A Drazverse Tale: A Bedtime Story For Little Devils

"What's that, little one? A bedtime story? You can't sleep until you hear a tale? Oh, my little devil-child, you're adorable. Listen then to your mother.

Many millennia before our time, before our time's time, Satan decided to be God.

But of course, you know that, little one. You know as well as I do that Satan warred against the Most High and failed, falling to Hell. But do you know what really happened, my child?

Many facts and truths in the stories have been lost to the ages, however. Some "facts" are very over-exaggerated, or downright changed. Some "facts", my little one, are outright lies.

Listen to me, my child. Listen to your bedtime story, just as I listened to it when I was your age."

Many, many millennia ago, in times before times, God sat with all of his angels, his angels of wrath and peace and justice and hope, and said "I will make a world, and on that world, yea, I will place mankind." And so he did, and by his will and word, it was done.

This is a song called Alice’s Protocol. But Alice’s Protocol isn’t the name of the protocol: that’s just the name of the song. That’s why I called the song Alice’s Protocol.

1/

You can send anything at all
With Alice’s Protocol.
You can send anything at all
With Alice’s Protocol.
Send your files from A to B
Just don’t forget your private key
You can send anything at all
With Alice’s Protocol.

2/

Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, two years ago at Thanksgiving, when my friend Alice wanted to send a file to her husband Bob.

3/

But Bob has a no-good scheming friend called Eve. Let me tell you about his friend Eve. She’s a no-good scheming friend of his, and she likes to listen through walls and under windows and around doors.

4/

So my friend Alice (you remember Alice?), she didn’t want no listening through walls and under windows and around doors, so she decided to encrypt her message with Alice’s Protocol.

5/

Happy Monday readers, it's Dark Phoenix week! Over the next ten issues, we'll explore what is perhaps Claremont's most celebrated story that depicts the ascension of Jean Grey to the role of Dark Phoenix.

It's UXM #129-130, in which we are introduced to multiple X-mainstays!

I warned late last week that these threads will include heavy topics, because I find it difficult to adequately discuss the D.P.S. without acknowledging its commentary on agency, sexual violence, & how privilege corrupts.

Please stay safe & mute me until Sunday if you need to!

Our first issue starts off where we left off on the shores of Muir Island following the team's defeat of Proteus!

It's incredible to think that just last issue, the team met their most dangerous opponent yet, but Proteus was only but a primer for what the team will face next.

Our team officially drops from 7 to 6, with Banshee, after many issues depowered following an injury, officially leaving the team to remain with Moira on Muir Island.

Scott's attempts to make up his membership losses are rebuffed not once- but 3 times by Jamie, Alex, & Lorna!

It's almost like Claremont was clearing the decks to make room for some new members on the team...

1/ Who were the earliest women converts to Islam and what was their experience of conversion?

In our new sourcebook, Sean Anthony (@shahanSean) and Keren Abbou Hershkovitz profile several women who were alive at the Prophet's time #ConversionToIslam

https://t.co/00XpFCjXtP

2/ In the first entry, @shahanSean translates and comments on the conversion of the Prophet's first wife Khadīja as portrayed in one of the earliest and most famous biographies, the Kitāb al-Maghāzī of Ibn Isḥāq (d. 767)

3/ According to tradition, Khadīja was a widow and wealthy merchant of Mecca, who married Muḥammad after initially hiring him as her agent. She was reportedly the first person to believe in his prophethood, underlining the centrality of women in the Prophet's life

4/ Ibn Isḥāq tells us that when Muḥammad first received the revelation from Gabriel, he came to Khadīja frightened and confused. She reassured him, "God would never allow anything but good to befall you, for I know you are a man who only speaks the truth...

5/ "Rejoice and remain steadfast! By Him whose hand Khadīja's soul resides, I hope that you will be the prophet of his people (umma)!"

Khadīja then consulted with her cousin Waraqa, a Christian, who verified that Muḥammad's experience was true.

It’s time to post my top 20 films of 2020 and top 20 tv shows of 2020!
As usual, I need to have seen it, it was released in 2020 in the UK and it is just my opinion. If you disagree, please tell me about your choices, I’d love to know!
#FilmsOf2020 #TVShowsOf2020

One thing to note, that is different this year, due to Tier 4 restrictions in London, I am going to make #WonderWoman1984 eligible for next year’s list (2021). I am classing it’s release date as 13 January 2021.

#TVShowsOf2020
10. Ted Lasso
A real surprise and a gem of a comedy.

9. The Stranger
A bizarre Netflix mystery drama. Captivating watch.

8. The Twilight Zone
A brilliant reprisal of the old series. Such great, mysterious stories and incredibly entertaining.

#TVShowsOf2020
7. Manhunt: Deadly Games
Little known in the UK, but this series was fantastic. Thrilling.

6. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
This sitcom keeps going from strength to strength, so funny.

#TVShowsOf2020
5. The Boys
Action? Thriller? Drama? I’m not sure what to call this show. It’s bizarre, dark, controversial and well worth a watch!

4. The Mandalorian
Mando has brought peak Star Wars back. This series is just pure joy, and so much fun to watch. Plus, BABY YODA!

1/ Read Bloomberg’s autobiography (from ‘97) this weekend. Covers the first 15 years of Bloomberg LP & and how Mike built such a dominant franchise. Written before “lean startup” and modern software startup nomenclature, but lessons sound like something @chetanp would share...

2/ Bloomberg initially focused on a narrow use case: real time yield curve data for bond traders. Today, Bloomberg covers equity & debt markets around the world, offers financials, news, messaging, alternative data & more. But it started with a simple product & seemingly tiny TAM

3/ They “nailed” product/market fit for this use case because they deeply understood their customers. Not only did Mike Bloomberg and the first four employees all come from the industry, but they also built a tight feedback loop w/ their first "lighthouse" customer, Merrill Lynch

4/ When Bloomberg installed the first 22 terminals at Merrill, they embedded themselves with initial users. They visited daily. They had two users who provided constant feedback, helping to rapidly squash bugs and improve the product.

5/ Bloomberg also offered professional services. In fact, their first $100,000 in revenue was from PS. The consulting work helped pay the bills, but more importantly helped the Bloomberg team map their customers' needs and to build relationships across the organization.

1. Thread about Cross-over services.

Some have asked is December 31st really a special day and what about cross-over services? This they say is a Nigerian thing. There is nothing sacred about it some have said
This may be true however let's read from the words of Apostle Paul.

2. Paul in his day must have faced a similar challenge as some must have still observed days in the Jewish calendar. When he was asked about some people who were still observing certain days as being more important than others and they criticized those individuals Paul's response

3. Romans 14:4-6King James Version

4 "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand."

4. Romans 14:5 "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."

5. Romans 14:6 "He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks."

As #FarmersProtest continues through the cold North Indian winter, we look back at the steps taken by Christian missionaries to improve #agriculture in India. Exactly 200 years ago, in 1820, #WilliamCarey founded the Agriculture Society of India. #AHSI #Bicentenary #Thread 1/37

In its 200 years of existence the Agricultural & Horticultural Society of India played a key role in scientific education in India. It devoted itself to introducing new types of crops, flowers, fruits and vegetables — now used by us everyday. Some key milestones... 2/37

Sept. 14, 1820: Agricultural Society of India formed by Rev. William Carey in a meeting at the Calcutta Town Hall. Carey was the first secretary. By Oct. 23, 1820, over 50 persons had joined. This pioneering society had both Indian and European members, which was unusual. 3/37

In March 1822 Carey suggested rewarding gardeners who helped develop agriculture and horticulture. Members accepted the proposal and made categories and norms for rewarding gardeners. 4/37

1824: Introduced cash crop seeds brought from America and Mauritius. Under Carey's guidance, investigations had been started on cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, coffee and cereals, etc., which proved to be of immense importance in the development of agriculture in India. 5/37

Let me say a few word’s about the Trueman article.

It presents itself as dealing with Critical Race Theology (CRT) but it really is trying to deal with evangelicals and race. Which is a need, but the way the article is structured it is not helpful, it misconstrues CRT and misunderstands the present call to address the race issue.

Trueman asserts “the issue of race has played Banquo’s ghost...an unsettling, unwelcome, somewhat passive guest.” If Trueman truly sees race as the unwanted “guest” at our evangelical feast, why not address the topic of race rather than jumping on the bandwagon to attack CRT?

Does he think that CRT is the issue causing the race problem? Is he really turning a deaf ear to the Black Christian Community who have said all along this is not about CRT? But he must think that CRT is the problem. Yet he shows a misconstrued version of this academic discipline

Even before addressing CRT, he misrepresents the power of CRT with the dramatic statement, it “has become the shibboleth: Are you for it? Or are you against it?” This is a misinterpreting of the issue. Those on the side of racial justice are not seeking to make CRT a shibboleth.

As 2020 is ending, I want to share a true story with you all. A story that has saved, changed and touched a soul. Little long but a MUST read for everyone.

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison.

He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience!

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in restaurant, a man at another table came up and said: "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier. You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said:"I guess it worked!" "It sure did," Plumb assured him. "If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

That night, Plumb couldn't sleep, as he kept thinking about that man. Plumb says: "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said

Kicking off WW84 and listen it starts with showing me Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright and Doutzen Kroes so whatever else happens that can’t be taken away from me.

Gotta say this obsessive lesbian erotic thriller vibe coming off Kristen Wiig is a lot of fun as a WW84 bonus item

I’m absolutely loving the rejection porn in WW84 of Diana just telling men no ☺️

Watching WW84 not thinking “please step on me Diana!” but instead thinking “please step on ALL MEN, Diana!!!”

L O L the Internet is so weird!

Islamic Book Recommendations 🧵

(Quran)
1) Arabic Mushaf; And a Translation if needed

English: The Qur'an (Abdul Haleem translation)

Urdu: The Holy Quran (Molana Maududi translation)

(Manners, Etiquette, & Character)
2) Book of Manners
3) The Refinement of Character
4) Adab al-Mafrud
5) Good Character

(usul ad-Deen)
6) The Pillars of Islam & Iman

(Arabic)
7) Arabic Vocabulary Practice makes perfect
8) Arabic Vocabulary 9,000 words

Far-right parties are currently gaining momentum & exerting parliamentary influence in diverse countries such as the UK, Hungary, the USA, Austria, Sweden, Germany, & Denmark.

Far-right terrorism has increased dramatically.

We ignore this at our

Far-right recruitment discourse offers an affective script of feeling angry, insulted, & ashamed, as well as courageous, proud, & hopeful.

Research shows how affective–discursive practices are employed to create gateways to radicalization and ideologically motivated violence.

Within fascism, the myth of #palingenesis, that is “national rebirth from the ashes,” is continual and key to the motivation of political action & violence: 'heroism' is the “psychological recompense for fascist political activism.”

The language of the Nazi regime had an emotional impact; fascist & far-right rhetoric rely heavily on affective performative work.

The collective Nazi mind comprised hatred of women, fear of sexuality, & a desire for homosocial belonging, as well as a lust for ritual violence.

Ruth Wodak describes fear as fueling the political success of the far right, whereas others identify desire for male comradeship & the urge to “express anger and frustration at mainstream society” as key emotional gateways for neo-Nazi recruits.

I’ve enjoyed reading @AlexJLanglands The Ancient Ways of Wessex & learned how #chalkstream #winterbournes & #springs have influenced our culture & cultural heritage - #Ridgeway paths that are now #NationalTrails

Perhaps old news to many, but new to me so here’s a short thread…

Our #ridgeway paths are a bundle of numerous routes which I always assumed followed the high ground for strategic purposes & avoiding the muddy clay vales. Timperley & Brill (1965) described our #ridgeways as literally high ways, although they could have called them “dry ways”.

Langlands (2019. p14) explains that #ridgeways or watershed-ways were used out of necessity to avoid #winterbourne streams, springs and wetlands lower down the escarpments & that in summer when the #winterbournes were dry travellers could use routes along the lower slopes....

Quoting Grundy (1918. p70-72; downloadable on Google), Langland calls these lower routes #summerways and suggests there are summerways parallel to nearly all of the great #ridgeways - twin summerways and ridgeways

Looking at the Downs near Whitehorse Hill, the B4507 road follows the escarpment at a relatively steady height just above the spring line - almost a dot-to-dot line linking spring heads and their #winterbournes - could that be the old #summerway I wonder?

1/

2021 is a year when I need to work much smarter.

I need to build #collaborations with folk to make better progress on the projects I want to work with.

These are in the following areas:

1) Education - the current system is both skewed by nation state imperatives ...

2/

... and by the huge and still growing burden of knowledge it attempts to package and deliver both at school and beyond school in working environments ...

Folk need to switch to alternate education, finding leaders to first follow in the footsteps and then ...

3/

... assume the mantle of the late, great @SirKenRobinson

We need to find current leaders, build practice on the ground, connect internet guides to folk wanting to learn, and lift accreditation and connectivity systems into the cloud to make learning far more accessible ...

4/

2) As far as global ecology is concerned, #BigAgri is still ruling the airwaves, and #RegenAgri still needs all the support it can get.

Leaders like #JohnDLiu and #GabeBrown have made a mark this year in the film @kissthegroundCA , but we all need to do more ...

5/

... to support the grassroots projects out there and get #RegenAgri practice much more widely known and adopted.

Again we need practitioners on the ground, but we also sorely need top communicators to be able to help the #grassroots movement tell its story.

I just read a somewhat clueless post from one of those "moderate" Right Wing Instagram handles. You know, the sort that has a Sanskrit word in the name and is run by middle-class techie. After a significant amount of groaning, I decided to write this response about their...

...seeming worshipful attitude about capitalism. First - no, Capitalism isn't always evil. Many smaller businessmen are capitalists and do contribute to the nation by creating jobs. Having said that, the issue many people have with big capitalists is actually about power. When...

...a corporation grows too big and has stakes in every imaginable sector, it becomes a threat not only to those Communists you hate, but also to capitalists - small businesses and budding entrepreneurs (such as yourself perhaps). When people raise suspicions about the intent...

...of a big corporate, they aren't being unreasonable. They are pointing at a sword hanging above all our heads. And your saying "that sword is for all of our benefit" isn't an argument that can be taken seriously. It's childish and facile logic from someone who has been...

...conditioned from early on to see his corporate masters as benefactors and to think that the greatest compliment anyone can pay him is that he is "employable". Capitalism, at the end of the day, is about the pursuit of profit. And that's fine. But when things gets to a stage...