Inspirational quotes by hispanic leaders

Manchester United could be in the market for another striker come the summer, and they now know how much it will take to prise the exciting Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt. Kolo Muani, 24, has recently acknowledged the possibility of playing for a bigger club, telling L’Equipe, as quoted by ESPN: “We talk about it … Continue reading Kolo Muani fee revealed as Man United consider bid and ponder Harry Kane pursuit

Hello,
Canadian ex-pat here. Looking for recommendations on a local tax accountant who can handle the US portion of my 2022 personal taxes, with 2022 being the year I came to the USA. Strong requirement for someone who understands the Canadian tax system as well. The Canadian firm doing my exit taxes wants an absurd amount of money to do my US side and is trying to justify it by saying "a partial year return is a lot more work than a full-year" so I'm looking for another quote.
Thank you

I mean, you've got a Galaxy that's ruled by corporations, monarchs, and wealthy elites, actual fascist governments, various planetary and systemic independence movements, a literal popular insurgency partially inspired by the Viet Minh, so, uhhh, why is there no labor movement, communist insurgency, anarchist rebellion, etc. in the entire Galaxy? Do leftists politics just not exist far-far away?

TLDR: Nothing supernatural happened in the series, it was all possible due to the same technologies we already encountered in the series and a 'benevolent' alien intelligence using them, acting behind the scenes. Colonial humans also originated from our Earth which is why their DNA is compatible.
It might be easier to explain this heavily speculative hypothesis in the form of a timeline, so:
​
- approx. 300 000y ago: Humans evolved naturally on (true)Earth, forming tribal societies.
- sometime between 300 000 - 155 000y ago: A race of advanced aliens (from now on "gods") discovered (t)Earth and became interested in Humans. The gods might have been humanoid, artificial intelligence, digital...their physiology doesn't really matter. What matters is they had two key technologies: Advanced FTL and FTL Communication. Their advanced FTL technology was better than what we later see the Colonials use, it allowed them to not only jump ships, but also individual people from and to planets (like a Star Trek transporter but interstellar). Their FTL communication on the other hand, worked by connecting (lets say by remote quantum entanglement) two minds/brains, and projecting visions and data between each other. Maybe these alien gods had evolved from an organic race uploading their minds into a computer, or they were AI, regardless they had high intellect and great curiosity, so they began studying these Humans.
- 155 000y ago: Seeing little Human technological development in tenths of thousands of years, the gods decided to take a number of Humans from (t)Earth and transported them to a different terrestrial planet, Kobol, using their advanced FTL (we could even say they took exactly 12 different tribes to ensure genetic diversity). They wanted a social/uplifting experiment where they could control the variables, without contaminating the natural development of Humans on (t)Earth.
- 155 000 - 152 000y ago: The 12 tribes lived side by side with the gods on Kobol (just as the Sacred Scrolls claim). The gods could have made Human-analogue bodies for themselves, but more likely they used their FTL Communication technology to project visions of themselves into the brains of humans to interact with them verbally and visually. The gods sheparded and slowly uplifted the 12 tribes, teaching them language, technology and society but staying mostly distant from the direct day-to-day affairs on Kobol. The 12 tribes gave their benefactors names like Athena and Apollo and called them the Lords of Kobol. It is possible the alien "gods" assumed the disguise of supernatural gods themselves to not disturb the humans too much (see Asgard in the StarGate franchise).
- Around 152 000y ago: The 12 tribes have learned enough to start experimenting with robotics, and after a while created the Cylons aka the 13th tribe of robots as a workforce to fuel the expansion of their society. Most gods were interested primarily in the human development but one of them was curious about these newly created Cylons. The 13th tribe wanted to be left alone free to live their own lives. So a war began between the 12 tribes and the 13th tribe, ending in near annihilation, before the gods stepped in. A deal was reached, the condition of which were: A: The 12 tribes would receive a primitive version of the FTL jump-tech, so that they may expand and colonize the universe just as they wanted. B: The 13th tribe would receive a downgraded version of the FTL communication-tech, which they could use as a base for the Organic Memory Transfer= the ressurection technology, giving the robots the ability to survive and duplicate, to live in peace. C: Both the 12 tribes and the 13th tribe would leave the war-devastated Kobol, to never return, and the gods would leave them alone. The 12 tribes would undergo the Exodus from Kobol and founded the 12 Colonies, while the 13th tribe would colonize (fake)Earth. The gods concluded their experiment on Kobol, possibly marking it a failure, and moved to a different region of the universe, leaving the humans be.
- by 151 000y ago: The 13th tribe managed to keep improving and evolving until they became organic Cylons, and now able to procreate, the ressurection tech was abandoned. However, that one god who favored the Cylons didn't completely abandon the local space, and it kept tabs on it's favorite 13th tribe (therefore it really did become the "Cylon god" so to say) though the FTL communication tech: It was able to gather data from the brains of cylons remotely, using them as organic sensors to know what was happening. We know the story here from Sam: The Final Five were visited by a MessangeAngel and began work on rediscovering ressurection while their own robot uprising happenend and (f)Earth was destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. The (C)god wasn't allowed to intervene directly so, it used the Messanger, which was really just it using the FTL communication tech to project visions (which were either smaller fragments of itself or independent programmes) again, into the minds of the Final Five to guide them. We know the Final Five then decided to warn their brethren in the 12 colonies and set out at relativistic speeds (since they never got FTL from the gods).
- 150 052 - 150 040y ago: the events of the First Cylon War happen. The Final Five do their thing after arriving too late, and they also teach the newly created organic cylons about their "Cylon god", that saved them in the first place.
- 150 040 - 150 005y ago: The Cold War with the Cylons happens.
- 150 005 -150 000y ago: The 12 United Colonies of Kobol are destroyed and the Fleet escapes as we see in the show. Now, the (C)god kept tabs on his favorite little Cylons since they left (f)Earth, and by now has noticed the same pattern occuring: Humans create Cylons, Cylons rebell, war follows....So it came to the conclusion simply leaving humans and Cylons alone will not be good for anyone, so it hatches a plan: to return the Colonials and Cylons to their primodial home, (t)Earth. Mind you it can't intervene directly, that would break the deal from the times of Kobol and maybe the other gods would became aware and tried stop it. Or the (C)god simply doesn't have that kind of power (it is only one individual rather than an entire collective effort like the Kobol Experiment was after all). Unfortunatelly, as we know it's previous conspirators in the form of the Final Five were already subverted and erased by Cylon #1 Cavil, and sending Messengers to Cavil would not achieve anything. So the (C)god settles on sending Messengers to Caprica Six and Gaius Baltar. The (C)god is not all-knowing and doesn't see the future, but it again uses the FTL communication tech to gather data from the brains of the Colonials and Cylons as organic sensors, "seeing" what they see, and begins influencing events in small ways. President Roslin, her visions and her quest for the arrow of apollo to find (f)Earth may very well be the (C)god taking advantage of the situation and it's knowledge of history and just projecting more visions into her brain. But it could also just be ...religion... doing what religion often does: Seeing patterns where there are none, misinterpreting history, giving claims and predictions so generalist that some of them are bound to fit the reality in some way. When they get to that cave on Kobol and all have the vision of standing on the surface of (f)Earth, that's either the (C)god directly sending a vision with FTL comms, or a separate device left behind and hidden in the cave doing the same thing, a sort of a market or memorial made with the technology of the gods. The only remaining seemingly "supernatural" element left to explain is Starbuck and her ressurection. Let's face it, Starbuck died of her own stupidity while flying into a gas giant. Ultimately it doesn't matter if she just went nuts after all she went through, or if the (C)god gave her little tiny clues and influenced her mind via the FTL comm. tech to commit suicide. However, given the opportunity and the cover of the Viper exploding, the (C)god used the Advanced FTL to teleport the exploding pilot capsule with Starbuck in it, to get her DNA. It also used the FTL comm. tech to download Starbucks' mind before she died (it could be done since the ressurection tech was based of the same principle). DNA + Starbuck mind backup = Make a clone, download Starbuck, manufacture a replacement Viper, send both back to the Fleet using Advanced FTL. This time with a small modification to Starbuck, making her a bit more susceptible to FTL comm. tech. Once the time came ( that time being the unification of the Colonial and Cylon Rebel forces, and the destruction of the evil Cylon base that would have otherwise posed danger in the future), the (C)god had Starbuck input the coordinates for (t)Earth, it could directly guide her hand (we saw Baltars' movements being controlled by his Messenger when he punched himself and such) since it made her body.
- 150 000y ago: Colonials and Cylons have returned to (t)Earth, where they find the original Humans left behind by the gods, still in their tribal societies since they didn't have the guidance of gods, and genetically compatible because only thousands of years have passed since the 12 tribes separated. Replacement Starbuck is FTL teleported away by the (C)god while Lee is looking away (erasing the only incriminating evidence of his intervention). Humans and Cylons decide to go native, "contaminating" the genetics and culture of the control group of Homo Sapiens on (t)Earth (much to the displeasure of the other gods were they to ever find out what (C)god did). Centurions go away into space but that's fine since they're not dangerous like the Evil-Cavil-Cylon forces were.
- Today: The (C)god became the inspiration for the many gods in the various religions on (t)Earth. It once again kept tabs on his favorite Cylons, which now intermingled with Humanity, by leaving behind the two Messengers to observe and alert it in case something were to happen....like humans making robots again.
​
This hypothesis explains what seemingly supernatural events we see in the show with existing technology and plausible development. The show hints that the "Cylon god" is not a really god in the metaphysical sence, since in the epilogue the Messenger Baltar says "you know it doesn't like that name". All the technology is already present in the show: FTL drive technology (which always seemed too advanced for the colonials to have unless they got it from the gods), wireless and device-less download of organic memory, cloning of organic (Cylon) bodies.
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" - Carl Sagan
So given that I see no reason to invoke gods where "science" can demonstrate a plausible hypothesis that fits the facts based on the evidence. The show is still spiritual and asks the same questions, not to take away from that. Also of note: I am not versed in the online discourse regarding BSG so maybe something similar was proposed before, but this is my original headcannon.

I have a few responses I feel like I could rebuttal with, but curious how others would argue these points. List is below:

1. Produced in 65 working days, 85 total days and only 1 draft. https://ph.churchofjesuschrist.org/how-we-got-the-book-of-mormon#:~:text=The%20text%20of%20the%20Book,copies%20made%20for%20the%20printer.
   
2. Purely dictated at a rapid pace either with head in hat or otherwise. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1186&context=jbms https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2020/09/28/scholars-turn-anew-an-old
   
3. Smith was poorly educated by modern standards, at most moderately educated by 19th century farmer standards. (No source yet)
   
4. He would pick up right where he started https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2019/a-case-for-the-book-of-mormon
   
5. Various stylometry studies show distinct voices different from Joseph’s other writings. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1492 context=jbms https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1492&=&context=jbms&=&sei-redir=1&referer=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252Furl%253Fq%253Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fscholarsarchive.byu.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%25253Farticle%25253D1492%252526context%25253Djbms%2526sa%253DU%2526sqi%253D2%2526ved%253D2ahUKEwjv0Nf1xK_9AhViN0QIHUHNBXgQFnoECCwQAQ%2526usg%253DAOvVaw2wEomd5maBZCOWPTxTg5VD#search=%22https%3A%2F%2Fscholarsarchive.byu.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1492%26context%3Djbms%22
   
6. Nahom https://twitter.com/Mormongestatus/1619508665450663939?s=20&t=-sd3KQvJYrOpC5_R80fT_Q
   
7. Lack of implicit cultural bias in the text, something impossible even for modern authors to do with their fiction. http://www.nauvoo.com/library/card-bookofmormon.html
   
8. Complex Chiasmus in Alma 36 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=11&article=1064&context=mi&type=additional
   
9. And it came to pass Hebraism https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1992/12/i-have-a-question/why-is-the-phrase-and-it-came-to-pass-so-prevalent-in-the-book-of-mormon.html?lang=eng
   
10. Strong theological verses (this one is just my opinion)
    
11. Extremely complex internal consistency especially difficult when considering points 1 thru 3. https://www.docdroid.net/sUW5NhW/book-of-mormon-details-pdf
    
12. The hebrew origin of the name Alma https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1192&context=jbms
    
13. Josephs failure to translate the fabricated Kinderhook plates https://www.reddit.com/latterdayquestions/comments/10l0uaa/comment/j5ul1tt/
    
14. The witnesses testimonies were never recanted even after they left the church https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-11-no-2-2010/evaluating-book-mormon-witnesses
    
15. A peculiar phrase about Laban and his fifty indicate ancient origins https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2014/10/03/faith-and-reason-23-laban-and-his-fifty
    
16. Nephi’s New Bow and Arrow 1 Ne. 16:23 - A new bow and a new arrow, Joseph wouldnt have known enough about archery to know that a new arrow would need to be made along with new bow. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=10&article=1065&context=mi&type=additional
    
17. Excellent candidates matching description of journey to Bountiful (east of Nahom) https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Book_of_Mormon/Geography/Old_World/Bountiful
    
18. The original manuscript contained 14 if-and clauses that don’t make sense in English (would be better rendered as if-then) but is a common Hebrew expression. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1186&context=jbms
    
19. Nephi starts quoting Isaiah at chapter 2 which seems weird. But it turns out that Isaiah 1 was likely added later by other post-exilic authors meaning it wouldn’t have been in brass plates.
    

Obviously these aren’t proof and no one should base their testimony on it but it sure helps.

First time poster here, so hopefully I have come to the right place. As the title describes, we are getting screwed. We are building a vacation home in the Poconos and the entire process has been a nightmare, solely based on how long everything is taking. It is our first build. I won’t bore you with all the details, but this is a pretty reputable builder, have been doing this a long time, extremely nice people in person, but horrible at communication. It has gone weeks and sometimes months with no replies to our emails, when all we have is a simple question or just want some sort of update. We are not annoyingly blowing up their inbox. I will spare any more details on how drawn out this process has been. The short of it is, they originally said we were going to break ground in December 2021 and we’d be in the house within six months. Then when it was coming closer to actually breaking ground, they said things are taking a year now til we’d be in the door. Well they didn’t break ground till about six months later, May of 2022. Then there were all kinds of delays with drilling and cutting down trees, etc.. and the insurance company needed an estimated completion date, so they said July 2023 should appease them. Then they changed it to October. We now got an email from our insurance agent saying that our builders risk insurance premium will go up from $858/mo to $3,950/mo because it is taking longer than 1 year to construct our house. 5x!!!!! Needless to say, we are not happy. Is this as simple as it is our fault for only getting a year policy? We got a year policy based on the builder saying it should take 6 months. Then a few months later when they changed the estimate to a year, we didn’t think anything of it. We are new at this, so didn’t automatically think “Oh we need to extend our builders risk policy.“ IF the house is done by October as they claim, we will be paying $28,000 in builders risk insurance over the next 7 months, instead of the $858/mo that we have been paying for a year, which would be $6,000 over the next 7 months. This is insane to me and feel like we are getting absolutely f*kd. Also, our agent said most other insurance companies won’t provide a quote for a new policy when construction has already started. Would love to know if there is anything in the world we can do to not have to pay an extra $22,000 that was not in our budget. TIA.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 51%. (I'm a bot)

Nicola Sturgeon has issued a "Sincere, heartfelt and unreserved" apology to people affected by the practice of forced adoption.
Thousands of unmarried women in Scotland were forced to give up their babies for adoption in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The first minister told Holyrood it was time to "Acknowledge the terrible wrongs that have been done".
Some children forcibly removed from their parents as a result of forced adoption were abused, Ms Sturgeon told MSPs. She added: "It is important to say very clearly that many of them went to loving homes - acknowledging these injustices should never be seen as a rejection of the deep bonds that people share with adopted families."Nothing can ever invalidate the love that these families have for one another.
Addressing MSPs in the Holyrood chamber as victims and campaigners watched on from the public gallery, Ms Sturgeon said forced adoption "Is a level of injustice which is hard now for us to comprehend".
Fiona Aitken, director of the Adoption UK Scotland charity, said: "We wholeheartedly support the apology for those who had their children removed and are particularly pleased to see this extend to the individuals who were adopted through this practice, whose lifelong needs have gone unacknowledged and unsupported."Adoption UK now calls on other UK governments to follow Scotland's lead in issuing a formal apology to all those who have been affected by forced adoptions, and to meet the needs of all adopted individuals who would benefit from support.
In 2013, Australia issued the world's first government formal apology for forced adoption, taking responsibility for the practice.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: apology^#1 adoption^#2 forced^#3 women^#4 Scotland^#5
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She's honestly been through so much and she deserves success.
Regardless of what we each feel happened back on 930 (and we each have our own opinions and theories, most of it not backed by anything substantial so let's just not go there) it shouldn't have with her career continually being sabotaged the way it was by SM, fans harassing her and trying to pin some really heavy scandals on her nor should the media have treated her the way they did, a lot of it seemed rooted in sexism tbh.
Jessica has changed a lot over the last 10 years, becoming a brighter, more confident, more open(ish) person that you'd never know was once called an Ice Princess. Her music promotes happiness, inner beauty and confidence (although maybe a few too many rainbows) and while she's been adamant about keeping her friend group private since the incident with Hara and Minkyungs, it is really nice to know she has a lot of good people around her.
Seeing her off in China living her best life really brings tears to my eyes, she's filmed 4 shows in less than a year, has done countless modeling and cover shoots, opened a bunch of B&E stores there and has giving so many amazing vocal and dance performances that should shut up anybody saying her vocals regressed or she's a bad/lazy performer.
It's just been so healing seeing Jessica on Sisters That Make Waves/Seaside low-key get babied and be in a healthy, supportive environment where everyone was uplifting each other regardless of age, team or success. She was a great leader on SWMW and an excellent mentor on Songs Like Summer Flowers too.
Now that Covid has died down significantly, restrictions are being lifted, I'm excited to see her come back to music for real even if I am a bit wary of her producer. Again, hopefully with less rainbows this time.

I grew up in a small, southern town that had a paper-mill and a nearby Air Force Base. Anyway, kids came and went as people were transferred in and out, that kind of thing. Most of us who were locals had fathers who worked at the paper mill. But there was a large contention of kids whose dad and moms were Air Force people. I have a memory of the kid named Adam. He was one of my brothers good friends. My brother is two years younger. He and Adam hung out together. They were both the prankster type and we’re always getting in trouble for pulling jokes on people.
I was in mass media, so I had access to camera equipment. Often, I would bring home a video cassette recorder camera to play with. We made silly videos, and like, stuff inspired by SNL. Honestly, I don’t know where any of them are now. This has been like 30 years ago. Recently, I was talking to my brother about Adam, and he had no idea who I was talking about. He had no memory of a kid name, Adam. I asked another of our friends, Cory, if he remembered, Adam, and he was like, “who?”
I checked old yearbooks, and I found a picture of him in the background of a shot taken in the lunch room. You can see him sitting in a round table with a few of our friends. My brother says he doesn’t know who the guy is, but he doesn’t remember anyone named Adam. I asked in our high school alumni Facebook page if anyone remember him, but no one seems to. I took a picture of the yearbook page with my phone and posted it, but everyone said that it was too blurry to tell. People checked their own your books, at least a couple of them dead, and they say it’s a different dude.
However, I am absolutely certain that this kid is a guy named Adam and then he hung out with my brother and then he was kind of a joker. He moved away when we were in the ninth grade. I am pretty sure his dad was in the Air Force. What gives here? Am I losing my mind? Has anyone ever had a similar experience?

So, I called in yesterday to check on the status of a 'PCA' and a nice oversea rep answers. She basically saw the PCA was approved so offers to manually add the 36mo monthly trade in credit (she claims this is faster waiting for the system to automatically add the credit).
Then she goes about offering me a loyalty discount for my troubles (of having to filing the PCA and having to call back in to check on the status) . She starts off by saying something like "You are eligible for a $10 loyalty count on the Start..." then she stopped. Bottom line, even though I asked her to confirm at least five times thst my current, older FUDP was not changing, and she processed the plan change anyways. Ask this on a recorded call, I believe.
What tipped me off something was not right was I received a text from Verizon after the call to "confirm the quote you started with your Verizon representative." Clicking the link showed me a side by side comparison on current vs proposed charges (starting the next billing period). But, there was a $20 loyalty discount, not & $10. Also, it seemed each line costed more than the $20 I was expecting.
I Immediately CALLED Verizon again. A US-based rep answered and confirmed my plan was set to change to the Start Unlimited at the start of the upcoming billing period. She canceled the unauthorized plan change request.
What is Verizon coming to?

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Approximated Earth Date: 3. May. 2235
"Destination set: Earth's Moon. Estimated travel time: Fifty-five minutes, and twenty-three seconds."
Teresh had to catch himself with a hand as the ship suddenly roared to life. The world began to turn as he could feel its momentum change. Questions began to bubble in my head, like a pot of gotesh starting to boil.
Earth? Is that the name of planet 626, or another? Could it be a prison world? Was I just tricked by an elaborate ruse into surrendering myself to becoming a captive once more? Teresh shook his head. No, that's stupid. Unless humans are an incredibly cruel species, there would be no reason to lull me into a false sense of security. They are aware that I am unarmed and alone. Tom alone would be able to physically overpower me. I will just have to trust in my new ally.
Part of him wanted to escape, and another knew that it would be pointless. Even if he made it back to his ship there was no guarantee that he could get the hanger doors open. Then there was a chance that they would just blast him out of space the moment he left the ship. This was not the time to let fear rule him. He had to be strong, brave, and honorable, like his ancestors before him.
A brisk knock came at the door, which nearly caused him to jump out of his feathers. He saw the familiar orange and black form of Tom walk through the door. Along with him, an orange suit and helmet that he held in his left hand. Tom’s throat rumbled before he started talking.
"I looked through our spares. This is the smallest one we've got. Might be a little loose on the shoulders, but it should get the job done," he explained, holding it out to him.
"Thank you," Teresh replied, taking the bundle from him. The fabric was pretty soft and surprisingly flexible and elastic. Though, he did immediately think of one flaw. "You don't suppose my talons are going to poke through the fabric, do you?"
Tom stood there, a hand on his side. After a moment of silence, he shifted his weight to the other leg and responded, "Eh, I don't think so. Long as they're not razor sharp you should be fine. Just don't push too hard against the finger parts."
"Oh, you have five ‘fingers.’ As you called them," Teresh said matter-of-factually. He noticed upon looking at his suit and referencing Tom's that the hands had five ‘fingers’ each.
He held up his own, and they both counted four talons. One that took the same position as the thumb, with the only missing being a pinky equivalent. Fortunately, Teresh was quick on his feet.
"I'll do my best to keep it out of sight. At worst, I lost them in an accident," he explained.
"Huh, good ingenuity. We're going to need that if we want this to work," Tom replied, crossing his arms together.
Teresh wasn't exactly sure how to read the gesture, but his tone sounded positive. He would be sure to upload their language to the translator as fast as possible. When interpreting, the machine outputs everything in a dull, neutral voice. Once the language was properly recognized however, they could speak to each other as if there were no language barriers at all. That would have to wait, sadly, as it sounded like they were about to get moving.
He stood up and began donning his suit. Quickly finding a small zipper, which was a tad infuriating with talons. The Valaxi could manage them just fine, but the kooli needed their own zippers that featured a larger hole for their talons. Just another advantage they had from natural superiority.
Tom shuffled his feet a bit and turned away from Teresh in an instant. Causing him to pause and tilt his head at the human.
"Is something the matter?" Teresh asked curiously.
Tom throat rumbled again, and he coughed. Responding, "Sorry, I just figured you wanted some privacy."
The kooli shook his head, amused by his sentiment. His race didn't typically wear trappings like the Valaxi or the Leo-oup. Typically, such practice was observed as a way to either cover exposed genitalia or to accentuate their appearance. Kooli had no such exposure and preferred the natural beauty of their bodies and feathers. To don clothing atop was seen as a practice that only extremely narcissistic or Valaxi obsessed kooli indulged in. Even their own Jarva only donned a cape and crown when attending the imperial commune.
Of course, he had no clue why the humans covered themselves, but that would have to wait for future discussion. All he could do was theorize as he finally slid on the loose garb. The suit fit well enough, outside of bunching up near his feet and elbows. Not enough to be a hazard, but just enough to look a few sizes too big. He began to fight with the zipper again, seeing Tom glance back.
"Ah, did you need help with that? I imagine it's tough with the..." Tom paused awkwardly, "claws?"
"Talons. And yes, it would be very helpful, thank you," Teresh replied.
Ancestors protect me, he pleaded, realizing what it meant.
Tom took a few steps and knelt down, less than a foot away from Teresh as the gentle zzzzzzzip of the zipper traveled up the suit. The kooli held his breath through the whole process. His eyes strained to find some semblance of a shape inside the black void. Seeing a rough circular object move inside, with some strange jutting or jagged shapes around it. Unable to form a clear picture as the zipper reached the top of the suit. Tom gave it a small tug and seemed satisfied.
"Good, nice and secure. Not too bad a fit either. Just looks like a kid wearing his dad's shoes," he explained absentmindedly.
"Kid? Shoes?" Teresh asked, feeling much smaller when draped in the large suit.
"Ah, right. Kids are what we call our young. Children, kiddos, there's plenty more. As for shoes, we wear them on our feet to protect our skin," Tom explained, causing Teresh's eyes to widen.
So many questions chirped inside his mind. It was going to take hours just to process all the basic questions he had about humans, not to mention ones on culture and family unit. Tom seemed to pick this up too as he held out the helmet.
"I promise I'll answer every single question you've got once we get you to my contact. For now, just try to keep a hold on them in your head," he said, as if able to read his mind.
Now that wasn't something he considered. Though there was no evidence of such an ability existing, who knew what humans were capable of. Perhaps they could possess natural psionic ability. That discovery would make for an excellent essay or dissertation.
It was not the time for essays however, it was time to don his own black mirror. Taking the helmet, he slid it onto his head. It was a bit claustrophobic, and it hurt a little with his crown feathers being forcibly pressed against the top of the helmet. Outside of that though, it was perfectly serviceable. The entire world around him was shifted to a darker tone, including Tom. If he couldn't see his face before, it was now impossible to see anything past two layers of this dark glass. He could feel Tom touching parts of his neck, and he heard a few snaps as the neck and helmet joined together. Either magnetic or through some other means, he couldn't tell. Tom stepped back and gave him a once over.
"Perfect. This is actually going to work," he spoke softly.
"You doubted it working?" Teresh joked, the translator rumbling within the suit.
"Hey, this is completely new territory for me. I'll be happy if we make it past the front door," Tom replied, then pointing towards his chest. "Which reminds me. We're going to have to shut that off when we get there."
Teresh gulped, "B-But-"
"Yes, you'll have no idea what's going on. You're going to be in a new place, surrounded by tons of humans, and you may or may not be in danger," Tom explained, doing absolutely nothing to quell his fears.
However, what the human did next was something that Teresh never saw coming. He actually got down on his knee, more or less being eye level with him. Although he couldn't see them, he could tell that Tom was looking right through him.
Tom's voice was serious, low, and full of determination. Exclaiming, "Teresh. I need you to trust me when I say this. As long as I am with you, you are safe. I won't let anyone touch a feather on that head, and if they do, I'll knock them off their ass. My friends will be there with us too. All three of us are going to protect you. Okay?"
What is this feeling? Teresh thought to himself. There was something about his words that caused his heart to swell. He felt like he could do anything, that he was going to succeed. Not even General Vorin's words instilled him with as much confidence.
"Y-Yes Tom. I trust you," Teresh answered.
"Do you mind if I put my hand on your shoulder?" He asked. More confusion, but he was too inspired to question it.
"You may," the kooli replied.
Tom lifted his hand, causing Teresh to flinch as it slowly but surely impacted his shoulder. Feeling his strange finger appendages grip his shoulder firmly but not painfully.
"I'm with you. Don't forget that," Tom said stoically. Then standing and pulling back. "Let's do some rehearsal in the bay. You won't need to talk the talk, but you'll need to walk the walk."
"Talk the talk and walk wha-?" Teresh began.
"Don't worry about it kid. It'll be just like theatre," he explained, then going on, "that's a-"
"My people have theatre Tom, I understand," the kooli replied, grinning under the helmet.
"Right. Of course. Let's go," Tom replied, his tone suggesting a bit of embarrassment.
Together, they made their way out of the medical ward and into the main hanger, or "bay" as Tom called it. He saw the other two outfitted individuals watching their approach. Able to tell that both parties were engaging in a game of observation. Trying to discern the shapes underneath the suits.
Still only three crew members, for a ship of this size, he thought to himself.
With how small their crew was, perhaps this flagship was decommissioned. That would explain the lack of bodies and ships in the hanger. If their military was even more armed than this... they would make for a wonderful child race. The Valaxi would help them reach their true potential. If Teresh could accomplish that, he would consider it his greatest feat in life. It would cement him and his family in the good graces of the empire forever and bring honor to General Vorin's home.
Tom held up his hand and shook it around at them, announcing, "Hey guys, this is Teresh. Teresh, meet Maxim and Ally."
"Hello," a higher voice responded from the suit on the right.
"Howdy," another low voice emerged from the suit on the left.
"How-dy?" Teresh mimicked, shaking his taloned hand at them.
He heard a few coughs or strange gasps from them, and he just hoped he hadn't offended them in some way. Tom's throat rumbled like a growl, causing the two to stop. A show of authority it seemed.
"We're going to help Teresh get to Mikael. Once we meet, then we'll figure out what to do from there," Tom explained.
"Sounds good. How do we start?" The one called Maxim asked.
"First, Teresh," he turned to me. He tapped the side of his helmet several times, explaining, "if I do that, it means turn on your translator. If I do this," he made a flat sliding gesture on the bottom of the helmet, "it means turn it off."
Tapping, on. Sliding, off. Easy, Teresh internalized.
"Good. Now we're going to start practicing some scenarios. We have a little over a half hour left so we don't have too much time, but it should be enough. First, I'm going to explain what we're doing, then I'll give you the signal to shut your translator off. We need to get you used to humans talking or doing things around you. Whatever you do, you need to stay calm, cool, and collected. Think you can handle that," Tom asked, nodding his head at him.
He clenched his hands tightly, feeling truly confident for one of the first times in his life. Teresh focused his gaze on the three of them, "Let's do it."
It's time to prove my mettle.

Thoughts on ChatGPT's outline of success?
--
Succeeding as a graphic designer requires a combination of technical skills, creativity, networking, and continuous learning. Here are some steps to help you succeed in this field:

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3. Build a strong portfolio: Showcase your best work in a professional, easy-to-navigate portfolio, either online or in print. Include a variety of projects to demonstrate your versatility and ability to handle different types of design work.
4. Continuously learn and adapt: Stay up-to-date with design trends, new tools, and techniques. Participate in workshops, attend design conferences, and follow industry leaders on social media. This will help you keep your skills current and stay competitive in the job market.
5. Develop your personal brand: Establish a unique style and voice that sets you apart from other designers. This will help potential clients and employers recognize your work and make it easier for you to market yourself.
6. Network and build relationships: Connect with other professionals in the design community through online forums, social media, and local events. Networking can lead to job opportunities, collaborations, and valuable feedback on your work.
7. Seek out critiques: Constructive criticism from peers and mentors can help you improve your work and grow as a designer. Be open to feedback and apply what you learn to future projects.
8. Be professional and reliable: Communicate clearly and promptly with clients and team members. Meet deadlines and manage your time effectively. Building a reputation for reliability and professionalism will help you gain trust and more work opportunities.
9. Diversify your skills: Learn about related fields like web design, UX/UI design, or motion graphics. Expanding your skillset will make you more versatile and valuable to potential clients or employers.
10. Stay persistent: Success in the graphic design industry requires hard work, dedication, and patience. Keep refining your skills, seeking out new opportunities, and learning from your experiences.

By following these steps and consistently working to improve your craft, you can succeed as a graphic designer and build a fulfilling career in this creative field.

"So they conquered you?" Asked the Andikan journalist.
"Excuse me?" I asked. I didn't really remember what the interview was about. The Andikans are relatively new member of the intergalactic consciousness. I had welcomed the journalist more out of obligation than real interest. The pursuit of knowledge is incredibly important for early members. When you're asked to help, you can't really refuse.
"The Humans" she clarified.
"Oh. The humans. I'm sorry, what exactly are you asking?"
"Im asking when the humans first arrived on this planet." She answered politly. She seemed pretty nice, the way omnivores often are. It's the herbivores you have to look out for. Nasty bastards. Very protective.
"First contact was made about 400 years ago. About 40 years before I was born."
She nodded, presumably as a way of thanking me for the answer. I'd look her in the eyes, but I honestly had no idea where they were located, so I stared above her head, hoping it wasn't obvious.
"And is that when the Humans invaded?"
"Excuse me?" I answered
"Is that when the humans invaded you?"
"You have got it wrong. The humans didn't invade us, we invaded them."
"Oh," she said, crossing something out in her notepad, "So how did that invasion go?"
"It wasn't incredibly hard if I am honest. Our technology far surpassed theirs, and they only inhabited around 20% of their planet. It took about 3 months to gain modest control."
"Modest control?"
"Yes, only modest control. Many groups seemed intent to rebel every chance they got. It didn't help that our former enemies of the Exbesh galaxy sold them weapons at quite the discount."
She took a moment to think about her next question. She was woefully unprepared. A bit of a shame really, but not to worry. You have to start somewhere.
"So, eventually they were able to beat your military?"
"They could have, but it would have taken centuries."
"Then how did they conquer you?" She asked, now completely flabbergasted. "How did a human become your leader?"
I finally understood the confusion. Its hard sometimes being an expert on things. You lose sight of what is self-explanatory and what isn't. Most isn't. Nothing is actually, but it's easy to forget that.
"Well, the first human immigration was... Not quite voluntary on their part. We had had some population issues, it's actually a reason we invaded in the first place. Cheap labour."
"Cheap or free?" The Andikan interjected.
"Cheap. We aren't savages." I smiled politely. The humans probably wouldn't have agreed.
"So it was those immigrants who eventually rose up?"
"They didn't. But their arrival had unintended consequences. You see, we thought we were colonising the humans. The reverse was true."
The andikan sat uncomfortably in the beige chair that wasn't quite made for her body type. Piecing things together. She was interruped by the door opening a bit too fast, a bit too loud, revealing a 6 foot tall, lanky looking human
"I hope I'm not interrupting, I've made tea" He said. I thanked him by lovingly laying my hand on his thigh.
"So as I was saying, it was more of a reverse colonisation. Not by force, but by the spreading of ideas."
"What ideas" she asked.
"Liberal democracy. Equality." I gestured around looking for other examples. Denver gleefully added "Drinking tea" as he handed me my cup.
The Andikan took it all in. "So by spreading their culture and ideas, the humans were able to conquer your species?"
"No, no, conquest isn't the right word to use. It was, as humans called it, the art of compromise. They made themselves useful, indispensable even, and subsequently were able to quite rapidly change our society, our worldview even.
We learned to live together," I looked at Denver, taking a moment to let the silence breathe, "quite well."
The Andikan nodded contently, readying herself to ask a final question.
"So if I understand correctly, the humans achieved political and social power peacefully?"
I nodded.
"And you two see yourselves as equal? You aren't this human's conquest?"
Before I could even answer affirmatively, a devilish grin appeared on Denver's face
"Humanity didnt conquer the Abari. But this one here?" He said, as from behind my chair he wrapped his arms around my neck,
"He was conquered."

After swallowing the body of Jesus, his eyes were wild open. Jesus ask Simon if their love is true, if he's really into him deeply.
Simon didn't look away, but directly to his beautiful face. And he remind him that, of course, he love him more than anyone, more than anything.
Jesus ask him to give him more, to give him devotion, to give his life to grow their destiny.
Simon agreed.
Then Jesus ask him again, for the third time, to be the one of his life.
Simon promise him so, because his love to him is exclusive.
- Inspired by John 21:15-17

So I know everybody and their mothers with a borderline personality have theories about the end of The Sopranos. I just finished a (fifth? sixth?) rewatch of the show, and have had clearer thoughts about the ending than I have on previous watches. I'm sure this topic gets raised every hour or so on this subreddit, but I do think I have a perspective on it that, so far as I can tell, doesn't get much play anywhere else. And I want, for my own purposes, to write down my thoughts and get them in order. This will go on for a while, so apologies in advance, but I wanted to lay everything out as best I could. If you're looking for a TL:DR, this is not your post. Spoilers below (obviously).
​
Roughly, there are two major camps concerning the meaning of the end of the show. One camp, by far the most vocal, is the "Tony dies" camp. Here, the idea is that the famous "cut to black" in the final scene at Holsten's is the cinematic representation of Tony's death, and (crucially) that Tony's death is the dramatic culmination of the series as a whole. The Master of Sopranos essay lays out the evidence for the view, which is overwhelmingly convincing for a lot of people. The essay is pretty exhaustive, almost a frame-by-frame analysis of that final scene and (through it) an interpretation of the whole series. I'll just highlight a few key things, since they are usually brought up as the clinching pieces of evidence.

• First is the series of point of view shots in the final episode, and especially the series of them that are tied to the ringing of the front door bell at Holsten's. It is argued that, since we are shown repeatedly Tony's POV after hearing the bell ring, and since the cut to black happens after a bell ring, that the cut to black just is Tony's POV after that bell ring, because he's dead.
• Second is the line by Bobby Baccalieri, from the earlier episode "Soprano Home Movies," that you "probably never see it coming" when you die in a mob hit. This little scene is repeated late in the penultimate episode, "The Blue Comet," when Tony is holed up in the safe house with his AR, given to him by Bobby as a birthday present. We're thus primed to be thinking about it going into the final episode. Deathers will also point to the scene in "Stage 5" in which Silvio is present for the shooting of Gerry Torciano, and doesn't register that the shot happened at all until after Torciano's blood has splattered all over him. It is argued that the "cut to black" is the perfect way to represent Tony's death given this point about it (that it comes without your being able to prepare or acknowledge it), and that the whole last season, and much of the rest of the show, is very effective at foreshadowing this.
• Third, there is the guy in Holsten's with the Members Only jacket. We are clearly meant to notice him especially. He comes in at the same time as A.J., blocking us from seeing him at first. And his look clearly suggests to us the (dead) character of Eugene Pontecorvo, who often wore a Members Only jacket and whose arc was dealt with in an episode called "Members Only." It's even said by some that the guy looks something like Eugene, though I think the resemblance is not really all that strong. What's probably more important is that he's the only other person besides Tony in the restaurant who seems like he could be connected. He's Italian, about the right age, etc. And we (and Tony) notice him without being sure what it is we notice, exactly. He notices Tony as well, looking over at him multiple times. The shots track his movement, more than anybody else in the restaurant, and we watch him go to the bathroom, pretty much right next to Tony's table. It is argued, naturally, that he comes out of the bathroom with a gun (a la Michael Corleone in Godfather I) and shoots Tony who (along with us) never sees it coming, because he's looking up to see Meadow walking in.

Overall, aside from these details, I think the argument's strength comes from the tension of that final scene. It seems clear that the scene wants you to be afraid something bad is about to happen, before it pulls the rug out from under you. Often, deathers will argue that this tension makes no sense unless it's building toward Tony's death. So, while we don't see the death itself, it must have happened, and in any case there are good reasons internal to the goals of the show and foreshadowed in advance for why we don't (even can't) see it happen.
The other camp, if it is a coherent camp, is the "open to multiple interpretations" camp. This has been advanced in multiple ways by multiple people, but is perhaps best expressed in this AV Club essay. The idea is that the "Tony dies" view is too simple, given the general ways in which The Sopranos always reveled in ambiguity and anticlimax (the essay compares it to fundamentalist religion). We don't see Tony die, and so we don't really know what happens that night in Holsten's. One way to interpret it, obviously, is that Tony dies, but it's far from the only one. Perhaps, it is often claimed, we're being shown the tension with which Tony always has to live his life. He better than anyone knows that he could die at any time, and so that tension is just the underlying anxiety he lives with all of his life. In any case, there are multiple ways of viewing that final scene (if there weren't, why would we still be arguing about it?), and reducing them all to one robs it of its dramatic significance.
(Technically you could say that there is a third camp -- the "Tony lives" camp -- but this is usually just an expression of hope, not an interpretation of the series/ending. I won't talk about it here.)
You'll notice that I discussed one view at way more length than the other. This is because, in a superficial sense, all the "evidence" is on one side. People in the "multiple interpretations" camp may have their own personal interpretations of the final scene, or they may not. But if they do, the interpretations are ideas that are far from being as fully thought out as the "Tony dies" theory. Deathers like pointing this out. The debate often stalls here. The multiple interpreters claim that the show is more ambiguous than this. The deathers admit that there is ambiguity in parts of the show, but not in all of it, and that anyway if you just read the Master of Sopranos essay again you'll see that this is not ambiguous.
​
I think both camps are wrong, and in fact have generally been totally confused by the debate about the ending as it still exists. I wonder if this comes in part from not having watched the show when it came out. I imagine that for those who watched that last season as it aired, there was a lot of wringing of hands about whether Tony would live or die. My impression is that critics at that time generally accepted the ending as ambiguous on this point (many of them wishing that it wasn't), while it was normal fans who readily accepted the "Tony dies" theory once it was developed. I of course recognized that Tony could die at the end of the show, but didn't expect it, and perhaps more importantly didn't expect the end of the show to depend on whether this plot point happened or not. And it seemed to me that the show itself wasn't really directing my attention to this very much. To me, it obviously had other, deeper concerns.
For this reason, I was always especially hostile to the "Tony dies" camp, and I remain so. I think the basic argument against it, which others have made before me of course, is pretty devastating: Tony's dying is simply not a satisfying ending to the show. What is it supposed to mean that Tony dies at the end? That he's getting punished for his life of crime, just like every other cinematic gangster ever? Given that people grew up on Godfather, Goodfellas, etc. it makes sense that many of them might expect such a conclusion, but this show always made fun of its relationship to these movies. The fun it made was affectionate, of course, but it's made abundantly clear throughout the series that this is not a typical mob story. Lots of viewers were unhappy about this, wishing there was more mob drama/violence, but we can say now with confidence that they were just misreading the show. Chase and co. cared more about Tony's relationships and his own view of life (informed by those relationships, therapy, various experiences, etc.) than they did about who would kill whom, who would rule Jersey after Tony goes, etc. So I guess the direction the deathers have to go here is to say: yes, the show cares more about Tony and his view of his life, and his death. The death at the end is satisfying because it is what Tony has been contemplating all along, and finally it comes. But still this doesn't seem very satisfying; indeed, it seems more like an after the fact justification for what is at the end of the day a very conventional way of ending a story. What a waste it would be for such a bold, creative and uncompromising show to end on this frankly quite boring note.
At the same time, though, the multiple interpreters seem to me often to argue in bad faith. The tension creators in that final scene are there, and much of the argument against the deathers has seemed to me willfully obtuse ("maybe it means something else, we don't know!"). That last scene is very clearly setting us up to believe that something terrible is about to happen. Why, if Tony is not about to die?
Mostly I've bounced back and forth between these objections, unsure as to exactly why. I've even been tempted sometimes to avoid the issue by thinking that the show is basically over after my two favorite episodes ("Kennedy and Heidi" and "The Second Coming"), and that the stuff in the last two is mostly unnecessary. But I smile every time that Journey song starts up in Holsten's, and now find that last scene almost hilariously funny, and this impression strengthens every time I watch the show again. I think I've finally figured out why. So, here it is:
​
That last scene is an intentional toying with the audience. Chase is deliberately giving the scene a tension that the events in it do not really warrant. He sets us up to expect a dramatic conclusion that he is dead set on denying us.
All of the evidence that the Master of Sopranos essay adduces as proof that Tony dies is there, and the deathers are right that it mostly points in one direction. Indeed, I don't think it really needed a whole essay to spell this out. You can just feel it while watching. Obviously that's because of the filmic techniques the essay goes into, but we don't really need to have all this pointed out to us. Everyone knows while watching that scene, especially if they've noticed that the episode (and thus the series) is within minutes of ending forever, that something important is about to happen. And indeed, if you watch it a couple times, it's not hard to notice the filmic techniques either. One of the oddities of the experience of reading the Master of Sopranos essay is that one senses that the writer finds all this stuff much deeper and more exciting than it is. (That's my impression anyway.) The techniques pointed to (point of view shots, foreshadowing, Godfather references) are not anything special in themselves, and certainly not anything mind-blowing for a series that gave us episodes like "Funhouse," "Kennedy and Heidi," "The Test Dream," etc. etc. These techniques work in the scene to build tension, but it feels like any first year film student could have told you as much, and any competent director could have come up with these ideas for building tension in the episode.
That is intentional, I think. The deathers' three points of evidence above are decidedly not some genius construction. They're a really quite cheesy setup for a conventional plot point. Tony dies, and dies in the midst of a freaking Godfather reference? Are you kidding? (I say this by the way as a great fan of The Godfather, and of that scene with Michael Corleone in the restaurant in particular.) I think the answer is, yes, Chase is kidding. The whole show has been very intentional about its relationship to traditional mob stories in general, and The Godfather in particular. The show gets a large part of its energy from the friction between this traditionally more violent and more moralistic mode of storytelling on the one hand, and the more domestic, everyday, family-centric mode that was more natural to serialized TV shows. The show's interest doesn't really lie in the one or the other, but in something in between. The show works in part because the threat of mob drama and the moral implications of it always lie in the background and threaten to break through, in ways that undermine the usual stability of the more traditional family-focused TV drama. And this of course makes it possible for Chase and co. to say all kinds of important things about family that the traditional family stories usually gloss over, about subterranean rifts and long-held grudges and slow generational change and on and on and on.
Think of the moment after A.J. tries to kill Junior -- he says he's inspired by the famous Godfather scene (where Michael is avenging his father's shooting, too), and Tony tells him "it's a movie." In fact, what A.J. says is that he's inspired by his dad's reaction to the scene (that he sits eating ice cream and says it's his favorite scene). Tony's reaction to this is not straightforward. He means "it's a movie, not real life." But of course his real life (unlike ours) is the subject of that movie. He himself has killed people in order to exact revenge, and probably has even thought of The Godfather while doing it sometimes. His real response to A.J. is not that it's just a movie, but that A.J. is not like him, that it's not in his "nature" to act like this. And he knows, for his own part, largely because of his experience in therapy, that he is not some simplistic mob movie character, that in fact while it's in his nature to do these things it's not in his nature to do them wholeheartedly, as his panic attacks and depression reveal. The Godfather reference serves to point us back to the tension of the whole show -- that these are people who do horrible things and can't or wont' fully acknowledge it to themselves, and that this lack of acknowledgement dooms them, even if the doom comes slowly.
By the end of the show, we've experienced this tension in more or less all of its possible variations, and have seen the characters experience it too, and make their peace (or not) with it. A.J. and Meadow especially are challenged by their upbringing to decide to what degree they want to be characters in a mob movie, and I think it's no accident that the last episode spends so much time looking at what direction their lives will be going in after the series is over. (Asking themselves, in Tony's coma-ridden words: "who am I? Where am I going?") Neither makes a particularly encouraging choice, though it's clear at least that neither of them is going to turn into their parents all over again. Tony himself shows, in the late scene with A.J.'s therapist, that he's going to fall into old habits, and thus forever be the half-hearted and depressed mobster he's always been.
What then of that last scene? Why does it make me grin? You know when you're watching it that things are about to end. And you know, if you've been paying attention, that the things the show cares about, the things that it's helped you to care about more intelligently (i.e., the way these characters relate to each other and how they conceive of their lives) cannot possibly resolve themselves in the next 5 minutes. You feel tense because part of you still wants that resolution, hopes that Chase and co. have some last trick up their sleeve, hopes that that last trick will somehow draw all this mess together and make some sense of it. And then you find that the show itself seems to be setting you up for it. All those point of view shots, the Members Only guy, the repeated failed attempts by Meadow to parallel park and then her run across the busy street -- all of it seems to be confirming for you what you wanted, for something big to happen and blow you away. Tony, Carmela, and A.J. are just talking about the things they always talk about, including a reference back to a really important family event from way back in Season 1. But you don't pay it much attention, because of the building tension. You're getting more and more excited. Meadow crosses the street unscathed, the bell rings, and then -- black screen.
There is genius here, but not where the deathers think it is. The genius is not in the tension building elements, which are film technique 101, but in the juxtaposition of this tension with a normal family moment, and that black screen. Nothing happens in that scene, not really. Or what happens in it is exactly what's happened in the show all through. The Sopranos sit around talking, breakin' each others' balls, worrying about the future, trying to remind themselves that things are good sometimes and that that memory can help you through the tough times. That could have happened without the tension elements and the black screen, and it would have been a good last scene, I think. But what's there is better. The show tempts us, the viewers, with a big resolution, even though we ought to know that one isn't coming. We give in to the temptation, and we give in to it for the same reason that all of the characters in the show make all of their bad decisions -- we want to believe that life is simpler than it is, that one big moment might change everything and save us from having to do the dirty work of life, day by day by day. We want to "get it," as Tony does in the desert in "Kennedy and Heidi," but also to be able to say clearly what it is that we get, and then have all the problems of our lives resolved. We're interested in The Sopranos because we're interested in those problems, whether we realize it or not. And that last scene is telling us: the problems are always there, and your hope that they could all just somehow go away is always there, too. The Journey song comments on this so obviously as to almost need no elaboration. It was a perfect choice, I think, in that it means this really quite deep thing, but is also just as banal as the tension setup. These are really ordinary, banal people in a way, and yet their lives (like our own) have all the depth that a life can have. And the most deep, banal thing that life tells us is: don't stop. Keep going. Hold on to what was good. Build what you can from it.
Chase's ploy here, I want to stress, is not mean-spirited. When I grin at the last scene, I'm not grinning at the misguided deathers. Chase is not making fun of people who wanted to see Tony dead. In fact, he seems to have been disgusted by this desire, and surprised after it was over that so many people were feeling it, since presumably they had been at least partly identifying with Tony throughout these 6 seasons of television. Chase is poking fun at a very human desire in all of us, the desire for our problems to go away, for them to resolve cleanly like a movie does. The desire is so strong that we convinced ourselves that a guy in a Members Only jacket was going to come out of the bathroom with more than just his dick in his hands to kill Tony, even though we know that that wouldn't solve any of the problems that the show has encouraged us to see and care about.
What happens when it cuts to black? Well, in a certain sense the answer is "who cares?" Here, I think the multiple interpreters are on to something. Maybe Tony dies, maybe nothing happens and these characters go on living their lives, maybe Tony is about to turn state's witness, maybe Meadow is going to reveal that the reason she changed her birth control is that she just got pregnant, etc. It doesn't matter, because the show is over and has said all it wants to say. But what really happens when it cuts to black is that you, the viewer, are frustrated. Your desire that something big would happen at the end has been frustrated. And the reason for that frustration is absurd. You wanted something that you should have known you couldn't have. But you can't help wanting it, because for all of us, as for Christopher, "the fuckin' regularness of life is too fuckin' hard." We've got to live it anyway, and that's all there is to do after the screen goes black.

The new decade has everyone feeling a little bit reflective, including fans of video games. The NPD Group, Inc. recently released a ton of information about the gaming market over the last ten years. This information included the best selling games of 2019 and the best selling games between 2010 and 2019. Grand Theft Auto V was the best selling game of the decade across all platforms, but the Call of Duty franchise truly won the 2010s.
The NPD Group, Inc. is a New York-based market research company that tracks twenty different industries. Mat Piscatella, a video games market research analyst, recently posted on Twitter the information that the company has gathered both over the last year and over the last decade. Grand Theft Auto V, with an estimated 110 million copies sold. However, the Call of Duty franchise may be the true MVP of the decade. Ten out of the fifteen most popular games in the 2010s were Call of Duty games. This includes the most recent addition to the franchise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The best selling Call of Duty game was Call of Duty: Black Ops. The game was originally released in November 2010 for Microsoft Windows, the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, and OS X and was later released on mobile. There may even be a reboot in 2020.
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Several of the other best selling games of the decade are not a surprise. These games include Red Dead Redemption II, Minecraft, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Mario Kart 8, Battlefield 1, Battlefield 4, Destiny, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Star Wars Battlefront 2015. All of these games made a splash in the 2010s and some even inspired memes and their own cult followings.
The NPD Group, Inc. also released information about consoles. The Playstation 4 was the best selling console of the 2010s, while PS4 Dualshock 4 wireless controller in black was the best selling accessory. However, the Nintendo Switch dominated 2019. It was the best selling console of the year and Switch Pro controller was the best selling accessory.
call of duty modern warfare gameplay Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
The best-selling games of 2019 were a little more shocking. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was unsurprisingly the best selling game of 2019, but it was followed by NBA 2K20 and Madden NFL 20. They beat out games such as Borderlands 3, Kingdom Hearts III, and the Outer Worlds which were games that were generally better reviewed and received more hype.Games from series like NBA 2K and Madden NFL appear to have a strong, consistent fan base.
What can the numbers from the 2010s tell us about the video game industry? There have been a variety of interesting games that have come out in the last decade, but the most popular genres appear to be first person shooters and action adventure games. It also seems that many video game fans were drawn to the “open world” concept. Will these preferences continue to reign throughout the 2020s? NPD Group, Inc. reported that that video game spending in general declined in 2019, but it is still a major industry. What do you think HotHardware readers? What video game trends will be the most popular in the 2020s?