Hey Everyone!
Let’s go….
Newly Covered Today:

1. Transaction volume is looking very interesting right now. https://messari.io/charts/cardano/txn-vol
2. JPG Store has now launched Android and IOS apps. https://twitter.com/jpgstoreNFT/status/1663281982262919170
3. It’s true. Cardano is straight killing it on the security leg of the trilemma.https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1662987243655684096
4. Just checked. Yep. The centralization in ETH is still staggering. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1663222056870350848
5. There’s a documentary about a 2022 Plutus hackathon in Argentina. https://twitter.com/LarsBrunjes/status/1663111319732535297
6. Pavia is testing NFT gating. This could get very interesting. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1663153213988823040

Previously covered, but still interesting:

1. So much ghostbusting would be needed to clear us out. https://twitter.com/TheOCcryptobro/status/1653527418588774401
2. Charles was on Fox again and discussed a wide range of topics with Maria. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1653571613135196163
3. Coinbase didn’t waste any time in getting their non-US futures platform open. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1653385513011740672
4. A former SEC Chair in his 90s sees that the current SEC is wrong on crypto. https://twitter.com/ramahluwalia/status/1648134506359009280
5. Rumor is that Pacwest is next on death row. https://twitter.com/CryptoHayes/status/1653403052899192833
6. ADA + Lime Wire. Only asked for 300 retweets…they definitely don’t know us. https://twitter.com/limewire/status/1653834307259998221
7. Token locking. Not a comment on any specific project. But, Is there any good case it’s not really just to artificially drive price up? Obviously also useful to centralize liquidity. https://twitter.com/MatthewPlomin/status/1653773401645826049
8. You can’t say that many of us in Cardano didn’t warn about exactly this. Always the same with these VC coins. https://twitter.com/mr_cata/status/1653788019084734468
9. Caitlin Long points out that both the non-main candidate challengers in the 2024 Presidential race are pro-crypto and anti-CBDC. https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1653528247655694336
10. The Fed raised by a quarter point bringing the federal funds rate to 5-5.25%. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/03/live-updates-fed-decision-may-2023.html
11. As predicted PacWest is facing death. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1653873317110071305The Florida anti-CBDC bill passed both the FL House and the Senate. https://twitter.com/samuelarmes/status/1653761904169320448
12. A sitting US Senator just said that the modern banking system is a sophisticated ponzi scheme. https://twitter.com/BertusMaximus2/status/1653819148596543489
13. Hydra is live on mainnet. https://twitter.com/rom1_pellerin/status/1654185072415723529
14. IOG wants you to know about the advantages of native tokens on Cardano. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1654077799697727488
15. Cardano Movies! https://twitter.com/coc_space/status/1653862307439542275
16. We really need to primary some members of the U.S. Congress. https://twitter.com/BradSherman/status/1653928972026093569
17. Wow! Not surprised at what’s being said here back in November. Just surprised it’s being said publicly. https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1654239504574853120
18. Here’s the longer video of that FDIC meeting for context. http://fdic.windrosemedia.com/index.php?category=Systemic+Resolution+Advisory+Committee
19. Looks like Western Alliance is up next. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1654133106037739522
20. The weekly development update from IOG is out. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1655248376194105347
21. It’s not hard to make a meme coin on Cardano. https://twitter.com/nmkr_io/status/1654923697885532160
22. Still a crazy amount of mark-to-market losses that haven’t been absorbed by the system. https://twitter.com/BillyM2k/status/1655207860572422144
23. Warren Buffet gives a not too comforting answer to a question about the status of the dollar: “America…we’ve got everything going for us…but…you can’t print money indefinitely as debt.” https://twitter.com/GRDectestatus/1655203348033810439
24. …and then everyone remembered what fee markets look like in busy times. https://twitter.com/CryptoStylesUSA/status/1654711146673479680
25. …same for Bitcoin. https://twitter.com/MatthewPlomin/status/1655320093084057600
26. Cardano hit 94% load. https://twitter.com/SebastienGllmt/status/1655624561789112321
27. he MEV game is getting out of control over on Cardano’s biggest competitor chain. Convince me this shouldn’t just be called “theft” or “fraud”. https://twitter.com/0xNox_eth/status/1655615309695586306
28. Cardano Native Assets are vastly superior to BRC20 and ERC20 tokens. https://twitter.com/TheOCcryptobro/status/1655673557710692352
29. Rumor: SEC is going to make a move against Binance. Will the DOJ also? https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1655546961968103425
30. At the end of Q3 of last year, 722 banks reported unrealized losses greater than 50% of capital. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/files/board-briefing-on-impact-of-rising-interest-rates-and-supervisory-approach-20230214.pdf
31. Wyoming is inching closer to a state stablecoin. IOG’s significant presence there may turn out to be a huge advantage. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/05/09/wyoming-stable-token-a-multibillion-dollar-opportunity-as-officials-wrestle-with-how-to-make-it-happen/
32. Paypal disclosed almost $1 billion in customer crypto in its latest 10-Q. https://blockworks.co/news/paypal-discloses-1b-crypto
33. MiCA is shifting the balance of crypto investment to Europe. https://twitter.com/paddi_hansen/status/1655883224726241281
34. Today (May 10) will be a joint hearing of the Agriculture and Financial Services Committees on Crypto. The CLO of Kraken will testify. https://financialservices.house.gov/
35. This is a legit point about centralized L2s: the best ones are called Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. https://twitter.com/el33th4xostatus/1655845787593502720
36. There’s already a new version of Lace Wallet out. https://twitter.com/lace_io/status/1656347737355608066
37. A nice thread on the many strengths of Cardano. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1656388178369212416
38. Remember, lobster traps are a thing. https://twitter.com/TheCardanoTimes/status/1656064744225120257
39. Today (May 11 at 1pm EST) there will be a Messari Cardano Analyst call with Charles & Frederik. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1656272372452954112
40. I think we all love it when they start making our case for us. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1656379837823561730
41. Ethereum is lamenting many of its poor design choices that Cardano already fixed. https://twitter.com/moo9000/status/1656215016016683008
42. Drunkenmiller says this is the broadest asset bubble he’s ever even studied let alone seen firsthand and we’ve only had a few soft landings since 1950. https://twitter.com/Stephen_Geigestatus/1656416819312222219
43. Live footage of meme coin investors accepting their ROI. https://twitter.com/KaylerSmithTV/status/1656130092966264834
44. Here’s the Messari call from today with both Fred & Chaz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouUhWwF74MM
45. People really seem to be enjoying the CF’s Blockchain Education Alpha Program. https://twitter.com/andreassosilo/status/1644263843743293451
46. The US Chamber of Commerce brief in the Coinbase case is calling out the SEC for acting “unlawfully”. https://twitter.com/MetaLawMan/status/1656737447756038177
47. About that whole self-custody thing we’ve discussed… https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1656706653801136132
48. The SPO poll on K and minFee starts today (May 15)! You should redelegate if your stake pool doesn’t vote the way you would vote! https://cardanofoundation.org/en/news/entering-voltaire-poll-experiment-live-on-mainnet/
49. There are also a series of forum topics for discussion of the various options in the Cardano.org forums. https://twitter.com/Lovecoach_nic/status/1657700010148896770
50. Coinbase spotlights Empowa! May be the first time they’ve ever given such a spotlight to a Cardano project. Tides are turning. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1657081243518005254
51. Wow. Leaked “Key Messages” document for the joint committee meeting in the US House last week. Best part: they basically complain about separation of powers in point three. https://twitter.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1656362002577772544
52. Dr. Vanishree Rao on ZK-Rollups. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1657778843854274560
53. Here’s a new Decentralized Identity article from IOG. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2023/05/11/atala-prism-pioneering-digital-identity-with-decentralized-solutions/
54. There are reasons we’re in a hard capped cryptocurrency like Cardano. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/business/argentina-interest-rates-inflation/index.html
55. What is a dRep? This video is for you. There will be additional categories of default dReps that vote abstain or no confidence on every vote. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1658034085401337857
56. The US Dept. of Justice is officially saying they are targeting exchanges. Great. Great. https://www.ft.com/content/5aac457e-cc80-44ae-ac40-9b51d9b601a3
57. Wow! Ledger just made what is possibly the greatest PR blunder in the history of crypto. Trezor will be poppin’ bottles tonight. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658458714771169282
58. People are claiming that the hysteria is a misunderstanding of cryptography. But, that’s not what’s going on here if Ledger plus one of the other two shard custodians can reconstruct your private key without having to use your private key. https://twitter.com/nimuepool/status/1658517533836574720
59. The Ledger Recover FAQ seems to support this understanding as it suggests you use a brand new device for recovery. https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/9579368109597
60. Wow. Unfortunate timing for this. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658095051375800321
61. Ken Kodama will be doing a Japanese language interview on CardanoSpot on May 18. https://twitter.com/Emurgo_Ken/status/1658838077136162828
62. The stake pool operator poll on network parameters of K and minPoolCost is live. See the results here. The re-delegation phase will begin on May 25th. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
63. Cornucopias dropped some new in-game footage. As expected, Solace is beautiful. https://youtu.be/j5iwNsQVMDQ?t=1846
64. Wow….the Ledger shards are encrypted with “a master key that is contained in all devices”. Wut? https://twitter.com/P3b7_/status/1658809445965606913
65. Sadly, the Ledger CEO seemed to be denying exactly the above just a day ago. https://twitter.com/_pgauthiestatus/1658508082941403144
66. Here’s why 340 ADA minPoolCost promotes multi-pools. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1659387255537176581
67. Numbers are emerging on the benefits of K=1000 over K=500. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1659398551917727744
68. Here’s the latest on the Stake Pool Operator poll. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
69. Rep. Tom Emmer is trying to help crypto by cutting crypto assets out of the definition of a “security”. He creates a new non-security asset category called “investment contract asset”. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1659291641281146886
70. Prof. Wadler (co-inventor of Cardano’s Plutus) has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society joining the likes of Einstein, Darwin, Hawking, and Isaac Newton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOm-dWje-M
71. Huge amount of voting for economic self-interest by multi-poolers in the SPO poll. Earlier today (May 21), 84.73% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 340 ₳ was multi-poolers. Only 15.6% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was multi-poolers. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
72. Large pools also voted heavily for economic self-interest with the K parameter. 70.02% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools with delegation over 35 million. Only 30.57% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools over 35 million. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
73. Apparently Cardano has its own wiki now! Probably better given our previous treatment by the big wiki group. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660383700243329024
74. Rep. Tom Emmer is getting some reactions on the bill he sponsored with Rep. Soto. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1660329932495486977
75. You’re really gonna hold up a debt ceiling deal because you hate crypto so bad? https://twitter.com/gaborgurbacs/status/1660248530135515138
76. Looks like a few big multi-poolers have voted in the poll since yesterday. Pretty easy to predict what they didn’t vote for. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
77. Reports coming in that DCG has defaulted on the payment owed to Genesis. https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1660671386388504577
78. Ledger Recover would allow governments to confiscate crypto assets by subpoena? Called “not a real concern in the end.” Really? https://twitter.com/TheBTCTherapist/status/1660677064700178436
79. Frederik Gregaard on DeFi and regulation. https://twitter.com/F_Gregaard/status/1660655806709211137
80. Don’t Forget, the May Cardano 360 will be on May 25th. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660621805017608194
81. Here’s the daily check-in on the status of the SPO Poll. We have surpassed 590 pools voting (as of May 23). https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
82. The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has decided to get our hopes up with a proposed regulatory framework for crypto exchanges that could mean more trading for coins like Cardano. https://apps.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/news-and-announcements/news/doc?refNo=23PR53
83. Here’s an IOG thread on the latest out of Atala Prism and Self-Sovereign Identity. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660904360925188097
84. Here’s an IOG article on Cardano native tokens. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660975383997448193
85. The difference in decentralization between Cardano and Bitcoin is still…laughable. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660979639907500033
86. Ledger is finally caving (a little) to the backlash. It’s reported that they will focus on open sourcing parts of their code and only release the “Recover” firmware after that open sourcing is finished. https://twitter.com/NFTherdestatus/1661026174779420672ext to an old identity book. Stop reading into things.” Everyone enjoys speculating what e
87. Looks like the Hong Kong announcement yesterday might have been a hint of what’s coming. https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1661391542504902664
88. The Cardano Layerverse is coming to life. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1660697833115385856
89. Wow! Incredible! Thank you for voting in favor of decentralization, 1PCT! https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1661460222203002880
90. Federal Reserve report debunks claim that crypto is not useful to people in the US. https://twitter.com/SebVentures/status/1661063483369177108
91. The SPO phase of the poll is over. Nearly 800 pools voted. Now it’s your turn to see how your pool voted and re-delegate if you think they voted against decentralization and for their own pocketbook. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
92. The May Cardano 360 is out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_bCa_xCoxA
93. Charles dropped an update today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfL2U2hAGWw
94. Sen. Cynthia Lummis declares her opposition to the 30% tax on bitcoin mining. https://twitter.com/SenLummis/status/1661803569341759495
95. Today is a holiday for some of you. Enjoy a Cardano video game I made for you with AI. MJ made the textures. GPT-4 did 100% of the coding. https://openprocessing.org/sketch/1941253
96. Lots of volume being transacted on Cardano recently! https://twitter.com/cwpaulm/status/1662929296329981952
97. As expected, a debt ceiling deal has been reached. It includes an extension until January 1, 2025 which means we won’t be talking about it again until after the election. https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-deal-food-aid-student-loans-3c284b01d95f8e193bca8d873386400e
98. Recent subpoenas to the Python Package Index don’t bode well for those hoping to store seed phrases with third-party custodians. https://twitter.com/_jonasschnelli_/status/1662531840606093312

~Army of Spies

Today's anniversaries are:
2006

• Cheval de frise - Fresques sur les parois secrètes du crâne (Rock)

2008

• Opeth - Watershed (Rock)

2010

• Omar Rodríguez-López - Sepulcros de miel (experimental rock)

2014

• Artifact Implication - Motions (deathcore, metal, djent, melodic deathcore, progressive deathcore, progressive metalcore, Moscow)
  
• Fire! Orchestra - Enter (Jazz)
  
• Killitorous - Party, Grind (death metal, metal, thrash metal, technical death metal, Canada)
  

2015

• Anairë - Eldritch Sanctuary (ambient, ambient, bloodborne, cinematic, dark ambient, drone, drone ambient, electronic music, fantasy, field recordings, soundscape, Poland)
  
• Cyclamen - Humanise (ambient, experimental, metal, post-rock, Japan)
  
• Cyclamen - Tales (ambient, djent, experimental, metal, post-rock, tech metal, Japan)
  
• Naumachia - Machine of Creation (black metal, death metal, metal, norway, hate, machine of creation, naumachia, sceptic, via nocturna, Opole)
  

2016

• Jason Rubenstein - Four Named Narratives (jazz rock fusion, rock, fusion, hard rock, heavy, heavy piano, heavy prog, heavy progressive, heavy rock, instrumental, prog rock, progressive metal, San Francisco) Read our review.
  
• Visions - Shake the Earth (metal, hardcore, progressive, rock, tech, Peterborough) Read our review.
  

2017

• Cauldron of Shit - Mysterious Fortress (metal, death metal, deathgrind, grindcore, groove grind, hardcore, mathcore, slam, speed metal, tech grind, technical death metal, technical grindcore, Perth)
  
• Omni Optometrist - Atomic Throne (avant-prog)
  
• Panic Error - Doppelgänger (alternative, electronic, usa, alternative rock, avant-garde, drone, electronic, electropop, experimental, harsh noise, improvisation, industrial, noise, psychedelic, Italy)
  
• Sheen Marina - Travel Lightly (adventure rock, rock, surf rock, acid, california rock, experimental rock, math rock, noise rock, psychedelic, punk, surf noise, New York)
  
• Té - 擢 (Kai) ()
  
• The Vomit of the Universe - The Vomit of the Universe (doom, drone, experimental, metal, Adelaide)
  
• Vola - October Session (expermiental, rock, experimental rock, progressive metal, progressive rock, Copenhagen)
  
• Yoink - Yankee Oscar India November Kilo (rock, calypso, experimental rock, instrumental, jingle house, juke, loop, math rock, mathrock, post-rock, progressive, vampcore, New York)
  

2018

• Dysmorfectomy - Disembodied Anomalies (metal, slamming brutal death metal, Carhaix Plouguer)
  
• Ladybaby - ホシノナイソラ (Hoshinonaisora) (Asian Music)
  
• Oh, Adeona - Oh, Adeona (rock, jazz, math rock, prog rock, punk, New York)
  
• Rytmigeneraattori - Ikiliikkuja (world, didgeridoo, didgeridoo music, drums, ethno, organic dance music, organic trance, world music, Tampere) Read our review.
  
• Wollongong - 40,000 Hippo Handshakes (experimental, Wollongong)
  

2019

• Room to Spare - Room to Spare (experimental, jazz, groove based, new music, piano, violin, Boston)
  
• The Gloom in the Corner - Flesh & Bones (metal, metalcore, concept music, deathcore, down-tempo, hardcore, metalcore, nu-metalcore, post-hardcore, Melbourne)
  
• 鬼否 (Guǐfǒu / Griffo) - 通用计箕 (Tōngyòng jì jī / Neo Eniac) (rock, instrumental, math rock, Hangzhou)
  

2020

• Jargon - The Fading Thought (progressive rock)

2021

• Charnel Grounds - Molecular Entropy Examined in the Bowels of a Great One (avant-garde death metal)

2022

• Crowning & Naedr - Rayau (blackened hardcore)
  
• David Binney - Tomorrow's Journey (modern jazz)
  
• Jack - Lobotómia (grindcore)
  
• Reverb on Repeat - Demo 2 (post-rock)
  
• Thierry Maillard - Paris-New York (jazz fusion)
  
• Тишина (Tišina) - Увод… (Uvod…) (blackened doom metal)
  

From Bolivia with Love
Not since the days of the dictatorships into the early 1980s have we seen government opponents (internal and external) die in mysterious circumstances with such frequency. Four decades have since those dark days, and in the last 6 months we have not 1, not 2, but 3 strange deaths, that rival the demise of Putin's contrarians in Russia. If true, who knows how long this apparent purge of government enemies (internal and external) might last.
The latest victim is Carlos Colodro, who had been charged distributing the assets of Bank Fassil. Fassil went bankrupt recently, Colodro was charged with taking its assets to return the bank’s customers their money, transfer their accounts to other banks, pay back the salaries of Fassil employees and so on. Saturday night he turned up death after allegedly falling down from the 14th floor of a building. As per his family the corpse shows strange bruises not explained by a suicide, and he was missing an eye and a testicle. Unconfirmed reports say the government actors had money in Fassil of unknown and potentially illegal origins, and Colodro was perhaps getting too close to this information. As per his family’s lawyer Colodro had been receiving threats recently. Curiously the next day the Minister of Government Eduardo Del Castillo had a press release with an apparent suicide letter. This came as a surprise to the family as a search with the police at 11pm Saturday night did not find this letter. According to Del Castillo the letter was found (conveniently) during a second search at 2am Sunday morning. However neither the handwriting or writing style fit Colodro’s. Take that as what you will.
Colodro’s death is eerily similar to the recent death “by suicide” of Christopher Balcázar, who happens to be the defense lawyer for political prisoner and opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho. On the night of May 1 Balcazar “jumped” to his dead from his 11th floor apartment. At the time the police said they were collecting footage from the building’s security cameras, but almost a month later these haven’t been released to the public yet. Why?
In 2022 attorney Felipe Sandy Rivero came out as a whistleblower exposing corruption within the ABC government agency (Administradora Boliviana de Carreteras – Bolivian Administration of Roads) with Chinse company CHEC. At the time of the allegations this was seen as the latest battle of the MAS civil war (Evo Vs. Arce) as Sandy Rivero was receiving help from a hardcore member of the “Evista” wing of the party, and the accusations were against the “Arcista” wing as allegedly President Arce has his people and family member working in the ABC. Sandy Rivero ended up receiving death threats and fearing for his life escaped to Miami. In March 2023 the Minister of Justice Ivan Lima (an “Arcista”) disclosed that Sandy Rivero had died the previous January in a car accident. The press was able to independently obtain a list of transit deaths in Miami and Sandy Rivero’s name was nowhere to be found. The press then produced US forensic results indicating that Sandy Rivero “had assaulted his own body” and he had “attempted against his life”, some convoluted language to describe an apparent suicide, there was nothing about a car accident in the document. The Evistas then pointed the finger to Lima as responsible for Sandy Rivero’s death. Before dying Sandy Rivero made a video in which he stated that he feared for his life from Bolivian and Chinese actors and wanted to explain the corruption details (fake documents, money laundering, front documents, etc).
Here Comes Johnny
State congressman Federico Moron recently went to the police to make corruption allegations against Santa Cruz Mayor Johnny Fernandez. During his term Hernandez has been reluctant to construct new roads in his city, but has decided to make an exception by ordering the construction of an avenue linking Tundi with Las Peñas. Moron alleges that Hernandez conveniently bought all the land around the road (currently under construction), once the road is complete the value of this land will increase and Fernandez will make a killing by selling it.
Now Moron is under arrest. You read that right, immediately after hearing his testimony the police arrested Moron on charges of his own corruption. The details are not clear to me yet, but are these charges true? Or is this a way to silence Moron? Or a bit of both? Your guess is as good as mines. In the meantime Johnny keeps creating content for his REAL TikTok account “UncleJohnnyFernandez”. His most common content revolves around him just giving money away while his own theme song “Johnny Cash” plays in the background. Selected lyrics:
Jhonny Cash, with Uncle Jhonny Cash
The Land Cruiser waiting in the garage
I am Johnny, pure money
I am boss, I am Fernandez
MVP with only Mansions grandes [big]
I am Jhonny, they call me Don Dinero [money]
In the yellow Ferrari I arrived primero [first]
The Congressional Battle Royale: A Fight for Signs and Glory
This week congress came together to debate on whether to censure or not Minister of Government Eduado Del Castillo, who is a member of the MAS party. As part of the process Del Castillo had to answer 11 questions regarding the violent “arrest” of opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho last year. A kidnapping might be a better way to describe it. Rather than answering them Del Castillo instead made a long partisan speech. Congresswoman Maria Renee Alvarez tried to voice her protest with a sign, but MAS congresswoman Tania Paniagua had other plans, grabbing and tearing signs from opposition congresswomen. More opposition congresswomen then brought their own signs, which Paniagua also proceeded to grab and tear. Not happy with that Paniagua then proceeded to assault her fellow congresswomen and a battle royal ensued.
The fun also takes place outside of Congress
The Guarayo Province in Santa Cruz is home to the indigenous Guarayo people. A large part of the province is protected and Guarayo hold collective title for it. However for over a decade the central government created an “intercultural” program in which government supporters from the highlands are allowed to use the land of the Guarayo (and others) for their own. This has resulted in mass deforestation and has severely weakened the Guarayo way of life. The “interculturals” simply take their land and do whatever they want with it. Finally a local district attorney was taking steps to remove these squatters, in return a mob of them went into his office an assaulted him. The police were able to rescue him fortunately. This is not the first time the squatting interculturals have resorted to violence. It seems the interculturals have taken the term "culture clash" to a whole new level.

Bonjour,
J'ai aménagé dans un logement refait à neuf en août 2021 en tant que locataire. Un poêle à granulés venait tout juste d'y être installé. L'hiver 2021-2022 passe. Puis en octobre 2022, je procède à l'entretien du poêle + ramonage de la cheminée conformément à la loi. J'ai eu 2 mois de retard car aucun ramoneur n'était disponible avant. J'ai cependant attendu que le ramoneur ait été effectué avant de le rallumer.
L'hiver 2022-2023 passe. Je quitte les lieux en avril 2023. La propriétaire me demande alors de payer l'entretien du poêle de cette année :

• selon elle, je l'ai utilisé cet hiver, donc je paie son entretien 2023
• selon moi, l'entretien 2023 sera fait par le locataire présent dans l'appartement avant qu'il ne l'allume pour la première fois l'hiver (entre août et septembre 2023 en gros)

La seule chose que j'ai trouvé dans le bail, c'est ça :

Le locataire devra faire ramoner les cheminées et gaines de fummée des lieux loués aussi souvent qu'il en sera besoin conformément à la législation ou à la réglementation en vigueur et au moins une fois par an. Il en justifiera par la production d'une facture acquittée.

Ma question est donc : qui doit payer ? Moi ou le prochain locataire qui rentre dans les lieux le 1er juin ?

My latest discovery is an entirely adult oriented project with an ecosystem oriented around exclusive content for 18+. Check out the information which I managed to extract about this promising project.

Connect with the Fantasy Digital discord community to keep up to date with the latest news:
https://discord.com/invite/PAc5pHUacw
Polygon Smart Contract:
https://polygonscan.com/token/0xe0d4a49c386f5c0184f72ac0752aad4bd62c579a
Dextools Chart Link:
https://www.dextools.io/app/en/polygon/pair-explore0x8e019016e932a356b964e57a16f8b42f9b664b93
Uniswap Direct Buy Link:
https://app.uniswap.org/#/swap?outputCurrency=0xe0d4a49c386f5c0184f72ac0752aad4bd62c579a&chain=polygon
What is Fantasy Digital’s vision?
The team is aiming to revolutionize the world of uncensored content by pairing out digital currency (native token FTXXX) with their upgradable membership NFTs. They are able to provide fans with exclusive access to mixed reality content while providing a financial and technological infrastructure for adult content creators.
Fantasy Digital will provide greater control and flexibility to content providers, while still providing fans with exclusive digital & physical collectibles. Supported by future web technologies, their unique P2E business model will connect creators and fans directly in new ways never imagined.
Reward system and detailed information about P2E.
The P2E reward system is an integral part of the Fantasy Digital experience. Both fans & creators are able to earn rewards based on how they interact with the ecosystem. Rewards are distributed each month via the promotional pool account as outlined in the promotional pool distribution of the Fantasy Digital Whitepaper.
There are few categories and designated ranks mentioned below. All the information you can find on this link : https://www.fantasydigital.co/fantasy-rewards
- Community Rewards
- Holding Rewards
- Special Rewards
- Creators Only
What are the latest news about the token?
The team launched a very special minting game for Christmas 2022 called Sexy Santa.
Each NFT bingo card purchased is good for 5 game plays starting on December 20th with a grand prize of 1500$ in FTXXX native token! Additionally, holders are automatically added to whitelisting for next years’ membership NFT minting & promotional pool distribution. Full info on the link - https://www.fantasydigital.co/SexySanta
How is Fantasy Digital different from the competitors?
True User Anonymity – You decide how much personal information you wish to share.
Fantasy Rewards – Earn Fantasy Tokens, NFT airdrops of exclusive digital wearable for every interaction you have with content creator. The more you participate – the more you earn.
PPV Experience – Alleviate the pressures of life with the ultimate PPV streams.
Free Expression – Fantasy Digital allows content creators to express themselves by removing the traditional limitations facing other social platforms.
Curated Content – Collect Fantasy Fetish NFTs to connect with content creators who specialize in your unique desires and needs.
Article about the token on Xbiz.com– November 2022:
I did some research on this token and the recent marketing of theirs. I managed to find a really good article on this magazine. Link below.
https://www.xbiz.com/pub/xbizworld/2022-11/index.html?page=76
Tokenomics:
Total Supply – 500,000,000
Liquidity Pool – 55%
Team – 4%
Ecosystem(Foundation) – 4%
Presale / ICO – 15%
Treasury – 20%
Ambassador Onboarding – 2%
Transaction Fees 5 % - Out of which:
2% sent to promotional account - 0x5Ab70B1c091ecd8d0114a2d9b9F264A6fF384b5D
2% sent to business account - - 0xa47103e18bc9c1923161b6488dec6cb1490a1a6b
1% burned to account - 0x000000000000000000000000000000000000dEaD
Explore the community channels to be up to date!
Fantasy Digital token project’s team has provided a wide variety of social platforms to engage and interact with the community and learn about the upcoming events, listings and announcements. You can also contact the team on their social platforms to ask questions about the project.
Website: https://www.fantasydigital.co
Telegram: @ fantasydigitalco
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fantasytokennft
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/PAc5pHUacw
Instagram: http://instagram.com/fantasytokennft

El pasado septiembre de 2022 mi coche personal dio el estallido final. Arreglarlo costaba sobre unos 5000€, así que contacté con un tipo que compra coches para arreglarlos y revenderlos y, a principios de octubre de 2022, llegamos a un acuerdo por el que me lo compraba por unos 300€. Hicimos el papeleo de cambio de nombre y me aseguró que él se encargaría de llevar ese tema. Yo di de baja el vehículo de mi seguro y santas pascuas.
El problema llegó en este mes de mayo de 2023, cuando nos ha llegado el cobro del impuesto de circulación del vehículo vendido, unos 61€. Inmediatamente me puse en contacto con el tipo al que le vendí el coche para pedirle explicaciones y, por lo visto, el muy alimaña no tramitó el cambio de nombre hasta enero de 2023.
Estirando del hilo conseguí que me facilitara documentos con sus datos y los de la tercera persona a la que revendió mi antiguo vehículo, donde consta que la reventa se tramitó el 22 de diciembre de 2022, pero no le he podido sonsacar el documento donde constan los datos de la venta del vehículo por parte mía.
La semana pasada cancelé el cobro del impuesto de circulación y, ahora mismo, me encuentro en el punto muerto en el que le he enviado la carta de pago con fecha límite del ingreso el día 5 de junio.
Soy consciente de que confié en que esa alimaña tenía palabra cuando lo que tendría que haber hecho es haber quedado con él en el ayuntamiento para asegurarme de que lo cambiaba de nombre en el mismo momento y de que, habiéndose realizado el trámite pasado el 1 de enero de 2023, yo me convierto en el injusto responsanle de pagar el impuesto de circulación.
La cuestión es: si la alimaña esta decidiera no ingresar el dinero del impuesto de circulación, con los datos que tengo, ¿existe algún recurso legal al que pueda acudir para demostrar que el coche ya no era mío en noviembre de 2022?
TL;DR El tipo al que le vendí mi coche estropeado el año pasado no ha hecho el cambio de nombre a tiempo y me han cargado el impuesto de circulación. ¿Hay algún remedio?

El pasado septiembre de 2022 mi coche personal dio el estallido final. Arreglarlo costaba sobre unos 5000€, así que contacté con un tipo que compra coches para arreglarlos y revenderlos y, a principios de octubre de 2022, llegamos a un acuerdo por el que me lo compraba por unos 300€. Hicimos el papeleo de cambio de nombre y me aseguró que él se encargaría de llevar ese tema. Yo di de baja el vehículo de mi seguro y santas pascuas.
El problema llegó en este mes de mayo de 2023, cuando nos ha llegado el cobro del impuesto de circulación del vehículo vendido, unos 61€. Inmediatamente me puse en contacto con el tipo al que le vendí el coche para pedirle explicaciones y, por lo visto, el muy alimaña no tramitó el cambio de nombre hasta enero de 2023.
Estirando del hilo conseguí que me facilitara documentos con sus datos y los de la tercera persona a la que revendió mi antiguo vehículo, donde consta que la reventa se tramitó el 22 de diciembre de 2022, pero no le he podido sonsacar el documento donde constan los datos de la venta del vehículo por parte mía.
La semana pasada cancelé el cobro del impuesto de circulación y, ahora mismo, me encuentro en el punto muerto en el que le he enviado la carta de pago con fecha límite del ingreso el día 5 de junio.
Soy consciente de que confié en que esa alimaña tenía palabra cuando lo que tendría que haber hecho es haber quedado con él en el ayuntamiento para asegurarme de que lo cambiaba de nombre en el mismo momento y de que, habiéndose realizado el trámite pasado el 1 de enero de 2023, yo me convierto en el injusto responsanle de pagar el impuesto de circulación.
La cuestión es: si la alimaña esta decidiera no ingresar el dinero del impuesto de circulación, con los datos que tengo, ¿existe algún recurso legal al que pueda acudir para demostrar que el coche ya no era mío en noviembre de 2022?
TL;DR El tipo al que le vendí mi coche estropeado el año pasado no ha hecho el cambio de nombre a tiempo y me han cargado el impuesto de circulación. ¿Hay algún remedio?

Planning on a bit of a trip with my girlfriend next month, I was wondering if people knew of any fun places to stop along the way, any and all suggestions welcome!

Today's anniversaries are:
1913

• Igor Stravinsky - Le Sacre du printemps (Classical)

2001

• Andromeda - Extension of the Wish (Rock, Metal)

2007

• Omar Rodríguez-López - Se dice bisonte, no búfalo (experimental rock)
  
• The Number Twelve Looks like You - The Number Twelve Looks like You (mathcore)
  

2009

• Túcan - Aliquot Strings (alternative, cinematic, folk, post-rock, roots, Sligo)

2012

• Dawnbringer - Into the Lair of the Sun God (metal, Chicago)
  
• Oh Bree - Swallow Down (alternative, indie pop, artrock, indie, indie rock, Philadelphia)
  
• Spectral Lore - Ⅱ (metal, ambient, black metal, Αθήνα)
  

2014

• 7 Human Target - 0.00 Apocalypse (metal, nizhny novgorod, russia, apocalypse, brutal death metal, chaotic, cyberpunk, experimental, grindcore, mathcore, technical death metal, tetsuo the iron man, Нижний Новгород)

2015

• Deuil - Shock / Deny… (black metal, blackgaze, experimental, post black metal, doom, drone, drone ambient, experimental, sludge, Liege)
  
• Pangæa - Roots (metal, djent, heavy metal, metalcore, progressive metal, Wisconsin)
  

2017

• Desert Vows - ジェネリックジャパンタトゥー (Jenerikkujapantatoū) (alternative, acoustic, beats, electronic, elephant gym, japanese, math rock, math-rock, mathrock, post rock, post-rock, postrock, song writer, toe, ttng, New York)
  
• Lifeboats - Northland ()
  
• Sekond Prime - Arrival (electronic, cinematic, dark synthwave, instrumental, retrowave, score, soundtrack, spacewave, synthwave, vocal, Netherlands)
  

2018

• Cōdex obscūra - Cardiac Omega (deathcore, metal, grindcore, mathcore, slam, transgender, North Carolina)
  
• World Untouched by Mankind - The Forests Are Old with Grief (metal, ambient, dark ambient, dungeon synth, united states, California)
  

2019

• Shnabubula - Super Rite of Spring (chiptune, funk, jazz, piano, progressive, New York)
  
• Void Eater - ⅠⅠⅠⅠ (death metal, metal, void, Norway)
  
• 中川だいじろー (Nakagawa Daijirō) - In My Opinion ()
  

2020

• Abstracción - Abstracción (psychedelic rock)
  
• Almyrkvi & the Ruins of Beverast - Split (blackened doom metal)
  
• Antethic - Mythographer (post-rock)
  
• Aub - Aub (modern jazz)
  
• Believers - Believers (jazz fusion)
  
• Cihan Tanrıverdi - Mind (progressive rock, nu prog)
  
• Echonest - Evidence of Adolescence (nu prog)
  
• Eli Wallace & Ben Cohen - Evaporation (avant-garde jazz)
  
• Eyeless in Gaza - Act Ⅰ: The Protagonist (atmospheric doom metal)
  
• Ginger - Sélection d'épices (avant-garde jazz)
  
• Greg Fox - Contact (avant-garde jazz)
  
• Jamie Saft - The Golden Scale (contemporary classical)
  
• Kaguu - Rosewood (math rock)
  
• Louis de Mieulle - Sideshow 2 (jazz fusion)
  
• Many Blessings - Emanation Body (drone, ambient)
  
• Phenolhouse - Phenol + House (noise rock)
  
• Phraim - Tides (modern jazz)
  
• Pyjæn - Sage Secrets (nu jazz)
  
• Run - For You Will Never Find Peace within Your Quiet (progressive metalcore)
  
• Shrimp - Mantis Shrimp (avant-garde jazz, noise)
  
• Sleep Makes Waves - These Are Not Your Dreams, Part Ⅰ: No Safe Place (post-rock)
  
• Threadbare - Silver Dollar (avant-garde jazz)
  
• Waveteller - Waveteller (modern jazz, nu jazz) Read our review.
  
• Woes - Wake Up Please (math rock, pop)
  
• Xibalba - Años en infierno (deathcore)
  
• Юрий Виноградов (Jurij Vinogradov / Yuri Vinogradov) - Vers la lumière (contemporary classical, free improvisation)
  

2021

• Amir Moreno & Panamerican Strings - Volume Ⅱ (modern jazz)
  
• Hide - Interior Terror (darkwave, industrial)
  
• Iskalde mørket - Punctuated by the Screams of Dying Animals (progressive black metal)
  
• ツンデレ (Tsundere) Alley - Social Networking Services (future funk)
  

2022

• Theo Hayes & 陳陽熙 (Chan Teruki) - Reflection/Refraction (modern jazz)
  
• Trees - Sickness In (blackened doom metal)
  

Pic: https://i.imgur.com/ZyIYmwd.jpg
All samples are $2 each. All are at least 0.5ml, most closer to 1ml or more (except for a handful that are noted as freebies). $5 flat rate CONUS shipping. PayPal only.
​

HOUSE	FRAGRANCE	Main accords (according to Fragrantica)
Abercrombie & Fitch	Fierce	aromatic, woody, citrus
Aedes De Venustas	16A Orchard	warm spicy, musky, citrus
Aedes De Venustas	Cierge De Lune	powdery, amber, vanilla
Aedes De Venustas	Grenadille D'Afrique	vetiver, juniper, lavender
A Lab on Fire	What We Do in Paris is Secret	aromatic, woody, fresh spicy
Amouage	Fate Man	amber, warm spicy, fresh spicy
Amouage	Jubilation 25	amber, sweet, warm spicy
Amouage	Meander	woody, powdery, earthy
Atelier Des Ors	Lune Feline	amber, warm spicy, balsamic
Atelier Cologne	Pacific Lime	citrus, aromatic, green
Atelier Cologne	Santal Carmin	woody, warm spicy, powdery
Atelier Cologne	Sud Magnolia	citrus, floral, rose
Atelier Materi	Iris Ebene	powdery, iris, musky
Atkinson's	Pirates' Grand Reserve	woody, powdery, vanilla
Attar Collection	Azalea	sweet, powdery, vanilla
Blend Oud	Bark	woody, citrus, warm spicy
Bobbi Brown	Beach	white floral, marine, sand
Bois 1920	Sandalo e The	aromatic, woody, fresh spicy
BORNTOSTANDOUT	Dirty Rice	woody, musky, lactonic
Bvlgari	Jasmin Noir	white floral, almond, sweet
Bvlgari	Man Black	amber, white floral, citrus
Caron	Pour Un Homme	lavender, vanilla, powdery
Caron	Tabac Blond	woody, powdery, leather
Caron	Tabac Exquis	warm spicy, amber, sweet
Cartier	Declaration Parfum	warm spicy, amber, woody
Cartier	Le Panthere	fruity, white floral, sweet
Cartier	Pasha De Cartier Edition Noire	powdery, woody, fresh spicy
Cartier	Pasha De Cartier Parfum	woody, amber, warm spicy
CB I Hate Perfume	Mr. Hulot's Holiday	marine, salty, woody
Chanel	No 19 Poudre	iris, green, powdery
Chris Collin	Harlem Nights	woody, warm spicy, rum
Diptyque	34 Boulevard Saint Germain EDT	warm spicy, woody, green
Diptyque	Fleur De Peu EDP	musky, powdery, iris
Diptyque	L'Eau Papier (<0.5ml freebie add-on)	musky, powdery, yellow floral
Diptyque	Opone	warm spicy, rose, metallic
Diptyque	Opsis	amber, powdery, iris
Diptyque	Oud Palao	woody, oud, rose
Dries Van Noten	Raving Rose	rose, musky, soft spicy
Dries Van Noten	Santal Greenery	woody, citrus, fruity
DSH Perfumes	L'Or(ris)	iris, powdery, woody
DSH Perfumes	Vachi	woody, fruity, warm spicy
Dusita	Oudh Infini	musky, animalic, oud
Eight & Bob	Egypt	warm spicy, woody, fresh spicy
Frederic Malle	Portrait of a Lady	warm spicy, amber, rose
Guerlain	Angelique Noire	musky, vanilla, powdery
Guerlain	Habit Rouge EDT	citrus, woody, warm spicy
Guerlain	Jicky	aromatic, fresh spicy, citrus
Guerlain	L'Heure Bleue EDP/EDT/vintage Parfum	powdery, floral, vanilla
Guerlain	Mon Guerlain	vanilla, lavender, woody
Heeley	Sel Marin	marine, aromatic, salty
Hermes	Hiris (<0.5ml, freebie add-on)	iris, powdery, woody
Hilde Soliani	Bell'Antonio	tobacco, coffee, sweet
John Varvatos	Dark Rebel Rider	amber, woody, leather
J-Scent	Sumo Wrestler	powdery, woody, musky
Kenzo	Amour EDP	vanilla, floral, powdery
Kerosene	Canfield Cedar	woody, powdery, tobacco
Korres	Saffron Orris	powdery, warm spicy, iris
L'Artisan	Iris De Gris	iris, green, powdery
L'Artisan	L'Ete en Douce	green, sweet, yellow floral
L'Artisan	Passage D'Enfer	amber, smoky, white floral
L'Artisan	Tea for Two (<0.5ml freebie add-on)	warm spicy, sweet, cinnamon
Le Labo	The Noir (<0.5ml freebie add-on)	woody, fresh spicy, sweet
Lorga Parfums	Moroccan Iris	iris, cherry, powdery
Masque Milano	L'Attesa	iris, powdery, earthy
Meo Fusciuni	Nota de Viaggo #2 (Shukran)	green, aromatic, fresh spicy
Mona di Orio	Dojima	musky, powdery, woody
Moresque	Sandal Granada	woody, leather, honey
Mugler	Angel Men (vintage pre-A*Men name change)	sweet, warm spicy, caramel
Oriza L. Legrand	Heliotrope	powdery, almond, vanilla
Parfums de Marly	Pegasus	almond, vanilla, powdery
Parle Moi Parfum	Mile High	sweet, fruity, warm spicy
Parle Moi Parfum	Wake Up World	amber, citrus, aromatic
Penhaligon's	Cairo	woody, warm spicy, rose
Pharrell Williams	Girl	woody, powdery, violet
Pierre Guillaume	Poudre De Riz	sweet, vanilla, amber
Profumum	Fumidus	woody, leather, smoky
Rag & Bone	Genmaicha	citrus, green, fresh spicy
Ralph Lauren	Polo Red	citrus, fruity, amber
Reminiscence	Guimauve	vanilla, aromatic, citrus
Reminiscence	Vanille Santal	woody, powdery, vanilla
Rogue Perfumery	Bon Monsieur	woody, aromatic, fresh spicy
Rogue Perfumery	Mousse Illuminee	woody, fresh spicy, aromatic
Santa Maria Novella	Cala Rossa	aromatic, herbal, woody
Santa Maria Novella	Citta Di Kyoto	woody, powdery, iris
Santa Maria Novella	Colonia Russa	citrus, aromatic, fresh spicy
Santa Maria Novella	Fieno (Hay)	aromatic, fresh spicy, vanilla
Santa Maria Novella	Muschio Oro (Gold Musk)	musky, citrus, powdery
Santa Maria Novella	Sandalo	woody, amber, citrus
Tom Ford	Eau de Vert Boheme	citrus, floral, white floral
Tom Ford	Lost Cherry	sweet, almond, cherry
Tom Ford	Noir	amber, powdery, fresh spicy
Tom Ford	Ombre Leather	leather, animalic, white floral
Tom Ford	Rose Prick	rose, warm spicy, patchouli
Viktor & Rolf	Magic Dirty Trick	iris, woody, powdery
Yves Saint Laurent	Black Opium Intense	coffee, aromatic, vanilla
Zoologist	Dragonfly	aquatic, ozonic, powdery
Zoologist	Harvest Mouse	vanilla, amber, herbal

​

I recently realized something about the Incredibles. I interpret it as an allegory for Nice Guy Syndrome. To be clear, I do not think that the writers intended it this way, that is simply how I chose to interpret it.
Nice guy syndrome is when you feel entitled to romantic affection for simply behaving like a decent person. The flaw in this line of reasoning is two fold. First of all, being kind, treating your fellow human beings with respect and giving them what is rightfully theirs is an expected trait of every human being. If being nice were all that it took to not only get into a relationship, but also make the relationship work, that guy or lady in whom you are interested would already be in a relationship. Second, and more to the point, no one is entitled to a romantic relationship. It is called nice guy syndrome, because most of the people who suffer from it are heterosexual men, but women and gay men can experience it too.
Nice guys syndrome is scary, as it can lead to such violent attrocities as the mass shooting committed by Elliot Rodger in May of 2014. Elliot Rodger was a now dead YouTuber and famous Incel when he was alive. Incel is short for involuntary celibate and it refers to man who is not sexually active or is not in a relationship, but desperately wants to be. In May of 2014, Elliot stabbed three men in his apartment, went to a sorority at the University of California, Santa Barbara to shot three female students (killing two), drove to a nearby deli to shot and kill a male student inside, speed through Isla Vista to run over several people with his car, had a shoot out with the police where in he recieved a nonfatal shot to the hip and eventually crashed into a parked car. Eventually, he was found by police dead from suicide carried out with his hand gun. Before committing this mass murder, Elliot uploaded a YouTube video titled Elliot Rodger's Retribution, where in he outlined his plan to kill several people, including himself. Here is a link to the Wikipedia page about Elliot:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Isla_Vista_killings
Yeah, nice guy syndrome causes stuff like that.
If you really think about it, Syndrome is like Elliot Rodger. Rodger held resentment toward women who would not date him and at men who got dates instead of him. Rodger felt entitled to a relationship. Young Buddy Pine felt entitled to be Mr. Incredible’s side kick. Just like no one is entitled to a relationship, Buddy was not entitled to be Mr. Incredible’s side kick. If Rodger where interested in a woman and said hypothetical woman decided to exercise her right to spurn his advances, he should have just moved on to a different woman. Similarly, if Buddy wanted to be someone’s side kick and Mr. Incredible decided to exercise his right to work alone if he so pleases, Buddy could have asked a different super for permission to be a side kick. Buddy proved himself to have genius level intellect, inventing weapons more powerful than just about any super power. Buddy could have become a super hero himself.
When Syndrome monologues about his motivations, Mr. Incredible apologises for the way he treated young Buddy Pine. It is unclear if Mr. Incredible really meant what he said or if he was kissing Syndrome’s butt, because Syndrome was a threat. I really hope it is the latter. The truth is, Mr. Incredible did not mistreat young Buddy pine at all. Mr. Incredible was nice, he stood for photos and signed every scrap of paper Buddy pushed at him. Buddy had a bloated sense of entitlement and crossed a line when he demanded Mr. Incredible accept him (Buddy) as his side kick, entered Mr. Incredible’s car without his permission and refused to take no for an answer. If Mr. Incredible did not want a sidekick, it was Mr. Incredible’s right to work alone. Mr. Incredible is allowed to reject Buddy’s request to be his side kick for any reason, no reason at all or even a made up reason. When Buddy went to go get the police, he had a bomb on him. Mr. Incredible grabbed Buddy and removed the bomb. Buddy yelled at Mr. Incredible for wrecking his flight patterns. For over a decade after the fact, Buddy held resentment toward Mr. Incredible and never realized that Mr. Incredible saved his life. If Mr. Incredible had just let Buddy get blown up, Bomb Voyage wouldn’t have gotten away, the L-train accident wouldn’t have occurred, and neither would the genocide of the super heroes.

I've been reading lots of posts on Reddit and articles in the national media about the A's potentially relocating from Oakland to Las Vegas. Many of these discussions have mentioned the population sizes of the two markets as well as the TV market sizes. However, none of the articles or posts I've read have discussed the A’s potential relocation based on the economic sizes of the two metro areas by analyzing their respective GDPs.
In the research below, I’ve attempted to use the actual GDP numbers directly from the federal reserve, as the St. Louis Federal Reserve’s office seems to helpfully post this data online for free. You can see links to all of the data below.
The Bay Area’s Annual GDP
Note that “billion” is abbreviated as “bn” below. Also, the federal reserve splits the Bay Area into two separate MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas). I’ve included data for both the San Francisco-Oakland MSA and the San Jose MSA since MLB and other sports leagues consider the San Jose part of the same “market” as the San Francisco-Oakland metro area.

• San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley MSA: $668bn (2021)
• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: $410bn (2021)
• The combined Bay Area GDP: $1.078 trillion

Las Vegas and Nevada Annual GDP

• Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise MSA: $136bn (2021)
• Nevada: $215bn (2022)
• And just for comparison’s sake, the state of California’s GDP: $3.589 trillion (2022)

This means the Bay Area’s combined GDP is 5 times larger than the entire state of Nevada, and 7.93 times larger than the Las Vegas metro area
For perspective, if the Bay Area was its own state, it would have the 5th largest GDP in the country, ranked between Florida ($1.389 trillion) and Illinois ($1.033 trillion).
The state of Nevada’s GDP ranks as #32 between Iowa and Kansas. No other state with a GDP smaller than Nevada currently has an MLB team, unless you count Kansas (since part of Kansas City is in Kansas and part is in Missouri) or the District of Columbia.
Of the top 50 US cities (by MSA) ranked by GDP, the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley MSA is ranked #4 in the US, the San Jose MSA is ranked #13. Combined, the Bay Area would be ranked #3 in the country, roughly equal to #2 ranked Los Angeles ($1.124 trillion GDP).
Las Vegas’ GDP is ranked #36, which is between San Antonio and Salt Lake City. It would be the second smallest economy in baseball ahead of only Milwaukee (#45).
If you look at the CSA (combined statistical area), the Bay Area’s population (of San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland’s CSA) is 9.482 million. Las Vegas is the #29th ranked CSA (Las Vegas-Henderson CSA) with 2.345 million people. Of the CSA rankings, only Cincinnati (#30 - 2.318 million people) and Milwaukee (#33 - 2.044 million people) have MLB teams.
In terms of MSA population, the San Francisco-Oakland Berkeley MSA contains 4.579 million people and is ranked 13 in the country. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA has 1.938 million people and is ranked #36. Las Vegas MSA has 2.322 million people and is ranked #29. On the MSA rankings, only Cincinnati (#30 - 2.2 million people), Kansas City (#31 - 2.209 million), Cleveland (#34 - 2.063 million), and Milwaukee (#40 - 1.559 million) have teams.
Another random fact: As a standalone state, the Bay Area CSA would be the 11th largest state in terms of population, between Michigan (10.034 million) and New Jersey (9.261 mm).
Nevada is the 33rd largest state by population between Iowa and Arkansas. Just as with GDP, no other state with a smaller population than Nevada has an MLB team, unless you count Kansas or the District of Columbia.

After a 1940 defined by gathering strengths and refinement across the feature, the early months of 1941 bring a few troubling portents behind-the-scenes for Fox's affectionately termed Grainy Gladiator. Nothing ruinous in itself, but signs of an upcoming radical shift away from what the character represented to start.
For one, the April issue of Adventure Comics (#61) brings with it a new cover feature, Ted Knight AKA Starman, courtesy writer-artist Jack Burnley. Already the second lengthiest entry in the book at nine pages, Starman quickly managed what neither Sandman nor Hourman could during their respective years as star attractions and upgraded to a full thirteen pages by his third appearance in #63. For context, Sandman only went from six pages to ten with its upgrade, while Hourman has remained rockstaedy at eight pages, and neither took down another non-superhero supporting feature to justify the page increase like Starman did Barry O'Neil and Mark Lansing. Moreover, from Starman's second appearance on, he is only drawn by Burnley; writing duties now belong to the Sandman's own Gardner Fox.
Which loops in with two other issues at play over Wesley's tossing, turning figure. Starting with issue #61, available online sources no longer fully agree who wrote what for the Sandman feature. You must understand, outside superstar figures with major pull like the creators of Superman or Batman, very few creative teams are properly credited in these Golden Age comics - my credits the last few posts have all been crossreferenced across numerous wikis and databases who owe their credits to investigative work by fans like Jerry Bails back in the 1960s. Such work was sadly not exhaustive, and while a few places (like DC Continuity Project and Wikipedia) state or else imply Fox stayed on as writer for the next few issues, from June to November there is no consensus as to who penned the stories.
I shouldn't be surprised if Fox's involvement terminated with the March issue, for April also saw All-Star Comics shift its format slightly, with Fox writing all nine interior stories for the 64 page mag in addition to his duties on the longer Starman feature. Man would have to work double time to keep pace, even if Sandman didn't drop to eight pages with #62 in May. Either way, Fox is certainly gone following #64 in July, as that issue features the final story drawn by regular artist and co-creator Creig Flessel, who departs to work on Shining Knight later in the year. As I say, things are changing fast for Sandman, and not all changes seem necessarily for the better. Best, however, to take the stories on their own level before drawing any final conclusions!
^{Coverage note: This entry goes to July rather than June for the sake of my sanity. If I stopped midway through the year, I'd only need cover seven features here, but the back half of '41 would require coverage of eleven. A nine-nine split feels much more feasible.}

• ADVENTURE COMICS #58 (January)

Orchids of Doom - Gardner Fox, Creig Flessel, Chad Grothkopf

Once again, a socialite friend to Wes and Dian is at the center of a minor mystery with big implications - namely, how can Pedro Nogades, father to Carla, rightly claim he breeds otherwise purely wild orchids in captivity? Investigating as the Sandman, Wes and Dian find a dead man in the Nogades greenhouse with his head stripped to the bone, and in following another fellow who sniffed an orchid before promising a shipment of such to some ruffians on the bad side of town, see his own face dissolve to bare skull. A visit to the police chemist reveals the orchids on the dead men's persons were laced to release a deadly flesh-eating gas on exposure to natural air, which is enough probably cause for Wesley to enlist Carla's boyfriend Bill in staging a raid on the Nogades manor. Some close shaves and fisticuffs end with the group discovering a diorama of the local coast, laid out to assist enemy agents in an invasion. Pedro is put away and the orchids revealed as concealing microfilm copies of the coastal plans, but how do we square the mystery that started it all? Simple: Nogades was no botanist, and called the flower by the wrong name when concocting his cover story!
An alright yarn to kick of the calendar year. As per usual when Fox tries for a somewhat complicated mystery, he's no adequate means of tying off loose ends other than large blocks of text, but it's lively and keeps the situation evolving with decent justifications for mid-story action and dragging Bill along for further fisticuffs. Hooking the entire mystery on, "Oh, the bad guy misspoke," is a tad lame, if understandable in the context of Fox's passion for slipping general knowledge flexes into his stories. Flessel and Grothkopf get some good mileage out've the skull imagery that crops up whenever the flower kills, and I rather like the brief bout of fisticuffs towards the end. The minor social awkwardness when Bill gets in the car with Wes and Dian is pretty good too, and I'm sorry to report I can't add this story to the "Wesley getting shot" count, as the bad guy only plugs his hat. Kinda funny having a Golden Age Sandman story involving orchids given Neil's own pre-Sandman work with Black Orchid, innit?

• ADVENTURE COMICS #59 (February)

The Story of the Flaming Ruby - Fox, Flessel, Grothkopf

There exists a ruby of blazing red, which has driven men to rage and madness wherever it appears, and today it sits in the hand of a young man in the local jeweler's shop, who flashes it cross Dian's vision. Later in the evening, she wakes in a trance consumed with the urge to kill her father, stopped only by Sandman as he rushes in from investigating a similarly queer case. A bank teller friend from his private life has found himself driven to steal from the vault and deliver it to some crooks on a lonely road every night, all after one of those men flashed him the ruby. Wes and Dian are unable to stop this night's transaction (on account of the ruby briefly turning Dian against Sandman), but seeing the gem in action gives Wes an idea on how to counteract its effects, and go into battle during the next drop armed with blue cobalt glasses. A brawl puts down all the blackmailers except one, but Wes opts instead to go after the head of the operation, knocking him out and lurking in the dark to catch the last as he reports in, revealing the bank teller! Turns out the ruby DOES have hypnotic properties and was used to assist their robberies, but the teller - hoping by playing at the victim to lure Sandman into his cohorts' midst and rub him out - spoke as if he remembered the whole experience, where Dian forgot herself on every exposure. Oops!
Same basic mystery structure and resolution type here as last month, complete with overly-wordy explanation, although I find the hook of pitting Dian and Wesley against one another gives it a minor leg up, as does the relatively straightforward nature of the criminal operation compared to planting microfilm in deadly flowers. There's a more even balance between the rush in bust 'em up style of crime-fighting the feature has developed and the stealthy skullduggery I think suits the character best, with nice action art to match each. Dian has some silly faces whenever she wakes from her hypnosis, and the four panel sequence of Wes halting her murder attempt works pretty well. This is, unfortunately, the final pencil-inking collaboration between Flessel and Grothkopf, and much as I've kvetched over the second man's solo work, I'm sorry to see the back of him in this capacity. When the two were in proper tune, they were the best artistic team Sandman enjoyed yet.
(Stop dodging bullets, I want to see you gunshot.)

• ADVENTURE COMICS #60 (March)

Mystery at Malay Mac's - Fox, Grothkopf

^{Hey, a rare post-Hourman, pre-redesign cover appearance! That's always nice. "Hello, officer? Yeah, coupla chucklefucks right here, the alley off Fourth, can't miss 'em."}
What's this? Dian breaking into a notorious criminal slumlord's safe in the bad part of town? A safe, as Wes discovers after he scares the lady off, filled to the brim with poison gas! Evidently not, as Dian is sound asleep when Wes arrives at Belmont manor to investigate, and a subsequent visit to Mister Mac reveals the only person who'd know the safe was booby-trapped is a local kidnapping organizer. Some blind, flailing fists turns up the girl, Dian's perfect duplicate, snatched from out of state to replace Dian and gain leverage over the cops. Too bad the kidnapper's made of strong stuff, knocking out Sandman and taking both woman for a ride to get back at Mac. Fortunately, Dian leaves Wes a trail of jewelry out the window, enabling him to follow and take down all the crooks with one throw of his gas pistol, revealing in the process 'twas Mac himself who tipped Dian's duplicate to his safe, in hopes of spoiling his rival's big plot.
Art-wise, this is probably Grothkopf's best work for Sandman to date. His tendency to exaggerate is translated into some properly goonish faces for the villains and really, really strong action poses, with some properly atmospheric shots sprinkled in for good measure. He cannot draw the gasmask for piss, but there's such an improvement I almost thought this was a Flessel joint before checking the wiki credits. Makes me wish we could see what he'd do if he kept on as a solo artist - free from the impulse to treat the feature as a cartoon, he produces damn fine work. As a story, this makes good time to mention my misgivings with Wesley's tendency to burst through windows and start swinging long before he thinks to use his sleeping gas. While it's great fun to describe and hype up as the mark of a madman who's even cooler as the badass normal than Batman, it also encourages a faster degradation in the character's identity. I'm sure you'll notice it's been yonks since lurking in the shadows and thinning the ranks by knocking them out in advance has factored into the stories. That Wes handles the bad guy by literally clonking him over the head with the gas gun rather than pulling the trigger speaks to the influence other, punchier superhero features have exerted over the strip.

• ADVENTURE COMICS #61 (April)

The Menace of the Metal Gun - Fox?, Flessel

From aboard a mysterious aircraft, a madman fires upon the city with a metal-melting ray that dissolves the skyscrapers into slag! Alerted to Doctor Borloff's activities, Wesley meets with swift defeat when the rogue scientist melts his gas gun and escapes in his cylindercraft to terrorize afresh. There IS a bright side, as seeing the ray firsthand gives Wesley some idea how to counteract its effects, and he sends Dian and her father warning for the local airforce to coat their planes in sand as a silicate buffer against the ray. Alas, only one officer heeds his message, leaving Sandman alone to get aboard the machine via his new wirepoon gun and defeat Borloff from within. For his brawling process, a good midflight fight is nothing if the hero gets tossed out an open door, but fortunately he can grapple onto the lone surviving plane, recover his bearings, zip back up, and put a stop to Borloff's dreams of world conquest once and for all!
Action is the name of the game here, and even without Grothkopf's inking enhancements, I think Flessel does a fine job on his own. I'm wary of the wirepoon in the future, as by year's end it will completely replace the gas gun as Sandman's sidearm of choice in further drift from the original Christman concept, but taken as a neutral in its debut, giving Sandman greater aerial mobility does lead to some cool shots and enhance the sense Wes goes stark bananas in the mask by pulling some stunts that would almost certainly pull his arms from their sockets in real life. There are, however, some particularly stiff action shots, and in one panel Flessel cocks up the design on the mask worse than Grothkopf last ish. Based on the opening vignette, Borloff decimated millions of innocent lives in addition to all the planes he melted out of the sky, making him easily the deadliest foe Wes has faced to date, and in turn making the "We did it, gang, everything is bright and peachy again!" ending sorta offputting. They'll have to organize mass funerals tomorrow, Wes. Show a little respect.

• ALL-STAR COMICS #4 (April)

For America and Democracy: The Grey Shirts - Fox, Grothkopf

In the top-level story, the JSA learn of their mission for the FBI: a group of Nazi insurgents known as the Grey Shirts are plotting subversive and destructive activities all across America, and are now posed to badly destabilize the nation in a series of disruptive attacks. Each is assigned a mission at critical points cross the nation, though given the widely-ranging disparity in their powers, their usefulness to the cause varies equally wildly. The Atom humiliates some goons spreading Nazi ideology at a single college, Hawkman barely prevents the destruction of an aviation plant in California, and Hourman's defense of an Oklahoma oil field ends with him toppling one of the oil towers to stop his quarry. Meanwhile, Green Lantern detonates a zeppelin secretly jamming radio transmissions nationwide, the Spectre casually annihilates some otherworldly vampiric globes sympathetic to Hitler's cause, and Doctor Fate uses his magic to out every single spy on the eastern seaboard. Uneven efforts or not, the group converge on the Grey Shirts' ringleader, and with a little help from Johnny Thunder, turn him over to good ol' J. Edgar Hoover's custody. Alas, Wesley does not get the blood he's thirsting after.
(Also Doctor Fate alerts Wesley to the identity and location of the ringleader before his mission starts rather than letting him figure it out on his own like everyone else. Prick.)
For his six-page leg of the assignment, the Sandman is off to El Paso, Texas to assist a local newspaper under threat from the Grey Shirts for printing pro-democracy and anti-Hitler editorials. Of course, this being Wesley Dodds on the job, he gets this information by roughing his way into the newspaper offices, then acts on it by beating on the guard at the Grey Shirts' camp and pounding down a band of brainwashed young men to prove he's a better American than them. After sending the wannabe Nazis for a whirl by running their bomb shipment off the road, Wesley doubles back to completely break the recruits' spirits, daring them to prove their hard enough by shooting an unarmed man in Hitler's name, chiefly himself. When none can cut the mustard, he marches them back into town with collars strapped to his car, and inspires the lot to join the Army to a few shirtless bars of "God Bless America."
Cripes but jingoism produces some heady results, doesn't it? I'm not sure I can rightly condone the ridiculous levels of patriotism on display here, even against such classically anti-American enemies as Nazis, yet at the same time, look at this and tell me it isn't the hardest shit you'll see all week. Again, though I've my misgivings about Wes as a brawler no matter how entertaining the results prove, there's something endearing about him being so raring for a fight his first move is to altercate the receptionist at the place he's assigned to defend. On the whole, Grothkopf's final Sandman contribution also shows refinement from his earlier works, the broader, thicker elements of his linework now tempers on a somewhat more grounded approach. Certainly the Sandman himself keeps a consistent look better than he does in any other issue published thus far this year. I DO notice he reused Flessel's design for the District Attorney wholesale on the newspaper publisher. Since he's going and heading out on a job well done, let's not hold it against him, eh?

• ADVENTURE COMICS #62 (May)

The Purple Death Ray - Fox?, Flessel

At the nightly planetarium show, a member of the audience screams and falls down dead, stricken by a litany of strange symptoms with no obvious cause. Wesley, believing the man was killed by a death ray, examines the auditorium's projector, only to find no obvious alterations or fault. Undeterred, he purchases himself a seat next to the murdered man's for the next show, which is now occupied by another fellow who received a last-second courtesy invitation. Acting quickly, the Sandman reexamines the projector from the shadows and finds a replacement bulb screwed into the socket pointed directly at the man's chair. With assistance from his wirepoon, Sandman swings down and wrenches the man from his seat just as the show starts, the bulb bathing his seat in deadly radiation. On learning the man is a former judge and the deceased a former DA, it's not long before Wes ferrets out the killer; it's the cashier, a former scientist sent to jail for misappropriating university funds years ago, out for revenge and now stopped cold.
See, while I'm skeptical about the growing presence of science-fiction elements in the series, they make fine fodder when they play to Sandman's strengths. Lurking high above a crowd of people seeking the answer to some deadly mystery is exactly Wes' bag, and plus or minus some strange mask drawings, Flessel captures that thrill of closely examining a big deadly machine in secret before it fires. I'd submit the page where Sandman saves the judge from the beam as an easy contender for best of the year thus far, and the shot where Wes pushes Dian away from the killer's bullet is another fine piece of work. My memories of this one before sitting down to reread and write were a lot chillier, probably because I wish the series remained in crime pulp rather than raygun pulp, but a good outcome is a good outcome. Seriously, though, why is the mask going so bobble-eyed of late?

• ADVENTURE COMICS #63 (June)

The Voodoo Sorcerer - ???, Flessel

As Dian and Wesley tiff over his interest in an exotic dancer they know through a mutual friend, the woman's tail-lashing dance is interrupted when she sees a great glowing triangle materialize before her eyes. With the shock straining her bad heart, the Sandman brings her to boyfriend's house, where he reveals the triangle is a voodoo witch doctor's means of accusing someone of murder - just as news comes over the wire that the man the woman lashed with her costume tail has died! Smelling a rat, Wes rushes to the scene of the crime to find the taile barbed with poison quills, only for the titular sorcerer to bumrush him out the window. It's a big misunderstanding, thankfully: he's as shocked by the murder as Sandman, and only summoned the triangle on suggestion from an acquaintance, forgetting the dancer would know its significance through her partner. By happiest coincidence, this provides Wesley the solution to the mystery right quick, for only his friend's chauffeur would have motive, opportunity, and knowledge to frame his employers and their associates for the murder of a stock broker who owed them money.
Hmm, ah, see, on the one hand, it IS nice that the voodoo guy is innocent of everything except a lapse in judgement and the real twist is an unassuming little man exploiting the mystery and fears around the craft to cast suspicion off his person. On the other hand, eek, yike, zoinks! None good. Bad, even. Outside unfortunate depictions of non-white persons from the 1940s, the story's pretty weak for a murder mystery, as numerous elements are evidently known to the characters well in advance, yet only made clear to the reader right before they become relevant, like the exact identity of the murdered man. It's only eight pages, so there's little opportunity to piece information together on your own time, and as such it is heavily reliant on narrative cheats to generate cheap surprise. About the best thing here is the big page-dominating panel of Wesley swinging through the city on his wirepoon, unconscious woman tucked under arm. Kinda hard to convincingly raise my dander about what it means for the character and his feature when it's successfully operating on the long-standing principle of "masked mystery men swinging on a wire through skyscrapers looks really cool." S'like a solid fifth of the formula behind why Spider-Man is so enduringly popular.
(Also not a big fan of how Wes dismisses Dian from participating in the case without any adequate reason why. She calls him out over it, even, and nothing in the story justifies his decision to fly solo on this one.)

• ADVENTURE COMICS #64 (July)

The Unseen Man - ???, Flessel

Dian's purchase of paints from a local hobby shop includes quite the unusual accidental item: a paint that turns anything and everything invisible on contact. Determined to solve this mystery on her own, Dian investigates the shop with the dealer's cooperation, only for the dread Unseen Man to get the drop on her. Fortunately, Sandman is there to save her because he won't let Dian do anything on her own; unfortunately, Dian doesn't know Wes can see her attacker through his blue cobalt lenses and pulls him away, thinking him mad and letting the Unseen Man go free. As reward for her screw up, she's targeted in her home the next night, only for Wes to barge in again, having anticipated the only possible secret identity for the crook would make him likely to strike back at Dian. It is, unsurprisingly, the hobby shop owner, who Wes turns over to the police before heading out to patent his invisibility paint with the United States Army.
Alright, it's definitely not Gardner Fox writing anymore, because I cannot imagine Fox treating Dian so poorly. I gave her some dignity in summary, but this story is plain dumping all over her as a fussy, incompetent tryhard who fails at investigating on her own on account her womanly ways. Just look at the sheer antagonism between her and Wes; you two are partners, she's saved Sandman's skin like a dozen times, worn his costume and wielded his gas gun to do it once, even! Don't try to BS me into thinking Wes would run this paternalist "let me handle it, Dian, I wear the pants in this relationship" crap on her. You're only alive because she's worn your fucking pants. Otherwise, 'nother instance where the story and art alike don't give me much of note. I reckon Flessel was about done with the series with Fox gone and sorta phoned in his last few assignments. They're nowhere near the standard of his early solo artistic duties on the title. There IS another good wirepoon swinging shot, if one counterbalanced by a crummier instance with yet another weirdly-proportioned mask.

• ALL-STAR COMICS #5

The Mysterious Mr. X: The Kidnapper's Union - Fox, Cliff Young

The Justice Society are bored. Bored, bored, bored. Why are they bored? There is no crime. Not a single ruffian or scoundrel or roughneck lawbreaker anywhere in the city! Where did crime go? Crime has taken an enforced vacation, courtesy the plans of big crime boss Mister X (hats off), as prelude to his scheme for taking out the JSA and putting all his criminal enterprises back on easy street. It's quite the collection of rackets out against the superheroes - an arsonist ring for Flash, a jewel snatching gang for Hawkman, leader of the phony fortune teller underworld against Doctor Fate, even hard-pressing gym membership shakedowns for the Atom! Naturally our heroes triumph, though every one also encounters a strange little man idly strolling through their battlegrounds. He's so omnipresent despite his mousiness, he's even there when they convene at the police station to organize Mister X's (hats off) arrest. Except this unassuming slip of a man? He IS Mister X (hats off), and with the Justice Society having taken all the fun out've crime, he's turning himself in to live comfortably on the state's dollar in jail. WHOOPSY-DOODLE!
For his six-page part in the game, Sandman must contend against the kidnapper's union, who naturally enough have abducted Dian to get his attention. Not only have these lowlives taken Dian hostage (though she doesn't particularly mind), they've taken out phony accident insurance claims against themselves should the hero injure any of them en route to his untimely death! Nobody quite expects Wes to avoid the sniper-guarded roads to their remote hilltop hideout, though, and a quick wirepoon swing over the canyon (complete with Mister X - hats off - sighting) puts him right in the criminal den. From there, it's a simple biff wham boom to take down the punks and disarm their supporting fire. Alas, Sandman is once again only in the loop on the true nature of the threat against the JSA because someone notifies him from their own investigation, this time Flash via telegram. Let him do his own detective work, you pricks!
Right. You see these panels? You see Dian being calm and collected in the midst of a kidnapping operation? You see Wes trusting her with a submachine gun to keep watch on the fools who mean them harm? Yeah, THAT'S Fox writing Dian. Whoever's writing the Adventure feature at this time ought've taken notes. Artistically, Young makes a fine replacement for Grothkopf and Flessel in Adventure - he can match the first for goons, the second for action, manages a nice turnaround effect before Wes swings on his wirepoon, and even gives us a by-now all-too-rare heavy shadow shot on Wes and Dian. I'm a big fan of the lead kidnapper who calls the JSA the "Justiss Sassiety," and find this instance of Mister X (hats off) the second best in the book, behind only his appearance in the Hourman story, which I think speaks for itself. Probably the only time I'll express preference for something Hourman related over Sandman.
The loss of all three major contributors to the Sandman feature across early 1941 and the crunch down to eight pages has certainly made the Adventure Comics side of the Sandman line a rockier experience. It's still possible to derive enjoyment from the wonky mysteries and higher-concept criminals, but one must accept atmosphere and and particularity have been near-entirely sacrificed for generalized bombast and louder appeal. Don't misunderstand, I've become a fan of Wesley Dodds, Fist-Swinging Bullet Sponge, and my past praises for him aren't diminished by the realization of what this has done to his integrity as a character circa today's stopping point. The trouble is, while I enjoy this half-mad, impossibly reckless read on the character, it simply no longer bears any resemblance to the early days' lurking and creeping through the seedier parts of town. There's a great series of justifications running through the Sandman concept - he's no powers, so he uses the gas gun, so he needs the gas mask, which hides his identity so perfectly it frees him to wear the ordinary business suit, which highlights his vulnerability. Fling him around like a ragdoll who knows no fear of injury or death, although I'll clap for the bravado of it all, I must object if it means any notion he should be sneaky or cautious degrades.
Especially if it means the gas gun vanishes from the character. It hasn't met its final end just yet, but for this seven month block it's proven a very perfunctory aspect of the strip, hung by his side and occasionally brandished without acting as an integral part of the action or storytelling. The wirepoon has subsumed its function as the sidearm, and while I must stress there are plenty aces shots of Wes swinging that fully justify its prominence, taking precedence over the thing that makes him the Sandman, Crimefighter What Fights Crime By Putting The Criminals To Sleep plain rubs me the wrong way. Be awful nice i we could have both without the new toy putting the old out to pasture, y'know? It's not led to anything I'd full-throatedly object over just yet, but... ach, you'll see next time. Speaking of...
Next time! 1941 comes to a close as Wesley picks up another feature to his name, and also a stupid, ugly new costume!
(Previous write-ups: 1939, 1940 pt 1, 1940 pt 2)

Match Information:

 
Match: Barcelona vs Mallorca
Competition: La Liga
Date: Sunday, 28th of May 2023
Time: 19:00 CEST / 13:00 EDT - Convert to local time
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona - 99354 capacity
Referee: Jorge Figueroa Vázquez
 

Lineups and Squads:

 
Barcelona - Official squad confirmed
GK: Ter Stegen, Iñaki Peña, Arnau Tenas
DEF: Araújo, Christensen, Alonso, Alba, Koundé, Eric, Álex Baldé
MID: Busquets, Pedri, Kessié, Sergi Roberto, Frenkie, Gavi, Pablo Torre
ATT: Dembélé, Lewandowski, Fati, Ferran Torres, Raphinha
Unavailable: Araújo, Pedri (injured)
Not called:
Mallorca - Official squad to be confirmed
GK: Predrag Rajković, Dominik Greif, Leo Román
DEF: Matija Nastasić, Ludwig Augustinsson, Dennis Hadžikadunić, Copete, Pablo Maffeo, Jaume Costa, Giovanni Gonzalez, Raillo, Martin Valjent
MID: Ruiz de Galarreta, Clément Grenier, Antonio Sánchez, Manu Morlanes, Iddrisu Baba, Dani Rodríguez, Lee Kang-In
ATT: Vedat Muriqi, Abdón Prats, Tino Kadewere, Ángel, Amath Ndiaye
Unavailable: Matija Nastasić, Ludwig Augustinsson, Raillo, Ruiz de Galarreta (injured) Antonio Sánchez, Lee Kang-In (suspended)
Not called:
 

Form guide:

 
Barcelona

• Form: [L] L W W W
  
• Goals scored: 11
  
• Goals conceded: 7
  
• Last match: Real Valladolid 3:1 FC Barcelona - La Liga
  

Mallorca

• Form: [W] L W L D
  
• Goals scored: 4
  
• Goals conceded: 6
  
• Last match: Mallorca 1:0 Valencia - La Liga
  

 

Head-to-head:

 

• Last meeting: Mallorca 0:1 FC Barcelona
  
• Date: Saturday, 1st of October 2022, 21:00 CEST
  
• Competition: La Liga
  
• Threads: Pre-match thread Match thread Post-match thread
  
• Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGuZK2t5qDQ
  

 

Comments (Post-match thread):

 
Author: COMUNISTSWINE69 Score: 193 pts Source

This is just a classic ''Barca back from international break'' game. I wouldn't really overreact since this was a well drilled Mallorca on their home turf against a team, ridden with injuries and players who served international duty. Pretty sloppy and brutal but these are the games you need to win for a league title.
​
MOTM either Christensen who was unquestionably our best defender tonight or Gavi who ran his ass ragged all night long, also special mention to Ter Spider for that monster save in the first half

Author: mattisafootballguy Score: 174 pts Source

Lewandowski and Ter Stegen more or less being the reason for the 3 points today.
Thought Gavi and Christensen were also good, Pique as well. Everyone else was sub-par.

Author: summersmart Score: 150 pts Source

Xavi holds the record for longest unbeaten away streak in la Liga taking the record from the bald fraud

Author: MaskedPB Score: 106 pts Source

Lewa is worth every penny. 3 hard fought points after a brutal international break.

Author: PedanticSatiation Score: 100 pts Source

Christensen was solid today. Lot's of recoveries, interceptions in dangerous situations and some good passes too

Author: Leo2000Immortal Score: 94 pts Source

Mallorca have conceded 7 goals this season. 4 from madrid and 3 from penalties. They're extremely well organised defensively. It's good that we somehow came out with a win. Hate international breaks tho, breaks momentum of teams.

Author: notactualrest Score: 79 pts Source

Christensen had a great game. Balde was also not bad for being played at RB. Lewy's individual class bailed us out here. Gotta admit, Mallorca's game plan worked out nearly perfectly for them. Parking the bus and trying to hit us on the counter was probably the most realistic way they could have gotten points today.
I'm still kinda worried about our defense without Araujo and Kounde. Christensen is good, but Alba doesn't convince me at all as a lb anymore.

Author: tgames56 Score: 76 pts Source

They were still parking the bus down 1-0 in stoppage time.... Pretty boring game.

Author: bubblegumdog Score: 52 pts Source

Xavi beating most away matches without a loss record and Ter Stegen beating his clean sheet streak. Lewandowski saved the team with his brilliance.

Author: AhoyDaniel Score: 46 pts Source

Shout out to Christensen, rock solid.

Author: thisIsAswin Score: 44 pts Source

Ter Stegen fully deserves that 500 mins of clean sheet

Author: grandeherisson Score: 43 pts Source

We played like shit yet won. Is this what it feels like to be a Real supporter? 🤔

Author: Darduel Score: 39 pts Source

Ferran always skies every shot he takes lol like how is it even possible

Author: PSNCF Score: 36 pts Source

I’m ok with the result. Mallorca was defensive and not much else we can do. On to the next game.

Author: theviper584 Score: 35 pts Source

Not much to analyse. Difficult to break down a team which is happy to defend while being down on a shit pitch

Author: thor76 Score: 32 pts Source

Slowly, Christensen becomes the best Chelsea export in years.

Author: CUNYC24 Score: 26 pts Source

Tough win, was obvious we lacked rhythm. Hopefully this helps us be back in our mojo mid week. Like what I saw from Ansu, can tell he's slowly coming back to his usual self.
Kessie on the other hand does not work when we need to break a team down.
Lastly, unrelated to us, bit how did Valencia let kang-in Lee go so cheaply? He's such a good player. Will not surprise me if he's in a champions league team in a couple of years.

Author: thebrownestmamba Score: 25 pts Source

In Spanish, “Partido de mierda”…
But 3 points, given the injuries, against low block and post national break? I’ll take those any day.
Thanks Lewy and congrats to MATS on the clean sheet record!!!

Author: bllshrfv Score: 25 pts Source

I thought we’re joking, but people genuinely want 4-0 every match. Sorry, but it won’t continue like that and it’s not necessarily the problem (though it could be one). Such matches won you league titles. Go look at Real Madrid’s February schedule of the last season and see how thet did it (I say that because it’s recent example). Sometimes you barely won and it’s okay as long as you have a win even though it’s due to a few game-changer players.

Author: xscientist Score: 20 pts Source

Kessie continues to be invisible, 3 appearances in a row. He’s neither finding good spaces nor asking for the ball. It’s concerning. He looked far more dynamic in pre-season. He hasn’t made any mistakes per se, but he’s just not getting involved. His attempted pass into the box for Lewy was a nice idea at least.

 

Quotes:

 

🚨 Xavi: "Finding a replacement for Busquets is the absolute priority. It's fundamental." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "When things go well I'm happy, when not, I'm sad. You feel lonely, but I'm happy to be here." - src @barcacentre
🚨 Xavi: "Pep Guardiola has been the most influential person in the world of football in the last 15 years." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "We have been lucky because Busquets was almost never injured. His replacement? It won't be easy. As I said, it depends on FFP. It should be a player who's strong to win duels, technical, intelligent and someone who's used to the position." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "Samper, Oriol Romeu... Touré Yaya himself had to leave. Busquets has spent 15 seasons here and in each one has played a minimum of 45 games. That's why he hasn't had a replacement and now we have to look for one." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "Fati? I haven't talked to him about his future. We don't know the fair play situation. When we know, we will plan signings and departures." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "On the left-back position we have Balde and Marcos, so we don't need to strengthen ourselves there." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "Alba's departure was his personal decision. When we spoke, he told me that it was time to leave." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "Pedri and the Nations League? We are in communication with the federation. We think it's time to rest, he has muscle fatigue. We are in contact with the coach." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "Going to Montjuïc, getting used to the change, it won't be easy... The Camp Nou is our natural habitat and we will have to change and get used to it. That's why the support of our fans will be important. The fans must realize that we will need them." - src @barcacentre
🚨 Xavi: "Jules is a great guy. A professional through and through." - src @barcacentre
🚨 Xavi: "I already said that with Koundé there is not and there has not been a problem. He's a fundamental piece." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "We will miss Busquets and Alba, of course. They are a reference for their teammates, but in the end the roles change and there are players who will have to step forward." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "We chain two consecutive defeats and we want to win. We want to end with a good feeling and hopefully Lewandowski will take the Pichichi and Ter Stegen the Zamora." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "I will feel sad because the Camp Nou is my home and there are many memories here... Now we have to think that we will have a new and better stadium, where we will all be more comfortable." - src @barcacentre
Xavi: "Managing friends, with whom you've experienced so many things... It's not easy to say that they're going to play less. These are painful decisions, as happened to me with Alves and Piqué. But as a coach you have to be professional above all else." - src @barcacentre
🚨🎙️ Xavi Hernández: "Saying goodbye to the Camp Nou… There are many years of passion and it will be an emotional day, on which we'll also say goodbye to Busquets and Jordi Alba." - src @barcacentre

 

Latest News:

 
[Squad] - The squad for the final game at Spotify Camp Nou - fcbarcelona.com
[Article] - Barça v Mallorca: Farewell for now Spotify Camp Nou - fcbarcelona.com
[Article] - Xavi Hernández: 'We want to finish the season winning' - fcbarcelona.com
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[Article] - When and where to watch FC Barcelona v Mallorca - fcbarcelona.com
 

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5 December 1518

 
Musical Accompaniment
 
Born in 1440 to Antonio Trivulzio and Francesca Visconti, minor Guelph nobles in Milan, Gian Giacomo Trivulzio was raised alongside Galeazzo Maria Sforza, and would spend much of his early life in his service.
His military career started in 1465, when at the age of 25 he accompanied Sforza's army to France, where they would fight on the side of King Louis XI against the League of Public Weal. This taste of blood was evidently rather satisfactory for Trivulzio, as he would spend the remainder of his life in military service.
 

Sforza and Montefeltro Service

In the 1460s, he fought in the service of the Sforzas against the famous Bartolomeo Colleoni - one of the greatest military minds of the 15th Century. Soon after, he moves to the service of Federico da Montefeltro, and fights in the infamous Battle of Riccardina, where the forces of Colleoni, Ercole d'Este, and Alessandro Sforza, as well as some Florentine families, faced off against an alliance of the Medicis, King Ferdinand I of Naples, and Federico da Montefeltro.
It is in this period that he marries his first wife, Margherita Colleoni - a distant relative of the famous Condottiero.
 

Condottiero

In 1478, he entered the service of the Medicis against the expansionist Pope Sixtus IV, defending the city of Florence in the wake of the Pazzi Conspiracy, until the Ottoman capture of Otranto forced a peace settlement.
In 1480, he purchased the castle of Mesocco. By 1496 the surrounding countryside will have joined the Three Leagues in Switzerland, by his permission.
 

Rossi War and Ludovico Sforza

In 1482, he enters the service of Ludovico Sforza, against the Rossi family of Parma, in rebellion against the Sforzas of Milan. As tensions built up between Ludovico Sforza - then Regent of Milan - and the other nobles of Milan, it was Trivulzio - then only a lieutenant to Costanza Sforza - who was entrusted with taking Parma. Trivulzio proved himself incredibly capable in the art of siege and harrying, devastating the lands loyal to the Rossi, and capturing alpine fortresses with great vigor. Making excellent headway, it was only the intervention of the Republic of Venice that stopped Trivulzio. His soldiers were transferred to the command of the Duke of Urbino - an old employer, Federico da Montefeltro. Eventually, Trivulzio would work his way to being the primary commander of Ludovico's forces in Milan, winning the war for the Milanese, defeating the Venetian army at Martinengo, and becoming Governor of Parma for the Sforzas.
His first wife died in 1485. She had given him one surviving son - Gian Niccolò Trivulzio, and a score of daughters.
 

Neapolitan Service

In 1488, he moves to Naples, and enters the service of Alfonso d'Aragon, Duke of Calabria. He would marry Beatrice d'Avalos, and would be appointed Commander of the army of Naples. It is in this period that Charles VIII invades Italy, after being invited into Milan by Ludovico Sforza.
 

Charles' War for Naples First Italian War (1494-1498)

Musical Accompaniment
 
In 1494, Trivulzio negotiated the surrender of Naples to Charles VIII, who, impressed by the man, hires him into French service, with the written permission of Ferdinand I of Naples. In 1495 he fought in the Battle of Fornovo in the service of the King of France, marching back to France with the army. He is appointed Marshal of France for his actions in the battle.
 

Second Italian War (1498-1503)

In 1498 Trivulzio was placed in charge of a large army by the new King Louis XII. He marched on Milan, and chased Ludovico Sforza, now Duke of Milan, to Innsbruck, where he bid the assistance of Maximilian of Austria.
In October 1499, Trivulzio entered Milan, and was appointed Governor.
In 1501, Trivulzio was again placed in charge of a French army - this time, he was intended to be in command of small contingents of French troops to hold river crossings. Instead, he found himself in the midst of the French Army in their victory at Gorgonzola. The French - employing great numbers of Swiss mercenaries, defeated an Imperial army marching alongside Ludovico Sforza.
In 1502, Trivulzio commanded the French army at (the later named First Battle of) San Martino, buying valuable time for the French to bring reinforcements across the alpine passes after the Fall of Savoy and save Milan from the Imperial incursions. Later in the year he would lead the French at Marzaglia, being bested by Cesare Borgia, and withdrawing to Reggio.
In 1503, Trivulzio commanded the French army at Monterosi, squaring off against the Spanish Army, with the Fate of the Eternal City at stake. Routing the Spanish, he drove south to the banks of the Garigliano River, before being finally stopped, not by the Spanish, but by his own supply lines.
 

War of the Second Italic League Third Italian War (1506-1509)

In 1506 Trivulzio commanded the French Army putting Modena to siege, taking it in early 1507. Having kicked a hornet's nest, Trivulzio was forced to withdraw from Modena, though stood up a valiant defence against a Venetian-Ferrarese army at Lodi.
With Milan in rebellion (in part to Trivulzio's poor governance), he withdrew from Milan, and met with the main French army in Novara.
In 1508 Trivulzio spearheaded the counterattack into Milan, which was then in Austrian hands. Crossing the Ticino, he met the main army under Georg von Frundsberg at Borgarello. Bloodying the Austrians, he forces them to withdraw, and is joined by Rohan-Gie and Trémoille, to defeat the Austrians and Venetians at the absolutely gargantuan Battle of Gaggiano. With the Austrians and Venetians defeated, Trivulzio set about restoring order to Milan. It is said that he attempted to put a stop to the worst of the sacking, but it is rather suspicious that most of the sacking hit the worst of the Ghibelline sections of the Duchy...
In 1509 Trivulzio oversaw the capture of Montferrat, and its subsequent integration into the Duchy of Milan.
 

Borgia War (1511-1512)

In 1511, following Cesare's attempt at seizing Rome and subsequent flight to Romagna, Trivulzio leads a Milanese army to the Romagna, where they put down Cesare Borgia alongside a Papal coalition by 1512. It was in this war that his son, Gian Niccolò passed - camp fever had taken him during a siege.
 

Francis' War for Naples Fourth Italian War (1512-1515)

Musical Accompaniment
 
With the betrayal of the Spanish, and the commencement of Francis' War for Naples, Trivulzio commanded a rear force in the siege of Pescara. With the fall of that city in 1513, he lead a supporting force to Francis, proving to be a mentor and moderating voice to the rapacious young Duc de Valois.

Lombard War Fifth Italian War (1515-1516)

By 1515, the French army in Naples was exhausted, and saw fit to retire north, as the Emperor had made a pact with the Venetians, and invaded Milan. Trivulzio fought a rearguard action against the Spanish, allowing the Duc de Valois to pursue a stunning victory against the Austrians and Venetians at Lodi, and yet again routing Maximilian and the Venetians from the Duchy of Milan.
 
Trivulzio's final actions came in 1516, where he took over the command of the army from the gravely wounded Duc de Nemours, and proceeded to assist in the seizure of Venetian Lombardy, and the subsequent Second Battle of San Martino.

Retirement

Tired and contented, Trivulzio passes in his bed in the Castello Sforzecco on the 5th of December, 1518. He was 78 years of age. He is succeeded by his grandson, Gian Francesco Trivulzio.
It is said that Giangiacomo requested to be buried with a sword on his chest, instead of a cross. When asked why, he answered, "To scare the devils when they come for me."