In Korean, "Hahaha" sounds more like "kh- kh- kh-", represented by, "ㅋㅋㅋ"

When they were handing out the disaster lunchboxes, I heard a person in line say, "they had better offer alternative milk" as though offering oat, almond, and soy like they were at Starfucks was the priority in a hurricane. I get it. Some people can't process lactose. My partner can't. Nor can she handle gluten. She, at the same time, realizes that her dietary needs might play second string to 230 km/h wind and a legit deluge. She took her white bread and cheese sandwich, milk and cereal, banana, and Oreos and dealt with it. She was more concerned with all of us being alive at the end of the day and wanting to help the staff get home to their families.

Amen.

Yes. But, also, it's not.

Let me explain.

The act itself is an exercise in either selfishness, selflessness, or synchronicity. Tuning into another person while still enjoying your own experience can be very challenging.

Then, there are trust issues. What are your sexual histories? What are your desires or qualms? How will your relationship look after? What if one of you doesn't like what the other did, said, smelled like, etc.?

Finally, there's the social element. Are you exclusive? Are you ok with being exclusive? What do you friends and family think of your sexual partner(s)? Does that matter to you? Are you going to have children? Does that matter to you?

Selfishness is great for the sex act, but you may not have sex often. I think it's the road to truly being an incel.

Selflessness is a great way to get hurt often, but you'll probably have lots of sex. Some sex addicts turn themselves over to their addiction.

The hard work is in developing a relationship with yourself, your needs, your partner(s), and their needs. Honesty, clarity, and uncomfortable conversations are all a part of the process.

When you find someone to experiment with, and there is ENTHUSIASTIC consent, be sure to be clear about what you're agreeing to. And, for universe's sake, foreplay is for everyone. Use protection, lubricate appropriately, and check in regularly whether everyone is still having a good time.

Then, yes. It can be mind-blowingly great.

Remember, you can do everything right and still not end up having the sex. Live to try another day.

No one has posted an example of one read by the author, so I will: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Funny, insightful, and a truly incredible autobiography in his own voice and with full knowledge of all the languages he can speak.

Wait, maybe the justices just gave Biden the authority to do just that.

...

Naw. See, if he did, that'd delegitimize the presidency and cause a constitutional crisis.

But, if a Republican President does it, it's an exercise in upholding American freedom and the true authority of the office. See the difference?

Should the UNSG also have said nothing?

I'll print more legibly in the future.

That's just how I process information. Pencil in hand and post-its are easy to find in my house. They end up in notebooks with more writing. Better, by far, than on back of some envelope or on my kids' school work like my parents used to do.

Also, made you look.

Ding ding. Correct.

Had a couch surfer stay with us a while in Kuwait. He'd been everywhere. He said that, of all places, Moldova had no redeeming qualities. Granted, things might have changed in 10 years. Does anyone care to weigh in?

Viewed. Thought it'd be even more catastrophic.

That's the one. I'm holding off on watching the ending. After I see it, this meme will be broken for me.

I'll finish watching the dishes, and then I'll view the ending.

It seems like I've been obsessed over death and dying for decades.

When I was thirteen, as a form of dealing with the concept of death, I imagined hearing the news of the deaths of each of my family members and a couple of the girls I liked from school. Finding out that a person is dead is a singular experience. A few years later, I viscerally understood what was said in Unforgiven, "[death] take[s] away all he's got, all he's ever gonna have."

When I was sixteen, I did a cooperative education placement in a hospital. As fate would have it, I was placed in the histopathology department. I was surrounded by tissues removed from the dead, the dying, and those who had gotten a new lease on life. In the morgue, I helped discard any samples that were two or more years old. Removed silicone breast implants were frequent, as were containers labelled "uterine curettings." In that same morgue, I sat in on two autopsies, including one where sections of the brain were needed.

Between 13 and 18, I began to be much more aware of conflict zones; injustice, and miscarriages of justice involving death; of the legacies left behind in their wake. I became aware of South African apartheid, war — later, genocide — in a disintegrating Yugoslavia, genocide in Rwanda. The collapse of social order in L.A. in '92. Hurricanes in the Caribbean, especially Andrew, which battered Jamaica. The Bay Area earthquake. The Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. The bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the bombing at the Atlanta Olympics. This period also saw the formation of my opposition to capital punishment.

It wasn't until 9/11 that I saw people die live on TV. I didn't wake until 10 am that day, but by 1030, I saw both towers fall. By the end of that day, it was a buddy of mine who said, "Why don't they stop showing this??" It hadn't occurred to me that we were watching snuff film until then.

Then there was 17-18 March 2003. I sat and watched as Shock and Awe were released on Baghdad. One of the oldest cities in the world bombed for political expediency. More snuff film.

____ and ____ would later start to collect and disseminate the deadliest and the most violate material. I wouldn't go looking for it, but it would find me. Cartel violence, industrial accidents, gun camera footage, people filming police shootings... there was so much death. Busta Rhymes said it best, "numerals of funerals every day." Another thought that has not left me.

I didn't know why I needed to know. Then, in time, I came to understand that I was bearing witness.

It was about 2004 when I started to develop an appreciation for the special violence of the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict and the sheer destruction it inflicts. I read a lot about the Holocaust, Jewish diaspora, anti-Semitism, and the campaign to make genocide punishable. Then, I read about the roots of the Israeli state, its funding, protections, and the special relationship it enjoys with the warlike American state and its allies. Then, I read into America and how that state has secured its place in world history. I moved to South Korea and started to understand Korea, Japan, China, and the other nations of Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Oceania, much more clearly.

What I found out is that, to some, achievable ends are sought by bloody means. This is a pattern across most of the world. In general, average everyday people are just trying to get by and do right by their families. In the places that we can not peacefully coexist, where expropriation and indignity are inflicted by those who wield the power they seek and are corrupted by it. Frank Herbert said, "Power is magnetic to the corruptible."

Journalists, in my opinion, are those who pursue power in the practice of relinquishing it to the public. With this in mind, I understand the threat that Julian Assange was to the power establishment in the US. I saw the "Collateral Murder" release that landed him in the Ecuadorian embassy for the better part of a decade. The truly destructive part of this episode is the proliferation of instances in which military outfits across the world are engaged in similar activities. The Dutch Safety Board investigation and publications regarding the shooting down of flight MH17 are exceptional examples.

All of this is to say that we need to spend more time coming to terms with death and dying. We need to be more aware, not less, of the living conditions that cause people to die. War, famine, pestilence, climate upheaval, conflict zones, refugees from conflict and climate and corruption, drought, flooding, colonialism, austerity, and protectionism threaten almost all of the world's population.

The few who are not threatened take refuge in their comfort and contrive to maintain the status quo. They change laws, lobby, employ, and help to elect and appoint those that serve the entreched interests. A future that looks like the present is a dead future, and we are witnessing the spread of atrophy and rigor mortis each day. That's about as real as it gets.

I like watching well-done cinematic synopses of characters or storylines. Watched only AFTER having seen the series.

Here's one for Altered Carbon S01. Very BladeRunner, very neo-noir, 80s meets 20s. Here's one for the Expanse, story focused, 2 movements, so compassion-inducing

Both are by this creator.

Two of my top ten shows right now. I think I'm going to go finish DEVS right now.

Marvel: s (NY, ) mixed in with fake locales (Genosha, A events (9/11 has made several appearances, WWII is canon), legit in-universe stakes and motivation, lots of difficult or morally grey choices. Good reading, they make you think.

DC: fake cities (i.e., Metropolis, Gotham); never have seen a historical event (feel free to enlighten me if you would); stakes seem to be damage to infrastructure and property — maybe a hero or two will get hurt (except for that one time they put a lady in a refrigerator as motivation — that was not cool); good guys are clearly good, bad guys are clearly bad.

My money has always been with Marvel.

USA, 55th in the world overall, for maternal mortality in a 2018 study.

A fast look at the UNICEF data for 2020 shows 66th.

That's behind the State of Palestine (61st), Moldova (46th), Albania (34th), Poland (3rd) and Belarus (1st).

https://data.unicef.org/topic/maternal-health/maternal-mortality/#data

This is enlightening. US maternal death rates compared to other industrialized nations.

From: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/nov/maternal-mortality-maternity-care-us-compared-10-countries

Think that the calculus is to stem the tide and activate the electorate in recognition that the EU Parliament outcomes were a surprise?

Just an observation: I love how much you all love The Expanse. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You've made my day.

And as always, thanks to James S.A. Corey — Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck — for creating and publishing this world that has linked us in such inspired interaction.