two-party system is broken, what's holding Democrats back, and why it's time to rethink how we engage voters. Then they dive into the rise of artificial intelligence, what it means for the economy, the workforce, and whether our leaders are prepared for the disruption. Smart, sharp, and surprisingly candid, this is a conversation you won't want to miss. This episode is brought to you by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Go to FFRF.US/Freedom or text DON to 511 511 and become a member today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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#412 Mengelola Kelompok yang Tidak Produktif

Ini Koper

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 7:10

Dalam episode podcast ini, kita akan menyelami tantangan umum dalam fasilitasi kelompok: ketidakproduktifan. Seringkali disalahpahami sebagai kegagalan individu, esai ini mengubah perspektif kita, mengungkap bahwa ketidakproduktifan sebenarnya adalah gejala dari dinamika kelompok yang lebih dalam. Kita akan membahas bagaimana faktor-faktor kontekstual, struktural, dan proses di dalam organisasi dapat secara fundamental menghambat kolaborasi yang efektif, menciptakan lingkungan di mana tujuan kelompok sulit tercapai. Pembahasan kita akan berlanjut dengan mengidentifikasi manifestasi nyata dari ketidakproduktifan ini. Dari siklus keluhan yang merusak suasana kelompok hingga arketipe interaksi disfungsional seperti 'Titik-Kontra-Titik' atau 'Oposisi Terselubung', kita akan belajar mengenali pola-pola yang menghambat kemajuan. Yang menarik, esai ini juga menyoroti bagaimana fasilitator sendiri, tanpa disadari, dapat berkontribusi pada masalah ini melalui tujuan yang tidak jelas atau salah kelola kekuasaan, menekankan pentingnya kesadaran diri dalam peran fasilitasi. Namun, bukan hanya tentang masalahnya. Esai ini juga menawarkan serangkaian intervensi strategis dan taktis yang komprehensif untuk membangun dan mempertahankan lingkungan fasilitasi yang produktif. Mulai dari penyelarasan metrik kinerja dan komposisi tim yang strategis, hingga teknik komunikasi real-time dan manajemen konflik, kita akan mengeksplorasi solusi praktis. Pada akhirnya, kita akan memahami bahwa fasilitasi yang efektif adalah perjalanan berkelanjutan yang menuntut pengelolaan diri fasilitator, peningkatan kapasitas kelompok, dan komitmen teguh terhadap budaya adaptasi dan pembelajaran.

yang kita dalam pada tidak namun mulai pembahasan seringkali kelompok esai

Bacaan dan renungan Sabda Tuhan pada hari Kamis dalam pekan ke-11 masa biasa, 19 Juni 2025

La Porta | Renungan Harian Katolik - Daily Meditation according to Catholic Church liturgy

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 8:24

Dibawakan oleh Priscillia Nini Wijaya dari Paroki Santa Perawan Maria Diangkat ke Surga di Keuskupan Agung Makassar, Indonesia. 2 Korintus 11: 1-11; Mazmur tg 111: 1-2.3-4.7-8; Matius 6: 7-15.BERSYUKUR ADALAHMEMOHON Renungan kita pada hari ini bertema: Bersyukur Adalah Memohon. Ada seorang muridSD bernama Ivan sedang berdoa di dalam kamar dengan suara yang didengar jelas.Bapa dan ibunya mendengar putra mereka berdoa dan mendekat ke pintu untuk lebihjelas mendengarnya. Sekitar 2 menit Ivan berdoa dengan posisi dukuk di atastempat tidurnya, mata tertutup, dan kedua tangannya terkatup di dada. Saat ia keluar dari kamarnya, sang ibu bertanya: “Ivan, Mama dan Bapakmendengarmu berdoa, tetapi tidak meminta atau memohon apa-apa kepada Tuhan.Kamu hanya mengucapkan terima kasih dan senang memuji Tuhan. Mengapa tidak sukameminta kepada Tuhan?” Ivan langsung menjawab: “Aku tidak ingin meminta Ma.Karena aku sudah mempunyai semuanya di Mama dan Papa, nanti tinggal minta.Tuhan itu baik sekali Ma.” Apa yang dilakukan oleh anak Ivan ialah sebuah cara berdoa yang menjadikanungkapan syukur dan pujian sebagai isi doa, yang di dalamnya sudah adapermohonan permintaan sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan kepentingan kita. Tuhan tahusegala sesuatu, termasuk kebutuhan kita yang paling tersembunyi dan terkecildalam hidup kita. Yang kita perlu lakukan ialah menaruh diri di hadapan-Nya danmenyampaikan rasa syukur, terima kasih dan pujian kita. Seorang teman bercerita bahwa ketika lewat di salah satu gang di kompleksperumahannya, ia bertemu pemilik tokoh roti dan mereka saling menyapa singkat.Ia memuji produksi roti dan iklan-iklan yang disebarkan sangat menarik. Iaberterima kasih kepada pemilik tokoh, karena dengan kehadiran tokoh dikompleks, kebutuhan belanja roti menjadi muda karena cukup dijangkau denganjalan kaki. Pada sore harinya, ia dikirimi tokoh roti itu satu kotak berisiroti-roti kesukaannya, tanpa ia harus membelinya. Cerita ini cukup melukiskan bagaimana melalui sapaan, rasa syukur,apresiasi, dan pujian, pemberian atau karunia itu datang. Ini sebenarnya perlumenjadi sikap dan perilaku doa kita kepada Tuhan. Tugas kita pada dasarnyaialah mengucapkan syukur, berterima kasih, patuh akan perintah-perintah-Nya,memuji dan menyembah Dia. Sedangkan soal tentang kebutuan-kebutuhan kita yangbervariasi itu, nantinya menjadi tugasnya Tuhan untuk mengurusi, karena Tuhansudah mengetahui keadaan kita sebenarnya. Kita diajarkan oleh Yesus doa “Bapa Kami”, doa Yesus sendiri, untukmengenalkan kita akan Tuhan sebagai Bapa yang murah hati. Doa Yesus ini membuatkita yakin tentang penyelenggaraan-Nya kepada kita masing-masing sesuaikehendak-Nya dan mengena pada keadaan kita yang nyata. Setiap kali kitamengucapkan “Jadilah kehendak-Mu” hendaknya kita membuka diri semuanya danbiarkan kuasa-Nya bekerja pada kita sesuai yang Ia kehendaki. Marilahkita berdoa... Dalam nama Bapa ... Ya Bapa, terima kasih atas doa Yesussehingga kami dapat mengenal-Mu sesungguhnya. Bapa kami yang ada di surga ...Dalam nama Bapa ...

mama indonesia papa ia mu yang kita apa masa hari dalam pada ini cerita saat kamu nya setiap aku tuhan seorang mengapa biasa yesus tugas surga kamis jadilah sedangkan bapa renungan pekan matius sekitar dibawakan ya bapa sabda tuhan

Kiamat Apabila Tapak Kaki Ganti Muka

Hasrizal

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 2:57

yang tidak jika inilah generasi kaki topik rasulullah muka ganti pernahkah apabila

16th June 2025 Essential Energy Updates for Starseeds, Lightworkers, Energy Healers & Spiritual Seekers - Connect with Your Highest Timeline with Law of Attraction Affirmations for a Positive Mindset

Mayastar

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 20:45

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mayastar.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to explore my energy healing courses & ascension resources. Unlock your spiritual gifts & progress your path to wholeness today! A New Age is dawning

Trump Versus the United States

Ralph Nader Radio Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2025 100:31

First up, Georgetown law professor and former national legal director at the ACLU, David Cole, joins us to discuss the legal response to the Trump Administration's serial violations of the Constitution. Then Mike Ferner of Veterans for Peace checks in to update us halfway through his Fast for Gaza, 40 days of living on 250 calories per day, which is the average caloric intake of Palestinian survivors in Gaza. Finally, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Joe Holley, stops by to pay tribute to his mentor and colleague, the late crusading journalist, Ronnie Dugger, founder of the progressive Texas Observer.David Cole is the Honorable George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy and former National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He writes about and teaches constitutional law, freedom of speech, and constitutional criminal procedure. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and is the legal affairs correspondent for The Nation.Trump is obviously not concerned about antisemitism. He's concerned about targeting schools because they are places where people can criticize the president, where people can think independently, are taught to think independently, and often don't support what the president is doing. He's using his excuse to target a central institution of civil society.David ColeThe decision on Trump versus the United States is only about criminal liability for criminal acts, not for unconstitutional acts. And violating the Constitution is not a crime. Every president has violated the Constitution probably since George Washington. That's not a crime.David ColeMike Ferner served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, and he is former National Director and current Special Projects Coordinator for Veterans for Peace. He is the author of Inside the Red Zone: A Veteran for Peace Reports from Iraq.Two hundred and fifty calories is technically, officially, a starvation diet, and we're doing it for 40 days. The people in Gaza have been doing it for months and months and months, and they're dying like crazy. That's the whole concern that we're trying to raise. And I'll tell you at the end of this fast, on the 40th day, we are not just going out silently. There are going to be some fireworks before we're done with this thing. So all I'm saying is: stay tuned.Mike Ferner: Special Projects Coordinator of Veterans for Peace on “FastforGaza”They're (The Veterans Administration is) being defamed, Ralph, for the same reason that those right-wing corporatists defamed public education. So they can privatize it. And that's exactly what they're trying to do with the VA. And I can tell you every single member of Veterans for Peace has got nothing but praise for the VA.Mike FernerJoe Holley was the editor of the Texas Observer in the early 1980s. A former staff writer at The Washington Post and a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer and columnist at the Houston Chronicle, he is the author of eight books, mostly about Texas.He would talk to people, and he would find out things going on about racial discrimination, about farm workers being mistreated, all kind of stories that the big papers weren't reporting. And this one guy, young Ronnie Dugger, would write these stories and expose things about Texas that a lot of Texans just did not know.Joe Holley on the late progressive journalist, Ronnie DuggerHe knew the dark side of Texas, but he always had an upbeat personality. I had numerous conversations with Ronnie (Dugger), and he was ferociously independent.Ralph NaderNews 6/13/251. On Monday, Israeli forces seized the Madleen, the ship carrying activist Greta Thunberg and others attempting to bring food and other supplies past the Israeli blockade into Gaza, and detained the crew. The ship was part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thunberg had been designated an “Ambassador of Conscience,” by Amnesty International. The group decried her detention, with Secretary General Agnès Callamard writing, “Israel has once again flouted its legal obligations towards civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip and demonstrated its chilling contempt for legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice.” On Tuesday, CBS reported that Israel deported Thunberg. Eight other passengers refused deportation and the Jerusalem Post reports they remain in Israeli custody. They will be represented in Israeli courts by Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. One of these detainees is Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.2. Shortly before the Madleen was intercepted, members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing concern for the safety of these activists, citing the deadly 2010 raid of the Mavi Marmara, which ultimately resulted in the death of ten activists, including an American. This letter continued, “any attack on the Madleen or its civilian crew is a clear and blatant violation of international law. United Nations experts have called for the ship's safe passage and warned Israel to “refrain from any act of hostility” against the Madleen and its passengers…We call on you to monitor the Madleen's journey and deter any such hostile actions.” This letter was led by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and drew signatures from Congressional progressives like Reps. Summer Lee, AOC, Ilhan Omar, Greg Casar, and others.3. On the other end of the political spectrum, Trump – ever unpredictable – seemed to criticize Israel's detention of Thunberg. In a press conference, “Trump was…asked about Thunberg's claim that she had been kidnapped.” The president responded “I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg…Is that what she said? She was kidnapped by Israel?” The reporter replied “Yes, sir,” to which “Trump responded by shaking his head.” This from Newsweek.4. Of course, the major Trump news this week is his response to the uprising in Los Angeles. Set off by a new wave of ICE raids, protesters have clashed with police in the streets and Trump has responded by increasingly upping the ante, including threatening to arrest California Governor Gavin Newsom, per KTLA. Beyond such bluster however, Trump has moved to deploy U.S. Marines onto the streets of the nation's second-largest city. Reuters reports, “About 700 Marines were in a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 30 miles…south of Los Angeles, awaiting deployment to specific locations,” in addition to 2,100 National Guard troops. The deployment of these troops raises thorny legal questions. Per Reuters, “The Marines and National Guard troops lack the authority to makes arrests and will be charged only with protecting federal property and personnel,” but “California Attorney General Rob Bonta… [said] there was a risk that could violate an 1878 law that…forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement.” Yet, despite all the tumult, these protests seem to have gotten the goods, so to speak: the City of Glendale announced it would, “end its agreement with…ICE to house federal immigration detainees.” All of this sets quite a scene going into Trump's military parade in DC slated for Saturday, June 14th.5. In classic fashion however, Trump's tough posture does not extend to corporate crime. Public Citizen's Rick Claypool reports, “Trump's DOJ just announced American corporations that engage in criminal bribery schemes abroad will no longer be prosecuted.” Claypool cites a June 9th memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, which reads, “Effective today, prosecutors shall…not attribute…malfeasance to corporate structures.” Claypool also cites a Wall Street Journal piece noting that “the DOJ has already ended half of its criminal investigations into corporate bribery in foreign countries and shrunk its [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act] unit down to 25 employees.”6. Americans can at least take small comfort in one thing: the departure of Elon Musk from the top rungs of government. It remains to be seen what exactly precipitated his final exit and how deep his rift with Trump goes – Musk has already backed down on his harshest criticisms of the president, deleting his tweet claiming Trump was in Epstein files, per ABC. Yet, this appears to be a victory for Steve Bannon and the forces he represents within Trump's inner circle. On June 5th, the New York Times reported that Bannon, “said he was advising the president to cancel all [Musk's] contracts and… ‘initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status'.” Bannon added, “[Musk] should be deported from the country immediately.'” Bannon has even called for a special counsel probe, per the Hill. Bannon's apparent ascendency goes beyond the Oval Office as well. POLITICO Playbook reports Bannon had a 20-minute-long conversation with Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman on Monday evening – while Fetterman dined with Washington bureau chief for Breitbart, Matt Boyle – at Butterworth's, the DC MAGA “watering hole.” This also from the Hill.7. On the way out, the Daily Beast reports, “Elon Musk's goons at the Department of Government Efficiency transmitted a large amount of data—all of it undetected—using a Starlink Wi-Fi terminal they installed on top of the White House.” Sources “suggested that the [the installation of the Starlink terminal] was intended to bypass White House systems that track the transmission of data—with names and time stamps—and secure it from spies.” It is unknown exactly what data Musk and his minions absconded with, and for what purpose. We can only hope the public gets some answers.8. With Musk and Trump parting ways, other political forces are now seeking to woo the richest man in the world. Semafor reports enigmatic Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley and chaired Bernie Sanders' campaign in California, “talked with one of…Musk's ‘senior confidants' …about whether the ex-DOGE leader…might want to help the Democratic Party in the midterms.” Khanna added, “Having Elon speak out against the irrational tariff policy, against the deficit exploding Trump bill, and the anti-science and anti-immigrant agenda can help check Trump's unconstitutional administration…I look forward to Elon turning his fire against MAGA Republicans instead of Democrats in 2026.” On the other hand, the Hill reports ex-Democrat Andrew Yang is publicly appealing to Musk for an alliance following Musk's call for the establishment of an “America Party.” Yang himself founded the Forward Party in 2021. Yang indicated Musk has not responded to his overtures.9. Meanwhile, the leadership of the Democratic Party appears to be giving up entirely. In a leaked Zoom meeting, DNC Chair Ken Martin – only elected in February – said, “I don't know if I wanna do this anymore,” per POLITICO. On this call, Martin expressed frustration with DNC Vice Chair David Hogg, blaming him for, “[destroying] any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to.” Hogg meanwhile has doubled down, defying DNC leadership by “wading into another primary,” this time for the open seat left by the death of Congressman Gerry Conolly in Virginia, the Washington Post reports. The DNC is still weighing whether to void Hogg's election as Vice Chair.10. Finally, in some good news from New York City, State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani appears to have closed the gap with disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo began the race with a 40-point lead; a new Data for Progress poll shows that lead has been cut down to just two points. Moreover, that poll was conducted before Mamdani was endorsed by AOC, who is expected to bring with her substantial support from Latinos and residents of Queens, among other groups. Notably, Mamdani has racked up tremendous numbers among young men, a demographic the Democratic Party has struggled to attract in recent elections. Cuomo will not go down without a fight however. The political nepo-baby has already secured a separate ballot line for the November election, meaning he will be in the race even if he loses the Democratic primary, and he is being boosted by a new million-dollar digital ad spend by Airbnb, per POLITICO. The New York City Democratic Primary will be held on June 24th.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

united states american california texas new york city donald trump israel peace los angeles washington law books americans french new york times zoom data elon musk dc congress veterans white house progress abc va silicon valley cbs wall street journal heard navy airbnb queens washington post democrats iraq ice ambassadors bernie sanders united nations democratic secretary israelis gaza constitution texans palestinians marines pulitzer prize freedom of speech epstein public policy conscience alexandria ocasio cortez congressional vietnam war democratic party newsweek yang george washington greta thunberg gavin newsom georgetown dnc trump administration reuters doj vice chair latinos doge politico national guard andrew cuomo notably starlink aclu reps cuomo oval office steve bannon national director amnesty international glendale daily beast european parliament bannon gaza strip ilhan omar houston chronicle fetterman breitbart rashida tlaib international courts hogg ktla new york review khanna jerusalem post thunberg maga republicans veterans administration claypool butterworth zohran mamdani public citizen forward party david cole american civil liberties union aclu seal beach texas observer madleen foreign corrupt practices act summer lee california attorney general rob bonta special projects coordinator matt boyle politico playbook callamard national legal director joe holley

Herbalist Corner: Yin Yang Huo, Xu Duan & Tu Si Zi

Chinese Medicine Matters

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 9:35

This week on Chinese Medicine Matters, we head into the Herbalist's Corner with Mark Frost for a deep dive into three powerful Yang-tonic herbs: Yin Yang Huo, Xu Duan, and Tu Si Zi. These herbs are key players in formulas that support vitality, fertility, and men's health. Mark shares insights on their functions, classical uses, and modern applications to help practitioners better understand how to harness their restorative power in clinical practice.See our Monthly Practitioner Discounts https://www.mayway.com/monthly-specialsSign up for the Mayway Newsletterhttps://www.mayway.com/newsletter-signupFollow ushttps://www.facebook.com/MaywayHerbs/https://www.instagram.com/maywayherbs/

yang corner herbalist yin yang mark frost duan

Edisi Hari Sabtu, 14 Juni 2025 - Hidup damai dengan semua orang

Find Your Harmony Radioshow

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 7:09

Kencan Dengan Tuhan - Sabtu, 14 Juni 2025Bacaan: "Janganlah membalas kejahatan dengan kejahatan; lakukanlah apa yang baik bagi semua orang! Sedapat-dapatnya, kalau hal itu bergantung padamu, hiduplah dalam perdamaian dengan semua orang!" (Roma 12:17-18) Renungan: Janganlah membalas kejahatan dengan kejahatan, hiduplah dalam perdamaian dengan semua orang! Kedengarannya sangat idealis bukan? Seorang wanita muda pernah berkata, "Bagaimana mungkin saya bisa hidup berdamai kalau orangnya tetap benci pada saya." Ada dua kalimat penting yang perlu diperhatikan ketika perintah ini diberikan: "sedapat-dapatnya" dan "kalau hal itu bergantung padamu". Manusia yang sudah tercemar oleh dosa dan keinginan hati yang selalu bertolak belakang dengan kehendak Allah membuat kita tidak mungkin memaksakan seseorang untuk hidup damai dengan kita. Maksud dari dua kalimat penting di atas adalah bagaimana kita mengusahakan dari dalam diri kita sendiri untuk hidup damai dengan semua orang. Kita memang tidak bisa memaksakan orang lain dan mengendalikan hidup mereka, tetapi kita bertanggung jawab atas diri kita sendiri. Ada cerita tentang sebuah keluarga yang pindah ke kota lain. Suatu hari, anak laki-laki dari keluarga tersebut berjalan-jalan sambil membawa serta kucing kesayangannya. Dalam perjalanan ia bertemu dengan anak-anak nakal di kota itu. Anak-anak nakal tersebut mengajaknya untuk ikut bergabung, tetapi anak laki-laki tersebut menolak. Anak-anak nakal mengancamnya jika tidak mau bergabung, mereka akan membunuh kucing kesayangannya. Meski demikian, anak itu tetap menolak untuk bergabung dengan mereka. Di waktu yang lain ketika ia berjalan-jalan lagi dengan kucingnya, anak-anak nakal kota itu kembali mengancamnya. Mereka bahkan menghina kucingnya, "Kucing jelek, berbadan besar, kaki panjang, ekor pendek dan mata tajam," kata mereka. "Jika engkau tidak mau bergabung dengan kami, maka aku akan memanggil anjingku agar ia membunuh kucing jelekmu." sambung salah seorang dari anak nakal itu. Karena anak itu tetap menolak, maka dengan satu suitan, salah seorang dari anak nakal tadi memanggil anjingnya yang segera berlari keluar dari rumah. Belum sempat si anjing menerjang, kucing itu sudah menyambar dengan lincahnya, menggigit, menyobek-nyobek tubuh si anjing kemudian menelannya. Anak-anak nakal itu menjadi takut, "Kucing jenis apa ini?" tanya mereka. "Saya tidak tahu dia harus disebut sebagai kucing jenis apa. Yang pasti, sebelum kami memotong ekornya dan mengecat bulunya, ia adalah seekor harimau." Bagaimana pun, di dalam diri kita ada tabiat dosa, masih ada sisa-sisa sifat "harimau" yang kadang-kadang muncul di saat tekanan datang. Jika kita terus membiarkan diri kita dikendalikan oleh sifat-sifat lama, maka kita akan sangat sulit mengasihi, kita akan membalas kejahatan dengan kejahatan, kita tidak akan suka berdamai, kita menyimpan dendam serta kepahitan di dalam hati dan membiarkan perselisihan terus meruncing. Jangan hanya menunjukkan perubahan luar, tetapi biarlah perubahan itu sampai ke dalam. Tuhan Yesus memberkati. Doa:Tuhan Yesus, lembutkanlah hatiku agar aku tidak membalas kejahatan dengan kejahatan dan agar aku bisa hidup berdamai dengan semua orang. Amin. (Dod).

roma yang kita allah hari dalam dengan jangan dod anak orang bagaimana amin hidup semua jika saya manusia mereka seorang belum meski edisi suatu sabtu janganlah doa tuhan yesus

Find Your Harmony Episode #451

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 124:22

Tracklist: 01. Kowski - Broken Love [Coldharbour] 02. Anyma (ofc) & SCRIPT - In My Mind [Interscope] 03. Costa & call me AL - A Beautiful Thing [RNM] 04. Hel-sløwed & Lovlee - Left Of Us [Armind] 05. TH;EN - My Head [NOW] 06. Paul Oakenfold - Novacaine (Paul Oakenfold Dark Mix) [Perfecto] 07. Cubicore x UUFO x Den Rize - White Horse [Catalystic] 08. UUFO & Amber Revival - The Open Road [Flashover] 09. ARGY & Omiki - WIND [New World] LIGHT SIDE TRACK 10. AFTERUS - In The Clouds [Deeper Harmonies] 11. MORTEN & ARTBAT - CULTURE [Insomniac Records] 12. KASIA, Skuro (IT), Arkaden - Luminate [Tomorrowland] 13. Akyse - The Lines [Armind] 14. Ryan Lucian & Jas. - Memory [Enhanced] 15. Above & Beyond feat. Richard Bedford - Start A Fire [Anjunabeats] 16. Pretty Pink - Backstage [Deep Woods] 17. Andrew Rayel & Giuseppe Ottaviani - Eternal Harmony [Find Your Harmony] 18. Andy Judge - Through The Storm [Find Your Harmony] 19. Somna & Yang & MIDI Kittyy - No Need To Hide [Magik Muzik] 20. HI-LO - United In Trance [Hilomatic] 21. Alex M.O.R.P.H. & Cheryl Barnes - Hold Me [FSOE] 22. Bryan Kearney & Plumb - God Help Me [Armind] 23. Dash Berlin & Sir Notch - Finally Home [DistroKid]] 24. Robbie Seed - All Over Again [Find Your Harmony] FAVORITE OF THE MOMENT 25. A.R.D.I. - Endless Flight [Find Your Harmony] 26. Ramsey Westwood, K3NJI - Connected [RADAR] 27. MatricK & Enveak - Cyber Power [Reaching Altitude] 28. Andrew Bayer - I Dont Want You [Armind] 29. Skytech & Alpharock - King of my castle [LoudKult] 30. David Forbes & Susie Ledge - Lose Ma Head [Who's Afraid Of 138?] DARK SIDE TRACK 31. Taylor Torrence & Kyra Mastro - IDGAF [SubHarmony] CLASSIC SELECTION 32. Dash Berlin feat. Kate Walsh - When You Were Around (Ferry Corsten Fix) [Aropa Records]

costa yang tracklist morten jas kasia hel alex m dash berlin argy anyma somna andrew rayel skytech bryan kearney david forbes cubicore matrick taylor torrence

Edisi Hari Kamis, 12 Juni 2025 - Bersyukur atas segala hal

Quietmind Astrology — Learn Vedic Astrology with Jeremy Devens

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 7:40

Kencan Dengan Tuhan - Kamis, 12 Juni 2025Bacaan: "Tetapi, jikalau kamu bebas dari ganjaran, yang harus diderita setiap orang, maka kamu bukanlah anak, tetapi anak-anak gampang.Memang tiap-tiap ganjaran pada waktu ia diberikan tidak mendatangkan sukacita, tetapi dukacita. Tetapi kemudian ia menghasilkan buah kebenaran yang memberikan damai kepada mereka yang dilatih olehnya." (Ibrani 12:8, 11)Renungan: Suatu kali ada sebuah tulisan singkat di internet yang isinya sungguh bagus. Isinya seperti ini, "Jika seseorang mendapat rumah besar, itu adalah berkat. Tetapi, harus merawatnya, itu adalah beban. Jika seseorang mempunyai bayi, itu adalah berkat. Tetapi, harus bangun tengah malam, itu adalah beban. Jika seseorang mencapai gelar sarjana, itu adalah berkat. Tetapi, harus belajar dengan tekun, itu adalah beban. Jika kita mendapat kesembuhan, itu adalah berkat. Tetapi, harus tetap serius menjaga kesehatan, itu adalah beban. Berkat dan beban adalah satu paket yang tidak dapat dipisahkan. Kita tidak dapat hanya meminta berkat tanpa mendapat beban. Jika kita memusatkan perhatian kita kepada beban, maka kita tidak pernah merasakan berkatnya. Tetapi, apabila kita memusatkan perhatian kita kepada berkat, maka kita akan merasa ringan untuk menanggung bebannya." Dari sini secara jelas kita dapat memahami bahwa hidup tidak semudah yang dibayangkan. Hidup ini pada dasarnya adalah berkat tetapi juga beban. Bagi seseorang yang ingin berkatnya saja dan tidak ingin menerima bebannya, biasanya akan kesulitan untuk bersyukur, karena dia akan selalu merasa kekurangan. Entah hidup ini terlihat baik atau buruk, bukan berarti kita tidak memiliki apa pun untuk disyukuri. Baik buruknya sesuatu, semua tergantung pada bagaimana cara kita memandang dan ke mana fokus kita. Sebab, tak ada kebahagiaan tanpa pengorbanan, tak ada kedamaian tanpa pengekangan diri, dan tak ada kesuksesan tanpa kelelahan. Ketika kita melihat kehidupan para artis Hollywood, yang terlihat adalah kemewahan dan rasanya kita pun ingin berada di posisi mereka. Mereka terkenal, dikagumi banyak orang, memiliki banyak uang, tetapi siapa yang tahu bahwa di balik kehidupan mereka yang serba glamor itu justru ada banyak tekanan. Mereka bersaing ketat bahkan saling menjatuhkan, hidup mereka diatur, bahkan mereka tak dapat menikmati makanan dan minuman kesukaan mereka setiap waktu, demi menjaga kebugaran tubuh. Beban dan berkat itu selalu berjalan beriringan, kita tak dapat melepaskan salah satunya. Tidak ada hidup yang hanya dipenuhi dengan masalah, pasti ada sukacita juga. Begitupun sebaliknya. Oleh karena itu, mari kita fokuskan diri kepada berkat dan bukannya kepada beban. Yang patut dilakukan saat ini adalah bersyukur senantiasa kepada Tuhan, karena bersyukur jauh lebih baik daripada mengeluh. Bagi orang yang mengeluh, sukacita akan dikalahkan oleh dukacita. Sebaliknya, bagi orang yang bersyukur, dukacita akan dikalahkan oleh sukacita. Oleh sebab itu, bersyukurlah karena itu membuat kita bahagia dan Tuhan menyukai orang yang bersyukur. Ingat, keluhan hanya membuat hari-hari kita suram dan akan membuat kita melewatkan berkat-berkat Tuhan. Tuhan Yesus memberkati. Doa:Tuhan Yesus, terima kasih untuk setiap berkat yang Kau berikan padaku, tetapi di baliknya ada beban yang harus kutanggung. Ajarilah aku untuk tetap bersyukur. Amin. (Dod).

hollywood yang kita hari dod tidak amin hidup ketika baik jika bagi tuhan mereka oleh atas segala tetapi memang sebab edisi bersyukur ingat entah kau kamis beban berkat isinya sebaliknya begitupun doa tuhan yesus

365: Channeling Intensity Into Purpose - Full Moon in Jyestha/Scorpio - Weekly Horoscope June 9, 2025

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2025 12:04

Free Full Moon Yoga Class: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/june2025Enroll in the Quietmind Yoga Teacher Training https://www.quietmind.yoga/yttIt is June 9th, 2025 and that Yang energy is coming on pretty strong. You feel it? Maybe you're seeing it in world events. Maybe you're feeling it in your body or your relationships. Personally, I've been riding that Mars and Aries wave with a lot of energy, creativity, and productivity—especially since I've got a lot of Aries in my chart. But wherever Mars is in your chart, you're going to feel it. That's why I always say: know your birth chart. You can get it free at quietmindastrology.com, and start to understand exactly where these transits are showing up for you.This week, we're coming off a series of major planetary shifts, and the only major transit now is the Full Moon in Jyeshta Nakshatra in Scorpio on June 10th (technically just past midnight PT). So it's a powerful moment for completion, culmination, and deep integration. In this episode, I go deep into how to work with this energy—because it's intense. Scorpio is ruled by Mars, and Mars is conjunct Ketu all through June and July, which adds this edge of heat, volatility, and potential for big transformation or big blowups.Jyeshta energy is great for protection, responsibility, deep research, and spiritual inquiry. It's the energy of going beyond surface-level distractions to get to the core of things—whether that's your yoga practice, your relationship dynamics, or the truths you're uncovering in meditation. And if you're seeing stuff in the news, or having strong reactions to others, I invite you to pause and ask: What is this showing me about myself? That's a very Jyeshta question—going into the shadows, not looking away.But there's a dark side too—manipulation, secrecy, control, infidelity, overindulgence. This isn't a week to bury your head in the sand. But it's also not a week to rush into intense conversations either—Mars and Ketu energy can explode if not directed intentionally. Instead, I encourage you to journal, reflect, and take a beat before confronting anything high-stakes. This is not the time for passive energy—it's time for action, but action with clarity.If you're feeling extra sensitive—especially around emotions or hormonal shifts—that's normal too. The Moon in Scorpio brings that deep emotional undercurrent to the surface. So be gentle, but firm. This is a great week for movement, physical activity, deep house cleaning, and focused work. Not so great for escapism, numbing out, or spiritual bypassing.Also! I'm offering a free live Full Moon yoga class on Tuesday, June 10. We'll do movement, meditation, and reflection to help work with this energy in the body. You'll find the link to register in the show notes. Come join us—no cost, just an opportunity to channel all this intensity into clarity.And if you're hearing this before Friday, June 13th, you've got just a few days left to join the Quietmind Yoga Teacher Training. This is the 9th time I'm offering it and I've gone through and completely revised the whole thing. We go into 108 asanas, essential pranayama, mantra, mudra, functional anatomy, and everything you need to become a confident, skillful teacher—or to deepen your own practice. Even if you don't think you'll teach, it's a profound growth process. Free Full Moon Yoga Class: ⁠https://www.quietmindastrology.com/june2025⁠Enroll in the Quietmind Yoga Teacher Training ⁠https://www.quietmind.yoga/ytt⁠

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Quaranteam – Book 1: Part 3

ExplicitNovels

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2025

Quaranteam – Book 1: Part 3 A New family. Based on a post by CorruptingPower, in 25 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Chapter 7 That evening, Andy and the girls decided to curl up in bed and watch some television with Niko asleep next to them. At first, Andy was worried that the volume would be high enough to wake up their newest addition, but Aisling assured him nothing was going to stir her from her slumber. Sure enough, despite the volume of the show “ a Spanish Netflix crime drama called La Casa De Papel “ Niko didn't budge an inch. Andy fell asleep with Aisling pressed up against his right side and Lauren pressed up against his left, both of their heads resting against his chest. When he'd first started sleeping with Aisling in his bed, he'd had trouble falling asleep easily. It wasn't something his body had any regular experience with, so it had to be trained. He'd had similar trepidation when Lauren joined them. But now, having had both of the girls for nearly three weeks, he'd grown comfortable with their bodies nestled against his. In the middle of the night, he was in the middle of a strange sex dream only to be woken to find Niko bobbing her head up and down on his cock, her lips latched around it firmly. Neither Lauren or Aisling had woken. Andy couldn't see Niko well in the low light of the wee hours, but her head was feverish, her mouth suctioning on his member until he popped a load against the back of her throat, a thankful, almost vulgar moan coming from the woman, as her tongue lathered over his cock to make sure no droplet remained. She was still spasming in orgasm long after he was done. Once she'd finished licking his cock clean, she crawled back up into the bed, and moved to lay against Lauren's side, folding one arm over the Aussie. Andy fell back asleep almost immediately. When dawn broke, Andy awoke to find Niko straddling his hips, his cock lodged up inside of her snatch. He often woke up with a hard on, but Ash and Lauren had agreed to let him at least wake up in the morning before having a go at him. Clearly no one had informed Niko. He didn't feel bad taking a better look at her now, her tits pressed together between her arms as her hands rest against his chest, while her hips snapped back and forth. Her skin was a deep tan, her nipples a chocolate brown, her hair a jet black. She wasn't tall, about the same height as Aisling so half a foot shorter than Andy, and a full foot shorter than Lauren. She was muscular, toned, a life of military training having kept her very in shape. His orgasm wasn't strong, but it came on quick. By this point, Andy was a little surprised he wasn't cumming dust. As soon as his orgasm hit, she fell forward against his chest, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Aisling and Lauren were both already awake, each with a hand on one of Niko's thighs affectionately. "God damn, sorry about that, sir," Niko laughed, breathy and still shaking. "2nd Lieutenant Niko RedWolf, reporting for her new life, sir. I think my head's finally clear again." "Wasn't it before?" Andy asked. She shook her head, lifting her head up enough so she could look down and smile at him, her hair threatening to spill out of her ponytail at a moment's notice. "Would you believe this is the first time it's actually registered to me what you look like, sir?" She had a mischievous smile and kind brown eyes. "They may have told me your name, but I don't think it cut through the fog. Who are you?" Andy blanched. "My name's Andy Rook. What do you mean, you don't think it cut through the fog?" Niko looked over at Lauren, who scooted a little bit to one side, so Niko could slide off of the top of him and in against his side. "I serve on the Air Force base where they were testing the vaccine, and I agreed to be a test candidate. The two men who were injected with it died immediately, but I and the other female officer seemed fine. At first. Within a few days of it, I started feeling, well, pardon my saying so, sir, but I started feeling horny all the time. The other female officer as well." Aisling smirked over at Niko. "Permission to swear freely is habitually granted in this home, 2nd Lieutenant. In fact, Andy likes a girl with a filthy mouth," she giggled, slapping his thigh. He wilted a little bit, but then nodded in confirmation to Niko. "It's true." "Duly noted, sir," Niko answered. "Anyway, they didn't know about the side effects during the early testing stages, but it started to become pretty fucking apparent to them when I would continually get all fidgety. I tried to resist as long as I could, but eventually I was jilling off in bathroom stalls every chance I could get. Within a week or two, they had an answer, and the program was born." "The Air Force developed the vaccine?" "You think those morons in private research were going to do it this fast? Hell no." Niko snuggled in, trying to get as comfortable as possible pressed up against his chest. "So they figured out that they could introduce the vaccine to men by sexual contact with a vaccinated woman, and that it seemed to help quell the insane need to fuck all the time that women given the vaccine were feeling." "If you were one of the first people to be given the vaccine, then why weren't you partnered up with someone immediately?" Lauren asked. "I wasn't fond of being subservient to a man, so I told them I wanted someone who would keep me on equal ground. But because the nature of my work with Air Force, I also needed someone who would have Top Secret level clearance." Andy's eyes widened. "I sure as hell don't have that." "No, you don't, but you'd mostly been vetted for it Your friend Phil Pak has been trying to get you to come and work with him for a long while, so they'd done all the legwork, and decided to call it good enough." "I also happen to have a mess of partners, Niko. Are you sure that's going to be okay?" "It's all been taken care of, otherwise they wouldn't have sent me here." Niko's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh my god, I haven't even introduced myself to your other partners." Aisling winked at her. "You had hard fucking to do, love. I'm Aisling Blake, I'm from Dublin originally. Everyone around here calls me Ash. I do graphic design." She shook Niko's hand, but Niko pulled her over Andy's head and pressed a kiss against Aisling's lips above him, one which Ash was perfectly happy to reciprocate. "And who's the giantess surfer behind me?" Niko said, pulling back and turning around. "Lauren Herron. I'm a personal trainer for the '49ers." "An Irish girl and an Aussie. About time you got some American blood in this mix." Andy laughed. "That's what my roommate's partner Lily said." "Where are you from, Niko?" "The Rosebud reservation in South Dakota. I'm half Lakota, one quarter Mexican and one quarter Japanese. I know, it's quite the cocktail, but we've all got stories." It was nearly noon when they all got out of bed. Niko was the youngest of all of them, only twenty two. Ash was twenty seven, Lauren thirty five and Andy himself just shy of forty. Andy was worried that Niko might consider him too old, but Niko assured him that his age was not a concern for her. As a matter of fact, she liked older men. She found younger men too emotionally volatile for her tastes. She'd actually read one of his books, but the problem was that it was "The Trouble With Were Bears," the book he was least proud of. She'd said she found the main character interesting, but the plot rather confusing. He assured her the other ones were better, and she seemed eager to read them. The fuck lust, as Niko described it, would be with the girls for the rest of their lives. The longer they went without reconnecting with Andy, the more their judgment would be compromised, the harder it would be to think clearly. They would become like junkies in need of a fix. They would be easily agitated, quick tempered and even violent if they felt it would get them back to their pusher “ Andy. When Niko had arrived at Andy's condo, she had been so out of it that even now she couldn't recall the events he related back to her. Her first memory in weeks had been being in bed with him this morning, even as she crawled atop of him. She knew that he was her mate. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but she could feel it, sense it. And when he'd had his third orgasm inside of her within less than a day, the imprinting had finally settled in and peeled back the cloud from her consciousness. While Lauren was on leave until the pandemic had receded, Niko would be working from the condo. Although she was a qualified pilot, her service in the Air Force was as a data analyst, and a secure connection was being set up on site for her to use. Until then, she had a bit of a break. It was a Saturday, and the girls decided they wanted to work on their tans. The condo had a small back yard that was fenced off. While the neighbors in the condos on either side would be able to peer down and see them, the girls had decided to sunbathe topless. Lily had even decided to join them, although she bitched about the heat, which was pushing over a hundred. Andy spent the afternoon filling Eric in on all the information he'd gotten over the last two days “ what Phil had told him, what Niko had told him, all of it. Eric, in return, had filled in Andy with what he'd learned from work over the last few weeks. While Lily, Andy and Eric all knew who Eric worked for, they'd been a little bit vague with the girls, always joking that Eric worked for a think tank that didn't do anything interesting, but soon they were going to have to fill them in. Eric worked for a company called Long Thought Research and Development, but the truth of the matter was that they were a remote analyst cell for the CIA. Long Thought handled problems that were overwhelming in the abstract and deadly in application “ they were responsible for terrorist profiling, weapons migration modeling, political theater simulations and a whole lot more. Over the last few weeks, they'd been working on building a new model, one which had Eric worried. Theoretically, every member of Long Thought was supposed to be sectioned off, working on only a singular aspect of the problem so that no one analyst could get an idea of what the simulation was intended to determine. It was supposedly to avoid confirmation bias, but Eric had considered that explanation bullshit as of late. So he'd done a little bit of data gathering from his coworkers on the sly, and come up with a working theory. The model was designed to see how the world's new normal would pan out if 37.5% of the male population of Earth died out to a pandemic. This pandemic. Niko had wandered in before the rest of the girls, while Andy and Eric stood in the kitchen, staring at one another. Then she'd offered her own information, to help talk Andy out of what he'd been thinking about. Because Andy had been thinking about going to the press. She'd explained to him that for the time being, all of the information had to remain secret, or a nationwide panic would ensue. The vaccine that the Air Force had developed was starting to be deployed to major metropolitan areas on a very specific basis. And when a mayor, a governor, a representative or a senator had put up a fuss, Niko hinted that that particular politician had been exposed to the virus and then offered a choice “ they could take the vaccine, and be mated for life to one (or in some cases many) person, or they could deny the vaccine worked, and would be allowed to die. Only one governor had chosen to decline the vaccine, and while the Air Force had respected their wishes, they didn't allow the governor to tell anyone about the vaccine and its side effects. They did allow the governor to die, though. Niko explained to the two men that there were probably only a hundred or so people in the country with the full picture of what was going on, and that was by design, because already the virus was starting to take its toll on other countries. While some countries had done excellent jobs at containing the spread of it, others were on the verge of collapse. And the CIA was debating on what countries were worth saving and which weren't. England, Ireland and Australia were already in the process of being brought up to speed about the vaccine, but the complete details were only being given to them on an as needed basis. The pairing program had been confirmed to the outside world, but the side effects of the vaccine had been kept hush hush. On some level, the Air Force was convinced that foreign governments would laugh themselves at being told that the vaccine had crazy sexual side effects until they had gotten a chance to experience them for themselves. "Shit," Andy grumbled. "The ex-journalist in me feel like I'm sitting on the story of the century here, and I can't tell anybody." Niko squeezed his hand softly. "You're a good man, Andy Rook, which is why I'm happy to be mated to you, but you have to consider the ramifications of what would happen if you revealed all of this to the public." "The whole goddamn world would explode," Eric sighed. "I know. I've seen the data. And that's not the worst of it." "What's the worst of it then?" Andy asked. "The worst of it is that we're going to have to let a billion men die off for the planet to stabilize. It's going to be the biggest culling since World War Two, and even that wasn't a drop in the bucket compared to what this is." The three stood in silence for a long time. "How does anyone make these kinds of decisions?" Andy whispered. "You don't have to. We don't have to," Niko said, wrapping an arm around him. "You can't save the whole world, Andy, but you can save us. Hell, you've already saved those two amazing women out there. And they've been so nice to me, even though I apparently fucked you at your desk before even introducing myself." She blushed a little. "I still don't remember that. Did you watch, Eric?" Eric laughed, lifting the Collins glass full of scotch to his lips. "Are you kidding? Lily would've kicked the shit out of me if I did." "Oh, I dunno," Andy chuckled. "If you asked, she might let you watch." "Well, I don't intend to ask. She already has me waking up sore most mornings." "That's just the exercise from all the fucking you're doing," Andy said. "You're out of practice, just like me, and hell, I've got three women to satisfy." "Soon to be four," Niko giggled. "I'm sure it's every man's dream." "I'm just waiting for the first big fight to occur, because I know it's coming sooner or later." "That's future Andy's problem," Niko said, turning his face down so she could kiss him for a moment. "Besides, Ash made it pretty clear just because you're tired of giving me my medicine doesn't mean you get to skimp out on your promise to her." Andy groaned playfully. "I'm going to be running dry in a few days at this rate." "Oh I wouldn't worry too much about that, Andy," Eric said with a laugh. "The fall will probably kill you." "Yeah, well, you just keep thinking, Butch," Andy countered. "That's what you're good at." "What are the cats' names?" "The Russian blue is Muninn, and the black one is Huginn." "Odd names." "It's the name for Odin's two ravens, thought and wisdom," Eric said. "We were on a Norse mythology kick when we got them as kittens." "They friendly?" "Oh sure," Andy said. "They're just getting used to this many people being in the house at one time. If you put out their food enough times, they'll start cuddling up to you any chance they get. Ash decided she was going to befriend them right after she got here, and Muninn'll hop up into her lap when she's working at the table some days and just settle there. That's why Eric built her the foot rest, so she can put her legs up and Muninn'll sit there quietly." Niko looked back and forth between the two men for a minute. "How the hell were you two single before any of us showed up?" "Women don't like nerds," Eric grumbled. Andy raised a finger, arguing the point. "No, they like nerds alright, but they don't seem to understand that nerds like aggressive women and are terrible at making the first move. So nerds don't get the love they deserve." Niko looked out into the back yard, where the girls were gathering up their things, wrapping towels around their waists. "I dunno. You two seem to have done pretty well for yourselves at this point." Andy smirked, cocking his head to one side. "Sure, but luck is like the weather. Wait a few minutes and it'll change." A storm of bad luck was, indeed, just over the horizon. Chapter 8 The next few days involved a lot of time getting settled, as Andy learned more about the girls who now shared his life. They also spent time learning about each other. Andy spent time trying to get some writing done on another Druid Gunslinger novel, and when he got into a zone, the girls made a pact not to disturb him, especially if he started typing away badly. That gave them plenty of time to dig into each other's history, and the girls began to scheme and plan. They took great fun in learning each other's turn ons and offs, and to figure out how to quell their own wild desires, to try new experiences. The girls also took an interest in reading the seven books Andy had written in the Druid Gunslinger series, with Aisling going so far as to even mock up a movie poster for one of them, which delighted Andy to no end. It was starting to become obvious that the condo wasn't designed to hold this many people, however. At night, things were fine because everyone was packed in their beds, but during the day, people were having to work around one another. Aisling and Niko set up their laptops at the dining room table, while Lauren spent much of the day either working out in the backyard, or reading in a deck chair. Andy and Eric each had their own desk, Andy's in the dining room and Eric's in the living room. Lily seemed perfectly comfortable coding in the living room on the couch. When Andy's last partner showed up, she would have to either share space in the backyard or the couch in the living room. The dining room table might fit a third workspace, but it would be a very tight fit. There had been nice surprises, however. Both Lauren and Aisling were excellent cooks, each with radically different styles. Lauren focused on healthy cooking, while Ash was the master of lush, savory cooking that threatened waistlines just from the very smell of it. The cats had taken well to their new housemates, keeping themselves entertained while everyone was working. From time to time, they would hop onto people's laps, or walk across their laptops, but for the most part, they were just happy to have people to be around who might be willing to pet them in a spare moment. But they were starting to feel the limitations of the condo, and the heat wasn't helping. They had fans running nonstop, but the condo didn't have centralized air conditioning. When it had just been the two of them, they were able to manage by closing the windows and drawing the drapes, because the condo was nicely shaded by trees. But with six people, that wasn't holding up as well. By the time it started to cool down in the evening, a light funk had started to fill the place. And there was still one more person to show up. The camaraderie between them all had helped diffuse the tension, even as they delved into each other's past. Andy had gotten to know some of Aisling's siblings, especially Dermot, who had refused to let Andy off the line the first time they'd talked until he'd promised to send him an advance reader copy of "High Noon At Stonehenge," the upcoming Druid Gunslinger book that had started Andy down this whole journey. Turning on the news every night had been hard to watch, simply because it didn't jibe with the information they had at their own fingertips. As Phil had predicted, the government was doing its best to downplay the casualties, reporting false numbers to make it sound like everything was under control. And while reports of the vaccination program were starting to get out to the masses, nobody was talking about the side effects. Why, Andy kept asking himself, why oh why was nobody talking about the side effects? They were wrapping up a day's worth of work when Niko looked over at Andy with a soft smile. Aisling and Lauren had headed upstairs a few minutes earlier. "I've sort of been monopolizing you for a few days, Andy, so Ash and Lauren have a little surprise cooked up for you while I work late tonight. I'll be up in a few hours to crawl into bed, but you should go up to your room and enjoy what they've got up their sleeves." "You okay with that?" Andy said. He'd been navigating a whirlwind of emotions since the girls had come into his life, and was doing his best to make sure nobody ever felt left out, and that everyone also got a turn being the center of attention. "Oh relax. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have said so. And I did demand a mess of attention when I got here, so it's only fair I tap out of a couple of play sessions. Gimme a kiss and then go have your fun." She tilted her head upward as he smiled and leaned down, pressing his lips against hers. He'd meant to give her a quick kiss, but she folded her hand against the back of his neck and pulled him in to make it much more intense, practically searing him with the heat. "And Lauren's going to be a little nervous, and you're going to want to go easy on her. Don't, okay? She wants what she's offering, so don't deny her that. You'll know what she wants. Give it to her." "Yes ma'am." He offered her a mock salute and she reached over and swatted his ass. "Don't be a smartass. Now get your butt upstairs." Andy shutdown his desktop and then headed up the stairs. The door to his room was closed. Eric and Lily had been in their room for about an hour already, and he could hear the sounds of moans behind their closed door. Lily and Eric both started and ended their days earlier than Andy and his girls. Whenever a door was closed in the house, the rule was that you always knocked. So there was Andy, once again, knocking on the door to his own bedroom. "Come on in, luv," Aisling said. Andy stepped into his own bedroom, and saw Aisling sitting on the corner of the bed. On her knees on the floor next to her was Lauren, with her hands folded together in front of her. She wore absolutely nothing, except for a collar attached to a leash, the end of which was in Aisling's hand. He closed the door behind himself, feeling Huginn skitter in just before he did. "So what's all this then?" "Well love," Aisling said, "Lauren has a request. A couple of requests, actually. Don't you, slut?" Lauren licked her lips nervously, not speaking, but nodding in agreement. Aisling took the leash by the midpoint and used the end to give Lauren a smack on the back like a mock lash. "I asked you a question, Lauren. Answer me." "Sorry, Mistress," Lauren said. "Yes, Master, your slut would like to make a coupla humble requests, if that's good." What Niko had told him just a few minutes rung in his ears once more before he spoke. "You may ask. Whether I'll grant them or not remains to be seen, but if you don't ask, you risk nothing, you gain nothing. Speak." "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. The other birds and I were talkin', and Aisl, Mistress Aisling was telling' us about her first time being taken in the back, an' I wanted to have a go at it." "Taken in the back?" Aisling gave her another playful smack with the leash end. "What did I tell you, whore? Speak plainly and dirty, otherwise he's not going to know what you want." "The ass, sir. I wanna be fucked in the ass." "That's one request. What's the other?" Andy said, moving a little closer to the two women. "You've been so wonderful and kind with me, Andy, but I want to see the other side of ya. I wanna rough go at it. Pull me hair, spank my ass, pinch me nips, ride my hard, pound me hard, make it hurt. Don't break me, but take me right up to that edge." Andy reached down and pinched one of Lauren's nipples between his fingertips, his grip holding firm and clamping even tighter than he would've normally. He expected to hear a whimper of pain from Lauren, but instead, a deep throated moan poured from her, and her hips almost rutted forward. "That what you're looking for?" "Fuck yes, Master." "If you want to be fucked in the ass, Lauren, you're going to need to get my cock good and slick. Going in dry would do some damage." Aisling giggled a little bit, and reached behind her, grabbing a tube of lubricant, handing it down to Lauren. Andy peeled his shirt off and felt Lauren's hands prying his jeans open, nearly ripping them down his legs. It wasn't until she'd gotten them down there that she realized he was still wearing his shoes from having walked out to the mailbox earlier. "Oh, you useless cunt, girl," Lauren said to herself. "Forgot to get his runners off." He certainly didn't go easy on her, and she certainly seemed to enjoy herself. Niko had slipped into bed with them an hour or so later, and the four of them drifted off to sleep. But it wasn't going to be a long and restful night for Andy. There was a knock on the door in the middle of the night. Aisling and Lauren were on his left and Niko was on his right, so he only had to move past her to get to the door. He saw her stir a little when he crawled out of bed, but he was able to avoid disturbing her too much. He pulled on a pair of boxers, tugged on a t shirt and opened the door to his room to see Eric and Lily standing outside. Eric curled his fingers at Andy to come out of his room. Andy nodded and stepped out into the hallway, then followed Eric and Lily downstairs to the living room. "Andy, we," Lily started, then paused, then started again, "I need your help." "Help?" Andy said, looking over at Eric. "What kind of help can I provide? I'm a writer, for fuck sake." "My roommate, well, my former roommate, she was given the vaccine, but,” Lily motioned for Andy to sit on the couch, so he did. "Look, Jenny's a nice girl. She's a little naive, and occasionally she's a bit daft, but she's a nice girl. She wasn't prepared for this." "Prepared for what?" Andy said. "What's happening?" "They delivered her to the man who was supposed to be her partner, and he took a swing at her, said he wanted to put her in her place before he'd let her have a taste of his seed. He tried to hit her, the fucking bastard. But Jenny's been studying aikido since she was six, and she broke his arm defending herself and ran. Even as horny as she was, she wasn't going to let someone push her around. So she fled and she's in hiding, and I can't let that stand, so we need to go and get her." "Go get her? Go and get her? And do what with her?" "I don't know, alright?" Lily said, raising her voice for a second. "I'm thinking we can take her to one of my coworkers and pair them up." "Isn't the government doing match ups? Aren't they going to be pissed that she isn't with who she's supposed to be?" "Look at me, Andy," Lily said, pointing her fingertips at her eyes. "Do I look like I give a shit what the government thinks? They didn't even do a proper check on the guy they were connecting her to. They paired her up with some abusive asshole with a history of violence towards partners. That isn't going to fly, okay?" "Let's go get her, and then we can figure out what to do with her, okay?" Eric suggested. "I'm sure one of us is going to regret this," Andy said, heading back upstairs to grab his socks and shoes. Before the plague had hit, even at three in the morning, there would've been at least a few cars on the road, but now, everyone was staying at home nearly all the time, which meant the freeway felt like a ghost town. That was for the best, because despite it not raining that much in the Bay Area, tonight it was pouring like a flood was coming. And people in the Bay were terrible drivers in the rain. It wasn't a short drive, and after a bit, Andy started to get a bit nervous. "How far up into the hills are we going, Lily? We're more than half way up to San Francisco at this point." "She's up here in Hillsborough, camped out in someone's vacant house since she fled from the asshole. I'm more worried that the cops have shown up to haul her ass to jail." "Or us," Eric said., They're gonna arrest us for being out under curfew." "Quit whining, baby," Lily said to him. "Right up there, on the left, 2885." There were in a very posh neighborhood in Hillsborough, with mansions on either side of them. There was plenty of space in between the houses, something that was mostly at a premium in the Bay. "You wait here with the engine running, Andy, in case we have to bolt quickly. Eric and I will be right back with her." Lily and Eric hopped out of the car, closing the doors and heading over to the house, and left Andy to wait. A minute or so later, a helicopter flew overhead, low and with a spotlight shining down, but it was off to the side and the beam of light cut through some back yard three or four streets over. Andy wasn't sure if they were looking for Lily's friend Jenny or not, but he hoped the police had other things on their mind. The wait was nearly unbearable. After ten minutes, Eric and Lily came back out of the house, a third person between them, hanging on, covered in a blanket it looked like had probably been stolen from whatever house she'd been hiding in. Eric held open the door and Lily loaded the woman into Andy's back seat before Lily ushered the girl into the car, crawling in after her as Eric slid into the front passenger's seat. "I think the cops are close, Andy," Lily hissed at him. "Fucking drive already!" As soon as both doors slammed shut, Andy's foot was off the brake and the car was in motion. It was hard to look back behind him, but after a few blocks he had to stop at a red light and glanced over his shoulder as he had to wait, and saw a familiar face resting her head in Lily's lap. "Jesus Lily, you didn't say your roommate was Jenny Carnero!" "Who's Jenny Carnero?" Eric asked. "She's the goddamn weather forecaster for channel 2." "How the hell would you know that?" Lily asked. "Neither of you strike me as Fox News watchers." "It's the only thing they had on over at 24 Hour Fitness when I went to work out, so I saw her all the time." "It was a job, Andy," Lily said. "I also didn't expect you to hold a grudge." "It's not that, Lily," Andy sighed. "She's going to be noticed missing. It's not like she's somebody we can just keep hidden without people knowing where she is. The minute she goes into work, the guy she's supposed to be with will know where to fucking find her, and that means they'll come for her." "By that point, she'll already be imprinted on someone, so it won't fucking matter," Lily growled. "And it won't be that asshole who tried to hit her." The girl whimpered, her head squirming in Lily's lap. "Lily," she whined, "Lily, it hurts. Need cock." "Soon, Jenny, soon. It won't be long." "Not long, Now," Jenny said, her voice starting to sound almost violent. "Give cock." "Oh shit, her nose is bleeding," Eric said, his eyes back on Jenny's face. "Just pull over and Andy can fuck her." "Excuse me, but I've already got three girls, and supposedly one more on the way. Why don't you fuck her?" "Because Lily says I can't." "Andy, stop the car," Lily said. "Eric, get back here." "But you said,” "I know what I fucking said, you little shit, but I'll have to fucking learn to deal with it, won't I? Get back here and let her suck you off while Andy's driving us home." Andy brought the car to a stop at the next red light, and Lily swapped places with Eric. As soon as Eric was sitting in the back seat, Jenny was practically ripping his pants off, fishing out his cock before slamming her mouth down on it. "Lily, are you sure about this?" Eric said, nervousness apparent in his voice. "Give it to her, Eric. She and I were good friends, we will be again. It'll just be an adjustment." Andy kept his eyes pointing forward for the rest of the drive as Eric got blown in his back seat. Chapter 9 The next day Andy was struggling to figure out a plan. He'd been running it around in his head for hours, trying to see some easy way through this, but he kept coming back to the same inevitable point “ he needed Phil's help. God, he was tired of having to ask Phil for help. "You're vexed, Andy," Niko said to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. He'd been sitting at his desk, and he looked back over his shoulder to her. "How can you tell?" "You've been looking at that computer screen for almost an hour and haven't typed a word, babe," she said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "That's vexed. We haven't been together long, but I recognize when you're vexed. I do the same, when I'm thinking very hard about something. I stare and I fret, while I'm vexed." "You seem rather like a badass, Niko. You sure you're going to be okay, being saddled with a square like me?" She laughed. It was a sound he was quickly learning to love, confident and yet still somehow a little cheeky. "You've been keeping this house together despite all the chaos. That doesn't seem square to me." "You know I'm like a dozen years your elder, right?" "I won't tell anyone if you won't. So how can I help? What are you vexed by?" "Last night, our little voyage out, we brought back a new girl for Eric. She's Lily's former roommate. She was supposed to be with someone else, but apparently the man she was paired up with has a history of domestic abuse, and so Lily insisted we rescue her and paired her up with Eric so no one could pull her away." "So you're trying to figure out how to tell the government about how she's paired up with someone different? What makes you think they're even going to notice?" "She's a weather reporter on one of the local news stations, so people are going to notice. I think I've got a solution, but I just hate to do it. I feel like I'm always leaning on this friend to help us out." "Oh? Someone you've told me about?" "Phil. I've mentioned him. In fact, you should probably meet Phil. I'm just tired of constantly asking him for help." "Do you really ask him for help a bunch, or does it just feel like it and you're overreacting?" she grinned. "Probably the latter, but it doesn't always feel like that." Andy grabbed his phone and loaded up the Signal messenger app. He and Phil used it to keep their communication private. “Meet up in an hour at the usual spot? Almost immediately he got a response. “Make it 2. "Okay, looks like I've got a meeting set up. Phil's been our man on the inside for this whole pandemic. He works for a company that contracts for the military, and while he can't tell us exact details about what's going on, he can help paint in some of the corners. Phil will know how to get all this sorted out." "How long have you two known each other?" "Nearly 20 years? He's good people. Why don't you come with me?" "Sure, lemme go throw some pants on." A couple hours later, Andy and Niko had headed back to the park to meet up with Phil, who didn't bring Audrey with him. He was dressed wrapped in head to toe, much like he was the last time, a mask over his face and goggles over his eyes, with a ball cap pulled down over his jet black hair. Andy was dressed much the same. Niko didn't feel the need to wear goggles, and had her hair drawn back into a ponytail. Phil kept a good distance from them, pushing his vape pen behind his mask to take a drag from it, then tugged the mask down briefly to blow out a cloud of vapor into the air. "So what's the 911 call about, Andy?" "First, let me introduce you, "2nd Lieutenant Redwolf," Phil said, cutting him off. "Mr. Marcos," Niko replied. "Didn't know your name was Phil." "I'm surprised you even remember me, Redwolf. You were pretty out of it when I sort nudged you towards Andy." Andy cocked his head. "You sent her my way?" "She's part of our tribe, Andy. Geek cred through and through, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to have her kept in the family, so I just made a connection in the system. She had decent odds to end up with you anyway, but why take a chance, right?" "Guess I owe you one then, Mr. Marcos," Niko said. Phil swiped his hand in the air. "Then I'll call in that favor to insist you never, ever call me Mr. Marcos unless we're at work. Deal?" "I can make that promise." "This what you called me about, Andy?" Phil said, finally stepping a little further back, pulling off his mask so he could just continually draw from the vape pen. "Nah. I've got a bigger problem. So Eric's picked up a runaway." Phil frowned a little bit. "How do you mean?" "So Eric's partner, Lily. She had a roommate before the whole pandemic, name of Jenny. Now apparently Jenny was set up with some guy." "That's how it works, Andy." "I get that, Phil. But it turns out the guy she was set up with was some kind of domestic abuser." "Wait, what?" Phil scowled. "That sort of thing should've shown up before he got paired up with anyone." "I dunno. Maybe it didn't get reported before, maybe this was his first time and he was trying it on. But before Jenny could get imprinted on him, he tried to take a swing at her." "Fuck. She okay?" "She's got some self-defense training, so she got away from the guy unscathed and went into hiding." "You get the guy's name?" "I can have Eric send it to you. But that's not the big concern. The big concern is that once we rescued her, she imprinted onto Eric. And she's a talking head." "Shit," Phil said, taking another drag. "News?" "Weather." Phil swiped a hand back in the air again. "Send me her name. I'll get it taken care of. Don't even trip about it. That's the least of our problems right now." "Shit getting bad, sir, I mean Phil?" Niko asked. "You have no idea." "How bad?" Andy asked. "We're looking at ten to twenty before it's all done." "Ten to twenty million people dead? Jesus!" "No, percent. We're talking ten to twenty percent of America dead, mostly men. We're guessing it'll end up around sixty million dead before the vaccine's in full effect in the middle of next year." Phil took a heavy drag, and the news hung in the air like a guillotine's blade. "The news is going to break any day now how fatal the new mutation of the virus is getting, and then everything'll be crazy. The army's going to be deployed here on US soil and martial law's going to go into effect. President Pelosi's at least been quick about it, and she's bunkered down. News hasn't broken yet, but the orange gooomba died on the operating table a couple of hours ago. Looks like milquetoast will be next in a couple of days." "Forty or fifty million men dead? That's nearly half of the male population!" Niko said. "How the hell are we going to recover from that?" "We're going to have to pair up a lot more women with the remaining men, and encourage them to have a whole shitload of kids," Phil sighed. "But even with that, it's going to be a fucking mess for a generation. Which reminds me, when you go home, I want you to start packing up your things." "Packing?" Andy asked. "What do you mean?" "I mean, start figuring out the absolute minimum you would need to take with you if you had to leave in a hurry, and then get anything that might take a few minutes packed up. Anything else, just have it at the ready." "Should I be worried?" "Nah, but it wouldn't hurt to be a little prepared." "What's happening, Phil?" "I can't tell you that yet, but the world's gonna keep on changing, and it doesn't hurt to be ready for it." "Yeah, okay." "You'll actually be very happy after it happens, man. Trust me." "If you say so." "Trust Big Daddy Phil." Andy rolled his eyes. "I trust you about as far as I can throw you, and that ain't very far." "You'll see." His watch beeped and Phil turned it up to look at it. "I gotta get back into the office. Send me Eric's new girl's name and the guy she was supposed to be hooked up with, and I'll make a few edits into the system." "You know Phil, there are days it feels like you're seriously into some black bag shit." "Only some days?" Phil said, taking one final drag off his vape pen before blowing a huge cloud up and into the air. It smelled vaguely of cinnamon buns, Andy noted. "Then I gotta up my game again. I'll see you soon, brother." He pulled his mask back up and headed back to his car. Andy and Niko watched him go, stretching out a little bit. "So you worked with Phil, huh?" Andy asked her. Her face scrunched up a little. "I was part of their security detail until I got exposed to the virus and then got quarantined. When the symptoms started to get severe, they used us as test cases for vaccinations and tried to pair us off. They were having trouble finding someone to match me with, based on my stated preferences before I got drugged." Andy smirked a little behind his mask. "I knew I wasn't exactly what you were looking for." "You're a little older than I initially wanted, Andy, but I don't have any complaints now that I'm with you. I was also a bit leery about sharing a partner with anyone, but it seems like that's going to be S O P moving forward." "S O P?" "Standard Operating Procedure. If Mr. Mar” if Phil's right about those casualty numbers, they're going to have to pair up a Lot of women to individual men. I bet you're going to get a bunch more than just the one more you're expecting." "Jesus, that's a whole lot of personalities to keep in balance," Andy grumbled. "I dunno if I'm up to that." "You don't have to do it alone, stupid head," she teased. "You've got Ash and me to help manage the cavalcade of women you're going to be saddled with. We'll try and keep everyone from killing one another and manage your time, although we're definitely going to have to continue getting you into better shape." "Lauren's started in on that, but frankly, I probably need to eat better." "And cut down on the soda. You've got a full nest to look after." "This scares the shit out of me," he sighed, leaning his back against a tree. "You know that, right?" Niko strolled over to him, a coy playfulness to her stride, as she moved close. "I know how to relax you." Andy arched an eyebrow beneath the goggles. "What, here?" "Who's going to see?" "We're in a public park, Niko!" "Ask me if I give a fuck," she said, as she dropped down to her knees, nuzzling her face against the crotch of his jeans. "Alright," he laughed, "Niko, do you give a fuh " His sentence was cut off as she pressed her mouth down along the length of his cock until the head of it was pressed against the back of her throat. She held it there for a good moment, long enough that he could feel her suppressing her gag reflex, straining back tears before she drew her head back and gasped in a deep breath of air. A playful giggle rolled from her lips, saliva dripping from them. "No sir, I fucking do not. But the faster you give me what I want, the faster we can go home," she said, moving to kiss at his balls, suckling on his nuts for a moment before moving her lips back to wrap around the head of his cock. "Now hold my hair back and fuck my face." Andy reached down and grabbed her silky ponytail with one hand, the other moving to curl his fingers against the back of her head as he pushed her face back down onto his cock. In response, she let out a wanton moan onto his cock, her hands reaching back to grab his ass, helping push her lips down to the base of his shaft, his balls pressing right against her chin. His hand holding her ponytail pulled her back, sliding her lips back to the head of his cock before pushing her face back down again, feeling her fingernails sinking into his jeans a bit more in response. He could swear he saw her hips thrusting forward beneath him, her legs spread wide, her knees almost pressed to the inside of his ankles. The pace quickened, as he thrust forward into her face while tugging her down onto each shove, whimpers that sounded delighted shivering across his skin between the sloppy sounds. He finally pulled her head back, letting her pop her head off his cock, just in case she wanted to tell him to stop, tell him she'd changed her mind, or whatever. Instead, she turned her eyes up to him. "Don't fucking stop. Fuck my face. Gimme that load of hot cum right against the back of my fucking throat. Please?" Her brown eyes were peering up at him as she licked her lips, and he could feel her struggling to try and lean even closer to him. He started to pump his cock into her mouth again, and suddenly he felt one of her hands slide away from his hips. He could see it push down the front of her jeans, and almost immediately, it came back up again and raised into the air towards his face. Her fingers were glistening, practically soaked, and he could smell her cunt on them as he leaned forward to lick them clean. Just as he did, he felt his balls draw up and his hand on the back of her head pressed her face down to the base of his cock as that orgasm shredded through him. He knew his cum was blasting into her throat, and could feel her spasming and trembling against him. It still boggled his mind, knowing that his orgasm triggered one immediately in his partner, and far more intense than he'd ever been able to bring a woman to before. His hands let go, giving Niko back control as she drew back, groaning in a carnal sound he hadn't yet grown accustomed to. Instead of pulling away, though, she started licking up, making sure to catch any loose jism or spittle from his shaft, her gaze never once leaving his, as she smirked while her tongue slathered him up. "See? Don't you feel less vexed?" He couldn't help it and started laughing, and it was infectious, because she immediately began giggling with him, even while she was lapping up the last of his spunk. "Okay, yes, you got me, I am certainly less vexed. How about you?" Niko smirked a bit, giving his cock one final lick before she pulled his boxers and jeans back up, rezipping and buttoning them up for him. "By now, you have to understand that your sperm is like a magic formula to us, your partners. It's exactly what we need and want every day. It's like giving a junkie a fix. Of course I feel better." She tugged up his shirt and kissed his stomach before pulling herself back up onto her feet. "I'd have kissed you but, "I don't mind that you just blew me, Niko," Andy chuckled. "Oh, that's not it at all. I just didn't want to share," she said with a wink, tapping one of her fingertips on his nose. "Girl's gotta keep every drop to herself any chance she can. Normally we try and pass a little of each load around, but here I get one all to myself. So I'm savoring that taste lingering on my lips. But we should get back to the house." "Fair enough." As soon as they got back to the house, Lily was waiting for them by the garage door. "Are we okay?" Niko smiled at her and gave the plump girl a huge. "Andy's got you covered, don't worry." She rubbed her spiky hair and then headed into the house, leaving the two together. "So get me the jackass's name from Jenny, and I'll get it to our friend Phil, who'll make sure it gets entered into the record that he's a domestic abuser." "Hopefully that means he won't get paired with anyone then." "Well, based on what Phil said in the Discord channel a week or so back, it's more likely they'll pair him with someone who can beat the shit out of him," Andy sighed. "Or, someone who's into that kind of thing. People are into all sorts of weird things out here." "You don't have to tell me twice," Lily said, exhaling a deep breath. "Jenny's been nuzzled up to Eric all morning, practically unwilling to let him go. I wasn't planning on sharing him with anyone, but if I have to share him with someone, I guess Jenny will be okay." Andy realized a second later, his face must have given something away. "What's with that look? You heard something else from Phil, didn't you?" "Yeah, it's pretty fucking scary out there, Lil." He shook his head then looked up. "You're probably going to be sharing Eric with quite a few other women. Men are dying left and right, and they're going to have to figure out how to keep the country afloat. That means the traditional family unit design is out the fucking window." "How bad can it really be if they're keeping it quiet?" "It's about to boil over. The estimate is we're going to lose nearly half the men in America." Her eyes looked to him as if she was waiting for the joke. When it didn't come, and the silence had hung in the air an uncomfortably long time, she finally spoke again. "Half? Fucking half? Fucking Half?" "Yeah, I can't say I'm thrilled about it either, Lily. I've got a lot of guy friends, and the idea of half of them just being fucking gone isn't exactly news I wanted to hear when I got up this morning, but I got it anyway." Andy tossed his hands up into the air. "And we can't fucking tell anyone! The news will out in a few days, but we have to be quiet about it until it is. Also, apparently we need to start packing." "Packing? What for?" "I guess we're going to be moved at some point. I guess we'll find out soon enough." Soon enough came the very next day. Andy and his usual gang of friends had a Discord channel they hung out on regularly, and they'd been using it for news on each other. And Phil poked his head in just before noon with a simple message: "@DruidGun 15 minutes." The household had spent part of the da

239 红楼也有壮游者？少女薛宝琴必须有名 !｜红楼慢炖 X 壮游者

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2025 109:22

本期是“红楼慢炖”与“壮游者”的串台节目。曹雪芹笔下藏着一位足迹遍布大半个中国的少女——要理解这位女性旅行者的非凡，先得回到她所处的时代背景。当时，旅行对女性而言绝非易事。男性尚可通过科举赶考、异地为官或经商贸易实现远行。他们或如林如海在扬州做官，或如贾政被派学差巡查四方，或如薛蟠下江南采购兼游山玩水，也需时刻提防“车船店脚牙”的欺诈与路途的险恶。在这样的背景下，薛宝琴——这位几乎被曹公赋予所有美好特质的少女已经自幼跟随父亲，足迹遍布名山大川。她的旅行绝非走马观花，而是将沿途所见的各省古迹与历史典故熔铸成十首意蕴深远的《怀古绝句》，也曾到达“西海沿子”采购洋货，遇到一位通晓中国诗书的“真真国”少女……敬请收听！|串台参与者|刘利:播客“红楼慢炖”主播。Yang:播客“壮游者”主播。壮游者是一档独立播客，很需要你的支持。1、商务合作请邮件至zhuangyouzhe@126.com,或者添加微信“zhuangyouzhe2018”2、请通过ZFB账号zhuangyouzhe@126.com对“壮游者”进行赞助；也可通过微信公众号“壮游者”文章(本期相关细节图片也在文章里呈现)下方的“喜欢作者”以及节目下方的“赞赏”对单期节目进行赞助。3、请订阅、转发、评论和点赞节目，并在你使用的收听平台为“壮游者”专辑打五星好评。加听友群可微信添加"zhuangyouzhe2018"，与主播和听友直接交流。谢谢你，让我们有机会一起前行。

Closer to the Fire with Greg Musselman

Season 5: Episode 18: China: The Communist Party's Relentless Persecution of Christians

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2025 37:50

China: The Communist Party's Relentless Persecution of Christians In China, where Communist authorities remain determined to suppress the rapid growth of Christianity, church leaders in that nation are arrested and imprisoned for their ministry activities. One pastoral couple, Yang Rongli and her husband Wang Xiaoguang, have endured years of persecution for continuing to shepherd thousands of believers despite government opposition. Greg Musselman, host of the Closer to the Fire podcast, is joined by Dr. Bob Fu of ChinaAid to discuss the ongoing court case against Yang and Wang, as well as the recent trend in which church leaders are being charged with “illegal border crossing” for participating in religious training abroad. During the interview, Dr. Fu also sheds light on how the Communist regime is targeting the Biblical education of children, revealing the broader strategy to stifle religious freedom at every level of society. Length:38 minutes Episode Notes To watch the interview with Dr. Bob Fu https://vomcanada.com/cttf-videos/video/cttf-cn-2025-06-05.htm ChinaAid: www.chinaaid.org The Voice of the Martyrs Canada: www.vomcanada.com

china voice fire christianity biblical closer yang communists wang relentless communist party persecution of christians bob fu chinaaid martyrs canada

Who is Kumarajiva?

Bright On Buddhism

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2025 19:49

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 115 - Who is Kumarajiva? What did he do in his life? How did that affect Buddhism in East Asia?Resources: Chandra, Moti (1977), Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India, Abhinav Publications, ISBN 9788170170556; Eitel, E.J.; Edkins, Joseph (1871), "Handbook for the Student of Chinese Buddhism", The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, 3, FOOCHOW.: American Presbyterian Mission Press: 217; Greene, Eric Matthew (2012), Meditation, Repentance, and Visionary Experience in Early Medieval Chinese Buddhism (PhD dissertation), University of California, Berkeley; Kumar, Yukteshwar (2005), A History of Sino-Indian Relations, APH Publishing Corporation, ISBN 978-8176487986; Lu, Yang (2004), "Narrative and Historicity in the Buddhist Biographies of Early Medieval China: The Case of Kumārajīva", Asia Major, Third Series, 17 (2): 1–43; Nan, Huai-Chin (1998), Basic Buddhism: Exploring Buddhism and Zen, ISBN 978-1578630202; Nattier, Jan (1992), "The Heart Sutra: A Chinese Apocryphal Text?", Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 15 (2): 153–223, archived from the original on 2013-10-29, retrieved 2013-10-23; Nattier, Jan (2005), A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path according to The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparipṛcchā), University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0824830038; Pollard, Elizabeth (2015), Worlds Together Worlds Apart, New York: W.W. Norton Company Inc, p. 287, ISBN 978-0-393-91847-2; Puri, B. N. (1987), Buddhism in Central Asia, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, ISBN 978-8120803725; Singh, Upinder (2009), A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, Pearson Education India, ISBN 978-8131716779; Smith, David Howard (1971), Chinese Religions From 1000 B.C. to the Present Day, Weidenfeld & Nicolson; Wu, Ching-hsing (1938), "Some Notes on Kao Seng Chuan", T'ien Hsia Monthly, 7, Kelly and Walsh, ltd.; Zürcher, Erik (2007) The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China. BRILL. Do you have a question about Buddhism that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by emailing us at Bright.On.Buddhism@gmail.com.Credits:Nick Bright: Script, Cover Art, Music, Voice of Hearer, Co-HostProven Paradox: Editing, mixing and mastering, social media, Voice of Hermit, Co-Host

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Pediatrics

The MCG Pediatric Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025 23:50

Did you know that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects approximately 1 in 200 children, with symptoms often emerging between the ages of 7 and 12? As pediatricians, you're likely the first to encounter these patients, making early recognition and intervention critical for achieving optimal outcomes. In this episode, we'll provide you with the knowledge and tools needed to accurately diagnose and effectively manage OCD, laying the foundation for better long-term care. Dr. Theresa Fiagbe, a second-year Child Psychiatry Fellow, Dr. Dale Peeples, Associate Professor of Child Psychiatry, and Alisha Patel, Medical Student at the Medical College of Georgia, join forces to unpack the complexities of OCD in children and adolescents. Tune in as we: Explore key diagnostic criteria and the most effective screening tools for identifying OCD in pediatric patients Discuss evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and SSRIs, and how to incorporate them into your practice Review common comorbid conditions, like anxiety and PANDAS, that can complicate diagnosis and treatment Examine the impact of OCD on school performance, social interactions, and family life Share practical guidance on managing long-term care to prevent relapse and ensure successful outcomes Whether you're encountering OCD symptoms in a patient for the first time or seeking to enhance your expertise, this episode will equip you with the essential tools to improve diagnosis and treatment. Special thanks to Dr. Yang for editing and Dr. Sarah Straka, and Dr. Baris Olten for peer reviewing this episode. CME Credit Available: Link Coming Soon! References: American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing. Berman, L., & Flessner, C. A. (2014). Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: Diagnostic and treatment issues. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(2), 123-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.10.003 Clark, C. A., & Scharf, R. (2020). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents: Current trends and future directions. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(9), 971-979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.05.007 Fahrion, S., & Goodwin, G. M. (2019). Pharmacological treatment of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: SSRIs, clomipramine, and beyond. Current Psychiatry Reports, 21(8), 58-66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1040-3 Franklin, M. E., & March, J. S. (2015). Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 62(3), 529-545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2015.02.004 March, J. S., & Mulle, K. (2017). OCD in children and adolescents: A review of treatments and practical guidance. The Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 40(2), 199-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2017.01.002 Murphy, T. K., & Pincus, D. B. (2019). Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: Diagnosis, treatment, and future directions. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 31(4), 517-524. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0000000000000801 PANDA Study Group. (2017). Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(11), 933-940. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.07.866 Peris, T. S., & Piacentini, J. (2021). Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: Treatment strategies and challenges. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 50(1), 32-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2020.1831504 Reaven, J. (2018). Screening for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: Tools, guidelines, and challenges. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 23(3), 133-139. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12267 Thienemann, M., & McGuire, L. (2019). Treating pediatric OCD with a focus on cognitive-behavioral therapy: Evidence and efficacy. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 48(4), 530-538. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2019.1612851

Time and Direction in Ancient Yamato

Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2025 44:28

This episode we look at time and direction and the influence of geomancy--theories of Yin and Yang and a little bit of how people viewed the world through that lens. For more, check out the blog page: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-127 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan. My name is Joshua, and this is episode 127: Time and Direction in Ancient Yamato Officers of the court stood in the pavilion. The soft trill of water could be heard trickling from one reservoir to the next. They watched closely, as the figure of a court official, one hand out, pointing at a measuring stick, slowly rose along with the water. Eventually, the figure's outstretched arm indicated a line with a single character next to it. On cue, one of the officials began to beat the large drum that was nearby. The rhythm was slow, but deliberate, and the sound was loud, echoing out to the mountains and back, showering the nearby palaces in a layer of sound. Across the palace, people briefly paused, took note of the number of strokes, and by that they knew the time of day. Without giving it much more thought, they then went about their business. This episode we find ourselves partway through the reign of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou—his formal reign started in 668, but he had been pretty much running things since the death of Takara Hime in 661 and, arguably, for much longer than that. 668, however, saw Naka no Oe ascend the throne in his new palace of Otsu no Miya, officially making him the sovereign. And although 645 is the year Naka no Oe and others had started the Taika Reforms, it's not wrong to say that that 668 and the start of Naka no Oe's official reign, brief as it would be, that he finally had the ability to bring it all together and set it into stone. We've talked about many of these reforms before on the podcast, but a lot of them were associated with the continued push to incorporate continental concepts into Yamato society, covering everything from court ranks to how to organize agricultural production. Of course, there was also Buddhism, which we've covered numerous times, but there were other concepts coming across as well, including ideas about history and writing, as well as ancient STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This included architects, and new ways of constructing buildings. And it also meant ways of seeing the world, including things like directions and time. And this is what I want to focus on this episode, taking a break from the primary narrative to spend some time on what we might call Yamato concepts of science, especially how they thought about the structure of reality organization of time and the universe – their cosmology, as it were. After all, to better understand the reasoning and motives of people, it is helpful to try and understand how they saw the world, not just for translation—understanding what it means when an entry says something like the “Hour of the Horse” on an “Elder Wood” day—but also for understanding how things actually worked in their eyes. For instance, the idea of ”auspicious” and “inauspicious” times and directions is something that most listeners probably don't incorporate much into their daily lives, but the Chroniclers and the people of Yamato absolutely did, so understanding concepts like this can sometimes be the key to unlocking why historical people may have taken the actions that they did. In particular, we'll talk about things like yin and yang, five elements, ten stems and twelve earthly branches, and what all this meant for the Yamato ideas of organizing time and space. A large part of Yamato cosmology is tied to something called Onmyoudou, literally the Way of Yin and Yang, which in the organization of the Ritsuryo state fell under a particular ministry, known as the Onmyo-ryo. If you've heard of Onmyoudou before, you likely have heard about the “Onmyouji”, practitioners who studied the flow of yin and yang—and who could reportedly do miraculous things with that. A 10th century Onmyoji, the famous Abe no Seimei, is perhaps the most well-known, with numerous stories about his exploits, which were then turned into a fantastical series of stories by the award-winning author, Baku Yumemakura. Those were then turned into Manga, movies, and more. Abe no Seimei is like Japan's Merlin, or Gandalf, at least in the stories. Back to the organization we mentioned, the Onmyou-ryou was responsible for Yin-Yang theory, or Onmyou-dou, which included divination, as well as astronomy, or Tenmon-dou, and calendar making, or reki-dou. While some of this was based on straight up natural observances, a lot of it was explained through older concepts of Yin and Yang theory. Today, you might encounter a lot of this in the theories around Feng Shui, and this can also be referred to as “geomancy”, or earth divination. To give a broad overview of Onbmyoudou and its origins, it is part of a large corpus of concepts focused around a concept of energy known as qi or ki—which forms the basis for a lot of Chinese and Japanese cosmology, or their concept of how the world worked. Much of this is tied up in concepts that are modernly broadly called “Daoist” or associated with so-called Daoist practices. That term can be a bit misleading, as strictly speaking, Daoism refers to the teachings of the legendary philosopher Laozi, in his book, the Dao De Jing, as well as works attributed to later authors, like the Zhuangzi. There is some controversy as to when and to what extent this strict Daoism came to Japan. However, in the broader sense, the category of “Daoist “ practices includes an entire panoply of various folk practices, including concepts of Yin and Yang – and in the archipelago, many of these concepts were imported with the various books that people had acquired on the mainland, even if they weren't strictly tied to Daoist religious practice. For example, there were aspects that were borrowed by various Shinto shrines, and others formalized into ritual practices under the new government. And of course many of these became linked to various Buddhist teachings and practices, as well. But what did this actually look like in concept and practice for practitioners of Onmyoudo in Japan? Let's start with the idea of yin and yang. One of the earliest references comes from the Zhou Yi, the Zhou Book of Changes, the core of what we also know as the Yijing, the Book of Changes. Here we see the idea that the universe began with a single force that split into two, and those two forces make up all of creation in one way or another. Yin and Yang, or In and You—or even Onmyou—refer to these forces, which are characterized as shadow and light, moon and sun, female and male, cold and hot, etc. So these forces are opposites, but it should be noted that they are not necessarily good or evil. After all, too cold is just as bad as too hot. Likewise too much darkness is as blinding as too much light. As most people have seen, yin and yang are often depicted as a circle divided into two comma shapes, with a smaller circle in each. One side is white with a black circle and the other is black with a white circle. This is the “Tai Chi” diagram, but the diagram itself doesn't seem to have been depicted like this prior to the 11th century, at least that we are aware. But the concepts are much older. Now if you've heard of the Yijing, where it came from is something of a mystery. One theory is that it started as a written account of folk wisdom, and may have even given instructions for things like when to plant and when to harvest, based on changes in various heavenly phenomena. But overall it is organized into 64 chapters, each associated with a particular hexagram. Start with a line, that can either be a full line – representing yang – or a broken line representing yin. Stack three of these on top of one another and you get a trigram. If you chart out every single possible combination of yin and yang lines, you get 8 unique trigrams, sometimes referred to as the baqua. Stack two trigrams atop one another and you get a hexagram, a combination of 6 lines that can have 8 by 8 or 64 unique variants. It's theorized that the Yijing resulted from taking all of the collected sayings or aphorisms and bits of advice and cataloguing and dividing them into 64 chapters, each one associated with a given hexagram. Going further, each line of the hexagram is associated with particular line in Yijing, and various meanings are ascribed to it and its association. It's a complex and fascinating system and I don't have time to go into it fully, but I would note that this was used as a form of divination—yarrow stalks or other means of random lot drawing that gives you a binary outcome – zero or one, yin or yang – could be used to determine the six lines of any given hexagram. This, in turn, would reference a chapter in the Yijing which was then interpreted as a sign as to how to read a given situation that you might find yourself in. What's really important to understanding the worldview of the time is this idea, represented by the hexagrams in the Yijing, that you can encompass everything about the universe by making and cataloging different amounts and arrangements of yin and yang. It's a science, as it were – a systematic approach to understanding the differences in the world by breaking it into component parts. And if this seems preposterous, consider this: today we understand that all things are made up of tiny atoms. And these atoms are all made up of the same material—protons, neutrons, and electrons. And yet, how those atomic particles combine create atoms with wildly different qualities. And how those atoms then combine into molecules and so on and so forth describe how we explain everything around us. So is it really so far-fetched? I'm not saying that we should suddenly start to figure out the measurements of yin and yang in everything, but if we want to understand how the people of the time saw their world, it may be helpful to hold an open mindand understand the assumptions that they were working from and where they came from. As human beings, we naturally look for connections in the world around us, and this was no exception. People would observe facts, know how that it worked, and often then would back into the reason for it. This is a tale told across cultures, and we still see it, today. At the same time, we've developed structured approaches to test out our theories, empirically. So for the moment, let's leave the trigrams and hexagrams, and talk about another idea that also gained traction as people were trying to figure out how the world worked. This was the five elements theory also known as Wuxing, or Gogyou, in Japanese. The five elements in this case are Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth. Some may notice that these, along with the sun and the moon, are used in Japanese for the days of the week: Nichi (sun), getsu (moon), ka (fire), sui (water), moku (wood), kin (metal), do (earth). Buddhists, by the way, also had an elemental system with only four elements, Fire, Water, Air, and Earth, possibly connected with some Greek influence, and brought along with Buddhist practice. For now, however, let's focus on the five elements. The idea in wuxing is similar to that of yin and yang in that everything in creation is made up of these five elements in some degree and configuration. Furthermore, there are creation and destruction cycles. So fire creates ash, or earth. Earth gives birth to metal. Metal creates water—look at a cold piece of metal in a warm environment and see how the water droplets form on it, and imagine what that looks like without understanding humidity and how there could be water vapor in the air. And then water creates wood, or plants—any farmer could tell you that without water the plants die. And wood is where we get fire from. Of course, the reverse cycle is the opposite. Fire eats the wood. Wood drinks up the water. Water rusts metal. Metal tools plough the earth. And Earth can be used to douse fire. Finally, there is another cycle of weakening. ,. Because fire heats and weakens metal, metal chops down wood, the trees roots break up rocks, the earth soaks up water, and water likewise puts out or weakens fire. So the theory went, if these elements make up all matter, these relationships continue on a more complex scale in everything. So if something was thought to contain a lot of “fire” element, then it would be potentially helpful if you needed “Earth” but destructive or at least weakening to metal and wood. Properly accounting for these elements was important to achieve the results you were looking for, whatever that may be. These were the kinds of things that were incorporated into traditional medicine practices, but also applied to auguries or divination about things like where and how to build a building. Even today, Shrines will sell calendars that help people know the prominence of certain elements, and some folk remedies may look to balance elements, much as medieval European medicine was often designed to balance the four humors that ancient physicians believed were present in the human body. The chart of these five elements and their relationships is something you may have seen. It is a five pointed star, often inside of a circle. Of course this is also similar to a western pentagram, though typically drawn with the point of the star up, but it has nothing to do with Christian values or Satan, or anything similar. Rather, it is just a way to represent these five elements, and you'll see it frequently in reference to Onmyoudou. The elements were used to categorize many different areas into groupings of five. This includes grouping the various directions into five directions. Of course, you may be wondering about that, since most societies usually mark four cardinal directions, and in this case, they did the same, but added the fifth as “center”. And so you get things like the north is water. It is related to cool, or cold weather. It is represented with the color black. To the south, opposite of the north, is fire. It is hot, and the color is red. Of course, this probably doesn't take a huge leap to see the connections they drew: since these civilizations are in the northern hemisphere, the farther north you go, the colder it gets, and the farther south you travel, the warmer it gets, generally speaking, at least until you reach the equator. Meanwhile, the west was related to metal, and the color white, while the east was related to woods and forests, and the color…. Blue. Alright, that last one, in particular, probably doesn't make sense to a lot of us. After all, we likely associate blue with water, and wood, or trees, would be associated with brown or, possibly, green. Well, in this case, it goes beyond that. The north is water, but it is also associated with darkness—shorter days in the winter, and things like that Sothe association of north with black makes sense, but many also look at the ocean and don't necessarily see it as “blue”, or dark or even black, like Homer's famous “wine-dark sea”. Furthermore, although they have a word for it (midori), “green” was not a primary color in Japan, instead considered more of a shade of “aoi”, or blue. Even today they refer to a “green” traffic light as an “aoi shingo, not “midori” shingo. So if you asked someone in the Asuka period to describe the wooded hills and fields, they would have likely used “aoi”. And of course, we are missing the fifth element. In the center we have the element earth and the color yellow. A lot of these different concepts were brought together during the Han period, when they were trying to syncretize all of the various philosophies and attempts to describe the world and bring them all together into a single system. This meant that the Yijing, the wuxing theory, and others were mixed together with various other philosophies and theories of how the world work. Things like the Shanhaijing, the Classic of Mountain and Seas, along with stories about immortals, the Queen Mother of the West, and more were all rolled together, and basically assumed to be true. This included various real-world observations. Therefore, there were many attempts to try and reconcile these various theories together. One of the other concepts, which we've discussed before, was the system of ten heavenly stems and the twelve earthly branches. We've mentioned this before regarding the sexagenary style of counting the years, but we'll recap here. The ten heavenly stems and the twelve earthly branches are concepts that go back to at least the legendary Shang period, and even show up in various bronzes Andit wasn't until later that they would be associated with other ideas. The ten heavenly stems were each associated with one of the five elements, with each element being represented by a greater and lesser, or elder and younger, stem. And then each of the twelve earthly branches were associated with animals—what we often call the Chinese Zodiac. We talked about how this applied to the calendar, in that it was used to track years in 60 year cycles, but also it was used to track days of the year. The twelve earthly branches were also used for earthly directions. The first, the rat, was in the north, and the order continued clockwise to the east, the south, west and then back to the north. Now this means that the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west—all match up nicely with one of the twelve earthly branches, but as for northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest? Those were all combinations of two branches. So, for instance, the northeast was a combination of the ox and the tiger, or ushi-tora. Speaking of eight directions, where have we also heard the number eight come up recently? That's right: the eight trigrams, or bagua. So each one of those trigrams, each representing a different concept, got associated with a direction as well. This makes it easier to see where practices of geomancy came from. You had a system with complex, overlapping associations between concepts and the physical world, and in the Tang dynasty, they used all of this to understand not only how things had happened, but also how the world would be in the future—in other words, they tried to use it to make predictions. Hence the “mancy”. In the Yamato state, all of this became an official part of the government under the Onmyoryou: a branch of the government whose job is to make observations and figure things out from there, for the good of the state and the people. They made observations of the heavens to figure out how the calendar should be aligned—which months should come at what time, and when there should be “leap months”, or intercalary months, to keep various astronomical phenomena in the correct seasons, which were also further divided up into 24 periods. They also kept track of the movement of bodies like the various planets, because those planets were also assigned values, and thought to affect the flow of energy within this framework. And so comets, storms, eclipses, and more were all important because of the theory that everything in the heavens impacted and were reflections of how things were happening on the earth. Similarly, these various discussions of white animals and other omens were likely captured and catalogued by these officials as well, attempting to figure out what they meant. All of this also influenced things like how palaces, buildings, and even capitals, would be built and laid out. For the palace, it was important the the sovereign be in the north, looking south. In fact, many maps would have south at the top because that is how a sovereign would be viewing it, were it stretched out before them. And one would need to consider various features, including mountains and streams, as all of those things carried various meanings, but it wasn't as simple as just finding the one thing that could affect a person. As they observed differences they would also have to catalogue what happened and try to determine what the cause could be, based on their understanding of the world. And in the archipelago this would also include an understanding of Buddhist and local kami-based wisdom and knowledge as well. One of the things in the Chronicles that inspired this episode was something I actually mentioned last time, a record from 666 talking about Chiyu, a Buddhist priest of the Yamato no Aya family, who presented a south-pointing chariot to the sovereign, Naka no Oe. this appears to be the same Chiyu from a similar record in 658, which also refers to him building a south pointing chariot. So did it take him eight years, or is he just now presenting it to the sovereign? And what, exactly, is a south-pointing chariot? Well, as the name implies, a south-pointing chariot is a two-wheeled chariot that always points south. More appropriately stated, it is a wheeled device with a figure on top, much like a weather vane, which always points south. This is usually described as the figure of a person or an official pointing in the appropriate direction. This was a mechanical, rather than a magnetic compass. As the chariot, or carriage, is wheeled around, the two wheels spin. The wheels themselves are independently connected to a series of gears. If the wheels spin at the same rate, then their movement cancels each other out. However, if one wheel turns more than the other, then it will cause the figure on the top to rotate. Of course, as the chariot turns to the right, the left wheel, traveling along the outer diameter, will travel farther than the right. This will cause the figure to turn counter-clockwise to the left, but from an outside observer's perspective, it will continue to point in the same direction, even as the chariot itself turns. Turning to the left would cause the opposite effect. Though it may have been used earlier, there appears to be reliable written evidence of a South Pointing chariot starting from the third century. The first one was based on much earlier stories of a similar device, but it is unclear if it was a chariot, some other device, or even just a legend that was told as historical fact. From the third century on the design appears to have been continuously improved upon. I should point out that all we have is descriptions—we don't have any actual south pointing chariots, let alone diagrams showing how the mechanisms worked. There is the possibility that it used a kind of differential gear to work automatically, but we don't have any actual evidence. There are other theories that it may have required some kind of manual switch, so that it would attach to one wheel or the other as needed. That would require that the chariot be moving in either a straight direction or turning in one particular direction, which seems rather unwieldy. I noted some of the problems with this, and even moreso in a place like Japan, where 70% of the terrain is mountains. Up and down hills, along paths that are likely anything but the smooth, paved surface we have for roads today—and even those have plenty of irregularities and potholes that could throw off any such device. And if you want to use it for any real distance, then you have to factor in other things, including the curvature of the earth. After all, with the earth being a sphere, any chariot traveling due west to east or east to west, other than at the equator, would have one wheel traveling farther than the other one. Granted, at the scale we are talking about, it probably is all but negligible, and the rough terrain and simple slippage of what were most likely wooden gears probably entered a lot more variability than the earth's curvature. One of the other issues is that the chariot only points “south” if you set it up to do so. And if you know that, well, why do you need a south-pointing chariot? Ultimately, it seems that this is more of a novelty item, good for impressing crowds and demonstrating some engineering principles, rather than an actual, useful invention. After all, it was forgotten about and recreated multiple times, often centuries apart. Had it been a truly useful invention, it probably would have been kept in constant use. Meanwhile, I suspect that there were a fair number of farmers and others who knew that you could more easily and reliably use the sun and stars, as long as the weather was clear. There is also some evidence of an understanding of magnetic compasses since at least the 2nd Century BCE. Early Han sources suggest that a spoon made of naturally magnetized ore could be placed on top of a polished bronze surface, and it would align itself north to south. We don't have any actual surviving examples, however—there are later versions that you can find, where the plate is divided up into various directions, and then a magnetized “spoon” is placed on top, but nothing has actually come from Han tombs. Furthermore, this seems to mostly be for geomantic purposes. A more practical compass, with a magnetized needle, seems to have been developed by the 11th century, which could then be used for actual navigation. By the way, the “spoon” as a compass pointer may be in reference to the “Big Dipper” constellation, which was envisioned as a spoon, or ladle, in shape. The seven stars were often used in geomancy, likely because of their importance, at least in the northern hemisphere, of pointing to the north. So there's some thought that the “needles” of these early compasses weren't litterally spoon shaped, but symbolically representive of the Big Dipper or the Northern Ladle. Quick astronomy lesson, here. If you are in the northern hemisphere, particularly from the 35th parallel to the north pole, you can see the seven stars that make up the constellation or asterism we know as the Big Dipper. In English we sometimes also refer to this as Ursa Major, though technically the familiar seven stars are just a part of that larger constellation. In Japan, the same constellation is often referred to as Hokuto Shichisei, the Seven Stars of the Northern Ladle. It can be seen further south, but parts of it may dip below the horizon during the autumn season. It is important for several reasons. One is that it is made up of particularly bright stars, which you can generally see even when other stars may not be visible. Second, its distinctive shape lends itself to being easy to find in the sky. And finally, if you draw a line between two of the stars at the end of the “cup” of the ladle, you can follow that line to find Polaris or hokkyokusei, the north star, which means you know which direction is north- and once you know that, you can use it to figure out any other direction. And Polaris is less than a degree off of true north, making it even more accurate than most magnets, as the magnetic pole can be quite different, depending on its current position, and magnetic north changes over time as the magnetic field around the earth fluctuates. That said, this was not necessarily the case in ancient times. Four thousand years ago, the star closest to true north would have been the star Thuban, in the constellation Draco, a star that most of us probably haven't heard of. Polaris, in the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Bear, also known as the Little Dipper) apparently took over as the north star around 500 CE. However, even before then, the mouth of the dipper could still be used to indicate north. In fact, if you draw a line between two of the stars in the back of the constellation, then you also end up finding Thuban. So even if the north star itself wasn't accurate, finding the dipper would still help you orient yourself, especially if you can find true north during the day and then compare that with the constellation at night. Which helps to understand why astronomy, or Tenmondou, was so important in the Onmyouryou. Though it wasn't just a study of stars, but of the way of the heavens in general. And the changes in the heavens, brings us to another important concept—the flow of energy across the seasons. From the bright days of summer, filled with sunshine and yang energy, to the dark yin energy of winter's long, cold nights. It wasn't enough to just know what happened, and where, but when was also important. Obviously you need to know when to sow seeds, flood the fields, and harvest the rice. Beyond that, though, you have other concepts, such as how the the day and hour of an event could be symbolically important. And of course, all of these had their own associations with various concepts of the flow of yin and yang energy. Now knowing the year, the month, and even the day is largely just a matter of counting. But let's talk about something a little more tricky: How do you know the hour? This brings us to the vignette at the top of the episode, about the clepsydra, or water clock, that Naka no Oe is said to have built. Now we talked about some of the fountains and similar things that have been discovered in the Asuka region back in episode 118. One thing that they believe they also found evidence of is something called a water clock, which is, as its name suggests, a clock powered by water. It is typically depicted as a series of three or more boxes or reservoirs that each hold an amount of water. Water is placed in the top reservoir, and then a hole towards the bottom is unplugged and it is allowed to drain into the box beneath. The hole is of a particular size, and thus the water flows at a constant rate, filling up the container below, which has a similar hole, etc. all the way to a reservoir at the very bottom. The multiple boxes mean that the water level in the intermediate boxes stays relatively constant, resulting in relatively consistent pressure and flow rate. The last reservoir has a measuring stick on a float, so that as the last box is filled with water, the measuring stick raises up. Since it is rising at a constant rate, one can use that to tell how much time has passed, regardless of anything else. Thus you can keep time even at night. There is a record of Naka no Oe making one in the fifth month of 660, and he would have another one built in 671, which we will discuss later. It is interesting that both of these inventions appear twice in the narrative—once during the reign of Naka no Oe, aka Tenchi Tenno, and once during the previous reign, that of Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tenno. In this case it is said that 671 is the first time that the water clock, or roukoku, was actually used. From what I can tell, there is nothing that definitively indicates that the Mizuochi site in Asuka was definitely the site of Naka no Oe's water clock. There isn't much in the Chronicles telling us what it was like or where, exactly, it was built, and there wasn't anything found at the site naming it as the location of the roukoku. However, the site is in a prominent enough place, with channels for water and a pavilion of some sort. They definitely found evidence of pipes, remnants of lacquered wood, and reservoirs for water, among other things, that suggest something to do with moving water happened in this area. So it seems a very strong choice, as it all fits with theoretical archeological reconstructions. A water clock like this is excellent for keeping accurate time at all hours of the day. However, it does have a slight problem in that anyone without a clock is still going to have to use the sun and similar heavenly cues to know what time it is. So how do you let them know? Well, it turns out that the continent had an answer for that as well, and instituted various systems of drums and bells to let people know the hour. In fact, some of these practices continued, in one form or another, right up to the modern day—with or without a water clock. After all, the key was to give the community some sense of the passing of time, but I doubt anyone was using it to time things more precisely than a general idea of an hour—though they did have the concept of their own minutes and seconds. Which brings us to just how they saw time back then. The system of time that the Chronicles seems to use also came over from the continent, where there appear to have been several different methods for telling time prior to accurate clocks. And while there was an idea of dividing the entire day into twelve segments, the time as it was announced was not always consistent with those twelve segments, or hours. Rather, time was based around the key parts of the day. So, for instance there was sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight. And while noon and midnight remain exactly twelve hours apart, sunrise and sunset change with the seasons. So if you call out sunrise, and then divide the time between sunrise and noon into equal segments of time, the size of those time segments change with the seasons. On top of that, because of the tilt of the earth and our slightly irregular orbit around the sun, the sun appears to “move” across the sky faster or slower throughout the year, with a difference of about 30 minutes total between the extremes. This isn't going to affect most people's daily lives, but would have been noticeable to those taking accurate measurements. In ancient Han, this appears to have been common in cities and towns, with a watch that would call out as they progressed on their rounds at set points in the day and night, relying largely on heavenly cues—which I suspect did not lead to the most accurate timekeeping, but it was sufficient for what most people needed. The telling of time in this manner was partly to help with keeping track of the time of day, but was just as much an announcement that the watch was on duty and a warning to would-be criminals. Now a water clock was an excellent device for keeping track of a standard, absolute time, such as it were, but it required constant maintenance. If you already have a watch calling out the time, perhaps they can also keep the water clock properly set, but you did have to have someone constantly filling it up and draining it at known points of the day. Plus there was the problem that you only knew the time if you could check it, and this wasn't like a clock tower or something similar. And so in 671 it appears that Nak no Oe instituted the continental idea of drums and bells to announce the time to the people—or at least to those at the court. We don't have a record of exactly how they were, used, but we can infer from other sources on the continent, and what we do know that some tradition of announcing the time with drums and bells continued to be employed in Japan until the Meiji era, though perhaps not without interruption: Temples and the like had bell or drum towers, and as the day progressed they would beat out the time. It was not, however, telling time as we might think of it, with one stroke at the first hour, two on the second, etc.. In fact, in many ways they counted backwards, and they only counted 12 hours, not our modern 24. By the Edo period it seems that it was common practice to toll the bells nine times at noon and at midnight. From there, they would count down, with 8 bells at roughly 2 o'clock, 7 bells at 4 o'clock, and 6 bells at 6 o'clock. That would be another issue. From 6 o'clock, the number of bells that would be tolled continued to decrease, so that at 8 o'clock it would be 5 bells, then 4 bells at 10 o'clock. It would then jump back up to 9 and start over again. Why these numbers were used for the different hours we are not entirely sure, and I have no idea if these numbers were the same ones used back in the 7th century—though it does seem to match similar continental traditions. Even the hours themselves were known by the twelve signs that came to be associated with the zodiac: the hour of the rat, the hour of the ox, the hour of the tiger, etc. Midnight fell in the middle of the hour of the rat, and noon fell in the middle of the hour of the horse, with each hour being almost exactly 2 hours by modern reckoning. There were other systems in use as well. One divided the entire day up by 100 and then each of those divisions by another 10. The key was whether or not it was an absolute or relative measurement. Something like the roukoku would indicate an absolute measurement. After all, the fall of water from one reservoir to another was not affected by the change in seasons—at least as long as the water didn't freeze. The flow was constant, as was the measurement of time. For those using other forms of reckoning, such as celestial phenomena or even a sundial, things might be a bit less accurate. This was especially true when using concepts like “sunrise” and “sunset”. Still, through observing the changes over the year, people eventually figured out charts and rules to help reconcile absolute forms of measurement with solar time. There were other methods for telling time, as well. Perhaps one of the more pleasant was the use of incense sticks. By the time of the Tang dynasty, incense in stick form was relatively common, and it had been noticed that sticks of incense could burn at a fixed rate. This meant that you could use incense sticks like candles were used in Europe, counting down how far they had burned to tell what time it was. If you were really fancy, you could make a single stick out of different types of incense, so that as it hit a new hour, the scent would change, alerting you to the time through your olfactory senses. Speaking of time, we are coming to the end of ours for this episode. We do have some more information on this on our website, Sengokudaimyo.com, and we'll have links to those sections of the website accompanying our blog. Next episode we will focus more on the reign of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou, from his seat at Otsu no Miya. Until then, thank you once again for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts. If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page. You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com. Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now. Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Ashin Kheminda - Dhammapada 177-178

Dhammavihari Buddhist Studies

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2025 64:22

Raja #Pasenadi mempersembahkan dana yang besar dengan persiapan yang mewah kepada #Buddha dan para murid-Nya. Pada waktu itu ada dua menteri raja yang memiliki pandangan yang berbeda terhadap tindakan dari raja tersebut. Yang satu ikut bersukacita dan yang satu lagi merasa bahwa ini adalah suatu pemborosan. Siapakah yang benar dalam hal ini?Di kelas ini Ashin Kheminda menjelaskan makna kata demi kata dua stanza terakhir dari Kelompok Stanza tentang Dunia (Lokavagga) hanya berdasarkan Pāḷi dan kitab komentarnya (Aṭṭhakathā). #dhammapada

buddha yang pada nya siapakah dhammapada ashin kheminda

Edisi Hari Sabtu, 31 Mei 2025 - Berpikir bijak dalam membuat keputusan

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2025 5:52

Kencan Dengan Tuhan - Sabtu, 31 Mei 2025Bacaan: "Hai anakku, janganlah pertimbangan dan kebijaksanaan itu menjauh dari matamu, peliharalah itu." (Amsal 3:21) Renungan: Seseorang berkata bahwa Ishak tidaklah terlalu miskin untuk dapat menyediakan makanan bagi keluarganya, atau Ribka adalah seorang ibu rumah tangga yang tidak bisa mengatur kebutuhan makanan untuk seisi rumahnya, sehingga Esau harus menjual hak kesulungannya demi mendapatkan bubur kacang merah. Sebenarnya tindakan bodoh Esau lebih disebabkan karena nafsu yang tidak bisa ditahan dan tidak adanya pertimbangan panjang. Yang ada dalam pikirannya hanyalah memuaskan nafsu makannya saat itu, dan kalau tidak ia akan mati. Untuk saat itu, tidak ada yang dapat menyenangkan serta memuaskan hatinya selain sepiring bubur kacang merah. la menganggap bahwa bubur kacang merah yang sangat menggoda itu lebih penting daripada sebuah hak kesulungan. "Sebentar lagi aku akan mati: apa gunanya bagiku hak kesulungan itu?" Hak kesulungan merupakan gambaran dari hak-hak rohani bagi orang percaya. Salah di dalam menilai seberapa penting hak-hak rohani tersebut, maka kita akan bertindak seperti Esau yang terjebak dengan keinginan sesaat dan karena tidak berpikir panjang, maka ia menganggap tidak berharga hak kesulungan itu. Amsal 3:21 berbunyi, "Hai anakku, janganlah pertimbangan dan kebijaksanaan itu menjauh dari matamu, peliharalah itu." Keputusan Esau menjual hak kesulungannya, salah satunya disebabkan karena tidak adanya pertimbangan atau tidak berpikir panjang. Tentunya Esau juga tahu apa itu hak kesulungan dan berkat-berkat apa saja yang akan diperolehnya melalui hak kesulungan tersebut. Buktinya, setelah ia tahu bahwa ayahnya telah memberkati Yakub, meraung-raunglah ia dengan keras sambil memohon agar Ishak memberkatinya juga (Kej 27:34). Namun apa boleh buat, semua sudah terlambat. Ketika Esau diperhadapkan pada keinginan yang besar untuk makan bubur kacang merah, ia sama sekali tidak berpikir panjang tentang pentingnya hak kesulungan. la terlalu terpikat dengan apa yang ada di depan matanya saat itu. Melalui kisah kehidupan Esau kita belajar tentang satu perkara penting, yaitu membiasakan diri berpikir panjang sebelum mengambil keputusan. Seringkali kita begitu terpaku pada keadaan yang ada di depan mata, sehingga kita lupa untuk berpikir panjang dan menimbang-nimbang mengenai akibat dari keputusan yang kita ambil. Ada sebuah kata bijak yang berkata, "Mujurlah orang yang tidak tergesa-gesa memutuskan, karena pertimbangan akan mencegah air mata penyesalannya." Tuhan Yesus memberkati. Doa:Tuhan Yesus, tidak jarang aku bertindak terlalu cepat dalam banyak hal, tanpa berpikir panjang. Tetapi aku bersyukur bahwa Engkau kembali mengingatkanku betapa pentingnya pertimbangan itu bagiku. Amin. (Dod).

yang esau salah untuk hari dalam dod hai amin namun membuat sebenarnya tetapi melalui edisi sabtu hak seringkali engkau berpikir ishak sebentar yakub amsal kej ribka doa tuhan yesus

英语新闻丨Mianyang proposes 4.5-day flexible work trial

China Daily Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 4:55

To comprehensively enhance residents' consumption capacity and market vitality, the city of Mianyang in Southwest China's Sichuan Province has proposed piloting a 4.5-day flexible workweek system, encouraging eligible regions to implement a "Friday afternoon plus weekend" 2.5-day leave model.为全面提升居民消费能力和市场活力，位于中国西南部的四川省绵阳市提出试行4.5天弹性工作制，鼓励符合条件的地区实行“周五下午+周末”2.5天的休假模式。The Mianyang Municipal Commerce Bureau recently issued the 2025 work plan for the city's consumption revitalization initiative, proposing seven core actions comprising 29 specific measures to enhance local residents' consumption capacity and market vitality, the Xinhua News Agency reported.据新华社报道，绵阳市商务局近日印发了《绵阳市提振消费专项行动2025年工作清单》，提出了七大核心行动，共29项具体措施，旨在提升居民消费能力和市场活力。The sixth action focuses on the optimization of consumption environments with the implementation of leave initiatives, said the report.报道称，第六项行动重点是优化消费环境，落实休假举措。Relevant departments are asked to ensure full implementation of annual leave and paid leave systems, encourage flexible scheduling for companies and promote simultaneous leaves for couples, Xinhua reported.据新华社报道，要求有关部门确保全面落实年休假和带薪休假制度，鼓励企业灵活安排工作时间，并推行夫妻双方同步休假。Notably, the plan also advocates for a 4.5-day flexible workweek and encourages eligible regions to adopt a "Friday afternoon plus weekend" 2.5-day leave model, per Xinhua.值得注意的是，据新华社报道，该方案还倡导每周4.5天弹性工作制，并鼓励符合条件的地区实行“周五下午加周末”2.5天的带薪休假模式。An official from the Mianyang Municipal Commerce Bureau, who requested to remain anonymous, told the Global Times on Monday that, as the lead authority for consumption promotion, the bureau proposed the model as an exploratory initiative under the framework of implementing central and provincial government policies to boost consumption.绵阳市商务局一位不愿透露姓名的官员周一向《环球时报》表示，作为消费促进工作的牵头部门，该局提出该模式是在落实中央和省级促进消费政策框架下的一项探索性举措。The proposal quickly became a trending topic on social media platform Sina Weibo, generating 210 million views and 55,000 discussions by 1 pm Monday. Many netizens expressed hopes for province-wide implementation.该方案迅速成为社交媒体平台新浪微博的热门话题，截至周一下午1点，阅读量已达2.1亿次，讨论量达5.5万次。许多网友表示希望该方案能在全省范围内推广。A Mianyang resident surnamed Yang told the Global Times that extended weekends would allow more leisurely travel. "It takes about five hours to drive from Mianyang to the Siguniang Mountain scenic area, which is equivalent to half a day," noting that an extra half day would mean the sightseeing time wouldn't be so rushed, and they could better enjoy the local scenery.一位姓杨的绵阳居民告诉《环球时报》，延长周末将使人们有更多时间享受休闲旅行。“从绵阳开车到四姑娘山景区大概需要5个小时，相当于半天时间。”他表示，多出半天时间，观光时间就不会那么紧张，可以更好地欣赏当地的风景。A Chengdu-based employee surnamed Xu, whose child currently lives in Mianyang, said that he currently drives to Mianyang every Saturday morning and returns to Chengdu Sunday afternoon, adding that, excluding travel time, he and his wife only have about a day to spend with their child.一位目前在成都工作、孩子住在绵阳的徐性员工表示，自己现在每周六早上开车去绵阳，周日下午返回成都。除去路上的时间，他和妻子能陪伴孩子的时间只有一天左右。"The time is really short, just when we start to get close to our child, we have to head back," Xu said, expressing a strong hope that this initiative can be further implemented, so that he can spend more time with his child.“时间真的太短了，刚刚和孩子亲近一点，就得离开了。”徐先生说，他非常希望这项举措能够进一步落实，这样他就能有更多时间陪伴孩子了。However, some netizens question the practical implementation of this initiative, wondering whether it will be put into effect and whether implementing this initiative in some public service institutions would cause an inconvenience.然而，一些网友对这项举措的具体实施情况提出了质疑，他们担心这项举措是否会真正落地，以及在一些公共服务机构实施这项举措是否会造成不便。The official from the bureau clarified that the specific implementation rules for the 2.5-day weekend leave have not yet been introduced. 该局负责人澄清，周末2.5天休假的具体实施细则尚未出台。"We need to combine specific circumstances and conduct discussions and research with other departments," the official noted.“我们需要结合具体情况，与其他部门进行讨论研究。”该工作人员指出。The 2.5-day weekend initiative is not novel in China. Over the past years, more than 10 provinces including North China's Hebei Province, East China's Jiangxi Province and Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality have proposed similar initiatives, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported.周末2.5天休假在中国并非新鲜事。据中国中央电视台（CCTV）新闻报道，过去几年，包括河北省、江西省和重庆市在内的10多个省份都提出了类似的举措。According to the report, Longnan in Gansu Province also encouraged that all administrative and public institutions should facilitate Friday afternoon leave for officials and employees after essential services, provided they complete required working hours through schedule adjustments, CCTV News reported.据报道，甘肃省陇南市也鼓励所有行政事业单位，在通过调整作息时间完成规定工作时间的前提下，为干部职工提供周五下午的休假。Professor Yang Haiyang, dean of the Research Institute of Social Development at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, said that reducing working hours is an inevitable trend of social and economic development and civilizational progress, but its promotion needs to be combined with practical conditions to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, according to the People's Daily.西南财经大学社会发展研究院院长杨海洋教授在接受《人民日报》采访时表示，缩短工作时间是社会经济发展和文明进步的必然趋势，但推广时应结合实际情况，避免“一刀切”。flexible workweek弹性工作周municipal/mjuːˈnɪsɪpl/adj.市政的；地方政府的leave model休假模式one-size-fits-alladj.一刀切的

Edisi Hari Jumat, 30 Mei 2025 - Dia selalu mencintaimu

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 7:44

Kencan Dengan Tuhan - Jumat, 30 Mei 2025Bacaan: "Sebab kamu semua adalah anak-anak Allah karena iman di dalam Yesus Kristus." (Galatia 3:26) Renungan: Brian seorang anak laki-laki yang baru berumur 3,5 tahun, asyik menonton tv bersama ayahnya sambil menikmati makanan kecil. Brian memperhatikan betapa lahapnya sang ayah makan biskuit coklat. Sambil menggigit biskuit itu, sang ayah berkata, "Ayah sangat suka biskuit coklat ini, apalagi bila diminum dengan segelas susu. Wah sedap sekali!" Di dalam hati Brian berpikir, "Jika aku membuatkan segelas susu untuk ayah, ia pasti akan senang. Brian pun ke dapur. Tangannya membuka pintu lemari, tapi badannya terlalu pendek untuk bisa mencapai kotak susu yang diletakkan di rak atas. Dengan tenaga anak-anaknya ia menarik kursi mendekati lemari. Lantai pun penuh goresan bekas kaki kursi yang diseret dengan paksa. Dengan sedikit berjinjit, akhirnya tangannya menggapai kotak susu yang ada di rak lemari. Sekarang giliran mengambil gelas. Bunyi gelas-gelas yang beradu keras terdengar ketika ia mengambil sebuah gelas yang cukup besar. Sebuah gelas jatuh dan pecah, tapi Brian tidak peduli. Yang ada dalam pikirannya, "Aku mau membuat segelas susu untuk ayah." Brian merasa mungkin lebih leluasa membuat susu di lantai daripada di meja, maka ia pun meletakkan gelas di lantai, berikut kotak susu dan sedikit air dalam cangkir plastik. Sementara itu, ayahnya secara diam-diam memperhatikan semua yang Brian lakukan. la melihat goresan-goresan di lantai bekas kursi yang ditarik, pintu lemari yang masih terbuka lebar, pеcahan gelas yang berserakan di sana-sini, lantai yang basah dan susu yang tumpah di mana-mana. Akhirnya, Brian mengangkat gelas besar berisi penuh dengan susu sambil berteriak memanggil-manggil ayahnya. "Ayah, aku membawakan segelas susu untuk Ayah!" Lantai serta karpet yang diinjak kakinya meninggalkan bekas susu. Gelas yang diisi susu terlalu penuh itu menetes ke lantai, karpet bahkan sofa. Karena tidak menemukan sang ayah, Brian kembali ke dapur, berdiri di sana sambil memandang sekelilingnya. Matanya melihat dapur yang berantakan. Ia memandang tubuhnya, bajunya dan kakinya, semuanya basah karena tumpahan susu. Dengan mata yang penuh rasa bersalah ia memandang kepada ayahnya yang tiba-tiba berdiri di depannya. "Ayah pasti akan menghukumku," pikirnya. Tetapi ayahnya hanya tersenyum. Ayahnya tidak melihat ia sebagai seorang anak nakal yang telah membuat segalanya kotor dan berantakan, tetapi ia melihat seorang anak yang begitu dikasihinya dan anaknya itu sedang berusaha menyenangkan hati ayahnya. Tak peduli apa yang sudah Brian lakukan, sang ayah memeluknya seraya berkata, "Engkau adalah anakku." Bapa di Sorga mengasihi kita seperti ayah Brian yang mengasihi anaknya sepenuh hati. Meskipun di dalam usaha kita untuk mengasihi dan menyenangkan hati-Nya masih terdapat banyak kekurangan karena keterbatasan kita, namun Bapa di Sorga tidak langsung memvonis kita. la tetap menyebut kita "anakNya", dan menolong kita untuk menjadi lebih baik lagi. Tuhan Yesus memberkati. Doa:Tuhan Yesus, aku sungguh bersyukur karena Engkau mengasihiku sekalipun dalam keterbatasanku aku sering berbuat salah. Ampuni aku Yesus. Amin. (Dod).

ia yang tak allah dengan dod amin sebuah nya jika galatia aku akhirnya sekarang selalu wah ayah tetapi sambil sebab meskipun edisi yesus sementara bapa engkau sorga ayahnya bunyi hari jumat tangannya doa tuhan yesus

237 |宁波| 一直在“划水” - 羽人竞渡、三江口、荡街和隐入生活的古桥

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2025 79:53

本期为端午节特别放送！Yang携虚拟公子Yang Yang和你一起“过七桥、跨三江”�。祝你端午节假期愉快！本期目的地为宁波，我们要进入这片被水纹镌刻的土地，从河姆渡先民在姚江边制出第一块陶片；到三江口千帆竞发的盛景；从大运河最南端的漕运心跳；再到舟山港吞吐世界的呼吸——宁波7000多年的文明史，本就是一部人与水的相处史。这座与水有不解之缘的城市，也一直靠“划水”走向世界。所以，在上百种打开这座城市的方式中，选择了以“水”作为主线，也请你跟着“中宁波人”乐芸，一起去到河边江畔、踏过一座座隐于日常的古桥、穿梭于历史故事和现实中间，来体味宁波的滋味。口误纠正：6分08秒，“镇塘关”应为“陈塘关”；17分52秒，“吃过奉化芋乃头，走过宁波三江口”，应为“走过三关六码头，吃过奉化芋艿头”。|故事节点|01:43 宁波童谣02:58 名字：海定则波宁 06:37 地形：山海俱全07:37 河姆渡先民的“羽人竞渡”13:02 以舟代车的消失和划龙舟的延续17:20 三江口：宁波开始的地方20:20 三江口“认桥”和“灵桥牌”普通话28:06 隐入生活的古桥34:15 出生入死和桥的互动38:36 关于“掉河里”的童年记忆43:37 月湖文化和“宰相嫁女”50:10 出海：老外滩何以为“老”？54:03 宁波方言里的英文57:39 北宋的“万斛神舟”63:02 宁波商帮传奇70:54 乐芸推荐“荡街”路线和食物推荐“荡街”路线：传统线路，从天一阁-月湖-鼓楼-天封塔-天一广场-天主教堂-至宁波美术馆；滨江线路，从甬江天地-甬江公园-至水韵公园，适合发呆，放空，独行；市中心“荡街”，走镇明路、华严街皆可。|壮游者|乐芸:“中”宁波人，镇海新闻中心记者。|主播|Yang:很喜欢江南水乡的一名北方佬。请订阅、转发、评论和点赞节目，并在你使用的收听平台为“壮游者”专辑打五星好评。加听友群可微信添加"zhuangyouzhe2018"，与主播和听友直接交流。谢谢你，让我们有机会一起前行。

Meditaciones Guiadas Vivenciales | Omnity Meditación

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 30:46

#yinyang #opuestos #dualidad #meditacion #omnitymeditacion #meditacionguiada“Demos gracias por nuestras sombras, porque están ahí en primer lugar por la presencia de la luz”. Kamand Kojouri. Esta meditación guiada es una invitación a reflexionar sobre aquellas circunstancias de oscuridad que dieron un paso directo a la luz. Nada es completamente Yin y nada es completamente Yang. Nada es bueno ni malo, todo, es una dualidad.La dualidad es un ciclo que nunca dejar de fluir, no debemos luchar contra ella, si no aceptarla y comprender que forma parte de toda existencia universal.Audio Mediante una música de frecuencia alta y una voz guiada que te acompañará durante este viaje introspectivo. Una buena alternativa para COMPRENDER el EQUILIBRIO UNIVERSAL y la ACEPTACIÓN de la VIDA. Comprueba que es fácil conectar con tu ser más poderoso, tu mism@.

universal yang demos yin meditaci equilibrio aceptaci comprender comprueba

A year-long happiness experiment: Try one new thing a week (did it work?)

Nudge

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2025 28:27

This behavioural scientist spent one year doing a new thing every week. He tried acupuncture, gambling, day-trading and dancing. He visited Just Stop Oil meetups, cuddle workshops, and psychic readings. He killed a chicken, drank breastmilk, and bungee jumped. Did it make him happy? (And is there science to back up his ideas? --- Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/64d1602e73 Follow Patrick's newsletter: https://www.justdostuff.co.uk/ Read Patrick's book: https://shorturl.at/pAy2h Visit Patrick's website: https://www.patrickfagan.co.uk/ Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ --- Sources: Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59(2), 177–181. Boothby, E. J., Clark, M. S., & Bargh, J. A. (2014). Shared experiences are amplified. Psychological Science, 25(12), 2209–2216. Van Boven, L., & Gilovich, T. (2003). To do or to have? That is the question. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(6), 1193–1202. Yang, Y., Liu, R.-D., Ding, Y., Lin, J., Ding, Z., & Yang, X. (2024). Time distortion for short-form video users. Computers in Human Behavior, 150, 107192. Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/64d1602e73

time happiness journal experiments computers personality shared mills yang ding new thing human behavior liu social psychology abnormal psychological science just stop oil boothby bargh gilovich

How to Market From Your Centers in Human Design

Introvert Biz Growth Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2025 30:34

In this episode of The Humane Marketing Show, I'm joined by Jen Freeman to explore how your Human Design centers — both defined and open — reveal your natural marketing superpowers. We unpack what these centers are, how they shape the energy you radiate or absorb, and why knowing them helps you release the pressure to market like someone you're not. Jen clears up common myths and shows how understanding your centers can gently guide you to choose marketing strategies and business models that feel authentic and easeful. If you're a heart-centered entrepreneur or Changemaker ready to market from who you truly are, not from hustle or hype, this conversation will inspire and ground you. Previous Episode with Jen here. Here's what we discussed in this episode: What centers are in Human Design and their origins. Defined centers as areas of consistent, radiating energy. Open centers as areas where we receive and are influenced by others' energy. The importance of knowing your defined and open centers for self-understanding. Common misconceptions and the value of open centers for gaining wisdom. How understanding your centers can guide decisions and reduce pressure to be someone you're not. How your open centers can reveal what you are naturally drawn to offer or “sell” in your business or marketing. Using your Human Design to choose marketing strategies and business models that fit your authentic self. Watch this episode on YouTube Join our Workshop on June 4th -- Transcript 1 00:00:01.190 --> 00:00:07.499 Sarah Santacroce: Jen Freeman, welcome back to the humane marketing podcast it's good to hang out with you as always. 2 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:09.810 jen freeman: Oh, it's great to be here. Thanks for having me, Sarah. 3 00:00:09.810 --> 00:00:28.310 Sarah Santacroce: Thank you. You've been on the show before. And we talked about human design. And if people want to go back to that episode, it's episode 194. So humane dot marketing forward. Slash. 194. 4 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:56.510 Sarah Santacroce: This way, we take it a bit farther and further and deeper into, you know not so much about the different types, but more about the centers specifically defined and undefined centers. So again, if this is all kind of like complete, weird language to you. It's probably best that you 1st listen to episode 1, 94, so that you understand a little bit of the basics of human design. 5 00:00:56.710 --> 00:01:08.530 Sarah Santacroce: So, Jen, why don't you explain? For people who are relatively new to human design what the centers are like that we're going to be talking about today. 6 00:01:08.830 --> 00:01:19.320 jen freeman: So the centers in human design. They're a synthesis of many different systems. So they are. They do reflect the Chakras. They do reflect the Kabbalah tree of life. 7 00:01:19.460 --> 00:01:48.089 jen freeman: They go all the way down to genetic code and organs. So so when you look at a human design chart, it's a 2D representation of a 3D. Lived experience. And so the the centers themselves probably the simplest way to say it. They're they're portals for one, because where they're when they're open. It's where you're receiving information from the world, and then where they're fixed. It's where you're putting it out. I like to think of it as a radio station. So 101 Sarah 8 00:01:48.420 --> 00:02:01.600 jen freeman: going out, and that, you know, never ending, would be where your centers are fixed, where your energy is consistent, and you're radiating that energy into your environment where they're open is where you're receiving other people's. You're receiving my 1, 0 1 gin, you know. 9 00:02:02.170 --> 00:02:05.749 jen freeman: into yours. So so being with that constant interplay 10 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:19.960 jen freeman: that's always happening. But this is why it's so important to know your centers, which one are defined because that's consistent. That's you. That's your radio station and which ones are open that are receiving because you're being conditioned there, which we'll talk more about. I'm sure. 11 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:38.109 Sarah Santacroce: I'm just gonna hold up for people who are watching on Youtube. I'm holding up this. Yeah, this, this chart, that kind of shows the the centers. So you mentioned the Chakras? So yes, there's the Chakras, but there's a few more right. What? What's in addition to the Chakra. 12 00:02:38.110 --> 00:02:53.609 jen freeman: Because that's part of like the Kabbalah tree of life. For example, if people are familiar with what that looks like, so it's a similar recognition that there are these portals of energy that are coming through us and to us. 13 00:02:53.760 --> 00:02:59.280 jen freeman: Right? So. And that's where the G center is unique. And that's that heart you just showed them. 14 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:00.280 Sarah Santacroce: In the center. 15 00:03:00.598 --> 00:03:06.640 jen freeman: That that is what's called the magnetic monopole. And it's basically what creates the illusion of a separate self 16 00:03:06.910 --> 00:03:11.089 jen freeman: and sets direction so that there's the apparent sense of sereness 17 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:32.619 jen freeman: right? Right? So and and again, human design is very deep. So I'm very aware with your listeners that probably every sentence we say could create more questions in their mind. And I just want them to know you're right on track. This is the nature of this. It's a very deep subject, a life, a lifelong inquiry. Really, you know, Sarah and I both have 18 00:03:32.730 --> 00:03:37.019 jen freeman: caught the bug. I've had the bug for 23 years. So I think you've had it 19 00:03:37.140 --> 00:03:38.460 jen freeman: 10, maybe. Yeah, yeah. 20 00:03:38.460 --> 00:03:41.200 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, but not as deep as you, you know. 21 00:03:41.200 --> 00:03:55.919 jen freeman: Yeah, yeah, so, but just just knowing that if it does raise questions, it's okay, it's great. Actually, it'll take you into wonderful places. But so we're gonna both do our best to keep it as simple, so you can apply it right away as possible. 22 00:03:56.390 --> 00:04:04.390 Sarah Santacroce: So you talked a little bit already about centers, one of them being the ones where 23 00:04:04.650 --> 00:04:25.470 Sarah Santacroce: you know who you are and the other ones being the ones where you receive energy. So the open centers are the ones where you receive other people's message and energy and the defined, or the would you call them closed centers? The defined centers are the ones where you 24 00:04:25.700 --> 00:04:31.650 Sarah Santacroce: you know you can tap into, because that's where you know who you are. Is that correct? 25 00:04:31.650 --> 00:04:32.210 jen freeman: Yeah. 26 00:04:32.520 --> 00:04:50.990 jen freeman: yes. So so something called the neutrino stream, which is an infinitesimally small particle of mass traveling just under the speed of light. So the defined centers. So basically, we are all being inundated with these tiny, tiny particles all the time, millions of them per second. 27 00:04:51.110 --> 00:05:04.549 jen freeman: So what? Where the centers are defined. It's where you have consistent conditioning by the planets of neutrinos. Okay? So it's you're still being conditioned. But it's all the time consistent. Your entire life. That's what's happening. 28 00:05:04.940 --> 00:05:15.480 jen freeman: Whereas where it's white is where you're both being conditioned by planets, by people, by animals, by plants, by like, it's like, it's it's really the felt sense of it 29 00:05:15.770 --> 00:05:27.839 jen freeman: is that basically, it's like the the where the centers are fixed. It's like the furniture. You never really think about it. You know, it's just there. It's consistent for you all the time, whereas where they're open, it's much more like the television 30 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:35.449 jen freeman: like flashy images, colors, lights, and our attention is very naturally drawn to the TV over the furniture, you know, unless you're a very, I guess. 31 00:05:35.610 --> 00:05:42.609 jen freeman: meditative person who likes to stare at your couch? That most of us are going to be drawn to those open centers. So 32 00:05:42.770 --> 00:05:48.849 jen freeman: so, part of how we learn about ourselves is, we see our defined centers. 33 00:05:48.990 --> 00:06:00.179 jen freeman: So let's say that, I have a defined emotional center which is the center of authority. It means that I need at least 24 h to make decisions. It means my emotions move on a wave 34 00:06:00.950 --> 00:06:03.309 jen freeman: meaning. I have a lot of feelings. They're data points. 35 00:06:03.590 --> 00:06:07.419 jen freeman: So if I don't understand that about myself. 36 00:06:07.750 --> 00:06:17.059 jen freeman: and I don't understand that someone with an open emotional center would be experiencing my emotions. They'd be. I would be. I would be conditioning them with my 37 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:17.890 jen freeman: promotion. 38 00:06:18.040 --> 00:06:21.770 Sarah Santacroce: So I actually have an undefined solar plexus. 39 00:06:22.170 --> 00:06:25.599 jen freeman: So so that would be where my emotions 40 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:29.749 jen freeman: you would be feeling them. And this is so. Wherever you're open. 41 00:06:30.030 --> 00:06:42.450 jen freeman: you will be feeling somewhat the conditioning twice as big. Basically, so often we think we're the opposite of what we are. So like, someone with an open emotional center can feel like, oh, I'm so emotional! 42 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:46.500 jen freeman: But really they're feeling all of the emotions around them. 43 00:06:47.380 --> 00:07:00.259 jen freeman: Right, and it doesn't mean that they don't have their own. But it's it's not the same thing. It's it's a much cooler experience than the emotions are very hot. So if you have it fixed, you just naturally have a lot of heat going through your system. 44 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:06.539 jen freeman: So so the essence of this. And again, Noah is always with you and design. The challenge is to 45 00:07:06.690 --> 00:07:13.380 jen freeman: essentialize it for people to apply is that if you look at your chart. You get a reading, you start to understand. 46 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:24.809 jen freeman: You have incredible. You're incredibly empowered to understand who you are in any environment, how you influence people, how you affect them, and also how you're influenced and affected. 47 00:07:25.370 --> 00:07:28.250 jen freeman: It changes everything, everything 48 00:07:28.550 --> 00:07:35.719 jen freeman: so. And that's something just a very quick, anecdotal evidence. I have a totally open heart ego will center. 49 00:07:36.170 --> 00:07:41.769 jen freeman: So part of what that means is that I really need to do things at the right time. I'm basically 50 00:07:42.030 --> 00:07:56.620 jen freeman: it's not. I'm not here to to will things right? Where if somebody, 30% of the population has that fixed, they are, it's healthy for their heart, because it's about the heart center, but when it's open it actually hurts your heart to try to will things into being. 51 00:07:57.100 --> 00:07:57.800 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 52 00:07:57.960 --> 00:08:09.690 jen freeman: And so I was in the financial industry years ago, which was a hundred percent commission. I was in this in the States, in the mortgage business in California, and a very, very competitive market with the broker's license, which is like 53 00:08:09.790 --> 00:08:17.120 jen freeman: and it my God! It was so painful! It was so painful, and I I finally used this tool to understand it was 54 00:08:17.490 --> 00:08:19.269 jen freeman: I was totally in the wrong place. 55 00:08:19.450 --> 00:08:38.956 Sarah Santacroce: Right? Yeah, yeah, that's exactly how understanding who we are and how we're wired helps us. Then, you know, choose the the right career path, but also the right business plan and the right business module and and marketing tools, etc, etc. Yeah, 56 00:08:40.260 --> 00:08:52.009 Sarah Santacroce: So would you say that, like, I think there's some kind of misconception, maybe, about open centers, like people think they're kind of 57 00:08:52.160 --> 00:09:00.350 Sarah Santacroce: scared about open centers. Maybe. Because yeah. Tell us, tell us why, what's the fear behind these open centers? 58 00:09:00.530 --> 00:09:08.459 jen freeman: Yeah, so so the thing about the open centers, is it? Well, if we basically just go with it, all human beings seem to tend to want to be in control. 59 00:09:08.630 --> 00:09:12.180 Sarah Santacroce: And so the open centers are where they are not in control. 60 00:09:12.180 --> 00:09:12.550 Sarah Santacroce: Right? 61 00:09:12.550 --> 00:09:29.789 jen freeman: By definition. It's like they're not in control. Right? It's like, this is where, if different influences, different information. But the positive side of this is. It's where you're you're here to be wise in those centers. It's like you're constantly having wine tasting of all these different possibilities. So 62 00:09:30.280 --> 00:09:35.460 jen freeman: when you are defined. You. You're just it. You're not actually wise about it. You just are. It. 63 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:36.300 Sarah Santacroce: Right. 64 00:09:36.300 --> 00:09:48.169 jen freeman: But where you're open is where you get to taste all these different people's fields and energies. And so like again going back to the open heart example. So I'm here to be wise about what is truly a value. 65 00:09:48.990 --> 00:09:54.049 jen freeman: and that is a very big difference versus trying to prove I am valuable. 66 00:09:54.240 --> 00:10:07.609 jen freeman: which is where the people have it fixed, are trying to prove that they're valuable. And again, it's correct for them, right? They're supposed to get out there and be like woo, you know, especially in the States. We're so very sales oriented. So you know they they succeed very well in those environments. 67 00:10:07.770 --> 00:10:09.159 jen freeman: But if you don't. 68 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:18.630 jen freeman: if you understand so like, even right now, sitting with you, I feel completely grounded and confident that what we're talking about has great wisdom and great application. 69 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:21.540 jen freeman: but it has nothing to do with me. 70 00:10:22.040 --> 00:10:29.299 jen freeman: It's I'm I'm just. I'm just expressing what I've taste, tested and learned, and then I that ideally, I want them to go apply it 71 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:29.970 jen freeman: right. 72 00:10:29.970 --> 00:10:30.790 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm. 73 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:33.696 jen freeman: I've tasted. Yeah, go ahead. 74 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:37.860 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, yeah, this is good. So I have this 75 00:10:38.628 --> 00:10:42.040 Sarah Santacroce: spreadsheet in front of me, where 76 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:45.220 Sarah Santacroce: I basically looked at my undefined centers. 77 00:10:45.520 --> 00:10:46.990 Sarah Santacroce: And then I 78 00:10:47.820 --> 00:10:59.619 Sarah Santacroce: given your like, we we did a class together that you taught and given that information. I basically sat down and said, Here's what I'm selling. 79 00:11:00.210 --> 00:11:12.570 Sarah Santacroce: because it's placed in the undefined centers. Right? So, for example, I have an undefined heart and ego. And so what I'm selling is worthiness 80 00:11:13.100 --> 00:11:19.409 Sarah Santacroce: or belonging to community or adaptation in times of shock 81 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:25.009 Sarah Santacroce: or ethics. So these kind of things. 82 00:11:25.300 --> 00:11:36.809 Sarah Santacroce: because that's what I'm constantly learning because of my undefined heart and ego. That's exactly what I'm here to, you know, give and share and sell. 83 00:11:36.930 --> 00:11:43.529 Sarah Santacroce: So that's would you say, that's an applied example of of how we can? 84 00:11:43.640 --> 00:11:46.029 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah, tap into these open centers. 85 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:49.559 jen freeman: Yes, and really harness their power. 86 00:11:49.980 --> 00:12:13.219 jen freeman: It's like, in a way, realizing what, Major, you're in in university. You're like, oh, biologist, right? This whole time. I was trying to, you know, be a Wall Street, and now you know or do business analysis. But I'm actually meant to be over here, and the sense of relief, the sense of oh, it all makes sense and the sense of not putting pressure on yourself anymore. To be something that you're not 87 00:12:13.340 --> 00:12:18.809 jen freeman: is so big, so like I have a chart of an entrepreneur. As an example. 88 00:12:19.310 --> 00:12:23.300 jen freeman: so much of my design. I'm designed to get out there do stuff. 89 00:12:24.020 --> 00:12:36.089 jen freeman: but I know I know that's my chart. I know that's my design. But I'm I'm here. So I have a lot of energy, basically. And I have the gate of power connected to my throat, so I know, when I speak that it will be heard 90 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:41.050 jen freeman: right one way or the other. You know I can't say if they're gonna like what they're hearing, but what it's gonna be heard. 91 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:44.530 jen freeman: whereas if someone does not have a fixed throat center. 92 00:12:45.500 --> 00:12:50.410 jen freeman: then what that means is, they don't have consistent access to their voice 93 00:12:50.640 --> 00:13:04.030 jen freeman: being heard, so they often will have lots of stories like self-talk stories right about oh, people don't love me, or they don't like me, or they're not listening to me, but really on a mechanics level, they just don't have a fixed 94 00:13:04.130 --> 00:13:10.029 jen freeman: throat. So in that case they could learn. If they have something important to communicate, maybe write an email, write a letter 95 00:13:10.210 --> 00:13:14.090 jen freeman: that written communication could be received much better than spoken. 96 00:13:14.260 --> 00:13:16.579 Sarah Santacroce: Right, yeah. 97 00:13:16.580 --> 00:13:31.360 jen freeman: Sometimes people with open voices are so wise about the nature of speech that they become like incredible speakers. So it's it. But it depends on how how they're what they're telling themselves about it, right? Like, oh, no one listens. 98 00:13:31.740 --> 00:13:38.060 jen freeman: It's it's really it's so. It's so literal and physical and mechanical. That's the other thing. It's 99 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:41.429 jen freeman: yeah. The throat is a big, big topic, a big topic. 100 00:13:41.430 --> 00:13:52.340 Sarah Santacroce: And it's a big topic in marketing as well, because you know the throat is your voice, and how you are going to be heard, and so, understanding 101 00:13:52.650 --> 00:14:20.139 Sarah Santacroce: what your role is in this lifetime, and how you're supposed to be sharing that voice. Well, that's that's kind of a big deal right. And if you're forcing yourself to do one thing like you know, speaking on stage. But then you find out after a reading. Well, that's not exactly what's going to be easy for you. It's still doable, probably, but it's not going to be easy for you. 102 00:14:20.510 --> 00:14:25.166 jen freeman: Exactly well, and and to your point, I'm I'm in the process like we chatted about it. 103 00:14:25.680 --> 00:14:37.099 jen freeman: This in inspiration came to me. I mean, it's I'm workshopping. But I'm my current note. Name is the current current Newsletter. So I have the. My. One of my main gates is the basically the now 104 00:14:37.250 --> 00:14:50.540 jen freeman: I'm literally the voice of the now. So this is part of me using my voice of like, I'm just so aware of the now. And you know I have a background with astrology and cosmologies, and and I've very drawn to create a newsletter 105 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:52.910 jen freeman: to help people in real time 106 00:14:53.020 --> 00:15:02.489 jen freeman: be with, especially as things are changing so radically that there's an underlying support that they can lean into the quality of time. There's a consistency in the quality of time. 107 00:15:02.990 --> 00:15:11.550 jen freeman: and it's straight up. It's it's part of me being like I am the voice of the now, that's all I ever talk about to anyone all the time. Right. 108 00:15:11.550 --> 00:15:12.230 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. 109 00:15:12.270 --> 00:15:20.410 jen freeman: So it's cool, because I just feel like, all right, just try it. You've been doing it for years, anyway. Why not just do it, and so it gives it so I feel a sense of confidence. 110 00:15:20.410 --> 00:15:23.059 Sarah Santacroce: It gives you these insights. Right? The. 111 00:15:23.140 --> 00:15:24.379 jen freeman: It really does. 112 00:15:24.380 --> 00:15:34.330 Sarah Santacroce: Yes, I want to take another example from from my what I written down. Oh, as you know, I have a undefined head. 113 00:15:34.590 --> 00:15:49.730 Sarah Santacroce: and so a big thing of what I'm selling is inspiration. Right? Is change, inspiration to do things differently. So yeah, understanding that. And just saying. 114 00:15:50.800 --> 00:16:10.839 Sarah Santacroce: because people kind of wonder sometimes, you know, family members like, what are you doing like? You're writing books like, how does that make any money? Or I'm like, well, that's that's my role in this lifetime is to inspire and bring about change and talk about change. And so just. 115 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:32.549 Sarah Santacroce: And it's not always easy to accept that either. To say, you know, is this like what I'm doing like? Shouldn't I be going back to, you know, selling Linkedin profile reviews and things like that? But I was not happy in that role, right? And I'm also a 5 1, as you know. And so it's all about. 116 00:16:32.630 --> 00:16:51.410 Sarah Santacroce: you know, spreading the message to a large audience. And so understanding that and going, okay, so yeah, I'll just accept that role. And this is what I do is, yeah, it's kind of like this big relief and big understanding as well. 117 00:16:51.780 --> 00:17:13.130 jen freeman: Oh, that's so beautiful. And and just I wanna point out to your listeners that part of what Sarah's talking about right now is that over the years we've known each other. Is that so? Being a 5, 1 means part of her role is one to many. She's here to amplify messages to larger groups of people, where, when she was selling the Linkedin profile that was one to one essentially. 118 00:17:13.130 --> 00:17:14.099 Sarah Santacroce: Right, yeah. 119 00:17:14.109 --> 00:17:16.119 jen freeman: And so it was not the right 120 00:17:16.469 --> 00:17:31.719 jen freeman: use where you can feel, and it just is off. It's like you're wearing like shoes a size too small, with a pebble in it. You know it just feels wrong. So it's in. And that's the thing. Also, like Sarah just expressed that accepting your design does not mean 121 00:17:32.309 --> 00:17:34.539 jen freeman: oh, no, I guess I just have to like 122 00:17:34.919 --> 00:17:51.059 jen freeman: oh, it's right. It's not like you're settling like you're like, oh, I had these dreams, and then, you know, and now I'm just going to settle for my design. It's like No, no, your design. The more you align with it, then totally unexpected synchronicities and possibilities open up things you could never have imagined. 123 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:52.060 Sarah Santacroce: It's. 124 00:17:52.060 --> 00:17:55.499 jen freeman: And that's part of the mystery of all of this, you know. 125 00:17:55.850 --> 00:18:11.800 jen freeman: and as Sarah knows, I have a 20 plus years of Qigong background which is working with Chi for those who don't know it, working with energy. And this just completely maps to Qigong as well. You have to know your piece of the puzzle, as my teacher would say. If you know your piece of the puzzle. 126 00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:14.400 jen freeman: then you can fall into the hole effortlessly. 127 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:30.289 jen freeman: But if you're fighting your piece of the puzzle, and you're and you're like struggling to be something else. You can't actually connect into all the resources clients. It's it's it's it's so paradoxical, but it's like the more you can accept the limitation, the more you can thrive. 128 00:18:30.540 --> 00:18:39.099 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm, yeah, it's beautiful. There's there's another thing that I wrote down here is that I'm selling to twos. 129 00:18:39.260 --> 00:18:39.790 Sarah Santacroce: So. 130 00:18:39.790 --> 00:18:40.700 jen freeman: Yeah. 131 00:18:40.950 --> 00:18:41.850 Sarah Santacroce: That. 132 00:18:42.620 --> 00:18:50.200 Sarah Santacroce: How does that have to do? What does that have to do with the with the centers? Or is that something else? I can't remember how we got to that. 133 00:18:50.520 --> 00:19:01.199 jen freeman: Yeah, yeah, me, neither. Actually, the lines that's in lines and profile stuff. And that's styles of learning. That's so. It's not. It's not actually, it's not the centers. It's. 134 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:02.329 Sarah Santacroce: That's about the centers. Okay. 135 00:19:02.330 --> 00:19:02.949 jen freeman: Sounded like. 136 00:19:02.950 --> 00:19:04.649 Sarah Santacroce: Action from the centers. Okay. 137 00:19:04.650 --> 00:19:07.359 jen freeman: Yeah, it's more like a well 138 00:19:07.450 --> 00:19:31.910 jen freeman: to be just for those whose minds might be like, huh? So there's Gates, and those gates are fixed in a hexagram from the I Ching. The I Ching has 6 lines, so so part of what Sarah is saying is that like? So let's say she has 53, and 54 is her son and earth right? So if it's 0 point 2, it means the second line of the Hexagram. So it's incredibly precise and specific 139 00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:53.120 jen freeman: and very helpful. But but in the twos just also complete. They're they are projecting outward. But they don't actually understand. Other people can see them. They're kind of very mysterious, the twos, you know. And so in a lot of ways, Sarah, with the 5 of like she's holding up the flag of like, Hey, I've got answers over here. 140 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:55.430 jen freeman: Opportunities to be like. 141 00:19:55.730 --> 00:20:02.869 jen freeman: can someone actually help me, you know, and of course many of us will be going towards the 5, but also 2 and 5 142 00:20:03.020 --> 00:20:14.029 jen freeman: are related in the lower Hexagram and the upper hexagram. It goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, so 2 and 5 are are both projected on as well. 143 00:20:14.030 --> 00:20:14.940 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm, so. 144 00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:18.619 jen freeman: So. So there's a deep relationship between the fives and the twos. 145 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:23.649 Sarah Santacroce: So okay, let's bring it back to the the centers. What? What? 146 00:20:24.470 --> 00:20:29.620 Sarah Santacroce: you know? What else can you tell us about these centers? I think they like a 147 00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:38.230 Sarah Santacroce: I feel like they come with a lot of vulnerability and and conditioning, as you have mentioned before. Right? So there's a big 148 00:20:38.540 --> 00:20:41.260 Sarah Santacroce: opportunity for healing, I guess. 149 00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:57.110 jen freeman: Such a big opportunity. And so and this is where, understanding that we are all conditioned. It's the nature of being a human being that from the moment we're born we're being conditioned. We call it culture. We call it family, right? So no one gets out of conditioning. So this is not 150 00:20:57.250 --> 00:21:07.760 jen freeman: this, is it? This is part of being human being. So then, from that place you can then go. Okay. How do I be wise about my conditioning. So I I have a totally open Asna of the thinking mind. 151 00:21:08.090 --> 00:21:23.740 jen freeman: And so and again, this is never ending. You're constantly refining this. It's not like you learn it once, and then you move on. It's like it's constant. So I've been in this past couple of months, and a very deep understanding of how deeply my mind is stimulated. 152 00:21:24.340 --> 00:21:50.990 jen freeman: and how important it is for me to be very aware and careful of what I put into my mind, especially as we're in all of these changes all over the world, right? As we're in this great moment of emergency emergence. There's a lot of people pouring a lot of fear and panic into the field where it's not good for my mind at all. Not that it's good for any mind, right, but if you have a fixed mind. It's not going to hit you the same. So I had to have a really deep process of being with. 153 00:21:51.310 --> 00:22:07.500 jen freeman: Who am I gonna look to for information. How am I gonna interact, you know, especially being in the States right enough, said the States. Quite a place right now. So and it was very pivotal to me to be like. Look, your mind is incredibly sensitive. 154 00:22:08.060 --> 00:22:14.509 jen freeman: You don't help anyone or anything by flooding your mind with all of this toxicity. 155 00:22:14.690 --> 00:22:18.770 jen freeman: I'm not designed for it, you know, someone with a fixed mind 156 00:22:19.020 --> 00:22:25.020 jen freeman: in a lot of ways. They're they're meant to be out there like hitting people with their thoughts. Basically, it's like they can like, do this. 157 00:22:25.020 --> 00:22:28.710 Sarah Santacroce: They're the ones invading you with their stories. Right? 158 00:22:28.710 --> 00:22:49.379 jen freeman: You know. And so and that's something where I've been. I really had to come to peace with and really, deeply be like, okay, if I feel drawn, I will go. Listen to a person, you know an article, a podcast. But other than that, I'm going to trust spirits going to bring me what I need to know, to play my part hopefully for the the benefit of all beings. Right? The sense of but it's part of that. 159 00:22:50.140 --> 00:23:00.760 jen freeman: I got to be real about the vulnerability, and both my parents had fixed minds so also to bring in again family. So in this journey of learning, how deeply their minds 160 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:02.790 jen freeman: impacted me. 161 00:23:03.020 --> 00:23:13.289 jen freeman: So really, bit by bit, over time, unpacking like, Oh, wait! That's Mom's fears. Oh, that's oh, wait! That's how Dad approaches it right, and they're both fives. 162 00:23:13.520 --> 00:23:25.909 jen freeman: So they have a very different gig. I'm a i'm a 1 3. So I'm much more my own test tube. I get to come out and share my research right. But I got conditioned to think I was supposed to be 163 00:23:26.040 --> 00:23:38.809 jen freeman: something else, and that was very painful. So again, the more you can recognize your conditioning. And so the great place for your listeners to start very simply, I mean, complexly, but simply. Look at your family origin. 164 00:23:39.390 --> 00:23:52.699 jen freeman: What was held as values? Right? Was it money? Was it education? Was it family? Were they very open-minded and international? Were they very closed-minded like like, and not from a judgment place. Just true observation. 165 00:23:53.070 --> 00:24:03.289 jen freeman: and then look at your own centers. Look, where are you? Open, where were you being conditioned? If you have the capacity, you can run free charts all over the place. You could look at your mom and dad's chart if you knew the birth info. 166 00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:08.070 jen freeman: and you can. Just that is profound, profound. 167 00:24:08.070 --> 00:24:09.670 Sarah Santacroce: Hmm, hmm. 168 00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:16.300 jen freeman: So that's a great place to start right. And then, if we want to go straight to marketing business application. 169 00:24:16.600 --> 00:24:36.210 jen freeman: look at your business model. Look at your design right? And and so let's again take me because I know my design. When I was in 100 commission, financial huge egos everywhere. It was not my strength at all. But once I let go. I've had this coaching and consulting business for 12 years. 170 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:49.879 jen freeman: I'm just being me bringing forward my research. That's all about spirit embodiment. These are my gates. How do you bring spirit into matter? How do you truly be aligned with the now in a powerful way and speak powerfully. 171 00:24:50.030 --> 00:24:53.279 jen freeman: so I just let go into it, and I'm very happy. 172 00:24:53.889 --> 00:24:54.500 Sarah Santacroce: Happy. 173 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:57.870 jen freeman: Don't feel like I'm swimming upstream. People just find me. 174 00:24:58.440 --> 00:25:13.920 jen freeman: I just it's great. So that's what I would love for them to hear as well is just. If you feel like you're stuck, or suffering, or difficult man, there is a way, and it's not far or hard. It's actually right in front of you and these centers. 175 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:19.130 Sarah Santacroce: Yeah. And what I, what I like about this is that we're not trying to. 176 00:25:19.910 --> 00:25:25.059 Sarah Santacroce: you know, use human design as some kind of tactic that we're now going to 177 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:43.200 Sarah Santacroce: go into psycho mode, and, you know, try to get because we don't have access to our clients. Human design, usually, at least not our prospects. Human design. It's all about finding out more who you are. 178 00:25:43.450 --> 00:25:43.880 jen freeman: Yes. 179 00:25:43.880 --> 00:26:06.409 Sarah Santacroce: Using that to your advantage, and being more authentic, being the real, you right that that's what this is all about, and and for people listening. I think they probably understand by now that this is complex, you know, like this is very complex. There's all these different layers. 180 00:26:06.970 --> 00:26:26.749 Sarah Santacroce: And yeah, if if you're interested in finding out more and going a bit deeper. Well, Jen is coming back to us to the Humane marketing circle to do another workshop on June 4, th Jen, tell us a little bit what we're going to be doing on June 4.th 181 00:26:26.970 --> 00:26:55.399 jen freeman: Great. So one of my favorite things to do with coaching groups, such as Sarah's, is that we'll have an introduction looking at the main thing. But then we're going to have 5 people that will have their charts in advance that are essentially on the hot seat. So we get to talk for 5 to 10 min with each person, and look at the application so that you in real time can learn. You can see. And it's just fascinating how different each person is right. And then you hear their stories of how they've been applying it, or what they're doing in their business. And it's 182 00:26:55.490 --> 00:27:18.800 jen freeman: it's it is so inspiring. Speaking of, you know, inspiration right? So hopefully, you would leave that workshop both with an idea of how your own charts working, looking at like, where? Where are the strengths like? Where? Where? You're already playing to your strengths? And so you're like great. Just more of that, and be able to go. Oh, right, I'm trying to do this over here, you know. Maybe I should not do that. And so I think you we learn so much from each other 183 00:27:19.820 --> 00:27:23.559 jen freeman: to see multiple people, especially in this back to back way. 184 00:27:23.910 --> 00:27:26.559 jen freeman: It's like magic. It really is like magic. 185 00:27:26.560 --> 00:27:31.930 Sarah Santacroce: Exactly. Even if your chart doesn't get picked. It's like, Oh, wow! I have this one, too. So 186 00:27:31.930 --> 00:27:32.969 Sarah Santacroce: yeah, no wonder 187 00:27:32.970 --> 00:27:56.720 Sarah Santacroce: I'm doing this. And I like this marketing tactic. Or no wonder I don't like that one. So yeah, so much wisdom coming out of that. So I can't wait to. Yeah, to have you talk to us about open and or defined and undefined centers. But for people who can't make it to the workshop, please tell 188 00:27:56.980 --> 00:28:02.410 Sarah Santacroce: tell listeners where they can find you and your newsletter that you're going to be. 189 00:28:02.410 --> 00:28:31.209 jen freeman: Yeah, that's right. Yeah. So my website's Jen Freemanco, JENF. REEM, a, n.co. And I offer one of the things is I call them the Decode, your design sessions. And I've actually created my own method includes human design, astrology, numerology, and something called the personality system because I really love Meta context. I love looking at the real big picture and then helping give people a strategy of how to, because to me how to live a happy life. 190 00:28:31.300 --> 00:28:47.649 jen freeman: It's like really loving, understanding your vehicle understanding like what who you are, what you're here to do. And so so. And I also do ongoing coaching with people based on this kind of stuff as well. And one thing I want to say just to really. 191 00:28:47.860 --> 00:29:01.239 jen freeman: I really hope from my heart to your heart. Whoever's listening as much as there's complexity, and there is. There is a simplicity here that if you, if you only heard this. Just understand, there's a way that you are 192 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:19.799 jen freeman: a radio station that's putting out, and there's a way that you are receiving. If you want to call it Yin and Yang. There's a fundamental dynamic going, and the more you can be curious about that, the more you're going to free yourself up from so much, so just even that alone could take you so far. 193 00:29:19.800 --> 00:29:35.750 Sarah Santacroce: What I'll never forget from our reading is is where you showed me. You know the push against and the resistance that creates. And yeah, that image keeps coming back. I'm like, don't push, don't push, it's not. It's not going to be easier. So just. 194 00:29:36.231 --> 00:29:42.970 jen freeman: I'm good. I'm so glad. And I really it's a great joy. This 195 00:29:43.110 --> 00:29:59.169 jen freeman: this whole thing Sarah and I are talking about, and we both share this as a value, I feel confident in it. We want to see a world that's happier and healthier, where people are more engaged. They're not stuck in their conditioning. They're bringing forward their unique gifts. They're able to. Really. 196 00:29:59.330 --> 00:30:10.749 jen freeman: it is going to be through business. It's gonna be through how we connect with each other. It's just, and that's part of both our passion. We want people to really know who they are and succeed and thrive everywhere in our lives. 197 00:30:11.570 --> 00:30:20.709 Sarah Santacroce: Beautiful. So yeah, please join us humane dot marketing forward slash workshop. And it's taking place on June 4.th 198 00:30:21.110 --> 00:30:29.710 Sarah Santacroce: Thanks so much for doing this little preview for our listeners here on the podcast and I can't wait to see you. Thanks, Jen. 199 00:30:29.850 --> 00:30:31.130 jen freeman: I look forward to it.

This Will Change Mental Health FOREVER — Therapy Anyone Can Afford

Yang Speaks

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 45:23

This week, Yang interviews serial entrepreneur Neil Parikh as they dive into the urgent need for accessible mental health support and how Neil's startup, Slingshot AI, is changing the game. From personal therapy journeys to groundbreaking AI technology trained on real therapist data, this episode explores how affordable, stigma-free mental wellness is becoming a reality for millions. Meet Ash, the AI therapist redefining what it means to get help — and why this might be the mental health breakthrough we've all been waiting for. Try Ash AI therapy for free today | Ash AI Website | Slingshot AI Send us your questions as text and voice memos to ⁠⁠mailbag@andrewyang.com⁠⁠! ---- Follow Andrew Yang: ⁠⁠⁠Blue Sky⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠ Follow Neil Parikh: LinkedIn | X Follow Ash AI Therapy: Instagram | X | Website ---- Get 50% off Factor at ⁠⁠⁠Factor Meals⁠⁠⁠ Get an extra 3 months free at ⁠⁠⁠Express VPN⁠⁠⁠ Get 20% off + 2 free pillows at ⁠⁠⁠Helix Sleep⁠⁠⁠ | Use code: helixpartner20 ---- Subscribe to the Andrew Yang Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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235 |藏区| 寻隐者不遇 - 桑耶寺、打阿嘎、山神、219和再访青仆修行地

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2025 86:39

本期为“藏区”系列的第3期。贝贝和Yang来到了卫藏，开始了公路旅行。本集的行程是从拉萨到桑耶寺，再到青仆修行地寻隐者不遇；然后到达泽当镇的雍布拉康；再进入到错那县城，并踏上“国之大道”219公路，经过卡久寺，抵达色乡。这一路，除了看景和藏地人民的生活，也分享了佛教在雪域高原的传播过程和特点；满藏如何结盟；为何高原地区的老百姓有山神崇拜的传统——不光是雪域高原，在安第斯山脉也是；还去云雾缭绕的卡久寺观了鸟……敬请收听。更多细节图片请关注公众号“壮游者”相关推送。下集预告：“卫藏之旅”还有2集，均在下周推出。我们将继续前往冈仁波齐，路线是色乡-亚东-吉隆沟，然后到冈仁波齐脚下。在这个旅程中，将去到中国和印度的边境，了解边境风云；也会重新进入英国对藏区发动两次战争的历史；在冈仁波齐小小徒步一下，了解下为何这座雪山能够成为苯教、佛教、印度教和耆那教共同的圣地；以及我们返回拉萨途中遇到的搭车者的故事；在西藏博物馆，还邂逅了真正的“壮游者”——民国时的刘曼卿女士……敬请付费收听。|故事节点|00:00 2011年的青仆故事10:00 安多、康巴和卫藏 16:05 去桑耶寺：交通的巨大变化18:09 白公鸡、四色佛塔和桑耶寺的地位 22:43 佛教在雪域高原的传播28:16 世俗&神圣：菜市场、打阿嘎和瞌睡小和尚38:25 后弘期开始的教派之分41:08 再访青仆：寻隐者不遇47:32 雍布拉康：从宫殿到寺庙52:59 满藏结盟和藏密进内地59:20 礼佛和赚钱63:52 去不了的勒布沟和边境县城（错那）65:40 国之大道21969:00 玛尼堆vs阿帕切塔，喜马拉雅和安第斯山脉的山神崇拜76:10 卡久寺和九色鸟|壮游者|贝贝&Yang:一对好奇心很强烈的青年旅行者。本期路线：第一天：拉萨-桑耶镇（桑耶寺）-青仆修行地-桑耶镇（宿）第二天：桑耶镇-泽当镇（雍布拉康）-拿日雍措-勒布沟（断路折返）-错那县城（宿）第三天：错那-措美-卡久寺-色乡接下来：第四天：色乡-白马林措（徒步）-色乡（宿）第五天：色乡-洛扎（5200景点）-普莫雍措（最震撼美景）-亚东（宿）第六天：亚东：免费预约参观，噶举寺、国门乃堆拉（中印边境）、巴夏景区第七天：亚东-曲美雄谷（抗英纪念馆）-定日县城第八天：定日-吉隆镇（中尼边境）-吉甫村-吉隆镇（宿）第九天：吉隆镇（休整）-乃村-吉隆镇（宿）第十天：吉隆镇-萨嘎县-塔钦（宿）第十一天：冈仁波齐-玛旁雍错-拉昂措（观冈仁波齐全貌）-霍尔镇（宿）第十二天：霍尔镇-萨嘎县城（宿）第十三天：萨嘎县城-日喀则（宿）第十四天：日喀则-拉萨壮游者是一档独立播客，很需要你的支持。1、商务合作请邮件至zhuangyouzhe@126.com,或者添加微信“zhuangyouzhe2018”2、请通过ZFB账号zhuangyouzhe@126.com对“壮游者”进行赞助；也可通过微信公众号“壮游者”文章(本期相关细节图片也在文章里呈现)下方的“喜欢作者”以及节目下方的“赞赏”对单期节目进行赞助。3、请订阅、转发、评论和点赞节目，并在你使用的收听平台为“壮游者”专辑打五星好评。加听友群可微信添加"zhuangyouzhe2018"，与主播和听友直接交流。谢谢你，让我们有机会一起前行。

How Nietzsche Shaped American Thought | Sheluyang Peng

The Aaron Renn Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025 31:55

This fascinating conversation with writer Sheluyang Peng explores the profound influence of Friedrich Nietzsche on American thought. From Emerson's impact on him to the way his philosophy found similarities with American pragmatism to his role in shaping modern political and cultural landscapes, this episode uncovers Nietzsche's surprising connections to American philosophy, theology, and even infamous historical events like the Leopold and Loeb case. Yang shares insights into how Nietzsche's ideas resonate with both the left and the right, and why his philosophy remains relevant today.(00:00 - Introduction) (01:03 - Why Yang Got Interested in Nietzsche: A Preacher's Kid Perspective)(03:30 - Nietzsche's American Connection: Ralph Waldo Emerson's Influence)(05:12 - American vs. European Views of Nietzsche)(06:53 - Nietzsche's Role in American Pragmatism)(08:02 - H.L. Mencken and Popularizing Nietzsche in America)(10:33 - Nietzsche and the Leopold and Loeb Murder Case)(13:47 - Nietzsche's Surprising Influence on Christian Thinkers)(18:58 - Nietzsche in Modern American Politics)(20:56 - Bronze Age Pervert and Right-Wing Nietzscheanism)(25:27 - Nietzsche and René Girard's Mimetic Theory)(28:56 - Is Nietzsche Whatever You Want Him to Be?)(30:14 - The Future of Nietzschean Thought in America)(31:27 - Closing Remarks and Where to Read More)SHELUYANG PENG LINKS:

america american future influence shaped yang nietzsche closing remarks leopold friedrich nietzsche peng loeb ren girard mencken eternal return bronze age pervert american pragmatism christian thinkers modern american politics

234 |藏区| 勒毛吉的家乡 - 鲜花和阿佳、帐篷杆洞、自然教育和晒佛节的一天

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2025 68:00

本期为“藏区”系列第2期。勒毛吉（小勒）出生于夏河，从小接受“以汉为主”的教育，大学毕业后顺利进入体制，这似乎是一个藏区学生的“终极”之路。但她意识到，“引导我们追求自我实现，是对僵化的或者是僵固的恐惧，而不是对抵达终点的渴望”。她开始读研、读博，一次在拉萨做社工的经历，让她有了“回望”自己家乡的契机，也在兴趣、生存和理想中找到了自己的路，从而又重新进入藏区，田野调查、自然教育……藏区再次滋养着她。甘南往期故事：勒毛草的家乡2000米处有大鸟和桑杰师父聊聊天从下期开始，贝贝和Yang将从拉萨出发，一直到阿里地区的冈仁波齐。这段公路之旅将与你分享。近期热播付费节目：请回答《请回答 1988》|故事节点|00:00 锅庄舞会后03:36 活佛的“建议”，走上以汉为主的求学之路 07:04 不流利的藏语和汉语名15:21 读大学-进体制，藏区学生的最佳之路？16:25 鲜花和阿佳，一次社工经历推开的“大门”20:52 “回望”和“进入”藏文化30:49 藏地生长了我，才有了我和他者的区别34:36 “高等教育”？“藏民”还是“藏人”？小心你的词语37:45 二姐的夜路和被埋上的帐篷杆洞44:08 本末倒置的生态旅游48:40 现代化的冲击和民间自发的保护59:13 狼？狐？还是狗？藏人也需要自然教育62:45 正月的晒佛节|壮游者|勒毛吉:安多人，“不务正业”的在读博士生，J人但最喜欢无计划旅行，享受未知带来的惊喜。|主播|Yang:想去感受一次晒佛节的男子。壮游者是一档独立播客，很需要你的支持。1、商务合作请邮件至zhuangyouzhe@126.com,或者添加微信“zhuangyouzhe2018”2、请通过ZFB账号zhuangyouzhe@126.com对“壮游者”进行赞助；也可通过微信公众号“壮游者”文章(本期相关细节图片也在文章里呈现)下方的“喜欢作者”以及节目下方的“赞赏”对单期节目进行赞助。3、请订阅、转发、评论和点赞节目，并在你使用的收听平台为“壮游者”专辑打五星好评。加听友群可微信添加"zhuangyouzhe2018"，与主播和听友直接交流。谢谢你，让我们有机会一起前行。